Chapter Text
When the baby prince first escaped, the castle was in a panic. After all, he was basically considered a national treasure. Lilia looked at the letter that Baul had sent him via carrier bat. How on the thorn fairy’s name did they manage to lose a fire breathing dragon baby with at least 20 guards? Lilia sighed as he angrily crunched the paper in his fist. The bat squeaked as Lilia softly stroked its little head. “Tell him I’ll go look for the young stubborn princeling.”
Malleus, unaware of the absolute chaos he’d started, happily made his way down one of the many hidden passages he’d found in castle Draconia. Eventually he found his way outside after passing through many dark hallways and rooms under his home. He looked around as he felt his tiny paws touch grass. The sun shone on his skin, embracing him to emerge from the shadows of the castle. Malleus happily hopped out, trotting down an unknown path into the woods that surrounded his castle. The animals steered clear of him, but he enjoyed hearing them off in the distance. The rustling of leaves, the shrill whistle of air blowing past, the chirping of birds. All new sensations and sounds for the young prince. Soon he stopped by a lake, watching the animals interact with it. Ducks swam around with their babies as a few deer drank from it. He stuck his little snout in and began to mimic the deer, drinking some of the water with them. They stared at him for a moment but went back to ignoring him. Except for one curious little fawn who came up and sniffed at his tail. The baby dragon watched, turning his head as the fawn watched his tail wag. He smiled as he got even more excited, causing his tail to move faster and faster. The fawn stepped back, still watching as the tiny dragon prince looked up at him. The two young creatures silently examined each other, noses twitching as they sniffed each other, moving closer until their snoots touched in an adorable display.
Malleus smiled as the fawn laid down next to him, little legs folding in on itself as it sat with him. Malleus reached a tiny paw out, gently touching the deers soft fur. It let him as Malleus sat with it. The two enjoy the silence and watch the ducks swim further out in the water. Soon the fawn got up and walked off. Malleus noticed it was following a bigger deer, probably its mama. Malleus wondered where his mama was. No one ever spoke about her. At least he had a papa. Maybe he could try to find papa Lilia. He was outside the castle now. How hard could it be? With his mind decided, he walked off in a random direction.
The little prince wandered for a while until he heard the sound of giggling. A child? He didn’t see many children with his isolated existence. So the giggle of a child was a new and exciting sound. Quietly, he made his way into a bush and poked his little head out to see what was going on. There he saw a child, they were using a series of toy cups and plates to have a small tea party out in the woods with their stuffed animals. Malleus could smell the cold tea and small tea cakes that lined the plates. The smell was heavenly and made his little stomach gurgle with greed. Quietly, he made his way over as the child poured some tea. The child turned to him, startled by the noise but also curious. They held their hand out, allowing him to sniff them. The baby dragon sniffed their hand, tail wagging as they nudged their head against the child's palm. They giggled again, making Malleus smile.
“Are you hungry?”
He nodded and moved back as the child began to grab a plate. They offered it to him, along with the small cake on top of it. The cake glistened with a little bit of frosting and honey on top as the child began to pour a tiny teacup full of cold tea.
“Here you go.”
Malleus smiled and happily ate the cake and drank up the tea with the child.
“Are you a dragon?”
He nodded, flaring his wings out. The child smiled.
“Do you wanna play with me?”
Again he nodded, tail beginning to wag as the child offered him another cake. The stuffed animals didn’t seem to mind sharing their food with the young dragon. As Malleus ate, he noticed the shape of the childs ears. They weren’t pointy like the fae of his court. He pointed to them as the child noticed.
“Oh, I’m not a fairy. I’m a human.”
Human. Why did that word sound familiar? He couldn’t recall. The child noticed the look in his eyes and gently petted his little head.
“I won’t hurt you. I promise. Oh, I never introduced myself.”
The child held out their hand. Malleus looked confused but watched as the child placed one of his paws into their hand, gently shaking his hand.
“I’m Yuu.”