Dragon Prince - Chapter Twenty One
Dragon Prince
Chapter Twenty One
Youngsaeng’s powerful wings cut through the air, moving them easily through the pleasant afternoon. Under different circumstances dragon and rider alike would be enjoying the feeling of the air across the skin, the warmth of the sun on their backs, and the pure joy of spending time together doing something that they loved. This afternoon, however, they felt none of that, as all of their focus was intent on looking for any sort of approach.
‘There,’ Youngsaeng spoke into his mind, calling his attention to the land before them. Hyunjoong could see nothing for a moment since it was impossible for his eyes to make out details from that high in the air. ‘With my eyes,’ Youngsaeng reminded him gently.
Hyunjoong nodded and closed his own eyes allowing himself to connect to Youngsaeng and see what he was seeing. The connection took a moment to establish, something that Youngsaeng told him would likely disappear when they were truly bound. When it did, Hyunjoong could clearly see what the dragon was seeing.
There in the distance, was a column of men, easily three times the number of their own forces. Riding at the head of it was a figure in a gleaming suit of form fitting armor. The breastplate was etched with a dragon that curled up and over the chest of it. The surface of the metal for the entire suit was covered in small etched symbols each one a bright red.
What would normally weaken any metal strengthened it beyond belief. Hyunjoong knew from experience that the armor of the king was made of the strongest metal that constantly bent and remolded to the shape of his body. At the same time it was so light that it felt as though only fabric were clothing the wearer. There was a helmet of nearly the same material, but Hyunjoong could see that his father had forgone wearing it.
Behind him was an elegant carriage pulled by two horses. To either side of it, fanning out like wings, were the King’s personal soldiers, recognizable by the silver dragon on their armor. Spread out behind them, in neat lines, were men mounted on horses. The entire procession was moving much faster than any horse should be able to even when running at top speed and Hyunjoong knew it was a product of dragon magic.
Without any further communication, Youngsaeng turned, folded his wings, and dived through the air. Hyunjoong leaned low over his neck and opened his own eyes again. The dive was the quickest way to the ground and their friends who were waiting with tenseness below.
Youngsaeng back winged just above the ground and set them down lightly just in front of Soojin. Without a word being spoken, the sound of weaponry being drawn rang through their troops. Hyunjoong vaulted from the saddle and made short work of undoing the straps and pulling it free, not wanting it to hinder Youngsaeng in anyway if he needed to fight. He handed it to a waiting rider who would carry it to the back of their group where it would be out of the way.
When he was finished he moved with Youngsaeng until he was several paces ahead of the rest of their group. Yunho and his guards came with him, fanning out in a line just behind and beside him while Soojin and the rest of her children flanked Youngsaeng in a line on the other side.
There were a few quiet moments where it seemed like nothing was going to come. Hyunjoong focused on his breathing and the sound of his heart as he placed a hand on Youngsaeng’s shoulder. He knew the danger of dwelling on thoughts just before a battle and so, as his teacher had drilled him for years, he focused instead on his body and the things he could control.
They saw the dust first, thrown up by the hooves of hundreds of horses. It was followed closely by the gleam of the sun on metal. In moments the troops had come into view and were racing toward them. The well trained warhorses didn’t so much as shift as they approached. For a moment Hyunjoong wondered if his father intended to plow straight through him in a move that was very unlike him, but just as he had completed that thought his father halted only a hundred feet away, stopping as if they had never been moving at all.
He said nothing as his father dismounted from his horse, a smirk on his face. The man stared at his son and Hyunjoong met his gaze unflinchingly. “So my son, have you had fun playing with your little gypsies?” When Hyunjoong said nothing, his smile widened. “I see they have poisoned your mind against me. It is time for you to come home my son and stop playing their games.”
“They have done nothing but open my eyes to the truth,” Hyunjoong said evenly.
“Ah yes, I had heard it was you who decided to free all of my pets. How nice of you to bring them all back to me plus an addition or two,” the King said casually.
“I, as the Dragon Prince,” Hyunjoong said, his voice filled with strength, “in the name of the people of this land, come to seek justice for the crimes that have been committed against them. You have the right to speak in your defense.”
The King threw back his head and laughed. “So formal my son. When I was your age I had already gutted my father to take the throne. I knew you would never have it in you. There is too much of your mother in you, although I suppose I should have taken care of you long ago as I did her.”
Hyunjoong couldn’t suppress his reaction to his father’s words. “What have you done with my mother?” he asked anger seeping into his voice.
