New Dawn

{16} - Damn you Fire tribe

They were greeted by the sight of a very beaten up and worn-out Han-dae, who was being fussed about by a concerned Arisa, who looked as if she was contemplating the murder of an entire (fire) nation. His clothes were ripped and he had bruises all over his body. His hair was dishivelled and his clothes looked as if they were dragged around in dirt.

"Han-dae, your injuries..."

"What happened?"

Han-dae felt his heart warm at their genuine concern for him and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I messed up. I went upriver and would you believe it? Some Fire Tribe folks were damming it up. I thoughtlessly picked a fight with the guys but they were armed. They beat the snot out of me" After he finished his flashback, he felt a sharp pain on his already throbbing head. He turned to the female beside him and looked at her accusingly. He rubbed at where she hit him and pouted.

"Oi what was that for! I acted like a valiant hero and fought them." He whined while tears started accumulating in his eyes. He stared at the black haired female hoping to coax out her caring side but alas, he failed.

"Valiant hero my ass! You ran away! With serious injuries no less! And you dare call yourself a hero?!" She was panting with rage. She wasn't at all annoyed nor bothered by how he addressed himself, she was simply worried about the badly beaten boy. What worried her the most was how nonchalant he was about his fight. He hadn't cared for himself enough so Arisa felt the need to compensate for that. She stared at her handy work and felt that it wasn't enough. She called Tae-woo over and commanded him to take him to the village medics to be treated properly.

Having heard what Han-dae had to report, the villagers were outraged. How dare those Fire Tribe chumps dam up the river and hurt one of their own?! Do they wish to start a war?! 

The villagers were seething with rage. Many have already voluteered to go and teach the Fire Tribe a lesson or two. Amidst this chaos and mayham Hak, the Wind Tribe Cheif, was silent. Mundeok advised the villagers to not take action against the Fire Tribe but that only seemed to rouse their anger even more.

"Why? They dammed up the river and killed Han-dae." Han-dae, who was still in the vacinity, glared at who said that and had refuted them loudly. He was still alive, dammit.

"Calm down! Don't worry about the river, go and check if the people have returned from buying the water." Mundeok commanded. "...This is a warning from the Fire Tribe." Mundeok muttered under his breath, he had not intended for anyone to hear him but Hak was far too keen to not notice such words.

"Warning?"

"They want to crown Lord Soo-won as king." Mundeok answered Hak's inquiry. Yona stifled a gasp. Her eyes were wide in disbelief, how could they? It hadn't been a week since the King died. Arisa had a bad premonition in her heart and Mundeok's words confirmed it. Arisa worriedly glanced at the princess. She wasn't ready for this, her mentality was too weak. "They're pressuring us because I didn't approve." Yona looked downright terrified. She was shaking slightly and she had wrapped her arms around herself to bring her comfort.

"Don't worry, General Mundeok would never agree." A gentle hand patted her reassuringly. Arisa smiled deviously at the princess. "Besides, if General Mundeok agreed to his crowning, it would be as if he was acknowledging the fact that Hak killed the king."

"Well, I guess blaming me would be the easiest solution." Hak said whilst rubbing the back of his head, annoyed. "But then what of the maid of the princess? Ah Arisa you will never find anyone who would marry you. Don't worry I'll take responsibility." Arisa was nothing but a palace maid, the only plausible reason as to why she was taken and not killed would be to use her as sexual relief. The maid in question flushed crimson and started hitting Hak in her rage.