Hanging right.

Inside left.

Parry.

Thrust.

Again.

Left foot.

Right foot.

Your left side's exposed again.

Stay focused.

Yona's mind was a complete blur as she sparred with Hak that afternoon, trying to keep up with the general's brutal pace. He seemed to have woken up in a particularly good mood today, so she decided to ask him to teach her some more advanced moves in her swordsmanship. After a moment or two he agreed with a smirk that promised torment in her very near future.

Now here they were. Hak keeping her on her toes as she was pressed further and further back towards to edge of the clearing and towards the sound of running water.

Splash!

She was already wet from slipping in twice now as Hak cornered her again and again. And if the cold shock to her system wasn't enough, she got to look back at the sight of Hak with a huge grin on his face, asking her once again if she wanted to call it quits for today.

Her reply was always the same.

"Not until I win at least one round" she huffed, as she pushed the wet mess of hair from her eyes for the third time that day.

Still grinning like a child who had just won a prize, he offered her his hand and pulled her out of the river.

After wringing out her clothes so she wasn't dripping water everywhere and so they no longer weighed her down so much, she stepped back into the centre of the clearing and got into her ready stance.

Feet shoulder width apart and eyes focused and determined as she raised her sword in front of her, he was surprised how formidable the young princess could look despite being sopping wet and barely making it up to his chest in height.

Yet the flames in her eyes never ceased to amaze him and strike fear into the hearts of their enemies.

"I think you should take a break Princess, before you catch a cold or get swept downstream" he taunted with a light chuckle.

"Not until I get this right! I asked you to teach me some more advanced moves and I can't say that I've truly learned them until I can properly pull them off!"

"True, but keep in mind you are trying to defeat the Lightning Beast, and that on its own is no easy feat."

Another irritating grin her way.

"This time I know I can do it, I know what mistakes I made the last few rounds and I'm ready now" she replied with eyes like torches and a grin of her own.

"Then by all means Princess, show me what you've learned" he said with a little mock bow.

No sooner had he straightened before he was on the offense, striking blow after powerful blow to her wooden sword.

Sweat trickled down her brow as she focused on not letting him back her into the river again. She had sparred with Hak enough to know that despite her insistence that he take her on seriously, he was still going easy on her.

He didn't have to pay as much attention in order to win because with fights like this, every response was near automatic on his part.

Instinctual, to a warrior of his caliber.

Strike.

Block.

Pivot.

Duck.

Lunge.

Repeat.

Still being pushed back, Yona desperately tried to think of what she could use to her advantage to stay away from the river bank.

She would NOT lose this round.

Slowing down her whirling thoughts, she analysed her current opponent.

Hak often landed high blows while blocking low, as her own blows didn't reach as high on him due to their major difference in height.

What she needed to do was find a way to distract him long enough to evade anymore high strikes as they took a huge toll on her each time she was forced to block.

An idea then popped into her head so suddenly that she had to stifle a giggle before throwing her plan into action.

Feigning left, she made a quick lunge at his lower right to force him into dodging aside before retreating and falling back a few steps. As he made to advance on her again, his only clue that something was different about this round was the glint of quicksilver in her eyes before she suddenly threw her sword high in the air while simultaneously dropping to the ground into a roll straight threw his legs which were still held in a fighting stance.

By the time he was able to register what she was doing, she had jumped up, caught her sword and held it to the base of his neck.

A slow, broad smile came to his face as he raised his arms in defeat and turned to face her. Not the grin he had flashed her before, full of confidence and amusement.

No, this smile was warm and full of pride and something else that she couldn't quite place yet made her blush slightly if she paid attention for too long.

Her own face mirrored much of the same pride in her victory but was mixed with emotions of giddy joy at finally winning a round, only broken by her laughter at her own cleverness.

The best way she knew how to throw Hak off guard was to surprise him with something spontaneous and gutsy (like the one time she managed to get his knife off him when they first visited Hakuryuu village), and she had just proved her knowledge of him to be right as she lowered her weapon.

"I told you I would win this round" she said through the smile she still could not contain.

