His Prince, His Dragon

            It was early in the afternoon, the sun was high in the sky as Maleke sat at a table in the castle library reading. It had been about two weeks since his father had set out to find and capture the dragon that had been terrorizing their kingdom for a couple of years now, two to be exact. His father, the king had gathered the best dragon hunters money could buy, his top soldiers, and the kingdom's most powerful sorcerers before setting out. Many told him it was a terrible idea to go because he was putting his life on the line but he refused to stay behind. In all honesty, Maleke hoped his father was killed, not because he wanted the throne or anything, but because they didn't have the best father-son relationship.             Twelve years ago, the biggest war broke out all around the world.  It was a ten-year-long battle that claimed many lives, one of those lives happened to be his mother, Queen Alisha. She was known to be beautiful and kind-hearted, always trying to do what was right and help others, she and the king were especially close. Seven years into the war when Maleke was 13, enemy soldiers managed to make their way into the castle and during the panic his mother was killed while trying to protect Maleke.              His father, so utterly heartbroken by the loss of his wife and queen, blamed Maleke for the death of Queen Alisha and took his anger out on him, never treating him like his son again. Though Maleke didn't care anymore, he grew used to the treatment of his father.             He was currently 18 years old, soon to be 19, he wasn't what anyone would think of if you thought of a prince. He was average height, standing at a nice 5'8, though he had a really feminine body structure. With an hourglass figure, a smaller chest then normal guys and big hips you could easily mistake him for a woman if you covered his head and looked at Maleke from behind, and it was something he definitely didn't enjoy. He looked weak because of it, though the prince made sure he wasn't. Maleke trained hard with other soldiers three hours a day, every day. He became one of the best fighters in the kingdom, whether it be with a sword or bare-handed. Though he didn't like to brag or show off, he was more of a bookworm then anything. Maleke loved reading and learning new things, spending lots of time in the library as a result.             Though, Maleke's time to himself had apparently run-up when a castle maid came running into the library. "Your highness! The dragon has been captured, “ the maid informed him.             Maleke POV             When one of the castle maids came and hurried over to me I looked up from my book and gave her a soft smile, “Great, I assume my father wants to speak with me? “ I responded and stood from my seat.             The maid frowned hearing my words and lowered her, “actually-” before she could finish her sentence she was cut off by a familiar voice.                 “I would like to speak with you about your father Maleke," said general Barrett before turning to the maid "you're excused,”  he told her, the maid bowed respectively before hurrying out to get back to her other duties.             Me and general Barrett had a good relationship with each other since we've seen each other every day since I was 13 we grew pretty close. It was almost like father and son, Barrett was never blessed to have any kids and treated me like his own, I even used to call him dad when I was younger.             “What happened?” I asked him closing the book I had been previously reading and set it down on the table next to me.                 Barrette looked at me with sorrow in his eyes so I knew it couldn't be good news, “during the search we were ambushed by the dragon. He apparently had been following us. While we were holding our ground against the beast you father lost his footing and the dragon managed to grab your father with his mouth and. . . well he bit your father in two,” he explained, lowering his head, I could tell he felt great pain at the loss of the king, my father, my abuser.              I listened to Barrett's words in disbelief, I didn’t know if I heard him correctly, my father was dead? Gone forever and never to return? I felt like celebrating honestly, bouncing up and down like a happy child and dancing. Though I knew I would be that only one. Although I was treated poorly, my father was very kind to the citizens of his kingdom, making it lively and prosperous.             But soon a realization hit me harder then a bag of bricks and my eyes widened, “... That means I'm to be King,“ I muttered. I wasn’t a fan of the idea, first off I knew I could never live up to my father's glory, and before I was to be crowned I'd have to marry. Which I had zero interest in doing anytime soon.              Barrett nodded and placed his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes, "I know it's one of the last things you're interested in doing but now you don't have a choice. Without a king this kingdom will crumble and fall, I trust that you are more than capable of filling in that role. You are a strong young man," he reassured, giving me a soft smile.             