The Blood Red Rose {Shin-ah x Reader}

Chapter 1- Bandits

~Yona~

"Well, well. Who would've thought we'd find prey way out here?" A heavy set man with gold for teeth brandished a dagger, and the large group behind him chuckled at his remark.

"Yeah, doesn't look like they have much though," Another responded.

They all spread out, surrounding Yona's body guard, Hak, as well as the newest addition to their small party; Kija.

Yona was kneeling beside a boy her age named Yun, who like her, was not much of a fighter. They could see the entire scene unfolding from their hiding place behind a bush, since both had been ordered to keep out of sight.

"Oh, look. They're just bandits." Hak said with an unreadable expression.

"What do you mean by just?" The white haired man beside him questioned with a quick glance over his shoulder. Even with the threatening men circling around them, both of them seemed eerily calm.

"No, look. Maybe these freaks have something valuable after all. There are two women over there! I bet they would sell nicely." The first bandit cut in, pointing out Yona and Yun's hiding spot. She squeaked in surprise at being caught, while Yun just muttered under his breath about being mistaken for a girl.

Kija's bandaged arm twitched at the mention of the princess, and Yona watched as his eyes narrowed menacingly. "Hey... it's alright if I tear these guy apart now, right?"

Shivers creeped up her spine at the dangerous words, but despite the serious situation they had just gotten themselves into, she couldn't stop her lips from curling upwards just slightly.

"You sure you don't want to just go and hide with the others?" Hak countered with a sly grin, and shifted his spear in preparation to fight.

Kija only scoffed. "Nonsense. What is there to hide from?"

A bandit suddenly leaned in close to Kija, trying to intimidate him by gently dragging his blade across his face. "Aw, are you trembling boy? Don't worry," The bandit reached his hand out. "If you behave yourself, maybe we won't kil- Ah!" His features twisted in shock as his hand rested against Kija's arm, and he recoiled backwards immediately.

"Eh, what's wrong?"

"I-I don't know! But his arm is boiling hot!"

"You shouldn't touch me so carelessly." Kija spoke evenly, his hair casting dark shadows over his eyes. Yona and Yun were both fascinated as his bandaged arm throbbed once... then again.

"This power has been waiting for thousands of years to serve its master. Now even I can't control it." Suddenly, a large scaled claw burst out of the wrappings containing it. "Sorry to have kept you waiting so long... arm of the White Dragon!"

Kija whipped his head up and charged towards several of the attackers. With three strong slashes of the claw, the men went flying, blood splattering out of large gashes in their chests.

The onlookers gasped at the sight, and several cries of fear could be heard from the remaining bandits. Yun and Yona's mouths gaped open, and Hak whistled, obviously impressed.

"Wow, you're more heartless than you look!" Hak laughed.

"I don't know, I feel like this isn't enough." Kija called back as his another swipe of his hand sent a bandit flying hard into the trunk of a tree. "Hak, was it? Shall I protect you too, like the princess instructed?"

"Nah, don't worry about me." Hak proudly twirled his own weapon around in the air, the long handle quickly striking down its targets. His eyes lit up with the thrill of the battle. "I can handle myself."

It wasn't long before the two men who had been at each other's throats only moments ago, were standing back to back and defending each other as unconscious bodies began piling up at their feet. Their playful banter could faintly be heard over the clashing of weapons and the agonized groans of the wounded.

And to think, they were doing all of this for her benefit. Yona got a rush of satisfaction from knowing that from this point forward, they would fight for her and only her.

"Incredible... those two are monsters." Yun commented, as they easily took down a large group of men who rushed at them all together. When he didn't receive a reply, he twisted around to look at her.

"Hey... you want to be useful to them, don't you?" That caught her attention, and made her realize that her intense gaze hadn't strayed away from the fight since the moment it began.

"Eh? Yeah, I suppose so. But Hak told me he wanted us to keep out of sight. So I'm restraining myself."

"But you've been practicing for a time like this, have you not?" He was right. She hadn't spent all those nights tirelessly practicing her archery for nothing.

That was all the convincing Yona needed. Before long, her wooden bow was set out in front of her, and her arm was quivering as she struggled to draw back the string as far as she could physically manage.

Yun pointed out a good target for her. It was a man who was hidden behind the cover of a tree, waiting to ambush Hak while he was distracted by the three guys slashing at him with their swords.

"According to my calculations, that guy creeping up behind Thunder Beast should be within your range. Just aim a little higher and... NOW!" Right as the man lunged to attack, the Yona's arrow shot through the air and lodged itself into his wrist. He cried out in pain, and his weapon slipped from his hand.

Yun let out a triumphant cheer, but Yona could only stare at the blood dripping down his arm as he tugged the arrow out of his skin. The sight of the bright red droplets made her swallow. She had just hurt someone... she had been the cause of their pain. So why...?

Why did she have the burning desire to do it again?

Within minutes the fight was over, leaving only Kija and Hak standing over the unconscious bodies of their attackers. Beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads as they immediately rushed over to check the princess for any injuries.

Upon being completely ignored, Yun just scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Tch, what a pain. Calm down, you horrible beasts. She's fine... we're both fine."

Hak sighed, obviously relieved as he stood from his crouched position. Kija only bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Princess. I really overdid it. I wanted to show you a more sophisticated fight than that."

Hak just shook his head. "White snake, I actually liked your bloody style of fighting. It was a nice change of pace. It makes me happy, because back at the castle... no one could keep up with me." Kija looked up, his eyes glimmering from the praise. It seemed that the two had somewhat of a newfound respect for each other. "One day... I want... to fight..."

Suddenly he collapsed, causing Yona to shriek. "Hak!" She gently tugged open the top of his robes, only to see that the bandages beneath had been soaked through with fresh blood.

"That idiot, reopening his old injuries!" Yun fussed. Yona just looked down at her fallen friend and bodyguard with tears gathering in her eyes. Her fists clenched at her sides. She wasn't going to let this happen again.

As soon as Hak was feeling better, they were going to continue on their journey to find the other Dragons. And with their help, she would make sure the ones she cared about never got hurt again.

'Blue Dragon, we're coming for you next. Tomorrow... Tomorrow we'll find you!'