The Dragon Princess

Blame It On Me

I try to stop the shock and fear from showing on my face, but I mustn’t have done a very good job of it. Alexander’s smile disappears, his eyes darkening a shade. I can’t afford to upset someone like him. This party is starting to feel more like a test than a celebration of my birthday.  

“Sure.” I say quickly, hoping to stop any outburst he may have had.   

“Good. It wouldn’t be fitting for someone like you to turn me down, now would it, Ella?”   

“Of course not.”   

Taking my hand, Alexander leads me to the middle of the dance floor. I can feel the many eyes staring at us, probably wondering why someone like Alexander wants to dance with me. I’m wondering the same. A new song begins and Alexander pulls me in close, our bodies touching as we sway across the floor. This is my first real dance, I wish it could have been with Caspian. As we spin around, I see Caspian watching us, annoyance written all over his face.  

“Are you enjoying your party, Ella?” Asks Alexander, getting my attention.  

“I am. I’m very grateful to Cecilia and Atticus for throwing such an extravagant party.”  

“And so you should be. Tell me, how does a maid like you earn the right to be treated so well?”   

“I don’t...”  

“Oh, come on. There has to be a reason. What do you do, Ella? Are you f*****g the Duke?” 

 “Excuse me?” I snap, forgetting our whereabouts.   

I stop dancing and try to pull away from Alexander, but his grip on my waist is firm and he’s a lot stronger than I am. He pulls me even closer, his hand moving down to grab my behind, his mouth hovering at my ear.   

“Can’t say I blame him; you are a pretty little thing. Maybe I could get a little taste? A nice birthday treat. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” 

 His hot breath on my skin makes me feel nauseous. I have never felt so disgusted in my life. How does this foul man manage to woo so many girls? There is nothing desirable about him, not even his good looks can make up for his horrible personality. I struggle against him, willing to accept any punishment that may come my way. Anything would be better than spending another second in his embrace. 

 “Everything alright here?”   

Oh no, Konan. Alexander releases his grip on me, finally. I straighten out my dress, fidget with my hands, avoid eye contact with Konan at all costs. Everyone must be looking on, whispering about how out of line the Jermaine maid is. I feel my face flush with embarrassment and frustration. 

 “Everything is just fine. I was simply dancing with the birthday girl.”   

“Looked to me like to you were doing more than that, Alex. There are plenty of young ladies here tonight, you don’t need to be fraternising with our maid.”   

I’m shocked at Konan’s tone of voice towards Alexander. They are best friends, and I wouldn’t have thought that he would have a problem with Alexander doing what he wanted with me. 

 “Ella...” I finally look him in the eye, trying not to shake. “What did we talk about earlier?” 

 “I...But I didn’t...” Konan stops me with a cold glare.   

There’s no way I can defend myself against Alexander, so I do the only thing I can do. I turn around and rush out of the Hall. I need to breathe. I need to get away from all those scheming nobles that have no interest in celebrating my birthday. This has been even worse than I thought, and it has barely even started. I go outside, revelling in the chill of the night. The cold air nips at my exposed skin, and I finally feel like I can relax for a moment. I walk for a few minutes, back and forth at the side of the Manor.  Maybe nobody would notice if I didn’t go back into the party. I could go to bed, escape into my dream, and forget that any of this happened.

A growl sounds above me, stopping me in my tracks. My heartbeat accelerates, and I dare not move. The flapping of wings causes a gush of wind to blow over me, nearly knocking me backwards. I close my eyes, feel the earth quake below me as the beast lands. I open my eyes and sigh with relief when I see Vlad, Konan’s dragon, before me. A huge dragon with black scales and red eyes, he does look terrifying, but I have never seen him act violently. He only acts upon his Master’s demands, and unless my behaviour tonight has caused Konan to want me dead, I think I am safe.

 “Hello, Vlad.” I say, taking in the glory of him. 

 How lucky the nobles are to have such majestic creatures by their sides. He tilts his head, looking at me with what I assume to be curiosity. The movement is odd to see, so cute that it makes me giggle. He lowers his head, close enough to mine that I can feel the heat of his breath. An urge comes over me to touch him, something I have never done before. It makes me think of my dream. I try every night, so hard, to touch that dragon, but I can never quite reach.   

Lifting my hand, I hold my breath. Vlad watches my movements closely, but he doesn’t seem alarmed. Inch by inch I reach out, until finally, my fingers make contact with his snout. The scales are cold and smooth. I run my hand back and down his cheek, overwhelmed at being so close to a dragon. A small purr escapes Vlad’s mouth and it makes me laugh again. This is the highlight of my birthday, and I think that Vlad might be the only one to make me smile tonight. At least he doesn’t seem to care about my social ranking.   

“Ella!” I snap my hand back and Vlad raises his head, suddenly more alert. 

I turn around to see an angry Konan approaching us.   

“What are you doing?” He questions.   

“I just needed some air.” 

 “Vlad, you’re meant to be on guard.”   

The dragon huffs, seemingly annoyed at being scolded, before flapping his enormous wings and flying away. Amazing how human Vlad can seem. 

 “Ella, what the hell was going on with Alexander in there? You cannot dance like that with him, or any noble for that fact! Did you forget your place already?”   

“Konan, he asked me to dance. I thought it would be rude to refuse a noble. I never asked for him to put his hands all over me and say the horrible things he did!”   

“Are you shouting at me?”   

“No, I mean, I’m sorry.”   

“Get back inside, Ella. And try to keep your hands to yourself for the rest of the evening.”   

I stare at Konan in shock, tears of frustration coming to the surface. Where’s the defensive Konan from inside gone? He had questioned Alexander, who no doubt managed to twist things onto me. He’s not going to believe me that Alexander was the one acting out of place. He should know what kind of person his best friend is, but since I’m just a maid, I will always be to blame. I rush away from him, wishing that I could just disappear. If I have to go back to the party, I’ll need to freshen up. I walk towards the restroom, only to bump into Caspian.   

“Ella, what’s going on? What happened with Alexander?”   

I cannot take any more questioning, especially not from Caspian. I want to melt into his arms, have him tell me that he’ll protect me, that nothing like that will ever happen again. But he can’t. The sooner I face that reality the better. 

 “It’s nothing, Caspian. Just forget it, okay. Forget it all.”