The tall gates obstructed the way out of the village. Yet again she had failed to make it out before the gates closed. From the time Hyunsu had gone through the ceremony of fertility, the progression from a child to an eligible woman, she had gained an obsession with the outside world. By the time the first colours of twilight appeared in the sky the gates would close and every day she would try to sneak out early but she never made it out. There was always something stopping her, most people would take this as a warning not to leave but Hyunsu only found it was a challenge.

 This time around the thing stopping her was the son of the smith, Hyoheon. Hyoheon was a relatively attractive young bachelor that pursued Hyunsu, since their initials were the same he deemed them a couple made in heaven and never left her alone. He was also the main reason Hyunsu never made it out of the village, he was always by her side protecting her from everything, especially the outside world she longed for so dearly. ‘Hyoheon,’ Hyunsu grit her teeth letting her annoyance show blatantly, used to her cold response to his presence Hyoheon smiled and leaned against the pillar behind him.

 ‘Love,’ at the sound of his grainy voice Hyunsu's eyes flashed with anger as she scowled digging the toe of her leather boot into the dirt of the road, her body tense and closed off. ‘You were wandering awfully close to the gate today, I can not imagine why.’ Faking ignorance Hyoheon tsked and shook his head, ‘it almost looked like you were heading out, but that can not be right afterall no women leave the village.’

 He was also the most ist bigot she had ever met. As the son of the smith he was one of the richest people in the village, next to the Lord himself, they could make anything so long as it needed metal, they produced most of the villages cutlery, weapons, jewellery, and locks. So he took it on himself to let every female know just how rich, eligible, and strong he was. Barely a day went by when he wasn’t showing off his muscles, the only thing other than his pride that grew every day he spent at the smithy.

 ‘I was making sure my brother made it in before the gates closed,’ Hyunsu repeated the phrase she had used every time she missed the gate.

 Women never left the village it was deemed too dangerous, the men were the only ones allowed out and even then it was only for hunting and very rarely gathering plants for gardens, whether it be vegetables or medicinal herbs. Since her brother was a hunter, she always waited out for him, her longing to leave growing with every day she watched him walk in with fresh kill. Hyunsu just felt so trapped, she heard stories about the outside world the strange creatures they had come across, the new scenery, and the weird plants. She just wanted to see them for herself.

 Hyoheon breathed out heavily before he his lips slowly, a wicked grin growing, ‘how filial. You really are the epitome of the perfect wife, I cannot wait until your father gives me your hand in marriage.’

 ‘The only thing you’ll be getting is your handed to you if you keep cornering my sister like this,’ like clockwork Zuko approached the two teens, already anticipating their conflict. Sweaty and tired from the hunt, Zuko grunted adjusting the young buck he had slung over his shoulder.

 Scoffing Hyoheon pushed himself off the pillar using his muscles as much as he could as a last attempt to show his masculinity. Compared to the grisly male next to him he appeared more as a child, ‘like you can touch me.’ Casting his arrogant gaze upon Hyunsu he smirked at her before walking off.

 ‘You need to stop letting him near you,’ clearing his throat Zuko dropped the buck on the ground immediately crouching, pressing his palms into his knees to keep him up.

 ‘You need to stop pretending to be stronger than you are,’ Hyunsu scolded back, ruffling her older brothers hair, coating her fingers with his sweat. ‘You need to bathe,’ wiping her damp hands on his sandy shirt she grabbed one of the stumpy antlers. ‘Help me pull him.’  

 With a heavy sigh he roughly grabbed the buck’s antlers and started dragging it along the dirt, ‘Kwan didn’t make it back in time,’ he looked back at the gates listening to the loud pounding from the other side. ‘Lets hope he’ll be there in the morning.’

 ‘You know he won’t,’ Hyunsu scowled and glared down at the ground, watching it slowly move along the closer they got to their house. ‘He’ll get enchanted by the Fae and won’t ever come back, and it’ll be the fault of our need to stick to rules.’

 ‘The rules are there for a reason.’

 ‘You mean like how women aren’t allowed out?’

 ‘Yes,’ Zuko brushed his bangs out of his face, his sleek pale hair was starting to fall out of the ponytail he had tied it into.

 ‘You know the only reason they target women is because that’s what we did too.’ Hyunsu hissed, within a moment her brother dropped his hold on the antlers and pressed his dirty hands against , filling her nose with the scent of blood, sweat, and dirt.

 ‘Be careful what you say, sister. You know what will happen if the elders hear you talking,’ despite scolding her, her brothers tone was soft and understanding, he agreed completely. Zuko just wasn’t rash enough to yell it for all the ignorant fools to hear. Nodding her head he slowly removed his hand, instead placing it on her head. ‘Go ahead of me and make our parents aware of my arrival.’

