Chapter Two: Nothing is as it seems
A/n: I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! But I'm uploading two chapters tonight so be on the look out! You'll notice that this is a bit different from my last chapter. Unfortunately my editor and I agreed that since she's busy with school that it would be OK for me to upload until she has ore free time, and then we'll go back and edit together ^^ anyways, thanks to everyone who gave this story attention! It honestly made me soooo happy! Hope you all enjoy!
Jae-Ha had the perfect excuse to go and see the girl the next day. Yona mentioned that she wanted to go, and explore the town a bit more, which Yun mentioned that they needed to get some supplies anyways. So, the whole group wound up going to town. It may have put a slight hindrance on his plans, but the green dragon still kept an eye out for the girl he saw just the previous day.
"Jae-ha, what are you looking for?" Yona questioned when she saw the green dragon's eyes looking around. Jae-ha's verdant eyes looked at her, and smiled slightly.
"I'm just admiring the beauty of this city is all~!" He said with his usual grandeur. The others ignored this action, but Yona just smiled slightly as she looked forward.
"Well, I'm going to see where I can get some medicine." Yun announced after a few moments, stopping for a split second."I'll be right back." He added on, glancing at the others for a second.
"Alright. Don't take too long, ok?" Yona grinned at him. Yun just looked at her, smiled for a moment, and then nodded.
"Yeah. Sure." Shin-Ah glanced over to where Yun was walking, and then looked at Yona. Yona just smiled at him.
"If you want to go with him, it's ok."
"Yes. We can protect Yona just fine." Kija added on. Jae-Ah simply nodded, and then quickly followed after Yun.
"I think we need to find somewhere to rest. I'm sure all of us would like to stay on some sort of bed for once." Hak mentioned, looking around.
"Yeah. Let's look around for something to sleep in. I'm sure the Princess would like a bed to sleep in." Kija added on.
"That would be nice." Yona admitted, her ever present smile widening slightly as she thought of finally being able to rest on a bed for the first time in a long time.
So, that's how they wound up looking for somewhere to sleep. Although most people seemed to turn them down, which they didn't understand. Who would turn down a group of travelers in need of rest? That's how they wound passing by the girl once again.
"Do you think someone will let us in? They have to have an Inn." Yona asked when the tenth person turned them down. She didn't really want to bother anyone else, but at the same time she didn't really see any inns either.
"Don't worry, Princess. Someone is bound to let us in." Hak tried to provide some sort of comfort, laying a hand on Yona's shoulders.
"Exactly! Don't you worry about it at all!" Kija added on almost immediately.
Jae-Ha was ignoring the conversation, for the most part, as he looked around himself. And that's when he saw her.
This time, the girl was dressed a bit differently. She was wearing a blue colored gown. Over it was a dark red vest with a lighter red sash tying it together. Her hair was once again in the hair covering with the ribbon tying the half bun neatly on her head. Her lips were painted a deep red color, and she had some type of violet colored stud earrings in her ears. She was standing outside a large building, holding some type of silky looking blue fabric. She was talking with another woman of the same age. Maybe a year or two older than the girl.
Jae-ha shook his head, looking back at Yona and Kija as they were looking around the town. Jae-ha slowed his steps until he fell back enough that he was able to run rather quickly to the girl.
He slowed his approach as he got near her, but that didn't stop either the older woman, who had strawberry blond hair and light brown eyes, or the girl from tensing at the sound of his footsteps.
"Hello." He greeted with his usual charm. The girl immediately turned with her eyebrow raised.
"It's you. Again." She replied dryly."Did you come back from more?" She questioned, eyebrow raising.
"U-um...Y-you know him?" The woman next to her stuttered, eyeing the unfamiliar man with a mixture of suspicion and fear, leaning closer to the girl. She looked at her, and nodded slightly. Then with an eye roll, she looked at Jae-ha, but was still clearly not talking to him.
"This is the idiot that was with those men I told you about yesterday. He came in acting like some kind of big hero, but I took him out easily." The woman divulged, hands on her hips as she eyed the man before her in a mix of both defiance, as if challenging the man before her, and a bit of... He couldn't rightly put a name to it. Was it admiration? Or something else. For once, he couldn't really say. But whatever it was he saw there, he liked. He liked it alot.
Even so, Jae-ha felt some of his pride being hurt by her words, but he held back what he wanted to say, and just continued to smile, though he could feel some of his annoyance waiting to burst out.
"Seriously, did you come back for more?" The girl continued on in a bit more perturbed tone, arms crossed over her chest. Her green colored eyes looked at him as if he was some kind of annoying bug she just wanted to get rid of.
Despite the annoyance he felt at the obvious hostility towards him for no reason that he could think of, he only managed to let a little bit of show as his charming smile wavered slightly. The girl merely raised a single eyebrow at the action, and was ready to turn around again, but the green dragon once again found his voice. He made sure to turn up the charm.
