The Dragon Bride

The First Dinner

"Hey Jade, what's that on the plate?" Lucina whispered towards the princess who sat right beside her causing the princess' eyes to drift towards her.

"Chevre croquettes" She responded, Lucina had to pretend to recognize what she meant.

"And those?" The knight asked again, pointing at a golden dish filled with small, dark balls.

"That's caviar, dear."

"What about those?"

"Those are tomatoes..."

"Right... I knew that." Lucina blushed slightly, embarrassed at her own question. She had never seen any fruit that big, or shiny. It was the perfect accent to the massive, golden dining room they found themselves inside of. The luxurious and seemingly unending foods sat atop a long table after pouring out from a kitchen that from the outside looked cleaner than the place Lucina had slept in just last week. On one end, her fiancée and her sat, on the other, her future parents-in-law. The king joyfully indulged in the many delicacies as the queen quietly watched him. Sprinkled in between were four other people, who Lucina assumed were the rest of Jade's siblings with one notorious exception which made her sigh with relief.

"So," spoke the boisterous voice of the king after he swallowed a piece of an unrecognized bird. "Sir Luke, what do you think of my humble abode now that you've had a chance to live inside it?"

"Well, my liege..."

The king raised an arm to interrupt the knight. "Bah! We are family now, Sir Luke!" He bellowed, chunks of food escaping from his mouth. "Call me Jayce! Or father!".

"Now dear," Spoke the elegant woman next to him. The current queen of Helikor. "Even if Sir Luke is marrying Jade, he shouldn't forget your title of lord." Her tone was cold but not as cold as her gaze. The king looked at her like a sad puppy and nodded.

"Of course, Lord Jayce." Lucina quickly corrected herself. "I would say humble falls short. You have a most beautiful home."

One of Jade's siblings laughed at her statement, causing Lucina to shrink slightly. "Beautiful?" They asked as they brushed a tuft of their long dark hair out of their face. "Maybe if you are a simpleton. Sculptures are beautiful, nature is beautiful, rhythm is beautiful! This building is just... pompous."

King Jayce let out a hearty laugh. "Oh Adwin!" He said between chuckles. "You and your funny words! I apologize for my child, Sir Luke. They just have very high standards!"

"It's not about standards, father!" Adwin screamed out. "But of course, I wouldn't expect you to understand."

Lucina was taken aback from the interaction. She had never seen anyone speak like that to their father, much less for a father to seem so unbothered by the comments. It must be a high class thing... she thought to herself

"Nobody understands you, you freak! It's not dad's fault you make no sense." Yelled out a woman with curly blue hair. She sported a puffy dress that matched her mane and more gemstones than Lucina could count.

"Says, Celine, the spoiled brat!" They responded.

"Oh that is it, I've had it up to here with you..." Both siblings kept screaming increasingly insulting profanities. After a point, Lucina stopped understanding their words and chose to focus on the full plate in front of her which carried a large piece of beef with melted butter on top and an assortment of roasted vegetables on the side. Surrounding her meal were five sets of forks, knives and spoons. She picked one knife and one fork at random, causing Jade to quietly clear her throat at her as she shook her head. Lucina then picked up another set and turned to see her fiancée, this time being greeted by a nod.