The Prince and the Dragon - Chapter 6
The Prince and the Dragon
-Chapter Six-
Author: DaraDaraDara12
Pairing: Jaemin
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, AU
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Outside, the battle against the red dragons had begun. Even in his room, prince Jaejoong could smell the burning houses and the faint sulfuric stench, as he heard the dragon’s shrieking cries and the strong orders being yelled. His father had told him he was not allowed to leave the castle, whatever the reason. The youngest prince understood that he wanted to keep him far from the battle. Unlike his older brother, his skills as a fighter were still too weak to fight in such a dangerous situation. So the prince stayed in his room, reading and studying, trying to concentrate on the inked pages rather than the clash happening in town and around the solid walls of the castle. He hoped Changmin was doing well at the beach. He shuddered, the vibrations making their way along his spine up to his skull, and wondered why he had such a bad feeling about Changmin’s safety.
The young dragon was at the beach, looking at the seagulls and daydreaming in the soft sand when the wind turned and a strange smell hit his forked tongue. Suddenly serious, Changmin concentrated on the smell. It was dry and sulfuric with ashes and burning, nothing that he could identify precisely. However, his dragon instincts reacted very strongly to the stench. It was a dragon’s, making him think of evil, death and destruction all at once. Lifting his head, Changmin looked around, but there was nothing unusual. He simply decided to fly a little above the caves surrounding the beach, looking over to the castle town. Flying silhouettes surrounded it, but he could not see them well. The smell was coming from them, Changmin was sure of that. He had no idea of how he could know such things, but his instincts were clearly telling him that those were evil dragons, fire dragons, dangerous dragons. Was Jaejoong in danger? He had to protect him. Changmin was about to go higher and fly directly to the town, but quickly dismissed the idea. If the castle’s army saw a dragon coming towards them, they would shoot it. They were under siege and all the anti-dragon war engines were set up and ready to kill. He could not take such a risk. Instead, Changmin took his human clothes with him and flew very low until he was close to the castle town. There, he transformed into a human and dressed up to enter by the front gates. It was quite easy, since many peasants from surrounding villages came into the capital for a better shelter. Changmin entered the small crowd and past the gates. A guard gave him a weird look, but he ignored it. Suddenly, another guard approached him a little, still keeping a distance with him. He seemed terribly nervous as he spoke and Changmin started to wonder if something was amiss. Had he put his clothes the wrong way?
-E…Excuse me, young man, stuttered the guard. But we need… need to check… some… some things, so please come aside from the group… please.
The dragon in human form looked at the guard, a little apprehensive, but he figured that if did as he was told, nothing could go wrong. There was no way for the guards to tell he was not human. Changmin took a big breath and stood where the guards wanted him to, making sure that his every move was slow and non-threatening. As soon as he was away from the crowd, a few guards surrounded him with their spears pointed at his chest. Changmin was really starting panicking, not understanding what this was all about. The guards had never acted like that when he entered the town with Jae, and he never saw them acting this way with another person either. The guards seemed terrified of him. The young dragon wanted to tell them he was not dangerous, but the second he opened his mouth, one of the guards promptly stabbed him with his spear. Changmin could only turn dodge it, the weapon ripping the skin on his flank instead of going through his chest. He did not let the guards attack him a second time and transformed, summoning the supernatural mist around his body, feeling it going through his every bones, slowly giving him back his true form as the guards took a few steps back, afraid of the magical display. In a few seconds, Changmin stood before them in his complete powerfulness, clearly bigger than the red dragons and thus directing the gazes of all the guards and soldiers in this area towards him. The young dragon tried to think very quickly. He did not want to attack anyone, so he had to fly away as fast as possible, but what about Jaejoong? Was the prince safe? As he turned his head towards the castle, a cannon fired, hitting him directly in the head. Changmin stumbled and opened his wings to keep his balance. His large finned tail swept the ground, but the dragon had no time to think about what it might have destroyed in its path. Angered, he roared at the humans in his most threatening and deep voice, showing his huge teeth in the process. The guards all fled and some of the soldiers flinched or covered their ears in fear. Even the red dragons had stopped their destruction for a moment. But they were not the only ones to have heard the roar.
