For centuries the people of the small mountain village had been required to offer their children to the dragon who lived in the lake.
Once every fifty years the great dragon would walk among them, choose a child of his liking and in return promise protection, prosperity and peace for the life of the child. When the child came of age they were to be wed, by the rights of the humans, to the great dragon and would sail across the lake never to be seen again.

The legends said that when a great dragon found his true love in a human child, his love would make the bride immortal and sacrifices would no longer be required, as the bride’s life would never extinguish save for at the death of the great dragon.
All prayed for the day the great dragon would find his true love.

None knew the fate of the children who were not his true love, only that their crops prospered, war remained but a myth and illness never ravaged the village for the fifty years of an average lifespan. They mourned and celebrated the chosen child, pampered and yet ignored them; what was the use growing attached to a child they could never keep?

When Tae was five years old, the great dragon walked among them.

Tae’s mother had just given birth to a girl child and all in the village could tell she would be a great beauty. They dressed the newborn in their finest silks in hopes that the great dragon would choose her, for surely a child that promised such beauty would be the dragon’s true love.

The other children were also dressed in finer clothes than they had ever worn, but all hoped that the villages youngest would please the great dragon. It was much easier to lose a child they had just known, than to lose one they had raised for the past ten years.
When the great dragon appeared among them, it was with a great gust of air. Most of the villagers had never seen the great dragon in person before, only the oldest elder recognized the Great Spirit.

He had the visage of a young man. Fair skinned and hair as white as the full moon, his eyes were wide and an appealing blue and his features held an unearthly beauty, both masculine and somehow feminine. He stood taller than any man that lived among them and his great robes sparkled and shimmered from one colour to the next at every step he took.

He walked straight towards Tae’s family, bypassing every prospective bride along the way sparing them not a glance. Disregarding Tea’s parents the great dragon leaned close to the newborn, his nose flush to the baby girl’s cheek.

Ever villager stood in silent anticipation. Surely it was a good sign that the great dragon had gone straight to the child.

It was a long moment that the great dragon bent over the girl child. A moment that was broken when he felt another child’s hand touch the sleeve of his shimmering garment. He snapped his head in the child’s direction with speed that bellied his inhuman origin.
Those who saw Tae move gasped in fear, unsure of what the great dragon would do to someone who had so disrespected his person.

All were enthralled as the child and the great dragon stared at each other, long seconds passed the two seemed to search each other’s eyes. Slowly the great dragon reached his slender hand to touch the child’s chin and turned Tae’s face away as he leaned closer and to the amazement of all the village kissed the child’s cheek.

The next moment with another vicious gust of wind the great dragon was gone, and Tae’s mother took to wailing loudly.



 
The next year a boy from the neighbouring village came to work in the mountain village’s smithy. He was tall and handsome; every girl in the village would follow him and giggle to themselves whenever he walked about town.

He proved to be a quiet and hardworking boy. He spoke rarely, but when he did it was with precise wording and a strange accent they attributed to his birthplace. Often the village elders remarked on his demeanour and strength. Many times families with young daughters would invite him to sup and stay with them, but he turned them down with tact and grace, never once causing anyone to feel slighted for his lack of interest in their daughters.

The only person that the boy, who called himself Ryu, took interest in was Tae, the young bride promised to the great dragon of the lake.

Soon after Tae’s christening as bride promised, he had been raised to a position of import, idolized and worshiped but ultimately unloved, he was a price to be paid, a sacrifice to be made, better to fatten him up before the slaughter, lest the great dragon be angry at the lack of care given him.

Tae lived in a house of his own, with a servant to care for his every need; he was fed the best of the crops and taught by the best teachers, some would say he lived the life of a prince. But one could tell, if they ever deemed to look him in the eye, that he was a sad and lonely child.
At six years old he was never known to laugh or smile, a stark change from the year before when his bright grin and ringing laughter mixed with that of the village’s other children.

Ryu took pity on the other boy, and one night he sneaked into the bride’s house. The servant was fast asleep, as was the young boy, but Ryu shook him gently till he woke, and with a smile he beckoned the boy to dress and follow him.

Once Tae had dressed Ryu took him by the hand and led him back through the house, past the sleeping servant’s room, and quietly through the unlit streets of the village to the forest at the edge of the last of the rice fields.

