After the disater of a dinner and a few very needed glasses of wine, Aideen was walking down the upstairs hallway checking on all the boys who had fallen asleep a couple of hours prior. Hojeong was tucked tightly into his bed with his favorite stuffed duck toy but Aideen couldn't help but smile when she saw his legs lightly kicking in his sleep. She lightly closed the door and continued her rounds to the next of the kids. When she opened the door the first thing she could make out was a mountain of pillows and after a couple of seconds she saw Taehyun's face sticking out from the bottom of the pile. His ears were perked up from the sound of the door opening but he was still sleeping soundly. Again Aideen closed the door and moved on to Sungwoon's room. She found him asleep in a makeshift blanket nest curled around the sunflower pillow she had given him a few years ago while one of his wings shined green and red wherever the hall light touched as it shielded his face. Again she closed the door and moved on. She found Timo asleep, snuggled up to a big orange ball and couldn't help but chuckle a bit. For all the attitude he gave the younger kids, he was just as childlike at times. Moving on to San's room, Aideen found him curled up on his bed half burrowed under a blanket and pillows. Just before she turned to leave, Aideen heard the tough mouse squeak in his sleep. With a light smile she went to stand by his bed as the soft squeaking continued.

“Who did you make smile today San?” Aideen whispered as she ran her hand through his hair before leaning down to place a soft kiss to one of his ears. His squeaks picked up a bit before Aideen left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

“One more tonight,” She reminded herself before gently opening Josie's door a crack, making sure to be as quiet as possible. Josie was asleep but she was shaking like a leaf. She was curled into the fetal position with her tail wrapped around her body and her ears pressed flat to her head. Aideen walked in, grabbing a blanket near the door and draped it over the small fox. She was still shivering but it had died down a bit. Aideen sighed and sat on the edge of the bed and began running her fingers through Josie's platinum blonde hair, scratching her ears every now and then.

“You poor child. You're safe here now,” Aideen whispered as Josie's shaking calmed.

“I knew I'd find you here,” Aideen looked up, not removing her hand from Josie's hair, to see Junhyuk leaning against the doorway. “You did the same thing for me when we first met. Do you remember that?”

“Why do you think that I'd ever forget the day I met you?” Aideen replied as Junhyuk came to sit next to her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her. “That's when everything changed.”

**Flashback**

Aideen woke up to her maid's perky voice calling her name. When she finally relented and opened her eyes she saw that the older girl was smiling widely and holding a tray full of all her favorite breakfast foods and even a small bowl of seaweed soup. It was her eleventh birthday today and she was more than excited because her father had promised to spend the day with her and give her an extra special present. Aideen usually spent her days playing with the maids or at school, she didn't get to see her father much because of the business that she would take over one day. She quickly ate her breakfast and gave the maids a big hug as a thank you before allowing them to help her to get dressed and ready for her day. The process for getting the eleven year old ready was more extensive than it seemed though. After her bath and getting dressed she sat down so that two of her maids could do her hair, which they did up with a high pony tail and curls cascading down her back. Her hair was so thick and long that curls would fall out of her hair almost as quick as they were put in so the maids took extra care with which products they used to make them stay. It took until lunch time just to get her ready but once she was the staff of the house had nothing but compliments for her.

“Oh Miss! You look so pretty!”

“Your father is a lucky man to get a date with such a beautiful girl.”

“I wish I had a daughter as pretty as you, Miss.”

Aideen smiled, giggled, and bowed in thanks to all the compliments before being escorted to her car where her driver was waiting with a bright smile. The trip to the restaurant was quiet and short which for most eleven year olds would have been torturous but Aideen had always enjoyed the quiet of being alone. She preferred to read or write rather than run around during her free time, with the exception of when she played with the maid, which hadn't garnered her any friends, especially being a foreigner. Her dad always told her that it was for the best though, so while she was occasionally lonely, she prided herself on her self reliance.

“We're here Miss. Your father said he'd be taking you home himself so I will see you tomorrow to take you to school. Happy Birthday, Miss,” Aideen gave the driver a smile as she exited the car and made her way into the restaurant. It was a fancy place ran by a friend of the family who had shut it down just for her birthday, with only a few of the staff there to cater to her and her father's every wish. Once inside one of the staff led her to a room filled with peonies and a small table at which her father stood with a bright smile on his face, the smile reserved only for her and his few close business partners. Aideen returned the smile and ran to him before being scooped up into his arms and hugged tightly.

“My Princess, you look beautiful,” He said setting her back on her feet. “I'm afraid that every birthday makes it harder for me to lift you though. You're growing up so quickly.”

“Are you saying that I'm fat Daddy?” Aideen giggled and her father shook his head.

“Never, you're just becoming the strong youg woman I had always hoped you would,” Her father patted her head and walked her away from the table a bit before bending down so that he could be eye level with her. “Now Princess, do you remember the special present I promised you?”

“Yes Daddy! When do I get to open it?” Aideen asked excitedly, bouncing up and down, making her dad chuckle.