In his room, prince Jaejoong suddenly jumped, eyes wide. This roar. He would have recognized it anywhere, and under any circumstances. He ran to the nearest window, looking down. Nothing. He tried another window and there he saw him. Changmin was near the front gates, standing in his dragon form and surrounded by the army and the war machines. For a second, the prince thought his heart had completely stopped beating at the sight. His Changmin was in danger. What was he doing here? Why was he not leaving? Whatever the reasons, Jaejoong would go down there and help him out. He grabbed his sword and ran down the stairs. The guards standing at the door looked petrified, their eyes fixed on the green and bronze dragon a few standing near the gates. They barely reacted when Jaejoong ran past them and towards the monster. Dashing, he almost made a collision with his older brother, heading in the same direction as him.
-Jaejoong?, asked Yunho in confusion.
Jaejoong did not even acknowledge him, heart and mind focused solely on Changmin. He screamed on top of his lungs to get the dragon’s attention. Changmin’s brown eyes opened, pupils dilated, but the prince could tell that he seemed a little dazed. Jaejoong heard Yunho yelling at him from behind.
-What do you think you’re doing? You were to stay in the castle!
And, to the prince’s surprise, Changmin suddenly jumped over him and towards Yunho. Jaejoong turned around just in time to see the bronze giant attack a red dragon that was about to slash his brother in two, positioning himself over Yunho in a protective stance, wings spread. He breaked the red dragon’s neck in one bite, but Jaeoong barely had time to feel proud. The spear launcher were ready and fired, the soldiers aiming directly at Changmin’s wings. The dragon’s cry of pain echoed in the prince’s head as he saw the membrane of the wings lacerated by the many spears, some of them getting stuck in the thick skin and others passing right through it.
Jaejoong got past everyone and reached out for Changmin who lowered his head so the prince could caress it. Jaejoong’s nose was running and his face was full of tears, but he had no idea as to when he had started crying. He hugged what he could of Changmin’s head in his arms. This was all so unfair, he thought. Changmin did not deserve this: he was young and good-willed and loving. He could be snarky, but never did he mean harm to those around him. Wiping his tears, the prince turned towards the royal army.
-Stop it!, he heared himself say in a hoarse, unstable voice. Just… stop attacking him! You’re hurting him, and he has not even tried to attack you! Can’t you see he’s not vicious? Can’t you?
But the soldiers were not listening, instead getting one of the biggest weapons ready: a huge spear launcher even bigger than the precedent. Big and sharp enough to kill a dragon in one hit. Changmin growled low and flinched when he couldn’t unfold his wings completely.
-It’s an order!, yelled the prince. Stop attacking, stop everything! I’m ordering you to!
-I am sorry, my prince, said one of the soldiers who was obviously in charge, but we must obey the emperor’s orders first. The green dragon must be killed. It is to protect your highness from it.
Understanding slowly made its way into Jaejoong’s brain, like a little silver ball going through a wooden labyrinth. It finally hit him: his father had ordered them to kill the green dragon, to kill his Changmin! How had he known about this? The only person who knew about their secret place was Yoochun, and his best friend would certainly never go behind his back like this, would he? Getting out his sword, Jaejoong charged towards the men controlling the heavy spear launcher in a desperate attempt to save his friend. The other soldiers quickly caught him and disarmed him, twisting his arms behind his back in a painful grip. Jaejoong moved and twisted his whole body, but it only hurt more. It didn’t make him stop trying.
-Let me go!, he protested. I said to let me go! You’re hurting me! You don’t understand! Let me go!
The next few seconds passed in a blur of tears and emotions. The prince saw the dragon standing, wings folded on his flanks but trying to look brave. He roared to get the soldiers to let him go. The dragon-killing missile fired and his own screaming was all he could hear as the spear flew through the air and got Changmin right in the chest. Changmin’s mouth fell open and he tumbled to the ground with a long whine. Jaejoong stopped moving. It seemed to him that the whole universe had stopped as Changmin opened his eyes to look at him. Jaejoong’s whole body shuddered as he cried helplessly in the soldier’s arms. Was this how it would end?
