Chapter Text
Arc 1: The Triceratons
"Ah, you're awake now?" The voice in front of me was rough, like a pro-wrestler taunting his opponent before a big match. My eyes finally opened, the spice of the speaker revealing to be none other than the ruler of the Triceraton Empire.
'How in the Shell did I end up here?! '
"You may not remember me so allow me to give you a refresher," He stood up from his throne, walking over to a large window. The two guards holding me in place, picked me up and dragged me over to the window, slamming me into a sitting position next to him on his right. "I am Emperor Zanmoran of the Triceraton Empire. I'm the one you-"
"I know who you are!"
"Ah, then you remember that you and your little friends had me at gunpoint during your little hostage situation." His eyes scanned me over, a smirk spreading across his face as he did so. What does this creep even want with me anyway?! “You see Little Red, an alien of your kind is rather rare. Green Eyes, Green Skin. Not many species have that.”
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean? What are you gonna do, sell me?!”
Emperor Zanmoran just chuckled lightly, crouching down until our beaks were mer inches apart. Naturally, this freaked me out a little. I back away slightly, only to bump into the guard standing behind me and keeping me in place. “Oh no, Little Red. You’re too exotic to sell. You will simply be the mate of my only son, Zaki. A queen if will. A pampered queen who will carry the heir to the throne once both I and Zaki are gone from existence.”
I blinked before yanking my arm free and punching that damn smirk off his smug face, “Are you fucking insane?! First of all, I am nobody’s mate or queen! Second of all, I can’t carry babies, you moron! I’M A GUY!” I was breathing quickly, shaking even. I don't scare easily but this? I was fucking terrified! How exactly did this idiot plan for me to have his grandchildren?! ‘Why am I shaking so much? Why can’t I stop shaking?! ’
He rubbed his beak, a small trail of blood leaving his nose. I swallowed as he stared at me with an unreadable look in his eyes, causing me to squirm under his gaze. Without warning, he struck me across the face. My eyes widened slightly as the sting settling over my cheek burned like a lit match was thrown at my face. A punch never stung this bad, so why does a simple slap hurt like this?! I tried to keep in the water from leaving my eyes, the pain reaching every inch of the right side of my face. “You do not strike your emperor. Such outbursts will be punished, do you understand?”
I didn’t bother to answer, not giving into the bullshit this asshole was throwing down. I refused to allow Zanmoran to have the power to control me. “Very well, take him away to proceed with what’s schelched.”
The two guards behind me picked me up by my arms and dragged me away.
I was dragged to a large bathroom, a tub the size of a swimming pool stood in the center of it all. The walls were lined with sinks and shelves full of fragrant soaps and perfumes. On one side, a door led to a small room containing a toilet. This would have been the greatest bathroom ever if it weren’t for the wide wall sized opening at the end. The guards finally let me go and left, a new triceraton entering the room with some pink cloth in their hands.
“My Quing, I am your Lady-in-Waiting. I am here to help you bathed before dinner. Please strip of your gear so that we may clean you off and get you dressed.”
‘Lady-in-Waiting? Isn’t that supposed to be a girl’s position? Are there female triceratons?’
“My Quing? Will you please strip off your gear so that we may get you clean?”
My eyes slid to the open part of the room and my heart dropped to my stomach. ’What if someone sees?!’ My face flushed a dark pink and wrapped my arms around my body protectively. No way was about to let a bunch of Horn Faces see me take a bath. ’Talk about embarrassing!’
“Please Quing, if we don’t get you bathed then we’re going to be late getting you to dinner...”
I looked at her again, glaring as I stayed put and opened my mouth to give her a piece of my mind. However, I began to have second thoughts as I looked at the girl’s eyes. Fear. All the held was fear. ’What did they do to this poor woman? I sighed and dropped my arms, “Fine but...is there any way to block that huge hole in the wall?”
“Oh that? I’m sorry, but no. Triceratons are pretty open when it comes to sexuality. If you want, I can get someone to install a curtain.” She smiled softly at me, keeping a safe distance away as she waited for my answer. She shifted her feet nervously, looking down at the floor in anticipation. I bit my lip, the awkward tension settling in the air worse than the smell of one of Mikey’s homemade pizzas.