"It seems you were right, though I wouldn't advise ever releasing hold of your weapon at any point during a fight, it seems to have worked out well for you in this case, so I'll give you that.

The lesson was to be able to get at your enemies' back and strike from behind and it seems you've found your own way to do just that, so I think we can call today a success and go back to camp for a well-deserved meal unless you think otherwise."

"A hot meal right now sounds great" She replied as she held her head high and strutted off in the direction of their campsite to ask Yun if he could make them dinner early. Only before she could, she was interrupted when Hak suddenly asked her a question that made her hair stand on end.

"Have you forgotten something Princess?"

She stopped dead in her tracks at the closeness of his voice when she thought he had been at least a good few feet behind and the feeling of his breath on the back of her neck. She knew nothing good could come from that sort of question.

"Never turn your back on your opponent" He whispered in her ear in a voice so mischievous, she could practically see the look in his eyes as she shrieked in alarm before finding herself flung over his shoulder as he took off towards the river.

"Hak! Put me down! Don't you dare do what I think your about to do!" she shrieked in vain as she squirmed in his grip, trying her best to escape what he surely had in mind.

Just as he went to throw her into the water though, she grabbed onto the back of his overcoat and pulled it over his head, effectively throwing him off balance as he was momentarily blinded and they both fell in with a resounding splash.

As they come up for air, Yona tries to shoot him an icy glare for getting her clothes soaking wet for the fourth time that day, but it soon bubbles into laughter as she sees him still struggling to try and get his now soaking wet overcoat, off his head.

Swimming over, she helps Hak free himself of the offensive coat and they throw it onto dry land before it can get swept downstream.

Turning back to face him however, she gets a mouthful of water as she briefly forgets how to swim.

Hak simply laughs at her again as he swept back his dripping bangs from his face revealing the shine in those strikingly blue eyes of his.

Sometimes she forgot how handsome he was.

With his full height reaching around 6"2 he was still able to touch the riverbed as Yona was forced to tread water, and his robe – especially while soaked and slipping off his left shoulder – did little to hide his well toned body forged from years of hard training.

After a brief coughing fit and as Hak's laughter died down, he squatted down further in the water and gently took her hands to drag her towards him so that she could find purchase on his knees and take a break from treading water.

"I can't believe you just did that" she huffed, but any venom she had in the comment was lost in the smile she couldn't stop from spreading across her face.

"I can'tbelieve you managed to get me to suffer the same fate here princess. What's Yun going to say at having to dry out two people's clothes now instead of one. I hope you have your excuses ready"

"I'll simply tell him the truth that you're the one to blame" she replied with a haughty little pout of her lips.

"It's hardly my fault that you keep picking a cold jump in the river as punishment during our training. This one's all on you so I hope YOU like having to help Yun out with dinner for the next few days because we both know he's not going to let you off that easy for giving him more work to do".

"Oh, so the Princess thinks she can get away scot free does she? Well neither of us can put our word in against the other until we get back to camp, so what if I just kept us here for the rest of the day, hmm? Then what do you plan to do?"

The look he gave her then could not have been a bigger warning that if she didn't want to help out with the cooking she knew she had better make for land and quick. But alas the general was not going to let her get off so easy and abruptly stood up, effectively forcing her back into treading water.

"Hak!" she sputtered.

"Sorry Princess but you and I both know that neither of us want to face Yun's wrath right now so the only clear option I can see is the two of us hanging out here until our clothes dry or face Mother's fury".

"Fine, fine! But did you have to dunk me for the fifth time today?!"

Yet another slow mischievous grin.

"Yes".

He certainly was in a good mood today she'd give him that.

"Then give me a hand." She said extending her arm out. "So much of the river bank has fallen away from the last few times I had to climb out its just a mud slide now. I get the feeling I'm more likely to get a face full of mud and water then get out at this point".

"Whatever the Princess desires" he said in a mockingly sweet tone. With a quick yank he all but pulled her into the air as she was freed from the water, leaving her stumbling into his chest to keep from falling back in.

