Princenapping p1
Got a request from ygal to write about Princenapping. 5k word, utterly PG drabble hidden under the link. I am a little hurried because although I'm still a little sick, I am being dragged off to party like it's 1999 with bacon and who refuses bacon. Exactly.
“But, but-I’m a prince!”
The dragon didn’t seem to get it. Truth be told, the prince was rather confused himself. Dragons making off with princesses, that was all well and good, within the realm of possibility… expected even. It generally occurred at night, and the whole castle was roused within an hour, a knight already riding out to save her. His sister had already been kidnapped thrice now. There was a procedure.
A serpentine form gliding from the sky and scooping up the prince as he took his afternoon tea, basking in the sun with his servants; well that nobody expected. Least of all the prince.
The dragon didn’t seem terribly startled. Rather, it just seemed to be giving the prince himself perplexed looks, as if to ask why he was making such a terrible racket over who he was. The prince had tried to escape the claws, but they held firm, and anyways they were high over the ground, so being released might not be the best course of action. He could hardly do anything else but pout until they got to the mountain, skimming up the sides with the prince’s ears popping like crazy.
He had to admit the castle, when revealed, was a work of art. The entire building was carved expertly from the mountainside itself, and it wasn’t so high as to make it impossible to have a decent view. Mist settled over the forest below, and after the long trip, the sun was already setting.
The prince was settled into a room through the window. Although he longed to test the door and see if it had been locked, his attention was instead focused on the dragon, who at that moment was changing into a man. He’d never heard of a shapeshifting dragon, but then again, it might be obvious. What else would they do with the maids they kidnapped? The prince felt vaguely sick.
“I’m not the princess!” he yelled. “And frankly I’m insulted you think I can be confused with one. I am wearing trousers and everything.”
The dragon cocked his head at the other. He was taller, the horns that protruded from his head brushing the ceiling, and his form was muscled. His skin was tinted gold, with brilliant red hair that had matched his scales in dragon form. The hair was kept short, which for some reason was surprising to the prince. His golden eyes looked almost innocent, too, which was a shock but less so than the hairstyle.
“I did not know I wanted a princess,” the dragon said, eyes crinkling with a light smile. At least he wasn’t revealing a mouth full of daggers. “I was just recommended to royalty. You did have a crown on.” It was still on the prince’s head, if only barely. The ride was smooth, but the prince had lost a shoe regardless and had to hold onto the crown manually.
“But I am not the princess! Dragons capture princesses!” The prince frowned severely, fists resting on his hips. Possibly the reptile could still reason. “There’s protocol, you know. Dragons kidnap princesses, who are then rescued by knights…”
“Oh, I don’t like that part,” the dragon said, shaking his head. “So if I took you, and you are not a princess, then the knights will not come?”
The prince’s mouth sprang open, then shut. He really had no clue. Maybe princes were expected to rescue themselves. “Really, there’s not much use for me around here,” he tried to start again. “I’m a boy. You want a girl.”
“What’s the difference?” the dragon asked, eyes widening in confusion.
“…well? A girl can clean and cook, for one, or sew clothes or sort your treasure…”
The dragon looked positively horrified. “I do not invite humans here and then make them do chores!” he gasped out. The prince bit his tongue against the fact that he was not, technically, invited. “No, you are an esteemed guest.”
“Why exactly am I here?” the prince slowly questioned, wondering if even the dragon knew.
The pause and look of slight confusion answered his question. Not a clue. “I was recommended to it,” he repeated. “Apparently, it is expected of me.”
“Well, you’re going about it all wrong,” the prince huffed. “You really do want a princess. At least for nothing else, she’s prettier.”
The dragon snorted, as if not believing him, although the prince couldn’t see why not. “What does this princess look like, then?”
“She actually looks rather like me,” the prince admitted. “She’s older by a bit, but we both have black hair and green eyes. Hers are larger, I guess prettier too, since she’s a girl. Her skin is paler and softer, and um. She’s a bit taller.” The prince flushed some having to admit this. “But again, she’s older, and I haven’t grown all the way.” This was most likely a lie, as he was almost out of his teenage years and was unlikely to hit another growth spurt, but it would be a lie he’d most likely maintain for some time to come. “She’s also, you know. A girl.”
He couldn’t help but grow uncomfortable under the gaze of the dragon, who was taking in all of his features as he talked. The prince figured he must be comparing until the dragon’s fingers caught his chin. It was then that he realized all that strength and power was still highly present in the dragon’s human form, the prince unable to turn his head even a centimeter.
“…I doubt a human girl is prettier,” the dragon finally declared with a smug grin before exiting the room through the window in a flash. Although the prince really ought to be angry about his kidnapping, the dragon really left the prince in shock and indignant at the insinuation that he was pretty.
~*~
For all this talk of preferring princes over princesses, the room itself had been designed for a woman. The prince was sure of it. A canopy bed, everything draped in silk and pink, and even a vanity. There were various glass shelves covered in glass knick-knacks, playthings and collectibles of older women. The closets, when opened, revealed dresses. He was sure he’d be freaking out over the fine silk and innumerable gems if he had any notion of wearing any of it.
The prince was bored out of his mind.
It was his second day of capture, and he’d gotten dried meat and another smile before the dragon headed off. He wasn’t fond of his captor, yes, but he’d kill for someone to talk to. He’d dragged a cushioned chair over to the window and spent time staring out of it.
