“So it is true. The beast becomes a man,” Jang-mii's mother grinned scornfully as she came to a stop in front of the iron cage that now seemed as large as a house to the exiled knight. Kris' eye twitched in annoyance at the woman’s unveiled disgust toward him, but he reminded himself to keep composed; his honor was all he had now, and damn it, he was not going to allow Baekhyun's scheming to take that away from him, too. “Well, scoundrel, what is your name, and what reason do you have for snatching our daughter from the altar to spirit her away to that despicable forest?” she growled at him, every word dripping with pure acid. Her husband stood tall beside her, his brow furrowed deeply as he regarded the red-haired man; Baekhyun was glaring at Kris, warning him to guard his words, while Jang-mii fluttered nervously beside him. His father was watching with interest.

I have to measure my words carefully. I can't forsake myself, nor can I portray myself as a villain… This is going to be difficult. If I say one thing wrong, Baekhyun is in the position to kill all of them in a matter of seconds. Indeed, Baekhyun's hand was wrapped tightly around the hilt of his sword as he stared intently at the man now held prisoner. “Speak, mongrel!” the queen commanded hotly.

“I have nothing to say,” he answered lowly. Here, silence was his only option; there was simply nothing he could say that would neither incriminate himself nor cast doubt on Baekhyun's intentions. Naturally, this did not go over well with the royals at all.

“How dare you!” the queen barked, her pasty face coated in powder slowly turning red with rage. “You storm our castle, kidnap our daughter and drag her off to those vile woods, commit unspeakable acts with her, and yet you have nothing to say?”

“I never laid a finger on Jang-mii,” he snapped impatiently, losing his composure for a moment. Before he continued, he hastily calmed himself, lest his anger lead him to divulge too much. Still, he would not have the royal family believe that he had ever violated Jang-mii in any way. They think I’m the one with lecherous intent, when the true culprit stands among them as if he has any honor to his name, he thought in spite. “Surely if I had done so, the girl would have told you. She has had plenty of time to spill all my little secrets,” he smirked with a pointed glare at Baekhyun, who was obviously irritated that Kris hadn't simply allowed false crimes to be pinned on him. I won't simply be a pawn in your game. You're going to have to try much harder than that, you miserable, spoiled whelp!

“Well, Jang-mii?” Kris involuntarily stiffened as his father abruptly spoke, placing his hand on Jang-mii's small shoulder as he leaned over her. “Does this man speak the truth? Be honest, now. He cannot hurt you.” His eyes were gentle as he looked down at the woman who would have once been his daughter-in-law, but when his dark eyes flicked to the man in the cage, they hardened into pits of pure stone. Kris wished to God that he could just abandon his façade, to divulge everything just so his father would not glare at him with pure hate. Though it took all his will, he managed to quash that urge. I have to be strong. I have to depend on Jang-mii to make things right. Though he told himself that, it still hurt like the lowest circle of Hell.

“It is true,” Jang-mii answered without hesitation, her blue eyes focused on Kris. “He never touched me. In fact, he treated me kindly during my captivity. His intention was never to hurt me.” Her face pales slightly, and Kris glanced down slightly to see that Baekhyun had wrapped his hand tightly around her wrist, squeezing it with brutish strength. Though her lip trembled as she fought the pain, she did not retract her statement. You are messing with wills you cannot control, heathen, Kris thought wryly with a smirk at the prince, whose expression was gradually turning enraged as his perfect tapestry of a plan began to fray at the edges.

“Be that as it may, it does not change the gravity of the crime!” Baekhyun interjected quickly, desperate to gain the upper hand in the verbal chest game. “He kidnapped the princess! That alone carries the penalty of death. I say we be rid of him!” As he shouted, he whipped his sword from his sheath and shoved roughly through the king and queen, stalking toward Kris in quick strides. Though every cell in Kris' body screamed for him to draw his own weapon, he knew that it would sign his death warrant; Baekhyun was trying to bait him, and he had to resist. Baekhyun whipped the gilded blade around in his hand to jab the point of the sword to the underside of Kris' chin, with just enough force to break the skin. Kris' expression remained firm, as hard as stone as he stared levelly down at the prince who had become momentarily unhinged. He could feel the blood sliding down his neck as the steel sword shuddered, due to Baekhyun's hand shaking with anger. Kill me, Kris dared. She'll tell everything.

“That's enough,” growled a gruff voice, and then Kris' father was at the prince's side, forcefully grabbing his wrist to forcefully lower his arm. The cold steel vanished from Kris' neck, and he raised a hand to wipe away the slow-flowing trickle of blood that had stained the front of his tunic. All the while, his expression remained unreadable, but on the inside he was screaming; his father was close enough to touch. All he had to do was reach out and speak his name-

“Let us not be hasty,” the king sighed deeply, and he looked every bit the old man as he struggled with Kris' fate. “The man has given us nothing. He could be an agent of another land, whose lord is working against us.” Kris wanted to scream. The man working against you is right here! Right in front of you! It was so infuriating, being so close but unable to speak a word under the threat of the spoiled prince. Kris had always held his fate in his own hands, and now everything was out of his control; everything binged on his beloved princess. He trusted her with his very life, but yet he could not shake that seed of doubt that was slowly sprouting in the back of his mind. Can she really do it?

