Chapter Twenty-Four: Intermission

Much to Tian's surprise, neither Min-Soo nor BaaBaa gave much of a fuss over the "new" arrangements. Tian just chalked it up to them understanding the situation, and just choosing the best option for both of their situations.

"Just... Seriously, take care of her this time. I don't want to have to go through all that same trouble again." Min-Soo said, looking directly at Jae-Ha with a steely expression.

"Don't worry. She's perfectly safe with us." Kija replied with a small smile. Min-Soo looked at the white haired man, and nodded slightly.

"Despite how it may look from your end, we do try to stay out of trouble." Jae-Ha added with a slight grin. His emerald eyes then looked around the room while Yona, Hak, Kija, and Min-Soo began talking.

Jae-Ha tried to make it seem like he was just casually looking around the room. In realty, no matter how much he may have tried to deny it, he was actually looking around to see if he could see Tian. He knew she was perfectly safe. Tian was just packing a few things after all, and it wasn't like that stubborn old woman would let anything happen to Tian, but still, he couldn't help but to worry just the slightest. After the recent events, and their drunken talk, he didn't really like to have the dark haired woman out of his sights.

Min-Soo, Kija, Yona, and Hak carried a more pleasant conversation. It seemed like they were all trying to steer away from anything unpleasant. Instead, they chose to speak on anything else. Jae-Ha listened in casually, but his attention was on the hallway where Tian had disappeared in to, waiting for her to come out. He was thankful he didn't have to wait long.

"Alright. I think I got everything." Tian said with a slight sigh as she came out of the hallway. She was looking through a medium sized satchel.

When she was at the entrance, she paused, looking up. She noticed that everyone had turned to look at her. She, in turn, looked at everyone else. First at Jae-Ha, who was looking at her with his usual grin. Then at Hak, who had his usual masked expression. Then at Yona, who was grinning widely. Then at Kija, who had a small smile on his face. Then at Min-Soo, who was smiling widely.

"What?" Tian questioned defensively, stepping aside as BaaBaa walked past her.

"Nothing!" Min-Soo, who was closest to Tian, exclaimed before pulling the woman into a tight hug. The blonde woman whispered something playful into her ear, if the coy grin was anything to go by anyways, which made the dark haired woman blush and scowl. Min-Soo merely laughed.

"Are you still planning on going to work?" BaaBaa suddenly asked, surprising everyone as she pulled out a rather large pouch. Tian looked at the pouch, and then at the older woman with a slightly suspicious expression.

"That was kinda the plan I had?" Tian ended the statement as if it were a question because she honestly was curious just as to what BaaBaa had in mind.

"I don't want you to have added stress. Take this, and just... Do whatever it is you had in mind. Don't tell me coz I don't want to worry more." With that said, the older woman thrust the pouch towards the young woman.

With a curious raise of her eyebrows, Tian opened the pouch. Jae-Ha, Yona, Kija, and Hak looked curiously over her shoulders as well. Their eyes widened as they looked inside. Tian looked up with her mouth agap.

"BaaBaa, this is way more than you pay me in a month! I can't accept this." Tian tried to push the money back to the woman, but BaaBaa was obstinate.

"This is from Ae-Cha and Joo-Ri. We all want you to stay safe." BaaBaa gave Tian a hard expression, saying without speaking that there was no arguing. Tian took a moment, but nodded anyways, closing up the pouch, and tying it around her waist. She then looked at the woman, and smiled.

"Thanks." Tian said softly. BaaBaa nodded and then pulled Tian into a tight hug.

"Sty safe and visit soon." BaaBaa whispered, and then pulled back. Tian nodded, smiling softly.

Once again, as the group turned to leave, it felt as though she was saying good-bye for good. It wasn't a pleasant feeling at all.

"Alright, I figured if you are being looked for in town, then you might have to go into town incognito." Yun told Tian a while later was they both rolled some rice into rice balls. Tian looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"You mean a disguise? How will we make that work? Make me wear a wig? Make-up to disguise my features?" Tian laughed slightly to herself, shaking her head as she wrapped the rice ball. Yun looked at her, and then shrugged as he looked at the ball in his hands, his eyebrows drawn together slightly.

"I was thinking more like how Yona goes about hiding her identy. If you didn't notice already, she wears her hood up most of the time to hide her hair. I was thinking that if we have to, we can do the same for you." Yun replied slowly, carefully, but also replied a bit fast as well.

Tian paused for just a second as she looked up at Yun through her eyelashes. She then nodded, and looked at her hands as she contuined to ball up another handful of rice.

Come to think of it, why does Yona always hide her hair? She has beautiful hair. I wouldn't hide it.

