I so hate that the mangaka is foreshadowing the birth of the next Rokuryuu. Jea-ha is ever so slightly my favorite dragon (only slightly more than Shin-ah). This is my one-shot for him. ...I'd much rather see it not happen at all.
She was so tired. Sitting in the wagon was nice, even if there was more people on it than she felt comfortable with at the moment. Thank goodness the baby was being rocked by the motion of the wagon as it rolled on the dirt road that wound through farm fields and past woods. She was being rocked to sleep. Her eyes fluttered closed and her head nodded. She was glad the baby was tied to her in a sling. Her arms were begining to lose strength.
There was a pause in the chatter of other passengers and whispers of "Red hair!" That was unusual, but not enough to pull her up out of her dozing. "..and gold, blue, white...and green!" Immediately, she dropped her head all the way to her chest, letting her hair fall in front of her face, and sleep was gone from her. Her heart beat pounded now and she could feel the fear start to make her tremble. Emotions flared and warred in her chest and tears came unbidden to her eyes. Why? Why would he be here now? She was so close to freedom.
She watched from the corner of her eye. They were walking the opposite direction the wagon was travelling. That was good, but if he somehow found out, in one leap he could be back at the wagon. Looking the other way, she could see a bend in the road, going around woodland. That might be her only chance - get out of sight, drop from the wagon, and run. Jae-Ha wouldn't be able to jump in the woods. If she could find a hiding place and wait it out a day...maybe she could still reach the border.
-o-o-o-
The party of Dragons stopped, then turned to look back behind them. "What is it?" Yona asked.
"We've passed him," Zeno said philosophically, though with his usual brightness.
Yoon looked around, an eyebrow raised. "You mean, he's on that wagon we passed?"
Shin-Ah was watching through the woods, the wagon already having passed around the curve. He shook his head. "Not now." He pointed into the woods.
"What do you see?" Jae-Ha asked.
"A woman with a baby." Shin-Ah's comment was brief, as usual. His finger followed her path deeper into the woods.
Jae-Ha stepped forward to head into the woods, extremely interested, as it was his baby that was moving. Yona put a hand on his arm. "Jae-Ha," she paused and he tore his eyes from the woods to look at her.
-o-o-o-
She'd managed to find a small cave near a stream. Even better, the stream was noisy here, just enough to keep any sounds from the baby hidden, unless someone was standing outside the cave mouth itself. She'd actually been surprised she hadn't been stopped before now, and was still trembling on the inside. She didn't know why Jae-Ha had been on this road at this time, at the same time and place as her. It couldn't bode well for her and her desires. She'd managed to find it just in time, too. It was time to nurse.
She'd cleared out a place in the back of the cave where if someone entered the cave they wouldn't be seen right away. She sat with her back to the entrance and wrapped her blanket around her head and shoulders. Maybe it would be camoflague enough and make her not look human...maybe. She picked up the baby she'd been trying to protect this whole time and placed him to her breast, as much relieved as he was. She'd gotten too full again, trying to stay on the wagon as long as possible to save her feet, then on her feet walking to get as much distance between her and the road before having to stop.
As the baby boy nursed, her head nodded again. So tired... She almost dropped him once, startling awake as his sucking that continued as he tipped away from her pulled on her enough to make her aware of his precarious situation. He was already done on that side though. She shifted him to the others side and he latched on quickly. He'd grown enough already to know exactly what to do and his soft warmth in her arms made her smile slightly. She loved this part, holding him close to her and being everything for him that he needed in the moment. It was the only time of each day that she ever got close to relaxing, or finding enjoyment. This special child she held in her arms. She hummed to him softly.
-o-o-o-
Jae-Ha very carefully stepped to the small, dark entrance to the cave. Shin-Ah had assured him that the woman was sitting with her back to the entrance and wouldn't see him if he was very quiet. Shin-Ah had also said, "Baby's eating." Jae-Ha didn't quite understand what that meant. He peered in, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark interior. He could hear quiet humming, and under that...Oh, my. That's what Shin-Ah meant. He blushed slightly, then stepped into the cave. If she had her arms full and was busy, she couldn't run.
