Please read: This story takes place in a fantasy world that doesn't have any advanced technology and is more like still in the middle-ages.

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A man with golden hair, very different from the other human inhabitants of this land, sits on top of a hill. This gives him a great view of the surrounding forest and the small village located next to a river running through it. He takes in the green sight opening before him, filling his lungs with fresh air and breathing out heavily afterwards, feeling satisfied and fulfilled. His body doesn’t seem to feel tired though the fresh dead body of a deer lies next to him, indicating that he has hunted just a while ago.

A sudden loud shout coming from the direction of the village makes the man focus his eyes there. He tries to make out what caused someone to shout, and at the very moment he sees a young man being chased by a middle-aged woman. The dark boy seemed to be carrying something, but he couldn’t see what it was, even with his supernatural eyesight. The golden haired man assumed he was a thief and lost interest.

Before he could resume his admiration of Mother Nature, he saw from the corner of his eye the one he assumed as a thief turning around a corner, losing his chaser. Right after that a flock of small children, 5 to 9 years old, come from hiding and surround the oldest of them. The thief crouches down and gives to the children whatever he had earlier carried. The golden haired boy thinks it as weird but decides not to bother his head with it any longer. He rises from his spot and stretches his stiff limbs before dusting off his clothes from the soil. He was wearing a black polo shirt with a white sleeveless tunic on top of it and pants the color of earth. Despite the warm weather, as it is summer, he seemed perfectly fine with so many clothes on.

The man took a hold of the leather belt fastened around his hip and chanted something in a language no living man could understand, but it seemed to summon forth something else. A huge lizard-like being with wings landed next to him and the man climbed on its back. The lizard took the deer and flew far away to horizon with its rider.

---

He ran. He ran until his legs couldn’t carry him anymore and without caring about that, he still carried on running. He knew that if he got caught it would be the end of his life. As well as a death sentence to the children he had taken care of for a year now.  His dark hair floated in the air as it got caught in the wind and he clung tightly on the sack of food he was carrying. He couldn’t afford to lose it. The woman, from whose food stand he stole the rice and fruits from, chased him but the boy was positive her age would be a great disadvantage. He would triumph. That is, if his legs would hold on a little longer.

The boy turned around a corner and realized he wasn’t being followed anymore.  He checked it once again just to be sure before whistling, which is a sign that it’s safe to come out. Soon the other orphans came out of their hiding places and greeted him with big smiles on their faces. The boy returned the smile with his and he passed the sack on to a boy who was a little taller than the others, the dark haired one excluded as he was a lot older than the rest of them. This is also why he was the one to take care of the others, which included stealing food to keep them all alive.

The life on the streets wasn’t easy. Especially during the winters when the ground freezes and gets covered in a thick layer of snow. That’s when food is scarce in the whole village and warm shelter is hard to come by.  Most of the younger orphans don’t usually make it through the coldest times – the boy was one of the lucky ones to have survived for so long. Not many were as fortunate as he had been.

The boy watched the children with eyes full of affection and couldn’t help but wonder what life would be like if they all had proper houses to live in. The orphanage was burned down a few years ago and many died with it. It had been kind of a proof of power: the current emperor wanted to make sure no one would dare to rebel against him. Oh how he hated him, a ruler of this country acting all high and mighty like that.

The boy had nothing to lose. His love towards the kids was starting to become more like a responsibility than sincere good feelings too.

He wasn’t naïve enough to believe in the human rights and survival of people like them and himself.

---

It’s 300ATL^[1] and a beautiful autumn day. The suns shine brightly through the colorful leaves of the tall trees, casting shadows underneath them that offer shelter from the burning rays. The weather is still unusually warm but despite that, a few birds can be heard singing their melodious songs.

The birds quiet down when they see or hear someone walking to their direction. The interrupter glances at the high branches but the suns are too bright so he shields his eyes from the light with his hand. By this time the birds have already flown off to somewhere else to continue their concert. The boy continues his expedition and seems to be headed towards the forest, perhaps in search of refuge from the unnatural temperature. The forest is known to be a cool place even during the hottest days after all.

But he, Tao, doesn’t seem to be the only one thinking the same.

