Chained - A Jae-ha Fanfiction

Chapter 12

They told her more of the story of the Crimson Dragon King and how the blood lines of the dragon's worked. They told her when a new Dragon was born, the power would slowly drain from the previous one. When the power was all gone, the Dragon would die and the younger one would take their place of awaiting their Crimson King. She even had the opportunity to learn a little bit about the Dragons' personal lives. Where they came from, and how Yona found them. It was fascinating. All of them had been imprisoned, except for Kija, who was worshipped by his hidden village, and Zeno, who she didn't really know anything about, other than that he was playful and childish and yet there was an air of intelligence behind his eyes that told her there was a great story he hadn't told. They all handled it differently. They didn't decide to allow their circumstances to let them become bitter, instead they were kind in a silent and kind way, like Shin-ah, and determined to make sure no one else was imprisoned ever again, like Jae-ha.

Jae-ha finally told her his story. How his village didn't accept him and used physical chains around his wrists and ankles to keep him on the ground. The previous Green Dragon, who was still alive when Jae-ha was growing up, would tell him stories of serving a king that would come to find them. Jae-ha hadn't liked that, and he said that was where a lot of his opinions of freedom came from. One day he was finally able to break free, and the Green Dragon sacrificed himself so Jae-ha could get away. That was when he found his pirate family and several years later, Yona found him.

Rensa was excited, and happy that she was able to learn more about Jae-ha. "You know, I used to think your opinions about freedom were annoying." She claimed lightly, finally admitting what she had thought when she first met him.

He laughed. "I know, I could tell that much. I didn't let that stop me though, did I?" He teased.

Rensa also chuckled and shook her head. "No, you were adamant on making me believe I could be free if I wanted to be." She paused for a moment before continuing. "And you were right."

"Yeah, I know." He flung his long hair over his shoulder and leaned on one hand, with an extremely smug smirk on his face.

Rensa raised an eyebrow, also smirking a little. "You can't take all the credit, Yona and Zeno also convinced me, and I had to decide for myself."

"You're right.." He sighed with his attitude toned down a little.

She swayed and brushed her shoulder against his.

Jae-ha had moments when he would get excited to tell a story, tell it, and then fall back into the quiet that was bothering him. That pattern repeated as they ate dinner and as the night wore on. Rensa could not figure out what was bothering him.

During a long moment of peace, when they were done sharing stories, Jae-ha and Yona scooted closer together to discuss something. Rensa did not eavesdrop, but hoped whatever it was would return Jae-ha to his normal self. After a few minutes, Yona gestured to Yun, who cleared his throat self-consciously.

In the firelight, Rensa watched Yun pull something from his pack. It was wrapped in a cloth. He stepped over to her and handed her the gift.

"It's not perfect, and I don't even know if it will work out... But I started this project two months ago and was able to complete it just before we got here." Yun explained nervously.

Rensa was confused. He spent two months making a gift for her? That was for as long as they had been gone. When did he have the time? They spent all those days rescuing other towns and villages. Her hand hovered over the hem of the cloth, hesitating to open it.

Jae-ha shifted so he was at her side instead of Yona's. He did seem normal again, except with a small saddened glint in his eyes. "Go on, open it." He urged.