Chapter Text
Year 457 after the Crimson War, Seokchon, capital of the Jeon Kingdom
Jungkook was thirteen and his house was on fire.
Not in a metaphorical way, but phisycally, actually burning up. Nobody knew what had caused the fire and whether it was a deliberate one or simply the result of the cook’s neglect. What mattered now was that the whole northeast wing of the palace was ablaze. What’s more, the same wing happened to be where the heir’s chambers were.
It was dawn and everyone was running on their feet, wide awake and fully panicked. The only one who seemed the least disturbed and even attempted to help the guards put out the fire was the heir himself. He hadn’t been sleeping well that night so he was one of the first people who heard a female voice screaming ‘Fire! Fire!’. A few seconds after he’d gone out of his room there was already a maid tugging him by his sleeve. She was strong for such a tiny girl, but Jungkook had started his training last year as well as the first preparations for the Ritual. He was stronger. He pulled himself out of her grip and started running toward the other end of the corridor. He knew that such behaviour on his part could cost the girl her life, but as any thirteen-year-old boy, he thought that the palace was his to save and without his help everyone would end up in ashes.
There was smoke everywhere. A few guards passed by him and failed to notice his small figure. His eyes started to hurt and his visioin became blurry. He thought he was headed for the main staircase but after some more wandering he got lost. Jungkook had been living in the palace since he was five, which made more than a decade between its walls. Curiosity was a natural trait of his character - one of the few that he didn’t need to change or transfrom into more responsible ones. Thanks to it and to hours of wandering the corridors, he managed to make his way to the remotest room of this wing which had a bay window from where the wholе royal courtyard could be seen. It was used mainly for storage and sometimes for secret rendezvous between maids and guards. Jungkook used it for spying on the vampires while they were training in the courtyard and hiding from the queen. Both quite noble activites, he was sure of it. But now neither of them was his true intention. There was a hidden staircase behind one of the wardrobes. Had he managed to move the furniture, he’d be able to go downstaires.
The layer of smoke grew thinnier as he was approaching the small wooden door. It was always unlocked. He looked behind himself and pressed the door lock. He was inside in an instant, breathing in the musty smell of old furniture. It was better than choking on smoke. The room was mostly dark, the only light coming from the fire lanterns from the outside of the window. All Jungkook could see were shadows and more shadows. He’d never been an easily-scared kid so he turned his back to the window and squinting his eyes, he tried to locate the exact place of the wardrobe. He let his hands wander, discovering, examining. Always aware, always fully concentrated. Having found it, he gathered all his strength and started pushing. He had done it a few times before after the preparations for the Ritual had started so there was no reason for him not to succeed.
He was so concentrated on his efforts that he failed to hear the flapping of wings outside the bay window. One of the shadows growing bigger, more saturated, it was taking a shape, a volume, a meaning. The sound of wings was rhythmic, almost like an old song about creatures of fire and ice, about sunken cities and ghosts that had once been gods. But Jungkook was too young, too focused, too inexperienced, too unwary.
The bay window shattered into pieces the moment Jungkook succeeded in pushing the wardrobe out of the way. The lanterns went out. The heir couldn’t see anything so he finally heard . Swishing, the feeling of large masses of air finally being shuffled. Everything became hot and nipping. Jungkook felt the intruder before he saw it. It was something massive. Before he managed to react, something wrapped around his waist and his feet no longer touched the ground. Was he flying? Fresh air bursted in his lungs making him whirl and kick in the embrace of this creature .
Jungkook was flying for a while. Once again he couldn’t see very well. That’s something which will change once my transformation finishes , he thought in a blur and let his fingers do the job again. The creature’s skin was uneven and warm - too warm for any other being Jungkook had found himself close to. He tried to think of all the mythical creatures he’d been told about. Only one of them had such warm skin.
Was the heir kidnapped by a dragon ?
Impossible. It was the year 457 after the Crimson War, there should be no dragons dwelling in this land. But still?
Jungkook had been flying in the grip of the dragon for at least five minutes when he was abruptly dropped in a puddle of rainwater. He hurt his wrist during the landing and all his clothes were covered in mudd.
Again the hissing, the soft sound of something dissapearing only to reappear in another form.
Jungkook was finally on his feet, trying to find out where he was exactly when he heard a female voice behind him.
“My dragon welcomes you.”
This was the formal greeting given by a dragon to another dragon or any other creature. It showed both respect and willingness to understand and communicate with the other. Jungkook knew all this from his history books. Now he was stunned, his mouth frozen.
The woman was glowing. Literally. Her veins were like little rivers of lava flowing under her skin. Her hair was long and white which made a startling contrast with her skin. It was as if fire and ice inhabited her small body and were always fighting for dominance. The look on her face was warm in the predatory kind of way.
“I am not here to do you any harm, boy.”
Jungkook was still silent. He was brought up with the idea that these creatures were enemies.
Your biggest weapons are your silence and your bow with arrows.
“I came to save you.”
“I was not in any danger,” he bit back. To hell with the silence.
“I see you have some character. Perfect. You should accept my visit as both a favour and а warning.”
She remained silent for a moment letting her words have the desired effect on the heir.
“You have quite a colourful destiny, boy. I saved you tonight, because half of the palace will be burned to the ground. Especially your wing. A coincidence or not, you have to decide. I saved you because you have a purpose. You might not know it yet, but you do. See this as a favour, but rememeber that every favour needs to be returned one day.”
Jungkook wanted to ask a lot of things but he soon understood that none of his questions would be answered. All he knew for sure was that she was one of the dragons who could transform into humans and only a very small number of dragons possessed this ability. She had dropped them on the outskirts of the capital from where one could see the high wall surrounding the palace and some of the towers as well. His current wing was the lowest part of the massive building.
“Will you help me save the palace then?” He asked, already considering the quickest route so as to reach the palace on time.
“Me? Of course not. Let them burn.”
“But they are my people,” he fought back.
“No, you are mistaken. They are their queen’s people. One day you will have your own subjects, your own people who will share your perception of this world and how it works. I came here to ask you to be a wise ruler, Jeon Jeongguk.”
She was using his real name. Jungkook wasn’t particularly angry. He was disoriented, anxious and confused. Jungkook was a kid. Just a kid who was born under the wrong star and now was forced into becoming both a vampire and a king.
“Be careful of what king you will be, Jeongguk. You have fire in yourself. Do not let them drain you.”
Jungkook still felt the mudd under his fingernails when he reached the palace after having run until there was blood in his mouth. All he could see was white dragon scales. All he could hear was the flapping of wings.
Be careful of what king you will be.