It had been four days since he had left his kingdom and two since he had last seen any other kingdom or village. These factors had led to a rapid decrease in his supplies and the isolation at last was getting to him. If he didn't find a safe place to rest soon, death wouldn't be that unlikely of an outcome.

 

He now wondered if the princess of Saurus was simply a legend and if the messenger who came with the challenge was from one of the rival kingdoms and had duped him with the intention of leading the king away from his kingdom in order to take over. Now that he thought about it, he wouldn't put it past them. Luckily for him however his kingdom would still be safe because he knew that his sister was more than capable of looking after his people. Death however was still not an outcome he wanted as he still had many dreams and was rather young. 

 

While he was distracted by these morbid thoughts, he heard a clear and sweet voice in the distance that immediately caught his attention. How could a woman be in this dark forest? Unless– it was the princess! Maybe she wasn’t a myth and just maybe he hadn’t been deceived after all. The thought of meeting the princess immediately spurred life into him and he rushed his horse onward, completely forgetting the looming threat of the dragon that prevented the princess from leaving. He only recalled this tiny(but essential) tidbit of information when he saw the dragon but luck had not yet abandoned him and he managed to hide without alerting anyone . 

 

As soon as he was convinced that he was safe he took in the scene and was left speechless. THE PRINCESS HE WAS SUPPOSED TO SAVE WAS PETTING THE HUGE SCARY DRAGON WHO WAS ACTUALLY ENJOYING IT! 

 

He could hardly believe his eyes, how was a princess petting a dragon so calmly and to make the whole matter more unbelievable how was she laughing while she petted it?! but most of all how was the dragon accepting those pats to its head and belly rubs?! Was this dragon some kind of dog in disguise?! While he processed the sight before him the princess suddenly stopped petting the dragon causing it to stop rolling around on it’s back and look at her inquisitively. The young king also noticed the change and stiffened, had his presence been discovered? Did he have to rush out and face the dragon now?

 

 He reached for his sword and was about to rush out when the princess said in her sweet voice, “Please don’t draw your sword,sir. We mean no harm.” She was persuasive so he took his hand off the sword.

 

She sensed that and said, “Thank You for your cooperation, you can step out now. Franky won’t hurt you.” the name of the creature made him stop for a little longer. Why had she named this monstrous creature something so harmless? Why had she even named it? This flurry of questions was interrupted by the princess. She called out, “Sir, are you still there?” 

 

He didn’t answer and she continued, “I am going to approach you to make sure you’re there. Please don’t get scared.” with that he watched her walk towards him but before she reached he decided to step out. She stopped and waved, he waved back awkwardly and as if his wave was permission enough she dragged him towards the dragon who was looking at him warily. She noticed the tension and sighed but recovered pretty quickly.

 

She reprimanded the dragon, “What did I tell you about glaring at guests Franky?” and to his utter disbelief the dragon lowered its gaze in shame. The young King was stunned by this girl. This sweet princess who had been kidnapped by the same dragon, now had it wrapped around her finger!

 

This girl was truly special, far more special than the rumours said. After all, to tame a dragon you had to be unique especially when the dragon was your kidnapper. This girl was interesting and he realised with more certainty that she was the perfect queen for his kingdom. 

 

He was about to speak when she beat him to it.

 

She asked, “Sir, would you like to have a cup of tea with us?”

 

He asked, “Cup of tea?”

 

She nodded vigorously with a smile that would melt anyone's heart and made it seem like a crime to refuse the request and so despite his reservations and misgivings, he agreed.

 

He said, “I don't see any reason to refuse, this is quite an interesting situation we have here after all.”

 

On hearing his response her smile grew brighter and without giving him any time to think or take back his agreement, she dragged him into a castle that he hadn’t noticed before. The dragon followed them and kept a close eye on the king.He didn’t trust men, no matter how much his companion might trust men. After all, most of the men, if not all of the men, came to take her away and never ever co operated with their small demands. 

 

While her charm prevented intense fights from breaking out, he could never forgive those men for disagreeing with their terms. They just never understood how close they had gotten and usually dismissed the princess as crazy. Why would this man be any different?