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There was a kingdom that rested on the water of a large water lily lake.
The kingdom was beautiful, of course. Different pathways connected floating buildings to each other, some buildings were constructed on giant lily pads, and half the buildings were built directly underwater. It was a kingdom of merlings, built with their aquatic nature in mind, so there were plenty of staircases that led directly into the water for easy access. It was always so beautiful, the different colored water lilies were stunning when they caught the light of the sun throughout the day.
The people of the kingdom were considered beautiful by many others as well. They were merlings, able to switch between having two legs like a human, and gorgeous, brilliant tails. Due to the ability to shift, they all wore dresses that were simple, but elegant, to avoid being a hindrance when swimming. Simple but gorgeous accessories were also embraced by many from the kingdom. Partnered with the known skills in the arts, it gave their people a reputation for beauty and elegance.
No one could argue that the kingdom was one of beauty.
But it was not a kingdom without worry.
“Absolutely not! You can’t do this! You can’t!”
Niki usually tried to present herself in a dignified way when she was meeting with her family in a more public space. Though she was still in the palace, it was the main hall, and plenty of staff wandered in and out to accomplish tasks. This time, however, she couldn’t hold herself back as she glared up at her parents. Though she hated to admit it, she was always so quick to rage.
Niki’s father, King Philza, was dressed in rich emerald green, traditional clothes adjusted for his wings since he was an elytrian. Her mother, Queen Kristin, was dressed in violet and black. Typically, they looked elegant and stunning, but today Philza slumped in his throne with a tired look in his eyes. Kristin appeared far more amused then tired, though that wasn’t a surprise to those who knew her nature.
King Philza sighed, “Niki, I understand that you’re upset—”
“Then fix it,” Niki countered.
“—But we have no choice.”
“There is always a choice!” Niki protested, “You’re not stupid! We’ve not stupid! We can come up with a better solution. And even if not, why am I the one being sacrificed? I’m your only daughter, shouldn’t that count for something?”
“Please stop making it sound like we’re sentencing you to death. It’s just an arranged marriage,” Philza pinched the bridge of his nose.
Kristin giggled by his side, “This isn’t the worst arrangement. I understand that it might be difficult, but we wouldn’t put you through this if we thought it would be terrible for you.”
“This is terrible! I’ll have to give up my home, I’ll have to remain bound to a man I don’t know or love – who knows what kind of lover he’d be! His good reputation says nothing, plenty of people are kind to livestock but mistreat their spouse,” Niki argued.
“Niki!”
Niki stomped her foot, “I’m not wrong! And I didn’t do anything to deserve this!”
The arranged marriage wasn’t a typical one. Where other arranged marriages had a specific purpose behind them – alliances, trade agreements, peace treaties – this one was a bit different. According to legends, many generations ago, a merling and a dragon had been caught in an intense battle. The battle had caused so much mayhem that a god had stepped in and placed a cursed on them: if their families failed to unite together in marriage, disaster would follow them and their kingdoms.
While the apparent curse had been enough to convince the merling and dragon to put whatever they had been fighting over aside, that hadn’t been enough. The merling and dragon in question had been members of the royal families of their people, and though they tried to make amends it was clear the curse hadn’t been false. Already, minor disasters had start to crop up within both kingdoms, with slight escalation as time went on.
Naturally, neither kingdom had wanted their people to suffer any further, so the royal families had finally decided to cave and fulfill the requirements to end the curse. On the Kingdom of Dragons end, it had been simple as they only had one prince. For the Merling Kingdom, it should have been more difficult, as they had a set of triplets as their oldest children, followed by another young child after that. But that wasn’t how things paired out. Two of the triplets had ended up as elytrians, with one as a merling. With only one child of age that was a merling, the duty fell to Niki.
“As a princess, you have a duty to your people, Niki. It’s not fair, but it is what must be done,” Philza said, tone a mix of gentle and exasperated.
“We don’t know that Wil and Techno won’t count as candidates,” Niki tried.
“We can’t risk that,” Philza paused when Kristin placed a hand on his arm.
Kristin smiled down at her daughter, “We know this feels sudden. Why don’t you take some time to adjust to this news? Getting upset won’t change anything, but I’m sure this isn’t as terrible as you believe it is.”
“Fine! Send me away!” Niki turned on her heel to leave, “You’re making plans for that already!”
That was a very petty thing to say, but Niki didn’t care.
