Chapter 38: The Big Day

Over the six month period before Yona and Shin-ah's wedding, the young Princess had begun to receive dozens of reports from Kan Tae-jun about rebuilding whole villages across the fire tribe. Those who had lost lands due to his father or had lost their homes due to the famine had their homes and lands returned to them. Farmers were taught how to cultivate and harvest the Izza Seeds, then how to cook with them. Once downtrodden villages now were flourishing.

The next reports she received were from Kija and Jae-ha, whom she'd sent to the water tribe where they began to fish out the drug lords and their underlings. The Kingpin himself turned out to be a man named Hiyou who had threatened An Lili's life while she'd been at the hot springs. Thankfully at the time Su-won had been in the area and had stopped the confrontation from escalating. He did, however, draw his sword in protecting An Lili and cut the man's face, which led to Hiyou escaping on foot. Since that day Lili had practically latched herself to Yona's dear cousin, which left him very confused as he had only protected her because it was the right thing to do.

Then about three months after her birthday there were some noises coming from the Xing boarder. As it turned out, the two Princess' of Xing were having conflicts amongst their factions. Some wanted Princess Tao as their new leader, the priesthood mostly. The army wanted Princess Kouren who was known to be a bit of a warrior herself. The King of Xing had died some months before and only now were the factions escalating in their attacks against each other. It got to the point where the Xing army stationed men at the boarder of the Xing and wind tribe boarders.

King Il wasn't sure of what to do, but it was obvious that something had to be done to protect Kouka in case there was a conflict at the boarder. General Son Hak was given permission to take an infantry of men to the boarder, but they were not allowed to fight unless attacked first. Shin-ah joined them as he would be able to see the enemy coming before anyone else. The standoff last two weeks before both Princess' came to the boarder. It was Zeno who acted as a courier between the two parties. King Il was forced to go to the boarder, with Yona coming along with him. Staying silent for the renewing of the peace accord between the two countries had been very hard, especially when Yona wanted to get the two sisters alone together to see what they were truly like.

That was when Jae-ha returned to the palace with disturbing news, Lady Lili had been kidnapped and Kija was heading towards the Sei boarder after her kidnappers. Unfortunately this also meant Su-won had gone missing as well. The General's of the five tribes were brought together in Suiko where An Joon-gi was furious with this development. It was the first time Yona had ever seen any sort of real emotion cross the water general's features. Her father had no choice, as Su-won was a member of the royal family and kidnapping a royal was considered a taboo another country could do to a neighboring country.

As it turned out Su-won had been drugged heavily along with An Lili and taken to one of the fort that were being built on the Sei/Kouka boarder. They also discovered that the water was laced with the very drug that they had been working to get rid of in the water tribe. So the two were forced to work without anything to drink. The workers were all kidnapped victims from the water tribe who had all but believed that they'd been forgotten about.

When the fighting began, Su-won had grabbed An Lili and snuck out of the fortress to avoid her getting hurt by anyone. For his effort, Su-won was shot by an arrow through the shoulder. As two Sei soldiers were about to kill him Jae-ha and Zeno fell from the sky and killed both men and brought the two to safety. An Joo-gi hadn't known his daughter was safe at the time and it was his arrow that had taken out Hotsuma, one of the three Kings of Sei, but only one of two that had tried to build the two fortresses. Kushibi was found and forced to surrender by Son Hak and the regiment of wind soldiers.

In the end war was barely avoided, but King Kazaguma was contacted and forced to sign a peace agreement with King Il. By the end of the conflict the Sei Kingdom had been forced to become a vassel state to Kouka as punishment for what had occurred at th boarder.

Afterwards peace had returned to the region. The water tribe was healing thanks to An Lili's clinics that were going up daily. The drugs were being destroyed and the drug lords were being forced out of business. It was also found that the drugs were coming in from the water tribe in Awa Port, which led them back to Kai where the human trafficking was taking place. It turned out to all be interconnected. Shut off once source and another would tragically take its place. Governess Gigan was contacted and with her granddaughter, Lee-un, they cleaned out the secret building where the nadai drug was being brought into Kouka from, while Jae-ha and Kija took it out from the water tribe ports.

