"Yun," Shin-ah whispered into the boy's ear.
Yun recoiled in shock before he relaxed. "Woah!" he exclaimed. "It's unusual for you to speak; what is it, Shin-ah?"
Shin-ah spoke in the save soft voice. "Look at Yona; she's too pale."
Yun looked at Yona quickly, but Yona was already hiding her face in her cloak. "I'm fine," she laughed.
Yun narrowed his eyes at her. "Does your back hurt? I said it was too soon for you to be traveling after your injury."
Yona smiled slightly. "No, it doesn't hurt at all," she lied.
Yona still felt the dull throb of her wound, but she didn't mind. She didn't think of what would happen to her when she threw herself in front of Lili to protect her. Her only thought was of not letting her die. The constant throb and slight pull at the wound while she walked was the small price she had to pay for being able to keep someone she cared about alive.
Yun looked at Yona with disbelief. "Don't lie to me, Yona. I know everything about injuries."
Yona opened her mouth to argue, but was stopped by Hak. He had walked up to her and put his hand on her forehead. "You have a fever, Princess."
Yona's face turned bright red at the contact from her bodyguard. "Your fever must be going up if your face is becoming so red."
She glared at him while she tried to hide behind her hair. "I don't have a fever," she snapped, embarrassment clearly audible in her voice.
"Hmm," Yun mused. "Sensui is still too far away, and it would be best if Yona didn't rest out here with her injury."
Jae-ha smirked and walked forward. "What if I carried her to Sensui. We would find an inn, and be there in no time." He looked at Kija. "You can track my presence, right?"
Kija nodded. "Yes."
Yun's face brightened with excitement. "That would be great Jae-ha! Thanks."
Jae-ha smiled at him before turning to Yona. "Come on, Yona dear."
Yona hesitated for a moment before sighing and walking up to him. "I'm sorry, Jae-ha."
Jae-ha laughed. "No problem." He smiled at her while she climbed on his back. "Feel free to relax without worry."
With that, Jae-ha leapt into the sky. He looked over his shoulder at Yona after a moment. "Tell me if it hurts."
Yona nodded. "Alright."
Jae-ha continued to watch Yona periodically. He noticed that when he would land, her face would contort in pain slightly. He lowered the height of his jumps, and was pleased that it lessened the stress it put on her back.
Yona looked out at the sea and giggled. "I can see the ocean, Jae-ha. Soaring through the sky with you, it reminds me of Awa." Yona laughed again at the happy memory of flying through the sky with the green dragon who didn't want anything to do with her at the time.
He smiled lightly and chuckled. "Yeah, but you were a weak girl back then."
She looked at him, confused. "Back then? What do you think of me now?"
"What do I…?" He started to question before he looked at her. He saw her face was just mere inches from his own. He blushed at looked away quickly. "I do not want to say."
"Huh?" She questioned, confused as to why her cocky dragon was embarrassed.
Jae-ha landed and was still looking in the opposite direction of her, when he saw something gleam in the sunlight. Jae-ha barely had time to twist their bodies before an arrow went soaring pass them. It nicked his arm and annoyance was clear on his face.
"It's not beautiful to attack someone while hiding," Jae-ha exclaimed as he threw some of his daggers at his opponent. They hit their mark, but didn't appear to do any damage.
Jae-ha clicked his tongue with distaste. "Tch, he's a Nadai addicts. He won't go down unless I fatally wound him."
The man got ready to fire another arrow at him when Jae-ha jumped back into the air. He had to get Yona out of there, but if he turned to flee, it was likely that she would be shot. He threw more daggers at the Nadai addict to worsen his aim.
The pain wouldn't stop him; Nadai addicts felt no pain. Jae-ha knew the only way to permanently get rid of this threat was to kill the man. Jae-ha knew this, but he still hesitated. It went against his code of honor and everything he was taught to take a life.
Jae-ha's heart stopped in the next second as he heard the sound of an arrow piercing flesh. He was confused as to why he felt no pain, until he heard the gasp of shocked from behind him. His blood ran cold as ice. Yona had been shot.
Fury took over Jae-ha's mind as he attacked. Daggers rained down from the heavens to pierce the enemies flesh. When he landed on the ground, he began attacking with his dragon leg. It appeared that there were multiple Nadai addicts that Jae-ha had failed to notice. He kicked one of the men in the stomach so hard that his ribs cracked, and he spit up blood.
Jae-ha didn't stop his rampage until every one of the men who hurt Yona was dead. He looked at Yona's face and noticed with concern how it had gone pale. He could tell she was in a lot of pain.
Jae-ha didn't have time to think about what he had just done. His only thought was to get Yona out of that place and to safety. He jumped back into the sky and headed to Sensui. He had to find a doctor for Yona. He didn't have money, but he would figure it out.
Jae-ha was only about 15 Ri from Sensui when he heard Yona whisper, "J-Jae-ha." Yona's grip failed and she started to fall back to the earth. Jae-ha dove after her in a blind panic. He was able to grab her wrist and pull her into his body before he hit the ground. It knocked the breath out of him, and he could feel a few of his ribs crack, but he would gladly take the pain in exchange for what could have happened.
