The Dragon Bride

First Contact - Part 1

Days passed in the castle as Lucina started to become accustomed to its inner workings, its layout and its quirks. After that first dinner she had shared with Jade's family, she hadn't had much reason to talk to her siblings which gave her ample time to explore her current residence. She knew it was big, much too big, but somehow living on the inside opened her eyes to just what that size meant. There were empty rooms that were just there for paintings to be hung on or sculptures to be erected. Maids and butlers appeared to be the most common inhabitants of the palace, it made sense in her head, there was no way a single person or even a dozen would be able to take care of the upkeep. The days were uneventful and almost eerily quiet, none of the daily panic she had once felt was there anymore. If she was hungry, she ate, if she was bored, there would be entertainment at the ready, if she was cold, there were fireplaces all around along with blankets and other accommodations. Lucina spent most of her time practicing alone, trying to keep her physique and instincts sharpened, fearing the comfort of her new life would take away her edge in battle.

It was in one of these seemingly monotonous days that one of life's trademark surprises finally presented itself in front of Lucina. As she was battling an imaginary foe in her head which was represented by a training dummy in front of her, she couldn't help but overhear the frantic opening of a door in the hallway outside. Lucina decided to put down her weapon, listening closely for any sign of... anything, be it danger or just the regular stress of royal life. Whoever was on the outside was walking frantically, searching for something, or someone. The knight's curiosity finally got the best of her and she decided to peek, she froze immediately at the sight of Adwin in nothing but a bathrobe. She retracted back into the training room, but her own reflexes betrayed her feet as she came crashing down into the floor with a less than subtle noise.

Shit! Shit! Shit! She thought to herself as she scrambled to get to her feet. Perhaps if she got into a fencing pose fast enough she could pretend it was all just a sparring accident, the embarrassment from being taken down by a dummy sounded like the lesser of two compromising situations.

"Is someone there?" She could hear the noble ask from the outside. Their footsteps, although quiet, were undeniably heading towards her location. Lucina twisted and turned until she could move no more when the doors opened.

"O-Oh... Hey Adwin!" She tried to appear as confident as possible. "I didn't mean to startle you, just had a little training mishap." The long haired, scantily dressed artist stared at Lucina for a moment, their mouth slightly ajar.

"Yeah I can see that." They agreed, seemingly buying her excuse. "You know, I shouldn't be the one telling you this but I'm fairly certain that's not how you hold a blade." The knight looked down at her wooden weapon, realizing she was holding the blade instead of the hilt.

"Oh this..." She babbled. "It's uh... It's a technique you know. Catching your opponent off guard by... holding the edge and attacking them with the hilt." She softly smacked her own head in a poor attempt to sell her lie. The heir just sighed in response which made Lucina look down in shame.

"I can't believe you're my best option right now." Adwin said, slapping themselves on the forehead. "You, whatever your name is." They grabbed Lucina's wrist and pulled hard, guiding her out of the room. The surprise made her easy to move but once she understood Adwin needed her help she willingly followed them through the castle's many hallways.

"Y-You know it would be quite nice to know where we're going!" Lucina yelled out as they powerwalked all through the maze that was the palace. "Or why!" But Adwin did not answer. After what felt like an eternity, they finally stopped in front of a large pair of doors.

"You're going to have to excuse the mess." Adwin announced as they opened the doors with a push. Lucina gingerly walked towards the entrance.

"Woah..." Was all that could escape her lips as she was greeted with a never ending ocean of paper, canvas and used up sketch books. Every single inch of the room was covered with tracings ranging from hyper realistic depictions of animals, plants and people to splashes of paint arranged seemingly at random. Everywhere she looked, a masterpiece stared back at her creating a symphony of art which she had never experienced before.