Soulmate - in their first life together, she died.

Just me playing around with different ways to structure a drabble again and a more minimalistic writing style. Faintly inspired by Katharine Kerr's epic fantasy series Deverry, though the fic diverges almost instantly. Currently a one shot but might grow to include non-chronological glimpses of their different lives. Co-posted on Ao3.

I would like to express my gratitude towards my wonderful beta reader ZePuKa who has helped rework parts of this fic and been my sounding board. I can strongly recommend her work, so please do pop over to her corner and see for yourself.

Disclaimer, still doesn't own Akatsuki no Yona.

Warning: As with most reincarnation scenarios, the fic does include brief descriptions of controversial relationships, if this does not suit, please stop now.

They belonged together, two petals of the same thorn-clad flower.

People marvelled over how a couple, so fundamentally different, could be so perfectly in sync.

She was scarlet and so petite, she almost seemed fragile. She was purity and innocence. Like the first flower of spring, she greeted the warm rays melting the snow with joy. She was gentle and kind, but with a fire beneath her lavender eyes that bore witness of determination, endurance, and sorrow.

Her lover was moulded of sapphire and obsidian - sharp, angular and sarcastic, but sincere and loyal to a fault. He was proud, strong, and held more than a moderate portion of arrogance, like the mighty glaive he effortlessly wielded.

They were inseparable, like two roots entwined. That is, until that fateful day when death snatched her away from him, and he was powerless to do nothing but watch it happen. It was meant as a lesson in humility, though one he refused to take.

Crushed by his grief, he cursed the gods and vowed to find her. He was heard, and his challenge accepted. A new cycle was created on that day, a cycle binding crimson and raven together through eons of pain, longing, and a long-forgotten promise to one day find her again.

…

In their second she was reincarnated as his mother, and how he could have laughed at the irony. In their last life, his actions had killed her, and in this, she brought him life. She had always been the better half, the unflawed one.

She didn't recognise him.

…

In their third life, they never met.

…

In their fourth, he was an old man when she finally ran into him. She had barely reached adulthood when they met in the market place, and the sharp jolt of pain in her chest confirmed her suspicions when she looked into those milky white, unseeing eyes. Eyes she could have sworn once held the colour of the sky.

He didn't remember.

…

In the fifth they walked past each other on the street, and the gods almost took pity on them- almost.

…

In the next life they were brothers in arms. They lived a life always watching over and looking after the other. It wasn't until he found his best friend laying still, cold and stiff in a growing puddle of crimson that almost matched his hair, he recognised him. Finally he understood the instant attraction and their peculiar bond.

Once again, too late.

…

In their seventh life, he was too late. She was married, with two beautiful daughters of her own. He watched those lavender eyes gazing down on her family with joy, and he turned around.

She deserved happiness.

…

In their eighth, she found a sister soul and her love was so strong, it pained her. Her sister did not understand though; she was searching for someone else, a man she once met in a dream.

The raven haired woman beside her despaired, for no matter how much she tried, she could not convince her scarlet companion that the man she was looking for was right in front of her.

…

In their ninth, they found each other, and for the briefest of times they were reunited, happy… Then the current era, a time of war, tore them apart.

…

Their tenth life ended almost like their first, though this time it was his turn to leave too early.

Bitterness engulfed her.

…

And so ages arose, briefly breathing before fading into nothingness again. Lifetimes were spent and wasted, like a spilled bottle of the sweetest perfume. Time moved forward without any regard to the separated lovers as the gods watched and laughed.

Sometimes they remembered.

Sometimes they recognised each other.

Sometimes they didn't.

…

Then one day, when he was just a little boy, this time reincarnated as the adopted son of a mighty general, they met again. He wore clothes of a different cut and had feathers in his hair, but even so, she instantly recognised her long lost companion, and he felt the burden of a hundred lifetimes fade when she threw herself into his arms.

This time, they would set things right.

Come war, illness, or even the gods themselves, nothing would separate them.

The princess and the general had once again found each other.