“Your mother? Why she is right here, would you like to meet her?” he walked to the carriage behind him and opened the door. A slender hand reached out from inside and placed itself in his palm. Using it he helped a woman in a flowing white dress to step from the carriage. Her hair fell around her in long white slivery waves and it was clear she was breathtakingly beautiful despite the marks that marred her features.
Her hand still in his, they walked together a few steps forward until she turned to face Hyunjoong. “May I present, Ikuseghan, Princess of the Metal Dragon Tribe, my Queen and your mother.” She inclined her head slightly as he listed off her titles, but the entire motion felt wrong, stiff, forced. Hyunjoong took an involuntary step forward towards her.
“Come my son,” she said softly, her free hand reaching towards him, “Come home. Your father will forgive what you have done. Let’s go home.”
He stared at her for a moment and blank blue eyes stared back at him. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. Without a doubt in his mind the woman standing before him was his mother, but she was not even a person any longer. “What did you do to her?” he asked slowly.
“Nothing too much. I just helped her control herself. That is all,” the King replied flippantly. Youngsaeng growled lowly.
“Release her, this minute. Undo what you have done,” Hyunjoong ordered.
“I can’t son. Without me her heart won’t beat. You wouldn’t want her to die would you?” he asked smirking.
Hyunjoong stumbled back and pressed into Youngsaeng’s body. ‘Don’t let him get inside your head,’ the dragon told him softly.
“Come home my Hyunjoong,” his mother’s voice called freely. “One of your dear friends is waiting for you. You should come and play with him like you used to.”
“Changmin,” Hyunjoong murmured, distracted temporarily from his mother.
“Oh yes him,” his father said as if he had forgotten about a family pet. He made a gesture and two of his guards dismounted and moved to the carriage. From within it they pulled a body in chains. Bloody and bruised with one leg twisted at an impossible angle, Hyunjoong could still tell it was the form of one of his best friends.
Only the knowledge that his actions would do no good at the moment, kept him from lunging forward to help his longtime friend as the guards dragged him beside the King. He heard the shift of the horses beside him, the only indication that his friends had seen what he had.
“He is very well trained,” his father cooed with a twisted smile as he lifted Changmin’s head with his free hand. His fingers slid across the man’s cheek in a form of a caress, producing a whimper from the man. As angry as the sound made him, Hyunjoong was glad for the evidence that Changmin was still alive. “He stayed so quiet for so very long.”
“Release him,” Hyunjoong ordered, his hands balling into fists.
“Now, now, none of that,” the King said casually.
“Come home honey and he will be fine,” came from his mother’s mouth.
“You heard your mother, Hyunjoong. Will you come home?”
“No,” Hyunjoong replied, the words weighing heavily on his tongue. “You will be brought to justice for everything you have done.”
“Don’t worry dear,” the King said as if he was reassuring his mother. “I will bring our son home again. Although he does need to understand that there are consequences for his actions.” The King pulled a dagger from the sheath at his waist and in one smooth motion reached out and dragged the blade across Changmin’s throat.
“Changmin!” Hyunjoong heard Yoochun scream from behind him and he echoed the pain filled scream in his own heart.
“Don’t,” Yunho said sharply his voice filled with anger.
‘His life is not yours to take,’ Youngsaeng snarled. Hyunjoong felt the strange tingle on his senses that meant Youngsaeng was using his magic and he stared in wonder as the blood that was running freely from Changmin’s throat ceased and began to reverse back into his body. It took him a moment to understand the dragon’s intention. Wounds were something that any wood dragon could heal, but they could not produce what wasn’t there.
“Ah dragon. You think your magic is stronger than mine?” the King said with a laugh. He held out his hand and the blood stopped flowing all together.
Beside Hyunjoong, Youngsaeng groaned and stumbled forward. “Take my strength,” Hyunjoong told him, stepping close to him once more. Youngsaeng didn’t say a word, but he could feel him in his mind, pulling his strength from him.
The King’s eyes fell on them and he laughed. “Oh isn’t that precious. My son has taken a dragon mate and a male none the less. You are just an abomination all the way around. Better to just be rid of you now.” As if coming to a decision the King, released the hand of his Queen so that he could extended it towards them. Hyunjoong smelled the scent of forest before they were hit with the raw power of wood magic. Youngsaeng released a pained noise and stepped backwards.
‘My son,’ he heard a feminine voice speak frantically into his mind. Hyunjoong’s eyes sought out his mother and met her gaze. She hadn’t moved but her eyes had turned pure white and full of life. ‘Ayize, your true name is Ayize.’
The moment she said it, the King turned to face her, his face contorting in anger. “What are you doing, bitch?!” His hand swung out connecting with the side of her face, sending her sprawling into the dirt. When she hit it, her eyes returned to the lifeless blue.
