Dusk | Akatsuki no Yona [1]

"Princess, it is time to get ready."

Amaya released a soft sigh as she soared a quick glance towards her handmaiden who was standing in the doorway to her room. All of the staff in the castle were told to wait outside until further instruction, as to not irritate the family. Amaya never minded though, she quite enjoyed the company of others. Yona, her twin sister, was a different story. She saw them as an inconvenience, apart from a select few.

She looked back down to the book that she was reading before placing a piece of paper between the pages of where she had read up too. She then closed it softly, placing it on the small table in front of her. She dusted herself off and then stood up, facing the woman that had been patiently waiting for her.

Once the woman noticed that Amaya was walking towards her, she smiled gently, before gesturing for the young princess to follow after her. They walked through many different hallways, even cutting through the garden at one point, before arriving at their destination.

One of the rooms in the castle was one that was used for getting ready. Amaya, and her twin sister, Yona, used it quite regularly. They also quite enjoyed dressing up together, even if their own styles differed quite immensely.

As Amaya and her handmaiden walked in, they noticed that they were the first to arrive. Knowing that Yona would be showing up any second now, Amaya walked over to her own collection of clothing.

She chose a simple lavender gown, with navy blue flower patterns covering the bottom. She tended to go for the simpler options, rather than the more extravagant. Yona always went for the gown she deemed most beautiful.

While Amaya's handmaiden was brushing her hair, the doors burst open and Yona walked in, her own handmaiden scurrying behind her. Min-Soo, one of the main servants in the castle, was beside her. Amaya and Yona were both rather fond of him, he was a very kind-hearted person and never once did anything to annoy them.

"Ah, Amaya, you're here already!" Yona exclaimed, upon seeing her sister sitting at her vanity. They each had their own, Yona's being a soft pink, while Amaya's was a light violet.

"Yes, I thought I would get a head start." Amaya responded, watching her sister through the mirror.

It was quite obvious to anyone that Yona was the more energetic sister, while Amaya tended to be more reserved and kept to herself most of the time. The only one she ever spent her time with, was their childhood friend, Hak.

He served under their father and was an incredible fighter. Amaya would always pester him about teaching her how to fight. Eventually, he agreed and allowed her to join him one day. She picked up on a few things rather quickly, like how to handle knives and such. Her skills didn't stretch too far however, for she still couldn't quite handle a bow. She was persistent though and never once gave up.

half an hour later

Yona was still getting ready, while Amaya had finished everything that she had needed to do. Including getting changed, getting her hair done, and had makeup applied to her face. Yona had yet to find something to wear, and it was starting to irritate everyone in the room. Not that they would admit it, considering the young princess's temper.

Amaya sighed quietly, as to not let Yona know how annoyed she was. "Yona, you realize how late we are now, right?" Yona simply brushed her comment off, moving to pick up another robe, which had a floral pattern on it.

"its okay, Amaya. I'll be ready soon!" Yona reassured. Although Amaya found it very hard to believe since Yona had now switched between 13 different robes. All of which looked perfectly fine so Amaya didn't see what the big fuss was about.

Min-Soo spoke up after noticing the unpleasant look on Yona's face as she switched between robes again. "You look wonderful, Princess." He slightly moved forward as he spoke again "Forgive me, but you two should be heading to the courtyard soon..." He attempted to hurry up Yona, without outright saying it.

Yona suddenly stood upright with her hands gripping the material of her clothes. "No! This isn't right." Amaya clenched her eyes shut, pursing her lips in utter annoyance. She loved her sister, she truly did, but sometimes she just pushed her buttons.

At this rate, the both of them would miss the ceremony.

Yona looked over at one of the servants who were folding the clothes that Yona has put aside. "Hey, where is that chintz?" Yona hurriedly took of her extra robe and placed it into the maid's arms, then proceeded to go off in search of the so called 'chintz' when she noticed her and Amaya's father making his way towards them. In other words, the ceremony had indeed ended.

Yona looked rather shocked at the fact that he was already finished with the ceremony, "Father! What about the ceremony?" she asked curiously. Not quite realising just how much time had passed while she was trying to find something to wear.

Their Father, with his usual carefree smile replied to her question in a calming tone, as he always did. "As you can see, it's over."

"Oh, no... I'm sorry, I..." Amaya walked up behind her and placed her hand on her shoulder, causing Yona to glance towards her for a brief moment before turning her gaze downwards.

