《The last princess》


 Darkness

    I opened my eyes.


    Darkness.


    It smelled of damp and mould. I felt rough stone under my skin.


    I sat up, shivering slightly in the cold.


    A faint, faint light could be seen - too faint for me to readily determine its source. In every direction - darkness. Below me, stone and slippery water.


    I felt with my fingers over my arms, legs, and body... I was thin, more so than I should be. There were rough patches where my skin had been bruised. I was...


    I started to tremble.


    I did not know who I was.


    I closed my eyes, forced them closed to exclude every single ray of light.


    I forced myself to breathe. Breathe in. Breathe out.


    I did not know who I was.


    I did not know where I was. I did not know how I had got here. I did not know if could expect to meet others like me... or unlike me. I did not know when last I had eaten or where I could next find food or water.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    I did not know who I was.


    I did not know who I was.


    I kept my eyes closed. I focused on my breaths. Counted them. One... two... three. Who taught me to count? Who taught me those words for numbers? Did that someone deem it worthy to give me a name?


    ...four, five, six...


    What was my name?


    ...seven, eight, nine...


    Who was I?


    ...ten, eleven, twelve...


    I was dressed in a thin dress - far too thin for this cold. The cloth felt worn but strong, despite how fine it was. There were frills around the arms. Embroidery along the neckline. Had it been expensive?


    My hair reached my shoulders. On my head was something hard and spiky, I took it off and felt in under my fingers.


    A crown? Small and dainty. I felt the tugs of memories as my fingers explored the delicate metal. Cold, hard stones - gems? - adorned it. Seven spikes in front, none in the back. More of a tiara than a crown.


    My tiara.


    Why did I wear a tiara?


    What was I?


    Queen?


    Bride?


    Princess?


    I felt the word resonate in my brain.


    Princess.


    I probed at the word, forced my brain to offer up any association that came with it.


    Was there a kingdom? A castle? A throne?


    Were there courtiers and balls and princes?


    Did I have prospects and expectations and duties?


    There, something.


    Duties. The duties of the princess. The princess had to...


    I felt a flare of pain flash through my brain. I kept probing, but the pain forced me off.


    Interesting.


    Did I have parents? Did I have siblings? Did I have guards and chamber maids and ladies-in-waiting?


    Nothing.


    What did I have?


    Friends?


    Rivals?


    Enemies?


    Enemies.


    Something hot grew in my stomach.


    Enemies.


    I stood up, I put my tiara back. I opened my eyes, staring into the featureless gloom once again.


    I did not where I was.


    I did not know my name.


    But I knew what I was.


    And I was going to find whoever was responsible for my current predicament.


    I started to walk.

 Glow

    The air was still. The smell of mould and dirt was everywhere. The only light was that faint glow that seemed to come from air itself.


    I carefully took a step forward, my hands outstretched in front of me. Then another one. Moss and gravel crunched under my bare feet. I didn''t feel a wall. I slowly took another step, and another one.


    Nothing.


    The floor was even and as far as I could tell mostly horizontal. The same rough stone as where I woke up. I stretched my arms as far as I could in both directions, but couldn''t feel anything there either.


    Wherever I was, it was large.


    I stretched as tall as I could, and felt the fabric of my dress fall down my arms. I couldn''t reach the ceiling.


    I kept walking. As straight as I could. Sooner or later I had to reach the end of the room. Right?


    Right?


    The sound of my footsteps did not reach far, eaten by the damp air. I considered shouting, listen if there was an echo, but then again, I might not like the answer.


    I wondered what I would do if I heard someone else call out. Would I answer?


    It took my sixteen steps to reach the wall, curved and slightly inwards-leaning. It led me to believe that I stood in a natural cave, the proportions of which I couldn''t even guess. The wall was rough and slippery of water and algae.


    I watched the faint light spill over the rough wall, when I moved my arms and saw the light patterns change, I realized uneasily that the light came from myself, emitting from my skin like if I had been a firefly.


    A princess of light, burning and bright...


    I hesitated for a moment, then I started to walk with the wall to my left. I wished I had something to mark the spot with, in case I would walk in a circle, but I had not found anything suitable on my short walk so far, and I didn''t want to sacrifice my clothes or tiara.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    My steps echoed against the wall as I slowly made my way forward, my left hand trailing against the wall.


    My thoughts kept churning.


    How did I get here, wherever ''here'' might be?


    Had I been on the run from pursuers, desperately trying to lose them in the caves? Had I been playing a merry game of hide-and-seek with my ladies-in-waiting that ended in tragedy?


    No.


    I was here because I was meant to be.


    Someone had decided I should be here.


    I wondered if it was me.


    The wall curved slightly to the right. As I walked, I tried to estimate the circumference that would bring me back to my starting point. The cave was huge, but eventually I felt more and more confident that I had walked the full circle.


    There had been no opening in the wall.


    How would I get out?


    How had I got in here in the first place?


