Again, much love for the review! And to answer a frequently-asked question, no, this will not be an mpreg fic. Sorry to those who wanted it, but there's a time and a place for it...but not this time.

CHAPTER 3 - Dinner

After Danny had come to his senses after the whole 'consort' thing, he realized where he was, and began to make a big ruckus, pulling on the bars - in process finding that the usual 'humans are ghosts in the Ghost Zone' thing didnt work here - and shouting to be let go. Apparantly no one could hear him, and Danny wished his human form could access his Ghostly Wail to get his point across.

It had to have been at least a day that he'd been there, and he was getting really hungry; his stomach had been in knots from the nightmare, so there was no breakfast, and chemistry had been before lunch, so he had yet to eat anything for over 24 hours. It still didnt keep him from relentlessly shouting until he was hoarse to be let out of the dungeon until he passed out from exhaustion that had been contributed by using his Ghostly Wail earlier.

When he came to, however long THAT was, he felt a pain both in his stomach and his throat, which was still sore from the cut-short Wail and his shouting to be let out of the cell. That alone made him feel like shit, but pair that with the fact that he was still in the Ghost King's dungeon while said King was out doing God-only-knew what else, and he was downright miserable. He tried to ignore the pain in his stomach and throat and huddled in a corner of his cell to await whatever horrible fate the Ghost King had in store for him.

Not an hour later, the man who had abducted him, the King's page, appeared at his cell and unlocked it.

"My Liege wishes an audience with you in the dining hall."

Danny was torn between jumping up and accepting anything to do with food, and telling the page exactly where Pariah Dark could shove that wish. He went with his stomach and stood up, cracking his neck and stepping out of the cell. The page grabbed his arm with just enough force to make him keep up, but not hard enough to bruise, Danny found himself grateful for, and led the way out of the dungeon.

Danny took the time to look around as they walked, noting that in the short time since his incarceration, the castle began to look less like a decrepit ruin and more like...well...a nice castle. Minus the mounted animal heads and such, but still, nice. He realized that they had climbed two flights of stairs as he was looking around. "...The dining hall is upstairs?" he asked.

The page tightened his grip on Danny's arm fractionally. "No," he replied curtly. "His Majesty requested that you make yourself presentable before appearing in the dining hall."

"...What?"

The page made a growling sound of impatience. "Are you REALLY that dense, boy? My Liege wishes you to join him in the dining hall. He wants you to be presentable. You will make yourself clean and presentable. As they say in this day and age, do the arithmatic!"

Danny resisted the urge to correct the analogy, and just let himself be led through the halls; he was too hungry to argue. The page came to a set of double doors and opened them, non-too-gently pushing Danny inside. "Make sure he looks properly presentable to Our King."

"Yes, sir," a familiar female voice said, making Danny look up as the page closed the doors behind him.

"...Dora?"

Indeed, Princess Dorathea was in the room, looking about as terror-stricken as Danny was too famished to actually feel. She gave him a brave smile and walked over, leading him into the room by his hand. "Dora, what are you doing here?" Dora sighed and settled him dutifully on a large coffee table-sized ottoman.

"I was brought here to be a lady-in-waiting," she replied, rummaging through a sizable selection of clothing in a just-as-sizable closet. Danny glanced up, surprised.

"...But you're a princess!" he argued. Dora sighed again, tossing undesireable selections to the side, picking select pieces to drape over her free arm.

"To the Ghost King," she replied sullenly, "even other royalty are peasants. I'm only here because I complied with his demands...my brother..." She trailed off, giving Danny the indication that whatever happened to Prince Aragon was not pleasant. "...So I'm a lady-in-waiting now. Not that it was really any different from living with that tyrannical...!" She bit off the rest of her insult and turned to Danny. "Sir Danny, I'll have your clothes ready, if you wish to bathe."

Danny DID feel rather grimy from having been in a damp, dank cell for the better half of a whole day, so he nodded, standing up. "...Dora?"

"Yes, Sir Danny?"

"...Do you know what...HE wants with me?" Dora's hand froze as she reached for another article of clothing, then she collected herself.

"...I was told by the former Fright Knight..."

"FORMER Fright Knight?" Danny couldnt help but interrupt. Dora nodded.

"Yes," she said. "He's but a mere page now, on the same status as I...the man who brought you?" she clarified. Danny just gaped. "Well, he told me that our King wishes you to be his consort."

"...Yeah, I gathered that," Danny replied. "...Could you...um...tell me exactly what that is?" He REALLY didnt want to get on Pariah Dark's bad side again with another misconception. Dora looked at him in surprise before nodding to herself.

"I do forget that you are not of our time," she said. "A consort is the equivilant of a spouse to one of high royalty, or deity. To be his consort...you would have the status of a prince, Sir Danny."

Danny felt his body numb slightly, but only nodded and quickly vacated to the bathroom, where he found a large marble tub already filled with water. He shed his grimy clothing and stepped in, feeling a soothing, welcoming heat envelop him, and he became aware of a subtle scent from the water; an oil, perhaps, he thought. Well, whatever it was, it made him feel a LOT better.

