EDIT: Updated to fix the scene transitions... erased them for some reason.
Ooh boy, this was fun to write! This story came to be as a result of discussing the future of the Di Avalaria family with Ddraigtanto, and trying to figure out what personalities the children of his main OC (the Empress Ddraigtanto) would have. Eventually, while discussing the character "Alexander Jr." - who at this point had only been set up as a reserved younger brother of Crown Prince Elwynn who would be inheriting the Crown of the Netherlands - Ddraigtanto came up with the idea that the character was uncomfortable with their body and would secretly desire to be a dragoness instead - similar to a concept I'd sent his way a while back about a character in one of my settings who felt the same and ended up pioneering a field of genetic engineering by volunteering for an experiment that ultimately succeeded in turning her female, thus opening up a whole new area of science for exploration.
So we spent some time discussing this character and what would happen to them, and eventually two key concepts came to mind; one, Alexander would have a crush on Prince Long'Liang of Indomalaya, and two, Ddraig would eventually learn the truth when she caught him trying on her once-cursed jewellery. Eventually, I found myself wanting to see more of this character, and so as more and more potential ideas for scenes sprang to mind (I think at the same time we were discussing how dragons would dance...), I decided to try and write a story that could give a glimpse into the character's life (and give me an excuse to write some more fluff)! It certainly ended up growing a fair bit along the way, and it's officially the longest story I have ever written (defeating "Larth's Weyr", which previously held the title)! And to top it off, it's pretty far from "write what you know" (for the record, I'm a straight male)...in fact, I actually stalled on writing up that aforementioned concept years ago because I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off, or that it wouldn't be my story to tell! I'm glad to have been wrong about this, as it means I can start being more adventurous as a writer...well, when I actually do get around to writing things!
Marcus (the "Court Archivist" Alexander pushes past at the first dance) copyright me.
Cynder and Malefor copyright...whoever owns the rights to Spyro series.
Everyone else copyright Ddraigtanto!
"Alex? A-lex!" Ddraig called as she rushed through the long halls and stairwells that made up her palace, searching for her daughter. "Alex? Where are you, my love?" she said again, briefly pausing at the top of a landing to catch her breath, before continuing down the hallway that led to her daughter's chambers. "Alex? Are you in here?" she called as she neared the door and pushed it open, glancing around the seemingly-empty room.
"She's in there," a voice said from behind her. Ddraig turned around to see her handmaiden, Natalie, resting on a bench, a book in one foreclaw. "I've been telling her she looks fine for the past hour, but she won't listen to me." she said, gesturing towards the wardrobe door without looking up.
"Thank you, Natalie," Ddraig said, heading towards the door and opening it. Sure enough, inside was her second-born, standing in front of a mirror in an elegant blue dress, frantically turning back and forth as she fussed over her appearance. Seeing Ddraig's figure reflected in the mirror, her daughter gasped, and immediately turned around. "Mother!" she said, nervously. "I-I didn't realise you were here."
Ddraig smiled. "I just wanted to check that you were all right, that's all," she said walking over to her side. "You are taking quite some time to get ready, after all," she added, grinning.
"Oh, I know," she said, groaning, "But everything needs to be perfect!" she said, turning back to the mirror. "I can't go out there if I'm not-"
"Settle down, Alex," Ddraig said, carefully leaning over to fix part of her daughter's dress. "You look amazing. And any dragon who'd say otherwise would be the biggest fool in the Empire."
"But what if it's not enough? What if..." Alexandria trailed off. "What if they stare? What if-"
"Alex," Ddraig interrupted, briefly embracing her with her wings, "It's all right. You're going to walk out there and be perfect, just like you always are."
"But what if he doesn't like me?" Alexandria said quietly, her head lowered.
"Then it'll be his loss." Ddraig said, gently lifting her daughter's head up with her foreclaw. "It'll be fine, Alex. It really will be."
Alexandria forced a smile, as Ddraig stroked the side of her face gently. "You've always liked him, haven't you?" Ddraig said, smiling again. Alexandria said nothing, but turned her head to the side, blushing; confirming Ddraig's suspicions. Ddraig sighed. "I should have realised sooner. I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to spare you from years of sadness, my little one."
"It wasn't your fault, mother," Alexandria said, nuzzling her head against her mother's side. "I should have told you years ago."
Alex yelped, and promptly ran for cover behind his mother's forelegs. There was a monster in his house!
"Alex, what on earth are you doing?" his mother said, curling her head down to look at him. "Come out, there's no need to hide."
"No!" he yelled, alarmed, as he burrowed his head into his mother's leg, trying to get out of sight. She'd told him that she was going to introduce him to a prince from an Empire very far away, where the dragons looked very different to them. But he hadn't thought they would be so scary. This one didn't even have any wings!
"What's wrong, Alex?" his mother asked him quietly, as his siblings - Selena, his twin, and Elwynn, his elder brother - came into view; the strange "prince" following behind them.
Alex gulped. "He's scary, mum."
"He won't hurt you, Alex," she said, soothingly. "Come and say hello."
