After that fight I didn't last much longer. I just about managed to make it out of the city before my leg collapsed underneath me from pain and when I rolled back my skirts I found a massive pallet of bruising of the ugliest colours I had ever seen. Kija had practically fainted upon seeing them however I quickly hid them away from Hak, who was drifting a little senselessly.

I had to lean my weight on Shin-Ah for support until it became apparent that my other leg wasn't much use either so Jae-Ha came to my other side, reaching out to pull back some of my hair to reveal more of my bloodied and bruised face. "You're a mess, sweet Ryo." He said to me quietly as he pulled my other arm over his shoulder. "Here, let me help you walk, we'll make it up the hill together."

"I don't need help from a scoundrel." I muttered to him weakly however my fingers curled into the material at his shoulder anyway. Yoon was a little frantic, unsure of who to treat first so I directed him towards Hak with a wave, laying on my least injured side sleepily, assuring him that I was fine and that all I needed was sleep.

"You're bruised up so much that there's more black and blue than skin! You are not fine!" He snapped at me as he started with Hak's wound to his arm before making me strip down to only my bandage that covered my chest so he could see the damage. I made him keep the others outside that they didn't see, knowing that it would only distress them to see me like this and I didn't particularly want Yoon to see me this way either, however I had no choice. I was admittedly in a bad way. Hak hadn't held back on his punches just as much as I didn't.

For a while Yoon just stared, looking at the distorted array of skin as I touched my ribs and instantly flinched, testing them gingerly. "It's not as bad as I thought, only two ribs are cracked." I informed him. "The inflammation and bruising is probably the worst of it all and I feel like my face has been stung by an entire bee's nest." One eye was completely swollen shut but I smiled all the same. "How about you just let me deal with myself and Hak and you make sure the others are all okay? Kija and Jae-Ha got a little roughed up too…"

"You need a doctor, Ryo." Yoon told me and I instantly stopped. "This is bad, your organs could have ruptured internally or your bones might be cracked! Look, even your shoulder is out of place!" I looked down at my dislocated shoulder for a moment before grabbing it. Wordlessly I popped it back into place, not even flinching as I kept my eyes fixed on Yoon.

"I told you pain doesn't bother me, Yoon." I said to him calmly. "My body is very strong, I'm just as muscular as Hak is so it would have protected all major organs and nothing is broken, my ribs are only slightly cracked. I promise I'm fine, however if this is too distressing for you then I will understand if you would prefer someone else to help me take care of the issues." Reaching out I gently touched his face, brushing my thumb against his cheek with my sisterly smile. "I don't want to see you upset, pretty boy." Yoon sniffed, quickly wiping his eyes with his arm to hide the fact that he was tearing up before he put on a brave face and helped me apply balms, ointments, bandages and stitches where necessary.

We used the room until dusk healing both Hak and I until the landlord kicked us out as we couldn't afford the room another night, so we had to go. Hak still hadn't spoken and I don't think he was particularly sound because he gave no indication of awareness to the outside world. When Yona tried to prompt him awake, I lay a hand on her shoulder and pulled her away. "Let him be princess. This will take a little time." I told her as I leaned against the wall for a short break from walking. We'd have to camp out again and I can honestly say I am not looking forward to sleeping on the hard ground.

Being stubborn as I was, I managed to walk from the inn out of the city before my body began to scream at me in protest, throbbing and aching in every way possible until I could hardly breathe and I found myself lagging further and further behind until Jae-Ha looked back. "Ryo!" He called out gently and came towards me as I pressed a hand against a rock for support.

"I'm…"

"You are not fine." He cut off simply before all at once lifting me up off the ground, making me squeak and instinctively curl up into a little ball as he held me against his chest, causing me to tense my fingers into fists as his exotic smell began to invade my mind. "I will carry you so you can save your strength for healing and there will be no arguments." All amusement and play was gone from his eyes as he looked down at me with concern so I looked away, allowing my hair to fall over my face so that it was hidden.

At least you couldn't tell I was blushing from all the swelling and bruising. "Thank you." I forced in a resigned mutter, making Jae-Ha chuckle as he finally smiled.

