Author's Note: Hey, everybody. I'm back, avoiding school and obsessing over this pairing. Thanks again for reading!
"Listen up." Yoon pulled the map out of his pack, and rolled it out onto the ground. The camp rumbled softly with the sound of snoring, as he slammed his palm into the dirt to get a reaction. Sleeping bodies were strewn across the leafy floor and rustled softly at the noise. "There's a group of bandits coming that frequent this village. They take crops, livestock, and anything they can get their grubby hands on. The people there are really suffering. Well, I did my research and they're on their way tomorrow."
"That so," Jae-Ha grumbled as he pushed off the ground and blinked the crumbs of sleep out of his eyes.
"We should stop them," he pressed. "I couldn't find much else, but I've figured out the route they usually take, and if we're fast enough, we can intercept them right here." Yoon's finger took a nosedive to the paper and crinkled it on impact. "But we have to be quick about it. Soldiers are known to pass through these parts, and we don't want to draw too much attention. We already get enough as it is. Zeno says he's been here before and he can navigate pretty well, so we already have the advantage."
"That's right!" Zeno grinned broadly and stretched out his arms to the sky, breathing in the morning air. His energy was like an endless stream, undeterred by the pull of sleep and the chill away from the warm woolen layers in the dewy soil.
Yona grinned and brushed the dirt off her cloak as she stood up. "Then you can lead the way." Her smile faltered when she noticed the empty blanket nestled next to her tent. It was tipped with ash from the charred log fire they had thawed their fingers in the night before. Blackened wood still burned with a fading glow from lingering embers. A crow scattered from the trees above, breaking the deafening silence with an eerie cry. Her heart beat faster when she scanned the entire camp, and his absence struck even harder. "Where is Hak?"
"Hak? I think he went fishing with Kija," Yoon shrugged and rifled through his bag to find supplies for the pending attack.
She sat back on a broken stump and ran her fingers across her shivering arms. The morning was icy and unsympathetic. A gust thrashed the fabric of her tent and nearly ripped it from the ground. Another glance confirmed that he really was gone. She couldn't be sure whether she was disappointed or relieved. She hardly knew what she would've even said to him. She leaned back and stared into the sky. A mixture of pinks and oranges seemed to stretch on for miles, speckled with balls of drifting cotton cast with the dancing hues of sunrise. The image blurred together into black as she closed her eyes, and withdrew to the memories. Even still, she couldn't stop thinking about it. How it felt when their lips brushed. The heat of his hand when it pressed against her skin. And his tongue was so slippery. Her face exploded with red.
Everything flew through her brain at once, every kiss, every touch. She had barely gotten any sleep. With a groan, she slammed her palms across her cheeks to scrub off the color and wondered if he was as affected as she was. But it didn't matter. Shadows fell across her face as she remembered the words they shared when they parted. Nothing could happen between them. It was as unspoken as the moon's light sliding through the trees' arms with silent grace. The silver sphere hung low in the sky with the sun's arrival, readying to disappear once more behind the horizon. Her relationship with Hak was as painfully obvious as the fact that no night would last forever as much as she willed it. Another day would always come. She was a princess. And he was her servant. And Soo-Won was the man that had taken that from them and blurred that line. But no matter how blurred it was, it was still there.
A pile of fish slapped against the ground. He paused for only the slightest second, but it was enough for their eyes to meet. The heat in their gazes pulsated, as her lips parted to say something, but the moment passed. Hak lumbered on lazily with a fleeting nod as Kija stormed past and tossed his catch on top of the other pile with pride.
"Princess! Look how many more I caught." He grinned and cornered Yona with a sly grin. "You know how my abilities are far superior to that man's. You can always rely on me to protect you." Kija reached forward to clasp her hands but was halted by a menacing hand on his shoulder.
"You wish, White Snake." Hak dug his fingers deep into the skin, and grinned caustically. Kija spun to accept the challenge with his claws bared but missed the chance as Hak turned around and stalked off towards the campfire. He lowered to a crouch, and struck a stone to ignite a spark. After a few misfired attempts to relight the wood, he tossed in a couple more pieces and finally got a fire going big enough to cook their haul. "I was just distracted." He waved over Yoon to take it from there, and glanced mutedly back for a second. Yona felt Hak's eyes wash over her and shuddered. So, she wasn't the only one affected. He turned back towards Yoon and slumped over beneath the shade of a gnarled oak tree, burying his chin in his knuckles. "What's the update on those bandits you've been tracking?"
"They're close. We should strike tomorrow soon as the sun's up." Yoon skewered the fish and let the flames lap hungrily at the singed fleshy meat. Shin-Ah watched silently as his hands hovered beside the fire, soaking in the warmth as his fingers collected a smoky residue.
"Sounds alright to me." Hak leaned his back against the tree's withered trunk and closed his eyes, trying to shut it out. It seemed futile.