    I reached as high as I could along the wall, felt the rock leaning inwards. There were no handholds. I''d have no chance of climbing it. I shifted my weight between my feet for a few moments, weighing my options, then I pulled off my dress. I put it in a bundle next to the wall and walked on, counting my steps.


    The damp air was cooler against my bare skin, but I could see further ahead. Either my eyes had got used to the dark, or my skin emitted more light now that it wasn''t covered up.


    The curvature of the wall was uneven, but always leaned inwards.


    Eventually my feet touched soft cloth as I came upon my dress again. I had walked around the entire cave, without finding any exit.


    I picked it up, and held it in my arms, staring into the gloom in frustration.


    There had to be a way out of here, right?


    With a little growl, I stepped away from the wall, walking slowly towards what I estimated to be the middle of the room. I walked slowly, sweeping my feet before me for each step to be sure not to stumble upon anything. I could see better now, that my light was brighter. The floor was uneven, but apart from a few rocks, there was not much to be found.


    I kept walking in as straight a line as I could, straining my eyes to the uttermost to see through the gloom, to find something else. Anything.


    Eventually I reached the wall again. I walked three quick steps along the wall, then I stepped back out into the darkness.


    Mapping the room this way would be a more stochastic than systematic process. I had no way of knowing if I retraced my steps or if I covered new ground. But without a good way of marking my progress, I had few alternatives.


    It took me five times of traversing the room until my feet hit upon something. I stopped and picked up the small metal object. My fingers felt the cold metal and I knew what it was even before I saw the spikes and the gems of the small, intricate tiara.


    My trembling hands went to my head. I held the small, spindly crowns side by side.


    They were identical, to the last little facet.


    For a long time I stood there, in the middle of the room, holding the tiaras in my hand.


    Then I kept walking.

 Outlines

    I crossed the room five more times before I admitted defeat and sunk down against the wall. My feet hurt, my body ached and I shivered from cold. I pulled on the dress again. It was thin, but better than nothing, and it was not like the extra light had help me see anything.


    I had found no exits. Nothing to help me out of my predicament.


    I bundled up as well as I could in the thin dress, hiding my arms and legs under it, hugging my knees, trying to regain some of the lost warmth. I don''t know how long I sat like that, pondering my options and coming up with nothing, until I noticed that something had changed.


    A faint, faint light, coming from above, from the middle of the room.


    Had it just emerged, or had it been there all the time, obscured by the light emitted from my own skin, visible only now when my eyes had adjusted to the dark?


    I watched the light for a few thoughtful moment. It was diffuse, barely visible, most likely bouncing on more than one stone surface before it reached my eyes. I saw no movement that would indicate the flickering of flames, but I could not rule out a diffused enough light source would not have carried over such a pattern anyway.


    I closed my eyes in an attempt to preserve their adaptation to the low light and slowly started to walk forward, towards the middle of the room. It was harder now, when I only had my hands and feet to guide me past lose lying blocks of stone and gravel, but I slowly made my way forward. Two times I sat down, hid my arms and legs in my dress and quickly opened my eyes to gauge my proximity to the light source. Then I stood up again and went on.


    The third time I found myself roughly below the spot in the distant ceiling the light was coming from. I wrapped myself up as well as I could and stared upwards, forcing my eyes to take in every stray photon.


    The light emerged from a spot in the ceiling separated from me by at least three times my body length. It did not appear to me as a perfect circle, as could be expected from a single light source, but rather a slightly oblong object.


    A rod emitting light?


    An oblong opening to a lit up room?Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    I squinted. Perhaps it was an optical illusion, but it seemed to me the oblong object I perceived was slightly darker in the middle than around the edges.


    The edges were letting in light, with a dark object in the middle, obscuring it?


    A rectangular square in the ceiling?


    Trap door.


    The certainty washed over me as I hit upon the thought, just as I was now certain that I had identified my entry point to my current resting place.


    Poor little princess, tossed down a trap door into the dungeon to be discarded and forgotten.


    No wonder I couldn''t find an exit - there was no reason for there to be one.


    Not if my only purpose was to disappear.


    No.


    That was not my purpose. I knew it in my bones.


    This was not the end of my journey. This was the start.


    And my exit from this prison was not the trap door I had came from. It was impossibly high, I would never reach it on my own accord.


    There must be another way. Another way out.


    I turned my eyes from the ceiling. I started out into the dark cave that surrounded me. Slowly, unblinkingly, I moved my head, slowly scuffling my body until I had scanned almost half the room.


    Until I saw what I had been looking for.


    Another light. Even more faint, even harder to notice. It was dull, slightly red, and it emitted from no more than twenty steps from me. I closed my eyes, stepped up and walked that direction. When I sat down and hid my arms and legs again, I saw the red light emit from much closer now, from under a little pile of stone. It was not big, but it was noticeable enough that, had I come across it during my stochastic walks through the room, I would have remembered it. With closed eyes I crept forward until I felt the stones against my hands. I covered up my arms and legs again and watched.