 ‘Yes, brother,’ jerking away from him Hyunsu started walking along the streets towards her house. She watched the villagers scrambling for their houses at the approaching night. The wall did nothing for safety the villagers knew that, it was more for reassurance. After all the Fae were superhuman if they really wanted they could easily scale the walls and attack the people inside. Hyunsu wasn’t stupid she knew the Fae were dangerous, she honestly didn’t want to see one ever in her lifetime. She just wanted to go outside, experience real nature, she wanted to see what an ocean looked like, she wanted to try fishing in a river, and walk through a forest. She honestly just wanted to know what fishing was, she had heard the caravans talk of it but she had no idea what they did. All she knew was that it was a way to catch some strange water animal.

 But that was all too dangerous. She hated the village, how closed off it was, how old it was. The streets were grass free, after being trampled on so often it had worn to sand, the only interesting part of the village was the small gardens located at the far end by her house. The village only had potatoes, carrots, apples, and herbs growing right by the well. When the vegetables and fruit grew they were rationed between families. No families got herbs, all of the herbs were instantly sent off to the healers of the village, her family.

 Hyunsu came from a long line of healers, it was all she knew, but it wasn’t her future. Her brother would take up the mantle of the apothecary, if he survived long enough. Since he became a man he had taken up hunting to try and get as much extra money as he could for the family. But hunting was dangerous, leaving the village at all was dangerous, there were no guarantees that anyone would make it back, there were too many predators, from the bears, poisonous animals, to the Fae. And if you didn’t make it in by the time the gates closed you were left outside, like Kwan.

 Stamping the dust off her feet Hyunsu clutched the brass knob and pushed open the door to her families hut. Instantly the familiar earthy scent of herbs filled her nose, stepping into the hut she felt the warmth of the coals smouldering in the fireplace. ‘Mother, Father! Zuko has made it home!’ Pulling off her long boots she put them down at the wood shoe rack beside the door and pulled on her leather house slippers.

 ‘That is good news,’ barely looking up from the poultice he was grinding her father continued scraping the herbs with his mortar and pestle. ‘When I finish this poultice you will need to take it to Elder Kim, his joints are acting up again.’

 ‘Yes, father,’ nodding to her father, Hyunsu made her way towards the kitchens where her mother was stringing up herbs to be dried.

 ‘How long will your brother be?’ Looking up from the herbs her mother continued tying the yarn around the stems with expert precision.

 ‘Not too long, perhaps only a few minutes,’ nodding in acknowledgement her mother swiftly tied the bunch onto the wood bar hanging in their kitchen, leaving it with all the rest before opening the door to the back yard. ‘Tell him to bring it round the back, if he drags it through the house one more time…’ Trailing off the door slammed behind her, leaving Hyunsu behind with an amused smile.

 ‘Hyunsu!’

 ‘Coming father!’ Staring down at the brown rug below her she walked back into the living room where her father was scrapping the poultice into a metal container.

 ‘You need to take this to Elder Kim, when you get back to the house you may help us with the catch but until then,’ lifting the container he placed it into her hands. ‘Take this to him.’

 ‘Yes father,’ nodding she smiled at him before walking to the door, switching her slippers for outside shoes before heading out into the humid air.

 The sun was still setting, there was still a few hours till dark but the scrambling villagers were already all inside their houses. Since they were on the cusp of summer the sun set much later, it was a time of freedom for most villagers because it meant more time outside.

 Kicking up the dust Hyunsu watched it raise in the air, bringing with it a dry dirt scent, before it settled on her boots, leaving a faint sandy brown layer on the bottom.

 ‘Hyunsu,’ as soon as Hyunsu heard Sooki’s melodious voice call out to her she smiled and stopped, looking behind her to greet the lone Nymph of the village. Sooki was the Lord’s wife and had been brought years ago to the village by traders who had kidnapped her. As she was too far away from home to find her way back she had no choice but to stay and be the lord's wife.

 Despite being kidnapped Sooki still had her sweet temperament and was more than willing to talk to anyone who would talk to her. Sadly as she was a Nymph and thus related to the Fae few talked to her and that few could be counted on one hand, her husband, Hyunsu and her family, as well as Elder Lee who was a half Nymph.

 ‘Good evening Sooki,’ Hyunsu bowed deeply out of respect for the pure soul and friend in front of her.

