Chapter 10: What I saw in the presence of my enemy, Part 1
A/N: I couldn't fit everything into one chapter this time. Two chapters = double-duty for my beta. Thanks, evilteddybear!
As the morning progressed, the day grew darker rather than lighter. The sky swelled with clouds so gray they were almost violet and—all at once, without warning—emptied its burden in a downpour. The seams of the makeshift roof leaked in torrents, soaking blankets and turning the dirt floor of the hospital into a muddy, slippery mess. Yona worked alongside the guards with her dragons, moving bedding to what dry areas remained while others carried the prisoners who were too injured to move themselves. But the sheets she laid down were damp and streaked with blood, starting to smell of mildew. She frowned. Couldn't they do better? Even with all this rain, she managed to sleep on bedding that was dry—stale with sweat, maybe, but dry.
Yoon stood near her, surveying the whole of the operation with a frown on his pale face. Despite being up to his elbows in the worst of it, the blood and dirt didn't seem to stick to him. While she felt as ripe as she was certain she smelled, his clothing was clean and his brow lacked sweat. He just had a slight glow of exertion about him, as if he'd come from a pleasant walk outdoors.
"This isn't good, Yona." He pressed his lips into a thin line. "We need clean bedding. Even if we launder everything, we won't be able to dry anything in this rain." Furrows worked into his brow as his frown deepened. "But we need to do something or their wounds will get infected."
Yona pursed her lips. She cast her eyes beyond the hospital perimeter at the Water Tribe tents pitched all around. At the parked, covered carts that had arrived yesterday from the closest cities. "The army has supplies. Let me ask."
Yoon's face brightened. "Ask for senjusou, too. We're out and that would really help."
She nodded. "I will." Her eyes scanned the perimeter guards. Hak wasn't among them.
His absence gave her pause, reminding her of the way she'd left him. The heat of his arms and the low words that sent pleasant shivers racing down her spine. She was starting to like it when he teased her.
Yona shook herself, trying to ignore the warmth that blossomed in her cheeks. "Shin-ah?"
The blue dragon turned towards her, Ao perched on his shoulder. He held a basket of bandages in his hands. Kija and Jae-ha were busy helping the guards move the prisoners.
She smiled at him. "Come with me, would you?"
-x-
Shin-ah held the umbrella as they made their way to the Water Tribe command tent. Two guards wearing breastplates over pale blue robes and darker capes flanked the entrance. They straightened as she approached and stopped before them.
"Hime-sama," the one on the right said, his eyes going wide and shifting between her and her dragon.
Yona held herself with poise, as her instructors in etiquette had taught her. Fortunately her posture was better than her koto playing. "Is Joon-gi Shogun here? May I have a word with him please?"
The guards shared a quick glance. The one on the right dipped his head. "Of course, Hime-sama. A moment please." He turned and ducked into the tent.
Yona waited. An Joon-gi had been general of the Water Tribe since she was tiny. He'd served under her grandfather, King Joo-nam, and under her father. She had seen him before, several times, at Hiryuu Castle for meetings of the five tribes' council. –Back when she'd been more concerned with her unruly scarlet hair than about learning how to run a kingdom. She silently scolded herself for knowing so little about him and the other generals. How could she possibly gain their trust if she was still naïve and ignorant?
The guard returned and held the tent flap aside. "Hime-sama. I apologize for the delay. Please—"
Inside, General Joon-gi rose from his chair behind a small table, his pale blue robes pristine. On the table was an open scroll, an ink well, and a lamp. There was no clutter, no other furnishings. The rain made a hissing sound as it struck the tent around them. Shin-ah stood off her right shoulder, slightly back.
Joon-gi moved to the side of the table and dipped his head. "Hime-sama," he said with his eyes closed. "How may I serve you?" There was a guardedness about him. She guessed his words were polite conversation rather than a genuine, open offer of assistance.
She squared her shoulders, lifted her chin. "I have a request, Joon-gi Shogun. I respect your time, so I'll be brief." She drew a breath. "I request supplies for the hospital. Fresh bedding and a stock of senjusou. We've run out of the latter and we have no way to refresh the former given the rain."
Joon-gi's expression remained smooth and detached. "The Water Tribe is ready to provide any assistance the princess may require." He paused. She heard in that silence the unspoken 'however…'
He inhaled lightly, his eyes still closed. "His Majesty must approve the distribution of resources to the combined force stationed here. With his concurrence, the Water Tribe will gladly make the proper arrangements."
