The Prince and the Serpent

One Stormy Night

It was raining. Mitsuki didn't usually mind the rain but the night had an uncharacteristic chill and it was making him feel sluggish. The tavern in this town, located just outside the capitol, looked warm and inviting. It's windows glowed orange in the night and smoke curled lazily from its stone chimney. Eager for relief from the cold, Mitsuki pulled up his hood and entered. Heat washed over his soaked body like a warm breath. It seeped through his sopping clothes and eased joints made stiff from the cold.

The tavern was crowded but not overly so. It was filled with the mixed sounds of music and people drinking and laughing their cares away. His entrance drew curious glances from those closest but otherwise he went unnoticed. He made his way easily to the bar where the innkeeper watched him closely but his expression remained otherwise uninterested.

"A mead and a room." Mitsuki ordered as he placed a fat gold coin on the polished wood; enough to cover the room, the drink, and plenty of privacy. The innkeeper remained silent but smoothly slid the gold off the bar and replaced it with a glass filled to the brim with foaming liquid and a bronze key. Mitsuki didn't particularly care for mead but he had noticed that people were less nervous when he sat with a drink. He nodded his head and pocketed the key. Drink in hand, he made his way to a quiet part of the tavern where he chose a corner booth.

He slid smoothly into the hard seat and placed his back against the wall next to a dark fogged window that sat over the polished table. There, with the window to his left and a dim gas lamp on the wall to his right, he could drink in peace and watch the other tavern patrons. People-watching was a persistent habit of his that had proven useful more than once. Often he would get so involved in it he would forget about his drink, not that it mattered.

Unfortunately, this evening was proving to be boring. Nothing but the usual drunks and local thugs. He could easily be considered the most interesting person in the building. His glass sweat beads of moisture from the humid air onto the mirror-like surface of the table. Mitsuki observed his reflection blandly. The usual pale face stared back at him, his scales shimmering dully in the muted light. He was just starting to contemplate going up to his room for the night when the front door swung open and in walked the most intriguing person Mitsuki had ever laid eyes on. He didn't just exist like normal people; he shone as bright as the sun.

He was young and his hair was damp from the rain but it still gleamed, each strand rivaling the gold in his pouch. His skin was a warm peach and his ears slightly pointed, suggesting he was at least half elf. His clothes were expensive, made from rich materials that stood out pointedly in the shabby tavern, even splattered with mud. He was beautiful but his eyes were what took his breath away. As the man glanced around the room, Mitsuki could see they were the brightest turquoise he had ever seen.

This man was doing strange things to Mitsuki and he could not look away. The longer he stared the more he felt... different. It was like parts of himself that he had never known were cold were being warmed for the first time. He was so bright, Mitsuki felt like he had lived his whole life in darkness until this moment. He was dazzling and so remarkably out of place, like a pure white rose among filthy thorns or a perfect pearl on black sackcloth; and Mitsuki wasn't the only one who noticed.

Drawn by the scent of money, the group of local thugs Mitsuki had been observing by the bar moved towards him. The beautiful stranger had barley finished brushing off the rain before he was surrounded.

"Hey pretty boy, come and have a drink with us." The biggest one sneered in the beautiful man's ear. His face twisted with disgust, undoubtedly from the man's smell. The big man dragged him to a stool and roughly forced him to sit. The disgusting man's fingers touching the bright man made Mitsuki's insides burn with anger. How dare his filthy fingers defile the sun! His revolting lackeys surrounded the man, circling like vultures.