Jae-Ha managed to keep his presence from her until he was only a few feet from her, then she stiffened and the humming ceased. He froze, then crouched down and quietly said, "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." He was surprised when she jerked violently as if he'd hit her, and her terrored panting was suddenly loud in the small cave. "I want to help," he added, trying to keep her calm, knowing this was the hardest moment. To be in hiding and have someone corner you before you could understand they were even there. "Will you tell me who you are?"
Very slowly, the woman's head turned, and the blanket around her head turned with her, covering the near part of her features, until she was looking at him from one uncovered eye that held the same panic every muscle in her body did. He kept his stance low and his look kind. "Why?" it was quiet and breathy. "Why, Jea-Ha? Why have you come now?"
Jae-Ha fought to not frown. It shouldn't surprise him that she knew his name. She had to be one of the villagers from the Green Dragon Village. A few at least would know and remember his true name. "Because I know he's been born," he answered simply, "and because I knew he wasn't where the village wanted him to be. Will you tell me why?" He lifted himself carefully and walked around to where he could be more in front of her so she didn't have to crane her neck to see him. When he was where he could see her face he stopped in shock. "Min-Le?"
-o-o-o-
Min-Le nodded once. She was surprised Jae-Ha remembered her. They were contemporaries but they had never interacted. No one was allowed to interact with Rokuryuu except the dying Rokuryuu and the elders. Well, it wasn't quite true. They'd never spoken to each other. Her mother, and later, her friends always had grabbed her and pulled her away whenever she'd been frozen in the spot, staring at him. Maybe he'd learned her name from that. They'd scolded her and said it enough. She was also surprised he recognized her. They'd both grown up enough now that they didn't really look like the children and youths they had been. She felt frozen again, in the same way she had then, and like then, had no words to say. She didn't know how to open her mouth to him.
The green-haired baby in her arms pulled on her and her petrification was broken. She looked down, broke the suction so he didn't hurt her, then covered herself again and put the baby to her shoulder to burp him. The patting of his back made a medium deep thumping sound in the cave, but it was still quiet. She chose to not look at Jae-Ha. Maybe she could talk if she didn't have to see his face. Looking at the dirt floor of the cave between them, she haltingly began, not really sure where to.
"The Elders...everyone...was so angry that the previous Rokuryuu helped you, allowed you to choose to be free. ..." This was hard, even not seeing his face. She swallowed and tried again. "They knew they had to wait until you were a certain age, but they plotted to punish you." She turned her face away from him and put her cheek on her baby's head, feeling the soft fuzziness. She kept it covered when they were anywhere people could see. "For the last six years... all the women and girls who can be, are kept pregnant." She felt him react and closed her eyes. He would be very angry. She knew without looking.
After some silence, Jae-Ha asked, "And is he yours? Have you left your husband?"
Min-Le's heart clenched. "I have no husband." The air going into Jae-Ha's lungs hissed. "In that place...no woman is free...no person...is free. You know that. It's why they were so angry with you, to have you steal your freedom from them, and leave them there imprisoned." She finally looked at him and his face was sad, but set. He would not repent. She hadn't expected him to. He wouldn't have been Jae-Ha if he did. She looked into his eyes and he crouched down again, his eyes finally picking up some of the light from outside the cave so that she could see the glints of green that had always drawn her eyes when they were young.
"I couldn't bear to see him treated the way they treated you. Because you weren't there, there was no one to watch him and care for him. I offered, and was...imprisoned with him, though I convinced them that he shouldn't be chained while he was only an infant. I watched for a time, then left the village with him at night. ...Whether he is born of my body, or I traded for him, it matters not. He is mine, and I will see him free also."
-o-o-o-
Jae-Ha took in a breath. Her words were shocking. The very thing he found most abhorent had happened in his own village, because of their insanity...because of him. He couldn't see her face clearly in this dark, as she wasn't facing the cave entrance, but she didn't look angry, nor accusatory. Her words were, but not her tone of voice. She sounded more like she was just answering his question. ...He remembered her because she never ran from him, never said hurtful things, had only stood and watched him - with a sad expression when he was being punished and dragged back to his prison, with open admiration when he was trying to run again. "Where were you going to take him? To spread the blood again..."
