Page 8

CHAPTER 8

“H elp! Someone please help me!” I screamed, tearing into the town and throwing open the door of the tavern. I panted, looking around in terror, then clutched at the nearest man, who slopped half his drink down his front in surprise.

“The dragon, please, you have to help me!”

“Calm down, lass,” the barkeep said. “What are you talking about?”

My eyes darted around frantically and I took short, panicked breaths. “The dragon…I only just got away. Please… He might come back.”

There was a gasp from one of the barmaids. “She’s the stolen princess!”

Immediately, every eye turned to her. Rather pleased with the attention, the barmaid straightened and addressed me. “Are you Princess Rapunzel? Did the dragon take you?”

Tears trickled down my face as I nodded, lip trembling. There was an instant rush as men stood, some offering their chairs, others hurrying to get me a blanket or food and drink.

“How did you escape?” the tavern owner asked kindly, pressing a meat pie into my hand.

“I waited until he was sleeping—he got injured when he took me, so he needed to rest, and I only just got away.”

“What injury?” A soldier leaned forward, his hand on the dagger at his side.

“He was shot near the base of his left wing joint by a poisoned arrow,” I told them. “He made me pull it out.”

“An injured dragon,” he murmured in wonder.

Several other men began eagerly conversing among themselves. “Do you know how much a dragon heart would sell for? Just imagine—the ability to never be defeated in battle! We’d be rich as kings!”

“Forget the heart, do you know how much a single scale would sell for? Harder than diamonds, they are. And dragon blood can?—”

“You’re sure about this?” the barkeep asked me. “It was the dragon’s left wing joint where it connects to his body?”

I nodded timidly. “But…first can you send a message to my father? The dragon kept me in a cave today, but he said he was going to put me into a tower in the forest that no one can escape from. I got away as soon as I could; Father will be very worried.”

“Of course, of course! We can send a message right now. Would you like to have an escort back to the capital? We could leave within minutes. There are some soldiers stationed here, but they will want to join the hunt. A dragon heart…” He stared off dreamily, undoubtedly thinking about the wealth he would gain from butchering a dragon.

“Give her a moment,” an elderly man said, patting my shoulder in a fatherly way. “She’s been through an ordeal, she has. Let her have the night to rest.”

“Or she might want to get as far away as soon as possible,” the barkeep retorted. “Lass, which would you prefer?”

“I…I don’t know. Am I safe here? Does the dragon ever attack the village?”

“Never. Some of the children are actually quite fond of seeing it. The only thing I’ve heard of is that it will feed on the lord’s sheep from time to time. It’s never troubled humans, Princess.”

“Not until it stole her away,” the barmaid contradicted.

“Princess Rapunzel?” I overheard one of the off-duty men-at-arms say to his companion. “Isn’t that the girl that Griffin said he fancies?”

“Shhh,” his friend hissed. “I want to listen, not gossip.”

I clutched the blanket around me a little tighter and fought not to react to the offhand comment. Did he mean the same Griffin I’d met? Had he talked about me to others? It was a shame he wasn’t nobility; I wouldn’t be upset about the idea of him rescuing me.

“May I stay the night? I haven’t slept since…since I don’t even know when. It seems like forever ago that I was taken.”

“Gladly. We’ll send word to the king and alert the soldiers so you can have a proper escort home in the morning. I’ll send someone now.”

My eyes brimmed with tears again. “Thank you. I don’t know how to repay you for your kindness.”

The barkeep gave a friendly smile. “You could always ask the king to lower our tax rates. Times are hard.”

“I’ll make it my top priority when I return,” I promised.

The barkeep assigned a wiry man with iron-gray hair to deliver the message then shooed the rest of his customers out the door. None protested. They were all still talking animatedly about the night’s events, and pondering what part of a dragon would be most valuable when sold, and expressing that this was a story to tell their children the next day. Once the room had emptied, the tavern owner showed me to a small room, apologizing that it wasn’t suitable for royalty.

“I don’t look like royalty right now,” I said with a small laugh, gesturing at my burned hair and torn gown.

“You can get all cleaned up,” he told me, gesturing at the washtub in the room. “I’ll send one of the maids up with some warm water.”

“Perhaps in the morning. I’d like to just rest now.”

I let out a sigh of relief when the door finally closed. It had been some time since I’d made myself cry on command and force hyperventilation. Father never believed me anymore, so I’d abandoned that trick more than two years ago.

The bed wasn’t nearly as inviting as the one in Pollox’s tower, but at least it didn’t appear to have fleas. I sank onto the bed, staring out at the night sky.