“This isn't exactly a present that I could wrap but are you ready to see it?” Aideen nodded frantically as her dad gestured for a staff member, who had been patiently observing from a corner of the room, to bring in her present. A few moments later the staff member had reappeared with a young boy following him. Aideen gave her father a confused look before looking back to the boy and understanding how he classified as a present. He was a hybrid. He had golden horns curving out of his temples and snake like eyes that were currently a striking green as he looked around the room nervously. When he came to a stop a few feet from Aideen and her father, she noticed the expensive black leather collar adorned with, what she assumed, was a gold name tag reading “Choi Junhyuk” in Hangul around his neck.

“Princess, this is Junhyuk. He is your hybrid. He will be your companion and bodyguard from now on,” Her father said going to stand next to the boy and patting his shoulder making the boy's emerald eyes cut to the older man. “He's a year younger than you but he's the last of the dragon hybrids in Asia and whelps tend to mature faster than most hybrids. He will be your responsibility from now on, so make sure he is fed and well taken care of. He should only have two heats a year when he fully matures but that shouldn't be for another few years so we'll start worrying about that when it starts. What do you think Princess? Go on and introduce yourself hybrid.”

“Annyeonhaseyo, Choi Junhyuk-ibnida,” Aideen noticed how he flinched, eyes flashing red briefly, before bowing when her father called him hybrid. It made her uncomfortable, the way her father was speaking to him, and a little sad too. She didn't understand why her father referred to Junhyuk as though he wasn't a person.

“Annyeonghaseyo, Lee Aideen-ibnida. I hope we can become good friends,” Aideen smiled and Junhyuk's eyes calmed from emerald to a deep beautiful brown. He must have felt more comfortable speaking with her than he did her father.

“Now hybrid-”

“Daddy he has a name. Why do you keep calling him hybrid?” Aideen rarely opposed her father but she didn't like the way he was talking to Junhyuk.

“Princess, he is a hybrid. He's just like a dog or cat. He is a pet,” Her father gave a small smile indicating he meant no harm but Aideen was having none of it.

“Daddy he's not like a dog or cat. He's a hybrid which means he's mostly human with some animal traits. I'd like it if you treated him as such,” Aideen's father was taken aback by her response. Of course he knew she was a very intelligent child, he just never guessed she would be this well versed in hybrid matters at her age. “One of the kids in my class has a hybrid and he treats her horribly. I don't want to be like that. They're just as capable of feeling hurt and unwanted as we are.”

“Alright Princess. I'm sorry for being rude,” Aideen looked at Junhyuk, who was staring at her completely stunned.

“Daddy you should apologize to Junhyuk for hurting his feelings, not me,” If it had been anyone other than his precious daughter who had spoke to him like that they would have been dead before they could have finished the sentence but as it were he couldn't bring himself to upset her, particularly not on her birthday.

“I'm sorry Junhyuk if I upset you. I meant no harm,” Her father reached out a hand towards Junhyuk's head and the hybrid braced himself as if he were about to be hit. The older man simply ran his hand over Junhyuk's hair and horns making him look up in confusion. “I think we're ready to go to eat now don't you think Princess?”

“Yes Daddy that sounds good. Sit next to me Junhyuk,” Aideen smiled brightly taking his hand and leading him over to the table that had only been set for two. When her father noticed this he indicated for the staff to set another place, not wanting to argue with his daughter. The three of them sat and had a mostly comfortable meal with Aideen trying to get to know Junhyuk better and her father watching on with pride at how well his child was growing into an intelligent and caring young woman.

Once the meal was done Aideen's father ushered her and Junhyuk out of the restaurant and into his car. He drove for quite a while, glancing back through the mirror at his daughter and her new hybrid every so often. She couldn't seem to stop talking to him and it made her father a bit sad. If it wasn't for his line of work she would have been able to make friends more easily and probably wouldn't have been so lonely all these years. Even if she always said she preferred the solitude, her father knew better. As he shook the thought from his head he turned the car into a parking lot and Aideen looked at her surroundings for the first time.

“Daddy! We're going to an amusement park? I always wanted to go to one!” Aideen's smile melted her father's heart a bit and the corresponding grin that Junhyuk gave her made him happy too. He had done well to choose this hybrid.

“I know Princess. Now put Junhyuk on his leash and we'll go inside,” He didn't fail to see Junhyuk's grimace and the smile on Aideen's face falter.

“Why does Junhyuk have to be on a leash Daddy?” Aideen may have known about the idea of hybrids but the laws regarding them seemed to still be just out of her knowledge.

“Because that's the law my dear. Unfortunately if you want him to come with us he has to be on a leash,” Aideen noticed that her father glanced at Junhyuk with a look that was almost sympathetic and she knew it was only because this situation was upsetting her.

“It's okay Noona. I've been on leashes before, it's not that bad,” Junhyuk said lightly touching Aideen's hand. Aideen's father reached back and handed her a black leather leash that matched Junhyuk's collar and the girl took it with tears forming in her eyes. As she turned back and lifted her hand to attach the leash to his collar, Junhyuk gave her a sympathetic smile.

