A young 9 year old boy dressed in a tailored suit sat on a piano bench quietly warming up with the rest of the orchestra. When the conductor stepped onto the podium, the orchestra fell silent, and with a wave of his baton the orchestra came back to life, enchanting anyone who listened. The boy’s fingers moved on their own as muscle memory took over. His mind began to wonder else where; thoughts about the pink mark on his right shoulder came and went as he played through his seven measure piano solo. The magical performance came to an ending crescendo and the young musician bowed, then left the stage with all the other instrument players. A faceless person complimented the young boy as he walked by.

“Well done, Himchan. You played excellently - as usual.” Others joined in giving Himchan the stale, generic, overused compliments he heard on a daily basis. Never wanting to be seen as rude, Himchan simply smiled and nodded, saying an occasional thank you as he made his way to his parent’s coach. When Himchan entered his parents were quick to greet him as they chatted about the concert.

“Your solo was quite bland. What had you distracted? Was it the lights? I knew they were too bright.” Mrs.Kim was a famous singer who had a way of enchanting the audience with her soulful voice. She was a very busy woman, but made sure to attend all of Himchan’s important events.

“No mother, it wasn’t the lights… Today I saw new dragons at the Dragon Guard... And, well, you know…” Himchan mumbled. He knew how his mother wanted him to pursue music instead of joining the Dragon Guard, but he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. Mrs. Kim let out a sigh, while his father chuckled and patted his son on the shoulder.

“I will check to see if one of the new recruits shares your mark tomorrow during lunch. How does that sound?” Mr.Kim was the top general of the Dragon Guard. He had started as a lowly cadet - barely able to make it through training - but with a lot of hardwork and dedication, Mr. Kim was able to become one of the best flyers in the Silmul Kingdom. Himchan grew up hearing about his father’s success and that inspired him to become a dragon rider, much to his mother’s displeasure.

“Okay.” Himchan would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited but he knew there was a chance his dragon had yet to show up, so to hide his disappointment he tried to act indifferent towards the outcome.

“Don’t forget your promise to accompany Sunhwa tomorrow. It is rude to leave a young lady-”

“I won’t forget mother. I can just bring her along when I visit father.” Mrs.Kim huffed at being interrupted but smiled nonetheless. Deep down she knew Himchan would become a dragon rider no matter what. That did nothing to stop the fear she felt thinking about all the things that could go wrong and take her son away from her. Her troubling thoughts ended when they arrived home, walking into the house, a warm delicious smell wafted through the air. Himchan ran to the dining room to see what dinner awaited them, a lovely golden roasted ham sat in the middle surrounded by various side dishes. At the end of the table sat a chocolate cake with a note on it.

Sorry I couldn’t make it to the concert tonight.

Do not eat too much cake this time Himchan. Last time you got sick!

    Love, Big Sis

Himchan read the note out loud to his parents, pouting at what his sister wrote. He ate too much cake once when he was five and now his sister teases him every chance she got. His parents nudge him to his seat, while Mr.Kim’s dragon enters to join them for dinner. Himchan happily greets the dragon as she settles down at her usual spot near the window.

“Hello, Himchan. How was the concert?” His father's dragon partner, Kimi, greeted politely, waiting to be served her portion of tonight’s meal.

“It went well as always. Did you by any chance look at any of the marks on the new dragons?” Himchan tried and failed to hide his growing curiosity. No one could blame him for being impatient, he’s been waiting for his dragon ever since his best friend, Sunhwa, met her dragon. Usually marked people who lived in the Kingdom Silmul met their dragons earlier than most due to being in the same location as the Dragon Guard headquarters.

“Nope. I thought it would be best to wait for tomorrow.”  Kimi gave him a coy dragon smile. She knew all about Himchan’s eagerness, he would come up to her with a whole list of questions or asking for advice. Kimi was impressed with how serious Himchan was when it came to achieving his goal, she just hoped his dragon would want the same goal as him or this could lead to a bumpy road.

