The beautiful imperial forest was serene and still, the shaded forest floor dappled with bright spots of the warm morning sunlight. Prince Chanyeol walked slowly, taking the time to enjoy his tranquil surroundings. He already knew that it would soon be time for him to return to the palace, and so chose to enjoy what little time he had left to the best of his ability.

The worries that the young prince had been harboring since earlier that morning dissipated, called away by the distractions of the forest. Chanyeol instead allowed himself to focus on things like the deer that lingered only ten feet away, lazily moving through the clearing, toward the underbrush at the far side. As he noticed the yearling who followed along behind, the prince's lips stretched into a small smile. The sight was so lovely and peaceful, possessing a subtle beauty that called his breath away.

However, the peaceful scene was soon disrupted.

A deafening roar split the calm atmosphere, frightening the young prince enough that he fell to the ground. Landing in a very undignified heap, Chanyeol stared at the sky in horror as a massive figure swooped down from amidst the lazy clouds. The two deer bolted into the cover of the brush, but as his gaze followed the descending beast's path, it soon became evident to Chanyeol that the dragon's attention wasn't on them – it was on the prince himself. Terrified, Chanyeol pushed himself to his feet and raced for the cover of the thicker part of the forest, but to no avail. His legs were the consistency of the sweet preserves that his sister favored, the fear that had rendered his muscles next to useless preventing his escape.  

The dapples of sunlight that had once stretched through the forest were now hidden by the shadow of the dragon that loomed behind him. In that moment, Prince Chanyeol wished that he hadn't abandoned his guards, or that he would have heeded the warnings of dragon attacks that had been circulating throughout the lands of Eicera. As the dragon's talons locked around his middle and halted his flight, Chanyeol was certainly regretting the choices he had made earlier that morning.

Heart thumping, he contemplated the odds of anyone hearing if he cried for help. Instead of finding an answer, however, Chanyeol found himself dizzied and clinging to the talons wrapped around his waist when the dragon launched high into the sky, pulling a very manly scream from the young prince's throat as they rushed away from the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to open them and watch as the earth rushed past below them. Despite how tightly the dragon held him, there was the worry that the great beast would suddenly decide to drop him and Chanyeol would become nothing but a broken spatter on the surface far beneath them. 

Such thoughts were not helping him ease his airsickness, and Chanyeol's stomach roiled, rebelling against his brain in an attempt to relieve him of the light breakfast he'd had only a short time before. He groaned softly, the sound inaudible over the whistling of the wind. The dragon didn't seem intent on ever slowing, but Chanyeol assumed that was because he'd just abducted a prince and didn't want to be intercepted. However, they were likely too high in the air to be intercepted by any Hathoran soldiers or knights.