(Scene takes place after they left Seiryuu's village and in the night after Yona's request for Hak to continue calling her Princess, when others were beginning to call her by her name)

BY YOUR SIDE

Yona woke up with a start.

She looked towards her two sides and saw Yoon on her left, and Kija and Shinha on her right.

As she predicted, Hak was not lying amongst them.

Slowly, Yona sat up, only to find the object of her search sitting against a tree across from them. Staring intently at her, not in the least surprised she woke up in the middle of the night.

Staring intently as if to beckon her towards him.

And as how he seemed to will it, Yona got up to slowly walk towards him, pulled by his magnetic stare.

When she reached him, Yona simply sat beside his big frame and looked up toward his handsome serious face.

Even sitting down, he seems to tower above me, she thought.

Again Hak did not seem surprise of her observation of him. Heck, since the day King Il got killed by Soo Won, nothing seemed to surprise him anymore.

"Are you upset?" Yona asked him.

Now, he was taken aback. Does he look upset to her?

"No," he shook his head, staring down at her upturned face.

The moonlight cast a soft glow on her already beautiful face. It did not matter that she has a small smudge on her cheek and dried grass in her hair as a result of lying on the ground. To Hak, it made her more real and appealing. And it took every ounce of strength for him not to bend towards that face and capture the red lips there.

"Do I look upset to you?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Yona bent head down. "I meant about asking you to never stop calling me, Princess."

"Oh," Hak chuckled. "If you really wanna know the truth, the word Princess has been some sort of an endearment to me. For you."

Yona looked back up at him, slowly smiling.

"You mean to soften your teases or sarcasm?'

"Or to over amplify them," he grinned.

"Ah ha," Yona's small smile turn to a big one, glad Hak knew she did not mean the request as means to distance them socially. To her, Hak has always been an equal to her. In fact, she accepted that in many ways, he was higher positioned than her - regardless of social standing.

"But I meant it Hak, even if I forget, I want you to be the one to remind me," Yona said. "As to why I got to be here, and what I have to get through to be where I need to be."

"And where do you need to be, Princess?"

An image of Yona holding a knife to Soo Won's neck suddenly came to his mind. Then, he shuddered as a following scene of her faltering and Soo Won taking advantage of her indecisiveness to use the same knife on her. Swiftly shoving the blade into her little belly. Blood staining her already crimson dress.

Involuntarily, Hak stiffen as he gripped the grass beneath his fingers.

Is that what I want for her? To take revenge for her father at the expense of her own life and sanctity? He asked himself.

Or would I prefer to leave her safe and sound somewhere while I exact her revenge for her. Even if it means keeping her as far away from me as possible.

Or is revenge what we truly wanted or needed, Hak thought again as a vision of a young sweet Soo Won came to mind. Aarghh... How did this ever became my fight too?

But whether he liked it or not, to answer the same question he posed Yona, Hak knew exactly where he needed to be.

And that is beside, or even behind, his Princess - in whatever way she needed him to be.

Whether he liked it or not, that was his fate and his destiny, ever since he laid his eyes on that willful eight year old, a long time ago.

"I don't really know, truth be told," Yona shook her head sadly, suddenly taking Hak out of his reverie. "I don't even know if gathering the dragons is a good idea. They seem to look at me for guidance. So what if I can't give them a good one, or I lead them through the wrong path. What happens then?"

Since Yona looked up at him expectantly, hoping for some sort of solution from him, Hak was compelled to answer.

"I don't know myself," Hak shrugged his shoulders. "But what I do know now, is that from what you have shown me so far - of your growth these past weeks, of your determination, understanding, compassion - I know you will decide on what's best for everyone. In fact, I have a gut feeling you will always put yourself last. It will always be others before you."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Yona looked worried, her huge limpid eyes staring into his.

"Nope," Hak shook his head, returning her stare with loving admiring eyes. He suddenly noticed her slight shiver and started to enfold her in his huge arms, holding her close to his heart, as if it was the most natural thing to do.

In fact, it was exactly what he wanted to do, ever since they made it safely out of the caves. It was either to hug her til they were both breathless, or to shake her by shoulders for being in danger again.

He chose the former.

"No, it's not," Hak gave a her slight squeeze. "It's just what real royalties do. And you, my princess, is as Royal as anyone can get."

What will I ever do without this man, Yona thought as she put both her arms around his tout torso, acknowledging his hug.

To tell him I love him, seemed trite, Yona thought.

For the wealth of feelings she has for him went beyond love. He was her reason for being alive, her reason for wanting to go on living.

Now I remember why I needed the dragons - to help protect this man for me, Yona thought again.

It seemed selfish, she knew, because she has a feeling that the dragons will grow on her and one day become as dear to her as this man is.

But to Yona, only time will tell where her bond with her dragons will lead them.

But for now, she knew exactly where she needed to be. and it will probably also be the same answer to where she needed to be in the future.

"Hak," Yona started to answer her Thunder Beast's earlier question. "I don't know where this road will take me, where it will take all of us. I may not even know where i really need to be then. But ultimately, personally, I do know where I WANT to be."

"And where is that, princess?" Hak gave an uncharacteristic indulgent smile, knowing that with her head tucked beneath his chin, Yona was not privy to the sweet smile.

"By your side. Wherever the road leads, the place I WANT to be - is by your side."

-End-