*A little note to say that Y/N's name will be organized as such - first name, middle name, last name - in this story. The members will have the standard Korean order but you might see a bit of everything since I will not be using only Korean people to fill in the roles. You have been warned.

*Also, a lot of inner thinking in this chapter as I need to set the story. It might get a little boring, but it all serves a purpose, I promise

Please enjoy!!!

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My opponent pushes forward with every swing of his sword to get me out of formation, and before I can recover my balance after a misplaced foot position, another hit from his blade sends my weapon flying out of my hand before he rests the cold steel against my neck with a triumphant smirk.

I pant, slightly out of breath because of this arrogant prick who took the opportunity to ridicule me in front of everyone after seeing how distracted I've been all day.

He knew that I wouldn't be able to defend myself like I usually do because of the letter that came in for me this morning and that makes me hate him even more. He chose me as his opponent on purpose and everyone's been cheering on him despite my situation.

Officer Kade, who supervises our training at this time of the day, a higher ranked knight who likes to bully me any chances he gets, sighs loudly before waving a hand to get me to come over.

I bite on the inside of my cheek before taking my sword from the ground and then make my way to the man who looks done with me, as I am with this day.

"Shields, you've been performing so terribly today that it's not even worth fixing. Go to the stable and clean up the stalls for the rest of the day, and don't you dare half-ass the job. Maybe spending some time in horse shit will clear your mind a little. Put your sword and armor in the armory and come back tomorrow if you feel like you can do better than that shit show you gave us" the old man demands drily before turning the other way and I gape at him while the other knights in training snort from their corners.

"Hear that, Shields? I guess being a knight just wasn't made for you, was it? I'll take you as my wife if you want, I'll treat you well, I promise!" one of the assholes of the order chirps and I breathe in through my teeth before turning my back on them, that's not even worth replying to.

"I'll do better tomorrow, sir" I utter before hurrying out of the training grounds and towards the armory, my yellow neck scarf pulled off with a huff, armor pieces removed on the way to leave me only in my sweaty cotton uniform, and when I reach the building's entrance, a young boy comes running to take everything from me before getting started on cleaning them right away.

I stare at him for a short minute, the sight reminding me of what I had to go through myself, my conditions even worse because I was the only girl in a world of men, a gender looked down on by those in power no matter what it is that we do.

Those seven years of being treated like dog food were... they made me open my eyes on a lot of things, one of which being that women are always seen only as play-toys by those who think with their dick instead of their brain, which is pretty much every men in the orders of chivalry, with a few exceptions.

It's only because I truly love being a knight that I'm still here right now because sometimes, leaving all of this behind to live a regular life instead becomes a little bit too tempting, even if it would mean losing the many years of hard work I put into this.

Even being a knight-errant is something I have begun to dream about as of late. The idea of traveling the world without a goal in mind to help those I encounter on the way... it might not assure a financial security, but a woman can dream, right?

It's not something I can afford doing right now, but maybe one day, when I'm weary of this type of environment, I can drop everything and lead a different life.

I sigh before moving from my spot to head to the stable before someone finds me being lazy, because my not wearing my neck scarf right now means that I am back to a lowly servant until my task is done and some people would enjoy messing with me too much for comfort.

I'm technically less experienced than the others in terms of skills considering my age because I started as a page later than the required age of seven years old, my begging going unheard for many years before someone I admire finally took pity on me and decided to give me a try, but it's not like I don't have what is required to be a knight.

I proved myself and earned my rank just like everyone else, but people still like to look down on me anyway. Women are very rare in this field of work and I have heard too often that I would be better off warming the knights' beds than going on the battlefield, that going to war should be left to the real men.

I hate that sort of speech the most. It's bad enough that my achievements are most of the time perceived as luck, as if they expect me to turn around crying one day when reality finally hits me in the face.

I work twice as hard as they do to prove that I deserve to be here, but they never acknowledge that, why should they? It would go against their belief. What they always see instead is the mistakes I make, always the mistakes.

But that's just how Orton is. The people born here grow up hearing that women must stay at home as much as possible because the city isn't exactly a safe place to be for us. Some people have good intentions when they say that they want their wife to remain at home, but that doesn't mean everyone is the same.

It takes a dozen of minutes for me to reach the stable since it's in the opposite side of the fortress, near the front gates, but once I enter the building, I immediately get started with greeting the horses, the only part of working in here that I used to enjoy - that I still enjoy.

I easily find Eclipse in her usual corner and when our eyes meet, she blows air from her nose happily, hooves clacking on the floor until I make it to her door, and she bumps her face against mine to greet me when she joins my side, her boredom only ending when I'm here because she doesn't like other horses that much.

