Hak
I noticed Princess Yona looking at my leg worriedly so to comfort her I spoke up "I'm fine. A little snake bite isn't going to stop General Hak" I watched relief cross her face. I turned to look at our surroundings "Um, Hak?" I turned to her "Yes?" "Couldn't we head down into some village for food and medicine?" I shook my head.
"Villages are dangerous. Even if the villagers don't recognize us, soldiers could be anywhere" she looked at me confused "Then, where are we heading now?" I sighed standing up and grabbing my glaive "Probably the only place we can count on now. Capital Fuuga, my hometown" when we reached the gates of Fuuga I found the gate guards sleeping.
A irk mark appeared on my forehead and I swung my glaive at them, waking them up POW!! "Does guard duty mean nap time in this clan?" I said with a twitching eye "Lord Hak?!" they said getting up to stand before me "Hey" "It's been a while Ten years?" sweat dropped from my face at their way off timeline "It's been three" "What are you doing here? Did the great general get fired?" not answering I let out a sigh "You guys are as laid-back as ever"
"We are the Wind Clan" "We live only as the wind blows" "When we're sleepy, we sleep" I groaned "Who put these guys on guard duty?" I said glaring at the two "Hey, is that General Hak!?" "General Hak! When did you come back?" "You've become even more handsome!" to many questions were being asked "Please, one at a time" I said trying to calm the situation down.
'Looks like they haven't heard anything from the castle yet'
"Who is this girl? Is sheyour woman?" I turned to see the crowding Princess Yona "What? No, she's acourt lady in training" "No way! So, what's your name?" more people started tocrowd her. "Huh?" "Where are you from?" "Are you from the sky capital?" "Hey,what's Hiryuu Castle like?" "How old are you?" I watched as the Princess's eyesstarted to close.
I dashed forward, grabbing her before she could hit theground "Um She collapsed!" "Oh, my What a weak girl" I looked up at the boys "Preparea bed and food immediately" "The General's being kind to a woman" the two boys whisperedmaking me annoyed "Did you not hear me?" "Y-Yes, sir" Han-Daesaid as I stood up.
"Where's the old man" I asked Han-Dae as we walked together "Elder Mundok He's at Hiryuu Castle" I was surprised at his answer "What?" Han-Dae looked at me confused "You didn't know?" I shook my head "A meeting of the five tribes was suddenly called at the castle. It was also pretty weird when we heard the Former General Geun-Tae was going instead of General Lady Yuri"
"A meeting of the five tribes?" "Normally, the young lords at the castle attend. I thought it was strange that they'd summon Elder Mundok, since it's been awhile from when he retired from being a general" I nodded "General Hak, were you really fired and where is General Lady Yuri?"
At Hiryuu Castle
No One
"You wanna tell us what's going on here? We get summoned to an emergency meeting only to find out the king is dead?" Former General Geun-Tae said crossing his arms "and rumor has it that Princess Yona, General Yuri and General Hak are missing too" General An Jung-Gi said "Elder Mundok, Elder Geun-Tae, do you not have some idea where General Hak and General Yuri might be? They are your kids after all and protecting them would be high treason"
The fire General, Gang Su-Jin said with and owlish look "is that an accusation? Don't jump to conclusions Su-Jin" Mondok said looking at the General with his one good eye. "And how dare you accuse me" Former General Geun-Tae glared at the General "I didn't even know my daughter was missing till now. She was supposed to be visiting tomorrow before all this happened"
"There's a rumor going around the castle that General Hak and General Yuri killed the King and has taken Princess Yona as a hostage" both Former General's became furious at the accusation "It isn't good to make assumptions" General An Jung-Gi said trying to cool the tense atmosphere "We don't know where General Hak is. Perhaps something happened to him and Lady Yuri, as well"
"When he was thirteen years old the lightening beast was such a skilled warrior that he surpassed even me. My daughter being even younger than him when she surpassed me. My daughter would never let herself be caught by someone weaker than her. And I know for a fact that she would never kill the king" Former General Geun-Tae said praising his daughter.
"Then maybe you don'treally know your daughter" General Su-Jin said with a smirk "how dare you!" theformer General yelled getting up to tackle the Fire General but Elder Mundok grabbedhim before a fight could break out "Quiet" all men sitting at the table turnedto the voice "The King was murdered, and Princess Yona General Lady Yuri andGeneral Hak are missing"
"Then, it is true?" the former earth tribe Generalsaid quietly to himself "Leave this matter to us. If you find them, contact thecastle. Do not harm them or inform anyone else without permission" "Soo-Won-" "publicizingthis information would bring chaos to the kingdom" Soo-Won said cutting of the FormerEarth tribe General.