Yona chilled. He was passing her off to Soo-won. Were they true allies? Or was Joon-gi being deferential? What did she know either way? But the reminder was sobering—Joon-gi was one of five that had approved Soo-won's ascension of the throne. She was the outsider here.
She could get mad but what purpose would that serve except to alienate someone she eventually needed to trust her? Yona exhaled gently. "I understand. I will acquire the king's approval and then return."
One of Joon-gi's brows twitched under his bangs and the rim of his hat. He covered it by bowing his head. "We appreciate your understanding, Hime-sama."
We. Not I. Speaking for the Water Tribe, keeping his own feelings and opinions veiled. How frustrating. Why couldn't people just say what they meant and get on with it?
"Thank you," she said and turned away.
She ducked outside, striding into the rain without waiting for Shin-ah to catch up with the umbrella. Hak wouldn't like her doing this. He'd made it clear last night he wanted here to stay where she was safe—far away from Soo-won.
But. She paused her steps. In short order the umbrella dipped over her head, shielding her from the rain. She trusted her dragons. She trusted her Shin-ah, her moonlight. Because she had seen him at his best, his worst, his most deadly. Because she had stared into the ethereal depths of his eyes and still lived.
Yona turned to him and smiled. "Shin-ah. We're going to see the king. If the worst happens—"
Shin-ah nodded.
As she moved from the Water Tribe section of the camp into the Sky Tribe section, she could feel a change in the air. Of the twenty or so that made up the Sky Tribe contingent—though Hak said the arrival of the rest of the Sky Tribe army was only days away—about half were on patrol or attending to various housekeeping tasks. As she moved among them, they stopped what they were doing and stared. It wasn't quite open hostility she saw in their eyes, but there was distrust, suspicion, bitterness.
She could accept—and understand—the Water Tribe's distance and hesitation towards her. But this from the Sky Tribe—her own people—stung. It brought back the memories of that horrible night when she'd been thrown into the courtyard of Hiryuu Castle, attacked by the very guards who were supposed to protect her. It was possible that some of the contingent here had taken part in that betrayal. And if that were so, there would be no convincing them to follow her. A chill ran through her. When she took the throne, would she have to seek out and—and purge those who wouldn't renounce Soo-won? Trials. Executions. The thought coiled tight and sour in her gut. How could she ever do such a thing?
But how could she run a country, if she didn't?
I don't have to do this alone, she reminded herself. Hak is right.
She drew a cleansing breath, ignored those unsettling stares, and made her way to the command tent.
Flanking the entrance were the two guards who always seemed to be with Soo-won. On the right was the one with the round face, dark hair, and thick build. The other on the left was thinner and taller with blond hair falling in his eyes. They had been with the king in Sensui. Mua and Gyoku, he'd called them, but she had no idea who was who.
Joo-doh wasn't outside, which probably meant he was inside. A flare of irritation went through her. She had no desire to see him again so soon after this morning. But no matter. Surely he had delivered her message. She'd bark at him again if he got in her face. Or ask Shin-ah to stare at him. Two seconds would be enough to sate her.
Soo-won's personal guards came to attention when she neared. Unlike their compatriots, their gazes were more apprehensive than anything else. That, at least, she understood and respected. Given how Hak had laid them out in Sensui, given the conversations between her and Soo-won they'd been privy to. They'd been there in the Wind Tribe village when Soo-won tried to make her and Hak his slaves as punishment for the threat of rebellion. They knew the situation was…complex.
"Hime-sama," the one with the round face said, his hand resting near the hilt of his sword.
She softened her face. "First thing's first. Which one of you is Gyoku-san and who is Mua-san?"
The guards glanced at each other.
The one with the dark hair raised his hand. "Gyoku."
"Mua," the blond said.
Yona smiled. "Thank you. Gyoku-san, Mua-san, I'd like a brief word with my cousin."
Gyoku bowed his head. "Allow me to see if His Majesty is available, Hime-sama." He turned and ducked into the tent.
Mua watched her with maybe less apprehension than before. Maybe.
Gyoku poked his head from the tent. "Hime-sama. Soo-won-heika will see you now."
She entered the tent beneath the flap he held, Shin-ah behind her. Gyoku stayed inside but moved towards the corner. Soo-won was alone. He sat at the command table. The map had been pushed aside to make room for a heap of scrolls that cluttered the table before him. He worked in the soft glow of the lamp light, his hair damp. The robes he wore were plain—maybe someone was still trying to get the blood out of the royal robes he'd worn to battle.