 ‘Good evening, where are you going at this time of night?’ With fluid grace that one would assume a nymph would have, Sooki walked up to Hyunsu, looking majestic in her simple green dress. As always the only accessories she had were her leather belt, and her long brown braided hair. Sooki enjoyed being surrounded by nature so she would tie plants into her hair because of this Hyunsu loved when the apple tree blossomed because Sooki would tie the blossoms into her hair, surrounding her with a sweet fruity aroma.

 ‘I have to take the poultice to Elder Kim,’ lifting the metal container Hyunsu winced. Elder Kim was one of the more ignorant and prejudice people in the village. Since his mother was abducted by Fae’s he took it upon himself to profess his hate on all Nymph’s and Fae’s, Hyunsu never got along with him even before she met Sooki. After becoming friends with Sooki, Hyunsu had become even more of an annoyance to him than before.

 ‘I see,’ pulling her braid over her shoulder, Sooki started playing with the tip of it.

 ‘You look tired,’ Hyunsu observed, scanning the dark eye bags and pale complexion Sooki was getting.

 ‘I am, it has been too long since I have seen the forest, it drains me.’ Tilting her head to the side, Sooki closed her eyes partially as if reminiscing her past. ‘I have not yet adapted to my surroundings, it is harder than I thought it would be.’

 When the Nymphs get brought into a human life style they slowly lose their connection to nature. Nymphs are not immortal but they do live a long time, but only so long as they don’t mate with a human, when a Nymph mates with a human and lives with them, their life span matches that of their spouse. Because of this for the first while they age quickly, until their bodies match the age of the people around them.

 Although Sooki had been in the village for five years she had not started ageing till earlier this year. Soon she would no longer be a risk for the villagers, once a Nymph loses her years she won’t be accepted back into any society of her race, she will be an outcast, and therefore safe to be around. Until then the villagers see her as dangerous, and volatile, ready to lash out at any second and try to escape the village.

 ‘I’m sorry.’

 ‘Ah,’ shaking her head Sooki spoke her next words in Nymphean, Hyunsu smiled as soon as she heard Sooki speak Nymphean, Hyunsu knew nothing of the language but she loved hearing Sooki speak it.

 The language of the Nymphs was beautiful, it matched the Nymphs perfectly, it was as smooth as the water, vibrant as the land, and distinguishable as the mountains. ‘Do not worry my child, it is not your fault.’ Sooki continued in the common tongue, despite hating being patronised Hyunsu enjoyed being called child by Sooki, it made her feel safe and protected. Sooki was like a grandmother to her, Sooki was indeed the age of a grandmother in human years. However because she was a Nymph she still looked like a young adult.

 ‘Will we talk tonight?’ Hyunsu stopped outside of the ornate wooden door of the Elders hall.

 ‘If you desire to,’ Sooki looked up at the darkening sky, ‘then yes.’

 ‘I do,’ resting her palm on the cool metal handle Hyunsu bit her lip, watching Sooki with a look of anticipation.

 ‘Then we shall meet, I will be waiting,’ slowly moving her head down, Sooki smiled at Hyunsu before turning and walking away, her dress billowing after her elegantly.

 With a heavy sigh Hyunsu pushed open the door to the Elders hall. As Hyunsu rushed down the entrance way to Elder Kim’s quarters she ignored the intricate designs imbedded in the walls and pillars of the building. Usually Hyunsu would walk slowly, admiring the landscapes of the outside world but now was not the time. Hyunsu lifted her fist to pound on the door, the only thing stopping her was the knowledge of the rant that would come if she did.

 Pursing her lips she forced herself to lightly rap on the door. The temptation ran deep in her to be as loud as she could even after knocking on the door. She was well aware of how much Elder Kim hated loud noises and wished for once she could rebel.  

 ‘Who is it?’ Within moments Elder Kim called out, his wheezing voice audible through the thick oak doors.

 ‘Hyunsu, the daughter of Nahm the healer, I have your poultice.’ The door slowly opened to reveal Elder Kim’s hunched frame and a staggering scent of incense.

 ‘Good, good,’ reaching out his wrinkled hand he swiped the container out of Hyunsu’s hand before slamming the door shut. Coughing, Hyunsu waved her hand infront of her face almost choking on the heavy scent of incense.

 ‘You’re welcome,’ she wheezed out before rubbing , trying to ease the burning left behind by the strong smell of his room. As always her good deeds went unnoticed, sometimes she didn’t even know why she tried so hard to appease the villagers.

 Just as the Fae’s fell deeper into their bitterness the villagers fell deeper into their depression. Nobody was happy these days, all she ever saw was fear. Dispelling her dark thoughts she marched out of the Elders halls and headed home planning on gutting the buck as fast as possible so that she could go and see Sooki. Usually she would have free time in the evening, her brother usually went hunting and brought back his catch at the latest by six. However, today he had decided to be ambitious, bringing back two rabbits before twelve and barely making it through the gates at eight with a young buck.

