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Chapter 12
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"Take care then, Zeno-kun! I hope we will see each other again." I said patting his head.
"You too, Suzaku-sama!" Zeno said before walking off.
"What reason do you have for being so friendly with a wanderer? How can you trust such a man?" Joo-Doh asked as I took in a deep breath.
"Sometimes, it's okay to be kind to others you do not know very well. It is a beautiful morning...Also Soo-Won disappeared." I said ratting out my cousin.
"What?! That man...!"
"I'll be here waiting then, take your time."
"Kana-hime-sama, I insist that we-"
"I'll be fine. No one would be up at this godforsaken hour. Go, I'll be waiting here."
"Y-Yes!"
"Take care." I waited until they were far away before lowering my hand. Zeno returned after a bit of time and I turned to face him. I gave him a deep bow. "I beg of you, take care of her...Ouryuu."
"I will, Suzaku-sama. When did you gain his memories?"
"Only recently...a day after my father's death." I rose from my bow and I dug through my sleeve, producing a simple oriental knife. "This is for her, please...don't let her know I know that she is still alive. Just say that it is a keepsake from an old friend."
"You are an old friend, Suzaku-sama! It's been so long since we last met."
"I'm sorry...Hiryuu and the original Suzaku...they didn't want to leave you like this, but..."
"Suzaku is needed in other worlds. You cannot stay in the same world for too long. It's dangerous after all."
"...I wished there was something they could have done...at least..."
"Zeno is actually afraid of death, but...Zeno is also afraid of losing his friends again."
"I'm afraid of losing what little I have left. It's best you get going. Take care of yourself."
"You too!"
Zeno left once again and after a short amount of time, Joo-Doh and the guards returned...without Soo-Won. The four looked at me for a few seconds before Joo-Doh punched a nearby tree, releasing a curse. The other three simply looked away as if they couldn't look me in the eye. I glanced behind them, wondering if he's just coming back incredibly slowly.
"Where is Soo-Won? Really...don't tell me he's doing something reckless again..." I said resting a hand on my cheek.
"If he decides to return at nightfall I'll kill him myself." Joo-Doh growled sitting on a boulder.
"Nightfall?"
"K-Kana-hime-sama! There isn't anything to worry about!"
"T-That's right!"
"Would you like something to eat?"
"I'm alright, I'm not exactly hungry right now either..."
"W-Well...!"
"Kana-hime, sorry for taking so long!"
"Soo-Won! It's unfair! Why did you use me as a distraction to go into town?! I wanted to see an ocean port town!"
"I'm sorry, but it's rather dangerous for a cute girl to be out and about with the current situation."
"Cute girl, eh? You seemed to have quite a bit of fun flirting behind Hime-sama's back."
"Flirting?" I saw Soo-Won's dejected look on his face and he looked at me before looking away in guilt. "I was worried that you felt you were being pressured into marry me. If you want, I have no problems with setting you up with this girl you like!"
"T-That's not it, Kana-hime!" Soo-Won looked at me in bewilderment and he grabbed my hands, giving me a tight squeeze. "I...for you I have always...I always..."
"For me you have always...?"
"I-I..." Soo-Won noticed the others looking at us from behind. "L-Let's get going then! We can't be late!"
Soo-Won began pulling me along, laughing nervously. I looked behind me to see the others smiling at me and I turned around...to feel some kind of scary dark...anger or something behind me. I was a bit afraid to look behind me again. Did I do something to get them angry or something?!
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I tried not to laugh when I saw Geun-Tae stare at us as if he didn't believe we were really here. Well...I guess it is more than surprising...both king and princess of this country...leaving the castle without proper guards...and the fact we didn't inform them ahead of time. Well, I suppose it is understandable.
"General Geun-tae, hello! Sorry for the intrusion!" I said giving him a slight bow.
"No, it's fine." Geun-Tae gave us a small bow. "Hime-sama, have you been well since our last meeting?" Geun-Tae asked staring down at me.
"I'm healthy, if that is what you mean." I said smiling at him.
"Kana-hime has had quite the journey." Soo-Won grabbed both my shoulders. "Would you mind if we had some tea?" Soo-Won asked smiling at the man.