The sight of him hunched over scrollwork, his ink quill making scratching sounds on the paper, was so mundane it made her stiffen. Reminding her of times they had sat together for lessons as young children; the soothing sound of brush on paper, the familiar smell of ink. Her penmanship had always been praised as lovely, but his was sublime.
"Ah, Yona," he said, glancing up but not getting up. He wore a carefree smile. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Yona chilled to the core. He looked and sounded so much like normal Soo-won—the Soo-won she had fallen in love with—that she couldn't answer him at first. She failed to breathe, much less recall how to speak. Where was the thinly veiled malice, the condescension she was now used to seeing in his eyes?
Her lack of response didn't seem to faze him. He dropped his eyes and dipped his quill in his ink well. The soft scratching sound of his writing continued. "Forgive me for not getting up. You wouldn't believe how much running a kingdom consists of paperwork."
She was conscious of Shin-ah standing at her side. It was the only way she managed to collect herself enough to speak. She exhaled hard. "S-Soo-won. What's wrong with you?"
The quill lifted as his face smoothed. He glanced at her from beneath his brow, his gaze frosting. "I just can't win with you, can I? I say something mean, you accuse me of hurting you for sport. I try to be kind and you still assume the worst of me." He frowned. "Not that such thoughts aren't justified on your part." A drop of ink dripped from the quill onto the parchment. His gaze followed. Soo-won set the quill aside and pushed back from his work, rolling his shoulders. "I happen to be in a decent mood for once, but it won't last. We can go back to taking shots at each other whenever you'd like."
What could possibly have happened to warm his mood? She hesitated to ask. What Soo-won considered good news couldn't possibly be the same to her. Still, she'd told Hak weeks ago that she needed to be able to have a civil conversation with the king. Thus far, if she ran through their recent conversations, she could hardly claim to have reached that goal. She needed to conduct herself with grace and poise if she was to meet her objectives in the end.
Yona relaxed her limbs. "May I ask what happened?"
Soo-won shook his head. "It is nothing that concerns you directly, Yona. Nor the kingdom. So you don't need to worry that I'm about to do something you'd consider to be horrible." He arched a brow. "Are you still dissatisfied with my treatment of the hospital?"
Still? She pressed her lips into a line. "Of course I am. You threatened them."
He sighed. "A strategic choice to force their hand and test the character of their king. Designed to drive a swift response. I've given you relief until the deadline. What more do you want of me?"
Yona blinked. "Wait, what do you mean relief?"
His eyes studied her for a moment. "Hasn't he spoken to you yet?"
She froze. By 'he,' Soo-won could only mean Hak. Any desire to be civil vanished from within her. She narrowed her eyes. "What did you do to him?"
Soo-won waved one hand in an airy, dismissive gesture. "And so it begins. A chat was all, dear princess. And it was he who interrupted my bath and not the other way around."
But Hak hadn't come to the hospital yet. If Soo-won was lying—if something had happened— Her hands curled. She cast her eyes to the corner. "Gyoku-san. Tell me, does he speak the truth?" She had no way to judge the guard's character. Perhaps he could lie as well as Soo-won. But she would take that chance. She glanced pointedly at Shin-ah, who silently turned his masked gaze on the man as well.
Gyoku drew himself straight and back, his eyes glancing warily between her and her dragon. His mouth was tight. He glanced at Soo-won.
The king exhaled and flicked his wrist permissively.
Gyoku squared his shoulders and faced her. "Yes, Hime-sama, that is how it went. The Thunder Beast did not attack and neither did we."
She didn't think Gyoku was lying, but she was still unsettled. Even if nothing happened, she hadn't seen Hak yet. She wouldn't be satisfied until she did.
Soo-won lifted the scroll he'd been working on and blew on it gently. "Incidentally, Yona-hime, if you're looking for a pleasant spot to bathe—which I'd recommend and I don't mean that rudely—Hak can show you." He picked up his quill again. "Now then, if that's all, I really do have quite a bit of work to do."
How quickly she'd forgotten the original reason for her visit. She was here with a request, to plead on behalf of prisoners that were of no consequence to him other than their strategic value, to ask a favor. And instead she had accused him, interrogated him… How could she hope to negotiate with the enemy of her kingdom if she couldn't negotiate here with him?
