Jiyong held Clara’s hand as they walked back inside the castle. Not caring if any of the other knights or maids saw them. Clara held her head down but only for a moment. She knew she had to have her courage while here if she was ever going to get through to the stubborn Princess Lina.

“You can go to your rooms for now. It’s not yet time for breakfast.” Seungri said before bowing and leaving them in the hallway.

Jiyong his lips and turned to look at Clara who immediately looked away from him. He smirked at her before gently turning her face towards him.

“What’s the matter now?” He asked, placing a soothing kiss on her forehead.

“Well for one, we have to worry about your father, the king, and what may have happened to him.”

Jiyong sighed and pulled her down the long hallway. “We can worry about that later. At breakfast. The bigger worry right now is how we’re going to keep Theo a secret.”

Clara looked up at his shoulder and saw the sleeping reptile. She smiled as she watched him rest on his master’s shoulders. He seemed at peace. She didn’t notice Lina standing before them until she ran into Jiyong’s arm as he pulled her behind him.

“Your majesty! You’ve returned!” She exclaimed running towards them with a huge smile on her face. Her skirts bunched into her hands so she wouldn’t trip and her lipstick, red and vibrant as ever. “Where did you run off to?”

“That is none of your concern.” He replied with a cold tone and Clara nudged him in his back. “Ow. What?”

“I think it’s her concern if she’s to marry you.” She whispered to him and he sighed.

“Oh you don’t have to worry about me. He’ll want to marry me in the end instead.” Lina said, a confident smirk growing on her lips. Clara rolled her eyes at her.

“Well, Jiyong don’t we have something to do before breakfast?” Clara slightly nodded towards Theo as she spoke.

“Oh. Yes. See you at breakfast, Princess.” Jiyong bowed respectively before walking past Lina and Clara followed after him.

Soon as they were out of sight, Lina’s eyes grew dark. “We’ll see just how long your presence lasts in this castle, maid.”

~~~

Jiyong and Clara made it to his room, finally taking the spell off of Theo. Jiyong collapsed in the bed and Theo flew up in the air before landing slightly on the side of his head. The young reptile cocked his head sideways at him before Jiyong laughed and brought his hand up to pat him on the head. The reptile welcomed the affection with closed eyes and nuzzled into his owner’s side.

Clara chuckled watching the entire interaction causing Jiyong to look at her. “What’s so funny?”

She shook her head and sat down in a chair. “Just happy you and Theo are getting along well. He’ll be in safe hands with you.”

Jiyong smiled down at the creature before looking back at Clara. “So what do you think?”

“About?”

“Convincing the king to let us marry won’t be easy Clara. Not with this spell he has cast on him.”

“I thought we were going to worry about that at the actual breakfast.” She said with a small smile.

“So you’ve accepted that we will be together?” He said, hope filling his heart. Clara ached hearing those words uttered from his mouth. These were words she never thought she’d hear him say and now that he is, she doesn’t know how to react.

Jiyong watched as her eyes looked away from him. He knew telling her everything now was confusing her heart. But he didn’t want to waste another day, month, or year of keeping his feelings to himself. He reached out to make her face him when someone knocked on the door.

Remembering Theo, instead of using his magic, he covered him with his cloak. “Come in.”

Both Clara and Jiyong let out a sigh of relief when the three knights entered the room.

“What’s with the expressions?” Youngbae asked with a brow raised.

“They probably thought we were the princess. She does have a habit of sneaking up at the most inconvenient times.” Daesung said with a chuckle.

“What brings you here?” Jiyong asked, tucking Theo in tightly into his side.

Seungri walked over to him and pulled the bed and pulled the cloak away from Jiyong, revealing a confused reptile at his side.

“Care to explain why you have a dragon with you after your trip into the city?” He gave them both stern looks and they looked away from him.

Clara in her lips and looked at Jiyong and he sighed. “We might as well tell them before he gets too big to hide in my room.”

“How in the world did you find such a creature anyway? Shouldn’t that thing be extinct?” Seungri shouted causing Theo to hiss at him.

Clara chuckled and picked up Theo as he continued to glare at Seungri. “Theo is harmless. He won’t be full grown for another year. That’s when you’ll probably want to get the knights training on how to fight with them if necessary.”

Daesung, Seungri, Youngbae, and Jiyong looked at Clara in surprise. She stood up and coaxed Theo into relaxation before she looked up and saw their shocked faces.

“Oh Kwon don’t be surprised. You were just with me in the caves.” She said rolling her eyes at him.

“I know. But still, this is going to take some time to get used to.” He said with a chuckle coming up behind her, resting his head on her shoulder to look at Theo.

“Can someone explain what the hell is going on here?” Youngbae’s voice boomed causing them all to look at him. It was rare when he had to use his most demanding magic to get answers, but this was a moment he felt it necessary. “Why is there a dragon in the kingdom after so many years and why does Clara know so much about them?”

Clara looked at Kwon and he shrugged before sitting back down on the bed. She sat next to him and gestured to the confused knights that they should probably sit down. Youngbae stayed standing.

“Well?” Youngbae cocked his head to the side.

“I’m from a long line of dragon keepers. My mother was one. She taught me everything she knew until illness struck her.” She smiled down at Theo who looked up at her with worry in his big eyes. She scratched under the reptile’s chin and kissed the top of his head before he nuzzled into her neck before curling into her lap.

“They’ve been gone for decades, so how is it that a dragon is here now?” Seungri asked.

“They went into hiding. Something about keeping us safe. I’d have to ask Majin again.” Clara said looking up at the ceiling. She felt Kwon squeeze her hand before turning to the knights in the room.

“Look, until he gets too big, he’ll stay inside the castle. Hidden from everyone until it’s the right time.”

Daesung spoke up. “So he won’t pose as a threat?”

“No. If you know anything of this kingdom’s history and legends, then you’ll realize why he is not going to harm us.” Clara looked each knight in the eye as she spoke, hoping that it would calm them.

Youngbae let out a sigh before finally sitting down. “Are there more of them?”

“Dragons? Of course there are. They never died off or just blatantly disappeared from thin air. They just went into hiding. There are colonies in every town, village and city in this Kingdom.”

Youngbae nodded and stared at Theo, who had started nibbling on his tail absentmindedly as they all spoke of him.

“Now I have a question for you.” Clara smiled at them.

The men in the room all looked at her with curiosity as she raised her hands in the air and with a slight flick of her wrist, a small blue flame emitted from her hands. The knights and Kwon gasped at her. He knew she couldn’t be burned by fire but this was something he completely did not see coming.

“Can you help me remember my magic?”

