Of Forgotten Dreams (Book 1) [NANOWRIMO 2022]

Chapter 13

They spent the rest of the night walking around the different sides of the Royal City, and only stopped when the bell tolled midnight. It was only then she had realised how much time she had spent, just enjoying herself. It took her mind momentarily off the stress of the past few months, the late nights and early mornings caring for her father, as well as worrying about him when she departed Royal City.

"It's really late. I should take you back." Jin commented as he guided Yun back. The number of people had reduced significantly, and Yun felt a slight relief at the excuse for not being able to hold Jin's hand, although, she did take a few more glances at his hand when he let go of hers.

As the candles in the lanterns burned out, their surroundings grew darker and sleepier. There were still a few stalls open however, and Jin looked at one thoughtfully as turned around to head back to the inn.

"Would you mind if you waited here for a little while?" He suddenly turned around to her and said.

"I wouldn't. Go ahead."

Jin nodded at her, smiling before rushing off to the stall that he had been eyeing before.

She turned back around, and was bumped into by someone. The man was limping, and when he left Yun blinking indignantly at him, he turned into a dark alleyway. Yun threw a look in his way, and looked down at her dress, feeling something was off.

Her mouth opened in horror at the blood stains on her pale yellow dress. But as she fingered the edge of the cloth, trying to get a clearer look at the blood, something in her kicked in. Her surroundings weren't too bright, but she could make out that the blood wasn't dark red. It was black.

And it was familiar to her.

She turned around at the back alley again, and saw another man following after the first.

She thought she saw the second man before, somewhere, causing her to feel stunned. He wore loose robes of a muted orange, and his hair was tied back with what she thought was a gold hair barrette. Both his hands were folded behind his back, and he carried himself in an overall poised manner, despite his suspicious actions.

Yun turned around to sneak a glance at Jin. And seeing that he was still at the stall, whipped her head back into the alley.

I'll just keep a distant watch. She decided.

Turning, she entered the back alley after waiting for a few moments to see that no one else had noticed she was missing nor following her.

The alley was definitely a change of scenery compared to the front of the city's main roads. It reeked, and the grounds were covered with in puddles of fluids that Yun did not want to know. It was significantly much darker as well. She gathered her skirts, and continued down front, the only way that all three of them could take.

Halfway into the alleyway, she heard scuffle-like noises. And in that spilt second, something urged her to move to the side.

She did, twisting nimbly to the right side of the wall as something glinting soared through the air and buried itself in the ground. The hilt wobbled a little as it protruded upwards, and Yun stared at the dagger.

I could run now, before anything happens.

But before she could do so, the two men appeared in front of her, both of them engaged in a fight. The first one was lither, and moved way faster than how she would expect a normal human too. Yun saw daggers glinting in his hands as he slashed it around and whirled it at the second man.

The latter however, only blocked with his fists, even as the man slashed at him with feverish speed. It was as if he was only evading, sidestepping the man and then landing quick blows in a graceful manner at certain intervals.

Yun nails curled into her palms as she released a shaky breath, trying to walk back the way she came from. Her feet wouldn't move however, and she thought it might be better if she just leaned against the wall rather than risk charging through the scene. And as stupid as she thought her decision was in the first place, she just hoped that the two men will not notice someone, as large as she was and as bright her clothes were in the dim light when she just remained still.

Something quickly caught Yun's eye however, despite her panicked state. The latter had a sort of golden glow around his wrists as he flowed through different positions. His eyes glowed a molten gold in the dark as well, causing him to look an eerie sort of powerful as his lips were pressed tightly together in concentration.

And with every time he landed a blow, the man he was fighting seemed to move backwards, his positions similar to seconds before the current move his was making. This forced them both again, back into the alley that they were fighting out from. But Yun had to blink again to see what was happening. This can't possibly be happening.

It was as if they were being pulled backwards into time.

The first man let out a furious animalistic roar. It sent chills down her spine. Looking as if he was going to give the final blow his all, he hurled himself forward.

Without even batting an eyelash, his opponent with the golden eyes brought his hands up again, and a ring of golden light formed around his palms again. He twisted it from right to left, settling down in a stance and hit the man square in his chest in his forward momentum.

A golden mark seared into the man's torso. It burned right into the man's torso, and Yun could smell burning flesh as it singed audibly. He let out an incoherent gurgle, and was thrown back into the air.

Without wasting any time, the man with the golden eyes grabbed the dagger that was beside his feet, and it sailed through the air, burning a golden sheen as it embedded itself into the man's chest.

Yun gasped, both hands going to her mouth as she saw the man falling onto the ground. A rattling sound seemed to come out of his chest as it rose and fell for the last time, going limp. Blood, darker than the colour of the ones on her dress, seeped onto the ground. One peculiar thing happened however. It terrified Yun as the man slowly crumbled into dust, the dark pieces that broke up mixing in with the blood.

She shakily turned her gaze back onto the only man that stood opposite her as he turned around. Tears sprung to her eyes as she realised the danger that she was in was very apparently real now as she slowly slid down the wall.

He walked over calmly and stood over her. A finger was placed underneath her chin, and her chin was tilted upwards. She locked eyes with the man, and saw the molten gold in his irises up close. There was a cold distance and calculation to them, unlike a murderous rage Yun expected to see.

He raised a hand, and ignoring a flinch from Yun, set it down on her shoulder. A golden mark seared itself into her skin as well, and she hissed at the pain, the glowing light wanting to heal her skin immediately as it started to rose from her stomach. However, before it could do so, the mark seared and she closed her eyes in pain.

The next she opened them, she was standing again where she had set off from, in the middle of the streets. The lanterns had mostly dimmed out by then, and the only people left were a few lone street vendors.

"Yun, there you are." Jin called from behind her as she turned over. He paused, the look on his face morphed from an anxious one to a stormy one as he took in her face.

"Did someone hurt you?" He rushed forwards immediately, pausing only when Yun flinched. His gaze darted all over her as he hesitantly rested his hands on her shoulder.

"I'm fine." She murmured in a daze.

The warmth on her shoulders was comforting, andrealised that she was finally safe from danger. A wave of exhaustion overcameher, and soon she found that Jin was slanting sideways in her vision. Anotherblink, and the whole world went dark around her.