Prince Yunho’s heart nearly broke seeing his brother in such a state. Jaejoong, being the youngest, had always been weaker and more prompt to crying, but this time was different. It was serious. Even though it was only a spell making his brother believe that the dragon was good, charming him into liking it, Jaejoong’s pain was real and heartbreaking to witness. The eldest stood there as another giant spear was being loaded to finish of the beast. His brother and the dragon seemed resigned, looking at each other, barely blinking as to never leave the other’s gaze. Jaejoong’s eyes spoke of love, the kind of love that really matters, a true love so strong Yunho was astonished by it. He blinked furiously, trying to get his military instincts working. Everything was silent around them, he noticed. More and more soldiers from other parts of the town were coming. The red dragons were no longer there, the only left being the one that had tried to attack him. The green dragon, Jaejoong’s dragon, had protected him. Doubt started to rise in Yunho. Was Jaejoong’s dragon really evil, like they had first thought? Or could it be… Could it be that his brother had been right all along? It seemed impossible, a complete nonsense, but on the other hand, the dragon had never attacked him, or Jaejoong, or any other human. It could have killed them all in no time; the red dragon’s broken neck proved that, and yet it hadn’t. It had protected him. Yunho looked to his side. The spear was almost ready to be fired. He looked once again in his younger brother’s eyes, then looked into the dragon’s deep brown ones and gasped in surprise. The love he had seen in Jaejoong’s eyes, that same powerful love, it could be read in the creature’s giant-sized orbs. That was all Yunho needed.
-Stop!, he barked.
The soldiers turned around to look at him in confusion.
-Stop. I… I believe …
What had he been thinking? No one would believe him if he said that he also thought the monster to be good-natured!
-I believe that the magic on my brother may be deeper than we first assumed, he said, more calmly. Perhaps if by killing this monster before the charm is dissolved… perhaps it could kill Jaejoong. Take a good look: his reactions are quite strong. Such a spell must have been a very powerful one. Extremely strong spells are known to sometimes link two people’s faiths.
The soldiers stopped preparing the launcher, uncertain. Jaejoong and the dragon had stopped looking at each other to disfigure him. The soldier in charge spoke up:
-But… We have orders, your highness…
-If my beliefs are true, started Yunho with his usual voice filled with authority, would you consider killing the prince simply to obey an order? Would the emperor want you to take such a chance? How would you explain to him that his beloved youngest son died with the beast? How would you?
-I will get the king, your highness. Make sure this beast does not move an inch, or my men will have to fire.
However, Changmin looked mostly harmless. He had passed out from the pain, his head motionless on the ground. Jaejoong made a move towards him, but the soldiers grabbed him tighter. The prince did not offer much resistance, drained from the emotional shock. He could only babble and plead them to let him see Changmin, to let him see if he was alright and take care of him. The soldiers did not listen. He was moved and his father was suddenly holding him, caressing his back and making appeasing noises to soothe him. Jaejoong did not know where Changmin was anymore nor did he have any notion of time. He felt tired and shell-shocked, little whimpers escaping his throat.
-Son, said in father. Everything is fine, son. Calm down… Shhhhh… It is only me; your father is here, shhhhhh…..
-Changmin…, cried Jaejoong in a weak voice.
-Are your lives really bounded together? Is it really like Yunho told me? Is that why you can’t fight the charm?
In the haze of his mind, Jaejoong thought about it, he really did. Was his life connected to Changmin’s? Was he to die if Changmin died? The prince’s life was not magically linked to the dragon, not by any spell or work of magic. They were linked by something else, by something even more powerful than the most powerful enchantment. And if Changmin was to die, the prince knew he would die inside too. He nodded and said in a small voice:
-I cannot live without him, and he cannot live without me.