Niki found her way into the water, feeling herself shift, before she swam away from the palace.
Niki didn’t stop swimming until she was far away from the kingdom’s waters.
Though Niki was still technically within her kingdom’s borders, she was far away from the main part of her kingdom when she left the water and stepped into the forest. A flick of her hand, and water shifted and warped around her until it formed into the shape of her spear. While she was certain that the forest was safe, she also wasn’t an idiot and wasn’t willing to take risks. It was only once she was armed, she decided to head into the forest.
The forest was beautiful, an enchanted forest with trees full of flowers in a rainbow of colors. It may have been a long swim, but this place was special to Niki. She had discovered it when she was younger, and it had been her go-to place to unwind when she needed it. There was something about this place that relaxed her, and it was secluded enough that she could have the privacy she needed to really think.
But this time her forest wasn’t as private as she was used to.
Niki didn’t encounter anyone at first, but she realized that something was wrong at the silence that haunted the forest. Niki had been visiting the forest for well over a decade, the animals were mostly unbothered by her since as a merling she wasn’t something they registered as a dangerous predator. So the fact that she couldn’t hear anything, not even the sound of a songbird in the distance, had her on edge. Her stomach lurched with the knowledge that something was in the forest.
Her grip on her spear tightened.
However, it didn’t take long for her to find what had caused such a disturbance.
There was a man Niki didn’t recognize, propped up against a tree in the middle of a clearing. He had long, messy black hair that framed him like a mane, and when he heard her enter the clearly his eyes snapped open, revealing they were a molten amber. He wore clothes that made it obvious he wasn’t a merling. His pants were thick, his boots sturdy, and his armored top lacked any sleeves. Though the stranger wasn’t armed, his hands were tipped with wicked claws, and Niki wouldn’t be surprised if he possessed his own magic.
“Who are you?” Niki was careful to avoid positioning her spear in a threatening stance while still keeping it easy to strike with, “What are you doing in this forest?”
The man cocked his head, “I didn’t think this was private land.”
“It’s not, but this is still merling territory, and you’re not a merling,” Niki pointed out, “And you’re not dressed like most travelers. You look more like a warrior than anything.”
Even though he wasn’t armed, his build and demeanor screamed combat experience. Niki had been in a few battles herself, and one of her brothers had abdicated any claim to the throne to pursue his dreams a warrior within the royal guard. She knew what a warrior looked like, she knew what a solider looked like. The amount of skin this stranger proudly displayed made it easy to see lingering scars that spoke of a lifetime of fighting – there was no way she could mistake him for anything else.
“Do I need to repeat myself? Who are you and what are you doing here?” Niki asked again, her grip tightening on her spear.
The stranger lifted his hands, “I’m not a threat! I actually was trying to get to the Merling Kingdom, but got lost and wanted to rest, so I figured this was as good a place as any. I’m Sapnap. You?”
The stranger finished that sentence with a friendly smile, and Niki refused to be charmed by it.
“Niki. Why are you looking for the Merling Kingdom?” Niki leaned a little against her spear.
“I don’t know if I’m allowed to say. Not that my reasons are bad! Just that I don’t know if the information is public? I’m from the Dragon Kingdom,” Sapnap watched Niki’s expression intently at that last part.
Niki rolled her eyes, “This is about the engagement between the merling princess and dragon prince then?”
That had Niki a little suspicious over who this ‘Sapnap’ really was, as that information wasn’t technically public just yet. There were plenty of rumors of course, many had known about the legend of the curse, so many assumed that the royal families would unite at some point to save the common people – at least, if they truly cared as much as they claimed. But the official engagement hadn’t been announced, and was only recently even made official between the royal families.
So, that answered some of the questions Niki had about this man, but raised a few more. Sapnap clearly was a dragon, and must have flown for a long time before he got tired enough to need to rest in the forest. He must have had some degree of power and trust in his kingdom, if he was not only informed about the engagement, but was able to leave his position to look into the Merling Kingdom. So why had the Dragon Kingdom sent him here? For what purpose? This clearly wasn’t an officially meeting of some kind, given he was alone and hadn’t taken a boat ride. So what were his intentions?
“Damn, word travels fast in the Merling Kingdom,” Sapnap whistled.
“I like to keep informed. Do you know how suspicious you’re being? A dragon trying to sneak into the Merling Kingdom a few days after an engagement was announced? Someone would think you’re up to something,” Niki raised an eyebrow.
