I stared at the unyielding doors for a moment, and then another one. My knees felt weak. I thought I would faint or throw up on the spot, but I steeled myself.


    This was my castle.


    "Dragon," I said. "Who has barred these doors?"


    "And why would the answer matter, princess?" she shot back.


    "I am in a cage," I snarled. "Whoever put me here will learn the folly of it."


    "Ah, to be young and feel such passion," the dragon chuckled, each sound out her throat sounding like a blacksmith''s bellow on the verge of collapse. "You just failed to get the doors to answer you. What luck do you think you will have, ever to get to your captors."


    "I will find a way," I coldly said.


    "Were it so?" the dragon asked, voice like a saw, "What would you do?"


    "I would kill them," I said with hot voice. "I''d make such an example of them that no one would ever entertain the notion of putting a princess behind bars again."


    "Already found a new beast to rail against, princess," she hissed. "I''m almost insulted. Am I not good enough for you?"


    "I do not yet count our business as concluded, if that is what you you''re asking," I said turning my sword towards the dragon again. "Tell me what you know of what''s behind those doors."


    "And why would I do that?" the dragon drawled.


    I didn''t answer for a few moments, forced myself to collect my thoughts, not to let my rage dictate my action.


    "Because you want to," I said eventually. "You wanted me to attempt to open the door. You wanted me to fail. You have a proposal for me."


    "Perceptive, little princess," the dragon smirked admiringly.


    "Then lets hear it," I said.


    "I will answer your question," the dragon hissed. "I will tell you what I know of what''s behind that door."


    "And in return?" I asked, slight trepidation in my voice.


    "In return I will offer you a gift," the dragon hissed. "I want you to consider it."


    "That''s all?" I said suspiciously.


    "That''s all," the dragon smirked. "I will tell you three things that I know or guess, and then you will consider my gift."


    "Then speak," I said, letting some of my rage through.


    "The first truth," the dragon hissed. "Is that the door is barred from the outside, and nothing my strength nor cunning has produced has done more than a few dents."


    "I knew that already, dragon," I said with cold voice.


    "Ah, but for a long long time I have pondered what it would take to bar a door so effectively, to stop me so thoroughly, even at the height of my power. And there is one adversary only that I know of who is able to deploy such power."


    "Who," I pressed.


    "Who indeed, princess?" She leered.


    "Second," she went on before I had time to protest the lack of answer. "The door was barred when I reached this hall."


    "Meaning?" I spat.


    "Meaning, that whoever trapped me here knew I was coming," she said with a growl. "And there''s one more thing."


    "What?" I asked.


    "There were already scratch marks in the door when I first arrived," the dragon said.


    "Third," she went on as I processed that. "There have been times, a few precious times, when I have hard a voice through the door. A voice far, far away, distorted by echoes and distance."


    "And what does this ''voice'' say?" I asked, intrigued at this new mystery.


    "No words that I''ve been able to discern," the dragon said. "But a melody. Sometimes, through the door, I have heard someone sing."


    "Sing?" I asked with a frown.


    "Sing, the dragon confirmed. And what''s more - it''s a song that I have heard before."


    "I have also heard it," the rat said with low voice, entering our conversation for the first time.


    I pondered this.


    I nodded.


    "You have fulfilled your obligation to me, dragon," I said.


    "Then it''s time for you to consider my gift," the dragon said. Painstakingly she dragged herself forward. I felt her stench grow again and did the best to hide my revulsion.


    "What do you want to offer me, dragon?" I asked.


    "My flame," she whispered, and for a moment her voice was almost soft. "My strength. My power, or what remains of it after all these years."


    I stared at the dragon. In the edge of my vision I saw the rat blink.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Why would you offer me that?" I blurted out.


    "Because," the dragon whispered, "if I were to devour you it would leave me nowhere better than I am right now, trapped and starving. But if you were to devour me... If I were to give you my flame and my strength..."


    "I might be strong enough to open the door," I said in comprehension.


    "Either that," the dragon said with a smirk, "Or you would be the one spending the next decade clawing futilely at the only way out."


    "But either way, you would be dead," I said, more shook up by the proposal than I cared to admit. Why would you do that?"


    She gave me a gentle look, and for a moment her eyes looked almost human.


    "Because before I die..." she whispered. "I might get one glimpse of what is behind that door. And if I do... I''ll die richer than I am now."


    I watched her in silence for a long time. Slowly I reached out and put my hand on her snout. I felt the rhythm of her breaths, I felt her slowly beating heart.


    "Princess..." she whispered. "I ask you for my freedom, no less, if only for a moment."


    I took a deep breath.


    "Give me your flame, dragon," I said, and despite my best efforts my voice shook.


    "It will be my pleasure, princess," she hissed and slithered closer. I lifted my cheek, trying to look brave as her mouth - big enough to swallow my entire head in one bite - came closer.


    "When you leave this castle, princess..." the dragon said, and her breath made my skin itch and my eyes hurt. "...tell them about me."


    "What will I tell them about you, dragon?" I whispered, forcing myself to stand still, forcing myself not to throw up despite the stench filling the air with acid.


    "Tell them, princess," she growled - and I felt the heat from her belly steadily growing - "tell them, that there once was a beast that brought their entire castle to its knees."


    "I will tell them them your story, dragon," I said, and I felt the tips of my hair starting to curl in the heat. "On that you have my word."


    "What will the world come to," the dragon rumbled, "if a dragon can''t trust the word of a princess."


