A/N: Based on a fantasy au comic by Rabiscostel on Tumblr.
"H-hello?" the young prince said softly into the darkness. He looked around. He could only see the objects that were illuminated by what little moonlight was streaming through his room. He stared harder into the shadows. He could hear breathing and feel the weight of someone else in the room. He felt afraid, but was determined not to show it.
Gon sat up straighter, his back against his headboard, and watched what little the moonlight could show him, hoping his eyes would adjust to the darkness. In the far right corner of his room he could see a shape. A man, sitting relaxed in the arm chair. His father? No. That was impossible. Gon wanted to move closer to see, but had a feeling it would be unwise to do so.
"I can see you." Gon stated. "What's your name" He said into the shadows.
A low chuckle. The figure grew in size, dark wings spreading from his back as he stood up. "Would you like to see me up close?" The man asked, the sound of a smile danced in his voice.
Gon wanted to say no, to tell him to go as far away as possible, to leave him alone. He had a very important day tomorrow, and he needed his sleep. But he stayed silent.
Gon blinked and the shadow man had moved. Gon turned his head to see him sitting on the edge of his bed, looking directly at him. Gon's heart leapt into his throat, and he scooted back as far as he could, but he had nowhere to go. The man was pale, his eyes were gleaming, like liquid gold, his hair as red as hot coals. He was grinning and Gon could see large white fangs poking out from his mouth, like the vampires he had read about.
"Are you a vampire?" Gon blurted out.
The man raised his eyebrows in surprise and then barked a laugh covering his face with one hand. Gon stared at the hand, which had nails sharp enough to cut right through him, and they were dark, almost claw-like.
"No~ dear prince, I'm something much more dangerous~" The man leaned in close. Gon could feel heat radiating off of him. He smelt like fire.
"What are you?" Gon was pressed up so hard against his headboard he could feel the ridges making indentations on his back.
"I'm a dragon" he leaned in closer, and Gon could feel his hot breath, so hot that it reminded him of the time he had opened the woodstove to see the bread and heat had nearly singed his face.
"Why are you here?" Gon couldn't look him in the eye. Gon's face was turned to the side, staring at the table beside his bed, hoping he could find something with which to fight this dragon.
"I'm here to take you away, Gon~" the weight on the bed shifted and Gon turned to see the dragon was gone. He turned back around to see him on his other side, blocking the view from his little table. The dragon grabbed his face.
"Are you afraid to look at me?" He moved in closer to look directly into Gon's eyes. The feeling of the dragon's burning skin took Gon by surprise he could feel his face twitch in surprise, but the rest of him went still as he felt the claws press harder into his face.
The dragon licked his lips and grinned. "That's a good boy" He murmured as Gon returned his stare, paralyzed by fear more than anything.
"Where will you take me?" Gon whispered, as if he had accepted his fate.
"You'll see" the dragon smiled, cupping Gon's face between his two hands, closing the space between them to place a kiss on Gon's lips.
Gon tried to escape, wiggling backwards, trying to jerk his head out of the man's grasp, but he was too strong. He felt his tongue press against his lips, it was burning. Gon opened his mouth, gasping at the sensation, and the dragon thrust his tongue deep into his mouth. The heat was unbearable, like it was melting Gon from the inside. He groaned. He felt something cold and hard touch his tongue, and as soon as it did, the dragon retreated from his mouth. Gon swallowed whatever the dragon left in his mouth by accident, and as soon as it went down his throat, he passed out.
…
Gon shivered and reached down to grab the blanket to cover himself. Blindly his hands searched near his feet for the blanket, but when he found none, he opened his eyes. He was in the air, or more accurately, in the claw of the dragon who was flying in the air. The dragon had transformed into his true self, and he was massive. Gon looked out through the gaps in the dragon's claws, seeing nothing but the tops of trees and a tall mountain in the distance. None of this land was familiar to him. How long had he been asleep?
He tried to curl up into himself, the cold air went right through his thin tunic. The dragon made a sound so loud that Gon jumped. He closed his eyes, wishing he was home. There was nothing he wouldn't give to wake up from this nightmare and be home. The dragon made the sound again, as if he were sighing, but it was so loud and deep that it shook Gon to the core.
The mountain was much closer and before he knew it, the dragon was slowing down to land in front of it. Gon could see as massive lake, which fed into a river. The earth shook as he landed, he could hear the ground straining under his weight. Gon was plopped down beside the lake. Dazed, he looked around and up at the dragon. Gon gasped, fear clear on his face.
Even when in this form, the dragon looked like he was smirking. His face was pointed, and large fangs stuck out from his mouth. Gon thought about what the inside of the dragon's mouth looked like, and decided to avoid those thoughts entirely. He had large horns that jutted outward and curved back slightly, rather like a ram. A mixture of maroon and gold scales covered his body, and occasionally the gold scales were grouped in a way that looked like stars. His wings were folded now, and Gon was uncertain if he would ever see them stretched out in their full length. His tail was long, and ended in a point that looked similar to a spade. It looked sharp and deadly.
The dragon sat on his hind legs and soon he was shrinking, as if he were melting into himself, becoming smaller and smaller and smaller until the man who was in Gon's room was standing before him. Gon felt lucky to have seen such an amazing transformation, but unlucky to see in in such a circumstance.
As the man moved toward him, Gon scrambled to his feet, finally finding the courage to run. He made for the woods but did not get very far. The man was right in front of him as soon as he passed the first row of trees.
"you're going the wrong way, young prince~" He put an arm around Gon's shoulder and led him back to the lake. Gon couldn't stop shaking.
