a short one made while listening to a soundtrack that got me emotional. contains minor spoilers from chapter 119 and the post events of the chapter, so read cautiously, if you have not read the manga that far yet. / I'm also sorry for some mistakes included in the choices of some prepositions etc. since I am not native speaker and the dialect is quite different in my mother tongue.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, all belong to the original author Kusanagi Mizuho.

thoughts, Him

He was standing on a hill, watching her from a distance. They had been traveling for a while now, with the whole Happy Hungry Bunch with them. The rest of the bunch were gathered around a campfire at the edge of the forest. The sun was slowly drifting under the horizon, and dusk started to land over the magical view, that made the ocean reflect the last crimson rays of sunlight.

It had gotten dead silent all of a sudden, only some distant laughs to be heard from the camp that they had built yesterday after the events of Kushibi's Fort.

And she was sitting there, so close to the edge, that he was almost afraid that she'd fall. The princess, whose hair looked like flames dancing in the soft wind, was isolated from the others and that made him feel uneasy. She was usually so lively and brought happiness to those around her.

Yona had been staring into the sea since they arrived without saying a word her usually so bright spirit and sparkly eyes burning with passion. Her head filled with heavy thoughts. Hak couldn't blame her but he was troubled by the mere thought of princess's despair and wished to comfort her. Seeing Soo Won didn't seem to be as devastating as the last times had been for the princess, but they both were still carrying the heavy burden of the past with them. But it was now much more than just that, there were also other things in her mind. Despairing things, that she didn't wish to discuss with the others, nor him. At least not right now.

If he could, he would lift all the worries from her shoulders and protect her from all the evil in the world even if he knew that it wasn't right. She wanted to face it and she wanted to become stronger. She'd come so far already from the fragile little princess that she was back in the castle.

He wished that Yona could see it too. She was always pushing herself so hard. And she didn't always want to be helped and pampered like the princess she was. And for him, still is.

One day, he wanted to hold her tightly in his arms and tell her how much he cared for her. But for now, it was enough that he was simply present. He said not a word, but he made sure she knew that he was there,

for her,

and her only.

thoughts, Her

Night had fallen fast, and the cold breeze in the air was especially noticeable tonight. It was chilling inside the tent, even if she had many blankets to warm her during nights like this. But she wasn't so sure if even the blankets could remove the uneasy feeling in her chest, that kept bothering her. She was tired, tired of thinking. She simply hoped to fall into deep sleep and let her mind float into the clouds. But while asleep, nightmares haunt her dreams and the past just kept finding a way to slither back in various ways, tormenting the deep slumber she could have otherwise.

Yona had been wondering about all that had happened in the last few days. How she saw Lili almost fall to her death, how she was saved by Hak and Soo Won and just how bad things could've have gone. It all felt so overwhelming and all too sorrowful. Her mind was filled with images that were just tangled in each other and became even more complicated inside her head.

She was finding it harder and harder to sleep at night, turning on her mattress from side to side. The princess would sometimes sneak out of her tent while others were sleeping, to train or simply walk. That way she could concentrate on something else. She wanted to be strong for the others, whom she loved and cherished dearly- they were all equally precious to her. Except, for that one person.

Maybe, just maybe he was a little bit more precious, but in another way, that she could not even begin to describe with words. She liked it that way, since that is what made that odd feeling so exciting. The way he smiled even if that particular smile wasn't for her only and she felt like that was the world for Yona. When he was down, she felt like the most miserable person and the sky seemed cloudier too.

Being strong wasn't always so easy. Sometimes she just wanted to cry like a baby and throw herself to the ground out of frustration. She felt like suffocating.

But she felt his presence there. Like a strong barrier was always around her, blocking all possible misery that was about to come to her. Be it blades, knives, arrows or brutal Nadai- addicts, he was there. Blocking them all, with his strong body. But thoughts were something that even he could not block with his mighty spear.

Oh, if she only had the courage to tell him how she cared for him. How thankful she was.

But for now, it was enough that they were good friends.

And maybe, one day

she could finally say it aloud-

thoughts, together

She had come to him in the night. The moonlight shined slightly from the roof of the tent and created a silhouette into the wall of the frail body of the princess. She looked so small, and even in the dark he was able to see the dim traces of tears on her cheeks. Her eyes were puffy and she had definitely had a nightmare. It was more of a rule than an exception nowadays.

He did not say anything, but he looked into her eyes and saw the lingering question that she wanted to ask but couldn't. He moved a little to make her space next to him under the blankets. She snuggled in and he wrapped his hand around her waist pulling her up close.

At first, they were both silent.

"Hak…" she started, voice still a bit raspy from crying in her sleep.

"It's alright. Just sleep now, princess." he whispered, squeezing her hand slightly.

And it wasn't long, when her breathing steadied and she fell asleep once again. After a long time, they could both fall asleep in each other's arms and truly sleep peacefully. And not even a single nightmare was able to reach them that night.