Birthright [[Akatsuki no Yona - Jae-Ha]]

Chapter 1

"Hey, don't rest now. You're almost finished."

Seoyun didn't believe the midwife. Sweat soaked her hair, and her entire body was wracked with pain and exhaustion. Another sharp pain rippled across her abdomen, causing her back to arch and her fingers to dig into the sheets. She had gone into labor early that morning, and now the sun was beginning to set, coloring the sky with bright pinks and dark purples. Night would fall soon. "Is it supposed to take this long?"

"It's different for everyone," Jong said, "Which is the exact same answer I gave you the last time you asked."

"Great. And just like last time, I'm very reassured."

"It won't be much longer," said the midwife's apprentice as she patted Seoyun's forehead with a cool cloth.

"She's right." Jong moved her hands to Seoyun's taut stomach, pressing gently against the apparently reluctant baby. "Just keep breathing, and stop complaining."

Seoyun shot Jong a glare and then groaned as another contraction ripped at her abdomen. At this point, she just wanted the pain to stop. All of the teas and herbs Jong had given her had stopped taking the edge off of the agony ages ago. Now Seoyun was left with the stabbing agony caused by the contractions.

"You're going to have to push harder if you want it to stop," Jong said, sounding as if she could read Seoyun's mind.

"The first baby is always the hardest," said the apprentice, "Next time it won't be nearly as difficult or last as long."

Next time? Seoyun wanted to punch the girl right in the mouth for even suggesting that there was going to be a next time.

"Stop letting your mind wander and push!"

Bearing down, Seoyun gritted her teeth. She wasn't going to scream. Women in her bloodline didn't scream during labor, it was tradition. The story was that the quieter you were during the birth, the stronger the child would be. Seoyun didn't believe that old wives' tale, but she didn't want to jinx her kid, just in case.

Right now, her husband Chan-U was outside of the tent, waiting for their child to be born along with the clan's elders. Chan-U was a kind man, but their marriage was an arranged one and there wasn't much connection between them. Seoyun tried not to think about them, but she could feel the tension pushing in from the outside.

Every time one of the clan's women had a child, the atmosphere was the same: rampant anxiety until the child was born, followed by relief. Inside the tent, the three women didn't talk about what the elders were waiting for. What would be the point? Either the child would be normal, or...

Jong slapped one of her legs, bringing her back to the present. "It's almost here, give one more push. Put everything behind it!"

Seoyun glared at the midwife, but she mentally gathered herself and focused on her child. No matter what, her baby was hers before anyone else's, even Chan-U. Although her mother had warned her not to become attached until after it was born, just in case, Seoyun refused to stop herself. She let her affection for the little life within her strengthen her, and she bore down, closing her eyes until she heard a stuttering cry that grew into a little shrieking wail.

Her bright green eyes flew open, and she saw her son for the first time as Jong held him up. He was wet and sticky and perfect...and his tiny right leg shimmered with emerald dragon scales.

"Oh gods," the apprentice said, dropping the cloth on the bed and stepping back from the bedside. Her face was contorted with horror. She shook her head like she was trying to get rid of the image of the baby and raced out of the tent.

"I'm so sorry, Seoyun," Jong said, her eyes sympathetic as she cut the baby's cord, "Just remember, it's not your fault. This sort of thing happens." She slowly grabbed a cloth and started wiping the baby, who continued to scream as if defiance of the world that didn't want him.

But Seoyun didn't feel that way.

Oh, she knew she shouldn't want him either, that the normal reaction would be to burst into tears because she had birthed a monster. She had known that this could happen and she knew how the village expected her to react, but the revulsion that was supposed to well up within her never came.

Instead, a memory emerged, one of a boy with long green hair leaping into the sky, looking incredibly free and wild and untamable. Whenever she thought of the green dragon, that was always the image that came to mind. It had been so long ago, and she had been very young when it happened, but she would never forget that day.

"Please, let me see him," Seoyun said quietly, holding out her hands, reaching for him.

Jong frowned at her. "I don't think that's a good idea." She probably expected Seoyun to try and do something to the baby, like other green dragon mothers had tried before.

"He's my son." Seoyun looked at her, green eyes flashing. "Give him to me right now."

Jong hesitated, but something must have convinced her because she handed over the baby, setting him on Seoyun's chest. "I'll go tell Chan-U and the elders..."

Gently, the new mother rested her hand on her boy's back. He shuttered under her touch before relaxing, his cries tapering off into little grunts. Her fingers trailed up his back and brushed across his sticky, thick green hair and his soft, full cheek before tracing his perfect tiny lips. She marveled at him, at this little person she had created.

As the baby slowly fell asleep on her chest, Chan-U stepped into the tent. His eyes were dark, and his face was shadowed with disappointment and disgust as he looked at her and their son. "That's it?" he asked, his eyes flicking toward the baby. "Show me the leg."

Seoyun frowned and held her son closer. "Chan-U..."

In an instant, he was by the bed mat and snatching at the newborn. Seoyun cried out and reached for the baby, but Chan-U turned away from her and ripped the blanket away from him. There was a moment of complete silence.

"How could you do this to me."

"What?" Seoyun stared at him as he looked back at her, rage coloring his face. He knew, they all knew, no one could control who gave birth to a baby with the green dragon powers. And their son, he was innocent. He was just a baby...

"You're a disgrace," he snarled and shoved the baby back into her arms. He had never been cruel to her before, but now she feared him. It seemed as if he was seconds away from striking her. The baby was crying again, and she stroked his back as Chan-U stood up. He gave her one last scowl before storming out of the tent.

A fire burst into existence within her, and she knew what she had to do. She couldn't stay. If she stayed, they would take her son and stick him in chains or in a prison or a pit. Somewhere he would never see the daylight. She forced herself to her feet, the scattered pieces of a plan coming together as she stumbled toward the back of the tent. She had to leave.

Now.

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Miles away, Jae-Ha froze in the middle of a forest path, his hand reaching for his chest. This...this feeling. It felt like a piece of him was being ripped away, like a small part of his power had left him.

Oh.

Was it time already? A pained smirk drifted across his lips. He knew this day was coming. Honestly, he had expected it sooner. What had taken them so long? Could producing a new green dragon be so hard?

"Green?" Yoon's voice said from what seemed like a far distance, even though he was standing right in front of him. "What's wrong?"

"What's gotten into you, Droopy Eyes?"

"Are you okay?" Yona sounded concerned.

The world tilted as Jae-Ha's right leg suddenly gave out, but a hand caught him before he could hit the ground. There were tears wavering in Kija's eyes before he hugged Jae-Ha to him. "Jae-Ha..."

Ah, so he knew. It made sense that the other dragons knew. They would be able to feel the new dragon's presence, after all. Zeno's hand rested on his head, and he felt Shin-Ah hug him on his other side as everything faded.