"Eclipse, my pretty girl, did you miss me? Yeah I missed you too, I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner. You must be wondering what I'm doing here, hm?" I mumble to her as I gently caress her spotted coat, my mood already getting better now that I'm here with her.

"You see, I got kicked out of the training grounds because I was beaten in a match earlier, I've been distracted all day so I wasn't ready to counter the impact of my opponent's hit. That's my bad, really, I'd be dead on the battlefield if the same had happened but... meh, I was sent here for the rest of the day. Horse shit is apparently supposed to help me clear my mind" I vent to her without a second thought, it's something I've always done after all.

Men always sigh and shake their head when I talk to animals but they can fuck off, I know Eclipse understands me, as much as she can understand anyway.

She makes a small displeased noise to communicate her anger at my treatment and I nod my head in agreement, I knew she'd be on my side on this one. We all have bad days, I can't believe I was sent to clean horse shit just because of that.

I suddenly catch a glimpse of a new horse from the corner of my eye and I tilt my head in curiosity, I've never seen this one around before.

I pat Eclipse's shoulder before making my way to the new addition, a quiet but tall stallion of a beautiful brown coat with a long, black mane, it's definitely one of the fancy horses used by the higher ranks but I don't recall hearing about anyone coming here today.

I try to call it over gently, and when the horse remains exactly where he is with a wary glance on me, I smile lightly. That one's prudent, he was well trained.

"What's a handsome boy like you doing here, hm? You don't have to worry about me, I like horses more than I like people and lucky you, you fit in just right in the winning category! Would you want neck scratches if I were to offer them? I give the best scratches, ask Eclipse, she'll agree with me" I ask with the kind of voice that one only uses on animals to try and show him that I'm not here with bad intentions.

Knowing what her task is, my girl makes a soft noise to encourage our new buddy and thank goodness, the stallion turns a little curious before slowly coming forward, a sniff to my face before he tilts his head to show me his neck, and I chuckle before supplying with the promised scratches happily.

"How's that? Did I lie? That feels good, right?" I ask the beast who neighs positively, body edging a little closer to get more of the petting, it makes me smile in contentment, I've always been good at making friends with animals, is that why I don't have a single human friend?

Maybe I should've been born a horse instead.

"You've befriended Bear rather quickly, I am surprised".

The sudden, deep baritone of a voice startles me out of the scratching session and the horse neighs softly at the new arrival of who I can only guess is its owner. And what's that... Bear? That beautiful horse was named Bear?

I turn around, wondering who could be here at this time of the day, and most specifically, who would call their horse Bear, and my eyes curiously take in the very handsome face of the man currently standing behind me, an ethereal appearance that would put anyone else to shame.

He has fluffy, black hair that falls over a pair of delicate eyes of a beautiful brown that softly edges towards green, and his skin is the perfect tint of honey, not to forget that he's very tall and slender, with just the right amount of muscles to be well-built without it being overwhelming.

I've never seen this person around here before, he looks breathtakingly gorgeous.

I'm about to reply to him the way I would reply to anyone who comes talk to me in the stable - with an easygoing friendliness that would match his tone - but when my eyes notice the purple neck scarf resting over his collarbones, I nearly shit myself, heart simply giving up on me as it stops beating while I make many steps back before throwing myself down on one knee, head bent low as I try to process what the hell is going on here.

Why is a dragon here? Goldwyn is a few days from here, I would know since I was born there, so what happened that required the presence of one of the knights of the Order of Fire on this ground? I can't believe I'm currently alone with one of them! I used to only see them from afar when I was a kid!

"Sir, I give you my sincerest apologies for touching your horse without permission, I shouldn't have done that, please forgive me" I let out with a clear voice that slightly betrays how nervous I am at the moment, and the voice hums softly, eyes boring onto me with a heat that I can feel on my skin.

I mean, literally, my skin is getting really hot.

I begin to massage my nape when the burning sensation flares with more intensity in that area, an uncomfortable stretch of the neck that doesn't do anything, what's that all of a sudden? I've never had that happen before.

"Please, you don't have to be so formal with me, I'm done with the formalities for the day. Rise, young one, don't stay on the dirty floor like this. What's your name? Are you a knight here in the fortress? You don't hold yourself like a servant".

Still unsure about the standing up part, I nonetheless obey the order, head still bent as I proceed to answer the question.

"Y/N Aithne Shields, sir. I'm a new knight recruit here".

"Hm, Y/N Aithne Shields... that's an interesting name. And please, stand down, like I said, I'm done with the formalities for today so you have no need to be so stiff. My name is Kim Taehyung, you may call me by name, is your nape alright? I saw you touching it earlier".

