Notes:

This story starts out fluffy but contains heavy angst, the possibility of a major character death plus references to canonical character deaths, and brief but intense violence. See the endnotes if you need spoilers.

Thanks to Filbert for last-minute beta reading and to EHyde for advance reading and art (coming soon at Ao3). Thanks also to everyone at WIP Big Bang for the impetus to finish this discursive, melodramatic, wonderful mess.

This is a spiritual sequel to Not All Chains are Forged of Iron (although I don't think it's come out quite as elegantly). The idea was firming up while I was finishing that story, so I put in some things in passing that I'll be using now, and I will refer to events from Not All Chains, but you should be okay even if you haven't read it.

Also, the idea for this story was already firming up and I'd already done the major world-building when the New Years bonus chapter of the manga came out. I actually like some of what I came up with in attempts to work around getting "jossed," but there may still be some inconsistencies. I also took liberties relative to real life; Korean New Year (like Chinese New Year) is actually the second new moon after the solstice, but hey, at least I acknowledged that they're probably on a lunisolar calendar.

Anyone who wants to use my work as a basis for their own fanfic, fanart, podfic, translation, etc. has my permission to do so. Just credit me as appropriate.


Yona kept traveling with Hak and Yoon and the four dragons even after the year moved beyond the heights of summer and began its descent into cooler winds and longer nights. The forests dressed regally in their autumn colors were a beautiful sight for all of them, but the reds and golds soon faded to brown, and they had barely finished doing so when winter sent an early announcement of its coming arrival.

On that day, the wind blew hard and cold, driving a light rain like darts of ice. No overhang or lea of shelter would protect them as the rain sliced in one direction then another, and the gales nearly snatched their tent from their hands when they tried to put it up. Kija tore the cloth holding onto it with his claw and getting it under control, and in the crackling rain and howling wind his apologies sounded quiet with distance although he was only feet from the others.

"It's all right, I'll patch it," Yoon shouted. "But this is not going to work! Jae-ha, can you get us to the nearest town?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he replied, and his teeth chattered.

He took Yoon and Zeno first, so that Yoon could arrange lodgings with one of the dragons as a beacon for the others. Then Hak, so that a guard would be waiting, then Yona.

He brought her to the town not in one soaring leap, but in a series of relatively short hops. "Apologies for the bumpy ride, Yona dear."

She didn't mind. It was even an enjoyable thrill as her insides took a moment to follow each bound and crest of arc. Besides, she understood. "I'm fine. If you jumped high, you'd get blown around in this wind, wouldn't you?"

"That's half of it," he said. He alighted and took another bound before explaining the other half. "Also, the higher you go, the colder it gets. I can appreciate sparkling ice and the stark beauty of fresh snow, but I'm afraid winter is not my most becoming season." Once, when he'd been young and desperate to escape his village, he'd hit upon the idea of jumping with all his strength into a winter storm, thinking that surely his predecessor wouldn't follow him. Luckily he'd been wrong. Luckily he hadn't shattered when he hit the ground.

When they reached the town, he went back for Shin-ah and finally for Kija, and by the time they caught up, Yoon had found them a room. With all their clothes and gear hung or laid to dry, there was scarcely an inch of space to spare, but it was enough. The fire-heat within the walls felt better than it ever had since their journey had begun. Yona wasn't sure it had ever been this much of a relief for her to be warm and dry.

All night the wind howled and the fine rain hissed against the walls of the inn. When Yona woke in the early dim gray of the next morning, she could still hear it, but she'd been wakened by another sound, muted jingling and clinking close beside her. She had lain next to Yoon out of habit from all their nights sharing the tent, and he was sitting up sorting their money into fastidious stacks. He caught her eye and looked a little apologetic but went on with his counting, and when everyone was awake and breakfast was served, he announced his judgment.

"We have a problem," he said. "I knew it was coming, just not quite this fast."

Hak and Jae-ha nodded in resigned agreement, but Yona looked at him questioningly.

"We're not going to get through the winter like this," he explained. "We can't afford to stay in inns all the time. If we camp, we'll need more clothes, more gear, more food than normal right when it'll be harder to forage, and if we got caught in bad weather we'd still be in serious trouble. It's just not going to work.

"We need to find someplace to winter over," he said at last.

Hak summed it up: "So we're grasshoppers, and we need to find some charitable ants."

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate that story?" Jae-ha asked rhetorically.

Hak opened his mouth for some sarcastic reply —

— But Kija spoke first. "In that case, we should return to my village," he said.