Snarling the King turned to face them again. “I tire of this,” he snarled and drew his sword. It glowed a sickly green and he held it towards them. Hyunjoong felt magic anew slam into them and Youngsaeng crumpled to the ground beneath it. Beside the King his mother began to shift from a human to a dragon.
Hyunjoong was barely aware of the two earth dragons behind him that were shielding the rest of their people from the strength of the magic as he collapsed beside Youngsaeng and pressed his face to the dragon’s scales. He reached out with his mind, knowing his lips would not be able to form the words. ‘My name is Ayize,’ he murmured.
‘Ayize,’ Youngsaeng repeated weakly. At the sound of it a sharp burn flashed over Hyunjoong’s heart. Simultaneously he felt the bond between the two of them fully form and solidify, binding them forever as one. They were of water from one half of the bond but the other was of metal by birth and that could make them strong.
Hyunjoong rose in a smooth motion and drew his sword. It glowed brilliantly white as he swung it and sliced straight through the magic of the King, severing its hold on Youngsaeng. They moved together, Youngsaeng lunging to his feet and Hyunjoong towards the King at a run.
It took them too long. Halfway between the two armies a white blur slammed into Youngsaeng and when Hyunjoong reached his father, his father was ready for him. Their blades locked with a metallic ring. “Now I’ll finish what I started twenty years ago,” his father hissed. “Kill them all!”
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Yunho saw his Prince, his friend, his leader engage the King in what he knew would quickly become the fight for all of their lives. He saw the men across the field begin their charge. He heard Soojin shout the answer to their charge but his mind was on only one thing.
He spurred his horse into action, dashing forward in a straight line for Changmin. Without looking he knew Jaejoong and Junsu were on either side of him. Well aimed arrows flew by his head from Yoochun’s hands, dropping the several of the Kings guard from their horses without any further effort. Jaejoong and Junsu pulled ahead of him, working their horses in an intricate dance of death and battle.
Jaejoong swung his sword, deflecting a blow from the nearest opponent, and then his mount spun in a tight circle, the horse kicking out to catch another in the chest as they went. Together beast and man danced crumpling one horse, disarming a man, and killing two others.
Yunho fended off an attacker with his own blade but a moment later Junsu was there engaging them for him. He surged forward on his horse through the opening the pair had made him to Changmin’s side. He was off his horse in a second, gathering the younger man into his arms. There was blood everywhere; so much of it that he didn’t know if there was anything left in the man and Changmin was still bleeding sluggishly from the deep cut across his neck.
Yunho lifted him and placed him as carefully as he could on the saddle, immediately climbing up after him. He gathered the young man into his arms again and spun his horse. “You are safe now Changmin, we have you,” he said as he leaned low, protecting Changmin with his body and charged through the fighting masses. His horse, following subtle directions from his legs, charged headlong through the mass, weaving around often through the battlers.
At the back of their troops, in the relative safety, they had stationed the healers. It was towards them that Yunho headed. By the time he reached them he had received several cuts along his upper body but nothing that would hurt him permanently and nothing that could have deterred him from his goal. He leapt off his horse and landed in front of Arunika and then turned and gently pulled Changmin’s body from the saddle after him.
“Please, you have to do something,” he murmured frantically to her as he laid Changmin’s body on the ground in front of her.
She passed her hands over his body as if she was afraid to touch him. “He is barely alive,” she murmured. “I don’t know what I can do for him but I will try.”
“Thank you,” Yunho replied rising to his feet. He swung back into his saddle and turned his horse. Together they raced forward back to the battle, leaving Changmin in the hands of Arunika to fight for his life.
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Youngsaeng tucked his wings close to his body and rolled with the impact of the other dragon, allowing her sharp claws to graze harmlessly against his body. He rolled to his feet and lashed out with his tail which she immediately blocked with her own. They jumped apart hissing at one another and Youngsaeng was saddened by what he saw.
Her white scales had deepened in color until they looked almost gray. Over the tops of them her blood oozed in strange symbols that he didn’t recognize, yet he knew they were the source of the King’s control on her. She glared at him with lifeless eyes, her tail lashing. Youngsaeng knew that due to her bulk and experiences she would win a fight on the ground. His only chance was in the air.
When airborne he would be faster, and able to use his own elemental strength over hers to his advantage. Flying would take a lot more concentration and if the King was controlling her the way Youngsaeng thought he was then he would be forced to divert the concentration between controlling her and fighting his son. It was the best that Youngsaeng could do for his mate.
