When a Princess Sees Dragons

There weren’t always dragons in the valley. Princess Kiara was surprised by how calm she felt as she viewed Hostile Valley from horseback. Her thoughts overtook her as the sound of her horse’s hooves pounded as she galloped across the field. It was hard for her to comprehend all the changes she observed. She remembered luscious green fields, but they had become blackened acres of scorched earth for as far as the eye could see. What were once beautiful stone houses were now piles of rubble and sorrow. The clear rivers flowing as melted mountain snow now lay murky with mud and the remains of fallen men and the occasional dragon. She could not help but scrunch her nose. The air smelled like death and despair which caused her to well up with tears. Sir Roger, the knight that led her convoy, rode alongside her to survey the valley. They both slowed down to a trot. Behind them, an entire betrothal convoy road on horses and wagons. The rest of their entourage was made up of soldiers on horseback, cooks, spice maids, squires, a blacksmith, Donia the nurse, and Windredge, Kiara’s old wet nurse. There was also Sir Edwin, the knight designated to be second in command after Sir Roger. Altogether, they accounted for a little over a hundred people.

“Be wary my princess,” warned Sir Roger, “dragons attack when people feel the calmest, so as to surprise them.”

Princess Kiara thoughtfully responded, “According to the dragon slayer, Sir Awon, it is the opposite.” She turned to meet Sir Roger’s blue soulful eyes and continued, “He says they can smell fear from a mile away.”

“Then let us pray we are upwind of dragons today,” Sir Roger replied solemnly, “I am doubtful everyone in our convoy has the same peace of mind as you.”

“A peaceful mind makes a happy heart Sir Roger, and I am expected to be happy upon meeting my betrothed.”

There was a loud roar in the distance, past the hill that rose in front of them. The two turned their heads towards the sound, their faces filled with alarm. Sir Roger quickly composed himself.

“My mind will not have such a peace until whatever made that noise lays dead,” declared Sir Roger. He kicked his horse into a gallop and charged ahead.

“Sir Roger!” cried out Kiara in concern, but it was to no avail. He was already ten horse lengths away and determined to take on whatever danger lay before them. Kiara knew it would certainly be a fatal mistake if Sir Roger ended up taking on a dragon alone. Armed with only a sword and shield, he would have to engage in close combat to take on the monster. She heard the rest of her convoy approaching from behind her.

Looking at them, Kiara shouted to her soldiers on horseback, “Follow him!”

A dozen of her fifty soldiers kicked their horses into gallops and trailed after Sir Roger. Sir Edwin pulled up beside her.

“My lady,” he stated, “we cannot all go. Our primary purpose is to protect you.”

“Sir Roger believed this to be a threat to my safety,” she proclaimed.

“But you are here, and whatever that was, lies ahead.”

Irritated that so many of her soldiers felt comfortable staying back, Kiara turned her head to glare at them. For them to not act offensively, they had to be either lazy or cowardly, or both.

“Very well then,” she retorted before jabbing her feet into her horse. Her horse took off in a flurry as Kiara guided her uphill. Kiara could hear Sir Edwin and a few others shouting angrily at her before encouraging their horses into a gallop as well. They sounded like continuous thunder as they followed behind her.

Upon reaching the crest of the hill, Kiara stopped. She was unarmed and could see the battle taking place in the far distance. Sir Roger was the closest to the dragon and facing it directly. Three soldiers were behind him with swords drawn. Sir Roger was barking instructions at them.

“Circle it slowly, retreat if you hear it hiss. It is getting ready to fire,” he instructed them. Hearing him speak loudly, the dragon roared again. The dragon itself was the size of a large horse. It was white with bright multicolored spots ranging the colors of the rainbow. It had two gray curled horns an arm’s length long on its head. Its wings were spread out to give itself a more intimidating appearance. Behind them, there was a large wall of fire illuminating the battle. A few soldiers standing off to the side shot arrows at the dragon, but the arrows bounced off the dragon’s tough scales and fell to the ground. Two soldiers behind the dragon were hacking at its swinging tail. The dragon screeched and swiped at Sir Roger with his large claws. Kiara heard a metallic scratch. Sir Roger leaped back. His eyes were wide with alarm. Kiara quickly glanced behind her. The rest of her soldiers had almost caught up. Sir Roger took a few slow swings at the dragon’s head. It was clear he was running out of energy. She couldn’t bear the sight of her most trusted knight as he continued to get beaten while she sat and watched in suspense. She kicked her horse into a gallop to get closer to him. Sir Roger heard the hoofbeats and briefly turned his head and saw Kiara swiftly making her way down the hill.

