As dawn spilled into the cavern etched into the mountainside, cascading across the sandy floor and shining onto the rocky walls, Jang-mii stirred. Her long eyelashes fluttered as the light fell over her face, casting her into a gentle warmth that made her smile slightly. She curled tighter into a ball, wishing to sleep for a while longer, but frowned slightly when she felt something move beside her. She cracked an eye open to see a long, reptilian tail sliding over the sand and drawing tighter around her, and immediately her heart stopped. However, as the memories came rushing back, she relaxed slightly; large and brutish as the dragon might be, she knew now that he had no intentions to harm her. She sat up and stretched her arms high above her head, enjoying the sensation of her vertebrae cracking one by one. As a heavy blast of air made her dress flutter and her hair whip across her face, she glanced over to see the dragon’s face, its eyes closed as it slept peacefully. With every exhale, it blasted Jang-mii with a small gale of wind, and to escape the onslaught of powerful (and quite smelly) breath she climbed slowly over the spiked tail and landed securely in the sand. Her bridal train snagged on one of the spikes, and she was appalled when she glanced back. The state of her dress was deplorable; the white fabric was stained brown with dirt, and it was torn savagely along the lower edges. Rather than attempt to salvage the dress, she took the fabric in her hands, just above her knee, and began to rip. Soon she had torn the entire bottom of her dress away, leaving her much more comfortable and providing ease to maneuver. I don’t need it anymore, do I? she thought as she tossed her veil away. Somehow, she wasn’t all that sad; perhaps it had been the fact that she had refused Baekhyun at the altar. Taking one last glance at the slumbering dragon, she slipped on her shoes and wandered out of the cave, into the vast wilderness.

In the sunlight, the wilds were much less intimidating than they had been the previous night when she had attempted to make her escape. The cavern entrance was on the edge of a clearing, where the tall grass brushed against Jang-mii’s calves and swayed in the gentle wind. Patches of clover and wildflowers sprouted here and there, and butterflies and bumblebees fluttered between them in their daily mission to acquire nectar for sustenance. A blackberry patch trailed along the mountainside, and Jang-mii clutched down to pick a few, carefully avoiding the sharp thorns. She managed to acquire a decent handful and ungracefully piled them into ; she chewed on them happily, savoring the mix of sweetness and tartness as juice dribbled down her chin. She wiped it away and continued exploring the outer edge of the clearing, her eyes as wide as saucers as she took in the majesty of the wilds.

She gazed up into the massive trees, easily as tall as three men, and spotted brightly colored birds hopping among the branches and singing their songs. Jang-mii mimicked an easy tune, attempting to entice one of the small avian creatures to flutter down, and was delighted when the small songbird flew down from the trees right into her palm. Its tail flicked as it pecked experimentally at her fingers, twittering. Jang-mii was saddened when it flew back into the foliage, but she supposed that it was where it rightfully belonged. As Jang-mii settled herself at the base of the trees, snuggled between its massive roots, she allowed her mind to wander to her home. She wondered whether her parents were all right, and considered how frightfully concerned that they must be for her well-being. She wondered if the castle had survived the dragon’s attack, and if any clean-up efforts had been made, and was grateful that the town had been spared the fiery wrath the creature brought with it. She wondered how Baekhyun was handling the situation, both her refusal and her subsequent abduction, and if he had returned to his country scorned, or was scouring the countryside looking for revenge. She thought the latter was the more likely option, as Baekhyun struck her as a prideful man; prideful men did not take refusal lightly, and not even a dragon could stop them from attempting to reclaim something that had been taken from them.

Jang-mii wondered why she had refused him in the first place. Sure, her lingering love for Kris possibly had something to do with it, but the more she thought about it, the more she thought that there was a deeper, darker reason. Something about him unnerved her, a hidden ambition that she feared. Perhaps her instincts had been at the root of her refusal, and if so, she was completely willing to trust them. When she finally returned to her home, she considered bringing up the issue with her father in the hopes they would find her another husband. Not that she wanted one; she was much more content to stay out here, among the trees and flowers, at least for a little while.

Jang-mii jumped as she heard stirring from the cave, and with lumbering footsteps, the dragon came loping out into the clearing. It yawned loudly, smoke trailing into the sky as its hot breath poured from its mouth, and it blinked sleepily as it regarded the area. His black eyes landed on Jang-mii.

“Good morning, dragon,” she announced politely, rising to her feet. She patted off the backside of her dress and walked over to him. He lowered his head to sniff at the torn remnants of her dress, flicking the bottom of it with his forked tongue. He exhaled sharply, blowing the bottom of her dress up, and it was all she could do to hold the fluttering fabric down and keep her decency. The dragon looked apologetically at her, and Jang-mii could have sworn that his blood-red scales grew redder. “The wilds are no place for a wedding dress,” she explained primly. “Seeing as I have no altar to attend to, as well, I thought that I won’t be needing it anymore. It’s much easier to move around this way.” The dragon nodded in understanding and raised its head, peering over the treetops. Jang-mii got the sudden urge to climb up, to see what the reptilian beast was seeing, but she squashed the urge. While the dragon’s gaze swept the area, Jang-mii wandered back to the edges of the clearing to continue her investigation.

