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🎶 Now she's here
Shining in the starlight
Now she's here
Suddenly I know
If she's here
It's crystal clear
I'm where I'm meant to go
And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
At all once, everything looks different...
Now that I see you 🎶
- "I See The Light" from Tangled
Despite popular beliefs, dragons, and therefore dragon fae, were not cold-blooded. Their blood ran as hot as any mammal, mostly powdered by their internal fire generation.
And yet... Malleus Draconia had only known cold his entire life.
The loss of his parents before his hatching deprived him of the warmth of their love and magic and it was only through Lilia's intense efforts that he'd even managed to emerge from his egg. And yet...that love was also cold. It wasn't the warmth that Lilia would later give to Silver, but the cold love of a broken heart motivated by duty and a promise.
Malleus would grow into adolescence only knowing cold love.
It was the cold love of reverence, of distance, of having the hopes and dreams and future of a kingdom placed on him before he'd even assumed human form for the first time. The cold love of a Queen mourning the loss of her only child and unable to give her grandson what he needed because she could barely bring herself to look at him. All Malleus knew was cold and distance and whispers of worship.
And Malleus hated it.
As he grew up, his heart turned bitter and resentful, plagued by the heartbreak of abandonment and gripped by the fear of losing the few precious things he had. He'd eagerly accepted an invitation to attend Night Raven College, hoping to find a connection, for his heart to know something he had long been deprived of.
Things didn't go so well. The whole of Diasomnia worshipped him as though he were some kind of god and his fae nature and incredible power left him alienated from other students. This continued for two years and as those days passed, Malleus resigned himself to a life where his heart was permanently frozen, deprived of the light and warmth of friendship and love, only given the cold love of worship.
And then, one evening, in his third year, everything changed.
There had been rumors of an unexpected guest arriving during the entrance ceremony. Malleus didn't pay too much attention, as he'd somehow not been invited to the ceremony (as usual) and missed the whole thing. And he was sure if ever met this guest, that they'd fear him, too.
One night, Malleus was taking a walk out near the old dilapidated dorm that nobody used, when he noticed something lurking in the remains of the garden outside.
Malleus moved quietly, infinitely curious as to what could possibly be hanging around out here. He didn't want to frighten whatever it was, that was for sure.
As he came closer, he realized that the being lurking was a human and more importantly: a girl .
He stopped a few feet away from her, not intending to speak to her first, but he accidentally stepped on a dead twig, and that got the girl's attention.
She made a noise of surprise, turned to face him and the sight of her left the prince breathless, spellbound, and silent.
She was about the same height as Silver, with long black hair and bangs that framed her pretty face. Her skin reminded him of starlight, pale and luminous, despite most of it being obscured by the slightly too big uniform she was wearing. But what really knocked Malleus for a loop was her eyes.
The girl had beautiful eyes that reminded him of the pink roses in the gardens around his castle and those eyes stared at him with something he wasn't familiar with.
Curiosity.
"Oh!" Her mouth opened and then closed as she gazed at him. She tilted her head to the side and he watched as those beautiful pink eyes drank him in.
"I'm sorry, did I scare you?" He asked. "This dorm is usually abandoned. I didn't expect to find anyone else out here."
"You just startled me, that's all. I thought you were Grim, back from one of his nightly capers. And you're right, this dorm was abandoned...but I live here, now."
It was only then that Malleus realized that this was the unexpected guest he'd been hearing so much about. Well, no wonder the whole school had been talking...
"Oh, I see..." He says, his eyes following her movement as she took a step closer to him. "You are a child of man." It sounds awkward, even by his standards, but his embarrassment is tempered by the bright sound of her giggling.
"Well, yes, I suppose I am a child of man," she replies. "And who might you be?" A pause, and then she murmurs to herself, but Malleus' sharp hearing catches what she says.
"... and why do I feel like I've seen you before?"
"You don't know who I am?"
She shook her head. "Should I?"
"And you're not afraid of me?"
"Should I be?" There was a confused look on her face. "...I mean, you don't seem scary. I know I shouldn't be talking to strange boys who are lurking outside my dorm at night, but...you seem... familiar . Somehow...somehow I know that you aren't going to hurt me."
There was a long moment of silence as Malleus absorbed this new information. A million thoughts and feelings were swirling about inside him. He was in the presence of a very beautiful human girl with rose eyes and skin of stars, who had no idea who he was and neither feared nor worshipped him and was looking at him with an expression of curiosity and wonder and he wasn't sure what to do with himself.
