H-Hey everyone! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I'M SO SORRY! I really thought this fic wasn't going well but I'm going through and editing up some of my things and I actually JUST rewatched the anime and I'm reading my manga books of it right now. So, I've decided to revamp and rework on this! YAY!
A strong wind blows,
I sense not the direction it wishes to lead.
But it is full of something,
Of feelings yet to be felt.
Such a strong wind that carries us,
And it will guide us straight and true.
Chapter Three:
It took them another day's march to reach the capital of Fuuga, home to the wind clan. It was their capital, and Shura gazed up at it in awe as the climbed the steps to the gates. Other than Crimson Dragon castle, what little she saw of it, Shura had never seen such a magnificent and imposing place.
As they finally mounted the last step, Shura saw two boys leaning against each other in front of the gate, asleep. She looked at Hak as he got an angry tick on his head and he stomped up to the two of them, kicking them over. "Are the tribes guards given nap time now!?"
The two young men looked shocked and then got these lazy smiles on their faces. "Lord Hak?! What's it been? Like….ten years? What brings you here?" Black hair said.
"It's only been three."
The blonde one laughed and the two leaned against each other again, looking up at Hak. "What happened? Did they fire you as a general? Tomorrow's another day."
"Who put you two in charge of the gate?"
"What? We're part of the wind clan," the two sad, lazy and relaxed smiles on their faces and practically flowers popping up around them as they spoke. "We do what we want when we want too. So if we're tired we're gonna take a nap."
Hak chuckled a bit. "I see you two haven't changed a bit."
"CHIEF!"
Shura looked up and stepped back in discomfort as people rushed out to greet Hak. They swarmed around him with smiles on their faces, most of them pretty young women. They began to talk in a large, jumbled mess until a homely, older woman split apart and walked up to Yona and Shura.
"Oh! Who are you?" She asked and people began to notice them, swarming around them as well. "Are they from the palace!" "Maybe they're Lord Hak's women!"
"What! No! They're apprentice ladies in waiting from the palace!"
"Really!? Even the one with scars?"
Shura grabbed Yona's arm, the chaos getting more unbearable as everyone peppered the two of them with questions. Shura felt, for once in her life, a wave of dizziness sweep over her and her body felt as if it were lead. Her eyes became void and she felt herself fall, passing out, vaguely feeling Yona falling with her as well before completely loosing conscious.
When Shura next woke, she realized that she was in a different room, laying on a bed. A blanket covered her and Shura saw that she was in a new dress. It's pretty, she thought. The dress was light against her body and it was colored a soft blue with white trim.
She sat up slowly and looked around, noticing that Yona had woken up as well. She sniffed and looked at a tray that say between them. It smelt like food, but it wasn't something Shura herself had ever seen before. She was more used to the bland tasting porridge they fed her while she was locked up.
"It smells wonderful…" Yona murmured, making a bowl for her self and then handing one to Shura. She nodded her thanks and tried some of it. Bursts of flavor littered her tongue and Shura couldn't help but close her eyes to savor the exquisite taste. She had never had anything like this and it was magnificent. "Chicken porridge…" Yona said softly and she saw tears.
Shura gasped and reached out to her, confused as to why she was crying. She was about to speak when the door swung open and a small, adorable little boy came running in. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, along with a hat on his head. He looked worried and upset. "Why are you crying? Is it bad?!"
Yona smiled a little and shook her head. "N-no…I was thinking of my f-father…But its so warm…"
The small boy moved into Yona's lap and reached up, wiping away Yona's tears. He moved back and then looked at Shura. "Do you like it?" She nodded, and his smile grew. "I'm Tae-Yeon! Hak's my big brother."
Hmm, Hak has a brother…? She thought. "Are you guys his friends?"
Yona thought about it and said, "Probably…"
The door slammed open once more and the two guards stood there, shocked and upset. "PROBABLY HIS FRIEND! Poor Lord Hak! You could at least say you're his lovers or consorts!" They both started to cry and Shura watched them in utter amusement.
"Lord Hak is probably pinning away for you in his unrequited love and you don't return his feelings…AT ALL!" The blonde cried.