He made to lunge for her and at the last second shifted his weight sideways darting past her. Two more leaps and several beats of his wings and he was airborne. A snarl echoed behind him and he knew she had followed. She would be fast, with a larger wing span and more muscle mass, she would be able to move at a greater speed, but he knew he was more agile.
Youngsaeng could feel her approaching behind him and he tucked his wings and rolled. Flying upside-down was nearly impossible but gliding was not. She never expected him to try it, so when he did it was too late for her to correct. She shot by overtop of him and he snapped his tail up as hard as he could. The cry full of anger and pain told him that his hit had been successful and sure enough as she continued by he saw he had created a new bloody line down the collection of symbols on her stomach.
Through his bond with Hyunjoong he felt the calm calculations of his mate while he was fighting with the King and immediately he saw the effects of his successful strike against her, and the small hesitation in the King’s movements as he had to collect himself and refocus. Youngsaeng knew that Hyunjoong understood what he was doing and the pair fell into a rhythm. On the earth and in the sky they moved as one.
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The first time the King paused in his elaborate fighting motions, it was too brief for Hyunjoong to take advantage of, as was the second. The third time, the King stumbled backwards glancing to the sky where the white dragon cried out. Hyunjoong took advantage of the opening and dove forward, his sword poised for a fatal strike. The King realized a second later and spun to the side. It was not enough to evade Hyunjoong’s blade however, and it struck the breastplate hard, then bounced off leaving its wearer unharmed.
Hyunjoong danced backwards weariness tugging on his body. If felt as though they had been fighting for hours instead of minutes, due to the amount of magic his father was using and the magic he was using in return. Since he had begun tapping into the metal dragon magic in his blood as his birthright, he had not stopped and the use of it was quickly exhausting him.
His father wasn’t the greatest swordsmen, he had never been thanks to all the magic he wielded and although Hyunjoong was superior in skills he would never be able to match him in magic. It was magic that was wrapped around and through the King’s armor, magic that protected him and no amount of skill in swordplay would defeat that.
‘You have my power to. The magic of water,’ Youngsaeng’s voice echoed in his mind. ‘My power is yours to use, his armor will fall before it.’
Hyunjoong had only a moment to contemplate what the dragon was saying because his mate hit the forth mark on the white dragon and the King stumbled forward. Hyunjoong gathered the magic to him as he had been doing, but pulling it instead from his mate. The white glow around his sword shifted slightly and became tinted through with blue. With it, he leapt forward engaging the King once more.
Unprepared, the King managed to block the first and the second swing, but not the third. Hyunjoong’s sword slide along the King’s side and cut through the metal of the breastplate as if it was made of butter. The King screamed in anger as his blood spilled out through the gash in his armor. He dropped his sword and lunged forward, attacking with the raw power of all of the dragon magic in his possession.
Hyunjoong screamed in pain and crumpled beneath the feel of it. Laughing the King stood above him, pouring more and more magic onto his son, magic laced with pain, anger and despair. Hyunjoong whimpered in pain, curling in on himself involuntarily.
‘Hyunjoong!’ Youngsaeng screamed and Hyunjoong felt it as the dragon shared in all of his pain, anger, fear. The dragon pulled it from him, bearing the pain so his mate wouldn’t have to, taking it upon himself until Hyunjoong was blissfully numb. Hyunjoong could feel the muscles of the dragons wings falter as if they were his own. He felt the desperate turn and swing as if he himself had tried to give it his last best effort. He felt the brief feeling of satisfaction as it connected and did the damage it was supposed to.
It was as if another’s hand closed around the hilt of his sword, lifting it, forcing muscles that couldn’t and wouldn’t move. The sword rose into the air and he thrust it up blindly. A moment later he gasped as the magic swirling around him cut off abruptly. Finally able to breathe and see through his own eyes again, Hyunjoong looked up at the man standing over him. From the chest of his father, Hyunjoong’s sword protruded, glowing faintly blue. The King’s face was twisted in a mixture of emotions as he stumbled backwards clutching at the protruding metal. A moment later he collapsed onto the ground and the white dragon fell out of the sky.
Chapter Twenty Two
Masterlist
AN: And there you have the epic battle scene. I hated it when I first wrote it, then I liked it okay when I read through it. Now I am alright with it so it is what you all are stuck with. I hope all of your hearts made it through that. To make up for the torture (or a tiny tiny part of it) I will tell you all that I am working on the next chapter of 'Of Flesh, Fur, and Fang'. ^^;
*laughs* I love the gif for this mood I am using (points below). So perfect. Oh Siwon I don't even know what to call that expression.
