Hey all! This fic was on request from bearhow for his birthday. The OC here is his own, and you can see more of him in action in bearhow's fics "Hungry Moon," "The Snow Queen's Champion," and "The Reason." Enjoy, and happy birthday, Bearhow!

Keep it quiet, make sure no one notices you, and return to me with the objective for your reward…

Those same words played out in Drake's head as he soared around the castle, his draconic ebony body perfectly camouflaged against the night sky. Elsa's request caught him off guard at first, since she didn't seem the type to employ such underhanded tactics, but who was he to deny his queen her request? It wasn't even that Drake had a penchant for stealth, as few Dragon Knights were trained in such arts, but for Elsa he was willing to try. But even then, it seemed odd that she requested him to break into her own castle

Drake scanned the outside of the castle for any sort of opening, one that was at least out of the way and with as few guards as possible. That's when he saw it, down by the water's edge: a small unlit staircase, illuminated by the moon's reflection in the water, leading to a small wooden door. With no hesitation, Drake swooped down towards the stairs, landing on the ground as soft as a feather, with only the sound of his claws scraping against the stone beneath him. Drake lifted his draconic head and scanned the nearby area. To his relief, it appeared that the coast was clear. The orb around his neck glowed a bright blue as he felt his scales disappear, then his wings, then his fangs, before returning to his human form, clad in his leather vest and gauntlets. He silently tiptoed his way up the stony steps until he reached the wooden door. Cracking it ajar, Drake stuck his head into the door and gave a quick scan of the hallway. Drake breathed a sigh of relief; the hallway was void of any castle staff or guard. The Dragon Knight cracked the door open slightly more as to shimmy his whole body through with as little noise as possible. Once he was through, Drake rummaged through his pocket for a second before producing the small strip of paper Elsa gave him earlier. Scribbled upon the paper in fine ink was a map of the whole castle, with his destination circled neatly with a small sack drawn in the center. He'd been living in the castle for some time now, so he grew to understand the layout a bit. He studied the map closely before he nodded. His destination was close by, just a few halls down and to the left. This'll be easy, he thought to himself before tripping on a loose floorboard. He let out a sudden and sharp yelp as he crashed into a suit of armor with the sound of metal crashing against metal. Drake watched in horror as that suit of armor crashed into another, and that one into another, until half the suits that lined the hallway were left as heaps of steel strewn across the hall.

"What was that?!" Drake heard from down the hall, "C'mon!"

Drake let out a frustrated groan. So much for being stealthy…

XXXXXX

Elsa struggled to keep her eyes open. It was getting well into the evening and Drake still hadn't returned. She hoped he wasn't in any kind of trouble with the staff or guards. She shook her head with a light chuckle. It's not like he'd be in any serious trouble. He'd most likely just get a finger wag and sent on his way. Still, she thought to herself, he's been gone an awful long time…

Elsa pried her attention away from Drake's absence and tried to focus on her book. Peering down, she reread the passage as she snuggled into her bed. As her eyes scanned the words and phrases, she felt them drooping more and more until the fatigue of the day overcame her. She let the book fall out of her hand as she slipped into-

Knock, knock, knock!

Elsa sprang up from her bed, her eyes wide as she frantically scanned the room. She sat there in silence, hoping to find out where the noise came from. A moment passed in complete silence. Then another. After a few moments of silence, Elsa relaxed herself as she flopped back onto her pillow, hoping to fall asleep once agai-

Knock, knock, knock!

Elsa shot up once again, snapping her head to her balcony. She was greeted with a pair of olive green eyes staring back at her. "Drake!" she exclaimed. Without hesitation, Elsa flung herself out of her bed and flew to her balcony door. She gingerly opened the door, as to not cause any unnecessary noise. The Dragon Knight had only gotten one foot in the queen's room before being tackled into her warm embrace. "You're late, you know." she mumbled into his chest.

"Well," Drake explained, "I got into a bit of a situation… involving armor."

"Oh?"

"Stealth isn't exactly my strong suit," Drake held up a small burlap sack, "but I did manage to get this."

Elsa's eyes lit up with the same kind of delight that made Drake's heart skip a beat. She eagerly grabbed the bag out of Drake's hand. Elsa dashed over to her bed, laying the bag to her right.

"Well?" she said, motioning to her left, "are you coming?"

Drake felt his heartbeat increase. Him? And her? Alone, in her room?

"W-wouldn't that, um… wouldn't people-"

"Only if they found out. Besides, what would they do? Tell the queen?"

Drake gave a weak laugh, "I suppose you're right…"

The Dragon Knight made his way over to the queen's bed, his heart racing. The two of them had very mild personal displays of affection, but this was taking it a step above. He took his seat beside the queen as she fumbled with the bag. Once she loosened the bag's string, Elsa dipped her hand inside and produced a small cube of chocolate. She eagerly gobbled it up, letting out a strong moan. Drake's heart skipped a beat hearing such a scandalous noise from Elsa.

"No one saw you, right?" Elsa asked, gracefully eating a handful of chocolate

"No," Drake chuckled, "Came close, though. Several times."

"Is that where the armor came in?"

"Yeah… turns out running into suits of armor is a great way of getting people to realize you're there… I did manage to clean up most of it though, but a few might have two left hands."

Elsa giggled as she downed some more of the chocolate. She took the bag and presented it to Drake, "Here, since you did manage to get this for me."

Drake hesitated for a brief moment before sinking his hand into the bag. As he pulled out a small chocolate morsel, Elsa rested her head against his shoulder, letting out a content sigh. Drake could feel his face heat up and his heartbeat quickened.

"Thank you," Elsa sighed, "I really needed this."

"Anytime," Drake replied, "It's always nice to see you like this?"

"What's 'like this?'"

"Happy, relaxed, not having to worry about anything, stuff like that." Drake placed his hand on Elsa's as they locked eyes, "Whenever you're happy, I'll be as well."

Tears began forming in the corners of Elsa's eyes, causing Drake to panic, "Oh no, d-did I say something wrong?"

"N-no," Elsa wiped the corners of her eyes, "It's just… that was incredibly sweet of you to say."

"Well, it does help that we're eating chocolate."

Elsa stifled a laugh at Drake's joke, causing Drake to stifle a laugh of his own.

"I-I did tell you I would reward you for doing this for me, correct?"

"Oh, you don't need to d-"

Before Drake could finish his sentence, Elsa pressed her lips against his. Her lips were soft and velvety, the faint taste of chocolate lingering on them. Drake returned the kiss, stroking her cheek with his free hand. Time felt like it stood still until they broke apart. Elsa's face was bright red, as was Drake's.

"Well," Drake said, "That was just… wow."

"Y-yeah," Elsa replied sheepishly.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment before Drake said, "I, uh, should get go-"

"Wait!" Elsa interrupted, "W-would you… stay here? With me?"

Drake's eyes widened as he felt his pulse quicken. "Uh… s-sure. Like you said, what would happen?"

Elsa smiled warmly as she laid down on her bed. Drake laid next to her, drawing her close to his chest. The two of them drifted off to sleep, hands intertwined, grinning ear to ear.