Yona hasn't woken up yet.
Ever since she drank the dragon's blood and left the castle three days ago, she has been asleep and showed no signs of waking up.
"Zeno, was this what happened to you when you drank Ouryuu's blood?" asked Kija.
They were all crammed inside of the tent surrounding her resting figure. Yun was hovering above her placing a cold rag on her forehead to try and cool her down.
Zeno shook his head, "No. After Zeno and his brothers drank the dragon's blood, we had to immediately go rescue Hiryuu." He placed a finger on his chin contemplating, "Thinking back on it, Zeno doesn't remember any pain. Zeno remembers feeling warm and happy, but no pain."
Jae-ha caressed her cheek with his finger, "So we don't know why this is happening to Yona dear?"
A large fist came down and hit him on the head, "Oi, watch it droopy eyes!" Hak glared at him and turned his attention back to the princess.
Zeno picked up her left hand and stared at the scar.
It felt, familiar to him. Not because it was a dragon, but just it's mere presence on her skin was drawing him in. He placed her hand in his lap and was rubbing it.
"Zeno." He looked up at Shin-ha surprised that he spoke.
He smiled at him, "What is it brother Seriryuu?"
The silent guardian held out his hand so Ao could comfort Yona by nuzzling her face. "What…. were those… dragons?"
The rest of the group froze and turned to him.
"You approached one of them, and even…. hugged it." Kija pointed out.
Hak's eyes narrowed, "What dragon?"
Zeno sighed, "The red dragon was the image of Hiryuu's dragon. The golden dragon was the image of Ouryuu…" He looked at her peaceful expression, "Zeno thinks the miss called them."
Hak grumbled and stormed out of the tent, "I should have never let her go."
They all understood how he felt, but this was Yona's decision. Whatever happened in the shrine wasn't forced upon her. Zeno and Shin-ha watched her as she drank the blood. There was no doubt in his mind that she knew what she was doing.
Jae-ha leaned back and crossed his arms. His face was forlorn as he looked down at her, "I hope Yona dear wakes up soon."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Yun stood up, gathering his supplies, "You know how she is, nothing is going to keep her from what she thinks is right." He looked back down at her before squeezing behind Shin-ha and Kija to exit the tent.
The dragons were silent as they listened to her breathing.
-x-
Yona didn't know where she was.
Looking around her, she was in the most beautiful clearing that she had ever seen.
The grass beneath her had the most impossible, yet the most perfect, shade of green that she had ever seen. Running her fingers through the blades, they felt like soothing streams of water over her skin. The grass was adorned with flowers of more impossible colors and varieties. She had never seen plants like those before, and she admired their beauty. In the distance, she could hear the faint sound of a waterfall pounding on the rocks below.
The sky however, is what really drew her attention.
Shades of many different colors were dancing as the large yellow sun lit them up. She know it wasn't dawn nor dusk because the sun was overhead her, but yet, the colors that were present reminded her of dusk and dawn.
She smiled and saw something glimmer in the distance in front of her.
Peering out, she saw five small glittering forms running towards her at full speed. She knew that she should be afraid, but a part of her knew who they were. Within seconds, she was tackled onto the ground by five small dragons.
The moment they curled around her body, they nuzzled into her and began purring. She smiled and turned to her side so she could cuddle them in return.
On her left shoulder, she felt one of them nudge her cheek, as if to get her attention. She looked over and was met with kind violet eyes. "What is it little one?"
The red dragon slowly brought his tail up to her eye lids and coaxed her to close them. The sensation of his scales softly caressing her skin tickled.
She did as the dragon asked and closed her eyes and all she could see was darkness.
No longer, could Yona hear the sounds of the clearing around her, the feeling of the grass, the sensation of the wind on her skin, the warmth of the sun. She felt nothing except for her body, and the dragons that laid upon it. She focused on them to keep herself calm.
In her mind's eye, she could see five dancing flames moving across her skin. They didn't burn, but they felt warm and gentle. There was a blue, green, white, gold, and red flame. Each emitted their own unique pulse of warmth, almost like a heartbeat. The red flame however, caught her attention the most.
The red flame was the largest out of them all. Whenever it moved, the others moved. Whenever its pulse sped up, theirs followed suit. She could feel the connections between the five and knew that they all led to the red flame. She smiled, it was Hiryuu.
Her body, once again, slowly became aware of her surroundings around her. Except, this time, instead of grass, there was soft warm cloth that was laid out underneath her. Her body no longer felt at peace but was sore and stiff. The flames faded away from her skin, but she could feel them nearby. She could no longer feel the red flame though. However, she recognized its pulse in her own heart, beating along in tandem with each other.
