#an lily

Kai Kingdom has retreated. The four dragons' sacrifice in the war led to Kouka's victory. With Princess Yona and the newly titled General Hak of Sky Tribe, out looking for the dragon heroes of Kouka; King Soo-Won is headed back to protect what is left of the heart of Kouka: the Hiryuu castle. The dragons' disappearance has mystifyingly coincided with the lifting of the crimson curse. The crimson disease that once wrapped around his majesty Soo Won like a shroud seemingly untightened its bounds. Letting him stand without every inch of his body fighting to fall beneath him. Who knows how long this peace shall last?

As the kefala of the king returned, they were greeted with the sight of the burnt castle. It lay bare with its bones howling in the wind surrounded by white disaster relief tents instead of the bustling tribe dwellings that stood in its place before the fire. Before the war. The smell of arson stretched out for miles in any direction as if the heartland itself was struck by the wrath of war. The only sense of relief came from the people hobbling across the white tents, providing heroic aid to all who needed it. As King Soo Won scanned the devastation, he noticed among them the midnight blue headed Lady Lilly, scurrying across his burnt home to distribute blankets to a fire-struck family. He had given her a fleeting thought when the news of the Hiryuu castle fire reached him at the battlefield. However, to him, his attachment to another had to be subsided to fulfill his duty as the king. The necessity to remain at the border of Kai and lead the whole of Kouka to victory outweighed his personal attachments. He had left his own bodyguard Hyu-Ri behind for a reason. Unadmittedly, her presence at the burning castle worried him so seeing her not only unharmed but leading relief efforts brought him a sense of solace he couldn't really explain. The ends of his lips curled into a slight smile as he watched her shout for her assistants to hurry along with the rest of the aid to the grief-stricken family. It is not unexpected, for the brash and naive lady Lilly to jump into any situation without a second thought if she believed she'd be helping another. Watching her scurry through the desolation, he couldn't help but acknowledge her kind of bravado as a useful tool to inspire hope among the people at home.

At the Sky tribe border, The few remaining guards announced his majesty's arrival. The ordinary people that gathered were all masked with darkened faces, looking up for any sense of hope from their king. Despite the sight, King Soo Won's face showed fortitude "My people, you are strong." he began. "For I return to you with the news, that we have won against the treacherous Kingdom of Kai. They have tried in the battlefield but the warriors of Kouka stuck down their attack! They then tried to furtively burn the heart of Kouka and yet again, our people stood their place and have driven them out." as he paused, hope began to rise in the people's hearts, their faces softening to murmur out cheers. " War though has a price and I have no doubt we lost a lot to it. Every man who died gave their life for a better Kouka. Every living being in front of me is a hero. Among you, the people who took it upon themselves to provide aid to one another are shining emblems of what it is to be the hero of Kouka. Every board, brick, and nail will be put back where it once stood and be commemorated with a ceremony. We will build Kouka back from the spoils of war!" His majesty ended. No sooner, the dispersed crowd broke out in cheers. His words were just the beginning, his majesty will indeed build back peace and security like a king should.

Upon his entrance into the remanent of the castle, Lily is the first to greet them running towards their fire-damaged living quarters. " Won you returned! You're alive!" She exclaimed. "Sorry... I mean Your Majesty" she stammered correcting herself. Soo-Won turns to face her, his mouth breaking out into a short laugh "I am sure some are glad to see you alive as well. I see the recovery efforts are ongoing". "yes ..., we have set up shelters for people affected by the fire. We have no time to waste, help is still going around ". His Majesty looks at Kye Sook and says "What are we waiting for, let us go see"

After touring the devastation with Lilly and helping the people" they come around to Ogis shop home "My king, devasted by the fire, There's no vacancy at inns" Lily torts, as they exhume exhaustion. lily suggests they can rest for the night.

As they rest for the night on the floor, letting the injured be on the bed. Jeda takes the first shift to guard. Soowon prepares to lay on the floor mat next to Kye Sook and catches in the corner of his eye as Lilly is slumped on one side overcome by exhaustion beside kye sook. Ignoring his tired body, he lays her on the floor mat. Looking for a while, he slowly shifts her to the side, making space and laying himself in between his advisor and herself. "she will be better protected this way" he thinks to himself. "The water tribe leader is coming out of war after fighting by his side, keeping his daughter safe would be important. "

As the morning sun crawls up the horizon Lily wakes up. She is greeted by Soowon "Lady Lily it's good to see you this morning" "Good morning Your Majesty." she grumbles. As Lily got ready for the day, she casually remarked "I'm glad to see you are well Won. Your skin has color now". He replies"I didn't know you took such particular interest in my health, much less my skin. But not to worry lady Lilly, there are always new things to take my color away." She snorts "You just won a war, what would possible drain your color any further?" Soowon turns to look at her "For one the will of the people has to be unified after the war and it would be in the benefit of the nation for the king to marry"

"oh a queen for you? who is on that sorry list?" lily jokes

After a moment's pause, Soo Won studies Lili's face and asks "Would you marry me and be the queen of Kouka?"