He had closed his eyes and was resting quite peacefully when he became aware of another presence in the room. He opened his eyes to find Dora looking down at him, giving him a slightly humored smile. Danny shot up straight, blushing, mostly because his bathwater had no bubbles to cover anything.

"I just came to see if you were alright," she said, picking up a towel. "You need to get out now...the King's page informed me you have little time to meet the King in the dining hall."

"Okay," Danny said, still blushing. "Can you...um...not look, please?" Dora gave him a smile and obligingly turned around, letting Danny get out of the tub and quickly towel off. When Danny had the towel securely around his waist, Dora led him back into the dressing room, where a selection of simple but tasteful clothing were waiting for him.

"Oh, I completely forgot!" Dora took the manticle around his wrist in her hand and fiddled with it, taking it off. "The King requested that you are to be ghost in his presence from now on."

Danny rolled his eyes, remembering Pariah Dark's 'inferior human' comment, and transformed, now clothed in his suit. He looked at Dora. "...Can you please..." He gestured to the other side of the clothing screen.

"Oh!" Dora exclaimed, blushing. "Of course...just...call if you need help." She scurried to the other side, leaving Danny to take his suit off and look to the clothing Dora had set out for him.

Black. Black, black, black. She knew him too well, he thought dryly. He quickly dressed in the black leggings, which were surprisingly comfortable and unrestricting; paired off with the close-fitting black undershirt, it wasnt too different from his suit, he found. The black tunic was loose and comfortable, and was clenched at the waist with a black belt with a silver buckle; all of this was in a fine silk-like material, he noted. Completing the outfit was a pair of black knee-high boots.

He looked at himself in the mirror, making sure everything was in place and not riding up, then walked to the other side of the screen, presenting himself to Dora. "...How do I look?" he asked. Dora's eyes lit up and she smiled.

"...Like a...prince," she said hesitantly. Danny squirmed uncomfortably, and jumped a little when the door opened sharply and the page stepped in, eyeing Danny over critically for a moment.

"I shall escort you to the dining hall," he said, sounding as though he had prepared his speech. He turned to Dora. "Dispose of his human clothing." Dora inclined her head in understanding and gave Danny a brave look before Danny was taken firmly but gently by the arm once more and led down the halls and stairs.

Once they were a flight up from the dining hall, the page slowed their pace. "Speak only when spoken to, make no assumptions, and refer to the King as My Liege, Your Majesty, or My King." Danny took a moment to register that the former Fright Knight was giving him advice, and hung on to every word. "Mind your manners, do as he says, and for goodness sake, do NOT argue with him." He strightened up as they came to a pair of double doors and opened them. "My Liege, I present to you, Phantom."

He nudged Danny inside, and Danny saw that the dining hall was HUGE. However, there was only one long table in the very center of the room that was piled with food, and only two places set at either end of the table. Pariah Dark was already seated on the far end, and Danny was surprised to see that the Ghost King had reduced his size by what looked like half; he estimated Pariah Dark to be around six-foot-six by this point in order to comfortably sit down at the table.

Danny took the cue and stepped into the room, mentally cringing when the Ghost King waved the page away in dismissal, leaving him alone in the room. The page bowed his head and stepped out, closing the doors behind him.

"Sit," Pariah Dark commanded, and Danny fought like mad not to run to his chair in response. He forced himself to quickly but carefully situate himself in his chair, which was raised a little high so Danny could see Pariah Dark over the food and candelabras on the table. "I trust you are hungry," he stated almost carelessly. "I easily forget how fragile inferior human bodies are." He glanced up at Danny, who had barely moved an inch since sitting down, and made a subtle gesture with one hand, summoning two ghosts forward that looked like ghostly skeletons in servant clothing to serve food. Danny soon found his plate full with mouthwateringly delicious-smelling food. "Eat."

More than happy to oblige with THAT command, Danny minded the page's advice and minded his table manners, using his fingers to pry bite-sized pieces from his mutton and nibble it, forcing himself from gorging himself full of whatever he could reach. There were no utensils other than a crude spoon in which to eat soup with, so he was glad the dishes served could be eated with his fingers.

A few minutes into eating, he dared to look up to Pariah Dark, suddenly feeling incredibly self-consious when he found the Ghost King staring at him like a lab specimen. Seeing Danny looking at him, Pariah Dark made a noncommittal sound. "You eat like a bird," he commented, taking a long drink from his goblet.

Danny really didnt know whether that was an insult or just a simple observation, but he fought down an embarrassed blush and took a sip from his own goblet, nearly spitting it back out when he found out that it was filled with wine. He had still swallowed some, and the burn caused him to choke slightly.

"Do you not drink wine, boy?" Pariah Dark demanded. Danny cleared his throat slightly.

