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Sans was not having a good day.
Instead of his usual nap in a sunny spot in the castle gardens, surrounded by nothing but birds singing and flowers blooming, he was trudging through a dense forest trying to climb one of the tallest mountains in the kingdom. His clothes were covered in mud, leaves and tears from branches that kept snagging his clothes as he fought his way through the dense vegetation. It was humid and hot, bugs were buzzing all around him and some kept flying into his sockets, making his head buzz and freaking him out. Add to that the fact that he couldn’t really use his magic to make this trip any easier and Sans day kept getting worse and worse.
It had been a few days since he started on this little adventure, not that he wanted to, but alas his royal duties demanded it. Or well, the neighboring kingdom demanded it and he couldn’t get out of the political mess that the disappearance of his bride-to-be got him into. She had been kidnapped and dragged to the top of the mountain Sans has been traveling towards for the last few days. He hadn’t gone willingly since he didn’t really want to marry the princess from that kingdom. They never fit together well and the alliance that would form if they got married wasn’t as important now as it sounded when they were betrothed at a young age. It was just impossible to break the engagement without risking war or even worse, economic war, and neither of the kingdoms could risk it.
So now here Sans was, going to rescue his bride-to-be so he could take it to his castle and they could wed.
Sans’ lack of enthusiasm severely slowed his progress down and he hoped the other kingdom would get annoyed and send a knight to save the princess. Maybe that would be enough for the engagement to be broken off and the princess would marry her savior. But for now, he didn’t put much hope into it since he didn’t notice anyone besides himself on the way to the cave the princess was being held in. His hopes were sinking even faster as he neared the top of the mountain and the dreaded cave that held his future spouse.
With a final push, Sans emerged at a clearing that spanned between the edge of the forest and a huge looming cave entrance.
He took a moment to spit out a few leaves from his teeth and shake down as much of the foliage that stuck to his clothes. He looked like some kind of forest monster at this point and he just knew that the princess would complain about his looks despite the fact he looked like that to save her. He was not looking forward to saving her… or meeting the one that had kidnapped her.
A dragon.
He thought the stories about dragons kidnapping princesses were all just silly old fairy tales. That dragons didn’t care for anything but gold, food and taking looooooooong naps that could span centuries (something Sans could really appreciate). But here he was, a prince going on a quest to save his princes from a dragon. Just his luck that those particular stories turned out to be true.
Welp, not much he could do about it now. He was here and he had to try. Hopefully, this dragon was up for negotiating the release of the princess cause Sans was not feeling up to fighting a giant magic-wielding lizard. He wasn’t sure how true the stories about how strong dragons were and he didn’t want to find out today if at all possible.
He checked his sword one more time, making sure he could pull it out quickly (for all the good it would do) if he needed it and stepped into the cave entrance.
It was dark at first, his eyelights needing time to get used to the dimness after the brightness of the sunny outside. But as soon as he could see well enough he noticed some light coming from the inside of the cave. Curious he made his way deeper into the cave, careful not to make any sounds.
The walls of the cave were pretty smooth as if someone had chiseled the walls to make them as even as possible with some type of crude tool. It was also pretty dry, unlike the humid forest outside. It almost felt like walking through a grandiose hall, similar to the ones in his own castle and it helped Sans feel a little more at ease. If the entrance looked like this, the dragon couldn’t be just a mindless beast and he could probably reason with it.
Sans slowly made his way down the wide tunnel, following the occasional twist and turn as it dove deeper into the mountain. He could feel that he was slowly going down, but the incline was mild enough to almost feel like the tunnel was straight. The trip lasted only a few minutes but Sans had a feeling as if he had been walking for a pretty long time. Was it some kind of magic twisting the surrounding space or time? Or was he just tired from the long journey here and his senses were messing with him?
He shrugged the questions off, ignoring his usual curiosity, and tried to focus on the task at hand. He had to rescue the princess and get back home so he could go back to his lazybone ways. Hopefully, the journey back would be easier since it was mostly downhill. He could already feel the warmth of the sun on his bones that would make his naps the most comfortable ever.
