Dusk | Akatsuki no Yona [1]

Amaya suddenly felt a swift gust of wind wash over her. Curiosity got the better of her and so she ended up opening her eyes. She felt a sense of relief as she saw that it was Hak standing in front of her and Yona. He had managed to come to the rescue just in time. Yona clenched her hands around Amaya’s waist, still trembling.

“I knew Soo-Won was here tonight, so I was trying to stay out of the way.” Hak began talking, his eyes narrowed into a murderous glare. “The guards who were supposed to be on watch are all gathered here. There are people I don’t recognize, too.” His voice started to grow more deep and guttural as he grew angrier. “What’s going on here? Huh, Lord Soo-Won?” Amaya may not have been able to see his face from the position she was currently in, but she had a feeling that even she would feel chills staring into Hak’s eyes at this very moment.

Feeling a soft tug on her clothes, Amaya glanced down towards her sister who had finally snapped out of her trance. She was staring up at Hak, eyes wide and her body still shaking ever so slightly. “H-Hak?” Yona’s voice was but a whisper, but the fear and desperation were incredibly clear in her voice.

Hak turns to look at the sisters, quickly noticing the despair in their eyes, Yona’s was more noticeable while Amaya was doing her best to stay strong for her sister. Hak fully turned towards them, crouching down so that he was level with their eyes. “I’m sorry for leaving your sides, Princess Yona, Princess Amaya.”

Amaya allowed herself to smile slightly, the thought that Hak had chosen to come and help them, putting himself in danger to protect them, was truly heartwarming.

Yona glanced down to the ground for a mere moment, before she looked back up to Hak and leaned slightly towards him. “Hak…” She hesitated. “Hak, are you on our side?” She asks softly, but the desperation was once again very clear in her voice.

Hak released a soft gasp at her question, before he smirked. “The king told me to protect the both of you. No matter what happens, I will obey his orders!” Standing up, Hak swings his weapon, otherwise known as Hsu Quandao, the strokes confident as his smirk remained on his face. His eyes burned with a fiery rage as she started down Soo-Won and his followers.

Kye-Sook finally decided that it was time to interject, stepping forward slightly as he did so. “Withdraw, servant.” He started, his voice clearly showing that he truly believed he was far superior to Hak in every way. “You are standing before King Soo-Won, the new master of Hiryuu Castle.”

Amaya felt angry as he said that, the fact that Soo-Won could’ve killed her father s easily truly angered her and she wanted to march up to him and punch him in the face. The only thing is that she didn’t want to leave Yona by herself.

Hak furrowed his eyebrows. “Who’s the master of what now?”

If this has been in any other situation, Amaya would’ve laughed at what he just said, but her mind was reeling too much to even comprehend it.

“I have a bad feeling about this, but I must ask.” Hak began again, and Amaya had a feeling about what he was about to ask. “Lord Soo-Won, where is King Il?”

Soo-Won answered him with no hesitation, almost as though he took pride in what he had done. “I just send him to hell.”

Amaya and Yona flinch as Hak slams his weapon into the ground, breaking the bricks with ease, leaving a large hole in the ground. A murderous look washed over his face as he glared daggers towards Soo-Won. “Are you drunk? That’s going too far, even for a joke.”

As if he wasn’t even fazed, Soo-Won kept his expression neutral, almost expressionless. “Ask the princess’s. They both confirmed the king’s death with their own eyes.”

With that last sentence, Hak finally snapped. He broke into a sprint, heading straight towards Soo-Won as he let out a battle cry. Soo-Won was able to deflect his attack however, using his own sword to block it. “Tell the truth!” Hak demanded.

Amaya couldn’t believe how calm Soo-Won was being throughout this, it was unbelievable. He had just murdered a man that he had spent so much time with throughout his entire life, and yet here he was. Standing there as if he did nothing wrong at all.

“I’m not lying.”

“Soo-Won! You’re telling me you killed the king?” Hak was finally able to push Soo-Won back enough to break through. “You killed our kind king?!” Hak swung his weapon violently towards Soo-Won, managing to finally get a hit in as he slashed his abdomen.

Kye-Sook visibly panicked. “Lord Soo-Won…”

“Stay back.” Soo-Won commanded. “If you come any closer, you’ll lose your head.” He then gestured towards Hak as he spoke once more. “The man standing before you is Son Hak.”