Himchan was once again pouting, but it turned into a smile when he started eating the meal his sister prepared. The conversation shifted to his parents as they talked about their schedules and future plans, occasionally asking Himchan about  what he might have planned. Other than school, studying, music practice/rehearsal, and waiting for his dragon, Himchan did not have much to do, most of his free time was spent hanging out or shopping with his best friend, Sunhwa. He did hang out with other ‘friends’ but he only did so to keep up with appearances, his so called ‘friends’ were only using him for his title, so he used them to make him seem like the perfect son: intelligent, responsible, hardworking, musically talented, well mannered, handsome, and well liked by not only the adults but his peers as well.

Himchan excused himself from the table after finishing dinner, he walked up the stair to his bedroom and went into the attached personal bathroom where he got ready for bed. With his nightly ritual done he walked out of the bathroom and face planted straight onto his bed. Suddenly exhausted from the long day, Himchan slowly crawled up to the head of the bed and slipped under the blankets. Closing his eyes he made one last wish for his long wait to be over and finally meet his dragon partner. Himchan woke up around seven o’clock in the morning after another dreamless night. He got out of bed to begin his morning routine, as always he put all his effort into his appearance, making sure he looked the part of a well respected high class member of society. A quick look over in the mirror to pick up on any flaws, Himchan made his way down the stairs, giving both his parents and older sister a kiss on the cheek, he left for the little breakfast diner he agreed to meet Sunhwa at.

“Hi ya, Himchan.” Sunhwa’s voice carried through the diner as Himchan entered, he joined her at the booth she was sitting at with her albino Solkalra dragon, Cress, resting near her feet. Like usual she was wearing a disguise for some odd reason. Giving her outfit a once over -florescent orange baggy pants to go with her pea green baggy sweater which had to be too warm in the summer heat and to top it all off a pair of zebra striped sunglasses too big for her child face- Himchan had enough of her horrible fashion choice.

“Look I understand you don’t want others staring at you because you’re the second princess and all but could you at least try to wear something that wouldn’t make people stare at you like a monster. Actually no could you stop with your disguises all together. They are pointless when you have Cress with you. No offense Cress but you are the only Albino Solkalra in Silmul.” Himchan huffed and crossed his arms with a clear look of distaste on his face.

“None taken. I agree with Himchan, your pants hurt my eyes.” Sunhwa frowned at both her childhood friend and dragon. She didn’t want to admit they were right, trying her best to win the argument she stumbled with a few counter points but they were stomped down by the two teaming up against her. Finally giving up when their food arrived, she shoveled her food into signifying the battle was over, they had won.

“What are we going to do after this?” Sunhwa asked when she devoured half her plate like a champ.

“First we are getting you a new outfit, depending when that’s done we could go to the dragon guard. Some new dragons came yesterday and I want to see if any of them are my dragon.” Himchan laid out the game plan for today and waited for their input.

“I hope you get your dragon! We could go flying together and traveling would be so much easier.” Cress let out a happy dragon bark, obviously dreaming of soaring through the sky with her partner and only other human friend.

“I thought you two could not fly together unless someone supervising?” Himchan has seen first hand the chaos the two brought whenever they lifted anything above a foot from the ground. He has never seen so many grown men cry.

“Technically speaking you would be supervising.”  A smirk formed on Sunhwa’s face, she knew how to get by most rules her family put on her. They were not the best plans but one look at her puppy eyes and most people let her off easy.

“I’m pretty sur-”

“Stop ruining the plan.” Cress interrupted Himchan, she wasn’t about to let pretty boy over there stop their plan of flying without someone constantly looming over them.

“I just don’t want to be held responsible when you fly into a tree or something.” Himchan laughed, his favorite thing to tease them with was the fact they crashed into just about everything: trees, clouds, houses, people, dragons, the ground, the air, etc.

“Hey that was only once!..... Okay maybe a few time but we are getting better.” Sunhwa blushed with embarrassment, remembering some of her failures, the terrified screams of riders around her.

