The Dragon's Captive

The solution slowly dripped into a beaker from the filtration apparatus. When at last the filtration reached completion, Illior carefully added a few drops of juice from nightshade berries and one drop of primrose essence to dampen the toxins. It was lucky the king trusted him so completely. Illior need only ask and whatever he needed was given him. All he had to say was that it was for his research to cure the ailing princess. After all, he had been the one to save the queen when she came down with Dragon Fever after her rescue. He had cast a spell to make an appeal on the queen’s behalf. The great dragon Kaen had removed his mark from the queen but Illior must obtain a replacement for him. Upon the princess’ birth, Kaen laid claim to her. He sent a scorching wind to the castle to place his mark upon her heart. The mark would make her ill unless she was in his lair. Not even Phredatope tears could reverse a dragon’s claim. The king beseeched Illior to save his daughter as he had the queen, but upon agreeing to Kaen’s terms Illior had become a servant to the beast, unable to break their agreement on penalty of death for not only him but his entire family. If ever he considered betraying the dragon, his chest would burn as though his heart were burning.

Taking the finished solution, he left for the kitchens. The princess’ birthday was fast approaching and what better way to administer the poison than through her birthday cake. As he made his way from his tower study to the underground kitchens, he felt a familiar presence in his mind.

‘I want my princess delivered to me by the next full moon, else your family will perish,’ the low rumble sounded in his head.

He paused on the stair. Best that no one hear him talking. Unlike Kaen, he was unable to send his thoughts to his master but the mark of servitude meant the dragon could hear what he said aloud. It also prevented him from informing the royal family of the bargain that was made to save Queen Eleanor. Had there been more time, he might have found a way to save her without resorting to such measures, but she had been at death’s door and there was no time.

“My liege, that is but three weeks away. This concoction must be administered slowly, else we risk true death rather than the illusion intended.”

‘No. The essence of her soul is powerful. She will not die. By the next full moon, slave. Should you disobey me, there will be consequences.’

As Illior descended to the main body of the castle, bringing with him the entire beaker rather than the small vial he had intended, he was wracked with guilt at what he must do for the sake of his family. The princess was but one girl, whereas he had several children and a wife with another babe in her womb. How could he allow anything to befall them? Even were it not for the sake of his family, the mark of servitude gave Kaen the power to turn him into a mindless slave. The princess was fated to be prisoner to the dragon regardless of any futile struggles. Better for her family to think her dead than to know her true predicament. None could stop it. He would sooner fake her death than have her father or brothers throw their lives away in a pointless rescue attempt. Kaen would not let a second princess escape him.

When he reached the kitchens he instructed the cooks to add the liquid to a sauce for the princess’ birthday cake. “Put it only on her slice please. It is a special potion to grant her one birthday wish.”

When the princess’ birthday arrived Illior was horrified, though he hid it well, to find that the kitchen staff had given Princess Vivian only half of the poisoned sauce. As it was also Vivienne’s birthday, they had split the sauce between the two girls’ slices of the cake. They had explained that the delightful sauce simply made too grand a compliment to the dark chocolate flavor of the cake and, since they had learned it was both girls’ birthday and especially with poor Vivienne so far from her own world, they thought she deserved a birthday wish as well. Surely he wouldn’t deny the girl a birthday wish of her own. He of course agreed with their thoughtful gesture. The girl was trapped in a world that was not her own and should be shown every kindness.

That night, Vivienne had a strange dream. She was flying on the back of a phoenix through the night sky. The full moon illuminated the world below. The phoenix in her dream spoke to her, told her not to be afraid for it would not allow any harm to befall her. She would face hardships when she awoke but it would do everything in its power to guide her. If ever she felt afraid or needed help in choosing the correct path she need only speak its name: Verene. Verene continued to soar through the sky with Vivienne upon her back as Vivienne viewed this dream world with what she perceived to be startling clarity.

Verene explained that this was Felnor before the dragons arrived. It was lush with growth and magic could be felt in the air. Then dragons erupted from the mountains, destroying much of the meadows and forests, and terrorizing humans and all other intelligent life. There had been peace until that point. The dragons brought with them greed and violence, bloodlust and war. The phoenixes did all they could to mitigate the damage, spreading kindness and generosity. The Phredatopes joined their cause and eventually they were able to convince the dragon race to return to the mountains, but the dragons wanted something in return.

