Edited : 8/13/2016 –I did some grammar editing, not sure if it was good enough or not, though. Nothing was changed, I only edited the grammar here and there.
Hey readers~ Good day to you all! ^o^
As I've promised before, here is the new update! I hope you enjoy it~
Disclaimer : I don't own Akatsuki no Yona.
PS: I've few things to ask you, so please read the Author Note below, 'kay? :D
Rewritten Fate
By Ld-G
ASSASINATION ARC
– PART 2 –
One day in the cold winter, Yona went to visit the library. She had grown tired of the books that she had borrowed before. She walked through the selves while thinking. 'It should be okay to read advanced book, right? I've reach four year old anyway…' Yona had been thinking of upgrading her reading material into much complicated things, like war education or political stuff or maybe Economic, even if she was not interested in such things. She had been learning about Kouka's history for the last two years and she doesn't think that she could stand anymore of that. She was going to puke soon.
"And then, I need to visit Gramps too… After all, I need to have a nice chat with him." She mumbled along the way. She thought back at how she first met him and their first talk.
-Flashback-
She felt the need to take a walk. This castle was too suffocating. After years of staying away from the castle, this sudden rule to stay inside it made her feel sick. There were mouths at every corner, eyes and ears on every wall... It was tiring. 'How could I stay comfortably for the first 16 years of my life...? No wonder those people didn't like me. I was far too naive as a princess, too ignorant with this kingdom's affair...'
She left her room quietly and strolled at the corridor. She enjoyed the little private time that she got; enjoying the cold night wind, the fresh air from outside. It has been quite a long time since the last time she stayed outside, sleeping under the roof of stars with only moonlight as her lamp.
Honestly, she was kind of missed that life. After all, it was because she had experienced such kind of hardship, she could grow into a fine strong woman. Otherwise, she would forever be a naive and spoiled princess. Now, there was no telling how long she would need to stay in the castle, but she assumed that she would stay there for at least 10 years or so... which was quite a long time.
She walked absentmindedly, passing doors and doors till she come across with a huge door. She blinked, 'What room is this?'
The door was gigantic; maybe because she was this small, the door seems bigger than usual. But still, compared to the other doors, this door is different, both in size and pattern. It was like this is a special room.
She felt curious. Exploring the castle was her new hobby since she didn't have the sense to do it in her previous life. Honestly, even though she had once live in the castle for 16 years, she couldn't say she knew this castle layout very well. Maybe because she was too focused in that damned cousin of hers, she became blinded in other aspect of her other than beauty. She could feel shame started to creep inside her mind.
'No, I shouldn't think of it anymore. Focus on now! Let bygone be bygone!' She slapped her own cheek. She looked again at the door. She took a deep breath before she opened the door cautiously and took a peek inside. And she was surprised with what she had found. 'Is this... a library?!'
She walked inside; she was mesmerized with the size of library. Rows and rows of selves was organized. it seems like thousands of books are there. She walked slowly while keep glancing around. 'I had never knew that there was another library here. I thought... The only library was the one located beside the King's study room... guess I was wrong this whole time...'
It was silent, but strangely, it was not dark. Not because of the moonlight, no. The lights were all on, like there was actually someone here. This small point made her internal alarm ringing. Unconsciously, she put her guard up, sharpening her hearing. She could hear footsteps coming near her, a close to silent footsteps.
Her instinct screamed at her, telling her to flee, but she knew there is no way she could survive in her small untrained body. Sweats were dropping, heart was beating, and her body was frozen in place... this was exactly what happened when she was still a weak woman. She gritted her teeth, anger was dwelling inside for her weakness.
The footsteps stopped behind her.
"What's the matter?"
Yona gasped. 'That voice...!' She turned around and true enough, she came face to face with the most feared person in entire Kouka, King Joo-Nam. 'G-grandfather...'
She timidly looked at him. The king was old but his body was still healthy enough to still rule this kingdom. His eyes were full of wisdom, the eyes of those who had seen war. He was staring dagger at her, his gaze was so sharp that it could kill someone on spot.
Yona gulped a little. 'I had never ever thought that Grandfather's face is this stern. Seems like Uncle Yoo-Hong takes a lot from him, huh...'