I gulp before looking up slowly to find him staring at me with sharp orbs, like he's expecting one answer in particular. Why does it matter to him if my nape is alright or not?

"It's... it's nothing, Sir Taehyung. It just burns a little, it'll surely pass in a bit, the weather's hot today so it wouldn't be anything new. I was training with the sword a while ago so that must be why" I answer, but the man simply hums before raising a finger to beckon me over.

"Come here, let me see".

I freeze at his unexpected demand, feet set in stone where I am as I try to find a way to refuse without making him feel bad because this is a really bad situation for me, no matter how I see it.

I'm a new knight, it's barely been half a year since my ceremony so what if someone else comes here and sees us being too close? I'll be punished for it because they'll immediately assume that I tried to flirt with him and what then? I don't want rumors to start because of this, what if they make it to my parents' ears?

"With all due respect, Sir Taehyung, I think it would be better if I don't. We both are aware that I am a woman and the knights here have a very wild imagination as to what someone of my gender should be doing, which has ultimately nothing to do with swords and more to do with beds. I'm sure it's nothing, but I'm thankful for your concern. Now if you'll allow me, I have a task to do so I shall excuse myself" I explain myself as calmly as I can manage before bowing respectfully.

I did not work so hard to make it here only to lose everything because I lowered my guard. I have enough things to worry about on my mind, I don't need one more, even if that knight is part of the most important order to ever exist.

Before the dragon knight can say anything, his lips parted in disbelief at my clear avoidance without even being given a chance to explain his reasoning, I leave the stable with quick feet to reach the storage room where are stored the needed tools and materials while hoping that he'll take that time to leave.

I feel bad that I ended up running from him like this when he only wanted to make sure I was fine, but too much is on the line for me to allow this kind of thing to happen. What would people think if they saw him pushing my hair out of the way to look at my nape?

It's only going to give the men here more reasons to sexualize my existence and that's the last thing I desire.

I gather everything I need and put the tools in the wheelbarrow before pushing it all the way back to where the horse stalls are, eyes nervously scanning around to see if he's still here, but to my biggest relief, Kim Taehyung has left the stable.

I'm glad that he could at least respect that for me. I really don't want people to point at me and call me a whore when I'm just trying to do my job, I need that money if I want to pay for my mother's medicine, which is ridiculously expensive - my salary barely covers my family's living expenses.

Not to forget that the letter I received this morning from home said that her health has decreased again and that she needs to begin a new treatment, which is costly as well. It's all I can think about, and I hate that I can't even go see her right now because I'm so far from home.

I need to request at least one week off just for traveling to and from Goldwyn, and I don't know if I'm even allowed that much time off.

Maybe I should ask Commander Rayner if I can be transferred to the capital... I might have a chance if I explain that it's to be with my sick family, he's always been the understanding kind, he's the one who made me start as a page after all.

I sigh before focusing on what needs to be done for the moment. I'll take care of the horses until their stalls are all cleaned, and when I get my scarf back, I'll go find him to make my request known. I trust only him to help me in this wretched place.

Taehyung's POV

I knock on the door of the commander's office, the only man here who is really worth talking to, which I was warned about before leaving the castle for Orton's fortress.

This town doesn't have such a good reputation compared to the neighbouring cities so I knew what was awaiting me here, particularly a lack of respect and especially, a lack of order, the officers and other people of high position not particularly good at their job, which is a shame, really.

My tasks here didn't require me to talk to anyone else anyway, I only came to receive a report on the current situation at the frontier separating Orton from Ashwald because we heard word that the rebelling city was getting into trouble again with the Aellyn Empire, who we are trying to build a passive relationship with after ending a useless war that lasted for too many years.

The situation is indeed as we feared, with Ashwald trying to give them another reason to take up arms against the Stainad Empire, which is absolutely ridiculous. They're allowed to not like the Royal Family and their ruling, but to go as far as to stir up a war when we just managed to reach common grounds for peace?

That's a report that I will have to give to the King when I'm back to the capital, but just as I was about to get my horse to leave the fortress, I had to stumble upon a very unexpected discovery.

I might not have been able to see it from very close, but there's no doubt about it, that young lady wears our mark. The timing of the burn and its placement speaks for itself.

Who would've known that we would have a human knight as a mate? I thought our bond had completed all those years ago when I met my six other dragon mates, but it seems that we were bound to have a new addition in this life.

"Enter" a strong voice speaks up from within the room and I don't waste time in pushing the door open, and the Commander abruptly stands up from his desk as soon as he sees me walk inside.

"Sir Taehyung, what can I do for you? Was there something else you needed from me?".

I close the door behind me before taking the seat in front of him, and once I've sat down, he does the same, his brows slightly furrowed as he waits for me to explain the reason of my presence here when I should be on my way back to the capital by now.

