~ a lily among thorns~

"the art of forgiving"

The walk back to Silla felt surreal. A long time had passed since Nari had stepped foot in the town. Word had finally been sent that it was safe to return. Her father and brother walked each side of her, happily chatting away as the sun shone brightly down on them from the heights of the sky. She felt whole. Although she still missed her mother dearly, she saw her in the smiles of her family; she felt her in the gentle breeze of the evening; she heard her in the soft singing of birds in the morning. 

"Nari, how come you don't have your Hwarang uniform on?" Poong-yeon suddenly asked. "Aren't you going back to Hwarang?" 

Nari laughed quietly.

"It's time to move on from that," she finally replied. "There's no need for me to be there anymore." As the words left her lips, she felt relieved...but a little sad. Memories of sneaking out, and dinner table banter, and riverside kisses, flashed through her mind. Her smile dropped slightly as she realised how much she'd missed her friends - how much she'd missed the times before everything had collapsed into a giant mess - how much she'd missed Ji-Dwi.  

Nari felt a hand gently patting the top of her head. She looked up to see her father smiling at her, as if he could read her thoughts and feel the pain in her heart. 

"They'll all be waiting for you," he said. Nari beamed, sudden anticipation filling her chest.

"I suddenly feel like running!"

Her and Poong-yeon raced each other through the streets, laughing and teasing each other. It felt as if they'd travelled back in time to before Hwarang even existed. 

"You'll never be quite as fast as me!" Nari yelled to her brother, who was struggling to keep up with her.

"Yes I will!" he yelled back, quickening his pace. 

Nari sprinted forward, determined to keep in first-place, but ran straight into a couple holding hands, flinging them backwards.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, reaching to help them maintain their balance. Her smile suddenly widened as she met Ah-Ro's eyes.

"Ah-Ro?!" 

"Nari?!"

" And Seonu!" Nari continued. He looked at her in shock.

"It's been so long!" Ah-Ro cried, grabbing Nari and pulling her into a tight embrace. "We were told everything!" Nari squeezed her back, overjoyed to see her friend. Poong-yeon raced up to them and joined the hug. 

"I heard about the queen passing," Nari finally said, letting go of Ah-Ro. "How have you been? Where is everyone?

"I've been well," Ah-Ro said, clinging to Seonu's arm. Nari shot a teasing glance at the man, who went red in return. "As for everyone else, they're nearby somewhere..." She glanced around. "Ah, there!"

Ah-Ro pointed to a rowdy group of blue and white. Nari's smile widened, and she longed to see everyone. Almost a year had passed since she'd been taken from them. Ah-Ro could read her easily.

"Go say hello. They've missed you."

Nari beamed at Ah-Ro, before squeezing her cheek playfully. "I bet you missed me the most though," she said with a flirty wink.

"Get going," Seonu said while abruptly pulling her hand away, but Nari sensed his tone was light, as if he'd also missed her. 

Making sure Poong-yeon stayed with the couple, Nari ran over to the group. The first thing she heard was Suho and Ban-Ryu fighting. She laughed. She'd somehow missed their banter. 

"Why can't you two ever get along?" she teased, causing everyone's heads to turn quickly. 

"Nari! You're back!" came several shocked yet joyous shouts.