When Pixie awakes, she ever so gracefully jumps down from the tree and helps us clean up camp. No one really talks while doing so and once we’re done, we head out. With our bags on our backs, we follow Pixie towards the town.

“What kind of things will they sell at the market?” I ask.

“There will be all kinds of things. However, we are not there to look around. We are to grab what we need and that is all,” Pixie answers.

“What exactly do we need?” I look at her.

“Clothes, medicinal herbs, and traveling supplies,” she replies.

We all nod in agreement. “But after the market, where will we go?” I wonder.

Pixie takes a deep breath and nods. “Ideally, we should try and go to a secluded area not too close to the town for you boys to heal. Once that has happened, we can start your training.”

I smile at the thought of training. It sounds so cool. Soon I’ll be able to defend myself! From the looks of it, I think I’ll heal before the other two and hopefully get to start earlier. Pixie saved me before I got too cut up. Thinking back to the lion, I instinctively put my hand to my chest and rub it. As I look around, I notice that the trees start to thin out. Are we getting close to the village? It seems like we’re nearing the end of the forest but I could be wrong.

By the time we get to the edge of the treeline, it’s midday. Are we already there? “Just past this clearing is the market,” Pixie confirms. “Try to stay close to each other.”

“Okay,” I say. I’m definitely going to explore. There is no way that I’m going to this place and just standing around. Let’s see what I can find. Min Su looks at me as if sensing my disobedience and I giggle. “What?” I ask.

He just shakes his head. “Just try to stay out of trouble,” Min Su says.

“I will,” I ease. We walk a little bit further and I think I can see the edge of the village. It’s so close! I hop forward in excitement. “Let’s go!” I declare as take off in a short sprint.

“Hey!” Dae Sung shouts to me and quickly follows behind.

I slow down so that Dae Sung can catch up and smile at him. “I’m just excited.”

Pixie and Min Su catch up quicker than I thought they would. As she takes the lead again, Pixie ruffles my hair and pushes me to walk behind her. “Don’t get lost Blondy,” she says to me. We come up on the edge of the market and I look around. There is so much stuff here. Pixie was not kidding.

I stop at one of the stalls and look at everything they’re selling. They’ve got some fish, fruits varying in shades of red and yellow, oh, and some clothes. I go over to the clothes and start looking at the tunics and pants.

“Grab the one you want,” Pixie says to me.

I nod and just grab a dark green tunic and show it to her. “Is this okay?” I ask.

“It looks a little big, don’t you think?” she points out. “But you’re still growing, so you’ll fit it eventually.” Nodding, she takes it and lays it over her arm.

I look around at everything and everyone. This is so different than what I’m used to seeing. Some of the people walking around are in colorful clothes and have pointed ears. Others are very short. Some aren’t just short, but tiny! They have little wings and are flying around!

Turning to look at Pixie, I ask, “What are they? The pointy-eared people. And the short ones, and the little people that fly around?”

She chuckles at my questions. “The pointed eared people are elves. The ones in more colorful clothing are high elves. It means they’re more important. The small people are dwarves. And the people flying around are fae. In that small group of five, one is a faerie and the rest are pixies.”

“Wow! Hey, pixie is your name,” I point out and smile.

She just nods. I spot one of the dwarves that Pixie was talking about and go over to him. He’s really short so I bend down to talk to him and wave.

“Hello! You’re very short. Will you grow more? Are you a kid?” I say.

The dwarf looks at me and sort of snarls. Instead of answering me, he walks over slowly and kicks my shin! “No! I’m not a child! For your information, I am over 100 years old and as tall as I’ll ever be!” He huffs and walks off.

Pixie laughs as I rub my shin. “That was mean,” I pout.

“No, what was mean was you pointing out his height. Dwarves don't like that,” she states.

“I didn’t know that!” I whine.

“Well now you do,” she smiles.

