Chapter Text
Hot. That’s what the day was. At least as far as Shadow Milk could tell from where he flew above the clouds, occasionally dipping down below them to make sure he could still spot the golden human beneath him. By now, he was nearly confident where he would be headed, the route he would take and the number of guards that would be with him. The cool breeze from where he flew, or, hovered more accurately, these simple humans took ages to travel such short distances in their small carriages, a comforting feeling along his scales. He couldn’t imagine how inconvenient it must be to be unable to take to the skies to travel from one place to another.
Unfortunately for him, however, the particular human the dragon had his eye on appeared to be some kind of royalty. He had no real idea why he was so invested in this human, why he had been so drawn and why that shiny little spot on the ground seemed to call to him so much, but his mind had been made up months ago when he started tailing the human. He wanted the shiny human for himself.
Thus led him to his current situation, watching and waiting to figure out when would be the best time to steal him. It had slowly begun to prove more difficult than he had anticipated, even to the point he’d briefly considered sending one of his minions on some kind of undercover mission to convince him they needed him urgently in some hidden corner of the kingdom, because surely he had to be alone at some point, however had shut the idea down rather quickly.
The only one of the two who could potentially worm her way into any kind of position where she would be able to get close enough to convince him was decidedly too young and impulsive to handle a situation like this, and without his other minion present at their castle she would likely end up slipping away and getting into some other kind of trouble he would have to clean up the second he took his eyes off her.
In the end, he was stuck figuring out how to go about this on his own, stuck following around some prince from a distance and hoping for just a small opening to steal him away and be off without it being known who had stolen the golden prince or potentially how to find him.
Despite the frequent dips into the clouds to cool himself off, no matter what he tried Shadow Milk began to notice how unusually hot he had begun to feel. There was no way it was this hot out, not today and not all the way up where he was flying far above the clouds. It was definitely a cause for some concern. He usually ran rather cold, and very few things would cause his temperature to spike so suddenly, however, he'd have noticed other symptoms if he needed to be concerned with that . Even with how focused he had been while figuring out how he was going to take the golden human he would have noticed something.
Brushing off the thoughts, Shadow Milk told himself it was likely just some kind of fever or illness, and worst case he could stay inside and let it pass for a few days after he confirmed where the prince was going. Dipping down just below the clouds again he could see the group slowly coming to a stop in a small clearing, from this high up it was almost funny.
Below him was a singular carriage, inside sitting a single human, his blonde hair and golden jewelry shining in the sunlight even from this distance. It was mostly just splotches of color and the shine of gold, and surrounded by the golden splotch were several other splotches, all various colors, however none of them were as shiny as the one in the center. To be completely fair to the others, shiny things always stood out more for him. Especially when he was acutely aware the shiny thing catching his eye was the very human he had become so compelled to have for himself.
Carefully, he flew just far enough to be out of sight before lowering himself much closer to the treetops, slowly and skillfully shifting his body back to its more humanoid form once he was within walking distance of the camp. Almost thankfully for his stealth, he was a rather small dragon. No less fearsome and powerful, however his strengths lied much more with his magical abilities than any physical capability. Shiny blue and black scales shifted into pale skin, long hair falling over his shoulders loosely.
Once he was fully transformed a wave of hand had him fully clothed again, truly it was the only downside to his transformations, clothing didn’t exactly become nothingness when he changed forms and when he shifted back into his human form he was back to wearing nothing. Now, however, Shadow Milk was fully adorned in a pair of black waist high button up pants, a white collared shirt with ruffles along both the collar and the sleeves, a shining blue necklace resting comfortably against his throat just beneath the collar, and a dark blue vest.
Sure, it was a bit unnecessary to care so much about his appearance right now, especially since he had no intentions of being spotted, but you never knew and on the off chance he was sighted at least he could play off to be some lost noble looking for a way home.
Looking nice never hurt anyone either , he thought to himself, and his own clothing was something he took pride in anyways. He was always sure to make sure himself and his minions were carefully dressed no matter who they were seen by, the two of them certainly adept at the same skill of changing forms and outfits with relative ease. Neither of them were close to his own skills by any means, but he wouldn’t deny acknowledging that they weren’t particularly bad at the trick at all.