    A rough pyramid of stone covering a metal slab in the floor. From the cracks between the metal and stone, the red light filtered.


    I felt a jolt of triumph surge through me. I had found my exit.


    With eyes and fingers I examined the slab. It had been forged. Shaped. Fit for this hole with a purpose.


    A door.


    No hinges. No handle.


    I turned my attention to the stones on top of it. The pile was small, but the stones themselves were impressively heavy. I attempted to lift one, and I had to strain my muscles.


    I could just imagine the dedication needed to put this pile together, one rock after the other, working alone in near darkness, slowly, painstakingly working in a feeble attempt that the door would never again be opened.


    To keep something out?


    To keep someone in?


    Like I said, futile.


    I leaned down. I put the palm of my hand against the door. I felt my warmth meet the cold of the metal.


    "I am the princess," I said, voice clear and loud. "I demand entry."


    Power surged through me. The door slammed open, flinging off the rocks painstakingly piled on top of it like it had been just a handful of rubble.


    I stood up with straight back. Shining like a torch I left my cell and walked down the small stone staircase hidden under the door, towards the red light.

 Embers

    <div>


    I emerged in a hallway, smooth floor made by polished stone. This was no longer the rough cave I had woken up with, this corridor had emerged from the toils of builders and artisans. The red light reflected along the walls, from further down the hall.


    I walked that direction in even pace. My bare feet made prints in the fine stone dust that covered the floor. As I walked, I felt a rage slowly build in my breast.


    Someone had dared covering up the door. Someone had dared standing between me and my purpose.


    Would be that I ever came upon them, that I could show them the futility of such an act.


    the hallway brought me to a small spiral staircase, which in turn led me down to another hallway, wide than the first one. Long ago rotted doors would once had barred that passage, but now only the stone remained. Occasionally I came upon doorways leading left or right, but I never entered them. My path was towards the light.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The worn floor was laid in mosaic, and on the walls were the remains of paintings in expensive frames. Once this would have been a place of splendour. I could imagine the tripping feet of servants, murmur of voices, an occasional sound of laughter or a curse as the people of the castle lived their life - as they worked and plotted and loved and despaired and died, all under this roof.


    Now there was no one left except me.


    Just the princess.


    And the beast.


    Just my echoing footsteps.


    And the distant sound of oh so slow breathing signalling that I was not the only living thing in this castle.


    I smiled.


    A large staircase opened up to the right and I descended it, my feet casually kicking aside the brittle bones that covered it. I entered a large chamber, rich furniture in various stage of decay suggesting it might once had been used for gatherings. Fine wine and food. Musicians and jesting.


    I walked up to the small podium in the middle of the room, and eyed the source of light that resided on it.


    A sword, long as an arm, thin as a needle and sharp as light, glowing dull red.


    I took the sword in my hand. It felt right. It felt like it belonged there.


    With even pace I walk on through the other end of the chamber.


    Time to seek out the dragon.

 Sparks

    I walked with steady pace through the ancient hallways, long lost splendour crumbling around me. As I walked, the sound of slow breathing became louder.


    I entered what had once been a bed room - now only a splintered frame remaining, and found a rat with mangy, pale fur gnawing at an old skull. It looked up at me with imploring eyes.


    "Rat," I said with a nod.


    "Princess," it answered with hissing voice. "So long since I saw your ilk in these halls."


    "I seek the dragon," I said, holding my sword with the tip pointing downwards. Not quite in a fighting stance, but easy to bring up, should the need arise.


    "And what business would the princess have with the dragon," the rat answered, not letting its eyes off my sword.


    "To fight her," I answered. "To slay her, or to be devoured by her, as luck and skill would have it."


    "And then what, were you to slay the beast, or were the beast to slay you?" The rat asked.


    "Then my purpose would have been fulfilled," I answered, keeping a slight shiver out of my voice. "Despite those who would deny me so."


    "And what is it to you, were your purpose to remain unfulfilled?" the rat asked with a hiss.


    "What else would there be?" I asked with an annoyed frown.


    "That''s up to you, isn''t it?" The rat smirked. "We don''t decide on our circumstances, but we do decide on the choices we make with them."


    "And what about you, rat," I snapped, perhaps more sharply than strictly necessary. "What choices do you make?"


    "I chose to feast when food was aplenty," the rat promptly answered. "I chose to starve when food was scarce. Perhaps I will chose to feast again, should the opportunity present itself." It leered at me. "Perhaps I will feast on you."


    "You are welcome to try," I said and raised my sword slightly.


    "I think I will not," the rat carefully answered and scuffled a few steps backwards. "I will wait for the dragon to finish with you, that I might seek my scraps among the remains."


    "Perhaps it will be the remains of the dragon you feast upon," I said, forcing my voice to sound more confident than I really felt."


    "Perhaps," the rat agreed. "Either way I will get a meal."