Rubbing her nose that she'd managed to smack into his chest with one hand, she steadied herself by holding onto his shoulder and looked up to find his gaze already on her. Such contented merriment in those electric blue eyes.

It took her a moment to realise that they were both starring before she stepped away.

"Come on, I know somewhere that'll be really sunny at his time of day and open enough that the wind should help dry us off" he said taking her hand in his and linking their fingers together as he lead her away.

{*****}

It was now evening as the two sat on the edge of a cliff overlooking the surrounding forest. By now they were both fully dry and sun-warmed, just in time to watch the sun begin to dip below the horizon as the stars began to emerge.

"We should probably get back now shouldn't we? I'm sure everyone is wondering where we went off to" Yona said softly into the cool evening breeze.

"Nah, I'm sure Shin-ah could probably see us even through all these trees and let the others know where we are. Besides, you're with the Darkness Dragon, it's not like anything bad could have happened to you". He replied in a lazy tone as he stretched out further on the grass beside her.

"Funny, I don't recall ever hearing about any Darkness Dragon in any of the legends"

"That's because he was too busy looking after a Princess to be bothered to show up to the book writing session".

She laughed at that. Fully able to imagine a dark black dragon busy sunning himself while the other were off writing the tales of their adventures. Sighing, she rolled over from her spot on the grass to face him.

"Do you ever wonder were the stars come from?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Turning over to look at her he replied "not particularly, no. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, I was just looking up at them and it got me thinking, 'where do they come from?'"

"Well why don't we take turns and guess where the stars come from? The one with the best story wins"

"What does the winner get?" she pressed, interest piqued.

"I don't know, what do you want to be the prize?"

"How about the winner gets to ask one boon from the loser at the time of their choosing?"

"Those sound like good stakes to me. So, who goes first?"

"You, because it was your idea."

"Fair enough" he said "but you gotta give me a minute to come up with a good story"

"Deal."

And so, they continued to stare up at the sky as Hak thought of his story before the silence was interrupted as he began.

"A long time ago, a child looked up into the dark of night and thought to himself that even with the sun gone, the world was too warm for him. Try as he might even the river couldn't cool him down"

At that point he snuck a glance her way with a conspirator's grin and she humoured him with a light shove to his shoulder and a smile of her own before he continued.

"So, the child came up with an idea and started to climb the tallest mountain in the land to reach its icy peak. It took him days of climbing, and many times he almost fell or wanted to give him, but the relentless heat spurred him on towards his goal.

When he reached the top, he founds its peak was covered in ice just as he'd hoped, and with his arms full of fragments, he flung the shards as high into the air as he could to celebrate his victory. As they flew across the night sky, the blackness of it seemed to hold onto each shard. Before the child knew it, the sky was full of his cold shards of ice which began to reflect the light of the moon and sparkle. As they shone, the ice began to cool the sky around it and the child no longer felt the sweltering heat he had before. This is where the stars came from and why it gets colder at night." He finished with a satisfied look upon his face.

Yona was speechless for a moment, stunned at the wonderful story Hak had managed to come up with. Noticing her look he reassured her that the reason he was good at telling stories on the spot came from years of babysitting all the younger Windtribe kids. Kids that would always hound him to play with them, so he became very creative with finding new ways to get them to sit down and be quiet, even if only for an hour or two. With that, Yona was left to contemplate her own story about the stars when an idea came to her for the second time that day.

"One day up in the heavens, a child looked down at the world and thought.

During the day the people always looked so happy, looking up at the sky to see the sun shining down on them and the birds soaring as they sang their songs. Yet during the night, the people below seemed to be filled with a fear at the surrounding darkness. They hid from the shadows that jumped out from trees and rarely ventured from their homes at night. This saddened the child as she only wished to see the people happy to see the sky, and so she sat and tried to think what made her happy that she could share with the people during the night.

