Chanyeol steadied himself on the dragon's back as he glanced over to where Baekhyun and Bong Cha rode beside him. He still couldn't believe he was able to ride a dragon, his own dragon. Though it wasn't as big as Pashíu or any other greater dragon but it was his, though not in the sense of owning but in a way the Dracolanders considered their peer. His dragon was a crossbreed between a greater dragon and a lesser dragon which gave it the ability of acid breath. He had earned the trust of the dragon when he rescued its eggs from getting smashed by a male lesser dragon– that had held a grudge against it, because it refused to mate with it and chose another half greater dragon instead. It was rather funny how the dragon clinched to him and refused to let him take a step away because Chanyeol didn't know what it meant by such act until Bong-Cha told him the dragon had chosen him as her rider– peer– and the funniest part was that she saw him as her son, when he tried to protect her eggs– his siblings– as Bong-Cha put it.  Bong-Cha had helped him choose a name for her and Chanyeol had named her Epona.
Not just Epona but her hatchings were also attached to him and Chanyeol was the only human Epona trusted to be around her dragonets. Even Bong-Cha had to stay a few miters away while in her territory. Smiling, Chanyeol patted Epona's neck and the dragon made a rumble of acknowledgement.  Beside him Baekhyun had an unreadable expression on his beautiful face, his red hair flowing in all directions, and Chanyeol resisted the urge to reach out and push those strands out of his face. As If sensing a pair of eyes on him, Baekhyun glanced at him and his face twisted into a frown. Chanyeol still couldn't understand him, sometimes Baekhyun would smile at him but mostly he would frown whenever he set his eyes on Chanyeol. The Enchancian had confessed to him but Baekhyun had refused to give him an answer to his confession. He neither agreed nor turned him down, instead leaving Chanyeol hanging and waiting for the man's response for months. Bong-Cha being his best friend had told him not to give up because, it was a sign her papa was putting his confession into consideration. Chanyeol doubted it, because it had been three months but all he could was wait.  He remembered the first time they had dinner together, Chanyeol wasn't used to Draco ways and he had unknowingly upset Baekhyun.
Flash back. It was his second day in Dracoland and Baekhyun for an unknown reason had invited him for dinner, just the two of them, without even Bong-Cha at the table. Baekhyun drained his drink. Chanyeol had been working more slowly on his; it was alcoholic and Chanyeol still didn’t understand Dracoland alcohol. It tasted spicy instead of strong and it was easy to drink more than was wise. Baekhyun peered into his empty cup, and then pounded it three times on the table. The other door to the room, the one they hadn’t come in, opened instantly, and Baekhyun lifted his cup with a single glance toward the door. The door closed, and then the servant returned a moment later with more drink. Baekhyun held up his glass and looked her in the eye as she poured and she smiled at him. It made Chanyeol's skin crawl. Chanyeol had never known a good man who looked at serving girls like that. She filled Chanyeol's cup too, but he barely noticed. And then she cleared away their plates and brought them spiced apples for dessert. “Thank you,” Baekhyun said when she set a plate down in front of him. Chanyeol's skin prickled some more and he stared at Baekhyun as she gave Chanyeol his plate. Baekhyun stared back. The moment lengthened and Baekhyun's face got darker by degrees. It wasn’t until he glanced to the side that Chanyeol realized the servant was still standing beside him, watching him expectantly. “That will be all,” Chanyeol said a little shortly. He remained unamused by Baekhyun's servants’ antics. “Oh,” the servant said quietly. Baekhyun said sharply, “Wait,” when she turned to go. And then he glared at Chanyeol and Chanyeol almost looked around in alarm, wondering what he’d done. They’d been enjoying a passably civil meal after all. “That’s not how you speak to her,” Baekhyun said sharply. Chanyeol blinked. “Excuse me?” “She brought you food!” Chanyeol looked down at his plate, and then he looked around quizzically at the servant who was blushing a little but giving Chanyeol a fierce, insolent look. “Yes, it’s perfectly adequate,” Chanyeol said, voice rising a little at the end. “Thank her,” Baekhyun said sharply. Chanyeol's brows rose. “Thank-- you want me to--” What? His head actually spun a little. Baekhyun had thanked her-- and now that Chanyeol thought of it, everyone he had met had thanked the servants in Dracoland. His mouth fell open a little. He’d thanked a servant once, as a boy, and his father had screamed at him for an hour about his place in the world, about what it meant to be nobility, about how he was better than everyone else and he should act like it. Chanyeol wasn't a royalty, but his father had raised him and Jimin to be the best noblemen. And. Well. Chanyeol hadn’t agreed with him for one second, but perhaps he’d learned only to thank his own servants in private, when his father wasn't around. “Thank you,” he said to the servant girl, a little hushed. “Very much.” She gave him a stern sort of look, Baekhyun furiously speared an apple with his fork. And Chanyeol tried something with Baekhyun that he never would have attempted at home. A truth. A vulnerability, that was simply an explanation. “I was raised not to acknowledge servants unless they have done something poorly,” he said honestly, hoping Baekhyun could hear the hint of apology in his voice. It was something he had always hated. Here at least, he and Baekhyun could agree. Baekhyun blew out a livid huff of air and said, “Of course you were, after all I don't expect you to respect my people." Chanyeol opened his mouth to protest, to admit that maybe Baekhyun had the right of it, maybe Chanyeol had been wrong after all, but now Baekhyun was in a rage the likes of which Chanyeol hadn’t really seen from him before. Well he only met the man two days ago but still this side of Baekhyun was new to him. Chanyeol had decided to stay because his heart had beat for someone else other than himself. He was hoping to have something special with this man in front of him. “Why the am I even trying to--” Baekhyun speared another apple, and then looked up when he said, "Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be back to your kingdom or be with prince Sehun like you were supposed to?" Chanyeol opened his mouth to speak but Baekhyun didn't give him the chance to do so. "I don't want you in my kingdom, I am only letting you stay because Sehun had asked me to let you." And with that he stood up, and he left. Chanyeol had reminded seated and gaping at Baekhyun's retrieving figure as the shorter man slammed the door on his way out. Their relationship had gotten better since then, Chanyeol had gradually learnt the ways of Dracoland and how to not angered Baekhyun.  