The Chosen Ones

Yunho placed the palm of his hand flat on the ground. The low vibration of the earth pressed firmly against it. The earth was healing itself; it had been healing itself for decades. He said a silent prayer before lifting his hand and standing up, feeling a sense of peace and hope. He knew that the healing would continue and that the environment would be restored to its natural state. He felt a sense of satisfaction, knowing that his work had been successful.

Chestnut tufts of hair loosely covered his eyes as he raised his head. He took a deep breath and thanked the gods again for helping him complete his mission. He stepped out of the forest, careful not to step on any new life that had grown. The sound of drums caught Yunho's attention, and in the distance, he could see royal guards making their way to the front of his parents' house. Yunho felt a chill run down his spine and he quickened his pace, something didn't feel right.

Once he reached the door, the guards were already standing in the doorway blocking his entrance. His mother looked at him, her eyes telling him not to go any further. He hesitated before pushing past one of the guards and standing in front of his mother, shielding her with his body.

"Yunho Jeong, resident number 3239." The guard harshly read, looking down at the metal tablet in his hands. "High Queen Athaliah has summoned you to the palace for duty."

His mother's face was pale, her hands trembling slightly. Yunho furrowed his brows, trying to grasp what the guard was saying. Looking at his mother, whose hand was gripped tightly to his beige tunic, he gave her a reassuring look and cleared his throat.

"Your guardship", Yunho paused, his voice trying to steady itself. "I can't leave. It's peak growing season and we need to get the vegetables to the impoverished sectors before the growing season slows down."

"That's enough!" Another guard yelled, his eyes dark and cold. "The impoverished sectors will die off anyway." He walked over to Yunho until they were standing eye to eye. His hot breath tickled Yunho's face as he turned away in disgust. "A summons is not a choice, it is a demand. Have I made myself clear?"

Yunho gulped, feeling his mother's hand tightly clasp his. "Yes sir."

The guards nodded in agreement, before glancing around the small house. Yunho could see right through them; nothing more than a bunch of glorified asses whose bark was worse than their bite. He had seen them countless times before. He sighed and shook his head, knowing that nothing he could say or do would change things. He simply had to accept that these were the cards he was dealt with.

"Yunho please." His mother begged, trying to grab a hold of her son's arm. Her green eyes filled with tears as Yunho shook his head pulling away to stand in front of the guards. She watched him walk away, her heart breaking as she felt helpless. She screamed, trying to hit the guards with her fragile hands but they pushed her to the ground.

Yunho's eyes widened. "Mom!" He reached down to help her up and sat her down on the mattress.

"Yunho baby, your father is gone and I can't lose you too."

Yunho's mother was in distress. Dark curly hair was stuck to her forehead from sweat, and her shaky hands were clammy as Yunho held them. Pain was evident in her eyes as she pleaded with her son. The room felt still and hot, and Yunho felt nauseous but ignored the feeling. He stood up and took the coarse twine necklace from around his neck, which had a small leaf-shaped charm dangling from it. He handed it to his mother, hoping to comfort her.

"I have to go, mom. I love you."

Yunho gave her a small kiss on the cheek as he closed her hand over the necklace and faced the guards. The sound of her small cry echoed in his ears as he held back the urge to cry with her.

Stepping out the door, Yunho held his breath. He forced himself to put one foot in front of the other, his heart pounding as he took the first step. He never looked back, knowing that if he saw his mother, he couldn't bring himself to leave. With a heavy heart, he walked away, following the guards to the inner cities. 

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"Hey Aerin, heads up."

A loud crash made Aerin turn her head, as she watched Yejeong toss a glittering ball of light her way and knocking a tin can of screws on the cement. Aerin shot Yejeong an annoyed look before turning back to her workstation, her fingers black from grease.

"Oh come on, Rinnie~" Yejeong whined, placing her chin on Aerin's shoulder. "Why are you always so cold?"

Aerin rolled her eyes, "Very funny, Haru." She wiped her hands on a small dish and turned around, the shackle around her ankle dragging across the cement. "I assume class got out early?"

Yejeong nodded, "Yes, in fact, there's this big formal tonight and invitations to all the sectors went out."

Aerin had heard the same story over and over; Yejeong comes in all excited about something and Aerin tells her how boring that sounds but today, she couldn't help but be slightly interested in what Yejeong was saying.

"All sectors?"

Yejeong squealed in excitement, doing little jumps as Aerin looked at her in amusement. To everyone else in the world, Yejeong was this scary leader that everyone seemed to look up to but to Aerin, she was a little puppy who had followed her around since they were kids.

"Guess what?"

Aerin shot back an exaggerated, " What?" earning a small glare from sparkles herself.

"I saw the list, there are only 16 people invited and guess who's names on the list?"

"Uh, obviously you?"

Yejoeng shook her head, "No! Your name is on the list!"

Aerin's eyes widened as she tried to process what she had just heard. "Um, last time I heard I was being detained for misuse of powers and my trial is next month. Also, unless I'm being invited to my last supper why would the Queen invite me?"

Yejeong rolled her eyes before shaking Aerin by the shoulders. "Oh my gosh, do you have to be so negative all the time?"

Aerin sighed and walked to the small bed that sat in the corner of the room, its sheets dirtied by oil and other dirt that she hadn't been allowed to clean while in detention. The room was small, with tall cement walls and only a small lamp for Aerin to work under. She cursed under her breath as she tried to wipe some of the dirt off the sheets but gave up when she realized it was stained.

Two months, two months inside this hell under the inner city. Aerin was far from Isura and she already hadn't seen her family for almost 4 months. She had come to the inner city for work, Isura didn't have much use for her and all the other sectors wanted nothing to do with an Isurian.

Aerin pulled a hair tie out of her auburn hair, letting it fall across her back. She looked dirty and even Yejeong couldn't deny how terrible she had begun to look. She stared back at Yejeong with dark blue eyes shining beneath the filth and lightly scarred cheeks before holding her face in her hands.

"What time does this thing start?"

Yejeong looked down at the gold watch on her delicate wrist and smiled, "Twenty minutes."