Saving Rose

Chapter 9

As the last of the gemstones fell away from the dragon, it reared up on its hind legs once more. This was the moment that Rose had been waiting for. Without hesitation, she thrust her sword forward. It slipped easily through the air, crossing the divide between her and the dragon with a dizzying speed. At once it began to hack and slash at the beast's most vulnerable part, and with each blow from the gemstones the dragon visibly weakened.

Rose raced onward, holding her shield high as the dragon reached a claw out toward her. She raised the shield to block the beast's blow, and its claws bounced harmlessly off of it. The dragon yowled in frustration, but Rose knew there was no time to slow down or let the dragon rest.

She continued her attack, dodging and weaving through the dragon's assaults. She skipped over its tail and ducked beneath its feet as it stamped the ground, her heart racing as she embraced their delicate dance. She let the dragon lead her, its movements becoming increasingly clumsy and slow. And all the while her glimmering blade of gemstones continued to work.

Rose felt powerful. Powerful in a way she had never felt before. As the dragon relented, desperate to avoid another attack, she realized that she was far more powerful than she had ever given herself credit for. Maybe she would never be able to wear a heavy breastplate into battle, or to wield a sword and shield the way she had always imagined. But in the battle against dragons, she was not nearly so useless as she had feared.

Holding that thought close, Rose squared her shoulders. It was time to end the fight, time to put the dragon out of its misery, and to return Prince Andrew to her side where he belonged. Gathering all of the free gemstones about her, Rose once more lifted her shield before her and gave her fierce battle cry. She raced forward, gemstones flying ahead, and in a magnificent display they rained down upon the dragon.

Gemstones fell from the sky above like rain, pelting the dragon's silvery scales from all directions. As each stone fell upon the beast's hide, the gem shattered into a thousand shards, splitting light in all directions, creating a shower of colour that scattered along the ground. The dragon wailed, but Rose could see that it was too weak to defend itself. With a flick of her wrist, the Princess forced her sword of gemstones to slice the dragon's belly, and as the dragon fell over onto its side, Prince Andrew slid out from its stomach.

"Andrew!" Rose cried, discarding her shield and racing toward him. He stumbled forward, covered in a thick, green goo, and as he wiped it from his eyes, he smiled at her. She didn't bother to slow as she reached him. Instead, she opened her arms and bowled him over with the force of her embrace, and the pair giggled as they went rolling across the field.

"You did it!" Andrew cried in delight as he helped her up from the grass. "You saved me!"

Rose grinned, too stunned to speak. He was right, of course. She had saved him. But she had done so much more than that. She had defeated a dragon. A dragon that even her father couldn't slay. And in doing so, she had learned something about herself. She wasn't just a Princess. She wasn't just a girl who could use gemstones to decorate fine spaces and create beauty. She was a girl who could use gemstones to fight, to fight the way she had always wanted to.

She was a girl who could do anything she wanted.