Chapter 30: Dragons and tales

Himself, huh?

Not a topic Izaya liked much but who was he to deny the king's wish? Nodding to himself he skimmed through the chronology of his life- he wanted to come up with something decent to tell, but oddly enough nothing of interest came to mind.

What did the king want to hear when he asked about his life?

"Quite the vast topic, don't you think? Can you narrow it down?"

Another grape was plucked from the tray and Shizuo mimicked the action as he took one for himself.

Eyes gazing at the artistic painting that made the ceiling he seemed to contemplate on a more specific request.

"Your sisters," he finally uttered, blinking shortly as if to confirm he had found the right topic. "What did you do as their brother to have such a close relationship?"

Mairu and Kururi, huh?

Having the king's gaze directed at Izaya once more, the freshly baked queen saw the interest sparkling in his eyes.

He was actually curious.

This was not one of those usual small talks with heaps of gossip and an overall knowledge that the counterpart was only waiting for him to mess up.

No.

Shizuo was actually curious- and that somehow just made Izaya feel even more peaceful at heart.

"Honestly? I was just a better maid nothing less," he started with a smile while letting his chin lean on his knee. Having propped both his legs up his arms circled them as he tried to capture as much of the fire's heat as possible. "I helped them get dressed, taught them arithmetics, chess, latin-" he faded out, knowing he needn't continue for Shizuo to get the gist.

A piece of cheese resting next to the grapes was stabbed next as the king hummed.

"You know, it irked me earlier, but you are quite knowledgeable for a mere duke's son." With a quick flick of hand the piece disappeared between Shizuo's lips. "Even when you helped me. You knew exactly what to do in both political terms as well as economically when we faced the dukes." Stilling for but a moment, the king turned to look at Izaya. "How?"

There it was again, that glance flattering Izaya beyond means as nothing but honest admiration stemmed from its core. Izaya hadn't thought much of his deeds but to Shizuo they appeared that much more grand.

And that even though the reason was quite laughable, really.

"There is not much for a duke's son to do if he is considered worthless, you know. Field training? Never existed. Hunting? Not with my condition," he quickly explained, trying to not let on just much effort and attempts in vain those spans of his life had brought upon him. "I spent most of the time reading what our library had to offer," he continued and Shizuo's gaze softened.

"And raising your sisters."

Shizuo seemed to be the type who cared for his family more than about anything else. Just the way his voice dropped to what Izaya used towards his sisters told him as much and he noticed the vast difference in perception of his words.

"That was less of a good trait than you might think. My father saw it as a womanly trait and from that point on he despised me even more," he elaborated, casting light to the gruesome shadows of his story.

Expression fading into a more serious tone Shizuo seemed to have understood.

His life had not been easy, and despite loving his sisters bringing them up had earned him nothing but disdain, gossip and hatred. His father had gone to extensive lengths to make it seem as though he had no son to his name.

For a single second Izaya felt the cold breeze of the window surge through the chamber and wondered whether he had revealed too much. After revealing the entirety of his father's plans and participated sharade he felt he was in no place to complain about his upbringing.

But a teasing smile drew upon Shizuo's features faster than he was able to feel regret.

"So you have been held prisoner in your own mansion. Almost like a real princess wouldn't you say?"

This guy-

Izaya couldn't help but snort at the graceful manner Shizuo displayed to move around the sensitive topic without seeming bold.

"What about you? I heard you didn't quite act like it was expected of a prince either. Risking your life and everything on dangerous campaigns."

Shizuo's curiosity wasn't the only one that had been spiked.

Seeing the king react in ways Izaya wouldn't have expected anyone to, had brought a lot of questions to his own mind. From a death bringing monster to a loving brother he had heard everything between heaven and hell regarding the new king. All in front, his overly great and successful campaigns. "How much of that is true and how much rumors?" he inquired and Shizuo shifted in his seat.

Palm reaching for the back of his neck the king actually seemed to be… abashed?

"Everything actually," he mumbled with his eyes averted as though he was unwilling to go into detail.

Izaya snorted. "Everything is a lie?"

An awkward smile spread across Shizuo's face as he met Izaya's gaze.