"What can you tell me about Y/N Aithne Shields?".

Taken aback, Commander Rayner takes a moment of staring at me, as if that could tell him the reason of my question, a protective glow in his eyes that lets me know enough without even needing to hear anything.

She's not treated well here, that much I can see.

"I met her in the stable earlier. She was given for task to clean the stalls and I want to know why. A knight, no matter how young, new recruit or not, shouldn't have to take on such a job again, am I wrong?" I continue when he has yet to say anything and his face falls at my words.

"Again? It's the third time in two weeks... damn it, Kade... I apologize that you had to be witness to such a disrespect towards one of our knights, sir, I'll be sure to take that matter within my own hands today" he promises seriously and I inhale deeply, Kade, huh?

"Now, to answer your question about Y/N" he continues, a hum before he's nodding his head, a light smile on his lips just at the thought of her.

"She's a good kid, hardworking and talented at what she does. She has a very good sense of moral, far better than any other knights that can be found here, that's for sure. She's originally from the capital but she was sent here alone to start her training, she had to start at an older age than the other kids because no one wanted to give her a chance but she was tenacious, I knew she wouldn't give up no matter what so I decided to give her a try.

I thought maybe she'd give up within the first year but she kept surprising me, that lass. As you could see, she's subject to a lot of unfairness here, it was bound to happen with her being a woman in Orton but... it's honestly even worse than I expected. The men here think with their feet more than they think with their brain and I'm almost ashamed to call them knights. I've been looking into sending her back to the capital so she can be closer to her family but I've yet to ask her how she'd feel about that".

I lean back in my seat before crossing my arms over my chest, mind turning a mile a second in my head.

Gaining the knowledge that my mate is being treated like this here... infuriates me. To be sent so far away from family to begin the knight training isn't unheard of, but she was a young girl who ended up being raised by such men, how did she handle it? She must miss her family greatly.

I blow some air from my nose at the thought and some steam from my fire core puffs against the surface of the desk, a dark cloud of heat that makes the candles' flames flicker wildly for a few seconds before calming down.

The Commander tenses up, still unsure as to why I would ask about her in the first place, and the thin layer of ashes that remains on his desk is proof enough that the fire burning within my chest is raging more than usual, its glow lighting up my orbs from within.

"May I know the reason of this sudden interest in her, Sir Taehyung? Has she done anything to bother you, somehow?" he braves through the uncertainty to get to the truth and I let my glare fall on him wordlessly.

He might be the only one here who has her well-being to heart, but it doesn't change the fact that he could've done more to help her, and he didn't.

I understand that her getting the special treatment might not have helped her like intended, she's also aware of it, hence why she refused me earlier, but there are things that could've been done sooner.

"Y/N Aithne Shields is my mate. Mine and six other dragons'. She doesn't know yet but I have no doubt about what I am telling you, which leads me to the reason of my presence here right now. I am not going back to the castle without her so I request a room in the fortress while you finalize the process to send her to the capital. I want you to assign her to me as well, I will take care of her training in the meantime. Do that for me and I will put in a good word about you to the King".

Rayner's eyes are round as he processes the surprising truth, never in all of his long years of living here would he have ever seen this coming, but while he is certainly shocked, because it is unheard of for a dragon to have a human mate, he also feels happy for her because that will certainly assure her a much better life than the one she's been granted so far.

"So that is what fate holds for her... my word. I will be sure to respect your requests, Sir Taehyung. I will let her know that she is to serve you until it is time to leave, I shall also stay quiet about the reason behind that decision. I'm sure you will want to tell her yourself".

I nod once, that I do.

"I will write my mates a letter so please send your fastest bird messenger to my room later, they deserve to know about the reason of my being late. You'll want to prepare additional rooms, I have no doubt that they'll come flying over as soon as they receive my message so make sure to not attack any dragons that come falling from the sky, we can make this place disappear in the blink of an eye and it would be a shame to do so for a mistake that can be avoided so easily" I speak up before standing up from my seat and he does the same before bowing lowly.

"That shall be done, Sir Taehyung. I will have someone direct you to your room, it will be in the same wing as Y/N's along with your mates so that you may be near. And if I may add something else...".

I turn around to look at him after I've pushed the door open, what more could there be to say about this matter?

"She spends most of her nights in the library when she has bad days. She often goes there right after dinner to flee the knights' loud circus, I'm sure that's where you'll find her tonight as well".

I quirk an eyebrow at the useful piece of information, then thank him with a light bow before leaving his office.

The library, hm? I guess I'll be paying it a visit tonight then.

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I'm so excited for this! How do we like the first chapter?