"Come on, Alex," his sister said, walking over to him. "Don't you want to meet the prince?"
"Yeah, Alex," his brother added, as he slowly began to move out from his hiding place. "He's really cool!"
"I'm sorry, your Imperial Highness," his mother abruptly said to the "prince", "He's not normally like this."
"Don't worry about him," Elwynn added, "Alex's always been a scaredyegg."
"Elwynn!" Selena snapped at her elder brother, smacking the side of his head with her tail.
"Ow! Mother!" Elwynn whined as his sister turned on him, before leaping on to a pot plant where Selena couldn't reach him, although she still glared menacingly at him.
"It's all right, little one," the strange "prince" suddenly spoke in a kind voice, lowering his head to Alex's level. "I mean you no harm; truly."
Slowly, Alex moved his head out from behind his mother's legs, and took another look at their guest. He was clearly a dragon, but unlike any other dragon Alex had ever seen before. He was all long, like a snake, but he had horns like a stag and he even had fur running down his back! His initial panic gone, Alex couldn't help but think that this dragon was very pretty, even if he looked so very strange.
"Alex," his mother said suddenly, "remember your manners."
Realising he was staring, Alex blinked, and looked down, abashed. The strange dragon chuckled.
"It's quite all right. I do look odd, don't I?" he said, grinning, and lowering his head to Alex's level. "What's your name, young prince?"
Emboldened by this dragon's kind words, Alex puffed out his chest and said "My name's Alexander. What's yours?" he added, curious.
"My name is Long'Liang, Prince Alexander."
"Alex?" a voice called. "Are you in here?"
Alexandria perked up. The voice belonged to her now-identical twin sister Selena, who soon appeared in the room; wearing her official uniform that identified her as Governor of New Warfang. "Here you are," she said, relieved. "What's taking so long?"
"It's all right, Selena," Ddraig said, speaking before Alexandria could. "She's just got a bit of stage fright."
Selena groaned. "Now? Of all times?" She moved over to Alexandria and affectionately threw her head over her sister's back. "Alex, everyone's waiting for you." she said, enthusiastically. "This is your big night!"
"I know, but...but..." Alexandria began, feebly.
"But what?" Selena snorted. "Stop making excuses. Come on, Alex, let's go!"
"Hurry up, Alex." Selena hissed. "We're going to get in trouble!"
"Wait!" Alex said, looking at the large mirror in his sister's room. His reflection stared back at him nervously; a young male dragon clad in an expensive blue dress. "I don't think it's quite right." he said to his sister, who was wearing his own tuxedo and dress armour.
"You look fine, brother," she responded in a bored tone. "Nobody will recognise you...but Mum and Dad certainly will if we turn up late for the ceremony and they have to come find us! Come on!" she said, jerking her head towards the door.
This had been his idea, not long after their mother had brought home their dress clothes from the Court Tailor - whatever her name was - and forced the two of them to try them on. Alexander had been given a blue tuxedo with a tiny sword and shield attached to a belt, while Selena had been given a beautiful blue dress. Although he had been happy with his clothes, Alexander couldn't help but feel jealous of Selena and her outfit. She looked astounding in it, although she didn't agree, and she had argued with their mother repeatedly about why she had to wear it at the upcoming engagement. As he had listened to his twin complain while he stared at her dress with longing, a mad idea had flown into his mind. Eventually, once their mother had given up and left the two of them alone, he'd told Selena of his plan.
"What?" she had said at first.
"Well, everyone says we look the same..." he'd begun. "You could wear my coat and pretend to be me, and I could...well..."
Realisation had quickly dawned in Selena's eyes. "Yes! That'd be perfect." she'd said, gleefully. "But what about you? Would you just hide upstairs while the party's going?"
"No, I'll...I'll pretend to be you." he'd said, awkwardly.
"You don't mind that you'd have to wear my dress?" she'd said, cocking her head sideways in confusion.
"No! I mean, no, I'll be fine." he'd managed.
Selena shrugged. "Okay then." she said nonchalantly, before removing her dress and swapping it for his tuxedo. A few minutes later, the two of them were standing in front of a full-length mirror, investigating their disguises.
"What do you think, Alex?" Selena had said, while adjusting the tuxedo's belt. "Do I look enough like you?"
Alex had said nothing, enraptured by his reflection. He was beautiful, he'd thought, as he'd twirled around in a circle to see how the dress fell across his body. And now, hours later and mere minutes before his family were set to make their grand entrance, he stood in front of his sister's mirror, once again admiring his appearance.
"Alex!" Selena yelled.
"Ok, ok!" Alex said, sighing as he turned away from the mirror. He and his sister left her room and promptly began to run towards the entrance to the Grand Hall, where they found their parents waiting with their elder brother; their two elder sisters having already entered by merit of being Fire Guardian and Queen of Ravenna, respectively.
