Preparations
“Hey uncle?”
“Yes, mija?”
“Won’t demons attack us if we’re outside alone?”
“They might, which is why we’re not going alone, we’re taking guards with us. But don’t worry they’ll give us enough space, you won’t even notice them once we’re outside the city.”
“Are we…Going through the city?”
“Yes. Is this your first time?”
“I think so yeah…What are we going to tell people?”
“What do you mean?”
“Should I pretend I’m a crippled beggar and that’s why you’re carrying me?”
“What? Why would we do that?”
“To explain why you’re carrying some weird looking man around.”
“Rose…The day a princess in this country is unable to hold her head high when she walks the streets is the day we need to enact some serious change in this country. There is no need to be ashamed, you’re my niece and potentially the next Queen of this country. Just be yourself.”
“I would be a lot less worried if I was myself…”
“Mija…That curse is not who you are and it doesn’t define you. Would you be ashamed to leave your home if someone broke your legs?”
“No.”
“Then don’t be ashamed of this either. It’s not your fault and we can remove it whenever you’re ready. You just need to tell us.”
“I…I hate being cursed but I am also too scared to remove it…”
“I know, so whenever you are ready, just tell us. When the time comes that you can fully trust us with your life we’ll go and remove it, okay?”
“Okay…”
Uncle then pulls out what looks like a small bag on a string and seems to pour mana into it causing it to glow and grow bigger until it is a little larger than me. The outside looks a bit leathery but the inside seems to be matted with soft cloth.
“Now, hop in.”
“In the bag?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t have a pouch to carry you in, so we’ll use this instead. If I carry you in my polymorphed form the whole time it will take days for us to leave the city.”
“I guess that’s true…”
Uncle then helps me into the bag. It feels nice and warm inside. Putting the rope around him, he transforms into his huge yellow dragon form.
While I stay tight to his body, I am able to peek out the front of the bag whenever I want to.
“Are you feeling comfortable, mija?” Uncle asks in a familiar yet still monstrous sounding voice.
“Gao! All good.”
“Perfect.”
Uncle then walks us to what looks like a giant training ground where huge Dragons crush into each other and knights in their polymorphed form spar with both weapons and magic. Currently there seems to be some sort of fight going on between a woman with red hair strung up in a ponytail and a red Dragon a little larger than uncle. The woman seems to be using a Rapier and is so mobile that no matter what the huge Dragon tries to do it can’t catch her with any attacks. She’s like a whirlwind slashing at the Dragon’s tendons and other weak spots without mercy. She then seems to notice us and I quickly hide in the pouch again. Uncle and her exchange some things in Draconic to each other but I don’t understand anything.
“Would you like to meet the Vice-Captain, mija?”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea…”
“Are you worried about your looks?”
“Yes…”
“In that case there is no need to worry anymore. All the royal guards know what you look like both in your cursed and true form as well as your draconic form.”
“Really?”
“Of course, how would they guard you if they didn’t know?”
“And they…Don’t mind?”
A woman’s voice with a bit of an accent answers, “Your Highness, it is the joy and pride of all of us to be able to protect you and the rest of your family. We would never judge the royal family by their appearance, especially not when it is the cause of a devious curse.”
Poking my head out just so much that my eyes are showing I ask, “Are you sure?”
She goes down on one knee with her sword pointing to the ground as she answers with her eyes closed, “Of course your Highness. It is a great honor to serve you.”
“Uhm…Well, I thought you looked really cool right there. You seem very strong.”
Getting a satisfied grin on her face she answers, “Thank you, your Highness. I was taught these techniques by your father, the previous Captain.”
“Oh…Be careful around him, he’s not as good as he seems.”
“He certainly is a frightening teacher.”
“He’s also a genuinely evil person. Watch out.”
“I…Am not sure what you’re referring to, your Highness.”
Uncle says something in Draconic in response and has a short conversation with the knight.
“We shall be your sword and shield, your Highness. Please rest easy, no evil will be able to befall you.”
“Uhm…Okay, thank you.”
The vice captain then yells something to the knights behind her and a group of twenty royal knights appears. Four of them transform into their draconic form and surround us while the other sixteen split into four groups and sit down on the back of the ones in their draconic form.
“Hey uncle?”
“Yes, mija?”
“Isn’t this a little much?”
“Not at all this is already the minimal amount of guards. The only reason I don’t take more is so they don’t scare the birds away.”
“Huh…”
“Now get ready, Rose. We’re going to take flight now.”
“Okay.”
Staying in formation, uncle starts to run with the knights and we take flight. This is the first time that I get to actually see the whole castle. It is absolutely massive. In terms of sheer size the castle is probably comparable to Fring, the capital city of Berk. And that’s just the castle. The city around it reaches so far I can’t see the end of it from where we are right now. It also looks like the castle is actually built on top of a hill. In terms of architecture everything looks quite colorful. Houses are not very uniform here. Almost all of them are built at least slightly different from their neighbor’s with one or more bright colors adorning their walls. It looks like there are some districts with some giant houses but most places have regular sized houses. The only thing that is the same everywhere is the size of the streets. With the exception of some side streets or paths leading through private property they’re all big enough to have huge Dragons walk around in with no problem and have smaller walkways for people in their polymorphed form or non-Dragon races to walk on so they don’t accidentally get stepped on. Air travel also seems pretty organized. It looks like it mostly follows the street layout to avoid crashes in the air and there are also what look like buoys floating in the air and guiding traffic. I wonder how they stay in the air.