Quietly wandering closer to where the group had stopped for a break in the clearing he was able to get a better look at the prince, long blonde hair carefully braided into some complex style, golden crown resting atop his head, the golden jewelry and accents on the prince’s clothing shimmering in the sunlight from where he sat.
From where Shadow Milk stood, concealed in the shadows of the trees and foliage, he could see more clearly the number of people around him and their appearances, though even in this form he still felt almost unbearably hot. Had he been paying enough attention to anything other than the blonde haired human he would have noticed the beads of sweat already lining his forehead and neck, would have noticed the way his clothing in this form felt too tight, even though it had all been magically tailored to his exact size at the moment.
Had anyone else seen him at that moment he would have looked severely ill. Probably feverish and likely in need of some kind of medical attention. Had he seen himself he would have known better than to be there at that moment. He would have turned on his heel and flown directly back home, locking himself away for the next week.
What he did was exactly what he would have not done, had he realized what was happening.
Before Shadow Milk fully realized what he was doing he had already started shifting back to his dragon form, humans stopping what they were doing to look at the dragon that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere right along the edge of the clearing. While he was an arguably small dragon, compared to normal humans he was still significantly larger, and it certainly worked in his favor that they were all caught up in their shock of the situation to react.
Without even really thinking about it the next thing he knew was that he had the golden prince in his claws arguably gently, the poor frightened human clutching his staff and shouting to be let down. The guards, apparently finally over their initial shock, had started to draw weapons, and in a moment of panic as he began to realize what he had just done Shadow milk gave one large flap of his wings, shooting himself to the air while the nearby humans were knocked to the ground.
Shadow Milk flew, the gravity setting in that all the work he had put into watching the prince over the last few months was now practically pointless. After they had reached the clouds, the human in his grasp stopped flailing and shouting, a death grip on both his staff and Shadow Milk’s claw that was holding him steady. Months of planning and watching down the drain all because he had failed to notice his own body’s obvious signs of his mating cycle and had ignored the ones he did notice. It was far too late to turn back and return the prince, and, truly, it wasn’t his style.
The flight back he slowly became more and more aware of all the symptoms he had been ignoring for how long now? Usually he noticed the first signs about a week before it started and he could plan around it. Not a horrible inconvenience, he was lucky to only have to deal with it for a week every four months. But a definite problem when it led to him kidnapping princes that would have entire armies searching for them.
One small consolation was that it took him far shorter time to fly than it would take for those men to return, inform someone that the prince had been taken, gather an army, find where he lived and get there. In under an hour he could see the tallest spire of the long abandoned castle he and his minions resided in, poking up from the mountain it rested on. Getting there by foot was a nightmare of its own, which made it all the more safe for its residents, who could simply fly in.
Entering through a hole that had been removed ages ago to allow him to enter and leave freely, he finally set the golden haired human down on solid ground, shifting back to his humanoid form and willing his clothes back on immediately without bothering to turn to see the shocked and fearful human behind him.
There was little room for concern about him escaping at the moment. Shadow Milk could already hear footsteps on the stairs, coming up to their entrance and the only other way out was a fall that would certainly kill any human. Limbs aching and with a haze already starting to cloud his thoughts he forced himself to turn and finally properly look at the human he had taken, who was simply standing there, staring in shock and gripping the staff he had apparently clung to the entire flight here. The previously immaculate hair was now a complete mess, golden crown missing, robes windswept and eyes wide.
Before Shadow Milk could open his mouth to attempt to speak two new figures stepped into the room, wide blue and gold eyes of the prince turning to the newcomers.
“Master Shadow Milk!” Candy Apple screeched, her upset at the stranger evident. “Who is this? You never told us you were bringing someone else back here!” She shouted, crossing her arms in some kind of attempt to come off menacing. Which was almost entertaining enough to make him snort, had he not been anywhere near the current state he was in. Between her high pitched voice and short height, even the fangs in her mouth, short horns poking from the top of her head and small tail peeking out that made it clear she was not fully human, the frilled dress truly made anything that could be scary about her look almost comedic.
