A Dragon and His Knight (HwaGi)

Chapter 1

Wooyoung stood up straight to answer, "he's with the patrol team, patrolling the perimeter. He should be back while you're with Prince Seonghwa" the raven haired male explained. Yunho nodded, he was a little upset that Mingi wasn't going to be there for the beginning of the meeting but he was glad that at least Wooyoung would be with him. Wooyoung turned around leading the way towards the main building in the palace that contained the grand hall. Two guards that were standing in front of the doors opened them bowing as Yunho walked past. Once inside the grand hall Yunho took in the decor. The columns were draped in elegant gold and red fabrics. Symbols of dragons and lions lined each column as well. There were four tables placed in the center, one for each prince and one for each of their royal advisors. Soft cushions were also placed on the floor by the tables. Yunho had decided not to receive Seonghwa in the throne room, he was worried the dragon would think he was looking down on him. 

Yeosang led Yunho to his seat. The king strategically moved his hanbok out the way so he wouldn't sit on the fabric. Wooyoung stood beside Yunho, his back straight and gaze serious. He had to be ready to protect his majesty at any sign of danger. Yeosang sat down on his cushion after Yunho took his seat. The two of them waited for Prince Seonghwa to arrive. After a few minutes the grand hall door opened. Yunho and Yeosang stood up going to stand in the center. One of Yunho's guards voice echoed through the hall as he spoke, "now entering crowned prince Seonghwa, prince of the dragons" he announced as Seonghwa entered.  Yunho had to admit Seonghwa was quite handsome. He had seen him in paintings in books that detailed the history of each dragon king but those paintings didn't do any justice. 

The dragon's gaze was intense as he entered the room, his dark brown eyes scanned over the decorations before landing on Yunho. Yunho stood up straighter, as Seonghwa came over to him. The dragon bowed, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you your majesty, I appreciate you inviting me into your palace" his voice was a lot deeper than Yunho expected. When Seonghwa stood, Yunho bowed next, "I appreciate you accepting my invitation. It is truly an honor to have the prince of dragons as a guest" he stood up straight again. Yeosang was the next to speak,  "please take your seats, we can discuss the terms of the treaty and exchange gifts after the meals" he gracefully moved his hands to the two tables that were across from his and Yunho's. 

Seonghwa nodded, going to take his seat. Hongjoong waited for the prince to be seated before sitting. Jongho took his spot standing by the column closest to Seonghwa, while the rest of the guards scattered around the area placing the gift chests near them. Yunho took his seat once again, Yeosang sitting down as well while Wooyoung took a position similar to Jongho's. Once they were seated the doors opened again as four court maids came in with trays of various kinds of dishes. Everyone sat in silence as a court maid came to their tables and carefully placed the dishes down. There were about twenty five different dishes on the table. There was fish, pork, beef, various vegetables, various nuts and fruits, and even a noodle dish. The court maids bowed to both Yunho and Seonghwa before leaving the grand hall. 

Before either ruler could touch their dishes, they had to each be tasted to ensure they weren't poisoned. Normally a servant would do this task, but Seonghwa left San back in the dragon realm and for Yunho, Mingi would be the one to taste all his dishes however since he wasn't here Wooyoung would do it. Wooyoung moved to kneel in front of Yunho's table picking up the pair of metal chopsticks as he began to take a bite from each dish, checking the chopsticks to see if they were turning black an indicator of poison. Hongjoong was the one tasting Seonghwa's dishes this time, although not much can kill a dragon, poison could definitely make Seonghwa extremely sick. 

"The food is safe to eat your majesty" Wooyoung placed the chopsticks back down and stood up going back over to his spot. "Thank you Wooyoung " Yunho smiled at him softly before picking up his chopsticks. Hongjoong had also given Seonghwa the okay to eat his food. "I hope you enjoy the meal, the royal chef put in a lot of effort to ensure everything would be of the highest quality and flavor" Yunho told Seonghwa as he watched the prince take a bite of the steamed fish. "The food is delicious, I give my compliments to the chef" the dragon praised. Yunho let out a small sigh of relief before he began eating his own meal. Once the meal was finished the court maids came back and took the empty plates away replacing them with a tea pot and tea cups. 

This time two court maids remained, as they carefully poured the tea into the cups the delicate jasmine scent wafted into the air. "Shall we start discussing the treaty?" Seonghwa spoke carefully holding his sleeve back as he picked up the tea cup. He held the cup under his nose enjoying the jasmine scent. Jasmine tea was one of his favorites, King Yunho must have done his research. The dragon was quite impressed with his efforts, he was already much better than his father. Yunho nodded, taking a sip of the tea. Both Hongjoong and Yeosang stood up, the two royal advisors going over to a chest that contained the treaty. Both the human and dragon kings had a copy of the treaty in case disagreements arose. 

Opening the chests both males took out the scroll, bringing it over to their respective rules. Yeosang unrolled the scroll placing it in front of Yunho, while Hongjoong did the same thing. At that moment Mingi walked in. He quickly walked over to Yunho, bowing, "Sorry for being late, your majesty but the perimeter is safe". Yunho couldn't help the smile that formed on his face when he saw the guard, "thank you Mingi". Mingi stood up straight, turning his attention to Seonghwa. As he walked over to the prince a sharp pain shot through his heart. Mingi stumbled a bit, clenching his chest as the pain appeared again. 

"You're highness!" Hongjoong shouted as he saw Seonghwa bent forward gripping his chest. The pain that shot through his chest caused Soenghwa's concentration on his magic to slip away, his horns, eyes, claws and teeth appearing. Yunho shot up going over to Mingi when the male collapsed, gripping his chest in pain. "What's happening!" He shouted in panic as he kneeled next to Mingi. Wooyoung rushed over to his friend as well. While Yeosang shouted orders to another guard to get the royal physician. Mingi couldn't even speak as the pain in his chest became unbearable, he gripped the fabric of his shirt. 

Seonghwa was in the same boat as Mingi, each time his heart beat the pain would increase. Hongjoong knew what was happening and immediately turned to Jongho, "jongho we need to get him back to the dragon realm" he stood up from his spot beside Seonghwa. Jongho kneeling down by his prince, "your highness I need to carry you" he spoke softly. When Seonghwa grunted in approval Jongho carefully lifted Seonghwa up, holding him bridal style. "I'm sorry for this, but we need to take his highness back to our realm where the royal physician can attend to him" Hongjoong informed Yunho and his royal advisor. Yeosang nodded, "I understand we can reschedule this meeting" he watched as Jongho carried Seonghwa out the grand hall followed by his men and Hongjoong. 

"Mingi! Mingi!" Yunho shouted he was panicked. He didn't know what had happened to his friend, he was thinking maybe someone had managed to attack him and prince Seonghwa. He clenched his jaw, if someone dared dried to harm Mingi or the dragon prince he would get to the bottom of it swiftly. By now the pain started to slowly subside. He slowly unclenched his hand from his chest. Fatigue taking over his body. The last thing he remembered was Yunho shouting at the royal physician before his vision went dark.