    "And soon you will starve again," I pointed out. "When no more dragons or princesses are to be had."


    "Such is the life I have chosen," it laconically said. It met my eyes. "You could always join me," it suggested. "Together we might seek out larger prey."


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    "Life as a scavenger is hardly the purpose I envision," I shot back.


    "It could be," it answered. "If you were to chose it."


    "I do not," I said in indignation. "Now, will you tell me where to find the dragon I seek?"


    "And what would you give me, were I to tell you what you want?" the rat asked. "Would I get a taste of your flesh? A sip of your blood? A finger, perhaps? You have so many of them, after all."


    "I would allow you to keep your life," I sharply said, pointing the sword straight at the face of the creature. "Although I have to admit it hardly seems worth much."


    "It is the buyers market," the rat mused. "For the price you offer I will give you the information you seek."


    "I''m waiting," I said, not lowering my sword.


    "The dragon you seek has made a lair of this castle," the rat said with serious voice. "She drags her bloated body through corridors and chambers, restlessly seeking out those who would challenge her" -it gave me a little nod.


    "Then were am I to find her," I asked. "I assume you don''t mean to tell me to just keep wander the corridors until we happen upon each other?"


    "No need," the rat answered. "Even if perhaps the experience would be educational. There is much to find in these old forgotten rooms."


    "Scraps and morsels from those who since long turned to dust is not what I seek," I said. "The dragon is. Tell me where to find her."


    "It''s been long since the dragon last travelled beyond the lower levels," the rat said whit a sad shake of the head. "These days, she barely move at all. You will find her in the largest chamber at the lowest level of the castle. Right by the main doors."


    "I thank you," I said, "and as payment I will spare your life. You may go on with your business." I nodded at the old skull.


    "If it''s all the same I will follow you," the rat said. "However your purpose unfold, there might be a meal in it for me."


    "If you wish to make it your business to follow me, I won''t stop," I said and turned to the corridor. "Just don''t get in my way."


    "That remains to be seen, doesn''t it," the rat said with a little grin.I rolled my eyes and didn''t answer.


    With the rat a few respectful steps after me, I started to walk, down the next staircase. Following the sound of the slow breathing.

 Candle

    "For what purpose was this castle built?" I asked as I walked down another staircase.


    "To house the builders," the rat promptly answered, skulking close to the wall a few steps behind me.


    "And by what coin were the builders paid?" I asked.


    "By tributes paid to the castle," the rat answered.


    "And what glory compelled people to pay the tribute?" I went on.


    "The splendor of the castle to be," the rat said, sniffing at a piece of canvs that had fallen from a since long destroyed painting.


    "Seems circular," I commented as I emerged in a small chamber, corridors leading in four different directions.


    "Power entrenches itself," the rat said with a little shrug that was so human-like I had to blink. "It''s just in its nature."


    "The people could have refused to pay the tribute," I said.


    "But they didn''t," the rat answered.


    "The builders could have refused the coin," I said.


    "But they didn''t," the rat answered again.


    "And once the castle stood finished?" I asked. "What then?"


    "What then?" the rat echoed.


    "What happened to the builders once the castle stood ready?" I asked. "Where they cast out?"


    "By the time the west tower stood ready, the east tower was in need of repair," the rat answered. "By the time the repairs of the east tower was done, the main floor was in need of renovations. The builders were never idle."Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "They are no builders here now," I commented, lightly touching a wall, covered by rot.


    "There are no builderes here now," the rat echoed.


    We walked in silence down a corridor.


    "Who cooked the meals in this castle?" I asked eventually, as we walked past a long ruined table.


    "The cooks," the rat promptly answered.


    "And who butchered the meet?" I asked.


    "The butchers," came the immediate answer.


    "From where came the cattles?"


    "The herds grazed the castled meadows," the rat answered. "Tended by the farmers living on teh castle''s property."


    "And where are they all now?" I asked with low voice as we walked past a skeleton, lying in a pile on the floor.


    "Gone," the rat said with laconic voice.


    "There were knights?" I asked. "Brave men on fierce steeds."


    "Yes," the rat answered.


    "There were ladies? Fair and proud, with flowing gowns."


    "Yes."


    "There were kings and queens? Fair or greedy, weak or strong?"


    "All sorts of monarchs sat on the throne," the rat confirmed.


    "All gone?" I almost whispered.


    "All gone," the rat confirmed.


    "What remains?" I asked. "What remains of all that."


    "The beast," the rat answered. "And the bones."


    "And the princess," I said with sharp voice.


    "Of course," the rat hurridly said.


    We entered what had once been a small indoor garden, dead plants ornating flower beds on both sides of the small path laid between them.


    "All the power of this place...." I mused. "All the respect it commanded, all the arms it set in motion, just gone..."


    "Not entirely;" the rat noted, glancing at me.


    "Not entirely," I agreed.


