3 years later…

"Sora-taichou! Sora-taichou!"

"Keep your voice down, Li-Yang" she shushed him as some villagers were already looking at her curiously. She wanted to draw as little attention to herself as possible when she was out making her usual rounds, often opting to change out of her captain's armor and garbs to blend in; and her second-in-command's loud voice was having the exact opposite effect of what she wanted.

He ran up to her and whispered quickly into her ear, relaying the information he had just attained from the carrier pigeon.

"WHAT!? Are you sure about this!?"

"Positive, Sora-taichou. There is no mistake. I'm… I'm very sorry"

"It… it can't be… No, I need to speak to him at once and find out what's really going on here. Take charge while I'm gone!"

I've been away for far too long… she thought as she saddled her horse.


"NO. No, Soo-Won wouldn't… Why would he… That's ridiculous! Tell me this is a joke… This is Soo-Won we're talking about! We grew up together! He… he's like a brother to me. So why…"

Mundok said nothing but embraced the young lady sitting before him as she choked on her sobs, her shoulders trembling as she murmured to herself. She had stormed into Fuuga to see him, having ridden like a speed demon from the Fire tribe village she had been serving along the borders of the Kai Empire.

"It's all my fault, if I had been there… maybe I could have done something. Maybe I could have saved chichi-ue or stopped Soo-Won. I… I should have returned sooner to visit…it's all my fault, now I'll never see chichi-ue again"

"Don't be silly, child. No one could have predicted any of this. If you had been there, who knows what might have happened. The king loved you very much and I'm sure he knows how you felt as well, that's all that matters"

"I can't believe it. The Soo-Won I grew up with was gentle and cheerful, one of the kindest people I've ever met. He would never do something like that; even if he believed it would make the kingdom a better place, killing someone to achieve it is still wrong! No, I must see him right away!"

"There is nothing you can do or say now that will change anything. It is better not to get involved in all this as it is. Being away from the castle has kept you protected from Soo-Won's plans so far; it would not be wise to entangle yourself with his affairs now"

"But how can I just let him get away with this? How can I go back and pretend as if nothing happened!? …There IS something I can do… where are they?"

"Who?"

"Don't tease me, gramps. You know who"

...

I grumbled to myself as I left Mundok's room. Stubborn old man… It had taken me a whole hour to get a little information from gramps on their whereabouts.

Suddenly I heard a familiar voice and light footsteps running towards me. "Onesan~~!"

"Tae-Yeon!" I exclaimed as I turned and spotted the cute blue-eyed boy. I ran towards him and embraced him in a tight bear hug.

"I've missed you! Whoa, you've grown! You're such a big boy now!" I said to a beaming Tae-Yeon.

"I've missed you too! Onesan's hair is really long and pretty now!" he said happily running his fingers through my dark hair.

I allowed myself to be led away, his small hand in mine, as the excited child convinced me to have a meal with him before leaving; unaware of gramps' warm gaze from his room window as he watched our interaction.

Please be safe, child


~ Somewhere not too far off, trouble is brewing...

Idiot… I thought I told her to hide and stay put!

My vision blurred and my head was spinning as I felt the effects of the poison in my veins. We had set out to find the priest, only to run into Tae-Jun and his men. I had hidden the princess behind some bushes and ordered her to stay put. What the hell is she doing…

I watched as Yona-hime confronts Tae-Jun, who was trying to persuade her to go back to the castle so they can dethrone Soo-Won.


As Hak continued to fight below, I questioned Tae-Jun for attacking innocent people just to get to me. It fills me with rage when he tells me he is merely following orders, like a mindless person.

I watched in horror as Hak receives a harsh blow across the chest, which pushes him back over the side of the cliff. He manages to grab onto the rocky edge to keep himself from falling, though he can't pull himself up, hanging perilously by one arm. Beside me, Tae-Jun watches gleefully, wishing for him to fall into oblivion. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks – Hak will die.

As I ran to his aid, a sharp tug on my hair halts me in my tracks, my scalp burning from the sensation as Tae-Jun yanked me back by my hair. I spotted his sword and did not hesitate, grabbing onto it and cutting off my hair in one swing as I ran to Hak's side.


I was losing consciousness, succumbing to the poison. Blood continued to seep from the wound on my chest. I was hanging on for dear life as I channeled whatever strength I had left to my arm, trying to tighten my grip and pull myself up, but to no avail. Vivid images of what they might do to the princess after I'm gone played in my mind like a nightmare – what if they took her back to Soo-Won and killed her?

I saw the princess swinging the sword to ward off the other soldiers as they advanced towards us.

No, what is she doing!? Hime-sama, run! Somebody, anybody, please… save her, was my last desperate thought as my strength waned.

"Oi, you got a death wish or something?"

I looked up and saw a black-cloaked figure. The figure wasn't very large, probably just a head taller than Yona-hime. Based on that stature and somewhat eerily familiar voice, I knew it was a woman. She had her back towards me so I couldn't see her face. She had come out of nowhere, putting herself between the princess and the men. She held an intricate black staff in her hand, a bow and arrow set and a double sword sheath strapped across her back. Just then the wind blew off her hood, revealing her long dark hair which billowed in the wind behind her.

As her hood fell away to reveal her face, I saw Yona-hime gasp, her purple eyes widening in shock.

"Ne-sama?"