i like notice me senpai, i like beauty and the beast, therefore, this happened.
"So this is it?" Tokiya asked, peering out the window of the carriage. He tried craning his neck to see more of the castle. It was so large that he couldn't see the top of it.
Ai, his servant, leaned over as well. "This is it—the Dragon King's castle. I never thought I'd see it in real life."
Tokiya felt the same. He'd dreamed of this moment often. Of course, in those dreams, he'd been wearing a full suit of armor, not a dress with a padded bodice. But that didn't matter. He was going into battle one way or another. Today was the day he would slay a dragon.
They had been traveling for two days up the mountain to the castle. Tokiya was stiff from the constant jostling. He adjusted his veil, then reached into the pocket of his skirt for the hand mirror. Ai had done some of his best work on Tokiya's face, making it seem more feminine. It was strange seeing himself like this. When he had offered to go, he hadn't thought about what it entailed. Tokiya was more about action than thought.
"Do you think it will be enough to fool him?" Tokiya asked.
"I don't know. I hope. It only needs to last long enough for you to get close. Even if he takes the veil off, you're still convincing enough."
Tokiya was praying it would be quick. He'd only had the stays in for thirty minutes and he already wanted to take it off. How did women wear these all day? The corset was crushing his lungs. He remembered to breathe the way the maids at the palace told him to.
The carriage passed through an iron portcullis. Tokiya took note of the guards standing watch. They were both covered head-to-toe in armor. Though their shapes appeared humanoid, they could be anything. He might have to fight more than just two of them to escape.
Tokiya was going into this relatively unarmed. There was a knife strapped to his thigh and one hidden in his bodice. He would've rather had a sword, but he wouldn't have been able to conceal it. And if all went as planned, he was going to be killing the Dragon King at close range. The thought made his stomach clench. Even with all his training, Tokiya had never killed before.
Ai leaned over and put his hand on Tokiya's shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Just nerves."
"Most brides are nervous on their wedding day."
"Don't even joke."
"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it," Ai said hurriedly. "Just that no one will suspect you for being a bit jittery."
Tokiya didn't want to admit he was afraid. When they'd received the Dragon King's demand for a bride, Tokiya hadn't hesitated to act. The first thing he did was tear the letter into pieces. He remembered how his father's hands had shook, the quaver in his mother's voice. If they refused, the Dragon King would take his bride by force. It could be anyone: a princess, a noblewoman, even a peasant girl from one of the nearby villages. Tokiya was determined to protect his people. He was their prince. What good was he if he couldn't defend them from evil?
So he had gone instead, dressed as a woman with two knives on his person, prepared to die if it meant the Dragon King would go down with him. For years they'd lived under the Dragon King's thumb. Tokiya was sick of it. He didn't care that he had to wear uncomfortable clothes or that he had to go through the charade of marrying his hated enemy. To him, it was just another performance.
The carriage came to stop. Tokiya took a steadying breath. Here was where the real test began. He gathered his skirts while Ai got the door. He tried to remember what his father had said to him at the start of his journey.
Hold onto courage. Hold onto hope. No matter what happens, your mother and I are proud of you.
Ai held out his hand. "My lady," he said.
Tokiya pulled his veil down over his face and descended from the carriage. Supported by Ai's hand, he felt a little better. He couldn't see much through the fabric, but he could make out two figures in front of him. They were both men. One was wearing a dark cloak with the cowl pulled up. The Dragon King. Tokiya's heart thumped.
The man standing next to the Dragon King stepped forward and bowed. He was a servant. Tokiya could see he wore spectacles. "Good day to you, my lady. I hope your journey was pleasant."
Tokiya curtsied. Pitching his voice a little higher than normal, he said, "It was, thank you."
"Now that you have arrived, we shall continue on to the ceremony."
"So soon?" Ai asked. "Shouldn't my lady be allowed to rest?"
"I'm afraid the king is quite busy and does not have time to wait." The servant took Tokiya's hand. "This way, please."
Ai began to follow, but a pair of guards stepped in his path, blocking his way with crossed spears. Tokiya gently tugged his hand free.
"My valet must come," Tokiya said. "He promised he would witness the ceremony."
There was a pause. The servant said nothing, just looked back at his master uncertainly. The Dragon King had so far offered no greeting. Tokiya wasn't surprised. He hoped they would let Ai into the ceremony at least. He wasn't prepared to leave him yet. (And it was true what Ai had promised.)
Finally, the Dragon King said, "I'll allow it. But he must leave immediately once the ceremony is completed."
The guards lowered their weapons. Ai breathed a sigh of relief as he took his position at Tokiya's side. The Dragon King's servant did not let go of Tokiya, but he let Ai keep pace with them as they entered the castle.
Tokiya had been unsure of what to expect within. They walked through a hallway hung with blood-red tapestries. Suits of armor were arranged at regular intervals. Tokiya couldn't quite tell because of the veil, but many of them seemed battered, as though they had been lifted off defeated enemies.