His nerves frayed as he folded his hands together and sighed in defeat. He could hardly muster composure when she was just feet away from him. It was a strange marvel, how an ex-general could unravel so easily from the presence of a small red headed princess. He'd had a lot of practice in pretending his feelings didn't exist, so much that he almost could believe it himself. But just from actually holding her and feeling the rise and fall of her chest against his, they were shoved back in his face stronger than ever. But they were only inconvenient, selfish feelings that would lead him nowhere. He knew that well enough.
"Hak?" Yona's voice came softly. Her hand rested against his arm and startled him. "Can you spar with me?" She motioned towards her wooden sword, sheathed and burrowed in the layers of blankets behind the open flap of her tent. It was a poor excuse, but it was all she could manage just to talk to him. "For practice."
"I think you're good enough, already. You don't need me anymore." Hak lifted off the ground dismissively, and dug his hands into his pockets. "If you really want to, go practice with Shin-Ah." He felt pathetic. Glancing back at Yoon, he gestured off towards the thicket of ferns lining the backdrop. "I'm going to scope out the area."
Yona opened her mouth to say something but slammed it shut, as he disappeared through the woods. Several prying eyes averted themselves as she glanced back, and Shin-Ah shook his head silently as he stroked Ao's head. She sighed disappointedly and trudged back towards her tent. Jae-Ha raised a suspicious brow and squinted his eyes in both of their directions. There was definitely something going on. With a cunning grin, he took off after Hak. His legs propelled him from the ground and shook the bed of leaves beneath them, as his outline grew thinner in the air the farther he went. He scrutinized the treetops, and spotted a dark figure through a small copse scattered with blossoms, wild grass, and copious sources of spring water.
Hak leaned down and reached his hands into the icy water, as it trickled out from a crevice in the stones. He pulled it to his lips and paused when he heard a voice from behind him. Droplets dribbled down his wrists as he turned back to identify it.
"So what exactly happened between you two?" Jae-Ha landed swiftly, and leaned onto Hak's shoulder with a coy smile. Jae-Ha always had a keen sense on how to read a room from as far back as he could remember. Being perceptive gave you an outside look to the world around you, and Jae-Ha used it to his advantage. It always felt like he was the member of an audience to a show being put on, and that had its entertaining moments. The excitement that went on between his traveling companions in particular never failed to amuse him, especially between the escaped princess and the Thunder Beast of Kouka.
"Nothing happened." Hak shook him off and grimaced. The last person he wanted to see was this guy. Droopy Eyes always seemed to put salt in wounds that were already festering.
"Is that why you're avoiding her so obviously? It's rather childish. I feel sorry for your poor beloved Yona-chan." Jae-Ha grinned and leaned back against the rock face, letting the running water spit through his fingers. It nipped and bit at the hairs on his hand, as the skin gradually turned a bright raw crimson from the cold. Drawing his fingers back, he sucked at the dripping moisture, and stared back towards the camp. "It almost hurts watching you drag your feet. If you don't make a move already, I'll steal her from you."
Hak froze up, flushed and nervous, and a jolt ran down Jae-Ha's spine. It was supposed to be all fun and games, but he was ashamed to admit that he'd developed a little bit of a soft spot for the princess. In fact, it wasn't little. Actually, it was pretty big, and there was nothing soft about it. It would prick him in the heart like tiny needles every time he would see her brazenly shooting her arrow or unsheathing her sword, and it also came like a brick when he saw her together whispering alone to the tall black haired man decked in grey and blue overcoats. There was electricity between Hak and Yona that they didn't even notice themselves. But Jae-Ha noticed. That was one of the downsides to his keen sense, he supposed. He could blame his dragon's blood for what he felt towards Yona as much as he could, but he knew it was more than that. Pushing the feeling down, he forced out a grin, and glanced down to the water to see if his reflection looked natural.
"Oh, that's what this is. You did make a move. How sly." Jae-Ha laughed, and splashed him. "I'm impressed." The water trailed off of Hak's face, but the black haired man hardly noticed. He stared lifelessly at the glittering sparks of light bouncing off the water's edge. It looked like scraps of tinsel. Jae-Ha frowned "What's the matter with you? Isn't this good?"
"There's nothing good about it." A shadow clouded his expression that Jae-Ha had seen only several times before in all the time he had known the Thunder Beast. It almost made him flinch. It was a look that came when Hak recalled the darkness of his past, a past he had sworn not to forget. But it seemed like it was slipping away from him, the closer he grew to Yona. It was a betrayal to the king he once served, and an injustice to the princess as well. He'd gotten too greedy.
"You know, I wasn't kidding when I said I would steal her away," Jae-Ha murmured. "I'm serious about her." Hak clenched his jaw as Jae-Ha spun on his heels and hopped off, humming as he went. Lifting his hand, he waved lazily, as he readied himself to leap. "Just remember. If you don't make her happy, I will." And with that, he was gone.