I nodded, "right… I think I need some time alone to think about everything that has happened, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon for training Barrett," I said, making up an excuse to have some alone time with myself.             Barret nodded, "Right, I will see you tomorrow your majesty," he said before bowing respectively and left me alone once again in the castle library.              I let out a sigh and ran my fingers through my messy Raven black hair and looked towards the ground, trying to make sense of the situation. I'm an orphan prince now. Soon to be King. And will have to marry soon. I didn't like the sounds of that.             I let out a sigh of annoyance and grabbed the book I had been reading and placed it back on the shelf I had taken it from and headed to my room. As I made my way there I couldn't help but become lost in thought. I opened the door to my bedroom and walked inside before closing my door behind myself. I spent the rest of the day in my room, food was brought to me at the time of dinner. I was left undisturbed other than that, I assumed everyone thinks I'm grieving so they're giving me space to do so.             Time Skip             It's been a week since my father's death and I just got back from my father's funeral, many relatives and family friends come for his funeral, they all said they were sorry for my loss and that it must be hard for me. I said thank you but honestly, I was just bored the whole time. I know I'll probably get some bad karma for it but I don't care at this point, I've got other more important things to worry about and deal with.             Once I got back in the Castle a guard approached me, "your majesty, I know you just got back from your father's funeral and this is the last thing you want to deal with but the beast in the dungeon is beginning to become restless, slamming itself against the walls of his cell and calling out your name," he informed me.             My eyes widened at the news, how could I forget there was a frickin dragon in the dungeon?! I haven't even gone down there once to see him and it has been a full week, "R-Right well, then I'll be down there at once to see what the trouble is, that thank you for informing me," I said, the guard nodded and went off back to do his job.             Maleke took a deep breath and started heading to the dungeon to see what was going on. Once he got to the doorway that had a staircase leading underground where they kept prisoner he felt a strong aura around him. He felt as if he was being pulled down the steps as he headed down to the dungeon deep under the castle. The further in he got, the stronger the strange aura and feeling got, also an unexpected smell filled my nose, it wasn't that dirty smell that makes you want to vomit the moment you enter the dungeon, it was. . . a nice smell, something I've never smelt before either and I found myself longing to find where it was coming from.             Once I finally got down into the dungeon I saw a long line of cells and a couple had prisoner sitting against the walls. Some had terrified looks and I had a good idea why they did, I soon heard the rattling of chains and the sound of metal on metal before a deep voice roar out my name, "Maleke!" I heard a voice yell and then a guard growl in annoyance in response to this.             "Will you shut up! You have no right to speak of the prince's name after what you've done, they should have killed you instead of bringing you back!" the guard hissed.             I peeked around the corner to see a big opening in this room, it had what looked to be a cage in the center with a man inside. I then realized that the royal sorcerer must have put some spell on the beast that forced him to stay in his human form. I tried to get a good look at him but I was too far away and It was hard to see with the dim lighting but he seemed to have dark hair and a soft tan to his skin. There was also what looked to be markings on his skin. He also only was wearing some baggy tan pants and that was it. I cleared my throat as I stepped into the room and the four guards on the room straightened and bowed, "your majesty," they said respectfully.             I held a straight face, my unusual red eyes glowing slightly in the dim lighting, I put on an intimidating persona as I walked forward towards the cage-like a cell. The cage had shackles that hung from the top of the cage and some on the floor. His arms were in the hanging shackles while his legs were shackled to the ground to make it so he couldn't move much. But had enough space to slam against the sides of his cage apparently. "I'd like you all to leave the room, take a short break… I want to speak with him alone," I told them.             The guards looked at each other with looks of uncertainty on their faces, "y-your majesty, I don't think that's the best idea for us to leave you alone with him-" one of them piped up but I cut him off before he could finish.             " Are you defining my orders?" I countered my hands clenched into fists now.             