It was the end of the week. They had finally wrapped up the show. It had been truly exhausting but very fun as well and, except for both kidnappings (the real one and the fake one), they would definitely do it all again. They were leaving very soon and they had hoped she would be back before that. Miss Seol was still with them and there was seldom news of Myriam except for having found Dean. Whereas Sam and her had been able to heal him or not it wasn't still clear.
The drive to the airport had been very quiet though the managers had tried to spark conversation with them several times. After a while they stopped and attributed the guy's apathy to exhaustion. It had indeed been hard for all of them.
Checking in the luggage was really quick so the proceeded to sit at the wait room before finally flying home. It wasn't until they had sat down a bit isolated from the other crew members that they began chatting about the issue in low voices.
"Do you think she is coming?" Hobi wondered.
"Do you think that they actually succeeded?" Jimin seconded.
"I wonder how is Dean doing after that experience," Jungkook offered.
"Well, the man has been to Hell and back so I think he should be doing not as bad," Namjoon tried to sooth.
"He is fine for now," a feminine voice came out of nowhere and made several of the members jump.
"NOONA!" Tae exclaimed and went to hug her very tightly.
"It's good to see you made it in one piece," she joked.
"Shouldn't we be the ones saying that?" Namjoon teased in return.
Everyone smiled, however the boys could notice some strain on Myriam's face.
"So…" Jungkook urged a bit.
"Well, we found him, took him home and treated him. To be honest, he received his last dose of antidote a few hours ago but the response was pretty good. Of course he still has to be monitored but…" she drifted a bit.
"Shouldn't you still be with them?" Hobi sounded half annoyed, half concerned.
"Heh. I asked them if I should stay but they told me they could manage and would keep me updated. If my intervention became 'ultimately' necessary, they would call me. So… I'm still unsure of what 'ultimately' means to them but for now they are benching me from the family business. Sam insisted I went back to Korea and… uhm, Cas begged me to keep on doing my thing for the time being. I know they just want to see me happy and out of the life but I don't think I'll ever be able to cut out this part of me," she sighed. "Anyways, for now, I'm simply glad to be back with you boys."
"So is Dean…is he going to…" the youngest seemed a bit unsure as to how to ask. "Are they benching him too or is he going back to work?"
"Oh, that. Well, we all agreed that he should take it nice and easy, the job can be very stressful and he doesn't need that extra pressure on him right now. Still, he objected that it is the only thing that keeps his mind busy so they might go hunting soon. I hope not too soon though. We still have to find a way to remove the mark before we can celebrate anything," she shared.
"Well, it does sound like they have it under control for now," Hobi chirped in with a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, we only have to wait for the next thing in your agenda to keep me busy," she returned the smile.
"Uhm… noona," Tae said shyly. "If I may, what happened to Miss Seol?"
"Oh, that, too. I guess you could say I benched her too. I had time to speak with her and we agreed to keep in contact in case of emergencies. I spoke to her briefly but I think I agree with you, she is nice. As of right now, she has a new identity that she seemed to like. I only took care of a few details. I don't know when you'll be seeing her again but I hope it's not too soon," she responded.
"That's a relief," Tae added.
"Pardon?" Myriam was a bit surprised.
"We feared you had… you know," Jungkook struggled with the words.
"Oh. I understand. I do have a reputation and an anonymity I want to keep but, contrary to popular belief, I'm not that heartless or stupid. I guess I've learned to act tough because I needed to protect myself and those I love the most but I'm not irrational. I've just learned when to bet and when to pull the plug. Having supernatural beings on my side has made a positive difference in more than one occasion for me so… I try to be open about the possibilities," their friend answered.
"What do Sam and Dean think about it?" Jin asked.
"Well, they don't really trust my contacts but I guess they trust my abilities of working with them and know I'll take care of the situation if anything goes wrong," she was honest. "It's also one of the reasons my relationship with them should be as little known as possible but I find that there are more and more rumors about me going around. I'm almost certain that Crowley and the angels are to blame for that but anyways."
Myriam clicked her tongue and they kept waiting to board.
"Hey," Namjoon suddenly piped up. "Can I ask you some questions?"
Myriam narrowed her eyes and asked cautiously:
"About what?"
"Well, uhm… you see…" he changed seats to be closer to her as he lowered his volume just a little bit more. "I've been doing a little bit of reading about the Golden Horde and… well, it sounds a bit messy."
He smiled and scratched the back of his head a bit embarrassed.
"Oh that! Yeah, it was really a mess," she smiled and waited for the questions.
"So, who did you… uhm, serve?" Namjoon asked.
"Baraq Khan. He is not that well known I suppose. Specially not outside of the middle eastern countries. I met him in 1420 in what today is close to the western border of Mongolia with Kazakhstan. I was in a really bad place emotionally speaking, wasn't sure of what to do with myself. He found me, dirty and all curled up in ball at the side of the road.
