Hana of the Dusk | Akatsuki no Yona

Chapter 4: Escape Plan.

"I just sent him to hell."

A knife whizzed past Soo-won's head.

"Say that again." A voice spoke behind him.

Soo-won, Kye-sook and the other guards turned around, to find Hana standing at the top of the stairs. She had a dark expression her face. Her blue eyes were like a pair of oceans in the midst of a raging storm. Soo-won had never seen that look in her eyes; the gaze of abhorrence and fury. He hated the fact that he'd get that look from her.

"Princess Hana," Soo-won called her name.

"Say that again!" She screamed, her voice echoing through the quiet castle.

With a calm and stoic face, Soo-won did as she asked. "I sent your father to hell."

Hak slammed the end of his spear into the ground, causing the concrete floor to crack. Anger was radiating from Hak's body; it could be sensed by everyone there. "I thought I misheard you for the first time," he looked darkly at Soo-won, tightening his grip on his spear. "That's going too far even as a joke."

"You may ask Princess Yona, because she witnessed the death of King Il with her own eyes," Soo-won indicated towards Yona. The trauma was obvious in her purple eyes. She was spacing out, her eyes were wide but she wasn't seeing. 

Hak moved like a lightning; in just a second, he was already in front of Soo-won. He brought his spearhead down to strike Soo-won, but it clashed with Soo-won's sword. "Tell me the truth!" He demanded.

"I'm not lying," Soo-won answered.

Hak pushed his spearhead harder against Soo-won's sword to the point the sword trembled, as if it was about to shatter any moment from now. "You seriously killed our kind and gentle king? You wielded a sword against a delicate king who despised weapons?"

"This nation has no need for a weak king."

The statement was enough to tick Hak off. He and Soo-won had a battle that Soo-won wouldn't let anyone else interfere, because he knew they would lose their heads in the Thunder Beast's hands. Hana took this chance to fight the guards while they were off guard.

"Hana, take Yona to safety!" Hak shouted as he noticed her orange hair flying past him.

Hana kicked a soldier in the stomach and stabbed his heart as he stumbled on the ground. "What the hell do you think I'm doing?!" She yelled back. There were so many guards standing between her and Yona, but Hana would not give up. No one got to lay a hand on her sister; not in front of Hana.

"Stop Princess Hana!" Kye-sook commanded the rest of the soldiers as Hana viciously slew everyone in her path. Hana's eyes found Kye-sook, and for a second he couldn't move because he was stunned by the fire burning in her blue eyes. He gulped and stepped back, afraid that she would pounce at him next.

A guard placed a knife at Yona's throat, but she barely reacted to it. Instead, Hana was the one becoming frantic. She screamed as she stormed through the wall of soldiers that was separating her and Yona. Once she reached her sister, Hana hacked the guard's hand off his wrist. The hand that was holding the knife fell limp onto the ground, and a shriek from the owner of the hand followed.

Hana wrapped her arms around Yona's fragile body and dragged her away from the training ground. She knew Hak would escape soon once he made sure she had successfully rescued Yona and brought her to somewhere else.

"Princess Hana, over here," someone whispered in a hushed tone. She looked at the small path and saw Min-soo hiding in the darkness. Hana was relieved to see a face that she knew she could trust. However, there were guards marching towards them from behind Min-soo.

"Min-soo, duck!" Hana exclaimed.

Min-soo managed to lower his body just before Hana swung her blade over his head, cutting the heads of the guards. Hak found them the moment it happened. He stood behind her, stunned of the fact that Hana was capable of doing that in only one swift swipe. 

Hana looked over her shoulder at her childhood friend. "We gotta go," she said.

Hak nodded. As he effortlessly picked Yona into his arm and carried her as they fled, Hak commented about what Hana did just now, "you've really become ruthless after years being away from the castle."

"I've encountered enough enemies to teach me that lesson," she said. Hana clenched her jaws, "I just never thought someone I trusted would become one of them as well."

The three of them settled behind a building, hiding behind the thick bushes. "Princess Yona, is it true that.. King Il is dead?" Min-soo asked hesitantly. Hana tensed up and looked at Yona, who still had that traumatized look in her eyes. Yona nodded, her body was trembling.

Hana wrapped her arms around her little sister and kissed her red hair, "I'm sorry I wasn't there to stop him," she whispered, blinking her eyes to stop the tears from falling.

Hak's gaze flitted from Yona to Hana. Hana's blue eyes were still clouded with pure loath and anger for what Soo-won had done, but behind those emotions, Hak discerned her grief for her father's death. She was just holding it in. Hana was not the type of person to cry in front of people, especially not Yona. If Yona saw her cry, Yona would break down as well. Hak knew Hana wanted to be strong for her sister.

Hak placed a hand on Hana's head. That was his way of showing his concern for her. Hana glanced at him when she felt his hand ruffling her messy orange hair. She understood the look of worry he was giving her, but she just dismissed it with a weak smile, indicating that she was fine.

"If they caught us, they'd kill us," Hana stated what were they supposed to be worrying about as an attempt to distract Hak's mind from concerning too much for her.

"That's for sure," Hak agreed.

A brief silence hung over the air. All of them were figuring out on how were they supposed to escape without anyone being harmed. That was until Min-soo spoke.

"I'll secure a route for you," Min-soo volunteered. Hana, Hak and Yona looked at him in surprise.

"But you—" Hak protested but was cut short by Min-soo.

"Don't worry about me. I promise I'll get away," Min-soo smiled.

Hana frowned. Min-soo was a loyal servant to her father, and he was also a dear friend of hers. She couldn't possibly let him shoulder this alone for their sake. That would be too selfish of her. She needed to protect him too.

"I'll pretend to be your escort," Hana decided. Yona raised her head immediately. Hak's and Min-soo's eyes also snapped towards Hana. Before anyone could say anything, Hana justified her decision, "that way it'll be more believable that you're Yona, and not just a decoy."

Hak tugged her arm, a bit too harshly, to make her look at him in the eye. "Hana, are you out of your mind?" He asked her. He shook his head persistently in disagreement, "I will not let you. You must come with us."

"General Hak is right," Min-soo nodded vigorously. He was against this too, because he didn't want her to risk her life just for a servant like him. "I can do this on my own. You must run with General Hak and Princess Yona," Min-soo urged.

"Listen to me. If I go with Min-soo, the chance you'll be able to escape is higher. Right now, Yona's safety is our priority," Hana told them.

Hak stared at Hana, troubled. He didn't like this idea; he knew there's a possibility that she could die if she stayed here. But Hana seemed very determined to do this. She could be as stubborn as Yona if she wanted to be, so Hak knew there was no way to change her mind now.

Hak sighed in defeat, pinching the bridge of his nose, "there's really no point arguing with you, Tangerine."

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