Kye-Sook tilted his head downwards slightly, almost as if it was a sign of submission. “This man is…”

“Yes. He is the heart of Castle Hiryuu, and one of the five generals… The Thunder Beast of Kouka.” Soo-Won declared, informing his underling of who he was up against.

“Soo-Won, why? Are you trying to usurp the throne? No, you’re not the type to fixate on that type of thing.” Before all of this had gone down, Amaya might’ve believe the words that Hak was saying, but right now she didn’t. “Did you turn your sword on our kind king, who detested weapons? Your pride allowed that?!” Hak exclaimed angrily, clenching his fists tightly around his weapon.

Glancing off to the side, Soo-Won finally allowed himself to show a bit of emotion, that being anger. “Kindness? This kingdom has no need for a weak king!” He exclaimed as he ran towards Hak, his sword raised in a striking motion. The two quickly began to fight violently, their weapons clashing against each other with each blow. Both of them were constantly dodging the other’s attack while simultaneously looking for a chance to strike. Hak suddenly shouted as he managed to force Soo-Won back a few feet.

Kye-Sook suddenly began mumbling to himself. “Son Hak… The grandson of Son Mundok, former head of the Wind tribe, he rose to lead the tribe at a young age.” Raising a hand to his chin, he continues. “A single blow from his blade is like lightning, earning him the nickname of the ‘Thunder Beast of Kouka’”.

Amaya could easily see who was the strongest between the two men. Judging by how many times Hak had sent Soo-Won back a few feet, it was almost painfully obvious. If this went on, she truly believed that Hak would end up killing him. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that, after everything Soo-Won had done tonight, she just didn’t know what to think.

After a few moments of going back and forth, Hak finally managed to land another blow on Soo-Won, slicing a cut into his shoulder. Soo-Won winced, bringing up his other arm to hold onto the wound tightly, as to at least attempt to stop the bleeding.

Yona began to tremble once again, this time more violently than any of the previous times. Amaya glanced down towards her, her eyes widening in concern at the tears cascading down her face. She tightened her arms around her sister before leaning towards her ear. “It’s okay, Yona. Everything is going to be okay, I promise. I’m going to protect you.” She nodded, feeling a small sense of comfort at her sister’s words before clenching her eyes shut.

The glistening of silver suddenly caught Amaya’s attention from beside Yona and she quickly looked up to see one of the guard’s holding his sword next to her neck. Amaya quickly moved herself in front of her sister, only just managing to do so before another guard placed a sword at her own neck. She had to catch herself quickly, as she almost fell into the sharp blade. Her own eyes started to fill with tears, the fear finally starting to take over her confidence.

Hak was about to strike Soo-Won again when Kye-Sook suddenly called out, alerting everyone in the area. “That’s enough!”

Soo-Won halted his movements, glancing at Kye-Sook who was behind him before looking over towards the two sisters. Hak followed his gaze and froze, finally noticing the swords at the girl’s necks, tears in their eyes as they stared at him in fright. Yona was huddled behind her sister but was still in the line of fire.

The rest of the guards, excluding the ones surround the sisters, moved in swiftly and all pointed their weapons towards Hak. “Lay down your weapon, Thunder Beast.” Hak threw his weapon away briskly, his jaw clenched as he did so.

Kye-Sook then walked over to Soo-Won, a hint of worry in his eyes. “Lord Soo-Won, are you all right?”

“Soo-Won…” Hak grumbled, his eyes narrowed to a point, his glare more menacing that it had ever been before. Even Kye-Sook ended up flinching from the intensity of it.

“Was the Soo-Won I saw an illusion?” Hak muttered. “I thought I could entrust you with Princess Yona.”

Kye-Sook smirked to himself, releasing a small huff of laughter. “Fool. You may be one of the five generals, but you are still young.”

Hak let out a small growl. “What?”

“At this rate, the Kingdom of Kouka will fall into ruin before long. For you and the two princess’s, who have indulged in peace at Hiryuu Castle, there is no way to imagine Lord Soo-Won’s feelings-“

“Quiet, Kye-sook.” Soo-Won commanded, effectively causing Kye-Sook to flinch and back away, finally shutting his mouth. Amaya was actually thankful that he had done so, Kye-Sook was truly starting to piss her off.

“What does that mean?” Hak questioned.

Soo-Won sighed, adjusting his stance. “The Soo-Won you know never existed.” He clenched his hand around his sword tightly before beginning to walk towards Hak. “Should anyone get in my way, I will cut him down, no matter who he is.” He then lifted his sword, using his one good arm, raising it up before letting it fall in front of Hak’s face threateningly.

