The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 40: Preparations

Hak gestured for his sister to join them, Yona and Kija on either side of him. Not a second after she sat down across from them, Shin-ah was beside her, offering up a bowl full of seafood stew.

All of their eyes were on her, the hope in their eyes made her heart twinge in pain. She hadn't realized how much she was worrying them.

Reluctantly, she opened her mouth the slightest bit, and Shin-ah blew on it to cool it down before letting her eat a spoonful.

The flavor exploded in her mouth, Yoon had really outdone himself this time. It was delicious!

I promise to pay it back. Calista vowed to herself as she greedily accepted another bite, politely refusing any more after. 

You don't deserve any more.

Shut up, I don't need you to tell me that.

The two warring sides of her mind quieted as she saw Yona pick up another helping of stew from Yoon, carrying it over to Captain Gi-gan, who had a playful, blonde girl resting on her hip. The captain set Hani down, and the little one scampered over to the crew, disappearing in a split second.

Calista was too busy looking for her to make sure she was alright, that she failed to notice that someone was trying to get her attention, until she heard a shout.

"Oy, Bat-Ears!" She sat up, startled, looking at her brother who had a hand cupped over his mouth to amplify his voice so that it rose above the rowdy conversation filling the air. "Yoon wants to chop your hands off."

"Yah, Thunder Beast!! That's not what I said!!"

Calista chucked under her breath, rocking onto her knees and pushing herself up with practiced ease. She was starting to get the hang of it. Yoon was tapping his foot impatiently by the time she finally got to him through the band of pirates that had formed around him. He had only been applying the senjusou liberally to her hands for a few minutes when Shin-ah's soft voice reached her ears.

"Boats... boats have gathered at the harbor."

Captain Gi-gan and Jae-ha shared a lot of alarm. "How many?" The captain demanded.

"7..." Came the quiet answer.

Captain Gi-gan cursed, then instructed Jae-ha to round everyone up. Yona's hand flew to cover her mouth in shock, mirroring what Calista was feeling internally. That many ships meant trouble.

It looked like this battle wouldn't be as easy as they were hoping. 

Ten minutes later, they were all scattered around a room below deck. Hak was right by the princess's side with his arms crossed over his chest, a bored look on his face; and Kija was not too far away from them. Shin-ah and Yoon got swept up to the front, near the captain's table while everyone else clustered around them. Calista opted to sit on the floor in the corner, with a sleepy Hani in her lap.

The little one was playing hide-and-seek with the pirates, thoroughly puzzled when everyone stopped having fun. But now that they were all down here, the exhaustion that came from all her running was catching up with her.

Calista played with her hair idly while the captain talked, only half listening to them, up until a certain term caught her undivided attention.

Human trafficking.

It wasn't anything new, since Jing first told them about Kum-ji being the one responsible, but it still made her skin crawl.

"What?" She hissed through clenched teeth, somehow reaching the captain's ear. "He's doing this when?!"