While the older two look at other clothes with Pixie, I separate from them and take a look around. There are so many stalls! I head over to one and check out the little trinkets that are being sold. I spot one of the pixies from earlier fly over and pick up a ring. He looks at it for a few seconds before holding it close and flying off. Did he just steal that? No one even noticed.

While the trinkets are cool, I’m not too interested in them. I walk off to see what else there is in this town and spot a girl. She’s very pretty and looks about my age. She has long black hair that goes past her shoulders and black eyes. I can’t help it, but I’m drawn to her and end up walking over to her.

“Uh, hi,” I mutter awkwardly.

She looks at me and smiles. “Hi. You look like you’re not from around here,” she states.

I nod. “Yeah. wow, I didn’t I think stuck out too much. Okay,” I definitely sound stupid right now.

"Your clothes are different from the others around here. They’re also tore up. You also look at everything in awe. That's how I know," she says.

"Oh," I nod. "I'm getting new clothes today."

“That will definitely help," she agrees. "It looks like you got in a fight and survived,” the dark-haired girl says, poking at my chest.

“Yeah. I fought a big cat. A lion I think?” my voice cracks on the word ‘lion’ and I place my hand around my neck. That was embarrassing. “Sorry,” I say.

The girl just giggles and watches me. “You’re cute. Innocent,” she smiles. “Are you alone?”

I look around and then back to her. “I mean, I came with other people,” I reply.

She quickly grabs my arm and pulls me further away from the crowd. “Let’s talk away from everyone else then.” I look at her and we make eye contact. While keeping our gazes, I feel her wrap her arms around one of mine. This is different.

“What do you wanna talk about?” I ask.

She steps closer to me and whispers in my ear, “Just how nice you smell. I can smell your blood. It kind of makes me want to taste it.”

What?! This girl is weird. I try to back away from her and get my arm back but I can’t seem to move.

She giggles darkly. “Foolish child. You can’t run from me.” I notice her eyes flash red for a split second. “Don’t you recognize a vampire when you see one?”

A vampire? No! I’ve never seen a vampire before! I’m only 14!

“You’re only 14? How lucky I am to have found you then.” Did she just read my mind? “I did read your mind. You’re very easy to read. Also, didn’t your parents ever teach you not to talk to strangers?”

No. They didn’t. I don't think they did anyway? Suddenly, I’m reminded of that day. All the panic I felt in not knowing what was going on, my mom, my village. Everything about that day was just pure chaos.

“Oh you poor thing. You lost your mommy. I can help you see her again if you come with me,” the dark-haired girl shares.

My mom? How is that possible?

“Don’t think about it. Just let me take over you. Close your eyes,” she grins.

My body reacts on its own and all of a sudden my eyes are closed. I can’t tell what’s going on, but I hear her shuffle around. She no longer has her arms wrapped around mine but instead moves me around by my shoulders. Keeping a tight grip on them, she pushes me against a wall hard and I feel her press against my body.

“Now stay as quiet as possible. This may hurt but sometimes others like it,” she says. Wait, what? I gasp as I feel something sharp stab into my neck. What’s going on? I definitely do not like this! It hurts! Where are the others? Someone help!

I hear footsteps hurry over to where we are and then suddenly it feels like the sharp objects get ripped from my neck. I yelp in pain and drop to the ground, holding my neck. I open my eyes to see a familiar pair of glowing pink eyes staring at me. With ease, she tosses the dark-haired girl into the sunlight. Immediately, she shrieks and runs away so fast that I don’t even know where she went.

“What in Zeus Almighty are you doing, Blondy?!” Pixie scolds as she helps me up. She inspects my neck and sighs. “You’re one lucky bastard, you know that?”

“I’m sorry…” I whisper.

She places her hand on her hip and I look up to see her watching me. When she raises her other hand, I flinch. As she places her hand on my head to pet me, I’m immediately comforted by it. “Just be careful from now on. Don’t talk to strangers, okay?” Pixie’s tone is a lot calmer than before. I nod and follow her back out to the market. She hands me the tunic I wanted from earlier. “Put this in your bag. It’s yours now.”