Mikey….I’ve been here for an hour and I’m already missing him and his cooking. God, I need my baby brother right now..
"My Quing?"
Snapping out of my thoughts, I fidget with my hands and give a brisk nod, "Yes, I want a curtain." She smiled brightly and walked over to a shelf, grabbed a bottle of soap, and began to walk towards the tub all the while I was taking off my gear. I noticed her getting closer and instinctively took a step back. Not exactly the best idea since there wasn’t anything but water underneath me. I fell into the tub, thrashing around as I began to freak out from the sudden rush of warm water entering my lungs. I felt hands under my arms and lifted me out of the water, rubbing my shell as I coughed up some of the water I swallowed. I breathed in some air, calming my heartbeat as she continued to rub small circles over my shell. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just coming over with the soap to help you scrub your shell casing on your back. Are you going to be alright?” Her voice was filled with concern, “I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have come towards without warning. Especially with...this whole situation.” Her arms gesture wildly around the room, voice soft and eyes full of worry. I rubbed my forearms, unsure of what to say. *’On one hand, she’s a triceraton. This nice-routine could easily be a ploy to trick me into a sense of security. One the other hand...* I breathed out a sigh, turning my back to her and dipping my legs into the bath-water. “Just...scrub my back.” The sound of a brush dipping into the water filled my ears before feeling the bristles skim across my shell. It felt….really good actually. I relaxed, feeling the dirt loosen and leave the creasing and curves of each scute. I hummed, totally lost in tranquility and didn’t notice she started scrubbing my scalp until a bucket of warm water was dumped on me. “The shell!” She put the bucket down and handed me the bottle of soap, “Sorry, I thought maybe you’d want to relax a little so I went ahead and cleaned your crown as well.
I just rolled my eyes and opened the bottle. The smell was strong and gave off the scent of strawberry shortcake. 'Are they making me wash myself with fru-fru detergent?' I breathed a frustrated sigh through my nose. 'Fine whatever! Let's just get this over with!' I spurt some in my hands and began to scrub my body down, the dirt and sweat from previous training, working out, and missions getting cleansed from my skin. I submerged myself into the tub, letting the warm water rinse all the soap off of me. Climbing out of the tub, the girl wrapped me a large soft towel the size of a blanket and began to dry me off. “I can do it myself!” I glared at her, hoping she would get the hint and lay off. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and shook her head, “No offense My Quing, but can you really handle a towel that can easily be a quilt with a body that’s usually the average size of our children?” I bit my lip, knowing full well that she wasn't wrong. The towel was heavy and a little hard to keep from falling off my shoulders. But again, I wasn’t going to let these dick-nosed dinosaurs have power over me. ”I said I can do it myself.” She giggled before looking around the room cautiously and whispered softly, “Be careful with that stubbornness. You need to play along with whatever the hell Emperor Moron has planned so you can earn his trust. Getting you out of here will be easier that way.” I blinked repeatedly, my eyes widening at the sudden statement coming from her mouth.
“Huh?..”
After I'm completely dried, she hands me the puffy piece of cloth that was set on the counter next to one of the sinks. I looked it over and discovered that the cloth was in fact a pink poofy princess dress.
A dress.
For princesses.
I had to stop my brain from squealing.
Do I see gender in clothing?
No.
No I do not.
Am I a fan of strong women with a fabulous fashion sense ruling over counties and/or planets?
Yes.
Yes I am.
Being able to dress like a disney star or like my favorite character from Super Robo Mecha Force Five?
Shell yes!
I’d give up my left leg to be able to do that! However, Zanmoran had different plans. The dress was simply a way to degrade me and not to bring me joy to something I love. There was no way I was going to allow the planet of horn-heads the satisfaction of seeing me in that! I may love princesses but not in a situation where I’m forced away from home and into marriage with someone I don’t even know. “I am not wearing this!” Lady-in-Waiting sighed and put her hands on her hips in a sassy manner. “Oh sure, let’s just give Dick Nose an excuse to not trust you and have you stay here longer. Great plan there, Quing.” Wow, talk about Queen of the Sass. It...reminds me of April and Donnie...I’m missing their sassy quips...I wanna go home. Rolling my eyes, I shoved the pretty dress back into her arms. “I said I’m not wearing that and nothing you can say or do is going to change my mind.” She just stared at me, a mischievous smile spreading on her face, “Okay then, I guess the thousands of ball gowns in your new closet will just collect dust.”
