My first Akatsuki No Yona story. I cam across this anime and completely fell in love with it so I quickly read the manga and I am now so hooked on it that it has become one of my all time favourites. I notice there aren't many Yona stories out there so I decided to write my own. This will follow both the anime and manga however I won't be able to include every single chapter due to the sheer size of it, so I'll try and concentrate it all and focus on the important stuff. Anyway, I hope you guys like it and thank you for stopping by!

My hunger was so ravaging that I felt as if my own stomach was eating me from the inside out, rumbling darkly as I crawled through the undergrowth of rose bushes, keeping low and out of sight from several guards standing watch from a palace balcony where the regal buildings stood tall and proud in the evening light, causing the red tile roofs to burn with fire.

Once they had moved off I continued my way towards the apple tree, checking to see that the coast was clear before I scurried over to its branches and jumped up, climbing upwards before snuggling back among the leaves, keeping out of sight then snagged a ripe apple from one of the branches, chewing through it quickly with a burp then hiccupped, eating everything including the core before going for another. It was so ripe and juicy, the best I'd ever tasted.

I'd only just finished munching through my fourth apple when a voice made me squeak and almost fall out of the tree. "Hey! How did you get in here? Intruder!" Guards suddenly rushed towards the call and I saw one of them pointing straight towards me in the tree. Oh no! If they catch me they'll cut off my hands as a thief, I knew I should have ignored my stomach and just stayed away! But the tree had looked so appetising…I could see it just over the wall and the apples looked so filling…

"Thief! Get her, before she escapes!" Realising that this was my cue to leave, I dropped down out of the branches with a cat like grace, turning tail and fleeing with a patter of my tiny feet against the grass, my sackcloth dress light and airy around me as I tried to run back to the small hole in the wall I had managed to squeeze under.

"Stop!" I could hear their heavy feet pounding after me and when I glanced over my shoulder I saw a hand reach out to try and grab me by my long hair. I knew I should have tied it back. Quickly I darted to the side and jumped up as the guard fell over into the earth, slamming face first and I sprung off his back and onto the wall, using it to gain height as I twisted and flew like a bird over the shoulders of the other guards, their hands uselessly grabbing at thin air as I jumped from shoulder to shoulder to then shoot off running the other way, pushing my small legs to move as quickly as I was able.

There was a confusing array of shouts as I ran along the palace walkway, crossing over a bridge where a beautiful pond glistening prettily with lilies floating on the water. Guards ahead turned around and instantly tried to block my path so I turned left and continued to flee, my tiny heart pounding so heavily in my chest I thought my head was going to explode.

Desperation filled me and a prayer of hope fluttered in my chest as a means of protection and the optimism that I would escape unharmed, however as more guards poured into the palace gardens I soon found the likelihood of this happening less and less. It was just a few apples! I was so hungry, I didn't think anyone would mind!

I had somehow managed to race around a corner ahead of the guards who were all struggling to keep up with my light footedness as their armour and weapons slowed them down, however as I hurtled around the bend a small hand flew out and grabbed my wrist, making me gasp as I was then pulled into the bushes and my head shoved down with a giggle in my ear. "Hide with me! They won't find you here." A pretty girl whispered excitedly, her violet eyes sparkling with laughter as she crouched in the undergrown with me, pressing a finger to her lips to hush me.

She was younger than I was, I think, but only by a year or so, maybe even less. I was struck by the sweetness of her features and how unearthly her beauty seemed, especially with the bright crimson of her hair. Even her clothes were beautiful, wearing a pale mauve with darker purple flowers and a red sash tied around her waist over a lilac robe.

What struck me into a dumb awe, however, was the colour of her hair. It was a deep crimson, so vibrant and lustrous in its fiery shade that at first I thought my own eyes were playing tricks on me, that the light had simply caught it strangely however as I stared at the small girl, I realised that her hair really was bright red like a rose.

