Hello!
A lot of things are going to happen in this chapter. (It's also pretty long)
Enjoy!
Yona's POV
Was it the right choice?
I shook my head, trying to get rid of my thoughts.
Of course I made the right choice. I shouldn't second guess myself anymore.
I took a quick shower to clear my mind a little. The sensation of the warm water always calmed me down.
Then, I changed to new clothes. The fogged mirror reflected my unruly red hair that was still wet.
It's getting long. It needs a haircut soon.
I blow-drying my hair, and then sat on my bed.
The gloomy feeling in my stomach still lingered.
It's no use. I shouldn't fret over him. I already made my decision to not affiliate with him anymore. The execution is happening soon, and-
A knock on the door interrupted my train of thoughts.
I got up and opened it to see that it was a maid.
"Princess Yona, King II summons you," she said indifferently after a little curtsy.
Right after she said that, I heard a small noise from my bathroom.
What was that?
"Can he wait for a bit?"
" I believe he cannot, Princess Yona. King II specifically requests for your presence now."
Hmph.
"I see. I'll go now. You are excused."
So, the maid went back to work, and I left my room without looking back.
Chained
"Yona, thank you for coming," my father said.
We were at courtyard, which was our usual spot. It was my mother's favorite place in the palace.
"It's nothing. Why the urgency though?"
"There has been something I wanted to say to you for a while now. Come here, let me show you something first."
He took out a photo from his pocket and showed it to me.
It was a picture of three kids, two boys and one girl, smiling happily while playing in the snow. One of the boys had long blonde hair with pretty light green eyes, and the other had short black hair with blue eyes. The girl had short red hair and big purple eyes, which I realized was me.
"That's me," I said, pointing to the girl.
My father nodded. "Yes. Do you remember this moment?"
I shook my head.
"Well, it was a long time ago. But this guy," he said, pointing to the blondie, "is Soo-won. He is your cousin and you will-"
"Ah, hold on, Who's the other boy?"
He looks familiar.
My father's mouth turned into a firm line. "Yona, that is not important right now, and please do not interrupt me. As I was saying, you will have to marry him."
Marriage?
"Eh?! No way!"
"It must be done. You are going to lead the kingdom one day, and you need a reliable partner. Plus, you are turning sixteen. You know that royalties marry sooner than regular people. There will be no argument. This is final."
My ire roused inside of me.
How dare he arranged a marriage for me? Without my consent too!
"Well then, I assume you have nothing else to say, so if you would please excuse me," I said coolly.
As I walked away, Father didn't say anything, and I didn't look back.
Chained
A guard siting on a bench and eating his sandwich outside. I walked towards him and sat next to the guard.
"Hello, I'm sorry to impose, but can I ask you a few questions, sir?"
"Ah! Princess Yona! Good afternoon! And it would be my pleasure to answer your questions," he enthusiastically said.
"Please be honest with me. It's really important." I hesitated for a moment. " Is... this kingdom corrupted?"
The guard's face turned somber, and he put away his half eaten sandwich.
"Yes. More so than you think, Princess Yona."
So he wasn't lying.
"I see...and what do you think of King II?"
The guard gave me a wary glace, but continued.
"He has good intentions, but he executes them ineffectively."
I can't believe he was right.
"Okay, and one more. What is the current status of the wind tribe criminal?"
"Uh..His execution is today... However, he managed to escape."
Escape?
"I was looking for someone."
Ah, I remember. He said that he came here deliberately.
I felt relieved, but also...disappointed? I quickly discarded the latter emotion.
An epiphany came to me.
"Hm, I understand. Thank you very much, sir. I appreciate your candor. Please don't speak of this conversation we had to anybody."
"Yes ma'am." He quickly went back to his sandwich.
I quickly rushed back to my room, because there is something I needed to do.
I need to pack my things.
Thank you for reading! Please review, follow, and favorite.
QOD: What is your opinion of Yona (before and after self) leading the country? Do you think she would be a good/bad leader? Why?
