Excitement built up in Ezra's chest, curving her lips into a maniacal smile at the thought of finally seeing some action for the first time in over a week. Sure, her head still ached a bit and her bones were still sore from falling off a roof, but she'd fought in worse conditions. In her experience, boredom was the true killer, much more so than a good fight.

"I'm gonna go find Hak," she announced, setting down Yun's knife and sprinting in the direction Yun had gone. After a few minutes of running, she stumbled onto the small fire that Hak had built not too far from their camp.

There, she found Hak, Yun, and Zeno surrounding the strange man that she, Shinah, and Kija had seen earlier. The stranger lay on his belly on the ground, and Hak wore a murderous expression on his face.

"This guy tried to kill us before," the former general was saying. "If we return him, he'll tell the Fire Tribe chief and Hiryuu Castle that we're alive."

"Is he the one who set off that signal that Shinah saw?" Ezra asked.

Hak turned to her, one eyebrow raised. "Shinah saw the signal go off?"

"Yes," Ezra nodded. "And then he said that a lot of soldiers are heading this way."

Hak returned his attention to the man, furious. "You're bringing troops down on us?" he growled.

"I can stop the troops!" the man cried. "So please release me!"

Hak's expression transformed. A bright smile plastered itself on his face, and he placed a friendly hand on the stranger's head. "You should've said so sooner! Sorry for everything! We'll leave everything to you!"

The man's eyes widened.

"Is that what you thought we'd say?!" Hak snapped, his face growing dark once more. "You idiot!"

"We can't release you," Yun said. "We're going to negotiate with you as our hostage. Luckily, since you're a nobleman, the soldiers probably won't attack the village recklessly."

"B-before..." the man stammered. "Did you say 'us'?"

Ezra tilted her head to the side, confused by the intense vulnerability in the apparent nobleman's brown eyes.

"Is that person... is Princess Yona alive?" he asked.

Hak glared down at him, his face giving nothing away. Ezra watched on, wondering exactly what had happened between the two in the past. Clearly, they knew each other.

"Please tell me!" the man pleaded. "I promise I won't tell anyone! I don't have to see her or speak with her! I just need to know that she's alive!"

Zeno squatted down next to the man, his usual bright smile on his face. "She is alive! The miss is the liveliest of us all!"

The man's eyes widened in shock before a giant smile crossed his face. Everyone was stunned when tears began welling up in his eyes and flowing freely down his face.

"Is that so..." he sobbed, covering his face with his hands. "She's lively..."

Suddenly the person in question ran around the corner, accompanied by Kija. "Ez!" Yona called. "What's taking you so long? There's an emergency!"

"Er, sorry Yona," Ezra said sheepishly, glancing down at the man crying on the floor. "There's a bit of a... um, situation."

The man turned to Yona and bowed to her, placing his forehead on the dirt. Yona glanced down at him in surprise.

"Umm..." Yona mumbled, unsure of what to do. "Who are you? Please raise your head."

The man continued sobbing, keeping his head down.

Yona looked to Hak in askance. "Hak? What's happening?"

"That is the second son of the Fire Tribe chief, Lord Kan Tae-Jun," Hak told her.

Ezra's eyes widened. What was a son of the Fire Tribe chief doing here?

Tae-Jun... Everything fell into place. He was the sobbing maniac in Katan Village who'd begged Kija to take him just before being quite literally tossed out by the Hakuryu. Ezra had known that he was a nobleman, but she hadn't realized that they were dealing with a son of the Fire Tribe chief.

If Hak's words were true, then the situation was much dicier than she'd originally believed.

"What?" Yona said, her eyes widening.

"Kan Tae-Jun is the one who sent his soldiers after the princess, right?" Kija asked.

"He also shot a flare up to call the soldiers just now," Yun said flatly. "But he's also saying that shooting the flare was a mistake and that he wants to be released so he can tell the soldiers to stand down."

The Fire Tribe chief's son telling his soldiers to stand down? Ezra had a hard time believing that, and from the look on Hak's face, so was he.

"How can you even manage to shoot off a flare by mistake?" Ezra wondered.

"By being impossibly stupid," Hak answered with a shrug.

"How ridiculous!" Kija spluttered. "You should've had your head chopped off by now!"

"I know that asking you to understand is ridiculous," the man cried, "but among the soldiers that are closing in on the village, some of them are bound to recognize the princess. If they come, my father will find out that you are alive!"

Ezra frowned. "Wouldn't you be the first to report it?"

"I won't!" Tae-Jun exclaimed. "I won't tell anyone!"

Hak jerked his chin up, eyeing Tae-Jun with distrust. "You mean to tell us that you would betray your own clan? How are we supposed to believe that?"

Tae-Jun's eyes widened with the implications of Hak's words. "I... I don't know, but... I am going to stop the soldiers, and then... if for some reason I cannot keep my promise or if you think I am at all suspicious, then please kill me!" He touched his forehead to the ground once more following his dramatic declaration.