While Candy Apple had jumped to an outburst, clearly offended and assuming he’d had some secret plans he had failed to share with her, Black Sapphire’s eyes were much more observant. He could see him eyeing the prince, he would have to ask for his name at some point calling him the prince was already becoming tiring, then doing a once over at Shadow Milk’s own condition. Of course, he wouldn’t have expected Candy Apple to have any level of understanding of the situation. She was still far too young to be concerned with these things, however he knew from the concern in Black Sapphire’s face that the other had put the pieces together on what exactly had happened and why the human Shadow Milk had been enamoured with for months was standing in their castle.
“He doesn’t always have to tell you these things, you know.” Black Sapphire scolded, tapping her head with the staff in his hand. “Now shoo, make yourself useful and go get him some dinner from the kitchens.” He ordered her, the girl looking up with pleading eyes to Shadow Milk, who only waved his hand at her. He could see her disappointment at being sent off, but she listened to him, turning back and stomping out of the room dramatically to go do as she had been ordered.
With Candy Apple gone, and the initial shock clearly wearing off, the prince turned back to him, eyes sharpening. “What do you want with me? Why did you bring me here?” He questioned, taking a step closer to Shadow Milk, who was already fighting to act as if he didn’t feel as if he was going to collapse. Summoning his staff to his hand to help his balance, he glared at the other human.
Fully and truly, he intended to respond with some witty retort and potentially even an insult thrown in there. However upon opening his mouth the words just simply didn’t come. Back in his more humanoid form he could already feel the sweat beads forming again. Normally he could tell when certain symptoms would start, when his mind would start to slip in and out of being his own however since he had been ignoring the signs for who knows how long now, and he had no gauge for how far deep he actually was in this.
As if on queue to answer his question for him, Shadow Milk felt his knees crumple beneath him, breathing labored as he sat now on the floor. Where he'd normally just wait for the moment to pass to pick himself up and get back to his own chambers for privacy, he almost immediately felt warm and unfamiliar hands on his forehead, as if checking his temperature. His eyes shut on their own, and he knew it was severely out of character to let a stranger put a hand on him, and even more out of character when he realized he was leaning into the touch . At the very least, it was offering some kind of relief, something he hadn’t experienced in decades, almost always spending these weeks alone and just riding it out himself.
Though the urge to grab onto the human and take him right there was not lost on Shadow Milk. Sitting there, hands feeling his head and checking him for fevers, the instinct to take, to grab what he had long ago started considering his and claim him completely was almost overwhelming. He wanted this human, wanted to drag him off to his room with all his shiny treasures and keep him there, keep him away from anyone or anything else that might try to take him away.
When Black Sapphire was younger, too young to understand what was happening to him he had pushed them away. Ordered them to leave him alone and he would usually rot away in his own rooms until it passed. Then, as he got older, old enough to understand what was happening he had started ignoring the demands to be left alone, and he would sometimes convince Candy Apple to sit still long enough to allow Shadow Milk to preen her scales, giving him at least something to keep his mind somewhat sane and give some kind of mental relief to his situation, even if it wasn’t completely what he knew his body wanted.
It wasn't something he would ever admit to doing out loud. Reserved solely for when his cycles became painful to the point he would stubbornly show some kind of care to the younglings he had taken in years ago, stating he was just selfishly getting himself out of physical pain. Usually after the fact he would threaten to skin her and sell her scales for cash, and none of them spoke about it otherwise.
“Get your hands off him.” He heard Black Sapphire snap, then felt the hand on his forehead being forcefully pulled away.
“Then explain to me what’s going on. Why was I taken? What is going on?” Another voice questioned, fear laced in each word spoken. Likely the prince, given it was clear he was trying to seem like he wasn’t afraid, like he had some control in the situation. As if he hadn’t been taken away in front of dozens of witnesses by a dragon who had likely only ever been mentioned to him before as a legend.
“That is not my place to say. You will know when he decides to tell you, but right now let go .” After that he felt himself being pulled back to his feet by much more familiar hands. Shadow Milk hated himself for appearing so weak in the moment, hated that some stranger was witnessing him in this state all because he had been stupid enough to ignore his body’s warning signs and made the impulse decision to take the shiny prince in front of so many witnesses.