Suddenly Amaya heard the sound of an arrow being shot and she was finally brought out of her trance that this entire ordeal had put her in. Hak immediately leaped into action, kicking his sword up towards him so that he could fight once more.

Taking a deep breathe, Amaya braced herself for what she was about to do. She quickly stood upright, before throwing her head back in order to head-butt the guard that was behind her. He let go, the sudden shock allowing Amaya to rush towards her sister just as Hak managed to make his way to where they were.

Hak wrapped his arms around Yona, bringing her close to his chest before turning to Amaya so that he could gesture with his head for her to follow him. Nodding quickly, she did exactly that, running after him.

It didn’t take long for the guards to start catching up to them, however which made Amaya feel incredibly nervous. Hak slid to a stop, spinning around with his weapon in hand, striking the ones in the front, causing them to all fall of the ground.

“This way, General Hak!”

Amaya spun around, spotting Min-Soo in the distance. He was standing not too far away from them with his bow in his hands, a quiver full of arrows on his shoulder. She was so thankful that he was alright.

“Were you the one who made that terrible shot, Min-Soo?” Hak questioned, almost teasingly before bolting towards the frail servant.

“Huh?” Min-Soo mumbled, before ducking in fright as Hak swung his weapon out towards him, although he quickly realized that it wasn’t directed at him as there was a guard coming up behind him.

Hak put Yona down, slightly shoving her towards Min-Soo. Amaya moved over to them so that she could keep a close on her sister. Yona quickly intertwined her fingers with her sister’s, immediately clenching it tightly. “I’m here, Yona.” She reassured.

“Take Princess Yona and Princess Amaya and then follow me. Don’t fall behind.”

“Y-Yes, sir.” Min-Soo agreed.

It was very noticeable that Hak was able to move more easily now that he didn’t have Yona in his arms, which seemed to work to their advantage as they quickly came upon some more guards that were around the next corner. “Out of the way!” Hak broke through before noticing more guards coming towards them from another direction. “This way!” He gestured to the left.

“Yes, sir.” Min-Soo followed his orders with no hesitation, as Amaya was tugged after them due to her hand being held in Yona’s tight grip.

Amaya gasped, spotting a guard that was coming up behind Hak, clearly in his blind spot. “Hak, behind you!” His reaction was immediate as he spun around, quickly taking the man out before continuing to run.

“We should find somewhere to hide.” Hak suggested.

Min-Soo nodded, agreeing with him. “You’re right.”

Amaya sighed heavily, trying to catch her breath after all of the running that she’s had to do in the past half hour. “But where do we go?” She asked, confusion lacing her voice. Yona stood silently beside her, still slightly in shock.

Hak glanced around for a moment, contemplating where they should go, before deciding what to do. “Let’s go.” Amaya sighed, before trying to sike herself up to be able to run again.

Not too long after that, they had managed to find a hiding place. It wasn’t the best spot, but it was all that they could find at the time. Min-Soo walked back towards the group after scoping out the area for a moment, observing the guards and their locations.

“There’s no end to them” Hak sighed, narrowing his eyes as he tried to think of where they could go.

Min-Soo glanced over towards Amaya and Yona, the two of them were leaning against a tree, still holding hands as a form of comfort. Amaya was occasionally whispering to Yona to try and keep her calm.

“Princess Yona, Princess Amaya, is King Il really dead?” He knew that neither of them would want to answer him, but he just had to know if it was true or not.

Amaya glanced down at her little sister, seeing that she wasn’t ready to talk yet, so she decided to answer instead. “Yes, it’s true.” Amaya was unable to keep her voice from trembling while she spoke, so she cleared her throat to try and clear it up.

“I see.” Min-Soo looked down towards the ground in sadness, he’d worked in the palace for a very long time and had come to be quite fond of the entire royal family. He then turned back towards them before bowing slightly. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t believe it. Until just a while ago, he was smiling so happily about your birthday.” Amaya was glad that he stopped talking and turned around at the moment, as she felt as though she was about to break. She managed to keep herself together though.

Min-Soo and Hak had both seemed to of heard something so Amaya tried to listen closely. It was then that she heard the sound of footsteps. The guards were approaching their location, but thankfully they just walked past.

“It’s only a matter of time until they find us.” Hak stated, his voice quiet as he didn’t want to draw any attention to them.