Tian thought to herself, glancing at Yona through the corner of her eyes. Yona was currently sitting beside Hak, watching with a curious expression as the dark haired man sharpened a knife. Tian drew her eyebrows together, and then looked at the rice in her hands.

Hak is always by her side as well. But putting that aside, Yona hides her hair. She tries not to be recognized if she can. I wonder why that is. I mean there has to be a reason, right? I want to ask, but...

Tian sighed, closing her eyes as she shook her head slightly. Yun looked at her, his lips drawn into a frown.

"Why are you sighing?" He questioned, sounding irritated despite him geniually caring if something was bothering her. Tian looked up, and shrugged slightly.

I want to ask, but...

My father was murdered.

Yona's voice rang so clearly in Tian's voice that she thought for a moment that Yona had spoken. It took a moment for the dark haired woman to realize that the red haired girl had not spoken. Along with the voice, the memory also became clear. Yona's sad expression, but it wasn't just sadness. There were brief flashes of bitterness, of anger, of something else that Tian couldn't quiet pinpoint. Tian dropped the memory.

"No reason." Tian finally replied, scowling slightly as she looked at the task at hand. Yun looked at her for a moment longer. He didn't believe her words, but he didn't feel like calling her out on it. He would just chalk it up to stress. For now.

I want to ask, but I'm afraid of what the answer would be.

Tian thought, her eyebrows drawing together for a second before relaxing her expression, and continuing her task at hand.

A few days later, Tian and Yona had found a nice, secluded spot to bath in. It was around Sunset. Beautiful hues of pink, red, orange, blue, and yellow filled the sky as the sun began to set in the horizon. Normally around this time, Tina would be helping Yun with dinner, but the men told both of the girls to go and relax when Yona and Tian had both expressed interest in a bath. It would be a nice, relaxing time for the both of them. Tian had made sure to bring her fancy soaps that she normally reserved for when she visited hot springs.

Ah! That would been nice for us girls! Unfortunately, I don't have the money. Oh well, this is just as nice.

Tian thought with a slight grin as she swam to the deeper end, where it came up to half of her chest, and then she dipped low for a moment, closing her eyes in relaxation. She was floating on her back, totally relaxed. She barely noticed the disturbance in water as Yona cautiously got in.

"I always get in a bit more cautiously now." Yona said with a slight, nervous laugh, bringing Tian to attention. Yona swam beside Tian, steadying her body against the small boulder in the water. Tian sat up to where the water covered half of her breasts. Tian also secured herself to the same boulder.

"Yeah? Why?" Tian questioned with a small, teasing laugh. For a moment, Yona had a dark expression on her face that took Tian off guard for a second. After a moment, Yona smiled her usual smile once again.

"Because the first time I got into a river to bath, I had leeches all over my legs. I didn't know what they were at the time, and it freaked me out. Hak had to get them off of my leg." Yona added the last part in a embarrassed mumble with a slight blush on her face as she looked away.

Tian smiled slightly, and then let go of the water as she got on her stomach, and kicked a bit to swim for the soaps that were sitting on her satchel on the shore. She then got them, and handed one to Yona. Yona looked at her with a slight smile as Tian contuine to float around before washing herself. Yona then looked away as she began washing her own body.

"We all have hang ups like that. I mean, I hate to climb trees anymore because once when I was younger, Ha-Seon dared me to climb this really high tree. Well, it was spring time, and neither of us really thought about the time of year. I naturally took the challenge. Long story short, birds are scary and will chase for you a very long time if they think you're attacking their young. Also, that birds have good memories. Any time I went by that tree, that bird swaked at me until I went away. Needless to say, I haven't climbed trees since that day, and I think I still have a scar from it's beak on my shoulder." Both Yona and Tian had a good laugh over the story.

"You have some interesting stories." Yona said after a moment, still laughing slightly. Tian stopped floating around for a moment, and then swam back to the rock, looking at Yona with a slight curious tilt of her head.

"Yona, I need to ask something. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, though." Tian asked with a slightly serious expression. Yona looked at her with a curious tilt of he own head.

"Ask me anything. What's on your mind?" Yona asked with a cheery grin. Tian looked at her with a pensive, unsure expression. She then sighed as she shook her head with her eyes closed for a moment. After the moment passed, she looked back at Yona. Tian looked firmly into Yona's purple eyes, surprising the red haired girl for a moment.