Both of them keep staring at each other silently, Kin Joo-Nam was waiting for her answer; Yona was too shocked to answer.
'Ugh... his gaze is even scarier than Uncle's... how am I going to be let off from this?! Arg! Screw the bad timing! Just when I thought I've found rare gems...'
"Well?"
Yona put on her best poker face. Internally, she was actually really panic, didn't know what to do. As far as she remembered, she had never actually met her grandfather before, and thus, she didn't know him well enough to hold a conversation. Even if she knew, she couldn't just hold a conversation with him, not when she was just a mere two years old child.
A few minutes passed again without any answer from Yona. The King seems not patient enough to wait any longer, so he turned around and started to walk away. Yona breathed out a relived sigh. 'Seems like grandfather has lost interest with me...' or so she thought...
"Come with me, Yona. Accompany this old man to drink a cup of tea, will you."
She had never realised that god was so cruel to her until she heard that line.
The afternoon wind blew gently, the clouds were drifting slowly on the sky. The sun was starting to go back home, as well as the little animals that were out searching for food. It was such a nice comfy weather, a really suitable time to relax. But it's all seems to have no effect to the occupants inside the living room.
'How nice it would be if I can watch the cloud outside...' Yona thought as she sadly looked at the orange sky. 'Instead, I need to spend my precious time with him...' she looked at the other occupant from the corner of her eyes, the almighty King Joo-Nam. The said man didn't even bother to look back at her, even though he obviously knew what Yona was doing. He kept drinking his tea with the absolute elegance that made Yona feel envy.
Unconsciously, she let out a tiny sigh, which didn't go unnoticed to the old king. She turned back to her warm tea and kept staring at it. They had been drinking tea for quite a while now, but the awkward atmosphere had yet to lessen. The silence between both of them didn't even help any better.
Honestly, she felt a little timid around this old king. She couldn't help it since he was the almighty emperor who she hadn't encountered before. She had absolutely no knowledge and no information regarding this so called emperor. Although, she would be lying if she said she didn't admire him, not when the said person had this unrivalled charisma. She could practically feel his strong aura, the aura of a veteran leader.
She didn't realize that she had zoned out for quite some time and only came back to the world of living after hearing a deep voice talking. "Staring at the tea will not make it gone." The King remarked. She blinked a few times before staring blankly at the old man in front of her.
"Ha...ha..." she forced out a half-hearted laugh before taking a sip. But as soon as she tasted it, she choked. 'It's so BITTER!' She felt like crying, and already did internally. She forced herself to gulp it down before she really spit it out. The bitterness had even numbed her tongue; the taste was still lingering there. She eyed the tea with an utter horror. 'This taste even worse than any medicine that I've ever drinks before!'
"How is the tea?" She heard the king asked. She stared blankly at him, hesitated to answer him, unsure of whether she needed to be honest or not. "It's...delicious...?" she answered, or more like questioning herself. But the king didn't comment it. Instead, he just nodded. Yona could practically see a gleam in his eyes.
"It's a tea from faraway." he said with a hint of amusement, making Yona's jaw almost falls off. 'Am I supposed to say anything there?!' She thought. It seemed like the old king also had a good humour sense. Not only that, like all old people ever existed in this world, they had ways to just make fun of their younger generation just for their own amusement.
'oh well, they have live their life for a long time... guess they just need a stress relief after walking those stressing journey... But even so! It doesn't give them any right to tease us like that!' she pouted. Suddenly, an image of a certain old general of the Earth Tribe with an annoying smirk flashed to her mind, making her more irritated than before.
"Yona." Her own thought was broken by a single call of her name. Startlingly, she looked at King Joo-Nam. "Y-yes?"
The king didn't resume the conversation. He looked long and hard on Yona, scrutinized her thoroughly. His piercing eyes made Yona feel naked, like he could see through her every little lie. It seemed like he is contemplating something.
"Who are you?"
That single question froze Yona.
"...pardon?"
Her heart was hammering and she could feel cold sweat starting to form on her head. She didn't take into account that her Grandfather would find her out. After all, she had worked really hard to conceal the fact that she was from future. 'Does he know?' she observed him cautiously.
"You are not Yona, are you?"
Even though he posed that as a question, it didn't exactly sound like one. It was more like stating a fact, firm and confident with every word that he let out. His stares were intensifying, daring her to contradict him.
