Disclaimer: I don't own Akatsuki no Yona.

Chapter 15

After the raiders attacked, the clan took a few days to put everything back in order. The raiders were stashed in a cave near the back of the clan's village, where they would stay until the clan left in the spring. They would take the prisoners with them to the nearest town to be tried by the local magistrate and hopefully locked in jail for a good, long time. For now, the raiders would have to survive on stale bread and water.

The sun was out and the sky was actually a nice grey-blue as the clan gathered at the edge of their winter quarters to say goodbye to Yona and her group. Since the weather had temporarily cleared up, it was the perfect opportunity for them to leave the village.

Lien stayed near Kyung, letting him lean against her as their parents gave Yona's crew supplies and packs of food. With Kyung and others in their clan injured, she had chosen to stay behind and help her family. It wouldn't be right to leave when they needed her, even if it felt like she was splitting in two.

"We'll miss you all," their mother said as she hugged Yona. She held the red-headed princess at arm's length and smiled at her. "You can always get in free to our shows, if you see us."

"You're going to make us broke, little sister," Mama Ro said, stepping forward. She sized Yona up and then nodded at her. "We're indebted to you and your friends, though, so I guess free passes are a good trade."

"We're grateful for everything you've done for us," Yona said, tears standing in her eyes. Quite a few of their group were teary-eyed, and the clan wasn't exactly all stoic either. Friendships had been formed since Yona's group arrived, and no one really wanted them to go.

A couple of the little girls rushed forward, tugging on Yona's cloak. "Miss Yona Lady, we made you something!"

"We made everyone something."

"So you won't forget us!"

They held up a bunch of flower crowns, the flowers made out of carefully cut pieces of cloth. The clan used crowns like that for costume pieces, but there was one for each of the dragons, Hak, Yona, and Yoon. Yona put hers on immediately and hugged the little girls. When she stood back up, she met Lien's eyes and walked over to her, holding out her arms.

Lien met her halfway, hugging the princess tightly. After sharing a room with her and joining her in battle, Lien felt like she had made a close friend.

"I'm going to miss you," Yona said, smiling through her tears, "You've been so nice to us."

Lien hugged her again. "I'll miss you too." She looked past Yona at the guys, her own smile turning watery. Why was letting them all leave without her so hard? She had spent her entire life making friends and leaving them behind as her family traveled from town to town. It shouldn't be so hard this time.

Suddenly Zeno was hugging her, too, his bright yellow hair brushing her nose. "Zeno is going to miss Kirin, too!"

Kirin? Well, that sort of made sense, seeing how he called the others by their dragon names.

"You're an amazing dance partner," Lien said when they parted, Zeno's hands in hers. She grinned at him, blinking back her tears. She had to stop crying. "Honestly, you're really good."

"Lots of practice," he said, winking at her.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Yoon asked, stepping toward her. His eyes were red-rimmed and he screwed up his face to keep from crying. "It'd be nice to not have to worry about firestarters."

She laughed and wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the question. She wanted to say yes, of course she would go, but her family… Her parents, Kyung, Jala, Han-jae, Mama Ro. "You're more than capable of starting a fire, Yoon. You're like a fire-making genius."

"I'm actually a general all-around genius…"

"Thank you for bringing us here, Lien," Hak said as he walked over to them. He reached down and ruffled her hair. "You wouldn't have made it without you and your brother."

"And we would've been lost without all of you," she said. Unable to stop herself, she hugged him. Her clan was very physically affectionate, and hugs were just their natural way of saying goodbye. "I know you'll take care of Yona, but…take care of Yona?"

He gently hugged her back and nodded. "Of course."

When she pulled back, Jae-Ha and Kija were standing there. Kija bowed to her, his lower lip quivering. "You and your clan were the most gracious of hosts, and we are appreciative of everything you've done for us in our time of need."

"You can just say you'll miss her, Kija," Jae-Ha said, smirking. He reached out and took Lien's hand, pulling her toward him. Bending down, he kissed her forehead. "For luck." He grinned down at her as she rolled her eyes, amused by his flirting. "But I know someone who's going to miss you more than any of us." Taking her by the shoulder, he turned her and gave her a gentle shove, straight toward Shin-Ah.

Lien caught herself, lifting her eyes to Shin-Ah's mask. His flower crown was sitting cock-eyed on the horns, and Ao was sitting on his head, trying to eat the flowers. She covered a smile and gestured for him to bend down, which he automatically did. Rearranging the crown so it sat on his head instead of the mask's horns, she tried not to think about him leaving. She shouldn't have gotten attached or interested or, well, anything. This was just the logical conclusion of everything, wasn't it?

When she finished, he didn't straighten up automatically. Instead, he looked at her, and she wondered what he was thinking behind that mask. Silently, he reached up toward his neck, fiddling with something. The shorter of his two necklaces slid off, and he took her by the wrist. He pressed the necklace against her palm and then curled her fingers around it.

Lien stared down at her closed hand and then tightened her grip around the necklace. Shin-Ah didn't have much to give, and this must have been precious to him. She wanted to give him something too, in case they never saw each other again.

Quickly, she hooked his necklace around her neck and swiftly unwrapped the silk ribbon from her wrist. A small glimmering silver pendant hung from the band, a gift from Mama Ro. She held it out to him, the ribbon dangling and the pendant catching the light. Shin-Ah hesitated before taking it and tying a knot at the ends. He looped it over his head and it rested where his own necklace had been.

For a long moment, the two of them stood there, watching each other. Lien wanted to reach up and pull his mask away so she could see his eyes and try to figure out what he was thinking. Instead, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, her face pressing into his robe. She felt his hand resting on the small of her back while his other hand pulled her closer.

"Don't forget me, all right?" she mumbled.

"I won't." His hand brushed against her cheek as they pulled apart.

She gave him a small smile before walking back to her family, her hand on the necklace he had given her. Yona's group and her own clan were staring, at least until everyone started yelling goodbye. She watched her friends as they left, taking the path that would lead them through the mountains and down into the hill country. She stayed even as the others in her clan left, going back inside to get out of the cold.

Eventually, she turned to go back inside but found her way blocked by her mother. She reached out to poke the necklace Shin-Ah had given Lien. "What are you doing?"

"Going…inside?" she said, reaching up to touch the necklace again.

Her shook her head. "No, what are you doing with your life, dear?"

"This is my clan. It's where I belong." Wasn't it?

"Yes, and we love you and never want you to leave, but we also don't want to keep you from your destiny. And, sweetheart, I think your destiny is walking away right now."

Her mother was…giving her permission to leave? "I want to, but...I'm scared." Her whole life had been wrapped up in the clan, but she did feel like she wasn't supposed to be here anymore, not really. The people who really needed her were moving farther away with every passing moment.

Her mother gathered her close and kissed her cheek. "It's all right to be scared. But don't let that stop you."

Lien took a deep breath, feeling like her life was teetering on the edge of a huge decision. Go. Stay. Family. Destiny.

A sense of calm and peace wrapped around her. She knew what to do.