“Yep, we might be the ones teaching you how to fly when your dragon does show up.” Cress puffed out her chest in pride, she wasn’t one to get embarrassed unlike her partner, to her one failure was just one step closer to success.

“I doubt it. Anyways my father said he would at least teach me the basics so I think I’ll trust him over you guys.” Himchan couldn’t stop the soft warm feeling filling his chest when he thought about his father teaching him how to fly.

“Oh! Let us attend your private lessons.” The best flyer in Silmul had to have some sort of advice on how to improve that isn’t just ‘get better’, Sunhwa thought to herself, giving Himchan her best puppy eyes.

“Sure, but we have to keep it on the downlow, you know” Himchan knew if other people heard about his father’s training lessons they would want to join in as well. It has happened before when his father started to teach him basic self defence and sword techniques.  

“Our lips are sealed, right Cress.” Sunhwa with a small smile, made the gesture of zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key.

“Yeppers.” Cress was quick to nod her head, she wouldn’t miss the opportunity to learn from the best.

After breakfast was finished and paid for the trio went back to the castle the royal family lived in. If you asked Himchan it was more of a mansion than a castle based on the castles in the old books her read but then again what’s the real difference. The two children greet workers as they make their way to Sunhwa’s room. Once there Himchan immediately goes through Sunhwa’s closet looking for something less offensive to the eyes, with the help of Cress the two of them shove Sunhwa into the bathroom with the new outfit. When she came out wearing a burgundy short sleeve shirt, black shorts, and white shoes, they both nodded their heads in approval. Himchan whispered to Cress about possibly burning those hideous clothes, Cress giggled at him but agreed that those clothes had to go.

They walked around the castle garden until Sunhwa called them in for lunch, the three of them hurried inside to eat. When the current queen questioned them about the rush, Sunhwa was hasty to reply telling her mother about the new dragons, she seemed more excited about Himchan finally meeting his dragon then he was, but Sunhwa knew that wasn’t true in the slightest. With lunch finished the trio immediately left the castle, and traveled to the Dragon Guard HQ at a breakneck speed. The guards around the HQ perimeter just chuckled and shook their head at the excited kids, knowing exactly how they felt. Himchan took a minute to catch his breath and calm himself before knocking on the door.

“Enter.” His Father’s calm muffled voice answered through the door. Both children and dragon entered the office, when Mr.Kim saw his son, he smiled at him, but Himchan could tell by the dull glint in his eyes that sadly his dragon was not here yet.

“I’m sorry, Himchan.” Mr.Kim tried to comfort his son by getting up and placing a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. Himchan smile up at him and shook his head.  

“No, it’s okay, I knew there was a chance they would not be here.” They shared a few pleasantries about the day, then Himchan, Sunhwa and Cress left the office making their way to a park they would visit often. Sitting down on the swings they stayed silent for a while. Sunhwa tried her best to think of some comforting words, but everything that came to mind didn’t seem good enough. Himchan could sense her stress and it honestly made him feel a little better, knowing that he had such a good friend.

“Looks like you still have time to improve before I get my dragon. You should use this time wisely.” Himchan forced his sorrow away and smirked at Sunhwa. Both Cress and Sunhwa snapped their heads towards him with owlish looks of surprise, but started to giggle knowing their friend was okay.

“You better be careful with your words. We might just make you eat them!” Cress was never one to back down from a challenge.

“We will see who is better when the time comes. Right now I think it’s about time we started heading home. Looks like Mr.Cogs is here to pick you up.” Himchan pointed at the nicely dressed man waiting for them near the park entrance.

“Yeah, do you want us to walk you home?” Sunhwa asked as she got up from the swing and waved to Mr.Cogs.

