The dawn was just creeping over the tops of the trees, but the men of the sizeable fishing village nestled against the bank of the mighty river that cut through the wilds were already hard at work. Boats, relatively small craft with no sails and powered only by the strength of men, were lined up along the banks, one by one being taken out into the swift currents of the river. In them were men, armed with fishing nets and poles, ready to put in a long day’s work on the water. Larger boats lay at the series of docks at the edge of the village, more impressive structures with billowing white sails; their destination lay all the way at the end of the river, where it mixed with the ocean and where port cities abounded. In the town, merchants began to set up their wares in the market, and soon it sang with the many voices of hagglers and sellers all attempting to get the best deal. Travelers began to pour in from the giant pathway at the entrance of the city, the one road that linked every city and village in the country; the Road, it was merely called, but it was an intricate spider web of paths and sidetracks that linked every settlement in Jang-mii’s country, from the capital city to the far reaches of the wilds.

On his massive black destrier, perched on a hill overlooking the town, Baekhyun watched the activity with obvious disdain. A small squadron of knights, astride smaller horses, waited for his command upon the road. The young prince turned as another horse trotted up beside him, a great beast with white hair that shone in the morning light. Astride it was his second-in-command, his guard, and his loyal subordinate, Chanyeol.

“I’ll reckon that town has plenty of information, if you know where to go looking,” the young knight smirked as he stared down at the clamoring town. Baekhyun sniffed slightly and jerked at his horse’s reins, bringing the destrier back to the road. Chanyeol guided his horse alongside his own, and the group of knights followed close behind as they made their way to the noisy city. As the pounding of hooves echoed through the village entrance, the occupants hastily pressed themselves against the buildings for fear of being trampled under the beasts. Baekhyun brought his company to the town square, circling his horse around the large statue depicting a long-forgotten war hero astride his horse. Baekhyun’s regality put the carving to shame, with his purple cloak fluttering in the wind and his silver crown gleaming on his brow; but he was no hero, these men knew, as he glared down with disdain at them. Once the rest of his company piled into the cobblestone square, Baekhyun brought his horse to a halt, right in front of an angry, rugged man. He was dressed like a commoner, in simple cloth pants and a white cotton shirt, but he sported an impressive beard, his red hair tied in braids that hung down to his chest. He carried a manner of authority, and was notably bigger than the rest of the citizens; a bear of a man, with arms that could probably split a rock with one punch. He didn’t intimidate Baekhyun in the slightest.

“It’s a fine day for a young prince to come paradin’ into my town,” the man began tensely. Unimpressed with the thinly veiled hostility, Baekhyun merely stared levelly down at him, pursing his lips at the thought of conversing with the rough, undignified fellow.

“The mayor, I presume. I am here on behalf of the capital city. Your princess, Jang-mii, has been stolen from the altar, and I was put in charge of the search for her,” he announced. A collective gasp rippled through the square; news of the dragon’s attack had not reached even the closest city, it had seemed. “You will volunteer any information you have, as ordered by your king,” Baekhyun continued.

“Beggin’ your pardon, young lord, but we were not even aware of the abduction,” the mayor answered carefully. “Tell me, what man would dare abduct our beloved Princess Jang-mii?” he asked with contempt. Shouts and curses echoed throughout the square, and the prince rolled his eyes. Pitifully loyal, the lot of them, he thought with disgust. I bet that more than half of them have never been within a mile of the princess. “What man would dare harm such a beautiful, innocent girl like our Jang-mii?” More angry shouts rang out, and Baekhyun sighed and raised his hand for silence. The crowd begrudgingly obeyed.

“It was not a man that abducted her, but a beast- a dragon, to be precise,” he replied, and the square fell eerily silent. The citizens shuffled their feet uncomfortably, whispering to each other as the gravity of Baekhyun’s revelation sunk in. “I know that a dragon has been guarding these lands for the last decade; it is no secret. It seems your ‘guardian’ has finally revealed its true nature,” he sneered. The young prince did not believe in the power of sacred animals like unicorns and dragons, or respect any manner of beast, for that matter; in the borders of his kingdom, he had scoffed at the notion of a deified dragon. Had he not seen the beast himself, he wouldn’t have even believed the rumors. They should have slain it long ago- then this wouldn’t have turned out to be so annoying for me, he thought bitterly. “If you have any information on the dragon, you are dictated by law to come forward,” he announced, his glare piercing across the crowd. Silence echoed in his voice’s wake, and he was beginning to grow impatient when the mayor finally spoke.

