The Stories Fairy-Tales Don't Tell

Sabra

Once upon a time there lived a princess who had been trapped in a castle, guarded by a dragon. She lived there for many years, and eventually grew quite fond of the dragon, and stopped wishing for a handsome knight or prince to come save her. But a prince came, of course, because he couldn't give up the challenge to fight a dragon, not with a princess as the prize....

I stood on the battlements, matted hair tangled down my back, dress hanging in tatters at my ankles. I waited, my heart beating in my mouth. That was when I heard them, hundreds of men and horses, about to crest the mountain. I did not know why they were here. I was a sacrifice. It was my life in exchange for a dragon's promise to never disturb Silene again. My being saved had never been part of it. But the shouting and the scraping of metal against metal coming ever-nearer proved me wrong.

And then I saw him. Barely one hundred meters from me, his helmet shining in the late afternoon sun. I caught barely a glimpse of his face before he pulled his visor down, but he... He was the prince, the knight. Come to save the princess. Even though I knew that he couldn't, I swore he looked at me, despite the setting sun in his eyes, casting me in shadow. He would've had to have dragons' eyes to see my face through the dark recesses of the arrowhole.
"Don't kill the Prince!" I yelled to Ascalon.
She had laughed, as much as a Dragon could. "I shall not kill your prince." She roared back, and disappeared from view in the smoke that ever surrounded our abandoned castle.
Soon I could see her red form bearing down on the unsuspecting soldiers, who turned and ran as they were roasted in their shining armour. The Prince hesitated only a moment, but he was staring at my face. Ascalon growled, and he finally turned. But there was something in the set of his shoulders that told me he would be back...

I woke under Ascalon' wing, her warm scales keeping out the biting cold that lingered here year-round. I slid out, trying not to wake her, hissing as the overnight snow hurt my feet. Shivering slightly, I wandered the frozen castle, the only living thing. Even the birds were silent, their songs covered under layers of ice and snow.
Hugging my arms to myself, I sat on a frozen pile of rubble, the wind whipping away any remaining shreds of exhaustion. Absentmindedly, I traced the thick, ugly scar that ran from my umbilical down to my knee, testament to my first and only ride on the back of a dragon.
I could remember all too well that terrible moment of leaving her back and falling through the sky, waking with a headache moments after I had fallen and surprised the worst was the grazes covering my arms. Then I had put my hands down, and upon feeling my warm, sticky blood pouring into my hand I had screamed so loud all the birds had risen, squawking from their roosts, and Ascalon had come around from behind me and I hadn't even been able to look at it, I was too horrified and there was so much blood I thought I might die. Then I had passed out again, and came to minutes later, when Ascalon was licking it clean.
My body was covered in the scars I had accumulated over the years, living half-feral as I was. My body was not one of a princess. If anyone came to save me now, I don't think he would recognise me, unwashed, barefoot and dressed in a peasant's coat. I had not seen a mirror in years.
I stamped the cold from my legs, breath visible in the frigid air. The sky was growing lighter, and I walked up the frozen stairs to the battlements to watch the sun rise, a show just for me I would never get tired of.

The hardened soles of my feet protected me from the jagged, uneven ground of the castle's ruins. I hadn't worn shoes since I was a child. I could barely remember those pampered days of royal innocence anymore.
But I could remember all too well the horror of the months before I left, when the whole city thought I had killed the young queen, my stepmother. I had almost been glad that Ascalon had chosen me, and no knight sent to come rescue me.

Shivering, I leant against the ancient stone wall, the last line of defence between Ascalon and myself, and a world that had learned to hate and fear me. I stood still, drinking in the beauty of the frozen landscape. The sun rose, catching a glimmer of something silver cresting the hill with it. My gaze drifted away for a moment, when a freezing breath of wind ripped through the patchwork coat I had made years ago. Then I glanced back, a sixth sense warning me.
It burnt my eyes, the sun reflecting along the.... metal. Armour. My heart leapt into my throat as I waited for the army to crest the hill, but it was just him. The prince. He looked up, and this time I knew he'd seen me. His princess. He stared at me for a long moment before pulling down his visor. I leant against the wall, clutching my heart. I didn't know what this feeling was. It was the first time I had seen another human since I was eight, save for him, four years ago. He was here to save me. Again.
I came to my senses with a gasp of frozen air. My foolish, fanciful heart had driven me to waste precious moments. He was coming to kill the dragon. My dragon. Ascalon.
Kill the dragon.
Marry the Princess.
And we all live happily-ever-after.
I knew how it went.