This was where the Kingpin Hiyou showed his ugly face once again. A fight in the port streets took place between Su-won and the Kingpin, but it was Ju-doh who killed the Kingpin when the scared man had tried to take Su-won's life only to have the duel wielding sky general take Hiyou's life.

It was soon after decided by General Joon-gi that Su-won and An Lili should definitely marry, but convincing the young Lord of that was the hard part.

When the trees began to change in the wind and water tribes one always knew that autumn had arrived. It was at this time that a great celebration was occurring within Kouka, the union of Seiryuu Shin-ah and Princess Yona. Kuuto was decorated in colorful colors, ribbons and autumn flora covered the city. From apple green to bright reds and oranges, the city was covered in color. The palace likewise was covered in banners and silk streamers as the celebration was about to begin.

Long tables were set up with cookies, snacks and cakes with icing that made ones palate just salivate. Yun stood near the table with a bright grin as Kija, Jae-ha and especially Zeno all moaned to try the young man's confections. Zeno's stomach moaned the loudest of them all, earning him several glares from his brothers.

"I think Zeno is going to faint from hunger." Jae-ha joked.

Yun glared at the green haired man. "He could use the time to get some patience!" he yelled at the other man who chuckled.

"Zeno once went a whole month without food." he told them with a grin.

"Ah..." Jae-ha sighed. "The abilities of the Ouryuu." He shook his head. "Will they never end?"

"Nope." Zeno laughed at look on Jae-ha's face of mild annoyance.

Yun sighed as he turned away from them, Kija looking at him with a smile. "Ill ensure they don't eat the food put out just yet." he assured him.

Yun knew for a fact that he could trust Kija to do just that. Giving him a nod, he left the garden area to go find Yona. She had wanted him to come to her before the ceremony. Walking up to her apartments, Yun gave the closed door a light knock. Yun-ho gave him a bright smile as she opened the doors.

"Come in Master Yun." she said as she stepped to the side to allow him entry.

Yun flushed at the title. A month ago he had been given the title now that he was the official healer of the palace. Master of Herbal Medicine was the official title and every time he heard it, he found himself flushing from embarrassment. He was too young for such a title, but still...a small part of him enjoyed the title. "Thank-you Lady Yun-ho." he bowed to her mostly out of respect, this gained a giggle from her before she led him inside to Yona's dressing room.

Yun found his eyes widening in surprise. The kimono was a traditional three layered dress with long bell sleeves that were cut short, in the sense she was no longer going to be an unmarried woman after today. The dress had a creamy light color to it; instead of pure white. There were blue threads going along the bottom of the dress, the sleeves and around the edges. Bright red petals had been embroidered on the back and sleeves of the dress. He grinned widely when he saw her hair.

"I see you went ahead and cut your hair after all." he said, his voice making her jump slightly as she'd been talking to An Lili, Tetora and Ayura. The three girls had become her closest friends over the past year.

"Yun!" Yona gasped in surprise as she turned around towards him. In her hair was the hairpin that Su-won had given her on her birthday. The stones glittered and sparkled in the early afternoon light. "Of course I did! I'm going to be traveling after the ceremonies this week and I just can do so with long hair. Besides I asked Shin-ah about it. He said to do it, but to expect the same from him."

"Shin-ah's cutting his hair?" Tetora inquired. Yona nodded at her question. "Cute!" she squealed. "I bet he's going to look adorable!"

"Tetora..." Ayura groaned at her.

"Oh hush, you'd say the same thing if it was Zeno." she told the dark haired girl whose face turned red with embarrassment.

Yona giggled. "Yet it'll be me that enjoys the new sight." she told them gaining looks from the three girls.

"You've been told about what to expect, right?" Tetora inquired.

Yun-ho cleared her throat. "Girls." she warned them.

"Expect?" Yona asked, feeling suddenly clueless. "Expect what?" she looked between the four women.

