They ate lunch, and then after finalizing preparations for winter, watched as all of the people who had been out in the world return with carts filled with the resources that would get them through the winter.
The village welcomed them back and unloaded everything into their respective places. The sky grew dark quickly that night, as the deep clouds became darker. It continued to get colder and all the people moved inside to their homes to stay warm. Yun made a hot dinner and they sat closer to each other and close to the fire. Rensa felt bad that all the men were planning on sleeping outside in freezing temperatures. Her hut was small but perhaps they would be able to stay warm better if they were all together.
Once Yun had put dinner away, she mentioned it. "It's really cold out tonight."
"The temperature dropped pretty fast." Yun stated. "It most likely means snow is coming."
Rensa supposed he was right. "If that is indeed the case, then I would feel bad having all of you sleep outside. Why don't you rest inside tonight?" She offered. "My hut is still quite small, but at least you'll be able to keep warm."
"I think that's a good idea." Yona agreed.
So all the men did too. After Yun had put the fire out, they all went inside. Rensa sat on her bed roll and watched them all get situated. Hak sat next to the front door. Zeno, Shin-ah and Yun sprawled out where Yona usually slept. Kija draped himself against the chest held in the corner. Yona curled up against the wall a foot or two away from Hak. Rensa watched Jae-ha sit in the corner across from where she slept after moving the box of food out of the way.
"Good night everyone." Yona yawned and then fell silent.
There were a few scattered "good nights" from the dragons and then her hut was quiet and dark.
She fiddled with the buckles on the straps and after a few minutes, was able to remove the wooden limb from around her knee. The buckles jangled ever so slightly as she set it next to her bedroll. She pulled a thick blanket over her shoulders and lied down.
It was hard for Rensa to fall asleep, for some reason her thoughts were racing and all over the place.
She did not know when they would be leaving next. She didn't know what this coming winter held in store. She was concerned for Jae-ha, who was hiding something. Whatever it was, it was his to share, but it still hurt that he was keeping things from her, because of it, she felt there was a wall forming between them.
She didn't know when she fell asleep, and when she awoke in, what she assumed, was the morning, she did not feel well rested at all. Her hut had still gotten cold during the night, and she woke up around the same time the others did. Yun was the first one standing on his feet and to the door as a few of the others sat up with tired groans. Yun opened the door.
The air seemed to be still and quiet and then all the dragons, except Jae-ha were at the door as well, letting out 'aahhs' of amazement. Then, before even Yun had stepped outside, Zeno, Shin-ah and even Kija were plunging outside.
"Wow, you guys really do get a lot of snow." Yun commented, he sounded impressed and yet annoyed at the same time.
"Once the snow hits it keeps coming down until Spring. Usually we have no outside contact until then." Rensa explained as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"How am I supposed to dig my way to the campsite?" He huffed, jamming his fists to his waist.
"You don't. Villagers are assigned to clear pathways from the homes to the road, if there isn't one they haven't gotten this far yet. Besides, it's buried and would be useless. We cook inside." She laughed at his mood. He turned and she gestured to the fire pit set into her floor.
He sighed and set about preparing to cook breakfast. Rensa's gaze drifted to Jae-ha in the corner. His eyes were watching her intently and his mouth was curved into a small smile. She smiled back and then strapped the wooden limb back on.
It took her a moment to regain her balance once again and then she was able to walk to the door. The snow was packed up to her door and then some. Where she stood the snow was just above her ankles, perhaps mid-shins.
The three dragons were outside throwing snowballs and tackling each other into the snow. Zeno seemed to be the instigator, and poor Kija was the target.
"How much snow did we get?" Yona asked, also getting to her feet and looking outside.
"Quite a bit." Rensa replied.
"Looks like we can't leave quite yet." She muttered glancing out to the town. "Do you think we can get fur-lined cloaks?"
"Yes, they will be handing those out now that the first snow has fallen." Rensa said, trying to ignore her comment about them leaving.
Suddenly, Yona lurched out of the doorway and landed face first in the snow. She sat up, gasping and looked back. Rensa also looked behind her and saw Hak leaning against the other side with a too innocent expression on his face.
"What did you do that for, Hak?" Yona demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about. The girl right here was the one who pushed you." He claimed with a hand out towards Rensa. He kept his face innocent though she could see the sparkle in his dark eyes.
"I did no such thing." Rensa faked offense with a hurt expression and a hand to her chest. "There is no proof other than your word that I did."
"Oh yeah? Who do you believe more, Princess? Me or her?" Hak asked and made an obvious hand gesture for her to choose him.
Yona glanced between the two of them.
