Once they entered the castle the young king was amazed by the sheer size of the castle. He didn’t think it possible for such a huge castle to be built by men unless, he suddenly realised it wasn’t built by men. After all, the dragon fit easily even though he shouldn’t have. 

 

He asked her, “Whose castle is this?”

 

She responded, “Oh, this is Franky’s castle.”

 

He asked incredulously, “The dragon has a castle?” 

 

She responded, “Yes, Franky owns this palace now since well there is no one left to live in the palace.” 

 

She finished a little sadly which broke his heart and made him reconsider asking any more questions but in the end curiosity won and so he continued asking her questions.

 

He asked, “What happened to the original inhabitants?”

 

She paused for a minute then turned to the dragon. He followed her gaze and saw the dragon looking so forlorn and depressed that the young king felt a strange sense of compassion for the dragon.

 

The dragon noticed his gaze and looked up at the young king to which said person looked away immediately, embarrassed by the fact that the dragon had caught him being compassionate.

 

This little gesture had improved the Dragon’s opinion of the young king significantly because none of the princes had shown even the slightest compassion for him before.Maybe this prince was different and just maybe he would agree to the deal.

 

Hope filled the dragon and he resolved to act nice and follow all the instructions his princess had taught him to impress the princes who she knew would come to her rescue. The princess felt this shift and patted the surprised dragon affectionately before hurrying to the dining room, eager to start the conversation. This prince seemed promising and maybe the three of them could leave the palace satisfied.