Mina's Decision
Seong Mina swung Scarlet Thunder with ease, her arms and feet moving as agile as a cat. Twirling her weapon, she moved it over her head and then slammed it down on the ground.
The ground cracked open from the impact.
Running footsteps approached, and Yun Seong arrived, scowling. "Where were you? I thought you said we were going to get some food?" he grumbled irritably.
Seong Mina continued her exercise without pause. "I lost my appetite," she replied bluntly.
Yun Seong gave her a puzzled look but said nothing otherwise. He knew better than to question his master's decisions, no matter how bizarre. Instead, he gave a reluctant sigh and ran a hand through is dyed red hair. "You know Hwang's back. He was with your father."
The zanbatou swung rapidly to the side before she swept it down onto the ground. "I'm fully aware of that."
"He was looking for you. He said that he was expecting you to join him," Yun Seong said, wondering why his teacher was beginning to grow agitated with each passing second.
It was then that Seong Mina threw her head back and gave out a bitter laugh, kicking at an invisible opponent. Glancing at her pupil, she rolled her eyes and held her position steady. "Well, Hwang has a tendency of expecting the wrong things," she remarked coldly. Lowering her feet to the ground, she straightened her body and brushed her bangs away from her face. A serious expression suddenly replaced her smirk. "Do you like Hwang?"
Yun Seong nodded. "What's not to like?" When Seong Mina shot him a skeptical look, he added, "He's like a big brother to me, and his skill with the Chinese blade is without equal. I would love to duel with him."
"Riiiiight, he's a fine swordsman," Seong Mina replied, shaking her head in disappointment. "But what about husband material?" She turned her gaze back to Yun Seong, watching him shift his footing uncomfortably.
"W-well," he stammered, thinking for a moment. "Well I think he'll be a great husband for you. He's strong so he'll always be there to protect you if you just let him."
The thought made Seong Mina scowl. "I don't want protection. I want something more."
Yun Seong rolled his eyes. "Women. Who knows what you all really want anymore. Why can't you ladies ever be content with a roof over your head and a strong man to keep you safe?" And before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "You'll see, Hwang will put you in your pl–"
"Finish that sentence and you die right here and right now," Seong Mina growled heatedly, her grip on her zanbatou tightening ever so slightly.
Yun Seong let out a nervous chuckle and immediately shut his mouth. Soon the two fell silent, as Seong Mina resumed her exercises, an irritated look on her face. For a moment, Yun Seong watched her take her anger out at an invisible opponent. When he was sure that she had released most of her anger, he finally decided to speak once again.
"Don't you like him?" he asked tentatively, wishing he had his sword in hand just in case his teacher decided to attack him.
Seong Mina swung her zanbatou effortlessly into the air. "Oh, sure, what's not to like? It's like you said, I like my men big, strong, and stupid."
Yun Seong winced. He had been expecting that answer. "Well, I think he's great."
"Yes," she remarked bitterly. "Well, you're not marrying him." With a sigh, she shook her head and lowered her weapon to her side. She didn't mean to take her anger out on her pupil just because he worshipped Hwang. "So what's for lunch?"
Yun Seong shrugged, looking relieved that Seong Mina had changed the subject. "Just the usual. The cooks are busy preparing dinner for tonight's feast. They're making sure everything's perfect for Hwang."
Seong Mina rolled her eyes once again and sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" Like it or not she was going to have to see Hwang sooner or later. Her complaining stomach had seen to that.
"Well come on then. Let's eat something before they close down the kitchen."
The night of the feast came sooner than she had wanted. The day had gone by so quickly, she hardly had anytime to think of what to wear. It was because of this that she had stood in front of her closet, staring intently at her clothes. Once again she was asked to wear something 'appropriate' for a lady soon to be married…whatever that meant. But all she really had were her regular fighting clothes, nonrestrictive and extremely comfortable to wear. The last Korean dress she had had been torn as a result of her fighting in it one day.
Picking it up, she wrinkled her nose in distaste and tossed it aside. There was no way she would be wearing that. It was beyond repair. Instead, she chose a red top exposing her stomach and a matching skirt. She didn't care how skimpy it would appear to everyone else, it was, after all, her favorite outfit. Hwang should feel privileged to see her wearing it just for him.
When she was fully dressed, Seong Mina checked herself in the mirror and smiled. She was quite pretty, with her dark hair pulled back in a braid and her pale skin as creamy and smooth as silk. It was no wonder that Hwang had agreed to marry her, let alone put up with her.
With a satisfied smile, Seong Mina looked away from the mirror and headed out of her room, moving towards the dining hall. As she entered, she was greeted by a festive scene. The dining hall, usually filled with the dojo's students eating in absolute silence was now transformed into a rowdy scene. Students were singing and laughing amongst their friends. Even the old, strict teachers were enjoying themselves.
Seong Mina grinned and looked over to the head of the table. As expected, her father sat in his place, a surprisingly pleasant smile on his face. Seated just beside him was none other than Hwang, laughing in amusement. He looked even more handsome with his jovial expression. Seong Mina found that she liked what she saw.
"Mina!" he father called out to her, beckoning for her to join them.
With a nod, Seong Mina moved to where her father was seated and sat beside Hwang. "Good evening, father. Hwang," she greeted cheerfully, smoothening her skirt as she sat down.
Hwang gave her the slightest of nods and turned his attention back to her father to hear the rest of the joke.As the festivities continued to carry on through the night, Seong Han-myeong finally excused himself and went off to socialize with the rest of his very important guests. Seong Mina and Hwang decided to do the same and rose up from the table, making their way down the tables and greeting their guests. It was then that they spotted Yun Seong making his way towards them, an eager look on his face.