There was also that nagging thought in the hack of his head that demanded to know what she meant by "familiar"...
"My name is Sakomi."
Now it was Malleus' turn to be startled. "What?"
"My name. It's Sakomi. Sakomi Suzuki. You can't just go around calling me things like a Child of Man. I have a name and it's Sakomi."
Sakomi . It was a beautiful name and listening to her say it in her soft voice was like listening to a fine piece of music. "What a lovely name that is," he replies, taking her left hand in his and raising to his lips. He presses a soft kiss to her hand and he marvels for a moment at how warm it is. "You should be a little more cautious. It's dangerous to give your name so freely to a fae such as myself."
Her eyes widened at the mention of the word "fae".
"Don't worry, I will not use this knowledge for anything nefarious," he promises as he (very reluctantly) releases her hand.
"Who...no... what are you?" Sakomi asks, almost in shock.
"You are better off not knowing who I am for right now," Malleus replied, although the words were killing him inside. "But when I see you again, then and only then, will I tell you who I am."
"You mean if I see you again."
"No," he corrects her gently. " When . I will see you again. Soon. Now, go back inside so you don't run into any more strange boys lurking about."
Sakomi blinked for a moment before making her way to the door of the dorm. She opened it and then turned to look back at Malleus with eyes full of wonder.
The ice around Malleus'heart began to crack. He wanted to stare into those beautiful eyes forever.
"Goodnight, Sakomi," he murmurs with a bow of his head before he vanishes, leaving only fading green lights behind.
The last thing he hears is her soft reply.
"Goodnight, whomever you are."
🥀🥀 Two weeks later ... 🥀🥀
Sakomi was waiting for Malleus when he materialized in front of her dorm. Her eyes lit up when she saw him and Malleus could feel more of the ice inside him start to thaw. He barely knew Sakomi and yet...
"You're back," she says, smiling at him as she came down the steps of the dorm to where he had appeared in the garden.
"Did you have any doubt that I would return?"
"A little. I would stay in the lounge, every night. And then the other night, I remembered that you said that you were a fae and maybe you had a different definition of soon.... but I decided to keep waiting. To see if you really did mean it."
He smiled at her. "I am a fae of my word. I will never lie to you or lead you astray."
"So....who are you exactly? You said you would tell me when you saw me again."
Malleus bowed and then took her right hand in his and pressed a soft kiss upon it. "I am Malleus Draconia. It is very lovely to meet you, Sakomi."
Her eyes widened as she felt the touch of his lips against her skin again and she blushed, turning away for just a moment. When she looks back at him again, she has a curious expression on her face.
" Malleus ," she repeats. "It sounds... magical ."
The reverence in her tone was so different than what he was used to. "Nobody's ever said that about my name before. I was expecting something else.. like... terrifying."
Sakomi tilted her head to one side at this. "Terrifying? Why would I think you're terrifying?"
"... because everyone else does. They think me scary, powerful, untouchable...like I am...something I'm not." Malleus felt a strange sensation in his gut as he confessed this.
"Well, I'm not like everyone else. Almost everyone here feels scary to me. I'm just someone with no magic stuck in a place full of it. Except you. For some reason, I look at you and I'm not afraid."
"You're not?"
"I'm still letting you hold my hand, aren't I?"
It was then that Malleus realized that he hadn't let go of Sakomi's hand. He cast his bright chartreuse eyes down at it for a long moment before adjusting his grip so he could take one of his gloves off.
Once the glove was off, he held Sakomi's hand in his own, marveling at the differences in their skin. Her hand was small and pale with pretty violet nails and his was larger, almost white, and sported shirt black nails. But the most amazing thing about her hand was its warmth. Her hand felt warm and comforting, like how he felt late at night when he would sing himself to sleep.
She shifts her hand and their fingers lace. He lifted his head and their eyes met and there was a long silence. Malleus swears he feels something in the air shift around them and then, just for a moment, he feels the unmistakable presence of ancient magic and an undercurrent of something he couldn't quite place.
This girl..she is truly something special. Is... could she...is this what I've been wishing for?
🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
After that night, they were almost inseparable. Malleus came to see Sakomi as often as he could, often sneaking away whenever he wasn't busy.
Sakomi was so different from everyone else in Malleus' life. She was caring, charming, bright, and radiated with a warmth he'd never felt before. He wanted to spend as much time as possible in her presence, to feel that warmth, to experience her trusting and understanding heart.
It was fast, Malleus knew. And he also knew that Lilia wouldn't approve, so he tried to keep Sakomi a secret.
