Disclaimer: I don't own Akatsuki no Yona/Yona of the Dawn!

Chapter 1

Port Ayers was the bustling and crowded main city on Dyael, a small jewel of an island island off the coast of the Earth Tribe's territory. The island had once belonged to Kouka Kingdom, but during rule of King Il, they had declared their independence and started self-rule. Since King Il was so opposed to violence, it had simply been easier for him to allow them to govern themselves instead of sending ships and troops to bring the island back under the control of the crown.

Yona had heard of the island, but until recently it had only been vague mentions with very few concrete details. Her father hadn't cared about the island, so she had written it off as an unimportant topic back when she was at the castle. Now, however, standing in the marketplace of Port Ayers, she wished she had paid more attention to things that had been said about the island.

"Stay close," Hak said for perhaps the dozenth time since they had disembarked from the ship that had carried them to the port. He kept looking around, his dark blue eyes seeking out threats and danger.

Yona didn't have to be told to not go off on her own. The port had an oppressive feeling to it underneath its façade of a bright and happy ocean town. Half of the people seemed to be wearing chains and marks on their faces while others were dressed in extremely rich clothes. There were also travelers and wayfarers from other countries, and people were speaking in languages that Yona had never heard before.

Their group had split up when they had reached the market, though they had plans to meet back up at a suggestive statue of a mermaid in about an hour. Yoon, Yona, Jae-ha and Hak were looking for food and medicine while Shin-Ah, Kija, and Zeno hunted for a cheap inn where the group could sleep for the night.

"I think we should just get some supplies for the night and come back in the morning," Yoon suggested, "It's getting late, and I don't like the look of this place."

"I think it looks fine," Jae-Ha said, "It's simply the underlying feeling that disagrees with me."

So Jae-Ha had noticed it too. They probably all had. It was like a film on Yona's skin, a feeling that there was something seriously wrong with the port city. She had only been there for a few hours, and she already knew that she had a lot of work to do.

They walked past a platform and Yona stopped, drawn to the suffering on the faces of the people who were huddled up on the stage. Fire burned in her eyes as a man in bright purple clothes and a furred coat grabbed one of them, a young woman, and forced her forward by her long blond hair. "Look here, she's a nice young one. Heard from a good source that she was a cook back in Kouka, sure she'd be good in the kitchen here too." He grabbed her face and forced her to look up, his fingers squeezing her cheeks. "Got good teeth in her mouth. Pretty enough. Who wants to start the bidding?"

Yona jerked forward, her hand going to the blade beneath her cloak, but Hak reached out and stopped her. His expression was dark as he watched the bidding for the poor girl on stage begin. Beside Yona, Yoon had two hands wrapped around Jae-Ha's arm, in case he decided to go rescue the young woman. Judging by the tension emanating from him, that was exactly his plan.

"Let go, Yoon," Jae-Ha said, his smile taking a dangerous turn.

"No," Yoon said quietly, "If you try to start trouble now, we won't be able to help everyone later. We'll get arrested. We have to come up with a plan instead of rushing into this. You don't rush anyways, so calm down."

"Same for you, princess," Hak said, gently squeezing Yona's arm.

"But that girl…" Yona felt torn. She wanted to rescue her now instead of letting her and the others be dragged off into slavery.

"I know," Hak said, "But our whole reason for being here is to stop the slave trade altogether, right? So we have to wait."

That was so much harder than he made it sound. With a concentrated effort, Yona turned away, tuning out the girl's muffled cries. She glared at the ground so hard and with so much intensity that Hak had to reach over and make sure her hood covered her face. She would grab too much attention with that expression on her face.

They walked back in the direction of the mermaid statue, keeping an eye out for food stalls on the way. No one really wanted to be in the marketplace anymore, but they still needed to eat that night. Yoon spotted a stall with vegetables right beside a stall with meat, and he pointed at it.

"I'm going over there," he said, "You three stay here, you'll attract too much attention."

