Chapter Text
Jungkook wasn’t born into the best life. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth or without much in general. His parents passed when he was young and he was left to fend for himself, and ever since then, he’s been on his own.
He tried to live the just life that those around him did. Work for his country and king, pay his taxes and do his part to better society.
But it just didn’t work for him.
He tried, he truly tried but he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t keep any job and wasn’t able to pay his taxes. So, he had to play the hand that life have dealt him.
If he couldn’t follow the rules, he just had to beat them.
The laws of the world didn’t suit the disadvantaged and those who were dealt the shorthand in life had to compromise their morality just to get by.
Begging turned to petty theft and picking coins up off the ground turned into skillful pickpocketing.
Which is where Jungkook found himself now. Off the books of any record ever since he was a boy, taking from rich lords' pockets and disappearing into the bustling streets before they ever noticed.
It wasn’t the most glamorous life, one that would have his hand or ear. But Jungkook was yet to be caught, which he took as a sign that it would be the way for the rest of his life.
Jungkook sighed, looking around the imperial city’s street for someone to stand out. Someone off their guard, new to the town and wandering around aimlessly, and someone with a deep pocket that he could easily take from.
His eyes glittered as his gaze fell on one particular target. Someone well dressed, a cape flowing behind their back to cover rich purple gowns. Caught up in conversation, paying little attention to the commotion around them.
He seamlessly slipped into the crowd, quickly matching the pace of the horde as he walked closer and closer to the flashy, caped stranger. His own clothes–permanently borrowed from distracted brothel customers–blended in perfectly with the flow of traffic. Once he had the chance to reach into their pocket, he’ll look like any other good citizen.
He took a deep breath to calm himself as he approached them. When he got close enough, he was ‘accidentally’ got shoved by a stranger, tripping over his feet and stumbling into the wealthy stranger.
As soon as he made contact, he immediately reached into their pocket, grabbing whatever he could and slipping it into his own pockets. A quick transaction, before he could even regain his footing. “My apologies,” he mumbled, taking a step back into the flow.
Two steps away, pride swirled in his chest at the accomplishment. He didn’t know what he stole–but the stolen bag weighed down his pocket heftily. The thief grinned in satisfaction at a job well done.
Until he was on the ground.
Jungkook blinked, confused as his face was pressed down into the concrete, long hair falling before his gaze. He struggled, trying to stand up—he wasn’t unfit by any means, but he couldn’t budge in the slightest.
He looked around, trying to see what happened, who had easily brought him to the ground.
And when the person above him shifted slightly, out of the corner of his eye, Jungkook noticed the cape swooping against the ground. And when Jungkook shifted his gaze up, his eyes landed on a black sword’s hilt.
Jungkook’s breath hitched in realization of who he just stole from.
Not just any flashily dressed stranger. A soldier, carrying a black-hilted sword. The telltale sign of the king’s royal guard.
He didn’t steal from just anyone– he stole from the king .
Shit.
~~
The royal guard gripped his wrists with such strength that he was bruised in the process. He winced in pain as he was pushed forward.
Swiftly following his capture, the guard was quick to bring him to the palace–just north of the imperial city. And since the solider were in direct connection with their sovereign, they didn’t have to go through the mess of requesting an audience.
This is exactly how Jungkook found himself pushed to the ground before the throne. His knees bashed against the hard floor as his head hung low, fierce grip on his shoulder a reminder for him to know his place.
A lowly peasant. The scum of the kingdom should be cleaned from the streets.
“A thief who attempted to steal from your royal guard, Your Majesty,” they spoke, shoving Jungkook to the ground.
Footsteps shuffled away, as Jungkook attempted to get back upright on his knees. His chest heaved with effort, trying to ignore the pain that was shooting across his body.
He froze when he heard the steps in front of him. Not from the guard who had captured him–but before him, from the throne.
Jungkook let in a sharp breath when the king spoke.
“Do you know why I created my guard, thief?” he asked, footsteps growing closer to the bowing man.
Jungkook kept silent, knowing better than to respond. He was caught and there was no sense trying to plead his way out.
