When Sooyeon woke the next morning she could not help but smile. She was lying atop the pile of gold on the bed she had made the year before when she had been up there, for Taeyeon told her he had not wanted to move it. She was still after the wonderful night they had shared together. Taeyeon was still holding her, spooned up behind her. He was still as well.

Taeyeon had apparently felt her wake, for he kissed her shoulder and let his lips linger there for a while. "Good morning, love."

The young woman rolled over and smiled happily at him. She nuzzled into his chest. "Good morning."

"I hope you slept well," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"I did, very well." She was quiet for a while, remembering all they had done the night before... then she remembered the letter she had sent to her parents. She sighed. "My parents are going to be so mad at me. I stayed gone all night..."

"I promised you, everything will be alright." He squeezed her. "I should hope they at least know you were safe with me."

Sooyeon looked up at her dragon. "Yeah... but..."

"I'm going to return with you. Since you love me as myself, I want to let your parents know as well." He kissed her forehead and smiled down at her. "I have decided that, next year on your birthday, I am going to take you before the whole town and deny any other offerings. I want your parents to know ahead of time."

"What," she said, not thinking she heard him quite right.

"After that, your parents will never have to give me an offering again, for I shall have the greatest gift I could ever receive from them."

The young woman blushed a little, smiling. "That means a lot to me, Taeyeon."

The dragon lord kissed her forehead again. "I know it does. And I hope it will mean a lot to your parents, too."

After a few minutes, Taeyeon moved his arms from around her and slowly sat up. He stretched, his beautiful white wings spreading wide as he did so. Sooyeon curled up against his hip and wrapped her arms around his waist. He smiled down at her, running his fingers through her hair. He knew she did not want to leave. He did not want her to leave either. They needed to do this, though.

"Sooyeon..."

"I know. We need to go." She snuggled into his side. "I'm just still so happy after last night. I don't want to ruin my good mood quite yet with going to my parents."

"But we will be able to spend more time together now." He smiled when she looked up at him curiously. "You can come up here to see me as often as you can now, without having to think you must wait for me to return from the south, without fearing your parents will wonder where you are in the evenings."

"But I fear my parents will hate me." She closed her eyes and sighed, laying her head on his thigh. "They think I know better than to run off and sleep with someone."

"No, they will hate me, if they hate either of us. But I am hoping my explanation will keep them from any ill feelings about me or you." He forced her to sit up and he cupped her face, staring into her lovely baby brown eyes. "You are my wife already. They cannot argue with me about that. I should hope they'd be honored by this. I am sure they will understand."

His words did not seem to comfort her. "But they will still be furious when we get there. My father..."

"They... will... under...stand." He tapped her nose with each word then kissed her lips gently. "I promise everything will be fine."

Sooyeon only nodded slightly. She was still worried, though. Once Taeyeon stood, he helped up her and kissed her again, his hands trailing down her sides. She giggled slightly when he hit a ticklish spot. He smiled at her, pressing his forehead to hers. They did not move for a while, content to stare into each other's eyes.

"You really need to get dressed," Taeyeon said finally, his voice quiet.

"Or what?" She grinned. "You'll toss me back down and make love to me again?"

"No... I'll take you down to your parents' house ." He smiled evilly at her when she looked shocked he would say that. "I'll just tell them I lost your clothes somewhere."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"I might." He kissed her nose. "If you don't want to find out for sure, you better get dressed."

Resignedly, she walked over to where Taeyeon had tossed her clothes the night before. She pulled on her undergarment then slipped on her corset and laced it up before donning her dress. She smoothed out the skirt then turned to her dragon. She ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to make it look more presentable for when they arrived at her home. She doubted, though, that her parents would care about what she looked like.

"You're ready?"

Sooyeon spun around. The voice she had heard was Yul's, for there was a marked difference between the nobleman's and Taeyeon's. Where she had left her dragon standing was now Yul. Though she had actually seen her beloved change his form with magic the evening before, it still surprised her a bit. She walked to him and pressed herself against him. He embraced her.

"It still so strange, even after you told me everything, that the two men I was in love with were truly the same person." She looked up at him and smiled a bit awkwardly. "But I'm so very happy. I love you so much."

The disguised dragon lord smiled. "I am glad you love me, even after my deception."

"My love for you is too great for me to hate you."

Their lips met and they kissed deeply and passionately. For a while they just held each other tightly. Sooyeon snuggled into his chest, sighing. Taeyeon kissed her hair softly then rested his cheek on her head. They stood silently among the treasures of the dragon's lair for a long time as they hugged one another contentedly.

"I'm still so sorry, Sooyeon," he whispered.

"I've already forgiven you." She looked up at him, smiling. "Stop berating yourself for what you did. You were only doing what you thought you should." She squeezed her arms around him tightly. "I still love you. I always will."

"And I love you, as well... and always will." He kissed her forehead then looked to the entrance to the cave. He broke their embrace and took her hand. "Come. We shouldn't wait too much longer."

The two of them left the lair and went down the rock outcropping. They headed towards the sout