Except, the warmth wasn’t just in his head. He could feel it starting to press on him from all sides as he stepped forward, finally coming to an opening that connected the tunnel he was traveling through to a large open cavern. It was huge, easily big enough to fit his whole castle into it. The ceiling stretched up so far it would have been hard to see, except that it was littered with some kind of glowing crystals, making it look almost like a night sky. The walls of the cavern stretched to all sides and were littered either with etchings of dragons and many different creatures or had holes hollowed out in them that were filled with many different riches. One half of the cavern was littered with gold and gems that reflected light and gave the whole space a warm glow. The other half was covered in animal hides, carpeting the rough floor and making it look soft and inviting.
And in the very back of the cavern, in a huge pile of furs and pelts, was the dragon.
It was huge. Bigger than Sans could imagine. But that wasn’t what drew his attention. He expected the dragon to be all claws and scales, fiery breath and the smell of sulfur, yet he was anything but that. The dragon was made from bones and the only reason Sans knew he wasn’t looking at dead remnants of a magnificent beast was the smoke that slowly rose up from the beast's nostrils as it snored away.
‘lucky!’ Sans thought as he surveyed the cavern. ‘with the dragon asleep i can just get the princess and get out in no time.’
Carefully, making very very sure he doesn’t make a sound, Sans snuck into the big space of the cavern. He kept to the side of the cavern that was covered in furs so he wouldn’t accidentally cause a golden avalanche that would wake the dragon. If he kept quiet enough he could be done with this annoying quest soon.
It took him a while to walk around the fur-covered parts of the cavern but he didn’t have any luck in finding any trace of the princess. There were a few nooks and crannies he made sure to examine, even a few smaller tunnels that quickly led to dead ends and didn’t really have much to show for themself. Still, he made sure to check every one in case the princess was somehow hidden in a way that wouldn’t make it obvious unless you walked right up to her. But his luck didn’t hold and he found nothing.
When he was sure he had checked all the parts he could on the furs, he turned to the vast golden expanse that covered the other half of the cavern. He couldn’t see much from his position, being a short stubby skeleton didn’t help him much in situations like this, where he had to see over mounds and hills, but he also couldn’t risk walking around there because that was bound to wake the dragon. He quickly looked around the cavern again, searching for anything that would help him see over the gold, so he could survey it without walking on it. Unfortunately for him, the only higher spots available were the fur nest and the dragon itself.
Both sounded like bad options.
Still, Sans had nothing else he could do and he needed to find that princess or his father would make his life hell. Sans would probably have to fix the whole mess that the lack of the princess would cause and he wasn’t looking forward to that much hard work. So with an apprehensive sigh, he started climbing the giant nest, taking his time to make sure he didn't disturb the dragon. It took a lot of sweat and effort to get to the top, and Sans had to bite his tongue quite a few times as his leg slipped on the soft surface. Thankfully, the dragon didn’t stir, it’s breath stayed slow and calm.
Sans wiped the sweat from his browbones and looked up, right at the dragon. It looked even bigger from up close, even curled up with its head and tail folded towards each other. Bones wide and sturdy, resembling tree trunks instead of the same thing Sans was made of. The giant expanse of bones was littered with scratches and scars, the biggest one marring the bones on the dragon’s head where a scar split the dragon’s socket and traveled down to its giant maw. Sans now noticed that one of the sharp fangs was replaced by a golden tooth. He was surprised to see that, as dragons weren’t well known for crafting. Then again, this whole cave looked out of place for a dwelling of a wild beast.
Maybe some stories about dragons were wrong, just not the ones he thought.
Carefully, Sans turned around to survey the rest of the cave. It was vast and magnificent, even more so from a higher vantage point, but he didn’t have time to admire it. He focused on trying to find his quarry so he could get out of here as fast as possible. Or at least before the dragon woke up hungry.
