The dragons spoke of a day when they would be free.
Free of the chains that bound them to obey the will of the greedy human race and its cruel King.
There was a legend of old, it spoke of a human who bore the heart of a dragon.
The one that would...
The dragon slept soundly through the night, Jimin made sure of that. Despite his exhaustion he stayed awake until the sun was beginning to peak over the hills, bathing the scorched field orange.
The moment he moved to get back to his tent not wanting to be caught, the dragon awoke. Yawning so loudly his jaw cracked, seeming to open more than a human mouth could.
"Morning" Jimin stated as the dragon turned his attention to the human beside him.
The dragon said nothing only made a happy chuffing sound and rubbed his face against Jimin's shoulder where he has previously been resting.
"I have to go, I'm notallowed to be here. I can come see you tonight when the sun goes down" Jimin explained.
The dragon didn't seem to like that idea, because he clamped a hand, with a vice like grip, around Jimin's arm.
"Stay" the dragon pleaded, the tone was almost as desperate as when he had begged the knights to let him go.
"I can't, we will both be in trouble, I can see you tonight. I promise" Jimin looked the dragon in the eyes so he would get both the severity of his sentence and the sincerity of his promise.
The dragon introduced a pout to his face, but otherwise let go of Jimin's arm, the human rubbed it as the grip had been quite tight.
"If my King promises, Taehyung will listen" the dragon dipped his head.
Jimin wanted to ask something else when he heard that sentence, but the shuffle of the guards alerted him that he needed to move.
But that single sentence was going to weigh on his mind for the rest of the day until he could clarify its meaning at night fall.
~*~
Just as Cadel had promised they stopped in the next town they came across.
They stocked up on much needed food supplies, many had been lost in the fight against the dragon, it most had gone up in flame, most things had that day.
So with Jimin's money he had earned and saved up while living in his village, he purchased just a little more food. Hiding it in his pack, he intended to give it to the dragon so he could be full too.
The dragon had gotten antsy when they had arrived in the town. The bright colours and crowds must have been putting him on edge.
It didn't help that he had been trying to pull the knights containing him towards Jimin everytime the human came into sight.
It was endearing in its own way, but Jimin was scared incase the knights suspected something. But they all seemed as distracted with their surroundings as Jimin was.
It was a Sunday, so the markets were in full bloom, a large array of food and carefully laid out crafts stretched as far as the eye could see.
Jimin had looked at a couple of the accessories. The market reminded Jimin of his home village, though their market wasn't as large as this, it still provided all a family could need.
This felt like there was to much choice, vendors yelling, trying to be louder than the other to sell their similar goods.
Jimin didn't have to pretend to be captured by the sights and smells of the market and village, well it was more like a town.
But he did cast the occasional glance back at the dragon, the dragon seemed to try and reach out for things as well, noticeably the ones that Jimin had inspected and put down again.
But the thick bindings showing his caught nature prevented him from doing so. The knights kept on pulling him back too.
Just what had the dragon meant?
He had referred to himself in third person perhaps, was Taehyung his name?
Then he had gone on to refer to Jimin as his 'King'?
As far as Jimin was concerned he was no King, just a simple son of a butcher and tailor.
Then came the other issue, none of the knights seemed to understand the dragon. They either didn't understand or they elected not to. But the avoidance of understand led Jimin to the first option.
But then why could he?
He glanced back to the dragon who's attention had be caught by a stall selling dried and cured meats, the occasional smoked one too.
Jimin rounded back, feigning interest in the meat, the dragon had been pulled away a little.
So Jimin held up the meat as if to assess it, the dragon caught on quickly much to Jimin's surprise. He began to nod his head and shake it when Jimin held up the meats.
The vendor looked miffed till Jimin bought a large quantity, well larger than a traveller should. It shut the grumbling vendor up quickly.
Jimin stuffed it into his pack swiftly and ran to catch up to the pack of knights once again.
Cadel seemed to be talking to a guy, Jimin could practically see coins swirling in the other man's eyes. Evidently they were striking a deal.
Eventually it seemed to be settled, Cadel had gotten them rooms at an inn in town. It was the perfect way to refresh on their journey, it seemed to lift the spirits of the knights as well.
After the horrors they had seen over the past few days they needed this comfort. And they practically cheered for the Captain.
Jimin joined the knights in that moment, he too felt the need for a warm bed, well just a bed in general. He had never travelled before so any comforts offered would be accepted willingly.
~*~
He got roomed with 3 other knights. There were bunk beds, so least he didn't have to share that. They were thankfully not Murdock and Ho-jin, so he could relax, these knights were unknown to him.
Apparently the dragon was holed up in Captain Cadel's room. The knight wished to take no risks with the younger recruits, so Jimin knew he couldn't sneak to the dragon that knight as he promised.
But the promise weighed deep on his mind, the dragon had said the sentence with such finality, so Jimin couldn't help himself.
His socked feet hit the ground when the town bell stuck 2.