In the forest, there’s another human being. His golden locks shine beautifully in the rays of suns and no living being should be able to resist them. The man runs his fingers through his hair and breathes out sharply with a hint of frustration emitting from his actions. There wasn’t any kind of breeze and this made him feel extremely uncomfortable and stuffy. He debated with himself if he should change locations once more; to go to the mountain where the air was cooler and where a gentle blow of wind would caress his body clad in fabrics.

Not being able to stand the still air, he dropped his head and gaze on the ground and brought his hands together. The man begun to chant:

“Zu yah fin dovah wo los vahriin wah zu ahmik. Alok ahrik meyz voth staadnau sil, slen ahrik qeth.^[2]”

He, Kris, didn’t think anyone would come this deep in to the forest and see him summon.

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Tao thought he saw a bright flash deeper in the forest and got drawn to it. He started making his way through the vegetation with much difficulty, but then he reached an open place in the middle of it all. The boy’s eyes widened with fear as he found himself facing a big lizard that seemed to fit the description of a dragon –aside from its size, as he has heard that dragons are supposedly ten times bigger than the one in front of him now. He hurriedly hid behind the bushes but accidentally dropped his bow, which he had taken because he was on a hopeless hunting trip. Not noticing this, he instead focused his eyes on the lizard, watching its every move. The beast seemed to act completely harmlessly, but because the unfortunate hunter couldn’t see its head as he was facing its behind, he couldn’t be too sure if it was eating a mercilessly murdered animal –or even worse –a human.

With a heart filled with terror, Tao attempted to leave the scene as quietly as possible, without attracting the attention of the dragon. He planned on telling the village elders of this, and hopefully get the emperor to send some soldiers to get rid of it. Lady luck though never was on his side. The boy felt his heart stop the minute he heard the loud snap coming from under his feet as he stepped on a dry branch, making it snap in half. The next thing he knew was being pinned in the ground by something heavy and when he dared opening one of his eyes, he saw the dragon hovering over him and flashing its teeth dangerously. Tao prepared to say his last prayers before he would be eaten.

“Dovah! Let him go, you’re putting all of dov^[3] in shame with your actions,” a voice commanded and soon the weight on Tao was lifted as the dragon let him go and retreated.

Dumbfounded, he hesitantly got up and cast a wary glance at the dragon. Tao noticed someone behind it and seeing the boy’s frightened eyes, the one hiding stepped forward and revealed himself. The man was even taller than Tao and possessed beautiful straight golden hair, very different from his own.

“He won’t hurt you, please, don’t be afraid,” the man spoke and to prove his point he stretched his hand to the rough looking snout of the dragon next to him.

Tao had never seen or heard of a human acting all friendly and affectionate with dragons like the one in front of him. He couldn’t believe his eyes as he witnessed the tall but mysteriously beautiful man in front of him being all affectionate with the untameable legendary beast which possessed the power of being able to destroy entire civilizations if it so willed.

“Please, give me your hand,” the beast tamer requested and Tao doesn’t know why but he obeyed without hesitation. It’s as if his mind was clouded and he couldn’t think clearly.

The man led him to stand next to the dragon and said something to the beast. The beast merely looked at him silently and for a moment Tao thought it hadn’t understood what its master had said but then, it gently nudged the boy and out of instinct Tao took a hold of its head with his hands gently, not wanting to hurt it. The dragon breathed out and the boy could feel its warm breath tickle his skin. The feeling wasn’t bad and he felt himself relax as the trust between them grew.

“His name is Confido^[4], his powers grow based on the trust between him and his dragonmaster, though this one is still young and quite small in size. “

 “Dragonmaster? Is that what you are?” Tao looked at the man with a confused expression.

He only got a nod as an answer, but the man soon continued: “I’m called Kris. Your kind does not usually welcome me.”

“My kind? I don’t understand…”

“I tried living with humans but they always chased me out with weapons when they found out I can summon dragons,” the explanation was short and Kris’s voice appeared uncaring, but Tao could tell he was sad. He sensed the loneliness in him. How could someone do something like that? Surely Kris hadn’t used his powers to hurt anyone, right?