I take it and stuff it in my bag. I’ll change into it later. We walk around the market a bit more to look for things. Once more, I break away from Pixie and look at a little shop. All it sells is food. It all looks so delicious. As if on queue, my stomach growls to remind me of my hunger. I wanna eat it now. A hand placed on my shoulder startles me and I look up to see a man tower over me. Who is he and why is his hand on my shoulder?

“What are you doing here, young man?” the man asks.

I’m about to answer him when I remember what Pixie told me. “Sorry, but I was taught not to talk to strangers,” I nod in reply and take his hand off my shoulder. I think I've learned my lesson today. Taking a couple of steps away from him, I decide to leave and look for my hyungs.

As I pass by the stalls, I note where some of them are to come back to. I look around and search for a few seconds before spotting familiar sunset-colored hair. “Hyung!” I shout as I make my way over to him.

He turns to look at me and smiles. “Hey. Did you get some clothes?” Dae Sung asks.

I nod. “It’s green.” My stomach growls. “I’m hungry,” I pout.

The older chuckles and pets me. “What do you wanna eat?”

“Bread,” I respond.

“Bread?” Dae Sung repeats. “We don't have the money for bread.”

I huff and cross my arms. “But I want bread,” I state.

“Sorry Ki, but we can’t get that. Just look around some more and we’ll find some food when we’re done. Okay?” Dae Sung suggests.

I’m not happy with it but I nod anyway. Fine. I'll go look at those shops I saw earlier. I wave to him and head off to find them. On the way there, I find a bread stall. Of course I find a bread stall. It’s the one thing I can’t have right now and the world wants to shove it in my face.

Instead of fighting it though, I give in to the ways of this world and go over to it. The bread smells so good. I can feel the heat coming off of the freshly cooked ones. That’s the one I want. That bread looks the perfect temperature to eat right now. I could just grab it and share it with the others. Should I? No one is around. Maybe I could get away with it.

I look around and wait for the perfect moment. The bread shop owner goes to put a new batch of bread in the oven, everyone else is doing their own thing, looking at other shops. Now! I swiftly scoop up that specific piece of bread and run off.

“Hey!” is that the owner? “Guards! My bread has been stolen!”

Heavy footsteps chase after me and my heart beats faster as I hear them get closer. I sprint even faster past all the shops. It’s just bread! Please just let me eat! Why can’t Tyche be on my side for once? While passing by one of the shops, I spot dark purple hair. Pixie! I make a sharp turn and run to her.

She looks at me and seems to immediately understand the situation at hand from all the commotion. Pixie pulls me close and covers me in her cloak. The back of my head rests on her chest as she holds me close. We abruptly turn around probably to face the shop we were standing at. From underneath the darkness, I hear the guards run by, then stop and ask if anyone has seen me. The people must have told them no as I hear their footsteps get further away.

Pixie uncovers me and stares at me in disappointment. “What did you do this time?” she asks.

I don’t know how to respond so I just hold up the bread to her. “I got us some bread. I thought we could all share it…”

Her pink eyes disappear as she sighs and hangs her head in defeat. “What am I gonna do with you?” she asks. “Put it in your bag but don’t you dare ever do that again. I have money and I can pay for what you want. Just tell me next time.” I nod and quickly obey, putting the bread in my bag. “And put on your new tunic while you’re at it.”

I grab it out of my bag and slide it on over my old one. It’ll do for now. Looking up at her, I smile.

“Don’t smile. You’re in trouble when we’re done here. Let’s go find the other two,” Pixie scolds me again.

She lets me walk with her under her cloak while we find my hyungs since the guards are still out looking for me. We find them both together and looking at a jewelry shop. Together, we all head out from the market and back into the woods. Once in there, Pixie makes me walk in front of her then proceeds to tell my hyungs about the stealing.