"That was one of the places I thought of," Yoon agreed. "We can count on being welcome there, and we can count on nobody finding us. The other options I came up with —"

"No, please!" Kija interrupted. He stepped around his breakfast tray, turned to face the others as best he could, and bowed down to the floor. "I ask this of all of you. To offer you our hospitality for a season would mean so much to my people, and it would mean a great deal to me to be there for the Ancestors' Festival this year of all years."

Zeno and Shin-ah nodded, and Hak gave an assenting shrug, but Yona was frowning.

"We could at least hear everything Yoon has to say," Jae-ha suggested. For him, spending months in a dragon village was not an appealing prospect — even if he had heard interesting things about the women there — but the argument was half-lost already.

"Please! Forgive me for making a self-indulgent request!" Kija insisted, delivering a final blow. "If you grant me this, I swear I will ask for nothing else!"

Yona smiled at him. "Kija, you should really ask us for things whenever you want. It's just that, if something happens while we're there…"

"Don't worry, Princess," Hak told her. "No one will want to start a war in the winter."

"And if something does happen, we won't be much help if we freeze to death or starve," Yoon added testily.

The sharp edge of annoyance in his voice finally made Yona realize how serious he was. Running out of money for food and for shelter from the cold or getting caught camping in a blizzard really would be a matter of life and death for all of them — or all of them but Zeno, which only made it worse — and she felt chastened for not understanding that fully from the start. Of course, she'd spent every previous winter snug inside a castle; it seemed that every time she thought she'd left that sheltered naiveté behind, she tripped embarrassingly over some leftover scrap of it.

Hak saw her relent. "Well, sounds like we've decided: White Snake gets his way," he remarked.

"So it seems," Jae-ha admitted.


They booked one more night at the inn while Yoon patched the tent and they waited for the weather to break; the expense wasn't such a concern now that they knew their funds didn't have to last indefinitely.

While they spent the day in town, Yona found a traveling merchant bound for Suiko, who agreed for a small fee to take a letter for one of the guards at the castle — addressing a message to Tetra seemed less likely to raise suspicions than addressing it directly to Lili.

'The flying-kick dancer and her traveling entertainers are forever grateful for your kindness,' Yona wrote after some thought. 'We are taking a break from performing to spend the winter somewhere warm, but we will certainly return in the spring with hope in our hearts that you will see us again. When that time comes we will be at your service.'

Of course, there were many people they'd met in their travels whom she might have sent word to, but with Tae-jun it wasn't a relationship that should bear the weight of their secrets, Captain Gi-gan would simply assume they were taking care of themselves… Lili seemed to be the one who needed a message, who would expect to meet again soon and be distressed if Yona and her friends vanished without a word.

There was also concern within the group directed outward. Yoon tried to sound casual when he suggested looking in on Ik-soo, but he was obviously worried, and so they planned their route accordingly.

When they set out the following morning, they found that the storm had stripped the trees nearly bare in a single assault. Thin branches clawed at a pale gray sky, and it really felt as if the year had made a decisive turn toward winter. Even in the days that followed when the sun broke through and shone warmly, it was now only a temporary reprieve.

As a further confirmation of the shift, suddenly Ao was hardly seen. If she wasn't actively eating or collecting food, she was curled up snug and warm as a lump inside Shin-ah's clothes, where his belt gave a solid bottom to the space inside his robe. Sometimes he dropped nuts down his collar for her, and the lump shifted and quivered adorably as she retrieved and ate them.

When they arrived at Ik-soo's house, they found it a shambles as usual, but somehow he had laid in enough firewood and provisions to see him safely through — more than enough for one person, but not enough for two. He smiled, he even cried, but he'd left no room for Yoon to return to the nest, even for one season. They stayed a couple of days and helped Yoon reassemble the house to his satisfaction — for however long it would last — and then they set out along the route Yona and Hak and Yoon had taken so many months before, toward White Dragon Village.


As they wound their way up the mountain, Kija fairly beamed with happiness. "Everyone in the village will be so happy and honored to see all of you. They haven't had the chance to meet any of my fellow Dragon Warriors — and one of the founders, no less!"

Zeno smiled shyly and rubbed at his hair. "Zeno's really not so special."

"Nonsense! The history you've seen! Our scribes will have so many questions!"

Jae-ha leaned over to Zeno. "Now I see why you kept your secret so long. If you'd rather keep it a little longer, my lips are sealed."

"No, it's all right. Zeno wouldn't want to stop White Dragon from being honest."

Kija had flown off to the next shining thought. "And in the year we're together at last, to have you all here for the Ancestors' Festival… I really can't tell you all how grateful I am."

