Episode 06
"Strawberry Blonde"
>>>
< Hak >
Hak opened his eyes, wincing a bit at the now bandaged sword wound on his chest.
He looked around, scanning the room for any source of life, and searching for the red-haired princess.
"Yona-hime?" He asked, looking for an answer while pushing his body weight up with his hand to allow him to stand up.
"Yona--" Hak's eyes froze when he saw the dull, long silver hair that belonged to only one person he could think of. "Sae-Rin? Oi, Sae-Rin."
"Hey, stop that!" A foreign voice commanded. The owner of the voice then walked into the shack-like house with a weaved bucket filled with plants and food.
Hak glanced suspiciously at the boy, a few years younger than him, and asked, "Who are you? Where is the princess? What happened to her?"
"Gah! You ask too many questions. I'm just a beautiful passerby that you can forget, and that red-haired girl is somewhere outside talking with Ik-Su. As for this girl...." The stranger scratched the top of his head, pondering for a moment.
"It seems like she guarded both of you when you guys fell down the mountain," which surprised Hak, "She has lost a lot of blood from minor sword wounds, some of her ribs were cracked, and one cut was infected by the dirt on the floor. I've barely managed to keep her alive."
The ex-General gulped as he looked at his new companion's bandaged arms, head, and chest as well as her pale skin and exhausted figure.
"Ahh, this is difficult..." Hak said scratching the top of his head. "I'll be out for a moment."
"Fine do whatever you want." The strawberry-blonde teen said, waving his hand in dismissal before continuing to treat the silver-haired woman.
[]~[]~[]
Hak wandered outside in search for the princess when he finally stumbled across her. She was crying, he realized, and letting out tiny whines that she tried to hold in.
"Yona-hime? What's wrong?" The 19-year-old asked, pulling the frail princess's body closer to his own.
"Did you hear what Yoon said?" She began, trying to form words without ruining them with her crying, "he said that Sae-Rin-san took the most damage out of all of us because she protected us. We barely know her but she protected us with her life."
Hak looked down, sorting through the thoughts in his mind while trying to form a comforting sentence in his brain.
"I hate it, Hak." The princess said, breaking the silence. "I hate it when people get hurt because of me. I feel so helpless that it's pitiful.."
"Mm." Was the only thing Hak could say before her escorted the princess back to the tiny hut.
[]~☆~[]
[Saya's POV]
My body hurts.. my head hurts... is this what death feels like? Am I going to die? Are those two alive?
Saya was drifting away into darkness, her human body being unable to heal her wounds fast enough for her to recover. Plus, she didn't have enough energy to change into her Goddess form where her self-healing would be much more potent.
Perhaps I will die and finally reunite with the others... what a happy dream that would be..
As she thought this, Saya could see the faint outline of four men with multicolored hair. Instead of them looking old like in her most recent memories of them, the dragons looked young and happy again.
Hiryuu? Gu-En? Shu-Ten? Abi?
Wispy voices whispered in her ears. "It's not the right time." They said. "Live."
Live? But why? I can finally be with you guys...
The faint, red-headed figure shook his head gently, a smile plastered on his face.
"You're still needed." Hiryuu whispered, gesturing the other dragons away before they faded into the bleak black once more.
[]~[]~[]
"Don't leave!" Saya shouted, bolting up from her sleep.
She was in a room, her wounds were numb. How long had she been out?
A startled voice could be heard from outside that came rushing into the room. It was a boy with strawberry blonde hair, a teen, 15 or 16.
"Shes awake!" The boy called to his friends, who, too, came into the small room.
The Fox Goddess was relieved when she saw red-pink hair peek from behind the doorframe and smiled when she saw the familiar spearhead that a certain ex-General owned.
"Princess Yona.." she said delicately, her throat sore from an old fever.
The red-haired princess basically cried into the immortal's arms which made Saya's eyes widen in shock. Tears began shape at the corner of her eyes and ran down her cheeks involuntarily.
"Were you worried about me?" Saya asked. Yona violently nodded her head and the (physically) 18-year-old could clearly see the princess's crocodile tears.
Saya placed a weak hand on her forehead and chuckled, wiping her tears with her new clothing's sleeve.
"That makes me really happy, actually." She smiled, hugging her friend's reincarnation.
Hak kneeled beside the two girls, a warm smile coating his face.
"Thank you." He said again. "Of course." Saya replied with a closed-eye smile.
"Hak stop smiling! Your creeping me out!" Yona said suddenly, which caused the Fox Goddess to laugh then yelp as she felt pain in her abdomen.
