...…☆.....
The transition from the cramped, garlic scented sanctuary of apartment 304 to the sprawling, obsidian and gold architecture of the Dragon Realm happened in the blink of a livid eye. One moment, Kaelan was clutching a scorched pillow and hurling sarcastic insults; the next, he was laying in a room so vast it had its own weather patterns.
"A weekend getaway?" Kaelan croaked, his voice cracking as he took in the sheer, narcissistic scale of the palace. "This isn't a getaway, you overgrown gecko! This is a kidnapping! This is a high fantasy felony!"
Ignis didn't even look up from the heavy velvet mantle he was fastening. "Think of it as an immersive cultural exchange, Kaelan. You'll find the air here much more suited to your… pantherine requirements."
With a final, smug pat on Kaelan's cheek,which Kaelan attempted to bite, Ignis vanished. He didn't just leave the room; he left for work. Apparently, being a Dragon King involved more than just being a perverse celebrity in a college dorm; there were territories to manage and ancient blood feuds to settle.
But he didn't leave Kaelan free.
Kaelan took one step toward the massive, arching balcony, ready to hurl himself into whatever abyss lay below just to escape, when a sharp clink echoed through the hall. He looked down. His left ankle was circled by a delicate, shimmering gold chain. It looked like jewelry, but as he lunged for the exit, the chain hummed with a heavy, magical weight, pinning him to the floor.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Kaelan shrieked at the empty, echoing room. "A leash? A literal, magical leash? I hope your dragon throne gives you a permanent splinter in your arrogant backside! You fucking gecko!"
For the next three whole days, Kaelan was a whirlwind of furious, isolated energy.
He tried to run away precisely fourteen times.
He tried to pick the lock of the ankle chain with a piece of decorative silver cutlery (it turned into a snake and hissed at him).
He tried to tunnel through the obsidian floor with a heavy metallic book on Draconic Law (the floor healed itself instantly).
He tried to climb out the window using a rope made of silk bedsheets, only to find the chain simply wouldn't stretch past the balcony's edge, leaving him hanging there like a fluffy tailed pendulum of indignant failure.
The servants,ancient, shimmering spirits that drifted like smoke, tried to offer him delicacies. They brought him honeyed meats, wine that tasted of starlight, and silk robes.
Kaelan ignored them all. He sat in the center of the massive bed, his black ears flat against his head, his tail tucked in a stubborn coil. He talked to no one. When a servant approached, he simply glared at them with such jaded, fearless contempt that they flickered and vanished in fear.
"I'm not eating your ghost food," Kaelan muttered to the walls, his internal monologue a relentless stream of funny curses. "I hope Ignis's meetings are an incredibly fucking shit. I hope he gets a papercut on his royal tongue. I hope his advisors realize he's a nose bleeding freak and stage a coup."
The annoyance was a physical ache. He was sore, his ruined hole still throbbing with the memory of Ignis's touch, and the isolation was making his ego fester. He spent hours staring at the gold chain, his fingers tracing the cold metal, plotting ways to turn it into a garrote for its owner.
On the night of the third day, the massive obsidian doors finally swung open.
Ignis stepped in, looking exhausted but radiating that same, insufferable celebrity like aura. His robes were slightly disheveled, and his golden eyes were dim with fatigue,until they landed on Kaelan.
The sight of Kaelan sitting in the dark, surrounded by piles of discarded silk and a half eaten grape, clutching a silver fork like a dagger, made Ignis's smirk return instantly.
"Did you miss me, little cat?" Ignis asked, his voice a deep, tired purr.
Kaelan didn't move. He didn't even blink. "I hope you got caught in a very long, very pointless PowerPoint presentation about sulfur taxes," Kaelan said, his voice a dry, bitter rasp. "I hope your crown gave you a headache that tastes like pennies…no, maybe snake that should bike your head to death!."he hissed.
Ignis laughed, the sound echoing in the hollow silence. He walked over, the chain on Kaelan's ankle shortening automatically, drawing the human closer to the bed's edge.
"You've been a busy prisoner ," Ignis noted, looking at the scratch marks on the balcony door.
"I've been a violated student in a golden cage," Kaelan snapped, finally looking at him. "Unlock this. Now. Before I figure out how to use this chain to hang myself and leave a very messy disaster on your hands."
Ignis knelt before him, his fingers reaching out to touch the chain. "Your pride is still so loud, Kaelan. Even after three days of silence."
He didn't unlock it. Instead, he pulled on the chain, bringing Kaelan's leg onto his lap. The obsession in Ignis's eyes flared anew, fueled by the three days of absence. He looked at Kaelan's flushed, angry face, and Kaelan knew that the "weekend getaway" was about to get much more dangerous.
"You've had your rest," Ignis whispered, his hand sliding up Kaelan's calf. "Now, I think it's time for some… overtime ."