"You mentioned before, how you wanted to be there for it," Yona said, coming to walk alongside him. "The Ancestors' Festival — is that like New Years Eve?"

He blinked at her. "It is New Years Eve."

"It's been called a bunch of different things," Zeno offered.

"I forget how long New Years is this year," Hak admitted.

Yoon had the answer. "The moon won't be full yet on the solstice, so it'll be a long one, maybe three weeks."

He felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to find Shin-ah looking at him with a tilt of his head.

"'New Years'…? 'Solstice'…?"

Kija blinked again, but Yoon explained without a second thought. "You know how nights get longer in winter and shorter in summer," he said.

It wasn't a question, but Shin-ah nodded.

"Well, the winter solstice is the longest night of the year, and it's also the last night of the year. The day before that, on New Years Eve, people spend the day visiting graves and making offerings."

"In Awa, it's really quite festive," Jae-ha offered. "Shops sell special food, and music is everywhere. The town decorates boats full of offerings for people who've been lost at sea, then there's a parade to bring them down to the harbor and fireworks as they're towed out and burned. I could have gotten us a room with a beautiful view…"

"That does sound like fun," Yona agreed. "At the palace it was always more solemn. I was taught that that's when the old year dies, so New Years Eve was like a day of mourning for the year and for all the people who've passed away."

"In the village, the night of the solstice is solemn," Kija said. "The way it was taught to me was that the light of the sun gives life, and so the longest night of the year is when the world of the dead is closest. Every year, we take the opportunity for a feast and a ceremony inviting our ancestors to visit us. The current white dragon wears our founder's necklace, and sometimes the ancestors speak through them. They've never spoken through me, though," he admitted sadly. "Still, just to think of them being able to see you all at last —"

"Wait, let me make sure I heard that right," Jae-ha interrupted. "At this festival, you invite ghosts to possess you?"

"I don't know why they haven't!" Kija lamented. "I'd feel better if it happened even once!"

Shin-ah put his hands in front of Kija in a 'wait, not so fast' gesture, and he shook his head in some distress.

"Oh, Zeno doesn't think White Dragon needs to worry about that."

Jae-ha deemed the others' responses sufficient to stand for him as well. Suddenly, though, he wished he'd tried harder to win the 'where are we wintering over?' argument.

"Anyway," Yoon picked up his explanation again, "the dawn after the night of the solstice starts the New Years holiday, and that lasts until the night of the next new moon. Dawn after that is when the new year actually starts. So New Years can be as little as a day or as long as a month."

"If it's too short, the first week gets treated as a holiday regardless," Hak added. "Everyone who can takes a break from work, and they visit relatives or just get together to eat and dance and sing."

"My father always spent New Years secluding himself to pray at the Red Dragon King's shrine," Yona said, a little sadly.

"I see;" Kija nodded. "I can understand that. It's said that the Red Dragon King was captured and condemned on the solstice, and that he was rescued by the Dragon Warriors on the next new moon."

"Mm, Zeno's heard that."

"Ah, yes, but has he seen it?" Jae-ha questioned.

"Mmmmm, nope. I remember it was spring because the travel was easier, and then the first night we were all together, the moon was really bright…"

"So many questions from the scribes…" Kija shook his head.

And after the reminder of how different everyone's traditions could be, he felt obligated to let them know just what to expect. "On the day of the new moon, the village holds a feast to give thanks to the dragon god for another year of divine protection and pray for blessings in the year ahead. Then the dawn of the new year is greeted with music and dancing, and it's…"

His words suddenly ran dry. A strange look came over his face.

Yona blinked at him curiously.

"It's a propitious day for… celebrating marriages and… conceiving… children… or so I've been told." The last words tumbled out desperate haste.

Jae-ha privately favored him with a wry, sidelong glance. Just now Kija seemed to wish that he hadn't tried so hard win that argument.


As they kept climbing, Yona watched for the fog that had clouded their way as a warning the first time they'd searched for the village, but it never came. The white-robed archers appeared from the trees in the clear, cold air, and bowed.

A bearded man spoke for the sentries. "Your Majesty Red Dragon! Lord White Dragon! You've returned! And these others with you…?"

"Yes, these are my fellow dragon warriors," Kija said. "Since I left the village, we've been working for the greater good of this kingdom without a thought for our own provision, and now with winter closing in, we must find shelter from the cold. I have taken it upon myself to offer the village's hospitality. I beg your indulgence for putting you all to such trouble." He bowed to the still-kneeling villagers.

