The Soft-Hearted Prince and His Dragon

9 - Galen

About ten days later, they embarked on the journey back to Galen's palace. Galen had managed to heal Sen's hand in his human form. He had argued he might be able to do it for the dragon now, too, given how well the invisibility spell went. Sen had made it clear, though, that he'd have enough adrenalin for now. That, however, meant Sen was able to fly again.

"What will your parents say when you bring me home?" Sen asked as they landed in a little village the first night on the road. They crossed the borders of Galen's kingdom that afternoon.

Galen shook his head and tried to gather his thoughts. He was still light-headed from the flight. Seeing the land from above was even better than he could have ever imagined.

He shrugged at Sen's question. He wouldn't admit it, but he wasn't looking forward to it. He was supposed to kill the dragon, not bring him back as his boyfriend. He sighed. His parents always lamented his confusing things that seemed simple and straightforward to everyone else.

It turned out he needn't worry. When they arrived at the palace—they agreed to enter with Sen in his human form—Galen's mom hurried across the courtyard and pulled him close. For a moment, he was gasping for breath. He had never seen her run before but wasn't complaining as tears filled his eyes. The king came right behind her, and his face looked relieved.

"We worried about you, son. We heard that the dragon enchanted you and kept you in its den as its slave." He seemed honest in his worry, although Galen saw the flash in his eyes. He knew him well enough to know that the king loved the idea of an adventure. "How did you escape?" the king asked thirstily and hugged Galen tight.

"About that," Galen started when the king let him go. "That's not what happened."

"Oooh, story-time!" the king squealed in delight. "Let's come inside. We were just having dinner—"

"Dad, wait," Galen stopped him. He turned towards Sen standing behind him, shyly looking at the royal family. Only now, they shifted their gazes in his direction and finally noticed him.

"His eyes," the queen whispered in disbelief.

"Is he...?" the king asked, unable to finish his sentence.

Sen looked like he wanted to disappear and Galen felt sorry for him. He took a few steps back and took his hand. Then he looked at his parents again.

The king and the queen stared at them, switching between Sen, Galen, and their holding hands, trying to understand what was going on. Just as Galen started to worry they'd call for the guards, a big smile broke on the queen's face.

"Does this mean there is going to be a wedding?" she asked and didn't try to hide her excitement.

Galen inhaled sharply and didn't dare to look at Sen. "Mom!"

"Did my son tame the dragon?" added king, his chest puffing out with pride.

"That's not exactly—" Galen started, but then he was being hugged again—and Sen was too.

"Welcome to the family!" the queen squealed with glee.

"Can you imagine the face of the swollen-headed piece of a king from The Far Far Away Land when he hears we stole his dragon?" his voice sounded beyond excited. "Good job, son!" he punched Galen's back hard, making him stumble a few steps forward. Only Sen's squeezing hand anchored him. "Have you finally learned to appreciate a good fight?" the king's eyes glimmered.

"Gods, no." The response flew out of Galen before he could even think. "I've had enough of fighting for a lifetime. I'm not getting anywhere near a sword ever again."

He expected his father to be disappointed, but the king shrugged. "I guess you've found your own way to be a hero. And as long as you have someone to protect you... That's all we ultimately care about."

Galen was so surprised that he managed to only stare as the king shook Sen's hand with zest.

"We will need to do something about this," the queen took Sen's face and turned it to see the scars. Galen opened his mouth to jump in and tell her off, worried her comment would hurt Sen, but the king was quicker.

"No way. That's a face of a warrior. I am for once very proud to have such face to rule this kingdom one day." The two leaned against each other as they turned around and set off to the palace. The king called over his shoulder for Galen and Sen to join them as Galen stared after them, his mouth open in shock. He did not see this coming.

"I'm sorry, this was so..." he didn't even know how to finish that sentence.

"They're amazing," Galen let out a breath. "Never in my wildest dreams would I expect such a warm welcome."

Galen shook his head, his eyes still wide open. "They are... They are... Well, they're not perfect."

"No one is. But it seems to me that they both have a heart in the right place," Sen said gently.

"Wow," Galen still shook his head.

Sen laughed and offered him his arm. "Shall we go, my princely tamer?" His eyes were teasing Galen as much as his words did. He looked happy, and Galen wanted to remember that look for as long as possible.

"We shall, my enchanter," he responded with a smile, and they followed the royal pair into their uncertain but brightly looking future.

***

And that's where our story ends. But don't think for a moment that it's where Galen and Sen's story ends, too. If anything, this is still just the beginning of their journey together.

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Thanks for accompanying me on the journey! I'll be happy to hear if you enjoyed Galen and Sen's story. Also, let me know what kind of stories would you like to hear from me next.

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The background picture of the book cover by

Pexels (https://pixabay.com/photos/cave-cavern-dark-daylight-1835823/), and

Parker_West (https://pixabay.com/illustrations/dragon-monster-creature-beast-3001238/).

Cover done in Visme.

Cover art of the chapter by

jplenio (https://pixabay.com/photos/architecture-neuschwanstein-castle-3095716/).