~~~

The princess walked into the dining hall as the King and Queen chuckled at something said in conversation. She surveyed the room and saw that once again, Clara sitting next to Prince Jiyong. She refrained from scowling and took her seat next to Seunghyun.

He watched her silently as she sat down gracefully but he could sense her discomfort with Clara with ease.

“How are you enjoying the kingdom so far, princess?” He asked in a low tone as to not distract the others from their conversation.

Lina looked at him from the corner of her eye before taking a bite of her breakfast. “It’s been well. It would be better if his highness and I could get married right away.”

The king looked in their direction when he heard marriage, causing Seunghyun to raise a brow before taking a generous sip of his water.

“Ah yes! The wedding. Normally you two would have been wed upon your arrival, Princess Lina. But seeing as my son has not had the pleasure of getting to know you as we would have liked over the years, we can’t rush it.”

Lina kept her face emotionless but once again Seunghyun could feel the raging fire of anger beneath her calm demeanor. “We can get to know each other through marriage.”

“I’d rather not marry someone I don’t know.” Jiyong spoke up before taking a sip of his water. “If I’m to get married, I’d like to marry Clara.”

Clara began to choke on her breakfast, causing Jiyong to pat her back. He bent towards her ear and said something that made her roll her eyes before taking her water to help the food wash down.

“As wonderful as that might be, Prince Jiyong, but she is not a qualified woman for this Kingdom’s future queen.” Lina picked up her fork and took a savoring bite of the sausage.

“And you qualify as my future wife how?” He retorted before the King cleared his throat.

“We can discuss this later. How have you been getting through with your training son?”

Jiyong looked at Clara and smirked. Lina squinted her eyes at the interaction. “They’ve been going great. Clara’s going to join me for a bit.”

The Queen looked between the two of them with interest. “Oh? What will you be doing there?”

“Just helping him focus on a new spell.” Clara said simply before taking a bite of the fresh fruit provided.

“And why didn’t he just ask me? I have experience with many spells. Seeing as I am royalty, I should be more than enough to help you.” Lina shot glaring at Clara and she returned her gaze with a small smirk of her own.

“Yes son. It could be a bonding moment between you and your fiancé.”

“But Father, I—” Jiyong started but he was cut off by the King’s hand being put up, signaling that he couldn’t get out of this.

“No more arguing. You will have Princess Lina help you. I have no problems with Lady Clara joining you but she has no magic nor any experience to give.”

Lina smiled triumphantly before going back to enjoy her breakfast in silence. Jiyong fumed silently while reaching beneath the table to hold Clara’s hand. She squeezed it back to give him reassurance that she was okay.

Seunghyun stood up reminding everyone that he was still there and they all stared at him in surprise.

“Thank you for breakfast. If it’s alright with you uncle, I’d like to retire to my room and return to my studies.” He bowed slightly and left before he could get an answer. “Cousin, could you come to my room later? I feel like we haven’t spoken truly since your return.”

“Um…sure.” Jiyong said, a baffled expression on his face.

With that as his answer, Seunghyun left the dining hall. Being in that atmosphere made him uncomfortable. Two women were fighting over his cousin and one didn’t even make an effort to fight the other.