‘Oh no she didn’t.’
“You know, don't you?”
“Well, the look you gave when I handed the dress to you did give me the indication. When it’s just us two, we can do a few runways if you want, but, you need to play along with this bullshit and put this on. I know I know, you don’t want to give them pleasure to humiliate you. But think of it this way: you’ll have the satisfaction of playing them for a fool.” She gave me a wicked smile and, I gotta say, I loved where she was going with this. So I smiled back and took the dress from her again, slipping into it with ease. “Mind zipping the back for me?” She zipped the zipper over my shell and then gave me a small pat on the back. “Let’s get you to dinner My-”
I stopped her with a genuine smile on my face, “My name’s Raphael.”
The dinner hall was huge, big enough to fit two or maybe three of the dojo back home. Leo would have loved a size like that.
Leo...I was missing his lectures and cheesy speeches of motivation...I could have seriously used one of those at that moment…
“Ah, Little Red. How was the bath? I hope your Lady-in-Waiting treated you with care?” Zanmoran’s eyes laid upon the girl beside me, her anxiety radiating off of her and swimming in her eyes. I stepped in front of her protectively, “She’s fine.” Her shoulders eased up, her anxiety seeming to disappear a little. “Good,” He said, smiling with content as he continued. “I’d hate to lose our simple servant girl because one of our royals ended up getting hurt.”
I gritted my teeth, anger boiling inside me and my fists clenching as I tried to keep myself from punching this loser in the nose again. She’s not just some simple servant girl. ‘She’s the only one here that’s shown a lick of kindness and understanding to me here!’ I breathe out a sigh, “I only got hurt when you decided to slap me earlier.” He chuckled lightly, swirling his drink in his hands. “Well I am your superior. Now, sit down so dinner can get started.” I let out a growl and drew out my chair in frustration. Lady-in-Waiting (I really needed to know her name), bowed and left the room, several chefs piling in with platters of food. My seat was right next to Zanmoran’s and I hadn’t really noticed it until I looked around the room, but there were other guests sitting there as well. While the other guests began filling their dishes, one of the servers placed an already-made plate. It was a large amount, too much even for a stomach like mine. A flourish of greens and fruit filled half the plate, the other side having a slab of meat. My eyes trailed to the center of the table until they laid upon the two-headed-six-legged pig carcass that sat there.
’Poor little guy…’
I don’t eat meat.
Never have, never will.
I can’t stomach the thought of eating something with thoughts and feelings. It doesn't feel right to kill something that can’t defend themselves, it’s sad and makes me feel icky. It would be like eating my friends! So instead, I began to nibble on the fresh greens and fruit. There were several bits of chattering conversation amongst the guests, but I didn’t bother talking to anyone. If Casey was here…
His stupid jokes and comments would have really made me feel so much better...
“Little Red, why are you not eating your swine? I had the finest chefs prepare and smoke it overnight.”
Everyone had their eyes on me, my cheeks flushing in a slight embarrassment as I mumbled out “I don’t like meat..”
Zanmoran raised a brow, reaching over and lifting the slice of ham from my half-empty plate. “Meat contains protein. You will eat what is in front of you. Do not waste food or there will be consequences.” My eyes widened as he pried my mouth open and shoved the meat into my muzzle. I clawed at his hand, hoping he would let go so that could spit the dead pig slice out.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he moves my jaw so that I’m chewing the ham into a fine mush. My eyes watered as he held my nose and forced me to swallow the greasy mess down my throat. “There you go, good boy.” he said, giving the top of my head a soft pat and resting his other hand under his chin. I gagged, coughing and wanting to vomit out the animal I was just forced to eat. “I think dinnertime is over for you, take him to his chambers.” Two guards grabbed me by the arms, leading me out of the dining hall as I glared at the Zanmoran with immense hatred.
‘I’m gonna kill this man.’