Yona drew herself straight and worked to soften her face and her voice. "I came for a completely different reason, actually." She exhaled. "It was not my intention to get into things with you."
He glanced at her, one brow quirked. He said nothing. She took that as an invitation—or requirement—to continue and state her peace.
She pursed her lips. "I requested supplies for the hospital from Joon-gi Shogun. Fresh bedding and medicine. He deferred to your approval."
"Ah." Soo-won picked up another scroll and started writing.
Yona inhaled tightly as he ignored her. "Certainly it behooves us to act in good faith and do what we may to protect the prisoners in our care."
"That's quite generous of you, Yona-hime," he said, not looking up from his work. "The Sei attacked us. We have no such obligations."
Her hands curled. "But surely if the Sei agree to our terms yet come to find that we've mistreated those held in trust—"
"War may ensue. You're correct."
She chilled. "Is that what you want?"
To which, Soo-won smiled. He lifted the scroll he had written and waved it back and forth a few times in the air. He then inked and pressed his seal to the bottom of the document. Another wave and he offered it to her from his place at the table. "Take this to Joon-gi Shogun so that your request may be fulfilled."
Her breath caught. All along, he'd been writing that? Damnit, Soo-won. Stop confusing me. She crossed to the table and took the document he offered. There in his perfect hand was his approval that the Water Tribe provide any and all supplies she requested for the care of the Sei prisoners.
She rolled the parchment carefully and looked away. "Thank you."
He sniffed and returned to his other documents. "As it happens, I agree with your concerns this time. I'd rather avoid fighting a war on multiple fronts if we don't have to."
Yona nodded and backed away. She turned for the exit.
"I'd still recommend that bath, Yona."
Her cheeks heated and she ducked out, clutching the scroll to her chest.
—And she stopped so quickly she almost made Shin-ah bump into her.
Hak was striding towards the command tent in the rain. He was soaked to the skin, his hair flat against his forehead, concealing his eyes. His glaive was bared. Sky Tribe guards were converging around him slowly with swords drawn.
Hak stopped when he saw her. He planted his glaive into a muddy puddle, splashing water and dirt into the air. "I was told I'd find you here. Did you get what you came for?"
I worried him. She cleared her throat. "Yes, I did."
He nodded. She still couldn't see his eyes. "Then let's be going."
The Sky Tribe looked between them with clear antagonism now. Hak turned and fell in on her left, though still walking in the rain. She read the tension he carried in his frame, in his jaw. They passed through the ranks and hostile stares of the Sky Tribe silently. Only when they were several steps beyond did she hear swords return to sheaths.
-x-
With Soo-won's seal on the document, it was surprisingly easy to get everything she asked for. She stood at the edge of the hospital, watching Water Tribe soldiers rush to comply with her requests. In no time, there would be dry blankets for all.
"Yona," Shin-ah said quietly from her right.
She glanced at him and nodded. "Thank you, Shin-ah."
Her blue dragon moved off to rejoin the others, leaving her with the soaked, silent Thunder Beast standing so close on her left she could feel the chill rolling off his dripping robes. Hak didn't seem tense anymore, but he'd said very little. Here at the hospital, they weren't exactly alone. Not the best place to have a conversation about the man who had betrayed them both.
Yona inhaled softly and turned. "Hak, I know you're mad about what I did, but—"
His arms closed around her before she could finish the sentence, crushing her to his frame with her face pressed into his sodden chest. The air rushed from her lungs with a startled squeak. His body felt ice cold against her and the front of her was soaked in an instant. Rainwater dripped onto her head from his hair.
She would blush if she wasn't so cold. Yona lifted her chin, dreading the look of pain she expected to find on his face. Little else would cause him to embrace her in front of so many.
But Hak's lips were curved into a faint smile and his eyes regarded her warmly. "Forgive me, Hime-sama," he said. He loosened his arms slightly and lifted his free hand to her cheek, cupping the side of her face with cold fingers, his thumb resting against the corner of her mouth. "I just…needed to do that."
Then he released her entirely and turned, brushing hair back from his face. "Ahh. Much better." He whistled off-key as he walked away from her, carrying his glaive.
Leaving her to stare after him, her heart pounding in her chest, her breaths ragged and irregular. Hak. He wasn't mad—at least not anymore. If he was in pain, that embrace had eased it? You just needed me? The thought sent a thrill rushing through her that only made her heart race faster. For all that he had continuously, sacrificially done for her, to think that she could give back even something so small and simple— Liquid welled in her eyes. Hak, I love you. I know I haven't told you yet, but I… She curled one hand against her damp tunic, over the rapid staccato of her heart.
