Dawn of a New World - Akatsuki no Yona

Chapter 22

Breathing in deeply, I was able to gain the courage to look up at the man who had saved me. From what I could tell, he was well built and definitely strong. His shoulders were wide and he was rather tall, at least a head taller than me. The masked man turned his head to look at me once more, my face automatically turning crimson at the thought of his eyes staring at me, before he turned and began leading me down through the tunnels.

For some strange reason, I felt completely safe with this man, like nothing could possibly hurt me while in his presence. His hand felt rough and callous compared to my own dainty slender one. Somehow, our fingers intertwined perfectly, as if they were matching pieces for a complicated puzzle. The whimsical sound of the bells hanging from his mask calmed me even more so, the chimes making the atmosphere between us rather peaceful.

I noticed the hair or fur that was seemingly attached to his mask rustle before the squirrel from earlier poked his tiny head out and made an adorable sound as she rested her head on the man's shoulder. I smiled softly at the creature before glancing at the back of the man's head. I wonder why he helped me, maybe he lives down here. I guess he wouldn't be completely alone considering how comfortable the squirrel is around him. I glanced down at our hands briefly and my eyes softened.

His hand is so warm.

I decided that I would at least try and talk to him, "Um, why did you save me back there? I'm just curious." The man halted in his stride before turning to look at me over his shoulder. He kept silent for a moment before quietly answering, "You were in danger. I helped." I smiled and squeezed his hand as a sign of gratitude "Thank you..." I wasn't expecting him to anything apart from continue walking, however I felt his hand gently squeeze my own. The corners of my lips tugged into a large smile. I had to bite my lip to prevent it from getting too large.

We had been walking for at least 15 minutes now and I had just begun to see a small amount of light appear from around the corner. "Are we close?" I asked with curiosity pouring into my voice. The man nodded once before gently tugging on my hand so I could walk a little faster. As we got to a foot away from the corner, the man let go of my hand before allowing me to pass him. I rounded the corner only to be met with the sight of my friends with worried expressions that of which faded once they noticed me. Yona was the first to react by bounding towards e and throwing herself into my arms.

"Amaya! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I left you!" she cried, her voice slightly mumbled seeing as her face was dug into my hair. I brought my arms up to embrace her, cooing into her ear calmingly. "Princess!" Yona reluctantly let go of me seeing as Hak was bounding towards us with Yoon and Ki-Ja in tow. Hak was about to say something to me when Yoon pushed past him and pushed me back by slamming his hands into my chest. "You idiot! Why didn't you come back sooner!" I chuckled at Yoon's way of showing his concern before patting his head. "I'm sorry, Yoon." His cheeks turned pink before he pouted and huffed, turning away from me with his arms crossed.

"I'm glad that you are safe, Amaya." I smiled at Ki-Ja who of which was smiling back at me with a look of relief. "Yeah, I wouldn't be if it wasn't for this kind man behind me." I moved out of the way so everyone could see the masked man who had saved me earlier and brought me back to my friends. Turning back, I noticed Ki-Ja's expression quickly turn to shock. "You... " Ki-Ja began speaking, however the man ran off before he was able to properly say anything. "W-Wait!" Ki-Ja tried to run after him but as he turned the corner, the man had vanished from sight.

"What is it?" Yoon asked curiously. Ki-Ja's eyes narrowed in slight determination "That's him. He is the Blue dragon!"

Well I'll be damned.

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