Fire had always enchanted Sen with the novelty of its beauty and colors and its unchanging wildness and heat. The perfect creation of nature… She tossed another stack of papers into the flames. Behind her knelt five men, their hands tied back. Kum-ji had eight trusted advisors and these were the ones left behind. Sen's ally, the guard had tied them up and assisted her in carrying all the paper to the yard. The men tried to stand up, but only in vain.
"What've you done to us?" one of them shouted. Sen continued to stare at the fire. Another pile of paper turned into dust, in order to keep the golden-red light alive. The guard watched her in silence. In that moment, he knew he had chosen the right person to help erase his master.
...
On Yang Kum-ji's ship, the women knelt next to each other, hands tied up, blindfolded. Two guards watched over the slaves, completely blocking out the pleads and complaints. As soon as the ship began to move, they went up on deck.
Little did they know that the tight ropes wrapped around their prisoners' hands were no match to Yun's deft fingers and preparation. Once he freed himself, he untied the cords that bound Yona's hands together, then went to free the rest of the girls.
On the other side of the door, an officer guarded the entrance. Suddenly, he heard a loud noise of something falling. He quickly opened the door and looked around suspiciously. Something stung his neck, and as he reached to find out what it was, Yona tripped him and he fell flat on his face. The guard stood up, shakily lifted a dagger and pointed it at Yona.
"You think you can get away with that?" he snorted, but he could barely see straight. Moments later, his eyes clouded over. He dropped his weapon and fell back on the floor, unconscious. Yona gave a sigh of relief.
"The anesthetic worked," Yun said. "Perfect timing, now shut the door!"
Two girls jumped up and did so, their hands trembling. Although they feared what was to come, they knew it could only be better than living as slaves.
"Listen, everyone!" Yona whispered. "Stay here. Stay safe. Yun and I will help our comrades locate this ship. Then we'll all be saved."
After hesitating for a moment, everyone present nodded. Just as Yona turned to leave, a dark-haired woman stood up—the one Yona had lectured earlier.
"Let me help you," she said, stepping towards them. "I'd rather die free than live wishing that I had."
"Sure," Yona replied with a smile. "Thank you, er—"
"Yu-ri," the woman said, returning the princess' smile. "And you are…?
"My name is, uh, Rina!" Yona lied. Yun shrugged.
"I'm Yun, don't do anything to ruin our plan, please."
An airheaded child and a conceited little brat, Yu-ri thought, seizing up her allies. I definitely can't let them fight on their own.
A crash was heard from nearby. Humans yelled and metal clashed. The smell of burnt flesh, sweat and blood seeped through the cracks between the boards and dominated the air. The final battle had begun.
Yona, Yu-ri and Yun knew that the soldiers would be less guarded against the slaves while fighting pirates, thus it would be easier to get on board and light the fireworks. Still, they moved very cautiously. As they passed a storage room, they heard people running their way, so they dashed isnide the room and hid behind the barrels and boxes storing both semi-suspicious items that were to be given to trading partners as gifts or drinking water, the only thing on the ships not meant for Kai.
Little did the three of them know that these soldiers had come to quench their thirst. Had this been the first time these soldiers had travelled on the ship, the fugitives would never have been found, but after spending time in an environment, one becomes familiar with details that otherwise go unnoticed. Officer Vue was no different and noticed shadows cast on the wall that should not have been there. He casually walked around the room, listening and watching. The two girls and Yun held their breaths. Yona wished she could hold her heart as well. It was so loud and strong, it shook her body with every beat. The stomping of the soldier's boots against the wooden floor sounded eerie and obnoxiously loud. Yona's entire being wanted to scream and run away, but her logic held her back. She couldn't see a thing, she only heard boots carrying someone closer and closer to her. Several other boots joined the sound of the first, all rushing toward her location and then—they passed. The footsteps went out the door.
Yona exhaled loudly and tried to stand up. The floorboards cracked. Officer Vue sprung at her without a moment's hesitation. He had sent his subordinates away, hoping the people in hiding would come out. He grabbed Yona by the hair and pushed her to the floor. It was Yu-ri's turn to jump out irrationally.
"Rina!" she screamed, protecting Yona with her own body. Officer Vue's breath hitched. He found Yu-ri beautiful and was impressed by the way she gave up everything to save her friend's life.
If only we had met before you became a slave and I an officer, he thought. Now the most I can do for you is preserve your life.
