The next day found Junmyeon at his class, raising his right hand. Junmyeon's father was a tutor, but he was too busy with his pupil to teach Junmyeon. There were days when he didn't see his father because his father wasn't coming home.

"Yes, Junmyeon?" His teacher asked. Wide grin plastered on her face. It was Junmyeon's first time to ask question. She had been worried at first because Junmyeon was so silent ever since his first day.

"Teacher, is there any dragon near the village? Can I come to see them?"

The grins dropped, pursed into a thin line. His classmates stopped whatever they were doing and stared at Junmyeon. Some looked at each other in disbelief, some were mortified while some started to whimper and sat restlessly on his chair. The teacher moved fast, locking all the windows. some student helped by dragging the curtain closed.

"Junmyeon, listen." His teacher said as she kneeled on the ground, leveled herself with Junmyeon. "We never, I repeat, never ever mentioned their names or else they will come to us."

Junmyeon looked at her in confusion. "You mean dra.." The teacher immediately put her hand over Junmyeon's mouth. "Never Junmyeon. Promise me that you will never mention their name again. if we do so, they'll come out from the forest and kill us one by one!"

"But my dragon friend is nice." Junmyeon blurted out, didn't realize his wrong until it was too late. The class gasped in unison, while the teacher looked about to faint.

She recovered quickly though. "You have to go with me." The teacher dragged him out of the class. Hand tight on his wrist that Junmyeon couldnt even try to escape.

He was dragged to the headmaster's room. She knocked even when the door was open. The man inside looked up from his notes and smiled when he saw Junmyeon and his teacher. He might have the warmest smile Junmyeon ever saw, but his eyes quite didn't match his smile.

"So, what do we have here?" The headmaster asked. "He mentioned their name." The teacher answered for Junmyeon whom too stunned to react. "He even said that he befriended one of them!."

The headmaster leaned back on his chair. his linked finger under his chin. Eyeing Junmyeon from his hair to his toes then back to his face. 

He smirked. Junmyeon looked everywhere else but at him. He made him felt uncomfortable.

"Leave us alone, Miss Wang."

She left was stood still at first, but then nodded and after giving Junmyeon one angry look, he stormed outside.

Junmyeon was quite scared, but he didn't exactly know what was wrong.

"You just moved here a week ago, Am I right?" The headmaster asked.

Junmyeon nodded.

"Do you find it to your liking, so far?"

Junmyeon shrugged. It was quite nice except for his burned doll. If they didn't come here, his doll probably wouldn't be burned. He then realized that shrugging would be quite impolite, so he let out a small "Yes."

"I'm glad. Our city has everything to offer. If only the dragons weren't here, then everybody will like our city just like you do."

Junmyeon stared at the headmaster. he didn't even flinched when he mentioned dragons.

"Are they bad?"

"We live side by side for centuries. I won't say they are bad. Is just that.. they need to evolve in order to survive. Human is not exactly a hospitable creature. We might have our deal in the past but as time passed, human realized that the deal had to be broken so they could survive. So they did break the deal." The headmaster sighed. "The Dragons tried to forgive us, but we are also a creature of greed. In the end, The Dragons suffered a lot because we broke the deal, but we suffered more because of their wrath. Wiser people tried to patch up everything with the dragons so we could have truce. It worked, but Dragons lived for long and nothing can make them forgive us completely. Their wrath, Junmyeon, takes form in haunting us for generations."

"That's why no one dare to mention their names.." Junmyeon said.

"Yes. It was said that if we mentioned their name, then their wrath will come to us faster."

"But.. you keep mentioning dra.. that name." Junmyeon didn't want to take part in fastening the impending doom.

"I know. Don't tell Miss Wang." He chuckled. "I know everybody in this city, from old grandfather dying on his deathbed to young babies just born a couple seconds ago believed this. But my logical side always speaking, I always thought it was just a legend, to keep the human stays in our way and not crossing the line again."