“Again? You know better than this! We’ve been over this before!” Dae Sung scolds.

Min Su sighs and shakes his head. “Wang Ki used to do this all the time a few years back. But it kept getting us in so much trouble that we made him stop,” he tells Pixie. “Don’t start this habit up again!” that was to me.

Thankfully, I’m walking in front of everyone. This means I don't have to look at them as they yell at me. I know that we’ve been over this. I know that this is a bad habit. I know everything that they’re nagging me about right now. They’re just talking to talk now. I’ve heard it all before.

“Hey, Blondy,” Pixie starts.

I turn and look at her. “Yeah?”

“Your intentions were good, I understand that. But it was dangerous. Don't do it again if you want me to train you,” she says.

“I won't do it again,” I promise.

“Good.” She pats my head and pulls me into a kind of side hug, then rubs my arm. “We should try to stay on the lookout for a cave or an enclosed area of the sorts.”

“Why?” I ask.

“So that we can stay hidden,” she answers. “It’s better to be away from people so that we aren’t targeted for some reason.”

“But then, why are we staying so close to the town then?” I wonder.

Pixie looks at me. “So that we can resupply as needed. Depending on how long we decide to stay, I may need to buy more herbs. Before we leave for good, I will need to buy more anyway.” She looks at all of us. “You boys need to rest up and heal for a few days at least.”

“What’s a few days gonna do for us?” Dae Sung speaks up.

“From the looks of it, it will allow Blondy to fully heal. Since you two had more severe damage, it will take longer. But it will help you heal more as well,” Pixie states.

Min Su nods. “Okay. Let’s rest up then.”

“Fine,” the older gives in. “Let’s find a place.”

We walk around for a while before finding a clearing surrounded by trees. Pixie looks around and checks the area then turns to us. She nods.

“This will do. Since trees surround us, we can stay fairly hidden,” she confirms. “We can set up camp here and rest.”

We did exactly that. Once camp is set up, even though it’s only a little past midday, I go inside my tent and lay down. Everything was just so new today, it was overwhelming. I close my eyes and take a nap.

When I awake, I can smell food. I awoke just in time for dinner. I get up and exit my tent. Once out, the older three look at me.

“Have a nice nap?” Pixie asks.

I nod. “Yeah. I was tired.” I run a hand through my hair and rub my face, then sit down next to Dae Sung.

He looks at me and smiles. “You’re so cute,” he chuckles and pinches my cheek.

“Aye!” I protest and pull away from it.

Dae Sung chuckles and pets me. As if to make up for pinching my cheek, he starts to play with my hair and pats his lap for me to sit. I get up and sit in his lap.

“The food is almost ready,” Pixie says to me.

“Okay,” I reply with a nod. I’m hungry.

Dae Sung tears off a piece of bread and holds in front of my mouth. “Open,” he commands. I obey and he feeds me a piece of bread. It’s mouthwatering. The piece just melts away in my mouth. It tastes so good. A couple of seconds later, he feeds me another piece and suddenly kisses my cheek. I pull away but not quick enough. Oh well. I’m so glad I stole that loaf.

“You’re babying him again,” Min Su says. “The bread is to be eaten with our meal.”

“I know. He’s just so cute,” the older replies.

The younger chuckles and looks at us. I wave at him. He shakes his head and smiles in response.

During that time, Pixie gets up and passes out the food to us. I get off of Dae Sung’s lap to eat. She gives Min Su his food last and sits in front of him to feed him.

I know I shouldn’t, but I watch them. As I watch, I see the disappointment in Min Su’s eyes of having to be fed his food. He probably feels helpless. Maybe if his left arm had gotten hurt, it wouldn’t have been such a huge defeat to him. He’d still be able to do things and not have to rely so heavily on someone else. Dae Sung even has to help him get dressed in the morning.

Pixie interrupts my thoughts. “Don’t feel defeated by this, Min Su,” she says.