Chapter Twenty One
Youngsaeng’s powerful wings cut through the air, moving them easily through the pleasant afternoon. Under different circumstances dragon and rider alike would be enjoying the feeling of the air across the skin, the warmth of the sun on their backs, and the pure joy of spending time together doing something that they loved. This afternoon, however, they felt none of that, as all of their focus was intent on looking for any sort of approach.
‘There,’ Youngsaeng spoke into his mind, calling his attention to the land before them. Hyunjoong could see nothing for a moment since it was impossible for his eyes to make out details from that high in the air. ‘With my eyes,’ Youngsaeng reminded him gently.
Hyunjoong nodded and closed his own eyes allowing himself to connect to Youngsaeng and see what he was seeing. The connection took a moment to establish, something that Youngsaeng told him would likely disappear when they were truly bound. When it did, Hyunjoong could clearly see what the dragon was seeing.
There in the distance, was a column of men, easily three times the number of their own forces. Riding at the head of it was a figure in a gleaming suit of form fitting armor. The breastplate was etched with a dragon that curled up and over the chest of it. The surface of the metal for the entire suit was covered in small etched symbols each one a bright red.
What would normally weaken any metal strengthened it beyond belief. Hyunjoong knew from experience that the armor of the king was made of the strongest metal that constantly bent and remolded to the shape of his body. At the same time it was so light that it felt as though only fabric were clothing the wearer. There was a helmet of nearly the same material, but Hyunjoong could see that his father had forgone wearing it.
Behind him was an elegant carriage pulled by two horses. To either side of it, fanning out like wings, were the King’s personal soldiers, recognizable by the silver dragon on their armor. Spread out behind them, in neat lines, were men mounted on horses. The entire procession was moving much faster than any horse should be able to even when running at top speed and Hyunjoong knew it was a product of dragon magic.
Without any further communication, Youngsaeng turned, folded his wings, and dived through the air. Hyunjoong leaned low over his neck and opened his own eyes again. The dive was the quickest way to the ground and their friends who were waiting with tenseness below.
Youngsaeng back winged just above the ground and set them down lightly just in front of Soojin. Without a word being spoken, the sound of weaponry being drawn rang through their troops. Hyunjoong vaulted from the saddle and made short work of undoing the straps and pulling it free, not wanting it to hinder Youngsaeng in anyway if he needed to fight. He handed it to a waiting rider who would carry it to the back of their group where it would be out of the way.
When he was finished he moved with Youngsaeng until he was several paces ahead of the rest of their group. Yunho and his guards came with him, fanning out in a line just behind and beside him while Soojin and the rest of her children flanked Youngsaeng in a line on the other side.
There were a few quiet moments where it seemed like nothing was going to come. Hyunjoong focused on his breathing and the sound of his heart as he placed a hand on Youngsaeng’s shoulder. He knew the danger of dwelling on thoughts just before a battle and so, as his teacher had drilled him for years, he focused instead on his body and the things he could control.
They saw the dust first, thrown up by the hooves of hundreds of horses. It was followed closely by the gleam of the sun on metal. In moments the troops had come into view and were racing toward them. The well trained warhorses didn’t so much as shift as they approached. For a moment Hyunjoong wondered if his father intended to plow straight through him in a move that was very unlike him, but just as he had completed that thought his father halted only a hundred feet away, stopping as if they had never been moving at all.
He said nothing as his father dismounted from his horse, a smirk on his face. The man stared at his son and Hyunjoong met his gaze unflinchingly. “So my son, have you had fun playing with your little gypsies?” When Hyunjoong said nothing, his smile widened. “I see they have poisoned your mind against me. It is time for you to come home my son and stop playing their games.”
“They have done nothing but open my eyes to the truth,” Hyunjoong said evenly.
“Ah yes, I had heard it was you who decided to free all of my pets. How nice of you to bring them all back to me plus an addition or two,” the King said casually.
“I, as the Dragon Prince,” Hyunjoong said, his voice filled with strength, “in the name of the people of this land, come to seek justice for the crimes that have been committed against them. You have the right to speak in your defense.”
The King threw back his head and laughed. “So formal my son. When I was your age I had already gutted my father to take the throne. I knew you would never have it in you. There is too much of your mother in you, although I suppose I should have taken care of you long ago as I did her.”
Hyunjoong couldn’t suppress his reaction to his father’s words. “What have you done with my mother?” he asked anger seeping into his voice.
