A Dragon and His Knight (HwaGi)

Chapter 2

Seonghwa woke up in his room in his bed. He slowly sat up his hair cascading over his shoulders. "Oh! You're awake" San's soft voice spoke next to Seonghwa. The water dragon spent the past few hours keeping the prince company until he awoke. Seonghwa placed a hand on his forehead, "what happened" he grumbled as he turned his attention to San, the dragon's golden eyes meeting his blue one's. "Hongjoong said you passed out from the mating bond" San's words confused Seonghwa. He hadn't found his mate yet, there was no way he had passed out from the pain of his mating bond being confirmed. "That's not possible, I wasn't around any other dragons expect for the few I brought with me" he watched as San slightly squirmed by his side. 

"Hongjoong said the royal guard that entered the grand hall felt the same pain and collapsed from it as well" he spoke softly. Seonghwa went through his memories of everything that transpired with his meeting with king Yunho. He remembered the guard that walked into the grand hall late, and the pain in his heart that followed after but it wasn't possible. "No, it's not possible. I must've been poisoned" he tried to reason. "You saw Hongjoong taste the food, you know it wasn't that. Trust me your highness,  having felt the pain before when I met Hongjoong…I think that guard is your mate" San watched as Seonghwa stared at him as if he had grown a second head. 

"That's impossible, how can I the crowned prince, next in line to sit on the throne and rule the dragon realm, have a mate that is a fucking human" Seonghwa's voice grew as he spoke. Finding a mate was very important to dragons. A dragon was considered a fledgling until they completed the mating bond with their mate. Afterwards they become a mature dragon and their full powers are unlocked. Seonghwa can't be crowned king until he becomes a mature dragon. His ancestors always mated with a dragon that was of equal power to them, becoming a powerful duo as they ruled over the realm. His whole life he has been waiting to meet his own mate, he always believed it would be a dragon just as powerful and as beautiful as him. Although mates were predetermined by fate and he couldn't freely choose, the history of his people always pointed to dragons mating dragons. Never has a dragon mated with a human and Seonghwa was not going to be the first. 

San understood Seonghwa's anger; it was unheard of for a dragon mating outside their race. However, he and Hongjoong knew the familiar pain of a mating bond being confirmed and from what Hongjoong described happened that royal guard was Seonghwa's mate. "There is a way to confirm it, you need to visit him and see if you can smell his scent" San suggested. Even though dragons had a heightened sense of smell they couldn't distinguish specific scents amongst each race. To dragons all dragons had one set scent, just like how all humans had one set scent to them. Only mated pairs could smell a specific scent with their mates. To San, Seonghwa had the earthy scent all dragons had but when he was with Hongjoong his mate smelled like roses covered in morning dew. 

Seonghwa sighed, "I do not wish to entertain the idea that I could have a human mate, but I suppose to ease your and Hongjoong's mind I can go back. I also feel bad for cutting my meeting short with King Yunho". San smiled, "we can go back tomorrow, it's late now and I am sure that royal guard is resting. The pain must have been much worse for him" he stood fixing his clothes. Seonghwa hummed, he didn't want to think about the human experiencing the mating bond pain. There had to be another logical explanation for what happened. "I suggest you get some more rest, sleep well your highness. I will inform Hongjoong of your decision" the blue haired dragon bowed before leaving Seonghwa's room. 

Seonghwa sighed laying back down in his bed, his hair fanning around him as he stared at the ceiling. He gently rubbed his chest remembering the excruciating pain he felt in his chest. He also remembered locking eyes with the guard before the pain started. He closed his eyes shaking his head, "no, it's not possible" he turned over to his side pulling the covers up his body till it rested below his nose as he slowly fell back asleep. 

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Mingi slowly opened his eyes, blinking them a few times to clear his vision. He recognized that he was in his room. His brows furrowed together in confusion, he didn't remember coming here. He remembered going to the grand hall to witness the meeting between Yunho and Prince Seonghwa after he finished patrols, and after that everything went fuzzy. He heard shuffling next to him, turning his head to look. He saw Yunho was busy dipping a towel in a basin of water. "You're majesty " he quickly sat up, he noticed his hair was no longer in the high bun he keeps it in, the long brown locks cascading down his back. When Yunho heard his deep voice he turned to see Mingi sitting up. A sigh of relief left his lips as he placed the wash cloth back in the basin. 

"Are you alright? Are you still in pain?" He asked scooting closer to Mingi's bed. Yunho's words brought back some memories. He remembered feeling excruciating pain in his chest when he was getting ready to greet Prince Seonghwa. His hand went to his chest rubbing the area slowly, "Yes, I feel fine now" he spoke softly. He took in Yunho's appearance, the males hair was all put of place, the outer part of his robe was placed somewhere on the floor of Mingi's room, and his eyes shone with worry. "Did you…did you stay here and watch over me?" Mingi asked surprised. Yunho nodded, "yes, after the royal couldn't find anything physically wrong with you, I stayed by your side until you woke up" he explained. 

A blush crept up Mingi's face turning his ears and neck pink, "you didn't have to do that your majesty, I'm just a royal guard I'm nobody worthy of your attention ". Yunho frowned at that he reached for Mingi's hands which were currently nervously messing with the covers. "You're my friend Mingi of course I would stay by your side after you collapsed." his eyes softened when he met Mingi's gaze. Mingi blushed even more at that, his cheeks now a light pink. "Did the royal physician figure out what happened?" He asked. Yunho shook his head, "no, Prince Seonghwa also collapsed as well and was taken back to his palace. I thought maybe you might have been poisoned but no traces could be found in your system." he explained.

Mingi nodded his brows furrowed. He couldn't figure out what might have caused that pain, and hearing that Prince Seonghwa felt it too he was even more confused. Yunho slipped his hand out of Mingi's as he slowly rose to his feet. "I'm going to let you rest a bit more, tomorrow how about you come with me to hunt pheasants?" Yunho offered a soft smile on his face. Mingi nodded smiling back, "that sounds perfect, have a good night your majesty" "rest well Mingi" Yunho gently patted Mingi's head before leaving the room. Once he heard his door close, Mingi laid back in his bed closing his eyes as sleep took over his body once more.