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

Chapter 4

Seoyun  was startled awake, her eyes flying open. Fever-clouded and confused by  exhaustion, she couldn't remember where she was at first. Instead of  being in a warm tent on her sleeping mat, she was on a sandy floor,  wrapped in a cloak. Then everything snapped back into place.

Outside,  the sun was shining, and she wondered how long she had been asleep. It  must have been hours, though she had fallen asleep near dawn. She had  hurt too much to walk anymore last night, and the cave had provided the  best shelter she had found since leaving her roaming village.

She  checked on the small bundle beside her, fingers brushing against her  son's cheek. He was awake and making little whimpering noises, probably  needed to be changed. Before falling asleep last night, she had been  thinking about names, trying to find one that fit. The only name she  liked wasn't even one from Kouka. It was a name she had learned while  the village had been traveling around near the border between Kouka and  Xing, and once she remembered, it seemed like the only true name that  would fit him.

Sho. It meant 'soar' in the language of Xing, and  it reminded her of the way the green-haired boy had flown over their  village and escaped so long ago. Jae-Ha, wasn't it? They had called him  Ryokuryuu usually, but she had heard his real name often enough to pull  it out of her memory. He had looked like a bird, graceful and free, and  that's what she wanted for her baby. Freedom.

A cracking sound  made her sit up, ignoring how her entire body protested the movement. It  felt like every part of her being was sore, physically, mentally,  emotionally. But she knew that if she gave in now, she was afraid she  wouldn't come back from the promise of rest and that would leave her  baby alone in a world that didn't want him. Whatever made that noise  needed to be dealt with.

Maybe it was just a deer? Oh, wouldn't  that be nice... If only she could be so lucky. Unfortunately, good luck  didn't seem to be her lot in life anymore. A tired, exasperated smile  scrawled across her face as she took off her cloak and laid Sho down,  hiding him underneath a stable shelf of rock. He whined again, and she  willed him to be patient with her for a while longer.

Reaching  into her sleeve, she drew the knife she had taken when fleeing the  village and walked toward the front of the cave. She wasn't helpless,  her father had taught her to defend herself, but she had never actually  fought anyone or anything before. Please, please, be a deer. Not a  mountain lion or wolf.

No, it was worse. Five men, three on  horseback and two walking, were stalking through the trees outside of  the cave, and she recognized them. They were from the Green Dragon  Village, which mean they had tracked her down. Chan-U was among them,  his short light brown hair, tall frame, and big arms easily recognizable  to her. It was only a few days ago that she had thought that actually  falling in love with him might be a possibility, if she would give him  more of a chance. Now hate filled her, and she wanted to toss the knife  at him.

Fear clawed through her chest but sheer stubbornness beat  it back. She hadn't come this far just to be hunted down and dragged  back to her village...though they didn't necessarily need her. They just  wanted Sho. They might kill her or leave her to die while they carried  Sho back to the village to live a life of imprisonment. That wasn't  going to happen.

Run, she needed to run. She was going to have to  push her battered body to its breaking point it she wanted to get of  here. Sheathing her blade for the moment, she hurried over, grabbed her  pack, then gently wrestled Sho into his sling. He was fussing now, on  the verge of true crying, and she knew there wasn't much time.

Taking  out her blade again, she stayed in the shadows of the cave's mouth,  watching the men. They hadn't noticed the cave yet, but they soon would.  Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest or beat  itself out, it was racing so fast. They would catch her if she ran but  they would corner her if she stayed here. She would just have to take  her chances.