Several of them leapt to their feet and burst out in protest.

"Lord White Dragon, how can you say that!?"

"Don't bow to us!"

"As if we wouldn't be honored!"

A messenger had already been sent ahead to announce their arrival. The bearded man who had spoken first and some of the younger archers detached themselves from the watch to escort the party.

"Has everything been well in the village?" Kija asked the older man.

"Of course! Lord White Dragon himself entrusted us with keeping the village safe — how could we let anything happen?"

"And the elder?"

"Her eyes have gotten worse, but she's as energetic as ever."

"That's good!" Yona said happily. "Thank you all for taking care of us."

"It's our honor, Your Majesty! Please consider every person and every thing in the village to be at your service."

"So you have plenty of provisions to take in guests?" Yoon asked. "Because I'll warn you, this is a high-maintenance bunch."

As they discussed particulars, Hak listened in and looked back over his shoulder. Behind him, Shin-ah was getting flustered by the villagers' attention — probably they knew which dragon was likely to be wearing a mask — but then Zeno created a distraction, dodging around Shin-ah and playing at hiding behind him.

Before they even reached the village gates, Jae-ha had paired off with a young woman from among their escort, and the two of them spoke in confidential tones.

"You know," she was telling him, "in this village, it's common for those with dragon blood to take several wives."

"No, no, we mustn't speak of such things," he insisted softly. "I'll be gone with the first wind of spring, and who can say what may happen after that? If we ask only for beautiful memories, we'll be left with no regrets."

"Mm, 'beautiful memories'…" she echoed.

Kija ground his left hand into his brow and walked faster.

When they entered the village, a crowd had gathered to bow in greeting. Just as she had promised when Kija left, his 'Granny,' the village elder, was at the head of the assemblage, carried on her litter by her four smiling bearers. "Your Majesty, warriors of the four dragons, White Dragon Village is honored to welcome you," she said.

"Thank you for taking care of us," Yona replied, bowing in return.

"Lord White Dragon, come closer." She beckoned him until he nearly had to lean over her litter.

"Elder, it's good to see you again," he said.

She peered at him. "Ah, our Lord White Dragon is as beautiful as ever. I was afraid you'd have scarred your lovely face."

"No, the gods have been watching over me." He searched in his robe and took out a necklace with a rough stone pendant. "I've brought you a gift from my journeys: a charm for long life."

"As if I need you to worry about that!" Granny scolded, accepting the gift with both hands and a joyful smile. "You should be thinking about yourself and your master — all our hearts have been pounding when our people would come back with the stories! The time Her Majesty risked herself to infiltrate those slavers, the time the Fire Tribe rebelled and you all charged into the center of the battle, the time you were imprisoned and Her Majesty was all alone…!"

"So you've already heard about all of that," Kija surmised, blushing.

Hak leaned over in an aside to Zeno. "So, you were watching us, they've been watching us — how many stalkers do we have, anyway?"

"Then I suppose that you've already heard about my fellow dragon warriors," Kija continued, moving to present them anyway, starting with Shin-ah. "This is Shin-ah, the blue dragon."

Shin-ah tensed as Kija ushered him forward and the villagers bowed to him.

"I've heard how your village vanished, and you were found in the north of Fire Tribe country," Granny said. "It must have been very difficult for you. Please allow us to do our best while you're here."

Kija went on with the introductions: "Jae-ha, the green dragon."

"Ah, yes, you were the pirate," Granny recalled. "However did your people let you end up in a place like that?"

Yona was taken aback by the suddenly and painfully obvious gap in the villagers' intelligence-gathering. She saw Kija give a slight start, as well.

Jae-ha himself kept up a smile of humor, though perhaps not good humor. "They tried hard, but it's not so easy to keep a green dragon on the ground," he said.

"No, I'm sure it isn't."

Kija cleared his throat to break the awkward exchange. "And finally, I'd like you to meet Zeno, the yellow dragon."

Almost before Kija could prompt him, Zeno bounced right up to Granny and reached to shake her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Miss."

"Thank you, Lord Yellow Dragon," she said with a chuckle. "You seemed to pop up out of nowhere, but any dragon warrior who steps forward to protect our king has our gratitude."

"But Granny," Kija said, "there are things we've learned in our travels that you don't yet know. Zeno is in fact the first yellow dragon, the same who served the Red Dragon King."

Granny blinked. The villagers murmured and looked at each other. "Is this true?" the elder asked. "The legend says that the yellow dragon warrior was given a strong body…"

"Well, it's not really tough most of the time," Zeno admitted, pinching at his soft skin. "It can never die from anything, though."

