***This story ignores episode 13 of the anime when Yona saw Shin-ah's face, so pretend that didn't happen if you're reading. Also I didn't read the manga so I don't know how it would fit into that. I hope you enjoy the story!***
Yona looked at the people around her with a smile on her face. Although she and her companions were far from reaching the end of their journey, she was happy. She had always been very close to Hak, and with time she had grown very close to Yun, Ki-Ja, and Jae-Ha. Zeno, the yellow dragon, was a very friendly boy but it seemed to her like there was another side to him, or maybe a dark past, that he kept hidden. She wasn't sure if anyone else had picked up on that. Shin-Ah, although he seemed to like her and she liked him, had been traveling together for longer than she and Jae-Ha, but she felt closer to the green dragon than the blue. She decided that she wanted to get to know him better.
That night when everyone lied down for bed, Yona stayed awake. She waited, unfortunately having to listen to Ki-Ja snore like a monster, which he fervently denied doing when Hak told him. After a bit of time, Shin-Ah got up from his spot and walked away. There was a bright moon that night, like the one that was out that inspired Yona of his name. She watched his figure walk away in the moonlight and could see the figure of Ao perched on his shoulder. After a moment, she got up and began to follow him. She wondered if he knew she was there.
Shin-Ah wandered all the way to a clearing in the forest that they were in before turning around.
"Heh, Shin-Ah did you know I was there?" she asked.
He nodded in response. Of course he had.
Ao jumped from Shin-Ah's shoulder and moved to Yona's, nestling in her hair. She smiled and rubbed her cheek against the cute little squirrel.
Yona stepped closer to Shin-Ah. They were only about a foot apart now.
"You can see me through the mask, right?" she asked.
He nodded again, ever the silent type.
She placed her hands on either side of his mask.
"I can't help but wonder what your face looks like," she said.
Shin-Ah, scared of hurting others with his horrible eyes, started to take steps back. The persistent princess followed him, not removing her hands.
"It's okay," she said in a soft and kind voice. "I'm not afraid. I know you won't hurt me."
Shin-Ah was visibly frowning, but he didn't resist when she got on her tiptoes and started to lift the mask. When it was all the way up, she could finally see him. A somewhat sorrowful face with milky skin turned abruptly to the side, avoiding eye contact. He had red markings on his cheeks and long, narrow eyes. He had a sharp nose and thick eyebrows the same shade of blue as his hair.
Tentatively, she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek that was farthest from her. His eyes widened. When was the last time someone had touched his face? He thought about it. Had anyone ever? The warmth of her small hand seemed to radiate throughout the whole side of his face. She placed her other hand on his other cheek. He closed his eyes, accepting the warmth of her touch. She gently turned his head so that he was facing her. Her warm thumbs ran over his eyelids. His head jerked back reflexively but she didn't let go.
"You can open your eyes," she said. No response. "Please."
Very slowly, his eyes opened, but his gaze remained adverted, looking at a patch of grass next to Yona's feet.
"You can look at me. I know it will be okay."
Very hesitantly, he shifted his eyes and focused them on the princess, the red dragon in front of him.
Both of their eyes widened. Eye contact was so foreign to him. It was shocking at the least that this small girl standing before him wanted to look into his dangerous eyes.
Yona's eyes widened because she had never seen such beautiful eyes before. His yellow eyes reflected the moonlight like golden coins, the reflective gold only disrupted by black, beast-like slit pupils that traveled the height of his iris. As she looked more intensely at his eyes, the more details she noticed. Inside the gold were rust colored flecks, which were especially concentrated around the perimeter of his irises.
"Breathtakingly beautiful," she said softly under her breath.
Shin-ah's face heated up, just a little bit. He looked away.
Yona put her hands down.
With a sweet smile on her face she said, "Your eyes are really beautiful."
"Th-thank you, Yona," he said quietly.
Her words didn't get Shin-Ah to smile, but they made him happy nonetheless.
Yona smiled a deep and genuine smile.
Although all that happened was that she saw his face, she felt confident that they were closer. It took a lot of trust and courage for Shin-Ah and Yona to be able to look each other in the eyes. After that, their relationship could only get stronger.
