The Dragon King's Prize

Princess Guenette had been confined to her room while everyone else was downstairs, celebrating the 'victory'. A few knights in their kingdom had killed a dragon that morning, having surprised it as it fed. It was quite cowardly, but Guenette must have been the only one in the kingdom to think that because the celebration was going very strong in the castle. She could hear quite a few people slurring, having drank way too much, but that was alright with her. The fact that everyone was drunk meant that no one had locked her inside her dungeon of a room for the first time in months. She took this time to slip out if her room, running as swiftly as her bare feet could manage on the slick marble floor. Guenette smiled wide as she ran, her long, dirty blonde hair flowing behind her. She slipped once, falling to one knee, bruising it as she did, but the pain barely phased her; bruises meant nothing to her, she'd been dealt worse. Quickly she got back up, she didn't stop running until she reached a door that lead out to the garden. "The garden," She breathed, pushing the door open wide, not caring to close it behind her. What were they going to do if they found her, whip her? Beat her? That was nothing new to her, sad as that was. After her mother, the first queen, died, her father had quickly remarried, mainly in hopes of having a son. The new queen was harsh, punishing Guenette for every little thing, keeping her locked away so that she didn't have a chance to make connections with anyone. Though the queen said it was for Guenette's own safety, which was what her father believed. He didn't know about the beatings that his beloved daughter received, about the horrible words she endured every day. Guenette smiled so very wide as she walked through the grass, looking to the sky above to see the stars and the moon. She raised her hands above her head, as if reaching for the stars, when a sudden shadow flew past above her. Curious, she froze, head tilted. Had it been a bird? She shook her head, thinking maybe she had imagined it, she turned back to the garden, only to freeze once again, having spotted a figure standing in front of the group of rose bushes. She was about to run, she didn't want to be caught yet, she wanted to see more of the garden, the garden that she hadn't seen in ten years. She had been eight when her mother had died, but she still remembered her and their walks through the rose filled garden. Of course, Guenette had been able to slip out of her room before, but never had she been able to make it as far as the garden before getting caught. The figure was watching her, when she began to hear it, the sound of beating wings and the screams of terror. She tilted her head, her icy blue eyes taking the man in before her, she had first thought he was a guard, but the screams behind her weren't phasing him. They didn't phase her either, the screams, since every single one of the maids and guards in the castle had ignored her cries the first few years she'd been locked away. After that, she'd learned to stop crying. Why should she feel bad for the people that never thought to see about her own safety? The man opened his mouth to speak, the light from the moon gave her enough light to see that, but before he could say anything, she beat him to it. "Before you kill me, can I at least see a dragon?" Her voice came out a whisper still, she wasn't really used to speaking to anyone. The man froze, his red eyes shining with curiosity and a hint of confusion. He looked her over, then he uttered something, something she couldn't quite hear. For her, time seemed to slow as she watched him motion to the sky, his fingers motioning to something. She watched, in awe, her fingers fiddling with her nightgown in eager anticipation, as a dragon descended from the sky. She knew there had to be more there, but she had eyes only for the one before her. It was a beautiful golden color, it's scales shimmered in the moonlight. She gasped as a gust of wind overtook her, it's mighty wings causing her to almost fall on her backside. She caught herself, just barely, she was itching to step forward and touch the dragon, but she dared not. "This is the mother of the slain dragon," The man simply stated, Guenette knew he was the Dragon King, merely from the stories she had heard in the halls, but she did not know his name. His eyes shifted to the castle behind her, "She wants revenge, as do I... But not from you. Come, we are going to go see the damage my dragon friends have caused and talk with the king. What happens next will be up to him." He ordered, nodding to the mother dragon, she stepped forth, nudging me with her snout. He could easily destroy the kingdom, so she had to wonder why. Why was he so willing to talk to the king?