Rika of the Dawn ⚠ short hiatus ⚠

Death Takes A King: Part 1

Before we get started, I own only Rika. Yona of the Dawn belongs to its rightful owner.

I'm changing the age of Yona and Rika to 17.

Yes, Yona and Rika are identical twins, except Rika has more of bluish and pinkish eyes, and Rika has gone behind King Il' s back to train with weapons, she has also spent a lot of time with Hak, you know training with weapons.

I might pair Rika up with Hak. Time will tell if I want or not.

Oh, and Rika's hair is more red, like blood red, and it's not curly, it's straight, and Rika has a power that will make its appearance in later chapters. No, it's not the glare thing that Yona does. This won't have the complete storyline, well, I will follow the storyline, just don't expect the lines that were used in the anime.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter One

The Kouka Kingdom. My home for seventeen years. I don't think I'd ever think of it as my home any longer. My sister, Yona, and I were chased out of Crimson Dragon castle after our father, King Il was murdered in cold blood. I glare at the sky as my breath came out in pale puffs of smoke.

"Princess'," Hak, Yona and I's bodyguard and best friend for (I lost count) years spoke out. I nod, telling him I knew what he meant before he even spoke.

I sigh. When did our lives become so...chaotic?

It was a few days before Yona and I would turn seventeen. An exciting age for me. I would no longer be seen as a child by those who worked in the palace. My father stood in front of hundreds, possibly thousands of people, giving a speech about a new day, a new era, I guess. I wasn't really paying any attention.  I was glancing all around me, searching for my twin sister. Where could she be? After father ended his speech, the crowd gave forced cheers. I do not think anyone in the castle noticed this. Father nodded at me, gesturing that I follow him, so I did.

We entered a room, where we found Yona, trying to get ready. I'm not sure what she was trying to do, but from the looks of it, she was grooming herself. Why was she trying to groom herself? She had no need to groom... unless...

"Father! Did I miss the ceremony?" Yona squeaked as soon as she saw us.

"Don't worry, Yona, it wasn't a big deal. We actually didn't need to make an appearance." I assure her.

She sighed in relief, "That's good," I saw the nervousness in her purple eyes. Was something bothering her?

"Ugh! My hair!" Here we go again. The only time she complains about her hair is when our older cousin, (by one year) So-Won, comes to visit. It's no secret that Yona is head over heels for him. She is 100% in love.

"What's wrong with your hair? It looks fine." I say going to her and pulling a strand of the curly red mess, as I like to call it and pinch the hair in between my fingers.

She lightly pushed my hand away, "Easy for you to say! You don't have to worry about anything! You've got straight hair! Why does my hair have to be so weird and so red?! And today of all days, my hair decides it's going to misbehave!" She began to throw her childish tantrum.

"Yona dear, your hair is lovely. You and Rika are the most beautiful girls in the kingdom." Father, you are not helping one bit, "Tell her, Hak."

Ah, here it comes. Hak was going to say something to anger Yona.

"Your hair is quite lovely, Princess. It's your brain that's weird." Hak said without hesitation.

"Shut it, servant!" Yona began throwing random objects at Hak, who effortless dodged them. I cover my mouth with my right hand and giggle.

Although Hak also teases me with his playfully mean comments, Yona is more affected by what he says. I usually play along with what he says, which I honestly think he thinks is boring, but I have given a few good chuckles here and there.

Father said something, causing Yona and Hak to stop the horse playing. Yona had a big bright expression as she raced out of the doors. My mind became blank.

I turn to Father and Hak with a questioning look. Oh. She's gone off to find So-Won. Is he here at the palace? If so, he'd probably come to us.

The door slid open. Oh, it seems I was right. Turning my body, I caught glimpse of a tall, blonde haired man. He was handsome.

He was smiling like a fool as he greeted Father and Hak.

"Ah! Rika! It's so great to nice you again! You've grown more lovely than the last time I saw you." I'm squished into So-Won's tight and sudden hug. I struggle to get out of his grip.

"You seem to have stayed the child you always were." I push him away and dust off his germs.

Don't get me wrong, I like my cousin and all, but ever since his father was killed years ago, I never could feel safe being in the same room with So-Won. It's like his heart darkened, hungry for revenge to kill the one responsible for Uncle Yu-Han's death.

"As cold as always, I see." He chuckled before patting the top of my head, "I remember a time before all the coldness you've sent to me. Such a sweet smile you had."

"Maybe once. Now if you excuse me, I must go." I actually had nowhere to be. I just wanted to get out of there. His closeness was making me very uneasy.

Later, I holed myself in the castle's library while Yona was off watching So-Won and Hak show off their skills of archery. I wasn't particularly interested in archery. I mean, I've had my fair share of weapon use, which my father has no idea of, so don't tell him. After Mother died, I spent most of my time secretly training with Hak,  he was hesitant about teaching me, but I bribed him. Who knew a barrel of fruit would get me to where I was now?

"Princess, we have come to collect you for supper." A petite young maid poked her head through the sliding door.

I nod, closing the book I was reading and placed it back on its shelf where it belonged.

Dinner was very silent, well for me it was. Yona was chatting excitedly about our birthday tomorrow. We were going to turn seventeen. Yona spoke on and on how the party would be. I held my tongue. Father has spoiled her. I used to be an airhead, too, but after Mother died, I had a wake-up call. Life is too precious to waste on luxury and not knowing important things.

"Aren't you excited, Rika?" I lifted my head to see Yona staring at me, her eyes were sparkling happily.

"As I'll ever be." I faked my chirpiness.

She did not see through my mask. It's a good thing, right? Sure, if you don't want her asking questions. I love Yona, I do, but sometimes she gets really nosy.

But, what was really bothering me, I had this bad feeling growing in the pit of my stomach. I never did like it when I had a bad feeling. I shook the feeling off and continued to listen to Yona chatter about tomorrow.