However, Lilia had a way of finding things out and he confronted Malleus one night as the prince was leaving Sakomi's dorm.
"So, this is where you've been sneaking off to!" Lilia had been hanging in a tree when Malleus emerged from the dorm. "Explain yourself!" A pause. "And do not lie to me. I want the truth."
"I...I was just..." Malleus sighed. Lilia was going to learn the truth one way or another, so he might as well just get it over it. "I met her. The girl everyone's been talking about. The one who just dropped in with a dire beast and was allowed to stay. Her name is Sakomi and...she's..."
The way Malleus said her name was enough for Lilia to immediately get the picture. "...that's impossible! She's human and you barely know her."
"Why do you think I'm spending so much time with her? Lilia, she's...I can't explain it, but she's different . She doesn't worship me, she doesn't run from me, instead, she looks at me like I'm...her equal. It's unlike anything else I've ever experienced. And is it that why you insisted on us coming here? So I can experience things other than royal duties?"
Lilia would never tell Malleus the truth of the situation, but the actual reason why he had wanted Malleus out of Briar Valley was because of the circumstances of his birth and how angry he was that Malleus had been essentially denied a life. Now, here he was, listening to his ward excitedly talk about someone he'd just met and Lilia wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it. But there was no mistaking the way Malleus talked about her. Lilia had never seen his prince like this before. It was honestly rather exciting.
"Well, we should meet her, then!" Lilia would never let the prince he cared for know how he truly felt. "Bring her to Diasomnia for tea, introduce her to us."
Malleus' eyebrows went to his hairline in utter surprise. "Really, Lilia? You want to meet her?"
"Of course I do! If she's turned your head, then she must be very special. And sometimes special things shouldn't be kept secret."
🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
Malleus had been so nervous, waiting for Sakomi to arrive at Diasomnia. She'd told him that she'd never been invited to another dorm before and he assured her that she'd be safe in his.
He'd fussed over every little thing, wanting everything to be perfect, to give Sakomi the best impression. He'd ensured that his dorm uniform was freshly pressed, wore his best cologne, and had the best tea blend he could find imported...not a single detail went unnoticed.
Some might say he was doing too much, but Malleus did not care. Lilia actually found it endearing. This is what he had wanted when he insisted on bringing Malleus out into the wider world. He wanted Malleus to experience new things. And what better new thing to experience than the first brush with love?
Sakomi soon arrived, dressed in a pretty outfit, her hair tied back with a ribbon, and carrying the dire beast called Grim in her arms. She was wide-eyed as she entered Diasomnia, awestruck by the gothic decor and intense atmosphere. And then, when she saw Malleus, the awe gave way to genuine affection and she gave him her warmest, brightest smile.
Malleus wondered if the floaty feeling in his chest was what it was like to fall in love.
"I hope you don't mind that I brought Grim," Sakomi says with pink-tinged cheeks. "He insisted he come with me once he heard there'd be food."
"Not at all," Malleus replied. "It's so rare that we have guests, so he's just as welcome."
Grim, despite his reputation as being rather obnoxious, was on his best behavior, preferring to stuff himself rather than talk.
Malleus wasted no time getting to the introductions. "This is my guardian, Lilia Vanrouge," he says to Sakomi, gesturing to Lilia. "He and I have known each other for a very long time."
Lilia kissed both Sakomi's cheeks in greeting. "It's so nice to finally meet you," he says. "Let me get a look at you....oh, no wonder you've turned Malleus' head, what with how pretty you are..."
Sakomi's cheeks got even pinker and Malleus smiled warmly as he gestured to his two guards. "And these two...I'm sure you've met Sebek Zigvolt...."
Judging by the expression on Sakomi's face, her eardrums certainly had. "Once or twice. Is he one of your attendants?"
"I am Lord Malleus' knight, I'll have you know! I serve him with pleasure!" Sebek's stentorian voice tumbled like a thunderstorm. "You should be honored to be his guest!"
Sakomi simply smiled at Sebek, which seemed to be enough to disarm him entirely.
Malleus then gestured to the other young man by his side, one with silver hair and light violet eyes. "And this is my other knight, Silver."
"Silver what?" Sakomi asked, blinking several times.
"Nothing," Silver had a soft voice that hid his rather impressive strength. "I'm just Silver."
"Well, then, hello 'Just Silver.' It's very nice to meet you."
Silver's smile was gentle and Malleus was struck by how fondly his dreamy knight was gazing at Sakomi. Seemed like he wasn't the only one whose head had been turned by the charming girl.
