SHE

Chapter 12

Hyun lay on the ground. His breathing heavy and uneven. I rushed to his side and collapsed onto my knees. Tears cascading down my face. I clasped his face with both of my hands as I lay his head on my lap.
"No, please, please don't leave me." I sobbed.
"You have to stay with me, please." I begged as tears continued to streak down my face. He was painfully gulping the air and gripping my arms.
"I-I need you to promise me something." He said.
"What?"
"That once-once I'm gone you w-will take care of the F-Faerie Realm and that you won't push your fa-family away."
"I'm not going to promise that because you're going to be okay. And you'll be here to take care of the Faerie Realm and nag me about my family. You're going to be fine."
"I-I'm not going to m-make it. I know. J-just promise me." He was shaking.
"Don't talk like that. I'll figure this out. You're going to be okay."
"N-no, I won't. Your family may not always show it but they l-love you. Don't burn anything to the ground or kill anyone while I'm gone. D-don't go back to how you used to be. It's not w-who you are."
"Hyun, stop please. You need your energy."
"You're going to be o-okay. You're going to get th-through this because you're strong and smart." He said gently and sincerely smiling at me.
"Don't leave me."
"Hel-Hellfire, i-it's t-time. You need to let me go." He said.
"No, no, please."
"It's okay, it's okay." He said wiping the tears on my face.
"I can-I can try something please just hold on. I love you Hyun. Please, don't leave me."
"I'm not leaving you. I-I'll never leave you f-firefly."
"But you are leaving me. You're dying on me."
"I'll always be with you." He said and he began humming our song weakly. Then he began coughing up blood.
"I know you're still holding onto me. You-you have to let me go now."
"I'll keep you alive as long as it takes for me figure out how to save you. I'm not letting you go."
"I'm calling in that favor you owe me. Let me go."
"That's not a fair trade."
"Was it ever r-really going to be?"
"You can die forty, thirty years from now and I promise then I'll let you go, but not now. Not when we've barely had anytime to be anything more than this."
"We, you, you are everything to me and if th-this is how I'm going to d-die, I don't see a better way to go than in your arms."
"Not yet."
"I'll build you a home on the other side."
"I love you."
"Take care of our baby. I love you Firefly. Till then." He said and began to seize in my lap. I gripped his hand and lay my head on his chest taking his pain away and giving it all to me.
I hummed our song holding onto his lifeless body as tears trickled down my face.
He was gone, forever. I screamed to the skies in pain. Then dropped my head back onto his chest.
"Till then. Goodbye Hyun." I whispered kissing his lips one last time.
I looked down at his body and back at me hands. I placed my hands under his body setting it aflame turning him into ash. I placed the ashes in a gold memorial round glass pendant that I found in the house and clipped it around my neck.
I ran out riding Kenna away. I flew her to the waterfall and the giant forest. She could sense that I was unhappy and I think after seeing all the blood on me she could smell who's it was and put two and two together. She rested her head on my lap as I rubbed her head tears continuing stream down my face. She licked them away which usually would've made me laugh 'cause if tickled but I was so broken I couldn't.

I first told Brian. I watched him shatter in front of me. He told me how he was going to marry Ariel and he had just asked Hyun to be his best man.
"Maybe if I kept him here longer then-" Brian started but I stopped him.
"You can't blame yourself. No one could've seen this coming."
"You have to find whoever did this."
"Until my last breath. I promise you, they will pay heavily."

Next I told Ares. He looked as if he didn't really know how to react, a bit out of sorts maybe. He tried to comfort me and noticed my red puffy eyes. More than anything, more than grief, Ares held onto me to give me a sense that things will be okay. But they weren't and they were never going to be okay ever again.
I gathered myself and cleaned my face putting on a brave face. I walked out the house and into the throne and court where everyone was already there waiting chatting amongst each other as to why I would call them there so abruptly. I stared out looking at the Faeries.
As soon as everyone saw me stand before the throne the court went silent.
"It's with great sorrow that I stand here before you today presenting you the news that the King has passed." I announced and then the gasps broke out.
"The King was murdered just earlier today. You have my word that his murder will not go unpunished. I won't stop until I find whoever did this." I said and I turned around walking away. The guards walked and stood behind me as the chatter broke out.
I rode Kenna back home and didn't say anything to anyone. My siblings and parents questioned me about my puffy eyes and pale skin but all their questions went without replies. I gathered everyone and stood at the balcony announcing the news to all the people. They too gasped and turned to chatter amongst themselves with speculations of who might've done it, but I knew who did it. I knew it pretty well.