Choices (Yona of the Dawn)

Chapter 7

The three of us stayed with Iksu and Yoon for a couple more days. Iksu turns out to be the priest Yona and Hak were searching for. He relays God's prophecy for Yona's fate: reuniting the four dragon warriors from the myth of Kouka's first king. She will be faced with a lot of physical and emotional difficulties but that is how she will grow. After some thought, Yona decides she wants to accept and follow her fate. Iksu insists that Yoon comes along with us, encouraging the young boy to explore the world. After long hugs and hesitant farewells, Yona, Hak, Yoon, and I finally began our journey to find the first dragon warrior. We spend most of the day walking with conversations occasionally thrown around between us.

"Hak. Teach me how to use a sword." I turn to see the concern etched onto Hak's face. The late king never liked weapons and Hak didn't want to go against his wishes by teaching the princess the very thing King Il tried to protect his daughter from. I sat by Yoon helping him with the preparations for our next meal. "No... You know how your father felt about weapons. I'm here to protect you. You won't ever need to pick up a weapon." He turned away from her and walked off on his own. Yona's face fell with defeat as she walked off to collect the firewood Yoon had asked for. I understand how Hak feels but I also understand why Yona wants to be able to fight too.

After finishing up what Yoon asked for, I went to look for Hak. He's sitting by the river in deep thought as he stares at the reflection in the water. "Penny for your thoughts?" Hak turns around and offers me a tight smile but doesn't respond. "I heard what you and Yona were talking about earlier."

He lets out a long sigh. "How can I put her in harm's way? I will always be here to protect her with or without a sword in her hand."

"You can't expect her to use you as a shield, Hak. You need to see that she wants to protect you in her own way too." After a long pause, I continued, "Anyways, Yoon said food is almost ready."

That night, off to the side of the campsite, I see Hak teaching Yona how to use a bow and an arrow. "Those two are really something, aren't they?"

"Tell me about it." I sigh as we both laid out the sleeping bags.

Early the next few mornings, I would hear shuffling beside me and the sounds of arrows slicing through the air. This morning, I groggily opened my eyes in time to see Yona grabbing her bow and arrow. Hak had told her the only way to get better was to shoot 200 arrows a day. I'm sure he was joking but Yona made that her goal. "Yona!" I whispered.

"Yumi? I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She lowers the bow and faces me.

"You shouldn't overexert yourself, Yona. Let me see your hands." Yona's hands that never had a single cut are now covered in bruises and blisters. I pulled out a small bottle of ointment I had stored in my bag and carefully applied it all over her hands. "Don't forget to take care of yourself."

A small smile tugged across her lips, "Thank you, Yumi. For always taking care of me."

"You know..." I hesitated, "there is a price to pay for anyone who decides to pick up a weapon." I paused as I let go of her hands, "You can practice shooting at inanimate targets and be the best at it but will you be able to shoot at a person and kill them?"

The unsure look on her face nearly broke my heart. "I'm not saying it's bad to pick up a weapon. I'm saying you need to know what you're going to use it for."