"The tribes would begin fighting amongst themselves. The Empire Chishin, Kouka Kingdom, Saika Suiko, Fuuga, Sei Country, and Shin Country. What the five tribes must do now is work together to strengthen Kouka Kingdom, to avoid its invasion by another country" "You're right" General Su-Jin said with a nod "To avoid conflict, King Il gave other countries land, and made offerings to them. The Kingdom of Kouka's power has fallen. Now is no time for civil war"
"In that case, we need a new king" "With all due respect, in Princess Yona's absence, the only one with royal blood is Lord Su-won. He is the man who should have been the crown prince" "There is no problem with crowning him the new king" General Su-Jin spoke up "I, Gang Su-jin, sincerely approve of Lord Su-won's becoming the new King"
"How do the other clan leaders feel?" Soo-Won said looking at the rest of the men "Yes, I approve of Lord Su-won" General An Jung-Gi said next. The Former Earth Tribe General was hesitant. He thought about the little girl that used to run to his room from nightmares. Who used to smile at him no matter the situation. But after a few moments he spoke up "No objections her" he said with a sigh.
The rest turned to the Former General of the Wind Clan "I'm tired. I'm too tired to be having Complex discussions like this. I'm leaving" Former General Mundok said standing and making his way towards the doors "Lord Mundok we aren't finished yet!" Soo-Won's councilor Kye-Sook said "I'm no general, and I haven't been for some time, if you need a vote then you'll have to get it from Hak"
"If you refuse to acknowledge Lord Su-won as the king, people will suspect the Wind Clan of rebellion even more" General Su-Jin spoke up "Without approval from all five tribes, I cannot become king. But a kingdom cannot last without a king' Soo-Won said, sending a silent threat to Elder Mundok "If you were to marry Princess Yona you would legitimately be King. I would've happily given you my blessing. But I know Hak and Yuri wouldn't leave the castle without reason, and they wouldn't take the princess either" The Former Wind Clan leader said with a glare.
"Three days from now, we will hold the coronation ceremony. I know you will come, Elder Mundok. For the sake of the people of Capital Fuuga" Soo-Won said with a different type of aura from his usual before it turned bubbly again "It's sad Your Highness, I used to think of you as a grandson, like Hak" the Elder said before leaving the room.
Yona
The sound of birds chirping woke me up. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in a large room.
'Where am I? I have new clothes'
"Oh good your awake" my head snapped up at the person who entered the room "Your fever's gone down" a blonde little boy said as he felt my head "Eat lots of food, and get well soon" he said putting a tray of food in front of me "It smells nice" I then noticed it was chicken porridge "It's good" I said as the tears ran down my face "Why are you crying? D-Does it taste bad?" I shook my head with a smile.
"It's hot" he looked at me like I was crazy "You're crying because it's hot? You're strange" I chuckled "It made me remember my father" I said softly to him. "I'm Tae-Yeon, Hak's younger brother" I looked at the child surprised "Hak's younger brother?" "Are you Hak's friend?" I looked up at the ceiling in thought "Probably?"
"You're probably friends?!" Both Tae-Yeon and I jumped at the sudden yell "That's awful. You can't be lovers but You might not even be friends?" the two boys said with tears in their eyes "Poor General Hak! His feelings aren't returned" "so am I your friend or what?" I looked at Hak confused as he suddenly appeared in the doorway "Huh? Ah...your kinda my serva-" suddenly Hak was in fron of me with his hand covering my mouth.
"Your name is Rina. You're a lady in training. Got it?" I nodded "Okay, that's a good girl" he whispered before taking his hand away "WHAAAAAA" we both turned to see the boys with surprised looks while covering Tae-Yeon's eyes "We aren't doing anything even remotely inappropriate" Hak yelled kicking the two "Rina"
I turned to see Tae-Yeon beside me once again "hm?" "what is my brother really like at the castle?" remembering all the times I spent with Hak since he became my bodyguard I found my answer. "At the castle, Hak is I rude. he's insensitive, arrogant Oh, and not lovable. Also-" "Okay, we get it" Hak said before I could say anything else "That's enough" "Miss Rina, you're the best" the two boys said trying hard not to laugh "Nothing lovable about him!" they said before Hak jumped on them "You two look like you're having fun.
'Everyone's smiling and lively'
"Come here!"