"Don't ask me!" An Lili yelled with wide eyes her hands waving in front of her.

Tetora grinned. "Well when a man and a woman..." she began as she leaned towards Yona.

"Stop!" Yun yelled his face flushing. "I don't need to hear this!"

Tetora laughed at him. Yona looked towards him. "Yun," she began. "I know you've been helping the cooks and all..." she turned towards a wrapped gift. "This is for you." She pointed to the gift on the table.

Walking over to it, Yun undid the ribbon and pulled the lid off of the top of the box. Inside was a fancy male kimono made of pure silk. It was light blue with a dark blue haori and a black sash that went around the waist. He turned towards Yona with wide eyes.

"You've done enough work," she told him. "Now it's time to dress and enjoy yourself."

"Yona." he began but became suddenly choked up with emotions. "Thank-you!" he yelled as he hugged her, something that had become more common over the last six months. He then picked up the items then leaving quickly before he made a fool of himself.

"I think you just made his day." Tetora mumbled softly.

"So," Yona begun as she looked at Tetora. "what was it that I needed to know?"

Tetora grinned again. Both An Lili and Ayura both groaning inwardly as the older girl began to impart some wisdom upon the unsuspecting Yona whose face began as red as her hair as she was given the rundown by her. Yu-ho adding her bits of knowledge every so often. When they got to the part about him gaining a release, Yona felt like she was about to faint from embarrassment.

"D-Does that happen every time?" she asked in horror.

"Mostly." Yun-ho answered. "Now, when you get pregnant, I'll give you the details on the joys of birthing a baby." Yona cringed inwardly at that. Lady Yun-ho had given birth to a little boy that had turned out not to be so little. She really did not want to have that conversation.

"N-No thank-you." she said nervously.

Yun-ho laughed lightly. "I'll leave you to yourself then." she said before looking at the other girls. "Girls." she pointed towards the exit.

Yona watched as everyone left before giving a deep sigh. Her nerves were now shot. She felt her heart beating wildly after having that conversation with them. She had never known about that stuff. Why would she, she was a young unmarried woman, but still...

Her face became red once more as embarrassment filled her entire being.

Shin-ah could feel his hands feeling sweaty once again. After bathing he had been forced into a silk blue kimono and haori jacket. His assistant still was giving him looks for his extremely short hair. He had cut his hair even shorter than Hak's, but he thought he looked good with it like this. I've had it like this before, haven't I? he wondered as he touched the short hair. A memory of him being small looking into a flowing river came to mind. It was before I met Yona.

He heard a knock at his door. As it opened he saw Jae-ha, Zeno, Kija and Hak enter into the room. "We thought we'd come and see how you are doing." Hak stated as Shin-ah noticed that he was in a more traditional, yet formal attire.

"More like Hak wants to make sure you don't break Yona's heart by fleeing." Jae-ha teased as he dodged the other man's punch.

Kija stepped forward. "Is there anything you need from us?" he asked feeling nervous for the younger man.

"Perhaps advice for the wedding night?" Jae-ha inquired with a wide grin.

"Zeno was once married, he can give some advice!" Zeno announced.

Everybody stared at him in shock. "You were married!?" All four young men yelled at once.

"How is it we're just hearing about this?!" Kija asked though it sounded like a demand.

"Umm...nobody asked?" Zeno questioned them.

Both Hak and Jae-ha slapped a hand over there faces. Shin-ah began to laugh causing everyone to look at him with wide eyes. It was so out of character for him that they weren't sure if he was okay or not. He waved their concern away. "It's okay." he told them with a grin on his face. "My eyes have seen many things. People don't hide when they don't know they're being watched." he said this with a mild flush to his cheeks.

"Eh?" Jae-ha asked before looking at him with a perverted grin.

"Is our sweet Shin-ah a secret peeper?" he asked causing everybody to look at Shin-ah who was now wishing he still had some hair to hide behind.

"No." he said after a moment. "I was younger, much younger, when I first saw a man and a woman doing the act."

