Fight

The town was bustling, even at this late hour, making the town we left behind seem like nothing more than a ghost town in comparison, and in a sense it was. It may have more night walkers, but the quality of people were definitely lower than anyone we saw before; suspicious, rugged, and threatening people placed themselves all over the place. Once you got past the natural smell of body odor that hung palpably in the air from the horrendously unclean people roaming the streets and alleys, there was a distinct scent of blood hanging in the air. I unconsciously placed a hand over my mouth at the stench, clutching Yona’s hand tightly before pulling her cloak’s hood over her face roughly. We walked in the alleys, no one taking much notice of us; they being too busy drunkenly staggering around or cackling in groups,  and we didn’t stick around for very long for anyone to take up an interest in us anyways.

We weren’t even sure where we were supposed to be looking, no less take down the traffickers like I had so boldly proclaimed earlier. I’m starting to understand why Tori always worries about me, but I’m already here and I’m confident I’ll figure things out as I go- it’s one of my good points afterall. At that moment I scented something familiar, but at the same time it was a scent of a stranger. I pulled Yona’s arm as I entered a small gap between two buildings, pinning her against me as I covered her mouth from calling out in surprise. Ak-Sa flew up silently and watched us from atop the opening of the building’s gap, looming in the middle so that she was not seen from outer streets. Yona looked up to me in confusion, craning her head awkwardly because of the small space we were in. I simply placed a finger to my lips in a hush motion, my other hand still on her mouth.

“Are there anymore women here?” A gruff voice echoed off the stone buildings, the drawn out, almost nasal words gave a protruding accent in his throat, one all too familiar. He sounded like the men back in the castle of my kingdom.

I peeked my head out ever so slightly to see a man surrounded by guards, his clothes weren’t the loveliest, what with the coating of dirt and fringed, used edges, but they were definitely my kingdom’s garb. The guards wore some sort of armour, but at my angle I could only see the tall man at the head of the group clearly. The way he stood was different from the rest too, suggesting he was more than just a commoner. I didn’t think I knew him, but something was tugging inside me, then I realized something was actually physically tugging me too. I quickly let go of Yona’s mouth, her hands in the middle of trying to tear my fingers away themselves.

“Sorry.”, I whispered and she nodded, breathing slightly heavier. Voices started to get closer as I half-heard a response to the man’s question. I quickly pushed the princess deeper into the gap until we reached the end. It lead into another side street, a small rickety storehouse, or it used to be one judging by it’s deplorable exterior, stood in the shadow of the next building over.

“Get in.” That bad feeling persisted as I shut the door, tying it closed with some unraveling twine from one of the broken shelves. Yona took a seat on the dirt, peering through one of the many holes that graced the wooden walls. The holes were all fairly small so it would give us enough cover from anyone walking by. She looked to me with concern gracing those vermillion orbs,

“Did you figure something out? Those men mentioned girls, maybe we should follow them.” I sighed as I bent down to the floor, my arms grasping my knees in a tight hug- I feel I figured something out, just maybe. It seems Kouka was becoming the target for more than just the Kai empire.

I realized I still hadn’t answered Yona’s question as I quickly stood up,

“We will, but by scent. We should wait till there’s enough distance between us so that we won’t get caught. We can’t linger in the open for too long, so we’ll wait here.” A rustle came from above and I immediately grasped Matthias, but my nerves cooled as Ak-Sa squeezed her way in from one of the larger holes of the roof, her wings rapidly fluttering till she landed on my shoulder.

“Good girl.” I nuzzled her for a moment before placing her on a fairly large shelf, one that still held strong, and placed myself next to Yona. The night air was still cold, but it was slowly warming up, however, now that our bodies weren’t moving and we were sitting on the cold earth I could feel Yona shudder next to me and I was close to doing the same. I moved closer to her, wrapping my cloak around her the best I could so that I could transfer some form of heat to her small body. Just a few more minutes, that’ll guarantee a safe distance. I’d like to wait longer, but with the musk and strong odor of blood I was afraid their trail would be lost to me if there was any more than that.

I continued to listen to the outside noise and Yona’s breathing until Ak-Sa made a small noise and ruffled her feathers in the equivalent of a shudder. I should contact Tori. With knowing someone possibly from our kingdom is involved she’d want to be informed immediately so that she could stop the link from damaging my name. I’m going to get a lecture later, but with us following the men’s tracks we might end up in trouble later.

I undid the button to the cloak so that Yona could still use it as I stood. I expected some form of protest in me not using the cloak at all, but as I looked down I saw she was fast asleep. I smiled, she walked a lot today, so it’s to be expected she was tired, especially since she has yet to sleep because of our little adventure here. I lifted my arm to the bird, she climbing obediently on,

“Go fetch Tori for me. Okay?” I spoke in a whisper as I quickly undid the twine holding the door shut, pushing her out of the small gap of the door. She flew faithfully away, but as soon as I was about to pull my arm back inside the shelter of the shed I felt a rough hand grab my wrist; pulling me outside with a large bang against the door.

Yona jolted awake at the noise, her eyes wide and confused from being pulled out of the realms of sleep and into such a situation. The man was large, muscles bulging as he swung me around and twisted my wrist behind my back; pulling it upwards till my face scrunched in discomfort. It was one of the guards from earlier, judging by his Crystal Kingdom armour, though it wasn’t the black and purple ones from the capital, so it’s one of the outer tribes. I stopped analyzing once he tug my arm higher into the air, making me yelp. The man’s voice touched my ears and sent irritation through me immediately at how close he was.

