Dragon Slayer: A Lisoo Dragon AU

Chapter Seven: A Knight's Reward

"I-I'm human?" The princess looked at her hands in astonishment, as if it was her first time seeing them. "B-But how? Why? I-"

She quickly turned around to see me. As our eyes locked, her expression shifted. I couldn't tell if it was good or bad with all honesty. She inched closer to me, her steps small and short.

"You," she said softly. "You're the reason."

"What? Jillian- I mean Jisoo, I mean Princess, I-"

"Lisa," she cut me off swiftly. "Just call me Jisoo, please." She paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, Lisa. I should've told you the truth."

"Why?" I stammered. "Why did you tell me you were dead?"

"I didn't think it mattered too much," she sighed.

"Well, it mattered to me!" I shouted.

"Lisa, please let me explain."

"You lied to me!" I yelled. "You made me think you were dead! Don't you realize how hard that was for me? I blamed myself, Jisoo. Every night since your disappearance, I blamed myself because I was supposed to protect you and I failed. I failed! And now here you are, disguising yourself as a dragon just to toy with me!"

"Do you think I wanted to do that?" Jisoo yelled back. "Do you think I wanted to leave the palace? Do you think I wanted to leave my family, my friends, and my life behind? No! I was perfectly happy. I loved my life and everyone in it. But I had to leave that."

"You didn't have to do anything," I huffed.

"You don't know that, Lisa!" she screamed. "Don't you dare make assumptions about my life! How would it feel if you went up to your room one night, looked in the mirror, and saw a monster, huh? Imagine what the villagers would say if they knew that a dragon was their princess. I'd be killed! I'd be burned at the stake! I had no choice. I had to leave the palace. I had to leave you."

Jisoo turned away and looked out the window, letting out a long sigh. I stood there, unable to form a response. It hadn't occurred to me what her situation had been. I thought that she had intended to become a dragon, but that didn't seem to be the case. Had she been cursed?

She sighed again. "The night I left, a suitor stopped me. He asked me to marry him in the most conceited way imaginable. I obviously declined his offer, but that only made him mad. I heard him chant something as he walked out the door. I didn't know what it was, but the outcome showed itself later. That night, I became that thing. That creature. I couldn't look at myself. The guards noticed me as I flew away and threw their pitchforks at me. They called me a freak and a monster. Once I found this tower, I cried. I cried all night."

Tears began to fall down her cheeks and onto the window ledge. Nonetheless, she still went on, disregarding her tears.

"I wish I could've said goodbye. I wish I could've told my father what had happened. And I wish I'd told you what I truly was from the beginning. But I was a coward. The knights who came to the tower all painted me as a monster, so that's what I became. And even though I no longer look like a monster, I know I am one. I'm selfish and vain. I'm naive and stubborn. I don't think about how my actions would affect others. God, I really am just a stuck-up princess."

"No." I reached over to grab her hand. "You're not selfish and vain. You're not naive and stubborn. You're not a monster. You're sweet and kind. You're loyal and compassionate. You told me that being a princess is about the traits you possess. By the traits you listed, you're the most perfect princess of them all."

She smiled. "You really think that? Even after how I treated you?"

"Yes," I said. "I understand now why you lied. Come to think of it, I would've done the same thing."

"So you're not mad?" she asked.

"Not entirely," I replied. "I'm only mad about one thing."

"And what is that?"

"Isn't it customary for the princess to give her knight some sort of reward after rescuing her?" I raised an eyebrow.

She giggled. "Alright, I don't have much, but what would you like?"

"Hmmm..." I thought for a moment. "A kiss on the cheek might be nice."

"I can do better than that." She smirked.

With that, she quickly swooped in to kiss my lips. I stumbled backwards slightly, but steadied myself by grasping her waist. Her hands cupped my cheeks as our kiss deepened. Her lips tasted like chocolate and toasted marshmallows, which was a flavor that I couldn't get enough of.

"Was that okay as a reward, my loyal knight?" she teased.

I nodded. "More than okay."

"Lisa," she sighed. "I meant what I said earlier. I love you. I've always loved you."

My cheeks flushed bright red. "Does that mean you won't ignore me at the palace anymore?"

"I didn't ignore you!" She playfully shoved me. "I just got nervous and I didn't know what to say."

"You're adorable." I smiled as I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"And you're beautiful," she said, leaning in closer.

She kissed my lips again, making me forget I was even on Earth. Her kisses felt heavenly and sweet. Well, what did one expect from a princess? I never thought that I'd be in this position when I took on the role as her knight, but I definitely wasn't complaining. She could kiss me as many times as she wanted.

But then, the moment ended abruptly. I could feel Jisoo slipping out of my grip. Her heel hit the edge of the window, sending her tumbling over it backwards. Panicked, I tried to grab her hand and pull her back up, but it was too late. She was out of my grasp.

"Jisoo!" I screamed loudly.

She didn't respond. All she did was scream as she fell down the massive height of the tower. I couldn't watch. Tears came to my eyes as I turned away. She was surely gone by now and this time, it was my fault. How could I live with myself? I'd killed the love of my life now.

Suddenly, a swooshing sound came to the window. My eyes opened quickly as I hurried to find where the sound was coming from. I peered out the window to see Jisoo...flying?

How could she fly? She was human now and wasn't a dragon. But that's when I noticed it. A pair of fiery-colored wings had sprouted from her back which were much similar to the ones she had in her dragon form. They were far too big for her body, but she didn't seem to mind as she hovered over to the window sill.

"Jisoo!" I rushed over to hug her. "Thank goodness you're okay."

"It gave me quite a scare, but yes. I'm okay. Thanks to these things." She gestured to her wings.

"How did you-"

"No idea," she answered. "One minute, I was falling off the tower, then the next, I was soaring above it. Like magic or something."

"They sensed you were in danger." I connected the dots. "Even though you're not a dragon anymore, your body must have some form of trigger, like a warning. When you're in trouble, your wings come out again."

"Is that so?" she asked.

"Just a hypothesis," I said.

She sighed. "I never thought I'd say this, but now I'm happy that I used to be a dragon."

I intertwined my fingers with hers carefully. "Me too. If you weren't, I never would have known how much of an amazing person you were."

"It's funny how that works," she giggled. "Lisa?"

"Yeah?"

She rested her head on my shoulder. "Can we just stay like this? I-I just don't want you to leave me again."

"I wouldn't leave you, Jisoo," I replied. "I love you."

"I love you too." She beamed.

She placed a light kiss on my cheek before nuzzling her head back in my shoulder. I could feel her wings curl around me as if they were some kind of shield. I never thought that the princess would be the one shielding me. I was a knight, after all. Protecting princesses was the point of my job. Yet, nothing made me feel better than her protecting me.