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"So this is where you were" King Sop-Won's advisor Kye-Sook said walking into the accounting room "As you predicted, I discovered a secret account. There are signs that taxes were being illegally managed" the Young King nodded with a smile "Good work" "I have already dismissed the man in charge. Evidently, the corruption runs deep" the Young King nodded thinking back to his predecessor "King Il was a kind man Kindness is not a crime. But sometimes, it awakens the weakness and greed in others"
"Yes Your Majesty" the Blonde looked down at the scrolls in his hand but before he could continue to read his advisor spoke again "Your highness, isn't that one of the books your father forbade from reading?" The young King looked at the book lying on top of his desk and smiled to himself "Yes. the legend of the five dragons. When I was a child, I would often sneak in here and find great excitement in reading this book" but that smile disappeared as he looked back to his scrolls "But it's only a fairy tale. Gods of fantasy cannot fix the Kingdom of Kouka"
Yuri
"It's been a while. I've been waiting for your medicine" "Sir, do you have any rice? Sure. But it's rare to see you traveling with someone" I tipped my head down so that my long orange hair would hide my face Who's the girl?" "Oh I'm a fellow merchant. We have business near the border" the man nodded, not suspecting a thing and went on his merry way. I let Yona out of the bag I had been carrying on my shoulder and tied my hair in a low ponytail "I was so afraid we'd be discovered; my heart was pounding" Yun said to himself before turning to us.
"Listen up, you two. A red-haired princess" BOOM "general and beast" BOOM "It's Oranryuu or Flame beast" Yun looked at me confused but shook his head "And a handsome genius!" BOOM "We all stand out, so let's try not to draw attention" "Plus, we're near Fire Tribe territory and its capital city. You understand it'll be bad news if they find us, right?" Yun said giving us a deadpanned look "Yes, sir" "and thanks to the Oracle we know the four dragons live in secluded places" I said as I looked up at the sky.
"It isn't just the capital. It's near the Kai Empire, too" I said aloud, thinking about what the Oracle had told us "I finally got to go outside, so I'm really excited to see this mysterious village. Once I travel across the kingdom, I'll record my personal experiences!" Yun gushed. I smirked and walked over next to him "What's wrong? Your eyes are red. If you miss the Oracle, you can return to those mountains anytime"
"Shut up!" while mucking around with Yun I hadn't realized someone was coming until I turned to see Yona pulling her hood up "Hey, Yona-" I quickly pulled my hair out and put my head down. Once the man was out of earshot we stopped. "Yuri, your injuries haven't healed yet. You can't carry me for the whole journey. Besides, I want to see this kingdom with my own eyes" I sighed knowing she was somewhat right "Okay, fine. But don't let your guard down. As I mentioned earlier, it may appear peaceful, but-" within seconds of me not looking she was already gone from her spot.
I turned to see Yona talking to Yun about a water wheel. Yona then turned to me and pointed at the field "Hey,Yuri, what is this?" looking closer I realized the crop "Wheat" "They'regrowing rice over there, too" Yun butted in "This area is under the capital'sprotection. Most of the food you ate in the castle was probably produced here"Yun smiled at Yona "Really?" I nodded. She watched the family of three beforeclapping her hands together in a prayer before we kept moving again.
When we arrived in the next village, we decided to get necessities "We have most of the things we need. But we don't know how long we'll have to stay in the mountains. I guess I'm a little uncertain" "Yeah" I looked around the shop for any soldiers "Yuri, is something wrong? Did you forget to buy something?" I was hesitant but answered "No" "You can go. We'll wait here" Yona said trying to convince me.
"It's fine. From the looks of things, this village doesn't seem to have dangerous connections" I stood and grabbed my covered glaive "Run at the slightest sign of danger" "We'll meet outside the village by that big tree, right? We know" "Yeah...I'll be right back" I walked out and went to the nearest weapons shop.
'I found my glaive and weapons, but I lost my bow in the mountains'
I looked at a dagger that would probably suit Yona "It's a self-defense sword. It's small enough for a girl to use but make no mistake, it can kill a grown man" thinking about Hak and the King made me groan "I'll get it"
'Hak will kill me'
I started making my way back to the store when I found a clothing shop "hello Ms, can I help you?" an old man said. I smiled "I'm looking for something light and easy to fight in" the shopkeeper moved from behind the counter and into the back of his store.
