'The coming full moon of the twin moon, I'll turn seventeen. They'll take me for sure.'

Hiraya was miserable. Sitting upright under one of the holes their clan dug up when their clan and race were occupied, Hiraya longed to get outside and run away from the shithole they were buried under. It's been ten years since the Hunter's Guild set foot on the land of the Diwasi and they have been terrorized since. Ten years ago, the Hunter's made their way across the great seas and reached their land, proving the assumption incorrect that their land and territory as partial faery will never be reached by mere humans. All those years they lived in peace and solidarity, protected by the fae's grace and blessed by the empire. But all it took was one man from the Lower Kingdom, who led hundreds of his henchmen and wreaked havoc in their land. No, they were not protected by the fae's grace. Their location was only difficult to find, but not impossible to be located. It's been five years, and Hiraya has not seen the sun since.

Now, few more sleeps and the twin moon of Mahika and Lamyak will grace the heavens with their majestic presence. It would have been beautiful, with the pixel dusts hovering the forests like magical fireflies floating from one tree to another, bearing their light to the world. It would have been perfect, as the night sky in the Diwasi''s land had always been breath-taking, the clear night sky revealing billions of stars spread across to where the eyes could reach, and the moons Mahika and Lamyak would make the night brighter than the day. It would have been beautiful, but now everything in Diwasi's territory is dead. The proud clan of the Fae who loved dancing, and singing, and celebrations are now hiding inside their tiny holes, afraid to go outside and afraid for their dear lives. Hope is all lost for everyone is drowning in fear.

Hiraya was clenching her fists, her nails digging into her flesh until it started bleeding. She was trapped at the thought that soon, she'll be fetched and will be offered to their conquerors. Will she be wedded off? Will she be tortured? Perhaps, butchered? Will they cut her tongue off, like they did to her sister, or gouge her eyes out, like they did to her friend? Will she die? Or will she live? These thoughts ran relentlessly inside her head. When they took her sister two years ago, she died as they cut her tongue out and plucked her bejewelled eyes to wear as a trophy. I will become another trophy. The thought would cross her mind and Hiraya would hyperventilate afterwards. There was no escaping the shithole.

She heard strange noises from the chamber next to hers, and her ears pricked over the sound. Her pointed ears told her the exact location of the source of the noise, and Hiraya held her breath. Are they fetching her now and decided to no longer wait on her seventeenth birthday? No, it's unlikely. Suddenly, a gap opened from where the noises came from, and from the gap emerged a head she knew well.

"Help," gasping for air, the intruder repeated, "Help me. I'm stuck."

"What have you been doing, Aya? You've been missing for three days! I thought they caught you!" Hiraya immediately stood up to aid her friend. Not long after, Aya stood inside the cramped up space of the chamber. Her long, black hair which was common for their race were covered with soot and dust, probably from digging from God knows where up to her private chamber. Her long, pointy ears were all perked upwards as she stared around the small space underground.

"Wow! Your cavern is bigger than mine!" she exclaimed.
"There's no way you can call this cramped up space a cavern. A burrow, perhaps. Now tell me, where have you been?" Hiraya raised her arms akimbo as she stared at her friend they presumed dead.

Aya's eyes finally met hers, and she found herself staring at the eyes quite similar to hers and the rest of the Diwasi clan-- fire opal eyes which the Hunter's Guild prized to be their possession as they gouge their clan's eyes out of its sockets, iridescent eyes that may be unique to the rest of the world. And her eyes were impossibly clear as it reflects great determination and will.

"I found a way to get back our life."
"What?"
Aya extended her arms, and only then did she notice the black and white banner she was holding. "It's the time again."

Hiraya's eyes widened as she stared at the object Aya was firmly holding. And a thought came into her mind.

"Who's going to do it? Shall we tell the elders?"
"No!"
When Aya looked a bit startled, Hiraya continued, "We can no longer trust the elders, and you know that!"
Aya was frowning, "Then what are we to do? This might be our chance to regain our freedom."
"Yes. That's why I will be the one to join the game."
Aya appeared surprised at first, but afterwards her face turned bright. "Do you promise to win the game?"
"I promise you freedom and the death of the Guild."
They stared at each other, and Aya smiled. "Let me get you out of here."