Once clear of the muddy fields, the bottom of their pants soaking wet Tae looked up at the older boy, fear and a little bit of excitement in his eyes.

“What are you doing?” he asked timidly.

“We, are going swimming, follow me.”  Ryu, once again took the younger boy’s hand and began to lead him in the direction of the lake.

“We’re not allowed to go in the lake!” cried Tae wrenching his hand from Ryu’s gentle grasp causing him to stop and turn.
“Why ever not?” He asked, blinking not understanding the little bride’s look of fear.
“The great dragon lives there.”

Ryu smiled and let out a short breath through his nose. “So that’s why no one ever swims there? Trust me, the great dragon really doesn’t mind, I’m sure he even feels slighted, he’s probably wondering if everyone thinks his lake is dirty. It’s a slight not to swim in the lake of your benefactor, you know.” Ryu held out his hand again, “Anyway, you’re his promised bride; I highly doubt he’ll begrudge you a dip in his waters.”

Tae still seemed unsure, but he took the older boy’s hand again and let him lead him to the edge of the glacial lake. “It’s so blue…” he wondered in awe.

“Beautiful, right? Such a shame to let it go to waste.” Ryu sighed and shook his head, a small smile on his lips. He turned to Tae, giving the little boy’s hand a gentle squeeze. “ Come, I’ll teach you to swim!”

The two ran down the beach stripping their clothes till they were both in only their loincloths.

“Are you sure this is okay?” Tae asked from the water’s edge.  Ryu was already in up to his knees and looked back, a placating smile on his handsome face.

“Really, it’s fine. How do you know so little about the great dragon, don’t your priests tell the stories?”

“How do you know so much?” Tae asked back as he took his first steps into the water. He heard Ryu gasp, and looked up to see what was wrong. “What! What? Is he coming? He’s mad isn’t he?” Tae began to scramble back up the beach.

“No! no, no. He’s not mad…I mean, it’s you, why would he be mad?” Ryu ran out of the water, catching the young boy by his wrist. “Come on, I promise, it’s fine. Really.” He gently pulled the boy back to the water.

“You scared me! Why did you gasp?”

“I’m sorry,” placated Ryu as he pulled Tae deeper into the water. “I hit a cold spot.”

“Oh. But…It is a cold lake.”

“I know, I’m just not used to it In this-on this side.” Ryu answered. “Come on, I’ll show you how to float.”

By the time the birds were heralding the breaking day, Tae had learned to float on his own and dive down to the bottom. Ryu never left his side till he declared their lesson done and as quick and as quietly as possible escorted Tae back to his room, hair still dripping wet.

“Can we go again tomorrow?” Tae asked around a huge yawn. Ryu laughed softly.

“How about next week? You need to sleep too you know.” He leaned over and gave the young bride a kiss on the cheek.




 
By Tae’s ninth year he could keep up with Ryu in the water, although the older boy was obviously more proficient, he had taught Tae well and every week they’d go swim in the great dragon’s lake while the rest of the village slept.

Tae had requested that the village priests teach them everything that was to be known about the great dragon. Sometimes Ryu would laugh at the things the priest would tell Tae, and would set the younger boy straight as soon as possible.

“Oh goodness, dragons don’t eat their brides!” Ryu exclaimed exasperatedly.

“Even if the brides aren’t their true loves?” Tae enquired. “Ko-ssi said that if the bride is displeasing, the great dragon will eat him…or her.”

“Of course not! Your priests are idiots. The great dragon chooses his brides, why would he eat someone he chose?”

“What if he chooses them because they look the most delicious?” Ryu laughed out loud at this.

“Seriously Tae, I promise you, the great dragon has never eaten one of his brides.” He ruffled the younger boy’s hair, Tae looked momentarily placated.

“Wait. How do you even know that?”

Ryu paused to give Tae an endearing look. “My village’s priests are much more educated than yours.”

“Oh. Well that’s stupid.” Tae pouted leaning back against the smithy’s outer wall where he and Ryu were spending Ryu’s lunch break.

“It is kind of sad.”  Ryu supplied, taking a bite of his rice cake.

“Sad?” Tae asked and Ryu offered him a bite of the same rice cake.