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re an assassin. You don't have to rely on others to make sure you’re okay,” Min Su replies.

She looks at him. “I wasn’t always able to take care of myself. I used to be a normal person. I had a family once. But it all changed and I had to learn how to do everything myself,” she stops as if to think about her past. “You should feel lucky that you have people to rely on. It’s hard doing things on your own.”

Pixie used to have a family? I never even thought about that before. What happened? I look over at her. “Can you tell us about your family?” I ask.

She stops and seems to think about it for a moment. “No,” she shakes her head. Pixie seems lost in her own thoughts, just staring at Min Su’s food.

“Pixie?” Min Su checks on her.

Pixie looks up at him and they make eye contact. They don't break it for a while, just staring. What’s going on? As if snapping out of a trance, Pixie shakes her head and continues feeding Min Su. What just happened?

No one else talks as we finish eating. Once done, we clean up our mess and get ready for the night. Just like the night before, Pixie tends to our wounds, only this time, no one speaks. It’s as if earlier’s talk was just too much to handle. After all is said and done, we head to our tents and sleep for the night.

“Find the boy and kill him!” a man yells out as I hide behind a tree.

As the men’s footsteps near me, my heart beats faster in my chest. Without thinking, I make a break for it and sprint as fast as I can in one direction. I feel my face become soaked and I’m not sure if it’s from my own tears or the rain. Where are my hyungs? What’s going on?

“There!” another man shouts. “It’s the boy! Grab him!”

They chase after me but why? I don’t think about it as I keep running. My legs ache and my lungs feel like they’re about to explode but I can’t stop now. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it at this rate.

“Hyung!?!” I call out hoping they’ll hear me. Where are they? I look around in hopes to find a sign of them somewhere. Nothing. I take off to the right of me and pray that it’s not the wrong way. The trees thin out and I find myself in a clearing.

“Hyung!?!!” I shout out again. That was a bad idea. The men catch up quickly and grab me. One pulls me against him and restrains me. I can’t move but I still try.

A different man, possibly the leader, walks over to me and holds a knife to my throat. My legs feel so weak but I struggle to escape anyways. As I do, the knife cuts my chin slightly.

“Don't move now. This’ll hurt a lot less that way. Just one quick slice and it’ll all be over,” the leader says.

No. I can’t. Please, I don't wanna die. I have to try something. “Hyung!!!!” I shriek for help one last time.

The man grabs my face and prepares to swing the knife at me.

I gasp and spring awake in sheer panic. As I sit up, I look up and see the older three standing over me with looks of worry on their faces. As I look at them, a sense of relief washes over me. My chest hurts from panting so hard and tears stream down my face. They just keep getting worse…

Dae Sung is by my side the second I start crying and pulls me close. “We’re right here. You don't have to be scared anymore,” he comforts while running his fingers through my hair. As he holds me in a hug, I bury my face in his chest and we start to sway.

Min Su sits to the side of me and pats my leg. He then holds my hands and rubs my knuckles with his thumb. It helps a lot. Having the two of them by my side makes me feel safe and I slowly start to calm down.

Once calm, I look at the two of them. Dae Sung reaches up and wipes my tears. “We came over because you screamed for us in your sleep,” he says. “Pixie was the first one in here.”

I look around and note that she’s not in here. “Where did she go?” I barely manage to whisper.

Min Su points to outside the tent. “She’s just outside,” he tells me.

I nod and shakily stand up. My legs are weak from the panic but I head outside anyway. “Pixie?” I look at her.

She turns to me and looks me up and down then sighs in relief. “You gave me a shock. I was worried about you,” she states. “But I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Thank you for making sure I was okay..” I mumble.

She stares at me for a while. “Never be afraid to call for me if you need help. Just yell my name and I will be by your side to protect you,” Pixie speaks calmly.

I nod. “Okay.”

“Go get dressed,” she orders.