"No, everything is true."

Doubt must have displayed easily on Izaya's expression as he lifted a brow. "I heard a rumor that said you slayed a dragon and I do take pride in my biological wisdom which states they do not exist."

Hidden amusement swayed in Shizuo's eyes and lifted the conversation to a new level as another lodge of wood was quickly fed to the hungry flame.

"Hey, they saw a dragon when I came, and didn't when I left." Shizuo elaborated without really lifting the confusion.

Was he that fond of the legend that he wasn't willing to reveal its origin?

"Alright, sure, and what was it? A snake?" Grasping one more of the ripe grapes Izaya brought it to his own lips.

"A rock."

A mistake. Almost choking on the fruit the raven stared at the king in what was no less than hilarious perplexion.

"Do explain, how on earth can one mistake a rock for a dragon?" A shrug was given as the king obviously tried hard to suppress his own set of laughing fits.

"The area was misty and the townsfolk too scared to investigate."

Izaya frowned- "But it didn't move, right?"

"Neither do cats when they are locked on their prey."

Ah.

Izaya understood what Shizuo was describing. Honestly people with simple minds were something Izaya didn't fancy as they were both unreliable and easily manipulated by all kinds of sources - but this was an instance that left him grateful.

Who else but superstitious volk could provide such an amusing tale?

"I see. So they were scared shitless by some shadow and ran for their lives," Izaya summarized, earning an approving nod.

"More or less, yes."

Must have been quite the area. Misty, hard to pass or come by. Despite never having departed his manor for longer strides he could envision the mystic area quite well. Trees, fog, morning dew that gathered in pits creating an almost magical aura.

Yeah, he could see how people came up with the idea of a dragon venturing the area.

Izaya somehow felt respect for the blond that he had stepped into the unknown land. After all, despite knowing no dragons existed, there was no saying what other kind of creature or dangerous animal the townsfolk had seen.

Shizuo had followed their wishes nonetheless. Being rewarded with a fake dragon had probably been a relief to not only his men.

"So?" he continued while gazing at the king. "How did you defeat the rock?"

"That was easy," Shizuo replied, "I had my men fell a few trees to destroy the illusion."

Soft laughter followed his explanation and suddenly Shizuo was very glad he had joined Izaya on the ground.

"And then you went and got celebrated as the dragon slayer?" his fake queen laughed and honestly, Shizuo couldn't have felt happier about that. Feeling his own chest heating up he suppressed his own set of chuckles. "What did your knights say about it? Did they just go along with the lie?"

Izaya had a hard time imagining how Shizuo made them follow his story, but to his surprise the king seemed to grow a bit more serious at the question.

"It might have been a fluke, but the fear of the villagers decreased nonetheless. My men also want their families to rest at ease, you know, and having them think they are traveling with someone mighty enough to slay a dragon, they worry less."

Ah.

Right. All in front, way before being a warrior, Shizuo was someone who fought to protect. And that protection was something he wanted to grant in both, physical as well as mental form.

Izaya couldn't help but admire what a fine trait it was.

"I will make sure to keep the sharade then," he announced quickly, assuring the blond that he would keep his mouth shut.

A piece of wood cracked louder than expected and Izaya's head quickly turned towards the flame.

It allowed Shizuo to see his neck, ear and strands of hair dipping into the ledge of his shoulders.

He was a guy, yet so frail. Having been fooled into thinking he was a woman had been no hard feat considering his soft features.

Even now looking towards the flame, with his lithe shoulders barely hidden underneath the fabric of his thin dress and his collarbone looking so delicate as though it was going to break from being stared at he couldn't help but worry.

Izaya was pale.

And his condition caused him more grief than he was letting on.

"How about you? Holding up fine?" Eyes flickering back to the king, Izaya quickly averted his gaze.

"Ah yeah, no one suspects anything."

Perplexed silence followed in which Izaya felt a small surge of anxiety. Why was the king so quiet? Was he not pleased by the response? More words to strengthen his stance came to mind, but somehow Izaya didn't feel like saying them out loud.

Only when he gazed towards the king, he realized how off he had been.

"... that's good I guess. But I meant your condition."