Suddenly the guards came hurtling past, their clanking armour make me freeze in place as the girl bit her lips, trying to hide her grin. She must be some noble's daughter, she certainly dresses like she was born into riches. Her eyes turned to me and she smiled again, seeing my astonished expression so I quickly turned my head away in shame. "I'm Yona." She whispered quietly as the guards disappeared, still shouting.

"I'm Ryo." I answered her just as quietly and she giggled again, making me smile slowly before I was giggling too, still holding her hand from where she had grabbed me. "Thank you for helping me."

"It was fun, do you sneak in here often? You should come play with me!" She continued to whisper quietly, eyes still sparkling from excitement. "We can play dress up, I can be a queen and you can pretend to be a princess, or a lady in waiting if you like. Come on!" She leaped up from the bushes, her little hand still clinging onto me and my eyes widened in surprise at the sudden rush, dimly aware that I was running alongside her until we turned a corner in the gardens and we were faced with an entire hoard of guards.

"There she is, don't let her escape this time!" They all started forwards but Yona bravely stepped in front of me and spread her arms in an attempt to shield me.

"No! This is my friend, you can't take her!" She told them all but before her small voice could be heard a hand had grabbed my arm and yanked me away from Yona. "No! Ryo! Let her go! Let Ryo go now!" She howled, starting to beat her fists against one of the guards but another drew her back and tried to calm her temper as her eyes flashed suddenly and I stared at her once more. They were ablaze with a deep flame settled deep within her glare, fierce and passionate, enough to make the guard holding her back stop in shock and freeze completely.

As another guard gripped my other arm painfully I hissed, awakening from my daze and I began to lash out. My foot slammed down against the guard's, making him yowl in pain as I then wrenched my arm free and balled my tiny fist, striking him in his sensitive area before kicking the other in the shin, allowing myself complete freedom.

A spear butt was thrust straight at me and I leaped out of the way with an agile grace, gritting my teeth slightly as I frowned in concentration, springing back onto my hands with a flip then cartwheeled out of the way again as the guards continued to try and capture me. I used my smaller size against them, darting between their legs and kicked at their knees to get them down to my own level before hitting their necks or head, sending a few of them down as they all whirled around in confusion, unable to keep up with me as Yona giggled. "You're so fast Ryo!"

"Yona!" I called and held out my hand the moment I escaped the flurry of limbs, reaching for her and started to run as she latched onto my fingers and allowed me to pull her away as we raced from the guards. It sounded as if the entire palace was in an uproar, shouts ringing across the gardens and even a bell rang in warning as I quickly looked around me, trying to find a way to escape but only found a tree in an orchard. It will have to do for now, at least Yona will be out of harm's way if I can get her up into the branches. Beside me she was laughing and I tossed her a wild grin as we continued to run, her slippers now smeared with mud and grass stains as was the hem of her skirt.

"This is fun!" She trilled and I giggled.

"Dangerous too, I shouldn't be here really, but I was so hungry. I only wanted a few apples from the apple tree." I said to her as I cupped my hands together and pressed my back into the tree. "Hurry and climb up, they won't be able to reach us up here."

"Oh, really? I've never climbed a tree before." She mused breathlessly before placing her foot in my hands and allowed me to lift her up to the lowest branch where she clung on for dear life, gasping sharply before she began to kick her feet in a panic. "I don't like it! Get me down! Get me down from here!" She wailed as I sprung up into the tree, climbing like a monkey before I crouched on the branch and held her wrists, making her look up at me.

"Do you trust me Yona?" I asked her quickly and her eyes widened before she sniffed, blinking away her tears before nodding her head, making me smile down at her before I lifted her up, helping her to climb into the tree as the guards closed in on us. "Hurry and climb quickly! Don't worry, I'm right here beside you, I won't let you fall Yona." I promised her and she nodded her head with a determined look in her eyes as she held my hand and I helped her to climb higher.

"You won't get away from us you filthy urchin! Come down here at once before you fall!" I blocked out the rest of what the guards were yelling, ignoring them completely as I settled Yona safely among the branches and she giggled, kicking her feet happily as she looked up and around her in wonder.