As if reading Tao’s mind Kris answered his question:

“I have never hurt anyone. My dovahs wouldn’t do something like that either; their race is gentle and wise, unlike the primitive race of humans.”

Tao sighed. He couldn’t argue with that. He had witnessed the useless slaughters taking place in this country and heard of even worse things happening in the capital and between countries. But what was it all for? He’d call it greed and selfishness, not justice nor anything else. Sure he wasn’t educated or even that smart but even a retard would know the difference between what’s right and wrong. Tao doesn’t understand why but he felt this certain closeness with Kris. He felt like he could trust this man with his life, as well as his dragons.

Suddenly Kris took Tao’s hand and motioned for him to climb on Confido’s back. The dragon understood and lowered itself so the boy would have easier access. The boy’s black hair passed by Kris’s face and he inhaled the earthy smell of it. It wasn’t fresh, which revealed that Tao didn’t come from a wealthy family and Kris wasn’t too sure if he had a home at all, looking at his dirty and worn out clothes. He didn’t mind though, Kris just watched as Tao climbed on Confido and took a comfortable position, heaving his right leg on the other side. Confido observed curiously as his was back was occupied by someone else besides Kris, but patiently stood still and waited for further commands.

Kris pulled himself up too sitting right behind Tao, not leaving any space between their bodies. Then he said something in the Dragon language and with a strong motion of his wings, Confido rose into air and dashed upwards. Kris held Tao’s waist tightly so the boy wouldn’t fall off and hit the ground painfully as the ride was still a bit unstable. When they got out of the forest and under the suns, Confido stabilized himself and for the relief of the inexperienced boy on his back, slowed down and glided through the air peacefully, allowing his riders to enjoy the amazing view below them. Only the sound of comfortable wind blowing and wings occasionally flapping could be heard.

Kris observed Tao’s every move and smiled to himself as he felt the younger relax. He noticed how the boy excitedly took in his surroundings with childishly glistening eyes. He thought he looked adorable and cute at that moment.

They had landed on a cliff and sat down on the ground to talk. Somehow they ended up getting along quite well and Tao found out a lot of things about Kris and his kind. Apparently Kris was last of the dragonmasters and some hundred years ago there had been a lot more of them, but the previous emperor had ordered anyone with golden hair –which is the mark of a dragonmaster –to be hunted down without any mercy. Hearing this, Tao felt a sharp pain in his heart and compassionate emotions filled his mind. He couldn’t understand why anyone would want to hurt Kris like that just because they are afraid of what he could do, but won’t do. Kris had later on pleaded him not to tell anyone of his existence, and Tao had had to reassure him for good ten minutes that he’s take the secret of his existence to grave.

Tao also talked a lot about himself as Kris was eager to ask questions and seemed interested in the boy, though the dark haired one couldn’t figure out why anyone would be interested in him and his boring and pathetic life. Kris had quickly convinced the younger that he was indeed a very valuable person, a unique one at that who would have done great as a ruler if he had been born to a wealthy family. Tao was told by Kris that he possessed the wisdom of ten lifetimes. He had blushed at that time, rosy red color creeping up to his cheeks. Kris found that cute as well. They both were aware of the mutual attraction between them but neither said a word as if afraid of breaking the spell.

---

Kris returned Tao to the same forest before it could get dark and they bid their farewells.

“Wait!”

Tao froze and turned around quickly, waiting for Kris to continue what he wanted to say.

“I don’t know how to say this… Can… can we meet again?”

The shyness evident in Kris’s voice made Tao’s heart flutter unnaturally, the way it wasn’t supposed to. Not trusting his own voice, the boy just nodded and his answer was returned by a bright smile rivaling the brightness that of the two suns – which had already begun to set – combined. Tao watched as Kris got on Confido’s back and flew away, but not without forgetting to wave goodbyes. Tao didn’t move from his spot before Kris and his dragon disappeared from his range of eyesight. The boy turned away from the opening and made his way back to the village.

That’s when he remembered he had promised to the kids to bring back some food when he returned. Panicking, he started looking for his bow that he had dropped when he first met Kris that day but couldn’t find it. Instead, there laid three dead rabbits where his bow was supposed to be. Tao smiled to himself and thanked Kris under his breath. He really started suspecting if the powers of a dragonmaster included being able to read minds.