"What... are you talking about, Grandfather?"
The king scoffed. "A two-year-old child cannot talk this fluently." he remarked sarcastically, which made Yona bite her bottom lips as a result of frustration. 'Of course. No normal two-year-old child can talk like I did. And to think that I doesn't even realize it!' she mentally scolded herself.
Seeing her gone quite, the king let out a deep sigh. "A normal child doesn't show this kind of maturity either, young one." he said, giving chills on Yona's body. Yona didn't dare to look at him at all, opting to staring at the floor.
'What now... he has caught me. I should have known that things won't go smoothly.' she mused. She pressed her lips into thin line, her forehead was adorned with frowns. 'Well... grandfather already through a lot, he has a vast experience in the battlefield...' she let out a big sigh. King Joo-Nam heard it, but didn't say anything. His gaze didn't leave Yona, even when Yona was busily musing there.
On the other hand, Yona was weighing the pros and cons of telling him her amazing story. 'Telling him might make my life easier... but can I? And what part should I tell him? All of it? Or only the summary?' She was clearly distressed, as this is not an easy problem. She closed her eyes, replaying her past life which was not pretty in the least. 'But...' she opened her eyes again and turned her head up, looking straight at the source of her stress. Her eyes were meeting with expectant eyes.
"I'll be blunt then, grandfather. I don't trust you, and thus, I don't think I can tell you." she said firmly. She knew that she was being rude, what with this disobedience and all. But she couldn't tell him, couldn't tell her father or even anyone about her life journey. Because war made and shaped her into what she was right now, an individual who felt suspicious on anyone and cautious on anything. It wasn't that she liked to be distrustful toward the others, but she preferred to be safe than sorry. She just hoped that this old emperor would not be insulted with her show of distrust.
But it seems that her worries were all for nothing as the king just scoffed. "You think I haven't known that?" he rolled his eyes. "I already knew that you are a hard one, I was just gambling. It would be great if I get an answer. Though it wouldn't be a problem if I don't." he said with a deadpanned face.
Yona didn't even know how she should act. She just stared at him in disbelief. 'Is this how the supposed supreme emperor acts in his daily life?'
She shook her head to clear her mind. "If that's all, then I'll excuse myself, Grandfather." she bowed, wanting to be out from the older one's sight as quickly as possible. But it seemed that indeed, today, the lady of fortune was not on her side.
"Let's have a match." the king stated, motioning for his servant to come. Yona could only give him a puzzling gaze.
"Huh?"
Her eyes watched the movement on the board in front her with annoyance. 'Why... Ougi match...' she could feel the headache coming to her once the old king set up an Ougi board for them to play. Apparently, the emperor's match meant a match of Ougi, not some kind of fighting match. They had played for around an hour now, but neither had won. Her grandfather had ended his move and so it was her turn again.
'This is ridiculous...' she thought while eyeing the board. She narrowed her eyes as she drew up a plan, taking into account the entire possible route. Truthfully, her grandfather was really a skilled player. She actually was no match to him. She only knew how to play Ougi because one of her past partner liked to play ougi and taught her, so that he had someone to play with. That didn't mean that she could play like a pro, though.
"Do you want to be a king?"
She jerked her head up at the sudden question, really bewildered. Her face gave out an incredulous expression. Soon she turned her eyes to the table again, ignoring the stare that she received from the other end. She ended her turn by picking up a piece and moves it. They were in an utter silence; the only sound was the sound of placing the ougi pieces.
The game was running smoothly, even too smooth for Yona's taste, and the favour was on Yona's side. It was not long before Yona saw her chance.
"Checkmate." she announced, while eyeing the king. The said king didn't give any indication of disappointment on his loss; rather, he looked like enjoying every moment of it.
'He went easy on me.' Yona scowled at him. 'It seems like the old geezer has known about my plan since the beginning.' she didn't like it when other people went easy on her, whatever reason it was. It was kind of insulting for her, and she utterly despised them.
"It's almost dinner time, grandfather. I'll need to excuse myself." She stood and bowed to him. Swiftly, she walked to the door without waiting for his agreement.
