Chapter 11
*Previously on Beneath the Mask*
The disguised Joo-Doh has managed to convince Yona to accept Lord Kage's proposal. With much consideration, Yona agrees to go to the castle with Kage. However, Joo-Doh will not let her leave without him. Using her body injuries as an excuse, the Sky Tribe General manages to secure a place by her side. Then they leave to Kage's castle.
Even though the journey to the castle was only a day, to Yona, it felt like an eternity. As the sun set in the sky, the castle came into view.
"Are you okay?" The Healer whispered softly as he gently held her waist close to himself.
"Yeah, thanks to you." Yona said while looking around and up at the masked man. Her face was slightly flushed and her eyes seemed almost longing….
Don't think anything unnecessary. Keep yourself together.
Joo-Doh silently told himself in order to keep his mind from going to a whole other place that it didn't belong.
"Healer." Lord Kage's voice broke him from his thoughts as he turned his attention to the horrid man. He watched as the want-to-be-king took off his over coat and threw it over to him. The skilled general caught it just before it hit the princess' face. "Put that on her. Since she is to be my queen, I do not want her… appearance…. to ruin my reputation. After all, I'm known for only having the most beautiful women in my court. Until she is fully healed, only a select few people will be able to attend to her."
"Yes, Milord." Joo-Doh responds as he carefully places the clothing over Yona's shoulders.
"It smells like him…. I hate it." The sky tribe general heard her whisper.
"Please try to bear with it until we get to the castle. We are almost there."
Yona nodded a silent reply as the horses once again began running towards their destination.
It is nightfall by the time they arrive at the castle gates. Torches are lit from the watch towers and archers are ready to take down anyone who seems the least bit suspect. The red headed princess couldn't help but lean in closer to her savior. She felt his strong arm pull her closer as if he noticed her unease.
"It is me, your future King, Lord Kage. I bring with me my future wife and her attendant. Open the gates." Kage's obnoxious voice filled the air causing the guards to stand straighter and more alert.
"YES, YOUR HIGHNESS!" The guards respond as the castle gate begins to slowly creak open. Yona stiffened slightly when noticing how many guards there are inside the castle. The numbers could easily outnumber the amount of soldiers in Kouka's palace.
There are so many… How will we escape?
Yona thought to herself as her stomach lurched with anxiety. The horses' hooves clack loudly as they enter into her new prison.
"Welcome back, Your Highness." A suspicious looking man with long grey hair greeted while bowing elegantly.
"Yes, I have finally returned. I am very tired from my long journey. As you can see, my wife will need her rest. Take her and her attendant to her chambers… Then bring me my meal… and someone to keep me company tonight. My wife is useless now as her constitution is…. weak at this moment."
"Yes, Milord." The man responds without a second thought. His purple tinted eyes then turn towards Yona and Joo-Doh. Taking this as his que, Joo-Doh gets down off of the horse and helps Yona down very gently. "Please follow me, Your highness."
With a small bow, the suspicious man begins to walk away.
"Will you be able to walk?"
"Yes, It's best to keep up appearances… As long as it's not too far, I can endure it." Yona responds as she follows after the man with her head held high.
You really are an amazing woman.
They are led to the other side of the castle where not many attendants seem to be and soon enter into a spacious room.
"I head from Lord Kage that you had sustained numerous injuries and were in need of treatment. Given the knowledge that my Lord likes to keep up appearances, I have taken the liberty to move you here. This is a secluded part of the castle which only people with permission may enter. You will have to forgive me as I only made preparations for your arrival. I was unaware that a healer would be tending to you. I do hope that you will accept this with relative ease, but…. For the time being, I will ask that you both share this chamber."
The suspicious man's words caused both of them to stare in blank silence.
"Please do not think that I am merely being lazy. My reasoning for this is to keep the Princess' condition a secret and to keep rumors of a healer being on palace grounds to a minimum."
"I understand your concerns. We will share a chamber. My job is to heal the Princess as soon as possible so this makes my job easier." Joo-Doh speaks up while leading Yona to the bed.
"I grateful that you accepted so easily. There are medicinal herbs over on the table, along with soups and fruits for the princess to eat. I will return in the morning to see if you need anything else." With that the man bowed eloquently and exited the room.
"Are you okay?" Joo-Doh asked as soon as the man's footsteps disappeared from the hallway.
"Y-yeah. My back is stinging and my throat hurts, but I'm okay. It would have been much more difficult if you weren't helping hold me steady on the horse. So…. Thank you." Yona smiled despite her pain and looked up at the masked hero. A small smile traces Joo-Doh's lips.
"….. Let me see your back." He says as he goes to try and undo her kimono sash. He suddenly stops himself a few centimeters away from grabbing it.
"Healer?"
"… I'm sorry…. Do you think you could take your clothes off yourself?..."
A huge blush forms on the princess' face when realizing the situation they are in.
"O-Okay.. Yes, turn around. I will let you know when I'm ready."
"Sounds good to me." The Sky Tribe General swings around and stares at the door while hearing the fabric slide and fall to the floor. The rustling of clothes and covers makes his heart begin to pound loudly in his chest. His desire to turn around and look at her body was almost unbearable.
Keep your head on straight, Joo-Doh. If you so much as move an inch, you will never forgive yourself.