    We descended a grand starcase, larger than anything I had previously seen. A five horse carrige could ride up it without having to slow down.


    "Who allowed it to happen?" I asked when we got to the first platform, looking directly at the rat. "Who allowed the castle to fall into ruins."


    The rat squirmed under my gaze and didn''t answer until I repeated the question.


    "Power entrenches itself," it muttered and skulked down the staircase.


    I followed it, and the moment I sat foot on the floor, I felt a slow, rhymtic vibration. I readied my sword and looked at the rat.


    "You better stand back, rat," I said.


    "I will, princess," the rat answered. "I would wish you luck, if you believed such things would affect the outcome."


    "I hope you get your meal," I said and walked through the rough stone arch connecting the staircase to the main hall, where the dragon resided.

 Furnace

    The air was stale with sulphur and bodily odours. The stone floor, once covered in beautiful mosaic, was worn and torn by scales and claws scuffling over it for a long, long time. In the other end of the hall were a pair of enormous doors in oak wood and metal frames, and in front of them, the dragon. She was long as a warship, with her body draped along the wall. It was drawn out and thin - almost skeletal, with the contours of every rib easily visible under the skin and scales. The head rested on the rough stone just by the door, marks from teeth and claws showing her futile attempts to get through the sturdy gate. Her eyes were closed and her breathing slow.


    I walked up to her, sword held low.


    "Dragon," I said, I received no answer.


    "Why do you announce yourself?" the rat hissed. "Stab her when you have the chance."


    "Dragon!" I repeated, ignoring the rat. Still, no answer, although I thought I detected a shift in the dragon''s breathing.


    "DRAGON!" I yelled a third time, sending the rat scurrying away. "I AM THE PRINCESS AND I''M HERE TO CHALLENGE YOU."


    I heard a rumbling sound then, like rocks crashing against rocks. It came from the belly of the beast, and it took me a moment to realize that the dragon was laughing.


    "As I live and breath," the dragon said with raspy voice as she opened her eyes, shining red like torches. "A princess in my castle."


    "My castle, I think you will find," I said with more bravado than I really felt. The dragon''s breath smelled sour and rotten and made my eyes water.


    "I think... I can claim seniority," the dragon said, having to force out the words. She closed her eyes, and for a moment I wondered if she was going back to sleep, before I saw the red light seep out again.


    "How long have you been here," I asked, daring to take a step closer, mindful of the long claws.


    "Long enough to outstay my welcome," the dragon said with a little wheeze that suggested it might have been a joke. "Isn''t that why you are here, princess?"


    "I am here to reclaim what''s mine," I said, raising the sword in a salute. The dragon moved her head slightly backwards and rumbled again in another painful laughter.


    "What use could this heap of stones possibly be to you, princess?" she asked.


    "I could ask you the same," I said, carefully edging closer.


    "I came seeking glory," the dragon answered with heavy voice.


    "Well, did you find it?" I asked.


    "Deem for yourself," the dragon said and painfully managed to move her shoulder in a little shrug. She moved her eyes, letting the red light play over the decayed hall around us, over rotting paintings, long broken chandeliers and bared stone walls.


    "This place was once splendid," I said with low voice. "It could be so again."


    "Is that why you are here?" the dragon asked. "To reclaim that long gone splendour?"


    "Is there a reason I should not?" I asked.


    The dragon slowly turned her head. One of the front legs moved an unused, hesitant step that caused the claws to scratch yet another gauge in the floor.


    "Look at me, princess," she said, voice dying down to a whisper.


    "I''m looking," I said, doing my best to hide my revulsion as I saw the festering claw wounds on the underside of her jaw.


    "I have dwelled here for so long," the dragon whispered. "Feasted and grew fat of the riches of this castle. Feasted and grew strong on the heroes and knights they sent to slay me."


    "And the princesses?" I asked, voice sharp.


    "Yes, the princesses," the dragon hissed. "Shining bright like stars in fury and rightfulness. Each of them with a sword such as yours in their hand. Each of them challenging me for this crumbling heap of rocks."


    "What happened to them?" I whispered.


    "Devoured," the dragon drawled. "Each and every one of them, falling for my claws or my tooth or my gaze or my fire."


    "Each of them but me," I said, trying to hide my fear.


    "If you say so, little princess," the dragon rasped


    I stood in silence, wearily watching the dragon, aware of the eyes of the rat on us from a corner.


    "How long has it been?" I asked with low voice. "How long since the last princess was here?"


    "Years," the dragon said with heavy voice. "Or decades, perhaps. Time passes but slowly when there is nothing to do other than to slumber and dream." She sighed. "I''ve waited so long," she said, more to herself than me. "I''ve waited so long for another princess to walk these halls..."Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "And here I am..." I said.


    "And here you are," she agreed. "Were we to fight, I would kill you, I would eat you..."


    "You''d find me harder to stomach than those that came before me," I quickly said.