---

The next time they met was a few days later in the same place. The weather had begun to cool down a little and some of the leaves had finally fallen to the ground, making the trees look and leaving the birds without safe places to hide. Most of them had left the country already, and headed to warmer places for the winter.

Kris greeted Tao with a warm smile. This time he was alone. Tao wondered where he had left Confido.

As Tao got closer to Kris, the older begun to chant and Confido answered to his master’s summoning and materialized next to him. The dragon looked tired and yawned, unintentionally showing his sharp fangs. Tao didn’t feel frightened but instead thought of the young dragon as adorable. He guessed he had just woken up.

“I see you are no longer intimidated by Confido’s beastly form,” was the first thing Kris said.

“A simple ‘Hello, long time no see, how are you?’ would have been a better greeting,” Tao joked and laughed heartily. Kris returned his feelings and pulled him in for a hug.

“I missed you,” he whispered in the younger’s ear.

“I did too.”

They once again rode on Confido’s back and just conversed of unimportant things as well as deeper topics and enjoyed having someone to talk to by their side. Kris and Tao made it an unsaid promise to meet every other day on the same place. Sometimes they would stay in the forest and watch it preparing to fall asleep, or they’d soar the skies on Confido’s back. This went on for a whole month and both of them seemed to have become like two different persons. That is the effect they had on each other.

However, the time came when Tao once again set off to the forest to meet Kris. He didn’t notice someone had become suspicious of his actions as he always went to the forest for many hours only to return with no prey. That day a man from the village carefully followed him and skillfully made sure he wouldn’t be discovered. The unfortunate boy really didn’t notice a thing.

When Tao reached his and Kris’s meeting spot deep in the forest, Kris was already there, waiting for him with Confido by his side, as always. A smile automatically made its way to the boy’s lips as he saw the older one he had become so attached to during the past month. This time however was a little different. As soon as Tao reached Kris, the golden haired man pulled him close to his body by his waist and carefully placed a kiss on the younger’s soft lips.

They separated and when they looked at each other’s eyes, there was no doubt. The feelings that had begun as two lonely and wronged people finding comfort in each other, had grown into mutual emotional hurricanes called love, rare love between the two completely different individuals. They had both probably known this would happen sooner or later, they had felt it in their hearts and maybe that is why neither of them avoided it nor did anything to prevent it from happening. It wasn’t wrong to feel loved.

Their happiness was shortly lived as the scream of a grown man woke them from their thoughts.

“What… WHAT IS THAT BEAST?!” the man shouted and terror crawled up Tao’s spine leaving cold and empty spaces on his mind. Kris however was quick to react and dismissed his dragon servant as soon as he could.

“You,” the man pointed at Kris. “You’re responsible for bringing that thing here, huh? I’ve read about people like you, the disgusting golden hair you have is a proof that you’re the offspring of the Devil himself! And you, little thief, have become an accomplice of this monster? You should have died in that fire along with the rest of the trash!”

After saying what he wanted to say, the villager fled, probably to warn the rest of the village.

Tao felt like something inside him had just died and he gave Kris a worried look. The older just had his head hung low and didn’t utter a word even when the dark haired one took a hold of his arm and whispered a barely audible “Kris…”

After what seemed like forever, Kris snapped out of his trance-like state when both of them heard loud shouts coming towards them with frighteningly fast pace. The villagers had taken their horses and weapons, as well as a few imperial soldiers that were passing by, and were charging straight to them. The look in the villagers’ eyes was everything but friendly. The hostility they held against the dragonmaster could be felt from miles away.

The villagers came close enough so that their crossbows could reach the two weaponless people just standing there, in the middle of the forest opening, and they shot. Kris pushed Tao aside and took the arrow to his shoulder that was about to pierce Tao’s head.

“KRIS!” Tao’s eyes widened with fear he’d never felt before, not even when he was attacked by a dragon. Emotions ran through his mind but Kris prevented him from going into shock.

“Tao listen to me, snap out of it and get the hell out of here!”