It takes us about five minutes of flying until uncle says something to the guards and one of them flies down to secure the area before we land. There seems to be quite the crowd forming around us. They’re all saying a bunch of things in Draconic and sound really excited so I just hide away in the pouch until the noises get quieter and it sounds like we’ve entered a building. Peeking out the bag it looks like we’re in a store specializing in survival equipment. They seem to be selling tents, high quality clothing and tools like fishing rods and fire starters. The store seems to be managed by a Frog-Beastkin.
—------------------------------------------------
“Ah! Your Grace, how do you do?”
“Doin good Antonio, how about you? Everything alright with your parents?”
“Ah…Well, they’re getting on in their days but they’re having a nice retirement.”
“Already retired huh…Time sure flies by. I still remember when your grandparents inherited this shop.”
“Thank you for supporting this shop for so long, your Grace.”
“Ahahaha, well it is hard to find a good shop like this after all. Most of them barely last a few decades and Dragons undervalue the beauty of tools like this. I’m not very fond of clothing either but these are full of pockets. They’re immensely useful.”
“I’m glad you like our goods, your Grace. What can I help you with today?”
“I’ll need some gear for my niece to keep her warm and protected during our trip.”
“Are you talking about her Highness, Crownprincess Scarlet? If so, her measurements probably didn’t change much in the last thirty years, right?”
“It’s not for Scarlet.”
“I see, I wasn’t aware you had any siblings, your Grace.”
“I don’t, these are for Princess Rose.”
“Your Grace…If you want clothes for her Highness Princess Rose you’d be better off in a shop specializing in clothes for infants and children.”
“Usually you’d be correct but the princess has unfortunately been cursed, so her body looks much older than it actually is.”
“THE PRINCESS HAS BEEN-” Putting his hands over his mouth the merchant stops himself, “I understand. I assume this is to be kept secret for now?”
“Correct.”
“Then is the reason for her Highness’ portrait being so unusual because of her curse?”
“Oh, no, that is her true form. Her cursed appearance looks like an adult man.”
“What?”
“I have her right here, I recommend you act as if you were looking at the cute infant she is when you first see her.”
“Of course, your Grace.”
—-------------------------------------------------------------
“Alright, Rose. Mr. Antonio is going to do some measuring to make sure your measurements are still correct. Are you okay with getting out of the pouch?”
“Y-Yeah, I guess…D-does he know?”
“Of course he does, what proud Blazian wouldn’t recognize their pretty princess.”
“Everyone? It’s not like anyone outside the castle knows what I look like, right?”
“What are you talking about, mija? There are portraits of you everywhere.”
“Portraits? But I never posed for any.”
“They were made a few weeks before you woke up. Mr. Antonio even has one hanging right here.”
“Gao?”
“Yes, really. Would you like me to show you?”
“Hmm…Gao.”
Carrying me out of the pouch I feel a little nervous so I put my hand in my mouth and try to avoid looking at the merchant.
“See mija, it’s over there.”
Looking over to the wall, there are portraits of mama, papa, Scarlet and one of me in my draconic form. This is the first time I actually get to see myself like this. I do look a bit weird but I also do look kinda cute!
“Eeyyaaaa~”
“Yes, that’s you, mija. Aren’t you pretty?”
“Gao!”
“That’s right! Now let’s have Mr. Antonio take your measurements, okay?”
“Gao!”
—--------------------------------------------------------
“So? Are the measurements still accurate?”
“No. The length is fine but the width of all measures except the head and shoulders has gotten smaller.”
“I knew she looked frailer than before…”
“Your Grace, in terms of an adult she is severely underweight. I’m not sure how this curse works and I’m not a doctor but I do know that being underweight is quite unhealthy for adults and even more for infants. I don’t recommend you taking her Highness on any trip right now. I’m not even sure if going out into the palace garden would be safe for her right now.”
“I’ll take it into consideration. This trip will most likely not last long though, it’s mostly for her mental health. The princess has been quite sick for a while now.”
“I see…Does your Grace wish for clothing made from scratch or just to alter some ready made clothes?”
“Just alter them for today.”
“Alright. Are you going into the marshlands again?”
“I don’t think we’ll go that far but just in case clothing suited for it would be good.”
“Understood. How about enchantments?”
“Just the standard ones.”
“Of course.”
—----------------------------------------------------------
About thirty minutes after me getting measured Mr. Antonio comes back with a gray outfit full of pockets sewn onto it. It seems like it would be useful for adventuring.
Uncle helps me put it on and tells me, “We’re going to fly for a while, so how about you take a small nap until we’re there?”
“Gao.”
Transforming into my draconic form I curl up and suck on my tail. It feels a little different now than before but I still quickly fall asleep.