She picked up her knife from the ground, tucking it back in its sheath on her ankle. Yona beamed up at her. "Of course!"
Then, her eyebrows drew together in concern as the second part of what Calista had said registered in her mind.
"Is something wrong?"
Calista motioned for her to stay quiet. The last thing she wanted was for the others to hear.
Yoon was ushering a freezing Seiryuu and a red-faced Hakuryuu back to where he set up the tent.
Calista gave Hak a firm look as he turned back once he noticed they weren't following. The solemness in her eyes transmitted the message clearly.
Ten minutes alone, and then he comes looking for them.
Good enough for her.
She nodded in thanks. Then, the ex-general turned on his heel and left.
Calista led the princess to a tree halfway between their camp and the stream, figuring it would hide them sufficiently if anyone came after them, but was close enough to the others if they needed to regroup quickly.
Though, she doubted anyone at Seiryuu's village wanted anything more to do with them after the havoc they caused.
Yona stared up the tree in concentration.
"You and Hak usually climb trees for this part, right?"
Calista's eyebrow shot up to her forehead. She wasn't aware that the princess knew about that.
"How did you...?"
She trailed off, and Yona shrugged her shoulders.
"I never wanted to learn before, since it would dirty my clothes." The smile she gave her was sad as the princess remembered how prissy she used to be back at the castle.
Everything that she seemed to worry about seemed so trivial now.
"But now I do. Would you teach me?"
Calista wiggled her eyebrow. "Well, I could, or you can have Hak help you."
"What do you mean?" Yona tilted her head cluelessly.
"I mean, you can have him just lift you up, and then, poof!" Calista shook her hands comically. "You're already there."
The two burst into giggles. A minute later, Calista finally calmed down enough and cough into her hand, clearing her throat.
"But to answer your question, Your Highness, yes. Hak and I do tend to be up in a tree for our conversations usually."
Yona's eyes lit up, eagerly awaiting instructions. Calista grinned at her willingness.
"Would you like some help?"
Yona shook her head, taking off her bow and quiver from her back to set them on the ground. Her hands flitted around the trunk, trying to find a secure hold, only to give up when she couldn't locate one.
Instead, she jumped, latching her hands around the lowest branch, trying to climb up vertically with her feet. She attempted to pull herself up, only to crash back down immediately.
"T-The bark is slippery!!" Yona huffed as a light laugh escaped her companion.
After a few more failed attempts, she sighed heavily in defeat and Calista restrained the giggles bubbling up in her chest. She couldn't help it.
The dirt that was on Yona's hands, and smudged on her face was something she was still getting accustomed to seeing. Her determination would get her far, but not all the way this time.
"Would you like a hand now, Your Highness?"
Yona reluctantly accepted it.
"It's alright to ask for help sometimes, it doesn't make you weak." Calista added on softly.
"But, I want to be acknowledged..." Came the quiet reply.
Calista locked her fingers together, creating a makeshift place for Yona to put her foot in, and then she hoisted her up. Yona pulled herself up the rest of the way with a grunt, smiling widely when she made it all the way up.
Straddling the huge branch, she locked her ankles together, precariously stabilizing in place with her hands on the bark in front of her. Once the princess was settled successfully on the lowest branch, Calista hooked her daggers into the trunk, scaling the tree quickly and reaching up a hand to swing up easily next to her.
Yona gasped in astonishment.
"How did you do that?!"
A breathless chuckle was all she got in response.
"Teach me how to do that!!" Yona begged, clasping her hands together, only to flail them frantically when she almost lost her balance.
Calista smiled slightly. "Once you mastered the bow, Your Highness."
Yona puffed out her cheeks and she laughed, the joyous sound ringing through the air. There was her childhood friend that she knew and loved so well.
She rolled up her sleeves, slipping her blades back to their rightful place on her arms.
It wasn't covered in time.
Yona's eyes were wide with shock as they landed on the scars that criss-crossing her left forearm.
Her slender dagger didn't hide them all from view.
"What happened?"
Calista froze, refusing to answer her.
But this is what she called her over for. It was time she knew.
"Calista." Yona begged, voice cracking with desperation.