AN: Hello, there! I’m sorry it took so much time to update. I hope this chapter’s action-packed scenes and intense emotional descriptions made it worth the wait! ^__^
-Chapter Six-
Author: DaraDaraDara12
Pairing: Jaemin
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, AU
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Outside, the battle against the red dragons had begun. Even in his room, prince Jaejoong could smell the burning houses and the faint sulfuric stench, as he heard the dragon’s shrieking cries and the strong orders being yelled. His father had told him he was not allowed to leave the castle, whatever the reason. The youngest prince understood that he wanted to keep him far from the battle. Unlike his older brother, his skills as a fighter were still too weak to fight in such a dangerous situation. So the prince stayed in his room, reading and studying, trying to concentrate on the inked pages rather than the clash happening in town and around the solid walls of the castle. He hoped Changmin was doing well at the beach. He shuddered, the vibrations making their way along his spine up to his skull, and wondered why he had such a bad feeling about Changmin’s safety.
The young dragon was at the beach, looking at the seagulls and daydreaming in the soft sand when the wind turned and a strange smell hit his forked tongue. Suddenly serious, Changmin concentrated on the smell. It was dry and sulfuric with ashes and burning, nothing that he could identify precisely. However, his dragon instincts reacted very strongly to the stench. It was a dragon’s, making him think of evil, death and destruction all at once. Lifting his head, Changmin looked around, but there was nothing unusual. He simply decided to fly a little above the caves surrounding the beach, looking over to the castle town. Flying silhouettes surrounded it, but he could not see them well. The smell was coming from them, Changmin was sure of that. He had no idea of how he could know such things, but his instincts were clearly telling him that those were evil dragons, fire dragons, dangerous dragons. Was Jaejoong in danger? He had to protect him. Changmin was about to go higher and fly directly to the town, but quickly dismissed the idea. If the castle’s army saw a dragon coming towards them, they would shoot it. They were under siege and all the anti-dragon war engines were set up and ready to kill. He could not take such a risk. Instead, Changmin took his human clothes with him and flew very low until he was close to the castle town. There, he transformed into a human and dressed up to enter by the front gates. It was quite easy, since many peasants from surrounding villages came into the capital for a better shelter. Changmin entered the small crowd and past the gates. A guard gave him a weird look, but he ignored it. Suddenly, another guard approached him a little, still keeping a distance with him. He seemed terribly nervous as he spoke and Changmin started to wonder if something was amiss. Had he put his clothes the wrong way?
-E…Excuse me, young man, stuttered the guard. But we need… need to check… some… some things, so please come aside from the group… please.
The dragon in human form looked at the guard, a little apprehensive, but he figured that if did as he was told, nothing could go wrong. There was no way for the guards to tell he was not human. Changmin took a big breath and stood where the guards wanted him to, making sure that his every move was slow and non-threatening. As soon as he was away from the crowd, a few guards surrounded him with their spears pointed at his chest. Changmin was really starting panicking, not understanding what this was all about. The guards had never acted like that when he entered the town with Jae, and he never saw them acting this way with another person either. The guards seemed terrified of him. The young dragon wanted to tell them he was not dangerous, but the second he opened his mouth, one of the guards promptly stabbed him with his spear. Changmin could only turn dodge it, the weapon ripping the skin on his flank instead of going through his chest. He did not let the guards attack him a second time and transformed, summoning the supernatural mist around his body, feeling it going through his every bones, slowly giving him back his true form as the guards took a few steps back, afraid of the magical display. In a few seconds, Changmin stood before them in his complete powerfulness, clearly bigger than the red dragons and thus directing the gazes of all the guards and soldiers in this area towards him. The young dragon tried to think very quickly. He did not want to attack anyone, so he had to fly away as fast as possible, but what about Jaejoong? Was the prince safe? As he turned his head towards the castle, a cannon fired, hitting him directly in the head. Changmin stumbled and opened his wings to keep his balance. His large finned tail swept the ground, but the dragon had no time to think about what it might have destroyed in its path. Angered, he roared at the humans in his most threatening and deep voice, showing his huge teeth in the process. The guards all fled and some of the soldiers flinched or covered their ears in fear. Even the red dragons had stopped their destruction for a moment. But they were not the only ones to have heard the roar.