He looked all over the space, making sure to not miss any suspicious spots that might keep the princess hidden from view. He searched and searched, but saw nothing. Only gold and gems, glittering in the warm light and staring back at Sans indifferently. That couldn’t be right. The princess had to be here, he was sure of it. The knight that reported about the princess's kidnapping was a very trusted person of the princess and her father, the king. They wouldn’t dare lie about it to their own king. Right?
Lost in thought while still trying to see any side tunnels he might have missed, Sans failed to notice the shift in the air around him. The calm breathing of the beast that rested behind him turned deeper, as if the dragon took deep breaths. If he had noticed, Sans might have thought it sounded like a giant sniff had been taken. But alas, he didn’t notice. Nor did he notice giant claws coming towards him until it was too late.
He tried to jump out of the way, but the claws were faster and grabbed him from behind. Sans yelped, his voice a lot higher than usual, as the boney prison wrapped around him. The dragon’s grip was firm, though it didn’t squeeze hard enough to hurt and that helped Sans gather his thoughts. It seemed the dragon wouldn’t just dust him on the spot, so maybe he had a chance to get what he needed or at least to get away with his bones in one piece. Now he just had to find his voice.
The dragon didn’t let Sans gather himself anymore before he moved again. Sans couldn’t tell what exactly the dragon was doing, the thick bones of its paw blocking his vision. He was jolted around as the dragon did its thing and then it all went calm for a few moments. But they didn’t last and soon enough the claws opened and Sans found himself face to snout with the dragon.
Two fiery crimson eyelights stared at him, making the prince sweat and push back a little into the hand cradling him in front of the giant monstrosity that held him at its mercy. Sans couldn’t think straight, his mind racing to try and think of a way to get away from the certain doom that the dragon’s maw would present if the beast decided he looked appetizing enough to serve as a wake-up snack. But nothing came to him.
He was too rattled to teleport away, his mind unable to focus on one familiar enough spot in the vicinity to be able to use his magic. The fact he was in contact with the dragon also risked him pulling it with him even if he didn’t want to. Not to mention that the strong magic wafting off the dragon was making it hard to gather enough of Sans’ own magic reserves for such complex magic like a shortcut. He could try and jump off the talons holding him, but he wasn’t sure how high the drop was, he could see the dragon was sitting up so it was probably pretty high, and he didn’t want to risk broken bones while trying to run from a dragon. So the last option was trying to talk his way out of this mess, his usual and most successful means of escape, but his throat felt tight and he couldn’t choke out the words properly.
“h-hi…” That was all he managed to squeak out, his voice betraying him as the dragon’s eyelights brightened.
Instead of any verbal reply, the dragon leaned forward and Sans shut his sockets tight, sure it would just gobble him up. Moments passed and nothing happened.
Sans dared to open one eyesocket a crack and noticed the dragon’s snout was right in front of his face, with a yelp he quickly shut his sockets closed and lifted a hand to push the dragon away. He might as well have tried to push the cavern wall away. The dragon didn’t move an inch. But it did something, it breathed in and out a few times, enveloping Sans in its warm breath. It didn’t stink of sulfur like he thought it would, it was even somehow pleasant, warming his bones even more. He dared to peek a socket open again and what he saw surprised him more than it would have to see an open dragon maw in front of him.
The dragon was sniffing him. It pushed even closer, getting its large nasal openings as close to Sans’ body as it could, and breathed in deeply. He sat there stunned, jailed in giant talons as his captor sniffed him like he was some kind of interesting flower it held. It was… confusing, to say the least.
When it was satisfied, the dragon pulled back. Sans didn’t know what he expected to happen after that, but he surely wasn’t expecting a huge forked red tongue to slip from between those razor-sharp teeth that were almost as big as Sans and lick him from head to toe, covering him in slime.
“ewwwww!” He couldn’t stop himself from blurting out as the slime seeped into his clothes and onto his bones.
A rumble came from the dragon making Sans freeze. He looked up at the large head and he could swear the dragon looked like it was chuckling at him. The dark pits that were the dragon’s sockets were crinkled at the edges and small puffs of smoke rose from its nasal openings. It was surreal to see, enough to give Sans a chance to gather some of his lost courage.