"I like it up here." She whispered to me. "See how the sunlight shifts with the leaves and shines through?" As she pointed up to the light patches I watched as the speckles of sunlight moved and danced with the rustling leaves as the gentle breeze shook them, making me smile fondly upwards.

"What goes on here? What on earth is all this fuss about?" A rather commanding and respectable voice questioned and Yona instantly beamed as we saw a rather stout man walking towards us with fancy robes and a funny hat on his head.

"Father!" Yona cheered and tried to spring forwards however in her momentary lapse of concentration, she tipped forwards from the branches and her hands scraped at thin air, her eyes widening in horror as she began to drop from the tree branches, giving a sharp scream as my head snapped towards her.

"Yona!" Without hesitating I bunched up the muscles in my legs and plunged straight downwards, stretching out my arms and wrapped them around Yona to then twist, slamming my back against a tree branch with a pain filled cry before I managed to snatch a smaller branch as we dropped again, Yona snivelling in my arms as I gripped onto her and she clung to me.

"Yona my child! Hurry, get them both down before they hurt themselves!" The important man ordered and a rush of men streamed forwards, lowering their spears and instead grabbed Yona to lift her down from the branch whilst I dropped down myself the moment she was safe, glaring up at the adults as they blocked me in with angry expressions. "Enough, step away all of you." Instantly the guards all sprung away and dropped to the floor, bowing before the man as he walked forwards with Yona who had rushed to his side.

I looked up at him unflinchingly, stubbornly keeping my eyes locked on his as he searched my face carefully. "My, my, what trouble you have caused this evening, little one." He chuckled finally and I blinked in surprise. "I saw how you dealt with my guards, such fine skill for one so young and fragile looking as you." He noted and I clenched my fists at my side.

"I taught myself to be strong so no one would ever hurt me." I answered however I think I must have said something wrong because one of the guards hissed at me.

"Have more respect, urchin, this is the king you speak to! King Il and his daughter, Princess Yona." My eyes widened in horror, not realising just how grave my situation was until now. This was the king and his daughter? I had been running around with the princess herself?! She giggled behind her hand, clinging to her father's hand though she smiled to me.

"Father may I keep her? I should like to have another friend to play with, I want to play dress up with her!" She pleaded and her father chuckled, the laugh lines in his face crinkling further as I continued to stare up at them both in awe. How stupid could I be?

"What is your name, little one?" The king questioned me and this time I had the sense to drop to my knees and bow my head to the ground.

"I am Ryo, your majesty." I answered strongly but now felt very much chastised and humbled. Of all the people, I did not think I would be meeting the king himself. I thought he would have been far too busy with important things in his study to worry about someone as insignificant as me running around his garden sneaking a few pieces of fruit here and there.

"Ryo…I see you are skilled in unarmed combat. You defended yourself against armed men surprisingly easily." He murmured, stroking his face with one hand in thought before continuing. "Where are your parents, little one? I should like to speak with them." Hurt filled my eyes as I sat up and looked away, struggling to keep my lip from trembling and understanding passed through his eyes as well as kindness. "I see. Do you have any family, Ryo?" In answer I shook my head. "You are all by yourself?"

"Yes sire." I found my voice but now it was weak and brittle, like a pane of glass threatening to break. There was a long stretch of silence where the king stood regarding me quietly and Yona glanced repeatedly between the two of us, wanting to speak but kept her mouth tightly clamped shut though her eyes continued to glitter.

"Very well, it is decided." Nodding his head the king signalled for an attendant who rushed to his side. "See that young Ryo here receives a good meal and a bath. She will hereby now be known as the princess's escort and personal guard. She will take lessons with the princess and also train alongside Son Hak in order to develop her combat skills." My eyes widened as I stared at the kind king as Yona's eyes widened with joy, beaming at me as she rushed forwards with a squeal of happiness and flung her arms around me.