The sun was setting and he’d lit the oil lamps in his room, shadows dancing like fairies as he gazed at the approaching twilight. Then a stream of red attracted his attention, and like a ribbon flowing through the sky, there was the dragon.
Kind of pretty, once one wasn’t perched in the dragon’s claws. Bright red scales giving the illusion that the sky was bleeding, with golden claws and spikes running down his armored back. Sleek. Efficient. Could eat the prince without chewing.
Which was why the boy nearly jumped out of his skin when the dragon flipped, coiled back on himself, and came his way. The blood-red head was suddenly way too close, and the prince scrambled backwards from his chair, knocking it over to the ground as he leapt across the room just as claws latched onto the windowsill. A second later, the man hopped into the room, staring in a baffled manner at the chair before righting it.
“How are you enjoying yourself?” the dragon asked pleasantly, ignoring the defensive posture of the prince or possibly not even noticing it.
“This room isn’t for a boy,” the prince said immediately, pouting slightly as his heartrate slowed. “Nothing for me to do here; how do you think I’m enjoying myself? I told you, I’m not a girl.”
“I had not been sure,” the dragon replied, frowning. “My wizard had made this room for my companion. He said it would have everything they would want.”
“If I were a girl like I was supposed to be, it would be perfect,” the prince grumbled. “But I’m a boy. I want swords and books and… and maybe something to write with. Less pink, more red or blue or something. And those?” The prince strode to the closet and flung open the door. “All girl’s clothes! I am not about to wear a dress!”
“You’re not?” the dragon asked, sounding perplexed. The prince wasn’t sure how a dragon would take the death glare he was sending him at that moment, so laughing at it wasn’t exactly a surprise. He wasn’t sure how he could ever intimidate someone like that.
“Then I shall try and supplement the choices for you,” the dragon placated, chuckles dying down. “I’ll do some research. The wizard isn’t around to help anymore with these sorts of things.”
“What you’re wearing is good,” the prince tried. The dragon was not naked, of course, or the prince would have been much more flustered throughout these conversations. He was wearing trousers of gold and white, with a pure white top. It was a little flashy for the prince’s taste, but with a few other colors he’d be happy enough. The dragon looked down, considering, and the prince decided to move on. “What happened to the wizard? You keep talking about him. Why was he here?” Maybe the guy could have pointed out that kidnapping a prince was beyond ridiculous. The prince didn’t know him, but he already mourned his death.
The dragon looked off, a veiled expression falling over his features. “He raised me from an egg,” the dragon muttered. “This was his castle. He would always tell me stories of dragons, ancient ones, and he mentioned getting a companion later on. When he was getting old, he made this room so if I ever got lonely I would be prepared. Then a while ago, he just… disappeared.”
“He left?” the prince pressed.
“When wizards pass away, they vanish. Nothing physical remains.” The dragon scratched his chin uncomfortably. “Must have been half a century ago, at least.”
The prince had to fall silent at that, becoming pensive. The dragon had been alone for that long? The prince had been going crazy left to his own devices for only a few hours. The prince looked off to the side, feeling just the tiniest bit guilty at so desperately wanting to escape.
Instead of dwelling on that, the prince instead muttered, “Your only companion was a loner old man. Does that explain a lot.”
Even though the dragon’s smile was sheepish, the prince was at least glad he smiled.
~*~
It was still boring as hell.
If Prince didn’t think it could get any worse, he was badly mistaken. Straight out of a horror novella, he woke up one morning to see the dragon perching in his windowsill, staring. From his stance, the guy had been there quite some time; the prince’s movement only made the guy tilt his head in acknowledgement of his awakening.
“…what in the four levels of hell,” the prince said, sitting up straight and glaring at the dragon. There were only four levels of hell at this time. “You ran out of ways to be strange? Because I have to say, ‘watching me sleep’ is good but highly unoriginal.”
“I’ve decided I like you better,” the dragon declared. The prince stared at him, expression blank but somehow also full of rage. Confused, confused rage. “I went to go see the princess, to see what all the fuss was about. She smells like fruit.”
“…yes. Girls smell better.” The prince would be a little guilty over the thought that he was trying to make the dragon kidnap his older sister, but there was a protocol that must be followed. For a prince to be kidnapped, that’s just not proper.
The dragon was already shaking his head. “No, no… She was so soft and weak. So boring. I like you better. I never really cared much for fruit, anyway.” The dragon made a face. “She had too much hair, also. So impractical. Does it not get in the way of… everything?” The dragon stretched a bit, lowering his feet to the floor, wings folding tightly to his body in order to not knock over any of the delicate objects in the room.
“I so did not invite you in my room,” the prince snapped, throwing the blankets off of himself in a huff and standing. On the opposite side of the bed from the dragon, of course. “Do you have no sense of propriety?”
“Also, I suspect princesses are better protected,” the dragon continued, ignoring the prince as he picked up a small glass figurine, turning it over with a mild sort of delight. “The moment she woke up and spotted me, the girl immediately emitted a terrifying high-pitched noise. Quite effective. I couldn’t live with anybody who communicated in such a manner.”
The prince felt a pit of dread form in his stomach. “As for me…?”
The dragon’s smile was cheerful and unreserved. “Your conversation is pleasant and does not induce a headache. I can live with you.”
As the dragon left, launching from the room, the prince made a quiet vow to work on his soprano.