"huh? Me?!" lily answers, shocked to her core by that question coming out of his majesty's mouth

"Lady Lily i believe it is a good choice. you are strong-willed though brash. The castle will always know what your intentions are and you hold the capability to keep the heart of Kouka together. Though i fear for your impulsive behavior in the castle but that can be managed."

"Could you possibly make this proposal any more blunt and unromantic?" she wanted to ask but refrained. Instead, she answers "You are joking, right? I thought you never wanted to get married?"

"There was no benefit in marriage until now. It's simply what must be done for the good of our nation" Soowon Replies. It's not like him to lay out his intentions clear as day in any conversation. But with Lily, it is just so much easier to do so rather than face her barrage of questions until she is satisfied with answers. She is so headstrong it's quite... fascinating. As good as he is at remaining stoic, Lily has a way of surprising him.

He gets snapped back to reality as Lily bursts into laughter consequently slapping the table. She is so boisterous and loud as well. The people like her though. No, they love her. Something in him liked her bravado as well. He has not cared much about his own friendships for the betterment of the country. His dad wanted a king and the king could not care about his own interest. After all, Lily would be good for the kingdom of Kouka. She looked after the castle in his absence and the people took a liking to the lady. Right at the clasp of taking over another state, the people's home has to have a strong unison and marriage allows that. There are other candidates though. Maybe the princess of Xing Princess Kouka would allow the advantage of bringing the states together. Hak and Yona have solidified the wind tribe. The fire tribe women of age could be an adequate candidate. Earth tribe has yet to have noble women of age. Yet he wanted the unruly one causing a spectacle right before him. He shook away his desire asking himself "Why is it that my judgment is so clouded by her thought?! "Surely I will marry whoever carries the ideals most benefitting Kouka's Queen. It doesn't have to be Lady Lilly" He convinces himself.

"There are other candidates on the list so no need to worry if you rather not take on the role, Lady Lily" He torts finally

"That's a relief, did my dad put you up to this? Won you don't have to listen to him, and beside I would continue doing all sort of shenanigans to achieve goals I set my eyes on, be it to your liking or not. Wouldn't you rather have a queen who would abide by your customs?"

"The kingdom needs a queen that can be a symbol of strength, not a docile one. When your dad suggested you as queen, the other tribes generally thought of it as a good idea. As you mentioned there are risks involved with you a queen but it was discussed to have outweighed by the benefits"

"wow you are so romantic Soo-Won," Lily remarks sarcastically unable to hold herself back any longer.

"Think about it" is all he replies as he stands up to head out of the room.

lily had been friends with Soowon for a little while now. They have come to spend more time together as her dad suggested the Hiru castle books to be helpful for her volunteer work at the tribe's school center. King Soo-Won was kind to allow access to the library before it burned. However, He is still a peculiar man, often warm and often distant. A slave to his duties. There is this nagging thought of his selflessness. He has betrayed his own for the betterment of this country. She understood the complexity of his role. Not too kind-hearted either. Also, where is this man's beard? He's too young, she preferred a greater age difference. particularly men with stubble. like Gang Tae.. why must the good man be married? Wait a minute, Gung Tae being a general knows of this plan as well? How embarrassing. It doesn't matter though, as long as she gets to exercise her freedom and help her people along the way, she can take on whatever is thrown at her. She has come to like being in the political field and making a difference in the water tribes' areas. Lily never thought she would get married and be couped up in the castle.

"King Soo-Won, your majesty. I am honored but I cannot accept. Thank you for thinking about me "

Soo-Won smirked, politeness doesn't suit her he thought. "You're welcome. Please come to victory festivals in the coming week. The queen candidates will be there. Your presence would be appreciated just at least as a formality.

Days later, as he delved into his book of social development his thoughts ran. He had expected as much from Lily but it was worth asking. It wasn't like him to get stuck on a personal thought. He categorized his thoughts perfectly well into different boxes. He would have never thought of having a queen but a lot has changed recently. To move this country forward he needs a queen. He doesn't particularly want anybody else to be all up in his business. However, that young lady of the water tribe has been one of the few he does not mind sticking around. Born of a noble yet fiercely a force for the people. She does not care to curate her perception. Far Too blunt. That is precisely what caught his attention. He thought of her as naive but during his time away at war he has come to miss that brutally honest tongue of hers. Perhaps the agitating voice telling him that all boxes of thought can not be hyper-compartmentalized and stored away is not wrong. He has been proven wrong a few times lately. He didn't give much thought to Yona the night he killed King II. He wanted revenge for his father and Kouka had to be brought out of its misery. Separate matters he convinced himself. His father taught him to never believe in making mistakes but perhaps he should have. He has made a mistake with how he handled his friends that night and he has been atoning for it. He would not like to make a mistake with Lily. Perhaps she is better off without him by her side.