"Where have you two been?" their father said as they approached; their heads low so that they wouldn't be caught out. "We've been searching all over for-"
"Shh, there's no time!" their mother said, interrupting him. "We'll discuss this later," she said to the two of them, before looking ahead and putting on what she called her "regal face" as they prepared for their cue to enter the Grand Hall. "Presenting Her Imperial Majesty Ddraigtanto Di Avalaria, and the Royal Family of the Avalarian Empire!" a voice echoed from inside the room, and as one, the five dragons moved through the doorway and down the steps to the Ballroom Floor, as applause sounded around them. Alex couldn't help but tremble with mixed excitement and fear. This was the 150th Anniversary of the great victory over the forces of the Dark Lord Malefor through the combined efforts of the Avalarian and Indomalayan Empires. Nearly every noble within his mother's Empire was in attendance, and Indomalaya's Imperial family themselves were amongst the guests of honour. Alex wasn't sure, but he secretly hoped that this meant Long'Liang would be there. He hadn't seen the Eastern Dragon in many years, but he still thought about him from time to time. He'd known for a long time now that he was different from the other hatchlings his age, but it hadn't been until recently that he realised it was affection he felt for the handsome dragon.
Before long, Alex and his family reached the foot of the stairs, and their father nodded his head as a sign to him, Selena and Elwynn that they were free to go. His siblings promptly charged off into the crowds, leaving Alex all alone.
"Go on, my love," Alex's mother said, nudging at his back with her nose. "There's plenty of dragons your age to play with."
Cautiously, Alex took a step towards the crowd, and eventually forced himself to dive headfirst into it; pushing past the Court Archivist and a man in purple robes before his mother had the chance to realise that it wasn't Selena she was speaking to. Alex was torn. Part of him was excited and overjoyed, and wanted everyone to look his way and see just how beautiful he was, but another part of him was absolutely terrified of what others would say, and hoping beyond belief that nobody would see him and that he could quietly make his way to the exit.
"Good day to you, fair Princess of Avalar," a familiar voice abruptly sounded behind him. Alex turned, and found himself face to face with none other than Prince Long'Liang himself. Alexander was taken aback. Was this truly the same dragon he had been so frightened of all those years ago? Prince Long'Liang wasn't scary at all, he was magnificent! His horns, his scales, the fur running down his back...he was the most amazing dragon Alex had ever seen.
"Your name is...Selena, is it not?" the eastern prince said, continuing. Blushing furiously, Alex turned his head away, only to hear the prince chuckle kind-heartedly.
"I...yes, that's right," he said, in his best falsetto voice, as he worked up the courage to look back at him, before attempting a curtsey.
Long'Liang smiled back. "You look very pretty tonight, my dear. May I have the pleasure of this dance?" he said, holding out a foreclaw. Alex's heart jumped in his chest. "Of-of course..." he said, stammering, and placing his foreclaw in the prince's. Long'Liang was a much older dragon, and so a lot bigger than Alex, but he was kind enough to dance slowly and lower himself to Alex's level so that he didn't have to rear up to his height.
After a few dances together, the music changed, and Long'Liang slowed as the dragons around them began to move off the dance floor. "You dance very well, fair Princess" he said once they stopped, and kissed Alex's paw gently. "Until next time." With that, he bowed, and retreated into the crowd, leaving a stunned Alex in his wake. He wasn't sure what to think. The rational side of him knew that the prince - Long'Liang - was merely being polite by dancing with him; thinking him to be a young dragoness desiring a dance partner...but it didn't make Alex love him any less than he did now.
"All right, Alex, time's up," Selena said, moving against Alexandria's left side, and grabbing her left foreleg. "Mum?"
"I'm coming," Ddraig said, moving to Alexandria's right as the dragoness began to protest, and taking hold of her other foreleg.
"Wait, wait, I'm not ready!" Alexandria spluttered, as they began to drag her out of the room and into the hallway.
"If we left it up to you, you wouldn't be ready until a thousand years had passed and everyone in the hall was dead." Selena said in a bored tone.
"It's all right, my love," Ddraig said more kindly, while nuzzling Alexandria's head. "Just think of something else and walk with us."
Alexandria shivered and took a deep breath, but began walking nonetheless, and Selena and Ddraig soon released their grip on her forelegs. How could she think of something else, when she'd only had one thing - one dragon - on her mind for the last week?
"She's doing it again, Alex!" Selena yelled, storming into Alex's room and startling him out of his daydreams.
"What?" he said, confused. "Who's doing-"
"Mother!" Selena said, slamming the door behind her. "Have you seen the latest lot she's brought to the palace?"
Alex rolled his eyes. In recent years, Selena had become more and more distanced from her parents, and now seemed determined to rebel against their every move involving her. Alex knew why; she had complained about it to him many times in the past. It was because she was the youngest of their family - the result of Alex breaking free of their shared egg mere moments before she did the same - and that meant that she would never inherit a Kingdom of her own to rule, unlike Alex, who was set to inherit the Kingdom of the Netherlands from his father once he felt he was ready to rule, and Elwynn, who, as the eldest of the three, would become Emperor of all Avalar one day. Well aware of this problem, their mother had spent the last few months trying to find a way to take Selena's mind off this, and had most recently started inviting unmated young dragons to Avalaria, hoping that Selena would take a shine to one of them and thus forget her woes. However, Selena only viewed this as an attempt by her parents to get her out of their lives, and so she steadfastly refused to have anything to do with these young dragons.