Sapnap finally stood up – damn he was really tall – and made a face, “Hey, don’t make me sound like a creep!”
“Give me a reason to not assume you’re a creep,” Niki countered.
“I just wanna check out the princess!”
Those words sat heavy in the air for a long moment.
Niki made a face, “… And that’s supposed to convince me you’re not a creep?”
“No! I mean— I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just that I don’t know anything about her, and I wanted to know what she was like before the wedding!” Sapnap protested.
“Why do you need to know anything about her before the wedding?” Niki narrowed her eyes.
“Marriages aren’t a joke, they’re a life commitment. That’s someone you have to live with, spend every day with. Of course I would want to know about the merling princess before the wedding. But whenever I asked any dragons, all they could tell me was that she was ‘nice’” Sapnap sighed at that.
Dread started to bloom in Niki’s stomach.
“That’s not a bad thing, of course. A nice spouse is better than a mean one,” Sapnap lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck, “But that doesn’t say much. I know the circumstances mean I can’t be picky, but I’d like to know if I’m gonna be bored out of my mind around her or not, you know?”
Niki felt her face burn hot, the dread started to bubble into a quiet rage.
“Oh?” Niki prompted coldly, “Have you learned anything else on your way here?”
“Not much, really. Everyone just says that she’s ‘nice’. Some have said that she’s ‘cute’ and ‘pretty’, many have said that she’s ‘quiet and soft spoken’, which isn’t promising either. They make it sound like I’m marrying a doll, that’s so dull,” Sapnap groaned.
Niki saw red.
“You… you arrogant, entitled asshole!” Niki screeched as she went in to strike with her spear.
Sapnap manged to dive out of the way of a deadly strike, and kept dancing around each strike after that. Niki wasn’t trying to kill him though. She just needed a way to vent out her rage, her eyes burned with the threat of tears after such careless words from the other.
“I’m losing the only home I’ve ever known! I’m losing my family – I’m losing everyone I know and love. I’m getting shipped off to a kingdom I don’t know, a place where I’ll likely be weakened by the limited access to water, and left at the mercy of a prince I don’t know or trust,” Niki yelled with each strike, “And you! Are worried! That I’m boring!”
“Woah! Woah! What are you talking about?!” Sapnap looked alarmed.
That did it, Niki felt tears, “You stupid idiot! Is this a joke to you? I can’t believe I’m going to be stuck with a husband as unbearable as you!”
Within a flash, Niki found her back pressed against a thick tree, her spear turned into a makeshift bar and used like a restraint. Sapnap stared down at her, and Niki was reminded once more of the height difference between the two of them. She refused to look away, even as her face burned with humiliated at crying in front of him like this. She refused to allow him to think she was weaker than he likely already did.
“You’re the princess?” Sapnap’s voice was surprisingly softer now.
“Yes, you ass,” Niki hissed.
Sapnap paused, “You’re… different than I expected.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Niki retorted.
“Sorry,” Sapnap said, and then winced, “Sorry for everything. I shouldn’t have said half those things. That was rude.”
“Believe it or not, I don’t care.”
Sapnap pulled back and let her up, “I really… sorry, I really was just curious. I didn’t… I didn’t think about what this might be like from your perspective.”
“Clearly,” Niki scoffed.
“I…” Sapnap took a few steps back, “I’m gonna go… can I… can I make this up to you at some point?”
Niki just scowled, “I doubt it.”
“Right…”
With that, Sapnap shifted from a human-looking man, into a brilliant crimson dragon.
Niki didn’t even bother to watch him fly off.
It had been clear that word of Niki’s terrible mood had made the rounds of the palace, everyone seemed more than willing to provide her with space over the next few days.
Niki’s brothers had been less easily placated by that excuse.
The worst part about being part of a set of triplets, was that Niki quite literally had two people who had known her since birth, two people who she had spent her formative years with. That made it incredibly difficult for any of them to get away with anything. That worked in her favor when it came to interrogating either of her brothers, but it was a major hindrance when they wanted to interrogate her. For a few years she had managed to get away with more by playing into being their ‘precious baby sister’, but they had stopped falling for that trick a long time ago.
So, her brothers now knew she had a brief encounter with her groom-to-be.
