Chained - A Jae-ha Fanfiction

Chapter 10

Two more days had passed, much like the one before, except there were minor changes. Shion and Han-wi brought their friends and the side of the orchard they were harvesting got done very quickly. The Dragons and Yona climbed around inside the trees, while Rensa, the children, and Shin-ah all worked from the ground. It went by very quickly, and Harvest was nearly done. They needed to continue around to the other side of Hoshu to complete the circle and join where the villagers were making headway. A few other changes began to happen as well. Whenever Rensa went to empty the baskets, followed by the children, a few of the mothers greeted her. Ja-ri even asked how she was doing and made brief conversation with her before returning to work. It was more acknowledgement that she had in the last two years. She and Jae-ha had small moments together too, where they would continue to talk as they walked through the town to join their friends around the campfire, throughout the day when Jae-ha would make sure she got a decent rest before continuing the game she had created with the children. She was pleased that they were continuing to get closer.

After everyone had eaten on the third day, Yona called the attention to her. "It's time for us to move on." She announced. "We're leaving tomorrow morning." All the men nodded like they were prepared to leave and had been awaiting those orders.

It felt as if all the air had been knocked out of Rens's lungs. Yona had said they would only stay for a few more days, yet she had not been prepared for them to say they were going to leave.

"I'll see if I can trade with some of the villagers tomorrow morning." Yun said as he cleaned up dinner.

"Other than that, we should be ready to go." Hak said as he lounged.

"Where are we going next, Princess?" Kija asked Yona.

"I'm not sure yet. We'll discuss it more before we leave tomorrow." Yona replied.

"With our track record it'll be another town seriously in need of help." Jae-ha let out a laugh.

"Indeed." Zeno agreed.

Rensa was having a hard time following the conversation. She didn't understand what they were talking about anymore and was starting to feel like an outsider again. "Well, while you guys make preparations, I'm going to bed." She said loud enough for all of them to hear. A chorus of good nights sounded around the fire as she got to her foot and crutch.

Though she had said she was going to bed, she did not go to sleep. Instead she curled up at the head of her bed, in the corner. It was dark, her hut had no windows like the other homes. If she wanted light she would need to build a fire. She tried not to cry, she really did, yet the heat did not leave her eyes and her throat hurt the more she attempted to hold them in, so she didn't anymore. She allowed the tears to fall, they were hot and fast against her cheeks, and she tried to muffle her sobs with her hand. They hadn't even left yet. She hated the idea of Jae-ha leaving, but knew he had to, knew that he wanted to follow Yona as he had said.

It was heartbreaking.

That was what it was. Her heart was breaking. The only man she cared about was leaving in the morning, and there was nothing she could do. She would not beg him to stay. She was determined to not be the one who imprisoned him to the ground. So she would cry then, but would not shed a single tear as he left. She would be strong.

Rensa cried herself to sleep.

The next morning, Rensa was the last one up. She changed her clothes and when she finally made her way outside, she saw that they were already ready to move on. Their tents were taken down and their bags were packed. Yun still had the fire going and was cooking breakfast. A little ways away, two women were speaking with Jae-ha and Hak, they were the same two women from before, Anreya and Eriki. They seemed to be gushing over them and giving them something. Jae-ha spoke to them with a smile and accepted their seemingly heartfelt gifts.