Soojin tossed and turned in her sheets. She simply could not fall asleep. Grunting, she pushed herself off the bed and lit up a candle before looking around the room.

There were no books, no sewing materials, and absolutely nothing to entertain herself with. She absentmindedly scratched at her arm as she thought of what to do. Could she go to Baekhyun’s chambers? It was right opposite hers, but she was afraid that the guards stationed around the place would see. She unlatched her door.

As if the heavens answered her prayers, the door opened suddenly and she fought to bite back a scream. Baekhyun closed the door behind him as silently as he could.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed, glancing at the door.

Baekhyun shrugged. “You are the one who left your door unlatched.”

She smacked her palm onto her forehead. “What if someone sees you in here? Or notices that you are missing from your room?”

“Why are you scratching your arm? I had the impression that Bucheon’s royal sleepwear was soft to the touch.”

“It is not because of the clothing, you fool. The walnuts from the pudding were- Baekhyun! Did you just attempt to change the subject?”

“Soojin!” He made a face, mimicking her. He moved to sit down on the floor. “I was merely concerned about your condition.”

“I am serious, Baekhyun! I do not wish to tarnish my name, or my kingdom’s! They will have a fit if they catch you here.”

“Relax,” he murmured, patting the space in front of him. “The guards did not see me. They would probably be glad that the second child of the Byuns was finally sneaking into a lady’s room instead of the gardens or the stables.”

Soojin raised an eyebrow as she joined him on the floor. “Have they not seen you with your lover?”

Baekhyun reddened. “What lover?”

“Oh, please! ‘Time has eaten me alive, even though it has been barely months.’ Do you think I do not know?” she questioned. “How good are you at sneaking around that no one has ever caught the two of you?”

“I-”

“Not to mention, I am the first female you have paid attention to! Ha! If only your mother knew. I did not know you had such talent for writing.”

“But, I-”

“Does she blush when she reads your letters? Does she send any back?”

“My lover is a man!”

The outburst was followed by a whole minute of stillness. Baekhyun looked as if he was going to throw up as he avoided Soojin gawking at him. A thousand and one thoughts flew through her head as she processed and analysed everything.

No one would have suspected a thing, as they were both men. His mother was correct about him not having any interest in ladies. That was why he was so nonchalant about initiating physical contact with her, and coming into her room like this. Now Soojin felt terrible. She had forced the information out of him like this.

“I did- I did not know,” she croaked, her dry lips.

“No one does,” he muttered. “Now you must think of me as a vile person.”

Her hands shot up immediately. “I do not! I was purely surprised. It is rare to hear of, but I do not find it vile.”

He stared at her in disbelief. “You do not?”

“I do not judge someone based on their preferences, Baekhyun. Did you commit murder? Did you hurt anybody? Honestly, it is something akin to liking chocolate over vanilla.”

His eyes twinkled, and for a moment, Soojin thought he was going to cry. However, he merely chuckled softly. “I would prefer if word did not get around, though. I am not sure if everyone shares the same opinion as you.”

“You have my word.”

“But do you understand now? I am okay with the idea of marrying you because I cannot marry him anyway. You would make good company by my side here in Bucheon. It is the only way I can continue to see him. Now that you have even given me your approval, it is even easier for us to have this marriage of convenience while we both have our respective lovers.”

“But this is not right!”

“Please, Soojin. I have been planning this for a very long time.”

She frowned. “This is not a life I would like to lead. I understand you, but please do not trap me like this.”

“Then what would you do?” he pressed. “Go live with the dragon in the outskirts of town and go on adventures with him?”

That was not a bad idea. Not entirely ideal, but with a few minor adjustments…

“I know that look in your eye!” Baekhyun cried. “I forbid you to even think about this!”

“How would you like to meet a dragon?” Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Soojin was positive that this was the only way she could sneak out of the castle walls to see Sir Loey.

“But, I- It is night-time! The woods will be dark as well,” he reasoned, more to himself than anyone.

“Did that ever stop you before?”

He sighed. “Let’s go.”

-

Baekhyun knew a way out of the castle which was not guarded by anyone; a secret passage of sorts. He owed it to his restlessness as a child which prompted him to explore every nook and cranny of the place.

He saddled the horses for the both of them, and after doing a final check that no one was watching, they left into the night. It was much breezier outside than in her chambers, but it was terribly dark. Soojin struggled to read her map as Baekhyun was the one holding the torch. It was difficult to ride a horse, read a map and handle some fire.

“Are you sure we are going the right way?” Baekhyun asked after they delved deeper into the woods. “I think I recognise this pathway. This is towards the army base.”

Soojin squinted at the map. “This should be the place. If you could not tell, I am the one holding the map.”

He hummed unsurely, but trusted her enough to follow along.

