The Dragon's Slave

A New Friend

And so my life as a slave began, and I had no idea how difficult it was going to be. Every morning, I had to get up early do get dressed and do my hair and make up. Then I had to serve the Dragon King his breakfast and put up with all of the other dragon’s teasing. Then I had to clean his clothes and make his bed before I served the king his lunch.

Of course, I was never allowed to eat with the dragons. I had to wait until they were finished and then eat with the other servants. After lunch I had all kinds of chores to do. I had to sweep the floors and wash the dishes and help to cook the dinner. It was more work than I had ever done in my life!

One day, after I had finished serving the king his dinner, I was kept late and didn’t even get to eat dinner with the other servants. I had to settle for whatever scraps were left on the plates. When I had finished eating what little I could find, I broke down and collapsed to the floor, crying my eyes out.

“Are you all right, m’lady?” I heard a kind voice from behind me, and turned to see a young man in his early twenties, with ginger hair and just a trace of stubble on his neck. He was dressed in a servant’s tunic with leather trousers and a stylish fedora on his head.

“Oh,” I gasped in surprise when I saw him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you. I should get back to work.”

“Nonsense!” the man declared as he kindly took my hand. “I couldn’t forgive myself if I left such a lovely woman in distress. Here,” he said, handing me a handkerchief to wipe my tears away. “I can’t stand to see a beautiful woman cry. You would look so much prettier with a smile on your face.”

“Thank you,” I replied as I used the hanky to wipe away my tears. “You’re very kind. I think you’re the only kind person I’ve met since I cam to this place. Everyone else is so cruel to me. They make fun of me because I’m always making mistakes, and they tell me I don’t deserve to serve the king.”

“Oh, I see,” replied the gentleman. “Are you the new girl everybody’s talking about? Arabella? I’ve heard so much about you. I’m glad to finally meet you at last,” he said as he took my hand in his and gently kissed the back of my hand.

“Oh, yes, that’s me,” I said shyly, my cheeks blushing red. “It’s nice to meet you sir. What’s your name?”

“Richard,” the man introduced himself with a polite bow. “I am a farmer here in the dragon kingdom. I look after the cattle that the dragons eat.”

“Wow, that sounds like a really hard job,” I said, though I don’t think I’d have minded looking after cows all day because I love animals so much.

“It is,” he agreed. “But I only need to watch them from sunrise to sunset and then I get to relax. I love kicking my shoes off in the evening and sitting down with a mug of hot coco and a good book.”

“You like to read?” I asked excitedly. Back in the village where I grew up, nobody liked to read for fun except me. It would be wonderful to have a friend who I could talk about books with.

“Well of course, m’lady,” he said, tipping his fedora at me like a gentleman. “I like to think of myself as a very well read gentleman. I especially enjoy a good adventure story. I absolutely love the tales of King Arthur and Robin Hood.”

“I love those too!” I told him happily. “I especially love the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, and how their love triumphed against all the odds.”

“You read as well?” Richard asked with a look of shock in his eyes. This then changed into a broad, grin of satisfaction. “Well that surprises me. I’ve never met a female who enjoys reading before. Most women are too obsessed with boys to even pick up a book. You must be very intelligent for a girl. I’m impressed.”

“Oh yes, I adore reading!” I confessed passionately. “Especially stories like Snow White and Cinderella. Stories about strong, brave young women, who are treated badly when they’re children, but manage to escape their horrible lives and live happily ever after.”

“Just as it should be!” Richard said sweetly. “Every beautiful maiden deserves to live happily ever after.”

“I don’t think I will,” I told Richard sadly, wiping away my tears again. “Not that I’m a beautiful maiden or anything, but I definitely don’t think I’ll live happily ever after. My family sold me to the dragon king, and now I’m going to be a slave for the rest of my life. No knight in shining armour will ever come and rescue me.”

“I disagree,” Richard insisted, “You certainly are beautiful, and I am sure that you will find your happy ending in the end. It just might not be the ending that you expected. Surely such a kind and gentle soul as you deserves to find love with a true gentleman?”