Since they often got into all kinds of trouble they didn’t want their parents to know about (Wilbur’s tryst with an ocean spirit, Techno accidentally starting a minor war over potatoes of all things, Niki’s accidental acquisition of explosives, etc) the three of them had plenty of experience covering up incidents like this. Her brother’s had easily agreed to keep a look out for the scaled bastard to see if he’d try his luck again, with reassurances that they didn’t think he was good enough for her given what little she shared.
It was nice to have at least her brothers on her side.
After a week of no news or anything, Niki had decided to once again leave to clear her head. The more leisurely swim this time resulted in her visiting the same forest, though not quite the same area as last time. This time she made her way to the tree at the heart of the forest. It was enchanted, just like the rest of the forest, it towered over mountains, and was large enough an entire city could fit inside it’s trunk without issue. Though Niki had been born with a tail, she had still learned how to climb she she was young.
Niki had never feared heights.
She envied her brother’s abilities to take to the skies as they pleased.
Given her luck, it should have been no surprise that she hadn’t remained alone for long.
Niki had found herself on a swing in one of the higher branches, a branch thicker than even the widest platforms of her kingdom beneath her feet. The swing was shaped almost like half a bird cage, and well secured to the branch above, ensuring there was no chance one seated on the swing could fall accidentally. Niki swung casually there when she heard the sound of wings beating against the wind.
At first, she had wanted to dismiss the noise as one of her brothers, determined to cheer her up or dote on her. But Niki knew her brother’s wings, better than she knew most things. The wings she heard weren’t the same at all. Rather, Niki felt they were instead wings that lacked feathers. It was no surprise when the sound was followed by a large shadow that shifted mid flight. A much smaller, humanoid figure landed on the branch below her and she glared at her betrothed.
Before Niki could say anything, Sapnap thrust out a bag in Niki’s face with a determined look.
“What are you doing…?” Niki questioned.
“Apologizing?” Sapnap didn’t drop the bag, though he sounded less certain, “I thought… maybe something nice might make up for my words, My Lady?”
Niki tilted her head curiously, “You think buying me trinkets will make me like you?”
“Oh… would you want trinkets? I just brought you some raspberries,” Sapnap finally slightly lowered his hand.
However, the thought of fresh fruit was tempting enough that Niki hopped off her swing and held out her hand.
Niki refused to acknowledge that the dragon’s smile was kinda cute.
Sapnap hadn’t been joking when he said he had brought Niki raspberries – it was quite literally just a bag of raspberries. The taste was sweet yet tart, and Niki tried not to let her expression showcase how much she truly enjoyed the taste. They were so much better than the ones that had to be imported into her kingdom, likely due to the other being a dragon and capable of flying great distances in a shorter time than ships could carry crates of berries.
“Do you like raspberries?” Sapnap asked after a moment.
Niki frowned, “Why are you asking?”
“I really meant it when I said that I wanted to get to know you. This whole marriage thing kinda sucks, I just wanna make sure we’re not gonna be miserable, ya know? I want us both to be happy,” Sapnap answered simply.
“Even if I’m boring and dull?” Niki couldn’t resist a little snark.
Sapnap made a face, “The last thing I’d consider you is boring or dull. Anyone who thinks the best description of you is ‘nice’ is an idiot.”
“Yourself included, My Lord?” Niki snorted.
“Sorry, My Lady…”
Niki could be stubborn. She was well aware of that particular flaw of her own, her brothers lamented that fact all the time. There was a temptation to cling to that stubbornness now, to make things more difficult than they needed to be, to act out. But even still, Sapnap had been polite all things considered. Maybe a little clueless, and blunt, but he hadn’t sought her out with ill intentions and he was trying to repair what had transpired between them.
Niki could be stubborn, but she also didn’t want to suffer through a miserable marriage.
It still felt far too much like she was giving in, but she really didn’t want to deal with a husband making her life hell for kicks.
“I do like raspberries,” Niki conceded, “Though I’m not picky. I use a variety of different berries and flowers in my baking.”
Sapnap perked up, “You bake?”
“Is that a problem, My Lord?” Niki asked defensively.
“Absolutely not!” Sapnap grinned, “I like baking too! My father taught me how to bake since I was young, muffins are a family specialty. We should try baking together sometime.”
“Maybe,” Niki avoided a true agreement.
Sapnap didn’t seem bothered by that, “You had a spear last time we met – is that a personal preference, or is that typical for merlings?”
“Personal preference. I like the reach it gives me, and I enjoy utilizing it in creative ways. I also like being able to strike hard and fast before my opponent can react,” Niki answered.