Lilia then guided everyone to a table and chairs where tea and snacks had been laid out. "Now that you've met everyone, come, sit! Tell us all about you."
Sakomi's cheeks flushed. "Oh, there isn't much to tell about me, I'm not very interesting..."
"Don't be silly," Lilia waved off the statement as he poured the tea. "If you turned our prince's head, dearie, then that means you are very special."
Sakomi's pink eyes got very big. " PRINCE ?!"
Sebek almost choked on a cracker. "You didn't know? Human, you are the guest of His Royal Highness, Prince Malleus Draconia of Briar Valley!"
"Sebek, don't you ever refer to her like that again," Lilia warned in a dark tone. He then turned his sharp gaze over to Malleus. They shared a silent look before Lilia spoke to Sakomi. "Yes, Malleus is the crown prince of our country. He's here at Night Raven College so he can get the sort of education that royal tutors can't provide. Does this bother you?"
Sakomi looked at Malleus for a long moment before she answered, her words sending his heart soaring.
"Not at all. Not one bit."
Lilia smiled approvingly. "Then do not fear, dearie. As long as you're with us, no harm will ever come to you."
A look of relief crossed Sakomi's pretty face for just half a second before she busied herself with her tea. Malleus noticed it but held his tongue.
He did not, however, hold his tongue once he spotted a glimpse of a thin scar on her arm, half hidden by her uniform.
"What is that?"
There was a pause before Sakomi answered. "What is what?"
"That scar, along your arm..."
She froze, going pale as she followed his gaze. She then tried to cover it up. "Oh, this, it's...it's nothing..."
"She's got lots of those!" Grim had finally joined the conversation. "I've seen them."
This alarmed Malleus and Lilia, but Sakomi was quick to recover before they could inquire further. "I was very clumsy as a child, always getting into accidents, you see. So, I have quite a few scars."
There was something about her tone that made Malleus think she wasn't telling him the truth, but another glance from Lilia kept him silent. Lilia, being older, had ways of uncovering the truth and Malleus had a sneaking suspicion that he was already formulating a plan. It simply wouldn't do to further scare an already skittish girl.
Malleus decided to change the subject. "Would you like a tour of Diasomnia? I'm sure you haven't really had a chance to explore much of the school or the other dorms. I'd be happy to show you around."
Just like that, the light was back in Sakomi's eyes. "Oh, I'd love a tour! I don't really explore the campus too much. Only so many places I can go and feel safe, so I mostly spend lots of time in the library, reading all I can. I mean, I'm not from here, so there's so much to learn."
"Soaking up the information like a sponge, eh? You could teach Sebek or Silver a thing or two about being more diligent in their studies..." Lilia's tone was teasing. "Beautiful, charming, and bright...quite the catch, hmm?"
Malleus ignored the comment as he got up from the table and took Sakomi's small hand. "Come, let me show you the elegant beauty of Diasomnia."
🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
As Malleus guided Sakomi through the winding corridors of his dormitory, he explained to her all about the Thorn Fairy and her spirit of nobility and how he tried hard to live up to her example.
"I want to be a dorm leader worthy of Diasomnia," he said as he led her to a balcony that overlooked the briar and rose gardens that surrounded the dormitory. Even in the gloom, the striking red of the roses could be seen. It was a sight that would even put Heartslabyul's roses to shame. "Being a leader, that's always been expected of me, but here..it's not just a crown and royal duties I have to live up to, it's the example of the great Fairy herself. The other dorm leaders may think that I shirk my duties, but..."
"You seem well-liked and respected by the other students," Sakomi pointed out. "So I'm sure you're doing your job well."
Something about her vote of confidence made him well with a touch of pride. "You think so?"
She nods, a small smile on her face and Malleus struggles to remember the last time anyone had smiled at him like that.
They stand in silence for a while, gazing out over the gardens. It's a comfortable silence.
And then, she speaks.
"I...I wish I had magic, too. I...I want to know what it's like, to have power, to cast spells...to do all the the things that everyone else here can do. " Her tone sounds like it is just steps away from utter despair. "...imagine if at last, I could defend myself..."
The last words were barely audible, but Malleus heard them. He didn't respond, his mind working to try to understand what had promoted such a statement, but when he remembered the scar he'd seen and how quick she'd been to change the subject, a horrible realization began to dawn on him: Someone had hurt Sakomi.
He almost responds to this but chooses to hold his tongue. This sort of thing was best discussed with Lilia, who'd be able to advise Malleus.
