Words for this part: 2.2k
It was early morning, an hour before the sun rose and Calista was itching to do something. Luna and Speckles were sleeping on the shore, tuckered out from yesterday's activities and didn't seem like they were going to get up anytime soon. The princess noticed her agitation and offered to go on a walk while the others were asleep.
She readily agreed, eager to get some exercise in. Yona flitted about once she realized that a morning walk would end up meaning a morning jog. Still, it sounded a lot more fun than sitting around until the boys woke up.
Yona and Calista started off by strolling along the beach, kicking up sand before the older girl broke into a run. The princess dashed after her, determined to catch up. Playful cries were carried away by the wind as they sprinted down the length of the coastline.
Calista could have sworn she heard Yoon yell something after them, but she couldn't be sure with the wind that whipped around her ears. Glancing over her shoulder, she assumed she had imagined it since the pretty boy was in the same place that they had left him in.
The sky grew lighter, but no sunlight pierced through the clouds. Within minutes, she reached the cliffs that bordered the hidden beach, but she only stared at it for a second.
Scaling up the rocks at a breaknecking speed, she only paused when she heard Yona's cry of protest, gripping the rock firmly in order to twist around. She was met with the sight of the princess slipping and sliding on the sand as she finally arrived at the base of the cliffs.
Calista jumped down until she was within arms reach. She was still barefoot, which enabled her to maintain a solid footing on the warm rock underneath her.
"Here, Yona." She outstretched her hand invitingly. "Come on!!"
Grabbing it without hesitation, Yona yelped in surprise as she hoisted her up. "Calista!! You're so strong!!"
The cliffs were near vertical, but the experienced fighter scoured the stone for secure footholds. There were several ledges along the way that provided them with an ample amount of support and she took the path where the princess would have the easiest time.
Yona followed her lead, and they settled into a rhythm.
They were about halfway up, about eight feet from the ground when Calista stopped. There was moss sprouting from in between the crevices, so she was curious to know why this patch of rock had almost no greenery on it.
"Yona, come check this out."
Hopping onto the adjacent ledge she was on, the princess pressed her small body flat against the cliff side as much as possible to prevent the wind from throwing off her balance. It vaguely reminded her of the Vanishing Cape in Awa, but this was a lot less life-threatening. Not to mention, she had a friend here with her.
Calista rapped her knuckles against the cliff side, and Yona's eyes widened when she heard it too.
The hollow echo of an empty chamber.
Pushing on the stone experimentally, it crumbled with little effort. Calista pumped one fist in the air victoriously and Yona giggled. The fighter climbed in first, then helped the princess in.
"Yoon would love to see this..." Calista mused as she turned around.
They had found an entrance to some kind of tunnel. The only thing was, it wasn't dark. Quite the opposite, actually. The rays of light from the rising sun pierced through the shadows, dispersing them instantly, and it gave way to a breathtaking scenery.
"Whoa..." She said in awe. "This is so cool."
Yona seconded that.
What Calista first thought to be a cave turned out to be a tunnel carved through the earth, right to the other side. And she thought their hidden beach was beautiful and one of a kind.
The path led to another, but smaller cove. Limestone obscured the entire thing from any kind of tampering, and years of erosion had created a near perfect spherical dome high above them. Eons of untouched elements made the sand sparkle like crystals and waves lapped at the shore, peeking out from just underneath the arching entrance of stone that led out to the sea.
"How did we miss this yesterday?" Yona breathed out.
"I don't know..." Calista's eyes were round with wonder. "I guess we just didn't know where to look."
After testing the rock that led into the alcove, she helped the princess down. The rock was almost entirely smooth, but it was soft. Luckily, she had brought along her trusty daggers and that did the trick.
Yona landed on her bottom with an 'oomph', but sprang up quickly, eyes glowing with excitement.
"Calista, look!!"
The princess pointed happily at the shells poking out from the grains of sand and the older girl chuckled to herself.
"Go have fun, Your Highness."
Without hesitation, Yona ran forward to explore the uncharted territory. Calista stayed behind, tucking away one of her blades on the sheath strapped to her arm while twirling the other absentmindedly.
This place is incredible...
But she saw no other ins and outs besides the one they had just found and the one leading out to the ocean. As soon as she finished her analysis of the place and determined that they would be safe given the limited access, she allowed herself to relax and join Yona on her beachcombing mission of collecting shells.
Calista was surprised to find that there were as many shells as there were since she didn't see any other signs of life. Besides the sand and water, there was nothing else. She found it quite intriguing, but welcoming nevertheless.
She lost track of how much time had passed. She had taught Yona how to collect shells of the same size to string together in order to make a bracelet, and the princess had made several.
"Yona, I don't think any of the guys would wear these. It might threaten their masculinity." Calista joked. "Except for maybe Yoon."
"Oh hush," Yona chided the older girl and she took it with a laugh. "It's the sentiment that counts, right?"
After not receiving an answer for several moments, the princess lifted her head curiously to find Calista gazing at her adoringly.
"Yes," She agreed softly. "It's the heart behind it that matters."
They heard their names being shouted, and ran back out, tripping over their feet in their haste. Once on the other side, Yona's eyes grew wide the same time Calista's did as they both saw the dragons, Hak and Yoon all scouring the beach for them.
A flash of guilt crossed the fighter's expression as she saw how frantically they all were searching for them.
