When Baekhyun began waking up in the morning, he found himself laying on his stomach and felt more comfortable than he would have expected for laying on the hard ground. He felt warmer than he imagined he should, which made it more difficult to actually wake up. Cracking his eyes open, he turned his head so his face was turned towards the ground. Only when he did that, it was not the hard ground he turned to. Baekhyun opened his eyes and realized he was laying on top of Chanyeol!

Bolting up from where he was laying, he immediately collapsed when his back spasmed in pain. When he landed back on Chanyeol with all of body weight, Chanyeol let out a small groan and placed his hands on Baekhyun to keep him from rolling off and hurting himself.

“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!” Baekhyun said, mortified. “When did I do this!?”

Chanyeol thought for a while before stating, “Not too long after you fell asleep actually…”

“Why did you not move me off!?” Baekhyun asked in a mortified tone.

“Baekhyun, it's not like you're that heavy. I did carry you for half the day,” Chanyeol told him. “And you were comfortable so I didn't mind.”

Baekhyun felt his face turn a bright shade of red as he carefully moved himself off Chanyeol and sat on the uncomfortable ground. His cloak was used to cover his face as he tried to get himself to calm down and not be so embarrassed. How could he have crawled on top of Chanyeol like that in the middle of the night? Let alone stay like that the entire night!?

After being instructed to rest while Chanyeol worked, Baekhyun found himself leaning against a fallen tree with his eyes closed again. There was the crunching sound of the branches getting stepped on as Chanyeol moved around and as Molzey followed him, letting out small sounds here and there as she did. Rummaging was heard before Baekhyun felt something lightly smack against his head. Startled, Baekhyun looked up to see Chanyeol holding out his breakfast towards him with a smile on his face.

“Take it. We need to eat so we can be on our way. This should hopefully be the last day,” Chanyeol told him. 

“Hopefully?” Baekhyun asked while slowly taking his breakfast. “You...are happy this is almost over?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Chanyeol said. He waved his hands around a few times and shook his head. “I just mean it in the sense that I won’t have to carry you anymore. When you reach your home you will be able to rest more comfortably and actually get better.”

“I thought you said I am not heavy,” Baekhyun commented back.

“Are you trying to pick a fight?” Chanyeol laughed before ruffling Baekhyun’s hair and sitting back down next to him.

Their breakfast was fast and then they were off. At first Baekhyun tried to convince Chanyeol that he was more than capable of walking on his own, but the struggle and pain of simply getting up proved him wrong.

“If you rest for even half a day, you will realize you feel better,” Chanyeol told him as he placed a hand on his shoulder. “The salve and magic should really kick in and allow you to walk without pain,” he explained. 

Although Baekhyun was not thrilled about having to be carried like a child, he knew he would only slow them down if he attempted to walk on his own. It was easier for Chanyeol to get the prince onto his back when he was conscious and able to assist him, which he was thankful for as he hoisted Baekhyun up. This time Chanyeol passed the bags to Baekhyun who held them in his hands, allowing for him to hold onto Baekhyun more firmly so he would not slide off. Since Molzey had seemingly enjoyed the sling she was in yesterday, Chanyeol put her in it again and she instantly curled up comfortably with only her head poking out.

A few hours into their travels, Baekhyun gasped and pointed at a small cliff he saw slightly off in the distance.

“Look! That's bear peek!” Baekhyun exclaimed. He pointed towards the rock structure and wiggled around on Chanyeol’s back slightly.

“Why is it called that?” Chanyeol asked, not seeing anything special about it. 

“Can you not see it?” the prince asked in shock. “If you look towards the top of the cliff, it looks like an open bear’s mouth,” he explained.

Still walking, Chanyeol squinted his eyes, turned his head to the side, and tried looking at the cliff from a different angle. No matter what he did, however, he was not seeing the open bear’s mouth Baekhyun was referring to.

“I think you are seeing things,” Chanyeol commented while repositioning Baekhyun on his back.

“Then you have never looked at a map of this area,” Baekhyun told him, sticking his tongue out. “It is marked on all the maps because it is legendary.”

“Legendary you say?” the wizard asked. Chanyeol turned his head back towards Baekhyun and gave him a questioning look. “How is that legendary?”

“Wwaahhh...they must really not teach you anything normal back home,” Baekhyun said in amazement. “Centuries ago, when the land was over populated with bears, there was a traveler who came through this way. It is said that he preferred the company of animals over people most of the time, so he often traveled paths where he could see the animals he liked so much. One day, he came across a cub and its mother, but before he could back away safely, the mother charged after him. The traveler ran up the cliff, hoping the bear would not like heights and refuse to follow him.”

“Well that was dumb…” Chanyeol muttered.

