Chapter Eleven: Kidnapped
A/n: Yes, a rewrite xD also, last chappie is edited. So, if this is a bit confusing, please go back and reread the last chappie. Anyways, thanks so much to everyone who has taken their time to read this, and to those who have read until now! You are all amazing! Also, happy holidays! I hope everyone will celebrate well! Happy Reading!
Tian wasn't sure what she had expected when she was walked into town. The sun was peaking over the horizon in a beautiful color of pink, red, orange, yellow, and a slight blue. People were already out, rubbing at their eyes,and yawning. There were even a few officers around. Tian avoided their gazes and walked faster.
I'll go visit the dock first. Tell Joo-Ri I'll be coming back today. Probably just say I'm sick. Then I'll go to Ae-Cha and Ha-Seon. I'll save Min-Soo and BaaBaa for last. It's too early to deal with Min-Soo….
Tian sighed as she ran her finger through the ends of her hair. She closed her eyes for a moments, taking in the salty sea smell. This is way she liked living in a port town. The smell of the ocean first thing in the morning when it blew in from the docks was so relaxing to her.
After a moment she opened her eyes, slowing her pace as her legs tensed up once more. Her jaw tensed, and she focused more on her hearing. She couldn't name it, but something felt wrong. Something felt off. She could sense someone following her.
Jae-Ha?
Some part of her questioned a bit more hopefully than she would have liked, a slight pink coming to her cheeks.
No. He's too flashy. He would have just jumped right in front of me, or said something obnoxious.
Tian shook her head, trying to get rid of the bad feeling she felt, and took a sharp turn into a back alley that would lead more easily to the docks. She hoped desperately that whatever the feeling was that it would go away….
"She went into town by herself?" Yun questioned as he prepared for breakfast. When he noticed Tian gone, and Yona up, he had questioned where she went.
"Yeah. I asked if she wanted to wait, and have us go with her, but she said she would be alright." Yona replied, smiling slightly." Although I'm a bit worried. She was acting a bit off. More so than she has lately." Yona tacked on, biting at the insides of her lips.
"Tian is a strong girl. She'll be fine." Hak replied, yawning slightly as he dropped some wood on to the ground. Him and Yun then began to set up for a fresh fire.
"If there's one thing I've learned about her, Yona dear, is that Tian can handle whatever comes her way. I'm sure she was probably just tired." Jae-Ha comforted the princess as he was tying his own hair in his usual ponytail. Yona pursed her lips, but then grinned.
"Yeah. You're right." Yona agreed with a nod." I know she can handle herself. We should go see her when we go into town." Yona couldn't help but have a twisted feeling in her gut.
Something felt off. The way she was acting was strange, even for Tian. If there was one thing Yona had learned, it was to never ignore her feelings. So, she had more than one reason on wanting to visit Tian. Yona wanted to confirm that Tian would be alright, and that she was worrying for nothing…
Tian sighed heavily as she walked down the path to the bakery. Joo-Ri was happy to see Tian back, and promised she always had a place on the docks. That cleared up some of her guilt, and she was able to walk more confidently down the street, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Once again Tian felt someone following her. Clenching her jaw, she turned fully intent on confronting on whoever was following her. In the same instant that she turned around, a hand shot out, and forcefully pushed her up against the wall of the empty building. Tian grunted, squeezing her eyes shut as her ears began to ring. She could feel someone breathing down her neck. She grunted as they roughly gripped her wrists, pinning her.
"Well, look what we have here?" The rough voice that spoke to her sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't figure out where she had heard it from." You stupid woman. Wherever you were hiding, you should have stayed put. We've been looking for you." He tacked on with a laugh.
Dammit! An officer!
Against her frantic thoughts better judgment, her first reaction was to fight. She used her slightly longer nails to pinch the man's pressure point on the hand. He hissed, but gripped her hands tight.
"You stupid bitch…" He hissed, hands going so tight around her slim wrists she was afraid he would break her wrists. So she did the next thing she could think of. She head butted him by throwing her head back, and straight into his nose.