"That's just what happens when you take so long getting ready little sister." Yona spun around, smacking Amaya's shoulder lightly, which made her chuckle considering it didn't even hurt, before turning her attention back to their father. He, however, just laughed at his daughters childish antics.

"Well, no matter. It was merely a formality." He then stepped forward slightly raising his hand as to gesture towards Yona, "There is no need for the two of you to appear before the people." He smiled at them with his overwhelmingly calm smile.

"Hey father... Isn't there something odd about our hair?" Yona spoke after gesturing between herself and her sister. Father looked awfully surprised at her question. While Amaya had been expecting something like this to pop up at least some point during the day.

"Of course not! You and your sister's beauty surpasses that of any jewel-". Their father complimented, as he always did when Yona got insecure. While it didn't always work, today appeared to be an exception seeing as Yona immediately began to smile.

She then held her hand up to her face and twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "Yes, that of my face. I believe I was born with quite a cute face." She then turned and looked down at her hair with a small grimace. "But why is it so red and unruly?"

"Hey, Yona." Yona turned around to look at Amaya as she held up a few strands of her own hair, that of which was a dark lavender, and then proceeded to point towards her crimson red eyes "Trust me, you look perfect compared to me."

Yona sweat-dropped at the realization and looked at her sister with an apologetic smile. "Sorry Aya." Amaya simply brushed it off, as she always did when it came to herself. She never disliked her appearance, she actually quite liked her peculiar features. That didn't change the strange looks she sometimes receives.

Yona then started jumping around in slight anger at her own hair with caused her sister to giggle at her. "Grr! It won't behave at all!" Amaya had to agree with her sister on that fact. Their hair never wanted to cooperate with them. It was a battle when they simply try to brush it.

Their Father turned to look behind him, where a young man had been standing. "That isn't true at all. Right, Hak?" Yona froze at the mention of her childhood friend, who she wasn't entirely fond of. Glancing around her father, Amaya saw Hak, her rather tall, black haired friend. She was the only one that considered him as a friend though.

Hak bent down and lent on his knee, leaning respectively towards the king. "Yes, King Il. Who would ever say that the princess's hair looks strange?" he glanced upwards slightly and Amaya knew that as soon as she saw that twinkle in his eye, that he was going to say something that will immediately anger Yona. She tried to stop him by shaking her head quickly but he just smirked at her. He seemed to take pleasure in angering Yona. "If anything isn't right, it would be Princess Yona's brain." He spoke right after he had looked at Amaya.

"Quiet, knave!" Yona fumed, already becoming increasingly irritated by the young man. Amaya on the other hand, was quite amused. She always loved his knack for sarcasm. It seemed to be a gift.

Yona then began to throw things at Hak whilst he skilfully dodged each and every one of them. Amaya began laughing at their childish antics, she never got tired of them. They always amused her, no matter how old they had gotten.

"Father, do something about the impertinent cretin!" Yona exclaimed. Their Father, however, attempted to try and calm them down by holding his arms up slightly in surrender while speaking calmly.

"Now, now... Hak has been your friend since childhood. And he is one of the five generals who protect this castle. He is the Wing tribe's-", Yona interrupted him by rushing over to Min-Soo and grabbing one of the teacups from the tray that he was holding. Min-Soo attempted to take it off of her, but she just slid out of the way.

"I don't care! If you need guards, pick someone more lovable!" Yona then proceeded to throw the cup at Hak who once again swiftly caught the object just as it was about to hit him in the face.

He then began to speak once more, "Speaking of lovable... Shouldn't you be trying to look lovable yourself?" He gave her a once over, overlooking her current attire.

Yona looked at him in confusion, her brows furrowing as she did so. "Huh?" she mumbled.

"It seems Lord Soo-Won has arrived." he announced, causing Yona to go rigid, while Amaya crossed her arms. She never really liked Soo-Won. There was just something off about him. He was always far too nice to everyone. Especially Yona and herself.

Yona then started blushing profoundly before sprinting towards the entrance of the room "Y-You should have said so sooner!" then ran out in search of Soo-Won. Their Father then spoke to himself since Yona had already left the room

"Soo-Won? Is that why you were concerned about your hair?" he then looked over at Hak who was quietly walking over to Min-Soo to pour himself some tea "But why now?" Hak held the cup to his face and spoke in that ever so cocky tone of his.

"It must be that thing they call a 'maiden heart." Amaya sighed quietly to herself. Hoping that Soo-Won wouldn't hurt her sister. She would never be able to forgive him if he did.