Without a warning, another wave of arrows flew straight to them and once again Kris shielded Tao from getting hit. Uncontrollable sobs could be heard from the younger one as he watched the blood come out of the wounds of his loved one. Kris’s face changed from the gentle one that Tao had always known to one that didn’t belong to him. His expression was scary and his eyes were full of suppressed anger that flooded out at that very moment. Usually when Kris called forth a dragon his voice was silent and gentle, but this time he was shouting, using words Tao had never heard. They felt more powerful and dangerous.

Behind them, an enormous being started to materialize and when Tao looked at the direction of their attackers, he saw the horses go wild and throw off their riders before running away. The war cries had changed to curses and whimpers from those who hit the ground hard. Kris, who was standing right next to Tao didn’t seem to care, but continued on summoning the dragon.

Once the chant was done, the dragon the younger had never seen, let out a loud roar and at Kris’s command launched a fireball at their attackers. The sudden aggressive attack and look on Kris’s eyes scared Tao and he begun backing off from the older male. Kris didn’t notice, or he just didn’t care. It doesn’t matter, it’s all the same.

Tao ran. He ran with all his might towards the village, passed the burning humans that were still alive and screaming in pain, and scrunched his nose at the smell of burning flesh. He tried very hard not to throw up. The tears didn’t stop flowing.

“Tao!” the orphan children ran to their brother when they saw him enter the village. The one that ran all this way from the forest that has now become a battlefield, pulled the children into a hug and touched each of their faces, making sure everyone’s okay.

“Tao, what is happening in the forest? It’s burning! What if it reaches the village?” one of the youngest worriedly asked, not sensing the great danger they were all in.

Tao didn’t have any time to explain when Kris’s dragon rose up in the air and flew above the village in a heartbeat. The children screamed in terror. Hastily Tao urged them to get out of there before it’s too late, but the kids refused to leave Tao behind. The eldest had to reassure them that he’d be ok. So they left, just in time before the dragon breathed out fire and burned down the village. People fled their homes and didn’t even bother to try and put out the flames that were eating the wooden buildings happily. Only a few desperate ones tried it, but they were soon dragged away with force. Some of the most unfortunate ones didn’t make it as the buildings collapsed on them.

Tao stood there on the main road in the middle of it all. It all felt so surreal. He thought he was dreaming. The painful screams of people got muffled out and all he saw was the dragon landing and Kris stepping forward. Kris’s steps seemed hesitant as he locked eyes with the younger one who he felt was his soul mate. The dragon seemed to have calmed down as well and the flames in its eyes vanished. Now it looked just as innocent and gentle as Confido, only a lot bigger. Though Tao knew he should flee with the others, for some reason his body didn’t listen to him and instead he approached Kris one step at a time. He now knew what Kris was capable of, and though he had sworn not to hurt anyone, he had broken that promise and did it anyway. And burned Tao’s village on top of it!

Once he saw the injuries Kris carried, his heart ached and mind started to give in. How could he blame this man? He looked so vulnerable. Kris gave Tao a pleading look and for a second the dark haired one thought the older one would break down any moment and start crying. He couldn’t leave him there, all alone once again. He halted in front of the taller male that was kneeling down on the dirty ground.

“Tao… I… I’m so sorry,” Kris begun, but got interrupted by Tao.

“I thought you said you’d never hurt anyone.”

Kris looked shocked that he was being blamed and this time the tears he had been holding back rolled down his cheeks.

“I know I did. I don’t know what got into me. When I saw those men firing their arrows at you I lost it. My mind blanked and-“

“I don’t want to hear it!” Tao scared himself with his unintentionally harsh voice and quickly added: “and I know I should be mad at you, be scared of you, but for some reason I can’t do that. You already hold a too great piece of my heart, I can’t afford to lose it.”

Tao gave his hand to Kris and he took it hesitantly, and for the first time the younger clearly saw how upset and scared the supposedly scary dragonmaster was. He helped the other up and without a warning hugged him tightly.

“It’s okay, you’re going to be okay. I won’t leave you.”

“Tao! Run away, he’s the one who burned down our village! Get away from there quickly before he kills you!!”

