His hot, fiery breath puffed out as the dragon glared out at the castle lifting far into the sky. Inside, as he well knew, was a princess. His core burned with rage at her current state, held captive and abused by the man who had forced a marriage upon her. The vile prince was a monster and, worse, treated the girl worse than he treated his animals.
The dragon started to creep forward. His chance was coming, for he knew the prince would come out of the castle soon, seeking the glory of the hunt, as he thought that perhaps he could earn the respect of his subjects if he were to slay a dragon. Little did he know that soon he would meet his end at the claws of the very beast he wished to hunt.
The clock in the tower over the giant structure struck 12 and the drawbridge began to lower. The prince was always one for show, his pretentious actions making it all the easier for his enemies to exploit a weakness and act upon it, for the prince thought that he was invincible, thought that he was the hero of his story, and that the heroes always won, didn’t they?
The gate crashed down to the ground, sending up a plume of dust. For a moment, all was still, and even the wind seemed to hold its breath in anticipation for something, anything, to happen. Then a steady rhythm of clicks, punctuating the air in a steady beat, announcing the prince’s approach, just on cue. The dragon steadied himself, his hindquarters shivering against the undergrowth slightly, quivering the branches slightly and causing them to rustle. The prince jerked his horse to a stop, hard, glaring around himself with a haughty confidence. He seemed to decide that he had heard nothing and moved back along, slapping his reins against his poor animal’s neck to make it go once more. Reeking of pride, he rode closer to the hiding place of the dragon, only his horse showing any degree of recognition to the imminent danger.
Suddenly, the steed reared, depositing the prince onto the dust as it dashed off, into the trees on the opposite side of the dirt road. The prince scowled as he pulled himself to his feet, brushing the dust off his clothes ostentatiously, glaring around him with a glower but failing to catch sight of the topaz dragon, hidden artfully just beyond the prince’s sight. Though as large as a house, the dragon had taken great pains to conceal himself until the moment he…
Pounced. Propelling himself onto the prince with the power of twenty horses, the dragon caught the man by surprise. Hardly even did the prince dodge the attack, so closely missing it that the dragon’s claws left three, parallel, shallow cuts along the prince’s cheek and just barely grazed the man’s ear. Despite the almost complete miss, the man was propelled off his feet by the force of the shock wave that ran through the ground at the dragon’s impact with the ground. He tumbled a good five feet before he landed, awkwardly, against a tree on the other side of the dirt road. The dragon spun quickly to face the man who stumbled to his feet and drew his sword. Even now, with such a daunting task at hand, the prince lost none of his haughtiness.
Before the dragon could pounce again, the prince raced forward, brandishing his sword like a needle against a mountain. The man did not stand a chance, but the scoffing look upon his face added an element of hilarity to the situation which otherwise was very serious. Though he could simply crush the man here, the dragon stepped to the side, swinging his tail and smashing the prince into a tree. The sword dropped out of his grasp, clattering on a root below him before settling on the ground, just beyond his now suspended feet. The dragon held him gently but firmly, ruby eyes glaring at him warily. He stretched his neck forward so his face was very close to the prince’s and growled angrily.
Finally, a look of doubt flickered through the prince’s eyes, and he seemed for a moment to become truly concerned about his current position. Just as quickly, the look passed, and he spit into the dragons face, causing his foe to bash the man against the tree, knocking the prince unconscious.
Stepping back, the dragon left the prince crumpled on the roots of the oak which had served as the dragon’s ally. He turned, strutting back down the road until he broke the open ground, where he spread his wings and soared into the air. He looped around lazily for a short time above the castle, the prince’s crown gleaming on his claw. The guards on the wall glanced up at him, but their eyes darted away again when they saw the prize dangling from the dragon’s talon. As he drifted towards the tallest tower, he noted that two horseman left the castle slowly, heading into the woods where he had had his recent battle.
When he reached the window of the tower, the dragon stopped, hovering. For a long moment, nothing stirred, but then a face peeked out through the window, a pale face framed by curls of black. Brown eyes met his without fear, full of a fiery nature but also a gentle kindness. The girl opened the window, leaning out while saying something to him, but the dragon heard nothing over the roar of his wings beating the air. The princess looked down and noticed the crown dangling at the moment, and her eyes filled with tears as a smile broke across her lips.
Noticing that she was still trapped where the prince had kept her, the dragon flapped higher, uncurling his foot to allow her to climb into it. She hesitated briefly but seemed to quickly decide that it was better for her to get down. She climbed slowly onto the limb, holding tightly as the dragon slowly descended back to the ground. Right before he landed, she jumped down, and he flapped back up, dropping the crown beside her as he spiraled back up, leaving the kingdom in the gentle hands of its new matriarch.
Yet he would stay for a time, to watch and guard the princess for as long as he could, lest the prince try once more to control her, and the dragon had no doubt that the princess herself would fight by his side next time, fierce as a tigress, and with everlasting grace.
The prince, he decided, would make a tasty snack should he ever mistreat anyone ever again.