"So, you're one of the founders? You've personally waited all this time?"

"Yes," he admitted. "That's right."

The murmurs swelled with wonder and the villagers fell raggedly into another bow. Granny even got a slight jostle as her bearers shifted in uncharacteristic surprise, but it didn't faze her. "Ahh! What a blessed day! The gods have been so generous to let us meet our king and see the dragon warriors united again, but to meet one of the founders — who would have thought it possible? Thank you all for putting your faith in us and bringing such joy to our village. This is everything we've hoped for and more!"

"And I particularly asked everyone to join us for the Ancestors' Festival," Kija pointed out. "I wanted the ones who came before us and made this possible to share in the blessing."

"Just like our Lord White Dragon," Granny said, wiping a tear from her eye. "But we mustn't wait for that — today is a day to celebrate!" She looked around at the crowd of villagers still on their knees. "Don't just sit there! Everyone, get to work!"

The villagers scattered into a flurry of gleeful activity.


By evening they had prepared a hasty but sumptuous feast.

The joyful atmosphere held until Kija picked up his chopsticks, looked down at his food — and suddenly froze. He stared at the roast pheasant with a sudden halt of suspicion, then carefully put his chopsticks down again.

"Lord White Dragon, is something wrong?" a woman asked as she waited on their table.

"No, no, I'm just… I'm not hungry. I'm still tired from the journey, but I…"

"Oh! Here, some tea will help to refresh you." She offered him a cup.

"I'm… ah… not thirsty either…"

"That's a shame; the tea is very good," Zeno said, sitting right beside him. "At least if it's like mine. Here, Zeno will switch with you!"

Kija accepted the cup from him and drank with obvious relief. "Thank you. Ah, it is good…"

Zeno had heard about the 'White Dragon Scale' incident and easily guessed what the problem was. His own power kept him safe from drugs, even love potions, but he could tell when he'd swallowed them — making him a uniquely qualified poison-taster. He reached over and plucked a pickle from Kija's plate.

Further to the side, Jae-ha was just close enough to hear as a few more of the serving women clustered together and watched.

"They're so familiar with each other," one of them marvelled.

"Lord White Dragon drinking from someone else's cup…"

Jae-ha smiled and sipped his own tea — not having managed to get anyone else's cup just yet. True enough, Kija probably would have found drinking after someone else disgusting when they first met, but also… He didn't hear any of the women say the words 'indirect kiss,' but very likely they were thinking of it — and if so, why not let them have their fun?

"Nice welcome, coming from people who just about killed us last time," Hak observed.

"Oh, we wouldn't have killed you," Granny insisted, "…necessarily. We couldn't have let you leave of course."

Jae-ha set down his teacup, feeling a sudden loss of appetite.

"But you could have become members of the village. Such things are dealt with very carefully, but it has happened from time to time."

"And of course we would never harm the Red Dragon or their companions once we knew!" a mustached man added.

"Before we knew, Lord White Dragon was more flustered than anyone!" the elder laughed. "'How dare those outsiders come and disrupt our village! I'll destroy them!'"

"Really?" Yona asked, sitting on Kija's other side.

"Oh, yes! He's always so passionate about… well, some of his duties."

"Please, Granny, there's really no need to speak of any of that," Kija muttered, blushing bright red.

"Don't worry, I understand," Yona told him.

She thought that if she'd been an ordinary exiled princess, the story could have ended far worse than with she and Hak landing here, safely hidden away and helping to protect the white dragon. But to think that that was how Kija had seen her — and why wouldn't he? If that had happened, even living in the same village with him she might never have gotten close to him at all, and the thought felt strange and cold. Her arrival had been an entirely new chapter in his life, also; she thought she knew what Kija was like as if he'd always been that way, but she knew far less than she'd assumed about who he'd been before they met.

The lively feast and talk continued. Yoon was looking all around and asking questions of an older man who was sitting beside him. Shin-ah eventually had enough of people wanting to see his eyes, picked up his plate and sat on the floor behind Kija and Zeno. The woman who'd walked with Jae-ha as they were coming into the village found him again and they exchanged smiles and soft words.

Finally some of the women carried away the remains of the food and brought out cups of persimmon punch to finish with something sweet. Yona savored the smell of the fruit and spices and swirled her cup until the floating pine nuts spun.

One woman ceremoniously presented Kija's cup to him — a bit too ceremoniously, Zeno noticed — then she looked at him intensely, and the elder had paused to watch… Kija had been lulled into a sense of security and nearly drank it, but Zeno plucked it out of his hand just in time and took a sip.

