The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 159: Heart and Soul

Zeno smiled at their antics, silently putting away the pots and pans Yoon was going to use to make breakfast so that no one accidentally stepped on it while trying to avoid Calista and Jae-ha's scuffle.

"Hello Lili, Ayura, Tetora." Jae-ha greeted consecutively as though nothing had happened, once Kija managed to wrangle Calista back from killing him entirely, and gathered a bunch of sticks for kindling over to Yoon for him to start another fire since the last one had died out early last night. "Sorry about all of that, we're not all that hotheaded."

Calista snorted but didn't take another run at him. Kija was still holding her back and she didn't feel like elbowing him in the face just to get out of it.

"Speak for yourself." She spat but the playful glint in her eye gave away her true position.

It was all in good fun.

Hak chuckled at his sister's fire, aiding Yoon with the preparations for medical treatment for the men who needed it.

Zeno was running back and forth with a pile of folded blankets and Shin-ah was dismantling the tent they set up last night, Kija going over to help when he noticed him struggling with the massive amount of heavy-duty fabric.

But another loud scream pierced the temporary peace and easygoing atmosphere, destroying any semblance of tranquility they had achieved after Calista's impromptu brawl with Jae-ha.

"You all camped out here yesterday?!" Lili shouted, her jaw dropping as everything else that had just happened passed over her head, getting hung up on the fact that Yona had just told her that she slept outside. "You're kidding."

There was no way they all spent the night outside. In the dark, where it was cold and there was no warm bed to sleep in. Barely ten feet away from where the men who attacked them were still tied up.

No way.

Calista raised an eyebrow at her volume. Ah, a rich girl. That would explain why she has an attitude...

Yona smiled nervously, backing away slightly as Lili scrutinized her closely. "It's true."

"The poor are incredible!!" Lili shouted, her eyes wide with astonishment and horror.

Shin-ah and Zeno bowed deeply.

"We're not that incredible." Zeno said bashfully.

"Shin-ah, Zeno, she's not praising us." Yoon told them bluntly.

Calista giggled to herself, pulling Shin-ah back to an upright position even though he still didn't really understand what was going on. He looked to her for guidance and followed her around as she tottered about to watch over the members of their party as the rest of the town started to awaken.

"I don't believe you!!" Lili continued to ramble, spewing nonsense at Yona. By now, she had dropped her act of pretending to plant trees and her attendants stayed off to the side, not getting involved in what their master was getting herself into. "You're a girl, right?! How can you camp surrounded by all those men in a place like this?!"

"It's fine, we're all friends." Came the nonchalant reply from Yona.

"We're safe and stable men." Yoon added, slightly offended that this girl had the nerve to suggest otherwise.

"Mostly." Calista muttered, glaring at Jae-ha pointedly as she assisted Shin-ah in folding up the tent so that its condensed form would be easier to travel with.

Yoon rolled his eyes and Yona smiled reassuringly at Lili who looked like she was about to go ham on someone.

"Don't worry, I trust all of them." The princess told her.