End flash back. "What are you staring at?" Baekhyun's voice brought Chanyeol out of his thoughts. He blinked a couple of times. "Huh?" "You've been staring at Papa" Bong-Cha said, adjusting her position to look at him. "Waaaay to long" there was a grin on her face, that told Chanyeol she knew what was going on in his head. Blinking once again, Chanyeol averted his gaze and focused on riding his dragon. "Has Yixing said anything new?" He decided to change the subject. Yixing had been kept in the dungeons for months and Baekhyun would question him from time to time but the blond had refused to say anything more than apologize to his best friend. They wanted to know more about Junmyeon's plan but it seemed all they could do was wait for the prisoner to feed them any information. Baekhyun shook his head. "No, but he admitted to being in love with the prince." "Oh" Chanyeol slowly nodded. It wasn't much surprising, he had expected the two must have to be in some sort of relationship. "What now?" "I don't know what to do with him." Baekhyun blew out a breath, and Chanyeol could see how he was trying to keep the dejection in his voice from being noticed. "My brother has sent me a letter," Chanyeol said glancing briefly at Bong-Cha who gave him a curt nod. "He is in Ilda with the prince." At the mentioned of Ilda, Baekhyun turned his entire attention to Chanyeol. "I don't understand." Chanyeol took a deep breath, before he told Baekhyun all that his brother had said in his letter. From king Heechul's death, to how they ended up in Ilda. When he had read the latter Chanyeol had been shocked to hear King Heechul had met with demise and had been angry that prince Kai and his brother had to go through a lot without him there to help them, but then again, he knew he wouldn't have been able to do much, he would have been among those that Junmyeon would refer to as traitors because of their loyalties to prince Kai. He had been happy to hear his brother had had his baby healthily and had reunited with Sir Jungkook and the three of them were now a family.  "So Junmyeon has really made his first move." Chanyeol gave a nod at that. "He has." He said. "Do you think he was also responsible for the creature that almost killed your father?" A couple of weeks ago, Baekhyun's father and his men were checking the wards surrounding Dracoland on the Eastern side of the kingdom when he was attacked by an unknown creature. The whole of Dracoland had shook from the heavy steps of the creature and it was because of that, that Apollo was able to survive. Chanyeol had heard it and without thinking he had traced where the sound was the strongest.  When he got there, at least dozen of men were laying lifeless on the floor as Apollo fought the creature despite being injured. Chanyeol had joined the fight with his dragon and was able to wound the creature before Baekhyun and Pashíu joined. Between the three of them and three dragons, they were able to chase it away, sending it back to where it came from. "I am not sure, I've asked Yixing about it but he wouldn't say anything." He shrugged his shoulders, running a hand through his hair. "I need to warn Sehun though, we don't know who sent that creature, hell we don't even know what it was".  True, the creature had been unidentified, it was a mixture of turtle, snake and a dog. With large teeth and claws that could rival a dragon's. "He should be careful and I know Junmyeon won't sit still knowing Kai is with him." "I ing wants to kill this Junmyeon er."  Bong-Cha said grumpily, diving down in the air, she was preparing to land. Chanyeol and Baekhyun shared a look, there was a smile on Baekhyun's face as he looked fondly at his daughter. And Chanyeol couldn't look away from that smile even though it wasn't directed at him. 'I am doomed' he thought solemnly, looking at Baekhyun one more time before diving to join Bong-Cha.
    ****
Sehun woke because he was hot. Outstandingly hot, as though someone had wrapped him in a thousand fur blankets. He shifted, trying to move himself out from under said blankets, but his left side wouldn't budge. He blinked bleary eyes to see a dark hulk curled half on top of him. No, it wasn't a hulk. It was a huge black-brown wolf, sound asleep, muzzle pressed into Sehun's neck. Sehun frowned. "Kai?" "He's been like that for the past two days." Sehun turned his head to see Joo-hyun sitting in a chair near the bed, paging through missives. She raised her head from the papers and smiled wearily. "Good to have you back, brother." "How long have I been asleep?" he asked, voice rasping. Joo-hyun set the papers aside and stretched in her chair. "Three days." Three days. Good Angel. No wonder he felt as though he'd been run over by a dozen horses, Sehun closed his eyes and groaned. Then he remembered what had happened before he'd lost consciousness, and it woke him as effectively as being thrown in a lake and his hand instantly went to his stomach. Sehun eyes snapped open and he struggled to sit up, but Kai snored softly and draped one massive foreleg over Sehun's chest, pinning him to the bed. Well, that wasn't helpful. Sehun lifted his head. "My baby–" "Its fine,"Joo-hyun cut in, her voice soothing. "You were stabbed but it didn't affect the child, the healers were able to take the blade out and Seokjin was able to take care of the blood lost with magic. Everything is fine now." The relief he felt at that was almost enough to make him pass out again. Sehun dropped his head back to the pillow and stared at the ceiling. "What happened after I lost consciousness?" "Nothing much, Baekhyun had sent you a missive and Kai had refused to allow anyone into your room after you were stable. He turned into a wolf and would threatening anyone who dared come close. I was the only one he allowed to st