 ‘Hyunsu! Get over here!’ Zuko called out from the back yard, he was waving his blood covered arms in the air, still brandishing his hunting knife.

 ‘Keep your knife down,’ Hyunsu’s mother scolded, her face was scrunched up with anxiousness as she fanned her face. Her constant companion was already making itself known, her nerves was what distinguished her from the other women of the village.

 Hyunsu’s mother was a plump small dramatic woman, her father constantly saying he had married not her, but her nerves, and if she should ever decide to show herself he would be most glad. Her parents were the perfect foils of each other, while she loved conversing with the villagers he preferred being home working and writing in his journal about different uses of herbs.

 ‘I’m going to go talk to Sooki tonight,’ Hyunsu announced as she hopped the waist high fence to her backyard. As one of the few distinguishable families of the village they were one of the only families to actually have a backyard, it was also one of the closest yards to the herbs so if any emergency would come up they could easily grab any extra herbs they needed.

 ‘You can leave now then, you skinned and gutted both rabbits today, we can do the rest on our own,’ Hyunsu’s father waved his slender hand dismissively. Despite being a healer Hyunsu’s father, Joonho, was more of a musician by body, he had the slender hands of a pianist, and the strict far off look of one as well. Once a retired pianist had come with the caravans and he had the most delicate and long fingers she had ever seen, she had never once heard the music made by him but he had told her stories of concerts in the big cities and told her that all good pianists had hands like his.

 ‘What do you mean she can leave!’ Hyunsu’s mother’s voice raised into a shriek as she planted her hands on her hips, looking every bit the part of a scolding wife. ‘We should be doing this as a family!’

 ‘We didn’t do the rabbits as a family, now did we? Don’t go making new rules just because you don’t want to work,’ shaking his head her father plunged his hand into the buck, starting to pull out the intestines. Huffing her mother shook her head, not looking at Hyunsu as she continued working on the buck.

 ‘Thank you Papa!’ Vaulting herself over the fence again Hyunsu ran to her meeting place with Sooki, it was the roof on top of the barn. Since the manor was in the centre of the village it was impractical to talk on, they couldn’t see if anybody was coming. Instead they opted for the barn because it was right up against the wall, allowing them to see anybody who was approaching, as well as some of their talking was concealed by the sounds of the animals below them.

 ‘Hello Ae,’ greeting the pig at the stall she used as a ladder she smiled listening to the tired pig snort in greeting then roll in the dirt. ‘Keep good guard for us today, okay?’ Waving to the pig she planted her hands onto the top of the stalls top, pushing herself up then reaching up to the roof, grunting as she forced herself to the top. Breathing out heavily she slowly walked to the top of the roof, looking over the tall wall. She could faintly make out the forest in the background, it’s black silhouette pronounced in front of the night sky.

 ‘Hyunsu?’ Hearing a voice faintly over the wall Hyunsu stood on her tip toes and leaned over seeing a faint dark form at the bottom. She felt panic freeze her as she stared wide eyed down at the body. Was this a Fae, come to trick her and lead her to her doom? ‘Hyunsu! It’s me, Kwan!’ Breathing out a sigh of relief Hyunsu nodded, seeing the distinguishable afro of Kwan’s hair through the darkness.

 ‘Kwan! Are you alright?’

 ‘Yes, I’m fine! Nothing’s happened! I’m starting to think the Fae are just horror stories,’ he laughed, trying to hide the undertone of fear in his voice.

 ‘Keep quiet, Kwan, they’ll hear you if you’re too loud,’ Hyunsu scolded, the lessons running through her mind. If you ever get trapped outside of the wall you’re meant to stay quiet and not light any fires so that they don’t know that you’re outside. Only one person had ever survived being outside the walls for a night, and that was what he did, that man had also ended up becoming the Lord of the village.

 ‘Please, just help me in!’ He begged the faint sound of him slapping his palms against the stone walls echoed up.

 ‘You know I can’t, the gate is the only way in and it’s shut,’ she gasped and looked towards the forest, thinking she saw someone walking out. Narrowing her eyes and leaning forwards she scanned the border of the forest looking to see if there was any movement.

 ‘Do you see anything?’ His panicked voice cut through the dark as his slapping grew more frantic.