“So that I can be throughout the kingdom, serving justice throughout the land.”
He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to bite back the remark. The king was far from the good, noble leader he made himself out to be. Not a benevolent leader but a cruel dictator whose wrath was felt over the land.
The reason that children far and wide went hungry every night—the reason that people like Jungkook grew up poor and famished, doomed to live a life of crime just to get by, only to be punished for it later in life.
“The royal guard is an extension of myself,” the monarch said, footsteps stopping before the bowing man. “Stealing from them is to steal from me. Do you know what that is called, thief?”
And before Jungkook could comprehend what was happening, a swift kick was dealt to his abdomen. He coughed at the sudden intense pain, doubling over as his wrists struggled against the rope behind his back.
The king sneered, “Treason. And do you know what the punishment is for treason?”
Jungkook winced at the fierce pain in his stomach, aches across his body, burning wrists—and the realization of just what the king was charging him with.
Any act against the king and kingdom was dealt with swiftly and harshly, without remorse or second guesses. Any act of treason was met with immediate execution.
Jungkook’s throat was dry, the weight of the situation resting on his shoulders. He felt a fierce gaze on the back of his head as he tried to take in a breath.
“Take him to the prison,” the king commanded.
He didn’t even have the time to comprehend what had just happened, the weight that the sentencing carried—that he was going to be killed . The soldier was immediately at his back, grabbing his wrists and shoving him away from the throneroom.
He stumbled over his own feet, struggling to keep up with the burly guard, mind racing at how stupid he was. He should have known who the flashy stranger was, and shouldn’t have been so foolish to try and steal from them.
The prison was in the depths of the castle, a far cry from the glamorous palace above. Instead, it was dingy and damp, pools of some sort of liquid leaking from the roof and into the cells. The bars were thick and clashed loudly when they were slammed shut.
Jungkook pressed himself into the corner, pulling his thin robes tightly against his skin, shivering from the chill in the cell. He didn’t know when he was going to be executed, which made his stay in the prison even worse.
He tried to fall asleep, hoping that the agonizing passage of time would slow.
When he heard the unforgettable sound of the entrance of the prison opening, he shut his eyes with more intensity, trying to ignore the sounds of the prison and life bustling about. But when the sounds of someone approaching stopped outside his cell, he slowly awoke, peering at whoever came to inspect him.
The figure before him was clad in a crimson jobok, looking into his cell with a blank look on her face.
Jungkook gulped at the sight of a member of the royal court being before him. Members of the king’s court, much like his guards, were given the privileges of immunity and power. Not to be disrespected in any regard.
The colour of her robes indicated she was among the highest-ranking officials in the king’s royal court. She introduced herself as Cah Eun-Ae– second in command of the court.
“Ma’am,” Jungkook squeaked, bowing slightly to the official as much as he could while staying cuddled up in the corner.
“The court has decided how you will be executed,” Eun-Ae explained, staying perfectly still as she took in the rather pathetic sight of the curled-up thief. “You shall be brought to the mountains to be executed by dragon’s fire.”
Jungkook paled. Dragons had been residing in the mountains to the north of the kingdom—and had been utilized to rid the streets of the king’s enemies. Not necessarily tied and bound to be offered up to the dragons in sacrifice, but to save their name by presenting the king with dragon scales–-the toughest known material in the realm—and perish in the process.
He said nothing else, hanging his head low as he accepted his cruel fate.
No sense in arguing or pleading when his fate has already been irreversibly declared.
“However, not every member of the court agrees with the ruling. Especially I.”
Jungkook looked up–a sparkle of hope in his eye. Perhaps it was foolish–knowing that his fate was set in stone, especially since the court’s decision have to have gone through the king. But a member of the court would not have come down to the dingy prison just to let him know that she was in the minority of voters.
“I am unable to go against His Royal Majesty’s ruling and cannot spare your fate. For this, I apologize. I present an offering to you in my condolences, do not allow the guards to find this,” she explained as she walked closer to the cell bars.