“I don’t mind, company is always nice to have around.” With that they set a brisk pace towards Himchan’s home. When they arrive Mrs.Kim greets them at the door, offering Sunhwa a few goodies to take home. One last wave goodbye and the duo leaves with Mr.Cogs. Mrs.Kim tells Himchan to wash up before joining them for dinner, when he enters the dining room he sits next to his older sister and across from his mother, piling freshly cooked food onto his plate. Mrs.Kim asks about her children’s days and frowns slightly when Himchan tells her about his trip to the Dragon Guard. To try and cheer him up she tells him that she’s performing at a nearby town and offers to take him along. Himchan brightens and hastily agrees, he would never miss a chance to see his mother sing. Mrs.Kim tells her son to get a good night's sleep because they would be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning. Himchan was swift to finish dinner, so he could pack and prepare for bed, the morning could not come sooner.

It was five o’clock in the morning when Mrs.Kim woke up to her son jumping onto the bed telling her breakfast was ready. Mrs.Kim laughed and told her son to bring his travel bag downstairs then wait for her at the table. She went into the bathroom the freshen up soon after she grabbed her travel bag and went down stairs leaving her bag next to Himchan’s and joined the rest of the family at the breakfast table. Immediately upon finishing her meal, Himchan took her hand in his and walked with her outside to the coach, their bags were already packed in the back.

Himchan looked out the window at the passing forrest, they had been traveling for a while, about halfway to the next town when he heard a strange sound outside. He looked at his mother and it seemed she noticed it as well, as she got up to ask the horsemen what was happening, when the coach was suddenly sent flying off the road onto its side. Mrs.Kim was knocked unconscious, Himchan panicked, not knowing what to do he managed to struggle his way out the Coach door, he came face to face with a large dragon covered in scars. The dragon had one of the horses in between its powerful jaws, blood running down its chin. The dragon dropped the dead horse and started stalking towards the young boy. Himchan was paralyzed in fear, this is the end for me, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard his mother’s pained groan. That’s right mother is still in the coach, I have to protect her. Himchan had to stop the dragon somehow, noticing the broken off shrapnel metal from the coach laying around him he located the longest piece, when the dragon got close enough, he took a chance diving for the metal, picking it up and stabbing the dragon with all his might. The dragon was caught off guard, letting out a pained roar, it pinned Himchan under its sharp claws. Having no other option Himchan closed his eyes, praying for his mother’s safety.

Himchan dug up the last bit of courage he had to open his eyes, staring the rogue dragon right in the eye showing no fear. There were more strange sounds, then without warning the rogue dragon was engulfed with pink flames and violently shoved to the side, and the pressure on his chest was gone. Himchan quickly retreated away from the battle. When he looked back at the rogue dragon, he saw it pinned by a black dragon, struggling to get away. When it did manage break free it flew into the forest but was followed by a gang of black dragons. The Dragon who saved Himchan from the rogue slowly made its way to him. Getting a closer look Himchan noticed the smaller details of the dragon, it wasn’t just black like he thought, it had a strange pink mask with two rows of three vertical dots down the center, maybe they were for breathing? On the center of its forehead was a gray plus sign but what stood out the most were the tattoo patterns on its front legs and the word ‘TATS’ across its upper chest. Not knowing what to say Himchan spoke the first words that came to his head.

“I swear to the goddesses if your name is Tats, I will feel so bad for you.”

“Wow, that is some thanks. You do know I just saved you from certain death, right?” The dragon didn’t sound offended, but Himchan wasn’t sure at the moment, being too distracted by his previous statement.

“Oh! Umm… Thanks? I’m sorry I can’t get over the possibility your name is literally written across your chest. Please tell me it is not.” Why am I so hung up on its name? Himchan thought. Maybe it’s the shock of not being dead getting to him, but for some reason he just couldn’t focus on anything else.

“I hate to let my partner down, but sadly when I was born they decided I already came named. Well, technically my name is Tatsmato.” The masked dragon giggled at the dazed boy infront of him, wondering if he would notice their matching marks. Tatsmato truthfully only helped the boy because he could feel their bond resonate within him. The Matoki Clan had a strict rule against butting into other’s problems - especially humans.