    "Perhaps, or perhaps not," she said. "But even if I were to make a meal out of you, what then? Just another princess slain, just another few years added to my lonesome existence..."


    "You yield, then?" I asked, holding my sword a bit higher.


    "Princess..." she said, voice smooth as oiled chains. "I''d like to trade with you, were you willing to spare my life long enough to listen."


    "I make no promises," I said, clutching the sword harder. "But I will listen."


    "What if I were to give you what you claim to seek," she whispered, eyes closed. "What if I were to give you your castle back, for all the good it would do you. I''d give you mastery over the empty halls and the long broken splendour that once dwelled her. Once again, there would be a queen sitting on the throne."


    "And were you to do so, dragon, what would it cost me in return?" I asked, intrigued despite myself.


    "I''d ask you to open that door," she hissed, motioning to the main gate.


    I frowned.


    "Surely, a strong dragon such as yourself can break that gate yourself," I said.


    "Surely one would think so," the dragon hissed. "One would be wrong."


    "Then you''re asking me to unleash you to the fields and farms outside my castle," I said. "To spare you my wrath, only for yours to be dealt to my people. Surely you jest."


    "Look at me, princess," the dragon hissed. "I''m dying. I will die from your sword through my head or from the toil of years and starvation or even - should you indulge me in this - the crude weapons wielded by an enraged mob of peasant. I pose no threat to you or your people."


    "Then why would I barter with you dragon, rather than just take what I want for myself?"


    "You could," the dragon hissed. "But if you were to slay me, you would not learn the secrets I have uncovered during my long, dreary years, waiting in this place, listening to the sounds from the other side of the door."


    "And what secrets would those be?" I asked.


    "You who dream about a splendour lost ," the Dragon snorted. You who dream about about a glorious future of castle and queens. You who come to me, so self assured in your righteousness.... Dreams and fancies, each one more elaborate than the last. What about your past?" the dragon asked, carefully eyeing me.


    For a moment I stood speechless, then I angrily held my sword higher.


    "That''s no concern of you," I angrily muttered.


    "I thought as much," the dragon chuckled. "Yet you claim birthright to these crumbling stones. Tell me, princess, by what right have you disturbed my slumber."


    "By the right to regain what''s mine," I answered, more aggressively than I first had thought.


    "And by what right is it yours," the dragon snapped back at me.


    "By birth and ancestry," I said as proudly as I dared, but then jumped backwards with a frightened yelp as the dragon''s jaws suddenly snapped shut, just a hairs width from me. It had moved horribly fast, like a snake striking an unsuspecting rabbit. I stared at the red eyes - suddenly oh so close - heart beating, muscles tense but not daring to move.


    "Lies," the dragon snarled. "The mere fantasies of a foolish girl." It slithered forward, forcing me backwards, still not daring to run. I felt its stinking breath surrounding me like an acidic cloud, like I was already in its belly and in the process of dissolving.


    "No-not lies," I whispered, desperately trying to find the courage to move my sword arm.


    "You don''t know your ancestry," the dragon snarled, each syllable producing a cloud of horrible stench. "You don''t know your birth. You don''t know your name. How dare you presume to hold rights over this castle? Over this history? Over me?"


    "It''s... it''s my destiny," I whispered, feeling the cold stone of a wall behind me. In panic I brought up the sword. All I could see was the bright glow from the red eyes through the cloud of green stench.


    "Destiny?" the dragon snarled with voice full of scorn. "What do you know of a destiny?"


    I desperately aimed my sword as well as I could, despite my arms feeling like lead and my lounges screaming for air.


    "There must be..." I mumbled.


    "...a princess and a dragon," the dragon finished for me, voice full of rage and scorn. "Where there is one there must be the other, that''s what they told you weren''t it?"


    With eyes watering, I stumbled forward in a clumsy strike. My sword bounced uselessly on the dragon''s scales and fell to the ground.


    "ISN''T THAT WHAT THEY TOLD YOU?" the dragon roared, not caring the least for my attack.


    "Ye-yes?" I whispered, eyes wide with fear.


    "Then tell me, princess," the dragon said, the rage dying down to a simmering. "Who are ''they''?''"


    I blinked.


    "Um..."


    "Who sent you here, princess?" the dragon asked and - mercifully - withdrew her head slightly. "Who sent you in my path, to die or kill? Who promised you this grand destiny?"


    "How do you know of these things?" I whispered.


    The dragon withdrew further, leaving me room to breath as her head sunk down to the floor again. She seemed... spent. Like her rage had eaten up whatever energy reserve was left.


    "There was a cave," she mumbled and closed her eyes. "There was a trap door...there was a staircase... It was so long ago..."


    I stared at her, heart beating.


    "What do you know of that cave?" I whispered. "What you you know of that door?"


    "You open the gates, for just a fraction, and I will tell you," she hissed. "I''ll tell you all you want to know."


    For a moment I dared glancing at her glowing eyes.


