The Dragon of the Shadows in the Dark [Being Re-Written]

The Rage of Dawn: Burning Embers

Confidently, Hak stands as he gives his princess a pained but comforting smile. The princess weakly extends her arm to try and reach out to Hak but she makes no move to go after him, staying where she was told, "But Wait, Hak!" She cries out, she quiets as she turns her hand over, revealing blood staining her soft pale skin, remembering what Hak had told her at Fuuga. "If we're going to be traveling together, I'll have to protect you." That's what he had said, the memories of him making good on his words flashed through her mind. Him taking the arrow for her, him trying to comfort her during her moments of distress.

A forlorn look takes hold of her face as she talks to herself, "To protect me, you-" The princess' words are stopped by another voice near her. "Where's the princess? Where did Princess Yona disappear to?" Yona looks to her right and through an opening in the bushes sees the man behind everything. "Kan Tae-jun..." She whispers out his name as she spots him with a soldier behind him, Tae-Jun squats down near the edge of the cliff, observing the two figures fighting his soldiers with mild amusement.

"Hak must have helped her escape." The soldier says to his lord, only to have Kan Tae-Jun angrily and desperately exclaim, "Find her at any cost!" He stands and looks down at Hak, who is cornered by his soldiers, seeing the signs of a tide turning in the battle, in his favor. "The Thunder Beast is human, too." The gray haired lord comments, as he watches Hak struggle to stand his ground against one of his soldiers. A dark and slightly panicked look shadowing the blue eyed males face, his body shaking from what appears to be exhaustion.

"He seems to be tiring." Observes the young lord idly as he watches such a well respected individual have difficulties at the result of his command. "The arrow that hit him was poison tipped." The soldier informs the gray haired male, this information immediately worrying the red haired princess as she eavesdrops on their conversation. Yona's eyes grow wide with terror as her mind works faster than ever before, only being brought back to reality when Tae-Jun voices his concern as the actions of his soldiers.

"What?" He questions in utter disbelief, Tae-Jun stands and turns toward the soldier behind him, looking over his shoulder, "You fired those at the princess?" The soldier flinches at his lords tone but stays strong, "We knew Hak would shield the princess with his body if we fired at her. Though the second arrow was also meant for Hak, it was only a stroke of luck that allowed the two warriors opposing you to each take an arrow for the Princess." The soldier does not relent in the face of possible anger from his lord and continues to speak.

"An ordinary person wouldn't be able to move." In the ditch, Yona holds her hands beneath her chin as she processes what she is hearing. "He's a terrifying man. However, the masked figure took the same poison tipped arrow to the thigh and fought directly after receiving the injury. If the words of the soldiers are to be believed, the arrow is still in their skin and they have been fighting longer than The Thunder Beast, though they are both in a similar state or fatigue." Yona's head snaps up in shock at Tae-Jun's next words, the hostility and venom in them sending horrified shivers down her spine.

"Then, when he turns his back, fire at him. Fire at the other one too, it's dangerous." Yona hears Kan Tae-Jun order, the world seems to fade away as Yona gets trapped in her own panicked mind, her thoughts working as hard as they can to try and find a solution. 'They're going to kill Hak?' Yona goes to stand and run to Haks aid only to freeze at his words echoing in her mind, "Don't move, no matter what." That's he had told her, she stops as the memory plays in her mind, realizing one harsh fact.

'That's right. If I reveal myself, I'll only slow him down.' She was of no use to him on the battlefield, she would only be a burden to him. Something that could make him lose the battle or worse get killed should she disobey him. 'It'll be fine.' She mentally reassures herself, trying to quell the fear inside her. Unease blossomed from within her, as brilliantly as the dawn that never failed to start the next day.