They rode more for approximately fifteen minutes before Baekhyun spotted a figure. He quickly lowered his torch and halted their movement.

“Why did you stop?” Soojin hissed. “The dragon’s dwelling is right over the clearing.”

“Someone is there. We cannot risk it,” he replied before straightening up. “Wait. I think I recognise that person.”

“Who is it?”

“Come on.”

Without bothering to answer her, they hesitantly went ahead with the directions on her map which also brought them closer to the silhouette. She made it out to be a man, slightly taller than her, with a sturdy build.

“Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun called out. It sounded deafening in the quiet woods.

The figure, or Kyungsoo, whipped around, shocked at the sudden appearance of a prince and princess. His eyes were wide as he studied the both of them.

Baekhyun dismounted his horse, running over to fling his arms around the man. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here? With…”

“Good day, I am Princess Soojin from Daegu,” she introduced herself, also getting off her horse.

“Oh,” Kyungsoo responded. It was as if he understood everything. “I see. The two of you were having fun? Out here in the dark. Though, it can be quite dangerous out here.”

“It is not what you think,” Baekhyun immediately countered. “Soojin knows.”

She gave him a tentative smile. Kyungsoo had to be the lover that Baekhyun spoke about. He was probably at the army base, which was why he was off away for training. He looked like a handsome man with large eyes and nicely-shaped lips, though he did not smile. He held a certain seriousness in himself that was the opposite of the prince.

Baekhyun shook the man’s arm. “I know for a fact that the base is in the other direction. Where are you going?”

It was a wild guess, but Soojin had a feeling about this. “Are you perhaps… going to meet the dragon?”

Kyungsoo whipped his head sharply to look at her. “How did you know?”

“Has everyone seen the dragon but me?” Baekhyun whined. Kyungsoo looked faintly amused but did not care to answer him.

“Let us move together since we are heading to the same direction.”

Kyungsoo refused Baekhyun’s invitation to ride with him, insisting that he was fine by walking. It was nothing compared to the training that he had faced. He did, however, graciously allow his satchel to be carried by the horse. It looked like it was filled with fruits.

“So how did you come across the dragon?” Baekhyun asked as they walked. “You never mentioned it in our letters.”

“It was a coincidence that the dragon and I met. I was in the midst of training one night a few moons ago, and-”

“By yourself?”

Kyungsoo rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. He looked as if he did not want to share the incident. But it did not deter Baekhyun.

“Tell me!”

“Training is difficult,” he said flatly. “Many of the trainees believe I was able to climb the ranks because of my father’s influence. I injured myself during a training session one night out here and every one of them chose to leave me for dead as they passed by.”

Soojin felt very out of place in the conversation. She just met the man a few minutes earlier, and now she was listening to him speak about a particularly painful incident.

Kyungsoo sighed as he continued. “The dragon saved my life. He brought me back closer to the base after everyone left and I was spotted by one of the generals. So, I visit him from time to time with gifts.”

 “I was wondering why you had that satchel,” Baekhyun remarked. “Because you couldn’t be one of those superstitious type of people who bear offerings to dragons for protection.”

“People do that?” Soojin could not help but ask. This piece of information wasn’t found in the scriptures.

“It is quite common,” he replied. “In fact, there is a group of people who even go hunting for dragons. Those who survived the battle and managed to get the dragons’ heads would be renowned as extremely powerful and talented hunters. It is very violent.”

“I see.”

“You do not have to worry about how dragons abduct princesses though,” Kyungsoo supplied. “Stories of such came mostly from the West, and the people here only began to see dragons in that light a mere fifty years ago.”

“You are very knowledgeable.”

“Thank you, Princess Soojin.”

“Please, just call me Soojin,” she found herself saying for the second time that day. “Any close friend of Baekhyun should be someone whom I trust.”

“As you wish, Soojin.”

He still did not smile throughout their conversation, but it did not upset her that much. Baekhyun’s serene expression remained as they spoke so she figured that it was just Kyungsoo’s personality. Besides, he seemed like he was on okay terms with the dragon. She trusted Sir Loey’s judgement to that extent.

They arrived at the familiar dwelling soon enough, and Soojin almost forgot the proper etiquette and stopped herself from jumping off her horse. The excitement she felt was a little unexplainable.

“Sir Loey! It is I, Princess Oh Soojin again, together with two others.”

“His name is Sir Loey?” Baekhyun whispered. “What a strange name.”

They both ignored him. Kyungsoo retrieved his satchel and stepped forward. “It is me again. I have brought fresh fruit for you.”

“And I am Prince Baekhyun!”

Sir Loey flew out of his dwelling with a strange quietness. He did not roar, nor did he let out any breaths of fire. He eyed the three of them, probably wondering how they managed to be all related