"I've been wondering something. See, Yun says you hide your red hair most times for protection. I've been trying to answer to myself why that was." Tian paused in her words, look at the rock as she spoke next." I mean, I think your hair is very pretty, so I couldn't think of a real reason why you would hide it. I mean, your just a traveler, but then I got to thinking harder. I began going through things I had heard over time on my travels, and especially the most recent things I had heard before you all had shown up. I guess I had never really thought about it until Yun had said something." Tian paused again, sighing as she looked up at Yona. Yona seemed to have dropped her smile, looking at Tian with wide, surprised eyes. It almost made Tian lose all memento for what she wanted to say. Almost."I was just wondering if... Well, maybe you were that red haired princess that was supposed to have been dead." Tian said in a fast tone, trying to get it all out at once. Yona looked at her with a somber expression for a moment, and then looked away.

"Yes. I am the former Princess Yona." She said so softly, Tian couldn't be sure she had heard it right. Tian just stared at her, unsure of what she could have said.

"Then..." Tian dropped her question when Yona looked back at her with a somber expression once again.

Then, what do you plan to do? Are you going to use the power of the Dragon Warriors to reclaim the throne? Do you hate the current king? What do you plan to do?

With one expression from Yona, that sad expression, Tian couldn't ask the questions that suddenly burst up inside of her mind. It took all she had not to ask them.

"I don't plan on taking back the throne. Soo-Won he is... He is a good king. I suppose if he were a bad king, who selfishly took the throne, it would be easy for me to want to take the throne, but he's not. As much as I hate to admit it, he's done good things, and I can't do that to Kouka. Right now, I just want to understand him. That's all." Yona's voice was small, sad, and distant. Her eyes looked down at the rock, drawing simple patterns in the droplets of water that fell on it. Tian could only stare at her, not sure how to react.

"I see..." She finally replied a bit awkwardly, looking away. After a moment, Yona looked at Tian with a slight smile.

"I hope this doesn't change the friendship we have. I'm no longer the princess of Kouka. I'm simply Yona. I hope you continue to think of me that way." There was some sort of desperation in the young girl's voice. Tian didn't want to disappoint that voice. She looked at her with a slight smile, shrugging.

"No. Of course not." Tian replied, happy to see the relieved smile on Yona's face.

"Great! I'm happy to hear that!" Yona exclaimed, and with that out of the way, both of them moved on to happier topics.

It was some time later in the night. Yun had gotten a late start on dinner since it was bath night for the entire group. So while he was cooking, Tian had snuck off, and had decided to work on her fighting skills. Mostly, Tian was wanting to be alone, which she was for the most part. She enjoyed the alone time she got since she hardly got any since coming. She espically hardly got alone time since the recent events. It was nice just to be alone, and not have to think about anything at all as she kicked at the chosen tree. Each kick was stronger and more forceful than the last, making her grunt from the exertion after awhile.

For almost an hour, Tian was alone. She spent half of the time kicking three. Fifty kicks with one leg, fifty kicks with the other leg. She then got out some pieces of old cloth, cut them into strips, wrapped them around her hands, tied each one around her wrists and palms securely before balling her hands up into a fist, and began punching away at the tree. Fifty with one. Fifty with the other. Same as always. she then began practicing some techniques.

"Hey." With a sheen of sweat on her skin, and panting heavily, Tian was surprised to hear Hak call out to her so casually, if in a somewhat serious tone.

She turned to look at Hak. From the unreadable expression on the dark haired man's face, Tian had a brief moment of fear that something terrible had happened and he was the bearer of bad news.

"Is... Is everything alright?" She questioned through a pant, wiping the sweat on her forehead as her eyes looked around. Hak was silent for a moment longer, and then walked forward until he was closer to Tian.

Tian wasn't sure hot to feel about this current situation with Hak. Normally, Hak never really sought out her company, and normally didn't address her unless he absolutely had to, which wasn't very often. So, Naturally, seeing him alone here, with her, was very off putting. Not to mention with his masked expression, it was harder than usual to get a good feel on what he was thinking. Naturally, her mind jumped to the worst. That something bad had happened while she was away.

"You really should keep your elbows closer to your body when you're going in for short punches. It allows for faster movement and harder hits."

And now he's offering fighting advice?

Tian thought, furrowing her eyebrows together. She then turned to look at Hak with her arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow raised slightly.

"I'm not good at guessing games, Hak. Why are you really here?" She spoke fast, almost sounding irritated. Hak was silent another moment, his eyes looking away. He then looked at her with a hard expression.

"Yona told us that you know the truth." Hak spoke simply, but firm enough that Tian could almost detect a hint of a threat of some sort. Tian frowned, looking at the ground for a moment. She then looked up.

"I think I can understand your worry. You think I might say something, right?"She questioned, tilting her head slightly. Hak didn't say anything. Tian sighed, shaking her head." You don't trust that I can keep it a secret, do you?"

