WARRiOR (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfic)

15. Mister Knight

Yun-ho had the bad habit of ditching her guards in her airheaded shopping walks.

She would put the guard's attention on this new fancy object, and then she would chase a butterfly and vanish right away. She rarely notices herself doing it, but it throws the guards into a panic.

No matter how vigilant the guards were, Yun-ho's airheadedness exceeded it.

And that brought us to the situation right now.

Yun-ho stared blankly. She was deep in the alleys of an industrial area. She could hear the market, but the road towards there was a maze.

"This is troubling..."

-

She's dressed extravagantly and she's missing her guards. Lord Geun-tae has warned her many, many times about how this looks.

But people in the Earth tribe were usually really nice to her. Maybe she'll be fine.

"Hey, missy, what're you doing alone here?"

She turned around. There was a man she didn't recognize, large and scarred and exuding the same energy as Lord Geun-tae, except five times more rough and three times more pedophilic with his smiles.

She smiled at him.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I'm a little lost," she said. "Could you perhaps lead me back to the main road?"

"Yes, of course," the man-- let's call him Mister Brute-- grinned, insinuating anything but good intentions, "right this way." And he walked further into the back streets.

Yun-ho vaguely knew that she would be in so much trouble if she followed him, but if she made any sudden movements now, the man would grab her and if there's a stain, her guards would get angry and go on a manhunt.

She'd rather not deal with that.

She'd get too many guards again and she wouldn't be able to shop in peace.

She took one step forward-- and to her surprise, a figure leapt down from the roof, landing just another step before her.

"What-?!"

Yun-ho found herself impressed. Mister Brute swirled around, alarmed. His hostile body language meant that he was feeling anger against an unnecessary interference.

Her strange little Knight stood just a little taller than herself.

His hair was a deep brown in the light, and his clothes were torn in parts. A civilian boy, perhaps from the more slum-like parts of the town.

He was slender, but his arms had a weight in them. Like Chul-rang-- not overwhelming with strength, but firm and toned.

Mister Knight had a hand out before Yun-ho, stopping her advance.

She couldn't see his face from where she was, but she recognized the body language-- she's being protected right now, and what she had to do was smile and enjoy being a damsel in distress.

"Scarface, she's mine. Back off," Mister Brute snarled, all fake kindness wiped from his previous demeanor.

Mister Knight raised his other hand, and swiped sharply to the side, twirling in odd and stern gestures.

Oh, Yun-ho recognized them from when Noo-ri spoke to the palace boys. That's sign language. Mister Knight must be like Noo-ri, then.

He signed quickly, so quickly Yun-ho could barely catch anything-- not that she could understand, anyways. But it's fascinating how quickly he does it.