Journey Into the Knight

A Song of Ice and Fire

What would you do if you found a girl in the woods? For Jung WheeIn, she brought her home. WheeIn could tell her father was sceptical about bringing the seemingly lost child into their secret village, but one look at her convinced him that she needed their help. Her black hair was matted and knotted, twigs had found a home there. She was covered in dirt and bruises. Her small arms clung to her stomach as if she was cold and hungry. Her brown eyes shifted around, looking at everything, searching for something.

WheeIn sat next to her father on a log, their other companions were standing around them, faced away, watching the forest. The new child sat across from them, she was bent over as if trying to fold into herself. WheeIn's father reached into his bag and held out some dried meat to the girl. She eyed it suspiciously. WheeIn grabbed it from her father, took a bite, chewed it and swallowed it, all while making direct eye contact with the girl, then she held it out, she took it. The girl was about to shove it into her mouth. "Slowly." WheeIn's father said calmly, the girl looked at him. "If you eat too fast you will get sick."

The girl nodded and then slowed her chewing. WheeIn passed her a water skin and she took a small sip. "I am Jung WheeIn." WheeIn introduced herself. "This is my father Jung Joon, he is the leader of the warriors who protect our village, my grandfather runs it." The girl's eyes locked with hers, listening to every word. "It is a safe place for people like us." She said lifting her hand up, reminding the girl what she did. "Would you like to come home with us?" The girl didn't answer, she just stared, it was starting to get on WheeIn's nerves.

Her father cleared his throat. "You will be taught how to control it." The girl's eyes lit up a bit. "We won't ask where you came from, we only want to offer you a safe place to live and grow."

The girl's eyes shifted from WheeIn to her father and back again. She slowly nodded her head. WheeIn felt herself smile. "Will you tell us your name?" She asked.

The girl swallowed hard, she took a deep breath as if preparing herself to speak. "Ahn HyeJin." She said in a small voice.

WheeIn stood up so fast the girl jumped, she thrusted her hand out. "Welcome to the family HyeJin." HyeJin reached out and tentatively shook her hand. It was the beginning of something great.

The village was something out of the stories her father used to tell her. Hidden deep in the woods, concealed with magic. HyeJin could hardly keep her eyes off everything as she walked past it. The girl who found her, WheeIn, was bouncing up and down next to her, telling her everything there was to know about the village. A refuge for people with magic, a safe place for them to live and learn. HyeJin's father was one of those killed because of his powers, the day HyeJin started displaying the same powers was the day her mother got angry at her.

Her mother was afraid that HyeJin's powers were going to get them all killed, like her father. And each day her powers grew, the harder they were to control, the harder they were to hide. When her younger brother was bothering her the other day, picking on her, hitting her, she could feel her powers building beneath her skin. She tried very hard to keep them back, she tried to make him stop but her powers unleashed on him, freezing him in place. That was when their mother walked it. She freaked out, she grabbed HyeJin by her hair and threw her into her bedroom and locked the door. HyeJin tried to explain what happened, tried to undo the magic but her mother wouldn't listen to her. After what seemed like days locked alone in that room, crying for her father, for her mother, saying how sorry she was, her mother finally let her out. She grabbed her by the hair again, marched her deep into the woods and left her there, telling her to never come back. HyeJin deserved it, she couldn't control her powers, she was dangerous, she needed to stay away from anyone that she could hurt.

WheeIn grabbed her arm, pointing to a place across the village. HyeJin could feel her magic building under her skin, body heat cooling, HyeJin ripped her arm from WheeIn's grasp. A confused look passed over the girl's face but she said nothing. HyeJin let them lead her to a building, WheeIn explained to her that it was for children with no families.