Shadow Milk barely registered when his hands collided with Black Sapphire, pushing the other dragon to the floor away from his treasure. It was his to decide what to do with, to push around if he pleased or to allow to touch him. Not that the human could hurt him, even in this state anyways. He was weak in comparison to the dragon, and now that he could get a closer look smaller than him as well.
Moving back over to the human, the blue dragon grabbed onto his wrist, finally letting himself look at his prize. It was out of character how he had gotten him, and likely one of his stupidest moves he’d made lately, but he got what he wanted in the end. He wanted the shiny prince and now he was here in front of him, mismatching blue and golden eyes staring up at him in fear as a clawed hand gripped him tight enough to bruise.
Despite the fear in the human’s voice, he still continued.
“If I’m going to be stuck here at least let me help. He clearly needs medical attention, why are you so unconcerned? Hes burning up, a fever like that could kill someone.” The talking was making his head hurt worse. Shadow Milk could only laugh. He clearly didn’t know anything about dragons, likely nothing aside from what the fairy tales and stories told, and usually they left out these kinds of details. Of course, the kinds of books that might have explained these things were either destroyed by his own hand years ago, stolen and hidden within this very castle, or likely lost to time.
Dragons were no longer common, and where people understood that they were very much real, Shadow Milk refused to let them forget, frequently flying just low enough to be spotted, burning a village here and there, they didn’t understand them anymore.
“Whatever you think is wrong-” Black Sapphire started, however Shadow Milk himself cut the other off.
“Just let him. If it gets him to shut up.” He finally spoke, his voice hoarse. It was much harder than he would have liked to speak, though usually he had no need to talk in this state. Usually by now he was safely alone in his chambers and could just sleep things out.
Whatever argument he knew the younger dragon likely had was never stated, and, reluctantly, Black Sapphire pulled himself back up, backing off to allow Shadow Milk to begin dragging the golden prince through the halls to his room. It wasn’t until they reached his bedroom that Shadow Milk finally spoke again.
“Name.” He demanded, turning to look at the shiny human.
A pause of confusion, blue and gold eyes watching him as if he had been asked the most ridiculous question ever. “What?” was all the other said, tilting his head to the side.
“Name.” Shadow Milk repeated. He wanted to insult the human’s intelligence, question why asking for a name seemed like such a stupid question to be asking as if the other was completely used to everyone always knowing exactly who he was. But even that question was difficult to get out, he could save his insults for when this passed. The very thing he wanted in the first place was already right there.
“Pure Vanilla.” Finally, an actual response. With a nod, he turned and shuffled into his bedroom, waving his staff away with a flick of his hand as Shadow Milk finally made it to his bed, collapsing right into the covers.
He heard footsteps following him in, listened to the sounds of windows opening to let a cool breeze in which felt nice on his heated skin, then another pair walking right up to him. The warm hands were back on his face, then they were shifting him around in his bed, pulling the covers over him.
The moment also gave him the chance to properly look at Pure Vanilla up close, and arguably the human wasn’t horrible looking. His hair was still a mess and he could tell there was a lot of hesitation and fear in the other’s eyes and movement, but his eyes and features were much softer. Most notably, though, he noticed sharp pointed ears poking out of his hair. The moment was fleeting though, and the fog came back, details no longer seeming to matter to his brain.
“You should at least get changed into something more comfortable, surely being fully clothed like that under the covers, especially sick like this isn’t comfortable…” the Pure Vanilla told him. Normally he'd have loved to be difficult, but he did agree. It wasn’t comfortable in all these layers, and it was just making the rut feel so much worse. With a flick of his hand his clothing shifted so he was now just wearing a loose fitted sleep shirt and shorts. He didn’t say a word though, just laid there, closing his eyes to block out the light.
“You said he needed medical attention and you wanted to help, so go for it. Let’s see what kind of medical attention you think he needs right now. Or if you’re truly that stumped then leave the room, not like you could get far anyways. Getting down the hill alone would take you at least a day and a half.” Black Sapphire snapped from somewhere else in the room. There was the sounds of a pitcher and a cup being placed on the table near his bed, then a huff from Pure Vanilla.