"Yona." she was on her way to open the door when he called her. She stopped herself, preparing to talk her way out should he want to stall her any longer. But what he said made her stop dead in her track.
"I grant you entries to the library. Take and read whatever you want."
She whipped around and looked at him with widened eyes. Shock was apparent on her face as she asked with a cracked voice. "Why?"
The emperor gave a quick glance at her before replying. "I feel like it."
She frowned, disbelief at his reasoning. But soon she felt lighter, and she let a chuckle out. "You are impossible." she shook her head while bearing a tiny smile.
The emperor eyes soften as he looked at Yona. In this moment, the aged man looked so much like her father, giving out the gaze of a really loving parent towards their child.
"So are you." he said.
She looks at him again with a thankful expression. 'I'm not going to lose this great opportunity then.' giving him a deep bow, she thanked him from her deepest heart. "Thank you, Grandfather." Her grandfather gave an acknowledgement with a nod.
"I'll be waiting for an answer." he continued. She blinked confusedly before she remembered that she had yet to give an answer for the previous question.
"Do you want to be a king?"
She pursed her lips, looking kind of distraught.
"You may go." he said as he turned back to his tea.
"Excuse me, grandfather."
She bowed once again before leaving the room. Unbeknownst to her, her grandfather keep looking at her back as she went out. He let out a sigh, before taking a sip at his tea. He cringed at the coldness of the tea. Seems like the tea has long gone cold. He had been too occupied with his granddaughter that the tea was forgotten.
He eyed his tea sadly. 'What a waste... and it is such a good tea too...'
Yona walked slowly along the hallway. From outside, she may not look any different than usual, but if someone were to observe her thoroughly, they would notice that she was actually in a deep thinking.
'He is really dangerous... too smart, too observant...' she thought as she replayed her previous ordeal. 'As expected of an old king. My cover was blown right away.'
She was staring blankly at the hallway as she walking down the path to her chamber. Her body's auto-pilot system is being turn on, and it was walking on its own without her realizing it.
'It seems like I'm not a good actress. I caught off guard... no, I think I was letting my guard down. Or he just too observant for his own good.'
She stopped on her track and started to focus on her surroundings. She realized that she had arrived at her destination. She let out a deep sigh. 'This kind of event is not good for my own heart... not good at all...'
She turned to look at the darkening sky as she leaned on the door.
'Do I want to be a king?'
That was a question that she never dared to ask herself before. Not because she couldn't, but because she was scared, and still is scared to answer. In the past, she focused herself on ending the war. Now, she focused herself on preventing the war from happening.
'A king... it feels like a lame joke.'
Because being a king was such a big responsibility that she was not ready to take.
'It's not even funny...'
Because she didn't have the confidence to shoulder up that heavy burden which come along with sitting on that big chair.
'Just what are you up to, grandfather?'
After all, her place was in the shadow. That was where she belonged.
-End of Flashback—
It was such a strange encounter, but because of it, she managed to earn a free pass to the library. She might need to thank the old man for that though. That weird encounter was the beginning of their equally weird grandfather-granddaughter relationship. It was a strange relationship, since it didn't feel like the King put a status barrier with her. It felt as if they are on the same footing for he always treated her more like a friend rather than his granddaughter.
Not to mention, he was also different than how he appeared to be. Sometimes, it made Yona annoyed since he liked to play with words so much. But overall, they had quite a strong bond with each other. Maybe because they had spent a lot of time together, drinking tea and playing ougi, or maybe it's because both of them had gone through hardship, living in a wartime, that unconsciously they could understand each other even if they barely knew each other.
Yona let out a sigh. "Nope, I don't understand him. Not at all." She pouted a little, thinking back at all the times the old man teasing her or even playing around with her.
While she lost on her mind, she walked through the hallway. As she turned at the corner, she bumped into someone. "I'm sorry…" she said. She looked up to the person and froze a little. There stood the person that had been occupying her mind, King Joo-Nam. 'Oh, speak of the devil…' she sweat dropped.
"Oh, hey, Gramps…" she stuttered a little. this wasn't the first time both of them met, they had met so many times in the last two years in which she couldn't count with fingers anymore, but still… the feeling of timidness was still there. Maybe because his gaze was so sharp that it could kill someone on spot or because of his strong aura which made him fearful. Regardless of his old age, he was fairly healthy. His old age didn't seem to make him any less scary, especially at times like this.
