Night Prince

So it Begins

A/N: From this chapter on, it will get a little heavy. For those who are sensitive to the slight gore that comes with war, do tread carefully. 

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Beams of lightning flashed across the skies, lighting up the glass windows surrounding the dining hall in an ominous shade of dark. The long tables where the royal family typically sat for their meals were pushed to the side, to make space for the lines of war casualties.

While the war raged on outside, the dining hall was blissfully quieter, protecting the casualties from the thunderous echoes of falling bodies and the traumatising slashing of weapons against flesh. Instead, quiet moans filled the hall as the nurses and doctors tended to the grievous damage dealt upon the human flesh by the barbaric rebels.

Amongst them was Yoon Seri who had taken a break from the fight to tend to the casualties when they were short of hands. Medically, she was untrained, but the knowledge that she gleaned from those books she had read made her a suited candidate for tending to the more common injuries.

Every now and then, the door would burst open and another casualty would join the line waiting for their treatment. Doctors would flock around the more serious cases whereas Seri was part of the nurses who were in charge of damage control.

The solider she was currently tending to was writhing underneath her touch, waiting for his nerve-endings to grow numb such that he could rest. Having severed an ear, it was an arduous task to stop the blood flow. Sadly, this wasn't the worst injury.

"Breathe, you'll be okay." Seri tried to calm the petrified soldier whose eyes was darting around the hall in mild panic.

A few minutes later, the soldier finally stopped fighting fretfully, allowing Seri to tend to him as they waited for a doctor to be available.

For a moment, Seri worked in relative peace, until the doors flew open again to admit the masses of footsteps rushing in with another wounded soldier.

This time, the young lad was someone who Seri recognised in a blink of an eye.

She froze, suddenly overcome by fear. A fear one would only feel when someone you loved was battling the fine line between life and death.

Seri's hands trembled as the young man was laid down on the ground, clinging to his arm weakly as he shuddered from the aftermath of the first fight.

And before she knew it, Seri had made his way to him, forcing her weakened legs to burst forth in a short sprint towards Eun Dong, the baby of their group.

"Eun Dong!" The shout that left her mouth was faint to her lips, but it was loud to the boy who had been fearful until he saw her.

Finally. A familiar face in the unfamiliarity of the walls where pain and suffering were deeply entrenched upon. Despite the numbing pain shooting up his arm, Eun Dong smiled.

"Seri noona!"

"Eun Dong-ah, where does it hurt? Are you in pain?"

"It's just a broken arm. I'll be fine." The young lad spoke bravely.

Nibbling on her lips nervously, fear and panic clouded Seri's thoughts despite Eun Dong's assurances. Eun Dong and Seri soon found themselves holding onto each other's hand, although they were unsure who was the one who needed the comfort more.

Eun Dong, who had broken his arm during the fight? Who despite his brave front, was immensely anxious on the inside about his friends who were still fighting hard?

Or Seri, who had seen the worse of the damage on the human flesh? Who witnessed a few passing in the short span of an hour, who for the first time that day, cried because her friend was now injured?