No matter how much Junhyuk smiled at her or how much her father apologized to her for the next few hours, Aideen just couldn't truly enjoy herself. The leash in her hand felt like it weighed a thousand pounds and her heart felt even heavier. Even in her happiest moments with her father and her new friend, her eyes held a tint of sadness. Her father watched all day as her mood turned sour and finally as they entered the car he spoke up.

“I'll see what I can do about changing that ridiculous law Princess and when it does change the three of us will come back to the amusement park,” As the words left his mouth he saw Aideen's face light up and she nodded frantically.

“Yes Daddy please do that! I want to enjoy the park with both of you next time!” She turned and smiled at Junhyuk briefly before suddenly wrapping her arms around him. He stiffened at her sudden action, eyes turning green, before she let go. Aideen's smile slowly dropped off her face as she saw that Junhyuk was being defensive with her like he had been with her father. She knew it was probably only because of the fact that he had been taken away from his family and brought into a house where he expected to be treated as inferior but it still hurt to see him look at her like that.

Silence filled the car for the rest of the ride home and Aideen couldn't help but steal glances over at Junhyuk, wishing he would forgive her. Once back at their home, her father asked one of the maids to take her to see Junhyuk's new room while he took Junhyuk to the side to speak to him. Aideen reluctantly followed the maid and was lead to a room that was only a few doors down from hers. It was quite small compared to her own, maybe only the size of the bathroom that was attached to hers if she was honest. It made her angry to look at and even more so when she noticed that everything in the room was either of poor quality or made the room look like it belonged to a wild animal. She immediately turned and marched back downstairs to her father's study where he had taken Junhyuk.

“You're to protect her with your life. If ever she gets hurt it will be you that I punish first. Do you understand? Good,” Aideen heard her father's harsh voice say in a cold and deadly manner before she pushed open the door and walked in without even knocking. “Princess I need to finish talking to Junhyuk. Will you please go back upstairs?”

“No Daddy! Why are you being so rude to him still? And why did you put him in such a small room and make it look that way? We have plenty of rooms that are ready for people to live in. Why can't he stay in the room next to me?” Aideen asked, anger flaring in her eyes. She noticed Junhyuk gaze at her curiously as she finished. Her father opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as his daughter continued. “I'm moving him into the room next to mine and I'm taking him with me now. He was my present and I don't like the way your treating him Daddy. I don't want you to talk to him anymore.”

With that Aideen grabbed Junhyuk's hand and pulled him out of the study and lead him upstairs to the room next to hers and sat him down on the bed. Before Junhyuk could even manage to get a word out she had disappeared and came back into the room with her arms filled with clothes. She put them into the dresser across the room from the bed and brought a set of pajamas over to the dragon.

“Change into these and get some sleep. Don't worry about my dad, I'll make sure he's not mean to you anymore,” Aideen didn't wait for Junhyuk's response and left the room.

When she had finished getting herself ready for bed and calming down a bit she looked at the clock to find that it was already past midnight. She wandered over to Junhyuk's new room and slowly opened the door. She saw the dragon curled up in the middle of the bed, shaking as tear stains glistened on his cheeks in the light from the hallway. The sight broke Aideen's heart. She carefully treaded her way over to the bed and sat as close as she dared for fear of waking the whelp up. Gently she brought her hand up to run through his golden locks just below his golden horns. The action must have somewhat soothed Junhyuk as he stopped shaking at her touch.

After a few moments Aideen stood up to reach for a blanket to cover Junhyuk before sitting back down to resume the action. When she went to continue playing with Junhyuk's hair she found his dark brown eyes staring at her. She jumped a bit and reached for her heart before standing up and looking to her feet nervously. She was scared she had overstepped an unspoken boundary again.

“Don't stop. Please?” Junhyuk's eyes were glistening with unshed tears and Aideen couldn't help but simply nod and take back her spot on the bed. Before she could even realize what was happening, Junhyuk moved to lay his head in her lap and wrap his arms around her waist. Aideen stiffened for a moment in shock before relaxing and beginning to play with his hair once again. It only took a few minutes for Junhyuk to fall asleep and Aideen followed shortly after, not even bothering to try and go to her own room. From that day forward the two were inseparable.

**End Flashback**

“After that night I swore I would always protect you and keep you happy. You were the only person I had ever met that treated me like an equal,” Junhyuk said as Aideen closed Josie's door behind her.

“I always hated the way that my dad talked to you. It made me so angry that night,” Aideen said with a light grin on her face.

“Those were much simpler times. Come on My Love, let's go to bed,” Junhyuk wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders and placed a light kiss to her temple before leading her to their room. As they walked Aideen almost wished they could go back to the days when she could be carefree instead of needing to be so harsh and cruel but the thought was quickly stomped out when she remembered how much fun it was to watch her enemies bleed.