Shadow Milk peeked an eye open to watch the human nod hesitantly, then he felt the warm hand back on his forehead, though this time there was another feeling alongside it, eyes slipping back shut.The hand alone felt nice on his skin, it wasn’t often he had a whole lot of physical touch from anyone other than his minions in this state, the last time having been long before he had even met Black Sapphire and Candy Apple, back when he had still been in contact with some of the other older dragons.
The last time he’d had someone to help him though it had been with Eternal Sugar, they had both been happy to help each other in whatever way was needed back then, however when it became dangerous for any of them to travel and see each other as frequently the visits slowly turned into none, and he hadn’t heard from any of his old friends in decades.
But this was different. He could sense the magic within the touch, and he wanted to laugh. Elven magic. Of course something like that wouldn’t work. Technically, no kind of healing magic would do anything. He wasn’t sick. But he let the other try. At the very least, the touch itself was nice. He let the other try for a minute longer before reaching up to swat the hand away, the point being made.
As if she had been waiting for the perfect moment to make her entrance, Candy Apple burst into the room, holding a tray containing nothing but a slab of unknown meat, sliced into more bite sized pieces. “I’m back!” She shouted as she came in, running up to the bed, tray in hand. Shadow Milk forced himself into a sitting position, letting her excitedly set the tray in his lap. Glancing to the side where Pure Vanilla stood he could see the other elf’s discomfort seeing the tray of raw meat, rolling his eyes as he picked up a pice and tossed it in his mouth.
He wasn’t outright hungry at this point, but he knew ignoring it would just make Candy Apple more upset, and her screeches were the last thing he wanted to listen to at the moment. Mercifully, Black Sapphire came and smacked Candy Apple atop her head with his staff, grabbing her arm to drag her out of the room. “Now leave him be. He needs to get some rest.”
“Oh come on, so I gotta leave but he gets to stay?” She argued, gesturing to Pure Vanilla. Despite her arguments she didn’t fight Black Sapphire as she was dragged off.
“The little prince said he wanted to help and play doctor, you being all in his business won’t do anything to help Master Shadow Milk. Now come on, out.” Black Sapphire repeated, dramatically winking at Pure Vanilla, who could only stare at them in fear.
With a huff, Candy Apple did leave the room, Black Sapphire just behind her closing the door. As soon as they were gone, Shadow Milk dug into the food, ignoring the horrified expression on Pure Vanilla’s face as he stood and watched, unsure of what to do or where to go.
It was a valid reaction to the situation, to be fair to the golden elf. He hadn’t been told where to go, and he clearly at least had the sense to not try to push his luck when surrounded by beasts that could kill him in moments. It didn’t take long though for Shadow Milk to finish the food, the tray disappearing with a wave of his hand before he set his sights back on the shiny prince in front of him.
The room was filled to the brim with other various shiny things, jewelry, goblets, gowns, and gems scattered every surface in the room. Most of them were silvers and blues, making the white and golden prince stick out like a sore thumb amongst it all, though a tempting one.
Climbing out of the bed he had been so carefully tucked into by the foolish elf, Shadow Milk made his way over, towering over the elf despite still being so small for a dragon. A hand grabbed Pure Vanilla’s chin, forcing him to look up at the dragon with those large, fearful eyes. Though that fear only encouraged him more, dropping the hand after several moments to grab at the outer layers of his clothing, a quick tug on the outermost layer tearing it in half as it fell to the floor.
“What-” The elf started, the shock seeming to stop him from reacting much more, staring at the dragon like a fish out of water for several long moments, before starting to struggle as the dragon continued to attempt to unclothe him. “Stop!” He screamed, starting to try to tear himself out of the grasp, though a clawed hand had already grabbed his arm, sharp nails digging into the skin as a warning while the other stripped him down to the bodysuit he wore underneath his robes.
Shadow Milk barely paid any mind to the screams. He was curious about his newest thing, wanted to see it properly without all the layers covering him up, hiding everything. The bodysuit was a pleasant surprise, a simple white piece skin tight with shorts, as well as stockings that went up to his mid thigh, a women’s garter attaching them to the bodysuit.