As much as she didn’t want to admit it, being the shortest of her siblings had certainly influenced her decision in specializing in the spear. The reach of the spear allowed her to strike at her brothers without them to be able to return any attacks easily when they trained together, and she had loved learning to use it with deadly precision in true battle.
“I like hitting hard and fast too. Usually I just use my claws, but sometimes I have these gauntlets that have these wicked claw attachments. They’re fun,” Sapnap grinned.
Niki raised an eyebrow, “What’s the point of having clawed gauntlets if you can turn your arm into a claw without transforming fully?
Sapnap opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then closed it once more with a frown.
“Huh.”
Niki tried not to laugh at his obvious confusion.
“What do you do in your free time? I imagine you’re not very busy considering this is the second time you’ve come to visit me,” Niki prompted.
Sapnap shrugged, “I never really did the political stuff and my father never really pushed the matter. I usually spend my time going on adventures, fighting powerful monsters and foes, just seeking out the next thrill. I don’t like being bored. You?”
“I like to bake, obviously. I read a lot, my brothers and I run a little book club. We all also play different instruments, and I like to sing when a song calls for it. I train and fight with them as well,” Niki reluctantly shared.
“I like to do woodcarving! They don’t tend to last long,” Sapnap added.
Niki tilted her head curious, “Not enough practice?”
“No… they tend to catch on fire,” Sapnap admitted sheepishly.
Niki couldn’t help it, she burst into a fit of laughter at that.
“Princess Niki!”
Niki sleepily blinked awake at a voice that was becoming reluctantly familiar to her. She had found a small pond further in the forest, and decided to take the chance for a nap in the sunlight in a place she knew was safe. It appeared that the prince of dragons had taken her not trying to stab him after their last encounter as a sign that she was willing to allow him to approach her more casually.
Niki rubbed at one of her eyes as she righted herself in the water, “What do you want?”
“Wow, you’re really pretty in that form,” Sapnap said after he landed on the ground nearby.
“Prince Sapnap!” Niki snapped, her face flushed.
Sapnap laughed, “Right, right, sorry. I brought you something!”
“Again?”
“Well, you said you liked raspberries. So, I baked you some raspberry muffins,” Sapnap pulled a raspberry muffin out of his pouch and held it out to her.
Though Niki really wanted to be stubborn, she couldn’t deny that the muffin looked really good. Sapnap didn’t appear to take her hesitation as an offense, he simply waited until Niki finally plucked the muffin out of his hand. When she finally took a bite, Niki hated the fact that it tasted amazing.
Instead of voicing this maturely, Niki instead used her tail to splash Sapnap with water.
As much as Niki never wanted to admit it, Sapnap was right that it was a good idea for them to meet before their wedding.
Which is why it shouldn’t have been a surprise that their parents had also thought the same thing.
Niki just couldn’t catch a break.
So, that was how Niki had been fussed over to dress nicely, in preparation to make a ‘good first impression’ on her betrothed, before she had been led to the main hall. Her brothers both looked so smug and amused about her situation, as they had known exactly how awkward this whole situation was going to be. At least, Wilbur and Technoblade were amused, Tommy was just as clueless as their parents were. She tried to avoid eye contact, she didn’t want to give anything away.
Though from the amused glance Queen Kristin tossed her way, her mother may have had her own suspicions.
It hadn’t taken long for the dragons to arrive.
Though Niki had met up with Sapnap a few times before, none of those encounters had been quite like this. Sapnap was decked out in properly, royal attire. It was a far cry from how he usually dressed, fancier and his attire covered far more of him then usual. Niki had known from precious conversation that Sapnap hated sleeved attire (he had gone on a rant about how restrictive sleeves were), so she knew that this wasn’t something he had picked out himself.
Pleasantries were awkwardly exchanged, with Niki and Sapnap doing their best to act like they hadn’t met previously. Niki was pretty sure she had done a decent job, but it was obvious that everyone was suspicious something had been going on with Sapnap based on the looks he was getting from everyone. Wilbur and Technoblade snickered to themselves in the background.
“Perhaps our sister should take Prince Sapnap on a tour of the kingdom? It might give them a chance to bond,” Wilbur suggested with feigned helpful innocence.
Technoblade nodded sagely beside him, “There are plenty of place in our kingdom that provide them a chance to connect better.”
Niki tried her hardest not to glare at her brothers.
Wilbur had the audacity to wink at her.
