Chapter 1 - The Promise
Summer light filtered through the garden canopy in threads of gold, catching on the dewdrops that still clung to the petals from last night's rain. The air hung thick and sweet with the scent of wet earth and blooming flowers, each breath tasting of warmth and green plants growing.
"Hmm hm hmm~."
A soft humming drifted between the flowers—tuneless, content, the kind of sound that needed no listeners. The source of the tune came from a young girl, who couldn't have been older than 10, her raven-black hair falling straight past her shoulder. The girl was tending to the pink flowers, giving them tender care like how a mom would care for its child.
She stood finally, brushing grass stains from her white summer dress with small deliberate pats. When she looked down to admire her work, her eyes caught the light, amethyst bright, dancing with something content, playful and impossible young. A satisfied nod at the neat rows of flowers she took care of, the moment hung perfect and still.
Then the world went dark.
Hands covered her eyes, warm and familiar. She didn't startle, didn't gasp. Just stood there, waiting, a smile already threathening at the corners of her mouth.
"Guess who it is~"
The whisper came low and close, purposefully threathical in its mystery, she could hear the smirk in it.
"Oppa." She sighed, Exasperated in the way only a younger sibling could manage. "I know it's you."
"Oh?" The hands didn't move. "how can you be so sure?"
"Who else would it be?" She slapped his hands away and spun around to face him, indignation written all over her face.
"Im not dumb!"
Her brother stood there with that infuriating smirk, fifteen years old and entirely to pleased with himself. He shared the same midnight hair as her, the same amethyst eyes that seem to run in their blood--but his held something else now, some mischief was brewing.
"Ah---I'm hurt!" He pressed a hand to his chest like she'd wounded him fatally. "My own little sister doesn't want to play with me anymore..."
She rolled her eyes so hard they almost fell out. Then turned around deliberately back to her flowers. The universal language of younger siblings: *You're dismissed.*
He sighed, loud and theatrical, and made a show of turning away. "Alas. I'll be alone again." A pause, a perfectly timed one. "Whatever shall i do with these two ice creams all by myself?"
Her hands paused in the soil. he could practically see her ears perk up.
"And i got mint chocolate, too. i dont even *like* mint..."
Mint? that was her favoriute flavour!
She spun around so fast her hair fanned out behind her, her entire face transformed into sweetness itself.
"Oppa! i changed my mind. lets hang out together instead~"
He raised an eyebrow in mock innocence. "Oh`what made you change your mind?"
She was already by his side, a small hand wrapped around his, tugging him forward with suprising strength. "I want to spend time with my only brother, of course!"
"Hmm. You're sure its not for the ice cream?"
"You're getting paranoid, oppa~"
His laugh echoed through the garden, as she dragged him towards the bench.
****
They sat in comfortable silence, the kind that only comes from knowing someone so completely that words is no longer needed. The girl swung her legs lazily, not quite reaching the ground, mint chocolate melting sweet and cold on her tounge. Beside her, her brother worked on his own cone with unhurried contentment.
"Brother, your is cream is dripping," She said suddenly, pointing at his hand.
He glanced down to find vanilla ice cream trailing down his knucles. "Ah-" before he could do anything about it, she'd already thrust a napkin at him, looking far to smug about catching him off guard.
"Who's the baby now?" She teased.
"still you, you little shrimp." He wiped his hand, and flicked her forehead lightly with one finger. She squeaked in protest, swatting his hand away while trying not to drop her own cone.
The scuffle ended as quickly as it began, dissolving back int comfortable quiet. A butterfly drifted past, white wings catching the streaks of sunlight, she watched it settle on a nearby rose, her expression going distant and dreamy.
"Pretty, isn't it?" He said softly.
"Mhm." She took another lick of her ice cream. "Brother, do you remember when i tried to catch that butterfly last year, the yellow one?"
He snorted. "You mean when you face planted into the fountain?"
Her face flushed pink. "I didn't face-plant! I just... slipped a little."
"You were soaking head to toe, mom thought you'd gone swimming in your clothes." He chuckled lightly.
"You're so mean!" She shoved his shoulder, but she was fighting back a smile. "You could've caught me, you know. You were right there!"
"I was laughing too hard." He grinned at the memory of it, then his expression softened. but i fished you out after, didn't i? i even gave you my jacket."
"It was too big, i looked ridiculous."
"You looked like a drowned cat."
She gasped in mock outrage, and turned her whole body away from him, nose in the air, pouting.
"Oh no, however will i survive!" He waited exactly three seconds. "Want to hear about the book im reading?"
Her resolve crumbled slightly. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye. "...What book?"
"Aha! I thought you weren't talking to me."
"Oppa!" She whirled back around, exasperation and curiosity warring on her face. "Just tell me!"
He laughed and ruffled her hair, ignoring her protests "It's about a knight who goes on a journey to find a lost princess he made a promise to, he has to fight dragons and demons on his way to find her."
Her eyes widened slightly. "Does he find her?"
"I'm not finished yet." He paused, studying her suddenly intent expression. "But i think he will. Heroes always do in these stories."