She had put this off for long enough.
"I'm... bound."
Yona didn't understand. "...Bound to what?"
"Are you aware of the underground, Your Highness?" Calista continued, ignoring her earlier question. By the confusion in her eyes, it was clear she didn't know what it was.
"There is nothing but fear, greed and corruption there. Blood is always called for, and will be granted one way or another."
The assassin's face was guarded, her eyes, dark. Yona's expression was contorted in horror.
"People are either brought in or are born there. Since I was born there, I'm not allowed to leave." Calista hesitated, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on it. "Soo-won bought me so that they would stop chasing me once I tried to."
Yona froze.
"That's... good, right?" Her voice trembled.
Calista gritted her teeth, looking away from her.
This wouldn't be easy to do.
She didn't want to destroy whatever image of her beloved cousin Yona had left, but this couldn't go unsaid.
"In a way, yes." Calista chose her words carefully. "They did leave me alone because I belonged to a noble. However, after... that... night... I am no longer tied to him. If I go too long without a master or without visiting at night, they'll come after me and I don't stand a chance against all of them."
Yona straightened up immediately. "We can fight with you."
"No!" Calista's silver eyes were filled with fear. "Besides the fact that none of us are capable of taking on that massive number of fighters, many of them are like me; they were born there or brought in at a young age. It's all they've ever known. If given the chance, maybe some would leave, but they're not all evil."
The red-haired princess stopped as she processed all of this new information. Her eyes swirled with a torrent of emotions, and Calista needed to break through to her before she got consumed by it.
"Let me ask you this, Your Highness." Diverting Yona's attention back on her, she carried on. "You may have chosen to fight, but look at those around you. The innocent civilians and the people who didn't ask to be drawn into this conflict, all of them will get dragged into this if you interfere the way you want to."
Yona nodded, but her knuckles turned white as she curled her hands into tight fists. There was one prominent emotion burned brighter in her eyes than anything else.
Anger.
Calista placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing Yona to look her in the eye.
"You put them in danger if you stand with me. They'll come after anyone without mercy, without reason. I'm not willing to risk your lives or anyone else's to help me, do you understand?"
A distraught cry tore from Yona's throat. Her childhood friend was caught up in something that was bigger than her, that was bigger than either of them.
"There has to be something I can to help!" Yona cried out, leaning forward.
Calista ran a troubled hand through her hair. It pulled harshly at the tangled strands.
"I have an idea." She hesitated, because it wasn't without repercussions.
"You can buy me. Then, as long as I legally am bound to you, they can't do anything. But, you will have to use an alias. To the rest of the kingdom, you are dead. Revealing that you're alive would lose us the upper hand in the long run."
"So, I buy you." Yona's lips twisted back in disgust, the words leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. "Then what?"
"Then, I go back occasionally. Not too often, just as needed."
"Why would you need to go back?"
"For money, for weapons. For whatever you order me to do."
"I don't want to give you any orders!" Yona blurted out.
"You're going to have to." Calista uttered grimly. "You have to fully play the part of my master, Your Highness. It's the only way to convince them. Since we're not revealing who you are, there will be no written contract. They'll have something similar to an initiation, where many will fight for your favor to be yours. If I win, please choose me. Only then will I be able to carry out my full responsibility to you as a bodyguard, under the guise of your slave."
Yona didn't make a sound for several moments. Calista started to fidget, the silence slowly becoming unbearable.
She knew it was a gamble, but it was necessary. The princess, her friend, deserved to know who exactly she was putting her faith in.
Yona's next words surprised her.
"You are my comrade, but even more importantly, you are my friend. If this will help you, then I will do it, but you are not," Violet orbs flashed with conviction. "And will never be, anything less than family to me."
Calista's breath caught in her throat. Her heart started to beat faster, and she rapidly ducked her head down so that Yona couldn't see the hopeful smile that unwillingly spread across her face.
I'm not, and will never be, her equal. She reminded herself brutally.
"There is one more thing." Calista managed to get out, once she had her place hammered into her head.
The sun was beginning to set.
