Hana of the Dusk | Akatsuki no Yona

Chapter 6: The Truth.

Hana woke up from her sleep. She was in her room, but everything felt alien. She tried to sit up, only to have pain shoot through her left shoulder. Hana winced and fell back into her pillow.

"Hana, you're awake," a relieved voice said. Her eyes darted to her right, to find Soo-won sitting next to her, grasping her hand. The sight of his face triggered the memory of what had happened; the night where Soo-won's face and hands were stained with the blood of her father.

She yanked her hand away and used it to strike his cheek. Soo-won's head jerked to the side.

"Don't touch me with those hands that you used to murder my father," she hissed. Fury bubbled up inside her, and Hana wanted nothing more than to pierce a sword into his heart and spoon his eyes out.

Soo-won turned his head back towards her. His cheek had a bright red mark with the shape of her hand. It was warm and throbbing. But the only thing that he cared about was the look in her eyes. It was pain, mixed with hatred and sorrow.

Soo-won was aware that he had hurt her, but nothing could be changed now; he had killed King Il, Yona had fled with Hak, leaving Hana alone with Soo-won. And Min-soo—

"Where's Min-soo?" Hana suddenly asked when her memories from last night became clear again.

Soo-won hesitated, but then proceeded to answer her question in a sullen tone, "Min-soo is dead."

Hana blinked blankly. She could tell from the start that Min-soo was probably dead; she was holding him in her arms during his last breath. But Hana didn't want to believe it; she wanted to think that Min-soo somehow made it alive. But unfortunately, the worst was always the reality.

And that made Hana extremely mad.

Hana sat up, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. "It's all because of your soldiers! Because of you!" She screamed angrily at him. Soo-won looked at her with guilt in his eyes. He should've been prepared for this a long time ago when he started planning the assassination of King Il.

She clutched the blanket tightly until her veins bulged from her skin. "I thought you'd never betray me," she whispered.

"Hana..." Soo-won trailed.

"You betrayed me!" Hana shouted at him.

"Princess Hana, please lower your voice when you're speaking to Lord Soo-won," Hana heard a stranger's voice speak. Turning her head to the door, she saw a man with long black hair, a side fringe covering one of his eyes. Hana recognized him; he was the one who commanded the soldiers to end Yona's life in order to shut her mouth from spreading the truth about King Il's death. She bet he also conspired with Soo-won in the assassination of her father.

"I was not speaking to you," Hana snapped.

"Hana, this is Kye-sook," Soo-won introduced the black-haired man without looking at his advisor.

"I don't care," Hana huffed.

"Such discourteous manner isn't befit for a princess, let alone the future queen," Kye-sook commented. Hana glowered at him again, with the same way she did the night before, when she was fighting the soldiers— the same look that successfully intimidated Kye-sook. But this time, she was more confused than furious.

"Future queen? I'm not gonna ascend the throne." Hana stated.

"You will not, but Soo-won will. And what else do you call the King's wife, if not a queen?" Kye-sook smirked.

Hana narrowed her eyes at him before averting her gaze to Soo-won, who had been silent the whole time. "You want me to marry him?" Hana asked Kye-sook, pointing her index finger at Soo-won's face while spitting at the word 'him' with disgust. She sniggered bitterly, "don't make me laugh. He killed my father."