“The soldiers that Lord Soo-Won brought here, along with the guards loyal to him, are gathering within the castle.” Min-Soo added.

Hak sighed, looking down for a moment. “If we’re caught, they’ll definitely kill us.”

Min-Soo nodded, his brows furrowed. “Yes.”

The two of them were quiet for a moment. Min-Soo was staring at the sister’s in thought before he seemed to of thought of an idea, turning to Hak with a determined expression on his face. “I’ll secure an escape route for you.”

Hak and Amaya both gasped in shock, they weren’t expecting him to say anything like that.

Min-Soo continued. “You three must escape from the castle.”

“But what about you?” Amaya asked.

“Don’t worry about me, I promise I’ll get away.” He smiled softly, although it didn’t reach his eyes. Amaya had a feeling that he knew he wasn’t going to make it out unscathed.

The group were all currently standing near the back entrance to the castle, Hak was peaking around the corner so that he could keep an eye on the guards in the area. “Six soldiers in front of the rear gate. More waiting in ambush.”

Min-Soo had somehow managed to steal one of Yona’s floral robes from her room and he began wrapping it around himself. “Min-Soo, you…” Hak muttered, confused by what he was going to do.

Amaya moved over towards Hak, tugging Yona along with her. Min-Soo sighed. “I’ll draw them after me. You use that opportunity to escape.” Hak wrapped his arm around Yona’s shoulder, pulling her towards him, almost cradling her to his chest. Amaya still had a hold of her hand. Min-Soo smiled softly at the sight. “Princess Yona, Princess Amaya.” The sisters glanced over to him. “Take care.” Was all he said before he rushed off. The girls both had a slightly dazed look on their faces.

“There she is!” One of the guards had spotted Min-Soo, his shout causing the rest of the guards to follow him. His plan had worked. “She’s over there!” All of the guards rushed after him, blissfully unaware that it wasn’t actually one of the princess’s that they were chasing.

“Min-Soo…” Hak mumbled softly to himself, clearly worried for the wellbeing of his friend. He shook it off, picking up Yona and once again gesturing for Amaya to follow after him. The two of them ran around the corner, rushing towards their escape. There were only a few guards left that had chosen to stay behind and guard the perimeter. Hak was able to take them all down with ease.

As Hak quietly opened the gate, Yona was standing next to him staring off at something in the distance. Amaya didn’t know if she was actually staring at anything at all, or she was just stuck in a trance. Once Hak had successfully opened the gate, he and Amaya had to gently push Yona forward so that she would start walking. “Princess Yona, hurry!” Hak urged. The three of them slowly rushed down the steps, the girl’s shoes making it difficult to go any faster.

Once they had managed to get a fair distance away from the castle, they decided to slow down, but not too much. The sisters were still having a difficult time trying to keep up with Hak, as he continued to walk at a very brisk pace. Yona was starting to pant rather heavily from exhaustion, trying her best to catch her breath.

“Hak.” Amaya called out to Hak, causing him to turn around and notice Yona’s tired state. He turned towards them fully, beginning to make his way over to them.

“Princess Yona,” Yona glanced up at him with tired eyes, “should we rest for a while?” Yona quickly agreed and went to walk over towards a tree but stumbled over a branch. Amaya managed to catch her and decided it was best if she walked her sister over to the tree instead. Yona sat down, her head resting against the tree while she pulled her knees up to her chest. Amaya sat down next to her, having a feeling that she wouldn’t want to be alone for a while. Although Amaya had to admit that she was feeling the same way.

Yona reached out and grabbed a hold of her sister’s hand, clutching it tightly. Amaya smile softly and squeezed her hand in acknowledgement. “Is Min-Soo dead?” Yona asked, Amaya gasped at the sudden question. She had prevented herself from even thinking about that possibility. “Am I going to die as well?” She continued. “Is Soo-Won going to kill the both of you as well?”

“I don’t have a like to give to that piece of crap.” Hak responded, his eyes shining with confidence.

“Please don’t die, Hak.” Hak was stunned at Yona’s words, his mouth falling open slightly in shock. “If you die, I’ll never forgive you.” She whispered, her eyes finally closing as she fell into a much need deep sleep.

Amaya usually would’ve smirked, maybe even joked around a little at what Yona had just said to Hak. But she was far too tired, so she chose to close her eyes and lean against her sister. It wasn’t long before she also fell asleep.