Tame the Dragon

"The Dragon’s Heart" Aria’s POV: Little princess, do you believe I will be readily tame? The voice seemed to be a gloomy promise conveyed in mist. Low, gravel, a horrible reminder that the beast never really quiescent, even in prison. My heart hammering in my chest, I swallowed and tightened my hold on my sword's hilt. "I need no control over you. I just need to stay long enough to under manage what I came for. Though my voice was strong, the dishonesty came through in the shaking of my hand. Iron shackles bound the dragon before me; his enormous wings folded painfully against his back, and his golden eyes watched me with a terrible mix of amusement and hate. The air itself looked charged, humming with magic, and his stare seemed like an invisible force pulling at me, testing my will to proceed. "Help me?!" He laughed, the sound filling the room. "You, a lowly mortal, would dare suggest directions for me? Not even a beast like me could help you to hardly control your own heart. Every strand of my life cried to escape, but I did not waver. Not any dragon, Kaelen was the cursed prince turned monster hated by all. I had heard the stories of how his wing sweepers and breath of fire had devastated entire villages. How simply his presence brought kingdoms to collapse. But today he was merely a prisoner inside his own curse. Walking forward and my boots crunching under me on the cold ground, "I'm not afraid of you," I said. "You could destroy whole cities, but I have seen worse than a dragon." Something—amusement, rage, maybe something darker—something that stopped my blood cold flashed in his gaze. "You speak bravely," he murmured, his voice dropping into something darker, more terrifying. But in my natural form you have not seen me. When you do, princess, we shall check whether your bravery holds." I moved another step, the distance between us getting thinner by the second. As he moved, his shackles spun and I could see the moonlight sparkling on his scales, dark obsidian. Seeing him, tethered but still so strong, made me both thrilled and afraid. It delighted me as well. With my heart hammering in my chest, I said, "I'm here to make you useful, Kaelen," my voice cutting. " Only you can stop the prophecy." He snorted, a puff of smoke blasting out his nose. "What prophecy?" You assume that is of significance to me? That terrible prediction has cost everything. All I enjoyed. And you suppose I worry about saving this miserable country? You have run out of time. I bristled, my temper flying out of control. You think that you have endured alone? I have also gone without everything. relative of mine. Home of mine. Not only does Kaelen have blood on hands. Silence hung between us for one minute. His deep, raw angry voice then pierced the quiet. "Losing everything is not something you know what it is like. You have no concept of what it's like to be a prince seeing your nation burn from your own weakness. His eyes blazed with a wrath equaled by the flames he may unleash. I inhaled steadily, trying to ignore the emotions growing inside me. He meant to make this personal. I could afford to let that happen, though. Not when everything hung on a knife-edge. "You have no option," I said, my voice softer now. "You need me to perform an ancient custom; else, the curse cannot be undone. Maybe we could help each other. This is the only road if you want justice on those who misled you and your humanity rebuilt." There was then a long stillness. His fixed look on me appeared like a storm just waiting to strike. "Do you really believe I would trust you?" Though mild, his voice sounded dangerous. "You, sent here from the very country claiming my family? You, whose sacrifice would help your people generally? Do you truly think I would submit to your will?" The rawness of his words seemed like a gut attack. I had never expected the weight of his animosity dragging at me in this way, even though I had always recognized this would be unpleasant. "No," I said, my voice barely audible. "You most certainly do not trust me. Still, I'm not looking for your trust. I would benefit from your help. At his mouth corners, a subtle, almost invisible smile tugged. And following your desired outcome, what do you anticipate will happen? It will be you who helps me to get it under control. Will you let me wither in my cage? Heart thumping, I backed off a step. "I'm not here to tame you, Kaelen," I said, noting the words emerging more softly than I intended. Here I am to save you. His chuckling sounded like ice breaking, cold and merciless. "Please save me". Are you able to save me? You are nothing but a component in a game neither princess knows. My pulse accelerated as my fingers gripped on the sword's hilt. " Possibly. But your only chance is this one. The weight of his stare down on me made the silence between us once more heavier. Once another rumbling, this time louder, his chains seemed to be testing their limits or mine. He advised, "You don't know what you're getting into," but his voice just above a whisper, and it shivered my spine. "This...this curse bonds not only to this form, Aria. It helps me to define myself. It wrenches every bit I am. You believe you can dominate a monster like me, even though at last you will be surrounded in the flames. I continued to gaze on him. Something strangely magnetic drew me in. Maybe in his perspective the difficulty was present. Maybe the mystery of the man behind the dragon was what drove this. Maybe it was something darker, something that made every word he spoke ache my heart. "You're not the only one with a fire inside, Kaelen," I said quietly. And I have no fear of burning. He turned to face me then, looked at me really, his eyes softening for a short second. "you should be." The ground then trembled without warning, and I staggered with my hand reaching automatically for the dragon's chains ruckling menacingly in reaction. I felt the dark, unnatural energy in the air before I could hear it: the thunderous sound of wings hammering against the atmosphere. There was definitely a distinct noise. "Malvenor," I drew in a breath. Kaelen widened his eyes as the softness disappeared from behind them into the tempest. "We don't have much time." The shadows around us darkened, and people emerged from the shadows, their cloaks almost clearly against the ghostly brightness of the moonlight as though on cue. The wind altered to carry a warning that kept coming back to me. We were not by ourselves now. Too swiftly for me to see clearly, from the darkness before I could react a shadow shot at me. My hand naturally went to the wound and felt the warmth of blood streaming over my fingertips as I gasped at a stinging agony breaking over my side. "Aria"' Kaelen cried, his shackles clanking as he battled his bonds, his voice tinted with fear and fury. Not at all! I bent down to my knees; the surroundings were blurish. In the gloom among the cloud of misery, I saw someone approaching me. The game is still young, and Princess Malvenor's voice came out cold and triumphant. I battled for air, my eyes whirling about me. The ground spun. The cold, keen edge of the blade that had struck me seemed to sear more than just the cut itself. The darkness invading looked as though the very air around me was becoming denser. My hand lay on the side of my abdomen, the warmth of my blood flowing through my fingers combining with the icy bite of the mountain winds.