Eventually, an idea come to the child and she raced off into the clouds until she came across what she was looking for. Kneeling down, she plucked a wishing puff and carefully covered it as she made her way back to the spot where she watched the world. Once she got there, she took the biggest breath she could and blew the seeds off the wishing puff and into the night. As the seeds spun and flew in the wind they spread out throughout the night sky and the people below began to come out of their houses to look at the beautiful sight above. From then on, the people were less scared and every night the child above would blow the seeds of a single wishing puff into the night sjy to make the people smile again. When you see a shooting star, that's one of the seeds that hasn't found a place to rest yet and is still being blow by the breeze."

"Wow" Hak said, after she'd finished her tale. "I'm surprised Princess, I never knew you had a knack for telling stories yourself."

"I'm not sure I'm that great at telling stories in general, but yours sort of inspired mine. . . just from a different view" She replied.

"Well then, how do we decide who won?" He asked.

"I don't know, I hadn't really thought about that" she said, slightly dismayed that they missed that part when making the deal.

"Well then, lets call it a tie and we both get a boon", he wagered. "That way neither of us really loses".

"Fair enough" she said, stretching her arms and legs, now tired and aching from the days activities. "But if that's the case, then I choose to call in my boon now."

"Now?" he asked in surprise. "You only get the one, so I hope your sure about wasting it already" he chuckled.

"I won't regret it. Plus, it's not like you have to do much, just stay still, close your eyes and promise that you will say nothing about our boons or story telling to anyone else. I enjoyed today and I sort of want to selfishly keep it as our own. Like back when we were kids" she said as a light blush bloomed along her cheeks.

"Whatever you say Princess" he said in a bored and sarcastic tone, but the fond smile that made its way to his lips at her demand that this stay their own little story, betrayed him as it warmed his heart.

"I promise this and everything else here, stays between us".

"Good. Now close your eyes" she demanded.

Doing as she said Hak simply pillowed his hands behind his head to get comfortable (because he had no idea long he'd have to stay there at her demand) and closed his eyes, quite ready to go to sleep upon their return to camp.

Just as he thought he might drift off there and then on the grass however, he was frozen stiff as he heard the soft rustle of fabric as he felt Yona draw closer before feeling the gentle brush of lips against the corner of his mouth to then hearing her whisper in his ear "Thank you for today, I haven't had fun like that in a long time and it took me back to simpler times and that means the world to me". A pause, and then a rushed "And it made me happy that I got to see you smile so much today too."

As she started to pull away, he was quick to grab her hand, his eyes now wide and unyielding in their gaze as he stared at her, despite her request they stay closed.

"I want to call in my boon too" he said so softly, still staring deep into her eyes, she wasn't sure she'd even heard him right at first.

Her small blush grew, making her face near beet red as she silently nodded her head as she sat back on her knees and waited to here his request.

"Close your eyes and stay still" he said, parroting her own request from him.

Nervously she complied and screwed her eyes shut as she waited in anticipation and a little fear of what he may have in mind. Would he trick her and leave while she had her eyes closed for a joke? Flick her forehead? Or. . . ? she could barely finish the other thought.

She didn't have to guess anymore though when she felt Hak gently, so gently if abet cautiously, cup her face in his palm and press his own lips to the corner of her mouth. When his lips slowly left hers however, he didn't move far as he pulled her into a hug and arched his neck around her head so that his cheek rested on her temple before whispering his own words for her.

"I've told you once before and it still remains true, if you can be happy, then to me, that is the greatest happiness, Princess."

His words melted her heart as she wrapped her arms around his torso to hug him in return as she rested against him.

"We really should get back now", she mumbled into his chest, now barely awake while in the warmth of his arms' embrace.

"Ya, we should" he muttered back, though neither of them made much of an effort to move for the moment. Yes, today certainly had been a good day, they could both agree. Hak only hoped that in the future, near or distant they could have more days as wonderful as this.

{*****}

Hey there! Quick authors note as I forgot to write one for my last 2 Yona one shots, I'm very new to writing stories and I would greatly appreciate any feedback about how I may improve my writing i.e. if I'm too repetitive at points, If I need to work on differentiating between the style of voice between characters etc. Any and all advice is welcome.

I also just wanted to say a huge thankyou for the lovely comments I received on some of my other works and for reading my work in general. Love you guys 3.