"Would it really be so awful if you actually fell in love, Selena?" Alex said, bored with her repeated complaints.
Selena snorted. "Yeah right, Alex. Like that would ever happen." she said, dismissively. "I can just see it now," she said in a sarcastic tone, "I'll walk down the stairs to the hall; the lights shining all around me, and a Prince Charming will scoop me up in his foreclaws and whisk me off to his castle, where I'll have thousands and thousands of eggs and never get a moment's peace, while you'll get to go off with father and be a King!"
Selena had never been particularly girly for a dragoness; in fact, Elwynn had once joked that Alex was more of a sister to him than Selena, who had promptly whacked him in the face with one of her toys, but that hadn't stopped her from growing into a truly beautiful young dragoness. Alex had overheard many of the dragons who had passed through Avalaria in the last few days talking about her, and it only filled him with jealousy. Why all this attention for her, when she didn't want it? If it was him that their mother was inviting dragons round to try and court, he certainly wouldn't be complaining.
"If only we were young again," Selena said with a sigh. "You know, like at the parties? Then I could force you into a dress, and you could distract everyone while I'd go off and spend all the time with father."
They both chuckled at this, although Alex was secretly pained by her remark. On a number of occasions after that night; mainly the rare times when the Indomalayan Imperial Family paid a visit, Alex had requested his sister trade places with him, but he had never been able to spend any more time with Prince Long'Liang, as the eastern prince would either have been absent, or surrounded by adults who knew Alexander well and who would see through his disguise in an instant. Amazingly, he and Selena had never been found out. His parents had never noticed, as they were too busy meeting with the assorted nobility of Avalar to pay close attention to what their kids were doing, and even Elwynn had never paid them much heed, as he was usually off getting into mischief with his best friend Sunny, the Electricity Guardian's protege. Of course, one time Elwynn had caught him dressed as Selena, but he'd been miraculously able to convince his brother it was part of an elaborate prank he and Selena were playing on the visiting Queen of Sekeolath. As a result, he had stayed well away from his brother at every future engagement, as he doubted he'd have been able to come up with a convincing lie if he was caught a second time.
In any case, those days were long behind him now; he and Selena had long since outgrown the age where there were few visual differences between a male and a female dragon, but whenever his sister was away from Avalaria for whatever reason - such as spending a day out with their eldest sister, Eve, the Fire Guardian - he'd sneak into her room and try on her formal dresses - she never wore them anyway - and dance by himself in front of her mirror; dreaming of that night so many years ago, where that amazing prince had held him and said he was beautiful. That was all he wanted; to be beautiful. Everyone talked about how beautiful Selena was, how pretty she was, how feminine...why couldn't they say that about him? Long'Liang had said it; he was the only dragon who had ever said that Alex was beautiful, and even then it was because he thought he was speaking to Selena! It wasn't fair; Alex hadn't asked to be born male. Selena was so lucky, and yet she didn't even realise it. No dragon would ever look at him the way they looked at her. Although Liang did, in his dreams. His prince would always appear out of the blue when things were their darkest and make it all better, then he'd say that he'd always loved him back, and he'd use his strange Eastern magic to transform him into the dragoness he always knew he was meant to be.
"Well?" Selena suddenly said; jarring him back to reality.
"What?" She'd evidently been talking to him while he was lost in his thoughts. "Oh...er, I-"
"No, of course you wouldn't get it, would you?" she snarled, mistaking his confusion for indifference. "Just because you were first out of our egg means you get to be dad's favourite! He spends more time with you than he does with me or Elwynn!"
"I didn't ask for this, Selena, you know that!" Alex insisted.
"It doesn't matter!" she snapped back at him. "If this was the last century, I'd have been the Crown Princess from the second that I was born. Instead, the throne's going to go to our stupid elder brother, who's only concerned with fucking anything that moves!"
"Selena!" Alex said, scandalised. "You shouldn't say such-"
"Why? You know it's true," she said, scornfully. "Didn't you hear that he made a move on Sunny when they were out camping together?"
Alex was shocked, but he didn't let it show. "So?" he yelled, defending his brother, "What's he done to deserve you...speaking about him like that? He's never said anything horrible to you!"
Selena stopped, taken aback by the sudden energy of her normally timid brother.
"I'm sorry, Alex," she began, softly. "I shouldn't be taking this out on you. But it's just...it's just not fair." she said, moving towards the door. "You've got everything I've ever wanted, and what do I have? Nothing."
Before Alex could respond, his sister turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Everything? How couldn't Selena see that she had more than him already? What did it matter if he was to be King someday? If he could, he would give up everything in a second, his possessions, his titles, his crown...just to be as pretty as she was.
