"How long am I supposed to wait before it's my chance to do what I've been trained to do?"

The blue and green speckled frog stared blankly at Taehyung as he sat crouched among the tall strands of grass. His feet were sinking further into the mud as he stood there, watching the frog eventually ribbet a response. It caused a smirk to cross Taehyung's face.

"You take as long to respond as Yoongi used to," said Taehyung as he cleared his throat to mock his elder. "'I'm older than you which means I've lived longer and done more than you, so I deserve the extra time'."

Taehyung sighed sadly at he looked at his warped and watery expression in the water the frog turned to disappear into. Taehyung hadn't seen any of his brothers and fellow guardians in what felt like forever. They had all been summoned to the side of the person they were meant to protect except him. He thought back on when the last one had left; thinking about Jungkook's words to him as he stood in front of the swirling portal.

"Your time will come to go to her side. While you wait, be patient. Train. Be ready. We will see you again, but you have to stay vigilant and be prepared."

Taehyung knew Jungkook was right. It just bothered him that he had to be the last one to be summoned. He didn't like feeling so isolated and alone. He had gone through the guardian training with six other men, and they had turned into his family. They became close throughout the training, and were luckily even assigned to protect the same family when their training had concluded. Taehyung knew it would be just a matter of time until he would be summoned by the one he was meant to protect. Then not only could he feel useful, but he could be with his family again.

Taehyung tried to keep track of the summoning, and figured out that each of them seemed to be leaving in two month intervals with Namjoon being the first to leave and Jungkook being the last. When two months went by after Jungkook left, Taehyung waited and was disappointed. No portal. He was still stuck in a mythical land without his best friends.

Those people who were still going through the guardian academy treated Taehyung like some sort of pariah. They distanced themselves from him, whispering false rumors about how he was never meant to be summoned because he wasn't ready. Taehyung tried to push his own feelings aside, throwing himself more rigorously into training. He kept telling himself every day that there would be a time when he'd be summoned and he had to be prepared. He would see his best friends again some day, and he would be useful.

Standing back up straight, he began to pick his way back through the marshy ground towards the grass. There were a few times where he thought he was going to lose his balance, reaching a hand to his sheath where his weapon was as if that would steady him. By the time his feet were back out of the muck, he felt the wind pick up around him. Strands of his hair that had come undone from the top of his head tickled his cheek and nose as he lifted his head to see a portal in front of him. His heart jumped in his chest.

He'd been summoned. The day had finally come.

Without hesitation, he stepped through it. The portal immediately disappeared from behind him once he stepped through, leaving him in a set of new surroundings. It took him a moment for his eyes to get adjusted to the bright sunny atmosphere around him. Blinking, he looked at the woman standing in front of him wearing brown khaki shorts and some sort of light green shirt with short sleeves. Her cinnamon brown hair was tied behind her head as her brown eyes landed on his with shock.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Kim Taehyung, and I take it you're the one I'm to protect."

He watched her eyes stay wide like quarters as she looked at him. Becoming a bit self conscious, he looked down at himself. He knew that he was dressed differently than her, but this was the garb they were required to wear. It was what they trained in. Taking a look about him, he noticed the twinkling ocean in the distance and the beach with all the beach goers wearing even less clothing than the woman in front of him was.

"Protect me? Protect me from what? Where did you even come from?"

Taehyung turned his head to look back at her. Surely she should know, especially if all the other women in her family had, had the same pan flute gift. Why was she acting as if this were all new news to her?

"I'm a guardian sent to protect you from the danger that plagues you and your family," said Taehyung. "Your six other sisters should have all had their guardians sent to them already through their pan flute. You were the last one to summon their guardian."

"But I...I don't have six sisters!" babbled the woman in shock. "And this pan flute wasn't given to me."

"Well then, where did you get it?"

"From a gift shop!"

