Dragon Prince

A brief look at a novel idea I had some time ago, starring one of my favorite original characters, Prince Serenti Dracontine. It isn't much, but I hope you enjoy. Feel free to ask questions.

"Prince Serenti, your meal is ready." said the timid maid, peeking into her prince's throne room.

The room was spacious, and round like the rest of the tower that had been built in his family's honor. The walls were pure white, with a large window filling most of the far wall. The carpet was bright red, with a raised, round platform in the center. In the middle of the platform was a regal throne with crimson fabric and golden lining. 

Currently, the throne was turned on the rotatable platform, facing the window that overlooked a third of the forest-covered kingdom. Hesitantly, the maid let herself in and approached the throne, peering around the throne's backing to see if her prince was there.

Indeed, he was, lost in deep thought as his bright purple eyes stared off at nothing in particular. Perhaps he was thinking about his mother and father, who had left the royal tower to live in quiet peace. Perhaps he was thinking about his beloved older sister, Princess Cassandra, who ruled the sea that lined his own kingdom. Had he been born an only child, he would have had to tend to it himself, but as his sister had been born with the element of Water, she had offered to protect it for him. She was a beautiful woman now, with much grace and intelligence.

"Your Highness...?" the maid questioned, snapping Prince Serenti out of his daydream. He lifted his head off his propped hand and looked at her curiously.

"Hm? Yes, what is it?" he asked with his youthful, hardly male voice. Even for being 16 years old in appearance, he still seemed so young, though he was much younger for his kind than one would have suspected at first glance.

"Your meal is ready." she repeated, offering a soft smile to him.

He returned the smile and stood from his throne, his waist-long lavender hair almost cloaking his slender figure.

"Thank you." he said, patting her shoulder as he passed. "And what, praytell did Chef Cherbaron make for me this afternoon?"

She followed him down the hallway. "Your favorite, as I recall. Baked quesrat in xispic sauce."

The prince chuckled. "Not quite my favorite, but a close second. Have you heard from my sister?"

"Not today, sir." she shook her head. "Oh! But your mother stopped by for a moment. She said she was in a hurry, but she wanted to say 'Noihcrafyc'."

Serenti smiled warmly at the native word. Noihcrafyc was Drangonic for "greetings" in the fondest sense. It warmed his heart to hear such words from his mother, even if they were indirect. As they descended a flight of gradually spiralling stairs, Serenti glanced at the dark-haired maid again, thinking to himself silently.

As with all other dragons, she chose the human form she would have for the rest of her material life. But most dragons gave themselves a form resembling their natural bodies in some way, like Serenti had. But instead, she, a Light dragon, had chosen to be brown-skinned with pitch black hair. He couldn't deny she was still a lovely young girl, but it mystified him as to why she would take such an opposing form. It wasn't like a dragon to dislike their own natural appearance.

As they entered the kitchen, the sweet, rich smell of baked quesrat, as savory to him as steak to a human, filled Serenti's nostrils. He inhaled deeply, letting out a happy sigh, mouth watering. He could smell the xispic sauce as well, rooty and salty, a strange compliment to the quesrat. As he neared the cooling meal, Chef Cherbaron smacked a greasy bronze spatula down in front of him.

"Don't even think about it, boy!" grumbled the muscled old man. "That food ain't ready yet, it's still too hot! I wasn't expectin' ya to be down here for another seven minutes, boy!"

"Chef Cherbaron, while I respect your authority in the kitchen, please remember that I am still your prince. Address me as such." Serenti frowned sternly. While normally he was quite friendly with his staff, Chef Cherbaron was not particularly a favorite. He far too much resembled Serenti's father, and acted like him too, though at a lesser degree.

"You may be the prince of the throne, but you ain't no king of mine yet, pretty boy. Get yourself a wife and then we'll talk." The Soil-scented chef turned back to the soup he was preparing for the rest of the staff, disregarding the underage leader entirely now.

Serenti huffed at the insulting bluntness and took his plate of quesrat to his bedroom up the stairs, maid following closely.

"Is there anything I can get you, Prince Serenti?" she asked, hoping he wasn't too sour after the interaction with the chef.

"No." Serenti snapped, no longer in any mood to be friendly. He stopped after a few more steps and sighed, forcing himself to push aside his anger. "I'm sorry, Melina... There's nothing I need from you at this time. Please return to your other duties."

"Yes, Your Highness." she bowed politely and walked off.

Serenti sighed once more as he shut his door behind himself, turning to look around the room in case anyone had snuck in. 

Author's Note

Some details are still iffy for me. Questioning them will help me decide what works and what doesn't.