Work Text:
“Mei.” the loud voice of the girl's father distracted her from her work.
“Yes, dad?” the black-haired girl asked with a smile.
“Can you explain to me what he's doing here?” the man asked, pointing to the rope-bound youth who stopped struggling for a moment.
“He is my treasure.” said the girl without hesitation.
“Xiaojiao…” the man began, irritated.
“Mei.” the girl immediately interrupted him, losing the smile from her face and starting to show her fangs.
“Mei. I understand that... No, I don't really understand why you kidnapped a random person.” the father confessed with a sigh, rubbing his forehead, and the prisoner suddenly became indignant.
“He is not an ordinary person. He's a prince." the girl made him realize.
“You kidnapped the prince?” asked the pale man.
“Yhym.” Mei confirmed.
"Why?" the man asked, seemingly calmly.
“Because it's beautiful.” the girl shrugged and the prisoner blushed before going back to trying unsuccessfully to free himself.
“Xiaojiao...Mei. You can't kidnap people you like! Especially important ones they will be looking for!” replied the man on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
“I don't like him this way. This is part of my treasure! Mom collects books, weapons and trinkets and you don't criticize her." the girl pointed out.
“You mean... That he's part of your horde?” the man asked, sitting down in his chair, devastated.
"Yes!" the young adult replied happily.
“Mei, honey, you can't kidnap people!” her father tried to convince her.
“Your mother kidnapped you and you're not complaining. Besides, I didn't kidnap him for reproductive purposes, but as my treasure. Although..." the girl began aloud, shaking her head after a while. "No, rather not."
“Me and your mom are different!” the man was outraged.
“Mei is right because you were indeed kidnapped. That under different conditions it can be omitted.” said a dazzlingly beautiful woman standing in the doorway.
“This is the prince!” her husband replied weakly, and the woman frowned.
“This creates a problem, especially if Mei has stated that he is part of her horde.” the woman replied.
“He's mine!” Mei interjected, not paying any more attention to them and going back to work.
“So what, we just let our daughter create a horde of kidnapped people?!” asked the terrified man.
"Why not?" the woman asked, making her husband's jaw drop.
"Why not? Maybe so that no one kills her? Or because kidnapping people is wrong?” asked the girl's father.
“You're right, in a way... My dear, your horde cannot contain more than three people.” the woman announced.
"What? Why?" the girl moaned.
“Because humans are a big responsibility. You have to feed them, play with them, keep them clean and take care of them. Humans are very fragile creatures.” the woman replied with concern as the kidnapped prince stared in disbelief.
“You can't keep them tied up all the time, that's important too.” the father interjected, moving towards the prisoner, stopped by his daughter's growl.
“Baby, don't come closer. Mei is still not fully in control and might do something stupid.” the woman said calmly.
"All right. I promise not to have more than three people at a time and that I will solve it.” the girl replied.
“That's what we wanted to hear.” the man said happily as he left. “Remember a place to sleep and food for him!”
“Mhm, sure.” muttered the girl, returning to the project, and only after finishing it did she return to her prisoner, who had fallen asleep by that time.
Shrugging, Mei cut the ropes binding him with a claw and laid him on her bed, allowing him to get more comfortable, and after getting ready for sleep, she joined him.
In the morning, she woke up to a loud bang and tiredly rubbed her eyes, finding the star of her collection on the floor, watching her in horror, quickly tearing the gag out of her mouth.
“Do you have to make so much noise?” Mei groaned as she lay back down.
“You kidnapped me!” the boy screamed.
“Yhym, yes, I'm Mei, and you are my greatest treasure in my horde, I have no intention of giving you up, you won't be able to escape, and the kitchen is at the end of the hall, the bathroom is the green door next to the exit. Now let me sleep.” the girl blurted out, closing her eyes.
"How dare you?! Do you know who I am? I am Red Son, son of the Demon Bull King! If my father finds out about this, you will sleep forever!” the boy shouted irritably.
"Yes? Great, but if you don't let me sleep now, I'll lock you in the closet all day." said the girl without opening her eyes, at which the prince, clearly outraged, ran out of her room, and she calmly continued to nap, unaware that her 'treasure' was searching her house looking for a way out.
