Elsword: Yin Yang (Under Major Revision)

Chapter 4

**Edited**

Aren and I ran wildly around the village, chasing each other with the paper dragons we made earlier. I turned the corner of a house and came across a pile of wooden boxes—a light bulb brighten in my head.

Without another thought, I dove behind the boxes and curled into a ball with my hands over my mouth to hide my laughter. My heartbeat quickened at the sound of Aren's approaching footsteps.

"Surprise!" I shouted, jumping out of my hiding spot. Aren screamed and tumbled to the ground. "You screamed like a little girl." I laughed.

"You scream like a girl." He mumbled, helping himself up.

I stuck my tongue out," I am a girl, stupid!"

"What is with all the noise?" Vapor (the scary witch as Aren would call her) stomped out of the building and toward us. "I am busy studying an important potion!"

"S-sorry, Miss Vapor." Aren hurriedly gestured me to bow to her, I followed his suggestion almost instantly.

"We were just playing with our dragons," I explained, holding up the now wrinkled paper dragon.

Vapor raised her brow at the dragons in our hands. She sighed and shook her head," honestly, how can descendants of such great warriors be this immature?"

Aren and I exchanged nervous glances," I think we should run before she turns us into frogs." Aren whispered.

"Oh, hush, child." Vapor locked her aqua green eyes on him. "I may be old but I can hear you."

"S-sorry, Vapor!" Aren quickly bowed. "I-I didn't mean to."

"Y'know, kids, back in my day we didn't have time for fun."

I gasped," you didn't? That must have been so boring." Aren nudged me roughly on the arm. "Oh, I-I'm sorry--"

"Nonsense, child." Vapor laughed—she didn't sound like a witch, Aren always told me she laughed like one. "We were taught to read and speak lost languages. As for fun, our parents and elders told us all sorts of fascinating tales." Vapor proudly announced. "It's sad that parents are no longer stuffing your heads with these valuable stories."

"Are they like stories? Such as the Moon Maiden?" I asked, now interested to know more about the stories.

"Yes," Vapor sat down cross-legged. "Let me tell you a story." She waited as we settle ourselves down in front of her before continuing." Somewhere, deep in the desert, lies an ancient ruin. An old and forgotten tale lies within her rocky walls. Legend has it that those cave drawings reveal the secrets of the Six World Wonders."

"World Wonders?" Aren quoted. "Like treasure?"

"You could call them that," Vapor pushed her round glasses up her nose. "These Six Wonders hold tremendous power. If all these pieces were to fall into the wrong hands, utter chaos will fall upon our world, and a terrifying monster will be free from its chains.There aren't any more details on this mystery, but some believe these Six Wonders are hidden somewhere in Elrois."

"Is there a way to stop the monster once it's released?" Aren asked with eyes now glistening with interest—if we weren't talking about the secret treasures I doubt he would be interested.

Vapor shook her head," unfortunately the old texts do not tell us how we can stop the monster, but I am sure there is a solution."

"Wow that's really cool," I chimed in. "Thank you for sharing that story, Miss Witch." The nickname Aren gave her slipped effortlessly out my mouth.

"Ara," Aren hissed. "You don't just say that to someone."

Vapor laughed," it's quite alright, child." She ruffled my hair and smiled. Despite her old age, her skin was clean of wrinkles. "I can sense you'll become a strong warrior one day, Ara."

I woke up with a small smile printed on my face. These were the rare nights which I could sleep without nightmares. Even though I awakened without a sweat drenched body my eyes still burned with tears.

"I sure miss hearing Vapor's crazy ideas for future potions and medicine." I thought to myself out loud. "Even if Aren and I would always fall asleep during her long lectures about potions."

After letting out a loud yawn I hopped out of bed and got ready for the day. Excitement rushed through my body at the busy plans awaiting me ahead. After Camilla allowed me to join the Red Knights (and a whole week of recovery had finally passed), I was finally able to leave Elder and meet the other team members.

I took the quickest shower of my life and changed into my usual attire. After finishing my morning routine, I checked my luggage one last time before zipping them up.

A soft knock on the door caught my attention. I rushed to the door and peeked through the peephole, a smile formed on my lips at the sight of my two new friends. I hurriedly open the door for them," good morning, guys." I greeted with a cheeky grin.

"I'm glad you're already up." Aisha sighed of relief. "I thought we'd wake you up too early."

"I don't sleep much," I answered truthfully. "Come on in. Oh and take off your shoes, I don't like people walking around houses with shoes on."

"We do that at home too," Elsword said while slipping his runners off. "It's a pain to clean off dirt stains all the time."

I quickly glossed over my friends' appearance, it was weird seeing them in their casual clothes. Aisha had a simple yellow summer dress and a white cardigan over top, while Elsword wore a red sweater and a faded pair of jeans.

"You have a very nice apartment," Aisha's eyes scanned over the tiny living room. "I've always wanted to have a place of my own."

"It's not all that great." I shrugged. "It's a pain to keep up with rent and you have to clean everything yourself."

"So you packed up and ready to go?" Elsword asked.