"Thank you father! I shall treasure her forever!" Her words made me feel like a prized doll of some sort but I felt cherished nonetheless as no one has ever cared for me before now save for my parents, but I hardly remembered them anymore. As the princess laughed into me I smiled, blinking away a tear as I then bowed before the king.

"Thank you sire! I swear, I shall protect the princess with my life, I shall not fail you!" I vowed with all my heart and he chuckled, nodding his head approvingly before walking away with Yona in his arms, fussing over a little scrape on her arm like a tender father as I was whisked away.

First I was bathed, some ladies scrubbing all the dirt away from my skin and washed through my long dark brown hair until it lay in silky strands down my back. They clothes me in a pale cream dress with a brown outer robe, a black sash tied around my waist in a belt with my sleeves large and gaping, making me fuss over them as they flapped around like useless wings, making me pout as I tried to walk but I almost immediately tripped over the long hem of my skirts and the pinching slippers they had placed on my feet. "Be careful young one or you might injure yourself." One of the ladies warned as I struggled for my balance but once I was safely on both feet I turned a bright smile towards her.

"I'm fine! Thank you, I feel so wonderful." I said and bowed to them all, making them all blink in surprise before they smiled back at me in return. Before one of the ladies could even start on my hair I heard Yona come rushing inside, giggling and laughing as she called out my name.

"Ryo! Ryo come and meet Soo-Won!" She commanded, rushing forwards with a flurry of bright red hair as she grabbed my hand in hers, pulling me away and I happily followed after her, beaming from ear to ear as I raced after her.

She brought me out to a courtyard however as I struggled to keep up with her enthusiastic pace and my long skirts continued to bunch in front of my feet I finally lost my balance and hit the floor with a grunt, almost bringing Yona down with me but I managed to wrench my hand free from her in time and as she flailed her arms two boys suddenly appeared and steadied her. "Are you alright Yona?" A blue eyed and pale haired boy questioned with concern as the other looked infinitely bored.

"She's fine, if there's anything wrong with her it's her brain." The darker haired boy in blue said, feathers dangling either side of his head from a headband that he wore. The two were such stark contrasts to one another with the addition of Yona that I could hardly believe that they could even be friends.

"You're so mean!" Yona wailed up at the sky. "Soo-Won, tell him to go away!" She snuggled closer to the one in white robes and he chuckled, patting her head as I slowly pushed myself up and dusted myself off as I watched them curiously.

"Who is this Yona? Is this the girl who battled all those guards by herself?" Soo-Won questioned and Yona blinked, looking back to me before smiling, rushing back over to my side and held my hand as she pulled me forwards to introduce me.

"Yes! This is Ryo, my newest attendant. She's going to protect me in all the places where another man cannot go so that I shall always be safe." She informed them proudly before snuggling into my arm, making me smile with a rosy blush. "Ryo, this is my cousin Soo-Won and that mean bear over there is Hak from the Wind Tribe."

"Hello, it is nice to meet you." Soo-Won smiled sweetly, his innocently youthful features pale and rather soft looking as he lifted a hand. "Welcome to the palace, we hope you'll find it comfortable here."

"She's bound to, it's not like she can go anywhere better." Hak answered with a shrug of his shoulders before he smirked and lifted up the toy sword he had held in his other hand. "Now battle me! I want to see what you did to take down those guards, show me how good a warrior you are!" Soo-Won's eyes widened in frightened alarm as Hak lifted his sword and took a swing at me, forcing me to jump backwards out of the way.

"Hak, you can't make her fight like that, she's a lady and she's only just arrived here! We need to make her feel welcome, not frighten her off!" But Hak was grinning and too preoccupied to even listen to Soo-Won who gripped Yona's hand with worry, drawing her back as Hak continued to lash out at me with the sword, his movements fast, powerful and very accurate for a boy his age. I was already breathing hard just trying to avoid him.

"Hak! Don't break my new friend!" Yona wailed just as I tripped backwards on the hem of my skirts, making me fall to the ground where Hak lunged forwards victoriously with a playful yell, meaning to jab me in the stomach but my eyes narrowed and instantly I focused.

