Chapter 1:

"Hak, you should be resting!" The Princess said, her tone concerned. The Dark Dragon watched as she struggled with carrying the small bulk of firewood. Although his side still throbbed with pain, he couldn't stand seeing her struggle.

"I feel fine." He lied before taking the stack of wood from her small arms. He didn't look at her long. If he did then he feared she would see straight through him.

"You're not fine." The Princess mumbled while pulling half of the wood from his hands. "If you won't let me take all of it then at least let me take half... You never slow down do you?" Her tone seemed knowing, as if she understood the hauntings that he faces, but she didn't push the subject any further.

This caused Hak to smile. It was just like her to look out for him.. She's always been this way. Silently caring for him and never asking questions. Almost out of reflex, the Dark Dragon grabbed her calloused hand in his. The princess tightened her grip, blushing lightly at their touch. It had become so natural for their hands to find each other. Whenever they were alone, it seemed they were always touching in some way or another.

"There you two are! I've been looking for you." Yun called while racing over to them. This caused both of them to immediately separate, light blushes on their face. "There's trouble... Over in the nearby village there was another attack."

"What? Is everyone okay?" Yona asked, clearly worried about the villagers.

"I'm not sure.. Shin-AH and Jae-ha have already left to check it out." He answered only to have Yona push her pile of lumber onto him.

"O-Oi!" Shouted the young man as she raced passed him.

"Hak, Stay with Yun! I will be back soon!" The handsome warrior started blankly at her running figure.

"Did she really just tell me to stay here?" He murmured to himself before his pile of lumber and running after her. Yun stared off at the two of them before letting out a heavy sigh.

"Wait for me Idiots!" He screamed as he raced to catch up with them.

Once arriving at the town, the three of them stood in shock. The entire village was destroyed, houses still burning and people lying lifeless in the street. Hak's pupils constricted as memories of that night filled his mind.

"Princess! Hak! You shouldn't be here. What if the army returns?" Ki-Ja warned as he jogged up to them.

"There's no time to worry about that. We have to save as many villagers as possible." The Princess instructed while walking down the main road in search for injured souls. There were too many to count, so many people groaning in agony as their blood escaped through deep gashes.

"Yun! Come help me!" Jae-Ha called as he held a young female woman in his arms. Her hair was long, wavy and chestnut colored which immediately sent Hak's heart through the roof. Her unconscious body had a gash across her stomach. Jae-ha layed her down as the young genius set to work on her. The entire time, Hak stood there motionless.

'She looks just like...'

"The wound is bad, but I should be able to save her." Yun informed while applying some liquor to the wound. This caused the young girl to cry out in pain. Hak unconsciously winced when hearing her cry.

"Jae-Ha!" Yona's voice called out causing all of them to turn and face her. She was slowly walking up carrying an injured man towards their makeshift infirmary. The green dragon swiftly jumped up and ran towards her, taking the man on his back he moved to place him on whatever blanket they could find.

"Thank you sir." He whispered before moaning in pain. His leg was sliced to the bone, blood still pouring from him. The Princess knelt down tearing the hem of her clothes. Skillfully she tied the strip of cloth just above where his gash was.

"This will stop the bleeding. We will get you help as soon as possible so hang in there." She informed before handing him some water. After handing him water, Yona turned her attention to the girl. Rolling up her sleeves, the Princess raced over to where Yun was.

"How can I help?" She asked while sitting on the other side of her unconscious body. Yun looked up at the Princess before handing her a bowl of water.

"Keep her fever down." He said before setting back to work on stitching up her injuries. Yona dipped a clean cloth into the cool water and padded the woman's forehead with it. Hak watched from the sidelines as the woman he loved cared for a girl who looked so much like his mother.

"Hak! Don't just stand there! Help me check for more survivors." The green dragon yelled causing the Thunder Beast to snap out of his daze.

"Y-yeah." He mumbled before running off with Jae-Ha. The group worked diligently throughout the day, mending people's wounds, putting out the fires, and burying the dead. Night was now upon them as the last rays of sunlight began dimming in the already star lit sky. The Dragons, exhausted from the day, entered into one of the only buildings that survived the pillage. It was a bigger building that Yun had turned into a temporary infirmary and shelter for the weak.

"We've done all that we can for today... There's not much else we could do in the dark." Jae-Ha said as the group of men sat down in an empty space in the building.

"You guys have done good. I made rice over in that pot. You'll have to help yourselves. Some of the villagers are still in critical condition and need to be monitored closely." Yun informed as he diligently mixed together some herbs and placed them on a middle-aged man's shoulder.

"...How's the girl with the stomach injury?" Hak asked causing everyone to stare at him. Even Yun looked back at him with a slightly surprised expression.

"She should make it. She seems to be a strong girl. Her condition stabilized pretty quickly after getting her wound dressed and sutured... Yona's looking after her right now if you'd like to go see." The young genius answered. Hak stood up silently before scanning the room for his princess. The other dragons silently watched, eyes wide, as he left them.

