Nari sat against the wall of a house. The square that had been booming the day before lay lifeless. Boards covered the windows of shops and doors were locked tight. Yoon had evacuated the square earlier that morning and everybody hid in their houses.
A shudder of anticipation and anxiety passed through her body. Today was finally the day. A light touch on her back made her flinch and rigidly turn around. To her relief she found the kind eyes of Shi-woo. He handed her a small bundle wrapped in leaves. With shaky fingers Nari took it and unwrapped it. It was a rice ball obviously made by Yoon. Even though Yoon made delicious food, Nari felt that if she ate something she would puke.
"Nari, you should eat something," Shi-woo stared at her in concern, "you didn't eat any breakfast this morning."
"I'm... Not hungry..." she placed the rice ball down.
"After all that effort I took to steal it while Yoon was making them..." Shi-woo mumbled, wrapping the rice ball back up. "Will this calm your nerves?" he handed her his container of water. Nari slowly took big gulps before handing it back to him. She remained quiet. "Will you be alright?"
"I... Don't know..."
"I'm sure you'll be fine."
"I don't know. I've practiced fighting so many times, I've sparred with my father and some of his friends so many times. I'm strong, I can fight. But why do I always freeze up?!" Nari covered her head and buried it in her knees. "If I freeze up today then this entire village could be in trouble!"
"Nari," Shi-woo started rubbing her back sympathetically, "you'll be fine. You're not fighting alone. Kija and Jae-ha said they'll be nearby in case something happens. Jae-ha knows he and Kija would be able to handle it, but he said that he wants to see what you can do."
Jae-ha's request had sounded somewhat simple out loud. Five days ago, the day the group had arrived in town, six people sat around Jae-ha's table.
"Word on the street is that Kai soldiers are on their way to Taenan," Jae-ha explained. "I know that Kija and I would be able to handle them, but I would like to see your abilities."
"My abilities?" Nari responded.
"In combat, yes. Don't worry though, Kija and I will be nearby if it gets out of hand. I just want to see what you can do."
At first Nari had believed that it would be simple. She was strong, she would be able to take the soldiers on. But as the day of the soldiers' arrival drew closer, Nari started feeling the pressure. She couldn't fight. She knew how, but whenever it came time to put her skills to the test, she always failed or froze up. Nari just wasn't cut out for the job.
"I see the soldiers!" Jae-ha called from a nearby rooftop.
"Good luck Nari, I'll be nearby," Shi-woo got up and left to hide.
Nari unsteadily rose to her feet. She felt nauseous and nervous. She grabbed the long stick from her bag. The end was swathed in white fabric and tied tightly with string from an animal's hide. She carefully unwrapped the string, keeping a weary eye out for any oncoming soldiers. She untied the string throwing it and the cloth aside. Nari gazed at the precise and tender work that went into making the new spear point. Today the silvery point would be turned scarlet. With shaking arms she waited for any signs of the Kai soldiers. Slowly they marched into the square, their chests puffed high into the air and swords at their sides. A few soldiers noticed her, they whispered to each other before one sauntered over.
"Whatcha' doing here little miss?" a cocky grin on his face. Nari stood frozen, unsure whether to start fighting or stay still. She chose the latter for the moment. "Hm? Oh, you're quite a looker," he roughly grabs her chin, examining her face. His warm, calloused hands burned through her flesh. "Hey! Mind if I keep her?!" he shouted to his companions.
"Get. Your. Filthy hands. Off of me!" Nari shouted, roughly kicking him in the stomach. The wind was knocked right out of him, making him fly a foot away. She swung her spear around so the head stared at him with a threatening, metal glare. His companions noticed and yelled in protest. They charged at her, swords at the ready. She took off, wind rushing through her hair and heart pounding in her chest.
'Don't stop. Don't hesitate. Just fight.' the screams filled her ears. Left. Right. Step back! Now swing! Her heart felt about to explode. Locks of red hair flew in every direction. Her ribbon was long gone. But it didn't matter. Block! Swing! 'Don't hesitate! Keep fighting. You've practiced. This should be easy.' tears stung her eyes. She couldn't fight. This was too hard. They kept coming. Too many soldiers, too many swords. A heavy weight pushed her to the ground. Soldiers surrounded her, her spear holding off the swords pointing at her. She saw a clear view. A clear view from behind the soldiers. Kija nor Jae-ha were coming to her rescue. No. The one person who shouldn't be coming was coming.
The battle cry was quiet, but roared in Nari's ears. A rock flew through the air. The one hit was unaffected, but angry. One less sword pointed at Nari. The world disappeared out from under her.
"Shi-woo." she moved. The soldiers fell back. One thought echoed through her head. 'Shi-woo is going to die. Shi-woo is going to die. Shi-woo is going to die!' she heard nothing. Felt nothing. The ground moved her towards him. Towards Shi-woo. A scream echoed through the air. Whose was it? Was it the soldier? Or was it her? Her spear lunged through the air. The soldier wouldn't bother Shi-woo anymore. Red blood would soon dye her blade.
But it never did. The spear never met its target. Warm hands grabbed her arm. The spear wouldn't move forward or back.
"Let go of me," she muttered, eyes dead set on her target. 'Let go. I need to save Shi-woo.'
"That's quite enough," the spear was yanked from her hand.
"Jae-ha...?" the name left her lips without a second thought. The man sighed behind her.
"Hye, let the boy go," Jae-ha commanded. The soldier let go of Shi-woo. Nari snapped out of her trance. She ran over and enveloped Shi-woo in a large hug.
"Shi-woo! Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine," he looked down to the trembling girl. "Jae-ha, what's the meaning of this?!"
"I'm sorry for scaring you kids," Jae-ha sighed again, "but this was actually a test for Nari." Nari let go of Shi-woo and slowly turned around.
"A-A test?" her voice was barely above a whisper. Jae-ha avoided eye contact.
"We're sorry for not telling you," Kija came up behind Jae-ha. Yoon came out from his hiding spot as well.
"You all... Knew...? I thought Shi-woo was going to die! But this was all a test?!"
"Nari-" Yoon tried approaching her, but Jae-ha put out his arm.
"This was all my idea. I'll take responsibility."
"But... Why...? Why stage an invasion like this?! I was terrified!"
"But you were able to fight. No normal person should be able to fight like you. Of course many claim they know how to fight. So I had to know if what you claimed was real. Nari, we don't know anything about you. How you act in situations like these can reveal one's true character. I needed to know if you were worthy to be called the Four Dragons' new master."
"Did I pass?"
"I don't know, did you?" Jae-ha asked. Nari stood in silence. Too many emotions swirled around. She didn't know if she was angry or relieved that this was just a test. "You should rest. We'll talk more later."