The headmaster left his desk and walked towards Junmyeon. He put his hand on Junmyeon's shoulder. "It is up to you whether you want to believe it or not but please respect those who believed in this, by not saying the name or mentioning anything related to them out loud in public. Is that clear, Junmyeon?"

Junmyeon nodded quickly.

"Then off you go. Tell Miss Wang I gave you a proper scolding and she is needed in my office." The headmaster winked. Junmyeon smiled a bit before whispered a shy thank you and scurried to his class.

Miss Wang made him bow in front of the class, telling them that he was sorry and promised he would never mentioned anything about 'them' ever again. The class then returned to their usual state, but for Junmyeon, he would never return to the old him. He needed to find out more about the boy he saved.

And he began with the library after the class ended. He brought home dozens of book he guessed related to the dragons as he couldn't find any with dragons literally written on the cover.

"What kind of assignment got you bring home these three tons of books, young master?" The maid of his house asked as he helped Junmyeon brought the book to his room upstairs. Junmyeon stumbled, quite shocked that his maid would ask questions. He wasn't someone who could lie, so he only avoided the maid's look as he put the fallen books back to its pile.

The maid put the books on his room before helped him piling the books in the hallway. "Its about 'them', isn't it?" The maid asked after he caught a glimpse of the books. "I just.. curious. I promise i won't say a thing about it, though." Junmyeon quickly said. "If there is something you should know about them, young master, is The Night." The Maid said as she brought the books to Junmyeon's room.

"The night?" Junmyeon asked.

"Yes the night. We've been in receiving end of their wraths all year but in The Night.. you can't even call it wrath anymore." The Maid said. "When The Night comes, everyone can die. Not only those who had provoked them. Even people at their houses can be taken by them."

"And how do I suppose to know if The Night comes?"

"The dawn before The Night, some houses will have weird marks.This marks won't gone no matter how hard you scrubbed them. Those marks can only be made by their breaths.Those houses with mark, will have its owner taken by them."

Junmyeon got curiouser. The Headmaster didn't tell him about that. Did he have any logical explanation on that?

"What will the people do? if their house have marks?'

"Nothing. Some will pray, some will prepare their house with spears, weapons, some will try to escape as far as to other city. But they always find a way to get them."

Junmyeon felt shivers ran down his spine. What kind of city his family had gotten into?

"You are late." The Headmaster said when Miss Wang entered the room. "You didn't tell the boy when and I'm not exactly free either. I have classes to teach." Miss Wang answered as she took a seat in front of the headmaster. "So you tell him about the dragons?" She asked. "Not in details but rest assured he won't say anything about that anymore."

"He is brave, that boy, helped a young dragon destined to die."

"Yes and his bravery won't make him stop looking anytime soon either. I need you to keep an eye on him."

"Why should I? He is a silent kid, he won't get anywhere. the farthest he will look is probably the library."

The Headmaster smirked. "And that's why I need you to keep an eye on him." It took Miss Wang a while to understand, before she smiled. "You want me to keep an eye on him, and a push."

"Make him look further but don't let him too far. I want the dragons, the prince, to only see a glimpse of him not more."

"and what make you sure that the Prince will like him?"

"I have my reasons, Miss Wang. I need you to believe me. When everything fall into its place, then I'll tell you."

Miss Wang looked sceptic, but she had learned the hard way to always trust his boss.

"Why don't we offer him to them right now? It will be less work."

"The more they pining after him, the more this sacrifice will worth."

Miss Wang nodded and made her way out to the door before reminded of something.

"The boy has parents. They'll probably move in two years. You have to sacrifice him before that."

"Two years will be too soon. He will not worth as much as I expected." Headmaster looked outside the window. "I'll find a way to make them stay." 

Miss Wang chuckled. "What will you do? Tell the Lord to keep the father as the tutor forever? The Lord is not on our side. You know that."

"Don't worry Miss Wang, I have a better idea." He smiled. "Make sure that the boy stayed out of his house during The Night."

"And remind me to mark his house before The Night!”