“I apologize, young lord, but you have come in vain. The dragon is a mystery; we know where not he resides nor conducts business, as we live well away from his domain. The only men here who would have such knowledge would be the travelers from the north. I am sure that you can find some in the local pubs,” the man answered, looking disappointed at having to reveal even that much to the prince. However, it was enough to satisfy the prince, and he nodded and turned his horse away from the mayor. The crowd dispersed, parting to allow Baekhyun to lead his company downtown, but huddled together and whispered feverishly at the news of the dragon attack. The young prince paid them no mind, simply leading his company to an inn. As he swung off his horse, he startled the stable boy who rushed out to meet him. Baekhyun shoved the reins into his hands, regarding him with contempt.

“What is your name?” he asked briskly.

“L-Luhan, my lord,” the young boy stammered.

“See that my horse is well taken care of. If even a hair is out of place, I will have your head,” he growled savagely before marching into the inn. Chanyeol snickered as he followed his lord, leaving the terrified stable boy to corral the horses into the stable. He took great care in leading the destrier inside, whispering a prayer under his breath. Once the prince had secured lodgings for himself by threatening the innkeeper, he and his company spent the day in the inn, until the fishing boats returned with their catch and night fell over the village. It was then that Baekhyun decided to begin his investigation.

As he walked out of the inn with Chanyeol and another knight carrying a small chest, he noticed that the village was no less busy despite the fact that darkness had descended. The town was alive with candles and lanterns, and raucous laughter echoed through the streets. An assortment of pubs surrounded the inn, and citizens lounged outside drinking ale and conversing amiably with each other. Women, dressed scantily, patrolled the alley for patrons, and when they found a suitor they disappeared into the dark alleys or the scrubby inns to do their work. Baekhyun scowled as a chair sailed out of a pub, shattering the glass window and spilling the sounds of a bar fight into the street. “Ugly commoners,” he muttered as he strolled into the nearest pub. The smell of sweat and liquor was thick in the air, and the temperature was stifling with all the bodies stuffed into the small wooden structure. Barmaids glided from table to table, serving ale and flirting with the customers in the hopes to earn tips. A bard played a tune in the corner, but was nearly drowned out by the loud conversation buzzing in the wooden structure. However, upon the prince’s entrance, the pub fell silent. All eyes turned to him, and he stood in the doorway scowling until a timid young barmaid finally walked up to him.

“Excuse me, lord,” she stammered. “Would you and your men be partakin’ in drinkin’ tonight?” she asked, bowing her head hastily when he glanced down at her. She was quite pretty, for a common girl, with blonde hair that glowed in the dense light of the lanterns. Her skin was quite fair, and she was a delicate little thing, compared to the other women of the town, whom Baekhyun found quite burly for his taste.

“Why not?” he smirked after pondering it a moment, and with another bow of her head, the young girl led them to a table at the corner of the room and provided them drinks. Chanyeol and his other night drank their fill, but Baekhyun was watching the rest of the bar patrons intensely, his eyes narrowing as time dragged on. Alcohol loosened the tongue, he knew, and when he decided that many of the men were good and drunk, he hopped up onto his table, nearly spilling Chanyeol’s third glass of beer. “Listen well,” he warned, gaze sweeping across the bar. “I come for information, and you will give it to me. The princess, Jang-mii, has been seized by a dragon, and I know that someone here knows where that beast nests. Your ‘guardian’ is no longer what is seemed, so why not spare yourselves future agony, and allow me to slay it before it turns its reptilian gaze on the wilds?” The bar was silent once more, and the young prince was surprised to find that the patrons were not as forthcoming as he had initially thought. Suddenly, a fit of laughter exploded from the room, and the crowd parted to allow a young man, no older than Baekhyun, approach the table.

“You’re a bit young to be huntin’ dragons,” the man smirked, downing another mug of ale before tossing it aside. The glass shattered against the wall, and he glared up at the prince with obvious contempt. “You think we don’t know who you are? You’re Baekhyun, the prince from across the plains to the east, where the kingdom of iron towers and diabolical weapons stands like a blot on this world,” he growled, spitting on the floor in front of the table. “Sure, you made your peace with our king eighteen years ago, when Jang-mii was born, but that does not mean that your treachery was forgotten- that the bloody war that your father started was forgiven.” Baekhyun listened with a blank expression, carefully regarding the drunken man’s rant. The man suddenly threw up his arms with a magnanimous sigh. “But, that’s not your fault, right? After all, you were only a wee lad when all of that happened, as was I. No, you’re just the princeling looking for his lost bride.” A round of laughter echoed through the pub. The man suddenly pointed an accusing finger at the prince. “I, for one, don’t believe that our dragon would dare to abduct the princess Jang-mii, unless it knew that you were nothing but a treacherous snake, to save our land from falling under tyranny!” A round of cheering and clapping burst through the room. “Do you think that we would betray our god, young prince? We will tell you nothing, lest you bring his wrath down upon us!” More cheering echoed through the pub, and Baekhyun noticed Chanyeol slowly reaching for his sword.