Pollox hadn’t given an exact time of when he would come for me; he’d simply said early the next morning. What if he forgot? What if he went to the wrong village? They probably all looked the same from a bird’s-eye view…or dragon’s-eye view. What if the soldiers arrived before Pollox did? Would they force me to return before Pollox took me back to his cave?

Even though my body ached for sleep, I tossed and turned for most of the night. What if Pollox had never actually wanted to team up with me at all and was simply waiting for a way to ditch me? I really didn’t have much to offer him. Was he wondering if I was trustworthy just as much as I’d wondered how trustworthy he was? Finally, I managed to doze off, and once I did, my dreams were filled with knights doing battle against fearsome dragons.

* * *

“Where is she?” Pollox’s deep voice shook the entire room and I snapped awake with a scream, hands clasped over my ears.

Shouts came from beyond the window, and flames licked the dawn sky as Pollox belched a column of fire up to the heavens.

“The princess!” he bellowed, and the bed I was lying on vibrated from the noise. “Where is she?”

Not even bothering to put on my shoes, I ran down the stairs and out into the cool yard. All around, the townsfolk were cowering behind a line of soldiers who appeared to have just arrived. They brandished lances and spears as their horses pranced backward in fear.

Pollox looked even more enormous than I remembered. When standing next to a mountain, he seemed a reasonable size. But here, neck extended far above the tallest building, he looked too large to be allowed anywhere. One sweep of his spiked tail would topple houses.

“I’m here!” I called, running forward to stand in front of Pollox and shield the people. “Leave these people alone; they haven’t done anything!”

“Princess, no!” a woman called.

I put on a brave face. “Everyone here has suffered in the past because of my father’s unjust laws. If sacrificing myself will spare them any suffering, I’ll do it.”

Pollox’s orange eyes glowed in the night’s lingering darkness.

“You can’t have her!” A knight came forward, holding his sword out and stepping in front of me. “Begone!”

Pollox let out a roar that sent shivers running down my arms. He was a little too good at acting. To the knight’s credit, he didn’t back down but jabbed his sword at Pollox, swiping the air between them.

“She belongs to me now,” Pollox growled, spreading his wings so wide that the early dawn rays were blocked out. The knight put his arm out to chivvy me backwards, and I was pushed into the crowd of men.

“Aim for the left wing joint,” the tavern owner told the soldiers in an undertone. All around me, they were taking aim, directing their heavy crossbows at Pollox’s supposed injury.

My gut clenched. I certainly hoped that Pollox had been right not to fear the arrows.

“Fire!”

Arrows zipped through the air, all clattering against Pollox’s left wing in various spots. He reared up, ejecting another long blast of fire that shot upward in a spiral as Pollox thrashed his head. His massive, clawed feet trampled about in feigned pain, and each step sent shockwaves through the ground so I nearly fell over. Women screamed and fled their homes, clutching their children.

It didn’t feel like acting anymore. People could get hurt. Real fear crept into the pit of my stomach. What had I done when I’d teamed up with this dragon?

“The princess is mine, ” Pollox howled. “And I’ll keep her where she’ll never escape!”

Pollox’s tail whipped through the crowd of knights and wrapped around my torso, then he took off into the sunrise. I closed my eyes against the cold wind that bit at my face and clung to one of Pollox’s tail spikes. As long as I didn’t look down, I could pretend we were a few feet off the ground. But even so, the sensation of my legs dangling over the vast nothingness below me churned my stomach. Would I ever get used to this?

* * *

Pollox landed with a clatter on the tower’s roof, claws clinging to the ridges as he gently deposited me on the balcony. I collapsed onto the plush rug that covered the stone floor, eternally grateful for the feeling of solid ground beneath me once more.

“How did I do?” There was a definite note of pride in Pollox’s voice.

“You terrified everyone,” I answered truthfully.

“Without any casualties or damage either,” Pollox gloated, rustling his wings. His tone had reverted to being calm and pleasant, a massive change from before. “You did well too. Running to stand in front of the people will make them love you.”

I gave a hollow laugh. “I’m not sure any sacrifice would make them care about me. My family isn’t the sort of royalty that commoners want ruling them.”

“Then you just did something to help change that perception. You’re showing them that they should be a part of your hoard. If you are willing to sacrifice yourself in order to protect them, many will be willing to try to rescue you. We’ll be very rich, indeed.”

A twinge of guilt panged in my chest. Was I just as twisted and corrupt as my father?