Chapter 2

The dawning sun returned soon enough, causing Yona, Hak, and Jae-Ha to go with the young woman to the water source she had mentioned.

"Are you sure you do not need help walking? A beautiful woman like yourself would be a pleasure to ho-" Jae-Ha began his remarks before being rudely interrupted by Hak's fist contacting his side. "Ahhh… Since when did you get violent? It's not like I was saying these things to Yona."

"You're just annoying me." The Dark dragon responded before moving away from him and towards Yona and the young lady who were walking ahead. He felt protective… Protective of both of them.

It must be because she looks so much like Mom…. That has to be it…

"The water hole should be right down this path." The woman explained as she unconsciously held her wounded side. Her breathing was much more labored and beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. Yona noticed this, immediately, and turned to Hak.

"Hak, will you take her back to the village please?"

"What? No… I'll be fine.. It's just a little farther…"

"No… You need your rest. If it's just as you say then Jae-Ha and I will have no problem finding it. We will bring back water as quickly as we can. So for now, please go back with Hak to the village." Yona explained before returning her gaze to her protector.

"….. Okay. But you can't get into any trouble while I am away… I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll be fine. I won't do anything reckless." Yona responds while smiling up at him. Hak couldn't help but smile back at her.

"It's like what Yona-chan said, I will keep her safe. She won't do anything too reckless with me around." The green dragon spoke up, his signature smile on his face.

"Alright droopy eyes, but don't get any funny ideas." Hak told his friend causing Jae-Ha to smile even brighter.

"Don't worry… I'll treat her like a lady." The shadiness in his tone cause Hak to unconsciously glare at his friend. This, in turn, elicited a laugh from the green dragon. "I'm kidding. I'll keep her safe, I promise. You both get back to the village. We will be there soon."

With those words, Jae-Ha and Yona began their little journey towards the water spring. Hak watched them as they grew further away. He hated leaving her… especially since she has already been captured before… He always wanted to be right next to her, protecting her.. At times like these though, he knew that he had to leave her in the hands of his companions.

"I guess we should get back like they told us.." Hak finally spoke up while looking at the young woman who was sitting on a tree log. "Do you need me to carry you? You look like you are in pain."

"No… I think I will be fine… I'm much stronger than I look." She responded while slowly standing up. Hak offered her his hand, but she politely declined the help. Their walk was slow paced and extremely quiet. So much so, that the young girl couldn't hardly take the silence.

"Um… So, Mr. Traveling Bandit… Your real name is Hak?" She piped up as Hak merely stared straight ahead.

"Maybe… What about you? You haven't told any of us your name?"

"….. My name is Kina. I grew up in this city before it was the broken mess it is now…." She answered as they continued walking through the forest."…. I hope that all of my friends will be okay…"

The dark dragon looked down at the girl when hearing this.

"Yun's with them… He won't let them die if he has anything to do with it…"

"You think so?"

"Yep… I know it. I've been at death's door many times… Sometimes I could hear some stranger calling to me.. But Yun shut that voice up pretty quick." His words seemed to calm Kina a little, as a small hint of a smile graced her lips.

"Did you get hurt protecting her?.. The girl who was with you.."

Hak nodded silently.

"I've always been here protecting her… It's just been a little harder here lately… She loves to jump into things without thinking…" The Dark Dragon smiles when thinking about it as Kina looked up at him and watched his response.

"…..You really love that girl, don't you?" The young girl's voice snapped him out of his daze.

"... She's just an important person to me."

"Girlfriend?" Kina asked causing Hak to shake his head. He was used to these types of conversations.. They no longer made his heart skip a beat at the word… They didn't make him nervous… Instead, it helped him remember his place. He is merely an orphan who was taken in by a General. He is not worthy of a princess' love.

"…No….. She's more like a little sister…"

"I see.." Kina smiled down at the ground, seeming slightly relieved.

"… or a high-maintenance pet…"

"Pet?!"

…

Down the pathway, Jae-Ha and Yona finally found the water spring that Kina had told them about. It was beautiful crystal clear waters that bubbled up from the ground below.

"Look! Look Jae-Ha! Have you ever seen anything like this?" Yona asked, her excitement and fascination clearly evident in her voice.

"Yeah, the spring is really pretty. It seems to still have a bunch of life into it as well" Jae-Ha commented as he watched Yona dip her hands into the clean water.

"It's so cold… I'm sure so many of the villagers will love this water." Yona leaned over and picked up one of the buckets she had been given and dipped it into the spring.

"I think so too. I'm glad that one lady was able to help us.. She really recovered fast.. It's pretty impressive that she could walk around after one nights rest." The Green Dragon mentioned as he too filled up his buckets with water. The princess was quiet for a moment. Her eyes seeming lost in deep thought.

"Hey Jae-ha.."

"Yeah?"

"…What do you think of that girl?" Yona asked, her eyes darting to the ground below her.

"I think she is very pretty and spirited… Why?" The green dragon responded as he read her stiff body language.

"…..Do you think Hak thinks she is pretty?" Yona's question seemed to come out as more of a rhetorical one rather than asking Jae-Ha. As soon as she said it, her entire body stiffened considerably. "Ah, Never mi-"

"Yes, I do think that he finds her pretty." His comment seemed to dishearten the little princess. "…But, Hak's eyes only follow one girl."

"I see…." Yona didn't seem to understand the hint that he gave her. This caused him to laugh a little to himself.

She can be so hopeless.

Jae-Ha thinks to himself as he places a wooden lid on the water buckets.

"… We should get back soon. Yun will be angry if we take much longer." The princess tried her best to put on a smile as she grabbed her buckets and began walking back up the small path.

Hak… I'm jealous of you… It seems you really have caught her attention.

…

Greetings everyone! I'm really trying to at least get something updated on this story. I know where I want to go with it, I'm just having trouble actually getting there in my mind. Please bear with me as I try to work through this major block in this story. This was more filler than anything, but I hope that you liked it!

Until Next Time! :D