The guard gulped, obviously become more nervous by the second, "N-No your Majesty, we're just worried about-"             "There is nothing to be worried about, I'll be fine," he said before going over to one of the guards, "just let me have some time alone with him, he did kill my father after all, " I said and I could hear them sigh and nod in defeat.             "Okay, call for us if you need anything, your Majesty, " said the guard I was standing next to and then motioned the three others to follow him out. Once they were gone I smirked and lifted the keys I managed to take from the guard. I then went over to the cage and went to unlock it but paused when the monster's gaze met mine and we locked eyes. He had icy blue eyes that match the blue and black colored scales on his body while in dragon form, then I couldn't help but let my eyes trail down his body to get a better look at him. The makings on his body were a dark night blue, close to black and he was pretty muscular as well. He was also about 7 inches taller than me, standing at about 6'3. I breathed through my nose and was hit with that nice smell from before. It was him? That was weird, he's been locked up for a week, shouldn't he stink instead if smell sweet? I decided to ignore it now, I had more important things to dwell on at the moment.             "You have something that's mine." He said with a straight face, breaking the silence of the dungeon and stepping closer to the door, getting closer to Maleke's face. "I was promised it a long time ago. And I will get it. Your father should've known better than to make deals he couldn't keep. Look where it got him." He laughs darkly, his vibrant eyes flashing.              "What is it hm? My idiotic father has had a habit of doing stupid things, so what did he promise? Money? Food?" I asked putting my hands behind my back.              He lets out a harsh and raspy laugh once more. "Aw, you don't know? That's fine." His smile drops and he gets closer. "I'll play along for now, but you're mine, King." He says 'King' a little sarcastically. "A deal's a deal."             " I belong to nobody, especially not you," I said, glaring at the beast. "I just came to inform you that you're to be hung in the center of town for all to see in two days time, " I said before looking away. I wasn't a fan of hanging, it made me uneasy just thinking about it.             I guess he could tell I wasn't a fan of the idea because that monster just threw his head back and started laughing his ass off, right in my face. His laughter seemed to suck away every bit of courage and power from my body, making me feel like the chained one in a cage. "Now now Maleke, I know you've changed but I didn't think you had changed THAT much," he said with his classic smirk before going back to laughing, I'm even sure I saw tears form in his eyes from the laughter. Before I could stop myself I found the back of my hand come in contact with his cheek. The sound of me slapping him echoed through the dungeon and his head turned at the impact, there was already a red mark on his cheek forming. But instead of getting him to shut up he started laughing harder.             I continued to glare at him, "I have no idea what you're talking about.  This is the first of us meet," I said, kinda pissed off             " Oh but that's where you're wrong, 'king'," he said the words king sarcastically once again and I growled at him.             " Will you stop mocking me or I will have you hung today!" I shouted             "come on, don't act as you care about your father's death. I know you don't and I know how he uses to treat you, why are you still letting him get to you even after his death?" He asked, finally stopping his infernal laughing and held a straight face.             I stopped, ready to answer with some harsh words but I couldn't think of an answer. Why was I still letting my father get to me? He's no longer around to do anything to me. I'm free now from the weight of my father sitting on my shoulders. I glanced up at the dragon, meeting his eyes before looking away once more and clearing my throat.             "Stop interrogating me, that's none of your business," I said and stood there in uncomfortable silence for a while, before clearing my throat, " what's your name?"             "What?" He asked with a surprised look, guess he wasn't expecting me to ask.             " I need something to call you, so what's your name?" I asked once more before finally looking at him again.             "Malisse," he said with the same smirk as before returning to his face causing me to roll me eyes in response.             "Okay then, Malisse. It was fun meeting you and all," I said before turning and stepped out of his cage and closed the door before looking at him, this time I was wearing the smirk on my face, "but I think you should be preparing yourself for death, hanging will be in two days," I informed him before locking the door but before I could even think about stepping back he quickly moved forward and managed to somehow grab my shirt and slam me into the bars of the cage and got close to my face.             "I would like to see you try," he whispered in my ear, sending a slight shiver down my spine before letting go of me and sat down to the cold floor, crossing his legs, "now why don't you go be on your way? You must be very busy, I myself have got a packed schedule," he tugged at the chains harshly, "trying to get out of these wretched shackles," he informed me with a dead serious look on his face as he stared at me, I felt like his eyes were piercing into my soul as he did so.             I didn't say a word to him in response, just turned and walked out. I felt weak and cowardly, letting him intimidated and scare me like that. No, I wasn't scared…. Okay, maybe a little but that was beside the point!             Once I walked out and turned the corner I spotted the guards, once they saw me as well, they all came up to me, "did everything go alright your Majesty?" He asked, I nodded in response and gave him back his keys before walked past them.             "I want you to double the guard patrol in the dungeon, he's planning something," I said as I left before they could say anything in response. Once I finally left the dungeon I felt dirty just from being down there. It was probably the dirtiest place in this kingdom, it's smell was enough to make you vomit the moment you enter. There was vomit and other body fluids just laying there rotting, and I'm pretty sure there's something dead rotting away as well in there.              I made my way to my room but on my way, I stop a servant girl and kindly asked her to make a hot bath for me. She nodded and was about to turn and leave went she noticed something. "Your Majesty, what happened to you if you don't mind me asking," she asked softly.             I gave her a confused look, "what do you mean?" I asked her.             "Well your lip has been busted open and is bleeding a little, and it looks like there's a small bruise forming on the side of your forehead," she informed me.             I got a surprised look on my face and touched my bottom lip before looking down at my fingers, there was a little blood on his fingers, "thank you for informing me, I just… ran into a wall a bit ago, I didn't think it was that bad," I lied.             "Okay Majesty, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. My apologies," she said respectfully before bowing.             "I can understand why you were concerned, thank you for telling me. No apology is needed," I reassured her. She nodded and I turned to head back to my room as she went to make a bath for me.             After I made my way to my room I looked at myself in the mirror, she was right, my bottom lip was bleeding a little and a bruise was forming on the side of my forehead. I let out a sigh. I shouldn't have been so cocky or been that close to him, he's still stronger than a normal person would be. I went over to my desk and found a small rag that I used the clean the blood from my lip before setting down and decided to read a little to kill the time.             A bit after the same maid knocked on my door before opening it and pocked her head inside, "your Majesty, your bath is ready for you," I gave her a nod in response, still absorbed in my book before she closed the door and left again. I finished the page before closing the book and stood, taking the clean clothing and headed to take my bath. Once I got there it was steamy in the room which told me it was nice and hot making me smile. I stripped of my current clothing before setting them down on a chair in the corner along with the clean clothes. I then went over to the bath and slowly stepped inside of it. The water was nice and hot and I felt my body instantly relaxed as in submerged myself in the water closing my eyes. I then grabbed some soap and started to clean my body and soon my hair. After washing myself fully I sat in the warm water a bit longer, enjoying the warmth since the castle always seemed so cold.              While I sat in the water I let my mind start to wander a bit and I couldn't help but think of Malisse and what he said. What did he mean I changed? How did he know I was acting different, we've never met before, other than the times when he would attack the kingdom. Also, why did he say I was wrong about us never meeting?! I have zero memory of ever meeting a giant blue and black dragon or some really hot, muscular guy like him. Wait what am I thinking?! He's the enemy! Besides he's to be hung in two days' time. Get a grip Maleke!             I shook my head at those crazy thoughts I was having.              After the water started to cool off I stepped out of the bath and shivered at the sudden temperature change and quickly dried and got dressed. I hated the cold more than ANYTHING my body always seemed more sensitive to it than a normal person would, I just decided on the fact that I wasn't normal and left it at that since there wasn't any other explanation for it. Time skip             It was later that night, the moon was high in the sky along with many stars littered all over. A beautiful night, I let out a quiet yawn as I lay in bed and close my eyes so I can drift off to sleep. There were two blankets over me to keep me warm because if I was even the slightest bit cold I wouldn't be able to sleep. Besides, it was close to winter so it was getting colder, especially at night. I soon drifted off into a peaceful sleep, nice and warm. A couple of hours later into the night my door slammed open, banging into that wall, most likely cracking it as well. I jumped awake at the sudden loud noise and looked around to see what was going on.             