'This is where Hak grew up'
"Hey, what's the castle like? Do they have lots of good food?" I smile at his curiosity "Yes, but the food has never been as good as this" I smile as I lifted my bowl. Tae-Yeon smiled with a laugh "There's more, so eat lots! Okay" I nodded and continued to eat. Once I finished I left the room and went to look for Hak "Rina, did you sleep well last night? Hey, Rina!" I turned suddenly remembering.
'Oh Right, I'm Rina'
"You're a bit of a spaced-out girl. I heard you were thrown out of the castle. They said you couldn't cook, sew, clean, do laundry, play the harp, or even dance" the woman I met when I first arrived said counting on her fingers before laughing "Don't worry though. I'll teach you everything from scratch. First, wash these" she said putting the pile of clothes she was holding in my arms before turning to walk away.
"Wha? But I don't know how" I said freaking out "I have faith in you" she chuckled. "Um..." "This way, lady in waiting" Hak said suddenly appearing out of nowhere and taking half the clothes "What is it?" he said seeing my slight glare at him "I can play the harp and dance a little" I huffed.
"Oh, right. Is that what that wailing noise was?" he said with a smirk. An irk mark appeared "watch your mouth!" Hak then mumbled something I didn't here "Huh?" "Nothing" he said shaking his head "So, you have a younger brother" I said changing the topic "He's so cute, nothing like you"
"Sorry" he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice "Tae-Yeon's just like me. Grandpa took him in. but unlike me, he's frail. That's why everyone's especially nice to him. Yesterday He got a bit too excited" Hak said as we stopped at a river "We're here. We wash clothes in that river. That water is the Wind Tribe's life, so be respectful wit-" my eyes widened as I walked ahead and saw the river "Hak, I can't" "You haven't done anything yet. At least try before yo-" "The river, it's dried up"
People gathered and started to panic but Hak was quick to calm everyone down "Calm down! We're sending Han-Dae to check the conditions upriver" "General Hak, this isn't the time to be so leisurely!" "Making a fuss won't fix anything. For now, we can buy water from the merchants. They should have enough reserves to see us through the current situation" I looked at all the worried faces that were starting to calm from Hak's words.
"Elder Mundok has returned!" someone yelled as Mundok came riding over on a horse "Grandpa!" "Princess You're all right" Mundok said getting off his horse and hugging me "Thank goodness. I didn't want to believe it, but when I heard the king was dead, and you'd left the castle with Hak and Yuri...I'm sorry I couldn't protect you then!" he said squeezing me tighter, pushing more air from my lungs.
"Mundok...I can't breathe" as soon as he heard me he let go "you lost weight? Are you not eating right?" I shook my head with a smile "No, they feed me well, maybe too well. The Wind Tribe is like you, Mundok. It's warm and relaxing here" he smiled at my words "Brother! Oh Grandpa!" we turned to see Tae-Yeon in Teu's arms as they walked over "Han-Dae's back!" we all ran over to Han-Dae to see him pretty beat up.
"My boy, what happened?" "I went upriver like you said, and would you believe it Some guys from the Fire Tribe were damming it up. I thoughtlessly picked a fight with the guys, even though they were armed. They beat the snot out of me" he said rubbing his neck with a smile.
"The Fire Tribe" "What are they trying to do? Start a war with us?" "General Hak, let me go! I'll beat them up" Hak lifted his hands "Wait. We mustn't attack the Fire Tribe" "Why? They blocked up the river and beat Han-Dae to boot! At this rate, Capital Fuuga will be-" "Calm down" everyone turned to Mundok "Don't worry about the river. In any case, hurry up and treat Han-Dae" Teu nodded.
"Yes, sir" he said grabbing Han-Dae by the neck and dragging him off "Let's go" "you could be a little gentler!" was heard in the distance "Grandpa?" "This is a warning from the Fire Tribe" he said looking at the river "A warning?" I said confused "They want to crown Lord Su-won king. They're pressuring us because I didn't approve"
'Soo-Won, who killed my father, will be king of this country?'
"Princess It's all right" my head snapped up at his words "I'll never approve. If I acknowledge Lord Su-won as king, it would also mean acknowledging that Hak and Yuri may have killed the king" "You're right. Blaming me and Yuri would be the fastest way" "by the way...where is Yuri?" Mundok asked looking around "...we don't know" Hak said crossing his arms "she help us escape by acting as a decoy with Min-Soo" Mundok nodded.
"Hak Don't worry. The Fire Tribe won't do anything worse than this. And I'm sure Yuri is alive out there" Hak nodded as Mundok patted my head "General Hak!!" we all turned to see a villager covered in blood "come quick!!!" we followed after him to the gates where someone held a bleeding Yuri "Yuri!" I kneeled next to her as he breath's came out shallow "get the doctor now!!" Hak yelled.