“I can handle this, Chanyeol,” he muttered before hopping down from the table, slowly circling the drunken man. “Who are you, who would dare speak to your future king in such a way?” he snarled.

“You are no king of mine,” the man spat, but then smirked. “My name is Kai; I am a mercenary, of sorts, and a demon with a dagger,” he added, flipping out a small knife with a dramatic flourish. A gasp rippled through the bar, and the patrons staggered back to give the two young men plenty of room. Baekhyun did not cower, only smirked and drew his longsword. “Compensating for something, my lord?” the mercenary smirked before lunging at him with incredible speed. The dagger flashed in the low light, but it only clashed against Baekhyun’s blade, sending sparks flying through the air. Back and forth the blades swung, colliding against one another, while the two men’s feet glided across the wooden floor in a deadly dance. Kai could apparently hold his liquor quite well, for although he had been drinking, he was light on his feet and an expert with handling the small knife. Baekhyun was finding himself hard-pressed to keep up, and he knew that if he didn’t do something soon, he would be humiliated in front of the entire bar.

He couldn’t have that.

Crying out in anger, instead of parrying Kai’s next blow, he allowed it to find its mark, and the knife dug deep into his shoulder. Baekhyun grabbed the man’s arm, grinning evilly as he wrenched it back and sent Kai stumbling back into a table. Baekhyun ripped the dagger from his shoulder, admiring the blade that was running with his blood.

“This is a nice knife. I think I’ll keep it,” he smirked. Yelling, Kai ran at him, but Baekhyun sent him sailing back into the table with a savage kick to the chest. While the man was struggling to recover, Baekhyun planted a foot on his chest, pressing him down to the floor. He rested the tip of his longsword on Kai’s throat, glaring down at him. “You see, there is no such thing as gods. Only power,” he whispered, pressing the tip of the blade harder into his skin. A small trickle of blood began to run down the man’s throat, and Kai’s breathing grew faster. “Now then. Tell me what you know, and I might spare your miserable life,” Baekhyun hissed.

“Th-there’s a traveler!” Kai stammered. “He has red hair, no older than twenty! He travels the wilds doing the dragon’s bidding. He frequents the ranching village to the northeast… The dragon is rumored to have an affinity for cattle,” he cried. Kai squeaked as the blade pushed further into his throat. “A-as for the dragon, no one is sure where he lives. There’s a village northwest of here, a guild town, where a great many merchants and traders on their way to and from the capital stop. If anyone would know, they would be there.” Baekhyun stared hard down at the man for a moment before removing his blade and replacing it to its sheath. He beckoned for his knight, and wrenched the chest out of his hands and dropped it by the young mercenary’s head.

“For your trouble,” he smirked before roughly removing his foot from the man’s chest. He turned to Chanyeol. “Ride to the northwest and gather information. Send word by carrier, and if you find out the location of the dragon’s nest, you have my permission to proceed. Keep me updated. However, you are only to perform reconnaissance. Do not engage, only determine the location of the dragon and determine if Jang-mii is alive. Are we understood?” he ordered. Chanyeol bowed low, smirking up at him.

“Completely,” he affirmed before storming out of the pub. Baekhyun heard the clatter of hooves as his trusted knight took off into the wilds. Baekhyun gave one more disdainful look around the bar before his gaze rested on the young barmaid. Grinning to himself, Baekhyun gestured to her.

“Bring her. There’s a long road ahead, and I’ll need some… entertainment,” he grinned, turning his back to walk out of the door. The young girl put up futile resistance as the knight grabbed her around the middle and carried her ungraciously out of the bar, following his lord back to the inn.

“L-leaving so soon, my lord?” Luhan asked as the prince approached, nervously tending to his destrier. The young boy’s eyes landed uncomfortably on the young girl still in the knight’s iron grip; she had stopped screaming now, but was just crying pitifully. Baekhyun, ignoring the boy’s disdainful looks, examined the horse carefully, disappointed to find that the young stable boy had taken almost too good of care to his horse. The power of words truly is amazing, he thought, grabbing the reins and climbing into the saddle. As he kicked his horse into motion, he knocked poor Luhan off his feet, sending him into a pile of hay. He galloped through the town, his company following close behind as they stormed out of the city and back onto the road. He turned northeast, following the direction of the mercenary.

However, Baekhyun’s thoughts were far away. Pieces of a strange puzzle were beginning to fit together in his mind, and the riddle of the dragon and Jang-mii’s abduction were beginning to grow eerily clear. Dragons, he knew, had extensively long lifespans and were not known to migrate, so the sudden appearance of a dragon ten years ago was highly unlikely.

Unless, the dragon was not a dragon at all, but a being under a curse. The only individuals known to apply curses were witches. Ten years ago, young Prince Kris, Jang-mii’s betrothed, disappeared at the hands of a witch.

If what I believe is true, this is about to get a lot more messy… And a lot more fun.