Just as he opens his mouth to speak, he senses something... something ancient, powerful, and... familiar .
He turns to look at Sakomi and she looks back at him, with those beautiful pink eyes. There's a sadness there that makes him ache, and he reaches out to touch her face.
As he extends his hand, she flinches.
The flinch only lasted a second, but it was long enough to make him stop, his suspicions confirmed.
But then, she takes his gloved hand in hers and presses it to her face, closing her eyes with a sigh
Even through his gloves, he can feel her warmth and even just a touch has him craving more.
And then he senses it again, that powerful, ancient thing and he wonders, just for a moment, if it's coming from Sakomi.
As if in answer, the black briar in the gardens begins to curl around the balcony. Malleus knows immediately that it is not his doing.
Sakomi opens her eyes just for a second and the steady pink glow in them steals Malleus' breath away.
And then, he has his second realization:
Sakomi is not powerless.
🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
It is Silver who manages to get Sakomi to open up about her old life and the details horrify Malleus and Lilia.
It enraged Malleus, to know that someone had been so violent and cruel to someone as gentle and kind as Sakomi. His first instinct was to find this Ken person, to make them pay. But then, his second instinct was to comfort her, to make her feel safe and protected, to let her know that no one would ever raise a hand against her again.
Lilia encouraged him to take the second option. "She needs to know, to feel, that you are someone with whom she will be safe. Your mission now is to make her feel safe. Don't scare her further or you might lose her."
At dusk, Malleus went to the rubdown dorm to see her and when she opened the door and stared at him with those beautiful eyes, Malleus felt something in him come undone completely.
Whatever comforting words he had been planning to say flew out of his head.
"Malleus!" Sakomi sounded surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to see you, Sakomi."
Those rose-colored eyes of hers went wide with surprise and then filled with a warm affection that made his heart nearly stop. "You...just..." Her cheeks were pink. "That's funny...I wanted to see you too, and now, here you are. At my door. Like some kind of fairy tale."
A fairy tale...
This made him smile.
If it was a fairy tale she wanted, then that was what he was going to give her. He wanted to give her the world, everything she could ever want.
"Do you want to see something magical?"
She nodded and he held out his hand for her to take.
"Then come with me."
She reached out her hand to take his but hesitated at the last moment.
"Don't worry about Grim, I'm sure he'll be fine without you for a little while."
She looked back up at him, the look in her eyes reflecting a cautious hope and a very fragile sense of trust.
"It's alright," he murmurs. "You can trust me."
That seemed to put her at ease and she gently placed her hand in his. He responded by pulling her close.
"Let us be off, then."
And then, in a flash of green fireflies, they were gone.
🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉
Malleus settled on taking Sakomi to the Observatory, the highest point in the school. The school grounds and the rest of Sage's Island spread out below them like a blanket.
The sight dazzled Sakomi. "I've never been up this high...nor have I seen the rest of the island. It's beautiful."
There was something in her tone that told Malleus that she never really explored the new world around her. "Do you...have you never really gone out?"
She shook her head. "I get...I get scared. I'm sure lots of the other students here are very nice, but the way some of them stare at me and Grim when we're out and about makes me uncomfortable...so I spend a lot of time in the library or alone..or with you. Not safe for a girl to be all alone, you know."
A flare of irrigation sparked within Malleus at the idea of other boys leering at Sakomi. She wasn't some piece of meat to be consumed! But then, he noticed that they had something else in common. "I spend a lot of time alone as well. Sebek can be rather...overbearing, so sometimes I will, how do you humans say it, ditch him? Yes, that's it, ditch him and go off alone. I like to admire the gargoyles, especially from high places like this."
"That sounds rather nice, actually," She says.
"Would you like me to show them to you sometime? The gargoyles, I mean."
"I'd like that." And then she smiles and he feels his blood run even hotter than usual.
A warm silence falls between them.
As Sakomi looks out over the horizon, Malleus is looking at her. She is illuminated by moonlight, her skin almost seeming to glow from within, her dark hair giving off a sheen like water underneath the silver light and those rose pink eyes bright. Here and now, she is the most beautiful feature he's ever seen.
Suddenly, those pink eyes look at him again and she smiles at him and that smile undoes him completely. He's tempted to use his magic to freeze this moment, a moment he wants to preserve forever.
And then, she comes closer and rests her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. Their fingers laced together, the intimate gesture her way of showing that she trusts him.
They say nothing.
There is nothing left to say.
And that is how Malleus knew that at last, his wish had come true.