"Evening, swordmaster," Yun Seong greeted, bowing his head down as a sign of respect. "Evening, Master Hwang."
Before Seong Mina could tease her pupil about his sudden show of respect, Hwang spoke up.
"Yun Seong! You've grown," he noted, clapping a hand on the young man's shoulder. "I trust that Master Han-myeong has taught you well in my absence."
Yun Seong scratched his head and grinned ruefully. "Actually, Mina's been keeping me on my toes since you left. Master Han-myeong insisted."
It was then that the smile on Hwang's face faded.
Seong Mina gulped. This was bad. Yun Seong had been Hwang's best student. Having been told that his best student was now under the care of his future wife was not what he wanted to hear. Shooting a silencing look at Yun Seong, Seong Mina remarked quickly, "Yun Seong's as lazy as he can be. But he holds promise."
"I see," Hwang said stiffly.
Noticing his teacher's glare upon him, Yun Seong shut his mouth and quickly excused himself, leaving the two alone in an awkward silence.
Seong Mina took a deep breath and turned to face Hwang. Clasping her hands behind her back, she immediately changed the subject. "You haven't said a word about your travels. Why don't you tell me some of your adventures?"
But Hwang did not seem to hear her. His eyes were now transfixed on her outfit, as if he finally noticed exactly what she had been wearing all along. Finally, he met his fiancée's gaze and shook his head. "You know I would prefer you wear something more lady like. Whether you like it or not, you're going to have to starting acting like one soon."
This really rubbed Seong Mina the wrong way. Why was Hwang such a jerk? Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at her fiancé defiantly. "Well maybe we shouldn't be married, and then you wouldn't have to prefer to do anything with me," she snapped coldly, finally losing her temper. And with that, she stormed away, her hatred for Hwang resurfacing once again.
Hwang caught her arm before she left and pulled her towards him. "Hold your tongue. Do you really want to cause a scene?" he hissed quietly into her ear.
Although to any onlooker looking their way, Hwang and Seong Mina seemed to be in an intimate position, the both knew otherwise.
Seong Mina tried to wrench her hand out of his powerful grip but to no avail. Gritting her teeth together, she glared at Hwang. "You're hurting me," she said quietly, fighting to keep her voice still.
But Hwang kept his grip steady. "You can't be a child forever, Mina. Someday you'll have to grow up. You will do well to remember that."
Seong Mina grabbed for the nearest thing she could reach and bashed it against Hwang's head. In an instant, he was covered in dumpling sauce. "And you will do well to remember that I do not respond well to threats." And with that, she wrenched her hands out of Hwang's grip and finally departed.
The doors to the dojo entrance slammed loudly as Seong Mina stomped onto the training grounds. Her zanbatou in hand, she looked up at the sky and checked to see if there were any signs of a storm coming.
Not a single cloud in the sky. It was a beautiful, cloudless night. Even the moon was full and glowing brightly.
Immediately, Seong Mina's anger dissolved, and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Quietly, she moved in the darkness towards the battle ring and decided to work on her new technique to keep her preoccupied.
But as she made her way along the stone walkway, she suddenly heard a loud thud followed by a groan. Seong Mina felt a shiver run down her spine and decided to investigate the source of the noise. Chances are that the guards had a little too much to drink and ended up slacking off on the job. But then again, it could be something else.
There came another groan. Louder this time.
Looking down at her feet, Seong Mina discovered a figure lying on the walkway just a few paces away. Gasping, she immediately ran towards him and crouched down to see if he was injured or if he was merely suffering from a hangover.
"H-hey," Seong Mina whispered, poking the man with a finger. "Hey, are you alright? What happened?"
The man groaned again and twitched as he tried to move.
Seong Mina eased the man onto his back and studied him carefully. He was one of Hwang's men. "What happened?"
The man's arm suddenly thrust up towards Seong Mina's face, startling her for a second. "Sh-sha…shar…" he rasped, lacking the strength to speak properly.
"What?"
Something dropped onto Seong Mina's lap as the man lost consciousness. Looking down at her lap, she soon found a bluish object. It was a metal shard. But of what, she knew not.
"Hey, what is this? What's going on?"
But the man was already unconscious.
Seong Mina shook the man in vain. He was dead. Looking down at the shard on her lap, she held it with her fingers and scowled. There was a great power within the shard. She could feel it pulse through her fingertips as she raised it up to eye level.
There was no doubt about it that the man had found the shard during his travels with Hwang. The question was: how did he come by it?
Clenching her hand into a fist, Seong Mina shook her head and rose up from the ground. There was no point in asking her father or Hwang where the shard had come from. They would simply deny its existence and forbid her from investigating it further.
No, I'm going to do this myself, she thought, shaking her head in defiance. She would get to the bottom of this powerful shard, and she would do it alone. Hwang would just have to wait.
Taking in a deep breath, Seong Mina looked out into the horizon, wondering where her search would take her, what dangers lay ahead, and what kind of people she would meet along the way. With all that in mind, she turned her back towards the dojo and smiled.
Author's Note: Wow, I didn't realize there were so many Seong Mina & Siegfried fans out there. I honestly thought it would be Sophitia and Siegfried. I guess you learn something new everyday, huh. Well, anyway, to be honest, I love Hwang. I really do, so it was very hard for me to make him act like such a jerk. But from playing the game(s) over and over again, I realized that's exactly how his character is. I didn't take him for the soft, romantic kind, so I wanted to keep him as close to his character as possible. Well, I'm glad you guys like my story so far! The reviews really help!