Taemin didn't really know what to expect when King Jinki had knocked on his door that day and asked if he could speak with him. He knew he couldn't have broken a law of any kind, being only a humble animal caretaker that lived alone in a cottage near the mountains of Chudong.

He let the him in and poured him a cup of tea. The young king took a rest for a few minutes after his long journey and then explained to the young wizard of the dire situation he was in that has the kingdom in jeopardy. Another nation is planning to attack Chudong and overthrow the kingdom, and Jinki's only hope is the last dragon in the world, who resided in the forest of the kingdom. He knew that if he had something his enemies lacked, since the species was near extinction as a result of poaching, then he would surely be able to protect his people from the foreign threat.

"So...you're saying that this dragon is our only hope to win the war against the Aphrians?"

The king solemnly stared at the floor and took another sip of his tea. "Unfortunately..."

"But... what does all of this have to do with me, your majesty?"

The king sighed heavily and placed his teacup on the table. "Taemin, I believe you're the only one that possesses the skills necessary to tame this dragon. Not only are you one of the greatest wizards in the kingdom, but you're also the only one with the ablilty to communicate with other creatures and get through to what they're thinking. He's still quite young and is wreaking havoc among the kingdom's civilians. We've managed to capture him after much difficulty, but he's still refusing to cooperate with us. He knows we can't hurt him or threaten him because he's the key to our victory. You just need to care for him for a month or so. Teach him how to behave; try to make him good."

"I-I've only taken care of small woodland creatures, your highness. I'm not even sure if I have the skills to care for such a beast. I've never even seen a dragon in real life before. I don't know the first thing about caring for one." the animal caretaker admitted, the furry back of a kitten snuggled in his lap.

"I understand that this is a huge responsibilty, but you're our last hope. Please, do this for the kingdom. We can't afford to lose this war."

"A....alright, your majesty. I'll do my best." Taemin reluctantly agreed.

The older man breathed a sigh of relief and placed a hand on Taemin's shoulder. "Thank goodness! I'm forever grateful to you, Taemin. Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome...so when is this dragon coming? I need time to prepare for his arrival if you don't mind, King Jinki."

"Oh of course. We will bring him over at dusk. Does that sound alright?"

"That's fine."

The king clasped his hands together and stood up. "Excellent. We will see you then."

"Right. Also, what is his name?" Taemin stood up to open the door for the king.

"Minho. Choi Minho."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taemin spent the entire afternoon tidying up his mountain cottage for the dragon's arrival, emptying out a spare room for him and cleaning it so that it was spotless. He even went down to the city and purchased a book on dragons to study, plus food for him with the money that the king provided for him. He was thankful for that since he knew he wouldn't be able to afford the grocery bill himself, knowing that dragons ate more than three times his weight a day.

Soon dusk fell over Chudong, and Taemin anxiously waited for the dragon's arrival that was sure to be any minute now.

I wonder if they're as beautiful as the legends say they are... he wondered. He was curious about the creature of course, but if he had the choice, he would've rejected the king's offer. How could a humble wizard like him possibly take care of a dragon? Especially if this one is up to no good.

The young man instantly jumped to his feet at the sound of a knock at the door and swung it open. There stood a palace soldier, who bowed at the sight of the animal caretaker, and a carriage that had pulled up behind him.

"His majesty sent us to the boy."

Taemin nodded and glanced over the man's soldier to try to get a glimpse of the creature as the door to the carriage opened.

"Here is the key to the chains. Release him whenever you feel ready," he advised and handed it to the younger male.

He nodded as the man stepped aside and finally revealed the dragon, who was being escorted by two guards that held him by the shoulders.

Taemin wasn't going to lie. His expectations of how the mythical creature was going to look were much lower than his actual appearance. He had shining ebony colored hair that swept across his glowing yellow eyes. They seemed to fade to brown, though, when the dragon laid eyes on him. He was much larger than the guards who were quite bulky themselves, and Taemin could only imagine how flawless his upper body is underneath the black poet shirt he was wearing. 

The man looked slightly irritated when the guards carried him out by the arms, but smirked when his eyes laid on Taemin. "This is him? Thank goodness. I thought you were going to leave me with some gross old mountain man. At least he's cute."

The teen's jaw dropped at the insensitive remark. "Excuse me?"

Minho only grinned in amusement as the guards prepared to leave. "We'll be going now. If you need any help, just cast a spell to send us a letter and we'll come as fast as we can."

"Will do." Taemin responded as he glared at the smug looking dragon that was handed over to him.

"Name's Minho, cutie. What's yours?"

"Taemin. Pleased to meet you." he lied between clenched teeth.

Once the soldiers were out of sight, Taemin turned to his new house guest, who had somehow managed to slip out of his handcuffs and had flown above him. Had he not been annoyed with Minho, Taemin would've stopped to admire the stunning set of wings that had suddenly sprouted from his back. They shimmered in the dim sunlight, and were a dark, gorgeous blue that was almost mesmerizing. A slim, pointed tail had also appeared behind him, matching the color of his wings.

"Sorry for leaving so soon, but I have plans that don't involve being stuck in a dingy old cottage with you, even if you are cute, so I'll be off," he sneered and started towards the sky.

Taemin only crossed his arms and waited for the dragon to discover the spell he had casted before his arrival just in case he needed it.

Minho looked below him and smirked, thinking he'd won his battle until he slammed into something mid-air. He stopped and looked around for what had blocked him, but saw nothing. "What the hell?!"

"Shield spell. No one can come in and no one can get out. Except me of course." Taemin simply stated as Minho continued ramming himself into the invisible barrier, trying to break it open. He tried using all of the magic he could muster up into a sphere and threw it at the shield, but it only absorbed it and continued to stay fully in tact.

He growled at the defeat, still floating in the air. "How is your magic more powerful than mine?"

"The shield is supposed to be invinsible against anything except the person that cast it. Now come here. It's time to go inside." he called Minho and waved him over.

"Do I look like a freaking dog to you?"

"Well you sure are acting like one, now aren't you? Now get your scaly inside, please."

It only took one glance at Taemin's disapproving stare for the dragon to admit defeat and storm inside, growling as he did.

Taemin sighed and followed him inside. This is going to be harder than I thought...

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Whoops."

Taemin sighed as another one of his potion viles had "accidentally" been knocked over onto the floor by Minho, smashing it to pieces. The dragon only smirked as he watched the wizard sweep up the broken glass and strolled over to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat, satisfied. Taemin only rolled his eyes and continued cleaning.

Three days.

It had only been three days since the spawn of Satan Minho had arrived and Taemin really believed for the first time in his life that he was going to go insane. He knew Minho was only doing these things on puropse to torture him. He wanted so badly to scream at him at the top of his lungs and slap him across the face for being a jerk (like he had since day 1), but he had to remember why Minho was here in the first place.

He was supposed to "reform him" and turn him good, and taking care of animals for so long Taemin knew that the only way that was going to happen was if he befriended Minho and treated him kindly, and knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. So all he did was treat the dragon as indifferently as possible, aside from asking him what he wanted for dinner and cleaning up the messes that he made.

"Move, rodent." he spat at the squirrel resting on the couch and shoved him off so he could lie down. The squirrel squeaked in distress and scurried to Taemin's side. The wiza