Oh.

Considering they had been talking about lies and dragons made of stones and mist Izaya had concluded he was asking about the sharade. About him pretending to be the queen and whether the maids had noticed anything.

Being met with a gaze that yet again displayed nothing but honest care disarmed Izaya in a way he wasn't sure whether to love or hate.

Quicker than he should have spoken his lips spurred into motion. "I'm fine."

It was an honest response and yet his words seemed to have triggered a hint of annoyance in Shizuo as he sighed.

Moodiness defined his face as he lifted the tray back onto the table.

"You know, those are the three words I hate you say the most."

Ah.

A flash of unknown warmth surged through the raven. It was a mixture of both, embarrassment and joy. Embarrassed that he now obviously had to give a more detailed report about his condition when no one had ever cared enough to ever ask, and joy for the fact that these details were not asked to be used against him but out of simple care.

Unwilling Izaya bit his lip before sighing softly. "... what do you want to hear? Compared to last night, I feel good. The tightness in my chest disappeared and I just coughed one or two times," he rambled quickly, speeding up halfway through the summary as he felt his tongue slip.

At least the response seemed sufficient as the moody expression on Shizuo's face cleared.

"Better," he agreed with a nod that coaxed a soft sigh from Izaya.

"You aren't easy to please, you know that?" Amused offense displayed on Shizuo's face as he moved back just the slightest bit. The fire within the fireplace had started to surge as it had been fed more than enough lodges of wood and the intensity of the heat was starting to seep even through the thickest fabric of Shizuo's pants.

It somehow reminded him of the fire back in front of the inn. The night where Izaya first talked to him in a fashion that seemed so similar to this.

With a smile on his lips Shizuo felt the truth of that moment.

Izaya had pretended to be a woman, had deceived him in a sense, but looking at the conversation back then and now he felt too much genuity to doubt a single word Izaya had told him.

"I do believe I earned myself a few favors, no?" he joked, intentionally picking at the topic that Izaya was most uncomfortable with.

As expected he averted his gaze again- it was an action Shizuo had identified as a pattern. Whenever he mentioned something Izaya was reluctant to talk about it seemed he tried to avoid his gaze. It was funny.

Considering how well Izaya had led the sharade he was a really bad liar when it came to Shizuo.

"You forced your plan on me, it's not like I had a choice, so it's the opposite, don't you think?" his new queen quickly retorted, sounding all too witty despite the obvious insecurity.

Shizuo couldn't help but laugh as he shook his head.

This guy- really-

"You could probably sell a drowning man a bucket of water, you know that?" Izaya laughed, "Never tried but worth a shot." He obviously took that as a compliment- and it kinda was.

Shaking his head softly, Shizuo glanced towards the window. It had already been late when he arrived. The moon had been on the rise and shining right into their window. By now it had moved even farther and only a fraction of it was visible anymore.

It was then that a short set of coughs regained Shizuo's attention from the night sky.

And Izaya noticed.

Of course he did.

Despite not wanting to admit it he was feeling worse than he was letting on. Weak. Cold.

Shizuo had moved away from the flame for its intensity yet Izaya was freezing despite sitting close enough for his dress to catch fire. Silence returned in its unfavoured fashion as Izaya looked for Shizuo's eyes.

Again.

He was wearing the same expression as before. Worry reflected in the king's eyes similar to when he asked about his condition.

Izaya hated it. "Can you stop looking at me like that?" He didn't mean to sound ungrateful or rude, but he was just sick of seeing that glance.

Like he was something to be belittled, like he couldn't take care of himself, be relied on- he had so much going for him and yet this god damn illness just chained him to the ground like a bird with no wings.

to be continued~

Here we gooo~ Sorry for skipping last weeks update, time was kinda slipping through my fingers like sand xD

On a side note, no worries guys, the date is not over yet~ Had to cut it right here sadly because it would have been even more awkward later xDDD

Anyway!

I hope you like how this is unfolding x3

Oh and the new story "Go to hell" is now up, and it matches the vibe of this story in a ... well, kinda twisted sense xDD It will take a very different spin though in like 3 chapters but I thought I would remind you in case you are interested haha xD