Rensa fell asleep quickly that night but was awakened by someone roughly grabbing her arms. She gasped as she jumped awake, though she was still disoriented with sleep and couldn't see who it was in the dark. Another pair of hands grabbed her leg and she was lifted into the air. She squeaked and prepared herself to scream, but that was when she noticed a cloth covering the lower half of her face. The night air was cold as the two people pulled her outside and threw her into a hard wooden cart. She felt fully awake and her body ached from how she had landed. She found her arms bound tightly behind her.

"Let's get this over with. We can't risk waking anyone." A man said just loud enough for those around him to hear. A horse whinnied softly.

Rensa gasped again. They didn't pull the horses from the stables until they were ready for the journey to sell the harvest. The stables were located a little ways into the forest. Some of the villagers were assigned to take care of the horses all year. Any other time if a cart was needed, the men pulled it. To prepare the horses and a cart, this attack was premeditated. Panic rose into her chest. They were going to get rid of her. Up until then they had merely ignored or antagonized her, but stealing her away in the middle of the night meant they were becoming serious. She struggled to sit up but was shoved back down.

"Stay down and keep quiet." A man hissed. "Or your fate will be much worse."

The cart began to move and another dark cloth was tied around her eyes. She could not tell in which direction they were going, or even for how long they traveled. Though it felt like a long time. Her hands were raw from the tight rope around her wrists and her body was sore from being mistreated and laying on a hard surface for hours.

When they finally stopped, they lifted her out of the cart and dropped her to the ground. The breath was knocked from her lungs and she coughed and choked trying to regain it.

"It would serve you well to stay out here until you die, cripple." One of the men ordered. She knew the voice but did not want to put it to a face of a villager she had known for as long as she could remember.

"Allowing you to live among us has been a waste of resources and time." Another said, and his words stung just as hurtful as the first time she had heard them after the accident.

She wanted to ask them why, or what it was that she had done wrong, but she knew it would be no use. Her words would be muffled, and their answers would be exactly what they had spoken.

"It's time to head back." A man said and then she could hear the cart rolling away. The sound disappeared quickly into the woods.

Rensa allowed herself to lie on the ground for a long while as her tears soaked through her blindfold. She sobbed until her chest hurt and her eyes felt puffy and raw. She wallowed in their words and actions against her, not caring to rebuild her fallen walls of defense she had had to protect herself, her air of uncaring negativity and judgements of the world around her. In just one day Jae-ha had knocked down her walls without her knowing and freed her in a sense that neither of them had realized. She did not know what to do next. She had allowed herself to live in the background for over a year, even after her family left her, hoping that would dissuade the village from hurting her. Then Yona and her friends came to town and her routine was thrown away as they worked to heal her. With that healing now came a sense of helplessness and fear. She could not defend herself now.

She cried until her throat felt dry, a sign she had no more tears left. Then she sat up and started working to free some of her bindings. She rubbed her jaw against her shoulder to remove the cloth across her mouth. After a few tries it slid off her face and she was able to breathe easier. Then getting an idea, she laid back down and found the knot that belonged to the blindfold with the back of her head against the ground. Moving her head back and forth caused it to slip from her head, freeing her eyes.

She was briefly blinded by the sun but her eyes quickly adjusted and she found what she knew she would find. Nothing but trees around her.

Jae-ha's P.O.V.

When he was awakened the next morning by the sun, he allowed himself to lay for a few more moments as he thought of the progress he had made with Rensa the day before. She was slowly warming up to him and allowing him to help her. That made him happy, thinking that he would be the one to free her. With a smile on his face he finally sat up and brushed his messy hair from his face. He fixed his ponytail as he made his way outside the tent, all the others were sitting around the fire except Yona, who he guessed was still inside with Rensa. It took him a simple glance around to realize something was wrong. The children who frequented this part of town were nowhere to be seen. He doubted that him guarding the front door was enough to keep them away, because they had come back more than once. He narrowed his eyes, trying to decipher what was off. He turned in a slow circle. No one was in the tent or lurking around in the forest.

Had something happened to Yona?

Hak was lounging next to Kija and Shin-ah, and all three seemed relaxed, so Yona must have been fine. He sat next to his Blue Dragon brother and still surveyed their surroundings.

"Are you alright, Green Dragon?" Shin-ah whispered.

Jae-ha shook his head slightly. "Do you see anything strange?"

Shin-ah's furs swung as he shook his head. Jae-ha pursed his lips.

"Blue Dragon might not see anything strange from far away, but Zeno sees something right there." The blonde kid lightly patted Jae-ha on the shoulder and pointed over to where Yun was standing. He was speaking with a villager, one they had not met yet, but had seen working in the orchard. He was tall with long black hair pulled back with twined rope. He was laughing and seemed happier than any of the villagers had been over the past few days, at least that he had seen.