"Mm! Mm, there's something in this. Like a liquor maybe? — I think it's a little strong for White Dragon," he whispered, loud enough for those watching to hear. "It's very tasty, though!"

"Oh! Well, then, by all means!" Kija offered, catching the saving throw with a gracious gesture.

The woman and even the elder stared in restrained horror as Zeno drained the cup. He looked up at them, the woman's shoulders went stiff —

"Thank you for the food!" he said brightly. "Ahh, Zeno ate so much he wants to fall asleep!"

He leaned back against Shin-ah as the elder let out a sigh of relief and vexation.


The party was lodged in the white dragon's 'castle' — Kija's house, as Yona preferred to think of it. In fact he invited them all into his own room, which was spacious enough for everyone, larger than any inn room they'd stayed in and much larger than their tents. Zeno and Shin-ah gazed out the large, upper-storey window that looked eastward over the village.

"Are you certain, Lord White Dragon?" one of the housekeepers asked, when Kija told them to bring in beds for everyone. "We could easily find rooms for each of our guests."

"No, no. Of course the dragon warriors should stay together and near their master," he insisted.

"And I don't want to know what'll happen if I let them out of my sight," Yoon grumbled as he started unpacking their bags.

"First Zeno's a poison taster, now we're all bodyguards," Jae-ha observed. "Kija's shrewder than we thought."

"Wait, who are we guarding him from?" Hak asked.

"Oh, I understand some of the ladies here are rather —"

"You're not guarding me from anyone!" Kija insisted, but he was blushing.

"Kija, is this your bed?" Yona asked, lifting the draperies centered on the western wall to reveal the luxurious cushions and covers.

"Ah, for this winter, please consider it as yours, Princess."

"Oh, no, I couldn't…"

"Please, I insist."

Hak lay a hand on Kija's shoulder and leaned close enough for Yona not to hear. "Hey, White Snake, did you just…?"

"Much shrewder than we thought," Jae-ha mused.

"It's only natural to offer my master the best place!"

"Pretty sure of yourself, too," Hak noted, with an acid smile.

Before Kija could decide whether to sputter in embarrassment or tear Hak to shreds, the elder entered, carried by her four smiling attendants.

"Are you all finding everything to your liking?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you," Yona told her.

"I understand that you all will be staying here together," the elder said. "If we may ask to borrow some of Lord White Dragon's time in the coming days, however, there are traditional duties here in the village for him to catch up on."

Jae-ha watched for a flinch, considering what some of those 'traditional duties' might be, but instead Kija's face opened up.

"That's right," he said. "Dal-bi would have had her baby by now. It went well I hope?"

"Oh, yes. A plump little boy, five months old now. Ra-hi might have another one before you leave, too."

"That would be her… fourth?" Kija shook his head, impressed. "In any case, the boy has waited long enough. I'll go tomorrow and give him the blessing."

"Oh, can I come?" Yona asked. After the realization at dinner, she wanted to see more of what Kija normally did here in his home village.

"Of course!" Kija agreed. "I'm sure the family would be most honored."

"Although, speaking of babies who've been waiting…" the elder said.

At that, Kija did flinch.

"Well, we'll speak about it later."


The next day, Yona and Hak did go out into the village with Kija and a small entourage, into a breeze that blew gently but hardened with cold and swirled a light drifting of snow. Winter came even earlier this high in the mountains. Yona looked up at the rooftops of the village, where a few flakes had begun to settle, and at the high, tasseled pole one of the men carried ahead of them as they went. She noticed villagers pausing in their work and turning to watch and bow to the procession.

"Is it always like this when you go out?" Yona asked Kija.

"Hm?" He had been looking straight ahead until she caught his attention, but now he looked around and smiled. "Princess, I don't think they're bowing to me."

It was true. The people looking had their eyes directly on her, much like when she'd first come to the village and the people had noticed her red hair. She had actually hoped they would calm down about it — if the whole winter was like this, it was going to get annoying.

When they arrived at the house, the parents were waiting. They inclined their heads to Kija, but when Yona entered behind him, the father immediately fell to his knees and bowed to the floor.

The mother would have done the same, but hesitated about what to do with the baby in her arms and only bent low from the waist. "Your Majesty, please excuse me if I don't show the proper respect, it's only…"

"It's okay, you don't have to bow to me," Yona said. She found herself drawn to the bundled child in the woman's arms. "May I see him?"

"Oh, yes! Of course!"

She couldn't help smiling at the little chubby face that turned toward her, the round blue eyes and wispy white hair and tiny grasping fingers. "Ahh! Can I hold him?"