"My Kahn got down of his horse and called out to me. Since I didn't respond, he had to get closer. If I remember correctly, he even had to poke me with his sword. He began talking to me but I couldn't understand all of it. I had never heard his language before. The only thing that helped was that some words were somehow familiar with my mother tongue so I think I grasped the meaning as a whole but had a hard time understanding the details. Sort of when an Italian listen someone speaking Spanish, not the same but close enough to give you an idea.
"Baraq Kahn wanted to know what a pauper like me was doing there in the middle of nowhere all on her own, where were my parents? My husband? My people? Who did I serve? Where did I come from? I was unable to answer much. What I do recall doing was beg him to take me with him, to train me like one of his soldiers and allow me to serve him. In a way, I think I was just trying to find a purpose so I jumped into the first option that crossed my path.
"He pondered my petition. It was already weird that a girl was alone deep in the mountains, let alone a female that wanted to volunteer to be a soldier. At first, he denied it, said that he could trust no one outside of his people. He got up on his horse and kept marching with his company. I was desperate so I did the only thing I felt was right: I began following. I was at the rear a couple of meters behind them all. I followed without fail for two days and two nights.
"On the third day, Baraq Kahn made them all stop at a small river that eventually ran into the Lake Balkhash. I stopped as well, keeping my distance. I fell to my knees and waited, waited until nightfall. Around this time, the company had broken into smaller factions and they all had fires going. The rear soldiers kept staring at me. I think they thought me kind of crazy or retarded because they would constantly joke and laugh at me. I didn't mind.
"At least, that was until one of them began to approach me. Let me tell you, feeding me and asking if was ok was not what he had in mind. He began touching my hair, my face, my shoulders. I didn't allow him to get any further. I pushed him away and stood up. His friends saw what happened and for some reason I still don't understand about men in general, they saw this as an invitation to mess with me. They tried to close in, surround me, outnumber me. Five against one. Very brave men if you ask me.
"To this day I'm still unsure of what actually happened. One moment I was surrounded by their horrible smirks and the next… three guys were on the ground, unmoving. One was running for help and the other was below me getting his face punched by my fist. Sort of what happened with the shifter the first time, remember?
"Out of nowhere, a voice boomed to stop the madness. I lifted my face and there he was, Baraq Kahn, right in front of me. He had seen it all from afar. Told me that if I was stubborn enough to follow for days without food or water and yet be strong enough to bring down four of his men then I had truly find my calling. Said I had the fire in me and he agreed to letting me be part of his army. That night, after I bathed in the river, they gave me food, water, clothes and a horse to ride. I already knew how to ride and was used to long distances on horseback. I had that on my side.
"Afterwards, not only did I pick up on the language but, as promised, was trained into the basic direct combat. I guess it came as a surprise for us all when I actually showed aptitude for this discipline and, additionally, was stronger than I ever imagined I was. If you wonder why it was a surprise, remember just how much I suck at dancing which requires a lot of coordination and body control. Yet, when it came to hand-to-hand combat or even sword fighting, well… let us say I wasn't clumsy anymore. I genuinely have come to the conclusion that the reason behind it is the lack of rhythm in combat. I don't feel restricted to move this way or the other, I simply move around in order to survive. At least that's what I think.
"Next up was archery. Since I could ride just fine, the gave me a short bow with quite a rigid string. It was easy peasy to draw and shoot but I had to work very hard on my aim. I was awful in the beginning. They explained to me that I needed to be efficient with my weapons, I did not have an infinite supply arrows and swords could only be used in close proximity. In the heat of battle, a soldier without a weapon was as good as dead. Not that we wouldn't die if we had a weapon but you understand my point.
"For two years I trained while we rode to the epicenter of the conflict zone. Now, let me tell you this, way before that time the Golden Horde had been divided into two fronts: the White and the Blue Hordes. The White would dominate the west and the Blue the east. Baraq Kahn, as well as some others before him had been trying to reunite both territories and establish dominion. My Khan fought against Ulugh Muhammad and Dawlat Berdi for control.
"In 1422, you could say that we had the battle that changed everything in our favor. Baraq Kahn became the sole ruler of the Horde. That was until his assassination in 1427.
"We had had so many victories. I almost thought we were unstoppable and that my Kahn would prevail but, during those days, I was so naïve. I had come into the army as a dark horse, everyone expected me to die during my first fight, yet I ended up outliving so many men. To make things even more interesting and frustrating for a lot of people, I wasn't just a soldier. I was a healer just like my mom and the translator that helped Baraq Kahn gain followers by speaking many tongues.
"Most of my companions respected the position I had earned within our ranks. Baraq Kahn was even teaching me some strategy and politics along with his surrogate sons. I felt good about myself, almost proud but I guess it happened to me what happens to so many women in history. We are pushed aside, hidden from the spotlight merely because of our gender.
"Some of his most trusted advisors and high ranking officers began to tell my Kahn that it was improper what he was doing with me. He shouldn't be grooming me in the same way he had groomed Kirai and Janibek. If he wanted me close he should either marry me or make me marry either of his sons not elevate me in the army.