In his room, prince Jaejoong suddenly jumped, eyes wide. This roar. He would have recognized it anywhere, and under any circumstances. He ran to the nearest window, looking down. Nothing. He tried another window and there he saw him. Changmin was near the front gates, standing in his dragon form and surrounded by the army and the war machines. For a second, the prince thought his heart had completely stopped beating at the sight. His Changmin was in danger. What was he doing here? Why was he not leaving? Whatever the reasons, Jaejoong would go down there and help him out. He grabbed his sword and ran down the stairs. The guards standing at the door looked petrified, their eyes fixed on the green and bronze dragon a few standing near the gates. They barely reacted when Jaejoong ran past them and towards the monster. Dashing, he almost made a collision with his older brother, heading in the same direction as him.
-Jaejoong?, asked Yunho in confusion.
Jaejoong did not even acknowledge him, heart and mind focused solely on Changmin. He screamed on top of his lungs to get the dragon’s attention. Changmin’s brown eyes opened, pupils dilated, but the prince could tell that he seemed a little dazed. Jaejoong heard Yunho yelling at him from behind.
-What do you think you’re doing? You were to stay in the castle!
And, to the prince’s surprise, Changmin suddenly jumped over him and towards Yunho. Jaejoong turned around just in time to see the bronze giant attack a red dragon that was about to slash his brother in two, positioning himself over Yunho in a protective stance, wings spread. He breaked the red dragon’s neck in one bite, but Jaeoong barely had time to feel proud. The spear launcher were ready and fired, the soldiers aiming directly at Changmin’s wings. The dragon’s cry of pain echoed in the prince’s head as he saw the membrane of the wings lacerated by the many spears, some of them getting stuck in the thick skin and others passing right through it.
Jaejoong got past everyone and reached out for Changmin who lowered his head so the prince could caress it. Jaejoong’s nose was running and his face was full of tears, but he had no idea as to when he had started crying. He hugged what he could of Changmin’s head in his arms. This was all so unfair, he thought. Changmin did not deserve this: he was young and good-willed and loving. He could be snarky, but never did he mean harm to those around him. Wiping his tears, the prince turned towards the royal army.
-Stop it!, he heared himself say in a hoarse, unstable voice. Just… stop attacking him! You’re hurting him, and he has not even tried to attack you! Can’t you see he’s not vicious? Can’t you?
But the soldiers were not listening, instead getting one of the biggest weapons ready: a huge spear launcher even bigger than the precedent. Big and sharp enough to kill a dragon in one hit. Changmin growled low and flinched when he couldn’t unfold his wings completely.
-It’s an order!, yelled the prince. Stop attacking, stop everything! I’m ordering you to!
-I am sorry, my prince, said one of the soldiers who was obviously in charge, but we must obey the emperor’s orders first. The green dragon must be killed. It is to protect your highness from it.
Understanding slowly made its way into Jaejoong’s brain, like a little silver ball going through a wooden labyrinth. It finally hit him: his father had ordered them to kill the green dragon, to kill his Changmin! How had he known about this? The only person who knew about their secret place was Yoochun, and his best friend would certainly never go behind his back like this, would he? Getting out his sword, Jaejoong charged towards the men controlling the heavy spear launcher in a desperate attempt to save his friend. The other soldiers quickly caught him and disarmed him, twisting his arms behind his back in a painful grip. Jaejoong moved and twisted his whole body, but it only hurt more. It didn’t make him stop trying.
-Let me go!, he protested. I said to let me go! You’re hurting me! You don’t understand! Let me go!
The next few seconds passed in a blur of tears and emotions. The prince saw the dragon standing, wings folded on his flanks but trying to look brave. He roared to get the soldiers to let him go. The dragon-killing missile fired and his own screaming was all he could hear as the spear flew through the air and got Changmin right in the chest. Changmin’s mouth fell open and he tumbled to the ground with a long whine. Jaejoong stopped moving. It seemed to him that the whole universe had stopped as Changmin opened his eyes to look at him. Jaejoong’s whole body shuddered as he cried helplessly in the soldier’s arms. Was this how it would end?
