Wally was the prince of Carulia, a kingdom known for its strict king. His father, King Rudolph, was not patient for anyone. Wally himself had often felt the King's wrath. He wished his father was kinder.
Wally had a servant, Dick. Dick often felt King Rudolph's fury, ended up with bruises or a limp. Dick sometimes collapsed because of the strain from tasks he was sometimes forced to do for the King. Wally did whatever he had to do to get the servant back on his feet.
Dick was much more than a servant to Wally. When they were children, Dick was assigned to serve Wally. The boy always had a smile on his face, and was one of the few allowed to call Wally by his name. But with Rudolph around, he could only say it in private.
Dick didn't know where he was from. Apparently, the Knights had found him as a child in the woods, and had brought him home. Dick had been a servant for much of his life, and didn't mind the work. He liked working. It was the King he hated.
Dick had been washing the horses when King Rudolph came to the stables. Dick kept his eyes down, washing Wally's horse. The King had been in a bad mood recently, and Dick was trying to avoid a beating.
"You there. How long have you been working?" Rudolph asked, noticing most of the horses cleaned. "About an hour, sire." Dick answered, bowing to Rudolph. "Do you have any other chores?" "The cook requested my help in the kitchen for the evening meal, sire." Dick held his hands behind his back, trying to hide how badly they trembled.
"Hgn. Very well. Continue with the horses, then report to the kitchen." "Yes sire." Dick was relieved. Perhaps he could escape a beating. Rudolph turned to leave, but Dick didn't dare turn until he was gone. It was a rule Rudolph had, to stay standing at attention until he was out of sight.
Dick turned back around once he could no longer see Rudolph, sighing as he started scrubbing the horse again. Rudolph always scared him. He wanted to scamper away and hide from the man, but he knew he couldn't. That would get him beat, fired, or killed.
Arms wrapped around Dick's waist, making him jump. "Surprise!" Wally whispered in his ear. "Sire! You scared me." Dick gulped. Wally smiled, until he saw Dick's eyes. "Father came by, didn't he?" Dick nodded. Wally knew about his fear.
"Come to my chambers later tonight. I have something to tell you." Wally whispered, pressing a kiss to Dick's cheek. It was a widely kept secret that they were dating. No one wanted to tell the King the two were dating, as that would surely end with the younger being killed.
Dick never got the chance to go to Wally's chambers. He had been helping with the evening meal when a horn blew. Everyone in the kingdom knew what it meant. The dragon had returned.
A rouge dragon had been attacking the kingdom for years, coming to get one person. No one knew why, it just did. No one had ever returned from being captured.
Wally pulled Dick under the table with him, covering his mouth to muffle the surprised yelp. Wally wrapped himself around Dick, hearing a distant roar. It was coming closer.
He could feel Dick shaking. Dick had nightmares of the dragon, not knowing why. He would dream of a woman shushing him, men shouting, flames dancing around him. Whenever the dragon came by again, the nightmares got worse.
Rudolph was hiding behind the throne, mind addled by the wine he had. Wally hoped, deep down, that the dragon took his father away. It would free Dick from the pain he caused, as well as the kingdom. Wally would change things, make them better.
A window crashed, and Dick dug into Wally. The dragon was there. Wally could see red scaly feet walk across the floor, along with a red tail. It was sniffing at something, the large nose easily up to Wally's waist when he stood. Dick looked terrified, absolutely frozen, staring at the dragon.