He was dead to her.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” King Bad Halo clapped his hands together at the suggestion, “I’m sure Sapnap wouldn’t mind a nice walk.”
“Then its settled,” Kristin stated with far too much amusement, “Niki dear, why don’t you go now?”
Niki sighed, “Of course...”
“So… do you… come here often?”
“… Did you seriously just ask if I ‘come here often’ to my own kingdom?”
“… Apparently…”
Niki gave Sapnap a long, incredulous look, before she burst into a fit of laughter at those words. She had been shaking with laughter far longer than she probably should have, given Sapnap’s gripes about it as they walked along the pathways that kept them out of the water of her kingdom. Though he didn’t seem that hurt about her amusement at his expense.
“We’re supposed to act like we don’t know each other,” Sapnap muttered lowly.
Niki shook her head, “I think its common sense that I’ve been in my own kingdom.”
“You may not be here often! The last few times I’ve met you have been in a random forest, how would I know what you usually do?” Sapnap countered.
It was hard to know exactly how to answer that, so Niki changed the subject, “You know we just have to look like we’re getting to know each other, right? I doubt they’re going to question us on what we talked about.”
“Yeah, but,” Sapnap pouted a little, “We should still try and get closer anyway. I’d like us be at least be friends before the wedding. That would be nice.”
“Your outlook on this whole thing is weird,” Niki tried not to sound too accusatory.
Sapnap shrugged, “I guess? I don’t think it helps getting upset about the whole thing – we can’t change it, and we don’t get married everyone will suffer. I’d prefer to get married for love, but I’ll sacrifice that for the sake of my people. It’s only right, right?”
“That’s a pretty simple way to look at it,” Niki frowned.
“Maybe, but thinking too much about it won’t help,” Sapnap said, “At least, to me. I don’t wanna get all stuck inside my own head. I’d rather just get things done instead of just worrying about things. I don’t mind being a simple guy.”
Niki hummed curiously, “I guess that makes sense.”
“Plus, I think you’re kinda cool,” Sapnap added casually.
“You think I’m ‘kinda cool’?”
“Yeah?”
“That’s how you want to describe your betrothed?” Niki questioned.
Sapnap paused for a long moment before slowly answering, “Yeah?”
Once more, Niki found herself laughing at something Sapnap said again.
Niki refused to acknowledge that she had come to see the forest her and Sapnap had met up in as ‘their’ forest. They may have spent more and more time here as weeks turned to months, but this forest was still hers in any way that mattered. Sapnap was just an annoying pest that happened to follow her around to her all the places that were important to her – it wasn’t like Niki intentionally waited for him to visit her.
That being said, that day he had been late.
There was no schedule to when, where or how they met up. At least, there wasn’t an official one between them, but there had been somewhat of a pattern. Niki knew how fast Sapnap could fly, and she knew how little work he did as a prince, and given that he was determined to befriend her she tried to visit her at least once or twice a month. During expected times for meetings, Niki tried to wait in areas that were easily spotted from above. Just to get the encounter over with.
So why had he been late that day?
Surely he would have let her know in some way if he wasn’t visiting, he tended to be good about that.
Niki felt something sit heavy in her stomach.
It was at that moment that a familiar shadow past overhead. Before she could feel a mix of relief and annoyance, she noticed almost immediately that something was wrong. Dragons were powerful creatures, when they were in flight they were as majestic as they were terrifying, Niki had gotten the chance to see how a dragon looked in flight many times now. The way Sapnap flew now looked wrong in a way she couldn’t put her finger on.
“Sapnap?” Niki called out quietly before panic started to seep into her tone, “Sapnap?!”
When the dragon slumped against a nearby tree and transformed back into a more humanoid form, it was obvious the other had been in a fight. Vicious lacerations littered his torso and arms, and Niki tried not to lose her head in the panic. True to form, rather than being reasonably distressed, Sapnap just gave her a casual wave like he wasn’t bleeding all over the forest floor.
“Hey Niki,” Sapnap nodded halfheartedly.
“What happened to you? Why are you here and not at a healers?” Niki questioned as she dropped to his side.
Sapnap shrugged – or at least, he tried to shrug, “You were closer. Figured better to come here than anywhere else.”
“What did you fight?” Niki was slowly calming as she realized the injuries weren’t quite as bad as they looked, “You’re literally a dragon, what did this?”
“Uh… I forgot the name… What’s the thing with the multiple heads called?” Sapnap mused.