The sound of fabric came to a stop as Yona's soft voice told him she is ready. Taking a breath, Joo-Doh turned around. Sitting on the bed, her back and shoulders bare, fabric scrunched up over her chest and legs, was the woman he loved. Even with all the bruises and scratches, she still looked like the most beautiful woman in the world. Yona blushed openly as she looked down self-consciously to the blankets that covered her. The disguised healer walked over to her, being careful to keep his breathing under control. He sat behind her and looked at her back.
She's so dirty…. It's hard for me to get a good look at the extent of her injuries with her body being covered in dried blood and dirt.
"I can't see your injuries very well…. I will need to wash your back."
"W-Wash?"
"Ah!" Realizing what he said, Joo-Doh looked away. "Or we could wait until the morning when you can go to a bath house and wash yourself…. I apologize for saying something so-"
"I don't mind.."
Joo-Doh froze when hearing those words come from her mouth. He turned around to see Yona, her face red as her matted hair.
"If it's you… I don't mind… if you wash me."
"…Are you sure, Princess?" The Healer repeated in order to make sure he was not hallucinating.
"I-I'm sure. I feel really dirty right now… Also… You can't see all of my injuries because I'm filthy… I don't want to wait until tomorrow anyways… I don't know if the women would be gentle with my wounds when they help me… So… I'd want you to be in there with me anyways… Does that… bother you?" Yona explained causing Joo-Doh's heart to race even more.
"No… It doesn't bother me at all... I will go get the wash basin." The Sky Tribe General manages to say as he walks to the other side of the room to retrieve the tools necessary to help her clean herself.
Mind over body, Joo-Doh… Mind over body…
-End of Chapter 11-
Note From Me:
I am back! Hello, my fellow readers! I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season! I sure did! I got officially engaged and am now planning my wedding! I am super excited about that! My ring is sooo pretty! T_T Anyways, I hope that you liked this latest update! I'm sorry it is short, but I wanted to get something out to you guys before the school year kicks off again for me. I apologize that it is taking me so long. I have multiple things that I have been working on. I am currently working on my own WEBTOON and have my AMV Youtube account that I try to keep updated regularly, on top of this…. So when I hit writers blocks, I tend to go to my other works to try and see if they will help my inspiration some. LOL! Yes…. I left you on another cliffhanger! I love cliffhangers!... Except when Kusanagi-Sensei does it… Then it's just torture. Lol BUT… I will be nice… and give you a little sneak peak preview of the next chapter! ENJOY!
~SNEAK PEAK~
"Princess…. We won't be needing the wash basin… Connected to the room is a small bath so you can wash yourself." Joo-Doh walks over to the Princess, trying not to look too closely at the exposed parts of her back. Since realizing that he may have to help her wash her back, he had become all too aware of her small body. "Princess?"
Yona stayed silent and unmoving as if debating something in her mind. When she looked up at him, her eyes were filled with determination.
"Please bathe with me!" She exclaimed nearly causing the Healer to fall back onto the floor.
"W-W-What are you saying, Princess? That's too far for a joke." He responded, his voice cracking ever so slightly.
"It's not a joke. I'm very weak, and I don't think that I have the strength to properly wash myself. It hurts to lift my arms so I couldn't hardly wash my hair or my back… I will wear a towel.. So please…." Her crimson cheeks and begging eyes nearly caused Joo-Doh to lose his composure. After a brief silence, the masked man sighed in defeat.
"Very well… But you have to wear a towel. Do you understand?! A princess should never be this undressed in front of a man, but since I'm your healer.. I'm the exception. Do not ever ask a man to do something like this again, unless he is your husband?! Understand?!"
"I understand! I wouldn't ask if it was under normal circumstances!" Yona retaliated. She couldn't help but feel the way he talked to her just now was extremely familiar.
-Sneak Peak Scene Change-
Her body is so soft… so small…. Shit… I'm losing it….
"Your touch is really gentle. When you touch me like this… I can't help but feel that… I'm something.. precious to you…." Yona looks over her shoulder and up at the masked general. Her wet hair dripped down her flushed face. Her eyes seemed to look into his soul, her bare skin shimmered under the moonlight.
"You shouldn't say those kinds of things…. Do you want me to lose what little self control I have left?" His voice sung of desperation… A need to make her his. Yona turned towards him, the water swooshing with her movements. She looked up into his eyes and touched his masked cheek.
"Would it be bad… If I-"
AND PAUSE! THAT IS ALL FOR THIS SNEAK PEAK! ;D
RESPONSES:
mutemuia – Thank you for your review! I'm glad to be back! Hopefully, I can find time to update more frequently now that I have the story more figured out. Lol! Yes, Joo-Doh won't give in easily. That is for sure. Wherever she goes, he goes. :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the chapters to come! Thank you for your support! It means so much to me!
MoonlightMercy – You are so sweet! Thank you so much for reading all of my stories! That makes me so happy to know that people enjoy my writing. To be perfectly honest, I read your message as soon as I got up this morning. Your message helped me get the inspiration to finish this chapter and post today. I hope that you enjoyed the latest chapter! Thank you for your support and review!
AmuKuroNekoHime – Lol! I'm glad you are liking it! Thank you for your review and your support! You guys are awesome! :)