Disclaimer: Crimson Spell is copyright Ayano Yamane, Media Blasters, Geneon Entertainment, and Kitty Media. No infringement or disrespect of the intellectual property rights held by the owners of existing copyrights in Crimson Spell or its derivative works is intended by this non-profit, noncommercial amateur fan fiction.
Description: A frilly dress. Kanaval's balcony. You know what happens, next, right? Spoilers for volume 4.
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Emergence
by silverr
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Part I
Prince Valdrigr of Alsvieth had never before truly appreciated how difficult it was to be a woman.
Of course, as a sovereign he had always been adamant that soldiers under his command treat women – enemy or not – with respect, and he had a theoretical understanding of the pain of childbirth and a vague empathy for what the loss of maidenhood might feel like for a girl, but he'd never realized that, in addition to the many major threats and difficulties women faced, they were assaulted with so many minor ones...such as crinolines and bustles. Granted, as a child he'd sometimes been dressed as a princess for reasons of national security, but on those occasions he'd been well-protected, riding in a carriage or escorted by the Royal Guard, needing to do nothing other than smile and nod.
But now, he had to navigate through men talking to his chest, patting his rump, pinching his waist – well, that at least was probably only the whalebone in the corset – and pulling at his blond curls (good thing that Rulca had used a tiny spell to affix the wig), worry about keeping the pitch of his voice high, not getting lipstick on his lacy fan, and not stepping on the hem of his gown all while finding Havi and convincing the hard-hearted, pig-headed, entirely infuriating sorcerer to talk to him.
Still, he wasn't a Prince for nothing – he had been trained since birth to do what needed to be done, to adapt, and to look for the value in everything around him. As he moved from room to room in Lord Kavanel's mansion, he got used to the need to move his chest up rather than out when he breathed and to keep his eyes focused at shoulder height as he moved through the crowd. He even discovered that it seemed that his movements in the full, heavy gown were felt more graceful if he took shorter, slower steps, moving his legs from the knee rather than the long, rapid strides from the hip that he took when he was dressed in normal clothes.
He also developed an appreciation for Havi's habit of wearing robes rather than trousers. At first the – freedom – he had under the gown made him quite self-conscious, but the slide of the slippery, satiny petticoat fabric over his skin was quite enjoyable; in fact, if he stood just right, and shifted his weight from foot to foot, it felt very like the caress of a soft hand …
Valdrigr hid his scarlet face behind his fan, glancing around guiltily to make sure that no one had noticed "the princess" groaning so wantonly, and then glided to the next room.
Finally he saw Halvir, standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by flocks of demoiselles and matrons. There was a painful twisting in the prince's chest, a tightness in his throat at the sight, not from the velvet choker he wore, but from fear. Fear that, even if Havi looked this way, even if he recognized the Prince under the ribbons and frills, that he would look away again, disinterested. As if the one he had kissed and professed to love, the one he had done such – intimate – things with, the one he had died for, now meant nothing to him.
It was the sort of thing that could completely break a young girl's heart.
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Part II
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"Ssssh! Do you want people to come out here?"
Vald had – after being cornered by the lord of the manor, and then rescued by Rimris – finally found Halvir alone on a stone balcony outside the ballroom. The fear of being discovered was nothing compared to the fear that Havi no longer wanted to be with him. "I don't care who sees me! I need to understand why you won't talk to me!" The prince pulled off the blonde wig and hung it on a bush at the edge of the balcony.
Havi shook his head. "You never listen to anything I say anyhow, so why should we talk? You have a good heart, Vald, but because you are fighting so hard against your demon side, fighting so hard to prove that you are human, you've become so reckless with your life it's almost suicidal." Havi clenched his jaw and looked away. "And I am not willing to stand by and keep patching you up every time you almost destroy yourself."
"I don't mind using the curse's power to help people!"
Havi looked back, his eyes cold. "Then it's clear that you no longer need my services. You hired me to break the curse that turns you into a demon – now you seem to be embracing it."
Valdrigr grabbed the sorcerer's arm. "Do you think you can just walk away? After doing – all those things to me when I'm in my cursed form?"
"You know I only did that to calm the demon, drain off its excess magical energy."
"And when you did – when we did – those things, that time, when I was myself, when it was daytime? What was the purpose then?"
"It doesn't matter. You've made it clear that you didn't ever want to do it again. Once you and the others move on you won't have to."
"Now you're making me angry," Vald said, "with your talk of staying here. I can't allow it!"
"Why?"
"Because … " The Prince bowed his head, clenched a fist to his chest. "There's this deep feeling in me, a wild longing, and even if it's from the demon, I know that the only way to resolve it is to, to …"
"So I'm just to be around for your convenience? In case you get an urge?" Halvir frowned. "You may be a Prince, but right now you're acting like a selfish, arrogant brat."
"You're right, I am, but I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you don't leave us – me." Valdrigr was glaring at him.
"Like what? Tie me up?"
"No," Vald said, "I'll do this." He pulled Halvir's head down to his, and kissed him ardently.
"What if people come out here," Havi asked, panting a little when Vald finally let him go. "What will they say when they see a Prince in a dress kissing another man?"
"I don't care," Vald said, pushing Halvir back against the balcony's stone railing. "Let them look all they want. Tonight I want to do this."
The look in the Prince's eyes was such a heady combination of desire and acceptance that Halvir couldn't hold back his feelings anymore and so he sat on the bench, pulling the "princess" with him, then helped "her" push aside yards of silk and lace as Vald knelt and straddled his lap. He finally found the Prince's erection inside the labyrinth of fabric, and stroked him, intending to take as much time as needed to release the Prince's inhibitions. "This is good. If anyone looks out here they won't know that I'm making love to a Prince."
Apparently not much was needed: Valdrigr was already pulling Halvir's robe open and boldly grabbing the more-than-ready sorcerer, holding his ballgown out of the way with his other hand as he impaled himself with a moan, rising and sliding back down with such passion that his gown began to tear, baring his shoulders and back.
Havi, astounded by the Prince's wantonness, glanced nervously at the shadows of revelers on the windows for only a moment before the Prince, his movements almost frenzied now, clutched him and gasped, "Havi! Inside me! The demon is – "
With a cry the Prince came, while above them huge gossamer wings burst from his back and covered the moon.
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~ The end ~
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Written for Kink Bingo round 3: Prompts "crossdressing" and "in public"
AN: Sorry, got carried away with the romance, and had to keep reminding myself to get back to the prompt. (squees again at Havi and Vald) ~ Will correct romanizations when the licensed volume comes out. ("Hello? Kitty Media? GET OFF YOUR ASSES!")
ETA: Three cheers for SuBLime Manga! Volume 3 is due in April 2014 and volume 4 in June. Huzzah!
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(01) 28 August 2010; edited 17 Feb 2014