I know I posted this over on Ships Of The Dragon first, but since it ended up a side story to this fic anyway... I felt it should be over on this fic as well. Since it's the same AU and it does add to the world building.

...Actually, there's a thought. Maybe if I ever get more side ships for this AU, I can just dump them here.

At any rate, please enjoy this side story! (Yes I plan to finish the main story soon. I promise. Writing this really got me in the mood for it.)

Dragons Don't Wear Dress Shirts

Acnologia x Hisui

Someone really should have made certain that the King of the Dragons was adequately prepared for the ball. Or perhaps - Hisui tried to justify - there were simply none in his court with the requisite knowledge. After all, the Dragon King's retainers must surely all be dragons themselves, or so logic dictated. Therefore, there would be none to explain the complicated rituals humans went through before any sort of social interaction.

In conclusion, it was really no wonder the Dragon King Acnologia had shown up to Princess Hisui E. Fiore's twenty-third birthday celebratory ball sans dress shirt.

Sans any shirt at all, actually.

Or the proper attire for his... lower half. Although Hisui had to admit, privately, that the councilors were entertaining to observe as they wound themselves into knots over their need to explain to the potential nation-annihilating monster that skirts were the attire of women.

Hisui had to wonder at why the dragon had even bothered to attend - he looked bored out of his skull. Not too different from her own view of this affair, she had to acknowledge. This ball was primarily being held as a last-ditch effort to find her a marriage partner, something Hisui had resolutely been avoiding ever since she came of marriageable age. There were simply none among her courtiers that she cared to spend the rest of her life with, with the sole exception of her faithful knight Arcadios. But then that relationship wasn't of that type in the first place. Arcadios was more of a second father to her, and the man himself cared for her like a daughter. The problem of Hisui's unmarried state as the sole heir to the throne was compounded by the King's disinterest in forcing Hisui to take on a husband not to her liking.

So in the end, the councilors had looked outside of the kingdom for a potential match for her. The potential political benefits were simply a bonus.

Not fond of the idea, Hisui was no less forced to interact with her would-be suitors as they were currently all guests for her birthday ball, and the invitations had all been sent out prior to informing her of the situation so there was no way to retract gracefully.

The princess highly doubted that the councilors had anticipated that the King of the Dragons himself would attend. They had been somewhat obligated to send an invitation to him, as they had been delivered to a great number of other high ranking personages from the neighboring countries. It was highly unlikely that the Dragon King would be interested, and the threat inherent in slighting him would have been too great. The kingdom of Fiore would have been ash by morning, if they had discluded him.

But now he was here, and no one quite knew what to do with him. Nor did he seem to understand himself, for he milled by the buffet and shunned conversation with the braver and more curious courtiers that approached him. More women than men, she couldn't help but observe. He did cut a striking figure, she supposed. His skin was much darker than that of the surrounding humans - bordering on black. Vibrant blue tattoos stood out against his skin, twining all around his single arm (missing a limb did not seem to incapacitate him in any way, shape, or form as he expertly negotiated the food tray on his arm and the drink held in the same hand).

Why had he decided to attend? Hisui's mind kept circling back to that question. Dealings with his people at present bordered on... violent. It was odd for a king to show up with no entourage (though that was something of a relief in this instance), and it was even more peculiar given the recent trouble her kingdom was having with one member of his race in particular.

...He couldn't possibly be here for the same reason as the human guests, could he?

Her pondering was interrupted by a shadow falling over her, the lights of the chandelier blocked by a solid form between herself and it.

It seemed that her attention had not gone unnoticed.

The Dragon King inclined his head in a slight bow; given his superior title, it was all he had to afford her. Though Hisui had to wonder if he was aware of this, or if he was perhaps just... rude.

"Good evening, Your Royal Highness," he intoned, a sneer forming on his face and in his eyes a dangerous gleam. "Congratulations on turning twenty-three."

Definitely rude, she decided. As a being having lived several centuries longer, he was mocking her. Despite herself, she smiled at him anyway - more out of habit than anything else. "I thank you, Your Majesty." The dip of her head in turn was borderline rude in itself.

"Would you care to join your own festivities?" Acnologia's smirk widened as he extended his hand to her. "Perhaps a dance?"

Hisui flushed at the insult. Unfortunately, she couldn't refuse the offer, no matter how rude. He outranked her, and he wasn't incorrect about the aloofness she'd displayed thus far at her own birthday ball.

Well... the throne was rather uncomfortable anyway. May as well stretch her legs.

"Very well," she agreed, placing her hand in his and allowing him to pull her to her feet. Then she placed her hand on his arm as he guided her to the rest of the dancing guests.

Seeing the princess herself about to take to the ballroom floor, the musicians hurriedly changed the number.