Hak slammed his fist against the rock surface, and furrowed his brow, as frustration gnawed at him. "How can I possibly make her happy?"
With a sigh, he plodded further within the forest. He walked far out through the coppice for so long he lost track of time, slashing trees along his way as trail markers. He'd scoured nearly every edge of the woods, and found a dirt path that led to the village. The sound of voices immediately caught his attention, and he bowed his head and left his blade hidden close behind so he wouldn't stand out. There were villagers scattered everywhere, but a group huddled close together by the waterside, muttering to each other in fear. Small boat canals had been constructed recently for safe transport of goods and people, and it had built hype among the townspeople. But bandits who had already been stealing from the people had gone to the water and begun hijacking boats and merchandise. Soldiers patrolled the area, but they were easily paid off. Most of the village's resources were starting to run out. Yoon hadn't been the only one keeping track of the situation. Hak knew it was just a matter of time before the villagers were bled dry. He groaned. It looked like there really was little choice but to intervene.
"What's going on?" he asked, pushing through to the center. He had a good idea.
"They're coming tomorrow," a young woman sputtered, and covered her face. "What are we going to do? They'll take everything." Noticing him, she clammed up, and looked away anxiously.
"Who are 'they?'" he pressed further, fishing for more information. Yoon knew a good deal already, but he still hadn't managed to take any names. All the townspeople veered away from specifics. They all seemed terror-stricken. Hak doubted he'd have more luck, but it was worth a shot.
"Bandits," a man with auburn hair and spectacles mentioned vaguely. Hak rolled out the kinks in his shoulders, and sighed. That was usually where they stopped talking. He opened his mouth to try a different tactic to get a different answer, but he didn't have to. The man started talking himself. "They call themselves the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch." Hak's face fell. "It sounds ridiculous, but they're really not to be trifled with. Those men are merciless."
"Shut your mouth," a younger man barked, as he slicked back his black hair nervously, peeling off the sweat damped strands that had plied themselves to his forehead.
"I've already said too much," the first man trailed off and folded his shaking hands together. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "We can't talk about them to outsiders. Leave while you still can. You don't know what they could do to you."
The words stuck with Hak as he walked back to camp. The sky faded from blue to grey charcoal tones before he even remembered to look up. It was unusual. Yona and their group had called themselves the Happy Hungry Bunch once before when they had acted as bandits within the Fire Tribe's territory. It didn't change anything, but he wondered why an unfamiliar group of bandits would've adopted their old nickname. He'd seen the members a couple of times with Yoon, but he didn't recognize any of their men, and he didn't see much merit to posing as a preexisting group of bandits. It might have been to boost reputation, considering how Yona and the gang had hit village after village, eradicating corruption hidden behind the veil of infamy. His brows knitted as he stepped back into the camp. Yoon cleaned up finished plates with a rag, and Shin-Ah silently kept watch. Zeno and the rest were causing a ruckus as usual, but they were so far away, their voices blended with the babble of crickets. He looked around and frowned.
"Where is the princess?"
Yoon looked at him suspiciously for a second and then returned to what he was doing. "She's in her tent. She's asleep. Eat something." He leaned back and scooped a spoonful of beans out of a boiling pot, and it slid into a messy slop in his wooden bowl. Hak stared at the tent opening, and Yoon rolled his eyes. "Leave her be. She's been training nonstop on her own all day for tomorrow, since someone wouldn't help her. It wore her out. So, don't bother her."
"I wasn't planning on it." Hak shrugged, and sat down, throwing back the soup. The silence ate away at the air between them.
"You know, I may be a pretty boy, but I'm also pretty perceptive." He swiped the moistened cloth across the last dish, and narrowed his eyes. "I don't care what you do, but it better not have a bad impact on this group." A cry echoed from between the trees, and Yoon slapped his tools against the ground. "I'm going to tell those idiots to keep it down."
Hak watched Yoon disappear through the shrubbery and lifted off the ground. He parted the cloth of Yona's tent, and poked his head through. Her small shivering frame was slumped beneath a thin sheet. He tilted his head to the side for a moment, and went back to grab a thicker blanket. Settling to his knees, he carefully threaded inside around her trembling body, and draped the woolen fabric over her side. He tucked the edges beneath her and the quakes that ran down her spine gradually dwindled. Admiring her face, he noticed the slightest quiver in her eyelashes. He ran his finger gently against them, and smiled. It was a relief to see her sleeping so peacefully. It reminded him of when she was a kid, and she'd slept beside him when the three of them had all caught a fever. Those days seemed so long ago now. He'd snuck a kiss then, too.
Leaning down, his lips brushed against hers. The second passed, and he drew away. Pushing through the opening of the tent, Hak stepped out. He sighed and sat a moment, sucking back air. He felt even more pathetic.
Yona stared at the ceiling of the tent after she watched him leave. Pressing her fingers to her lips, she traced the edges. Clenching her fist, she flipped to her other side and waited for sleep to come. It didn't.
