The Dragon Prince Arranged Marriage AU

A Year Later

"General Zakaria, I understand your concerns, but they are not necessary."

"On the contrary my King, I believe they are quite necessary. I understand the idea behind the marriage, but the elf is not of royal standing in Xadia. Why must we give them Prince Callum if they don't offer a woman of equal status?" Harrow sighed deeply. He knew his son's marriage would lead to some negative reactions, but he wasn't prepared for General Zakaria.

"Be that as it may, Rayla is as lose to royalty as it gets. Her parents are the Royal Dragon Family's favorite guards."

"Have you considered Callum? How does he feel about this? Surely he doesn't agree with spending his life with a vile creature."

"On the contrary, Rayla is a lovely girl and Callum truly cares for her. This is the beast outcome we could've asked for and it is no longer up to me to decide."

"If you don't control it, then who does?"

"Why, Rayla and Callum of course. It's their wedding after all."

"Come on Ez, keep up." Out in the courtyard, the Crown guard along with Callum and Ezran were training.

"I'm trying." Ezran recently had a growth spurt and Callum was enjoying easily tripping his currently unbalanced little brother. "Stop moving so much."

"It's how I fight. Now come one, show me something." Callum slowed upon seeing Ezran's cocky smile.

"Fine." He said standing straight. "Allow me to show you some magic."

"Huh?"

"Down." Callum watched in confusion as Ezran motioned to the ground with a finger. His confusion only lasted for a second before he was quickly toppled over by another person.

"Ya need a haircut." Callum knew that voice all to well, and oh how he missed it. Practically jumping to his feet, Callum had no hope of hiding his smile once his eyes locked with hers. "Ya just gonna stare, or do I get my kiss?" Callum happily obliged, keeping it short but heartfelt. One they broke apart, Rayla whispered, "I'll be gettin the better ones later."

"Get a room." Ezran groaned.

"Holy shit." Rayla exhaled. "Why are you as tall as me. No, no, no, not allowed." Rayla took another look at the younger prince. "This isn't fair." She groaned.

"We've been gone for 6 months Rayla, what did you expect?" Ethari called as he and a few more familiar faces walked in. "And watch your language."

"Welcome back everyone!" Callum beamed. "Anything fun happen on the way here?"

"Yes," Tiadrin started, a devious smile on her face. "Rayla spent 3 days deciding on how to cut your hair."

"It was not three days." Ralya interjection.

"Rayla's right Tia." Runaan called. "You miscounted; it was 4." The group let out a laugh as Rayla just huffed in response.

"4 days huh? Well I hope you decided." Callum snaked his arm around the pouting Rayla's hip.

"For the record, I decided the first day." She defended.

"And then spent 3 days practically drooling over the idea." Runaan added. "It was very annoying."

"Hey, where's Lain?" Callum questioned.

"He took the Earthblood elves to their inn. He'll be here later." Runaan told.

"Well, we'll have plenty of time to talk later. We should go talk to Harrow. Come on Rayla." Tiadrin spoke as she walked inside the castle.

"I'll see you later." Callum gave Rayla a quick kiss before she walked off.

"Can we get back to training now?" Ezran groaned.

"Oh, shut it, you're the same way with Aanya."

"I'm glad to see you've all made it here safely, but I don't see Lain with you." Harrow spoke.

"He's here. Just making sure the healers are settled in." Runaan told.

"I have to say, it's quite impressive just how many elves are in Katolis." Tiadrin pointed out.

"And I'll guarantee most are residents too. It's been over a year since you fist came here and I have to admit, I never thought I'd see this. Elves and humans living in, almost, harmony."

"Almost?" Ethari questioned.

"Unfortunately, not all share our acceptance. There are still those who are against their new neighbors. Though most don't show their aversion to it, there are people who actively speak out. I have a few of them on my court. I'd get rid of them, but it wouldn't be very peaceful to just throw people out of their jobs due to their opinions." Harrow sighed deeply.

"Like you said though, never thought we'd see the day. I think we can all handle some slurs." Runaan offered.

"Has Callum received any backlash from our engagement?" Rayla questioned. Harrow's expression dropped slightly more.

"Yes, unfortunately. There are many lords who believe it to be an outrage that he would choose an elf instead of their daughters." Rayla visibly stiffened. "There's more. The lords have asked for me to hold an event where they can try to temp Callum into choosing their daughters over you. In an attempt to avoid any further problems, my advisors agreed to host the party. I brought it up with Callum and he agrees."

"He agreed to be the center of attention?" Ethari questioned. "That doesn't sound right."

"He was as thrilled as you would expect, but he agreed." Harrow added.

"When's the party?"

"Tomorrow night." Harrow answered. "And it does go without saying that you're all invited."

"Well, we'll have to get dresses then." Tiadrin playfully nudged her daughter.

"There's one other thing you'll need to know." Harrow's mood instantly changed, alerting everyone to the seriousness of his next words. "The party has an ulterior purpose. We're using it to trap some of the people who were there when Callum was...." The King trailed off.

"You found the culprits?" Runaan questioned.

"Not exactly. A few days after you departed 6 months ago, Callum came to me with a horrified look. Apparently he was walking past the mess hall when he overheard some laughter. A laugh he remembered from his time. He barely walked into the throne room before breaking down. One of my generals was there. He bid on the removal of Callum's spine. I believe he was the winner of that bid."

"And he'll be at the party." Ethari commented.

"All my generals will. It'll be the public announcement of the engagement, after everything happens of course. All the lords, all my generals, rulers from every kingdom, high ranking elves. It's going to be quite the celebration."

"You sure you have enough room?" Tiadrin asked.

"The Grand Ballroom isn't in the castle. You passed it on the way in."

"That large dome?" Runaan questioned confused.

"Correct. It was made for these kinds of events."

"And Callum is prepared for this?" Rayla asked, a look of honest concern overtaking her features. Harrow smiled reassuringly.

"Not that you're here he is. He only agreed to the party if you were going to be there."

"It's open." Callum called to the knock at his door. After the long training session, he took a long bath and then slumped onto his bed. He heard the door creak open and closed but no footsteps. Smiling at the clear sign of who entered, Callum didn't even flinch as he felt a body sit on top of him. His smiled widened as he felt 2 four-fingered hands trace over his body.

"It's only been six months and you look like a god." Oh. how he loved her accent. He brought his hands to rest on her hips.

"I do have a goddess of my own to impress, and it seems I did good." The soft giggle made his heart swell.

"Almost there. Your hair needs some help though."He felt her slender hand weave through his mop of hair. "Come, I know exactlyhow to help."