"I want to go," Yona said, needing something to get her mind off the expression of the girl on the platform.

"Then I guess we're all going," Hak said, sounding firm and unyielding. Yoon sighed.

"Fine, but we're going to stick out more if you all come."

"Lead the way, Yoon," Jae-Ha said, motioning for the boy to take the lead.

Unhappily, he led them toward the two food stalls, but when they were halfway there, a woman stepped out in front of Yoon. He bumped into her, and immediately there was a thin, razor-edged sword pointed at his chest. The sword was held by a petite, young woman with long black hair and dark blue eyes, a bland expression on her face that contradicted the way she standing at the ready to kill Yoon.

The atmosphere became electrified as the group froze, fear for Yoon warring with anger at the sword pointed at his chest. It was too close, and Hak was unsure if he would be fast enough to knock it away before the girl could kill Yoon.

Then the sword was sheathed and the girl was standing with her head bowed at the woman's right elbow. "Ma'am," she murmured, "He's not a threat."

"I believe that I am the judge of that. Boy," the woman said, tilting her head to the side. She was tall and gorgeous, with a sharp face and bright green eyes, the color of a venomous snake's skin. "Why did you touch me?"

"I didn't mean to," Yoon said, hesitant, "It was an accident. I'm sorry, though."

Hak glanced over at the girl beside the woman. Her eyes were on him and his wrapped glaive, and he knew that if he moved at all, she would unsheathe her sword again. There was no doubt that she was this woman's bodyguard.

Jae-Ha took his time looking at the girl with the sword, taking in the simple brown and blue outfit she was wearing, as well as the sturdy sandals and the wraps on her arms. He didn't miss the heavy cuffs on her wrists, the ones that had an extra ring on the outsides, or the thick bands around her ankles. She must've noticed him staring, because her gaze had switched from Hak to him, and now her blue eyes were blazing. It was a clear warning that he shouldn't pity her. He didn't look away or let her win the staring match; he simply held her gaze.

"Mei, show him that accidents like that are unacceptable," the woman said, sounding as if she was ordering her slave to go get her a drink instead of dishing out punishment.

The slave, Mei, didn't move immediately. "Ma'am, we're going to be late to your meeting."

That was odd, Jae-Ha thought. Why hadn't she immediately followed her master's commands? Was she…trying to distract her master?

The woman waved a hand in the air and then produced a diamond-studded whip from her sleeve's pocket. "Mei. He assaulted me. Deal with it." She held out the whip to her slave, and Hak could see bits of diamonds or glass had been woven into the leather thongs. There was no way that he was going to let either of these people hurt Yoon, but he also had to make sure Yona was protected. Of course, by the look on her face, he imagined that the princess was moments away from shooting an arrow at the older woman.

Mei didn't move again. "Ma'am, your husband will be displeased…"

The whip whistled through the air toward Yoon, and Yona gasped and reached out for Yoon. Jae-Ha and Hak had moved in front of the boy and pushed him backward, but the bodyguard had grabbed her master's hand. The whip swing had come up short, missing all of them.

The slave's eyes were bright as she looked up at her master. "I have been instructed by the master to make sure you're not late this time, mistress. This is an insignificant distraction, not worth your time—"

Crack. A ringed hand connected with the girl's face, breaking open the skin above her cheekbone and forcing her to look away. Mei looked down, and blood dripped down her cheek.

Yona felt the need to go to her, to help her, to tell the older woman that it was completely unacceptable to treat her servant like that. But Hak had grabbed her hand again, forcing her to stay by his side.

"I will deal with you at the villa, Mei," the woman said, her voice a deadly whisper, "Now lead me."

"Yes, m'am," the girl said, straightening up. She turned to look forward again, and her eyes briefly met Jae-Ha's. "Go, now," she mouthed silently to him before escorting her mistress away.

"I officially hate this place," Yoon said once the woman and her bodyguard had disappeared into the crowd.

"We're going to fix it," Yona said with conviction, "Starting with that girl."