“Your mother? Why she is right here, would you like to meet her?” he walked to the carriage behind him and opened the door. A slender hand reached out from inside and placed itself in his palm. Using it he helped a woman in a flowing white dress to step from the carriage. Her hair fell around her in long white slivery waves and it was clear she was breathtakingly beautiful despite the marks that marred her features.
Her hand still in his, they walked together a few steps forward until she turned to face Hyunjoong. “May I present, Ikuseghan, Princess of the Metal Dragon Tribe, my Queen and your mother.” She inclined her head slightly as he listed off her titles, but the entire motion felt wrong, stiff, forced. Hyunjoong took an involuntary step forward towards her.
“Come my son,” she said softly, her free hand reaching towards him, “Come home. Your father will forgive what you have done. Let’s go home.”
He stared at her for a moment and blank blue eyes stared back at him. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. Without a doubt in his mind the woman standing before him was his mother, but she was not even a person any longer. “What did you do to her?” he asked slowly.
“Nothing too much. I just helped her control herself. That is all,” the King replied flippantly. Youngsaeng growled lowly.
“Release her, this minute. Undo what you have done,” Hyunjoong ordered.
“I can’t son. Without me her heart won’t beat. You wouldn’t want her to die would you?” he asked smirking.
Hyunjoong stumbled back and pressed into Youngsaeng’s body. ‘Don’t let him get inside your head,’ the dragon told him softly.
“Come home my Hyunjoong,” his mother’s voice called freely. “One of your dear friends is waiting for you. You should come and play with him like you used to.”
“Changmin,” Hyunjoong murmured, distracted temporarily from his mother.
“Oh yes him,” his father said as if he had forgotten about a family pet. He made a gesture and two of his guards dismounted and moved to the carriage. From within it they pulled a body in chains. Bloody and bruised with one leg twisted at an impossible angle, Hyunjoong could still tell it was the form of one of his best friends.
Only the knowledge that his actions would do no good at the moment, kept him from lunging forward to help his longtime friend as the guards dragged him beside the King. He heard the shift of the horses beside him, the only indication that his friends had seen what he had.
“He is very well trained,” his father cooed with a twisted smile as he lifted Changmin’s head with his free hand. His fingers slid across the man’s cheek in a form of a caress, producing a whimper from the man. As angry as the sound made him, Hyunjoong was glad for the evidence that Changmin was still alive. “He stayed so quiet for so very long.”
“Release him,” Hyunjoong ordered, his hands balling into fists.
“Now, now, none of that,” the King said casually.
“Come home honey and he will be fine,” came from his mother’s mouth.
“You heard your mother, Hyunjoong. Will you come home?”
“No,” Hyunjoong replied, the words weighing heavily on his tongue. “You will be brought to justice for everything you have done.”
“Don’t worry dear,” the King said as if he was reassuring his mother. “I will bring our son home again. Although he does need to understand that there are consequences for his actions.” The King pulled a dagger from the sheath at his waist and in one smooth motion reached out and dragged the blade across Changmin’s throat.
“Changmin!” Hyunjoong heard Yoochun scream from behind him and he echoed the pain filled scream in his own heart.
“Don’t,” Yunho said sharply his voice filled with anger.
‘His life is not yours to take,’ Youngsaeng snarled. Hyunjoong felt the strange tingle on his senses that meant Youngsaeng was using his magic and he stared in wonder as the blood that was running freely from Changmin’s throat ceased and began to reverse back into his body. It took him a moment to understand the dragon’s intention. Wounds were something that any wood dragon could heal, but they could not produce what wasn’t there.
“Ah dragon. You think your magic is stronger than mine?” the King said with a laugh. He held out his hand and the blood stopped flowing all together.
Beside Hyunjoong, Youngsaeng groaned and stumbled forward. “Take my strength,” Hyunjoong told him, stepping close to him once more. Youngsaeng didn’t say a word, but he could feel him in his mind, pulling his strength from him.
The King’s eyes fell on them and he laughed. “Oh isn’t that precious. My son has taken a dragon mate and a male none the less. You are just an abomination all the way around. Better to just be rid of you now.” As if coming to a decision the King, released the hand of his Queen so that he could extended it towards them. Hyunjoong smelled the scent of forest before they were hit with the raw power of wood magic. Youngsaeng released a pained noise and stepped backwards.
‘My son,’ he heard a feminine voice speak frantically into his mind. Hyunjoong’s eyes sought out his mother and met her gaze. She hadn’t moved but her eyes had turned pure white and full of life. ‘Ayize, your true name is Ayize.’
The moment she said it, the King turned to face her, his face contorting in anger. “What are you doing, bitch?!” His hand swung out connecting with the side of her face, sending her sprawling into the dirt. When she hit it, her eyes returned to the lifeless blue.
