Snow?

Gross.

Camping?

Gross.

Not being able to bathe?

Gross.

Going to rescue a stupid princess?

Super gross.

Nam Taehyun was absolutely fed up with the entire business of rescuing a princess. He had been scouring the neighboring kingdoms for the legendary dragon’s lair for months, and he had run into nothing but bad luck since he had left home. When he got home, the first thing he was going to do was shoot that stupid wizard Jinwoo for sending him on this pointless quest in the first place. And then he would take a two hour bath, because it was just ridiculous how dirty the wilderness was. Ugh.

It had all begun when his horse had run away while crossing Jaesoon. The animal had been spooked when Taehyun had stopped for the night to camp. He had been so desperate to get some water – he was seriously parched – that he had not yet hobbled Phineas for the night. Taehyun had been happily drinking away when the horse had let out a squeal and darted away; a snake had startled it. Honestly, for a war horse Phineas was such a coward. The prince had tried to catch the horse, but it had disappeared into the woods in a thrice.

And then those effing bandits had dared to demand he pass over his material goods. If Taehyun had actually been able to get to his sword, he would have totally sliced them to pieces for their insubordination. But, since they woke him up while he was blissfully napping in the afternoon sun, they had relieved him of his possessions in a thrice. The lead bandit, a thug named Seunghoon, was at least kind enough to leave Taehyun enough to survive on. Apparently he just had sticky fingers and not the desire to be a murderer. Hah.

What a joke this entire trip was turning into. Taehyun was beginning to think he would never make it home. How was he supposed to face a dragon without his armor, horse, and sword? It was like asking for a miracle. But, the young man was extremely stubborn. He refused to turn tail and run home, begging for help. His parents would insist that Taehyun was too delicate for such quests and would keep him perpetually locked in the tallest tower like he was some dude in distress. The only thing Taehyun feared more than be disgusting and dirty was being trapped like some pathetic bird in a cage.

Taehyun was simply lucky that he had a fine singing voice. He was able to make money in the inns and taverns he came across by performing in front of the evening fires. And, honestly, the guise of a wandering bard kept him relatively safe – bandits knew artists were poorer than the lowly earth. He even picked up a small harp along the way, which proved to be so much more useful than his horse had ever been. Another wandering minstrel had even been kind enough to tell Taehyun everything he knew about the local dragon – thinking it was for a song the prince intended to write – including the beast’s location.

Finally, he thought, his luck had turned for the better.

Except that it hadn’t. In the time it took Taehyun to reach the distant foothills where the dragon lived, summer had melted into autumn before simply giving in to winter. And, oh, Nam Taehyun hated the cold like a sinner hated sitting in church. It was torture because it was cold, wet, messy, and dangerous – his least favorite things. But, he pressed on. (Stubborn to a fault.) When he finally reached the gaping maw of the beast’s lair, Taehyun was suitably impressed. It was better appointed than he had expected. He had anticipated skulls on pikes or piles of bones. Instead, there were wind chimes hanging over the entrance and sculptures of dragons on either side of opening. It was actually kind of classy and well done. Surprisingly. Taehyun half expected there to be a bell to ring, as though it were some nobleman’s house.

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Taehyun sauntered into the brightly lit cave and walked down the pathway, which was a series of switchbacks leading deeper into the hillside. He was surprised to find the cave became warmer as he went in, but he supposed that was a perk of keeping a dragon around. After all, the creatures were supposed to be all glitz and fire; a warm cave made sense for such a being. But nothing the stories told had prepared the diva prince for meeting the real thing.

He stepped out into the wide main cave and stopped short at the sight of the dragon. The beast was easily a hundred feet long and was the color of polished jet. The dragon had large feathered wings (Taehyun thought they all had leathery bat wings, but apparently he was wrong) and was in possession of features so fierce it actually made the prince tremble at the sight of him. But the dragon was not interested in roasting his intruder alive. If anything, the dragon was far too busy to notice that he was not alone, for the dragon was rolling through a pile of gold coins and guffawing in obvious pleasure. If Taehyun did not know better, he would think that the dragon was…playing.

When the prince dropped his bag on the floor, the dragon suddenly sat up to attention – gold coins spilling off his body and back onto the pile. The dragon’s mouth pulled open, curling at the edges, even as his eyes glittered. Taehyun was certain the creature was just going to shoot a fireball, until the beast laughed. “Heeeeey,” the dragon called, its deep voice piercing Taehyun’s ears and making him wince. “Welcome! I’m sorry I didn’t notice you there. Did I keep you waiting?” And, like that, the dragon bounded across the vast hoard until it came sliding to a halt in front of the frozen, drippy, droopy-eyebrowed prince.

Taehyun thought himself: Jinwoo is so dead when I get home.

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Okay, so you get a small part of it tonight. Sorry if it doesn't make sense. ^^' I will go back through and check it for mistakes tomorrow. And I will post a new part tomorrow too~ (Along with everything else I need to write on -sigh-). Anyway, hope you enjoyed. :D