Awaiting The Dawn

5: Isolation Or Execution

Ik-Su took the princess outside for a walk. They would probably return soon enough.

That left Hisa and Yoon, who was grinding herbs.

After a few moments' consideration, Hisa went towards the boy, poking his shoulder to get his attention and squatting down so they'd be at eye level. She gestured to the rolling herb grinder and to herself.

"What, you want to do it?" He asked, dubious.

She nodded.

Yoon narrowed his eyes, looking her up and down. "You're not useless like he is, right?"

'He' referring to Ik-Su.

She shook her head. Hisa was not as clumsy or empty-headed as him.

At least she hoped not.

After a moment of intense thought and judgment, he moved away. "Suit yourself, but that arm of yours better not fall off before it gets to heal."

That earned him a cheery, close-lipped hum from Hisa. It was the first time in weeks that she made a sound other than an annoyed sigh or groan.

She ground the herbs, following the boy's instructions while he scuttled around doing other chores.

A little after the sun started to set, the princess approached them. "Um," she started, looking a little uncomfortable. "Thank you for saving me."

The boy didn't didn't turn around.

Then, she turned to Hisa. "And I'm sorry you got mixed up in our problem."

Hisa shrugged with a light smile on her face. There was no need for the princess to apologize when Hisa was the one who approached the cliff despite knowing there was danger.

"Could you please tell me more about priests?" She continued, "I don't know anything about all of you, and I don't want to stay ignorant."

Yoon shifted his sitting position to face the princess, waving a hand against his side. "First of all, I'm not a priest. I just look after that useless guy who can't even take care of himself." He paused and gestured to Hisa. "She's just a surprise guest who happens to be his old friend or something."

Hisa could feel the hot hearth on her back as she kept rolling the herbs. When the heat got to be too much, she stopped and turned to face both the fire and the princess.

She couldn't help staring at the flames, listlessly imagining all the pain they brought.

"He was still training as a priest when the temple was destroyed. Earlier, you asked why they were thrown out. Truth is, only the lucky ones got away. A lot of them were killed, since priests had an influence greater than even the king."

So many had died in that fire. More than Hisa could stomach. And her father could have been one of them.

"Even the king?" The princess repeated.

"Yeah. They were revered as divine servants and were heavily involved in ruling the country, sometimes influencing wars. One priest even deposed a king, saying he had angered the gods."

Hisa shook her head and held up two fingers.

"Wait. That happened twice?" Yoon's eyebrows raised up.

She nodded. The second time wasn't recorded.

"Huh..." He rubbed his elbows and moved a little closer to the fire, consequently closer to Hisa. His back nearly touched hers. "Obviously, their power was a problem for the king. During King Ju-Nam's reign, Kouka was annexing other countries' territories and growing the throne's power. Apparently, Prince Yu-Hon played a major role in it. He saw the priests as a threat."

Yes, he saw them as a threat and detested the priests. But they were killed for a different reason. One that didn't deserve their deaths.

"So that's why my uncle got rid of them..." The princess lowered her eyes and changed the subject. "Isn't living in the middle of nowhere tough?"

Hisa wiggled her toes and lifted her knees to her chest, thinking back to her home.

The village she grew up in was the only settlement to be found around there. They were so isolated that it took days to make it to the closest village.

'No, it wasn't that bad,' was what she wanted to say to Princess Yona, but held back.

They had each other. It warmed Hisa's heart just thinking about them, wishing to see her family again.

"Not at all." Yoon looked down at the ground. "I don't like dealing with people, and Ik-Su finds this place relaxing. Villages are full of poor people. Only a few cities are actually well-off."

The princess hugged her legs closer, her eyes opening and closing, trying to stay awake even when her exhaustion caught up with her.

His voice turned somber, but his expression remained neutral. "Ik-Su's too nice. He wants to help everyone, but that's impossible, and that depresses him." Then he muttered something else in an attempt to shift the topic. "He's completely helpless without me."

"Thank you." The princess mumbled past her grogginess. "Please, tell me more later."

Her eyes didn't open again.