They demanded that the humans offer a young maiden of royal blood. The humans had protested but the dragons raided their villages, burning everything in sight. Eventually, the humans relented but wars were fought to determine which kingdom must give up its princess. The dragons, however, had already chosen their prize. They each claimed one princess to stay in their lair, placing their mark on their selected property. As royal daughters across the lands fell ill, the dragons came to claim them. The humans resisted but their daughters grew more ill with each passing day.

The mark that the dragons placed upon the princesses preventing them from aging so their prizes could sing and dance for them for eternity, and prevented their escape. The stolen princesses could not wander beyond the mouth of the cave. If ever they attempted to leave their illness would return. Queen Eleanor had been Kaen’s prisoner for several centuries before she was rescued by the king. He had heard her singing whilst hunting the great cats that were known to reside on mountaintops and gone to investigate. Inside a massive cave, he saw her dancing and determined he would save her from the great red beast that lay watching her.

Illior fretted. The princess had received only half the intended dose. Had Kaen not rushed him he could simply continue poisoning her and wait for the smaller doses to take effect. Since he had been administering small doses over the course of her life, it seemed she had begun to develop a tolerance. She did not appear dead and regained consciousness by morning. There was not enough time to create a new batch of poison before the full moon. When the other girl did not wake and did show the desired effect, he thanked the gods in the heavens for his good fortune. Thinking the dragon might accept her in the princess’ stead he began preparations to deliver her to his master.

Kaen was not pleased to learn of the princess’ recovery. Illior explained as best he could about the kitchen staff going against his orders. They had been showing kindness to the other Vivian. Kindness. That disgusted Kaen. As his human servant removed the lid of the box he had brought, Kaen decided he would forgive the mishap this once, for the girl in the box had a phoenix for a soul. Perhaps his slave had proven useful after all. This was an auspicious mishap. Claiming this girl would be delicious revenge on those miserable fire foul. In exchange for this delectable offering, Kaen granted his slave additional time to acquire the princess. He would be the first dragon to keep two pets.

Vivienne awoke in a wooden box and pushed the lid aside. How long had she slept?

‘Greetings, false princess’ a deep voice rumbled, causing the ground to shake.

Vivienne glanced about, seeking the source of the voice as her eyes adjusted to the dark cave. It was deep into the night, the moon offering little light and she saw that it was waning. Had she truly been asleep that long? Last she knew there was a week left before the moon was full and now it was nearly the new moon?

‘You cannot leave this place. I have marked you as mine.’

Marked her? What did that mean? Surely she was able to leave this place. She needed to find her way home. She made her way to the cave entrance- and immediately began coughing as though she had pneumonia. The dragon grabbed her with his talons and drew her inside. The moment she was over the threshold, the coughing ceased. Was she truly trapped?

“W-where am I?”

‘This is my lair. I should burn that wretched servant for his failure, although he did obtain a surprising pet. I have granted him additional time as reward. A phoenix. Most unusual.’

Pet. Did he mean to keep her here until she died? She despaired her misfortune. Her family would never find her here. Would anyone in this world search for her. Even if they did, could she even leave this cave without dying? She sat on the cave floor and drew her knees to her chest, tears streaming down her face. She would never have a boyfriend now, never go to the mall or see a movie with her friends. It was hopeless.

Days went by. Weeks. Months. Maybe years. She stopped counting. She was made to sing and dance for this evil lizard. If she tried to refuse, she felt a searing sensation in her heart as though it might catch fire inside her chest until she gave in and entertained the cruel beast at his whim. She had tried to recall how she came to be here but the last she could remember was eating chocolate cake with a sweet berry topping with the princess on their mutual birthday. Nothing unusual had happened.

She eventually fell into depression. Each day her hope that rescue might come died a sliver more until she was certain this was how she would spend the rest of her life. How long would that be, she wondered. 60 years? 80? This nightmare had to end sometime.

The dragon delighted in her misery. In her hopelessness, she forgot about Verene and her offer to help. She forgot the Phredatope that brought her to this world. She forgot the world beyond this cave even existed. The world she had been born in seemed a distant dream. Was her family still looking for her? What did it matter? She was beyond their reach anyway. No matter how long they searched, she would never be found.