RINEI
I look up from washing the dishes.
It's Jungkook. He looks frustrated with himself, and I give him a worried glance when he comes to sit down at the dinner table. His head is in his hands.
I stop doing the dishes.
Jungkook, I sign. What's wrong?
"I tried to find food in the Western Forests." He says, his hair messy. I pick off a stray twig, nodding. "But there's nothing. The only place left is over there, and I—"
He jerks his head towards the Elven Forests.
Jungkook, no.
"I know, Rinei."
"Is mother still with father?" He asks, and I nod again. She hadn't left his side for a week now, and there were shadows in her face that hadn't been there before.
I offer him a small plate of bacon and rice.
"Give it to mother." He says, pushing it away to my dismay. "She needs it more than I do."
I sign angrily.
You haven't eaten in two days. I've already given mother food. Don't be stubborn.
Eat.
He sighs. Then he signs back at me, his expression firm. He only ever signed when he really meant it. As if using his hands instead of his voice emphasized his meaning.
No.
I sigh. When would he realize that he himself had to stay healthy and fed for our family?
Stubborn idiot. I'll be back with water.
I pick up the empty bucket. Before I leave the door, I throw back one last glance. And Jungkook is looking out at the window, a hand cupped around his jaw.
He's looking at the Elven Forests.
________________________________
Idiot.
Idiot, idiot.
The bucket drops from my hands to the floor with a heavy thud. But I ignore it when some of the water spills over, splashing onto the carpet.
Say that again.
But mother doesn't understand my signing. She gives me an exhausted look, dark circles under her eyes. Her voice is tired, from staying up the nights to take care of father.
"Rinei, you know I can't understand what you're saying."
Urgency and frustration bubbles in my throat as I roughly tear a page of blank paper from the notebook sitting on the counter. Then I scribble, so fast that my handwriting is barely legible.
Where did you say Jungkook went?
She blinks as she peers over my writing.
"To find some food." She repeats. "Don't worry. He said that he'd be back soon."
No, no, no.
"Rinei? Where are you going?"
I snatch a cloak off the hanger. Then I wrap it around my shoulders, too rushed to write an answer back to her. I couldn't, even if she'd made me stay and answer her.
Jungkook had gone to the Elven Forests, hadn't he?
I'd seen the way that he'd been looking at the forest just before I'd left. And now I'm regretting it with all my heart that I'd left him alone.
"Rinei!"
My mother's stunned shout echoes behind me as I run around the house. My father's hunting gun is missing. There's only the pistol, and I quickly unhook it off the wall before dashing into the woods.
I'd shot it only a couple of times before, but if anything happened at least I'd have it with me.
Stupid, stupid Jungkook.
If the elves saw him, they would kill him. Put an arrow straight through his heart.
Even though the wind blows between the trees, sweat beads on my forehead as I make my way deeper in. My hands tighten around the handle of the pistol.
Please.
Please let me find him first.
I couldn't lose Jungkook. My brother was the only person that I could truly speak to, the only person that connected me to the world. I couldn't bear to never see his mischievous expression, no matter how much I hated it whenever he pulled childish jokes on me.
And I hate how I can't even call for his name.
My anxiety only grows worse when I see the skies turning darker.
Nightfall is coming. If I didn't find my brother until then—
If I didn't find him until then. What would I do?
My feet slowly come to a stop, in the middle of the forest. My hair whips around my face as I stare down at my shaking hands, clasped tight around the pistol. The forests around me are eerily silent.
There's no sign of Jungkook.
What am I doing?
I was honestly surprised an elf hadn't shot and killed me yet. It felt like I'd been here for hours already, trampling through the leaves and making all the noise a mute person could possibly make.
How would I even find my brother this way.
The pistol grows slack in my grip.
Then there's the softest sound behind me. It's the sound of leaves being crushed, under weight.
I whip around.
And aim the gun straight at a familiar figure.
That man.
It's that man from the river. The same golden skin, sable hair tied in a wavy ponytail. The only things that are different this time is the silver circlet on his head and the longbow strapped behind his back.
And his ears.
How had I not seen it before?
The tips of his ears are sharper than mine.
An elf.
Oh, God help me.
But strangely, the look he's giving me isn't the one that someone would give another right before they killed them. It's almost forlorn, and the forest itself seems to ripple in his eyes.
But he's still an elf.
My breaths fast, I cock the pistol. The sound of it loading echos off the trees, off the silence. But the elf doesn't look afraid at all.
My bottom lip trembles. Was he confident that he could easily avoid it if I shot? There's not a trace of fear in his gaze.
And would I die a second later?
He lifts his hands. I tense, but he isn't reaching for his bow. Instead his hands move in a way that's so familiar to me that it makes me flinch.
He's signing.
I'm not going to hurt you. Don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid. Please.
Impossible.
Then a streak of a memory crosses my mind. It comes sharp and unexpected, and I draw in a shallow gasp.
For the faintest second, I see a younger version of myself. I'm sitting amidst soft grass, and my childish eyes are fixed on a boy slightly older across from me.
The boy has dark hair, and his ears are pointed.
More.
But that's the only thing I can remember, and I'm dazedly returned to holding this elf at gunpoint. His eyes close for a brief second before opening again. His hands sign, graceful and practiced.
He's used to this.
Put down the gun, please.
I shake my head.
All I want is to lead you back home.
Back home.
I lower the gun, only to sign.
I can't. My brother is missing. I need to find him before it's too late.
Your brother?
He tilts his head, looking confused. Then he tells me that no other outsider had come in the forests except for me, and that he would've known if someone else had.
Trust me. There isn't much time.
Much time? Was he talking about nightfall?
And had I been wrong about my brother? I'd thought he must've come here for sure.
But this strange elf is all I have.
He holds out a hand, a soft smile tinting his lips when I tuck the gun in my cloak. And with all the hesitation in the world, I carefully take his hand.
The skin of his hand is rough. But the way he holds on is soft, and I find myself trusting this elf even more than I really should be.
"Thank you."
His voice is deep, and it calms any of the uncertainty that had been pricking at the back of my mind.
And he guides me through the forest. In less than a minute he has me back to the forest borders, when I'd run for what I'd thought was hours.
He lifts his gaze. "Is that your brother?"
I look up stunned. Jungkook really is there, walking towards home with father's gun. He's coming from the Western Forests, and there's a deer slung over his shoulders.
He looks relieved, and happy.
"He's had a good hunt." The elf says next to me. Then he looks back at my face, the circlet over his head glowing softly in the evening light.
"He was safe all along."
I nod, both relieved and embarrassed. I'd literally crashed through the Elven Forests like someone who'd gone insane, and my brother had been in the Western Forests all this time.
"Keep me a secret, if you will." The elf says. My eyes widen when he lets my hand go.
Wait, I sign quickly. He pauses, turning his gaze back to me.
No matter which way I thought about it, I had somehow seen this man before. I just couldn't grasp the memory.
Have I seen you before?
He looks as if he'd fully known that this question was coming. But instead he shakes his head.
"No, you haven't."
Yes, I have.
He leaves, like the wind. In just a few seconds I can't see the back of his lean, tall figure, and I turn back towards my house.
I definitely have seen you before.
My hands are fisted.
Why was he lying to me?