With a slice of my foot I kicked the toy sword out of his hands and he started in surprise as I flipped back onto my feet, springing backwards onto my hands before I barrelled forwards and shouldered him straight in the chest, throwing him clean onto his back then dropped my weight on top of him, pinning him down and the two of us wrestled, rolling in the ground as we both smirked at one another until finally I managed to wriggle like a snake out of his grasp and grabbed his neck from behind, restraining him with my legs wrapped around his waist.

"I beat you!" I crowed happily, giving a laugh as Hak continued to struggle.

"Did not! I can still win, you watch!" He yelled however a deep bellied roar had us both freezing in place, blinking like frightened little rabbits at the massive hulk of a man who came storming towards us with a dark glint in his eyes.

"You letting yourself be beaten by a little scrap of a girl, boy? What kind of grandson are you?!" He demanded in outrage before cracking a whip, making Hak yell and instantly broke free from my grasp, running away with great haste to hide behind Yona and Soo-Won.

"I was just being nice!" He argued pitifully and I giggled as the grey haired man started to chase Hak in a circle around the courtyard as Yona beamed.

"Son Mundok!" Yona cheered and rushed towards the towering warrior with open arms, flinging herself at him and he stopped to accept her into his arms, chuckling and with him distracted Hak quickly scurried away. "Please don't hurt Hak, he was just being friendly in his own way." Yona explained before leaning towards me. "This is Ryo, my newest friend! Isn't she pretty? Like a little china doll." She giggled and I blushed again before steeling my expression and lifted my chin to meet the gaze of the tall man as he hummed in thought then knelt down, Yona still gripped in one arm.

He reached out with one hand and gripped my face in his strong hands, enough to make me flinch but I only narrowed my eyes further as I hid the pained reaction. One eye was sealed shut because of a scar, his shaggy hair adorned with several beads that clinked every time he moved. "Hmm…you have a warrior's gaze, little lady." He told me before laughing with a booming sound, making me jump slightly. "Don't worry, I'll make a fighter of you yet, you wait and see. Come to the training courtyard tomorrow morning after breakfast and you can train with Hak. Let's see if he really was just going easy on you."

Hak paled visibly and I gave a nod of my head, smiling confidently before sticking my tongue out at Hak the moment Mundok had his back turned, earning me the same face straight back at me until we grinned at one another.

It was the start of a long, happy relationship between the four of us. I trained with Hak every day, arriving before breakfast at the training grounds to work hard, much to Mundok's pleasure and in the afternoons I spent my time with Yona dressing up in fine clothes and accessories, playing all kinds of games in her room or going out into the gardens to play hide and seek, the boys occasionally joining us.

Our friendship seemed to only flourish and bloom like the spring flowers, each of us growing closer and closer to one another in some way. I loved Yona with all my heart like the little sister I never had and the boys as my brothers. Hak and I were particularly close, bonding tightly together ever since that first day and fight together and were rarely out of one another's company seeing as we were the princess's personal guards. Her protection was our priority and we agreed that nothing was more important to us than her, other than one another.

In some ways Soo-Won was the odd one out for me. There was something about him that I had always admired as a child, his kind compassion and gentle nature, however it clashed so violently against my bold brashness and insatiable lust for adventure that sometimes we would argue over what was best for Yona, such as him trying to keep her from climbing trees whereas I encouraged her. He did his best to shield her from everything whilst I vowed never to keep a secret from her.

Though deep down, I knew that of Yona and I, he had always loved us both in the same way. He tried to protect me too in whatever way he could all the way through our childhood, especially whilst in training though I would tell him there was no need. He refused to see me as an independent young woman as much as he refused to see Yona as anything other than the sweet little child she had always been to him.

My life in the palace soon became the only life I could remember as I blocked out all those lonely days struggling for survival. Here I was safe and protected as much as I protected Yona and the king. They became my family and I loved them with all my entire being, hoping that I would never have to be separated from any of them as here was the place where I was happy, here was the place I had finally found my home.