The Princess and the Dragon

Firn snapped one eye half open and stared at the princess. "Mmh... mm not.... I'm not asleep... Can't wake up if you're not asleep." He shifted his wing and paws to pull Lisette into a hug, suddenly overwhelmed by a desire to have someone close.

"Oh!" Lisette found herself pressed up against Firn's chest, resting against all the smooth, rigid scale plates, with his wings and paws wrapped behind her. "You're feeling cuddly, aren't you? Hmm, this is kind of nice."

"Nice..." murmured the dragon. He curled his head down and began affectionately licking at Lisette's neck. She had no scales for him to clean with his tongue, but his instincts hardly cared for that. Then suddenly his rational mind kicked back into full gear, and he realized what he was doing. "Uh... sorry." Firn unwrapped his wings and let Lisette go, and he glanced away embarrassedly.

Lisette was blushing. Despite being free, she didn't pull away immediately, but leaned forward and gave Firn a quick kiss right on his snout. "Cute, aren't you?"

"Ahem." Elwisia cleared her throat, the master wizard standing behind the dragon and princess cuddled together. "Would you two like some time alone? Or do you want me to get you out of this country first?"

Firn and Lisette glanced at each other, then in silent, mutual agreement, they both disentangled themselves and got to their feet. Lisette brushed herself off, still looking rather flustered. "Ok. How are you going to break the tracking spell at the border? Is there just a counterspell you can put on us?"

"Nothing so boring as that. I've got style." Elwisia walked over to the campfire, which was still burning warmly, and she picked up a loose branch of firewood. The tip of the branch caught fire as Elwisia stuck it into the flames, then she began dragging the branch along the ground. The branch was not aflame anymore; now its tip was shining with magical power as Elwisia drew a large glowing circle in the cave floor, concentric around the campfire.

"How have you two been moving around?" Elwisia asked. "Lisette, you ride Firn's back, I assume?"

Firn trotted over to the side of the cave and used his jaws to pick up a large saddle, with various saddle bags attached. "Lisette made this, months ago. We've been flying together for a while." Lisette took the saddle from him and placed it on his back, running the straps around his neck and chest to secure it.

Elwisia chuckled, sounding genuinely pleased. "Look at you two, dragon and rider. It's almost cute." She walked over and took a look at the saddle. "Very nice work, for a pair of amateurs. You need to shorten this strap here so it fits snugly... there. Now where do you plan to go?"

Lisette looked at Firn, who was standing by her side. His tail was curled around her ankle. "I'm not really sure. I was thinking I'd try to seek asylum from the Akostan Government, or maybe the Jubalnus Federation?"

"Or we could just wander the world, hunting wild game for food, exploring the far reaches, flying wherever we wanted..." Firn added.

"That too," Lisette agreed. "What would you do in my position?"

Elwisia walked back and picked up the filled glass jar. She shrugged. "As I was now, I'd go with Firn's suggestion. I'd leave it all behind and enjoyed travelling the world, seeing the sights and being free. Enjoying the liberty of the open skies. I'd go climbing tall mountains, perching in trees, and sitting on beaches to relax in the sun."

Elwisia paused for a moment, then she continued. "But then again, if you'd asked me that question back when I was a youngling like you two are now, I'd go to Akosta. I'd find friends there, consolidate with the rebel network to try and overthrow the tyrant king here. I'd fight, I'd rally forces, I'd go to war with your mad father, even. But that was me from decades... or is it centuries ago? I was a rather different person when I was young."

"Who are you, master wizard?" Firn asked, squinting curiously at Elwisia.

Elwisia winked at the dragon. "I'm not telling you that. Don't worry about who I am, worry about who you are, or about who you are going to be. Decide what you want for your future."

"We will," Lisette said.

"One last thing before I send you two off. Take this." Elwisia reached within her cloak and took out a small, flat, roughly circular plate, which she handed to Lisette.

Lisette ran her finger over the plate. It was coloured dark blue and about the size of her palm. The plate was so lightweight that it almost felt like paper, but stiff and inflexible. The surface was very smooth on one side, with magical runes etched into the material. "What is this?"

Firn had instantly recognized the plate for what it was. "That's a dragon scale."

Elwisia nodded. "If you ever need to speak with me, Princess Lisette Arcius, press your finger against the runes on that scale, and it'll let us speak despite great distance. Now it's very complex to create that particular enchantment, so please don't lose that. Unless you are intentionally trying to cut all ties with your old life, in which case maybe do something dramatic like throwing it into the sea."

Lisette kept the etched dragon scale into her pocket. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind."

Firn was still frowning curiously at Elwisia. "Where did you get that dragon scale, I wonder?"

"Keep wondering, youngling." Elwisia picked up the filled glass jar and sealed its metal lid. She used a finger to wipe the rim of the jar clean, and then she casually licked her finger, turning away. In the darkness of the cave, with the campfire only putting out a faint flickering light, for a moment Lisette thought she saw Elwisia's eyes looking all dark, and lines of smooth scales running down her neck.

But when the master wizard turned back again, she looked completely normal. She picked up the branch again and its tip began to glow. "Vorturis tranvector! Goodbye, dragon. Goodbye, princess."

Elwisia walked right to the edge of the large glowing circle she'd drawn around the campfire, and then she tossed the branch towards the fire. At the same time, she shouted a long sequence of spellwords which seemed to make the air itself waver with magical power. Firn couldn't catch all the words, but some of them almost sounded like they could have been draconic.

A blinding flash of white light filled the cave, and there was the tremendous roar of wind. Lisette raised her hand to shield her eyes, but neither the light nor wind faded away. As her eyes got used to the brightness, she saw that the campfire was gone, and that circle in the cave floor was now a large hole. And yet instead of rock, the hole was filled with sky. Clouds was sweeping past, and snowy mountain peaks were visible far below, with winding rivers and hilly forests. The cave was filled with light and the wind kept going, rushing into the hole as air drained out through it.

Elwisia was standing beside the portal, her wizard's cloak flapping in the breeze and for a moment almost looking like wings. "Go have an adventure, one way or the other. Fly!"

Lisette climbed up onto Firn's back and strapped her legs into the stirrups, and the dragon pushed himself to his feet. With his small size, her weight was noticeable but manageable. "Are we sure about this?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," Lisette replied. "Come on!"

Firn took a deep breath, then he let out a daring roar. "Ryyah!" With Lisette clinging to his back, he dashed forward and leapt into the portal, spreading his wings as they dropped out of a dark cave and into the open skies.

END