e·ter·ni·ty /əˈtərnədē/
infinite or unending time.
•••
The mountains are cold, but my cloak keeps me warm enough to make it through them. The sound of birds wakes me every time I start to fall asleep.
The five of us continue walking to god knows where. We don't even know where to go.
"Alright." Yoon turns around. "So you know the way to the next dragon warrior's village?"
"Yeah. Of course I do." Kija answers. "There should be a dragon... warrior..." he trails off and collapses, face first.
"Kija!" Princess Yona yells.
Hak picks Kija up and carries him into the forest. Yoon, The Blue Dragon, Princess Yona, and I follow him. We probably should've taken a break a long time ago.
"He was digging like a mad man." Yoon sighs. "All that hard work must have completely worn him out."
"Oh no..." Princess Yona says.
"Well, rest in peace, White Snake," Hak says and drops a white handkerchief on Kija's face.
Kija immediately sits up and starts speaking gibberish, waving his arms around.
"Kija! Calm down!" Princess Yona yells. Kija lies down and closes his eyes.
"I'm sorry for passing out, Princess." Kija apologizes. "I don't know why I feel so exhausted. I'm having some trouble locating the other dragons."
"There's no need to push yourself," Yona says.
"So the white dragon can't sense the other dragons right now. What about our blue one?" Yoon asks and looks at the Blue Dragon. We look at the Blue Dragon only to see Ao chewing on his wig. The Blue Dragon doesn't reply.
"Woah. I forgot he was here." Hak says.
"Yeah, he's been traveling with us this whole tile, dummy," I say.
"Blue Dragon, can you sense where the other dragons are?" Yona asks.
The Blue Dragon cocks his head as Ao squeaks.
"Judging by his face, I'm not even positive he knows what they are." Hak crosses his arms.
"Oh!" Kija looks down. "I feel so bad for you! But it's not your fault." He grabs the Blue Dragon's hand. "You had no one to teach you the way! But from this day forward, I shall become your teacher. Believe me. I'd be honored to teach you the ways of the four dragon warriors. In fact, why don't you just call me brother from now on?"
Everything was so sweet until the Blue Dragon immediately runs deeper into the forest.
"Hey!" Kija yells. "Where are you going?"
"I think his brother scared him off," Hak says.
•••
We follow the Blue Dragon deeper into the forest until we hear the sound of water.
A waterfall?
Eventually, we see a waterfall leading into a small pond. The Blue Dragon stares at it.
"Blue Dragon!" Princess Yona yells.
He takes off his wig and jumps into the pond.
"Suicide?!" Kija shouts.
"Bet you feel guilty now," Hak says. "I mean, this is all your fault."
"No, it can't be! Did I really cause this?"
The Blue Dragon swims to the top of the pond and takes a breath. He stares at us and passes Kija a fish.
"Is that for me?" Kija asks. He takes the fish. "So you want me to eat it and build strength? Thank you, but next time just says so." The Blue Dragon nods, puts his wig back on, and sits on the floor, shivering.
"You really got to help your brother, white snake," Hak says. "Just look at how he's shivering."
"How is that my fault?!" Kija asks.
"I don't get it. How'd you know there was a river here?" Yoon asks.
The Blue Dragon points at his mask.
"Oh! Seriously? You can see long distances?! Well that's a cool power to have if you ask me. I can think of a million ways that could be useful!"
"Is it true that if someone looks into your eyes that they'll turn into stone?" I ask. The Blue Dragon shakes his head. "If that's the case, then why are you still wearing your mask? You can take it off if you want." He sighs and looks down.
"Don't worry about it." Yona smiles. "How about we set up camp and start a fire? That'll warm you up and we can cook the fish you caught!"
•••
"Wow! That looks good!" Hak exclaims. "Where'd you get all the ingredients?"
I look in the pot and see a variety of vegetables and the fish.
"I traded them for medicine while we were at the Blue Dragon's village," Yoon answers, passing Princess Yona a bowl.
"Oh no, Yoon! A bug dove into the pot!" Yona yells.
"Oh well. It's just a little bit of added protein."
I look over at the Blue Dragon's clothes that are hanging from a piece of rope. "The clothes are taking so long to dry," I mumble.
"I wish they'd hurry," Yoon says. "Because he's kind of freaking me out."
I look at the Blue Dragon and see him inside his wig.
"That is one creepy-looking hairball," Hak says.
"Is it just me or does our group seem to be getting freakier and freakier?" I laugh.
"Shut up, Himari! Don't you think the Blue Dragon is embarrassed enough as it is?!" Kija lectures. "Imagine how humiliating this must be for him!"
He doesn't seem to be thinking about anything.
We all watch Ao begin to eat the potatoes from his soup.
"Blue Dragon, you should probably hurry up and eat your food," Yoon says.
He takes a spoonful of the soup and immediately starts drinking it. Then, he begins taking more spoonfuls and quickly finishes his soup.
"You like it, don't you!" Princess Yona exclaims. "I'm glad!" She looks at Yoon. "Thanks for the wonderful food, Yoon."
"It's no big deal," Yoon replies and begins eating.
Princess Yona stands up and takes off her cloak. "You must be cold. Would you like to borrow my cloak?" She asks.
"Yes... thank you very much... Yona." The Blue Dragon replies.
We all look at him in shock.
Did he really just call her by her first name?!
"Yona?!" We all yell.
"He acted like it was nothing." Hak mumbles.