“That the priests who worship the great dragon know so little about him. It must make the great dragon sad.” Taemin hummed in agreement around his mouthful.

“You’ll be of age next month.” Tae said, changing the subject. “Do you have a bride in mind? I know many of the village girls have been dressing prettier than usual in hopes of getting your attention.

Ryu gave Tae a strange look, studying his downturned face as he finished his last bite. “I already have a promised bride.” Tae looked up, startled.

“Oh..?” he tried to appear uninterested but failed miserably.

“The summer before I came to this village, I promised myself to a bride.”

“But you were only eleven years old! How does that even work?” Tae exclaimed, bewildered and shocked. Ryu laughed much too brightly for Tae’s liking.

“You, yourself were only...what? Five years old when you were promised.”
“That’s different, I’m the bride.”

“Yes, you are the bride.” Ryu ruffled the younger boy’s hair and stood, brushing the dirt off the seat of his pants. “I have to go back to work, go back to your lessons.” Tae stood as well nodding his farewell to Ryu and began to sprint back to the temple when Ryu hollered after him “Tell me anything weird they say!”

Tae laughed aloud, but didn’t stop, only raised his hand in agreement and continued on his way.




 
The winter Tae was twelve the priests told him, that the bride of the great dragon was always a when given to the great spirit of the lake; that any man or woman who defiled the bride with their touch would be hunted down by the spirit and that the bride would be turned away and the promise broken.

Later that day when Ryu reached to ruffle his hair, he ducked out of the way and bowed his head. “Ko-ssi says I’m not to touch anyone else.”

Ryu was silent for a long time. They stood facing each other, but Tae kept his head bowed.

“The great dragon…he is a jealous being…” Ryu sighed and shuffled his feet, running a hand through his own hair. “I cannot tell you the priest is wrong in this. Especially now you are older.”

Tae crossed his thin arms over his body.

“I’m sorry.” Ryu bent to look the younger boy in the eye, catching sight of his tears.  “Please don’t cry. It will break the dragon’s heart.”

“What if I don’t want to wed the great dragon…” Tae whispered, and Ryu felt his heart drop.

“The-“ Ryu broke off in agitation. “No bride who has not met their husband wishes to go through with marriage for any reason other than making their family happy.”

Ryu took a big breath. “Come with me, one last time tonight, I will tell you the dragon’s story.”

“I already know the story of the beast.” Tae Grumbled.

“Not this one. Please, one last time?”

They stood in silence for many moments until Tae nodded his head in agreement, then he left, his eyes never once leaving the ground.

Ryu felt his heart break.





 
That night Ryu led Tae to the great lake. It was covered by a thick sheet of ice, the moon was full and lit the surrounding forest with an icy light.

Ryu lit a fire on the lakes shore, and bundled himself and Tae in many blankets before settling on either side of the warm blaze. He took a steadying breath and began the legend of the great dragon, as none had ever heard it before.

“The great dragon- who is as old as this lake, for he is the lake- lived many centuries alone. His fellow spirits tried to cheer him; they threw parties and fought wars, offered their daughters as brides and their sons as meat, all in hopes of bringing the great dragon from his loneliness and sorrow.

“Many centuries the lake lay frozen, the sky above grey and the land in winter as the great dragon drowned in his loneliness.

“The gods grew weary of the great spirits and their ways, they grew tired of the spirits immortality and decided to make mankind.

“Mankind were weak and fragile, easily broken, and yet so ready to survive, they lived short lives full of hardship, sometimes petty lives, sometimes lives full of things the spirits never knew, lives full of love and kindness.

“One day mankind settled on this mountain, despite the bitter cold and the frozen world, they settled and made their way of life. Many months the great dragon watched the humans as they struggled to survive, as, instead of fighting and killing each other, they shared what little they had with their fellow kind.

“The great dragon longed for this, the love they showed every person in their midst. He woke from his isolation, and approached the humans. Many days they welcomed him to their homes and he grew to love them like his own children, of which he yet had none.
“He took one of the villagers as his bride, a woman whom he loved more than the rest, and he promised to protect the village that had shown him kindness, as long as his bride lived.

“His bride grew to love him as he did her, and she bore him one son before her human life span took her from him.