Barrett was standing in my doorway panting, "your Majesty! There's something going on in the dungeon!" He shouted.             My eyes widened as I jumped out of bed and started to get dressed, "what do you mean?! What's happening?" I asked him quickly.             "He managed to get out of his cage, and there's some sort of glue gas that's leaking from his mouth," he explained.             "Blue gas?" I repeated before grabbing my sword and walked out of my bedroom with him.             "Yes your Majesty, it seems to make men dizzy and pass out," he explained. I soon realized what he was talking about. One of the sorcerers my father had taken with him on his quest to find Malisse pulled me aside during the week and told him about the gas. He explained that when you inhale the gas you pass out so he taught a basic spell to me to keep my lungs 'pure' so I could inhale the gas for a good 10 minutes before the effects wear off.             Once we got to the stairs that lead down to the dungeon I muttered a few words and my chest glowed for a couple of seconds before the glow subsided and I saw Barrett do the same thing, he must have been told about it when he was with my father looking for Malisse. We then hurried down into the dungeon together. Once we were down there I saw the bodies of different guards laying on the floor, their throats ripped out. Me and Barrett readied our swords and we moved deeper into the dungeon seeing the blue gas. "Watch my back," I told him and Barrett nodded.             "Of course," he said in response as we moved forward.            We continued to move into the gas, and soon I couldn't even see more the six feet in front of myself clearly. It was trying hard not to run into any walls as we walked. I then stopped and noticed a figure in front of us and I readied my sword along with Barrett, I figured he saw us because it soon stood, what I assume was blood dripping from its chin as it came closer.             "Don't you dare take another step! This ends here!" I shouted. I could hear a chuckle from that monster before it quickly ran at us. I dodged but Barrett wasn't too lucky.             Malisse pounced on Barrett, knocking him to the floor and ripped his throat out with his canine teeth. I stared in horror as the only person I basically had left was murdered before my eyes. It was like with my mother all over again. I screamed out as tears filled my eyes and I swung my sword at that monster but he managed to dodge my attack and before I could blink he kicked the sword out of my hands and then kicked my feet out from under me causing me to fall to the hard ground and I looked over at Barrett's lifeless body as tears streamed down my face.             "Is that all you can do? Honestly, I expect more of a fight," Malisse said disappointed.             I looked up at him and started to scoot back quickly and picked up Barrett's sword then jumped up, anger and hatred burning in my eyes as tears ran down his cheeks and dripped off his chin, "I'm going to kill you, you disgusting monster!" I yelled and swung at Malisse but he easily dodged my attack before grabbing me and threw me against the wall inside an empty cell. I let out a gasp of pain as I fell to the hard stone floor. I started to slowly get up again, sword in hand though it was pointed to the ground.              Malisse slams the door shut behind himself and looked at me "That spell won't last long, King. And after that, you can't do a thing to stop me from destroying your kingdom. Dragons are very, very vengeful. They can and will keep a grudge for years. So be a good prince and put the sword down and I'll take you quietly. There's nothing you can do, now. You'll be taken either way." He smirks and stalks the room, gas still leaking from his mouth.             "what do you want!?" I asked lowering the sword, "my father was stupid, what did he promise?" I asked him.              "Oh, It's the most precious thing in this kingdom." He going behind me and smirks, purring his words into his ear.             I flinched slightly and looked behind myself up at Malisse, before looking at the ground, "he promised me didn't he?" I asked             "You, your body, your heart, and soul. Anything… Just to off a certain person. I guess you weren't worth much to him, hm?" Malisse taunts as he circles me.              I stared at the ground. I knew my father hated me but… I didn't think he would trade me away just for one man's life. I started shaking as tears filled my vision and I started feeling weak. My head was spinning and I stumbled to the floor and looked up at Malisse, my vision become dark and foggy. He crotch down in front of me and smirked before I blacked out. The spell must have worn off with me realize.