The Princess' Dragon (Hetalia)
Author: Ashynarr
Summary: As a child, Emilie was sent away for her own protection from an evil curse, only to be rescued by the most unlikely of duos. Years later, she's found again and brought back to her birthland, with protests, but family has a way of coming together again, even in the more unlikely of circumstances.
Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.
Warning: 1pAme/1pNyoCan, fantasy AU, dragon!Alfred
[Some very light implied onesided PruCan. It's easily ignorable if you don't want to see it that way.]
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"Arthur! Hurry up! The baker will be sold out of pastries if we don't get there soon!" Emilie yelled down the path, earning a fierce glare in return.
"I'm certain five minutes won't hurt your chances of stuffing your face with those sugar-laden nightmares you insist on getting every time we come here," Arthur replied, deliberately not picking up his pace and holding back a grin as she puffed her cheeks out in childish frustration.
"You're a jerk, you know that?" She patted self-consciously at her hair, which had been cleaned and braided as neatly as she could manage for their latest visit to Meracia. It was a week from their cavernous home on foot, so they only went a few times a year, but the young woman enjoyed it each and every time. It was so big and colorful and full of people from across the world, thriving thanks to its massive ports and open trade policies. She never knew what there would be to see, so she did her best to see it all in the two days they were there to stock up on supplies they couldn't get in one of the smaller towns.
"You aren't exactly a lady yourself, poppet." The warlock allowed himself a small grin as she huffed, although she was grinning as well.
"And whose fault is that, now?"
"Alfred's, definitely. I at least tried to teach you manners, not that any of it seemed to stick."
They only paused in their jabs at each other to pass through the gateway into the city, which was really more of a ceremonial thing than an actual attempt at keeping the less than stellar types out. Anyone could have mistaken the two for father and daughter, what with their similar flaxen hair and soft faces, and it was a mistake they were more than happy to encourage for multiple reasons.
Only when the bakery came into view did Emilie leave his side, darting ahead with a grin while Arthur shook his head in amusement. For all she'd grown into a fine young woman, she was still much a child at heart, just like Alfred. In most cases he would pin all blame on the dragon for her attitude, but to himself he would admit that he had some part in her rather headstrong and near-boyish demeanor.
Figuring she would be a while, Arthur ducked into a nearby inn, intending to purchase rooms and something to drink while catching up on the latest news. Keeping up on world matters wasn't easy when one lived far from the main cities, but that was part of the reason for such visits. He settled at a table near the door - it made it easier to hear the rest of the floor than the corner, and was slightly less suspicious.
Most of the conversations were idle chatter - friends discussing their week over drinks, complaints about the latest rise or drop in prices of goods, thoughts on the latest noble trends. (Apparently the house of Jones had had a scare when the heiress had attempted manned flight from her bedroom window, but as she'd survived with a broken leg and bruised ego, there was little to worry about.)
"Small fortune, I heard." Arthur normally would have ignored the words, but the glance of cloth he saw when his gaze flickered to the table next to him was not from Meracia, but rather their western neighbor. Not rare, but not quite common either.
"Can't believe he thinks the kid might still be alive after this long - you'd think if someone had a member of the royal family captive they'd've come forward for a ransom before now."
"Mmmph." The lighter-haired man knocked back his drink, setting the empty pint back on the table with a clatter. "Guy's probably desperate; not like he can expect another heir with his wife gone."
The darker-haired man frowned thoughtfully. "...how many do you think will try and claim the reward?"
A snort of amusement. "How many people have young daughters with violet eyes? They aren't exactly the most common trait in the world."
Arthur's blood ran cold, his hand gripping the cup tight. He had a very good feeling he knew who they were talking about…
"Arthur? Are you alright?" He looked up from his drink to Emilie, faking a smile of relief.
"Oh, it's nothing, just a bit tired is all, dear."
She pursed her lips, but didn't refute his dismissal. "Do you want to take a rest, dad?"
"I probably should…" He left the payment for his drink on the table, ignoring the questioning gaze on his back until they were settled on the two small beds in the room.
"What was with that back there?" Emilie was frowning, basket of sweets set aside.
Arthur pinched at the bridge of his nose, frown lines decorating his mouth and shut eyes. "Apparently the king of Arcada has recently put out a reward for the return of his long lost daughter."
Her jaw dropped, eyes widening. Her voice came out breathlessly. "He what?"
His gaze rose to hers. "For whatever reason, your father still believes you alive and wants you back, and is willing to pay a small fortune to anyone who does so."
Emilie stared at her lap, teeth worrying at her bottom lip. Her hands gripped tightly to her plain blue dress, and her ankles crossed and uncrossed restlessly. "Why now? It's been ten years without a word, and suddenly he wants me back?"
"I couldn't say one way or another." Arthur leaned forward to rest a hand on hers, startling her into looking up to his smile. "You don't have to go back if you don't want to; neither Alfred nor I will begrudge you for whatever decision you make."
"I don't want to go back." She stated automatically, before glancing back down to her lap. "I mean, I know that if I don't go back there'll be a lot of fighting for the throne once the king dies, and that if I do go I can make it safe for you and Alfred and others to return to the kingdom, but…"
Arthur had not allowed her to slack on her education, royal or not, and though she complained she was also thankful that she was able to understand how the world she might have grown up in worked. But whenever she thought of going back to the castle, she remembered the suffocating walls of people and stone and something in her chest tightened until she couldn't breathe-
It was scary. She didn't want to go back to that feeling of entrapment, but if she didn't...