Zeno was right, it was weird seeing a villager on this end of town. He suddenly had a bad feeling sink into his chest.

That was when Yona slammed the front door to Rensa's house open and stumbled out. All of them lurched to their feet but Jae-ha beat them to her. She was clutching Rensa's crutch in her hands and was frantic.

The bad feeling intensified, but he couldn't ask what they were all thinking.

Hak stepped forward. "What happened?" He asked, taking charge and yet being supportive of Yona at the same time, he touched her shoulder.

"I woke up this morning and she wasn't there. I assumed she had gone out, but her crutch was still on the floor. She can't go anywhere without it." Yona's voice was high pitched and shaky and Jae-ha knew she was trying to stay strong. "Something has happened to her, I just know it."

"Did anything seem off last night?" Hak asked with a thoughtful expression.

"I'm not sure. After dinner we went right to sleep…" Yona's eyes flicked to Jae-ha and then down to the ground.

The Green Dragon thought back to his conversation with the girl last night, she had apologized and was being nicer to him. He could see she was becoming happier and opening up to him. There was something else he was missing. It was obvious she had not left on her own, so what had happened?

"There's something else." Hak watched the girl. "Tell me."

That pulled Jae-ha from his thoughts.

Yona sighed. "The door was open last night. I woke up because it got cold, but it shut after a few minutes so I went back to sleep."

"That is strange." Kija piped in with a clawed hand to his chin, trying to think along with them. "Why was the door open in the middle of the night?"

Jae-ha suddenly put the pieces together. Another conversation had happened before she apologized to him, Rensa had said she felt like she was being watched. She had sounded nervous and they had both stopped but no one had been around. That may have been the case, yet she still could have been being watched from inside the homes. The door was open in the middle of a cold night and Rensa was missing the next morning. He was becoming suspicious, and there was one other minor detail that confirmed what had happened.

There was a villager talking to Yun.

As if he had been called, the boy genius walked over to them. "What's going on?"

The villager was sauntering away, and Jae-ha did not let him get very far. With a barely heard growl he whirled around and stormed over to the man, who let out a startled yelp as Jae-ha grabbed his shoulder.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Her." He demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He shook his head and waved his hands defensively. His eyes shifted back and forth, and Jae-ha knew he was hiding something.

"I'm giving you one chance to tell me the truth, then I will not be so nice." He growled.

"I don't know anything." He whimpered.

Jae-ha chuckled sarcastically and yanked the man's arm, bracing against the ground, he launched them both into the sky. The man screamed. "We're awfully high up. It would be a shame if you were to fall from such a height." Jae-ha threatened.

"What do you want to know?" The man's voice was hoarse and shaky.

"What happened to Rensa." It was not a question, but an order for information.

"The village came to the conclusion that it was time to get rid of her. She was no longer minding her own business. For three years she has been a burden to us, so we disposed of her." The man spoke quickly and his words slurred together, though Jae-ha could still understand what he was saying. And his words caused panic to etch into his chest.

"Dispose of her how?" He was losing his anger to fear.

"Two men took her into the forest last night. They returned early this morning."

"Who were they?" He struggled to hang on to the higher ground. He was angry and afraid and needed to know what had happened to her.

"Rae-jin and Yulro. That's all I know!"

Jae-ha believed him and readied himself to land. When he touched back down on the ground, he shoved the man away from him.

He skittered away like a terrified animal.

"Jae-ha! What has gotten into you?" Yona asked, laying a gentle hand on his arm.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "They took Rensa into the forest to dispose of her. We have to find her as soon as possible."

"What?" Yona gasped, she was shocked and worried.

"How far do you think they travelled?" Yun asked, pulling out his map, they all gathered around it.

"The men who took her returned this morning." Jae-ha studied the map, trying to picture where they had taken her.

"So they couldn't have gone far." Hak surmised.

"She can't go far on her own, and without her crutch. They would have taken her somewhere she couldn't make it back on her own and where no one could find her." Jae-ha huffed. He felt angry they would treat her in such a way, and because she was crippled. Couldn't they see she was working hard to help them? No. They were blinded by prejudice.

"That is fairly easy. We are surrounded by miles of forest." Kija pointed out. "She could be anywhere."

Jae-ha sighed and looked around hoping he would find some indication of which way they had gone, but he didn't have as sharp eyes as he would have needed. He wondered how Rensa was feeling. Did she feel abandoned? Sad? Angry? Bitter? Or did she just give up and allow herself to be left to die? He grit his teeth and clenched his fists.

"One thing the villagers don't know about is us. We have the abilities to find her." Yona said, raising a fist with determination. "Let's get started." With those three words they started forming a plan.

"The fastest way to find her is if I take Shin-ah." Jae-ha stepped forward, asking his master for permission.