Once Yuri was patched up by the doctor, I was allowed to go see her. I decided to move my bed in with her so that when she woke up, hopefully I would be there as I sat against the wall, I thought about the events that had happen so far. The wind Clan's River being damned up, Yuri being in such bad shape.
"Rina What's wrong? Are you hungry? It's time for dinner" Tae-Yeon said running in to the room "There's a water shortage. I should try to conserve" but Tae-Yeon shook his head at my answer "It's okay. Big brother told me to fatten you up. Besides, Hak said the Wind Clan's way is to pamper guests, so they'll give us mone..y" he said trying to grab my hand but collapsed before he could.
"Tae-Yeon?!" Hak, Mundok and Teu came running in "Tae-Yeon?!" "What's wrong?" Mundok said as I pulled him to my lap "He suddenly collapsed!" "He's having an attack. Tae-Yeon's lungs have always been weak. Sometimes, he gets respiratory paralysis. Once he takes his medicine, he'll be fine" I nodded and started to calm down "But Grandpa, the merchants who were supposed to bring medicine today haven't come yet"
"I'll go check it out" Teu said and went to walk out but people burst into the room "It's an emergency! The merchants were attacked on their way here!" "No!" "They're all seriously injured" "Then we've lost our means of acquiring water?" "The medicine" I said looking at the breathless boy.
"What about Tae-Yeon'smedicine?" "Damn it!" Hak yelled "This must be the Fire Tribe's work!" "I'llnever forgive them!" "General Hak, why aren't you saying anything? This isn'tlike you" I watched Hak contemplate his options but I was snapped out of it byHan-Dae patting my head "Han-Dae, your injuries" Teu said surprised "Calm down, you hot-blooded idiots!" "You started this Han-Dae" "The most important thing right now is Tae-Yeon's medicine, isn't it? I'll go to the doctor in the eastern forest and get some medicine" he said moving to stand in front of Hak "You're going all the way there, with those injuries?" Teu said surprised "I'm the fastest rider in the Wind Clan"
"Pretty please! Let me do it Master! I wanna save the day!" I watched Hak smile and nod "fine. But bargain with her" Han-Dae nodded and made his way out "He's so reckless" Teu said "Listen, everyone. I understand your rage, but the Fire Tribe is strong. I won't let you start a war with them now. I promise I'll do something about this. Just because the river dried up, it's not like us to shrivel up. Entrust your lives to me, and wait quietly. Those are the orders of Son Hak, Chief of the Wind Clan"
I was surprised at Hak being so demanding "Did you hear that? The young Master gave us orders" the people murmured about Hak as they walked off. We got Tae-Yeon to bed and I decided to sit beside him "You should get some rest. You'll collapse again" I looked up at him feeling useless "Hak, is there anything I can do?" "Well...you could try to be a little sexier" he smirked.
Wha! Hak, I'm being serious her-" but before I could finish speaking he grabbed my cheeks and pinched them "It's fine. You can live a carefree life here" he said before walking off. i looked out the window, knowing that once I was alone I let the tears fall.
'Was this my fault'
Hak
"What's wrong? You can't sleep?" Grandpa said as I walked into his study "What about you? Since neither of us can sleep, why don't we have a drink?" I sat down, pouring both of us a drink "It's rare for you to offer me your best alcohol" I shrugged my shoulders "well...I just grabbed a bottle from your top shelf" suddenly he spat it out "Don't waste it" "So, what do you want?" "I was just thinking. If it were you alone, you probably would've charged into the castle with a single spear" "You're one to talk" "You're putting too much stress on your body, old man"
"I have a request. I need you to approve of Su-won's becoming the new king. Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving the Wind Clan. You can have the Son name back, too. Once you approve, the Fire Tribe should stop bothering you" "You may end up with a bounty on your head" I shrugged my shoulders "That sounds cool. I've always wanted to become Kouka's greatest villain" I said taking a sip of my sake "Are you leaving the princess behind?" I nodded my head "She's finally able to smile a little again. I'm glad I brought her here"
I thought about my next words for a few minutes before looking up and gramps "I have another favor to ask of you" I said bowing "Hide Princess Yona from the castle, and let her live her whole life as a member of the Wind Clan!" Grandpa was quiet for a few seconds before speaking up "No. I refuse to take requests from my grandson. I won't let anything happen to my family" "grandpa!" I said annoyed "Though I suppose I can't disobey my chief's orders" a feeling of sadness set deep in my heart "Those are the final orders of Son Hak, Chief of the Wind Clan" I watched as a tear slid down his cheek "As you wish"