"Once, I overheard it all from an adjacent room. This felt… I'm not even entirely sure of how I felt to be honest. I mean, I had grown up in such a small community that the lines between patriarchy and matriarchy were blurry. We all helped in order to survive and we followed the best leader regardless of their gender. During my marriage I was given quite a lot of freedom to be honest. I earned a reputation of my own and I worked just as hard as any man. So to be listening to this kind of comments from men that I had trusted, that I fought alongside and had promised to protect, it just hurt.
"One night, I was called in front of Baraq Kahn, he asked for everyone to leave the room. It was just him and me. I remember I was still wearing my armor and yet I felt totally exposed. I was truly scared. I didn't want another marriage, especially one so soon after… Anyways, the important thing is, he took my hands and told me everything. I was so sad to hear those words coming from his mouth I began to cry.
"I remember falling to my knees and begging him not to force me into any of those options. It just, broke me. And I think it broke something in him as well because he fell to his knees as well and embraced me. He told me how much he loved me, he even told me I was like another son to him and that he lamented I was woman instead. For a girl like me that grew up without a father figure, this was huge and also, this was the first time I pondered the possibility that my father had left because he had wanted a boy but got me instead. The thought just sunk me deeper.
"I'm not sure how much time went by I just remember that he told me I had a third option. It was painful too but I guess you could say it was the one that would pain me the least. He told me to leave. He would pay for my services like any other soldier. He told me to take my steed, my weapons and just go. So I did. That night, he gave me two bags of golden pieces for my years of service and I left Sighnak.
"That was the last time I saw him. A few months later I learned that he had been assassinated a couple of days after my departure. I mourned and lamented having left. I felt guilty for fleeing. Had I not done that, my Kahn would potentially be still alive. I was lost again. I had no sense of belonging or purpose so I decided it was time for me to go back to my mother in the Anatolian Mountains," she paused.
Just in time, the voice in the speaker was already telling them to board.
Myriam took her stuff and urged the boys to do the same. She missed a few teary eyes among one or two of them. Most were actually a bit impressed that she had told them anything at all and were still working on processing the new information given to them.
If this was the first half of the 15th century, just what much more could their friend have gone through before they met her?
During the flight, they were planning on asking her some more but fatigue had finally caught up and most of them fell asleep as soon as the plane was in the air. Only Jungkook and Jin remained awake. Their interest had been piqued more than they cared to tell the rest (although everyone noticed anyways).
Once the belt light was off, they unbuckled and walked almost to the last row of the plane to catch up with their friend. Myriam was sitting comfortably on the seat nearest to the window, the other two were free. Apparently, the rest of the passengers didn't like those seats too much and Myriam didn't mind not being that close to the rest of the team. Considering she bought her ticket in the last minute, it had been lucky there had been any seats at all.
Both boys were excited and tried in vain to hide their smiles. Jin sat right next to Myriam and Jungkook had to settle for the aisle seat.
"Hey boys," she answered while not even bothering to put down her phone.
"Noona, can…" Jungkook began while looking around for eavesdroppers.
"We have questions," Jin stated matter of fact.
"Blunt as always," she responded in an endearing tone finally looking up. "Shoot. I can answer some more questions."
"What was your husband's name?" Jin began immediately. "What did he do for a living? How long have you been a widow? Did you two have any children? Where did you… Are you ok?"
Myriam's face had contorted and she found it difficult to swallow.
"I don't want to answer those questions," she answered just as bluntly while turning away.
Her fingers began fidgeting with her tesbih. The boys' smiles disappeared. They certainly didn't expect this reaction from her. She had been so open and cooperative so far that it never really crossed their minds that she would deny them any answers.
"Sorry," Jin apologized. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"I know. It's just… it's a very complicated topic for me. I promise I'll answer those questions when I'm ready. Please be patient with me", she responded in a quiet voice.
"Uhm, ok. No problem," Jin said on behalf of both boys. "But, can I at least ask at what age were you married off?"
Myriam looked at him with a sad smile.
"You're not giving up, huh?", she inhaled deeply. "Lets see. I think I was… mmm… twenty… two? Yeah, I think that is about right."
"That's kind of young," Jin thought out loud.
"For me that was way too old."
"Hey! I'm twenty-two and will turn twenty-three this year! That IS very young!"
Both Jungkook and Myriam laughed, alleviating the tension. Jin joined a beat later.
"No but noona," Jungkook finally said when he stopped laughing, "tell us. Honestly, what are our limits? We don't want to make you feel bad."
She thought for a second.
"Mmm… for now, my marriage is off limits. That is simply, too painful."
"More painful than what happened to Sam and Dean?" Jin inquired.
"Something like that."
"Uhm… so… how about the pirate treasure story?" Jungkook asked carefully this time.
"That, I'll be more than happy to tell you all about," the girl responded and got comfortable to begin the tale.