The Dragon Queen: Runaway Bride

“How dare you, Pandora!” Father’s voice boomed across the throne room. “You tried to run away from me!” “Oh, please, Father!” I fired back. “I’m twenty-two years old! I’m not a little child anymore. I can make my own decisions, but you never let me do anything!” My long, shiny golden hair slipped from its neat bun and fell over my shoulders. My blue eyes burned with rage as I stared at him. He stood up from his throne and walked straight toward me. Before I could say another word, his hand came down hard across my face. The slap echoed loudly. I held my stinging cheek and looked at him in shock. My own father had slapped me. “My King!” Mother cried. She rushed down from her seat and grabbed his arm. The guards stood still like statues, not moving at all. “You will not speak to me like that,” Father warned, his voice cold. “I hate you,” I shouted, the words burning in my chest. “I really hate you!” I turned and ran out of the throne room as fast as I could. Mother called after me

I slowly opened my eyes, the mud under me reminded me that I was still alive. I looked around immediately and saw Maria, thank goodness we were safe, but barely. It seemed the river had carried us far from the castle.Maria groaned beside me, her face was pale and stained with blood and dirt. "Pan..... are you okay?" she whispered, her voice was trembling. I reached over to her and touched her shoulder. "I'm fine," I said softly. "We're alive, somehow. But you don't look too good," I whispered back to her, worry showing all over my face."I'll be fine, it's just a little scratch that's all," she replied, wincing in pain as she tried to sit up.The sun hadn't fully risen, its dull light was casting over a forest unlike anything I had ever seen. The trees were literally taller, thicker and the leaves were much darker than the ones in the garden back home. I saw strange birds with very bright feathers hopping and flying on the branches. Even small animals just ran around our feet, unafra

“What is that?” I asked, looking at the wormy thing Prince Valdanus called food. “Food, dear Princess. It's one of Scorish's special delicacy,” Valdanus said as he handed me the plate containing the thing. I glanced at Maria that was sitting beside me as she was ravishly eating the food like she hadn't eaten in months. “Maria,” I whispered to her and gave her a small kick on the leg, and she came to her senses. “Sorry, pan, got carried away with the deliciousness. What's it called?” Maria directed the question to Prince Valdanus. “Spaghetti,” Valdanus answered. “Ah, yes, spaghetti. You should try it. It's really delicious.” Maria nudged and continued to eat. I looked at the food again and picked up the spoon and scooped some spaghetti and quickly put it in my mouth, and in that moment my mouth exploded in the wonderful taste. My eyes shone with excitement as I nodded that it was good. “See, told you. A special delicacy,” Valdanus said as he smiled and stared at me. His stare made

I woke up the next morning feeling like I hadn’t slept at all. My body was on the bed, but my mind was still at the window, still stuck on the way the dragon had looked at me. I sat up slowly, my heart already beating faster than normal.Please don’t start. I just woke up. I thought as i clenched my dress. Maria was still asleep beside me, curled up like a baby. I watched her for a moment before standing up quietly. The room suddenly felt too small, like the walls were closing in.I didn’t even think about it. I just walked toward the window again. I didn’t know what I expected to see…probably nothing. Or maybe I just wanted to prove to myself that I imagined everything.But of course, it was real.The moment I looked outside, there it was. The dragon was still there. It wasn’t far, it was resting near the far end of the palace grounds, its large body still and calm. But its eyes… they lifted and locked onto me again.Here we go again.“Not again,” I whispered under my breath.I stepp

My fingers were just about to touch the dragon.“Stop!”The voice cut through the air so sharply that I froze instantly. My hand hung in the air, trembling. The dragon didn’t move, but I slowly pulled my hand back.Footsteps rushed toward us. I turned and saw guards running in from different directions. Their faces were tense, their hands already on their weapons. Behind them, Valdanus was moving quickly, his eyes fixed on me.“Step away from it,” one of the guards ordered.I didn’t argue. I took a step back, my heart racing. The dragon lifted its head slightly, letting out a low sound, but it didn’t attack. Valdanus reached me within seconds. “Are you hurt?”I shook my head. “No… it didn’t do anything.”He glanced at the dragon, then back at me. His expression was hard to read. “You shouldn’t have been this close.”“I didn’t plan it,” I said quietly. “It came to me.”That made him pause. Behind him, more guards gathered, forming a barrier between me and the dragon. Still, it didn’t l