The consequences were frightening to imagine.
"...I don't think I'm ready yet."
Arthur pat her hand. "Then I'll say no more on the matter, besides warning you to be careful. In fact…"
His hand moved up to press between her eyes, and he muttered a short phrase in the old tongue. Her eyes watered and grew fuzzy for a moment, before returning to normal. Glancing into the mirror, she could see her eyes now looked as blue as Alfred's scales, although if she looked hard she could sort of see through the spell due to her long exposure to his magic.
"No one should notice, but don't let them look too long. It'll wear off after a few days, but we'll be well on our way home, so that shouldn't be cause for concern."
"Thank you, Arthur." Emilie smiled, knowing that this was his way of showing he cared; at least he wasn't forbidding her from even leaving the caverns like she'd nearly feared (not that that would stop her, but it would be a pain until he finally relented).
"Get some rest; we'll get started early tomorrow so that you have some time to explore before we leave."
Her smile grew. "You're awesome sometimes."
He laughed softly. "I know."
~0~0~
Most magic shows hosted in the capital were rather gaudy affairs, the wizard performing for audiences with dazzling deception and mystical mystery. Most performers of their type were capable of lighting candles from a distance and changing the colors of people's clothing. It was suitably impressive for the young and inexperienced, a decent show of the basics of magic.
Emilie, who had grown up with a fully realized warlock and a powerful magical creature, found it rather boring. It was easy to recognize a washout like the man she'd stopped to watch, not even bothering to clap with the crowd when he managed to get the flames from the candles to hop to the bird-shaped wooden frame sitting on the table before him.
"You don't seem very impressed by the show."
She startled, turning to look at the man who'd approached her, giving him a weak smile in response to his more natural grin. "Ah, my father- he knows magic, so…"
"You grew up with it, so you don't see what's so exciting about it."
She blushed, trying not to look directly at his (admittedly handsome) face. "Pretty much."
"What made you stop to watch then?"
She shrugged, still looking away from the red gaze watching her. "I guess I was just curious about what everyone was watching."
"You don't live near here then?" At the surprised glance, he shrugged. "The shows are pretty common around here, so if you aren't used to them then you probably don't come here too often."
"I live near the mountains… my father and I only come here a few times a year. He gave me some time to explore the city since we finished getting what we needed early."
"On your own?" He frowned. "That doesn't seem very safe, especially for a young woman like yourself."
"He trusts me to be careful." Emilie frowned, hoping he wasn't going to turn his nose up at her for exploring on her own. He might be nice to look at, but there were some things she wouldn't put up with. "I'm old enough to handle myself."
He conceded with a tilt of his head. "Still, there are some areas of town I wouldn't trust your safety to were you to wander into them by accident. If you'd like, I could show you around the city so that you know where those areas are so that you can avoid them on future trips. I can also show you some of the nicer areas that you might not have seen."
She bit her lip, thinking. There was still time before she had to return to the inn, and a chance to have a guided tour of the place would make it easier for her to get around later… plus the man was rather nice to look at and speak with…
"My father shouldn't mind as long as I'm back in time."
He grinned, offering a hand with a light bow. "Well then, may I know the name of the young lady I'm going to be escorting today?"
She place her hand into his after a second's hesitance. "Emma. And may I ask who will be escorting me today?"
He placed a brief kiss to the back of her hand, making her blush harder than before. "Gilbert. Shall we begin?"
The next several hours were spent chatting amiably, Emilie's small crush blooming further as she got to know the young knight. He was apparently visiting family in the area on a temporary leave from his duties, but planned to return soon. He'd travelled far from his home in the line of duty, serving king and country to the best of his abilities all the while. She herself gave an overview of her life, leaving out smaller details like Alfred being a dragon and her makeshift family living in the caverns tucked well away in the mountains themselves.
She hadn't really realized how much she'd missed just being with people outside of her family until now, and found herself craving more. She was leaving first thing in the morning, though, and he returning the following week to his duties; they'd likely never meet again.
They stopped before the inn, Emilie tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you for the tour - I had a really nice time."
"I enjoyed it too." Gilbert's grin had rarely dropped entirely throughout the trip, only changing in intensity over time. "You seem to know a lot more than most of the people I've met."
"My father usually lets me read his books when he's not using them, so I picked up a few things." She shrugged sheepishly, hoping she hadn't given herself away.
"I see. It's been great getting to know you, Emma. Maybe someday we'll meet again, if fate smiles on us."
She smiled, looking back at him. "I think I'd like that a lot, Sir Gilbert. Safe journeys to you."
"Safe journeys to you as well."
With one last smile, Emilie turned and entered the building, too busy humming happily over the events of the day to notice the thoughtful gaze looking after her.
Then again, it wasn't like she could have noticed her eye's reflection briefly darken to something they shouldn't be.
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AN: So I should be working on my end-of-term projects, but I brain decided 'nah, let's work on more AmeCan stuff instead.' So I really had no choice in this, you see. It's not my fault!
Anyways, I think this story will be four parts altogether? Not a hundred percent positive yet, but it's seeming that way right now. Sorry if this part isn't as good as the first. :C
Yes, this is being reposted. Yes, I'm thinking of expanding the story further. No, I don't know what the story will be or when I'll get to it, but at least I have it here and available.