 ‘No,’ leaning farther forwards she scanned the darkness, not seeing anything. ‘I thought I saw something but there’s nothing.’ She could hear his sigh of relief before silence enveloped them. As much as she wanted to speak to him and try to reassure him she still had a bad feeling. Staring out into the darkness again she found no signs of movement. Within moments a torch lit up not ten meters from the walls.

 ‘Help me! Hyunsu! Help me! Help me!’ He shrieked as he pounded on the wall, his afro bobbing with his frantic movements.

 ‘I-’ Hyunsu froze as she heard the enchanting voices of Nymphean song echo through the night. Almost as if put through a spell Kwan stopped pounding, going silent as the singing rose. Hyunsu shivered, feeling uncomfortable as she listening to the voices singing, where Sooki made her feel calm and happy this song being sung sent shivers down her spine. It left her feeling dirty and hurt.

 ‘Can you hear them, Hyunsu? I think we were wrong about them, don’t they sound so welcoming?’ His voice was dreamy and far off as she watched his dark form take a step towards the light. She couldn’t fathom how he felt it welcoming to her it was like the song was screaming for her to leave, run away and not look back, to never approach the wall again.

 ‘Kwan! Kwan! Stop! Don’t go!’ Slamming her hands on the rock top of the wall she watched in horror as he ignored her continuing towards the singing. ‘Kwan!’ As she watched him advance towards the light she looked towards it, jolting in shock as she saw feline eyes staring back at her from the darkness. ‘Kwan!’ She shrieked witnessing Kwan step into the halo of light, only to see his body go stiff and hearing him scream before the light went out sending the field into darkness. ‘Kwan! Kwan!’ Feeling a hand clamp on silencing her she struggled violently.

 ‘Hush, child,’ Hyunsu froze hearing Sooki’s calm voice from behind her. ‘There is nothing that can be done, he is already long gone. The Fae are not kind to their prey, we can only hope they give him a painless death.’

 ‘Death?’ Hyunsu echoed from behind Sooki’s palm.

 ‘Yes, the Fae have no need for mates, they have their own folk, the only thing left for them to do with their prey is to play games. And that’s where we must hope that they extend their grace.’

 ‘Sooki,’ spinning around, Hyunsu wrapped her arms around the Nymphs waist, hugging her tightly as she breathed in the familiar scent of bark and dirt.

 ‘I know child, I know,’ Sooki hummed softly as she ran her fingers through Hyunsu’s hair.

 ‘Will they come for you too?’ Hyunsu questioned her voice soft and meek as if fighting against the loud voice of the night.

 ‘No, they will not, they already see me as an outcast, they wouldn’t come for me.’ Sooki’s voice was low and mournful as she spoke. Despite enjoying Hyunsu’s company and seeing the daughter as a part of her family Sooki longed for home and would have been willing to be accepted by the Fae had she not already been mated to the Lord of the village.

 If Nymph’s were to be described with just a few words it would be loyal and forgiving, which is why the Fae were such a shock. The Fae had enough anger and bitterness that they lost their capability for forgiveness, instead they fell to grudges and nasty tricks. Hyunsu froze as she heard Sooki hiss out an angry word in Nymphean.

‘Don’t look back, child,’ she urged as her arms encompassed Hyunsu, hugging her against her firmly. She spat out more words, her tone dark before Hyunsu felt her grip loosen, instead she softly rubbed circles into Hyunsu’s back as if to instil her with comfort, and rub the fear out of Hyunsu’s terrified form. ‘It’s okay now child, we’re safe.’

 ‘What happened?’ Hyunsu’s voice shook as she kept her gaze on Sooki, refusing to fall into the temptation of looking behind her.

 ‘Did you see one of the Fae, child?’

 ‘I only saw eyes,’ she whispered still shaking despite the warm temperature left behind by the sun. She felt Sooki grip her forearm, pulling towards the edge of the roof.

 ‘Come, it is not safe to be outside.’

 ‘Am I going to be okay?’ Hyunsu questioned timidly, her whole demeanour reduced to that of a child’s from fear.

 ‘Of course you will child,’ following Sooki, Hyunsu shakily got down from the roof letting Sooki guide her home. When they arrived at the door Sooki looked around the village before resting her hand on Hyunsu’s shoulder. ‘Be careful to not see a Fae, you were lucky, you didn't see much but some are not so lucky. Go sleep, you will remain safe tonight.’ Opening the door for her Sooki ushered her in. As soon as the door closed behind Hyunsu, Sooki narrowed her eyes at the wall, watching as a shadow jumped off the edge of the wall towards the forest. ‘Remain safe, child, the Fae are rarely so forgiving.’ Casting a final gaze towards the Nahm’s door she waited till she heard the click of the lock before she left heading back to the manor she lived in.