to chase away the monsters

Chapter 1

Once upon a time, in a land frozen in metal and buzzing electricity lived a princess like no other. Her skin is kissed by dying stars that barelylights up the sky, her eyes brown like oil and her lips hold sweet kisses and warm smiles . But the same lips are pressed tight together because in her white tower she might be the only person, but shares the space with a terrible monster . A dragon, a terror that comes at night, hisses and screeches as it hunts for the princess.

"Can't the princess run away?"

"No, not really , but she can hide" whispered Amanda as she caressed the dirty face of the little girl lying on her lap. They were both in bed, or rather on a bed made out of bags filled with scrap fabrics. It was their secret hideaway on top of an old factory building.

Tippa, the girl on her lap was one of the orphans she met during her maintenance trips to the station's garbage disposal unit . For some sick cost-cutting reason the orphanage was right next to the huge pits filled with waste. The kids were usually at the entrance. Waiting for workers to put out boxes filled with useful scraps to collect and sell. Tippa was one of the youngest, filled with hope and childish imagination. She was quick to befriend the 'quiet engineer lady with a sad look on her face'. It was Tippa who showed Amanda this place, she said the view always took her mind off things.

From there they could see the north side of Delion, the rich quarter of the space station. Tall buildings towering over all the city. Glass walled offices with bureaucrats who care about the poor as much as a rat cares about a cockroach. In the end they still share the same garbage pile.

Amanda found the view both beautiful and sickening. The lights were pretty but they were only there to blind the people. To avert the gazes off the steaming pile of shit that the rest of the station was. Plenty of resources to go around but the privileged few still lets children starve on the street.

Her blood started to boil but then a small tug on her shirt snapped her out of the furry.

"So will a prince save her? He will, right? And then he kisses her and breaks the curse, so she is happy, right? Princesses are always happy, right?" Tppa's question sounded so sweet, so hopeful. Not fit for her ragged clothes and callused hands. Amanda felt bad for lying but maybe, just maybethis counted as keeping the fire alive. Not just inside Tippa, but also in herself, she guessed.

"Yeah, she's alright" she scoffed as a grin appeared on Tippa's face. " I'm not sure about the prince though. Don't you think she managed on her own?"

"Umm" Tippa took a second to scratch her elbow and then turned to Amanda. "But then who slayed the dragon? Mrs. Rita always tells us stories where the prince slays the dragon and rides away with the princess on a white horse . And then he marries her and she marries him and then they live happy after- Happly ever- Uh, happily ever after! Yeah!"

"Well there is no prince in this story, she saved herself" or at least not in her story, she thought. Being found and taken away for by the Company wasn't exactly a romantic ending to the tale. Seeing Tippa's gaze drop to the ground Amanda picked up the story again. "But there are others who can help the princess."

" Really ?! Like who?"

"Like..." she thought about all the help she's gotten back in Sevastopol. With each face she remembered came an image, a gruesome death. Ricardo, Taylor, Samuels... "Like a brave lion, a smart scarecrow and a kindhearted tin man."