"It doesn't matter, he has other candidates, he was just going through the list." Soowon thought to himself. lily insisted in vain as Tetra and Ayura prepared Lily's appearance for the festival. As the evening roared with life with the fiery dances and chaos of the townspeople, the delegation began to arrive. Kye Sook presented each one and as he greeted each one, it came the water tribe's turn with lily. "She changed her hair ribbons to a one with spider lilly pattern, It sticks out," he thought to himself. Soo-won smiled as big as the sun, welcoming his allies and their potential ties. Chatters of joy at the victory and mention of the social programs to save the Sky tribe's city have made the people happy. They were eager for their King to choose their Queen.

As the ceremony started, there came a time when the king had to ask his candidate questions. He already knew everything there was to know about these candidates. Humoring the custom was the duty of the king thus he asks the first " Would you consider yourself awfully loud and need months before people take a liking to your personality? ". The question for the next ones went as follows " Do you put yourself at risk and refuse to listen when you have a goal in mind? Do you never take no for an answer? Have you ever sneaked out to catch criminals? Do you habitually ask your friend audacious questions without fear of its consequences? " The Candidates to say the least were unamused. Only one candidate would answer yes to all the questions as silly as they are. It dawns on him he was describing Lilly.

"Perhaps a quick threat to the water tribes about its loyalty to the throne would work to persuade Lady Lily's mind to take my hand." Soo Won calculates. Just as soon, as his other thought box breaks open to negate "She is quite sensitive, She would be hurt by my actions despite the bravado she puts on". How annoying it is to consider individual sentiments when making decisions for the kingdom. Soo-Won stares at her black hair wrapped in spider lily and quips out loud " Getting a queen and lily are separate matters". General Joo Dah nearby teases " Your majesty, is that so? Your stare says otherwise". King politely laughs with a blush spreading over his face.

" Has one of these beautiful ladies caught your fancy?" Kay Sook asked eager to join any conversation pertaining to the thone's lineage. Truth be told, Soo-Won didn't notice anybody else. He researched every candidate beforehand and they would all be suitable with different advantages. However, the one that keeps coming back to his mind is the curious ball of watery spirit decorated with spider lily tonight. Socially adept as he may be he couldn't grasp why Lady Lily stirred such curiosity within him. Why was he so enamored with the idea of Lady Lilly as his Queen? A part of himself, a part he did not wish to show, was scared he might have formed a weakness for the lady's convictions. She has slowly become his only friend ever since he took over the throne, confronting and accepting cold parts of himself even his own mother couldn't bear to speak about. With the debleating crimson disease, he wouldn't dream of entangling anyone in his life much less someone he wished to protect. Now, after the war, circumstances have changed. The time he thought was so limited, unfurled itself to reveal a possibility of a future. Impartial as he was, Soo Won was only human. "Indulge me, for I do not wish to let her go." Soo Won mutters.

" I did not take our king to be so passionate about a lady. Who are we speaking about ?" Kye Sook asks in astonishment. "Lady Lily. She would be best received by our people. That unity is needed to move forward after the war." Soo-Won confirms to Kay Suek.

"So as long as we have heirs," Kay Suek remarks unapologetically.

Wallpapers alla manga.

Romance Oneshots

Soo-Won/Yona: Dawn and Dusk | Dawn and Dusk Part II | Dawn and Dusk Part III | Dawn and Dusk Part IV | Dawn and Dusk Part V | Mad World | Mad World Part II 

Hak/Yona: Jealousy | Heard Part II | A Most Dangerous Game Part II

General Oneshots

Yona & Lily: Little Talks 

Yona & Hak & Soo-Won: How It Always Will Be | Whatever May Come |  The King and The Warrior |  A Most Dangerous Game

Happy Hungry Bunch: Happy Hungry Babysitters | Heard

Akatsuki no Yona 141:

Lily to the rescue!! Lily! Lily! She was such a boss this chapter! 

She’s not putting up with His Majesty’s crap and she’s not going to let him use the water tribe at will. And she’s definitely not gonna let her friend die at his hands. But she cares about him nonetheless.

Yona and Lily. Soo Won can’t win against such strong women. He will stop the war if Kouren accepts the conditions.

Kye-Sook found out about Yona. Yeah, you were the last to know because your only solution for everything is to kill Yona. What’s with him? I want to know more about him.