"What's with that greeting, you brat?!" his voice was like a thunder to her ears, even the ground shook a little when he yelled like that.
"Ahaha…" she could only give a wry laugh. 'It's not my fault to be surprised when you suddenly come out like that, you damn geezer!' she fumed silently.
After that, he just turned back and walked away, leaving Yona speechless. He stopped when he realized Yona didn't move an inch. He gave her a side glance. "Should I keep repeating the same sentence every time we meet? Come have a tea with this old man, boy." He said while walking away.
Yona just let out a sigh. "There goes my plan to visit the library…" she sighed sullenly before tailing King Joo-Nam into his chamber. 'Why do I feel déjà vu all of a sudden…' she let out a wry smile.
This is basically how they exchanged greetings whenever they bumped into each other and how their meeting always occurred. They never purposely went to seek each other out and yet, they seemed to always cross path at least thrice a week. It might be because Yona liked to spy on the council meetings or because the King liked to take a walk in the garden. Whatever the reason was, they would bumped, greeted each other, then had a little chat while drinking tea and playing ougi. This, after all, was how their bond was created and maintained.
Somewhere far in the corner, Hak was watching all those greeting exchange. He couldn't hear them well since his position was too far to eavesdropped them, but he could see that both of them were quite close, which was really surprising. He was curious as to how the both of them could be that comfortable with each other.
'Had something happened between both of them?'
He narrowed his eyes as he watched them talking. Yona looked really relaxed when she was talking with the Emperor, something that had never occurred when she was with him or Soo-Won. A hint of sadness appeared inside those blue eyes of his. He turned around, then leaned on the wall, face full of agony.
"Hime-sama… You have become a stranger that I don't know… and I have no idea what to do…" his whisper was blown away by the strong wind, the only witness to his despair, which was drifting to who knows where.
He let out a deep sigh before smacking his own head to the wall. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. 'Get a grip, this is not the time to be playing around.' he peeked again at Yona and the Emperor. But he saw that they've gone. He got out from his hiding place and glanced around the area.
"Where the hell-"
Just as he wanted to curse, he spotted a mop of red her on the hallway. "Gotcha." He quickly tailed them, secretly and stealthily, to the Emperor's chamber.
"Checkmate."
Another vein was popped on Yona's head. She let out a growl as she looked at the smirking King, who was watching her with mirth in his eyes.
"You are a thousand years too young to beat me, brat." He proudly announced as he took a sip on his tea. The vein in Yona's head was popped even bigger. She was staring dagger at him while puffing her cheeks.
"One is allowed to make a dream, no?" she said while pouted. She was frustrated for she kept losing in this ougi games. Her grandfather was just too good on this game; he was way out of her league. The only time she really did won was when she first played with him. Now that she thought about it, he was obviously went easy on her. Otherwise, she would had zero chance on defeating him on her current level.
The old king snorted. "You and your words are getting deeper and deeper. Watch out, young one. Your mouth might be your source of trouble." He spoke in a low voice, half scolding half joking, though it really surprised Yona. She realized that she had been letting her guard down and down whenever she spent her time with the old king. Since King Joo-Nam had practically treated her like a friend, she kept forgetting that she had a role to play.
"I know." She pursed her lips, knowing that the old man had once again caught her.
He gave her an approving nod before he arranged the ougi board for them to play again. "What's on your agenda?" he asked.
"Training. I need to prepare for the worst." She answered while helping the Emperor arranging the board.
King Joo-Nam let a chuckle out. "Once word goes out, Il will not be pleased." He responded with a hint of amusement.
A bead of sweat started to form at Yona's head. "Maybe he will, when the hell freeze over." She grumbled as she rolls her eyes, resisting on banging her head in front of the King.
"And that'll take eternity." The king continued, which was welcomed with a dejected face from Yona. "True enough."
The board was now set once again. King Joo-Nam inclined his head a little toward the board, beckoning Yona to have the first move. Yona looked at the King with a hesitant gaze before she made her move. Soon, the game started again.
"How is the politics studying coming along?" her grandfather started bantering.
