Renovatio

Part 2

Ren tightened his hold. Eyes connecting with Taemin's over shaking shoulders, his mouth turned sadly. Understanding, Taemin made his way to them and rubbed Jimin's back adding his own comfort.

"Listen Jim, it's okay to admit that you are afraid of her. You are not the only one," said Taemin. Jimin placed his chin on top of Ren's shoulder as tears streamed down his face, "...if I'm being honest, I think Chaeyoung is fearful too. Regardless, I do still think we should learn to put more trust in her."

Ren's arms fell as Jimin straightened. Stepping back, he wiped his eyes and bore his gaze into them both, "It's not that I do not see your point. But have you both forgotten? Do you not remember the havoc she nearly caused back then?" he sighed as both sets of eyes evaded him, "I do not want you to be mistaken. Every decision I have made regarding her up to this point has been for her own safety."

"We are not saying it is not," said Ren, "But there is a slight chance that us taking this route will result in her death."

"We do not know that," said Jim, "If anything the worst is that she will no longer have powers. I'm certain of this," Ren shook his head at his friend's stubbornness. Taemin looked between the two and spoke gently.

"Let us not speak in haste. Remember Devlin still needs to inform us of whether this other spell would even work," he turned to Jimin, "All we ask is that you bear in mind what we are suggesting."

Jimin bit the tip of his bottom lip as he stared at Taemin seriously, "Are you certain she has changed?"

"Well I can't be entirely certain," shrugged Taemin, "But she's not acted out in a very long while and has proven her growth."

Jimin shook his head, "She's only in her 18th year," he looked at Ren, "We know androgynes only reach full maturity once they are 25. We honestly cannot risk the entire kingdom. Do you two not understand?"

"Of course we do," urged Taemin, "But," Jimin raised his hand, face stern.

"No! No buts. You clearly don't seem to remember,"

"Enough Jimin!" they turned to Ren in surprise, "Enough!" his fists clenched, "Stop acting as if it only affected you. You were not present when our entire village was slaughtered. You can't even begin to imagine what hell that was," he breathed out deeply and hurried towards the door.

"Wait Ren!" tried Taemin but he was already out of sight. Sighing he gave Jimin apologetic eyes, "I'll be back shortly," he said and hurried to follow Ren. Eyes tearing at the open door, Jimin's hand trembled saddened by the truth of his best friends' words.

6 years earlier...

At some point. Yes, he was somewhere. At some point. In some time. In some space. That was all he knew. In some space. An overwhelming blank space. Yes, this is all he knew. When was he? When? Yes, this is what he knows. This space. This overwhelming dark space. And for the life of him, he knew. Yes, he always knew that the blackness of death would feel so comforting

.

.

Raindrops fell directly into opening eyes. When was he? White spots fluttered in front of his vision. When? Wetness seeped onto his back. He felt he was sinking into the ground beneath him. Fingers twitching, the sensation of grabbing hold of something mushy and dense tingled his touch. What was that? Mud? Raindrops washed the white spots away as Ren jolted up.

Breathing in slowly he took in his surroundings. The corpses patterned the brown of the earth. Many of the faces he knew. But more were so disfigured he could not tell them apart. Muffled cries echoed in the distance. The bushes he sat by faced a hut with its door wide open. Several bodies poured out its front porch. Some wore the military colours of the soldiers that formed part of this...

Red and yellow muck projected out of his mouth. Busara's half eaten torso lay next to him. Her mouth was stretched out wide, her eyes glazed white. He threw up further on himself. The white spots returned, and distorted images cracked in front of him. Memories? He knew that is what those images were. But he knew they were not his own. The white spots increased, and he felt more bile seethe up his throat. The sinking of the ground was the last thing he felt before returning to the comforting blackness.

"Jimin! Jim!"

Bursting open the dark wood doors, Taemin's face felt thick with fluster as Jimin ran towards him from his desk, "What is it Tae?"

"Ren," Taemin collected his breath, "He is awake. Let's go to the infirmary," he intertwined their fingers and hurriedly guided them through the palace corridors, "Don't worry," continued Taemin, giving his hand a squeeze, "I've sent someone to inform Kali. He will most likely return from searching in two hours."

Jimin felt his heart quiver, "Thank you Taemin."

"I'm here for you. We will get through this together," he smiled and Jimin's heart quivered again. Reaching Ren's room, Taemin paused. Bringing their hands up to his lips, he kissed the back of Jimin's hands. Smiling, Taemin opened the door and stepped aside, allowing Jimin to be the first to enter. Shutting the door behind them, he watched with tearful eyes as Ren and Jimin clung crying onto each other pouring with grief.