This time, Acnologia bowed deeply, and Hisui dipped into a curtsy of equal appropriateness. When the dance began, Hisui found that Acnologia, as displayed prior in her observations, did not suffer for having only one arm. The dance was a little foreign to her, accommodated for his lack of a second limb, but it was composed of familiar steps for Hisui. Soon, she fell into the rhythm with the old dragon, in movements as natural as breathing to her.

"I invited you out here to discuss something away from your councilors," Acnologia explained, halfway through the dance and fully done with polite, round-about talk. "I abhor pretenses, so I'll get right to it."

"I'm listening," Hisui replied cautiously. What could he possibly have to talk about away from her councilors? Wariness settled in her, as she scanned his face carefully.

"Call off your knights," he stated bluntly.

Hisui nearly missed the next step in her surprise. "I'm sorry... to what are you referring to?" she questioned.

He groaned in annoyance. "Your knights have been pestering a member of my race as of late. Call them off. It's annoying, having to listen to the complaints. My subject has done nothing to break the treaty I forged with your people four centuries past. Which leaves me to believe that you plan to break it yourself." His hand gripped her shoulder a little too tightly. "Call off your knights," he hissed, "or I will consider it a declaration of war." Then his grip relaxed, and the sneer crawled across his face once more. "And I think we both know who the victors would be."

The princess repressed a shudder at that. Her people would be annihilated, down to the last peasant. Acnologia could accomplish it by himself, if the old stories were to be believed.

But her outrage overwhelmed her fear of retaliation.

"How dare you," she hissed right back. "Your subject stole away one of mine - a young woman who possesses my friendship, no less. You should consider yourselves lucky that we concluded it was a breach on the part of the individual, not your race - therefore allowing the treaty to remain intact. How dare you accuse us of dishonoring it, when all we desire is to have our own returned to us."

Instead of anger, as she had expected, Acnologia responded with an amused snort. "Did the woman in question tell you all that?"

"Of course not! She was abducted!"

Acnolgia heaved a sigh of frustration. "Funny, because I did ask her... myself. And the picture painted was a very different story entirely."

Hisui flinched. "You... you've spoken to..."

"Lucy Heartfilia, yes. Interesting human, I must say. Reminds me a lot of her ancestress. Very much in everyone's business. Bossy."

"A-Ancestress?" Hisui stuttered, taken aback by this information.

His expression turned smug. "Yes. The woman with whom I made your precious treaty with in the first place. Anna Heartfilia."

The stories had never given a name to the courageous woman that had brokered a deal with the monstrous Dragon King. That it had been the ancestress of her dear friend was both a surprise and yet... not.

"Regardless," Acnologia continued, "we never abducted the girl. She offered herself as a sacrifice, and when my subject turned her down... she bargained with him. My understanding is that she is now in his employ as a general manager of his estate. Furthermore, his clan has fully accepted her as one of theirs."

Hisui bit her lip. Lucy bargaining with a dragon was not exactly a far-fetched concept. It was well within the realm of what the vivacious, strong-willed blonde heiress might do.

Acnologia then groaned. "And given that it's the clan my adopted children formed... I can't exactly refuse their adoption of her into the clan."

"Adoption?"

"Yes, the dragon race has a proud tradition of adoption." The way he stated it sounded more like it was an incredibly cumbersome burden, rather than a 'proud tradition,' Hisui observed.

Contemplating his words, Hisui ultimately shook her head. "Much as I would love to believe your words, I'm afraid I cannot," she said.

His lip curled, his movements halting, and with them their dance. "Are you calling me a liar?" The dragon's voice was low, and it grated like gravel over stone.

"No," Hisui responded, with another shake of her head. She swallowed thickly. "I merely cannot take the word of... a proud father," she ignored his snort at that, "at face value. I must speak with Lucy Heartfilia, and hear for myself from her what the truth is. Otherwise, there is nothing I can do."

He mulled it over, the other dancers coming to a stop as the music died off in confusing jumble - the musicians unsure as to whether Hisui was leaving the dance floor or not.

After a long moment, he grunted. "That can be arranged."

"Splendid!" Hisui beamed up at the Dragon King. "Now, I must prepare my entourage..."

"No need," Acnologia interrupted. He took her by the elbow, and began to steer her towards the balcony... and the open sky.

She spluttered at his actions. "Wait! What are you doing?!"

"Taking you to see Lucy Heartfilia. So we can both be done with this issue."

"Right now?!" she squeaked, as they reached the balcony. "But what about..."

He snorted at her. "You wanted to be there about as much as I did. In other words... not at all."

Hisui couldn't actually argue with that. And this was... technically her performing her duties to her countrymen.

So she nodded. "Let's get going then."

When his form shimmered, and blue-black scales began to ripple across his skin, Hisui could barely restrain her steadily growing excitement.

After all, who didn't dream of soaring through the sky on dragonback at least once in their lifetime?

And that is the tale of how the Dragon King accidentally abducted the Princess of Fiore.

(Though he did return her a few days later.)