The Blood Red Rose {Shin-ah x Reader}

Chapter 5- His Reward

 Yona~

"I just... don't understand what's going on here!" Kija, the white dragon, exclaimed, pacing back and forth with noticeable frustration. "First the villagers, and then Seiryuu's presence disappearing every time I feel he's nearby. What's going on here?" 

They were resting now, trying to make themselves comfortable. The villagers had hesitantly led them to the small den upon their request for a place to rest for the night. They claimed that it appeared the travelers had a rough journey, and that although they were an impoverished settlement, they would do their best to accommodate the group and give Hak, who still had blood stains on the bandages wrapped around his chest, enough time to recover.  

"Although this is another dragon warrior's home, I feel like it's completely opposite from your village, Kija." Yun chipped in, eyebrows furrowed as he worked to gather his thoughts. 

"What?" Kija asked, taken aback by the statement. 

"I mean, this place seems odd because we saw Kija's village first, but if we think about it, maybe the White Dragon village is special." 

As Yun explained, Yona had a flashback to the greeting she had received from Kija and his people when they first met, how they had gotten down on their knees and bowed at the first sight of her flaming crimson hair. They practically worshipped the ground she walked on, believing her to be the reincarnation of the original red dragon himself, King Hiryuu. They treated her like a goddess... unlike this village, who dismissed the very thought of the dragons existing at all and almost appeared to loathe the subject.

"There aren't any crimson-hair worshippers here. I'm beginning to think we may be nothing more than intruders to both the villagers, and the Blue Dragon..." He concluded, making Yona's lips contort into a crestfallen frown.  

Taking notice of her reaction, Kija interjected, "Nonsense! It's the four dragons' duty to come forth and serve their master! I never once hesitated, from the very moment I met the princess, to when I left my village!" He clenched his scaled hand, and a smug grin rested on his face. 

"Well you're certainly confident in yourself," Yun stated, and rolled his eyes. 

Kija puffed out his chest proudly. "Well of course I am!" 

"Er... that wasn't a compliment." 

Yona ignored their bickering, and instead concentrated her gentle violet eyes on the entrance to a maze of lit tunnels. The people here had warned them all not to go exploring, claiming that they wouldn't be responsible for anything that happened to them if they got lost. But the former princess wasn't as dense as she looked, and she knew well enough that they weren't as concerned about the travelers' well being as they were about what, or who they would discover if they searched hard enough. 

"I want to meet and talk to him," She murmured lifting her gaze again so that she made eye contact with Yun. 

"You mean you want to go back into that maze?" He questioned, obviously surprised at her courageous suggestion.

 They had already been looking for him for an hour or so, keeping track of where they had already walked on a piece of parchment that Yun tore out of one of his books, which they had transformed into an elaborate map. But Kija had only lead them to the same dead end time after time again, claiming that he could feel the Blue Dragon's presence just beyond that wall. It was a frustrating ordeal overall.

 To make matters worse, Yona had also strayed away from the others at one point after getting distracted by an animal cry. She got lost herself when she fell behind to investigate. Amidst all of the arguing going on between Hak, Kija, and Yun, no one happened recognize her absence until they had wandered too far away for her to catch up. It was a scary experience for everyone, especially her.  She wasn't accustomed to dealing with stressful situations without at least Hak by her side. By the time they had retraced their steps and found her, she was curled up on the ground right where she had gone missing, trembling with fright. It was decided soon after that they'd go back to their room and take a break.