Soo-Won and I went with Geun-Tae for some tea and Joo-Doh joined us as our guard. I rather liked the herbal tea that was served, it has such a nice aroma. I sipped my tea in silence while Joo-Doh and Geun-Tae began some strange argument. I gently placed my teacup down, feeling quite relaxed and warmed up.
"General Geun-Tae, if I may." The men stopped arguing and the Earth Tribe leader looked at me, clearly alert to what I wish to discuss with him. "I am here as I wish to have a location set up for a project I have been preparing. You have heard rumors about my little 'bird project', right? I would like to see possible areas to prepare outposts within your city." I said smiling.
"Ah, yes. Something about using birds as messengers. Was there some success?" Geun-Tae asked with a slight frown.
"It is going quite well." I answered still smiling.
"I see...I shall show you then."
Our group was on the move and I stayed close to Soo-Won. Geun-Tae stared at me for a few seconds. That's when an elderly man appeared, talking about how there was another cave-in at the mines. I heard Geun-Tae's advisor, Chul-Rang, began asking about why we were here. Soo-Won was the answer, saying he was here to escort me over to make preparations for the outposts here that and sightseeing. I perked up at the sightseeing part, it was the first time I heard of this.
"Hime-sama, you can't be seriously letting our new king do this." Chul-Rang stared at me, pointing at Soo-Won in disbelief. "Doesn't he realize that there are some really unstable places, even in our tribe. Like Awa and the-" Geun-Tae smacked the smaller man upside the head. "Ow!"
"Watch your tone. You're addressing the princess and the king." Geun-Tae said despite the fact he wasn't even properly dressed.
"Awa...Didn't something happen in Awa when you went to check it out, Soo-Won?" I asked looking at him.
"A-Ah, that's right." Joo-Doh is glaring at Soo-Won, I wonder why. "Lord Yang Kum-ji was caught red handed in human trafficking and had gone missing." Soo-Won answered giving me a nervous smile.
"We weren't there for very long to do anything. I wonder if the townspeople finally got fed up with everything and killed him." I said tapping my chin.
"No, it was the local pirates." Soo-Won said correcting my thoughts.
"I see, I wonder if they're good pirates or bad ones. If they're good pirates, then it should be fine to let them go." I said with a cheerful smile.
"Hime-sama, pirates are pirates. They could just use this chance to act up out at sea." Chul-Rang said giving me a small frown.
"Eehh...but..." I said looking at him.
"Hime-sama, I know this is rude of me to say, but your father was a pathetic king." My smile dropped for a moment, but quickly returned as if nothing was wrong. "Xing and Sei to the south took us lightly and I had always been afraid that the Kai Empire would have attacked us. If he had humiliated us any further with his actions and put our country at risk...It is quite possible that I would have been the one to rebel." Geun-Tae said angering Joo-Doh.
"Geun-Tae!" Joo-Doh shouted at the man.
"...My fath...Il-heika did not like fighting. He wanted to avoid conflict, but ended up becoming weak. Il-heika, as a king he was pathetic. I agree. As a father...he was a kind and loving man."
"He was unfit to rule. Why do you believe that the current king deserves to rule? I cannot stand by a simple decision made by a princess who has never seen conflict."
"I am indeed a simple princess, but my decision was far from simple. Hak of the Wind Tribe had escaped the night of my father's death, my sister being spirited away as well. Could I really give power to the Wind Tribe he originated from despite the fact I fully trust Mundok-sama?" I smiled although it was quite cold. "I do not like the Fire Tribe, there are too many...incidents in the past that I cannot see them in favorable light. I have little to no connection to the Water Tribe. I trust General Joo-Doh, but he is not the type to become a king. The only person I could entrust the throne to is my own cousin..."
"Can he raise this kingdom back to the glory two generations ago, like he so promised?"
"I believe so."
"Then what do you say, Heika?"
"I'm not lying."
"Oh dear..." Geun-Tae fell to his knees at Soo-Won's rather casual reply. "Ah...you need more resistance against Soo-Won's personality..."
"Kana-hime! Come look at this stone!"