After a few moments he came back with a silver pair of boots, a dark blue coat with gold trims and greyish white colored pants "they're from the Kai Empire. It's a very rare pair of clothing made now" he handed it to me and I went to try it on "you look lovely Miss" the shopkeeper said as I walked out "how much is it?" I asked turning to the old shopkeeper "have it" he said with a smile.
I looked at the old man suspiciously "don't be alarmed. I tried selling it awhile ago, but no one wanted it. At least if you took it then it wouldn't stay in the back collecting dust" I nodded still wary before grabbing my stuff and leaving.
(Her New Clothes)
As I started walking again, I noticed Fire Tribe soldiers walking towards me, having not noticed yet. I quickly ducked into an alley and waited for them to leave. It then suddenly snapped in my head, if they were here then that means Yona and Yun could have also bumped into then. I quickly ran out after the coast was clear and went looking for them. I found the two hidden behind some crates; grabbing Yona's mouth to stop her from screaming, she froze up and quickly turned around but relaxed when she saw me "Be quiet, Yona" I let my hand drop to hers.
"Let's go. We shouldn't linger" once we got out of town we stopped at the oak tree "I'm sorry. I was careless. I shouldn't have left you two alone" I said but Yona shook her head "No, I'm sorry" she said. We dropped the subject and started walking again "I heard that, since a new king was crowned, taxes will be decreased" "Don't expect too much. No matter who rules, they'll never understand our hardship and pain" two workers said as we walked past them.
"Climbing is rough, but I'm glad we don't have to worry about being watched" "Don't lower your guard. There's no guarantee that Fire Tribe soldiers aren't patrolling the area" I said looking at our surroundings, but Yona suddenly stopped in front of me "Yuri, I want to learn swordsmanship. You said you would teach me" I scoffed "No, I didn't" "Eh- You can teach me while we travel. I need to be able to repel attackers" I crossed my arms and gave her a cold look "Yona, could you kill someone?" I watched her body freeze.
"You may try to repel enemies, but they won't just run away. You must kill or permanently incapacitate them. Can you do that?" she looked down at the ground before looking back up at me "When we were cornered in the mountains, I had a sword, but I couldn't use it. Even if I can't kill or stand toe-to-toe with someone, I want to be able to, at least, create opportunities for escape" she said with pleading eyes "so please will you teach me?" I sighed "...Very well" I said handing her the bow.
"A bow?" "I'll fight on thefront lines. You'll fire at our opponents while hidden" she nodded, glad that Iat least gave her something to work with "Okay. Give me a sword, too" I shookmy head "For now, I'll only teach you the bow. Yona King Il never let youhandle weapons. Now I'm disobeying the orders of my king. And not only that butHak is gonna kill me when he hears I gave you a weapon...You should consider whythe king hated weapons" she nodded looking at the bow.
Soon enough we startedwalking again "so how are you supposed to train her with a bow while we hikethrough mountains?" Yun asked "Well If we weren't traveling, I'd make her shoot two hundred arrows a day" I said while stretching "Two hundred?!: Yona squeaked "But for now, I guess you can practice shooting birds or rabbits" "that's a great idea. If you shoot something, we can eat it for dinner. Meaning you can start pulling your weight Princess "Wha What?!"
One Hour Later
Yun and I watched as Yona tried and failed to shoot an arrow "Yuri, I can't hit anything. What am I doing wrong?" I walked over, grabbing the bow and arrow. I aimed at a flying bird and let the arrow fly free. The bird squawked as it died, falling lifeless to the floor "That" I said handing back the bow "How did you do that?" "I aimed" I said like it was the most obvious thing ever "I don't get it" "Don't get what?"
"Prodigies don't understand how the incompetent feel" Yun said from beside us "You could never be a teacher, Yuri" she said walking away from me "hold it" she turned to me and I grabbed her upper arm, lifting it up in front of her face "Listen up. You lack basic strength. You must build the strength to draw the bow without shaking, and then Learn by doing. A master archer can strike a target with their eyes closed. Don't be deceived by what you see" I got behind her and helped her pull an arrow back "For now, focus on shooting straight" I said as we shot at a bird killing it also.
For the next few days we continued walking and while doing so Yona started to practice her archery. "This morning, we're having poultry and rice" I looked at the yummy food, my stomach letting out a growl "That looks delicious! You really can do anything" Yona said excited "Well, I am a genius" I let the two know I was gonna quickly shower and started to take my weapons out "hey, I forgot to ask. Why did you get new clothes?" Yona said with a curious expression.