"Oh no, if she dies you'll be charged for murder, Yona-hime. That's a crime." Hak teased, which made Yona pound on his arms with her small fists.
"Hey?" Saya asked. The two bickering friends turned to her with curiosity. "Is this where the Oracle lives?"
Yona nodded her head tersely before pointing out the door in the direction of a waterfall. "He's over there somewhere."
The Fox Goddess thanked the red-haired princess before getting up, clenching her jaw as she endured the numb pain, and stumbling outside.
In the end, the two assisted her in to walking to the priest. The priest himself looked clumsy, aloof, and messy but his spirit was strong, Saya concluded as she gently sat down in front of him.
"Ah, I'm so humbled to be in the presence of a goddess." He said.
"Goddess?" Yona said confused. Another person joined their little circle which the red-haired princess referred to as 'Yoon' and he said, "He says a lot of god stuff that I think aren't true... but Ik-Su has never lied before.."
"No. This man is correct.." Saya interrupted, surprising both Yona and Yoon as well as Hak.
"Princess? Have you heard of the story of the Dragon Warriors?" The snow-haired goddess asked. Yona nodded, suddenly becoming ecstatic.
"One day the Red Dragon god descended from heaven with his friend the Fox Goddess, but while in the human world people began to resent them and their godly powers so they tried to kill them. Before they could, four Dragon Warriors and a fox stopped the persecution and saved their friends." She said, reciting her favorite story.
"Yes, and when we wouldn't return with them, the Dragons and the Fox transferred their powers to humans so they could forever live with their masters, which is how the Kingdom of Kouka was created." Saya finished for her.
"We?" Yoon asked.
The Fox Goddess nodded, her face the epitome of serious. "I am the Fox Goddess in the story. The one who descended from the heavens with the Dragon God, Hiryuu. I have also met and fought with the original Dragon Warriors." She explained, pushing her powers to the limit and making herself a fox-human hybrid.
The others gasped in awe as two white fox ears appeared on her head and a large fluffy tail sprouted from her lower back.
"You see, Princess, after Hiryuu died I had lost hope in this world of meeting him again. That is... until I met you." Saya said, grasping the princess's hands.
"Now, with you here, I promise to protect you correctly, even if I am wrong and you are not who I hoped you to be. Nothing shall harm you while I am here."
Yona seemed to be taken aback and she looked to Hak for counseling.
She was disappointed to find him only shrugging with a giant smile on his face. The red-haired princess couldn't even begin to imagine the thoughts running through his head.
Next, she looked to Yoon, hoping he'd be able to come through for her but found his staring with amazement at the Goddess's ears and tail, constantly asking if he could touch it.
Finally, Yona looked to Ik-Su who gave her a warm smile and reassuring nod.
"Princess, should you continue as you are, Hak and the goddess will not be able to keep you safe. Seek out the Dragon Warriors in the story for they will also lend you their powers." He told her.
"Dragon Warriors? Like in the myth?" Yona asked confused. "But I thought this was just fiction."
The priest tilted his head and gestured to Saya. "Isn't that enough living proof for you?"
"But where should we go? How will we know where to find them?"
This time the Fox Goddess listened intently, anxiously waiting for the location of at least one of the dragons.
"There is one. In the fog shrouded mountains near the Kai Empire there is a small village that contains the White Dragon." Ik-Su said, placing a hand on the princess's shoulder.
"And take Yoon with you."
"WHAT?!" The strawberry-blonde boy said, outraged.
"Yoon, this isn't the right place for you. See the world!" The clumsy priest demanded, his voice serious.
Yoon was quiet for a moment before he reluctantly nodded, coming to a conclusion. "Fine, but don't blame me if you die of starvation or fall off a cliff, stupid!"
Ik-Su nodded, his eyes tearing up, and pulled the teen into a hug. The two stood there for a while before Yoon pulled back and went into the house to get his stuff.
Saya smiled warmly and stayed glued to her spot as the princess and ex-General followed the strawberry-blonde back to the hut.
"Thank you, priest." She said, turning to him. Ik-Su nodded subtly. "I pray for your well-being, Goddess."
This made her laugh before she placed her hands on Ik-Su's shoulders, staring him straight in the eyes and saying, "I bless you with a healthy life."
Golden sparkles seemed to emit from her body and clung onto the priest, seeping into him like a sponge with water, as they granted him a few more healthy years in life.
"Farewell!" Saya called over her shoulders, waving goodbye as she followed her companions.
"Thank you."
This was long. =3= very very long...
How did I do this?