"Keep your form," Hak said, smoothly moving his body to avoid a jab. In the moonlight, his eyes seemed to glow silver, and his facial features were even more pronounced in the shadows of the night.
Yona was frustrated. Her arms were tired from holding up a heavy sword, and she was drenched in sweat from trying to keep up with Hak. Her body was beginning to ache from his gentle shoves and pushes showing her where her real enemies would strike her down, and her constant loss of balance was giving her bruises on the places she would fall.
Hak being so effortlessly graceful was making Yona even angrier. Why was he never out of breath or bruised or sweaty? Frowning, Yona put all of her body weight into swinging at Hak with the sword again, and it took all of her self-control not to let out an infuriated scream when he easily avoided her once more.
"Your arms are shaking, Princess," Hak teased, the hint of a smile on his face.
His smug expression broke Yona's resolve. Letting out a battle cry, she turned quickly, meaning to try to catch Hak off guard, but – of course – he moved before Yona could calculate it. The ground was racing up toward her, and Yona was so exhausted she almost welcomed it; maybe she'd just stay on the ground and fall asleep right there.
She closed her eyes right before she hit the ground, but instead of being met with something rough and cold, she was suddenly surrounded by familiar warmth. Yona let out a soft sound, and cuddled further into the warmth, still not having opened her eyes.
"You should have told me you were tired."
Yona's eyes fluttered open, and she looked up to see Hak with his jaw set, looking straight ahead. His tone was harsh, in contrast to the way he was holding her so delicately.
"You shouldn't push yourself, Princess," he said, finally looking down at her. His eyes were shinning with his own frustration, a look Yona often saw when she did something Hak felt was asking too much of her.
"I won't get stronger if I don't," Yona said, desperately making a fist around the material of Hak's clothing.
"You're strong enough," Hak muttered, looking away from Yona. His hands continued to gently play with her hair while she watched the muscles of his jaw twitch with annoyance.
"I'm not strong enough to protect you and the others, and –"
"You don't have to protect us!" Hak said, his face snapping back towards her. His voice was loud enough to ring in Yona's ears after becoming accustomed to the quiet night. "It's our job to protect you! Why do you even want us here if we can't do that for you? If we just add to your struggles?"
"You don't add to my struggles!"
Yona's words hung in the air for a moment before disappearing into the stillness of the night. Her sure voice had stunned Hak into silence as she came awake with her anger once again. With a frown etched into her face, she continued to speak.
"You don't add to my struggles. My weakness does. I was too weak and stupid to question whether my father was a good king, too weak and stupid to defend myself against Soo-won, too weak and stupid to survive on my own or help my people. I need to be stronger, my kingdom needs me to be stronger."
Before Yona could finish what she was saying, Hak suddenly turned them around so that he was pinning her against a tree. She let out a soft gasp, startled by Hak's unanticipated action, and could feel herself blushing now because of it. He was always catching her off guard.
Yona watched as Hak's hands rose up, as if to grab her own. His fingers barely brushed against the skin of her wrists as he tenderly held her arms captive against the rough bark of the tree on either side of her. Although his grip was light and loose, Yona somehow felt like her arms were fastened to the tree behind her. Hak was looking down at her with a sharp face, but his eyes seemed like they were looking straight through hers, and it sent a chill down her spine.
"Hak!" Yona said, her voice shaking despite her efforts to sound stern.
Before she could say anything else, Hak closed his eyes and leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against hers. He let out a long breath through his nose, and his entire body slumped with it, his hands falling from her wrists. Her arms slowly fell to her sides as her mood shifted from embarrassed anger to sorrow.
"Hak," Yona repeated softly, blinking her eyes to try to focus on his face at such a close distance.
"And I need you to stay alive," Hak said, opening his eyes to look at Yona. "It's more than just serving you, or keeping a promise I made to your father – who was a great king, by the way. I need you alive, for me."
"So let me become stronger," Yona whispered, both intrigued and nervous by their closeness. She found herself leaning even more into Hak, but didn't stop herself.
Hak brought his hands up and tangled his fingers into Yona's curls at the base of her neck. He tugged on them just enough to make her lift her face toward him so that their lips were almost touching. Yona's heart was pounding so hard she almost couldn't hear the words Hak whispered back to her. "Why can't you just let me protect you?" he asked, his bottom lip brushing against hers just the slightest bit.
Yona leaned in the rest of the way and forcefully pressed her lips against Hak's, satisfied by knowing she'd finally caught him off guard. After a moment of stillness, Hak's hands dropped from her hair to her waist, and settled on the rounds of her hips. Yona could feel that his hands were softly shaking against her, and pulled away from his lips. "Because I want to live by your side, and not behind you," she answered. After a short moment without a response, Yona added, "And I have a better chance at survival if I can defend myself."
"Fine," Hak said quickly, pulling away from her entirely. The cold air that replaced Hak's body heat made Yona shiver in a way she didn't like. Hak was already walking towards the camp when he spoke again. "We'll train again tomorrow."