"So what's with the chain?" Yoon asked. Ke Xin was helping him hold down Hak. He was out cold, but there was nothing worse than him waking up while Yoon was drilling a hole in his head. It was a fun morning, Ke Xin woke up to Yoon panicking over the lack of spare metal in the hut and the hematomas forming in both Hak and Yona's brain. To perform the trephination properly, they needed to cover the hole after. Luckily, Ke Xin had a long metal chain hanging from a tree that she could go out and collect.
While she was finding it, Yoon had started with Yona. But the large ex-general, even with his innumerable amount of lacerations and broken bones, could still over power Yoon if he woke up.
"What do you mean?" Ke Xin liked to play it stupid, but the pretty boy wasn't having it. He shot her a look of annoyance. Ke Xin sighed and looked down at the man underneath her. Been a while since I last had a man underneath me and it wasn't sexy.
"I use it for self-defense mainly, but it comes in handy other ways to, like right now. I keep it disguised as a sash for convenience. "
"How do you use a chain to fight?" Yoon seemed confused.
"Carefully."
She had only slept through the night, and was up with the sun. While she was out, the boy set her broken arm and checked for any internal bleeding. She got very lucky, her ribs didn't run themselves into any of her organs, and so once her arm was back, she'd be good to go. Yona was about the same, she was scratched all over, and the only major injury she had was a concussion. Unfortunately, the concussion caused internal bleeding.
Hak was different matter, he also had a hematoma, but he also had just about shattered his ribs, had a foot long, 6 inch deep slash on his stomach, and had bruised himself quite a bit. From where he landed he also managed to dislocate a shoulder, but that was an easy fix and really wasn't that big of a deal.
Two of the links were taken off and melted into square pieces and nails. The procedure wasn't pretty. It was bloody and gross and Yoon wanted to puke. But it was successful.
Ke Xin looked at her newly acquired comrades. All she could think about was how much she had failed. She shouldn't have them go on their own. She should have stayed with them. The Princess had a whole in her head, Hak was almost dead. She had almost broken only true promise she had ever made.
"Come with me for a walk." The blonde man appeared, Ke Xin learned earlier that morning that he was in fact the oracle named Ik-Soo.
"I think I will stay here."
"Yoon will take care of them, you did your part. Come with me and wash the blood off."
Ke Xin obliged. There really wasn't anything else to do, and she also knew that Oracle's hardly made suggestions that they thought weren't necessary.
They walked a ways away when Ik- Soo spoke.
"You know who she is," Ik Soo said.
"Well, I did run away with her- so I had a suspicion, thought the Fire Tribe army kind of solidified the idea." Ke Xin knew that he knew she was the princess, there was no way to deny it.
"I mean you know what she is." Ke Xin paused a moment, considering how to answer.
No sense in trying to hide from an oracle, especially one who helped save our lives.
"She's the reincarnation of Hiryuu,"
"That's right. She is too important to this world to die." Ik-Soo had sensed Ke Xin's worry and was trying to set her at ease.
"But Hak isn't Yona. He shares no role in the myth, no role in fate. The gods might keep her alive, but they won't extend the same protection to Hak."
"So your years of stalking aroused affection for both of them."
Ke Xin looked away before responding.
"Do not tell them. They do not need to know anything about that matter."
"Very well," there was a pause, then the oracle stated, "Hak won't die."
"And you are certain because?"
"Yona won't let it happen." Ik-Soo gave a knowing smile to Ke Xin. "And something tells me that you won't either."
"She's never even touched a sword before, but she actually wielded it for him. To protect him."
"I have the distinct impression that she will make the choice to protect him every time."
"But will he let her when he finds out about the hole in her head."
"She won't be alone." Ik Soo gave a knowing smile. "Here's the lake. I'll take my leave." He bowed slightly and turned away.
Ke Xin returned to find a conscious Yona. She was tearing up and being scolded by Yoon. She looked almost ashamed.
"Princess," Ke Xin had walked up to her and put an arm on hers. Yona turned to see Ke Xin standing there, clean, with a cast on her left arm. Yona's eyes widened with surprise and she gave Ke Xin a big hug. She cried into Ke Xin's arms.
"Shh, shh, it's alright, Princess. We are all alive. We made it." After a little while, Yona finished crying and scrunched her face.
"My head really hurts." Ke Xin laughed a little at that.
"I would expect it too, Hime. There is a hole in it and a piece of metal nailed over the hole." Yona looked terrified and Ke Xin explained the operation. Yona sat there staring at Hak for a little while before finally speaking again. There was a bit of sickening realization when Yona started to think on exactly how much Hak had sacrificed for her.
"Yoon is right. I've never thanked him. Not properly." And then Yona turned to Ke Xin, "And I should thank you too. For everything."
"It is my prerogative to assist you. But I accept your thanks."
"I need to know more. This is embarrassing, how can I know so little?" Ke Xin smiled and tilted her head.
"A worthy endeavor to be sure. But before you engage in scholarship there is someone else to whom you owe thanks." Ke Xin motioned to the room where Yoon was working.
She watched as Yona thanked the young man and learned what her uncle had done. How he had been wary of the priest's powers. That wasn't quite right, the priest had influence, as Ke Xin remembered, but there was only so much that they could do. Many believed them to be quacks at the time, and still do. They did oppose the acquisition of Kai lands, but one word from the second prince's wife was enough to quell their complaints.
The priests left a time after that incident.
Just a couple notes: I was going to make this longer but decided against it. Hak will wake up next time!
trephination is an ancient way of treating concussions that result in hematomas (bleeding/swelling of the brain). Essentially you drill a hole in the skull and let out the blood, then cover it up again. I added it here to explain the bandages around the main character's head in the manga (which still baffles me when they are added because they serve no purpose) and because it will serve my purposes later to have both Hak and Yona to have holes in their skulls
Anyway: More to come, soon too.