"Are you cold?" He asked, tilting his head to look at Gon's face. Gon looked back up at him. If he was being honest, yes, he was cold. But the heat from the dragon next to him warmed him almost completely.
"A little" He said quietly. He looked straight ahead. Carved into the mountain was something that looked like half of a castle. How did he not notice that before?
"Come into my home, dear Gon~ I always have a fire burning in my hearth" Gon moved closer and closer to the castle, and as he did, it felt more and more like being taken to a prison.
"Although I suppose, now, it's our home~" the man chuckled. The reality set in hard. Gon would never see his home again. Never see his family or friends. He'd be stuck with this terrible dragon doing who knows what to him.
When they made it to the entrance Gon was practically sweating. The heat from the dragon's body was like a summer sun, and yet, he found he did not mind it. He was too angry to really think about it anyway.
As the man escorted him inside, Gon was thinking back to his history books about a dragon's weakness and how to kill them. He could recall nothing and lamented not paying attention more in his studies.
The inside of the castle was rather bare, nothing but a long hallway that went deeper into the mountain, lined with candles to light their path.
Gon and the dragon walked side by side, quiet in the damp cold hall. Gon sneaked a glance over at the man who was looking pleased. Gon looked him up and down. He was very tall, taller than the average human, towering over Gon, who was almost 6ft. The dragon had to be at least 8ft tall. He had his vest open, revealing a muscular chest. Gon looked downward. He had on leather pants, tight fitting, and intricately embroidered. Around his waist was a belt, which carried a handkerchief and was covered in all kinds of baubles and jewels. He had golden necklaces around his neck, all of them covered in opals and emeralds, rubies and diamonds. His hands had no rings, but pointed markings covered the tops of his hands. His boots went to his knees, and matched in color to the vest he was wearing, which was a dark purple. The boots were high heeled, and pointed with tiny looking spikes around the tops in a weird design. Gon was pretty sure they were animal teeth, but he didn't want to confirm. He looked at the dragon's back, dark wings were folded tightly against him. Was that how he moved so quickly?
"Enjoying the view?" Gon's eyes looked quickly up to the dragon's. He had been caught. Gon looked back down the hallway. He could see the outline of a door in the darkness. He felt the dragon's eyes on him. He realized something, too.
"What's your name?" Gon asked. He stopped, surprised by his own question. The man stopped as well.
"Hisoka~" He said, leaning down closer to Gon and smiling, his eyes closed.
"And you know my name" Gon said.
"Of course~" Hisoka stood back up and continued walking.
"Why did you take me?" Gon followed after Hisoka.
"I like to take princes." Hisoka said matter-of-factly.
"I'm not a true prince" Gon said, stopping once more.
Hisoka continued walking, "I know. That makes you even more valuable~"
Gon grit his teeth, but kept walking anyway.
"Well, Gon, welcome to my home~" Hisoka said, gesturing him to walk in as he opened the door.
It was dark and grey, but covered in tapestries and thick quilts and feather pillows. There was an enormous hearth on the other end of the room.
"What are you going to do with me?" Gon asked as he stepped into the room. It looked like one of many, as he looked upward and saw stairs and balconies leading up to what seemed like hundreds of floors.
Gon felt Hisoka right behind him.
"Anything I want~" Hisoka whispered in his ear. Gon had chills run down his spine. He did not want to know what 'anything' meant, but he feared for the worst.
…
Gon was running down that long dark hallway. He had to get out of the castle. He had fallen asleep in a room that Hisoka had given him. He was sprinting, his heart pounding. His chest was burning with how hard his lungs were pumping air, and his feet were aching from slamming onto the cold hard floor. He felt like he had been running for hours. No. He knew the hallway had to end, so he pushed himself. He kept going, despite how hard his body was protesting against him. He felt so cold and the candles seemed to be burning out, reaching the end of their wicks. It didn't matter. All he had to do was reach the end. That was it. And then… well then he just had to keep running into the forest and find the nearest town.
The hallway was pitch black now, and Gon had to slow down, feeling his way down the tunnel. He put his hand against the cold wall and jogged, and as he became more confident in the dark, he started running once more. But even though he kept running, he could not find the exit. It had to be there, the hallway wasn't that long… was it? Gon kept running, his fingers skimming the wall, but it started to feel sharp like teeth. Gon shivered and pulled his hand away. He tried to move forward, but each step felt like a risk, like he would fall off of a cliff. He became paranoid that he was being watched and constantly turned to look back… until he did it so much, he had forgotten which way he was running. Gon turned, venturing to touch the walls once more as if they would direct him in the right way.
"Gon" they whispered. He stopped, and put his palm flat to the soft surface. Like human hair. He could feel the strands between his fingers. He opened his eyes, looking up at a cold dark ceiling. On his lap was Hisoka's head. The two of them had been laying on a sort of oversized pillow. He had a fistful of Hisoka's hair and Hisoka was looking up at him.
"Did you fall asleep~" Hisoka asked, smiling up at his prince.
"I think I did…" Gon said, his voice airy. He was starting to question reality. His 'dream' felt so real…and frightening. How did end up like this?
"Mmm, Gon, are you feeling better?" Hisoka grinned up at him.
"What?" He felt like he couldn't speak above a whisper.
"I put something in your tea" Hisoka said. He sounded far away. "You might pass out again, though~"
When did he drink tea? Gon wondered as he slipped out of consciousness.
…
Although Hisoka was trying to be kind and help Gon forget his anxiety, Gon preferred not to drink Hisoka's 'surprise' tea any longer. He agreed that he would relax more, and enjoy the life that Hisoka decided to give him, but late at night, when Hisoka was nowhere to be found, he cried, his heart aching to see his home again.