She could feel the stickiness of blood run down on her neck just slightly, so she knew had gotten him. He had also released her wrists, allowing for her to quickly turn, and face him. He was gripping his nose, brown eyes staring hatefully at her. Tian hardened her jaw, trying her best not to turn tail and run.
"Ya know, I was going to make this easy on you. I was going to allow you to simply come with me without asking who you've been staying with. Everyone in this town knows we've been looking for you. Whoever was hiding you, is in the same boat as you." Tian gasped, eyes wide.
I knew I should have left! Now they're in trouble. Dammit!
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to regain control of her emotions. She couldn't let them get in the way. Not now. She couldn't afford it.
The green eyed girl snapped her eyes open as the man yelled out, running towards her with his fists raised. She was able to duck and dodge his blows. She shoved at him, which only made him stumble slightly. He growled, jaw set hard as he came towards her once more.
Tian wasn't prepared for the kick he sent at the same time he raised his fists to punch her, and the girl was caught off guard as all the wind was knocked out of her. She doubled over, holding her ribs. Every breath she took hurt.
"They'll forgive me if I rough you up a bit." He added on, smirking.
Before the young girl could react, he roughly grabbed her hair covering, pulling her up. Tian yelled out, her hands shooting up to dislodge his hands from her hair. In the process, her hair was forcefully let down, her hair accessory falling to the ground. She had no time to attend to her throbbing hair nor pick up her treasured item.
No, because she had to duck another blow from the man. She clenched her hands, sending a well timed punch to the man's guts, causing him to flatter for a moment. She went to side kick him, but he sweeper out his own leg, causing her to trip, hitting her jaw on the ground.
Pain radiated immediately throughout her entire jaw, throat, and head. She squeezed her eyes shut, her breathing coming out ragged as she felt him step on her back.
"Now, are you going to come peacefully? Or do I have to rough you up a bit more?" He questioned, stepping rather forcefully on the girls back.
She cried out, reaching behind her to claw at his feet, but he merely stepped on her fingers. Tian growled, kicking at him instead, which again caused him to stumbled just enough that she was able to stand up.
The young girl did the last thing she could think of to defend herself. Fling herself at him, tackling him to the ground. The two tumbled over one another for a moment or two before the man had had enough. Pinning her down again, with the punching and biting, he sent a well placed punch to the side of her head, causing her to almost instantly blackout…..
The sun was hanging brightly in the sky as Yona and the group made their way into town. There were people milling about in a rather excited manner, although there was a bit of caution with their very mannerisms.
Maybe it was out of habit that they had found their way to the seamstress building where Min-Soo and her grandmother had worked. However, unlike the other days, the shop had a closed sign, which was unusual. They never had that sign up before.
"Wonder what happened for them to close it for the day." Yun questioned, eyebrows drawn together.
"They probably closed it if this is where Tian came. I'm sure they just wanted alone time." Hak replied.
"Yeah, you're probably-"
"Oh. It's just you guys. Everything alright?" This made the whole group pause, and look at Min-Soo, whose eyes were slightly puffy, and red. Her voice didn't hold the usual emotion in it.
"We should ask you that. Is everything alright?" Yona questioned, stepping forward, and touching Min-Soo's shoulder.
The girl's brown eyes glanced at the hand, and then at Yona. She looked over them, and then gestured for them to follow her as she shook off the girl's hand, turned around, and walked back into the house. The group paused for a second, all of them glancing at each other, before following Yona inside the home. Min-Soo closed the door behind them, and then lead them into a separate room.
"Do you guys want some tea? Or something to eat?" She questioned, looking at each of them. When everyone shook their heads no, she shrugged, and sat down with a sigh.
"What happened?" Yona asked in worry.
"Yesterday, Ae-Cha's bakery was targeted. I think they were looking for Tian. Ha-Seon tried to protect her, and he fought with the officers. Ae-Cha tried to protect him, and she got hurt. Really bad. That's why the shop is closed today. BaaBaa knows medicine really well. She used to be a doctor for some noble in the Xing country. She's treating her." Min-Soo stated in a tired tone.