He caught Yu-ri by the arm and lifted her from the ground and pushed her behind the barrels again. He called for his subordinates and made them take Yona back to the room she had come from. As he did not say anything about punishment, his soldiers dared not touch a hair on Yona's head.
Officer Vue dragged Yu-ri out from her hiding place and covered her mouth.
"Listen, I can save you from slavery but you have to obey me," he whispered. Yu-ri bit his hand so hard that it bled. Officer Vue, however, being Kum-ji's soldier, was used to much greater pain than that, thus Yu-ri's attack had little to no effect on him.
"Let me go!" she protested, although her voice was muffled. "If I can't save everyone else, I might as well go with them than die in shame later!"
Although moved, Officer Vue was not deterred. He lifted his hand and brought it down on the back of her head. Yu-ri fell to the ground, unconscious. He picked her up and placed her body behind the barrels, making sure it was hidden well out of sight, before turning to leave.
"I'll get you out once we're in Kouka," he whispered, more as a promise to himself than anyone else as he left. Even if it killed him, he didn't have the heart to see such a beautiful woman be sold.
...
Li-hua, amidst all the chaos, while swinging his sword left and right, remembered Gi-gan specifically asked them to not kill anybody. Another swing—a soldier's head fell, although by accident. His wife had been expecting a child. She prayed for her husband to stay alive, but never saw him again.
Ming Yuan was a woman. She had snuck up onto Kum-ji's ship in men's clothing and armour to protect her lover, one of Kum-ji's mercenaries. Her skills, although not bad at all, seemed lacking when compared to that of Ki-ja's, who—to her misfortune—was her opponent. Ki-ja, following Gi-gan's orders and his own code of ethics, did not kill anyone, but the dragon's hand was hard to control. He struck Ming Yuan's face. She fell to the floor, screaming in agony and was trampled to death by her comrades.
Li-hua's young sister begged the Dragons to save her brother. The Dragons listened to her prayer and answered with a firm no. Li-hua's heart was pierced by an arrow and he fell to the ground. Many others shared their fate that day.
Hak was not one of these. It would be a lie to say the thought of Yona kept him alive. No, he was just luckier and stronger than the rest. He hardly had any scars or bruises, and the Dragon Warriors were the same.
"Do you see them yet?" he called out to Shin-ah.
"No," the Blue Dragon answered, glancing at the sky.
"Damn it, where are they?" Hak grumbled, striking another mercenary unconscious.
...
Although Hak's worst nightmares had not yet been fulfilled, it seemed as though the world was set on doing so as soon as possible. Yun was on the floor, beaten near unconscious. He had gotten caught while trying to save Yona, gave himself in, telling the officers that he was a male pirate spy and had placed explosives on deck. Once the soldiers realised taht he had done no such thing, they had decided to kill him but were interrupted by an arrow hitting the ground in front of them.
Yona dropped the bow, and used the time it took the men to recover from the shock to snatch the firework from Yun. A soldier grabbed at her a second too late. Yona had reached a lantern, and set the firework off.
Shin-ah noticed immediately, although it was very small. He pointed out the ship from which it was fired to Jae-ha. The Green Dragon jumped over immediately to find Yun beaten senseless, Yona on the floor, and soldiers kicking her viciously. His anger flared as he hit the one closest to the princess in the jaw, effectively breaking it. The man fell to the ground, screaming. After seeing what happened to their comrade, the others hesitated before attacking the intruder. They too met a similar fate.
Once the soldiers were taken care of, Jae-ha reached out a hand and helped Yona up.
"Look out!" Yona cried, and Jae-ha dodged an arrow just in time and brought Yona to safety behind a mast.
"You're alive," he said with a sigh of relief. "Everyone was worried to death, you know."
There was something else he had wanted to say, but the moment he had her in his arms, all else was forgotten. His brows furrowed. What had it been? He remembered only that it was very important. Seeing his frown, Yona flinched slightly and lowered her head.
"I'm sorry," she said. "It's all my fault."
"Making me worry?" Jae-ha said with a smile. Perhaps the matter hadn't been that important after all. "It does require talent."
"It doesn't, anyone would," Yona replied, her voice trembling. "And now she's gone, no one knows where!"
"Who?"
"Sen, of course! She was taken away by Kum-ji, I don't know what happened after that. Jae-ha, I'm so sorry! So, so sorry!"
Jae-ha became ninety-nine percent sure that the fox-eyed girl was dead. As soon as reinforcements arrived, he leapt from the ship in search of Kum-ji. That overlord was the only one who could tell him for sure whether Sen lived or died.