After the hallway was the throne room. It was a large chamber with a high ceiling. A throne stood on a dais at the far end of the room. It was massive and thorny, more like a torture device than a chair. Tokiya swallowed his fear. He would not be afraid.
He noticed people around the room. Nobles? Servants? Some of them were too finely dressed to be servants. They must have been the Dragon King's co-conspirators, those who had joined his campaign of evil and destruction.
The Dragon King's servant turned to Ai. "If you'd like, you can stand by the wall."
"Thank you." Ai briefly leaned close to Tokiya and whispered, "Good luck." Then he was gone.
"If you would take each other's hands," the servant said. He helped them along, placing Tokiya's hand on top of the Dragon King's. Tokiya felt a leather glove. "This way please."
Hand in hand, Tokiya and the Dragon King followed the servant to the dais. Tokiya had spent weeks preparing for this. He walked with the same stately grace his mother often showed. He remembered how to hold his skirt so as not to step on it. He kept his head at a demure angle—not overly shy or haughty.
This is the closest I've ever been to the Dragon King, he thought. He hasn't discovered me yet. No one else watching seemed to notice either. Tokiya felt no hostility or suspicion in the room. It was making him sweat. This was almost too easy.
Once they were standing on the dais, the Dragon King shed his cloak. Tokiya saw a man's body, but not much else. There was something comforting in knowing that. It meant he might be killed.
"Please face each other and remove your veil, my lord and lady," the servant said cheerfully.
Tokiya's heart pounded as he lifted the veil. He could do this. It was just like a play or a game of pretend. He sent up a silent prayer that the Dragon King wouldn't see through his make-up. His hands trembled as he swept the fine material over his head.
Without the filmy barrier of the veil between them, Tokiya got his first clear look at the groom. In his mind's eye, he had been picturing an older man, possibly half-covered in scales and wearing bloodied armor. (Tokiya's imagination was quite powerful.) He already knew the Dragon King was taller than him by about an inch and that he was slender. What he hadn't realized was that the Dragon King couldn't have been older than Tokiya himself.
Tokiya failed to hold in a gasp. The Dragon King's face was narrow, with a sharp jaw and cheekbones. His eyes were gold. There were no scales, but a pair of horns did rise from the crown of his head. Tokiya couldn't tell if they were ornamentation or real.
The Dragon King smiled. He seemed pleased with not only Tokiya, but his reaction. He took one of Tokiya's hands. His glove was off. "Are you afraid?" he asked.
"N-no, my lord," Tokiya said. All this time, the Dragon King was a boy? That can't be right. We've been fighting him since I was a child. Unless dragon's blood makes you age differently…
"Your hand is shaking."
"It's nerves. The wedding…"
The Dragon King chuckled and ran his thumb over Tokiya's knuckles.
Courage. He doesn't see through you. Tokiya looked down in what he hoped would be construed as delicate bashfulness.
The words of the ceremony went by in a blur. Tokiya went through several plans in his head. The Dragon King did not seem to know about the knives or Tokiya's true identity. He seemed content with what was right in front of him. That gave Tokiya the edge he needed. He would make sure the king was lulled into believing he'd had his way, then strike.
Tokiya was pulled out of his thoughts at the arrival of another servant, a younger one, holding a wooden box. He opened it, revealing a pair of rings. Oh, yes. I forgot. At least we're almost done.
The Dragon King took a ring from the box and slipped it onto Tokiya's left hand. It fit perfectly. Tokiya had no idea how. Perhaps they were magic. He was grateful that they were. He didn't need the Dragon King noticing the size of his hands and realizing that no woman was standing before him.
Tokiya had thought about his marriage often. As a prince, he was expected to marry a woman of noble birth and produce heirs. He had hoped that the first time he stood before a priest and placed a ring on someone's finger, it would be someone he loved. It can still happen, he told himself. This is a false marriage. It is illegitimate.
He placed the ring on the Dragon King's ring finger. The Dragon King's hands were ordinary. There were no claws, only smooth rounded nails. In fact, his hands were rather elegant. If they belonged to anyone else, Tokiya would have said they were attractive.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The servant sounded overjoyed. Was he truly happy for his master? What was it like, serving such a man—if he was actually a man? Tokiya wondered if he had been spelled to be slavishly devoted to his lord.
The Dragon King took Tokiya's other hand. He smiled. For a moment, Tokiya thought it was genuine. But that couldn't be.
"You may kiss the bride."
Tokiya closed his eyes. He didn't know what would happen next. The Dragon King had both of his hands in his. Tokiya tried not to clutch them from nervousness. He held his breath.
The Dragon King's lips brushed his with the slightest of pressure, then retreated. Tokiya's eyes flew open. He had been expecting worse. Even so, he was barely able to contain a shudder. He had just received the kiss of a hated enemy—the kiss of death, perhaps?
The Dragon King turned to their audience. He lifted their joined hands between them. The court broke into applause. Tokiya found Ai in the crowd, watching them with deadly seriousness. Tokiya gave him a slight nod. Ai returned it.
The Dragon King died tonight.