Oh my gosh, I haven't posted I forever. Let's see if I can finally finish this story by the end of August. I'm just going to write and ignore the manga from now on, so this is officially canon divergent. Super AU. Ignore all canon. XD Can't remember if I stated that at some point, it's been a million years.

"If your eyes get any bigger, princess, they'll pop out of your head," Hak said, standing next to Yona as she and Lien looked through a pile of scarves. They were all intricately woven and decorated with brightly colored embroidery. There were tiny scenes of people going about their lives on some of the scarves while others had images of animals and mythical creatures.

"Don't tease," Yona said, mostly ignoring Hak.

Lien's hand lingered over one that was covered with dragons. She picked it up and showed it to Yona, who took it and ran her fingers over the red one.

"This is so pretty," Yona said. There was a touch of a sigh in her voice, and Lien felt the same way. It would be nice to have money to waste on such beautiful things.

"I like this one," Lien said, lifting a snowy white scarf with a butterfly stitched onto one end.

Their large group had broken into two smaller groups and gone two different directions. While they were supposed to be looking for potential crops, there were plenty of distracting goods and wares in the town's small market district. Hak, Shin-Ah, and Zeno had gone with Yona and Lien. So far they had stopped at an herbalist's shop that Yoon would have loved, a baked goods stand, and this cloth merchant's stall.

Behind the stall, an elderly woman and a young girl were watching Lien and Yona, eagerly hoping to make a deal. Or perhaps worried they were going to steal something or that Zeno was going to touch something with his honey-covered fingers. He was still munching on the last bite of a honeyed baked bun. Lien was careful to smile back at them, trying to look just like any other person going about their shopping. She set down the scarf she had been holding.

Yona kept riffling through the scarves. "There are just so many here. The merchants never brought kinds like this before."

"They're all made by my granddaughter," the woman said, bowing her head toward Yona. "She's very skilled with a needle."

"They're all beautiful," Yona said with a winsome smile.

"Not as beautiful as you, miss," the granddaughter said, bowing her head toward Yona.

Yona blinked and shook her head, her smile becoming more hesitant. "Thank you…"

"She is, isn't she?" Zeno said, leaning forward, a grin on his face. He pointed at Yona with the hand holding the bun. "Behold!"

"Um…" The granddaughter gave a nervous laugh.

"We should keep moving," Hak said, pressing against Yona's arm, gently trying to steer her away from the stall. He grabbed Zeno by his scarf and pulled him away.

Lien and Shin-Ah followed along behind the others. It had been a while since she had been in Kai, and this wasn't a place she was familiar with. The empire was vast and currently split into two. There were numerous minor lords who ruled over the various provinces, and many of them were somehow related to the throne of the emperor. Those lords felt that the position of emperor wasn't far from them. Provinces often went to war with each other.

This province had once been part of the Kouka Kingdom. It was one of the areas that had gone back and forth between the two nations over the centuries. While it was currently in Kai, it could easily switch back to Kouka. That was one reason Lien liked being a part of a traveling caravan. They weren't exchanged back and forth between kingdoms like game pieces; they belonged to themselves. The caravan didn't have the protection of a kingdom, but they also weren't caught up in politics, most of the time. However, her position as a kirin most likely meant that the boundless lifestyle of her family wouldn't be hers.

"Are you all right?"

She looked up at Shin-Ah and nodded. He had exchanged his mask for a blindfold, which made hopefully made him look less intimidating to the villagers. "Just thinking."

His fingers brushed the sleeve of her dress. "You were frowning."

"I was thinking really hard," she said.

"Keep up, you two," Hak said from the front of their group.

Both of them hurried after the others. A slight weight landed on Lien's shoulder as Shin-Ah set Ao there. Lien reached up and scratched the squirrel under her chin as she fell into step beside Yona, behind Hak and in front of Shin-Ah. Zeno wandered along on Yona's other side, his arms behind his head, putting on a very carefree appearance.

They were almost at the end of the market. Lien noticed Hak shift his weapon from one shoulder to the other, and she looked ahead, wondering what had put him on edge. There were three soldiers hanging around one of the stalls. Two of them were wearing Kai province uniforms but the third was dressed like a Fire Tribe soldier. A fourth man appeared from an alley, also in the Fire Tribe uniform.

"Split up, and head back to the forest," Hak said, "Zeno, you're with Yona and me. Shin-Ah, Lien…"

"We'll keep going straight," Lien said with fake cheerfulness. That way it wouldn't look as if they were all avoiding the soldiers. It was unlikely that Hak and Yona would be recognized this far away from the castle, but the risk wasn't nonexistent. Maybe they should have dyed Yona's hair.