"Yes, please! It would be an honor!" the woman said. Her husband was on his feet again, holding her shoulders and nodding.

Yona reached for the baby — and then froze.

The couple froze, and for a moment the three of them stood there in a sudden terror of awkwardness.

Hak laughed. "You've never taken care of a baby before, have you, Princess? It's written all over your face — 'How do I do this?' 'What if I break him?'"

"Of course I haven't taken care of a baby!" she snapped.

"Well, if you expect anyone to marry you, you'd better learn."

The couple stared in confusion. Yona was ready to come back at him, but before she could, he was saying "All right, put your hand here…"

Hak coached her quite skillfully on how to get her arms around the baby and support him, until she could lift him out of his mother's arms. Instantly the argument was forgotten as she gently rocked him and bounced him. "Ahh, he's so cute!"

"The Red Dragon King is holding our baby! She thinks he's cute! To think I would have lived to see this day!" the father exulted under his breath. The mother was fanning herself.

The baby, looking up and reaching out in fascination, caught hold of one of Yona's dangling earrings and started to pull —

"Oops." Before the child could do any damage, Hak caught hold of the tassel, drew it loose and out of the way.

Yona felt his fingers lift her hair and brush against her neck. She drew a breath despite herself, suddenly and intensely aware that Hak was touching her and she was holding a baby.

Hak cleared his throat. "By the way," he asked, and he pointed with his thumb, "is there a reason we brought this guy?"

Yona looked around and found Kija still waiting near the door. He avoided her eyes.

"Ah! Lord White Dragon!" the father cried.

"It's all right. It's only natural," Kija admitted. "If I may?"

"Yes, of course."

Kija came over to Yona and ceremoniously unwrapped his right hand. His white scales passed before her eyes, closer than she was used to seeing them, and he finally smiled as he lay his palm on the baby's head. When he spoke, he spoke not as if making a pronouncement, but softly and naturally:

"With this hand blessed by the dragon god, I bless you and welcome you. Do you feel its power? That power is also in you. The blood of the white dragon flows through you. As I was born to serve our king, you too have been born to protect this village, this blood, this power, this blessing. As the white dragon, I place my faith in you, and I thank you."

The baby burbled happily and grasped at Kija's scales.

When they had taken their leave and were walking back, Kija was still smiling, but Yona couldn't forget the clouded look on his face when she had seen him standing there forgotten.

"Kija, I'm sorry about that back there," she said. "I didn't mean for everyone to ignore you."

"Oh, that? Think nothing of it," he said, as brightly as if it had never bothered him in the slightest. "White dragons are honored of course, but everyone here is quite used to me. You and the other dragons' presence is a far rarer honor."

Yona was glad to see him in better spirits, but she couldn't bring herself to 'think nothing of it;' Kija deserved better than to spend the winter in her and the other dragons' shadow.

"It was so nice, what you said to the little boy," she pointed out.

"Well, those are the traditional words."

"Really? I thought maybe it was something like that, but the way you said it, it just felt like it was you talking."

"I did mean all of it," he said. "When I was young and was only reciting the words I'd been taught, I never felt satisfied. I suppose I have changed it a little, so that I can say it without any affectation."

"Yes, that seems just like you." Yona smiled, thinking that Kija had always been the Kija she knew after all.


As the party settled in over the coming days, everyone found something to occupy them. During the day, they scattered in various directions, coming back together for lunches in the village's communal hall and suppers at Kija's house.

Kija had more ceremonial blessings to perform, over the year's harvest and newly-born livestock and fresh building repairs. Yona didn't go with him again, not wanting to overshadow him, but occasionally she glimpsed the rituals as she passed along the village paths, and he always performed them with the same glad sincerity. He also had his traditional training, which always put him in high spirits. It was only when he went to speak privately with the elder about village matters that he came back looking exhausted.

Just as Kija had predicted, the village scribes monopolized Zeno's time, asking him questions and writing down as many stories of the "founders" as he could remember. He also told them about his more recent adventures with Yona and the others, including the incident earlier that year at Green Dragon Village. The story spread — rather to Jae-ha's chagrin — and the villagers, horrified by their counterparts' behavior, began hatching plans to send a delegation to the green dragons' tomb with fitting offerings for Shuten and his still-unsettled 'kids.'

Yona's party also had a scribe of their own. Yoon scribbled notes everywhere he went, like an explorer intent on describing the village customs. Mostly, though, he tailed the village doctors, who were only too happy to share their knowledge with someone who would use it to help Yona and the dragon warriors. Before long they even let him into the apothecary where the elder developed her special potions and medicines, and Yoon would come back fascinated, impressed, and occasionally horrified.