Yoon was the most distraught, with Shin-ah almost on par with him. Zeno was skipping around, trying to reassure the others that the missing girls were fine but no one was paying any attention to him. Kija was wailing, falling down to his knees almost every other second and Jae-ha was nowhere to be seen.
Nothing her brother did was out of the ordinary. He was going haywire as usual since the princess was out of his sight, but that was about to change.
Raising her hand discreetly to catch Shin-ah's attention, Calista gestured for him to stay quiet as he caught the movement and his head snapped up towards her. One by one, the dragons' worried eyes turned into relief as they spotted the girls' safe and sound figures.
Calista shot Yona a sly look and she beamed widely, knowing exactly what was going through her head. Together, they crept along the cliffs, positioning themselves directly above a mop of dark hair.
"Remember, roll with the impact." The raven-haired girl reminded the princess quietly.
Yona nodded back, getting ready. She crouched down low, just like she saw her do and then leaped off.
They jumped at the same time. Hak never saw it coming.
"Hyah!!" Calista yelled, jabbing at the empty air in front of him to startle him.
Unfortunately, that made him step back instinctively: right where Yona was going to land. He crashed to the ground just as the princess landed on top of him. His arms closed around her and he used his body to cushion her fall as she attempted to roll, causing the two of them to tumble a few feet.
He landed on top of her and Calista snickered at the suggestive position.
Hak braced himself above Yona as she laid panting beneath him, climbing off of her quicker than lightning.
Calista burst out laughing, ruining their moment. She wasn't able to apologize to him as she was swamped by Shin-ah and Yoon while Kija and Jae-ha ran over to help Yona up. She didn't even know where the green dragon came from, but judging by how swept back his hair was, she was guessing he had gone back up to look for them.
Hak swatted the dragons away as they crowded the princess, glaring at Jae-ha when he commented slyly on Yona's disheveled red hair.
"Where did you go, you stupid fighter?!?!" Yoon yelled at her, brushing the dust off her shoulders roughly, shaking small stones from her clothes. "You weren't supposed to go off alone!!"
"I was with Yona." Calista told him matter-of-factly, then winced at the glare he shot her. "Does that not count?"
His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Of course it doesn't!!!"
Shin-ah scanned her frantically, searching for any injuries but was relieved to find none.
His forehead thumped against the side of her head in relief, heavy breathing coming out in pants that fanned across her exposed neck. She closed her eyes, swallowing hard. Squeezing his hand apologetically, he grasped it back firmly.
"... Don't do that again."
Nodding, Calista caved in, mumbling apologies that were immediately accepted.
"Calista!!"
She raised her head to find Yona standing across from her.
"We've got to show them what we've found!!"
A wide grin spread across her face and she tugged Shin-ah's hand to urge him to follow her. Calling to Yoon over her shoulder, a giggle escaped her lips as he frustratingly muttered something incoherent under his breath.
With the help of a certain green dragon, getting to the secret tunnel was a simple feat.
Yoon's jaw dropped open as he saw it, mirroring Kija's expression. Jae-ha whistled lowly, impressed with the cove's beauty and Zeno instantly scampered down to play in the calm waves. Hak shook his head in disbelief and as Yona was able to pry Shin-ah away from Calista's side, his sister approached him.
"I'm sorry we worried you, I lost track of time."
He lowered his head slightly, keeping his voice quiet so that he didn't startle the others. "It wasn't that. You and the princess are free to go wherever you'd like, but as her bodyguard and as your brother, will you at least tell me next time?"
Calista straightened her shoulders, and broadened her stance. Crossing an arm over her chest in a salute, she bowed. "Of course."
His hand found her hair, dislodging the locks and a loud cry of protest from her mouth.
"Hak!!!!"
He snickered at her, dodging her half-hearted attempts to mortally wound him. "It looks better now than it did before."
Her hair was poofy where he had ruffled it, strands of her hair falling into her face as her bun came undone.
"You have three seconds to run, Marshy."
Hak leaped off the cliff side, jumping down where the others were with ease. Calista followed, narrowly missing Zeno as he tottered back to Yona's side from where she was showing off the shell bracelets she had made for each of them. Jae-ha was already wearing his, and so was Shin-ah. If Kija's flushed face was any indication, she would've seen he was too moved to clasp it on himself.
Chasing after her brother as he expertly evaded her attacks, she whined as she was reigned in by none other than the blue dragon.
"Shin-ah, c'mon, he has to pay!!"
She was able to free her arms, but only for a second. They were pinned back against her body in an instant and she pouted childishly. Rounding her eyes purposefully, she blinked up at him and his grip loosened for a split second.
But that was all she needed.
Ducking underneath him, she shot off after her devil of a little brother while the others watched as she finally caught up with him.
"Poor Hak." Jae-ha mused, but he didn't sound sorry for him at all.
Kija didn't know whether to cheer for Calista or feel bad for Hak. Shin-ah turned to Yona and he grimaced as he glimpsed the fighter tap on one of her brother's pressure points, causing him to fall to his knees.
Yona tilted her head to the side as Calista skipped back over to her. "What did you do to him?"
"Oh, nothing." She replied airily. "He'll be fine in a few minutes. Maybe."
Yoon rolled his eyes at Hak's groan of pain. "You all are idiots."