Min-Le was shaking her head. "I will have no more children, and this one will never either, the same as yourself. I can only protect this one in my life. The next one will still be born in that village, and have to live the consequence of your, and my, decisions to have freedom at this time. We're headed for the border."
Jae-Ha shook his head. "You can't. The farther from the center of the country that you go, the weaker he will become."
"Then his feet will stay on the ground. I would not have him chained by some other greedy person who would keep him."
Jae-Ha paused. Enforced weakness would be as much a sorrow. To fly is what the Rokuryuu were born to do. Even he wasn't looking forward to having this child steal that from him, but it's the fate of all the Dragons, to have their power and life taken from them slowly as the child is born and grows to their place. "It isn't right," he finally said.
"Then what would you that I should do?" There was some heat in her voice finally, some emotion.
"Come with us and let us help you with him. We'll keep both of you safe."
Min-Le stopped her regular automatic patting of the baby's back and sat up straight, looking at him, her eyes wide enough that the whites glowed in the darkness. "You would do that, for the one who will steal your joy from you? Your freedom?"
Jae-Ha looked down, then ran his fingers through his hair, ending with pulling on his ponytail until he reached the end of it. "It's never easy," he admitted, "but I have been given more than the flight, because I sought my freedom. I've been found by my brother Dragons...and the Red Dragon has come. With companions...I believe it is possible."
"The Red...?" Min-Le was staring at him, then her shoulders slumped and she looked away again. "You've already lost your freedom, then." It was whispered.
Jae-Ha reached out for her, then paused half-way. "Min-Le..., I did run from it. I fought it, even when I was face to face with it and the blood demanded it. But the person is worth following. I do not regret it. I do not regret having companions who understand." He wondered if she would understand.
Min-Le was silent for some time. Finally she asked, "Will you help me teach him the importance of keeping his feet on the ground to keep his freedom?"
Jae-Ha nodded. "I will teach him what I have learned."
"Will I be able to stay until you're gone and I'm sure he will be obedient?" Her eyes glistened momentarily.
"It would be a blessing for a Green Dragon to know his mother," Jae-Ha said quietly.
She held the child to her, kissing the side of his head. Then she turned to Jae-Ha again. "If you become angry, I will stand between the two of you and take his beating."
Did she understand the threat that was to him? Jae-Ha's breath caught as a second emotion waved over him. "H-how...how could anyone from that place say such a thing?"
Min-Le's voice was very sad. "Because, Jae-Ha...I have loved you for a very long time."
-o-o-o-
Min-Le instantly regretted having answered it that way, Jae-Ha's face was so sadly conflicted. But she understood that. It was why she knew he'd lost his freedom when the Red Dragon had found him. He could only love that one, now. She held the new Rokuryuu out for him to take, then had to coach him somewhat, the same as any new father would have to be. This father would be the best one possible for this child. It was a dream she had hidden away from herself this whole time. It was why she had been afraid to face Jae-Ha. Even now, it would be hard to face him. She would constantly be falling into the sand pit her heart had betrayed her to from the beginning. Her heart would constantly be wanting to believe they were a family: father, mother, child. It wasn't possible.
Min-Le rose and gathered up her few things, turning her blanket back into the sling to carry the infant in. She reached out her arms to take him and put him in it, but Jae-Ha held on to him. "May I please show him to my friends? What is his name?"
"Yeo-Gi." Her arms went to her chest as if she'd taken the child and was holding him, her hands together side by side, curled closed. She felt bare without him, as if he'd been taken away from the only safety she had for him. She'd already said, though. She would learn to trust Jae-Ha. He was looking at the child again, then seemed suddenly impatient, though it was only in a change of stance as he stood quickly. She watched his eyes.
Jae-Ha looked at her, then at the entrance to the cave, and nodded towards it. Min-Le turned to go, took two steps, then froze, her breath catching. Just inside the cave, spilling into and out of it, were a rather large number of people for such a small place. It made her suddenly claustrophobic, but they were moving to leave the cave now as well, stepping out into the light so that she and Jae-Ha could come also. Why had she not heard them come? She hadn't heard Jae-Ha either. She turned her head slowly to look at him, her eyes wide.
