✧Jeaha✧
A tangle of curses and panic roars through my head, before leaving me limping along the too-silent trail, with Yona at my side, following strangers who know who I am.
Their silhouettes are blurred. They could be anyone, from any village. I raise my eyes to the stars. I don't know where we are. Maybe we fell further from the mountains than I thought.
Closer to the Green Dragon Village than I thought.
Something brushes my sleeve and I glance down. Yona is keeping close, with a blade of some sort in her clenched fist, held behind her back. She's looking at me, violet eyes wide. There's nothing I can say, really. I manage a wink and a smile, and look away before her face tells me I'm not fooling anyone.
The Green Dragon Village. Ge-Yu. I left it years ago, left it far behind, in time and in distance. But even if we were blown off course as we fell down the mountain, we still can't be that near it.
I sigh. Rumours and truth alike get out eventually. People talk. I guess that's the price of being a handsome rogue — someone's always going to be after you.
It's too quiet, and taking step after limp after step isn't enough of a distraction.
The memories start coming back.
The smell of wet metal. The dull pain of shackles, edged in blood. Chained, in a cold grey room. Stories of a king, spoken by a dying man with a ragged voice and a dragon's leg, same as mine. Stories of a master that I was bound to, by my very blood. Bound in chains until he deigned to show up and drag me off to serve him.
The feelings are just as real, even though so much time has passed. Was it really this bad? I'd forgotten… Throbbing pain in my leg, burning pain in my blood. Pain that I was too young to know how to deal with.
Until I escaped. Nights of running, days of hiding. Flying until I had to walk, walking until I had to limp, until I had to stop, until I could fly a little further. Until I reached Awa, and fell from the sky onto the deck of a pirate ship. From my old life into a new one.
My boot catches on a rock. I stumble. Yona grabs hold of my arm and I quickly recover. A cold forest. A battered girl at my side. Strangers ahead. The memories fade, but the feelings don't.
I'd forgotten how bad it had been. I can't — I don't want to go back to how things were. Not now. I set my jaw, and bare my teeth in a wicked smirk. You think I'm the Green Dragon? Then come at me, and we'll see how fast I can flay your hides.
The trees are starting to thin. I grimace. I spent too long on nostalgia and now we're practically at the village. I need to think. I know we can't be that close to the Green Dragon village but these people still know about me somehow. Rumours? Stories? Most people don't believe in the legends — to them I was just a passing rogue with beautiful looks and excellent taste in girls. Maybe my village put a price on my head?
I sigh, and it turns into a low growl. What a mess. Speculating won't get us anywhere. Some smarts and well-placed blades might.
I glance at Yona and she looks up at me. I want to talk to her, want to tell her what's going on, want to hear her stubborn, simple answers and intoxicating voice. But whispered conversations and plans will only prove we have something to hide.
Better to play the part of two silent, bone-weary travellers. Not that method acting requires much skill.
The soil blends with streaks of rock, and on our left, cliff faces sweep up and around into a rugged curve that blends with rising green-tinted mountains, and shields a small, sprawling town, below.
Town. Not village. More people to deal with. Fabulous. I've heard of this place. We're not as close to my village as I thought. This is Ta-shai, a town grown wealthy on its mines and timber.
I squeeze Yona's hand, and we descend into the basin of the town.
Yona pulls her hood over her flaming hair. Torches burn in the dirt streets, and a few townspeople are still out. We get curious, sharp looks. My muscles tense, and Yona draws closer to me. If I didn't know that these people have heard of the Green Dragon, I'd worry that we've stumbled into another crime ring of some sort.
We're led still further through the Village. My dragon's leg starts throbbing again, from either unease or too much walking. Probably both. The cliffs curve inwards overhead, and gradually the sky disappears from view. A bad omen? I don't need an oracle to tell me that.
One of the larger buildings of the town rises out of the shadowed recesses of the cliffs. Maybe an official's house. Or —
Yes, an official's house. With guards. Yona and I exchange glances, before we're led up the steps and past wooden double doors that slam shut behind us. Tired flames flicker in small lanterns hidden in alcoves.
One of the men who escorted us says, 'Please wait here,' then the whole crew up and disappears down a passageway.
'Hospitable?' I say. I toss my crutch aside and take a seat on a table, seeing as there's no chairs on offer.
Yona drifts around the room, peering down passageways, and testing the bars and latches on the doors. She glances at me, opens her mouth, glances around the room, and closes her mouth again. I nod. Who knows who's listening in the shadows? Not to mention the guards outside.
She sits behind me and leans against my back, her shoulder blades pressing against mine. 'You're probably normally good at kicking down doors, I imagine,' she whispers.
I grimace, and we both gaze at the wooden barrier blocking our exit. But even if we busted our way out, it doesn't mean that we can fight the guards outside. 'Trust me, kiddo, it's all I can think about.'
A slow creak, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up. We both get to our feet, and one of the men from before enters, shadows blurring his figure. 'We imagine you two are tired. We have rooms for you, if you would come this way.'
I'd expected a mild interrogation at best and a street fight at worst. 'You're very… kind.' Wouldn't the town official at least want to have a look at us, especially if his men think I'm the Green Dragon?
Yona and I follow him through dark corridors. This whole situation is screaming 'trap,' but what can I do? I'm done for but, if I can get Yona to pretend to be a clueless little girl, maybe she can escape.
The corridor ends in a doorway. 'We have a room here for the little lady,' the man says, stepping out of the way. That's right, split us up. I grit my teeth. Yona's age isn't working in our favour this once — she doesn't look old enough for us to be married and share a room.
The room is lantern-lit, with a futon on the floor. No danger here. She's not the problem. It's me that's the problem.
Yona steps through the doorway, and turns around. I step forward, and feel something shift under my feet. A trap door. Of course it's a trap door. Of course you used her to get me.
The moment Yona slides that door shut, I'm gone.
She looks up at me. 'I…' She can't even use my name. I want her to. To scream it. I want these jerks to know who I am and come at me, and leave her out of it.
I raise a hand and stroke her cheek. A tear splashes onto my finger, in spite of herself.
I say, 'I guess I'll see you…' My hand jerks. Her eyebrows lift. Even though she's not old enough to be my wife…
…She's old enough to be my girlfriend.
I lean forward and kiss her. It's not like I have an upstanding reputation to maintain.
'Mmph!' she squeaks. I was aiming for her cheek, but she jolts and my lips brush the corner of her mouth. A hot, sweet chill shoots through me. I want to enjoy it, but I don't have time.
'Listen,' I whisper, rushing the words between each kiss. 'Don't tell them who you are.' A kiss on her cheek. 'Play dumb.' Kiss. 'Forget about me.' Kiss.
'J—'
I silence her with another kiss. 'Don't argue.' My voice is growing ragged. 'When things go down, run for the hills.' Kiss. 'There's things going on you don't know about.' Kiss. I linger. She's blushing. 'Promise me. Kiddo.'
With a final hard kiss, I let her go, and gently push her into the room. Her stunned face is the last thing I see before a maid slides the door shut, and I fall through the floor into darkness.
To be continued...