“Hey! This is a legend I'm telling,” Baekhyun scolded. 

“Alright, sorry. Continue on,” Chanyeol told him as he kept walking. 

“The man running from the bear caught the attention of other bears who joined in the chase. As still common today, people hunt bears as a prize game, so they were trying to protect themselves from their number one predator, humans,” Baekhyun continued. “The traveler reached the edge of the cliff and knew there was nothing he could do. If he jumped, he would die. There was also no chance of him fighting off the bears because he did not wish to hurt them and knew he would never win against so many. So he did what he thought was best and sat down. He told the bears he wished them no harm and would do nothing to hurt them.”

“So what? They mauled him once he was sitting?” Chanyeol asked.

“Stop interrupting me,” Baekhyun complained, pouting his lips.

“Sorry again...go on,” Chanyeol told him.

“So legend has it that the man was turned into a bear cub right where he sat. Some say it was a wizard passing by who was saving his life by turning him into one of the bear's own kind. Others claim it was the work of the heavens, who were allowing him to live the life he preferred. As an animal,” Baekhyun finished explaining.

Chanyeol stayed silent for a while after Baekhyun finished telling the story before he opened his mouth again. “If those are the kinds of legends you are told as children or in school...I think I will pass…”

“But they teach us lessons,” the prince told him cheerfully. “They are great legends to pass down.”

“Well wizards and muzakk have different opinions on what sorts of legends should be passed down,” Chanyeol commented.

Just as Chanyeol said that, a screech, exactly like the one from last night, rang out through the sky. Chanyeol froze and looked up to see something flying in the sky. He nearly dropped Baekhyun when he saw that it was a dragon flying not too far away.

“It...it’s…”

“A dragon,” Baekhyun finished for him. “His name is Kyungsoo,” he stated next.

“You knew there would be a dragon around here!?” Chanyeol shouted while still keeping his eye on the creature. “You weren't joking last night when you said that!?”

“Why would I joke about a dragon…?” Baekhyun asked in a confused voice. “My mother told me a dragon would guard my new home to keep me in and humans out,” Baekhyun explained like it was no big deal and happened all over the kingdom.

“Uhg...that explains the wings on our rings,” he said, everything finally clicking in his head. He had a hint right on his finger and he had not figured it out.

“Why do I get the feeling you're not thrilled about Kyungsoo?” the prince questioned.

“Baekhyun, wizards and dragons hate each other,” Chanyeol told him flat out. 

“What do you mean?” Baekhyun asked. “My mother said Kyungsoo was enchanted by a wizard…” He did not quite know what that had meant, but he did not automatically assume it was a bad thing.

“And you think he likes it?” Chanyeol asked. “That might not be something that was taught in your classes, but wizards and dragons have a terrible relationship with one another. There have been so many deaths we have caused to each other’s kind...it is ridiculous.”

“But that cannot be recent because a lot of dragons are not in this area anymore,” Baekhyun told him. "We can hardly find them anymore because they stay in seclusion," he pointed out.

Chanyeol shook his head and began walking again. “It's something heavily ingrained in us. We know to hate one another and not to go near one another,” he explained as simply as he could. “If I really need to you into your new home...it will be a challenge.” 

A hum left Baekhyun’s throat as he listened to Chanyeol. Maybe since Kyungsoo was expecting him, he would allow Chanyeol in with him for a short period of time. He had heard that dragons are intelligent, so perhaps he would be able to reason with the creature. After all, Chanyeol had nothing to do with Kyungsoo and had been helpful throughout his journey. Surely if he explained everything to Kyungsoo, he would understand.

“We made better time than I thought we would,” Baekhyun commented after seeing where the sun was and judged it was only around midday. 

“Yesterday...I might have used a simple spell to enable me to walk faster,” Chanyeol explained. “Since you were hurt, I wanted to get you to adequate shelter as fast as possible so you could rest properly.”

“You did not have to do that, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun told him.

“It was no problem. It made me a bit more tired than usual, but nothing I couldn't handle,” he explained calmly.

Baekhyun adjusted himself slightly on Chanyeol’s back and hugged him around the neck, smiling as he did so.

“Thank you for worrying about me, Chanyeol,” the prince whispered.

“Someone has to worry about you. I will worry about you whenever you ask,” Chanyeol told him.

“That means a lot to me,” Baekhyun said before they fell silent again.

The closer they got to the castle, the more they saw destruction. Trees began to look singed with fire, growing sparse in places where they had been badly damaged. Soon they saw charred ground where there was not a single trace of grass left. Some trees were left so badly burned that there were only singed leaves left hanging, the trees unable to grow new ones but trying so desperately. There were also fallen trees all around, no long