A knock on the door stirred Byulyi awake from her sleep. She looked around in confusion, not remembering when she dumped herself on her bed. Another knock came at the door again, followed by the voice of a servant.

“Princess Byulyi, the Queen is calling for you, it is time for dinner.”

“I’ll be right out, thank you.” Byulyi called out before sitting up. It’s already dark? I must have been out for a very long time. Byulyi mused to herself as she stretched. She had probably collapsed on her bed and drifted off to sleep after she cried upon returning from the forest. She still shuddered at the memory of actually being that close to the dragonkin. She could have killed her right on the spot with practically one swipe of her sharp claws or one snap of her fangs on her neck. But she didn’t. She actually kept to her word and let Byulyi go without harm. She even saved her from wolves. The question was why? Why would a dragonkin do that for a human?

Byulyi sighed, her head pounding from the confusing questions swarming in her mind. She left her room and made her way to the Great Hall for dinner with her mother. When she entered she was surprised to see King Gualtiero present at the table. Her mother and the King glanced up from their conversation when Byulyi entered. The King gazed at her, scanning her from head to toe. Byulyi bowed respectfully before sitting down across from him.

“Byulyi, this is King Gualtiero of the Orfeo Kingdom. I’m sure you remember what I said about him, right? He will be staying with us until we have hunted down most of the dragonkin.” Her mother introduced and Byulyi nodded. King Gualtiero was a rather muscular man, tattoos decorating his neck and arms with a necklace of what seemed to be teeth hanging around his neck. His eyes held a cold, calculated glint in them and Byulyi looked away, unable to look him in the eyes any longer.

“I see you were looking at my necklace, princess. Want to know what they are made out of? Dragonkin teeth. Ripped it right out of their jaws after I’ve killed them in their dragon form.” He seemed to boast, a fang on the necklace. Judging from the amount of teeth the necklace held, the King had surely killed an impressive amount of dragonkin. Just killing one was no easy feat, especially if the dragonkin was in an open area where it can fly around and breathe its fire down onto enemies.

“Very admirable Your Majesty.” Byulyi complimented with a small smile. She started to eat when the king and her mother fell into conversation again, mind wandering back to the dragonkin she met. She was rather pretty for a dragonkin, Byulyi had to admit. Cute chubby cheeks, soft silky hair and plump lips that made Byulyi want to kiss them. Wait, what? Moon Byulyi what the hell are you thinking about you can’t just kiss a dragonkin, let alone think about doing it. Byulyi thought to herself, shaking the ridiculous thought away. Once done with dinner she excused herself and went to wash herself up.

Byulyi sat in the hot water of the bath, gently creating waves with her hands and watched as the flower petals on the surface swayed around with the ripples. Her personal handmaiden, Jihyo, was with her, helping her to wash up. Jihyo watched as the princess sighed softly for the nth time, gesturing for her to raise an arm up to wash.

“Is something bothering you princess?” Jihyo asked, scrubbing the sponge of her white skin. Byulyi seemed to hesitate before opening and speaking, something the girl hadn’t done for the past twenty minutes since the bath started.

“Have you ever seen a dragonkin up close Jihyo?” Jihyo widened her eyes, not expecting the question. She shook her head in response as she answered.

“I have not, and I suppose I am very lucky to not have, otherwise I wouldn’t be here helping you to wash.” She grinned playfully.

“Why the sudden question? Did you see one today? We can report it to the Queen and King Gualtiero for them to hunt it down.” Jihyo suggested, slight worry in her voice. Byulyi considered telling her what happened, but decided against it and shook her head.

“No, I didn’t see one. Just curious I suppose. It seems like only people like King Gualtiero would have seen dragonkin up close in their dragon form and live to tell the tale.” Byulyi remarked and the topic came to a close. Jihyo finished up washing Byulyi and dried her off before bidding her a good night and departing to her own sleeping quarters. Byulyi slipped under her blankets, getting comfortable. She stared at the dark ceiling, listening to the faint hooting of an owl outside. After a while she closed her eyes, ready to face the nightmares waiting for her again. However the only thing that preyed on her mind that night was the dragonkin herself with her gentle smile and warm eyes.

Byulyi woke up confused, bewildered at the fact that she had dreamt about a dragonkin, a nice, pleasant dream at that. After breakfast with her mother and King Gualtiero she wandered through the palace mindlessly and soon ended up at the gardens again. She picked up a fallen flower, twirling it in her fingers. It reminded her of the forest, and of the dragonkin. Ugh! Why can’t I get her out of my head?? Byulyi groaned and ruffled her hair in frustration. Maybe it’s because she saved me and there’s just a need to repay her for that?? Yea that has to be it, I just need to thank her for saving me and then she’ll definitely leave my head after that. Byulyi nodded to herself confidently and made to walk to the gates of the palace before faltering in her steps. Should I bring her something?

After debating with herself for a while, Byulyi decided to bring along some food to give the dragonkin. She managed to sneak a small piece of strawberry cake out from the kitchen and hid it in her bag carefully. On the way to the forest, Byulyi practiced what she wanted to say so she wouldn’t look like a stumbling, frightened mess in front of the dragonkin. People would probably think she looked crazy and weird if they saw her just mumbling to herself and letting out shouts all of a sudden to the air. When she reached the edge of the forest she stared nervously into the dense leafy foliage. She didn’t even know why she was so willingly going to meet the dragonkin again considering how their meeting went the day before. But if it was the only way that would the dragonkin from popping into her mind every second then she supposed it would be worth it. After steeling herself and taking a deep breath, she marched straight into the forest.

It was after a full fifteen minutes of walking around through bushes and trees that she realized she didn’t know when or how to meet the dragonkin, let alone know if she was even in the forest. She huffed, stopping in front of a large pond and looking down at her reflection. She plopped herself down on the grass, leaning back on her palms as she watched the ducks swim happily around.

“Back so soon?” Byulyi jumped in shock when a familiar voice broke the silence. She whipped around, looking for the source. A small giggle and rustling of leaves directed her vision to a tree opposite of the pond. Unbeknownst to Byulyi the dragonkin had been quietly stalking her ever since she entered the forest, seeking refuge in the trees when Byulyi stopped walking and sat down at the pond. After admiring the goddess, at least that’s what the dragonkin thought of her, for a while, the dragonkin decided to make her presence known. She dropped down from the branch she was perched on, smoothing her cloak around her body before staring at Byulyi. Said girl was frozen on her spot, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“Can I come closer?” The dragonkin asked, breaking Byulyi out of her thoughts. Byulyi stuttered out a nervous “yes”, a hand on her bag as the dragonkin cautiously made her way over. Once they were standing face to face, Byulyi urged herself to stand still and not dash off. She reached a slightly trembling hand into her bag and pulled out the cake, hesitantly offering it to the bemused dragonkin.

“It’s a thank you, for uh, saving me from the wolves the other day. Sorry if I was rude to you by the way. Also I didn’t know what to give you actually so