To Protect Dragons

16. Write

The next morning I kept my eyes shut for a few minutes longer even though I had been awake for quite some time. I laid in bed trying to calm the nerves that settled in the pit of my stomach. I wasn't sure how to react to Kazuto when I went out there. I couldn't wrap my head around why he had kissed me. One minute it seemed like he hated my existence, and then the next was doing things.. like that. I hastily got myself out of the bed. Emelia and Eun-ji seemed to have already gotten up, I could hear voices coming from the kitchen.

Eun-ji. Guilt clouded my head as I thought about how broken hearted Eun-ji was when it came to Kazuto. Even though we hadn't spoken that much throughout this trip, my heart still went out for her and how much she truly cared about him. I gathered my clothes and changed quickly before walking out to the kitchen.

Everyone was sitting by the table, Emelia's mom talking loudly about something that had happened in the village the week before. Reo and Emelia were laughing along, Kazuto was even smiling slightly at her story. Eun-ji on the other hand sat at the end of the table, gripping her fork tightly while eating her meal.

I sat down at the table, unintentionally avoiding Kazuto's gaze.

"Look who's finally up." Reo said with his bright smile directed at me.

"I was going to wake you, but it looked like you needed the sleep." She said lightly squeezing my arm in reassurance.

I could feel Kazuto's gaze on me, beckoning me to look at him face to face.

I cleared my throat, "You should have just woken me up, we have to leave soon and I wanted to spend some more time with you." Sadness washed over me, thinking about having to leave Emelia, who I hadn't really gotten to spend much time with during our visit.

Eun-ji firmly said, "We should depart soon princess, before it gets dark." I nodded my head, at this rate we were going to be back at the Northern kingdom in a day or two.

I didn't have much of an appetite, but I shoved down what I could as I rushed to join the others outside.

"Thank you for letting us stay in your home." Kazuto said to Emelia's mother as he reached to shake her hand.
"Oh don't be silly, Kana and her friends are always welcome to stay with us." I smiled warmly at her. Reo and Eun-ji thanked her as well for their stay and went to go grab the horses.

Emelia suddenly embraced me in a large hug.

"Come back and visit soon please, I miss you." I squeezed her back, closing my eyes as I tried to embrace this moment, not knowing how long it would be before I got to see her again. She knew it too, I could feel a wet tear fall onto my shoulder.

"Don't cry, if you cry I know i'll start to cry." I said sadly smiling while holding her hands. "I will be back as soon as I can. I'll write to you as soon as I get home."

Kazuto, Reo, and Eun-ji approached with the horses. I waved one last time at my second family as I grasped Kazuto's hand and mounted the horse.

"Bye!" Reo said one last time as we rode away from the small village. I sighed as their figures got smaller and smaller until I could no longer see them through the trees and forest.

"You okay?" Kazuto asked, keeping his head straight. He said it quietly though, so only I could hear these two words he said to me.

"Yeah, I just will miss them. It sometimes is a long time before I can visit back here again." He nodded slightly.

"Only about two more days until we reach the North Kana, I have to say, I'm very excited to see Amree."

"I smiled at the thought of Amree. I knew that the stress would disappear as soon as I saw her. "I'm excited for you all to meet her. I'm excited to see her again too." My heart clenched at the thought of seeing her again, it's been too long. I laughed slightly to myself, she had probably just spent most of her time sleeping without me there.

The day on the horses were painfully slow, the tension between Kazuto and I was piercing. I desperately wanted him to say something, but at the same time I didn't want to confront what had happened the night before. I still hadn't sorted out my own feelings.

I couldn't deny that I felt something for him. But it was wrong, he was a ruthless person that I barely knew. But I couldn't help but think about all the ways that he had surprised me. I was fighting with myself in my head. Was he a good person? Was he just a cold leader, wanting to manipulate the princess who had threatened war between their two nations. If there was one thing I knew though, it was that I couldn't get sidetracked from the task at hand. The killings have been paused, but only for now. I had to remember that thirteen dragons were killed, thirteen dragons were poisoned to death because of a decision that he made, one that I was still unsure of why he made it.

It had already turned night a long time ago, the sky was darkened with the black of the night, only a few stars lingered in the sky tonight.

"Let's stop here for the night." Reo said yawning. The journey from today had been long and filled with small talk between Reo and I. Occasionally even Eun-ji would add her opinions into the conversation, her curiosity about the North overpowering her attempt at a careless and cold demeanor. She had even asked me a question about myself at one point, I was shocked at her first attempt to even slightly get to know who I was.

We dismounted our horses and walked towards the small clearing that lingered in the forests. I stumbled slightly as I hopped off the horse, my feet adjusting to the feeling of standing once again after hours of riding. Before I could fall any further a strong arm gripped around my waist holding me in place. I looked up as Kazuto's arm lingered on my waist, even after I had regained my balance. "Thanks." I said quietly, as a small blush I couldn't fight creeped up my face. He stared down at me for a moment more, before letting go of me suddenly without a word and walking away. I couldn't help but notice the stern look on his face as he looked down at me, and the way that I missed his warmth when he had walked away from me. When I looked up I noticed that Eun-ji was staring at me, but as I met her eyes she quickly turned and walked away with a rigidness to her body. I uncomfortably walked towards the rest of the group, Kazuto already reading one of the many scrolls he had brought and Reo cutely sleeping next to one of the trees. I sat down and let my eyes close, the stress of what was to come washing away with the night.