The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 91: Yona's Dance

All eyes turned to the dancer as she appeared before them, holding an old and rusty sword that somehow looked beautiful at the same time.

Calista found Hak easily through the crowd due to his ridiculously tall height and she sat comfortably beside him as the princess' dress flowed around her feet.

The first melodic notes drifted through the air from Jae-ha's flute, and with the song sung, Yona began to move.

She lifted her arm up in a graceful arc, calling upon the heavens to answer her prayer. Her skirt flared out around her as she twirled, leaping in the air, eyes closed as she let the music take over her body.

Shin-ah and Kija's jaws dropped in awe as they saw her dance and even Zeno appeared astonished for once.

But none of their reactions could top Hak's.

The wind was knocked right out of his lungs the second she emerged from the tent and stepped in the spotlight. He had never seen her so breathtaking and ethereal before. None of those dresses she wore in the palace could beat this.

Here, she didn't look like a spoiled princess that he knew growing her. Here, she looked changed. There was strength behind her poised form and a tranquility in her eyes despite the sorrow reflected.

Calista smiled and her eyes grew fond as she watched Yona dance, unconsciously swaying in time along with her. She glanced at her brother, and wasn't surprised to see such harrowed eyes.

He was taken away by her ability to be able to twirl and lift the sword so elegantly. For someone who wasn't actually an entertainer, Yona sold the part extremely well. There was no falter within her steps, not half measures taken as she spun around, raising her arms high above her head.

The villagers who were watching applauded and whistled loudly as she finished her dance.

The iza dumpling soup was offered by the grumpy elder who had been pacified by Yona's serene performance enough to finally yield and Yoon ran over to help him serve it.

As Shin-ah waited patiently for his portion, Zeno danced in circles around him, unable to keep his boisterous energy under control. Calista regarded them fondly as she watched from afar, getting up and finding a vantage point in a tree for her to keep watch. Her lips twitched upwards as she saw Shin-ah's horned mask twist around before his gaze found her in the treetops.

She signaled that she was alright, giggling to herself when he held up his bowl of food as a sort of offering to her. Gesturing for him to go ahead and eat, warmth bloomed in her chest as he set it down, tilting his head to look at her curiously.

Adorable.

Meanwhile, Yona flounced over to where Hak was at after breaking away from Kija and Jae-ha. They wanted to comment on how beautiful her dance was, and while she really appreciated their compliments, there was only one person she wanted to see.

"Good work tonight." Hak commented without looking up as she took a seat beside him. "Here. Have some dumpling soup made with the iza seeds."

"Wow!"

Yona's eyes sparkled as she accepted the steaming hot bowl of food, inhaling its heavenly scent. It smelled so good and all that dancing had tired her out. Her eyes lit up as she tasted it, noting that it had just a touch of sweetness to it.

The princess and her bodyguard ate their food side by side until she broke the silence.

"Hey... Did you watch my dance?"

Hak paused between bites of food. "Ah, there were so many times it looked as if you'd drop the sword."

Her scoff as she turned her head away from him made him smirk just the slightest bit.

"You're just going to say I was waddling and laugh at me, right?"

"No."

Her mock annoyance faded when she heard the seriousness in his voice.

"It was beautiful."

She couldn't make sense of the electricity that sparked through her veins at his quiet tenor, nor the reason why her heartbeat picked up until she could feel it pulsing through her ears. Gulping nervously, her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked a couple of times to get over the shock.

"It's so rare of you to praise me."

"Well, it's a festival, so I can at least lie."

Her arm shot out to the side, punching him in the shoulder and he chuckled to himself.

"Uh..." Yona groaned, rubbing her head as she tried to alleviate the pain. "This is really heavy."

"Yeah, even when you were dancing it looked like you were being crushed under its weight." He teased her, dodging her weak attempt at whacking him over the head.

"Hak, don't laugh at me and take this."

"Yeah, yeah."

He was already reaching for it before she even asked, but as he lifted it off of her head, he threw his head back and cackled loudly. He couldn't help it.

Her short red hair was messed up, the unruly curls springing in every direction, it was hysterical.

Yona pouted indignantly. "It's because my hair gets tangled easily!"

Hak grinned at her. "It's been a long time since I've heard a line about the Princess' hair."

"Since..."

His eyes followed the movement of her gaze and he was saddened slightly as he saw the familiar wooden box.

Yona stopped playing with her hair long enough to notice that something was bothering him.

He reached out, and she sucked in a breath as he placed it on top of hers, fingers curling around her small hand that was gripping the box that held the hairpin.

That dreaded hairpin.

She opened her mouth to say something, say anything, but all of the words died on her tongue the moment he leaned in until his lips were just an inch away from hers. But before he could make contact, he pulled away, putting some distance between the two of them.

"I promised I wouldn't pull this sort of joke on you anymore."

With that, he walked away and Yona's head was left spinning in confusion.