I obey and go back to my tent to prepare for the day. Once done, I come back out and sit outside, waiting for the day to start. Slowly, the other two join me.

“Today will just be a rest day. I know it sounds boring, but just relax and try not to do too much today,” Pixie says.

We all nod in agreement and I decide to lay down. The sun feels nice on my skin. It warms me up and makes me feel at ease. The other two lay down with and snuggle me. Dae Sung pulls me onto his chest and plays with my hair. Min Su just stays close and pats my chest softly. I lay one of my legs across Min Su’s legs so that I’m on him too. This is nice.

We just stay like that until midday. By that time, I get up because I really have to pee. I make my way over towards the trees then turn and look at them. “I’ll be back! I gotta pee!” I tell them. I laugh knowing that Pixie put her hand up in protest like she did last time and run off.

Once I get a little ways away from the camp, I do my business and get ready to head back. Before I can even turn to leave, someone grabs me and restrains me against their chest. I can tell it’s a man.

“Don’t move or else I’ll kill you,” he says to me.

What? Am I having another nightmare?

“Is your name Wang Ki?” the man asks. How does he know that? I don't answer him. “Answer me!” he demands. “From the description we were told, you look like it.”

What does he want with me? “What would you do if I was him?” I ask cautiously.

He hesitates to answer and my heartbeat starts to speed up. Instead of answering me, he puts a knife to my throat and caws like a bird. What’s going on?

After around a minute, another man shows up. The one holding the knife to my throat puts it away and pushes me over to the other man. This one’s build is bigger and more muscular. The muscular man grabs my arm tight and stares at me.

“Should we just kill him now?” the bigger one asks.

The smaller shrugs. “Up to you. All we need is his head for proof.”

“You hold him then.” The bigger man throws me back to the smaller one.

I take the opportunity to punch the guy in the chest and run but to no avail. He grabs my arm and pulls me back over. Quickly, he forces me to my knees and tightly grasps my hands behind my back. “Do it now! Just behead him already!” the smaller man commands.

As the more muscular man begins to take out his sword, I remember what Pixie told me. “Noona!!!” I wail. “Help!!!”

The two are taken aback by my scream for help. The bigger man kicks me in the stomach and pushes the smaller man away. I fall onto my chest and cough. I feel one of them step on my back to keep me down and hear the sound of a sword being unsheathed.

“In the name of the King, I hereby execute Wang Ki,” the man states as he swings his sword into the air.

In a rush of panic, I cry out one last time. “Noona!!!”

At that very moment, I hear a thud on the ground and hurried footsteps. “Wang Ki!” that’s Dae Sung’s voice.

“Get up now!” Pixie calls out.

I hurry to my feet and start towards them. Immediately I’m pulled back and a knife is at my throat again. “This boy, Wang Ki, is a wanted criminal in the name of the King!” the smaller man states. “Do not get in our way or you will be too!”

Pixie glares at the man and walks towards him.

“Don’t take another step! Or else I’ll kill him right now!” he demands. She stops. I need to do something. What can I do? I look over at Min Su and Dae Sung and see the panic in their eyes. I’m not the only one who’s scared right now.

Without hesitation, I do the only thing I could think of and swing my fist straight in between the man’s legs. He drops his knife and bends over, gasping and making a long drawn out groaning sound as he holds himself. I run as fast as possible over to my hyungs and hug them tightly. When I turn back to him, he still standing there. I don’t think he can move yet despite his efforts to.

At the moment, Pixie takes out a sword, runs forward, and cleanly cuts the man’s head off. She walks over to the more muscular man to check on him. He tries to grab at her leg in that second. I jump and Pixie must have also been spooked because she jumps and then immediately stomps on his throat. The man shakes for a few seconds and then stops. Is he dead?

I take a look at the scene in front of me and then it hits what just happened. My stomach reacts with me and I’m suddenly on the ground, throwing up. I just can’t believe what just happened. Afterward, we all silently head back to camp.