RINEI
Cold.
I wake up to the sound of glass shattering.
Someone's tugging me upwards. In the darkness I can't see his face clearly, but I can tell it's Jungkook. His eyes burn with silent agony.
Jungkook...?
"Get up." He growls, his voice sharpened for the first time. "Now, Rinei. Now."
The sound of shattering glass continues. It's coming from the other side of the house, where Mother and Father sleeps together.
I jerk out of the blankets. The moment I do, I'm stunned by the harsh way my brother's hands wrap around my waist, placing me on top of the small cabinet. Then I realize where I'd felt the cold come from— he'd opened the window, and gusts of chilly wind was rushing into the room.
"Go. Go."
I don't understand.
But I do what he says. I jump out of the window using the cabinet, landing in the forest grounds just behind our house.
Jungkook soon follows.
What's happening?
Mother. Father. I sign, my face pale. What about them? Are they okay, Jungkook? Are they—
He doesn't answer me. He only pulls me deeper in, into the woods where he'd warned me countless times to never wander. The trees soon surround us, the darkness, only lit by the light of the moon.
He just keeps pulling me in.
Jungkook!
Finally, I stop him. My entire body's trembling, and I look up at him with terrified eyes. Only then do I see his own eyes, full of tears. His face is ashen, stone cold with pain.
Tell me what's going on. I sign, desperately. Please.
"It's the elves."
...elves?
His voice is a dark, hushed whisper. Every word trembles, even though he tries to keep it still.
"They shot arrows, through the windows."
So that had been the glass shattering. I immediately whip around, my eyes wide. My hands flash rapidly.
Then what are we doing here? We need to go back and get Mother and Father, Jungkook! Are you out of your mind?
But he stays silent. And slowly my hands stop signing, slowly falling back next to my sides.
No.
Please. No.
I'm going back. I sign, my bottom lip shaking violently as I turn around. But then he grips my wrist, holding me back. And I know, then and there.
...stop.
Stop. Please.
A sob rips from my throat, coming out of my lips as an ugly, twisted sound.
It isn't true.
"I'm sorry." He whispers. "They're gone. I got to you— got to you right after I saw the arrows. I was so scared, so scared that they'd come for your room next. Your window."
Tears run down my brother's cheeks. He grips my shoulders, and his hands are shaking like leaves in the autumn wind.
"Rinei, I couldn't do a single thing. They were so fast. So quick— I had to get you out, before...before..."
I pull Jungkook to my chest. He cries so heavily, and I can't imagine how he must've felt. When he realized he couldn't save them. That he'd had to leave their bodies behind to come for me.
No time, at all.
Then in the moonlight, I see the familiar shape of the oak tree behind my brother.
"R-Rinei?" He calls when I slip away, walking to the base of the tree. I can't believe the place that Jungkook had taken me to was here.
With a firm tug, I pull out the sleek, silver bow. It glows pale in the night, and I hear Jungkook suck in a surprised breath when I shake out the quiver of dark arrows from the roots.
"What...is that?"
Tae gave it to me, I sign softly. A long time ago.
"And you never bothered to tell me you had a real elven bow?"
I give him a small smile. His voice is still full of fractures, but I can see that he's trying to forget. Like I was, trying not to think about the fact that I'd never see my parents ever again.
Instead I'd focus more on the fact that I would kill those elves the same way they had killed Father and Mother.
My fingertips tremble against the smooth curve.
They'd never done anything wrong. Never.
Snap.
Then both our heads jerk at the sound of a twig snapping. We both whip around, to face three cloaked elves. All of them have bows in their hands.
One of them smile. And I see him lift his foot, to show the twig snapped cleanly through. He'd wanted us to know that they'd found us.
My teeth grind against each other. Why? So they could see the fear in our eyes?
I would not give them what they wanted.
I nock an arrow into the string of the bow. Their eyes instantly narrow with surprise when they see what I'm holding. I shift in front of Jungkook, who protests lowly under his breath. My arrow is aimed perfectly.
A blonde elf hisses.
"How do you carry an elven bow, human?"
I shoot.
The arrow slices through the air. The elf avoids it, but the dark arrows are faster than he'd expected. Of course. Tae had given them to me, after all.
He curses when the tip grazes his shoulder, missing his heart by inches.
Get away from us. I sign, my fingers flashing dangerously. My eyes glint coldly as I replace the empty string with another feathered arrow. You've done enough. I will kill you if you don't leave now.
All of you.
An elf with emerald hair spits on the ground. His grin is malicious.
"We have an interesting one in our hands, don't we? An outsider who knows the elven sign language and carries our bow. Who gave that to you, girl? Who taught you our language?"
You don't need to know.
With a hiss, I shoot again. This time, I go through three arrows in rapid succession, all of them aiming for his heart.
The first misses as he shifts to the side. The second strikes the tree right next to him, as he ducks down with an amused smile.
"Not too good with the bow, are—"
The third shuts him up as it pierces him straight in his right arm. His bow arm.
He screams.
My blood burns with adrenaline. Usually I would be scared to kill a fly. Even a single mosquito during summer, which was why I'd keep around my mother so she could take care of them.
But now.
I nock another arrow. Then I let it fly to the second elf, who's set his sights on Jungkook. It plunges into his hand.
The knife falls on the forest floor with a dull thud.
"Royal arrows." The last elf breathes, his amber eyes wide with shock.
"The girl carries Sterling!"
I don't know what he's saying. The other two elves are still in pain, and I swiftly tuck another arrow into the string. My eyes fix into his.
This time, I aim straight for his heart.
Then suddenly, someone pulls me back. It ruins my balance— my aim— everything. The arrow flies out wide into the underbrush.
My eyes are wide with fury.
Who—
Long, blonde hair, tied into a ponytail. Sharp, dark eyes meet mine as slender fingers wrap around my wrist, stopping me from reaching for another arrow in my quiver.
"My lady. Enough."
...Jimin?
The surprise soon turns to anger.
He was stopping me? From avenging the death of my parents?
A chilling thought crosses my mind.
Was he with them, too?
Then I freeze when he suddenly whispers into my ear. His voice is low and hushed, a little bit labored. He sounds like he'd been running.
"I am very proud of you. But I will take care of them. Do not let tonight be your first killing."
"It is a rough path to go down. A path you don't want to ever go down."
My hand trembles on the silver curve of the bow as my adrenaline dissipates. The vengeance still blackens my mind, but now I can think clearer.
If I'd killed them, I would have dreamt about them for years to come.
"I'll get that one too. Don't worry." He says, when the amber-eyed elf runs into the forest. "You have done very well tonight. My Prince will be very happy once he learns you've gotten so good with Sterling."
A little bit of twinkle comes back in his eyes.
"I just don't want him to burn me alive when he finds out I've let you kill."