~~~~
Some time later, Mei got up fully rested and went in search of her human, looking everywhere, but to her surprise she couldn't find him anywhere. Already a little panicked, she checked the bathroom, the kitchen, even her own room again, but her treasure was nowhere to be found. The girl found him only at the exit, a few meters below, sitting on a very narrow rock ledge with tears in his eyes.
“There you are Red Boy, I was starting to worry.” smiled Mei, calmly jumping down next to the prisoner.
"Go away." only the prince said.
“I can't really leave you here alone, because if you fall, you'll die. But I understand why this particular place, the view is breathtaking.” the girl replied cheerfully.
“Just stop!” shouted the irritated prince.
“Stop what?” Mei asked in surprise.
“Be so friendly! If you want to eat me, you're free to do so, but stop pretending you're not a monster." Red Son growled.
“That wasn't nice!” Mei immediately shouted back, but the boy remained stubbornly silent. “I'm not a monster, I'm a dragon.”
“What difference does it make? You kidnapped me, the rest doesn't matter.” replied the prince.
"It's the difference! I have no intention of eating you. I kidnapped you because you belong to me now, but don't worry about anything, I will make sure that you lack nothing in your life.” the girl said confidently.
“Are you that stupid or don't you understand anything?! I want to go home! To my parents, to my castle and to my lovely fiancé!” Red Son screamed back, tears finally flowing, and Mei felt stupid for the first time.
“Hey, sorry. I didn't want to take away your family and your loved one. I just saw you on my night flight, sitting on a tower with a lot of candles and drawing some symbols, and suddenly something hit me. It must be mine, that's what I thought.” the girl confessed.
“I drew runes that were supposed to ensure a good future for my relationship. If it weren't for you, I would be getting ready for the wedding today." said the devastated Red Son.
“Oh, that's adorable! I'm sorry I ruined your wedding, but I'll try to make it up to you, what do you say? the girl asked excitedly.
“Let me go home, please.” only the prince replied, with desperation in his voice.
“I won't do that, but I promise everything will be fine.” the girl replied, helping Red Son to his feet and back to the cave.
~~~~~~~~~
The prince waited for the next few weeks for news about the knights sent to rescue him, but Mei just shrugged, claiming that her mother was keeping an eye on the area to make sure no one reached their hideout. The young man tried to escape several times, but without much success. Red Son slowly got used to the loud dragon who treated him a bit like a pet and everything wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that he missed his beloved. Mei could often find the prince lost in thought, staring at the horizon, searching for his fiancé or his home.
However, there were not many such moments, as the girl kept her word and made sure that Red Son had enough and that he lacked nothing, having the chance to get to know him a little better.
“Hey, what's that?” Mei asked, noticing something in the distance as she sat with her prisoner on a ledge, playing a card game.
"What?" Red asked without even looking up from the cards, knowing that the dragon had better eyesight.
“Like a knight? But one? Here?" she replied, surprised, with more questions.
“Suicidal or idiot.” muttered the prince as he drew cards.
“Maybe both?” Mei suggested, looking closer. “Weird, has a monkey on the shield?”
"What did you say?" Red Son asked, forgetting about the cards.
“It has a monkey drawn on the shield.” repeated the girl, and the prince stood up himself, trying to find the mentioned dot in the distance, but his human eyes were too weak. "What is it about?"
“Mk has a monkey painted on the shield! He drew it himself.” Red Son replied, scanning the horizon.
“Oh wait a minute then.” said the girl, changing her form and flying towards the knight, only to return a moment later with him in her claws.
“Ouch.” groaned the hero as he was thrown onto the ledge where Red Son stood.
“Mk?” the prince whispered hopefully, kneeling next to the figure.
“Red?” replied the knight, taking off his helmet and throwing himself on his beloved's neck with tears of joy.
“Oh Mk!” the happy prince shouted, also starting to cry at the sight of the person he thought he had lost forever.
“Aww, you guys are adorable! But now I have to tell my parents that I already have two people.” Mei announced with a shrug and began searching for her parents, ignoring the lovestruck and confused couple behind her.