"I trust you about as much as I trust anyone else." Hak replied quickly, but firmly. Tian narrowed her eyes, but it wasn't out of anger. It was more like she was trying to get a good reading on what Hak was feeling. What he was thinking.

I'm guessing that is not very much. He may trust the others in the group, but I'm still an outsider in his eyes. I don't blame him. Compared to how long these people must have known each other, I'm very new still. On top of that, we have no real ties to each other. I don't blame him for not trust me.

Tian sighed, shaking her head with a shrug as she turned back to the tree.

"You have nothing to worry about. It's none of my business anyways, and besides, I know what will happen if I say something. Even if it is just one person, it's enough to spread rumors around. It will cause dissarry in Kouka. Some might even try to over throw the current king, who is doing good in the country from what I've seen even if he obtained the throne in less than savory ways. When that happens, it will leave the country weak, allowing for other countries to invade, and start a war, which will cause much more harm than anything else because so much more will be lost." Tian sighed, glancing at Hak, who seemed to have a surprised expression on his face. Tian smiled softly.

So, he really didn't trust me after all.

Tian sighed, shaking her head, and looking away once again.

"Listen, I-"

"Besides, Yona, when I met you guys and even now, is just a normal... Well, normal girl traveling with a bunch of guys with incredible powers, but still she was just a normal girl in my eyes. She still is, and just because she used to be a princess doesn't mean that I have to say anything to anyone. I already told you my reasoning." She looked at him again, and then began punching the tree." I don't need to know anything else. Yona is a normal, kind girl. Maybe she doesn't know when to stop, and is too kind and stubborn for her own good, but she's just like any other girl. I have no reason to think any different. What she plans to do with the Four Dragons and you from here on out is none of my business. Therefore, it isn't my place to say anything. It may raise more questions than I care to have the answers to, but if Yona's true identity were to be know, it would really mess things up. I don't want that to happen." Tian sighed, shaking her head. She then looked at Hak with a slight smile." In short, your secret is safe with me."

"That's good to hear." Hak said, nodding as he looked away for a moment. He then looked at her with a small smile."I actually came here on Yun's behalf. Dinner is ready. Come on." Tian looked at Hak, surprised he could switch gears so quickly. He looked at her, gesturing with his head to follow him. Tian smiled slightly, nodding as she gathered what little she had brought her, and followed after the tall man.

A few more days passed. Things contuined on as normal. Execpt Tian stayed behind in camp much more than before, and someone, mostly Jae-Ha or Yona, was with her, making sure to keep her safe. Although that notion irritated Tian, she didn't completely object to it either. It felt nice to rely on others anyways. Not that she would ever admit that out loud to anyone.

Information was slow. Nothing more than silly gossip was heard, but Tian just suspected that the officers and the others involved were just trying to keep it under wraps so that nobody could interfere once again. To keep themselves busy, the whole group was always doing something. Even if they weren't gathering information, they were always doing something.

As such, a few days after Yona's revelation to Tian, everyone had decided to take a day off to relax. Yona and Tian had gone off together. Yona wanted to practice her archery skills while Tian was going to work on her strength. Hak had decided to accompany Tian and Yona. Shin-Ah was practicing his sword skills, quiet as ever, just a little ways away from where Yun, Kija,and Zeno were currently sitting back at the camp. Yun was fixing something on their clothes. Jae-Ha was taking a walk, once again going off to relax.

"I'll be right back." Tian told Yona and Hak as soon as they reached an opening. They both looked at her with a curious expression. Tian smiled slightly, pretending to be embarrassed." Nature." She said with a shrug, and with that said, neither one questioned as they both turned around, and began talking between the two of them. Tian watched with a small smile, and then turned on her heels, and quickly ran to the safest spot away from them.

It was some time afterwards that Jae-Ha had ran into Tian. Or, more accurately, he saw her casually bending over as she stretched out her muscles, raised an eyebrow in amusement, took a moment to check her out, and then cleared hs throat to make his presence known to the dark haired girl.

When Jae-Ha cleared his throat, he heard a small gasp escape the young woman as she quickly straightened out, and whipped around to face him. Her face had a shade of pink for the slightest moment before it disappeared. It was replaced by a scowl, and a crossing of her arms over her chest. He chuckled in amusement, if only because he was briefly reminded of a pouting child. He shook his head, and then walked further out of the treeline.

"I thought you were with Yona and Hak. What happened?" Jae-Ha asked as he got closer. Tian continued to look at him before shrugging.

