The Princess and The Dragon

Chapter 1 - Disguise

I awoke the following morning very early: much earlier than was the norm for me. But I awoke at the stroke of brilliance, a way out of my predicament. I got up with a grin plastered on my face, flying to my closet and rummaging through the old suitcases at the bottom until I found an outfit of black leather armour that I had once taken from the armoury: the soldiers had changed their uniforms and had been about to throw this one out, but I had saved it. I had dipped it in black dye to dispose of the white emblem printed on it, and wore it every night on my trips to the armoury.

   I would disguise myself as a man and call myself Alain Thastrin. It was the name of a character in one of my beloved story books, one that was not very well known and would therefore not be exposed easily.

   As I was pulling out the leather armour, however, I heard a few knocks on the door and, before I could start shoving the clothing back into the closet, Randa entered.

   "Good morn-"

   "Don't you wait for an answer anymore?" I hissed.

   "What are you doing, princess?" she asked as I got up to shove the door to the closet closed.

   "Nothing," I snapped, walking over to the bed, "I daresay it's a beautiful morning for a hot bath. Why don't you go get the water running?"

   "Nice try, princess," she said, shaking her head, "You hate bathing."

   She set the tray she was holding, containing my breakfast, down on my bed and walked over to the closet. Before I could stop her, she wrenched the door open and gasped as she pulled out the leather armour.

   "What," she said, "is this?"

   "Nothing, just-"

   "You're planning on participating-"

   "Shh!" I hissed.

   "How do you intend to get past the guards?" she asked in a whisper, "And your parents?"

   "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," I replied, taking the clothing from her, "And I'd thank you to keep your mouth shut about this."

   "What if I were to disguise myself as you?" she suggested. I just stared at her. Who was she kidding? "I can easily mimick your face on mine if I were to have access to your makeup, and I can stay in here and read while you're out on your business."

   "And how can I trust that you will keep this between us?" I asked suspiciously.

   "Has ten years of friendship proven nothing to you, princess?" she asked, "And this benefits me, as well."

   "Trust me, these dresses are not as comfortable as they look-"

   "No, not your clothes," she laughed, "If you were to win the dragon race, perhaps you can pass that law to stop this sexist nonsense with female servants. I can finally get around to doing what I love to."

   "Which is?"

   "Painting," she shrugged. I gawked. "Exactly," she added, gesturing at my expression.

   "All right, then," I said, "So you'll help me win the dragon race in exchange for the promise that I will do everything in my power to free you from your metaphorical chains?"

   "Yes."

   I grinned.

*

   After more than an hour's worth of struggling, Randa finally disguised my face to look like that of a man, if one's gaze slid past it, but it would not be sufficient to fool Captain Cirimgor. I, however, was too eager to get out of the castle grounds. I simply hid most of my face in the shadow of a hood, and strapped my pair of daggers to my waist before aiming to exit through my bedroom door.