The Golden Dragon [Akatsuki no Yona]

Chapter 29: The girl with golden hair

As we fell to sleep that night, I was simply not tired and sat down outside, staring at the sky. Zeno has told them who he was... I wonder when can I?

The wind blew through my golden hair so easily unlike my short brown hair I once had. I still remember when I awoke once again in this world...

After I died, I was appointed the princess of time, the only being who could control time. Being the princess of time, I watched over Zeno's time. From the very beginning. I wanted to know what was it exactly that he wasn't telling me. I always knew he was hiding something.

It took a long while, but I managed to go back to a time where he was still a child. He could hear the voice of gods as a child... I thought maybe it meant I could communicate with him and I tried to. I couldn't, after all I was no god. I was just an angel of some sort.

I continued watching him for some time until she approached me. The Golden Dragon God, the queen of all dragons. She approached me with a deal.

"Greetings," the golden dragon said.

"The golden dragon god... The Queen of all dragons..." I greeted. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"I see the 'Princess of Time' recognises me," the dragon said.

"I have been dead for a while now after all," I replied. "Of course I have familiarized myself with the gods."

"Is that so?... I would like to ask you of a favour," the dragon said.

"A favour?" I asked. "What would that be?"

"Could I house in your body when I travel down to the mortal realm? Unlike the red dragon god, I do not have a human form for I am an imperial dragon and cannot rid myself of my powers, however, I do not wish to give my powers to a human being. Would it be all right if I use the body you had when you were alive?" The dragon asked.

"It will not be a problem, the only way for us to go down to the mortal realm is if a god shares the body of a human who passed on. However, what would you like to achieve going down to the mortal realm? The red dragon god has been dead for decades, would you like to continue his legacy in his place? And why would you choose me out of all human beings who passed on here?" I asked.

"You are quite perceptive, I see. No, I do not wish to continue his legacy in his place, I only wish to watch over the generations of the humans with dragon blood and the reincarnation of the red dragon god. As for why I would choose you is because your powers are absolutely necessary. I require the powers of time travelling to transport back to the time the red dragon god just stepped into the mortal realm," the dragon replied. "Is that a deal?"

"It is on one condition. I heard you have a hatred towards humans because of how they treated the red dragon god. However, unlike you, I love humans and I do not wish for them to be harmed. The first condition is to not harm the humans unless they hurt your comrades or make people suffer," the girl said.

"That won't be a problem, I will be asleep most of the time in your body and will only wake when necessary," the dragon replied.

"Very well, then it's a deal."

+++

I woke up buried under a bunch of dirt. My body's desire for air made me instinctively dig my way out and get out of the soil. Once I was out, I noticed my short dark hair was turning long and golden and my skin was becoming slightly paler.

"What is with the transformation?" I asked.

"It is because I am here," the golden dragon replied inside my head.

"I see, well it's not bad," I replied with a smile. "Now, what should I call myself... Since I'll see Zeno, I shouldn't use my real name right?"

"Hey you! You are in our territory!" A loud voice shouted. It was a man.

"I am so sorry, I had no idea," I replied.

"I bet you did, follow me!" the man said and grabbed the my hands roughly, pulling me.

"Let me go!" I struggled, but to no avail. My strength and powers were still not fully adapted to the human body I once had. I could only follow along until I found a chance to escape.

The man pulled me towards a campsite with more burly men. "Hey guys! I found a small fry!" He was smirking.

"Great! Toss her along with the others!" Another man shouted back. The man pulled me and threw me to a side where my hands were tied by a man standing inside. I glanced around and saw a couple of other girls tied up as well. I hadn't went back in time yet, I was in an era where I've only been buried about a year or so ago. So a bunch of bandits decided to claim this land after it. It must because Zeno left...

I decided to get some information from the other girls tied up. I whispered to the girl next to me, "Hey..." She had solemn expression on her face and long black hair. Her eyes looked like a void that allowed me to stare straight into her. It made me question what happened to her? I glanced around, the other girls had similar expressions. They had all lost hope. What could have happened?

"You look like this isn't any big deal, usually the new ones are bawling their tears out. If you've got a plan to run away, don't bother, these men will never let you go," the lady sitting not too far from me with her back against the wall says. She looked like she had been here the longest with her messed up and dirty appearance.

"What makes you say that?" I asked. "What is going to happen to us if we don't run away?"

"They kill anyone who tries to escape," the woman replied. "We will be sold off as slaves. That's our fate."

"Our fate? So just because it appears as so, you've all given up? Fate can be changed," I tried to convince her.

"You really believe you can do anything? It's just you, against a bunch of bandits. Give it up," the woman said.

"It's not impossible," I felt my mouth move and speak. My body started to move on it's own.

It seems it's time for me to help you princess. I heard the voice of Kinryuu speak.

Fire burnt off the rope that was tied around my wrists, yet I couldn't feel the heat. My body got up and a man came over, shouting at me, yet I couldn't hear a thing. The next thing I knew, I punched the man unconscious and more people charged at me. A ring of fire appeared around my body and spreaded out to the bandits. But it did so too for the girls and they backed away to the wall in attempt to get away. They were trapped since my body blocked their one way out.

"Kinryuu! We need to save the girls!" I shouted, but Kinryuu did not respond and proceeded to kill everyone in sight. She didn't care.

"I have no need to save a bunch of humans, my job was just to protect you, I can't have you stuck here, we need to get back in time," Kinryuu said.

"But! We could have saved them!" I protested.

"What a waste of time..." Kinryuu sighed and stopped talking. I kept trying to call out to her after that, but she never responded. She had fallen asleep and I went back in time to see Zeno once more under a new name, Ashurin.