Yona couldn't help but feel a great deal of sadness hearing what Ik-soo had to say about her destiny.
"Princess... the fate that awaited you in the previous life has not changed. You cannot escape the destiny that was written for your other self..."
Lyra had known in her heart that she was being set up to die. It was an inescapable conclusion, with the way everyone treated her and the fact no one was willing to stand up and fight the Dark Lord, much less weaken his power. Dumbledore was a greater coward than Yona's father ever was.
King Il might have hated conflict and weapons, but he didn't hide behind 'grand ideals'. He admitted that his way might not be best, but he didn't lie about it.
Dumbledore was a manipulative old man who couldn't seem to realize the crushing weight he was forcing upon an innocent young girl, nor did he care in the least that when the dust was settled that everything she could have fallen back on to recover would be gone. To make matters worse, Lyra was also being oppressed by the expectations everyone had of her, like a gilded cage from which she could never escape.
Yona tried to distract herself by helping Yoon pick medicinal herbs. While she was still somewhat unsure about certain plants, she could at least recognize the most common ones.
She had a lot of free time in the castle, and Lyra was a very avid reader when given the chance.
"Is what you're running from that upsetting?" asked Hak.
"Would you blindly walk into a situation that you knew deep in your heart would get you killed for stupid reasons that you don't even believe in?" she shot back. "Death was a relief, since it meant I had a second chance to actually live without being crushed by the world around me."
Hak looked at Yona with an unreadable expression.
"You're a strange one. You keep going despite the odds and never look back."
"If I dare stop or look back, then it would give those who would try to crush me a chance to win. And I can never afford that. I will wear my grief and weakness close to me, so that when I can finally rest, it will be with no regrets," said Yona, though Hak had the feeling this was Lyra speaking.
He took her hand and gently kissed the top of it.
"Through good or ill, I will never stray from your side. Never forget that," said Hak, thoroughly enjoying the massive blush on her face.
He knew she was remembering that kiss he gave her.
A short while later...
"Princess, I'm sorry if I upset you earlier," said Ik-soo apologetically.
"It's fine. I would rather have the blunt truth than hear a pretty lie designed to make me feel better," said Yona. "For as long as I can remember in this world, my entire life was a pretty lie."
None of the men could really counter that claim, because it was true. Yona had grown up in a castle filled with everything she could desire, knowing nothing of hardship or strife. She was loved and adored by her family and never knew the pain of actually living. To say she had been living in a dream was an understatement.
The part of her that was Yona was borrowing the strength of Lyra to be able to keep moving forward. Lyra had been through hell and still came out of it alive and strong. She knew how to survive even when the weight of grief and pain was pulling her down.
The two couldn't possibly be more different, and yet they were able to coexist.
"Princess Yona... if you were to collect the four dragons then there's a chance you might be able to control how your destiny ends...in both lives."
"What?"
"The power of the four dragons would be enough to avert the fate awaiting you as Lyra, and they would be enough to give Yona the power to claim her own destiny and possibly retake the kingdom from the new king. However that road will be paved with difficulties, and there's no telling if you would succeed," said Ik-soo. "God insured that Lyra would end up in the one person strong enough to handle her pain and her power when she came here in spirit form. Only you can decide whether you can succeed."
"Power? What power?" asked Hak. "Yona doesn't have any powers."
Yona however was in shock.
"I... I wasn't imagining it?" she said.
"Imagining what?" asked Hak.
"When I was heading to Fuuga, I accidentally stumbled into a nest of snakes. They were so irate that I told them to shut up, and they suddenly stopped trying to bite me. I thought I had dreamed it because of how tired I was at the time!" said Yona.
"You fell into a nest of snakes?! All the ones on the way to the Wind Tribe are poisonous!" said Hak in concern.
"Well if I really have kept my gift, then there's an easy way to find out," said Yona.
There was only one thing she could think of that would prove if she had kept her magic. Though she didn't think she had the sort of control to cast it without a wand to channel her magic.
Yona thought of what to cast, before memories of all the times Hak had teased her came to mind. Irritable, Yona flicked her wrist at him, causing him to yelp and drop the apple in his hand at the sudden sting.
"What the heck?"
An evil, wicked smirk appeared on her face.
It was about time she had a way to inflict some payback at him for all the teasing she had to put up with!
Hak felt the sudden urge to run at the expression on her face.
"What was that?"
"A stinging hex. It's a basic trick that children are taught in the beginning of their training," said Yona.
However there was no mistaking the glee she had at the fact she still had her magic. She had long since come to terms with the fact it didn't exist here, but finding out that hers was still functional made her giddy... especially since it meant they had a higher chance of survival.
"Princess... would you consider taking Yoon with you?" asked Ik-soo.
"Yoon loves you dearly, you know? You're both a father and an older brother to him. If he wishes to join us, I have no objections but you should really ask him what he wants first."
After hearing Ik-soo's prophecy, Yona left the valley...with Hak and Yoon with her.
She wasn't strong enough to stand up against the treachery of Soo-won. But she also wasn't interested in simply retaking the castle. She had been a caged bird her entire life, and she was determined to see the true state of the kingdom with her own eyes, to determine the best way to save it.
"Hak...if you ever carry me like a sack of clothes like that again I will make you suffer," growled Yona.
"It worked didn't it?" said Hak smugly.
"That doesn't give you permission to grope my ass!" said Yona irate.
"Is that any way for a princess to talk?" he asked.