Where with the robes his figure was hard to determine, the dragon decided he wouldn’t be mad at himself for his decision earlier, seeing how the elf looked stripped down to this. Arguably, the elf was pretty, even by Shadow Milk’s standards. Light freckles atop tan skin that were barely visible on his face led down his shoulders and arms, as well as peeking out on supple thighs where the sliver of skin showed. The dragon didn’t bother hiding the way his eyes scanned the elf’s body, taking his time as he looked him over until he was satisfied.
Letting go of the elf’s wrist he turned and climbed back into bed, leaving the elf standing there as he closed his eyes and fell asleep almost right away, caring little for where Pure Vanilla went within the castle.
◇─◇──◇─◇
The next time Shadow Milk awoke it was completely dark in the room, and upon looking around he found Pure Vanilla still there, sitting in one of the chairs in the room. He would have expected the other to have left the room by now, gone to wander or at least fix his damned hair but no, he was still there, hair still a mess. Through the haze of his mind, his thoughts all simple and brief, he pulled himself from the bed, earning a confused look from the elf.
Without speaking a word, he approached the prince, grabbing him by the arm and forcing him up. At the least, if he was going to have this prince sitting in his rooms, he intended on making sure he at least wasn’t a complete eyesore. Shadow Milk led him to the bed where he pushed the other into a sitting position, climbing in and sitting behind him.
“What are you doing?” Pure Vanilla asked, his voice shaking as he spoke, though Shadow Milk had no intentions of responding. He was certainly beyond talking now, his mind singly focused on the task he had given himself. Without a word, he started undoing the tangled braids in the other’s hair, carefully and meticulously undoing the knots and brushing through the hair. Despite the strength he seemed to have out of nowhere to drag the elf there, his hands were gentle and skilled, both from taking care of his own hair and helping Candy Apple with hers over the years he had known her.
He was certain that the prince was likely just in shock at being forced to let some fearsome dragon do his hair , especially after his stunt earlier stripping the elf down almost entirely bare simply to get a better look at him, he was probably relieved that this was all that was happening. Between that and his mind so hazy the action and the contact with another person did admittedly help calm his mind a bit, even if only for a little while.
They sat like that, silently, while Shadow milk brushed out the knots then carefully redid new braids. It wasn’t until he had finally braided up the last bit of hair that Pure Vanilla spoke again, this time a question.
“What is your name?” the other asked hesitantly, and it wasn’t until he was being asked he realized he had never given the other his own name.
It took a second to find the words again, but it was a fair enough question. “Shadow Milk.” He eventually answered. He could at least give the elf that. He knew he needed to at least sort of play nice if he wanted him to willingly let the dragon fuck him.
It went quiet again for a few minutes after that, though it was a much more awkward silence this time, now that Shadow Milk was no longer actively doing anything to warrant the other sitting on his bed like this.
“My people will be worried. My advisors are going to gather together an army to come find me.” Pure vanilla stated, more like a fact than anything, and in the haze of his mind he glared at the back of the other’s head. To him, Pure Vanilla was just more treasure. He wasn’t the biggest fan of it being threatened to be taken from him, lest in his own home.
“They won’t find you. Not here.” He stated, though it really was much more complex than that. Even if they located it the only cleared way inside was through the hole in the side of one of the taller spires, and that required being able to fly. No human or creature without the ability to fly could get here on their own. It's what had made this castle so safe for so long.
On top of that, he knew he was not the closest of the other dragons he knew still likely lived, and it was very possible that they found one of his old friends long before they found him, and impeding on a dragon’s home without permission was almost certainly a death sentence. They were territorial, and in his own case he had his minions to keep safe. They would likely find him eventually but logically he knew it would be months, and before then he would have plenty of time to work on the prince. There was no use caring for doing that now, and he had time to figure out what to do with the prince himself.
“Why did you take me?” Pure Vanilla asked, his voice still hesitant as if Shadow Milk would snap and continue what he had started earlier at any moment. Though the dragon had no intentions of responding anymore. Instead he laid himself back down, turning away from the elf.
After several long moments he felt the bed dip on the other edge, sleep coming in to claim him quickly.