"Seeing it and doing it are two different things." Jae-ha told the younger man.

"Like you've done it before?" Hak teased. "You seem like a shy kind of guy anyhow."

Jae-ha flushed and opened his mouth to say some, most likely crude. "He's done it." Shin-ah assured Hak. "I was thirteen when I came across him with my eyes. He was with a servant girl."

Jae-ha grinned. "Oh yeah." he said as he begun to think about that encounter before blushing. "Hey! Keep your eyes averted when you see me with a girl!"

Shin-ah chuckled. "I don't go looking for things like that." he assured his brother.

"Right." Jae-ha muttered as the feeling of having been violated came across him.

"We need to get to the temple now." Hak told them as he ushered everyone out of the room. Shin-ah suddenly felt unsure if Yona would like how he looked with his short hair. Reaching back he brushed the short strands with his hand. "You look fine." Hak assured him as he watched the younger man from the corner of his eye.

"I hope so." he sighed as he felt Ao suddenly jump from his haori jacket to Hak's shoulder. "Keep her safe?" he asked as he looked at the squirrel.

Hak smirked. "I think the Princess would be both irritated and upset if I let something happen to Ao." he said As he pet the tiny animal who squeaked at the sudden attention. "She's in good hands." Shin-ah gave a nod as he tried to focus on other things.

It was sunset when the ceremony began. Lanterns lit the way from the red dragon courtyard to the temple. The lanterns hung above and were on the ground giving the ceremony a soft look. As Yona appeared at the doors of the red dragon palace and walked the whole way to the temple by herself, she tried to think of anything but what was at the end of the trail of lanterns. On either side of the lanterns were people who had come to witness the joining of her and Shin-ah's lives. Family and close friends, along with the five generals were at the bottom of the temple steps. Yona walked up the many steps that were lined with a silk rug. Coming to the top she was greeted by the sight of Shin-ah standing next to her father and Ik-su who looked like he was going to cry.

Standing in front of Shin-ah, Yona found that she lost focus on the things around her and that only he seemed to be in focus. She loved how he had cut his hair and that she could see his golden so much clearer now. They were truly beautiful, he was very handsome. She found the dragon from her dream enter her mind and barely suppressed the giggle that threatened to bubble up and out. The dragon was purring with pleasure at this union.

She barely heard Ik-su's words of prayer to the Kami or the words of praise that her father had for their joining. All that matter was this man in front of her and for a time she was content to stay where she was. When their lips met and the clapping began, it was as if the spell that had come over her had vanished and once again everything became crystal clear to her and once again she found herself blushing at what was expected of her tonight.

The celebration began with the food being served in the gardens with seating ready for those who needed it. Yona found that she was too nervous to eat and only nibbled at the treats given to her. When the music began, she was escorted to the bed chamber that she would share with her husband. Attendants helped her out of the dress and its layers until she was naked and led to the bed where she would wait for Shin-ah.

It didn't take Shin-ah long to come to the bed chamber after the many lanterns lights had been snuffed out until only one was lit. Yona could feel her heart racing when she heard the soft footsteps of her blue haired husband. She watched him approach the bed carefully before sitting down next to her. "Yona." he breathed her name softly. "I love you so much." he spoke gently as he softly caressed her cheek. "If you are not ready, we do not have to do anything but sleep."

Reaching out towards him, Yona pulled her closer to her and kissed his lips. "We can start with a kiss and see where it goes." she told him as she pulled the sheet closer to her body. She really was nervous but she did want to do this.

Shin-ah smiled. "A kiss..." he said softly before leaning in towards her. Their lips met once again. Nerves from both party's caused their lips to tremble against one another. Slowly Shin-ah grew bolder as recalled some of the things he had seen before and wondered if Yona would enjoy them.

Steeling his nerves he pressed his lips harder against her latest as he cupped her cheek with one hand and tipped her head to the side as he experimented by running his tongue over her bottom lip. Before long Yona was giving soft breathy sighs with every kiss. Feeling bolder, Shin-ah snuck his tongue within her mouth. Teasing her tongue and tasting her for the first time. A groan made its way out of Shin-ah's throat as her tongue tentatively ran against his own.