Zeno grabbed Yona's hand. "They're selling hats!" he said, pointing at a shop down a side street and pulling Yona that way. It gave them a reason to move away without hopefully attracting too much attention.

Lien slid her arm through Shin-Ah's, resting her hand on his forearm. He froze for a moment, nearly tripping over his own feet, but he kept moving forward. Lien kept her eyes down, trying to look demure and uninterested in the soldiers.

"Is that a tame squirrel?"

Oh, well, that wasn't what she wanted. Lien lifted her gaze as one of the soldiers stepped into their path. Shin-Ah immediately pulled his arm away from hers and shifted in front of her.

"Yes," she said, smiling as she peeked around Shin-Ah.

"Can I hold her?" The Kai soldier looked young, maybe sixteen or seventeen. He grinned at Lien. "I'm really good with animals."

Shin-Ah tensed. Lien reached up and cupped a hand around Ao, shaking her head. "I don't think so. She doesn't really like strangers, and I wouldn't want her to bite you."

"Oh." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, that's okay—"

"He said he wants to hold it." The other Kai soldier pushed away from the stall, taking a step toward Lien and Shin-Ah. His eyes landed on the sword strapped to Shin-Ah's back, and he frowned. "Give it to him."

"It's all right," the younger soldier protested, "I don't want to get bit."

"It can't bite through your gloves. You have to learn to deal with civilians properly," the older soldier said, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "If you let them say no, they'll start thinking they can always say no."

Lien watched him, cautious. "She wouldn't go to him, in any case."

"Tell her to give him the creature," the soldier said to Shin-Ah. "Or I'll make her do it myself."

Lien grabbed Shin-Ah's wrist as his hand started to come up, reaching toward his own sword. She threaded her fingers through his, trying to keep him from going for the sword. He glanced at her and then looked at Ao.

"Ao."

The squirrel chittered and tugged on Lien's hair. Shin-Ah touched one of her tiny paws.

Ao fluffed her tail out. She scurried down Lien's back and jumped to the ground. Taking off, she raced down the same alley that Yona, Hak, and Zeno had gone down.

"We're sorry," Lien said to the older soldier, "She's not completely tame."

"You did that on purpose," the man said.

By the stall, one of the Fire Tribe soldiers chuckled. "You should take the girl instead."

His companion snorted. "Maybe she's tamer."

Shin-Ah started walking, pulling Lien with him. She could feel irritation radiating off of him, and it wouldn't be good if he acted on it.

"Stop—" the older soldier began to unsheathe his blade.

Lien sprang forward, switching it so that now she was the one in the lead, moving into a sprint. Shin-Ah instantly matched her speed and then outpaced her. He tightened his grip on her hand as they ran.

At least the soldiers wouldn't notice Hak and Yona, Lien mused as those same soldiers dashed after her and Shin-Ah.

Neither of them were familiar with the town. This wasn't a race they were likely to win without knowing where they were going, and there would be a fight if the soldiers caught them.

Lien yanked on Shin-Ah's arm as they passed a narrow alley. He reacted immediately, moving with her into the alley. There were pots and a cart that they had to navigate around. Shin-Ah suddenly grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to him and then pushing her into a shadowed alcove she hadn't noticed.

He pressed her against a doorway, one arm over her head, his other hand splayed by her head against the door, the dark cloak he was wearing covering both of them. She leaned back against the wooden door, her heart racing for more reasons than just the run.

Shin-Ah glanced over his shoulder. He stepped closer, moving into the shadow, the distance between them practically nonexistent. Lien put her hands on his chest, and he turned his head down to look at her.

Footsteps got closer and then passed by, heading down the alley. The soldiers must not have noticed the alcove either.

Lien reached up, touching the edge of his blindfold. He sucked in a breath and caught her fingers.

"I'm not scared of you, Shin-Ah," she said.

"I am," he said, "I don't want to hurt you."

She wrapped her hand around his. "You wouldn't."

Shin-Ah paused. He brought her hand closer and then pressed the back of her fingers to his cheek for a moment. She cupped his cheek and ran her thumb over his skin.

Shin-Ah touched her wrist. "I…can't test it. I don't trust myself."

"You wouldn't hurt me," she repeated.

Shin-Ah opened his mouth to say something. Behind Lien, the door opened inward, and he had to grab her again to keep both of them from falling through doorway.

An elderly man glowered at them. "This is my doorstep! Shoo! It's my private property, get off."

"So sorry," Lien said, holding up her hands as Shin-Ah let go of her. "We were just leaving."

"No, you weren't! Go, shoo!"

Properly chastised, they left. Well. That had been…the tips of Lien's ears felt like they were burning.

"Let's go find the others," she said.

Shin-Ah held out a hand to her and nodded. She smiled a little bit and put her hand in his, letting him lead the way.