"Ah, there you all are." Elwynn said, getting to his feet as his mother and sisters entered the hallway where he and his father were waiting. "I was beginning to think I wasn't going to be able to make a grand entrance!"
"Oh, stop it, Elwynn." Selena grumbled.
"What?" he said innocently. "I've got a reputation to maintain, after all."
"Behave, you two." Ddraig said, making her way past them to her mate - Alexandria's namesake - who nuzzled her affectionately. "Is everyone here?" she asked him.
"Yes, they've only just arrived." he said, before moving over to Alexandria. "Oh, you look astounding, my precious one!" he said, kissing her forehead. "Aren't you excited?" he said, noticing her expression.
"I'm fine, dad," Alexandria managed. "It's just..."
"I understand, my love." he said. "It's all quite overwhelming, isn't it?" Alexandria nodded.
"Such is the curse of royalty." Ddraig said, sighing. "Whenever we do anything, we have to do it big."
"Nothing wrong with that, though." Elwynn added, beaming. "Come on then, we should head inside; they're probably starting to wonder where we are." he said, gesturing down the hall. "We'll meet you there, Alex!" he called, as he began to walk with their parents towards the entrance to the Grand Hall.
This was it. This was his last hope. His mother was going to be away from Avalaria for the evening as to engage in a series of diplomatic talks with a contingent of Byzantine dragons, and she had also refrained from wearing her "special jewellery"; instead choosing a more elegant and garish set so as to appear more imposing to the diplomats.
Alex had a very small window, but if things went as planned, all his troubles would be at an end. He had heard the story about her "special jewellery" plenty of times growing up. His mother had once been a dragon; a Lord of Avalar, but a group of unhappy dragonesses had cursed him with enchanted jewellery that had turned him into a dragoness permanently, and altered the memories of all around her to think that she had always been this way. It almost sounded too far-fetched to be true, but their mother had showed them ancient pictures of herself with their eldest sister Eve that proved it.
Now, his mother's curse would hopefully be the solution to all of his problems. It was no secret that his mother hated all gender-changing magic. While she didn't begrudge having met their father and having them, she still held a strong loathing for the practitioners of the spells, as a result of the pain she went through in the early stages of the curse. Nowadays, gender-changing magic was legal and a lot more carefully regulated than it was back in his mother's time, but it was fear of her reaction that held him back from seeking out a doctor who could fix him. Would she ever want to see him again? And what of his father, who had been grooming him for years to take his place as King of the Netherlands? He couldn't bear the thought of losing his family, even if it meant he could have the right body after all these years.
His twin was the only one who knew the truth about him. No matter what happened, he would always have her to support him. When he'd learnt that she would be leaving Avalaria for good to oversee Avalar's fledgling moon colony, he'd forced himself to work up the courage to tell her the truth. She'd stared at him in shock when he told her, and had eventually broken down in tears; asking him to forgive her for not realising sooner, and for now abandoning him when he'd need her the most.
As for the rest of his family, as far as he knew, they were unaware of the truth, with the possible exception of Elwynn, as he had invited him on numerous occasions to join him on one of his usual "excursions" to the underbelly of Avalaria or Greywater City. Elwynn bedded as many dragons as he did dragonesses, and so Alex was never sure if his brother was trying to hint to him that he knew about Alex's secret with these repeated invitations, or whether he has simply hoping his younger brother would find a female partner, but it didn't matter. Even if he did tell Elwynn, he'd never be able to join him on one of his outings. It wasn't as if he couldn't take a male partner as his mate because he was to be King - King Escalus of Italy had been happily married to his former bodyguard for the last two or so centuries, after all - but Alex knew that he wasn't gay...he was a dragoness trapped in a dragon's body, and that was something completely different. The only dragons he could hope to find on such a night venture would be ones who loved him for his body, not for who he really was inside.
Oh, Ancestors, he thought to himself as he approached the door to his parents' bedroom, Please let this work. Please.
Taking a deep breath, he cautiously pushed the door open with his foreclaw. To his relief, there was nobody inside, and his target was in plain sight on his mother's dresser. Quickly, he snuck into the room and closed the door behind him, before making his way across the room. Just a few more seconds, he thought, and this waking nightmare he'd been in his whole life would be at an end. Nobody would remember "Prince Alexander"; it would be as if he'd been born the princess he knew he truly was.
Cautiously, he took the large golden choker off of the table and fastened it around his neck, and then stepped back and waited for an effect. Nothing happened. Alex began to panic. Wait, wait, he thought desperately, I'm not wearing all of the jewellery. That must be it, he told himself; rushing back to the dresser. As quickly as he could, he grabbed the remaining pieces of jewellery and placed them on his body, and then ran back in front of the room's full-length mirror. His reflection remained unchanged, so he waited, reasoning the curse might be slow to take hold, but it soon became clear that the jewellery was having no effect on his body.
No...Alex thought, his eyes getting wet, No no no no WHY? Why couldn't it work?
In anger, he took one of the bracelets off his forearm and threw it at the mirror; cracking it, while trying desperately not to cry. He had been so close! This had been it!