“I doubt it,” I said sadly. “Who would ever fall in love with a common slave girl like me? I’m sorry Richard, but I really should get back to work. I don’t want to get in trouble.” I stood up and tried to walk out of the kitchen, but I accidentally tripped over one of the table legs and went falling to the floor. Luckily, Richard had wonderful reflexes and was able to catch me in his arms.

“Are you all right, m’lady?” he asked me with concern.

“Oh yes, I’m fine, thanks to you,” I told him gratefully. “I’m so sorry. I can be so clumsy sometimes.”

“Not at all, m’lady,” Richard objected. “You’re as graceful as a swan.” And with that, he chivalrously pulled me to my feet. “And now, I must insist that you allow me to help you with your chores. I refuse to leave you alone when you are so upset.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t let you do that!” I refused him. “You have your own chores to do. I don’t want to get you in trouble!”

“I insist!” Richard told me firmly. “Any punishment is worth being in the presence of an angel like yourself. I shall stay by your side until I can put a smile on that lovely face of yours. And I refuse to take no for an answer. I’ll follow you everywhere you go if I have to, but I am going to help you do your chores!”

“All right,” I finally gave in. “Perhaps if we work quickly, we’ll get my chores done early, and then you’ll still have time to do yours.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” Richard agreed, holding my hand. “Now, allow me to open the door for you, m’lady. I’ll keep you company until you’ve cheered up. It will all be worth it to see your beautiful smile.”

And so Richard and I worked together for the rest of the day. It was so much easier doing my chores with him, and he was so nice to me. He was probably the nicest man I had ever met. He was so bold and confident, and made the most hilarious jokes. We talked about all of our favourite books, and our other hobbies. He told me that I wasn’t at all like any of the other girls in the dragon kingdom. I was smarter than the whole lot of them put together. It was so nice who finally find someone who appreciated me for my brains instead of jut my body.

Pretty soon, I forgot all of my troubles. I was having such a lovely time with Richard that I almost forgot that I was a slave, and how cruel everybody else had been to me. He actually managed to put a smile on my face.

“Ah, there you are!” he declared proudly. “You finally smiled for me. And what a beautiful it is. Your teeth shine like the purest of pearls, m’lady. It was worth all that work just to bask in the radiant glow of your smile.”

I blushed bright red at his compliments. “Oh Richard, don’t be so silly. You’re embarrassing me,” I told him with an innocent giggle.

“I really should go now, it’s getting late and I need to finish my chores before dark,” he said with an agonised sigh. “But, before I go, don’t you think your hero deserves a reward for all of his hard work?”

“Oh,” I mumbled nervously, ashamed that I could not return Richard’s kindness to me. “Yes, of course you do, you’ve helped me so much, but I’m afraid that I don’t have anything to give. Perhaps I could work extra hard and earn something for you. What sort of reward do you want?”

“Well, how about a kiss?” Richard asked with an expectant grin on his face.

“A kiss?” I gasped in shock. I had never kissed a boy before. My stepfather had made me stay away from boys ever since I was a little girl, so I had never even had a boyfriend before, let alone a kiss! If I kissed Richard now, my stepfather would be furious with me! But then, my stepfather wasn’t here. I never had to follow his rules again.

“Close your eyes, Richard,” I instructed him. Richard obeyed, and I nervously moved closer to him until we were side by side. Then, when I was finally close enough to touch him, I stood on my tiptoes and gave Richard a peck on the cheek. My first ever kiss with a boy.

Richard put his hand on his cheek and smiled. “M’lady, for that, it was all worth it!” he declared with a huge smile. “I hope that one day, I will earn myself even more kisses from your tender lips. But for now, I’m afraid I have to go. Farewell, my fair maiden!” he said with a deep bow, before leaving the room as I waved goodbye.

I felt so happy. After all of the terrible things that had happened to me, there was finally a little silver lining to my dark, black cloud of sorrow. I had finally made a friend!