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It was late in the afternoon when Yona felt the first contraction. She grabbed her belly, her face pale, and the few sticks she had been carrying tumbled to the ground. Gathering the firewood into her arms again with some difficulty, she rushed back, only to realize she had strayed farther than what she thought from their camping site.
When she was almost there, the time between her contractions almost non-existant, Zeno suddenly appeared from behind a curve.
"Finally miss! Where were you? Walking off so far in your condition, you really worried Zeno and the others! What if you had -" He stopped, noticing her face was whiter than usual and that she was walking hunched. He ran to her and passed her arm around his shoulder to help her walk. "Miss are you alright?? Has... Has it started?"
Huffing, Yona nodded as Zeno half dragged her to the camping site. Yoon was the only one there, kneeling by the fire stirring a pot. "Yona? Finally! We are almost out of wood! Why did you take so l-" Yoon turned fully around and almost dropped his wooden spoon, "Tell me it's not what I think it is!"
" 'afraid so little Master." Zeno helped Yona sat down against the unmounted tents. "The little mister or miss is in a hurry it seems! Shoulda' ve stayed in Miss's belly for more three weeks, but no, it wants to meet us all sooner than later!"
"Go get Jae-Ha!" Yoon ordered. "We have to get her to one of the nearby villages! Yona, move closer to the fire and star boiling these! I'll be back right away!" Yoon kept saying as he helped her stand up awkwardly and hobble to the fire and handed her some clothes.
Yona watched Zeno disappear into the woods to look for the other dragons and Yoon go off in the opposite direction to get some herbs and gather the firewood she had dropped on the way. Her heart was beating fast. She wasn't ready - none of them was judging from the way Yoon didn't even have the herbs with him already - she couldn't do this yet! She was in the middle of the woods with six men, none of which had ever helped a child being born, even though Yoon had been reading books since she had announced her pregnancy. And she somehow knew that their plan to getting her to a village with a midwife on Jae-Ha's back wasn't going to work. They were too far into the mountains, and if she barely managed to walk, she wouldn't be able to stand Jae-Ha's rocky “flight”.
She stirred the cloths and the food and waited, sometimes gasping when a more acute contraction made her double over. The fire was starting to die when Yoon finally appeared again. "I'm sorry! It took me too long to find the herbs I needed! Does it hurt too much? Sit back if you want to, I can keep an eye on those. Where's Zeno?"
“Don’t know,” Yoon handed her a bowl of stew and Yona accepted it, breathing in the comforting, warm smell.
“Eat it all,” Yoon told her has he set aside a bowl from himself and started grinding some herbs, “It’s going to be a long night.”
Yona grabbed the spoon, but let it drop right away when she felt a slight acute pain, and her dress wet beneath her. Yoon noticed right away and muttered a word that made Yona look at him with eyes wide open. This was only the first time Yoon would say that word that night. In that exact moment Jae-Ha landed on the clearing with Zeno on his back.
“Yona dear! Yoon!” Jae-Ha yelled, “Has it started?”
“Yes!” Yoon yelled back as he helped Yona stand on trembling legs. “Mount the larger tent now!”
“Shouldn’t I take her to a midwife?” Jae-Ha tried to ask.
“It’s to late! I’ll deliver the baby!” Yoon screamed. His legs were shaking almost as hard as Yona’s, and he was reciting in his mind everything he’d read about delivering babies. “Where’s the Thunder Beast and the other dragons?!”
“The mister and the others are still a bit far, lad, but they are running fast and will be here soon. Meanwhile, Zeno and Jae-Ha will help with anything. The tent is ready.”
Yoon ordered everyone around like only a mother could, “Zeno, you’ll help Yona change into something more comfortable and then make her eat! Yona, if at any moment you need to stand up and walk around, do so! Jae-Ha, arrange the cushions inside the tent into something comfortable, and find a way to light it safely!”
“Roger that!” The two dragons said, and the two busied themselves. Yoon kept mashing herbs and started brewing some concoctions.
I can do this, I can do this. I’m a genius! And Yona needs me. I CAN do this! He repeated as a mantra as he grinded the plants.
At some point, Yona and Zeno left the tent, Yona clad in a light, white rob – I’ll never get the stains out of it, Yoon realized -, and kneeled next to him. Yona started eating her food, and Zeno was ordered, after hovering after her for a while, to gather firewood. Sometimes, Yona would huff and breath harder but she ate all her stew without complaining. After she finished, Yoon helped her walk in circles around the camping site.
“Yoon?” Yona whispered, bending over for a moment when a stronger contraction rippled through her.
“Yeah?” Yoon helped her straighten up.
“You’ll do a great job. Seriously,” Yona smiled at him, her eyes filled with confidence and Yoon almost choked. Of course Yona had seen right through his mask of confidence. Of course she had felt the need to comfort him – even though she was the one readying herself to give birth to a human being! It was so…So like Yona that it was infuriating.
“Jeez! I know I can! Who do you think I am?” He snapped back, but he couldn’t stop the tears from slipping down his cheeks. Yona laughed cheerily and wiped his tears away.
“Princess!” Someone yelled from the trees, and Hak, Shin-Ha and Kija burst into the clearing, their red faces and heavy breathing showing how quick they had ran – or maybe how concerned they were.