"Court etiquette can go hang for all I care! I am going to kick your ass if you do something like that again!" said Yona.
"I'd like to see you try, princess," said Hak.
"Gah! You stupid pervert!" said Yona in frustration.
"What would you know of perverts?"
"So you're saying the second son of the fire tribe leader wasn't a pervert who deserved to be slapped?" she snarked.
"...I take it back, you do know how to recognize a pervert," said Hak.
"Wait, what?" said Yoon.
"The fire tribe leader's second son Kan Tae-Jun was trying to court Yona when she was twelve. He kept harassing her for days until he decided to try and force her to join him in some villa, and the princess snapped and punched him so hard that he got a black eye from it. King Il was very unhappy with her and made her stay in her room for three days as punishment," explained Hak.
"You... punched that arrogant blowhard to the point he got a black eye from it?" said Yoon in shock.
"I made it abundantly clear to that pig that I wasn't interested and stated as much with no room for uncertainty. That he had the gall to try and lay his hands on me was the final straw...he got what he deserved," said Yona vehemently without an ounce of shame. She then looked at Hak. "Didn't you swear to be my bodyguard almost immediately after father let me out of my room, saying something about the entertainment you would get from it?"
Hak smirked.
"What can I say? I never expected the flighty princess who had never seen conflict to actually punch someone and make it stick," said Hak amused.
"He deserved a swift kick to the balls," said Yona flatly, causing both men to cross their legs reflexively for a second.
"Are you really a princess?" asked Yoon.
"Is being a simpering flower who's only job is to look pretty and push out heirs going to help our situation?" asked Yona.
"Not really."
"Then don't complain if I drop the flighty act I had to keep up in the castle so people underestimate me," said Yona. "I only did it to keep my father happy, since he would have acted worried if he saw the side I kept hidden."
"I find this side of you to be much cuter," said Hak.
Yona's head turned to stare at him.
"What?"
"You aren't trying to be prim and proper and you speak your actual mind instead of using flowery words," said Hak. "But at the same time you aren't trying to be an outright tomboy. You're much more honest than you were before."
"I was happy in the castle, even if that happiness was merely a dream. I would have been fine with simply being a mother. However if fate has decreed that I must fight, then I intend to do so without holding back... our enemies certainly won't," said Yona.
"Gah... I swear if you two keep this up I'm just going to start calling you both the idiot couple!" said Yoon.
Seriously, the amount of sap between these two was starting to become nauseating.
Yona looked at him baffled.
"What do you mean, idiot couple?" she asked confused.
"The fact you haven't figured it out is ridiculous enough and means I have to endure even more sap..." said Yoon in annoyance.
He was a guy. Sappy romance did not appeal to him in the least and he really wasn't looking forward to watching it at all.
Yoon could already tell Hak was interested in Yona as a woman, and there was some interest from her as well. However Yona had been so sheltered that she had no idea of Hak's actual feelings for her.
Yoon sidled up to the older male.
"You do realize that if you want your feelings to properly get across to someone as dense as her, you're going to have to be a little more forward, right?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"She doesn't even realize what her true feelings for you are and likely won't without help. And it's obvious you like her as more than just a friend to anyone with eyes," said Yoon.
"She's my princess. I'm not supposed to have feelings for her like that."
"Considering the circumstances, I highly doubt anyone is going to care. Besides, you were important enough to be a general before this mess started, so it wouldn't be too ridiculous for the two of you to be matched up," said Yoon with a smirk.
If he had to endure this amount of sap and fluff, then he was going to have fun with it!
"So where are we supposed to be going?" asked Hak.
"Ik-soo said that the White Dragon was in this area," said Yona. "The others were moved, so he doesn't know where they could be."
"A misty village isn't very helpful," said Hak.
"Actually there is a village hidden by mists that houses some sort of dragon bloodline. But they're super protective about it and they don't appreciate outsiders," said Yona.
Seeing the expressions on the others faces, Yona tilted her head.
"What did you think I was doing when I escaped the castle for a few hours? Gambling?"
"If you know so much, then tell me about this place."
"Well I only know a little from one of their merchants, mostly because my wig slipped once in front of them. They have some sort of legend about red hair, likely because the bloodline in question dates back to the red dragon legends. These merchants gather information about the outside world and do trade for the village and they tend to chase off or kill outsiders so that the dragon bloodline never ends up in the wrong hands," said Yona.
Yoon looked at Yona appreciatively.
"You sure know a lot."
"Well I used to take some of the fancier jewelry father gave me and render it back into parts I could easily trade for information and protection for a few days, since it wouldn't be traced back to me. It's not like father ever kept track of all the things I had in my jewelry box after all, and I was known as flighty," said Yona.
"So that's why there were several pieces of broken jewelry in those hidden bags you kept around the castle," said Hak.
Yona looked at him in surprise.
"You looked in them?"
Hak reached into his own bag to toss one of them at her. Most of the things were still in there, but the Wind Clan had added a small amount of first aid supplies, dried spices and a small bag of rice. Though it could have just as easily been Hak's doing.
There was also a small bag containing jewelry that hadn't been turned into untraceable amounts of precious metal and small jewels.
She was smart, but she was also a girl who liked pretty things. Besides, it could make her disguise a little more authentic since she never kept anything too guady or elaborate in there.
The trio continued onward into the mountains, mostly following a rough map of where the village was according to Yona.
She had only gotten it because the merchant had taken one look at her red hair and had given it to her. Red hair wasn't exactly common after all, especially not the shade she had.