Niki glared, “A hydra? Did you fight a hydra?”
“No, no, not a hydra,” Sapnap’s face scrunched up in thought, “The one with three different heads?”
“A chimera?”
Sapnap grinned and nodded, “Yeah, that one!”
“Why are you smiling, you got mauled by a chimera!” Niki scolded.
“You should see the chimera,” Sapnap pouted.
Niki landed a sharp smack to his head.
Sapnap took it mild protest.
“Can I trust you to stay safe and stay put while I go get some healing supplies, or should I just try dragging you back to my kingdom instead?” Niki questioned.
“I can be good!” Sapnap answered.
Niki turned away before she gave into the sudden urge to pet the dragon prince like a puppy. He often reminded Niki of a puppy in moments, though she couldn’t exactly tell why that was what she felt that he was particularly dog-like. She just knew if she gave into those urges, she’d not only be embarrassed, but that there was a chance that he’d tease her for the entire thing.
The swim back to gather healing supplies had been one of the faster swims of her life.
“What’s got you in a rush?”
“What are you looking for? What’s wrong?”
Niki barely acknowledged her brothers and she sneaked into the royal infirmary, though she knew that Technoblade and Wilbur were only concerned for her well being. She didn’t bother to explain as she grabbed a travel bag and started to fill it with bandages and salves she knew her kingdom wouldn’t question being missing (with the three princes and the princess, everyone was very familiar with the kind of chaos that followed them). Her brothers didn’t let up though.
“Did you find another wounded animal? You know how Kristin and Phil will feel about you and Techno bringing in more strays,” Wilbur commented.
“We’re not that bad,” Technoblade grunted lowly, “Is it an animal? You need to be careful about salves you use if its an animal, you could poison them.”
Niki rolled her eyes, “It’s not an animal, don’t worry about it.”
“Oh, so these are for your dragon then? What kind of trouble did he get into?” Wilbur asked with a smug smile.
“Shut up, Wil,” Niki replied.
Technoblade frowned, “Should we be concerned? You didn’t try and kill him?”
“Oh, starting a war could be fun. I’m sure that’ll help your marriage,” Wilbur sarcastically commented.
“I’m not the one who tried to kill him,” Niki snapped, “He fought a chimera.”
Wilbur whistled, “Wow, okay…”
“You’re getting married to an idiot,” Technoblade added.
“Just let me get back so that I can treat him,” Niki sighed.
To their credit, her brothers helped cover her escape so she could return.
“You’re an idiot, you know that right? A chimera? Who goes after a chimera alone?”
Niki dropped the bag right by were Sapnap had rested. She didn’t turn to him right away, she knew she needed to get to work. So she first placed a blanket so that she could have a somewhat clean area to keep the dragon prince while she tended to his injuries. Despite the complaints directed to him about his intelligence, Sapnap had been clever enough to know to drag himself over to the blanket without being prompted.
“I didn’t intend to fight a chimera, I just saw one on the way,” Sapnap grumbled.
“Oh, well in that case, it’s completely fine,” Niki commented sarcastically before she tugged at his top, “Take this off so I can get a look at what I’m working with.”
“Fine, fine. I can handle a chimera though,” Sapnap nearly tore his shirt in his effort to remove it.
Niki tried not to stare at the newly exposed skin, instead she turned her attention to getting a cloth ready to clean. Sapnap’s skin was covered in grime, dirt and sweat from the fight, and trying to bandage the injuries in that state wouldn’t be a good idea. So, trying to not to appear as nervous as she felt, Niki dipped the soft cloth into some water and got ready to get to work.
The arms seemed like a good place to start as any, so Niki began there. Despite his usual antics, Sapnap remained the ideal patient as she washed his injuries, only the most minor sounds of discomfort escaped him on occasion. He shifted easily to allow Niki better access to his chest, and she was able to do a thorough job. Absentmindedly, she drifted up, cleaning not only his chest, but his neck and face, despite there not being a single injury on either his face or neck.
“Enjoying yourself?” Sapnap commented lowly.
“Huh?” Niki’s hand paused and then her face burned as she realized she had gotten lost in the task, “You… shut up, I don’t like doing things halfhearted.”
Sapnap’s lips curled into a cocky smile, “Of course. Don’t mind me then.”
“You…” Niki shook her head as she turned back to her supplies.