Just when things couldn't get any worse, the door to the bedroom opened, and his mother stepped into the room.
"Alex?" she said, confused. "What...what are you doing in here, my love?"
This was the end; his life was over. The curse had failed to do anything for him, and now his mother was staring at him as he stood in the middle of her room wearing her jewellery in front of a shattered mirror. Alex tried to form an explanation for his actions, but he could only splutter, and as the devastation overtook him, he began to weep.
"My love, what's wrong?" his mother said, rushing forwards and throwing her arms around him. "I'm not angry at you; I promise."
"You will be..." he sobbed. "You'll hate me, you'll all hate me!"
"Alex, please calm down," she crooned; trying to be comforting, "It's going to be all right, whatever it is..."
"But it's not! It's never going to be!" he wailed. "I hate myself! I'm hideous! I'm hideous and I'm wrong!"
"You're not hideous, Alex!" Ddraig said, angered by his words. "Who said that you were?"
"Nobody," he said, sniffing. "But it's true."
"No, it's not, Alex!" she said, holding him tighter. "You're a perfectly handsome dragon-"
"But I don't want to BE a dragon, mother!" he said, cutting her off.
"What do you mean, Alex?" she said, taken aback.
"I...I want to be a dragoness!" he said, blurting it out at last.
"What?" she said, stunned.
"I'm...I'm not right, mum," he said, weakly. "I'm...this...this isn't who I am," he said, before starting to cry once more.
"Oh...oh, my love," his mother said, cradling him in her arms. "It's...it's going to be okay, I promise," she said, her voice breaking. "We'll make it all better..."
Alexandria paused. With her sister walking alongside her, she had reached the entrance to the Grand Hall. To one side, standing and talking with another Eastern Dragon was her prince, wearing elegant red robes just like the ones he'd worn that night so many years ago. He was still as magnificent now as he was back then, Alex sighed. She knew that Long'Liang had likely spent his life expecting that he'd be married off to some highborn dragoness in a diplomatic move of some sort, and if she asked it of her mother, the two of them could be betrothed in a snap of her fingers, but she didn't want that. While she wanted Long'Liang to say he loved her and that he would spend the rest of his life with her, she didn't want to hear him say it if he didn't truly mean it. Oh, ancestors...what if he didn't like her?
"Alex, don't you dare turn back now." Selena suddenly said, her head whipping around to face hers.
"But what if he thinks I'm weird?" Alex whispered back. "Or-"
"But what?" she said, cutting her off. "Alex, you've got to stop worrying and just go for it!"
Alexandria lowered her head, trembling. "Come on, sister. Be brave." Selena said, leaning forwards and nuzzling the side of her head. "Things will work out, just you wait and see. And if they don't," she added in a lighter tone, "I'll get Elwynn to keep him distracted while I tie the ends of his robes around the feet of the nearest dragon."
Despite her anxiety, Alexandria chuckled at this, and raised her head back up. "Thanks, Selena."
"Anytime, Alex." she said, smiling back. "Now get out there!"
Swallowing heavily, and wetting herself on the inside, Alexandria bit her lip and stepped forwards, moving away from her sister and closer and closer towards Long'Liang, who turned to face her as she neared him. Alexandria kept moving, but a part of her began to panic. He was staring at her...he was staring! Why was he staring?
Alex sighed. Everything had been moving so quickly since the night his mother had found him in her rooms. She had eventually managed to calm him down, and together they had gone to find his father to let him know the truth about his son. Alex had feared what he would say, but his father had simply gotten to his feet and asked if this was what he truly wanted. Alex had nodded, and his father had walked over and hugged him; reassuring him repeatedly that he and his mother would always love him, regardless of what gender he was. The next day, they had gathered the remainder of the family together so Alex could tell them all that he was soon going to become a dragoness. Eve and Cynder had offered their support immediately, and Elwynn had confessed that he'd always thought Alex was hiding something, but he hadn't said anything in the hopes that the truth would eventually come out. And Selena had said that she would be there for him in any way she could be; having flown back down to Avalar on the first shuttle available the instant she'd learnt the news.
With this out of the way, his mother had begun making arrangements for Alex's transformation. It was somewhat unorthodox that they were doing things this fast, but Alex's mother had a habit of pulling rank to get things done whenever her family was involved, and so barely a week later, Alex had been asked to accompany his mother to meet with her court magicians. The spell itself had only taken a second to be applied; he hadn't even realised it had been cast until the head magician came over to him and asked him to lie down and try to rest while the spell took effect. In all honesty, he'd expected something far more dramatic, but he wasn't about to start fussing over a minor detail like this as long as the spell worked, and so without another word, he had retreated to his chambers. Sure enough, within the hour he'd started to feel strange pains in his chest, and so he had taken some painkillers before lying on his bed and willing himself to sleep, as the pains had only gotten steadily worse with each passing minute.