"If you are carrying the Blue Dragon, you will not be able to carry the girl." Zeno spoke. He was solemn and quiet. He was planning something.

"What do you suggest?" Yona asked, turning to face the boy.

"They had some help getting her out of the village, they were back way too fast to be moving on foot. I would assume they have horses somewhere near. That way, we can follow the Green and Blue dragons from the ground." He explained. "This is Zeno's plan, but the Miss is the one to decide." He bowed his head, he would respect Yona's decision.

Jae-ha agreed with Zeno's plan, and wished they would make a decision. The longer they stood around debating or planning, the longer she was somewhere in the forest alone. He felt jumpy and wanted to hurry and leave.

"I believe that would be the best plan." Yona said. "Let's find those horses."

Yun raised a hand. "Hold on. If they were trying to get rid of her, there's no telling what they might do to what's left of her in the village. They might attack her house. I think some of us should stay here to guard it."

Jae-ha tilted his head and realized Yun was right.

Yona thought for a moment. "You have a point." She looked at each of them in turn before making her decision about who should stay behind. Jae-ha prayed she wouldn't have him stay behind, though it would defeat the purpose if she did. "Hak, Kija, I want you two to stay with Yun."

Hak rolled his eyes and sighed. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

Yona shook her head and smiled. "I'll be protected, you should know by now."

Hak sighed again and patted her red hair. "Be careful, alright?" Then he reached back and pulled her bow from where he had it strung around him. She took it and two arrows he had with him.

Yona blushed and nodded. "I promise we'll all make it back safely."

"I'll hold you to it, let's go kid, whitesnake." Hak turned and strolled away, calling to the other two behind him.

Kija grumbled and followed Yun and Hak back to their campsite.

"We've been back and forth through this village for a few days and I haven't seen any sign of horses." Yona pondered.

Jae-ha glanced around again but agreed with her statement. He saw a building in the back of his mind a little ways into the forest from the times he had jumped really high.

"Shin-ah, can you see where they would keep the horses?" Yona asked.

He nodded but stayed silent as he slowly turned in a circle. None of them could see the expression on his face. Finally, after a few long minutes, he raised his hand, pointing in the direction and said. "There is a building."

Yona started in the right direction, they all followed.

Jae-ha groaned as it took them a while to reach the barn. It was large and a dark wood color, with two floors. There were lots of horses lined up in stalls on both sides, and two villagers tending to the animals. Hay bales were lined up atop the second floor.

"Do you think she'll come back?" One of them was asking.

"No, we dropped her somewhere far away, and with that missing leg, she can't go anywhere."

The anger flared up again, and Jae-ha gestured for his friends to wait outside for a bit. He strolled in and right up to the two men who were mucking out stalls. He struggled to control his emotions. "I heard you two taking and was wondering who you were talking about?" He hoped his tone was nonchalant and conversational. It was hard not to talk through clenched teeth.

They both turned and looked at him with strange expressions. "You're one of the travelers. How did you find this place?" One asked. He was shorter and heavier set, with black hair while his companion was tall and lean with shorter brown hair.

"That doesn't matter. I want you to answer my question." His eyes flashed dangerously and he hoped they would realize that he was angry. He let out a breath and tried for a smile, after he was sure it was more of a grimace, he dropped the charming facade and stared at each man in turn.

They looked at each other before responding. "The village cripple of course. After three long years of her piggy-backing off our hard work, the village unanimously decided to force her out." The tall one explained.

"And were you one of the men who took her away?" Jae-ha's tone was severe, and his body was shaking with the force of trying to hold himself back from punching him.

"Yes. My name is Yulro."

Jae-ha recognized the name from the other man he had interrogated. In a single step he was marched right in front of Yulro. "You're going to take me to where you left her." He ordered in a low voice.

The man shivered and took a step back. Though despite the fear his chin was lifted and his eyes were filled with defiance. "No. It took too long to get rid of her."

The fight only lasted a minute. The short man had moved behind him and had his mucking shovel raised to bash his head. In one swift motion Jae-ha kicked the man aside. He hit a stall on the other side and crumpled to the ground. On his way back around he received a punch to the shoulder as he kicked Yulro in the stomach, forcing him back. He coughed and dropped to his knees, clutching his torso.

"Take me to her." Jae-ha hissed the order again.

Yulro didn't fight again, he just nodded.

"Prepare three horses. My companions will keep you in line." Jae-ha motioned for Yona, Zeno, and Shin-ah to enter the barn. Yona was twirling an arrow around her hand and Zeno was poised in a way that revealed his knife.

Yulro quickly saddled three horses, Yona and Zeno climbed atop the other two after the villager had claimed one. Jae-ha took hold of Shin-ah and after watching them canter into the forest, soared into the sky. He used the trees to jump and followed closely behind the group. "Let me know when you see her." He muttered to Shin-ah, who nodded once.