The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 78: Following Up

Someone was shaking her shoulder, hissing, "Calista, wake up. It's time to go."

"What's wrong?" She yawned, blinking her eyes tiredly. Usually, she would have woken up in a panic, undoubtedly lashing out unintentionally, but she was doing a little bit better ever since she started working on it. It was inconsistent, but she tried to remind herself that progress was still progress.

Her mind cleared pretty fast once she realized who was waking her up.

Looking over, she saw Yoon packing his medical bag. "One of the soldiers fell sick yesterday."

"Yesterday?!"

Why didn't we go then?!

"Yeah," He didn't look up, counting how many herbs he would need just in case he had to treat him. "But I gave Tae-jun a list that covered what he needed in order to stop the illness in its earliest stages, so it should be fine."

After briefly filling her in that he needed to wait until night so that they could move without any interference, she volunteered to go with him. He gave her a knowing smile, already assuming that to be the case and she ruffled his hair.

"You know me too well, Yoon."

"Yah!! Stop messing up my beautiful hair!!"

Yona snuck out with them through a secret passageway Hak carved out in the ceiling of Tae-jun's new building established in the heart of the abandoned villages. The ex-general stayed behind to keep a lookout and his sister thanked him sincerely. She wanted to check in on the triplets.

Since he was keeping an eye out, it meant that she didn't have to, giving her the prime opportunity to assess the living conditions for the teens.

They dropped down into the room one by one. Calista immediately ran to check on the three boys curled up in the corner.

Waking them up softly, she blocked their wild strikes as they were roused from their slumber. Frantic eyes darted around everywhere warily, unable to get a grip on reality. She caught their flying fists with ease, calculating their next moves with deadly accuracy.

Through it all, she kept her body lax and body language nonthreatening.

"It's just me." She reassured quietly. "It's just me."

Repeating it occasionally, she checked them over as they became more in touch with their surroundings. They tackled her in a hug and she nearly fell to the floor under their weight.

On the other side of the small room, Tae-jun was sleeping on the floor, and while Yoon went to check on Kil-sung, the soldier who fell sick, Yona placed her hand against his forehead.

He woke up a minute later, shooting upright when he saw her. "Princess!!" He exclaimed.

Holding up a finger to her lips, she shushed him. "It seems you were a little tired. Yoon, how is he over there?"

"It's okay. This guy will be all better in 2-3 days." He whispered back reassuringly.

Tae-jun couldn't believe it. He didn't know if he was doing anything right, or if it would be enough. Kil-sung looked really sick. Nonetheless, he was relieved to hear the boy's verdict. "R-Really?!"

"Yup, since you tackled it in its earlier stages." Yoon affirmed, packing up his supplies since he wouldn't be needing it. "You did a really good job."

Calista smiled softly as the noble began to bawl, overwhelmed with the events that had taken place the last day. Opal clung to her cloak feebly. It always took him a longer time to return to reality than his brothers. She let him hug her, rubbing his back comfortingly.