Ezra raised an eyebrow at the theatrics, glancing to Yona to watch the princess's reaction. Yona was watching Tae-Jun with an unreadable expression.

"If it's you, then I don't care if I am killed!" he said earnestly.

"Why?" Yona asked that one simple question. "You damaged Capital Fuuga, and even tried to kill Hak. Why are you saying these things now? Lift your head, look into my eyes, and answer me."

Tae-Jun lifted his head off the ground, and Yona's eyes widened in shock at the pitiful expression on the nobleman's face. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and snot was pouring out of his nose. "I'm... I'm sorry, my vision is distorted. I don't know where your eyes are, Princess," he confessed.

Ezra snorted. Of course his vision was distorted; he was crying the princess a freakin' river. Hak sent her an understanding look before returning his attention to Tae-Jun.

She was beginning to question her earlier assessment of the situation. This pathetic man in front of her, despite being a son of the Fire Tribe chief, couldn't possibly pose much danger to Yona or anyone else.

"I don't know why I'm saying these things, or doing these things... I'm so confused." He sniffled pitifully. "It's just that... I'm so fortunate to be talking with you again like this. Thank you so much!" He broke out into fresh sobs. "Thank you so much for being alive!"

Silence reigned for a minute before it was broken by a snort of laughter. Ezra glanced at Yona, surprised to find her laughing so hard that she was doubled over and clutching at her stomach in amusement. 

"Uh... Princess?" Hak asked.

"Sorry, Hak," Yona laughed. She stopped laughing and glanced at her protector with a small smile on her face. "Can we release him?"

Hak gave her a pensive look. "Does it matter what I say?"

Yona turned away to face Tae-Jun. "Tae-Jun, we'll release you," she announced. "Your troops are already within our line of sight. If they continue forward, there will be casualties even among the villagers. If it comes to that..." Her expression grew deadly serious. "We will have to crush the soldiers with all of our might. This does not exclude you, as you are the leader of our enemy. If you don't fulfill your promise and the villagers are hurt, I will shoot you without mercy."

Tae-Jun stared at the princess in wonder.

"If you are prepared for that, then go and stop your troops with all your might!" Yona ordered.

In the silence that followed her bold declaration, the sound of hundreds of boots hitting the ground simultaneously reached the group. "What is that?" Yun asked.

"A warning march," Ezra said quietly. "They're coming."

"Let them come," Kija said with a fierce grin, holding up his dragon claw.

Yona returned her attention to Tae-Jun, who still kneeled on the ground.

"Don't worry, Princess!" the man said hastily, jumping to his feet. "I'm going to go stop them right now!"

Yona gave him a soft smile. "Yes. I'll be watching you. Show me that you are serious."

Tae-Jun's eyes widened and a blush spread across his cheeks.

Ezra heard the soft, distinct sound of Shinah's footsteps coming through the trees and turned to face him. "What's wrong, Shinah?" she asked.

Shinah emerged to stand next to her. "Fire arrows," he said simply.

"What?" Yun hissed.

"This is a warning shot!" A man's voice echoed through the night, and Ezra turned sharply to see a small flickering light in the distance. Those must be the fire arrows Shinah had noticed. "Aim for the front of the village!"

"Princess, stand back!" Hak shouted, jumping in front of her with his glaive at the ready. Yun drew Yona back as Ezra, Kija, Zeno, and Shinah stepped forward, keeping the two behind them.

"Princess!" Tae-Jun called over his shoulder as he began running into the night. "Thank you for believing in me!" Then he sprinted headfirst into the hail of fire arrows.

Ezra flinched as one of the arrows set Tae-Jun's robes on fire. "Hmm. I wonder if he'll be okay," she muttered under her breath.

"Couldn't care less," Hak grumbled, not relaxing his offensive posture.

A few minutes of tense silence passed.

Suddenly Shinah's hand fell away from his sword. "They're going back..." he murmured.

"You mean that man actually succeeded?" Ezra snorted derisively.

"Huh," Hak said.

"Will he be alright?" Kija asked.

"Perhaps," Yona said, a small smile on her face.

"They're gone," Shinah told them quietly.

"Damn," Ezra sighed, releasing her grip on her swords. "I really wanted to fight something."

Yun gave her a solid flick on the back of the head. It didn't hurt as much as it once did, but Ezra still flinched. "You shouldn't be so eager to get in another fight," he grumbled.

Though her injuries were feeling much better, Shinah's definitely weren't, so training with him was out of the question. Ezra sighed, realizing that it would be a while before she got to use her weapons again.

"Let's go," Yona said. "We should finish up dinner and get to bed so we can be up early tomorrow. There's still much to be done in this village."

Everyone nodded their agreement before heading back to camp. 

***

Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying the story!

Unfortunately, my semester has just started up again, and I know that my free time in the future is going to up in smoke. I'm sorry that I won't be able to post as frequently :(

Anyways, just wanted to give you guys a heads up. You're all awesome, so thanks for sticking with me and Ezra!

--Veratia0011