“You poor thing. Wait... did you say partner?” Himchan snapped out of his daze and sure enough, there was a pink plus sign on the dragon’s right shoulder, exactly like his. Overcomed by a rush of emotions, Himchan started to cry - not ugly sobbing. but a silent cry with tears streaming down his face. Tatsmato was quick to comfort his partner, pulling him close and held him there until he quiet down. The other masked dragons came back informing Tatsmato the rogue dragon had been ‘taken care of’. Tatsmato nodded his head. The masked dragons helped carry Himchan’s unconscious mother and the horseman to the town she was supposed to perform at. When they arrived the townspeople were quick to help the injured singer and coach driver. Himchan received a few scratches here and there but nothing life threatening so he opted to stay with his newly found partner.

“What kind of dragon are you?” Himchan couldn’t hold back his curiosity. He knew plenty of dragon races but he had never heard or read about black dragons who wore masks.

“I am a Matoki dragon. One of the most powerful dragons species out there, but my people are quite rare these days. We have a clan with 97 members and the monarch, who is feared by everyone.” Tatsmato smirked as the stars twinkled in the boy's eyes. The duo talked about personal interests and when Himchan mentioned his goal to become a dragon rider, Tatsmato was unsure, but as the boy shared stories about his father, Tatsmato knew he wanted to become a hero loved by everyone alongside his partner. Before Tatsmato could join Himchan on his journey to becoming a dragon rider, the dragon had to return home and wish everyone farewell. Tatsmato promises to join Himchan as soon as possible, at first Himchan wanted to protest, but understood that family was important and Tatsmato had the right to say goodbye. They bid a parting ‘See you soon’ and go their separate ways, Tatsmato flying back to the Matoki Clan and Himchan walking back to his mother’s bedside.

When Himchan woke up the next morning he was once again on the moving road. Was all of that a dream? The doubt was killed when he saw his mother’s bandaged head and his own minor injuries bandaged. Mrs.Kim noticed her son was awake and scooped him into her arms, kissing his cheeks repeatedly.

“I was so worried when your father told me we were attacked by a rogue dragon yesterday! How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere? What happened?” Mrs.Kim refused to loosen her tight hold on her son until he pleaded to be released from the death grip. All of a sudden the door opened and his father somehow managed to get into the coach from Kimi’s back. Himchan again found himself in another death grip, with even more kisses to the cheeks. It took a few minutes but everyone calmed down enough for Himchan to retell the whole event, his parents making mental notes to thank his dragon for saving their beloved son. The family came back home to a feast prepared by the eldest child and a crying Sunhwa who only heard about Himchan and his mother being injured. Cress and Himchan worked on calming down Sunhwa as everyone else settled down for a well needed, relaxing dinner. Himchan told Sunhwa and Cress the whole story but left out how he was scared and bragged about how cool Tatsmato was. The duo were so excited to meet the new dragon, asking when Tatsmato would join them in the kingdom, but Himchan wasn’t sure himself. He told the dragon to take his time and to come when it was ready so, no one really knew when his dragon would show up.

As a week passed by, Himchan searched every library to find everything he could about Matoki dragons but only a few books mentioned Matoki, let alone have any sort of useful information. Himchan found out Matoki were very well hidden and secretive, even lone or rogue Matoki were rare to come across, with only a few riders having maybe seen one or two. Himchan was sitting under a tree in the park with the last book he could find about rare dragon species when a gust of wind turned the pages of the book. He looked up from the book only to be greeted by a familiar dragon. Setting the book aside Himchan ran up to the now grounded Tatsmato and wrapped his arms around its neck.

“I missed you! My friend Sunhwa was starting to doubt you even existed.”

“Well, looks we just have to prove her wrong.” Tatsmato watched as Himchan let go and nodded his head, quickly picking up the book and ran out the park with Tatsmato close behind. He was going to show off his partner to everyone. Now that they were together, nothing could stop them from achieving their dreams.