There was silence for a few moments, nobody really saying anything as they let the news just hang in the air. It was awful for sure. Yona looked at the young girl, who looked as if her mind was in another place, and then down at her palms. Her jaw hardened. These people needed help fast. Before she could let her emotions get the better of her, she felt Hak's hand touch hers for a moment, as if sensing her distress, and trying to calm her down. Yona nodded slightly, and looked away once again.
"By the way, is Tian alright? I thought I saw her today, but she hasn't come by." Min-Soo asked, looking at them. They, in turn, just looked at her in surprise, which in turn made her look at them questioningly. "What's with the look?" She questioned, starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Tian had come into town. She said she was going to visit you all, and let you guys know she was alright." Jae-Ha answered, starting to feel a bit panicked. If she wasn't here….
"M…. Maybe she went to visit Joo-Ri at the dock. He's been asking me about her, so I'm sure that's where she went first since he's the one open first." Min-Soo said, trying to stay calm although it was obvious she was panicking as well." If you all want, I can take you there to see if she's there. If she's not, then maybe she went back to wherever you all are staying." It was obvious she was trying to keep a positive outlook. She stood up with shaky legs, glancing at them as she smoothed out her skirt.
"Of course." Yona stated, standing up. Min-Soo nodded, smiling ever so slightly, and then stood up herself.
"Well, then, let's go." Min-Soo stated, walking past them in a hurried fashion.
To their worry, and disappointment, Tian was not at the docks either.
"She said she was gonna go to the bakery. I didn't have the heart to tell the girl what happened."Joo-Ri mentioned sympathetically, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Thank you. We'll try somewhere else."
"Right. Be careful." He called out after the group as they quickly turned around, and began to walk back into town.
Min-Soo was quick to show them the shortcut towards the bakery. Nothing seemed out of place, which relaxed them just the slightest. No signs of a fight, which was good to them.
However, Jae-Ha was looking around with a closer eye. Scowling, his eyes double checked everything. His chest tightened at the thought of Tian being taken away. Not only did his chest tighten out of worry, he was also angered.
He had only felt like this for Yona before meeting Tian, but he assumed his feelings for Yona were entirely based on the dragon's blood running through him. So for Tian to bring this out in him was an entirely different situation, and something he wasn't particularly used to. He had already accepted how he felt for her, and he didn't want to lose her. He tried to keep a positive outlook. She was OK. She was OK. She was OK….
He paused when he saw something familiar. A piece of cloth that was deep blue in color. A red smaller ribbon nearly tied around the center. He quickly went over to pick it up. It was soft, silky, but also a bit rough. Like the feeling of dirt. His frown deepened, jaw clenching. He recognized it, upon closer inspection, that it belonged to Tian.
"It belonged to my mother. It's the only thing I have left of my parents, so I like to wear it as a memento."
Her soft voice rang so clearly through Jae-Ha's mind that he almost thought she was there.
It was her treasure. She valued it so much. If it's laying here…. Ahh, I don't have a good feeling about this at all.
It was at that moment that Jae-Ha felt a hand gently touch his shoulder. He turned his head to look at who had touched his shoulder.
"That was hers, right?" Kija questioned softly. Jae-Ha looked from his dragon brother to the hair accessory, and then nodded as he stood up.
He looked around, noticing the others were ahead of them. Despite the tightness in his chest, and another part that didn't want to know just yet if she was alright, he walked forward.
Kija looked at the green haired man as he walked forward, and then walked until he was next to his brother as well. As much as Jae-Ha generally his his feelings, even Kija could see how much the former pirate cared for the girl. This whole situation was no doubt putting Jae-Ha through some level of distress.
"Tian is a strong woman. No matter what, she can handle herself. You shouldn't worry." Kija could only hope that his words comforted Jae-Ha.
"I know." Jae-Ha stated confidentiality, smirking over at Kija." I've fought with her before. Trust me, I know she can handle herself in any situation. You don't have to stress yourself. I'm fine." He smiled at the younger man for a moment, and then walked forward just a bit faster.
She better be alright. He thought to himself, fighting to keep his smile on his face.
He was keeping his composure now, but he wasn't so sure he'd be able to keep it if something happened to her. And if something did happen, he would make those involved know what a true dragon's wrath felt like. And they would never forget it...