"Yona, I am sure you've known Hak for quite some time, and though you have only recently met me you were a good judge of my character. Would you think I would do something as mean as something like this obvious offence?" Rensa played it up, faking innocence along with the hurt. She shifted back a single step and waved a hand behind where Yona and Hak could not see. "Surely Hak is more suspicious than I, with his teasing nature."
Yona laughed. "You've got me there. Sorry Hak, I know it was you."
Hak was about to say something but Rensa spoke once more before he could. "Though I may not have been the one to push Yona, I do not take kindly to false accusations." She shoved at Hak and another pair of hands joined hers. Together they were able to force him to lose his balance and he tumbled out into the snow.
Rensa glanced up at Jae-ha, who was laughing, and grinned.
"Hey, I thought you were on my side, droopy eyes!" Hak exclaimed.
Jae-ha shrugged. "Sorry Hak, Rensa called for my help, I have decided to come to her aid." He looped a casual arm around Rensa's shoulders. She leaned ever so slightly into the half embrace.
That was when a well aimed snowball splattered against her face. She gasped at the sudden cold and searched for the culprit.
Zeno had an outstretched hand.
Everyone was frozen for a mere second before she jumped out into the snow and crouched to gather a tightly packed handful of snow. Rensa charged at Zeno and tossed the snowball. He attempted to dodge but it broke against his shoulder.
There was no holding back then. Even Hak and Yona were drawn into the snowball fight. Hak's snowballs were hard and felt like ice or rocks. There were no teams, it was everyone for themselves. Some of them continued to tackle each other into the piles of snow, a few would gather armfuls of packed snow and dump them atop someone else's head. Jae-ha even went as far as to grab her arm and twirl her in like they were dancing, and then smashed a snowball directly onto her face.
She wiped the snow from her eyes and saw him watching Hak carefully, who was facing him and bouncing a snowball up and down in his hand, determining where he was going to throw it. Jae-ha must have known because he crouched in preparation to jump.
Rensa took the opportunity.
Before he could take to the air, Rensa lunged onto his back, throwing him off balance. The snowball Hak threw hit him right on the cheek and ear.
"You deserved that." She taunted and stumbled to her feet as he stood upright.
"Oh yeah?" He asked with a smirk and that was when she knew she was in trouble.
He crouched and then jumped at her, anticipating this, she fell to one side, landing in the snow and rolling away. The snow clung to her cloak and dress. She shivered as she rolled to her knees, watching Jae-ha. He wiped snow off his clothes and then whirled around to find her. His nose was pink from the cold, and snow was embedded in his hair. He was about to lunge at her again when Yun called for breakfast.
She, and everyone else, all got to their feet and crowded into her hut once again for breakfast, it was warm, and she was able to sit by the fire before anyone else could take the spot that would have been hers. Yun handed her a bowl of something delicious smelling.
Zeno sat next to her as she took a bite.
"How are you feeling today, Miss Rensa?" He asked conversationally, accepting a bowl from Yun as well.
"I am well." She stated after a chewing pause. It was true. She was well for the moment. Though she could still feel the slight veil of tiredness somewhere in her mind.
"Zeno could tell you were not sleeping well. What were you thinking about?" He asked casually around a bite of his own food.
Rensa did not want to speak her thoughts and doubts out loud.
"You are sad." A soft voice, just above a whisper spoke a little bit behind her on her other side.
She turned just enough to see Shin-ah sitting behind her. He was not eating, instead he seemed to be looking at her through his mask. She did not know how he knew that. Was she being too obvious? She didn't think so. Was it part of his dragon abilities? She did not think that was the case either, because she knew his powers. He could only see long distances, and his eyes were a dangerous weapon if he wanted them to be. Perhaps he learned how to be perceptive, like Zeno.
"That is true." She murmured and her shoulders slumped slightly. With a tilt of her head to the left, she could see Jae-ha sitting on the floor in front of Hak and Yona, with Yun next to him. They were all eating and discussing something. Yona and Jae-ha seemed to be in agreement, Hak's deep voice would pipe up, and then Yun would sigh and say something that either made Jae-ha and Yona argue with him, or they would be quiet and in thought for a moment.
"The two of you have gotten close, haven't you?" Another, more formal voice asked from behind her. At this point, Rensa just turned around and found herself surrounded by three of the four dragons. Kija was expecting an answer.
"Yes, we have." She replied.
"The Green Dragon is different." Shin-ah noted in a muttered tone, or that was just how soft he spoke.
Zeno agreed. "He pulls attention to himself less now."
"We think it's because he found you." Kija explained.
Rensa glanced between all of them. "You're right, I think I've noticed that too."