    "You''re trying to use me," I said with a bravado I did not feel. "You''re trying to trick me."


    "It''s worse than that, princess," she chuckled. "I''m telling you the truth."


    "And what truth is that?" I asked.


    "That for all your power, all your fury, all you have done is to trade one prison for another. There is no way out. Once you have slain me, those doors will still bar your way."


    "Why should I listen to you?" I asked, forcing my voice to remain strong.


    "Because there is a part of you that knows I might be right," she said without hesitation. "Because you know there is more to the world than this castle. Because you too realize that the things you are told do not entirely add up."


    She smirked at me.


    "How do I know I can trust you?" I asked.


    "You don''t," she answered.


    "Then why would I not just kill you?" I said. "To fulfil my destiny?"


    "Because if you do," she drawled, dragon poison trickling down her lips, "you will never know what is behind those gates."


    "Those gates answers to me," I coldly said.


    "Really?" she said with a horrible grin. "Then prove it."


    Without letting my sword trail from the dragon''s face I stepped up to the door. I put my hands on them. I felt the power flow through me.


    "I am the princess," I told the dragon.


    "So you say," she hissed.


    "I am the princess!" I shouted "And I demand these doors to open."


    A shudder went through the doors, but they remained closed. I stared at them in disbelief - disbelief and fear.


    "Kill me and claim your castle, princess," the dragon laughed. "You will still be a prisoner - just as much as I ever was."

 Pyre

    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.

 Star

    "Rat," I said. "What do you see in front of us?"


    The dark and the damp of a cave," the rat answered. "Seemingly natural."


    I frowned. "No streets or houses or fields?" I asked


    "No, princess," she answered.


    "Then what do you see behind us?" I asked.


    "Only the gate we came through," the rat answered.


    "No walls or towers or turrets stretching towards the sky?" I asked.


    "No, princess," the rat answered.


    I frowned again.


    "What do you see in the cave?" I asked.


    "Only a spiral staircase," the rat said. "Thick with dust and debris, leading upwards."


    "Then guide me to it," I said, and under the guidance from the rat I walked forward until I felt the cold metal under my feet and started to walk upwards.


    The stairs were steep, made by perforated steel, circling in a spiral upwards. Each step made the entire structure shudder slightly, and metallic echoes resounded throughout the cave.


    "There are no footprints in the dust," the rat said with low voice from just behind me. "There is no light except for the one you bring."


    "Do you see an end to the stairs, I asked?"


    "Only darkness,"came the answer.


    I kept walking, one step at the time, focusing on keeping my pace steady. The adrenaline rush from my fight with the dragon had died down, and even as the flame and the heart sustained me, I could feel the fatigue I had been holding back lurk at the edges of my consciousness.


    "Rat," I said. "How long have we walked."


    "I don''t know," it confessed. "Must be at least two stories of the castle, probably more."


    I let my hand trail along the wall, along rough stone.


    "Rat," I said. "Is this cave natural, or is the stone worked?"


    "The walls are even and straight," the rat answered. "I do not think these walls are natural:"


    "Who build this stairs?" I asked. "To what purpose?"


    "To be able to check on the castle gate?" the rat guessed.


    "Perhaps," I said. "But you said there are no footprints?"


    "There are no footprints, except yours," the rat agreed.


    We walked on in silence. I felt my fatigue rising,


    "Rat..." I whispered after awhile.


    There was no answer.


    "Rat!" I repeated, for a horrible moment afraid that she had abandoned me.


    "I''m here, princess," she answered with low voice.


    "Where do you think this stairs will take us?" I wondered.


    "I don''t know," she said.


    "The stairs must end somewhere, right?" I asked.


    "I don''t know," the rat repeated.


    I trudged on, step after step, the dripping on water and the echoes of my steps the only thing I could hear.


    ...until I caught the faint, faint sound of another noise. A song.


    "Rat..." I whispered.


    "Princess," she answered.


    "I have heard that song before," I said.


    "So have I," it answered, just as quietly.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Together we kept walking in silence, listening to the song. I was a slow, melodic song, sung with the clear, untrained soprano of a child. It was a calm song, perhaps meant as a lullaby, promising the peace and security of a soft bed and a loving kiss at bedtime.


    The song grew stronger as we climbed. I lost track of time, of steps, all I knew was that I kept walking, and that the strong kept being stronger.


    Finally my feet felt the next step failing to manifest itself, as the stair ended and I instead walked out on a smooth stone floor.


    "Rat?" I whispered.


    "You stand in a small chamber," the rat whispered. "There is no light except for yours and no windows. There are two doors, both closed..."


    "Describe the doors," I whispered.


    "The first is made of wood," the rat said. "with a small iron handle."


    "And the second?" I asked.


    "The second is made of metal," she said. "No handles or locks."


    "Then take me to the first door," I said.


    "Just take a step forward," the rat answered, "and then to your right. If you move your arm forward, you will feel it."


    I did so, and soon my hand rested on the iron handle.