"N-no," he replied. "...I'm not of age yet." Pariah Dark stared at him as though trying to determine if Danny was telling the truth or not. "...The drinking age is 21...I'm only - "

"Seventeen," Pariah Dark finished a little sharply. "I am aware." Danny fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment, his eyes downcast. He REALLY wanted out of here. He wanted to go home - .

Oh SHIT, he thought. Home! His parents had to be worried sick by now! He began to panic slightly, his eyes shifting around, instinctively looking for a way out of here.

"What are you thinking, boy?" Pariah Dark snapped, getting irritated with the half-breed's ever-changing moods. Danny jumped a little and stared pleadingly at the Ghost King.

"...I...I have to go home...!" he blurted out, a part of his brain screaming at him to have some sense of self-preservation and shut up, while the other, stronger, voice with less common sense overrode it to make his point. "...My parents...they - !"

"You ARE home!" Pariah Dark barked, smacking his hand down hard on the table enough to make the table shake and the candelabras nearly tip over. Danny flinched, and Pariah Dark slowly leaned back in his own chair. "I may have not made my intentions clear to you," he reiterated, sounding like it was physically angering him to speak calmly. "As brought to my attention, in this day and age, a consort is considered to be a derogatory title...meaning second-best or a whore, at its least offensive. Such is not what I mean.

"Back in my time as both a human and the Ghost King, a consort is a spouse, be it from marriage or offical companionship. Male consorts to kings were very common and even expected, because as I told you, female wives or consorts were generally for political expansion and heir-bearing. They were NOT whores or sex slaves." He gave Danny a hard stare, as though to physically drive his point across. "As Ghost King, you as my consort gives you the title and honor of the Prince of the Ghost Zone."

Danny sat back his chair, shocked. "...Are you..." he began softly, feeling overwhelmed - and a little naseaus - at the full revelation, "...essentially...asking me to MARRY you?"

Pariah Dark absently wondered if the boy really was this slow. "'Essentially', no," he replied. "I PLAN to marry you."

"Wow." Danny could feel that twitching above his right eye come back. "...Just...wow." He ran a shaking hand through his hair. "...I..." He swallowed hard. "...I dont think...I can do that..."

Wrong thing to say. An aura of anger washed over the room, and Danny instinctively went in defensive mode, summoning up a shield as Pariah Dark stood up out of his chair and grew to his imposing twelve-foot form.

"Did I SAY you had a CHOICE, boy?" he shouted. "You will become my consort, or I will find a way to make your life as close to a living Hell as is within my power!"

"Well too late for THAT!" Danny shouted back, his habit of never letting his enemies having the last word kicking in. "Because I'm already IN Hell!" He barely managed to dodge a white-hot ecto-energy shot aimed right at him, and then immediately went into 'battle mode', creating ecto-ice balls in his hands to shoot back at the attacking Ghost King. Before he could fire them off, he was attacked from behind by royal guards, who knocked him down and kept him pinned, even as Danny's battle mode drove him further from reason and deeper into instinct-driven attempts to fight his way out like an animal, if need be.

He twisted around to the guards pinning him and shot ecto-ice shots from his eyes, then took a swipe at them, his ecto-ice encasing around his hand and creating deadly claws (a trick he had learned from Frostbite). He caught one of the guards in the face, knocking him off, and jumped up. His eyes glowed a dangerous blue, his hair flared to almost full-flame, and the ecto-ice around his hand began traveling up his arm to encase his body in impenetrable ice armor.

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone in the room froze at The King's Command. Pariah Dark glared at everyone in the room. "Guards, leave!" he commanded, leaving no room for hesitation or rebuttal. The guards immediately left, leaving him and Danny alone again. The Ghost King looked at Danny emotionlessly. "Lower your defenses."

At Pariah Dark's command, Danny's own powers rebelled against Danny's better judgement; his hair settled down, his eyes went back to normal, and the ice armor receeded and vanished. The adrenaline high Danny just had also vanished, and Danny sank to his knees, feeling exhausted; creating a 'living armor' from ice was tiring on his own powers, let alone when it took over for itself in defense.

"PAGE!" Danny winced at the Ghost King's very loud summon, and just seconds later, the page appeared. Pariah Dark pointed to Danny. "Take him to his chambers. Lock the doors. NOW."

The page quickly took Danny up by the arm and left, shutting the doors behind him, leaving Pariah Dark to himself in the dining hall.

...The boy had been keeping things from him, he realized. That instinct that kicked in to override conscious thought...that fascinating ice armor that had nearly defaced one of his guards...the boy was hard on his defense, if anything. That ice armor was a well-kept secret within the Far Frozen as flexible, malliable, and above all impenetrable. He himself had once commissioned armor from them, only to be turned down on the grounds of keeping the armor and its power within the ice-users only.

Shaking himself out of those thoughts, Pariah Dark sat back down at his chair, which had grown to accomodate his size. He had some thinking to do, if he wanted this to go the way he wanted.

Stayed up 'till three finishing this off...enjoy.