“My actions are my own,” Kris insisted quietly, reflexively tightening his hand around the hilt of his sword as his anxiety level continued to creep upwards. This is going nowhere. “I’m tired of this conversation,” he muttered and turned his back, stomping to the middle of the cage to sit down cross-legged on the cold iron floor and close his eyes, leaving himself to his thoughts. The queen began to twitter angrily like the ugly bird she was, while the men attempted to calm her rage and insist on a more measured approach. Kris could feel Jang-mii's sad gaze on his back, and Baekhyun's pleased smirk. He thought he had won.

You may have won this battle, Baekhyun, but the war is before us.

I only hope that you don't win that.

Jang-mii… I leave it to you.

After it was clear that the roguish knight was finished talking, the royals took their leave to debate his fate, and Kris was left in the silence of the garden. He changed back into his dragon form before long, and the knights re-secured the heavy chains to his limbs. It was overkill, really, since he had no intent to mount an escape, but Baekhyun was rubbing his triumph in his face. The anger bubbled up from time to time, making his jaw twitch with the desire to crunch the boy's head between his jagged teeth, but every time it threatened to boil over he threw water into the brew, sending it back to a gentle simmer in the back of his mind. It was agonizing, just simply waiting for something to happen; the day crept on slowly, monotonous, interrupted only by the change of the guard and his meals, which consisted of a slain deer. At the very least, Baekhyun wanted him to be in his prime for his execution. Hanging a bedraggled man did not bring the same triumph as stringing up a strong man in his youth, apparently. By the time the sun sank below the sky and the stars blinked into life one by one, Kris thought he was going to go made with the anticipation.

“Guard change,” droned a bored voice, and though he had heard it at least twelve other times that day, Kris raised his massive head in slight shock as a man in silver armor came marching down the path, his armor clinking with each step with an obvious limp. I know that voice. Behind him stood four others, wielding spears. The guard change was quick and uneventful, and the man in charge took his place at the front of the cage, his back to the crimson dragon.

Is that cage comfy? You would think Baekhyun, in all his splendor, would have had it outfitted with cushions, Lay chimed in his head, the amused tone in his voice underlain with the obvious tone of concern. …How are you holding up?

I’m going mad, and it's only been a day. I can't handle this waiting. I haven’t felt this powerless since that ugly hag held me under her gnarly thumb, he moped as he lowered his head back onto his paws. He probably looked like a miserable old hound, an aged hunting dog who had lost his usefulness and was now chained to a corner to await his eventual death.

Have faith, friend. Jang-mii will find a way. She's spirited, that one, the unicorn reassured him. Though he knew that, the young prince could not help but fret incessantly. So much could go wrong. Baekhyun was certainly not stupid, and knew better than to leave Jang-mii to her own devices; he would watch her like a hawk, and the times he could not he would have a trusted knight stalking her steps. What worried him more, however, was the time they would spend together. … You are worried he will try to her, his friend guessed after her remained silent. The word made Kris snarl and his tail flick like an irritated cat's, banging the none spikes against the iron bars with a clang. The knights barked at him to remain still.

Jang-mii is strong of will, but she's still a woman. I fear for her, he admitted, the red rage cooling into a blue sadness. That’s what it all boiled down to- he was afraid. He was afraid that Baekhyun would hurt his beloved princess, he was afraid that she would fail in her endeavor to reveal the truth to her parents, and he was afraid that he would face the gallows and lose his love to the vile snake that aimed to take her country. Kris had lived half of his life in fear, but nothing compared to the quiet terror of this waiting. Lay remained silent. After all, what could he say to console the cursed man? In the end, all the could do was wait.

After a while, Kris felt that familiar buzzing in his body that could on be the invisible bee that was the magic spell working on his system. Every muscle in his body clenched in anticipation of the pain that was to come, but even that did not prepare him; he released an agonized roar as it smacked into him like a concrete wall, crushing him like the weight of one thousand buildings as his body began to compress. As he lay on his side, panting heavily as his lungs bore the weight of the invisible pressure, his body spasmed uncontrollably; his legs and tail slammed repeatedly against the bars of the cage, scoring the surface with white scratches. The knights exclaimed in shock and pointed their spears at him before throwing up their arms to shield their eyes from the blinding light that blasted from his scaly body. Slowly, Kris shrunk, and he felt every second of it. As the light faded and the magic died, he thought for sure that every bone in his body had been broken. All he could do was groan miserably as he trembled violently in the aftermath of the cruel spell. That accursed witch…

It has grown more painful, Lay remarked gravely as he ordered the knights back into formation. Kris wheezed as he tried to push himself up, but his arms actually gave out on him and he slammed roughly back down onto the hard floor. He lay there for a minute, the muscles in his arms throbbing and his bones burning, and looked at the unicorn's back through half-lidded eyes. It's a sign that your curse is worsening.