“Taken with grief the great dragon died not long after his human mate, but he spent the last of power ensuring his only son would never know the death of the one he loved, giving his life force as the bride price to the one true bride that would grow to love his son.

“For centuries the great dragon’s son, now the great dragon himself, has searched for his true love, giving his love to one bride for the span of their life, in hopes that one bride would one day grow to love him like his mother had loved his father.

“He wears his father’s bride price around his neck, ready to give it to the bride who declares their love for him.

“Thus has the great dragon promised health, prosperity and peace to this mountain village for centuries.”

Ryu took one last breath and sighed as he let it go, waiting for Tae to offer his thoughts. The silence stretched long before Tae moved and let free a sigh of his own.

“So… He’s not a mean spirit then… not like… he’s not- I mean, he loves me?” Tae said in disbelief.

“More than all the others,” Ryu said softly.

“He doesn’t even know me, he saw me but once, how could he love me?” Tae declared, his voice wavering, bewilderment in his eyes, he felt his heart grow heavy with the burden of being told he was loved by someone he did not know.
Ryu searched the younger boy’s eyes across the dimming fire. “He has known you from the moment he first saw you. He has watched you grow, you have swum in his lake, how could he not know you?”

Tae was silent as a single tear ran it's course down his cheek. He was not one to cry easily, he had grown from his childish ways, but he cried tears of anger and betrayal, tears for a future he wanted so badly but had stolen from him before he even knew what was happening. “What if I love someone else?”

Ryu choked on nothing and Tae struggled to stand from under his coverings, ready to run, but Ryu rounded the fire quicker than Tae had ever seen the young man move, he laid a gentle hand on Tae’s covered shoulder, holding him in place.

“Oh Tae,” he said softly, his voice deeper than ever, and his eyes black with sadness.  He cared not for the great dragon’s retribution when he reached to turn the younger boy’s face towards his own. “The great dragon is not so cruel.”

“I’m sure, that when he sees your love for another he will not hold you anymore, he is a jealous spirit, but his love for you is not the kind that wishes his own happiness, but yours alone.  When the day of your wedding comes, you must be brave and tell him whom you love.” He slipped his hand under Tae’s coverings to the back of his head. “Promise me this?”

Tae’s eyes were still red but his tears had dried and he nodded his assent.




 
Ryu steered clear of Tae after that night, he would still smile his way and offer a kind word or two in greeting, but he no longer sought out Tae’s company. While Tae’s heart grew heavy with the perceived rejection, he thought, perhaps, that Ryu really did fear the dragon’s retribution for Tae’s love.

The sky was cloudy for many months, and the villagers found it took the lake much longer to thaw in the spring than usual, but despite the strange lingering cold, the village still thrived.

One day the cloudy sky began to boil and a storm brewed in its depths, thunder rolled in the skies, and the priest said it was the cry of the dragon’s angered heart. Lighting stuck the ground and the priests whispered among themselves, that the great dragon must be mad with them for something they had done.

One bolt of lightning hit the smithy and fire began to spread about the village. The villagers ran to draw water from the Lake to put out the fires, the rain grew heavier and pelted down upon them and the fires, hissing and sputtering in the heat.  

Tae ran through the streets of the village racing for the smithy, where he knew Ryu had been working late. The building had collapsed inwards from the fire. The flames had died but the blackened wood still sputtered and hissed from the heat.

Coughing from the smoke, Tae worked his way through the pile of rubble. “Ryu! Ryu, where are you, please, please don’t be here, please be safe!”  Tears stained his cheeks clean as they washed away the soot in their path. “Ryu!” he cried once more, his voice breaking and he doubled over in another coughing fit.

As he straightened he caught site of a figure pinned beneath a support pillar that had fallen. He stumbled and crawled his way through the rubble to the spot where Ryu lay nearly motionless, his breath rattling through his compressed ribcage the only sign of life.

“Ryu!” Tae cried as he fell down by the boy’s side, “Please Ryu, wake up…”  Ryu’s eyes fluttered open and Tae thought he saw a flash of pale blue irises beneath the boy’s black ones.

“I’m still here Tae… for a little while.” Ryu raised his free hand to wipe at the tears on Tae’s cheeks, managing only to further spread the soot and grime.