Before Taehyung could say anything else, he paused. The air was silent, but he could feel the hair standing up on the back of his neck. Something was off. He could sense it. Turning his eyes towards the sunny sky overhead, he paused when he saw what looked like a mirage in the sky. He kept his eyes on it, watching as it past across a cloud. As it passed across the cloud, he could see the shimmer of a dragon's skin faintly come into view.

Spurring into action, he ran and grabbed the woman by the forearm. He had to protect her. It was his duty.

"What are you doing?" she protested as Taehyung tugged her after him, racing back for the hotel where they might hope to find shelter of some sort.

"I'm trying to protect you."

"From what?"

"Are you seriously this clueless?" asked Taehyung as he shouldered his way into the hotel. He pushed past an attendant standing there who looked at the both of them. Taehyung set off the metal detector in the lobby with the weapon still sheathed to his waist.

"Um...sir..." said the attendant, trying to stop him delicately.

When he saw that Taehyung was continuing to venture into the hotel lobby without stopping, he reached for his walkie talkie to call for security. Taehyung made it about halfway through the hotel lobby with her when security guards seemed to materialize out of nowhere. They went towards Taehyung, one of them gripping him by the arm to pull him up short. The security guard's grip on Taehyung's arm caused his grip to fall off the woman.

"Sir, you need to hand the weapon over and come with us."

"There has obviously been some sort of misunderstanding," said Taehyung as he looked at the security guard that was holding him. "I can't hand this over. I need it."

This was not the right thing to say as the guard holding his arm had a stormy look cross his face.

"Come with us sir."

The second security guard moved into action then, and soon they were both grabbing Taehyung gruffly. They were trying to force his arms behind his back so they could handcuff him. Taehyung tried to fight against them, causing one of them to tell him not to resist arrest. They pushed him up against a nearby hotel pillar as Taehyung turned his head to the side to look at the shocked woman. He noticed a small crowd of people gathering behind her. They were digging phones out of their pockets to record everything. As the metallic click of handcuffs sounded out, he was pulled off the pillar and escorted through the lobby, passing her on the way by.

"Stay hidden," he said, "and keep that pan flute safe."

"Stop talking!" snapped one of the security guards. "Keep facing forward!"

Taehyung was soon escorted down to the basement level of the hotel where he was placed in a rudimentary holding cell used for shoplifters or any other such offenders. He entered without a struggle after they had removed the sheath from about him. He watched as it was placed on a desk by a phone as he stepped into the cell; the door to the cell swinging shut behind him. Taehyung sighed as he moved to go sit on the bench in the corner.

"Wait until the chief hears about this loony," said one of the security guards as he took a seat at the desk. "Comes walking into the hotel clearly armed."

"Criminals are getting bolder all the time. What can we say?" the other security guard replied.

"Didn't know criminals tended to cosplay though."

"You do realize I can hear you both," said Taehyung as he watched both guards turn to look at him, "I'm not a criminal."

"All the criminals say that. It's the same script for all of you. Now quiet. Transport to the big house will be here once I call."

"Maybe you'll call once you stop making such poor assumptions," said Taehyung with a small smirk, leaning his back against the cool white bricks as he crossed his arms across his chest.

The security guard seated at the desk shot Taehyung a glare. This was the least of his worries. As he watched the second security guard exit the room as the one at the desk called for transport, Taehyung closed his eyes. He was worried about the woman he left in the lobby all by herself with a dragon circling the skies outside. He needed to get out of here and protect her. So far, he had only been around the person he was to protect for a few minutes, and he felt as if he had failed epically.

Meanwhile the dragon that Taehyung had caught sight of was still circling translucent like in the sky above the spot where Taehyung had first stepped from the portal. His beady yellow eyes were sweeping the landscape below.

'My precious...keep looking. The flute has sounded there. Bring him to me alive. Bring them both to me alive,' said Volaria's voice inside the dragon's head.

The dragon would obey his mistresses command, staying camouflaged in the sky as it continued to search out its prey.