"You act like you need him, but I don't think that's entirely true. He needs you." Zeno's countenance changed every time he was speaking intelligently. Like his playfulness was just a dramatized act. Rensa couldn't help but listen to every word he had to say. "All of us dragons need someone who will save us. We follow the Crimson Dragon without any regret or thought for ourselves. Our purpose is to protect her. Sometimes we become reckless, we can get hurt. Yona doesn't wish that, but it's in our very blood to put ourselves between her and danger. We do not die easily, but at times it is hard to fight to stay alive. The dragons need to find another reason, other than the Crimson King, to stay alive."
"Being needed is a good reason to stay alive. Finding another reason could be a burden." Rensa argued. She did not quite understand what Zeno meant.
He smiled patiently at her. "We love Yona, as the Dragons love the Crimson King, yet, we need to find a different kind of love someday."
She understood then, and that word made her nervous for some unknown reason. Love. She cared about Jae-ha and had admitted that outloud, and he claimed to return her feelings. Neither of them had used the word love to describe how they felt for each other. Yet it felt right. It was right that she loved him. With that thought came the same sadness and fear from the night before. Jae-ha was becoming distant. She could not see if he felt the same way. If he loved her, would he lie to her?
"I admit I am a bit envious." Kija's voice pulled her from her thoughts. He was staring down at his clawed hand wrapped in a white cloth. "Jae-ha has found another person to fight for, to care about. I wish the same for myself someday soon, I hope." He smiled wistfully.
The other dragons seemed to think that Jae-ha loved her. She did not know if she agreed. "I have another question." She changed the subject just slightly back.
"What is it?" Zeno asked.
"Wouldn't finding someone else to protect distract you from your actual purpose? If you are to protect Yona with your very lives, wouldn't it be harder if you had to decide between saving your master, and saving the other person you care about?" She watched each of their reactions. Kija nodded like he agreed with her, yet his eyes were sad. She couldn't tell what Shin-ah was thinking, other than that his mouth was pressed firmly together like he was unhappy. Zeno tilted his head, pondering her questions.
"That is a good point, which is why I claimed that we needed to find that someday. Yona will achieve her goals, and we will help her. Eventually we will all have the chance to settle down, to lead normal lives, and start families. Even I was married once, many years ago. Because of the nature of my power, however, she passed away and I was left to live on." A shadow of sadness fell across his features, and suddenly he appeared older than he looked. His eyes were deep and tired, like they held an old soul. Rensa supposed he only told people what he wanted to tell about himself. People were entitled to their secrets. Though, she was surprised that he had been married. "My mission just isn't quite done." He said the words with a low finality, and Rensa wondered how and when he had come to that conclusion.
He took a deep breath and then the illusion was gone. He smiled brightly at her. "Zeno is proud that the Green Dragon has found someone like you to love." He claimed boldly.
Rensa could not stop thinking about how Zeno had looked though, and didn't respond as she was thinking of what his life was like.
"What are you four talking about over here?" A humor filled voice caused her to glance up to see Jae-ha standing over them. He was smiling, and he had the sparkle back in his eyes.
"Zeno was talking with Miss Rensa about love!" Zeno shouted cheerfully, raising his arms like he had won a prize.
"Oh? You were talking about all things romantic without me? The personification of love and beauty?" Jae-ha tossed his ponytail back and touched a hand to his chest. Rensa stifled a laugh and Kija threw out some insults about Jae-ha being full of himself.
"Get over yourself Jae-ha." Yun grunted as he walked by and started cleaning up breakfast.
Jae-ha dropped his arms. "I'd like to go on a walk. Would you like to come with me?" He asked, gazing directly at her. The look in his eyes told her he was nervous, and hopeful. She wanted to go with him, and hoped and wondered if he was finally going to tell her the truth.
"Of course." She got to her feet and followed Jae-ha out into the cold. Small snowflakes were slowly beginning to fall from the sky again. Rensa tied her cloak around her shoulders and walked next to Jae-ha.
They walked in silence for several minutes. She wanted to ask what he had lied to her about, but couldn't come up with a good way to ask.
Finally, Jae-ha spoke up with an insignificant question. "How are you liking the new leg?"
She chuckled. "It is… strange at times, I am still getting used to walking on two feet again. It was nice of Yun to do this for me." She really was thankful to him, she appreciated that he had put in the time and effort to help her. All of them had.
"It was a surprise to us when he told us his plan. I think it's great though, Yun is very talented and really does care about people, despite his sarcastic nature." Jae-ha laughed a little too.