"Who cares about the stone?! Kana-hime, ignore that fool of a king!"
"Ooohhh! This stone looks really pretty!" I moved to get a closer look. "Ne, ne, are there more stones like this?"
"A lot more, I suppose, but we don't want that. What we want is iron."
"That's a shame. I would have loved to give Yona earrings with polished stones like these." I smiled sadly, as I stared at the stone. I can no longer see her...for she was forced out and I am here. "I bet she would have given me the biggest smile as she thanked me for the gift."
"..." Geun-Tae stared at me for a few seconds before turning to look at Soo-Won. He looked to have had enough. "Hime-sama, I'll have Chul-Rang check out those locations for you. It wouldn't do for you to walk about after a long journey. As I'm still busy, I'm going back to my room. If you need anything, just ask someone from the castle."
"Oi, Geun-Tae! You-"
"I see, then please do take care."
I returned my attention back to the stone as Soo-Won began chatting with Chul-Rang. Simply polishing it would bring out the shine, but cutting it would enhance the look. Suzaku acted as a gem cutter in the past, didn't he? I thought remembering the tools needed. It would take weeks, maybe even months before I can get the correct tools and then figure out how to convince Soo-Won to let me demonstrate how to do it. It's a dangerous thing, I could even lose my fingers if I'm not careful.
"-counting on you, Kana-hime!" Soo-Won said finally gaining my attention.
"Did you say something?" I asked turning to look at him.
"Do you like the stone that much?" Soo-Won asked with a laugh.
"No, I wonder if it's possible to do more than just polish them. If you can cut it into a specific shape or size then wouldn't it be nice for smaller accessories?" I asked covering my mouth with my sleeves.
"Hm, that would be something."
"What were we talking about again?"
"In one week, will you prepare a song and a dance?"
"What kind?"
"Well, we're having a mock battle, what kind of songs can you prepare?"
"A battle...I have a few..." I dug through my memories for various songs. "Hm...I'll make preparations now then. I have the perfect song. Let's see. As for the dance...something like a sword dance then...fan dance...I wonder..."
"Kana-hime, what kind of-Kana-hime?"
"There will be moments where I won't sing so I will focus on dancing...So maybe something like this." I moved a bit away, fan in hand. I spun around, moving as if I was fighting. "Hm...The movement is awkward...Instead of cutting, more of a gliding movement..."
"Looks like the princess is ready to go."
"Kana-hime is cute when she focuses like this."
"B-Beautiful..."
"Hold on, I have to compensate for the outfit so if it's a flowing type then...Hm...Soo-Won, can I get something that isn't so flowy?"
"What are you thinking?"
"..." I tugged at my skirt. "Can I wear pants?"
"But I think you look cuter in dresses and skirts."
"Being dressed up like a doll isn't something you would do when going into battle though. So." I smiled at Soo-Won. "Let me design the outfits that you and Geun-Tae will wear. Also, I'll be designing my own clothing."
"You've very talented, Kana-hime. I'm very fortunate to have you around. Ah, that's right! What do you think about having some of those stones like that part of the outfit?" Soo-Won pointed at the huge stone I was looking at earlier. "Like necklaces and bracelets."
"That sounds wondrous! I'll ask if it is possible to cut it into a specific shape as well!"
Soo-Won were already making big plans by the time Geun-Tae found out about the battle...or at least he thought it was a real one. The man looked put off when he found it was only a mock battle. He must really like fighting...and war. I thought staring at Geun-Tae. I decided to make preparations on the outfits before I start on anything else. It'll take quite some time for it to be ready and I want my outfit ready so I can practice in it.
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Chapter 12 Ends
Zeno...! It's obvious the male couldn't stay long due to the short trip and the fact that he has to keep an eye on Yona. There's only so much time the two can spend together and there would be no way the two would have gotten a moment alone unless Soo-Won disappeared. Kana will forever worry about her little sister, but will still complete her duties properly. Aahh, another thing, I'm currently working on a side story based on what Suzaku sees and hears as he travels with Yona and her little band. It'll probably be updated a lot less than when this one and will only contain bits and pieces of the story. Well, that's it for today so until next time! Bye-bye~!