“are you playing with me, dragon?” Sans suspiciously asked when the rumbles died down.
He could swear the dragon smirked at him instead of answering. He was about to ask another question but the bones beneath him started shaking. He grabbed on for dear life, afraid the dragon would drop him, but again his expectations were proven wrong. The dragon kept its hold on him as it started… shrinking?
It took a while for the huge monster that held him to shrink down to a more conventional size. It was still a lot bigger than Sans and could still hold him up with one hand, though now Sans dangled from its grip as the dragon’s talons held onto the scruff of his clothes. When the transformation was complete a skeleton monster stood in front of Sans, though a very unusual one.
The dragon looked mostly like Sans, with a few noticeable differences. It still had horns and a tail. Even the boney wings weren’t completely gone, though they shrunk enough to not bother this version of the dragon while he walked. His feet still looked like dragon’s feet, elongated until the heel and curving like a digitigrade’s animal would. Its bones were a lot thicker than Sans’ as well, though they were still littered with the scars they bore in the other form. And the most noticeable were its teeth. The dragon grinned at Sans, sharp shark-like teeth meeting his nervous gaze. Even in this form, the dragon could dust him in a soulbeat.
“uh…” Sans wracked his skull for something to say, completely baffled by what he had witnessed.
Not many come back after meeting a dragon, even if they did, not many shared much about their experiences, so very little was known about the large magical beasts. Sans knew that he was walking in blind when he started this quest, but he didn’t think he would have lacked this much information. Dragons transforming into monsters? Would anyone believe him if he told them of this?
The dragon leaned in closer, making Sans sweat again, and then it started nuzzling into the crook of his neck. Sans squirmed in place, lifting his hands up to try and push the monster invading his personal space in such an unexpected manner. He knew how undignified he looked as he tried to wiggle his way out of the steel grip the dragon had on him, but he had no idea what else to do. No one ever dared touch him like this and his magic was starting to act weird from the strange stimulation.
“smell nice.” The rumbling baritone right next to his skull made Sans shiver.
It took him a moment to realize that it was the dragon that spoke and his eyelights shrank.
“what?” The brilliant question left his teeth before he could even think.
“yer smell. sweet.” The dragon’s reply didn’t explain anything but the purr that accompanied the words made Sans’ cheeks feel hot, magic rushing to light it a gentle blue.
“thank you?” Was that the right thing to say in this situation? Sans’ etiquette lessons didn’t prepare him for this.
The dragon purred back, then used his other hand to hug Sans closer to him and carry him towards the back of the giant nest. Now Sans noticed there was another tunnel in that part of the cavern wall. Maybe that was where the dragon kept the princess? If he could get to her and grab her, he was sure he could teleport them both somewhere outside. Sure it wouldn't be a precise shortcut since everything outside looked the same and he would have a hard time pinpointing where he was taking them (it was one of the reasons he couldn’t just teleport most of the journey up the mountain) but it was better to be lost in the woods then trapped with a dragon.
The dragon took him through a fairly short tunnel into a smaller, but still grandiose room. The room was furnished with more pelts and a few trinkets, nowhere near as crowded as the cavern he slept in before. Unfortunately, it lacked one important thing, the princess.
There was no one in the room except for Sans and the dragon.
Desperate, Sans decided to risk it and just ask. What’s the worst that could happen? The dragon already captured him and he wasn’t eaten yet, so he might as well try, right?
“uh, dragon? sir?” Sans didn’t know how to address the beast as it wasn’t royalty but he also didn’t want to offend it (was it a him?). A confirming hum from the dragon spurred Sans on. “do you have a princess here with you? one from the kingdom across this mountain?”
The dragon didn’t reply at once, he only tilted his head as if considering the question. The moments dragged on as the dragon started fiddling with the furs in the nest that dominated the small cavern. Sans was losing hope that he’d get any information from the dragon when he suddenly spoke up.
“left.” The curt reply only left Sans more confused.
“left? you mean she was here and isn’t anymore?”
“ye’.” The dragon didn’t bother to explain more but Sans wasn’t gonna let him just leave him hanging like that.