The voices of children interrupted their delicate moment and Tao turned to look who had called him. It was the street kids he had lived with. They wouldn’t understand they’re just kids. With that in mind, Tao let himself be led away by Kris. They stepped on the fire dragon’s foot and flew off. Tao waved goodbye to the kids with a smile on his face. Kris wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince himself that everything’s going to okay, or the kids.

They left behind the burning village and even from far away they could still see the smoke rising.

---

“Huh? Is that it? What happened to them? Tell us!”

“Yeah, did they live happily ever after? Or did the imperial soldiers get them?”

The questions began flooding one by one from the mouths of the children that were seated on the ground. The one that had been telling the story laughed heartily and clapped his hands to silence them when they began arguing among themselves about how the story should end.

“Okay, okay. Why don’t you quiet down so I can tell you how the story ends, how does that sound?”

The children shut their mouths and with shining eyes waited for the man to continue his story.

“Well… It is said that the dragonmaster somehow was able to transfer both of them to the dimension where the dragons come from, to their homeland. And the rumors say it is the most beautiful and fertile place anyone’s laid their eyes on. They supposedly built a house there and lived happily ever after as lovers.”

“Ehhh, that’s boring! And how do you know what the dragon dimension looks like if only the two of them have gone there?”

The man smiled but didn’t say anything.

“If you see a huge silhouette of a bird in the horizon during sunset, it’s the dragonmaster and the village boy riding on a dragon. Or so is said,” another man stepped into the room and put his hand on the other one’s shoulder.

“Hi Lu Han, why have you ignored me for a whole day and spent your time with these brats instead?” the man joked and bent down to place a kiss on Lu Han’s cheek.

“Ewww, they’re kissing!” the kids retorted and covered their eyes while bursting out laughing.

Lu Han looked embarrassed and hit the other one on the shoulder playfully.

“Sehun, what are you doing here? I thought you’d be working the whole day.”

The one called Sehun smiled and sat down next to his lover and pulled him into a hug with his right arm. With his free hand he shooed the kids away and waited for them to leave. The children knew better than to disobey when Sehun wanted to have some time alone with Lu Han, much as they enjoyed tormenting the two.

Silence fell over the two as both of them got lost in their memories.

“I wonder how they are doing,” Sehun was the one to break the silence.

“Yeah, I do too. I haven’t seen Tao since that day. I’m not even sure if he’s still alive or if that dragonmaster really was a good guy,” tears threatened to fall down Lu Han’s cheeks as he reminisced that day. It was already 325ATL. No one remembers anything about that day besides the sudden dragon attack. No one remembers the boy that disappeared that day, or that he had left with the dragon.

Sehun kissed the tears away and both of them turned to look out of the window where the two suns still shone the same way they had back then on that one hot autumn. Now that they think about it, it’s as if the nature knew something would happen as after that the climate had changed back to normal. No more unnatural seasons.

“We miss you big brother…”

Sehun tried to make Lu Han feel better and kissed him with love. He placed his hand on the older one’s lap and leaned closer. He devoured his lover’s lips with his own and held his hand at the same time, assuring him that he’d be there. That there was nothing to worry about. Without having to be asked, Lu Han opened his mouth, inviting the other’s tongue in. The kiss wasn’t lustful, only filled with love as they transferred their emotions of love to each other through bodily contact.

They both strongly believed that Tao too, was living happily with Kris, that they showered each other with love every single day in a place where no one could find them and no harm could come to them.

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^[1]300 after Tree of Life, 1ATL representing one year in our world.
^[2] Dragon language originally from Skyrim (Bethesda Softworks). Literally translates to (as I’m not really sure how the grammar works in Dovah): I seek the dragon who is sworn to my service. Arise and come with unbound soul, flesh and bone.
^[3]dragonkind, the dragon race
^[4]Latin for ‘rely upon’; ‘confide in’

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Thank you everyone once again for subscribing and taking an interest in this. I tried my best to finish this on time and though it was hard at times, I’ve finally seen the finishing line and brought this for you to judge. Does this fic even make any sense? I’m sorry ,__,

May Kris and Tao live happily ever after in a world without conflicts and constant fear.