The Princess And the Dragon Part 1

Long, Long ago, in a time of Kings and Queens. There once was a beautiful baby girl born to the king and queen of Sattepree. They quickly found a prince to betroth the princess to. His name was Prince Draco. Atlas fate is a cruel mistress and when He was seven years old he disappeared, leaving his future bride, husbandless before she even had a husband. Over the years many searched for the prince, None previaled. And the princess you ask? Well she gets suitors by the dozens and hates it. She wants love, not lust.1

Princess Rosalinda grew up pretty and fair. Her hair went down her back in lovely red waves. Her eyes shined with a green color that put to shame the emeralds. Her skin was soft, smooth, and so milky white that every prince that came to call just had to touch her. And her lips were heart shaped like her face, but the sweetest pink color in the world. Everyone thought Princess Rosaalinda was the most beautiful girl in the land, everyone but Rosalinda who hated how she looked.2

Princess Rosalinda was different from other princesses too. Ever since she came to speak, she rejected one prince after another. And her favorite thing to scream was "I am a princess not a whore! I am a woman not a stack of money! Let me marry for love and be done with it!" Though no one ever seemed to listen to her rants. They would only listen to her when she sung and so she took up singing her rants and soon they hated her singing too.3

Finally on the day of Rosalinda's 17th birthday. Her father announced that he had arranged for Rosalinda to marry the Duke of Oaksire. This was Prince Draco's old, cruel, and disguisting uncle who had a habit of getting beautiful wives and then having them disappear once he set his sights on a new girl. Something like that happened when Rosalinda was a girl, except this time Prince Draco and The Duke's current wife disappeared. So most specutlated that the Duke's wife kidnapped Prince Draco and ran off somewhere. Rosalinda was in an outrage to say the least.4

"Marry to him! But he is.... an old man! And what wife am I, number 30?" She screamed and threw a glass at the wall. Her servant cleaning up the mess quickly and quietly. "He's a pediopile that is what he is! I mean after all he has had wives younger then me and none like him either. he just likes hot wives." snapped Rosalinda as she threw more things across the room.5

"You can run away." Chimed the handmaiden as she cleaned up the room. "I don't want you to disappear my princess. I saw how he treated you as you were growing up. Such lust in that man's eyes and you were still innocent." said the handmaiden6

"I still am innocent! Last time I checked I was a virgin, and I am not giving that up for him!!" cried Rosalinda. She paused. "That is great. I will ransack my room, make it look like I been kidnapped! Now, help me pack some things! Some normal things! Nothing to scream princess. I am going to find Prince Draco! If anything I rather marry him then someone like his uncle. Though I rather marry for love!" said Princess Rosalinda. The two set to work packing a bag full of normal travler clothes, some food, and several useful items. "Now tell them I am on one of my fits and shouldn't be distrubed." said Princess Rosalinda. She grabbed a few bits of jewelerey and such which she hid easily on her body so that she could buy stuff later not knowing how long it would take.7

Rosalinda waited til nightfall and she snuck down to the stables. She had already wrecked her room, now she had to take her horse. Well one of her horses. She picked Banana, her black horse. And she mounted her horse and rode off out of the castle with ease.8

Rosalinda kept riding for the whole night, not stopping once. Her horse Banana was use to this as this wasn't the frist time that Princess Rosalinda tried to run away. Far across the countryside she rode til she came upon a waterfall she didn't know. "This is far enough, we can rest now. I don't reconize any of this." she said and dismounted Banana. She took off Banana's gear and groomed Banana as she drank from the pool that was under the waterfall. "Such a good horse." she said and groomed her. Banana whinied happily. Soon Rosalinda laid down for the night with her horse Banana at her side.9

The sun seemed to burn at Rosalinda's eyes even though her eyes were closed. She didn't move, but she felt someone touch her leg. She didn't think anything of it at frist. 'just that stupid handmaiden in the morning whom always messes with my feet.' she thought sleepily. "We will get a nice price for her. She is lovely! Such soft smooth skin." cooed a man's voice. Rosalinda bolted upward and her eyes shot open. 10

"What?" she cried as she saw she was now on a cart being carted away be several seedy looking men. Her horse Banana being pulled behind on a rope to the horse's dismay. She knew she was in trouble. 'If I stayed I know I would live for a while... Now, I am not so sure I will make it to dinner...' she thought11

"Ah, the beauty is awake, Now my dear, the fun begins." laughed a rather ape looking man. Not someone any girl would marry. Not because he was ugly, but he looked like he worked at being ugly. Rosalinda did the only thing she could think of as this man climbed into the cart, she screamed. She screamed like she was being murdered. The man didn't seem shocked by this as he forced her back to lieing down. "Shut up girl!" he said in his gruff voice.12

Rosalinda was crying as she kicked and bit and squirmed about fighting the man off with her whole body. The other men seemed to be talking about who would get Rosalinda next. Rosalinda was scared and upset. She didn't want this. She wanted freedom, she wanted adventure, she wanted to meet a real dragon! Only after a couple of minutes of just crying did she realize everything had gotten quiet, the man attacking her had stopped and something smelt like fire.13

The man dropped Rosalinda. "Do you hear the growling?" he asked as he jumped out of the cart. "Do you smell that fire? A dragon! It is on it's way!" cried the man. 14

"What do we do?" cried another man as he paced back and forth. Then the men all looked at Rosalinda as she had sat up again. "I know! We tie her to a pole and scatter! Dragons love ladies, and that way he would be distracted enough to spare us and eat her!" said the man15

"Or I could eat you and take the girl as my own." said a deep rich voice with a growl. Rosalinda ducked down. She was in different trouble now. The men screamed as a great big, blue dragon came out of the forest. Smoke streamed from the dragon's nostrels on his sleek snout. He had two horns that went back to a point and both were black with silver lineing. His big, blue wings were folded up but looked batlike from what Rosalinda could see. The dragon grined with such big, pearly white teeth that it scared even Rosalinda since they were so sharp. "Now, I see you stole a pretty little thing. And you were going to do what to her?" he said with an amuse look.16

"Give her to you, my lord! Here! A rose of the waterfall." Said the man who had tried to get Rosalinda ealier and he shoved her towards the dragon. 17

"Her things? Her horse?" mused the dragon as he pulled Rosalinda to him with his one clawed foot, or was it his hand. The tip of his one nail he curled around Rosalinda's hair absentmindly. The men took all of which they took from Rosalinda and tossed it to her feet and her horse brought to her. But something told Rosalinda that this wasn't over18

19