Shin-ah was discomfited by the showering of attention he got in the village and at first would take Ao and go off on his own, ranging around the mountain outside. Yona asked Hak to go with him — going herself or sending one of the other dragons would draw too much attention, but she didn't like to think of Shin-ah spending so much time alone. Before long they ran into some of the village sentries and were quickly accepted as fellows in the silent watches and patrols. In the days that followed, they kept going out with the same group until Shin-ah began to get comfortable with them, and when they would come back in the evening, Yona was happy to see him making new friends.

She was also happy when Hak declared his work done there and started coming with her to the village's martial arts school. Yona had yet to see a sword in the village; they relied primarily on bows for defense and trained with spears and bare hands in case of close-range combat, and they were happy to study Hak's spear techniques. He was so far beyond any of them that he seemed to be bullying them at times, but he gained a following that remained undaunted. Yona found that spears were surprisingly popular with women here, and after Hak's lessons they would crowd around him — rather like women had begun crowding around Jae-ha. It made her deeply uneasy and filled her with a strange, wild urge to take up the spear herself. Then one day as she was watching the scene, one of the village women turned from the cluster and looked at her; they caught each other's gazes, the woman's eyes went wide for some unknown reason, and she bowed before turning back to the others. Yona didn't really know what had happened, but for some reason she never saw the women crowd around Hak that way again, and her impulsive interest in learning the spear conveniently faded before she had to mention it to anyone.

Conveniently, because she had other things to do. Not only were many of the villagers expert archers but a few of them were expert archery teachers, and Yona threw herself into fresh lessons with zest. The stout, full-bearded master who took her under his wing was honored to be tutoring the reincarnation of the Red Dragon King but didn't make great play of it or give her special treatment. He did give her a new bow chosen to suit the length and strength of her arms, and he quickly honed in on repeated shots as an area for improvement; Yona's first arrow tended to be her best, and so she practiced maintaining her form and keeping up speed and accuracy. The master even taught her how to shoot two arrows at once, after he'd fully warned her about it — trading twice the arrows for half the range with no real chance of hitting two targets, it was only useful as an entertainer's trick, but Yona had passed as a traveling entertainer before and thus had an excuse to indulge her curiosity and learn it.

When the village held an archery tournament a week before the solstice, Yona only placed eighth but eagerly took the chance to ask the higher-placed finishers for advice. Hak, on the other hand, beat everyone except Yona's teacher.

Though not a competitor, Jae-ha was also given an opportunity to show off. On the one hand he had much less range with his throwing knives than the archers had with their bows, but on the other hand he measured himself by how many bull's-eyes he could hit in one throw. Usually at least one knife was a bit off-center; "Still not as good as my teacher," he sighed. Even so, several of the women in the audience squealed with delight.

For as chilly as Jae-ha had been on the notion of coming here, since they'd arrived he'd gathered a retinue of fascinated women, and both he and they appeared to enjoy each other immensely. Communal meals often saw him away in a corner sweet-talking someone, seldom the same person twice, and there were nights when he stayed somewhere other than in Kija's house with Yona and the others.

Even one of the housekeepers paid special attention to him, and as she helped bring their supper one evening, Kija noticed her looking around curiously.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, no, Milord," she said, blushing. "I just… I just wondered where Lord Green Dragon was."

"Who knows," Kija sighed with a long-suffering face, while Zeno reached over to sample his food.

Shin-ah tilted his head. "Should I look for—?"

"No no!" Kija clapped a hand over the blue dragon's eyes, for all the good it would do. "No, I'm sure that he and his… hosts… would prefer privacy."

"You don't seem too happy with our out-of-season butterfly," Hak pointed out.

Kija couldn't hide it, but… "I spoke to some of the women and was asked not to complain."

Yona didn't say anything. Somehow she wasn't perfectly comfortable with it herself, but it would be wrong to act like it was her business. It would make her the kind of master Jae-ha had never wanted to have and that she didn't want to be.

The vague discomfort was probably just the strangeness of everyone being apart so much, she thought. For months they'd traveled all together relying on each other, never long outside each other's reach of sight or hearing or even touch. Now, seeing the group scatter from morning until evening and come up one member short even at night felt suddenly lonely. She was happy that everyone was finding things to interest them and glad they'd decided to spend some time here, but she would also be glad when spring came and they set out again all banded together as one family.

Chapter 1 - END