DragonHeart | Minsung

III

It was good that Jisung had decided to sleep clothed that night, because when he was awoken by the news of his father's return, he immediately jumped out of bed and out of his bedroom. He didn't stop to think about anything else.

The brown-haired boy rushed through the hallways, down the stairway, and pushed past the guards out into the castle square. They had tried to stop him, but to no avail. One guard decided to follow after him, knowing that he was supposed to be accompanied by someone when he left the castle.

The square was still cleared and dark, like any other night. The news of his father's return had yet to reach the people of Incheon.

Jisung could see the cart that his father was being brought back to the castle on, having been too weak from his injuries to make it on his own. He ran down the cobblestone pavement towards them, ignoring the pain that the hard stones brought upon his bare feet.

He approached the cart and grabbed his father's arm, walking alongside it as a couple of guards pulled him.

His father was very pale. He could only see his face. The rest of his body was covered by clothes and blankets.

"What happened?"

"Is everyone else okay?"

"Did you win?"

"Where's mom?"

He went on to spew questions and worries at the man, but he was clearly too weak to manage to respond.

————

Jisung paced outside of his parent's bedroom door. The doctor was tending to the injured man, and had asked Jisung to leave because of his frantic behavior.

Jisung still didn't know what happened, but he knew the news likely wouldn't be good. No other people had returned from the battle yet.

He still hadn't seen his mother.

He was about to leave to find the knights that had come back with his father. He could talk to them to figure out what had happened. However, the doctor soon opened the bedroom door, and told Jisung that he could come in.

"He'll be fine. He just needs some rest...you can come in now." The doctor told him.

Jisung rolled his eyes, but agreed before walking into the room. He kneeled by the bed, where his father laid.

"What happened?"

Their army had stood no chance from the beginning. In the previous battles all the kingdoms had worked
together, but this time it was just them, and they didn't have a full army either. They should have called the whole attack off, many wanted to. The realisation that they'd be up against such huge creatures finally settled in once they saw them. The King insisted that they continued, so they did.

They attacked the first dragon settlement that they came across in Gimpo. It was small, so they thought they would have a better chance at victory. However, the dragons were already waiting for their arrival. They had already known that they'd been travelling their way, having had spotted them while patrolling their territory.

The battle was over before it even started.

In no time, over half of the human army was killed or wounded, while all but one dragon was still standing strong.

"They took her."

He went on to explain that his mother had been among the few that they had taken alive.

Jisung's stomach dropped when he heard that information. "So...there's a chance she's still alive? We're going to get her back, right?"

His father was silent for a moment. "...we don't have the resources for a rescue mission. It's too risky, and we don't know what they've done with them.."

He slammed his hands down on the bed, quickly standing up. "Are you fucking serious?!"

He was fuming.

"So you're just going to abandon everyone? Your own wife?!"

Jisung's father tried to sit up as far as he could. He was growing frustrated by his son's opposition. "I can not send more of our people to die!"

Jisung wasn't listened to what his father said, his mind was too clouded with grief and anger. He wanted his mother back.

"This was your idea. You wanted to fight. You should take care of the people that are effected by your decision!"

"You should take care of your own wife, for fucks sake!" He was pacing back and forth along the bedside while he rambled on.

"What a great fucking King you are!" He yelled in a sarcastic tone.

He didn't wait for his father to respond. He didn't care what he had to say. He left the room, slamming the door hard enough for the sound to echo down the hall.

"Sir, is that really necessary?" He heard the doctor call after him.

He ignored the man, and quickly walked past him. He continued down the hall until he was at his own living quarters.

He slammed his own bedroom door as well, also taking a moment to lock it.

The tears finally began to flow once he was alone. He had been feeling so many emotions throughout the past couple of weeks, and this was his breaking point.

He laid on his stomach on his bed and buried his face in one of his pillows to muffle his cries.

He had worried about losing her, but nothing could've prepared him for the real thing. He didn't know what he'd do without his mother.