"They better." Her voice came out fierce and protective. "He promised, didn't he? You can't break promises!"
Something in her tone made him pause. She was staring at her ice cream now, watching it slowly melt, and the afternoon seemed to dim just a fraction.
"Yeah," he agreed quietly, "You cant break promises."
She looked up at him then, and for a hesrtbeat, something ancient flickered behind those young eyes. Then she smiled—Small and a little sad— and the moment passed.
"Oppa, your ice cream is melting again."
He was silent for a moment, wondering if he really saw something, before answering her, "...Whos fault is that? you keep distracting me with your nonsense."
"My nonsense is very important, thank you very much!"
"Oh is it now?"
"Yes!" She punctuated this by finishing off her cone with a exaggerated bite, looking entirely too proud of herself for someone with ice cream on her nose.
He reached over there and wiped it off with his thumb. "Messy."
"I'm ten. I'm allowed to be messy."
"I dont think it works like that."
"That's exactly how it works." She settled back against the bench, and he felt her weight lean slightly into his side. "When im older, i'll be all elegant and proper, and you'll miss when i was cute like this."
He blinked slightly, before asking in mock innocence. "Who says you're cute now?"
She gasped, genuienly offended this time, and jabbed him in the ribs. He wheezed out a laugh, catching her hand before she could strike again.
"Okay, okay! You're cute. You're the cutest on the world. Happy?"
"Hmph!" she turned her head around, but she was smiling as she settled back down, and this time when she leaned against him, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She fit there perfectly, like she always had.
The afternoon stretched around them, golden and perfect. Bees hummed in the flowers. Somewhere a bird called, then fell quiet again. her breathing evened out, and for a moment he thought she might have dozed off.
"Oppa?" She broke the silence softly, not moving from her spot against his side.
"Hm?"
"Where are we going tomorrow?"
Something flickered across his face—there and gone, so quickly she almost missed it. Then he reahced over and pinched her cheek, tugging it gently, grin firmly back on his face.
"Geh!"
"Dont worry about it, you little shrimp." The affection in his voice took any sting from the words "We're just visiting grandpa and grandma. You know how they get when we dont come around."
She slapped his hand away, huffing, turning her face from him in exaggerated annoyance. But when he reached back to pat her head—gentle, rhythmic, familiar—she melted into it, eyes closing, the huff long forgotten.
The silence settled again, deeper now. Heavier.
"Brother?"
Her voice came so small he almost didn't hear it.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Can you make me a promise?"
He turned toward her, and the question died in his throat. She was staring at him with eyes that suddenly seemed far too old for her face, holding something ancient and knowing that no ten-year-old should carry. His heart dropped, The same look he saw before. Something cold and heavy settled in his chest. Some instinct screamed that this moment mattered—that everything hung on whatever he said next.
He took a breath, steadying himself. Met her gaze without flinching.
"Of course. Your brother will do anything for you."
She studied him, searching for something in his face. Testing the weight of his words. Whetever he said the truth or not. When she spoke again, her voice came softer still, almost apologetic.
"Can you promise me..."
The garden seemed to hold its breath. Even the birds had gone silent.
"Promise me that you'll try to find me, brother."
The words hit him like a physical blow. That sinking feeling formed into pure dread, cold and sharp beneath his ribs. But he swallowed it down, held her gaze, felt in his very bones that this moment would define everything that came after and in the future.
"I promise you." His voice came out low, raw with conviction he didn't know he possessed. "Your oppa will go through hell and back. Climb mountains. Dive through the deepest oceans. Just to find you again."
She searched his face for what felt like an eternity. Then something in her expression broke open—relief, profound and overwhelming. She laughed, but it came out small, fragile.
"Thank you, oppa. But take care of yourself too." Her voice turned mock-stern, though she was smiling. "If I find you hurt, I'll be VERY mad."
She looked up at the sky then, and something in her posture changed. Became distant. Final.
"It's time, oppa."
"What?" Confusion crashed through him. "What do you mean?"
Something wet hit his knee. He glanced down, then up at the cloudless sky.
"Rain...?"
Then he touched his face and understood. Tears, hot and insistent, streaming down his cheeks without permission.
"Oppa..." She looked at him, and her face was a mosaic of emotions—love and sorrow and something that looked like goodbye. "You should leave now."
He felt a realization wash over him, where he was and what was going on.
"W-will we meet again?" The question broke halfway through, her own tears finally spilling over.
He pulled her into his arms without thinking, crushing her against his chest.
"I promise you, I will find you again. No matter what." He could barely get the words out. "This isn't farewell. Only a temporary goodbye."
She was still for just a moment. Then her small arms wrapped around him, squeezing back with surprising strength.
"Mhm. We'll meet again soon, brother."
Her voice came gentler now, already growing distant.
"Wake up now, oppa."
The words reached him as if from very far away. Then the garden fractured—color bleeding out, edges dissolving. He felt himself falling, pulled down into darkness that swallowed everything. Her voice followed him into that void, the last light in an endless black.
"I'll see you there."