“I’m sorry, I meant to stay with you till the day you were wed. It seems though, that this body is entirely mortal.” Ryu let his dirty fingers trace the line of the younger boys jaw. “Love with all of your heart dear one,” he whispered with his last breath.

“Ryu! No! Ryu…no you can’t, no. Please, please.” Tae leaned over the lifeless body of his friend, placing his grubby hands on either side of the older boy’s face. “Please don’t go, Please,” he sobbed. “I love you.”

The storm silenced and only rain fell upon the scorched ground. Tae leaned over the form of his only friend, the boy he’d grown to love over the years and placed a chaste kiss on his lifeless lips. He vowed to never love another.
The blacksmith found them the next morning, the younger boy wrapped around what he could reach of the dead apprentice, protecting the body from the rain that had lasted the whole night.
 



Tae spent the rest of the year in mourning. He felt his strength drain away as he lamented the loss of the one he loved. In his heart he felt a kind of hatred grow toward the great dragon.  It took a long time before he could smile; but eventually his spirit grew strong again, even if his heart did not. Years passed and as Tae’s body grew he began to dread the day he would be pronounced of age and wed to the great dragon.

One day in his fourteenth year Ko-ssi declared Tae of age, and the wedding preparations began.
A feast was prepared, and red garments that glittered with gold were sewn for Tae as his wedding Hanbok. Silver cranes were sewn into the sash as wishes for long life. Bells were sewn to the hem to cheer him on his way and his headdress made his head ache with the weight of all the jewels.

Tae watched the whole proceedings with surprising apathy, he found his soul had no more tears to cry over the cruel fate that had been forced upon him.

When his wedding day came, he lamented the beautiful day, but he dutifully carried out the actions expected, and when noon day hit, he let himself be lead down to the lake shore.

The water sparkled and shone a brighter blue than all the times Tae had seen it before, and he found himself begrudgingly admiring the beauty of his groom’s home; a lake that held such an important role in his happy memories.

When the water grew restless and the wind began to dance roughly about the lake, Tae bowed his head, unwilling to look upon his groom. He heard the villagers gasp and cry out in alarm as a great shadow swooped down upon them, yet Tae did not lift his head.
The wind danced about, and Tae feared his headdress would come off with the force of it. The shadow diminished to the size of a man, and though Tae did not raise his head he felt more than heard the great dragon draw closer.

Tae felt a shiver run down his spine and the dragon’s hand reached out for his own, and with a sinking heart he let his fingers mould with the beast’s. 

The world faded out from around him though he looked only at the hem of his hanbok, he felt the world shift.

In a voice that sent shivers of recognition down Tae’s spine the dragon said. “I have one request of you dear one. You must answer me truthfully.” Tae nodded and raised his head, but kept his gaze low. “While I watched you grow, I loved none but you… I heard though, that you love another.”

Tae grew stiff, and he felt his mouth tighten in a hard line as tears pickled his eyes and a sob fought at the back of his throat. “Loved…” Tae felt his voice break with his heart, and he voiced the words he dared not say before. “He is dead.”

“I… I had hoped you would say that,” the great dragon said so kindly, so softly, but Tae felt anger rise up and he lifted his burning eyes to the Dragon’s.

His words of anger caught in his throat as he stared into a face he knew so well. The great dragon’s hair was as pale white as the full moon, his eyes as blue as the water he called his, but his handsome face was one Tae knew from more than just the one memory from his fifth year.

In front of him stood the man he had grown up next to, the man who had been a boy with him, who had taught him to swim in his lake, who had spent his whole mortal life telling Tae of the love he had for him.

In front of him, stood his husband, the boy he had loved and yet the dragon who had watched him grow from the day he’d been promised to him.

“Ryu…?” Tae whispered in awe and the great dragon’s eyes sparkled with happiness and mirth as he gripped Tea’s face between his warm palms.

“I’m sorry I lied to you, I could not tell you who I was, I could not take your rejection. When you told me you loved another, I had feared that it was not myself. I have loved you since the first time I saw you, but that love was nothing compared to how I grew to love you while living with you.  I’m sorry you had to loose -“ Ryu broke off as Tae stood on his toes and covered the great dragon’s mouth with his own.

“Shut up,” He kissed him again with a little more force, “shut up, I love you.”