"Actually, my companions and I were hoping you knew a good place to rest for the night." He replied to the annoyed girl, pointing back to Yona and Kija, who were looking at him with a bit of curiosity. Zeno was right behind them, looking at them curiously. Hak seemed to be the one looking at situation with some sort of... Was it entertainment?
The girl's green eyes looked at where he was pointing, her eyes widening slightly, and then she looked at Jae-Ha with suspicious eyes, eyeing him slightly.
"I'm sorry. There's no room." She replied in a hard tone, her chin set upwards. She was getting ready to turn around, but Jae-Ha stopped her, gently touching her shoulder. She looked at his hand on her shoulder, and then at him as if she could set him on fire with her very looks.
"Not even one room for the girl?" He questioned, giving his best charming smile. The girl's green eyes looked at the girl with a softer, but still hard expression. Her eyes then looked at her companion, who just shrugged slightly.
"It's not a good idea for you guys to stay here." She said simply, brushing his hand off. Jae-Ha was then interested in what she just said. He looked at her curiously.
"Why?" He questioned, his mind already jumping to conclusions that something bad was going on in this town.
Why else would the girl say that? Besides...All the people with trouble in their towns all said the same thing. Although a part of him really didn't want to believe such a seemingly peaceful, beautiful town could really be that bad.
"It's dangerous for the two girls you have in your company. Although, I do have to question why you have two girls in your company, and yet you're still trying to get my attention." She replied, looking at Jae-Ha with an eyebrow raised. The green dragon couldn't tell if she was being teasing or not. Wait...Two girls?
Jae-Ha turned, looking to see Yun was looking at him with his head shaking. Somehow, he had managed to make his way back to the group. Shin-Ah was right behind the group with a curious tilt to his head. Of course the girl would mistake Yun for a girl. Almost everyone did when they first saw him. Jae-Ha then looked at the girl.
"That blonde one is not a girl. He's a boy. The red haired one is the only girl in our company." He pointed out. There a sort of awkward pause.
Jae-Ha could almost see the girl's wheels turning in her mind as she looked between Yun and Jae-Ha a couple of times. Finally, in a flat tone that matched her expression, she spoke.
"That doesn't sound any better."
Now Jae-Ha was almost certain the girl was accusing him of something without being direct about it. That got under his skin more than he initially thought it would, and he strained to keep the smile on his face once again.
"She's a traveler. Like the rest of us. We're helping out places that might have trouble." He explained, hoping to soothe whatever accusations were in her mind.
There was another sport of pause. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully, Jae-Ha couldn't help but to notice that much. Finally,the girl looked at him with an eyebrow raised.
"There's nothing a bunch of idealist travelers can do to help us. I suggest you get what you need, and go. Tonight." She sounded urgent, her eyes looking once again at Yona.
The girl was obviously worried for Yona. He wasn't sure why that was either, and the girl before him wasn't going to give any clues. Jae-Ha wasn't about to let that go. Not if Yona was in danger. He wanted to know.
"You're worried for my female companion." He deduced. She looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Of course. She's a woman alone with four men. What's not to worry about? Look, can you just leave me alone? I need to get this dress done. I do suggest that if you really don't want anything happening to the girl, that you leave." With that said, she turned around, looking at her companion, who was staring rather curiously at Jae-Ha. The dark haired girl seemed to telepathically be trying to tell her friend something, and when she didn't get it, the jade eyed girl looked annoyed, and elbowed her friends ribs. This got the other young lady's blonde woman quickly turned around.
"What's your name?" Jae-Ha was quick to ask after witnessing the action with some amusement. The green eyed girl stopped, and sighed slightly.
"Men. You're annoyingly persistent. My name is Tian." She glanced back at Jae-Ha for a moment, seeming almost amused for a moment, if the slight sparkling in her eyes meant anything, and then turned back around. She quickly opened the door to the building, quickly walking inside, and closing the door behind her back. Jae-Ha just sighed, and turned around. What was going on with this town?
"Ya know, he didn't seem like the annoyance you made him out to be last night to BaaBaa." Min-Soo teased Tian as they folded the newly made dress, and wrapped it. Tian rolled her eyes.
It seemed that whenever there was a slight moment of silence between them, which was rare for them because Min-Soo was always so talkative, her blonde haired friend just had to mention the guy. Where it was about hois strange arura, or his exotoc looks, or wanting to know just how they met, Min-Soo always found a way to bring him up. Much to Tian's great annoyance.
"Whatever. Can we just get this done? I'm so done talking about that guy. He's strange." Tian's eyebrows grew together. A slight blush, which always appeared so easily on her alabaster skin, appeared on her skin with no real reason.
"People said that about you too, Wind Girl." Min-Soo's eyes sparkled, her playful nature coming up the surface as she noticed the blush on her friends pale skin.