The thief hesitated, slowly unravelling himself as he slowly inched closer to the official. He hadn’t a clue about what he was going to be given—something to subdue the guards on the way to the prison? A weapon to defend himself and free himself from his restraints? Maybe even something to eat to drink to curve the ache in his stomach.
Instead, when Eun-Ae turned her palm over, the only thing that sat there was a small gem. Colour flared within the stone, shifting and changing even as it stayed still. She offered it over, dropping it into Jungkook’s palm.
The gem hit his hand with surprising weight as he rolled it around quizically. She risked a visit to the prison, and being seen by others, to give him a stone ?
“Guard that with your life, thief,” Eun-Ae commanded as she left.
Jungkook peered at the gem, held so gently in his rough hands. What was so important about it?
~~
The following morning—or, at least Jungkook assumed he’d been in the dark dungeon one night–several soldiers descended the prison steps. They barked harsh orders at him— to stand up, arms behind his back, step forward, no, closer to the bars —and Jungkook tried his best to comply. He tucked the stone into his robes, hoping that the soldiers would miss it.
He was swiftly led out of the prison, shoved up the stairs as he stumbled over his own feet. They didn’t let him take a break in the slightest, keeping up their lightning-fast pace as they stormed out of the palace.
His arms were held tightly against his back when he was shoved into a carriage waiting on the street.
Given his rather unfortunate upbringing, Jungkook has never been exposed to such luxury. Being transported across the nation without the physical pain of exerting himself to such extremes. Soft cushions made the trip toward his death almost comfortable. Unfortunate, that.
But at least he could enjoy some slight luxury in his final hours.
The trip to the mountains took much longer than Jungkook was expecting, given that he fell asleep hours into the ride there. He only knew that he fell asleep, however, when he was rather rudely shaken awake.
The soldier wasn’t very kind in waking him and practically throwing him out of the carriage before he was even able to think clearly.
Jungkook blinked a few times, trying to understand what was going on. The air was cool and chilling around him, the sun setting beyond the imposing summits before him. The mountains reached into the sky, almost covering the entirety of the vast sky behind them.
He felt his throat dry when he realized just where he was—at the foot of the mountains in which the dragons reside. Where he was about to be fed to fire-breathing lizards to be eaten alive .
“Keep moving,” the soldier commanded gruffly, kicking behind Jungkook’s shins as if that would get him to walk faster.
Jungkook took his time following the orders—trying to savour his last few minutes of life. While his body trembled with fear at what was to come, he tried to appreciate what he still had. At least he wasn’t in that damn, musty cell. The air here, at least, was clean and crisp.
At least he wasn’t being publicly executed, and instead was in a small nook where no citizen ever wandered. Only soldiers who couldn’t care less about the presence of some petty thief at their guardpost would be out so far.
And he didn’t have anyone that he loved or who loved him, so no one would be saddened by his passing. That was nice, he supposed.
“Walk up the path. Stop, and we’ll shoot you dead. Understand, scum?” the soldier barked, letting go of his wrists and restraints.
Jungkook nodded quickly, trying not to have a long and painful death. With a dragon, he could at least be eaten in a few bites. That would be much less painful than bleeding to death from arrows, he figured.
And so, he swiftly obeyed. Taking slow steps toward his own death.
The path that led up to the mouth of the mountain was gravel and difficult to climb without losing his footing. But he couldn’t stop, given that arrows were trained on his back should he dare to stop or hesitate. And so he forced himself to continue, no matter how much his body roared at him to take a break.
With each step, his stomach churned and he trembled with anxiety and fear and his own mortality. He knew it was unavoidable, and that he was just paying the price for his life of crime, but the impending sense of doom and death sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine.
He hesitated when he finally reached the cavern of the mountain. He was well out of bow range, at least, but definitely not out of dragon’s fire range.
Jungkook licked his lips anxiously as he took a step closer to the cavern, each step shaky and filled with nerves.
Movement sounded from within the cave and Jungkook froze, feeling all the colour drain from his face. His breaths stuttered as he took a nervous step back, wide eyes fixed on the gap in the mountainside.