It was almost worse, now. The salve had to be applied by Niki’s own hands, which she had to force to remain steady, directly to Sapnap’s skin. With his own amusement over her minor slip before, Niki’s face burned the entire time she applied the salve to his injuries. To her relief, he had enough mercy to not make any comments as she worked over his injuries. When it came time to bandage his injuries, he moved exactly as she needed.
“Do you get injured often? You seem practiced at this,” Niki commented.
Sapnap hummed noncommittally, “A bit. You seem pretty good at healing yourself.”
“If you get into as much chaos as me and my brothers do, you learn pretty quickly how important it is for everyone to know the basics of healing arts,” Niki replied, “It’s gets pretty bad rather quickly if you don’t.”
“That is a good point,” Sapnap commented.
“Yeah, it is, so stop being stupid and nearly getting yourself killed,” Niki stated with a slight tug at the bandage she had wrapped around his arm.
“Alright, I’ll try. Since I don’t want to worry you,” Sapnap teased.
Niki narrowed her eyes, “I wasn’t worried about you.”
“Sure you weren’t.”
“You’re a pain in the ass!”
“Your pain in the ass. Forever.”
“Don’t remind me…”
Niki had never really thought about what her wedding would be like when she was younger.
Back then, while she had understood what a wedding was, what marriage was, Niki had never truly thought that hard about it. Weddings were things that happened, and they seemed kinda boring, so she wanted to focus on the fun things like magic and swords and baking. Her brothers being able to fly while she was able to breathe underwater was something far more interesting to pay attention to then a hypothetical wedding.
Given the circumstances of her engagement, it was probably a good thing that she hadn’t thought too much about it in the past. Her partner wasn’t someone she had met and slowly fallen in love with, but someone she had been required to marry in order to break a curse. Really, most of the wedding planning had been done by their parents, with Niki’s own opinions being more of an afterthought, or just some minor things that were a blatant attempt at bribing her into compliance.
Though despite all that, Niki couldn’t deny that they spared no expense for her wedding gown.
The dress was a large ballgown, with a heart shaped neckline and large, flared sleeves. The layers were draped over each other elegantly, and shifted beautifully when she moved. Real pearls were used to add detailing and dangling elements to the design, which meant that she caught the light in brilliant ways. A thin, pearl-lined cloak was draped over her as a veil, and she was glad it was kept out of her face so it didn’t obscure her vision.
Large gowns with many layers weren’t common or traditional for merling weddings, but given that half the married couple couldn’t breathe underwater, it was expected that the blending of traditions would result in some liberties being taken over.
When she left the dressing room, Niki noticed that Sapnap was surrounded by a few attendants that were fussing over his clothes. True to form, the other struggled with such formal attire despite the circumstances and attendants were worked over time trying to keep him looking respectable. Sapnap was tense with a frown on his face as he was fussed over, but one glance over at Niki had his expression shifting – eyes wide and mouth dropped open.
“Woah…” Sapnap sounded almost breathless, “Niki… you look beautiful...”
Niki blushed, almost wishing the cloak was thicker so she could hide her face, “Thank you. You like alright yourself.”
“I don’t get why we have to get all dressed up like this. I think weddings should be done in whatever the happy couple feels comfortable with – wouldn’t that be more romantic?” Sapnap complained.
“We’re not a happy couple, this is to put an end to a curse. We don’t even have to act happy,” Niki pointed out.
Sapnap pouted, “Well, I think we should be happy.”
With Sapnap’s clothes as nice as they were going to be, the attendants finally decided to leave him be and go about preparing all the other little details to keep the wedding running smoothly. Niki absentmindedly noted that Sapnap did look nice in his wedding attire, even though he naturally wanted to rough up the clothes and get out of the sleeves he detested so much.
“Are you alright?”
Niki tilted her head curious at Sapnap’s approach, “Hm?”
“Are you alright?” Sapnap repeated, “I know we’ve had nearly a year to prepare for this, but still… it makes sense if you’re nervous or something.”
Niki blushed and looked away, “I’m fine. What about you?”
“Honestly, I almost feel like I could throw up,” Sapnap gently took her hands in his, “But… I’m glad its you.”
“Sapnap… you…”
“I’m not kidding. I really like you, Niki, and despite only knowing you for about a year, you’ve become one of my closest friends. I’m glad that its you,” Sapnap continued.
“I’m… glad… it’s you as well…” Niki admitted.
The smile Sapnap gave her after that was enough to melt away all of Niki’s worries.