They were stomped on and pressed against the floor. Hak towered over them and glaring down at them, an angry and aggravated aura about him. "Want me to tear your eyes out?!" He looked at the two women and glowered. "Who're you calling friend?"
"Huh?" Yona said.
"Maybe serv-Mmpf!" Shura gasped as Hak lunged, covering her mouth and pulling Yona in close.
He leaned in and said in a hushed voice, "From now on, your names are Sora and Rina. And, your apprentice ladies in waiting at the palace."
Just as he pulled back, the two guards got grins and blushes on their faces and covered Tae-Yeon's eyes. "Whoa!"
An angry tick appeared on Hak's forehead and he went after the two men again, while Tae-Yeon came back over to them. "Hey! Miss Sora, Miss Rina? What's my brother like at the palace?"
Shura felt herself freeze. She looked at Tae-Yeon a bit shocked and uncertain. She had never met Hak before a few days ago. If she didn't answer, it would seem strange to everyone else. "W-Well, I-I'm not as well acquainted with Hak as Rina is."
Shura saw Yona think for a moment and then a small grin showed, and she spoke. "He's insolent! Or maybe rude and insensitive is the right description…Or maybe unpleasant?"
As the two guards roared with laughter, Shura saw Hak get embarrassed and upset, telling Yona she could stop now and that she had made her point. As they laughed, Hak tried to beat them up once more for being annoying.
Shura and Yona shared a look, and then slow, small smiles came across their faces. So, is this where Hak grew up? Everyone is so full of joy and laughter. They're happy. He grew up in such a wonderful place…Shura thought and continued to watch them, not feeling so empty for once.
"Hey Sora! Rina! Hey!" Yona and Shura turned as a woman holding a large basket of clothes yelled at them and smiled. "Wow! Your heads are in the clouds, aren't they?" The woman chuckled. "How did you both sleep last night?"
"We slept well, thank you." Shura said.
The woman started laughing again. "Oh you poor things! I heard that you came here to train because neither of you can cook, clean, sew, dance, or even play a note on the harp! I think you both should give up on being women!" As she laughed both Yona and Shura scowled, both vowing to hurt Hak later.
"Well! I'll teach you from the ground up!" The woman placed the two large piles in hers and Yona's arms, walking away as she said to start by washing these. "Wash them in the river!"
As the two stood there, Shura felt some of the weight lifted from her load and she looked up to see Hak standing there, holding both some of hers and Yona's. "C'mon. I'll help and show you." He started to lead them.
As Yona and Hak walked in comfortable silence, and then finally asked her why she was pouting, Shura fell behind a bit, merely watching them. The two had known each other for a very long time, and she had no place being up there with them.
Shura did listen to them speak though, when it turned on Hak. She heard that he had been adopted by Mun-deok and that he had adopted Tae-Yeon as well. It didn't shock her. Mun-deok had a big heart, and it didn't surprise her that if Hak and Tae-Yeon at the time had needed help, he would undoubtedly give it to them.
"Here we are. Take those down the river and start washing them. I'll come down in a minute." Shura and Yona nodded, walking down and then stopping completely, gazing in horror at the sight.
"We can't." Yona said.
Hak growled and came down. "You haven't even tried yet! Your so…lazy…." He froze. "The river! It's dried up!"
Hak glared down at the earth as he scribbled, the clan shouted around him. He would kill the ones who blocked the river and caused a panic amongst his people. But first, he had to make sure they had another source of water. "We have the route that the merchants come through. Until we can figure out the river, we'll have to buy our water from passing merchants."
"There isn't a drought this year! The water shouldn't have dried up!"
"I know that you idiots. I already sent Hyeong-Dae up stream to see what's going on." He said, standing up.
"It's the Elder chief!"
"Elder Chief Mun-deok is back!"
Hak stared in surprise as Mun-deok rode up on his horse. Mun-deok seemed surprised as well to see him there, along with Shura and Yona. Hak rushed up to him. "Old man!"
Hak watched Yona run past him and the old man embraced her, holding onto her tightly. "Thank goodness. Thank goodness your safe. I had heard about what happened and I didn't know what to think. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to protect you when it happened." He looked up and Hak saw a look of utter disbelief. "Prin…cess Shura…?!"