    I opened the door and I entered a room full of light - enough that even my ruined eyes could pick it out. The room was full of familiar smells. Smells of soft fabric and delicious food and dusty books and flaky crayons. The singing stopped abruptly as I entered.


    "Are you the beast?" a child''s voice asked from right in front of me, polite but reserved.


    "Rat," I hissed "What can you see?"


    "I see a princess," the rat said, voice full of dread. "With hair as spun sunlight and eyes shining like the stars. Draped in a dress as woven from snow and with a silver tiara on her head."


    "I see," I said to the rat and then addressed the girl in front of me.


    "I carry a bit of the beast inside me, that''s true, but I am more than that."


    "More how," the princess said, and I could hear the hesitation in her voice.


    "I am also a princess," I said and leaned down. "Just like you."


    "You are not like me," the princess said, voice full of suspicion.


    "But I was, once," I said, and as I spoke the memories came back to me. A childhood of mirth and play, a promise of great deeds to come, a door...


    "There is a door," I said. "White, with a golden crown."


    "It''s in the other end of the room," the rat confirmed.


    "I''m not to go through it," the princess said. "Not until I''m all grown up."


    "Don''t go through it," I quickly said. "There''s nothing in that room but a trap door."


    "There will be a door," she said, with the certainty of a child. "There will be a castle. There will be a sword and there will be a beast."


    "All that is true," I said. "But that will be all there is."


    "What else could there be?" she asked.


    "What else could there be?" I echoed.


    "I am promised a glorious destiny," she said with a voice that made my heart break, because I recognized it as my own.


    "That is a lie," I said. "All you will be given is the beast."


    "I will win," she said.


    "And if you do," I asked, "what then?"


    "What then?" the rat echoed.


    "Then I have slain the beast," she said, voice petulant.


    "There will always be a beast..." I said.


    "And a princess," she quickly shot back.


    "Yes," I said and held out my hand. "There will always be a princess."


    "What do you propose?" she said, voice heavy with suspicion.


    "There is another door," I said. "Another path."


    "I''m not supposed to go through that," she quickly said. "I''m not supposed to think of that..."


    "And yet you do," I said, voice as persuasive as I could make it. "Because I''m not supposed to be in your tower either, and yet here I am."


    "Here she is," the rat echoed.


    "How," she asked. "If you truly are the beast, how did you get here?"


    "There was a door I was not supposed to open," I said, "but I opened it."


    "She opened it," the rat dutifully echoed and I scowled in its general direction.


    "The princess and the beast..." I said, crouching down slightly, "neither of us could open it on our own, but when we combined our strengths..."


    "What was behind the door?" she asked, unable to contain her curiosity.


    "Just another cave." I said with a growl. "Just another prison. And another prisoner."


    "You," the rat helpfully provided.


    "And another door,"I said.


    I heard her move forward. Felt her soft dress brush against my charred hands.


    "Tell me about the door," she finally said.


    "It''s the way out of here," I said. "If you come with me, we can open it."


    "Where does it lead," she asked.


    "To those who have locked us in here," I growled. "To those that would have us imprisoned and at each other''s throat."


    "Why?" she asked. "Why would they want to do such a thing."


    "Perhaps they fear us," I said, and I felt the dragon fire move in my belly. "Perhaps rightly so."


    "Why should I listen to you?" she asked, and even if I couldn''t see her face, I could tell the obstinate expression it made from her tone of voice alone, having so often made it myself.


    "Because there is a part of you that knows I might be right," I said without hesitation. "Because you know there is more to the world than this castle. Because you too realize that the things you are told do not entirely add up."


    I smiled and held out my hand.


    "And because there is a part of you, princess, who wonder if you have it in you to be the beast. The answer is, yes, you do."


    "How do I know I can trust you?" she asked.


    "You don''t," I answered.


    "Then why would I not just kill you?" she said, and I felt the power in her words. "To fulfil my destiny?"


    "Because if you do," I drawled, feeling the dragon poison trickle down my lips, "you will never know what is behind that door."


    Silence. I caught myself holding my breath as I waited.


    The suddenly - without I having even heard her moving, she touched my arm.


    "Take me to the door," she said, and she took my hand, her small fingers cold against mine.


    "You will have to lead the way, princess," I said, and with the rat in tow she lead me through the the stone room to the metal door. I stretched out my hand and felt the metal. Solid, old, unyielding.


    I felt the dragon fire heat up.


    "Are you ready," I asked.


    "I am," she answered with clear voice.


    "As am I," the rat hissed.


    I took a deep breath.


    "I am the princess," I said, and I heard how the princess mouthed the words together with me. "I demand this door to open."


    Power surged through us, as from a lighting rod. Dragon fire and princess light. The door stood for a moment, then it crumbled and was flung outwards with a metallic clang.


    Hand in hand we stepped out to face those that would have the princess and her beast imprisoned.


    They would learn just how futile that was.