There was still an awkwardness between them. Rensa stopped walking. They were on the other side of town, entering into the orchard that was full of leafless trees. "You've been different lately. Something seems to be bothering you." She managed to finally speak her feelings. "I'm sorry if I'm someone you don't want to talk about your feelings with, but I would like to know if something is hurting you." She recalled the hurt in his eyes when she would talk sometimes. She was a little hurt too, if that really was the case.
Jae-ha's eyes flicked around her face and she watched as he was hesitant.
"What's wrong?" She asked again. She glanced away only for a second, when she was hesitating before taking his hand and entwining their fingers.
"Do you like living here?" He wondered softly.
Rensa was confused. Why did that matter? He already knew the answer. "I do. Things have gotten better…" She was about to ask why he had asked, when he posed another question.
"Would you like to leave if you had the chance?"
She did not understand why he was asking such questions. "I… I don't know. I would like to travel again, but I don't know how far I'd be able to get, even with a fake leg." She could feel the doubt creeping in again. She couldn't see herself leaving. Hoshu was her home, it was where she lived. Yet she also remembered the sights she had seen when she was travelling with her parents after every Harvest before the accident.
His deep eyes were tight and sad. "Is there something that is holding you here, keeping you from leaving?"
Her eyebrows were furrowed as she watched him, she shook her head ever so slightly. "There is nothing, other than this is my home. Jae-ha, you already know these things, why are you asking me? What is wrong with you? Won't you tell me?" She squeezed his hand, pleading with him. She was becoming upset.
His next question caused her to catch her breath and think for a moment. "Is there anything out in the world that you would leave your home for?"
There was one thing. One person. He already knew the answer to that question as well. She said as such. "You already know." Her voice was low. "I want you to stay with me."
He shook his head. "That wasn't what I asked."
Rensa had to think back on his question before she realized what she had said wrong. "I would want to be with you. I would leave for you."
He relaxed a little and the sparkle returned to his eyes. His mouth twitched into a smile. He was relieved, and yet the nervousness was still there.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong now?" She asked, perhaps a little sarcastically. "Something has been bothering you since you arrived. When I asked you about it, you weren't honest with me."
His hand finally squeezed hers back. "It was when you spoke of staying here in Hoshu with a finality. Like you never wanted to leave. On the way here I was thinking about a question I wanted to ask you. I was a little hurt when you said that, and I wasn't going to ask since you are free to do as you please… But then I wanted to ask you, because it is something I want, and I wanted you to know that."
Rensa was still confused. "What?"
"Come with us, Rensa." He breathed out, like he was breathlessly pleading.
His words shocked her. Warmed her. Bewildered her. Relieved her. He wanted to be with her, he wanted her to leave with him. On the other hand, she wanted him to stay with her. They were different circumstances, yet they both wanted to be together.
"Don't you want to?" He finally broke the silence with a whisper.
"Of course I want to. That's what had you worried? Jae-ha, you could have just asked me, we could have avoided this whole misunderstanding." Rensa grumbled, it annoyed her that he acted this way when they could have talked about it to begin with.
"That's all you have to say about my proposal?" Jae-ha asked in disbelief.
"Yes!" She exclaimed, withdrawing her hand from his, he allowed his to drop. "If you were honest with me from the beginning, when I asked what was wrong, you would have learned what you already know, that I want to be with you. Instead you acted like you were fine, and distanced yourself from me all so you could come up with this stupid plan to pepper me with questions!"
"I never know what you want! I don't even think you know what you want. You speak so carelessly sometimes it makes me wonder if you think before you speak." He was more calm than she was, but his words were still harsh.
"Of course I think before I speak and I mean what I say." Rensa snapped back, the anger was hot in her chest, though she desperately tried to control her tone. "At the time of that conversion, I only had one option, to stay here in Hoshu. You could have asked me when Yun gave me this wooden limb, or when you were so kindly helping me learn to walk. Instead you dragged me out here in the cold to be dramatic!"
"You say you want to be with me, why are you complaining about this?" Jae-ha demanded. "What are you even upset about?"
"I'm upset that you lied to me! That you had so many opportunities to tell me what you wanted and didn't! That you distanced yourself. It made me afraid and sad that you weren't honest. Like you don't trust me. I thought that was what we established first. Trust. Then you were out here acting all hurt when I was actually worried about you!" Rensa's composure slipped and she shouted at him. When she was done she took a step back and took a deep breath.
"I was hurt." Jae-ha stated. "I thought you wouldn't want to come with me."
Rensa took another breath before she spoke in an even tone. "You had no reason to doubt."
