The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 75: Eyes Opened

"Well then, we'll come again, Grandmother Mi-rae!!" Yona exclaimed with a cheerful wave as they bid her farewell.

The appearance of the soldiers didn't even faze her... Calista realized, startled. 

The princess was as optimistic as ever. The men behind her looked a bit frazzled and she held in a laugh once she realized it was probably because they were smushed up next to her. That bed was not big by any means.

And she didn't have to worry about Yona being violated in any way, she knew Hak would have shut that down instantly if the other so much as lifted a finger. 

"Lady Mi-rae..." Tae-jun started, and the fighter prepared herself to defend the older woman. "Thank you for today."

Calista tripped over her feet in shock, catching herself just in time before she crashed to the ground. Hak snickered, but she didn't pay any attention to her brother, caught up in how humble the noble appeared in the moment.

He continued as if he didn't even notice her slip up. "Hiding us today was a big help. Also, next time... I'll massage you so..."

As he trailed off, a lopsided smile broke out on Mi-rae's face. "No way!! I want that handsome guy instead!!"

"Whaaaat?!"

Yona giggled, doing her best to stifle the sounds so that she didn't further aggravate the already insulted Tae-jun. Hak fell in stride beside her, an amused expression painting his normally bored features, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. There was a skip in her step as she walked ahead of Tae-jun and her protectors.

Calista kept her head on a constant swivel, Kija and Jae-ha nowhere to be found. She could only assume they went back to Yoon and Shin-ah. Zeno was gone too, only empty space filling where he was playing with the children earlier.

The princess slung her bow over her back since her bodyguard wasn't taking her hunting for the rest of today. "Grandmother was quite happy today, wasn't she?"

"That's her being happy?!" Tae-jun exclaimed in disbelief.

"Grandmother Mi-rae isn't very honest, so she has a bad mouth that gets her hated." Yona explained to him, tossing a kind smile over her shoulder. "She really likes you though, Tae-jun."

Something akin to hope flickered across his face. "Really?"

The two raven-haired siblings walked silently side by side, not contributing to the conversation. But Hak eyed his sister strangely as he picked up on her unease. He chose not to comment on it though, having a feeling that she wouldn't want to talk about whatever was bothering her with him.

Yona's tone turned somber. "10 years ago, her son was taken away to the capital, Saika, to become a soldier."

Despite being made aware of his father's orders and initially agreeing with them, Tae-jun couldn't ignore the pang that went through his heart. He hadn't thought about the pain it brought their families, he only thought about what was being done for the welfare of the Fire Tribe.

But now, he was starting to question if taking those men to be soldiers was really the best course of action. After all, they were punished if they tried to leave, so none of them had seen their families in a very long time.

"After that, she became a shut in." Yona continued, eyes saddening. "If she could move her feet freely, she would've run to Saika by now, and beaten up that parent-forgetting son."

Tae-jun stayed silent for the rest of the way back, and he left without much fanfare afterwards. Which left Calista alone with the one person she had been avoiding to speak with. Sighing under her breath, she got to her feet just as dinner finished.