they're from two lands who are known to have been one another's nemesis for centuries.
The land of Cepil & the Land of Alin.
set in a world of magic; yena was born with a fragile heart that no magic in the land of Cepil could strengthen... not even...
before i knew it, i found myself on asha's back as the wind danced in my hair, my dress swaying with the breeze. asha dashed through the town and we were distancing from it.
i saw the huts and cottages start to get smaller from behind us.
the galloping of asha's hooves filled the silence as haruto and i watched the morning sky do its magic; sprouts of colours above us almost as if it were a painting.
asha then started to pick up pace, circling around occasionally at large open grass patches as i tightened my arms around haruto's waist, afraid to fall off.
"where are we even going?" i asked for the nth time since we got on asha's back.
as i asked that, asha finally had come to a stop and haruto made his way down from asha's back.
he put out his hand, signalling me to do the same. i hesitantly took his hand and lifted myself off of her back, careful not to fall and damage his mom's dress.
the area was a grassfield; empty and vast with wildflowers in full bloom scattered throughout.
not a single spot was empty.
each one had wildflowers of purple, blue, pink, yellow and white flowers blooming— my eyes lit up almost as if i had been put into a spell.
it was as if my world had completely transformed.
sure, i was used to the abudance of blooming flora and fauna back at Cepil but this was significantly different from anything i've ever seen before.
Alin's wildflowers were unique; they were more pastel in colour compared to the regular bright and booming shades i was familiar with in Cepil.
"i know it may not be the same as the wildflowers in Cepil," he said as he stood beside me.
we admired the field of gorgeous flora around us as i closed my eyes and took in the breath of fresh air, replenishing my lungs.
"could it be due to the difference in conditions?" i asked, my eyes still fixated on the heavenly sight in front of me.
he hummed.
"perhaps."
"it's drier here isn't it?" he asked, his head turning to face me as i nodded.
"i could feel the difference in humidity the second i got here,"
"but this.." i started.
"this is unexpected of Alin. this doesn't even feel or look like the Alin i've read in my books and years of studying the other Lands around Cepil," i admitted.
years i spent on that hospital bed just reading about the outside world.. most of what i've read about Alin has been so far from what i had been experiencing thus far and it made me start to wonder:
had everything I read been a lie?
"what did the books say?" he turned to me.
"Alin's environment was dull, dry. wildflowers like these stood no chance to survive," i recalled the weeks i spent just reading about Alin.
"yet, i still wanted to go." i confessed sheepishly. though the environment was nowhere near what i was familiar with in Cepil, i still had a gnawing feeling in me of wanting to go. needing to.
i remember feeling that way everytime i read up on Alin and i never knew why. it was as if i was being pulled here for something.
could this be the reason?
"how do you know so much about Alin anyway?" he started as he guided us to a big oak tree.
"i remember you said something about knowing that everyone here is a hybrid... kinda impressive because i doubt other Lands have any," haruto said as we took a seat under an oak tree which had thick leaves that sheltered us from majority of the sun's rays, leaving us with a view of the stunning landscape.
"books. i spent quite a lot of my life reading about Alin and Cepil," i responded.
"ah!" he clicked his tongue.
"so you're a nerd back home," he teased as i glared at him in annoyance.
"no! i was just always bored.." i nudged him as he sarcastically hummed.
"at least i'm not some robot like you. you're so cold that people around you fucking freeze when they meet you," i mocked in response. he turned his head towards me, eyebrows furrowed.
"are you fucking joking?" he laughed breathily as i smiled as well.
"yeah and at least i saved you. you should've seen your face when that ogre got slashed. heck, you were fucking pale!" he laughed as i stared at him in disbelief, soon chuckling along with him. i rolled my eyes as we continued to laugh at anything that came to mind.
he's a pretty funny guy for someone who rarely expresses their emotions huh..
for a while, we just sat there laughing at each other's stupid comments about from when we first met as the sun glowed a bright gold, painting the field with its rays ever so beautifully. we just.. simply enjoying each other's company. we shared laughter i never thought i could experience with him.
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"how about childhood? how was yours like?" he asked, his eyes looking into mine.
that's when it hit me. right.
i never told him about my pathetic life spent in the hospital just helplessly waiting for my life to begin.
neither does he know about my heart condition.
would he think of me differently if i told him?
he'd start to see me as this loser that did nothing but sleep in hospital beds her entire life, while he was out here training his ass off. he's been out in the wild with sweat, tears and blood trickling down his body for as long as he can remember while i sat there in that bloody hospital rotting like unharvested crop.
my life had only begun while he has been living each day as if it were his last.
surely my experiences are nothing compared to his. having gone through such harsh trainings as a young boy must have been torture for him. having no parent to lean on, just hoping to make his father proud.
i read how beatings were often used in trainings to get their warriors into shape and improve discipline.
and again, i felt like the weakest person on earth; not only weakest, but smallest too.
do i really deserve the chance to be out here? would he deem me unworthy to be here? perhaps start treating me differently?
"acoff you've gone silent. everything all right?" he tilted his head toward me as i sat there.. debating whether or not i should tell him.
maybe i should just leave.
i should've left sooner than this...!! what made me think that staying would do any good?