“what do you mean she left? where did she go? did you eat her?” Sans couldn’t control the frustration in his voice but hoped the dragon would answer him so he could know what he was working with.
The dragon frowned at the questions, but it didn’t look as if he was mad. It looked like he was trying to focus hard.
Did he have a hard time understanding Sans or was it hard for him to speak? The short sentences he’d been using until now would lead Sans to think the latter was true.
“mate came. left together. outside. ” The short replies made Sans’ sockets snap wide.
Mate? Did someone come to take the princess away before Sans? But he was sure no one from both kingdoms was sent to save the princess except for Sans. The daydreams of another knight going weren’t really something realistic, just silly fantasies he was playing around with to make the journey easier. But then who took the princess?
“uhhh…” The dragon suddenly sounded unsure. “no. it secret. ya forget i said.”
A secret? Nothing made sense anymore and Sans wasn’t sure what to think. If the mate that came for the princess was a secret does that mean it wasn’t someone on a quest to save her? Did the princess have a secret lover that came for her? Was she even really kidnapped by the dragon if he just let her leave like that?
Sans’ skull spun with so many questions but he didn’t have much time to dwell on them as the dragon put him down in the nest and then wrapped around him, effectively caging him in between thick bones and soft furs.
“red.” The dragon grumbled out as he started nuzzling into Sans’ skull again, purring gently.
“what?”
“‘m red. what name mate?”
Sans could feel his eyelights go out at the words the dragon, Red, so casually purred out. Mate? What in the name of the angel did that mean?
“who is your mate?” His voice shook as he hoped the answer wouldn’t be what he feared.
Red stopped purring and pulled back, giving Sans a raised browbone look, as if he had asked the stupidest question ever.
“mate you. yer name?” The words felt like rocks on Sans’ soul, weighing heavily on the prince’s soul.
One thing all the dragon stories had in common was that they mated for life and once they chose a mate, nothing could stop them from getting their claws on them. Still, Sans had to try and get this large beast to realize the absurdity of this situation and let him go. He couldn’t be Red’s mate! He was a prince and had to go home. He had duties to attend to, and royal naps with his name on them.
“why would you want me as your mate?” Sans tried keeping his voice chipper and relaxed. “i’m just a bag of bones, nothing interesting about me. you should find a nice princess to be your mate and-”
Red glowered at that, cutting Sans’ small tirade off.
“no. my mate.” Red firmly stated. “yer smell sweet. an’ look cute. like a bunny. be a good mate. lots eggs an’ hatchlings.”
Sans felt his throat seal shut, mouth suddenly dry as he realized there wasn’t any doubt Red meant business. Thankfully, a nudge to his ribs got him back to reality before panic could take over.
“name?” Red asked again, looking Sans dead in his eyelights.
“... sans.” The small monster managed to whisper out, still trying to keep his world from crumbling around him.
“sans!” Red happily purred out and snuggled Sans even closer, enveloping him with his tail and wing. Red’s tail was thumping away excitedly next to Sans' tibia as the big monster settled in to continue his nap.
Sans stared at his boney prison unsure what to think about the last few minutes of his life. He went from soon-to-be-married to a princess to dragon mate in a matter of minutes and his skull wasn’t processing any of it.
He wasn’t sure what to do now since escaping was almost impossible. Though the dragon didn’t really know who Sans was or where he came from so he might have a chance if he tried to run back home to his kingdom. He might even get help from his father, the king. Though there was a pretty good chance his father’s punishment would be a worse fate than being a dragon’s mate. But he had to try. His father wouldn’t really harm him, right?
Even as different plans raced through Sans’ skull he felt his sockets grow heavy.
The warmth of the small cavern combined with the purring of the dragon wrapped around him, keeping him safe from any potential threat and the soothing magic the dragon’s soul was emitting was enough to lull the tired monster prince into sleep. He didn’t fight it, letting the comforting darkness take him into its comforting grip away from the confusing reality his life has become.
Tomorrow there would be more than enough time to plan his escape.