"It's been a while since anyone has called me by my first name..." Princess Yona says. "It's nice! I'd like to call you by your name!" The Blue Dragon looks at her. "I hate that you don't have one. Can you think of a name you'd like us to call you?" Instead of answering, he simply falls onto the floor and looks at the sky.
"I say we call him... Hairball Monster." Hak suggests.
•••
"Hey, Himari?" Princess Yona says. I look at her. "I'm having trouble thinking of a name for the Blue Dragon. Have any ideas?"
"Hm... maybe a word that describes his personality?" I suggest. "Like quiet... or something like that."
"Princess Yona, are you sure you're really a princess?!" Yoon interrupts. "I thought they were supposed to be girly and scared of everything.
"Of course I'm a princess! The Blue Dragon just isn't a scary guy!"
"I used to hate royals... I thought they were all devious." Yoon says.
"Honestly, before I met Princess Yona, I thought the same." I laugh.
"Oh... while we're on the topic... can I call you by your name?" Yoon asks.
"Oh yeah, same here. Princess Yona is too long." I add. "But you don't have to say yes..."
Yona giggles. "You guys are adorable."
•••
"Okay..." Yoon looks at his map. "Following the direction Kija pointed out, the green dragon should be in this area."
"If we keep heading this way, we'll run right into Saika and Hiryuu Castle," Kija says.
"You're right... we should follow the mountains, and verify the Green Dragon's location as we go."
The Blue Dragon climbs a tree and searches the sea, making sure no one is around.
"Shin-ah! Is anyone here?" Yona yells.
Shin-ah? Is that the name Yona gave the Blue Dragon?
Shin-ah jumps down and shakes his head.
"No? Then let's go." Yoon says.
We begin walking through the forest. The flowers are still in bloom, even though they shouldn't be.
"The long-distance vision is nice. It's easy to find low-traffic roads." Yoon exclaims.
"Ah! You are fulfilling your purpose, Blue... oh. I heard the princess gave you a name.
'Shin-ah'... it's a good name. You should cherish it." Kija smiles.
During our journey, we set foot in a village to rest. The village is dirty, nearly as horrible as the orphanage I once lived in, where nobody cared for me.
Many sick and homeless people sit on mats, holding their children tightly. They wish to give their children a better life, but can't.
"This is a village abandoned by the generals and the king..." I mumble. Yona gasps.
"Around here, crops haven't grown for hats and there's no water," Yoon says. "The men were probably all taken to the capital as soldiers. With disease spreading, those without strength to move elsewhere have no choice but to die here."
"How awful..." Yona looks down at the dirt path.
"The village I was born in was pretty much like this." Yoon continues. "The Fire Tribe may have lots of land, but most of it is infertile. Yet, the tribe leader, General Gang Soo-jin, keeps spending the money on his military."
"He is an idiot." Kija sighs. We look at a villager who's lying down, coughing.
"Are you okay?" Yona begins to walk closer to the man but Yoon stops her.
"Don't get close. You'll catch his sickness." Yoon says. Carefully, Yoon slowly walks towards the man and passes him some water. "It's not a cure, but here's some medicine and water."
"Here." Yona helps the man drink the water.
"Are you from Saika?" the man asks, taking a sip of the water.
"No, just travelers," I answer.
"I see. Then have you been to Kuuto?" he asks. "I hear a new King was crowned. I wonder what he's like." My eyes widen.
Soo-won?
"The previous king, Il, was a horrible king." The man continues. "He only thought about not making waves. The five clans became disunited and the kingdom knew nothing but chaos. He didn't even save us, the weak people. Just whose king was he? I hope the new king is good... I hope he can change this kingdom. Thank you, Miss. It's been years since someone has touched me."
"Your welcome... take care," Yona says, tears in her eyes.
The man isn't wrong. King Il was not a very good king. But, if I could choose him over
Soo-won, I would. I still loved that king. He was Yona's father, too.
•••
Yona rubs her eyes, drying her tears. Then, she quickly walks ahead of the group.
"Sorry, nature's calling... don't follow me." She says. After she walks away, I look at Hak.
"I'm going to follow her," I say.
"Don't. Let her calm down." Hak replies.
"She needs to know that that man didn't know King Il like we did! That she shouldn't get upset just because of this little thing!"
Hak sighs. "I suppose you're not wrong. But, maybe she's crying over King Il's death?"
"That might not be the case! I'm just going to ask her what's wrong and help her get over it!" I raise my voice, shocking Hak and the others.
This is one of the first times during our journey that I've yelled.
I take one last look at Hak and walk in the direction Yona went.
•••
When I see her, I sit down next to her and wipe her tears away.
"I told you not to follow me..." she sniffles.
"Look, Yona. That man doesn't know King Il like we do. He wasn't a cowardly king either. I've seen him hide his wound before, but only once." I smile.
"Really?"
"Yeah. So cheer up! We still have two more dragons to find!" I exclaim. Yona smiles.
It makes me happy that I can cheer people up easily. I can wash their pain away, leaving little to no traces of it.
But can they wash mine away?
•••
Words: 2026
I'm still deciding if I'll write the Soo-won arc or not... I feel like it could be a good idea because General Geun-tae is Himari's adoptive father.
Then again, I'm almost at the Green Dragon's part, so maybe I shouldn't.
I'll figure something out eventually :)
Thank you for reading! Two days ago this story was at 19 views, now it's at 68 (edit: make that 71). This makes me so happy!
I'll do my best to upload as soon as possible. I'm aiming for at least two chapters each week, but that might not happen.
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Thank you for continuing to read Search For You :)
~Yuii Suzuki