Snarling the King turned to face them again. “I tire of this,” he snarled and drew his sword. It glowed a sickly green and he held it towards them. Hyunjoong felt magic anew slam into them and Youngsaeng crumpled to the ground beneath it. Beside the King his mother began to shift from a human to a dragon.
Hyunjoong was barely aware of the two earth dragons behind him that were shielding the rest of their people from the strength of the magic as he collapsed beside Youngsaeng and pressed his face to the dragon’s scales. He reached out with his mind, knowing his lips would not be able to form the words. ‘My name is Ayize,’ he murmured.
‘Ayize,’ Youngsaeng repeated weakly. At the sound of it a sharp burn flashed over Hyunjoong’s heart. Simultaneously he felt the bond between the two of them fully form and solidify, binding them forever as one. They were of water from one half of the bond but the other was of metal by birth and that could make them strong.
Hyunjoong rose in a smooth motion and drew his sword. It glowed brilliantly white as he swung it and sliced straight through the magic of the King, severing its hold on Youngsaeng. They moved together, Youngsaeng lunging to his feet and Hyunjoong towards the King at a run.
It took them too long. Halfway between the two armies a white blur slammed into Youngsaeng and when Hyunjoong reached his father, his father was ready for him. Their blades locked with a metallic ring. “Now I’ll finish what I started twenty years ago,” his father hissed. “Kill them all!”
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Yunho saw his Prince, his friend, his leader engage the King in what he knew would quickly become the fight for all of their lives. He saw the men across the field begin their charge. He heard Soojin shout the answer to their charge but his mind was on only one thing.
He spurred his horse into action, dashing forward in a straight line for Changmin. Without looking he knew Jaejoong and Junsu were on either side of him. Well aimed arrows flew by his head from Yoochun’s hands, dropping the several of the Kings guard from their horses without any further effort. Jaejoong and Junsu pulled ahead of him, working their horses in an intricate dance of death and battle.
Jaejoong swung his sword, deflecting a blow from the nearest opponent, and then his mount spun in a tight circle, the horse kicking out to catch another in the chest as they went. Together beast and man danced crumpling one horse, disarming a man, and killing two others.
Yunho fended off an attacker with his own blade but a moment later Junsu was there engaging them for him. He surged forward on his horse through the opening the pair had made him to Changmin’s side. He was off his horse in a second, gathering the younger man into his arms. There was blood everywhere; so much of it that he didn’t know if there was anything left in the man and Changmin was still bleeding sluggishly from the deep cut across his neck.
Yunho lifted him and placed him as carefully as he could on the saddle, immediately climbing up after him. He gathered the young man into his arms again and spun his horse. “You are safe now Changmin, we have you,” he said as he leaned low, protecting Changmin with his body and charged through the fighting masses. His horse, following subtle directions from his legs, charged headlong through the mass, weaving around often through the battlers.
At the back of their troops, in the relative safety, they had stationed the healers. It was towards them that Yunho headed. By the time he reached them he had received several cuts along his upper body but nothing that would hurt him permanently and nothing that could have deterred him from his goal. He leapt off his horse and landed in front of Arunika and then turned and gently pulled Changmin’s body from the saddle after him.
“Please, you have to do something,” he murmured frantically to her as he laid Changmin’s body on the ground in front of her.
She passed her hands over his body as if she was afraid to touch him. “He is barely alive,” she murmured. “I don’t know what I can do for him but I will try.”
“Thank you,” Yunho replied rising to his feet. He swung back into his saddle and turned his horse. Together they raced forward back to the battle, leaving Changmin in the hands of Arunika to fight for his life.
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Youngsaeng tucked his wings close to his body and rolled with the impact of the other dragon, allowing her sharp claws to graze harmlessly against his body. He rolled to his feet and lashed out with his tail which she immediately blocked with her own. They jumped apart hissing at one another and Youngsaeng was saddened by what he saw.
Her white scales had deepened in color until they looked almost gray. Over the tops of them her blood oozed in strange symbols that he didn’t recognize, yet he knew they were the source of the King’s control on her. She glared at him with lifeless eyes, her tail lashing. Youngsaeng knew that due to her bulk and experiences she would win a fight on the ground. His only chance was in the air.
When airborne he would be faster, and able to use his own elemental strength over hers to his advantage. Flying would take a lot more concentration and if the King was controlling her the way Youngsaeng thought he was then he would be forced to divert the concentration between controlling her and fighting his son. It was the best that Youngsaeng could do for his mate.