"Haven't started yet. I'm learning the necessary basic for me to survive. Like self-defence, cooking, medical… and history." The answer was laced with a hint of frustration, a scowl was plastering her smooth baby face, making her looking way older than how she appeared to be.
Surprisingly, the king also gave a disapproving look. He clicked his tongue and gave her a strong gaze. "You should learn how to be a tactician." He advised, still looking at her steadily. Yona only looked at him pointedly.
Honestly, his gaze was so strong that it could actually crumbled someone's confidence right away and yet, Yona didn't feel threatened, not anymore. Maybe because she had spent so much time together with him, that she had been immune to his Eyes Power—as Yona like to call it for she had seen so many people become its victim.
At first, she felt quite frightened as well, but as she learnt more about her mighty grandfather, she realized that it was not intentional on his part, rather it was the way he looked at people. Because he was this kingdom's Emperor, he needed to show his strength, confidence and firmness in making decision and leading the people or else, people wouldn't acknowledged and respected him.
Though, even if she was not afraid of it anymore, it didn't mean that she respected him any less than before. In fact, the more she knew him, the deeper she respected him. How could someone not respecting a figure that was as amazing as King Joo-Nam? A really charismatic king, who was both strong and charming, who also had all the skills to back up his every word. She bet on her every penny that damn Soo-Won would also admired this amazing emperor, even more than his own father.
Back on the story, both of them stared at each other; the game was soon to be forgotten. Before long, Yona rolled her eyes. "I'm learning." She said before looking back at the king deadpanned. Hearing this, the old king's eyebrow rose by a few millimetres, something that would not be caught by untrained eyes, which was not the case for Yona.
Using her small finger, she pointed straight to the ougi board. "Through this." And then pointed to the king himself. "With you." Her voice was monotone as she said it.
Those little actions earned a big laugh from the emperor. And at that moment, Yona thought her eardrum was going to bleed.
After the commotion was over, the game was resumed. Soon it was another win for the emperor. Yona refused to do another match, so they stopped playing and just enjoyed the tea, as well as the afternoon breeze. Sometimes, it made Yona wondered just how much time the old king had that he could spend time with her like this for hours. But it was not her business and she could care less about it. She had so many on her plate already that she didn't need another adding to it.
But looking back at the discarded ougi board, she could practically feel her irritation peaked up. She crossed her hands and glared at King Joo-Nam. "Damn. You were really going easy with me back then, weren't you?" she grumbled as she gave him an accusing look.
He took a sip of his tea and looked at her with an amusing glint. "You are not exactly the most brilliant tactician." he teased.
Yona huffed silently. Her face was starting to flush as she heard it. "Planning is not my forte." She mumbled in a small voice. It's true that she was not good with planning and making strategies. She usually just threw herself to the battlefield and let her instinct guide her body. That's why enemies were never able to read her movement, simply because she herself also never made any plan on her every movement.
But that's all because she was a war veteran, was already a pro in those rough battlefields, which made her able to fight and survive without any plan. After all, her survival instinct had been honed to the point that she could fight while sleeping.
But of course, for someone like Emperor Joo-Nam, it was not acceptable. Especially when the said person was someone important in his eyes. "It is a necessary skill for every leader exists." He looked at her, hard and long, frowns marrying his face as he stroked his chin.
His face was copied by Yona, who was also frowning. "I'm not a leader." She pointed.
"I'm not saying you are." He countered. This makes Yona really confused. She blinked and blinked again, trying to process what the old man was talking about.
After a few moments, he opened his mouth. "I know you will be." He said with the utmost confidence. Then it suddenly clicked, all of their conversation from the first time they met till today.
.
"Who are you?" – I know who you are…
.
"You are not Yona, are you?" – I need to confirm my speculation…
.
"A two-year-old child cannot talk this fluently." – You are not a child…
.
"A normal child doesn't show this kind of maturity either, young one." – You are not a child…
.
"I grant you entries to the library. Take and read whatever you want." – I want you to gain knowledge as early as possible…
.
"Do you want to be a king?" – I will give you the seat…
.
"You should learn how to be a tactician." – You need to learn how to lead people…
.
"It is a necessary skill for every leader exists." – You are the future leader; you should have that skill…
.