Not just any sounds–but deep, guttural growls from some large creature, the slithering of scales, and the ear-piercing sound of sharp talons dragging on stone. Sounds that were definitively dragon-like.
Maybe, subconsciously, Jungkook was hoping that the dragons were just some legend and that his life would be spared. A foolish thought that may just cost him his life.
When Jungkook blinked, he saw the first claw emerge from the shadows. A huge, crimson red, scaly claw full of sharp talons that were nearly the size of Jungkook’s entire torso. It connected to an equally large dragon; completely towing over him with rows of sharp fangs, curved horns and wide wings. Its tail slithering behind it as the dragon strode forward.
And if that dragon was huge, then the sapphire dragon who stepped out behind them was massive . The first dragon seemed almost slim in comparison to the other beast that stood before Jungkook. Massive talons and fangs that could snap his spine in two with ease.
From there, Jungkook almost expected them to immediately snap down their massive maws and swallow him up.
But instead, they just stood there, watching him.
Jungkook felt small under the scrutiny of such magnificent beasts.
“Aw, this one’s a cutie.”
Huh?
Jungkook shot his head up—trying to find where the voice came from. No one followed him, he was sure of that. And no one would be foolish enough to stand before a dragon’s cave unless they had a death wish.
“Shame they sent such a cute one out here to get eaten.”
He froze, finally understanding where the voices were coming from.
“What?” He squeaked, wide eyes and cheeks warming up with embarrassment as he looked up at the dragons. He’s heard more than his fair share of stories about dragons throughout his years, and the untold terror that they brought wherever they were. But he’s never heard about them talking . Especially calling him cute .
The red dragon raised its neck, smoke pooling from its snout as its tail flickered behind its large, scaly body. “Almost as if the little thing can understand us, with all that blushing.”
Was he really being that obvious? The colour grew on his face at being called out so clearly.
The blue dragon, however, peered closer. Its big talons scraped on the stone as it took a step forward, lowering its head so as to get a closer look at the, competitively, small human. When smoke poured out from its snout when it exhaled, the smoke bellowed out into Jungkook’s face.
And Jungkook didn’t dare to flinch or run away, not wanting to trigger some sort of hunting instinct from the large predator.
“If you say you can understand us, little human, I might think about not eating you up in one bite.” The dragon’s forked tongue ran over its sharp fangs, almost in a taunt.
And Jungkook didn’t have to think–knowing there was no way he would survive if he didn’t do what the dragon commanded of him. It had to have been thousands of times stronger and faster, and he couldn’t harm it even if he wanted to.
“I can,” he squeaked out, quivering under the huge creature’s scrutinizing gaze, “I can understand you.”
The two beasts froze at the admission.
The red dragon flashed an intimidating fang-filled grin, scurrying closer and craning its neck. It sniffed at the human a few times, taking in the scents and sights of the, comparatively, weak and scrawny little thing before it.
“Don’t you worry, cute little thing, we wouldn’t eat a human who can understand us,” the dragon grinned, sitting down and wrapping its long tail around its talons. “I think we’ll keep you.”
Jungkook swallowed nervously, not liking the implications that the dragon had said. They won’t eat him because, for some reason, he can understand dragon’s speak? And that they chose to keep him due to the fact?
“Keep me?” he squeaked in terror, head whipping around to look at the two beasts.
“Would you rather us turn you over to your friends down there?” The larger dragon asked, amusement lacing its words as it looked over to the mountainside. Where, no doubt, the soldiers were all watching these creatures growl and roar and make other… distinctively dragon-like sounds.
And so, he reluctantly agreed to let the dragons ‘keep him’, whatever that could mean.
“Do you,” he licked his lips nervously, “ do you have names?” he questioned. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting in response—he had absolutely no idea what a dragon’s name would be like if they had any at all.
Huh, those names were distinctively…. Human.
The dragons chuckled, rumbling loudly and deeply in their large chests.
Jungkook took in a deep breath, trying to understand what he had just gotten himself into.