Yona felt herself tremble as his lips went down the column of her neck as he planted kisses on his way down her body. She gave a soft gasp as the silk sheet slid off of her chest, as her hands were still grasping his shoulders. Shin-ah pulled away to look at her. He practically had her in his lap. Their chests were touching, him still fully clothed and her very much naked. The sheets had pooled around her leaving her top bare for him to look at.

His hand slowly released her cheek, went down her neck to cover her heart. He could feel the organ beneath his hand beating furiously. He leaned forward and kissed her lips once again before he moved his hand to behind her and carefully helped her to lay down. Pulling back, he threw the haori to the side before taking off the kimono he was wearing. In the dim light, he prayed she couldn't see his obvious blush as he suddenly became aware that he was now naked in front of her.

Returning to the bed, he pulled the sheet up before climbing under them. Laying over her with his hands on either side of her, Shin-ah returned to kissing her lips. He wanted her to be as calm as he could get her. He didn't want to hurt or frighten her. His Hand began to knead her left breast as he kissed her, playing with her nipple, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger until it was hard. He loved the gasps she was making. She pressed herself into him as she unconsciously opened her legs, along him to move between them.

Once he was done with the left breast he began to tease the right one. All the while he moved his hips down into position. When his mouth began to follow his hands, Yona gave a gasp as she felt a hardness against her inner thigh. Shin-ah moved his one hand down her stomach as the other cupped the breast he was currently lavishing with attention.

Yona gave a low moan as she felt his hand cup her womanhood, as a finger spread her lower lips and began exploring her. She moved her hips upwards when she gave a gasp when his finger slipped inside of her. Shin-ah groaned as his finger was suddenly enveloped by heat and the tightness of her inner muscles.

Unable to resist, he curled his finger just a little, causing Yona to gasp loudly as he touched something deep inside her that caused such pleasure. Pulling the digit away, he found that there was a light sheen on it from the lantern. Looking her into the eyes, Shin-ah cupped her cheek one more before kissing her.

Very gently he positioned himself at her entrance. Seeing her nod, he gave a full thrust. The pained gasp she gave caused him to stop his movements. He waited until she was ready for him to move to pull his hips back and away from her. He groaned as her inner walls suddenly tightened around him. He shivered as he realized he was going to release too soon. Gripping her legs he wrapped them around him and pulled her up so that she was sitting on him. Moving his hip, she began to bounce on his lap. Moans began spilling from her lips as she grasped at his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin as he thrusted against that spot that caused her such pleasure.

Shin-ah reach between their bodies and found her hood and clit and quickly began to rub them knowing he wasn't going last much more but didn't want it to end without her reaching her release. His hips thrusted faster as he continued rub her clit. Her gasps and moans filled the room as suddenly Yona felt her inner muscles spasm around him as her pleasure reach a new height that caused her to arch her back and toes curl in pleasure.

Shin-ah felt her walls clamp down upon him and gasped in pleasure as he lost his battle and released his seed deep within her. Laying his head against her shoulder, he felt himself begin to calm down. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto her skin as he held Yona tightly against him. Slowly he felt her begin to wiggle on his lap causing him to give a groan at the feel of her lithe body move with him still within her.

"Yona." he spoke her name tiredly.

Yona touched Shin-she's cheek with one hand as she leaned forward against his shoulder. Slowly, she felt him pull out of her as he laid them both back, with her on top of him, before rolling to his side. As they laid there, Yona found that words really weren't needed as she could feel his love for her radiating from his very being. She was so happy right now, even if she did feel a bit of an ache from their activities. Sighing as she laid her head against his chest, she fell asleep listening to his heartbeat. It was the first of many nights that they'd fall asleep this way.

M-Angel: I was not planning this chapter to be this long. I was going to split it into two chapters. Glad I didn't. ^_^