Her heart beat quickly as she recalled those conversations and realized the meaning of those random statements. She had never read too far into those random lines which sometimes come out in the middle of their talks. 'Don't tell me…' she pursed her lips in a line and narrowed her eyes.
"Grandfather, don't do something that you'll regret." She growled. Now that she already knew what the old Emperor's plan was, she needed to stop him before it was too late. Screw the big change, screw the problematic future. If she let him did what he planned to do, the past would repeat once again. The past that she desperately wanted to change… would without doubt occurred again… and she couldn't let that happened!
The old emperor, however, was quick to dismiss her not-so-subtle anger. "Regret is something too luxury for a king to feel, young one." This ended up making Yona more furious than before. She looked down, her hair shadowed her eyes. She tried to control her anger before she did or said something that she would regret. But alas, she was too angry to even think straight.
"then, what do you mean about I being a leader?" she asked in a low voice, trying to hold back her anger inside which was not go unnoticed by her grandfather. And again, he didn't comment on it. Instead, he just kept enjoying his tea.
"That seat is rightfully yours."
She snapped her head and glared at the other one. "I'm not on the direct line, Uncle Yoo-Hong and Soo-won are." Her growled was even louder than before.
And yet, once again, it was dismissed easily by the emperor. It was as if nothing had happened, even when Yona had acted all impolite and out of her supposed image. Rather, he found it all too amusing, like he was watching a great opera playing in front of him. He snorted, giving her a playful glance. "Who do you think I am? Something as simple as that can be arranged in a mere seconds."
However, Yona didn't find it amusing; she couldn't even control her mind and self anymore. And thus, she just let her anger got the best of her. "Don't tell me you want to appoint father just for that ridiculous reason?" her voice became louder.
Her anger had blinded her, and now she didn't even think before speaking anymore. She didn't realize that the emperor narrowed his eyes when she mentioned the word father, because after all, he had yet to tell her about his plan. Heck, he didn't even said that she would become a king, as he only said that he believed she would become a leader. If he found it suspicious, then he said nothing and decided to play along with her.
"I did nothing ridiculous. It's just a stage that I prepare for you, young one." He said. He kept watching her movement, taking note on all of her reaction. This was the first time she had ever showed her real feelings. This might be where he would find his answer. He would keep pushing her buttons if that means he could get the entire missing puzzle.
Yona didn't aware of the Emperor's hidden objective. Staying cool was also not an option as her mind and judgement had been clouded by sheer anger. She didn't understand why her grandfather would not listen to her, why he kept dismissing her even when he had seen her outright objection. 'Doesn't he understand what he is doing?!'
"Grandfather, father is not appropriate for leading a kingdom. You know how he is." She tried very hard to reason with him. But she knew her patient had drawing thin. It was already on its limit and it would soon go passed the limit. And that was as clear as daylight in the Emperor's eyes.
However, he couldn't stop here when this was his only chance to find out the needed information. "It's because I know how he is, I will entrust him to protect this kingdom until you are prepared enough to step up the ladder." Yes, he would keep pushing her buttons, now that he knew which button to push. And he knew he had pushed the right button since she suddenly yells. "Grandfather!" her face is red from anger, the frustration is as clear as day.
"I'll hear nothing of it. I've made my decision." Oh, how he wished he could capture this moment. This was all too amusing. It would be good teaching materials and a hard lesson for his granddaughter to learn, she need to learn not to let her opponent riled her. It seemed like she had a big issue in patience department or she might just sensitive in talking about her father. The latter was highly unlikely for he had never heard any problem had occurred between the two of them.
He saw her looking down, her hair overshadowed both of her eyes. For a few moments, she kept silent. She knew she had crossed the line. The man who was sitting in front of her was an emperor, her grandfather. Shouting like that, of course, was not acceptable, even if they are quite close. The difference in their status was as clear as day, and she should had never crossed it.
"Am I allowed to ask why you want me to be a king?" she asked in a small voice. If she couldn't change his mind, then at the very least, she needed to know his reason. Just what he saw in her that made him decided on making her an emperor.
"You already ask, dear."
"I want to know your reason." She really wanted to know. Because she had a suspicion on the reason why.
"One day you will. Until then, be patient." He told her.
But that was not what she wanted to hear. "Is it because of the old legend? Because of the so called dragon tale? Because I was born with red hair that you thought I am Hiryuu's reincarnation?" she asked in a small voice. "if so, then you are so damn wrong!"