He made to lunge for her and at the last second shifted his weight sideways darting past her. Two more leaps and several beats of his wings and he was airborne. A snarl echoed behind him and he knew she had followed. She would be fast, with a larger wing span and more muscle mass, she would be able to move at a greater speed, but he knew he was more agile.
Youngsaeng could feel her approaching behind him and he tucked his wings and rolled. Flying upside-down was nearly impossible but gliding was not. She never expected him to try it, so when he did it was too late for her to correct. She shot by overtop of him and he snapped his tail up as hard as he could. The cry full of anger and pain told him that his hit had been successful and sure enough as she continued by he saw he had created a new bloody line down the collection of symbols on her stomach.
Through his bond with Hyunjoong he felt the calm calculations of his mate while he was fighting with the King and immediately he saw the effects of his successful strike against her, and the small hesitation in the King’s movements as he had to collect himself and refocus. Youngsaeng knew that Hyunjoong understood what he was doing and the pair fell into a rhythm. On the earth and in the sky they moved as one.
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The first time the King paused in his elaborate fighting motions, it was too brief for Hyunjoong to take advantage of, as was the second. The third time, the King stumbled backwards glancing to the sky where the white dragon cried out. Hyunjoong took advantage of the opening and dove forward, his sword poised for a fatal strike. The King realized a second later and spun to the side. It was not enough to evade Hyunjoong’s blade however, and it struck the breastplate hard, then bounced off leaving its wearer unharmed.
Hyunjoong danced backwards weariness tugging on his body. If felt as though they had been fighting for hours instead of minutes, due to the amount of magic his father was using and the magic he was using in return. Since he had begun tapping into the metal dragon magic in his blood as his birthright, he had not stopped and the use of it was quickly exhausting him.
His father wasn’t the greatest swordsmen, he had never been thanks to all the magic he wielded and although Hyunjoong was superior in skills he would never be able to match him in magic. It was magic that was wrapped around and through the King’s armor, magic that protected him and no amount of skill in swordplay would defeat that.
‘You have my power to. The magic of water,’ Youngsaeng’s voice echoed in his mind. ‘My power is yours to use, his armor will fall before it.’
Hyunjoong had only a moment to contemplate what the dragon was saying because his mate hit the forth mark on the white dragon and the King stumbled forward. Hyunjoong gathered the magic to him as he had been doing, but pulling it instead from his mate. The white glow around his sword shifted slightly and became tinted through with blue. With it, he leapt forward engaging the King once more.
Unprepared, the King managed to block the first and the second swing, but not the third. Hyunjoong’s sword slide along the King’s side and cut through the metal of the breastplate as if it was made of butter. The King screamed in anger as his blood spilled out through the gash in his armor. He dropped his sword and lunged forward, attacking with the raw power of all of the dragon magic in his possession.
Hyunjoong screamed in pain and crumpled beneath the feel of it. Laughing the King stood above him, pouring more and more magic onto his son, magic laced with pain, anger and despair. Hyunjoong whimpered in pain, curling in on himself involuntarily.
‘Hyunjoong!’ Youngsaeng screamed and Hyunjoong felt it as the dragon shared in all of his pain, anger, fear. The dragon pulled it from him, bearing the pain so his mate wouldn’t have to, taking it upon himself until Hyunjoong was blissfully numb. Hyunjoong could feel the muscles of the dragons wings falter as if they were his own. He felt the desperate turn and swing as if he himself had tried to give it his last best effort. He felt the brief feeling of satisfaction as it connected and did the damage it was supposed to.
It was as if another’s hand closed around the hilt of his sword, lifting it, forcing muscles that couldn’t and wouldn’t move. The sword rose into the air and he thrust it up blindly. A moment later he gasped as the magic swirling around him cut off abruptly. Finally able to breathe and see through his own eyes again, Hyunjoong looked up at the man standing over him. From the chest of his father, Hyunjoong’s sword protruded, glowing faintly blue. The King’s face was twisted in a mixture of emotions as he stumbled backwards clutching at the protruding metal. A moment later he collapsed onto the ground and the white dragon fell out of the sky.
Chapter Twenty Two
Masterlist
AN: And there you have the epic battle scene. I hated it when I first wrote it, then I liked it okay when I read through it. Now I am alright with it so it is what you all are stuck with. I hope all of your hearts made it through that. To make up for the torture (or a tiny tiny part of it) I will tell you all that I am working on the next chapter of 'Of Flesh, Fur, and Fang'. ^^;
*laughs* I love the gif for this mood I am using (points below). So perfect. Oh Siwon I don't even know what to call that expression.