She spotted a beehive clinging tightly to the branch of a tree, and the taste of sweet honey danced on her tongue, making water. However, she had no desire to face the wrath of the bees contained within, and besides, she didn’t want to destroy their hard work in building their home. She felt the dragon’s breath on her back as he peered down to see what had captured her attention, snorting when he regarded the beehive warily. “Oh, I don’t plan on knocking it down,” she reassured. “Who am I to destroy their home?” She wandered past the beehive, poking around the many holes in trees and the ground in an effort to discern the creatures contained within. She was delighted to find a family of baby squirrels in one, huddling together for warmth while their mother was away. “How cute,” she mused, jumping down from her perch to glance around the clearing. She had explored every inch, and naturally her eyes trailed to the well-worn path leading out of the clearing. Instantly the dragon’s tail landed in front of her, and she haughtily put her hands on her hips and whipped around to face him. “Excuse me! What do you think you’re doing?” she snapped. He snorted and straightened himself up regally, glaring determinedly down at her. “I want to explore!” she whined, pointing desperately down the pathway. The dragon growled slightly, and then Jang-mii screamed as he suddenly grabbed her tightly with his clawed paw. As she struggled weakly in his grip, she saw his powerful wings flap a few times to lift them into the air. Screaming, she squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the worst.

The wind whipped her hair as they sailed through the sky, and when Jang-mii had finally determined that the beast would not drop her, she cracked her eyes open. Her breath immediately left her lungs. The trees blended together in a rush of greens and browns as they flew over them, hovering just above the surface of the canopy. The dragon’s shadow danced over the trees, eclipsing the sun as they soared along. Before Jang-mii had time to admire much of it, they spiraled into landing; the dragon dropped onto the ground roughly, jarring Jang-mii as her face nearly came in contact with the earth floor. Still winded, she slipped from his grasp as his claws loosened, falling into the dirt. She huffed in annoyance and glared up at him; his black eyes glittered with amusement, and she supposed the rough landing was payback for her rudeness. Trying to retain some of her dignity, she stood primly to her feet and brushed dirt and dead leaves from her dress, looking around the area that the dragon had brought her.

It was a larger clearing, surrounded by massive oak trees that twisted and gnarled as they stretched their branches to the blue sky above. A circle of sunlight streamed into the clearing where their leaves did not touch, giving the grass below an ethereal quality as dust particles danced in the air, looking like fairy dust. Golden wildflowers swayed in the breeze that swept across the land, ruffling Jang-mii’s dress and hair as she slowly walked through the lush green grass. Her gaze was trained on the largest oak tree of all, a massive plant that probably towered over forty feet. Its trunk was so wide that her arms barely stretched around its curve, and its roots exploded out of the earth, twisting and knotting. She imagined them descending deep into the earth, down to the planet’s very core- it was that large of a tree. She approached the base, placing a hand on the rough bark. “Wow,” she breathed, simply in awe at the gargantuan structure.

Suddenly a fierce wind swept around her, swirling around her. Music seemed to dance within the gale, tinkling bells that accented the fluttering of the thousands of leaves above her head. Particles of light flashed around her, and as her head swiveled left and right, she realized that the small bits of light trailed behind hundreds of little fairies. They flew in circles around her, their translucent wings flapping so fast that they were a blur. There were both males and females, clad in little clothes sewn from leaves and flowers petal, with hair that shone gold. Their little cheeks were rosy as they beamed up at her. Jang-mii held out her hand, and a little fairy girl landed gladly in her palm. She wore a dress of bluebell petals, with little twine shoes and a twine headband. Her hair cascaded down her back, ringlets of gold that glowed with a soft light. She was very charming, a little being scarcely bigger than Jang-mii’s hand, and the little fairy curtsied as the princess regarded her. “Hello!” Jang-mii giggled.

“Hello,” the fairy echoed cheerfully, her clear wings slowly flapping back and forth. Her voice was high, but not painfully shrill; it sounded like music, eloquent and melody-like. Now that her wings had stopped fluttering so furiously, Jang-mii could see the glittering patterns swirling about them; they were insect-like, clear as glass with veins tracing their way through the glassy frame. “Are you a princess?” the tiny girl asked.

“Indeed, I am,” Jang-mii mused. She giggled as other fairies flurried about her shoulders, pulling strands of her long black hair into their little hands to admire it. Others examined her dress, feeling the fabric.

“You don’t look like one. What happened to your dress?” the fairy inquired as she looked down disdainfully at the tattered fabric.