Slowly, she opened her crusted eyes and gasped at this new world around her. She may had been laying inside of a tent with daylight seeping through the seams, but she could feel everything.
It felt as though she was surrounded by thousands of unique heartbeats. Each pulsing to their own accord. They were all separate from each other, but together it was a choir of harmony. Nearby trees, plants, animals, bugs, and even the wind were singing with each other with their own unique voices. She felt them, she heard them within her very soul. It was overwhelming to her.
All of the new sensations that were assaulting her mind were causing her one hell of a headache. She groaned loudly and rubbed her temples.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the burn scar of the dragon was still on the base of her ring finger. Except this time, she saw that the rest of its body wrapped around her wrist and disappeared up her sleeve. She sat up, slowly, and lifted her sleeve to investigate.
The head of the dragon was resting on top of her left finger, almost like it was nuzzling her knuckle. It's body was coiled around her finger twice before it appeared at the crease between her ring finger and her pinky. The tail continued across the back of her hand and met the right side of her wrist before wrapping around her skin again. The rest of the body was loosely coiled around her forearm and ended in the crease of her elbow. Flexing her arm, she saw how the dragon appeared to be dancing along with her muscles.
At that moment, Yun entered the tent and froze. "Yona?"
She looked up at him and responded in a raspy voice, "Hey Yun."
He stared at her as though he was trying to figure out if he was dreaming or not.
He seemed to determine that it was real because he launched himself at her and embraced her.
The impact caused a sudden wave of pain to move through her head and she winced.
He pulled back sensing her discomfort, "Are you okay?"
She nodded and rubbed her head, "Yeah, I just have a massive headache. Everything feels…. A bit overwhelming."
He raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
She shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm fine Yun. I just need something for my headache that's all."
He eyed her and nodded, I'll go make you some tea. Are you hungry."
Her stomach growled at the word. He laughed, "I guess so. I'll go bring you some stew that I made for everyone."
She nodded and he lifted up the flap to exit before stopping and turning back to her, "Um…. I told them to not come in here, but your rare beasts want to see you. Is it okay if them come in?"
She nodded, "As long as they are quiet. I feel a bit sensitive at the moment."
He smiled and disappeared from her tent.
Once he was gone, she let out a sigh of relief. 'I must be going crazy with everything that I am feeling.' She began deeply breathing in and out to calm herself. 'I've got to get a hold of myself, I don't want to worry them.'
A few minutes later, Yona was able to block out most of the sensations that were bombarding her.
The tent flap opened and Yun appeared holding a steaming bowl and a cup.
He watched her eat and made sure that she drank the medicine. As it went down her throat, she felt a soothing wave of warmth cover her throat. She hummed in content.
Yun took the empty bowl and cup, "I'll let them in."
She nodded and played with a lock of her hair.
The four dragons warriors entered and sat on either side of her. Hak couldn't fit in very well with the rest of them so he opted to sit at the entrance of the tent using his shoulders to hold open the flap.
"Princess, how are you feeling." Kija asked as he reached out his claw and gently cupped her hand in it.
"I'm feeling better Kija." She looked around at her companions, "Did everyone make it out alright?"
Warm laughter drew her gaze over to Zeno, "Don't worry, Zeno and his brothers made sure that everybody made it out safe. The miss doesn't need to worry."
She looked down at the scar on her left arm and stroked it lightly, "Are there any others?"
They looked at each other hesitantly. She smiled and tried to reassure them, "It's okay, I knew that I was going to be scarred. I chose this."
Hak sighed, "Yun says there is one on your stomach and another one that wraps around the majority of your body."
She nodded and looked down at the scar with sadness in her eyes.
Jae-ha leaned over and placed his hand on hers, "Don't worry Yona dear, you are still the epidemy of beauty"
She smiled, "Thanks Jae-ha."
She looked back at Zeno, "I'm sorry for scaring you like that."
He waved his hand, "It was no problem miss. Zeno knows that this was something that the miss had to do."
She nodded and smiled, "I saw them Zeno… Abi, Guen, Shuten… they were… there"
His eyes widened, "T-they…."
She placed a reassuring hand on his trembling one, "They're okay Zeno. They helped me."
A tear rolled down his cheek and Yona wiped it away with her delicate finger. A spark of determination erupted in her eyes, "I promise you Zeno, you will see them again. I won't ever let you be alone ever again."
He smiled and hugged her, tears soaking through her dress. "Thank you miss."
Author's Notes
Sorry this chapter was a little boring, but I promise that the details in this chapter are very important. Let me know what you think and I am open to any suggestions!