The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 6: Betrayal and a Half

Calista couldn't fight them. She was clearly outnumbered. Even if she managed to defeat both of them, which was physically impossible without her knives that she foolishly left in her room, it would pique unwanted curiosity if she left them injured but alive, and raise too many questions if she killed them. 

Her teeth gnashed together in a snarl as she realized there was nothing she could do here. She cursed under her breath as she fled, barely managing to escape the man's grasp, and she tore back to the castle, when she spotted black hair and cerulean eyes. 

"Hak!!" Calista raced towards the Wind Tribe's general, eyes wide and heart pounding. "HAK!!!"

"Calm down, I'm right here." Hak's eyes narrowed as he caught her, and she winced. His grip was tight and unyielding, unlike the night before where he was so careful with her. Something was off. "What's wrong with you—"

Calista clapped a hand over his mouth and dragged him behind a tree, hiding them both out of sight from the nearby guards.

Hak glared at her, "First you yell for me, then—"

He cut off his sentence as his eyes landed on Calista's shaking form, tears welling up in her eyes. His blue eyes widened in shock; he had never seen her like this before. Hak hesitated. Even if what she had told him wasn't true, there was more to the story than she had told him. 

Hak internally scoffed. 

"Be careful around Calista." Soo-won warned, eyes filled with worry. 

Hak studied him closely. "Why?"

Soo-won sighed softly, sorrow overcoming his features. "She hasn't been able to stay away." He murmured and Hak froze. 

"She promised she wouldn't go back." He stated, cobalt eyes hard. 

The blonde-haired man gave him a tiny smile. "She tried her best."

Hak growled, stalking away from him angrily. His thoughts were racing with betrayal, and abused trust; so much so that he missed the regret that flashed in his oldest friend's eyes. 

Soo-won had informed him that Calista was unstable due to the mental and physical abuse she suffered from her time in the underground. That, and the fact that she had gone back multiple times after swearing she wouldn't. Soo-won told the general that she couldn't stay away, he practically had to keep her locked in her room to prevent her from leaving at night. He told Hak that she had become addicted to fighting, and that he should be cautious around her.

The Thunder Beast came back to the present as Calista uttered quietly, "He's going to kill the king." 

Hak froze. Then, he laughed maniacally. 

"You shouldn't joke about things like that." The corners of his mouth tipped upwards in dangerous amusement. His gaze held the clear warning that his tone relayed. He was giving her one chance to shut her mouth and keep her head down.

Calista flinched at the sound, and Hak narrowed his eyes before lowering himself down to her level. "And who is going to do it? Me?" 

She knew he was mocking her, that he didn't believe her; but this was more important than her hurt feelings and their broken bond. Her brow furrowed and her hands shook violently against the ground. 

I can do this.

He had to know what was coming. Maybe he'd be able to stop it where she couldn't. 

"Soo-won." Calista shakily breathed out. 

In a split second, she was on the ground, with his glaive pressed against her throat. Calista couldn't recognize the man in front of her, Hak's eyes were dark with unchained fury and his jaw locked.