Tian merely looked at her friend, her arched eyebrows arched even more as she gave her friend the "I think you're a huge moron" type of expression, and then shook her head, sighing as she lifted the package onto the cart with the other ones.
"Besides, he was kinda cute. Although, all his friends seemed to be rather cute. You should be more friendly." Tian sighed, shaking her head. Why did her friend always have to bring her personal matters up in conversation? "Seriously, if you don't drop the brash attitude you have, you're gonna end up the forever alone type. Ya know? The crazy lady with a million cats type. I refuse to let my friend go down that road!" Min-Soo exclaimed with a determined expression. Tian just sighed, shaking her head.
Yeah. You and everyone else. Tian thought to herself, but then continued on.
"I know I'm usually pretty friendly, but they...It's just weird that one girl is alone with that many men...You don't think that those men are...Are doing-"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Min-Soo's eyes widened, looking around as if she were afraid that anyone could jump at any given time. She then looked at the girl with wide eyes, leaning closer as she whispered her next words."The girl totally seemed at ease with them. Even amused with that guy! There's no way they're involved with those underground activities!" Tian sighed heavily, rubbing the back of her neck.
"I hope you're right for the girl's sake anyways." She replied through a sigh, setting the last of the packages down on top of the basket."Man, these rich folks are gonna bring BaaBaa some good money. I hope those travelers are in need of the finest clothes made in all of Kouka." She grinned over at Min-Soo, who just giggled slightly.
"Made by the most beautiful girls in Kouka Kingdom!" They high fived one another, giggling at their child's play.
"Heh, let's get these over to those guys."
"Right." Tian smiled slightly, and walked outside with her friend.
Tian wasn't about to admit it, but there was something about that man that seemed achingly familiar. Her eyebrows drew together as something tugged at the distant part of her mind. The way he jumped into the skies the previous day. He looked so graceful. So free. It tugged at something in the back of her mind.
A chained boy. A cursed boy. It was said he could leap into the skies. She remembered that vaguely from something in her childhood. Could he...
No, she decided, shaking her head. It wasn't possible. She told herself that time again as she sighed heavily, put the smile back on her face.
Finally, the group found somewhere to stay after nearly an hour of searching. Some people in town had agreed to share their home with the Happy Hungry Bunch, but also urged them to leave as soon as they could. It reminded Jae-Ha of the talk he had with Tian.
"We thank you for your hospitality, but can you explain why everyone is acting so weird?" Yona questioned, taking the bowl of steaming soup the couple offered to each member of the group. They seemed reluctant to answer.
"Yeah. Just exactly what is going on?" Hak tacked on, taking a bite out of the soup.
The meal provided to them, honestly didn't initially look all that good. It looked like a bunch of things just thrown together. However, it was surprisingly tasty. Again, they seemed reluctant to answer, but finally the lady answered with an annoyed shake of her head.
"You should say what isn't going on here." The older woman finally replied in a whisper after a moment. Her brown eyes jumped around in suspicion, as if she expected someone to jump out at her.
This sentence piqued the interest of the rest of the group.
"What do you mean?" Yona asked, eyebrows drawing together.
"The problem is everything." The older man said a bit angrily, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Everything? Could you be a bit more specific?" Yun replied, leaning forward as this had grabbed his attention.
"It's those... Gangs that terrorize us. They came in about three years ago, promising to bring peace, but they have nothing but bully us. Some people have even gone missing without so much as a trace. It leaves us all scared. I mean both of our children disappeared last year when they were out too late. So, everyone makes sure they're in their homes before sundown. Most people tend to disappear at night." It was the woman that spoke, her hands held in front of her in her fright.
"What of the officers? Don't they do anything?" Yun once again asked.
"Tch. Those useless people? They're even worse. We tried asking for help from them, and they say they'll look into it but they never do. They let those thugs get away with their crimes. They just turn a blind eye, and let those bastards harass us."
"How can those soldiers just turn a blind eye?" Kija replied after a few moments through clenched teeth.
"Why else? Those bastards pay them under the table to turn a blind eye."
"So, these soldiers just turn a blind eye because they get paid extra? How sleazy." Hak added on, shaking his head, his own hands clenching tightly at his weapon.
"Doesn't anyone try to fight back?" Yona questioned, her eyebrows drawing back.
"Those that do are hit the hardest. Some of them even killed. That's why we just try to appease them." The woman said, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes jumped around, as if she expected someone to just jump out of nowhere.
"That's just terrible. Something should be done." It was Jae-Ha that was speaking for the first time in a while. He was having this all sink in. Of course, a town as peaceful looking as this one had to have something seedy going on. Nothing was this perfect looking.
"Seriously, it's not even worth your time. Trust us. People have already tried, and have failed. Those soldiers back those gangs." The man said in a hard tone." The best you can do, is get out of here as soon as you can. Before any of you disappear as well." With that said, it was almost painfully clear that he wanted this subject dropped, however the Happy Hungry Bunch just couldn't let this go.