Jae-Ha gave her a kind smile. "Come and meet them," he said, his voice as kind as his smile.
-o-o-o-
Min-Le ran her hand over Jae-Ha's green hair. His head was in her lap. He had come to her and taken her hand and walked with her to a quiet clearing. His warm, gentle embrace from just before they had sat down still lingered around her shoulders. She still remembered the way her heart had fallen to the soles of her feet when she had seen the bright red hair of the Red Dragon and realized it was a woman. A woman who's eyes had judged her, then had welcomed her solemnly. It had been hard to look away from the person who she believed had completely taken Jae-Ha from her. They had been patient with her and let her look until she was done.
Her eyes had finally moved to the man behind the Red Dragon. She had instinctively recognized the protective ownership that one had over the Red Dragon. That man had already claimed her from some time ago. Maybe it wasn't quite so bad. This large man would keep even the four Dragons from coming too close to the one he protected.
Next had been the white dragon, who's hand was not - and could not - be hidden. He had seemed somewhat anxious, but also kind and encouraging in his look. The blue dragon was breathtaking, even with his bound eyes. Her shoulders slumped a little when she understood she could not have hidden, even from the beginning, because of this one. It was kind of them to wait until she could be approached and that only Jae-ha was sent. The gold dragon looked young, yet old at the same time. He had smiled a bright smile when her eyes lit on his, but his eyes were as solemn and old as her feelings. A young boy was also with them. He had joined them and stood with them easily. Maybe one like her could as well, given time. She had looked up at Jae-ha, finally seeing him in all his colors again and she couldn't help but be caught again. He didn't give her time to get lost in his eyes, though. Seeing she had finished judging the group, he moved to take her son to them and introduce them.
Two sets of eyes had stayed on her. The ones who were not dragons. It was hard for her to tell what they were thinking. The guardian had been distracted first, called for by the Red Dragon to see and hear a comment about the infant. The other one, the young man, had walked to her and introduced himself from a respectful distance that she had been grateful for, and asked if she needed care. "Only sleep," she'd answered.
Yoon had frowned slightly. "We passed you, when you were begging in the streets. You also need food."
Min-Le had raised an eyebrow. "I didn't see you." He had nothing to say to it, so she'd shrugged. "Of course I would need food. How does one from that place know how to gain food from the outside? I have had sufficient to continue, though. I will eat when it is time to eat." He was still trying to get her to eat, even now that Yeo-Gi was ten.
"Min-Le." Her eyes refocused on the face below her and she touched his forehead gently. Jae-Ha reached up and took her hand resting on his chest in his. His grip was weak, though she chose to define it as gentle, and she griped him back enough he could relax with their hands still together. "Thank you, for coming with us that day."
"I could not make any other choice," she answered, getting lost in his eyes again, as always when she looked at him. She hesitated in a way he knew she wanted to say a thing. He reached up and covered her eyes with his other hand so she could speak. He had learned to do this for her when she was lost. She couldn't help the sad smile it gave her. "Thank you, Jae-Ha, for coming to find us. ...You have given me, and us, a gift I was too afraid to hope for. It has been a blessing to be with you." She hadn't wanted to cry, but his hand was wet on her cheekbones, where his hand was traping the salt-water.
His hand moved and his thumb wiped her cheek bones slowly, then the hand went to his chest. His look was sober, but kind. "Min-Le...," he took a breath, "if I could have chosen it...," his eyes closed slowly and she desperately watched as the green was slowly removed from her sight, "I would have loved you."
Min-Le couldn't see any more for the water in her eyes. "Thank you, Jae-Ha. To give me such a gift to treasure before you go." She could feel the Dragons and companions gathering. They felt it, too.
There was a soft *thud* behind her side and her son moved to stand by her. "Yeo-Gi," Jae-Ha's voice was very weak, "take proper care of your mother."
Yeo-Gi knelt down and put his hand on top of their joined hands. "I will, Father. ...Thank you."
In two more breaths, Jae-Ha was gone. Min-Le bowed her head to touch his with her forehead and her sobs welled up to meet her tears. For all he couldn't love her until the end, they had still been a family: a son, a mother, ...and a father.