Another moment of silence. Rensa started to feel guilt about lashing out at him. She wasn't being entirely fair. She didn't bring up that something was bothering him and that her feelings were hurt either.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that your feelings were hurt." Jae-ha said and reached out his hand for her. "I'm sorry for saying such things to you, I was harsh. And, you're right, I was overly dramatic about all of this. I'm sorry, Rensa."
"I'm sorry too. I did not mean to yell at you when I didn't bring up my hurt feelings to begin with. Will you forgive me?" She asked and took his hand again.
He nodded and his eyes were shining. "I forgive you."
"I forgive you too, Jae-ha." Rensa said and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back. "I would love to go with you, as long as I won't be a burden."
"You won't be. I've discussed it with everyone, they all want you to come too." He explained. That's when she realized what he had been talking about with Yona, Hak, and Yun that morning.
"Okay." She sighed, holding him tighter.
"I'd say we handled our first argument pretty well, wouldn't you agree?" He asked playfully.
She laughed a little and nodded her agreement. "No more hurt feelings, agreed?" Her feelings were no longer hurt. He had handled the situation better than she had. It wasn't really something to fight about. Rensa just realized that sometimes, not communicating her feelings could lead to more hurt feelings, which could then lead to her lashing out. She knew it was better to talk about things before they festered into something angry and ugly. She hoped his feelings weren't hurt.
"Agreed." He pressed his forehead to hers, and she felt relieved at that. He had forgiven her for their small fight. They sat in the snow talking and establishing how they would communicate if feelings were hurt again in the future to make sure a fight didn't happen again. They talked about what they knew about each other, and learned new things they hadn't known before.
When the snow picked up, they walked back to Rensa's hut, hand in hand, both feeling free once again. Rensa and Jae-he told the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch that she would be accompanying them. There was a lot cheering and hugs all around. Rensa felt loved and excited to go with them.
They spent the day gathering supplies and preparing to leave. Rensa told Ja-ri and Shion that she was leaving with Jae-ha. They wished her well, though Shion didn't want to let go from hugging her. A few tears sprang to her eyes. Then she packed her few belongings into a pack and set it with the others'
That night, Jae-ha and Rensa huddled together in a corner after dinner, talking about travelling and what it would be like.
They fell asleep at some point, and when they awoke in the morning, Yun made a quick breakfast and then they all got ready to leave. There was freshly fallen snow on the ground, and their fur-lined cloaks kept them warm against the cold.
As the group was preparing to leave, Rensa and Jae-ha hung back. Rensa had something she wanted to say to Jae-ha.
"You know, the other Dragons were talking to me about something…" She began.
"What were they talking about?" He questioned, a little teasingly.
"Love." She replied lightly. "And I realized I never told you that I love you." She tilted her head to gaze into his eyes again. They really were beautiful. "I love you, Jae-ha."
I smiled the most beautiful smile she had ever seen on his handsome face. "I love you too." He proclaimed genuinely and wrapped an arm around her waist, and pressed his other hand into the back of her head. She leaned up onto her tiptoes, and their lips met in the middle, the kiss was filled with more passion. Rensa tried to express just how much she loved him through the kiss. He seemed to understand, and she knew he felt the same.
They were pulled from the moment by Yun shouting at them to hurry up. They pulled away and laughed, though hot blushes stained their faces.
For the first time in three years, Rensa walked down the path leading out of Hoshu, the village she had called home all her life, on two feet, with a group of friends by her side, one of which being the man she decided to love. She did not know what she would encounter or where their journeying would take them. All she knew is that she would see the beautiful world, and learn amazing things.
Rensa and Jae-ha would become closer and learn to work well as a team. They would all help Rensa learn to fight with a staff, and she would rescue them several times, and would even save King Soo-won. She would help restore Princess Yona to the throne, after she achieved her goal to rescue the Kingdom from the depths it had fallen into. After everything was finished, and they had no more battles to fight for several years, Rensa and Jae-ha would settle down and start a family together, surrounded by their friends that they could call a family as well.
Final A/N: The Moral of the Story: You are in control of your life, your thoughts, and your feelings. Happiness is a decision. Find it in the little things in life, like flowers or stars, music, or your favorite things to do. Spend time with people you care about. Also, it's okay to accept help from other people, the world is not on your shoulders, you don't have to handle burdens alone. It's okay to talk about your feelings. It's okay to have down days and times when you're sad. Just remember to get back up on your feet, work hard, and decide to be happy. You are free.
I tried to portray this throughout the story, and I wanted to portray a healthy relationship. I hope I did well. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I had fun writing. Thank you for reading "Chained". I wish you all well, and remember, Smile and Be Happy!
~AwesomeBex2000