    And then the flames emerged. I screamed in pain and horror as my hair burnt, as my skin blistered and my eyes boiled in their sockets. I felt that horrible, consuming power slither like a living thing and I grabbed for it, grappled with it. I didn''t allow myself take in the pain for even a moment, for fear that it would knock me unconscious. I forced my thoughts away from my burning flesh, put all my thoughts in single-minded focus of the flames.


    I would not fail.


    I would not fall to the beast.


    The air was drawn from my lungs. It felt like my body burned from within as well as from the outside. my hands hurt like if I were touching red hot iron. It was like wrangling a snake, fast as a whip and strong as a coiled steel spring. But I was faster. I was stronger. And wherever the flames tried to to burn me, I burnt it right back. I felt my body emit light as it had never done before, a furious beacon of power, radiating like the sun and hurling at the dragons'' flames like a hurricane at a paper kite.


    I was the princess.


    I would not be consumed by the beast.


    It would be consumed by me.


    My burning hands gripped the flames and my teeth sank into them. I tore at embers and sparks, and felt the flames glide down my throat. All the time my own glow shone brighter and brighter, so that even my ruined eyes could sense the light.


    It felt like a life time I struggled with the flames, but probably it wasn''t more than a few heartbeats before I stood up from the ground. I felt the flames slither within me, trying to consume me, but instead simply feeding my own powers.


    "...dragon..." I whispered, my voice horse, my throat hurting.


    "...princess..." came a weak whisper in response. I could not see it - could not see anything but the roughest contrast between light and darkness.


    "I have taken your flame," I said standing up on shaking legs.


    "So you... have," the dragon answered, having to force out the words.


    "When I leave, I will carry it to the outside," I manged, forcing my self not to fall over, "that part of you may leave your prison."


    "...princess..." the dragon whispered, forcing me to strain my ears to hear.


    "Dragon?" I said.


    "Tell my story..." she said.


    "I will," I said.


    "Tell them that once... I... was..."


    And then the dragon said nothing more.


    "I will," I said to the silent room.


    I took a deep breath. With fumbling fingers I felt my blistered skin, my ruined face, my burnt head, with only small tuft of singed hair renaming.


    My right hand gripped my sword, the cold metal soothing my burnt skin.


    I steadied myself. With my left hand I felt around until I felt the hardened wood of the door.


    "I am the princess..." I croaked. I snarled in frustration, and drew upon the flame within me. "I AM THE PRINCESS," I boomed, "AND I DEMAND THIS DOOR TO OPEN!"


    The entire castle shook. Stone ground against stone. I felt the rush of cold, damp air against my face as the door slowly creaked open.


    I almost didn''t hear the sound of scales against stone behind me.


    I spun around, lashing out with the sword. I heard an angry intake of breath as the dragon''s paw missed me by a hairs width, the terrible claws, hitting at empty air. I ducked another swipe, used the growl to guide me and struck, with flame and light and steel and vengeance. My blade went through the soft flesh in the upper jaw of the dragon, pierced through bone and hit the soft tissue behind it.


    The dragon roared in pain and anger, but before it had time to retaliate I struck again, and again. I felt the hot blood on my skin and I used it to fuel my flames.


    "PRINCESS!" it roared "I SAVED SOME SPARKS JUST FOR YOU!"


    I didn''t answer. Instead I pressed the sword, as hard as I could, through its skull, into the brain.


    I felt the strong body trash and coil all around me. I heard stone smash as the mighty claws tore up the floor. I smelt the blood ooze out of the wound, all over my hands.


    It took the dragon a long, long time to stop struggling.


    I remained on my knees on the floor, with my sword lodged into her skull, until her last moments had ceased.


    The only sound was my own struggling breaths.


    Slowly, painstakingly, I pulled my sword out. Only half the blade remained, the rest having been broken off during the struggles. My fingers told me it was twisted and charred.


    "Rat...?" I whispered.


    "Rat!" I cried again when I got no answer.


    "Princess?" she said from the other end of the room, voice scared.


    "Tell me what you see," I said.


    "...princess?" it asked.


    "What you see," I said in impatience. "I have lost my eyes. Yours will have to do."


    "Of course, princess," she quickly answered. "I see the corpse of the dragon you said. I see the broken room. I see the princess..." her voice trailed off in uncertainty.


    "Tell me what you see," I snapped.


    "I see the princess sitting as the victor," the rat quickly answered. "I see your skin and hair blistered and burnt. I see your sword in the dragon''s head. I see the door you commanded to open to stand wide open right behind you."


    "What do you see through the door," I asked.


    "Nothing but darkness," the rat answered.


    "Very well," I said. "Once I have taken my morsel you may have your meal. But eat quickly. Once I leave you will follow me, to see for me."


    "...of course, princess," the rat said after the barest of moments of hesitation.


    I felt my way down the dragon''s scaled body, until I found the chest. I started to hack away at it, without method or coordination. Just one scale at the time, one stringy muscle after another, until I finally had managed to open the hard flesh up enough to get to the heart.


    I plucked it out, like you can pluck a ripe apple from a branch. It was small, not muck larger than my fist, and surprisingly soft to the touch. I sat down, back against the dragon''s corpse, and I ate the heart, one bite at the time. It tasted sweet and ripe, yielding to my teeth without struggle.


    I shuddered as the soft flesh trickled down my burnt throat, but it soothed my burns.


    "I will tell your story, dragon," I muttered as I ate the heart. As I did, I heard the gnawing as the rat nibbled for pieces of her own.


    It was a long time until I finally stood up. The pain was catching up with me, and I was afraid I would not remain conscious for long, were I to give in to the temptation to relax further.


    I stood up, wobbled a few times


    "Rat," I whispered.


    "Princess," she answered.


    "Follow me," I said, and together with the rat I walked through the door.