“I wouldn’t do that missy.” My eyes focused on Yona inside the old, small building. Her crouched frame fit perfectly inside the open doorway, her hand reaching for her bow on the ground, her other hand already on an arrow from the quiver on her back. The young girl paused at the man’s words, but there was no hesitation in her eyes. I could feel his hands begin to perspire  and a loud swallow emanate from his throat, Yona’s strong gaze must be having an affect on him, it does a lot of people.

I took the opportunity of his mild distraction to pull on my arm as hard as I could away from his grip; it slid away easily. Before the guard could even look at me in surprise Yona grasped her bow and strung an arrow through it, letting it fly in an instant. The metal head dug its way home into the large man’s right shoulder, making him grovel to the floor in pain.

Yona quickly ran to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the opposite direction of the wounded man, but a little ways down the road stood the rest of the guards- five of them. I swung my head back to see the man Yona had shot back on his feet and blocking our only other escape with a ferocious expression as he gripped his bleeding shoulder. The road seemed strangely empty considering how many people were around just a few minutes ago, but now it’s just us filling the street.

I pulled out my sword and stepped in front of the princess, gritting my teeth as their scent drifted downwind. Why did I know this scent so well? I felt frustration and trepidation bubble in my chest as I snarled at the men in front of me as they tried to take a step forward.

“I didn’t think I’d see you here.” My blood ran cold. I swung around to see the man from before, the one whom looked like he was in charge, grabbing Yona by her hair and covering her mouth with that filthy hand of his. My body tensed as I held back from lunging at him, eyeing the group behind me as I saw them inch closer. The way the man in front of me smiled and roughly swung Yona around as he fumbled through his robes made me bite my cheek to the point I tasted blood. I could feel a strong growl erupt from the back of my throat as I raised my sword, but my hand stilled as I saw a flash of silver. He held a dagger to Yona’s neck. The dagger was carved with a certain insignia that made me narrow my eyes,

“You’re from the Light Tribe…” I muttered as he gave that impious grin. Those outfits were most definitely from my kingdom, but that dagger means they didn’t simply steal the clothes, but are truly citizens from the Crystal Empire. The man’s thick accent cut through the thin air,

“Yes, we are. I’m surprised you could tell, not many people have heard of my home country yet, no less my tribe. Thank you, however, for bringing the princess of the Kouka kingdom here, even if she doesn’t hold power anymore. There are those who will pay a high price for her head.” He gave a boisterous laugh as he brought the engraved dagger closer to Yona’s throat, her eyes looked more angry than scared though, which was good. I took in a breath, dispelling all irritation that was provoked by the man, looking at him with calm fury.

He was just about done with his fit of manic laughter but I didn’t give him the chance to focus again as I shot forward. I was ontop of him before he could even comprehend my movements. I rounded behind him, jumping onto his back, cradling his thick neck with my arms, my sword gripped tightly in my mouth as I dug my feet in his lower back and pulled my weight backwards. His hands immediately let go of the dagger and Yona’s mouth as he brought them to my arms in an attempt to pull them free. I could feel his body teetering as he frantically walked backwards to try and counter my feet pushing forward and my arms pulling his neck backwards. Just as he was about to fall was when I undid my grasp and kicked him away from my person, he sprawling onto the floor with a weezy as he grasped his throat.

I skidded on the dirt, my hands gripping the ground to help slow my momentum. Once I was stilled I plucked Matthias out of my mouth; I wanted to cut him with my blade so badly, but I know I need him alive for questioning. It took all my willpower to not snap his spine when I had the chance though.

Yona had dived for her bow when she was released, now pointing it at the six armed guards, the wounded man had made his way to his comrades in the confusion and they made a complete military formation. I stepped next to her putting a hand out in front of her,

“Yona, stay behind me.” I ordered, holding my sword out as I stared intensely at the rising commander and his guards. Yona stepped forward, her eye intense as she looked indignantly at me,

“No, I can fight too. You don’t need to take them all by yourself, Shoe!” I could feel my anger rising, my lungs heaving as I managed to hiss out a reply,

“Please, princess. Listen to me. Just stay behind me, okay?” I tried to make my voice sound pleading, but the anger seeped through and saturated the words. There was no more time for arguing as the man pointed a finger at us, one hand on his throat still,

“Secure princess Yona! And for that beast of a woman hold her down and execute her!” The man barked out the order as the bellicose guards gave a fierce cry and moved forward in a cloud of dust. I readied my sword as the two guards at the head of the formation came forward, taking both of my sides as the rest circled to the back of Yona and I. Biting my lip at the situation I quickly sliced the man on my lefts chest then paired the sword that came at me from the right.

Author's Note

Seems like there's more going on here than Shoe thought.

Reviews

[AliciaB]

Definitely more going on. I'm intrigued as to why Shoe recognizes the men's voices so well - I really want to know the backstory behind this! Yona is also super cool. I love the way that she is so sweet and innocent yet at the same time totally boss with her bow and arrow, ready to fight beside Shoe and being more angry than afraid when she is threatened. Keep up the great work! This is awesome!