Jae-ha quickly looked Yona over and felt his heart jump into his throat. Yona was struggling to stay conscious, and she had an arrow sticking out of her back. Jae-ha needed to get her to a doctor, but when he tried to pick her up, she cried out weakly. He sat her down on his lap and held her. He held her as tight as he could without hurting her further.
Jae-ha buried his face in her hair. "You're going to be find, Yona dear," Jae-ha tried to say in a cheerful voice. "Yun and the others will be here soon."
Yona smiled feebly. "Thank you, Jae-ha." He quickly pulled his face away from her hair to look at her. "I'm so happy you decided to join me." She lifted a shaking hand to rest it on his cheek. "Thank you for everything Jae-ha."
Jae-ha instantly lost the strained smile and stared at her. "Don't say it like that, Yona. Everything will be just fine." He looked at the direction of his companions and felt for their presence. They were still far behind them. "Yun will be here shortly to fix you up," Jae-ha lied, wishing it would be true. "So, stay awake until they get here. Then you can sleep as long as you want."
Yona smiled slightly. "Jae-ha," she began, but was cut off. She began coughing, and Jae-ha's eyes widened in alarm when he saw crimson shining on her lips.
Jae-ha needed to get her to either Yun or Sensui, but he couldn't move her. Think, Jae-ha! He screamed in his head. There must be a solution to this. She can't… He closed his eyes as the answer alluded him. He couldn't just leave her there unguarded; who knew what other monsters were prowling around to attack her.
He jolted in shock when her hand was placed on his cheek again. He could feel tears building in his eyes. Why doesn't she hate me? It was my fault that she was injured.
"Jae-ha," Yona began again. "Tell me, what do you think of me?"
Jae-ha looked away from her. He was too embarrassed to say how he felt. He didn't want to tell her that she was one of the strongest women he knew. He didn't want to say that every time she smiled at him, his heart would soar like it too obtained his dragon power. He didn't want to reveal how much he cared for this woman. All that he felt was caused by his dragon's blood, and wasn't how he really felt. Even though Jae-ha kept repeating this, he was having a hard time truly believing it anymore.
"Jae-ha, please," Yona begged, but Jae-ha still didn't answer.
His forest green eyes widened when he felt her hand fall away from his cheek. He whipped his head around to see Yona's barely open eyes staring at nothing, tears still falling from them.
"Yona!" He cried out as his grip tightened on her. Tears began to well up in his eyes. No, she wasn't…
"Yona," he whispered, his eyes closing. "I… you're the most important person in my life. My home is Awa, but I never felt happier than when I was with you. I loved seeing you smile. You're laugh was the loveliest music I had ever heard. When you cried, I felt like I too would break.
"You accepted me for who I am. You cared for me. You didn't force my freedom away like I always thought you would." Tears started to stream down his cheeks. "You treated me like I was a normal person. You gave me a reason to find true pride in my power. You gave me a greater reason to fight. So, please, don't leave just yet."
He remained silent in the hopes of hearing her response. He wanted to hear her laugh at him. He wanted to see the confused look in her eyes when the feelings he poured out for her went over her head. He wanted to hear her speak her feelings, whether they were romantic or not. He wanted to hear anything, but her response never came.
When the realization came that he failed her, he screamed out in agony. The pain he felt now was greater than what he felt when he had ingested the Nadai drug. It wasn't just his body that felt like it was being torn apart; his very soul was breaking.
He failed to protect her. He failed to let her know what she wanted in her final moments. But, ultimately, he failed himself for not telling her his feelings sooner.
Jae-ha clutched her still body to him tighter as he buried his head in her hair again. He sobbed and felt it start raining. The heavens were crying out at the death of the crimson haired girl. Jae-ha was slightly surprised that the gods themselves didn't smite him for his failure in his duty to protect her: both as a dragon warrior and as a man.
Jae-ha lost track of time as he held her while crying. He was completely soaked through, so he must have sat there for hours holding the girl he loved. He heard the sound of running feet, and he stiffened.
"Princess!" He heard someone scream out.
Jae-ha reached a hand into his overcoat, and wrapped it around one of his daggers. Jae-ha knew what he must do. He unburied his face from her crimson locks to look up at the sky. May we meet again up in the heavens.
A/N: So, I rewrote this, and I must say I love this version a lot more than the original one. I know some people are shocked that I made this fanfiction focus on Yona's death instead of Jae-ha's, but I felt like this is how it would go. I don't want to write about Yona facing the death of her dragons because I feel like it would break her inside.
To guest reviewer (Theghostshipper): Thank you for the feedback. I hope I improved the beginning and end of this story to your liking. I know I'm not the most talented writer on here, but it is something that I enjoy immensely. Writing has always been a great release for me. I am writing more for the manga readers with this story than anything else. I love the anime, but the manga was a lot better in my opinion. I wish they would have continued the anime, but I don't believe that will happen. I have a lot more ideas for this fandom that focus on the manga, and not the anime, but because the manga is so much more in-depth. Thanks again for the review, and the help for making this story a bit better.
~JerinAnn