Dawn of a New World - Akatsuki no Yona

Chapter 24

As we walked down the narrow path, Yona decided that it would be safest if I was in-between herself and Yoon. As I gazed around I felt something nudge me in the rib cage. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Yona was staring at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She wiggled her eyebrows up and down before speaking, "So, Amaya, are you excited to see the Blue Dragon again?" My cheeks quickly heated and I diverted my gaze away so she couldn't see just how red I had become. "N-No! W-Why?" Yona giggled at my stuttering before placing her palm on my shoulder. "It's okay Amaya, I'm sure he has a soft spot for you as well." I rolled my eyes before picking up my pace to be next to Yoon.

The Blue Dragon's presence was becoming stronger with every step that we took. We appeared to be getting very close. So close, in fact, that he was right around the corner. Yoon stopped for a moment and turned to Yona and I with a cautious expression. "Now, try not to provoke him, alright?" We nodded and then we began walking around the corner. The area that the tunnels lead into was quite small, not too small that it would be suffocating, but still very little. The torch that Yoon was holding lit the area alight, the glisten from the flames reflecting on our eyes.

And there he was.

He was knelt on the ground, his arm folded behind his head, ready to take out his sword if need be. He was ready to take down any intruders. With his mask in the way, it was quite difficult to tell where his gaze was placed. Judging by his clenched teeth, he hadn't noticed me yet. Yona smiled gently towards him, "Hello." The Blue Dragon winced, as if Yona's words had physically affected him. I assume that this is what Ki-Ja also went through when he met her.

Suddenly, the Blue Dragon swung out his sword with a battle cry, pointing the tip towards Yona. Yoon stepped back, afraid of what could happen. The Blue Dragon was breathing erratically, his shoulders heaving up and down continuously. "This isn't good, Princess!" Yoon panicked, lightly smacking Yona in the shoulder. "A masked man crouching at the back of a hole like this must be dangerous." I narrowed my eyes at Yoon, it was obvious that the Blue Dragon was just simply scared. Anyone would be going through something like this.

The sudden sound of a squeak brought my attention to the ground, along with Yona's. "It's you again." Yona exclaimed softly. The small squirrel that we had seen earlier on, was now standing by our feet once more. "Huh?" Yoon was confused. Yona bent down to pick him up, cupping her hands around his small, petite body. "What's this little creature with swollen cheeks?" My giddy expression deadpanned as I turned to Yoon, "It's a squirrel, doofus." That seemed to be the moment that the Blue Dragon noticed that I was there. He jaw relaxed slightly and his lips twitched up, as if he was attempting to hide a smile.

Turning back to the small animal, I noticed that it was looking at me. It stared at me for a moment, before leaping onto my shoulder and nuzzling itself into my cheek. I giggled at the fuzzy feeling. Yona grinned before looking back to the Blue Dragon. "What's his name?" He was silent for a few long seconds, before finally speaking up just enough for us to be able to hear him. "Ao." Yoon was shocked to hear him speak. "He answers questions?" I whacked him upside the head "Ouch!"

Yona then blurted out, "That name doesn't suit him at all." I felt a tug on my ear and glanced down to see Ao chewing on my earrings. I chuckled at the sight. "Try to meet him halfway, Princess!" Yoon exclaimed. The Blue Dragon seemed to think about Yona's words, his shoulders slouched and he glanced at the ground. Feeling a harder tug, I gently pushed Ao away from my earrings. "I'm Yona. What's your name?" The question seemed to shock the Blue Dragon, as if no one as ever asked him before. "The Blue Dragon." I tilted my head in confusion.

"No, your name." The Blue Dragon twitched. "That isn't your name, is it?" she asked gently. "I don't have a name." He answered slowly, almost whispering. "I'm just the Blue Dragon." Yona decided to use that moment to step towards him. The action caused the Blue Dragon to flinch "Stay back!" he shouted as he brought his sword up to Yona's chin. "Who are you people? Why have you entered this village? Why do you approach me? Why is the White dragon..." He had so many questions, confusion seeping from his tone of voice.

I decided to stay back and allow Yona to handle this on her own. "I came here to see you." she answered calmly. "Blue Dragon, I'd like you to lend me your power. I want you to come with me." This confused the Blue Dragon even more, "My power..." I saw something flash in his eyes and my feet moved automatically, placing myself in front of Yona. The Blue Dragon leaped forward, grabbing a hold of my collar and pushing back at the same time. "Amaya!" Yona called out to me in worry. I held my hand up behind my back as a sign for her to stay out of it.

Hesitance was clear as day in his eyes. Still, he held the sword to my throat. "An enemy." he mumbled shakily. "Those who desire the power of the Blue Dragon are enemies!" I slowly began to reach my hand up in front of me. The Blue Dragon flinched as my hand got close to his face. Gently, I placed my palm on his cheek and softly rubbed my thumb up and down in a calming motion. The Blue Dragon let out a gasp, "You... Who are you?" His hands began trembling, his grip on my collar quickly loosening. "I don't know you... Why?" I allowed my lips to twitch upwards into a kind smile and tilted my head to the right.

The Blue Dragon released his hold on my collar before lowering his sword. His shoulders trembled and his jaw was clenched. I gestured for Yona to step forward once more, "Blue Dragon, I am not your enemy. I am searching for the four dragons so that my friends and I may live. You may of heard of the fifth dragon as well, that is my sister, Amaya. She is the purple dragon, as well as my fated guardian and protector." The Blue Dragon looked at me in shock and my smile widened as I bowed slightly. Yona held her hand out in front of her. "I want you to become my ally." The Blue Dragon stared at her hand, lips parted. He swallowed the lump in his throat before speaking up. "I am cursed..." My fists clenched at his words. "Cursed?" Yona asked curiously. "The outside world must never learn of this power. This power of destruction." Yona stared at him with an unsettled look in her eyes. "Who told you that?" "It's the truth." Yona tilted her head, "That's why you won't go? No matter what?"

"Leave." The Blue Dragon suddenly commanded. Yona let out a gasp. "Leave!" he said once more in a more forceful tone. Yoon stepped forward, placing his hand on Yona's shoulder "Princess..." Yona glanced down towards the ground before turning around and walking back into the tunnels, Yoon following after her. I hesitated, feeling like I had to comfort The Blue Dragon somehow, but seeing as he was the one to command us to leave, I went along with his wishes and left.

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