Disclaimer: I don't own Yona of the Dawn.

Chapter 4

Yoon awoke to Jae-Ha gently shaking him by the shoulder. "Let's go."

"Mmm…" Oh right. Surveying the situation. He crawled out from his bedroll, the warmth he left behind trying to convince him that he didn't really need to go. But two people going was safer than one, he supposed, though honestly it would be better if one of the other dragons went with Jae-Ha. They were better in a fight, after all. Then again, they didn't want to get in a fight just yet, so perhaps he really was the best choice. Trouble seemed to follow everyone else like a hungry stray dog.

Jae-Ha handed him his bag, and Yoon tossed it over his shoulder before sliding his feet into his boots. It was probably around midnight and the room was dark, but there was dull light coming from the window. The torches in the street were still lit.

In a few moments, they were soaring through the shadows, keeping away from the lights, staying out of sight. The plan was to go to the Ahn residence in hopes of secretly meeting and talking with the girl from the market. Or, at least, they could figure out where the Ahn house was. It wasn't like they could just go to the door and ask to talk to the slave girl, unless the person who answered the door was a slave, too?

Jae-Ha thought they could just sneak in to the Ahn compound, but Yoon believed that there would be more than a few obstacles in their way. Rich people protected themselves, after all. And what if the girl didn't want to talk to them? There went their informant. Just because she had sort of helped them wasn't necessarily an indicator that she would be an accomplice or anything. That would be incredibly dangerous for her, and even if there was a chance that she would be free soon, she might not want to take that chance. He couldn't help but feel they were rushing into this.

Oh well, Yona wanted them to try finding the girl, so here they were. Flying around on a Yona-Mission. Actually the princess had originally wanted them to just go ahead and grab the girl but that wasn't happening. That would call way too much attention to them, and it wasn't as if they knew the girl or anything, as harsh as that sounded. Besides, it would be better if she could be a spy for them. They had to be logical and not be swayed by their emotions, which wasn't always Yona's strong point.

Yoon quietly complained about the lack of a solid plan to Jae-Ha while they headed in the direction of the Gold District that the old fishmonger woman had mentioned. "We should have come up with a plan before we even came to this island. Now we're out in the middle of the night, looking for a girl who might not even help us…"

"You know it's easier to form a plan when you can actually see what's going on," Jae-Ha said, "There were rumors, but nothing truly concrete. As for what we're currently doing, well, I think Yona wants to help her because she kept you from getting hurt."

"Really?" Yoon readjusted his grip around Jae-Ha's shoulders and frowned. "I don't know how we're going to do that. Help her, I mean. She probably won't trust us."

"We'll figure something out," Jae-Ha replied. He skidded to a stop on a fancy rooftop of one of the enormous Gold District compounds, and they both stared across the way at the biggest mansion in the area. It was humongous and situated in the middle of a massive compound, as if there was a city behind the twelve foot tall wall that encircled the place. All of the buildings were painted bright purple, and it looked like someone had gotten far too excited with the gold gilt trim and designs. There were even guards patrolling the wall, and a guard tower was set into the wall, near the front entrance.

"That's…"

"Obnoxious," Jae-Ha said, making a face, "I'm not surprised they don't have any taste, though."

"I guess we'll have to go back," Yoon said, "Since we don't want the guards to see us, and you'd be jumping blind."

"Or we'll have to time the jump perfectly," Jae-Ha said, "And aim beyond the wall for a hideous roof on one of those ugly peacock buildings."

"No way, you're insane—"

Yoon's protest was cut off as Jae-Ha launched into the air, soaring over the guards, the tower, and the wall then landing gracefully on a rooftop. Before anyone could come out to investigate the noise, Jae-Ha jumped again, setting down in a lush night-blooming garden this time. He ducked behind a bush, and Yoon climbed down from his back before shoving him in the shoulder.

"Give a little warning, Green."

Jae-Ha smirked at him. "There wasn't any time."

"Make time." He flicked his gaze around, obviously prepared to be set upon by guards at any moment.

Instead, he was startled to see an elderly man standing on the garden path that just happened to be behind them. Shocked, he had lost his grip on a watering can, and it was now pointing spout-down and dribbling onto the stones.

Jae-Ha was moving in an instant. He clamped his hand over the old man's mouth, taking quick note of the metal bands that encircled his wrists. There was a chain attached to one of the man's ankle bands, and it trailed off down the path, presumably to its anchor point. "Don't yell, please. If I let go, are you going to scream or do anything unpleasant?"

The old man shook his head, and Jae-Ha cautiously pulled his hand away. "You here to steal stuff?" the man asked, sounding excited about the possibility.

"Not yet," Jae-Ha said.

"That's too bad. I'd like you better if you were." The man squinted at them, looking first at Jae-Ha and then at Yoon. His eyes widened at the sight of Yoon, and he blinked, his skin turning pale. There was a long awkward silence before the old man rubbed his knuckles into his eyelids. He sighed and looked back at Jae-Ha. "What're you here for, then? You're probably going to get me killed if someone finds you, so it better be good. Make it worthwhile. Gonna torch the place?"

"Again, not yet," Jae-Ha said, "Though that's a good idea."

"Maybe I should start yelling if you're not gonna burn the place to the ground."

"We're working on it. Who knows, maybe arson will be next on our to-do list. We're versatile."

"We're looking for a girl," Yoon said, putting them back on the right course, "She was in the market today with Lady Ahn, and she sort of helped us. We just wanted to make sure she was okay."

"So you are the kid from the market," the old man said, looking at Yoon pointedly, "Of course you are." He waved a hand at them. "You should go. You'll only get Mei in more trouble. She's paying for this afternoon already."

"We could help her," Yoon said quietly, guessing that the young woman had been severely punished, "I'm a healer. Sort of."

The old man stared at the two of them and then made a face. "Who are you people? You're not thieves, you're not arsonists. Only reason I'm not turning you is 'cause I'm guessing you're enemies of the Ahns, or you wouldn't be sneaking around here, right?" They didn't answer him, but their lack of response must have satisfied him. "Why you wanna bother Mei?"

"She kept Lady Ahn from hitting me," Yoon said, "I owe her." And Yona wanted and needed an informant. So, see, they were knocking out two birds with one stone.

The old man crossed his arms over his chest for a long moment and then nodded toward Yoon. "You've got good medicine then, right? Something for wounds?"

Yoon decided to avoid the sarcastic route and settled for a nod. "It'll help her heal a lot quicker."

The old man sighed and rubbed a rough, scarred hand over his face. "I'm gonna regret this." He gave a low whistle, and a few moments later a little brown-haired boy came running down the path. Skidding to a halt, he stared at Yoon and then took a couple steps back.

"He's that kid from the market," the old man said as he grabbed the boy by the shoulder. "Take these two to the yard and let them see Mei."

"But Hae-Dan…"

"It'll be all right. I'm getting a good vibe from them."

"Mei says you make up everything about your vibes—"

"Respect your elders," the man snapped, "Make sure you go the long way so you don't get spotted by the night guard or any informants."

The kid was still staring up at Yoon, but he managed a nod. "Sure, Hae-Dan."

So now they were going deeper into the compound. This really was the best plan ever, Yoon thought to himself, soooo well thought out. He was going to have to thank Yona for sending them on this well-planned mission.