Eventually, he'd been awakened by the sunlight shining through his windows, as he'd not bothered to close the curtains the night before, and now he lay in his bed - or was that 'her' bed' now? - staring up at the ceiling; afraid of what he might see staring back in the mirror. He took a deep breath. Time to be brave. Alex rolled over and forced himself to his feet, shook the bedsheets off his back and strode over to the full-length mirror in his wardrobe; keeping his head up so he wouldn't see just how he might have changed. When he reached the doorway, he almost fainted in shock. Staring back at him - no, her! - was the figure of a beautiful young dragoness; her scales an even richer hue of green than Selena's. Tentatively, she reached out to the mirror, and watched as the green dragoness in front of her did the same. It...it had worked! She was a dragoness at last! And she was taller, too, she realised as she began giddily turning around to look at her body's reflection in the mirror.
Without warning, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in..." she said; almost yelping with surprise at the high-pitched sound of her voice.
Alex heard the sound of the door opening, and a moment later, her mother's head appeared at the entrance to the wardrobe. She took one look at her and gasped in surprise, before smiling warmly.
"You look beautiful, my little one." she said.
Alex couldn't think of anything to say, but she smiled back as her mother came over and embraced her tightly with her wings.
"Can we still call you Alex?" her mother asked, tentatively.
"I...yes." she eventually managed to say. "I've always been Alex; I don't want that to change. But I think I'd like to be Alexandria now."
"Alexandria..." her mother said, testing how it sounded, "It's a good name. Oh, my love, if only we could have helped you do this sooner..." she sighed, running one of her foreclaws along the side of her face. "Why did you never tell us?"
Alexandria took a deep breath. "You...you said you hated the spells..." she managed. "I didn't...I was scared I'd lose you if I asked."
"Oh..." her mother said, her face falling. "Oh, ancestors forgive me, my love, I never wanted to hurt you!" she said, her voice breaking as she held her tighter. "I should never have said...oh, ancestors!"
"It's okay, mother," Alexandria said quickly, burrowing her head into her mother's chest. "I don't blame you; I truly don't."
For a few minutes, the two had stood together in silence, embracing one another, until eventually her mother broke away.
"Well," she began, wiping her eyes, "I think I owe it to you to make sure that your 'unveiling' to the court is absolutely perfect."
The "unveiling" was something they had briefly discussed before meeting with the court magicians. Male or female, Alexandria was Avalarian royalty, and would still one day inherit the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and so it was essential that they formally introduce her to the people of Avalar. At first, Alex had been hesitant to go along with this, but her mother had comforted her with the knowledge that any dragon that said anything unkind to her would find themselves being escorted by the Royal Guard from the premises and to the state border, and in time, Selena had convinced her that it would be a good idea, and promised to be with her every step of the way in case she felt nervous.
"What do you mean?" Alexandria asked her mother.
"Is there anything you'd want me or your father to get for your big day?" she said. "Anything at all? Your father has been putting money aside for a while now to buy you a gift for when you'll take his throne; do you want us to buy you something with it?" Alexandria shifted her wings in a draconic shrug and said nothing, so her mother continued. "Or do you want there to be a theme for the whole night? I'm sure Samara would be only too happy to make you a brand new dress for the night..." Her mother suddenly grinned. "Or is there a special someone we could invite?" she said playfully.
Alexandria blushed and turned away, as her mother chuckled behind her. As she did, a name from her past flew to the front of her mind...that of her prince.
"Long'Liang?" she mumbled.
"What was that, my love?"
"Long'Liang." she said again; a little louder.
"Prince Long'Liang?" her mother asked. "Of Indomalaya?"
"Yes..." Alexandria said, looking down and shifting her foreclaws back and forth. She had only thought of him fleetingly in recent years; having resigned herself to the likelihood that she would never see him again, and that he'd never know of the feelings she'd always had for him. Part of her still thought that she was foolish to think that she'd have a chance with him...but on the other hand, she'd never thought she would have managed to become a dragoness without losing her parents in the process, so perhaps there was hope?
Her mother smiled, and leaned forward to kiss her head. "I'll talk to Emperor Long'Cheng at once. It's short notice, but I don't think he'll have any objections to us inviting his brother to Avalar for a night." she said, turning towards the door.
"Wait!" Alexandria shouted, running after her. "Could...could he be the one to walk me down the stairs?"
Ddraig smiled. "Of course, my love." Behind her, the sound of approaching feet could be heard from the hallway, and a moment later, Elwynn and Selena's heads appeared around the side of the door.
"Ancestors, Alex, is that you?"
"You look amazing, Alex!"
Her siblings both charged through the doorway and over to her side, while her mother quietly made her exit.
Oh, ancestors, why me? Alexandria despaired. Why did I have to ask for this?
"Is something wrong?" she willed herself to say, as she drew closer to Prince Long'Liang.
"My apologies," he said, quickly, "It is just...just..." he stopped, and cleared his throat. "Fair princess," he began. "You are so much more beautiful than I was told."
Time stopped for Alexandria. In that moment, it was as if her fears had suddenly vanished, along with the hall and all the dragons in it, leaving nothing but her and Long'Liang staring at one another in the silence. He...he thought she was beautiful?