Prince Yunho’s heart nearly broke seeing his brother in such a state. Jaejoong, being the youngest, had always been weaker and more prompt to crying, but this time was different. It was serious. Even though it was only a spell making his brother believe that the dragon was good, charming him into liking it, Jaejoong’s pain was real and heartbreaking to witness. The eldest stood there as another giant spear was being loaded to finish of the beast. His brother and the dragon seemed resigned, looking at each other, barely blinking as to never leave the other’s gaze. Jaejoong’s eyes spoke of love, the kind of love that really matters, a true love so strong Yunho was astonished by it. He blinked furiously, trying to get his military instincts working. Everything was silent around them, he noticed. More and more soldiers from other parts of the town were coming. The red dragons were no longer there, the only left being the one that had tried to attack him. The green dragon, Jaejoong’s dragon, had protected him. Doubt started to rise in Yunho. Was Jaejoong’s dragon really evil, like they had first thought? Or could it be… Could it be that his brother had been right all along? It seemed impossible, a complete nonsense, but on the other hand, the dragon had never attacked him, or Jaejoong, or any other human. It could have killed them all in no time; the red dragon’s broken neck proved that, and yet it hadn’t. It had protected him. Yunho looked to his side. The spear was almost ready to be fired. He looked once again in his younger brother’s eyes, then looked into the dragon’s deep brown ones and gasped in surprise. The love he had seen in Jaejoong’s eyes, that same powerful love, it could be read in the creature’s giant-sized orbs. That was all Yunho needed.
-Stop!, he barked.
The soldiers turned around to look at him in confusion.
-Stop. I… I believe …
What had he been thinking? No one would believe him if he said that he also thought the monster to be good-natured!
-I believe that the magic on my brother may be deeper than we first assumed, he said, more calmly. Perhaps if by killing this monster before the charm is dissolved… perhaps it could kill Jaejoong. Take a good look: his reactions are quite strong. Such a spell must have been a very powerful one. Extremely strong spells are known to sometimes link two people’s faiths.
The soldiers stopped preparing the launcher, uncertain. Jaejoong and the dragon had stopped looking at each other to disfigure him. The soldier in charge spoke up:
-But… We have orders, your highness…
-If my beliefs are true, started Yunho with his usual voice filled with authority, would you consider killing the prince simply to obey an order? Would the emperor want you to take such a chance? How would you explain to him that his beloved youngest son died with the beast? How would you?
-I will get the king, your highness. Make sure this beast does not move an inch, or my men will have to fire.
However, Changmin looked mostly harmless. He had passed out from the pain, his head motionless on the ground. Jaejoong made a move towards him, but the soldiers grabbed him tighter. The prince did not offer much resistance, drained from the emotional shock. He could only babble and plead them to let him see Changmin, to let him see if he was alright and take care of him. The soldiers did not listen. He was moved and his father was suddenly holding him, caressing his back and making appeasing noises to soothe him. Jaejoong did not know where Changmin was anymore nor did he have any notion of time. He felt tired and shell-shocked, little whimpers escaping his throat.
-Son, said in father. Everything is fine, son. Calm down… Shhhhh… It is only me; your father is here, shhhhhh…..
-Changmin…, cried Jaejoong in a weak voice.
-Are your lives really bounded together? Is it really like Yunho told me? Is that why you can’t fight the charm?
In the haze of his mind, Jaejoong thought about it, he really did. Was his life connected to Changmin’s? Was he to die if Changmin died? The prince’s life was not magically linked to the dragon, not by any spell or work of magic. They were linked by something else, by something even more powerful than the most powerful enchantment. And if Changmin was to die, the prince knew he would die inside too. He nodded and said in a small voice:
-I cannot live without him, and he cannot live without me.
AN: Hello, there! I’m sorry it took so much time to update. I hope this chapter’s action-packed scenes and intense emotional descriptions made it worth the wait! ^__^