The Oath (Kingdom)

X. Prisoner

It was long time ago. He was younger, almost kid. His arms were weaker, aim unsteady and heart wild. His chakho burn mark still too fresh and sore.

Woods were dreadfully calm. He had bad feelings in his stomach. They were called to hunt down tiger that slaughter almost hundred of men. It always end badly when mundane villagers were trying to do their job. They were making weird traps and shooting everything that moves, including their neighbours.

"Be careful kid. He can be anywhere." His master was right behind him. It was old skinny man with ugly thick scar over half of his face, crossing his eye. Yeongshin hated that eye. It was milky white and blind, but he always felt like it can see to his soul.

"It's male?" he whispered, eyes still searching his surroundings.

"Yes, they said so. Don't worry, no cubs."

He felt little relief. He hated killing young animals. He always did it, because if he didn't, there will come a day when younglings grow up and rip his throat. But he hated it.

One time he let pups go and other chakhos beat him. That day it was his first punishment and he thought he will die. Everything hurts so badly he cried later like little kid. At first from pain, later because of shame. And it was just the beginning. He sooner realised that being chakho is hard life.

He was making step by step, carefully, not to step on twig or tripped over rock, his rifle ready.

And then he saw it. There it was. Tiger was laying on the ground, but something was wrong. He lowered his rifle.

"What are you doing, kid?"Byung-Chul whispered, his only eye watching Yeongshin's slow movements.

Yeongshin was approaching tiger and part of him felt pain. Animal had paw trapped in some string trap made by villagers. Wire was cut deep in it's flesh, it almost cut the foot of.

He was disgusted. No one ever deserved such fate. To die slowly in trap.

Poor animal was still alive, weak and desperate. It looked him in the eyes and that look wrote deep in his brain. It was pleading for death.

"Do it, kid. End his suffering."

He pulled out knife and cut tiger's throat. He didn't want to shoot him. This was calm and dignified death.

"This traps are..." his master spit on the ground.

"Byung-Chul?" Yeongshin's heart was clenched by ice cold fist of fear, when he examined dead body of animal. "This is female."

And then he saw him, running towards them, too late to grab his rifle. Big and strong tiger. He looked like rage itself.

Yeongshin only heard his master shout and one single shot when tigers body collide with his. His breath was pressed out of his lungs, he cannot even focus on pain. He felt tiger's hot breath on his face and his loud growl filled his ears he thought he will become def. All he can do was grip tighter his knife, slippery from blood and stab animal to his neck. There was no time to think, where to stab. He must just take a chance. He fell to the ground on his back, with cracking of bones and tiger's heavy body on him.

He must've lost consciousness, because when he woke up, Byung-Chul was pulling him out from underneath death body of Tiger.

"Are you alive?"

He can only whimper. He felt like all bones in his body were crushed.

"You lucky bastard!" Byung-Chul's voice sounds like from distance. "But it got you pretty badly. We must find help, or you will bleed out."