Monthly Foe

Roman was in the Imagination battling the Dragon Witch. There really wasn't much malice in the battles. Whenever Roman won, the Dragon Witch would be dead for a while and remain in a hibernation state in their cave until their next fight. Whenever they won, Roman would limp back home to take care of his wounds and go over what to improve on for the next battle.

On that particular day, Roman and the Dragon Witch were partaking in a battle, which wasn't too abnormal for them. However, Roman dropped his sword randomly and crouched over in pain. The Dragon Witch looked confused as they saw this.

"What's wrong with you? I haven't even used my claws yet," they claimed.

Roman was still in pain as he looked at his opponent.

"What day is it?" he asked.

The Dragon Witch seemed confused, but told Roman. As a result, they were faced with a panicked prince. He snapped his fingers to get to his room and returned in front of his opponent a few minutes later. They were evidently concerned when they saw him.

"Sorry about that. I just... I just lost track of my days. Expect me to be M.I.A. for a few days," Roman told them.

Within Roman, they were able to pinpoint the source of the pain.

"That time of the month?" they asked.

Roman looked surprised at the words that came out of their mouth. He was trying to come up with a retort for the sake of dominance, but just looked down and sat on what was initially their battleground.

"Nobody else knows, not even Remus. If you don't mind, I hope to keep it that way," the Prince proclaimed while still dealing with cramps.

The Dragon Witch looked at their opponent who has bested him many times before. They always thought that only the other Sides had the luxury of seeing him so vulnerable. They hated that their only acceptable activity where they could be sharing the same space had to be cut short and hated the fact that Roman was choosing to go through his monthly hardships alone without someone to cling to. They lied down with their body surrounding Roman, much to his confusion, and nudged him with their nose.

"You don't have to deal with this alone. I won't tell the others, but I will help you," they told him.

"How would someone like you be able to help me?" he asked them.

"Because I'm not just a dragon, remember? Look, I'll come by to help you out in the guise of you spending time with a friend. You might not notice my arrival at first, but I'll make absolutely certain you'll know it's me," they explained.

After a while of lying down on the ground together, Roman teleported himself back to his room. He was curled up in a ball on his bed and felt disgusted with himself, nothing new for him at that point in the month. However, he couldn't help but wonder how the Dragon Witch would help him go through with his problem.

The next day, Roman tried not to slouch in pain as he went to the kitchen to succumb to the munchies. He sat down at the table after grabbing a jar of Crofters and snapping his fingers to use it for jelly donuts.

"Hey, Roman, are you expecting company? This person, Eragon, says you were expecting them," he heard Patton say.

Roman looked up to see whom the person in question was and saw a young-looking person with a yellow shirt, a maroon skirt with black tights and black boots, really short white hair, black-framed glasses, and eyes of purple and green. He looked at the person for a long while and his gut was telling him to trust the person.

"Oh, yes, we met at one of the neighboring kingdoms while I was bringing a damsel home. We haven't seen each other a lot due to conflicting schedules," Roman claimed as he walked towards Eragon.

Patton smiled and said, "Just make sure you're home before dinner," before the two left for the Imagination. Eragon and Roman walked side by side in silence until the Dragon Witch's cave came into view.

"So... Eragon, huh?" Roman asked.

"Yea, obviously, no one calls me by my name often," they shrugged.

As Roman's cramps worsened, Eragon helped him the rest of the way to the cave. Once they got inside, Roman looked around and noticed that it was basically an apartment inside a cave, not what he would expect from a home of a dragon. Eragon was just looking at Roman as they were helping him onto the couch.

"How did you expect my home to look?" they humorously asked.

"Oh, I dunno, maybe a witch's brew or you guarding a treasure chest?" Roman said while curling into a ball of embarrassment on the couch.

"Don't worry, I get that a lot. When the only way you know to socialize is by partaking in battles as a dragon, you're no longer surprised when they only see you as a dragon. Now, are you in the mood for a nap, a snack, or a bath?" Eragon responded.