"Even if we are able to pull it off, there are many things that can go wrong. Make no mistake, Your Highness, that I undoubtedly prioritize your life and everyone else's above my own."
Yona's mouth dropped open, so Calista hurriedly finished.
"There may come a point in time where people come after you and the others for trying to help me. Masters treat their fighters like dirt, and I know that you won't be able to, so when they come, I will be there to protect you."
I promise.
"When that time comes, please do exactly as I say. The lives of everyone that you know and love will be at stake if you don't."
Yona looked like she wanted to say more, but at that moment, Hak decided to make himself known.
"Are you two done now?" He stepped out from behind a tree, throwing them both a cheeky smirk.
Calista wasn't surprised, just mildly annoyed, but was ultimately glad that he had stayed out of earshot for their talk. He never did like her going back down there, but he didn't understand the ramifications that would come upon her if she didn't.
Judging by his relaxed posture, he had been with the others up until now.
"I'm trying to have a conversation with Her Highness, Hak." Calista said, crossing her arms over her chest as she bent over to get a good look at him.
He mirrored her actions childishly and she stuck out her tongue at him.
"Real mature, Bat-Ears."
Yona giggled, then yelped as she lost her balance on the branch. Calista failed to grab ahold of her in time, but she didn't need to worry as Hak caught the princess easily in his arms.
Calista sniggered as she caught sight of his subtle blush, the innocent princess looking up at him with wide eyes, thanking him softly.
"Princess, you've gotten heavier."
Yona glared at him, hopping out of his arms and gathering her archery bow and arrows off the ground. Then, she bounded back towards the campsite. Before she was out of sight, she tossed a genuine smile over her shoulder.
Calista blinked, then returned it wholeheartedly. Things would be okay.
She would be there to ensure it.
Calista landed in a crouch with her tunic fluttering around her.
Her cloak, that was currently in the hands of Seiryuu, had become quite tattered since the start of their journey. It hadn't held up so well through being thrown off a cliff, and the many consecutive battles it had seen.
Calista massaged her shoulders. Surprisingly, her range of motion was a lot more than before, but she knew she shouldn't overdo it. It would be too easy to undo all the progress that was just made, and she didn't want to bother Seiryuu to bandage it again.
Not that she's sure she'd be able to handle it if she was consciously aware of him twining the cotton around her.
"Are you okay?" Hak asked her directly, as he noticed her fingering the gauze wrapped around her knuckles.
Calista shrugged noncommittally. Her brother almost snorted at her response.
So, this was how it was gonna be.
Hak unsheathed his glaive and Calista smirked, drawing her daggers. They fell into the palm of her hand with a satisfying weight, and she flattened them against the back of her hands.
They circled each other for a couple seconds.
She lunged at him first. He parried her attack, slashing his spear at her shoulder in retaliation.
Calista twirled, shifting her weight on the balls of her feet, coming back to block the blow aimed at her head.
"Guess you really are okay, Bat-Ears."
Calista could practically hear the smug smirk he was no doubt adorning.
"I'm doing much better now!"
Hak's cobalt eyes scoured her stance for any signs of a flaw. She was light on her feet, and quick. Even through her exhaustion, she was still fighting as though she was wide awake.
Her strikes were precise and calculated. There was no sluggishness, and her silver eyes were clear.
Despite her extensive injuries, she was fighting as if she didn't feel any of it.
Thank goodness you're alright, Calista.
"What are you thinking about, Thunder Beast?" Calista mocked as her roundhouse kick connected with his arm. "You're awfully distracted right now. Thinking about a certain princess?"
His mouth pressed into a hard line, and he pushed her off of him with a grunt, spinning his spear around in a circle to ward her off.
"You're getting worse, Bat-Ears." He shot back.
That wasn't true, and she knew it.
Calista just grinned smugly, countering his glaive with her daggers. He twisted it up as if it weighed nothing, and brought it back down in a flash, but she rolled to the side, recovering quickly.
The sparring match was invigorating, she loved dancing over his attacks as if they were nothing. He got faster, and she was forced to use her blades every time to halt one of his strikes. Their blows back and forth became a blur of steel for a few seconds until...
Oops.