A/N:
Neon: Hello there and Welcome to the second chapter of Night Before Dawn! Tori wrote the chapter before, so now it's my turn to take the wheel. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Two
Feliks had felt as if his entire world was ending the day he learned he had to marry the Blue Blood, Prince Braginski. His father had apparently betrothed him to the Braginski heir before Feliks had been born in an effort to unite the High Elvish House of Łukasiewicz and the Noble Blue Blood house of Braginski. It was not a union of friendship, nor one of convenience- the betrothal had been made for purely political purposes. The Łukasiewicz family held the land upon which the largest trading center in Zemlya, one of the three reigning kingdoms in Aslonia, rested. The Braginski's were the rulers of Zemlya, and had ties to virtually everything- one of the few things they didn't have their Blue-Blooded claws into was the Łukasiewicz land, the city of Jedonse. But then Feliks' father had made a bad business deal, and the Braginski's had paid it off, leading to the betrothal.
Unfortunately, Feliks had been born a boy, but the betrothal could not be undone, for it would be seen as a great disgrace if Feliks' father cancelled the contract- and there would probably still be a marriage, even if Feliks came out as a boy. Growing up, Feliks had never questioned why he had to dress like a girl, he had never wondered why his mother often gave him pitying looks, and never doubted that he would be free to choose whom he could marry. But then he had turned eighteen, the age an elf could be legally married, and his whole world came crashing down.
Feliks was snapped out of his thoughts by a knock on his door. "Who is it?" He called out, pushing himself off of his bed. He was decently covered; there was nothing about him that would give away his true gender.
"Feliks, it's me, Toris. Let me in; I'm here to help you get-" The door was opened and Toris was dragged in before he could finish.
"Toris, I am so glad you're here! You've got to like, save me." Feliks begged, "I totally think we can run away. You can help me, okay?"
"Feliks..."
"I think we can totally pull it off!" Feliks continued, "I mean, everyone knows me as a girl, so like I'll just dress up as a dude and we can totally get out of here!"
"Feliks."
"I mean, it can't be that hard to do. And you know like everything about this house, so you can get me out without being seen! It's totally fool proof! I'll have to bring my pony, of course. We can't just leave without some form of transportation, and ponies are like, the best."
"Feliks, I can't help you escape. I'm here to help you get ready for the trip toPrince Braginski's residence." Toris lifted up the corset Feliks had apparently missed. "Not escape."
"But Toris..." Feliks whined, "I don't want to. Why won't you help me escape? You're my brownie; you are supposed to be loyal to me!"
The brunette smile was strained as he replied, "Feliks, I am loyal into the entire Łukasiewicz family. Not just you."
Feliks sighed, his face turning downcast. He seriously didn't want to marry Ivan Braginski, even if his more whiny attitude didn't show it. First of all, he didn't even like the man, and second of all- the most important reason- was that Feliks had something of a crush on Toris. "So, like what did you want me to do?"
Toris held up the corset again. "I'm here to help you get into this. Now, Feliks, please. You know the routine."
Feliks scowled, but began taking off his clothes until he stood in just his boxers. He spread his arms and stared at Toris impatiently. The brunette sighed softly and approached Feliks, gently putting the corset around the man and settling it around his waist. He began clasping the eye catches and making minute adjustments until it was perfectly settle on the man's waist.
"Suck in now, okay?" said Toris, his soft voice breaking the quiet as he began tightening the laces. Feliks occasionally winced at the tightness, but did not react otherwise. He was used to this. The Brownie's fingers were gentle as possible as he tightened the laces, his knuckles occasionally brushing across Feliks' skin, eliciting shivers the elf controlled with practice. "Okay, I'm done."
"Ugh, I hate these things. I can barely breathe." Feliks' complaining broke the silence and caused the brunnette to smile.
"You've got to deal with it Feliks, and besides, you've never really complained about having to dress up as a girl before. What's wrong with it now?"
Feliks rolled his eyes, "God Toris, you are so clueless. Just help me choose something to wear." He sauntered over to the closet and began looking through his dresses. "I'm thinking either pink or green... Like, I have a green dress that totally matches my eyes, but you can never go wrong with pink. What do you think Toris?"
"Whatever you think is best," said Toris, looking over Feliks' shoulder. "You'd look good in anything."
"Hmm... Pink it is." He handed the dress to Toris, looking at him commandingly. "Now dress me! I also need to do my makeup, and time is wasting!"
Toris sighed fondly and took the dress from the haughty elf. "Of course." He then unzipped the dress and knelt down so Feliks could step in. He then pulled up the pink dress around Feliks and zipped up the back. It was a softer pink with white accents on the neckline and sleeves that fell to Feliks' ankles.
"You look lovely," Toris smiled at his friend. He may be a servant of the Łukasiewicz family, but he was also Feliks' friend.
Feliks rolled his eyes, ignoring the surge of happiness he felt as he heard that. Toris was just being his generally nice self. "I probably look, like, totally hideous. I don't have any makeup on, like at all."
Toris rolled his eyes, "Come on, let's get ready. We don't your family to get impatient, do we?"
Feliks sighed. "No. Let's go then."