"My princess?" Long'Liang said, looking at her with concern. "Are you ready?"
Startled back to reality, Alexandria realised that she had been staring at him while he stood there with his foreleg raised; waiting for her to make the next movement. She quickly raised her own foreleg and held it out for him to take, and he moved alongside her as they prepared to move together into the Grand Hall.
"Presenting Her Imperial Highness Alexandria Di Avalaria, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of the Netherlands!" a voice called from within the hall. There would be no going back now, but strangely, Alexandria didn't feel afraid any more. Head held high, and with Long'Liang gently guiding her way, she strode into the hall, as Avalar's assembled nobility began to applaud for her.
As they reached the foot of the stairs, Long'Liang moved aside to face her, before taking her foreclaw in his once more as the music began, and leading her into their first dance together. It was every bit as magical as it had been that night so many years ago, Alexandria thought to herself as the other dragons began to join them on the ballroom floor, except with one difference. This time, it was Alexandria that was dancing with the prince, not "Selena". As their dance continued, Alex tentatively moved closer to him, eventually resting her head on her prince's back as he twirled her around; closing her eyes in delight. It felt as as if they were dancing on clouds, without a care in the world. Nothing mattered but the two of them.
When the music came to an end, and they at last broke apart, Alexandria found Long'Liang staring intently at her once more, and felt herself rapidly turning red.
"Could we go outside for just a moment?" she eventually said to him, keen to escape the energetic environment and get a clear head.
"Of course." Long'Liang said, dipping his head. As more dragons moved on to the ballroom floor for the next dance, Alexandria led Long'Liang towards one of the many large French Doors that lined the Grand Hall, and quietly slipped outside onto the surrounding gardens with him.
"A truly beautiful night." he said, gesturing to the skies above.
"Yes." she said, butterflies returning to her stomach. Although their dance together had been wondrous, doubt had started to creep back into her mind, and she was starting to fear that things were too good to be true. "Prince Long'Liang..."
"'Liang' is perfectly fine, my princess." he said softly, turning to face her again.
"You are too kind, Liang," she said, touched, "But you don't have to keep calling me that if you don't want to. I'd understand."
"I'm sorry?" he said with genuine confusion. "Have I offended you? I apologise most sincerely if I have, my princess."
"No, not at all, Liang," she added quickly, "You've been just perfect tonight. But...you're just doing all this for my sake, aren't you?"
"What do you mean?" he said.
"You know..." she said sadly. "You wouldn't have done this for me if I hadn't asked you. A dragon like you would never want me as his mate." she finished, her voice breaking.
"What?" Long'Liang said, rushing to her side and taking her foreclaw in his own. "My princess, I would consider myself the luckiest dragon under all Heaven if I could have you as my own."
Alexandria froze; not quite believing what she was hearing. "But...you know who I once was, don't you?" she managed to say. "Doesn't that bother you? That I...I was once a dragon?"
Long'Liang was momentarily silent. "It would be untrue of me to say that I hadn't given this much thought since the Emperor told me I was to accompany you," he began after a while; Alexandria flinching at his words. "But the instant I saw you walking towards me, I found that I no longer cared. It was if I had stepped into a dream. How could do I anything but stare in awe?"
Realisation dawned in Alexandria's mind. "Then you don't mind-"
"I don't." he said before she could finish. "Why should there be a problem? You are like a butterfly, my fair princess." Long'Liang began, poetically. "You were not born what you are today, but instead you have become what you were always meant to be through great struggle and perseverance." He moved closer, and stroked her cheek with his foreclaw. "Is that not beautiful in itself?"
Alexandria's heart was beating so wildly she feared that any second now she would faint from the excitement of it all. "I love you." she blurted out; immediately going red.
Long'Liang smiled. "It is not every day that a dragoness as lovely as yourself walks into the life of a humble dragon like me," he said, warmly. "I would be a fool to refuse you. If you would like, I could stay in Avalar a little longer." he said, settling down beside her. "I would like to get to know you better, my butterfly. That is, if you would have me."
"Yes! Yes, of course!" she said, nuzzling at his head in delight, before settling back down and snuggling herself against his side; relishing the feel of his scales against her own. As she did this, Long'Liang curled his long tail around her back and side. After a few moments, he sighed, making Alexandria move her head to look up at him. "Liang? Is everything all right?"
"It is times like this that I envy your kind." he said, staring ahead.
Alexandria cocked her head sideways in confusion. "What do you mean, Liang?"
He turned to face her, and smiled. "How can I embrace such a lovely butterfly when I have no wings of my own to hold her with?"
Alexandria smiled back. "Don't worry, my prince, you can share mine." she said, impulsively wrapping her wings around his back in an embrace; pulling his head closer to hers in the process. Long'Liang made a sound of surprise at her sudden movement, but upon finding himself face to face with Alexandria, he moved his head closer and pressed his lips against hers in their first real kiss. Alexandria's heart just about skipped a beat. It was everything she'd ever dreamed...and more.