"My old uniform was all ripped up. I was surprised that Yun was able to somewhat mend it" I smiled looking down at the clothes as I lifted my foot to look at the boots "and I like these better anyway, they are more comfortable than my last ones" Yona nodded with a smile and I took that as my que to head towards the river.
"Your shooting posture is getting better" "Really?" the conversation got harder to hear as I got further away. I quickly bathed even though I wanted to stay in the water longer I knew that if I did then the two would worry. Once I got back we continued on our journey. Yona stopped and pulled her bow and an arrow out, aiming it at a boar. She let the arrow fly free but just scraped the baby boar's leg "You almost had it" I said patting her shoulder "I needlessly injured it. That's just cruel" "Because you hesitated" I patted her head.
I turned to Yun "Yun, go ahead, we'll catch up" "okay, but don't be too long. We're nearly at the place Ik-Soo mentioned" "Okay. We'll be right there" I moved to stand next to a tree once Yun had gone ahead "Now, then. Show your teacher how much progress you've made" I said before placing my hand on a tree "Okay! First, try to hit this tree" she pulled out an arrow and successfully shot it "Congratulations! Yona. You can hit a motionless tree" I said clapping my hands.
"Oh, why thank you" she said with an annoyed tone. But it was a compliment. I looked around at what else she could try to hit but a sudden idea popped into my head "What else...Aim for me" I said smirking at her "I can't do that!" she said looking at me like I was crazy "It's all right. I'll dodge it. This will teach you to hit hitting a moving target. No, this will teach you to hit people. I'll move around. Try to shoot me"
"Don't blame me if I hit you!" she said shooting an arrow, but I jumped, letting it imbed itself into the ground "Yuri! How am I supposed to hit you when you move around?!" "Sorry Yona but people move. You aren't even close to hitting me" I said grabbing an arrow she shot and snapping it in my hand "You lack the intention to kill"
"Th-The intention to kill? Of course, I don't have that, I'm shooting at you" "Then imagine I'm one of the soldiers from the mountain. Envision the men who want to kill you" "No one like that exists!" I knew my words were gonna hurt her, but It would need to be said "Really? Then Imagine I'm Soo-Won and shoot"
She let go of the arrow and I hadn't noticed quick enough resulting in the arrowhead slicing my cheek "I hate this side of you. But to protect you and Hak, I'm willing to take up a weapon, even if it means sacrificing someone!" I smiled and pulled and pulled Yona into a hug "Yuri?" "Don't say you'll protect me or Hak" "Why not?" "Cause it's our job to protect you"
Flashback
"Your friend Hak will join you on your journey. It's only a matter of time before you three reunite" Ik-Soo said before we began getting ready to leave.
Flashback Over
'I wonder where you are Hak?'
"It's gotten harder to see" Yona said pulling me out of my thoughts "Hmm. How far did Yun go?" I thought back to the words Ik-Soo said about the Village "A mysterious village, shrouded in mist...It should be around here somewhere, but where is the village?" "Yuri, there's trouble! Come quick!" I suddenly noticed I couldn't see Yona anywhere "where are you I can't find you?!" "over her!" I followed her voice and found her crouched over Yun's things and a very familiar glaive.
"Yuri, these are Yun's belongings. And it's Hak's weapon!" Yona stood up and looked around at the mist "Yun! Where are you? Answer me!" "Leave!" as soon as those words were said I quickly pulled Yona closer to me "Leave! Leave this land immediately" "Who's there?" Yona yelled "If you intrude any further, the gods will punish you"
I smirked with a scoff "who threatens their enemy while hidden behind mist!" I yelled as I let the scales grow up my arms, fingers turning to claws. Bring my arms back I slapped my hands together, making a big gust of wind that cleared the mist "Who are you?" "no one's ever cleared the mist before"
"Are you from the dragon's village?" "How do you know about our clan. Who sent you here" "Your knowledge alone gives us reason to kill you. There was a boy here earlier. Were you all travelling together?" "We won't answer until you tell us where he is! What did you do with him?!" "Like you he trespassed- no it can't be"
"She has crimson hair" "just like the legend" "But she's a young girl" "please tell us truthfully Miss, where are you from and why are you here?" "From Fuuga. An Oracle instructed me to seek out the four dragon warriors. Are you the one who carries the white dragon's blood?" "No, we are guardians of the white dragon. We will show you the way to the village of the White Dragon"