Hak was surprised that he knew about her and was even more so when Mun-deok embraced her as well, holding her tightly. "Hello Mun-Deok. It has been a while, hasn't it?" Shura said softly, pulling back. For the first time in a while, Hak saw tears welling up in the old man's eyes.
"My poor child…look at you…"
She opened her mouth to speak, but the others started shouting. "Hyeong-Dae has returned!"
The four of them rushed over and stopped cold in their tracks. Hyeong-Dae was covered in wounds and fresh bandages. "My poor boy, what happened!"
He got a sad smile and laughed. "Oh, you know me. Always quick to anger. I got up the river and saw some fire clan soldiers damning up the river. They were pretty well armed, but I went and picked a fight anyway. Of course, I got my ass kicked."
"Do they want a war?! Lord Hak! Please let us go after them! We can't let this go!"
"Wait." Old man said, and he looked at him, surprised once again. "This is a message from the fire clan. To put pressure on us. I didn't give my consent to Su-Won when he tried to gain approval to take the throne. If I did, then I would be admitting that the rumors about Hak and you would be true. For now, we mustn't do anything. The important thing is tending to Hyeong-Dae's injuries."
Hak nodded silently and looked at Yona. Her expression went dark and Shura was putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Hak sighed, turning back around to look at them all. "We won't do anything yet. Let's focus on making sure our reserves are filled and we're prepared for anything."
Over the next few hours of daylight, Hak walked around to make sure everything was set in place and everyone was alright. When it was near dinner time, he went looking for Yona. He went to her room and heard the sound of Tae-Yeon and then the sound of someone falling. He and the now entering Mun-deok rushed in and saw Yona holding Tae-Yeon as he struggled, curled up in a small ball. "What's wrong with him!?"
"He's having an attack. He'll have times when his breathing becomes hard and his lungs wont function properly."
"We'll get his medicine from-"
"The merchants! They've been attacked!" Hak whirled around and looked at the messenger.
"How bad are they? What about their goods!?"
"Their goods all got destroyed and all the merchants are badly injured!"
No! That was our last good water source, and now we can't get Tae-Yeon's medicine! Hak growled, thinking. It had to be the fire clan who caused this, to cut them off.
"Chief! You have to let us do something now!"
"It had to have been the fire clan!"
"We can't just let them push us around!"
Hak scowled and was surprised when Shura spoke up. "What about Tae-Yeon's medicine? We have to get it."
Hyeong-Dae patted Shura's head, a grin on his face. "Don't worry. You guys don't need to be getting worked up. I can go get his medicine."
"Uh…you should really be resting Hyeong-Dae…"
He shrugged and smiled like an idiot, giving them a thumbs up. "I'm the fastest rider. C'mon! I wanna go save the day!"
Hak laughed and nodded. "Sure, make sure you bargain with her."
Hyeong-Dae ran off and everyone dispersed. "Hak?" He turned and looked at Shura. She looked incredibly worried. "Will Tae-Yeon be alright? Hyeong-Dae too? He was in pretty bad shape."
He couldn't help but smile. It was the first time he had seen her show actual expression other than the ever-present empty look. And now, she looked worried for everyone. For some reason, his heart jumped a little, but he chose to ignore it. He couldn't have feelings or emotions like that for her.
Hak closed his eyes and straightened then he turned, looking at them all. "We are a resilient people. We will overcome this. We must worry and tend to the merchants first. Trust me, as Chief I will do right by our clan. For now, staying calm and not doing anything is a direct order from me."
They stared at him for a moment and then they all started laughing. "Wow! He's actually giving us an order. This from the kid that didn't even want to be chief in the first place."
Hak rolled eyes, shaking his head and another small smile appearing on his face, replacing his scowl.
I need your guys' opinion on something. I've been debating on two things;
1~Leaving Yona with the wind tribe and just Hak and Shura setting out.
2~Having Yona come along and build relations with the four dragons and Hak and Shura get closer. Yona being almost kinda useless I guess.
I'll work out the kinks so let me know what you guys think! ;) won't start another chapter till I get my answer! Sooo, lemme know guys okay?
Stay beautiful!
~LonelyAnimeLily