"I don't like people seeing me stretch. I made an excuse to get away." Tian answered, sitting on the ground with a slight grunt. She looked over her shoulders, a silent invitation for him to join her. Jae-Ha paused for a moment before walking until he was next to her, and then sitting down next to her."So... What are you doing out here?" She asked, looking at him with a teasing grin.

"I was just walking around enjoying nature." He replied, leaning back on his hands. Tian glanced at him again, nodding as she looked forward with a slight smile.

There was another short, but enjoyable pause between the two. Neither really felt the total need to fill it with any noise either, which nice for the both of them. Until Jae-Ha decided to speak anyways.

"Tian." He stated more than questioned, glancing at her through the corner of his eyes. Tian glanced at him with a slight tilt of her head.

"What's up?" She questioned, grinning.

"I've been meaning to ask something about you, but I haven't really..." He paused for a second, his eyes looking away.

His eyes narrowed for a second, as if thinking of what he wanted to say next, and then relaxed his expression, and replaced it with a small smile, but Tian could still see a hint of bitterness in the smile. She couldn't help but to notice that he was rubbing his wrists ever so slightly, as if trying to hide what he was doing.

Tian felt a boulder land in her stomach as she suddenly thought of what it could be about, and that was something she didn't want to think about. Much less talk about. And certainly not with Jae-Ha, the Green Dragon, of all people. Tian looked away, biting her lower lip. She didn't want to talk about that place anymore that Jae-Ha wanted to.

"Jae-Ha-"

"I was just waiting to be alone with you to bring it up." He glanced at her, as she looked at him."You're from the Green Dragon Village, aren't you? That's where you came from." He sounded just slightly unsure of himself, but as he spoke, it became more and more firmer. Tian didn't know what to say. Once again, she looked away, and answered in a soft tone.

"Yeah. That's where I was born, but we left not long after you did. I didn't bother mentioning it to anyone because I didn't expect to run into anyone from there, and then you showed up out of nowhere..." Tian glanced at him, and then away with a shrug. Jae-Ha glanced at her, his lips pulled into a thin line for a moment, and then looked away with a shrug of his own, relaxing his expression.

"I have to admit, I'm both surprised and not surprised all at once. I don't hold any feelings towards that place any longer, so you don't have to worry about me having ill feelings towards you." He looked at her, smiling. She looked at him in surprise before smiling.

"I have to say myself, I always wondered what the hell happened to the Green Dragon once he left the village. I'm glad to see he did well." Tian and Jae-Ha shared a small, quick smile with one another before Tian sighed, standing up as she dusted off her dress." Well, I should get going back to Yona and Hak before they come looking for me." Tian said quickly, turning around as she dusted off her dress some more.

"Want me to walk you back to them?" Jae-Ha questioned, standing up fast, and quickly walking to her side. Tian looked at him, and smiled slightly.

"No. I'll be ok." She said softly, smiling back at him." I'll see you back at camp." She grinned, and then quickly walked away. Jae-Ha watched with a slight smile until he could no longer see her before turning around, and walking back to camp. He had alot to think about.

"Alright. It's all finished. Try it on. I want to see if it fits right." Yun said a few days later, finishing the last touches on Tian's hooded cape. He then handed it to her to try on for size.

Tian was quick to grab the garment from the teenager. She secured the tying on her collarbone before slipping the hood over her head. It surprised her how much it seemed to cover her face. Tian then moved some strands of hair that had fallen out of her bun in the process, and tucked them behind her ears. Yun looked at her, his eyes sizing everything up before he stood up, and made some final adjustments. He then stepped back with a confident grin. Tian looked at the young teen with a smile.

"With that grin of yours, I imagine that means everything is well and good?" She questioned, titling her head slightly. Yun glanced at her face, and nodded.

"I want you to wear this when you go into town just like Yona does when she goes. Of course this means that your time there will have to limited as much as possible to avoid suspicion. This way, when you do go, at least you'll be somewhat protected." Yun said, his eyebrows drawing together in worry. Tian nodded, putting down the hood, and fluffing out her hair.

"Oh great. Everything is done now with that cape? Guess that means you'll be better protected now." Jae-Ha said, surprising both Yun and Tian as they both turned to face him. Jae-Ha was carrying some fruit in a basket. Hak was right behind him with Yona in tow. All three of them had facial expressions that were less than pleasant. Yona looked very worried, if somewhat a bit angered as well. Hak had a worried expression as well. Jae-Ha, however, remained a bit more composed than the other two, but his lips still pulled into a frown.

"What's going on?" Yun asked immediately, looking at each of their faces. Tian looked at the teen, and then at Jae-Ha.

"Did you-"

"They know who started the entire mess." Hak said simply, looking directly at Tian, who drew in a quick breath, and held it.