Roman knew there was no hate in their battles, but he was surprised by how friendly the Dragon Witch was really showing themself to be. He decided to take a bath and Eragon pointed out the bathroom. They would've helped Roman on the way there if not for the knowledge that Roman wanted to still feel capable of doing things on his own. Eragon waited a few minutes before going to the bathroom to knock on the door.

"Come in," Roman answered.

Eragon came in to see Roman in the bath and proceeded to set up some essentials like candles and bath salts. They even stayed in the bathroom after Roman asked to not be alone. They spent their time talking and Eragon was able to tell when some things Roman said were either genuine or fueled by extreme emotion.

After a while, Roman was done in the bath and snapped his fingers so that he was dry with his comfort clothes and a pad on. They sat down in the living room watching "Sharkboy and Lavagirl" for a while before Roman turned to witch next to him.

"Um, Eragon, why did you want to help me through this, anyway?" he asked.

"Simple, I know first-hand how horrible these monthly 'surprises' can be. Besides, it's not like it's easy to say 'Wait, I want to befriend you' in the middle of a battle without anyone asking questions," they answered.

Roman smiled as they finished their answer.

"Well, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to use my sword on something else."

"Oh, I'm okay with the battles, I just hate that they're the only times we actually see each other."

They spent the next several days socializing with each other. Eragon found themselves relieved to be free to be themself around someone and Roman was having a great time around someone he wasn't trying too hard to impress that he'd occasionally forget that he was still going through his period. He found out some things about Eragon that he never expected to find out: They've exchanged spells with Fairy Godmother every now and then, they've tried taking notes of Talyn's make-up tips from the real world, they even kept their own stabbed spleen in a case because they found Roman pretending to be straight funny. A few times, the two would joke that if they were any closer, they might as well call Roman "Donkey."

Near the end of Roman's period, Eragon let themself in the Mind Palace and looked around. They saw Virgil sitting extremely close to Patton on the couch and they saw Logan making tea in the kitchen, but they didn't see Roman. They walked around silently trying to look for him and thought they were on the right trail when they heard muffled talking in one of the rooms. They slowly opened the door only to see Deceit and Remus in a conversation.

"...anyone who would have to strain their eyes to avoid crying at the sight of me in a 'funhouse mirror' is pathetic in my book!" Remus proclaimed.

Eragon remembered how Roman described Remus well enough to know the trash man was talking about the benevolent twin. They were frustrated by the insult that they weren't thinking completely while barging in.

"How about you shove hot coals down your throat before talking shit about Roman?!" they shouted.

Remus looked at Eragon confused before looking at Deceit.

"Oh, that's Roman's 'friend from a neighboring kingdom'," Deceit explained while acknowledging the bullshit in the description.

"Roman has never been one to give up! He picks himself up for another battle after enough evident hard work! Heck, any man who can shed blood every month and keep walking is stronger and more badass than you'll ever be!"

Eragon didn't acknowledge what they said until after they finished talking. They were worried about accidentally revealing Roman's secret. They heard footsteps behind them and looked to see they were coming from Roman. They didn't know how Roman would respond or how he would feel.

"They actually make a good point. I've faced the Dragon Witch with lacerations on my body many times before... but I've also faced an opponent that shows up every month. Not every man would make through the first day of the encounter, but I'm proud of one of the few men that can go through with it no matter how painful it can be," Roman responded in a way that shocked everyone in the room.

He smirked at Eragon and they gave a smile before leaving the two Dark Sides stunned.

"How much did you hear?" Eragon asked.

"I heard it all from my room and learned to ignore his remarks. I just didn't expect you to stand up for me. Thank you," he retorted.

"Of course. Besides, our fights have definitely shown how much potential you have and I'm sure the other Sides have seen some more of your strength," Eragon added.

Pretty soon after Roman's period was over, Eragon's words made him feel bold enough to come out to the rest of his family, who were as accepting as their host. As for his friendship with Eragon? They still had their battles, but proceeded to spend time together doing other activities.