That ancient just had to get the last laugh, he thought bitterly as he clenched his teeth together. His curse was growing worse; it was yet another fear to add to his growing list of the day, it seemed.

It seems so. Soon, I fear, that you will be unable to turn back… I cannot say for sure whether you will keep your humanity, or you will revert purely to a beast… He heard Lay sigh deeply. He had never heard the unicorn sound so hopeless before, and it disheartened him. The odds were just continuously being stacked against him, and it was tiring. Kris just wanted it all to be over. Don't lose heart, the unicorn mused after a moment, his time resuming its lightheartedness. There is still hope. Kris lifted his head weakly, wondering what had caused his friend to shift gears so suddenly, when he spotted a petite form running across the paved patio where his cage was situated.

“Kris!” Jang-mii shouted as she dashed across the stone surface, her bare feet slapping loudly with every feverish step. She was wearing nothing but a white nightdress, and her black hair whirled wildly behind her, shining in the moonlight streaming down from the cloudy night sky. In the silver light, he could see tears glistening on her milky white cheeks. She stormed past the guards, who were apparently not under orders to stop her, and hopped up into the cage to fall on her knees by his side. “Kris! Oh, Kris!” As he lay on his back, still in the thralls of the curse's effects, she collapsed into bitter tears on his chest.

“Jang-mii…” he murmured. He lifted a shaky hand to softly caress her waves of black hair, and the soft strands slipped through his trembling fingers. She looked up at him, sniffling miserably as the tears poured over her cheeks like twin waterfalls.

“They're going to have you executed! I tried to stop them, Kris, but they wouldn't listen to me! I couldn't say anything with Baekhyun there, that vile, ugly-" Kris interrupted her by grabbing her firmly by the chin and pulling down her face to smother her lips with his, silencing her words and swallowing her anger. Her tense body slowly relaxed as he kissed her softly but passionately, and when he released her, she had visibly calmed. “I-I'm sorry. I was just so afraid…” She reached up to run her slim fingers through his red hair, like she always did.

“I know,” he murmured gently, enjoying the soothing feeling of her his hair. I’m afraid, too. He didn't want to tell her that, though. He needed to be strong for her now, so she could be strong for him when he needed it most.

“They are going to hold the execution in Baekhyun's country. An entire royal caravan will accompany you. They plan to hold the wedding after y-you're…” she trailed off, unable to speak of the horrible outcome. “H-how can someone be s-so c-cruel? He expects m-me to stand at that altar and s-say my vows, when I h-have just watched the l-love of my life die!” The tears began to flow from her sea-blue eyes once more, glistening like dewdrops on her long, lush lashes, and Kris leaned up to softly kiss them away. He both loved and hated the salty taste of them on his lips. If I was not so powerless, she would not have to cry like this. “I don't know what to do.”

I may have an idea, Lay butted in, and from the way Jang-mii gasped, he could tell that the unicorn had spoken in both their minds. Sorry I didn't cut in earlier. I didn't want to ruin the touching reunion, he added snidely, and Kris felt suddenly uncomfortable that his friend had been intently watching their touching exchange.

Keep that up and I’ll make leather out of your hide, he warned, and the immortal man's laughter echoed in his mind like a ghostly phantasm.

Is that any way to speak to the man who is trying to save your scaly ? Now listen. Jang-mii, at some point, Baekhyun will come for you. The princess swallowed loudly, likely frightened by the implications of that statement, but her expression remained rigidly determined. Like a queen prepared to do her duty to save her country. I know you want to defy him, but you need to trick him into thinking he has won. Let him think you are broken, and he will let down his guard. Only then can you surprise him and buy yourself enough time to reveal the truth to your parents.

I understand. Her face, only moments ago, had been twisted into pure despair, but now she wore the visage of unbridled courage. It had always amazed Kris how strong-willed she was.

“I fell in love with the right woman.” He had not even realized that he had uttered it allowed, until the startled princess looked down at him. melted into a loving smile, and her soft hand slid up to his cheek to hold it tenderly.

“Will you be all right?”

“’Course.” I’ll have Lay, at least, he added silently. Her smile trembling as she threatened to dissolve into tears once more, she leaned down to gently kiss him, and he savored every second of it, memorizing the feeling and sugary-sweet taste. Then she was gone, her white dress fluttering like flying doves as she dashed back into the palace, and Kris prayed to every deity he could think of that Baekhyun could keep his hands to himself until the time was right. As he watched her vanish into the night, he heard Lay chuckling.

Humans. So emotional.

You'll fall in love someday, Kris mused silently back, rolling onto his side to stare out of the other side of the cage.

Hopefully it's not as much as a hot mess as your love life, the unicorn shot back, humored. As much of a hot mess as it was, Kris didn't regret a second of it.

Even if it ended in his death, he could face it with a smile knowing that Jang-mii loved him.