“Go back!” he screamed in frustration at her. The dragon began to thrust his head out to strike him. He looked past the dragon and noticed the two soldiers making strikes from behind.

“You two,” he called out while maneuvering his sword to ward off the dragon’s strikes. “Charge forward and aim to strike just beneath the wings.” In a clear attempt to distract it, he raised his sword and shield and charged forward while screaming. The dragon started to hiss. Ignoring his own advice, Sir Roger continued to charge forward while the two soldiers rushed in from behind. The dragon let out a blast of fire. Sir Roger held up his shield against it. The soldiers thrust their swords into the dragon just underneath the wings. The dragon let out one last screech before falling to the ground. It was still twitching when Kiara arrived.

“A harlequin dragon,” stated Sir Roger while breathing heavily, “it wasn’t easy to kill. It put up a good fight.” Sir Edwin and the rest of the soldiers pulled up behind Kiara. Upon further inspection, Kiara noticed his plated armor was covered in scratches and even had torn in a gash across his chest. He was dripping heavily in sweat, despite having only endured a fight that lasted a few seconds. His wool tunic was scorched on his left sleeve.

“It burned you?” Kiara asked.

“Of course, it bloody did,” barked Sir Edwin, “It’s a dragon, not some pet.” Sir Edwin jumped off and approached the dragon. He crouched to examine it closer. He grabbed ahold of the head and with great effort lifted it to inspect its dewlap hanging from its chin. It was blue and swollen like two sausages.

“It was calling for a mate when we first heard it,” Sir Edwin stated. He shook his head in dismay. “He would have been filled with lust-powered aggression,” he further commented.

“It’s a good thing you sent reinforcements your highness,” Sir Roger said gratefully while taking in deep breaths, “I don’t think I would have been able to take it down myself.”

“So, my orders were justified,” Kiara said while glaring at Sir Edwin, “and you doubted it was a threat. What if the dragon had been bigger?”

“Then you would be dead. I was ordered to protect you, not my reckless comrades. Unfortunately, you are just as reckless as they are,” Sir Edwin stated.

“As much as I appreciate your kindness and courage, he is right my princess,” agreed Sir Roger, “the moment you are lost, our mission will have to be aborted and we all will have failed.”

Kiara frowned. She was only sixteen, but being the only royal member in the group, she wished she would be taken more seriously. She felt like she was somehow seen as a leader and a young child at the same time.

“See that the nurse, Donia, attends to Sir Roger,” she ordered. Behind them, what remained of the convoy was catching up. Sir Edwin approached Windredge while she sat on her horse and explained to her what had just taken place. When Windredge was told what Kiara had done, she was mortified. Windredge trotted her horse up to Kiara’s as the group continued their journey.

“It is not your place as a princess to charge into the middle of danger,” she scolded.

“But it is my place to lead, and my men were not following my orders, so I gave them a reason to,” Kiara responded.

“Exactly,” Windredge replied, “you have yet to give them a real reason other than your royal status to follow your orders into a fool-hearty situation. In their eyes, you are a delicate princess. Sure, you are braver than most soldiers, but men respond to men. Specifically, they prefer to listen to warrior princes who will turn into warrior kings. And no amount of ordering around knights is going to change how they see you.”

Kiara frowned. She was perturbed by Windredge’s straightforward reasoning. Kiara understood Windredge’s statements but still thought her order had been the correct one. Kiara took time to reflect further on Windredge’s statements before continuing the conversation. She posed a question, “What do you recommend I should do next time?”

“Tell them you believe there is danger ahead and they must confront it,” answered Windredge, “but don’t order for all of them to leave. And for the sake of the heavens, don’t go yourself.”

“Then I shall fail to lead by example, and how can they consider me worthy of respect if I cannot lead by example?”

Windredge reached out her left hand and grabbed the reins of Kiara’s horse and jolted both horses to a stop. With her free right hand, she gently turned Kiara’s face towards hers.

“You gain their respect by not risking the mission,” she calmly told her, “they are here to die so that you don’t. Their families and villages will be impacted by the outcome of this journey. The fate of two kingdoms rests on your safe arrival to Quenith, the capital of Valzeria. Is that understood?”

Ashamed, Kiara lowered her eyes. She was finally aware of the potential consequences of her actions. Humbled, she answered, “Understood.”

Sighing, Windredge let go of Kiara’s face. “Sometimes,” she said, “I wish you could have been born the son of a knight because you have way too much courage to be a princess.”