Once in the 10 years people offered the dragon Seraphel a child from the kingdom as bride. This year was slightly different. Since the child offered was not a normal child... he was the youngest prince of Alderias.
There was a month left till he got offered to the dragon. To assure he wouldnt escape they locked him in his room.
That really was the only way to assure that. Although he wasn't a rebellious prince, he really disliked the idea to be married to a monster he never has seen before just because an old religion said so.
He stood at the window and looked outside, his gaze lost in thoughts. He was still doing that when a knock on his door was followed by a young boys voice. "Your Highness? It's me, Alby! May I come in?" The prince Zilias thought about it for a bit "Come in!... I think dad gave you the key.." The door opened and Alby entered the princes room. He was a young servant, maybe around 15 or 16. He closed the door and looked up to his prince.
"Your father left in an ... early hurry. He told me to check on you and bring ya some food. I also have a message for you." Zilias sighed. "Let me guess the message is about the wedding with that stupid dragon..." "Yeah, pretty much." Alby said with a small smile. He was one of the few people who knew how much the prince disliked the whole marriage-thing.
He set down a tray with food on the table in the princes room and then went over to the bed and sat down. "You better eat something, your highness. We don't want ya to be all skin and bones when you meet your future husband, do we?" Although his tone was a bit teasing, he wasn't lying after all. The prince didn't eat much for the past weeks, so he really was looking a bit too thin for any normal standard.
Alby noticed that Zilias didn't even comment on the teasing, but just shrugged and sat down in front of the table and started to mechanically eat the food. The servant was pretty worried by now, it was obvious that the whole situation was eating away on the princes mind.
He sat down on the bed and watched his prince. "I mean, I wouldn't wanna be married off to a dragon either." he said as he patted the bed, signaling the prince to sit down with him. Zilias rolled his eyes. "I dont care about him being a dragon honestly. I care about the fact that im forced too." Alby nodded, he already knew that, but they both knew they couldn't do much about it anyway.
"I just hope he's at least handsome." Alby said teasingly. Zilias made a small face at that. "He can be a handsome as he wants, I don't want to marry him."
He leaned against Alby and huffed in annoyance. "Why me, Alby? Why couldn't dad just have offered my brothers?"
"Well ..." Alby started while wrapping an arm around the princes shoulder in a comforting way. "Because you're the youngest and the one considered to be the prettiest in the kingdom... " The prince groaned at that, although he knew well that that was indeed true. He was known for being pretty amongst the people. He was slender, but slender in an appealing way. He also had a beautiful face with big, clear blue eyes. Alby chuckled quietly at the prince, he was well aware how unhappy Zilias was with the upcoming marriage.
He ruffled his blond hair, knowing the prince usually didn't protest at such simple signs of affection. "Maybe he'll be handsome and nice and you'll grow to like him." he said, still teasingly, but the worry in his voice and face very clear. The prince groaned again at that. "Don't you think I thought about that, that this whole marriage thing might turn out good in the end? It won't be like that and you know it. And even if he's nice and handsome, I'll just never love him. I don't care how he looks like, I'll never love him."
It wasn't the first time the prince voiced these words, he'd made those things very clear before. "I know, I know." Alby said and pulled the prince a little closer.
For a while, they were sitting together in silence, just sitting next to each other. Then Alby remembered the second thing he was told to do. "I also have another message from your dad..." Zilias sighed and leaned more into Alby. "What is it this time? He wants to tell me that the dragon should pick me up personally?" Alby couldn't hold back a chuckle at that, but shook his head. "No, it's not regarding the dragon. Well... kinda."
He paused, trying to figure out a way to say what the king told him without sounding like a prick. "... he told me to tell you to look more presentable when the dragon arrives."
The prince tensed up a moment before rolling his eyes again. "Presentable? In what way? I'm already a lot thinner than usual... And I don't do anything all the time. He can't expect me to be more presentable than I already am, can he?" Alby sighed a bit. "I don't think he means this as in your figure, your highness. I think he's more concerned about your ... attitude. He said you shouldn't be too moody on the day when the dragon arrives." The prince groaned again at that, obviously annoyed. "Moody? Does he really expect me to be smiling and jumping around in joy when I get married off to a dragon I never saw before in my life?"
He pulled back from the servant and crossed his arms above his chest in annoyance.
Alby chuckled softly at the princes expression. "You know how your father is. He probably wants the dragon to think you're the perfect, happy and cooperative husband you should be."
He pulled at the princes arm, a small smirk on his lips. "Y'know, you're really adorable when you pout so much, your highness."