…It was then she heard the depth of silence around her and realized she was the object of every gaze within fifty yards. Yona blushed fiercely and turned away. She walked quickly to Yoon's side.
The slender bishounen didn't look up from his work, which was stripping blood-soaked bandages from a prisoner's chest wound. "Yona, grab those bandages."
She grabbed the basket, grateful to do something. "Hai."
-x-
It was a bit later that Hak returned to the hospital wearing borrowed Wind Tribe army garb. Seeing him in the same beige and blue tunics and breeches that Tae-woo and the others wore was…odd, Yona decided. It made him look younger and the lack of long, sweeping robes made him look, well, shorter. She bit her lip to contain the giggle that was threatening to rise up inside her. Until this moment she hadn't realized just how well his own clothes suited him. She liked the way he normally dressed.
When he took up his post, he swept the hospital with his gaze—once, twice—then zeroed in on her and lifted a brow. A smile played on his lips. Thus caught, Yona blushed. But she didn't immediately look away. It wasn't so embarrassing anymore, returning his affection. One day, when she was able to call him her husband, she'd make a lifetime goal of communicating her love to him. With words, with looks, with touches, with… She thought of the time they'd kissed by the river; the heat of his bared chest beneath her fingertips—
Kija cleared his throat. "Ahem, Hime-sama."
Cheeks suddenly blazing, she turned back to her work and her very irritated white dragon. Kija's face was tightened into a scowl, one of his white brows twitching. He wasn't meeting her eyes.
"Sorry, Kija," she said and held the splint against the patient's leg while Kija started wrapping the bandages.
The hours at the hospital passed in spurts of moments, fast and slow. Fast when there were dozens needing attention all at once, slow when the agony of a single patient tore at her heart. –When she could think of no words to ease such suffering and there was nothing she could do to take away the pain. Those moments were the longest and the hardest, when she sat clutching hands that clenched hers and daubing sweat from foreheads.
When she managed furtive glances at Hak, she could tell something was off. He was no less alert than usual as he scanned the occupants of the hospital and patrolled his sector, but there was a kind of stillness about him. A distance in the way he held himself. She had seen it only once before—after he'd tried to kill Soo-won in Sensui. The similarity chilled her, worried her deeply. What did he say to you, Hak?
By afternoon the rain had lessened to a mist; by evening it was gone all together. Yona prayed that the dry weather would last. They all needed reprieve from the pervasive, dreary damp.
When it was finally night, the sky cleared a little. The moon wasn't yet at full rise when she forced herself to her feet, weariness dragging in every limb. She followed the others back to their tents, looking forward to crawling into a bed—any bed—and passing out.
She stopped short when she saw Hak sitting before the small tent she normally shared with Yoon, snoozing with his glaive tucked loosely in the circle of his arms. He'd changed back into his blue robes. It was bad if he'd waited up for her. He was a lecture lying in wait, ready to pounce the moment she made a move for her tent.
Maybe she'd share the dragons' tent tonight… She moved to pass him as silently as she could, outside of his reach—
His hand shot out and caught her wrist anyway. Yona sucked air and glanced down at him warily.
Hak's eyes glittered at her, a cool smile on his lips. "Hime-san, don't think because you made eyes at me from across the hospital that you aren't still in trouble."
She winced. "Ehhh." She tried a sheepish laugh. "Oh, but you know, I was thinking that—"
Neither his expression nor his hold on her changed. Hak got to his feet, catching his glaive in his free hand. "Yoon, we're taking the small tent tonight."
No, don't leave me alone with him… Hak's face promised an epic scolding would follow.
Yoon covered his mouth with his hand to hide a yawn. "Whatever. I'd better not hear a thing though. I need my beauty sleep."
Wait, hear what? Heat blossomed in her cheeks. A sly look came into Hak's eyes. He released her wrist only to circle her waist with his arm and lift her like a sack of potatoes.
Yona flailed. "No, don't leave me with the bear!"
She heard the crack of giant knuckles. "Hak—"
Hak rolled his eyes. "Relax, White Snake. I'm not going to hurt her. I'm just going to yell at her for running off into stupid, dangerous situations and not taking all of you with her."
"Oh," Kija said. "I approve of that. Goodnight, then."
"Noooo, Kijaaaa—" No one came to her rescue. Hak carried her into the tent.