A cool breeze blows its way through the deserted mountain village. Yueyuing shivers. To think that only a month ago the village she was standing in was called home to one of Kou's minority groups, the Xue, and now it was completely void of life.
Yueying clenches her fists by her sides. The feeling of disgust washes over herself as she slowly wanders down the road with a convoy of soldiers following steadily behind. The group leave snowy footprints as they slowly make their way through. An air of caution surrounds them. Soldiers grip tightly to their sheathed swords, ready to take on any kind of threat that may appear.
"Do we know why this happened?" Yueying asks. From beside her, Hua shakes her head.
It was only just the other day that she had learned that a group of magicians had created a parasitic disease that possess the ability to be able to wipe out entire populations of people in the span of just a few weeks.
"From the reports that were sent from the village to nearby outposts, it seems that the parasite is able to completely control the host's body." Hua says as her gaze sweeps the surrounding area. "It's unclear whether the hosts are conscious or not during this time."
"I see. Thank you for the information, Hua." Yueying says, then purses her lips. "But if the entire population has been wiped out, then where are the corpses?"
"You're right. How strange."
Yueying turns to the soldiers behind her. "I want a few groups to search the nearby homes for corpses." She orders. "It's important that we be able to find clues as to who these magicians are as soon as possible."
The soldiers nod, and three groups break off in different directions to search the surrounding buildings. A small group of soldiers accompany Hua and Yueying down the main road, peeking through broken doorways and crumbling walls. They search for hours, but find nothing of importance. The other three groups report the same information.
"The buildings have been raided and hollowed out." Hua notes. "There are no signs of any corpses either. This doesn't make any sense."
"Unless the disease has something to do with the disappearance of the corpses. It is the creation of magicians." Yueying suggests. The convoy mull over her suggestion and begin to discuss this idea between them. However, they don't notice or hear the light footsteps that approach them.
"They didn't disappear." A voice just audible enough to be heard cuts through the discussion. A girl and a boy no older than ten stand before them. Their hair is blacker than most, paired with ghostly pale skin smeared with dried, red blood and icy blue eyes gaze at the convoy warily.
The girl seems to be the stronger one of the two, with an arm outstretched in front of the boy beside her. Her eyes bore into the group in front of her, but her stance is a sign of fatigue.
"Xue survivors." Yueying utters. The convoy parts to let her through and she takes a step towards them. The children both recoil, the boy hides behind the girl, while the girl places a hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to strike. Yueying stops in her tracks, her gaze meets the young girl's icy eyes.
"What do you mean by 'they didn't disappear?'"
A graveyard sits in the middle of the mountain woods. Fresh earth topped with white snow sit in piles in front of a field full of stakes.
The two Xue children stare vacantly at the scene laid out in front of them.
"People would bring their loved ones here to bury them after they've killed them." The girl says.
"After they've killed them?" Hua repeats in disbelief. The girl simply nods, her eyes are vacant as she stares at the graves in front of her.
"It's a disease that spreads through the blood. Once the parasite enters the host's body, they eat the host alive. The host become deranged, then they'll attack anyone, or anything that moves and they won't stop until they've made their kill. " The girl explains, then points to her chest and then her temple. "You can only kill them by making clean strikes through the heart or brain."
Yueying feels sick as she listens to the girl's words come out of her mouth with such ease. The boy, on the other hand is biting down on his lower lip, fighting back tears.
"Are you two the only ones left?" Yueying asks, her voice coming out shaky. The girl nods solemnly.
"Yes. My younger brother and I rid the village of the disease." The girl clenches her hand into a fist by her side, then casts her eyes downwards. Tears are evident in her eyes.
Without hesitation, Yueying comes forward, kneeling down in the snow in front of the children. She takes the sleeve of her robe and gently wipe away their tears. It isn't long before the children's cries echo through the woods. Yueying holds them both close and soon, her silent tears join their mournful cries.
As their sobs quiet down, Yueying pulls away just enough to look them both in the eyes.
"What are your names?" She asks.
The girl speaks up first and replies in a quiet voice. "I'm Rin. This is my younger twin brother, Rei."
Nighttime falls over the deserted village. The air is bitterly cold and thick clouds block the silver light of the moon. However, within what used to be a home, a fire burns brightly. The smell of food wafts through the area, lifting the spirits of those who were resting inside.
Rin and Rei sit in front of the hearth with blankets wrapped securely around them, ignoring the idle chatter of soldiers behind them. They sit in silence with closed eyes, allowing the warmth of the fire to soak through to their weary bones. Warm food fills their bellies and empty cups of tea sit beside them.
"Sister," Rei says, breaking the silence. "Home feels like home for the first time in a long time."
Rin opens her eyes and peeks over her shoulder, eyeing the group of soldiers sitting on the floor just behind them. Unlike any of the other of the royal palace's convoys that they've encountered, this particular group had treated them with warmth and kindness.
Rin turns back to face the fire with a small smile.
"I suppose it does."
Hello! I'm back after seven months! I actually had this chapter written out since December, but never got around to editing it until recently. Hope you enjoy this chapter!