“The wilds are very hard on such a dress,” she admitted, looking down at herself. She looked more like a vagabond than a princess. The fairy tutted and flew among her companions, her voice fluctuating in different bell-like sounds that Jang-mii supposed was the fairy language. The fairy suddenly flew into her face, startling her.

“We’re going to make you a proper dress, fit for a wilds princess!” the fairy twittered happily. Before Jang-mii could respond, the fairies flew off in a thousand different directions. Some disappeared into the tree, while others dashed away into the wilds, leaving a trail of glittering yellow lights in their wake. While Jang-mii glanced around, suddenly alone, she looked uncertainly back at the dragon. He was sitting much like a dog, back on his haunches with his front legs settled in front of him. His eyes sparkled with amusement. In a flurry, the fairies returned, grabbing onto the ends of her dress and hair. They tugged this way and that, and although Jang-mii didn’t mind so much with the destroyed gown, sometimes the pulling on her hair hurt quite a lot. With all the fairies swirling around her in a frenzy, her vision became blinded with dancing lights and blurs of fairy clothing, so much so that she grew dizzy. When she was to the point that she felt ill, they vanished as soon as they came, all hovering around her as they pointed eagerly at her dress. Jang-mii glanced down to admire their handiwork. It took her breath away.

There was no trace of the white fabric of her wedding gown left. Instead, the fairies had expertly stitched together a simple dress made of rich blue petals, and the seams were so fine that it looks like one whole piece. Her shoulders were bare, the flower fabric sweeping across her collarbone to wrap around the middle of her upper arm in a loose sleeve. She could feel the back of her dress swoop low into her back, while the bust of her dress accented her figure quite nicely. The fabric hugged her sides, displaying her curves, before transitioning into a ruffling skirt that stopped midway through her thighs. Though a bit scandalous for a castle princess, Jang-mii thought it was perfect for a princess of the wilds. The fairies had even done her hair, braiding it with a collection of blue and white wildflowers. As she sniffed it, she realized that they had also rubbed it with sweet-smelling oils. “Now you look like a princess,” the fairy commented with satisfaction.

“Thank you very much. I’m very grateful for all your hard work,” she smiled genuinely at the fairies, curtsying. They giggled, overjoyed at her praise, and flew happily about her. Jang-mii glanced back at the dragon, who was eyeing her intensely. She could read no expression from his reptilian eyes, but she gauged a lot of warmth from them. She smiled shyly and twirled about in her dress, extremely pleased. Suddenly, the fairies brought out a menagerie of instruments, little harps and horns that they used to play a rather delightful song. Caught up in the moment, Jang-mii glided across the clearing in a serene dance, little fairies swirling around her as she moved back and forth. She approached the dragon, grabbing his great paw. “Thank you for showing me this place. Would you care to dance with me?” she mused and tugged at him. The dragon blinked in confusion, but stood at his full height nonetheless, his paw slipping from Jang-mii’s hands. Awkwardly, it began to sway back and forth, its tail sweeping just above the surface of the grass in a consistent rhythm. Jang-mii laughed happily and twirled about his feet, humming along to the tune of the fairy song. However, suddenly a chill wind swept across the clearing, and the fairies’ lights dimmed. Crying out in alarm, they abandoned their revelry and disappeared back into their tree, leaving a very confused Jang-mii behind. “Little fairies? What’s wrong?” she cried, running over to the tree. Her fairy friend anxiously poked her head out of a barely concealed hole in the tree.

“A darkness is coming, princess,” she murmured vaguely, shivering. With that, she ducked back into her hiding place. Jang-mii lingered at the tree, frowning as she pondered the fairy’s warning. Still frowning as she wandered back over to the dragon, she sighed heavily. A darkness, she thought. What kind of darkness? Did she mean night? Surely, she didn’t mean that; it sounded too fearful. Perhaps a strange creature? Her endless questioning yielded no results, and she sighed as she plopped down at the base of the dragon’s feet. He leaned down to sniff gingerly at her hair. “The fairies are frightened of something. A ‘darkness.’ Do you have any idea of what they meant, dragon?” she asked, looking up at him. His black eyes stared back, yielding no response. He snorted at her, spilling hot, thick breath down over her, and she coughed as she waved it away. Thankfully, her hair remained intact, and she leaned back against the dragon’s warm chest. She rose and fell with his deep breaths, and the steady rhythm combined with the gentle heat began to lull her off to sleep. As she sat there, still humming the fairy tune, she snuggled up against the beast. “Do you mind if I sleep, dragon? It’s just so peaceful here…” she murmured before yawning loudly. The dragon gave no response, so she took it as affirmation and slowly closed her eyes. It felt divine, with the wind sweeping gently over her skin and the radiating warmth of the dragon’s chest. Secure with her guardian looming over her, Jang-mii slowly lapsed into sleep, a small smile on her lips.