She had been sick of this, of the fact that people kept making that assumption, kept looking at her but at the same time not looking at her. Because what everyone was looking at was not her, but the Hiryuu that had long gone, not the Yona who was standing in front of them. And she couldn't take it anymore.
"I'll make it clear, right here, right now! I'm not King Hiryuu! I'm not him! So stop getting your hopes up and being persistent!" she shouted, her pent up emotions were all shoot out without control. The old emperor chose to stay quiet and watched the scene unfolded. 'It seems I've found my answer.' He thought as he closed his eyes.
"I'm not a god, nor am I a hero! I'm only a human being that has no power whatsoever!"
Yes, he had found the last piece of his puzzle. And it was more problematic that he had first thought. He opened his eyes again and looked at Yona. He could saw that her eyes are moist. Reaching out to her, he patted her head slowly and soothingly.
"I'm not saying you are and I'm not hoping you are. But I know that you love Kouka more than anyone else do… and that's enough for me." He said in his fatherly tone.
This was not the result that he had looked forward too, and certainly not a small problem that he could handle easily. Though, it didn't mean that he would keep quiet and let her handle this trouble alone. No, he would make sure that she had his support till his last breath.
Lying on the roof, Hak was watching the sky absentmindedly. He heard it all, those arguments down there. How could he not, when Yona's voice was that loud. He felt numb and lost. He didn't know what to do. Yona's feelings… it had never occurred to him that Yona had been feeling like that. 'Has anyone ever hoping her to be like King Hiryuu?' he wondered. He had never seen or even heard of it.
'Is all those too mature characters of hers are the result of taking those entire burden?'
If so, it meant that he would need to switch priorities to watching and looking out for her. After all, she had always been his first priority, no matter where it was.
He let out a deep sigh. 'Why it is suddenly become so troublesome…'
To be continued
And that's it for the third chappie! :D
Actually, I'm not sure how to write about King Joo-Nam, 'coz he has never come out on canon, right? So I'm basically make it up~ Hehe... =w=
For those who have read the wattpad version, you might have read those flashback since there are no difference between this and that version. I just need to write it down so the readers who don't read wattpad version will not be confused. After all, in the first chapter, I barely told you anything, don't I?
Anyway, the thing I need to ask is this.
I wanted to know if readers want to read a Extra/Special Chapter or not. That chapter will talk about the story around this fanfic. Example : A Hak Special Chapter will talk about the story so far in Hak's point of view, or other character... if you have a special request about a certain story like Yona's past or sth like that, I can also write it down. If there is no request, then I'm not gonna write it, since it's like an 'Extra' for you~ ;D
So, if you want to, please tell me, so I can count whether you 'want' to read it or 'don't want to'. If it is less than 10 then, I'll assume people don't want to~ #slap
This time I'll just count on WANT or NOT, we'll talk about the Title and the content after that. Since I don't know how the polling system works, you can tell me from review or PM me or whatever. I'll open it until the next update (August 13th)~
Thank you for your attention~ XD
Also, Thank you for those who have left a review here~
CVJ : Thank you, dear~ XD My King Joo-Nam seems to be a little air-head, tho! I don't know how to potray him… he is a mystery… T.T Hope that you like this chapter! :D
Aoutre : Hehe… indeed it's been so long… I'm not gonna blame you if you forgot it already, but I'm really glad that you would still read it! Thank you very much! *bow*
M-Angel 05 : Thank you so much for reading my story! :D this is the new update, hope that you enjoy it!
Bookgirl18 : Oh my, Thank you! I'm glad that you like it! We'll see just what Yona will change later, ne~ ^o^
Goddess bubbles : Oh my, Oh my! The trio go on journey together! It'll be like dreams come true! . Oh well, let's just see how this story will unfold, shall we?*wink* #evil
Guest : I'm glad that you can feel like that! Hope that the next chapter will also do the same~ ;)
Please leave a review for this chapter too~ Any critique, advice, or comment will be welcomed here! :D
I'm sorry if there are a lot of Grammar or spelling errors... It has always been a huge problem for me... T.T
Thank you for your time!
See you on August 13th~
*Ld-G sign out*