The Golden Dragon's Princess

I screamed as I was hauled to my feet before my mind had fully awoken or my eyes adjusted from sleep to wake. A very big man with violet eyes, a wild tangle of golden hair, and a lot of naked flesh, dragged me through the tunnel and onto the ledge. He was growling as he did so, and his grip communicated his strength and his anger. The muscles in his arms stood out against his skin as he held me out over the edge by my throat. I felt the wind grab my skirts, and saw it lift the golden strands of his hair. My feet frantically sought purchase and I managed to plant my tiptoes on the very lip of stone. “Please,” I gasped, clinging to the wrist of the hand that held my throat, his grip both my lifeline and my torment as I struggled to breathe. It was a very long way down, and the wind seemed determined to take me. All it would take was his fingers to release… “Please, I seek the dragon.” He snar

I used the pot to heat water over the fire and emptied the treasure filled bowl into the cave before using it to wash the dishes. Then I returned to the labour of sorting the treasure.   There were crowns, tiaras, strands of pearls, necklaces, and rings amongst the treasure. I wondered if they were worth as much dented and tarnished as they were from the dragon’s treatment, or whether the dragon only valued them for the material they were made from, rather than the beauty of the object wrought.   “It is a pity you have such a dismal education,” the golden-haired man observed from his throne. “I would not mind the company of someone educated.”   I pushed back my instinctual bristle at the insult. I was considerably more educated, I knew, than many in my kingdom, and certainly more so than most princesses. He was lonely, however, I thought, and wanting conversation, but disdainful of starting one with someone he considered

I fell to my knees in the treasure, my heart racing in instinctual fear. I heard the dragon roar. For a moment, my vision greyed, and then I remembered to breathe. I rose to my feet and staggered down the tunnel to the mouth of the cavern, feeling the wind raised by the dragon’s wings blow back my skirts and braid, whipping the stray hairs that had worked their way free against my face, and setting the pearls around my neck swaying.   The dragon wheeled on a wing tip, and roared again, blowing out a shock of fire. He was breathtakingly beautiful, his scales grading from white across his stomach, green gold, to the rich gold of the treasure pile behind me. The spikes that ranged along his back held threads of orange through them. Like the sculptures of lions in the castle, his head was square jawed and regal, and his legs muscled, and claw tipped. His wings were long and strong, and his tail lithesome.   He circled again in the sky. He was fo

We moved through the archways into a large chamber where the stone had been polished to glassy finish and the floor reflected us back up in shadowy form – a disadvantage, I thought, for those of us wearing skirts with little undergarments. The dress I wore clung close enough that the reflection showed nothing it should not however, so I continued confidently. Fae courtiers, imposing for their otherworldly beauty and elegance, mingled amongst themselves, disdaining the more ordinary looking brethren who had assembled waiting for an audience with the princes or just to watch it occur. I heard laughter, and looked up, to see others leaning over the balustrade of balconies. Somewhere on those balconies, a minstrel played a harp, and someone sang, her voice hauntingly beautiful. Men and women of mankind huddled together, fearfully. Brought here, I thought, against their wishes, having earnt the brethren’s ill-will through some trespas

The chamber we were taken to was generous in size and appointment, and had access to a private terrace in deference, I thought, to Aurien’s nature. There was a bathing chamber attached through a doorway hidden in the gauzy curtains.   Aurien spoke to the servant in Fae, without looking at her. His gaze was fixed to the sky beyond the doorway, and his face held the aloof expression I had become familiar with as dragon-deep-in-thought.   The servant withdrew with a small smile at me. “She will bring clean clothing and food,” Aurien told me, walking to the door and out onto the terrace. I followed. He leaned against the balustrade, looking out over the city that ranged out below and the green enchanted forest beyond it. I could see the bright blue waters of an ocean to the left, lapping against the white crest of a sandy shore.   “I forget how beautiful it is here,” he said. I leaned against him and he shifted to put his ar