It didn't take him long before he spotted her. Her red hair shimmering from the candle light as she bent over dabbing the young woman's forehead with a washcloth.

"Oh Hak. You're back." Yona said, a tired but genuine smile crossing her face.

"Yeah..." Hak said while looking at the young unconscious woman.

'She looks just like Mom.' He thought while kneeling down next to Yona. He watched as she silently checked her bandages for blood and elevated her head slightly with a pillow.

"You've gotten good at taking care of people." The Dark Dragon complimented causing the princess to smile.

"I got a bit of practice when you were injured." She responded while turning her attention to the handsome man. "I think I'm getting better.. All of Yun's strict training has helped, but I can't wait to be able to train with you again."

'Without a doubt she is gorgeous.' He thought while staring at her blushing face. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to lean in and kiss her on her soft lips. 'Would she hate it? She'd probably kill me..'

"Ah!" A distressed voice sounded next to them. Hak and Yona both turned to see the young woman barely sitting and clutching her stomach.

"You need to lie down. You're very injured." Yona instructed while moving to gently push her back down. The young woman fought back, smacking the Princess' hands away.

"Who are you?!" She exclaimed, her light blue eyes blazing.

"We are travelers. We saw your town was pillaged and came to help." Yona answered calmly while trying to approach the girl.

"Don't come near me! How do I know I can trust you?" Just as she was about to hit away the Princess' hand again, a strong hand grabbed her wrist. The young woman turned her attention to the blue eyed, dark-haired warrior.

'She's definitely not Mom.' He thought while still firmly holding her wrist. The girl just stared at him, his eyes were mesmerizing, his soul seemed deeply troubled, yet pure in a since.

"Who are you?" She whispered, her struggling ceasing in that moment.

"Like she said, we are travelers who happened to pass by and saw your village in trouble." He answered as Yona moved next to him.

"You expect me to believe that?" She responded, refusing to look away from his gaze.

"No, you'll believe what you want. But if I were you I'd lie down and question me. Your wounds are pretty bad, and it would be annoying if we had to retreat them. Our friends are already busy enough." Upon hearing this, the young woman scanned the area around her, seeing all of her treated friends and neighbors. She stared back at the thunder beast for a moment before taking his advice and lying back down.

"Are you thirsty? Would you like some water to drink?" The Princess asked causing the woman to shake her head no.

"It's not poisoned. If we wanted you dead we would have left you in the street." Hak remarked, reading the young woman's mind. Yona smiled at this and stood up.

"I will get you some, in case you change your mind." With that the princess left the dark dragon and young woman alone.

"... Who are you guys really?"

"Would you believe it if I said bandits?" Hak responded, his face unamused.

"Not really.. I'd say high military officer or general for you." She answered causing the Thunder Beast to look at her in surprise.

"What would make you think that?"

"You carry yourself as one." The young man was silent for a moment causing her to assume that she was correct. She smirked as if she had won a small victory. "I am usually never-"

"Nope.. Just bandits." Hak corrected, his voice and face back to the unamused, slightly bored persona.

"W-What?! T-There's no way.. You just said you were travelers." She shot back only to watch him yawn a little.

"Traveling bandits... happy?" He responded, only to see her disbelieving, slightly pissed gaze on him. "Lady, look around. Does it look like any of us are dressed or have the money to be Generals or high ranking officers? I don't even have enough money for a steam bun… Just accept our help and stop interrogating us."

The woman was quiet after this as Yona returned with a cup of water.

"It's not much, Yun is having to portion everything since there is limited water around this area." She said in her sweet tone before setting the water down next to the woman. Her smile, selfless and gentle, set the woman a little at ease.

"If we could find more water we would be able to better treat the villagers. I'm going to go with Jae-Ha tomorrow and look for a river or a well." The Princess told Hak who nodded.

"I think that would be a good idea… It would be best to at least keep them from getting dehydrated, especially with those wounds." The Thunder Beast agreed as he stood up.

"I-" The young lady began, causing both of them to look over at her. "I know where we can find some water... In the morning, I will show you."

"It's too dangerous, with your wounds, you need to rest." Yona told her, concern in her voice.

"I'll be fine… If it will help the villagers, then I will help you… even if you are travelling bandits." She remarked. Yona and Hak smiled at this.

"Then in the morning we will set out. For now, please get some rest." The Princess said with a bright smile. With that both Hak and Yona left the young girl and went over to check on other patients... Well, Yona went over, Hak merely followed his princess around.

They really are a strange group, but there is no way they are mere bandits.

….

This concludes the first chapter of Akatsuki No Yona: The Journey of a Lost Prince! I hope you like it so far, and continue to join me on this journey into Hak's past, present, and future!

If you haven't read the Prequel, be sure to go and read it! The Prequel is called "The Sacrifice of Love." It delves into the foundation of this fanfiction, so it's kind of important!

Fav, Follow, Review.. I love to hear from you guys!

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