"Anything for my sweet Ryo." He answered as we caught up with the others. They all asked if I was alright and Jae-Ha assured them that I only needed rest and sure enough, I was fast asleep against him, using his shoulder as a pillow and was gripping onto his jacket for comfort like a child. He held me until the tent was put up and everyone all donated all the blankets they could so that the ground was more comfortable where I was set down and covered, a sleepy sound escaping me as I wriggled into a comfortable position before falling sound asleep.

I slept through the night and most of the day, going into a deep restorative sleep however when I woke up, I found Hak had curled himself around me with one arm carefully laid over my waist. He wasn't asleep and we both knew the other was awake, however I said nothing. Hak was silent for a long time, his eyes looking from mark to mark on my skin before I felt him shift, leaning forwards until his head touched against mine and his soft hair tickled my face.

A hot tear dripped onto my cheek and my eyes flew open as I heard him breathe shakily, struggling to keep a grip as the hand that was resting over my curled deeply into the blankets. "I'm sorry Ryo. I'm sorry I did this to you." He said quietly so I gave a simple smile, closing my eyes once more.

"Tsk. You should see what I did to you. You came off worse believe me you jerk." I answered before falling back asleep. It was as easy as that to fix things between us and although the swelling went down quickly, the bruises lingered for a few days before clearing away gradually as well. Yoon's poultices were like magic, they worked better than anything I'd ever come across before, however when Lili stopped by in the morning, she gave me some high quality makeup to hide the bruising on my face as a thank you gift for my assistance in the sea battle whilst giving Yona a huge pack of food. She disappeared after that, however came back with an enormous feast in the late afternoon.

I didn't really join in with the feast, choosing to sleep further instead but when it started to rain, everyone ended up piling into my tent with the food, making me groan as I was stirred awake by the bustle until eventually the smell got me and I lifted my head, giving a little sniff before licking my lips. "Here sweet Ryo, you should have some of this, it's delicious food from the water tribe." Jae-Ha said to me as he picked me up off my blankets and I growled at him in warning as he curled his arm around me snugly and offered some noodles which I hesitantly took, eating them off the chopsticks before I thrust out a hand against his face, pushing him away from me.

"Enough of your perverted ways, scoundrel." I informed him with a yawn before I picked up a plate and heard my stomach howl. I hadn't eaten properly in a while, maybe just a little snack and then I'll go back to sleep. After all it would be rude of me not to eat something that the daughter of the water tribe general had prepared for us.

"Here Ryo, you need to build up your strength." Kija said to me then began to add a large portion of oysters onto my plate from his own, making me start in surprise.

"Kija, you don't have to…"

"Here little sis." Hak grunted next, plonking a large scoop of fish balls though he did so with a face that looked as if it couldn't care less. That Hak.

"Hm." Shin-Ah agreed and he too sacrificed a healthy portion of his own pickings to place it on my plate along with Zeno, Yoon, Tetora and Ayura before finally, Jae-Ha finished with some rice and dumplings. I looked at the overflowing plate, my stomach still growling demandingly at the sight of so many delicious things.

"The miss needs to eat so that she can become healthy and strong again!" Zeno said cheerfully despite the rain outside. "Here, Zeno will help because the miss's arms still hurt, right?" He questioned then proceeded to abandon his own food and used the chopsticks to help pick up some rice with fish before offering it to me. "Say 'ah'!" He beamed, making me smile slowly, a glint of a tear appearing in my eyes but I blinked it away quickly.

"You guys…you're the greatest." I said before opening my mouth and Zeno filled it with food for me to chew on, making me laugh as his own stomach grumbled so I fed him as well until it became a game of everyone feeding someone else. The princess was in the other tent with Lady Lili so we were all crowded into this smaller one, however we somehow managed to make it work until finally, all the food was gone and I was laying on my side, dozing happily with a full belly with my head resting on Hak's leg as his hand absently stroked back my hair whilst Ao tried to press a nut into my mouth until Shin-Ah pulled her off me.

We stayed until the day after tomorrow where after that, we disappeared quietly from the land of water without a trace and hardly any evidence to show that we were ever there in the first place.