The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 88: Senri Village of the Kai Empire

"We're here!!" Yoon was unable to contain his excitement. "The Kai Empire."

Yona popped her head out from behind a bush as Calista landed in front of them lightly.

She had offered to scout ahead, promising not to go too far where Shin-ah couldn't see her and they relented. Her brother especially knew as well as she did how it felt to be in one place for too long. When the leisure pace became familiar to the point where it made it hard for her to slip back into routine.

A false sense of calm.

She came back without a scratch, and all of them missed how her breathing was a bit heavier than usual.

A quiet murmur from the blue dragon dissipated the excitement. "Yona... Someone has collapsed."

Yona cried out in alarm, and Hak darted forward in the direction that Shin-ah pointed him in. They ran after him and arrived just in time to see him shaking a girl with braided black hair in his arms.

The mysterious girl's eyes cracked open, then she blushed furiously at how close he was to her.

Calista arched an eyebrow at the girl's obvious attraction to her brother and tilted her head.

Loud, straight-forward, eyes are clear. Possible threat.

"Hak," Yona peered closely at the two of them, not noticing anything out of the ordinary as he sprang away from the strange girl at the sound of the princess' delicate and concerned voice. "Is she alright?"

Calista smiled to herself at her worry for the stranger they just met, even though she was slightly disappointed that Yona didn't seem to care how this girl was swooning over Hak.

Kija's white robes flowed behind him as he strode forward. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Eat a loquat, missy!!" Zeno's eyes crinkled, offering the treat up to her.

Jae-ha took her hand elegantly and smiled charmingly. "Young lady, let me pick you up and carry you."

The strange girl fawned over their good looks, and Yoon sweated nervously. The point was to remain undetected but they were already standing out. The only one the new girl hadn't taken notice of was Calista.

He didn't know how she did it, but somehow she was able to blend in with her surroundings and not draw any attention to herself.

How does she manage to be invisible like that in plain sight?

"I know!!" The mystery girl exclaimed, breaking him out of his thoughts. "You're traveling entertainers, right?!"

"No—"

"That's right!!" Yoon practically yelled, cutting Kija off sharply. "We're traveling entertainers."

"First we're bandits and now we're entertainers?" The white dragon hissed at him.

"How else are we going to explain this group of exotic rare beasts?!" The youngest hissed back and Jae-ha raised an eyebrow.

He did have a good point, as per usual.

"I have some medicine if you're not feeling well." Yoon crouched down on the ground, studying the girl closely.

"It's fine." She declined his kind gesture, a hand reaching up to coddle her head. "It's just that I've been doing heavy labor since this morning, so I got a little dizzy."

Jae-ha's eyebrows drew together in concern. "Heavy labor? A frail-looking girl like you is doing that...?"

She nodded. "Almost all the young men went to Sen's capital to enter the military."