Apparently every princess needs an animal companion. Dacan thought that would be his in, because his cousin, princess Maes, always enjoyed feeding the wildlife. If he could gain her trust as a bird, then all he’d have to do is catch her off guard.

And then what? Well, he doesn’t want to murder her. That’s too extreme. He wouldn’t kill for the throne. If he did, he wouldn’t be fit for it.

He hadn’t thought this far into his plan yet, but he’s been considering convincing her to change career paths. A zooligist would be nice. Or a vet. All he knew was that she loved animals.

“Be back before the stroke of midnight, or else you’ll be stuck in that form until you find true love’s kiss.” The wizard warned him when he asked for help in the matter.

Dacan scowled at such risky rules. “Why couldn’t you just choose one fairytale to—“

“Because I said so.” The wizard interrupted with a sassy eye roll. “How would you feel if you made up an intricate magic system and everyone either complained or disregarded it because they can’t appreciate the effort you put into dming for them?”

“Dming?”

“You’d feel horrid!” The wizard squawked, then raised his wand to shapeshift Dacan into a bird. “Now, I know you love to visit me, but you have to run along now, I have a pedicure appointment.”

“I don’t love to visit you, I just met you.” Dacan replied bluntly.

“Very well.” The wizard nodded. “But the next time you visit me, you have to shave the top of your head and wear a top hat, then go find twenty people to greet by tipping your hat to reveal your bald spot.”

And that was the last conversation he had as a human. Now that was horrid.

It would make him look stupid if he told his story to someone someday, and said that the reason he didn’t make it back before midnight was because he forgot. So he decided to leave that part out.

In any case, Dacan did succeed in one thing. And that was befriending Maes as a bird. Over the course of the next few weeks, he’d visit her window every day, until she eventually decided to keep him. He exchange his freedom for free food. Who wouldn’t?

He came to learn that her personality wasn’t as one dimensional as he thought it was. She loved things other than animals, like ghost hunting, soap carving, and playing guitar. Well, she doesn’t play guitar as much as she used to, but she would say it’s still her hobby if anyone asks her. Who wouldn’t?

Dacan grew fond of her over the months. He loved sneaking around the palace in the middle of the night with her to find some ghosts. And he found the sound and smell of her soap carving to be really therapeutic.

He soon came to realize that cousins can be friends too. That should be more normalized. If it was, then he could’ve been doing all this with her as a human, and not a bird.

They lived in the same palace their whole lives, yet never spent time together like this.

And of course it was Maes who broke his curse with true love’s kiss on the top of his feathery head.

“Dacan?!” Maes’ jaw dropped. “You’re Mr. Birdoobabirb?!”

“Yes, I am. And I’ve never cared for that name, actually.” Dacan smiled as he ruffled the feathers off his head of hair.

“Why…?”

“Because it’s actually really ridiculous.”

“No, I mean, why were you a bird?” Maes asked in disbelief.

Dacan grimaced and shifted his gaze towards the wall. Ah, what a lovely wall to stare at when things got awkward, it even had wallpaper and everything.

He still cared about the throne, but he came to realize that she was just as good a fit for it as he was. Sure, she could be a little kooky sometimes, but all princesses were “adorkable” these days anyways.

Plus, after all their time together, he would rather give up on his plan than give up on her.

“Honestly? …I wanted to gain your trust so I can convince you to step down from your duties, and I could be the king.” Dacan confessed softly.

The realization spread across Maes’ face like peanut butter on toast. Her sigh was nearly quiet, and her brows furrowed as her lips curled up into a crooked smile. “But I have five siblings.”

“I know that! I was going to get to them after!” Dacan scoffed.

“Get to them, huh? What bird will you be next? Or will you be an imp?” Maes teased with a giggle.

“Oh, shut up.” Dacan laughed, playfully nudging her lightly.

The two of them chuckled together until their laughter died down. Maes then rubbed her chin as she pondered the issue, before speaking up once more.

“You know what? I don’t actually want to be the queen, I want to do something more fun with my life. And I know my siblings are horrible, so really, you’re the best fit for the throne.” She grinned. “And I can make that happen.”

“Really? How?” Dacan’s eyes widened with hope.

“Well… how about we pay that wizard a visit?” Maes suggested.

Dacan grimaced, rolling his head as he winced. “…I guess I have to shave my head and find a top hat.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”