BOOK ONE
CHAPTER TWO
It takes two weeks to reach the Mountain of the Purple Dragon from the royal castle, and in those weeks the Prince became happier than he thought possible. Out of the Queen’s sight, his personality altered drastically from the withdrawn one he had cultivated for so long. Experiencing the land as a servant liberated the young Prince, and the excitement of travel agreed with him. Conversing with others, formerly an unpleasant and seemingly dangerous task, now felt as natural and enjoyable as eating a fine dessert on which one could not overindulge. Everywhere they went the local populace welcomed Sasha with open arms. She would play and play often till sun up. The Prince came to realized that unless he stole her away from the crowd to put her to bed, she might possibly keep playing for days. Her playing became the Prince’s favorite thing, and he resolved to take up an instrument himself, sometimes accompanying her on drum or tambourine, and though he performed his music with a charming abandon, his atrocious rhythm eventually caused the other listeners to beg him to stop. His rump hurt from riding, his back hurt from carrying and he slept each night in filthy servant quarters, but despite all this, the Prince wished their journey would never have to end. It did though, and when they reached their destination, the cave mouth served as a sobering reminder of their true mission. Sasha lit a torch in readiness.
“Why should we do this?” the Prince asked. “Why bother? Let’s run away together, you and I. We can live a quiet life in some other land and simply be happy in each other’s arms.” Before Sasha could make her answer, an arrow soared past her, taking a small part of her shoulder with it. They turned and saw three riders approaching on horseback fast, weapons drawn. Quickly, Sasha and the Prince ran into the dark cave for cover. The caverns were like a maze, and without thinking the two ran through them before blowing out their torch and hiding in a cranny.
They could hear the riders echoing voices saying, “Wait, don’t go in. It’s a death trap. There’s only one way out. Let’s wait for them. The Queen’s already paid up. Maybe the dragon will do our work for us.”
When she was sure it was safe, Sasha relit the torch. The Prince’s expression was hard, and his cheeks glistened. “How could she? She promised…” he whispered. Sasha wiped his face. He kissed her hand, and said, “Let’s go.”
“Why should we do this?” the Prince asked. “Why bother? Let’s run away together, you and I. We can live a quiet life in some other land and simply be happy in each other’s arms.” Before Sasha could make her answer, an arrow soared past her, taking a small part of her shoulder with it. They turned and saw three riders approaching on horseback fast, weapons drawn. Quickly, Sasha and the Prince ran into the dark cave for cover. The caverns were like a maze, and without thinking the two ran through them before blowing out their torch and hiding in a cranny.
They could hear the riders echoing voices saying, “Wait, don’t go in. It’s a death trap. There’s only one way out. Let’s wait for them. The Queen’s already paid up. Maybe the dragon will do our work for us.”
When she was sure it was safe, Sasha relit the torch. The Prince’s expression was hard, and his cheeks glistened. “How could she? She promised…” he whispered. Sasha wiped his face. He kissed her hand, and said, “Let’s go.”
The servant who was supposed to accompany Sasha was having the time of his life back at the castle. The Prince had paid him handsomely, and for what? To stay in the Prince’s royal chamber with the door locked, eating royal meals, taking royal baths and indulging in a life he had never dreamed of having. Two or three times a day when the Queen knocked, he had to disguise his voice as the Prince’s and proclaim his resolution never to leave his room again. About a week and a half into this magnanimous lifestyle, he dared to believe it might never end. He did not expect the battering ram.
Together Sasha and the Prince moved further into the dark catacombs, the torch light reflecting quietly off the limestone walls. They reached a fork, Sasha started to go left, but the Prince stopped her, his instincts telling him they should go right. Feeling no particular preference for either direction, Sasha conceded. This phenomenon kept occurring. The Prince couldn’t explain it, but he seemed to know which directions to take. A growing number of bodies caught in booby traps spoke for the accuracy of his intuition. They moved cautiously, fearful they would fall victim to a trap themselves, but no intact ones remained. At a certain point, the traps stopped, but the body parts did not. If one had to guess, one might think that these people had spontaneously exploded, but that would be ridiculous. Terrified, Sasha and the Prince trudged on. Then, they found it, the lair, a huge domed cavern illuminated by a phosphorescent glow, and decorated with blankets, pillows, piles of hay, nests, beds, chairs and couches of all sizes. In the center of the room stood a huge diamond on a pedestal, sparkling magnificently. Behind the diamond, a dragon lay sleeping, who, while large, was not quite as large as they expected, and who, despite legendary names to the contrary, was one hundred percent green.
Sasha and the Prince held their breath and tiptoed ever so gently towards the pedestal. As they approached, a light from within the diamond began to glow, dimly at first, then brighter. When they were near enough to reach it, they heard a voice.
“Why is it doing that, I wonder?” Before they knew it, the dragon had Sasha and the Prince in his clutches. He moved Sasha closer to the diamond; nothing. When he did the same with the Prince, it shone like a candle. The dragon threw Sasha into an extra room carved in the wall of the cave, and closed the door. Sasha pounded and banged on it, screaming to be let out.
“There’s really no sense in going on like that,” a new voice said. Startled, Sasha turned to find a tall woman in the cell with her. “He’s hardly going to let you out because you tell him to.”
“You’re quite right,” Sasha said, noticing the strangeness of the woman’s clothes. “What would you recommend instead?”
“I’m hardly the person to ask. I’m the idiot imprisoned in her own cell.”
“My name is Sasha. Some call me Sasha the Merry Maker.”
“I’m Moriandra, the Purple Dragon. Call me Mo.”
Enthralled by the effect the Prince had on the North Star, the green dragon watched it light up and dim over and over again until finally he demanded that the Prince touch it. Fear struck the Prince’s heart. This was his first experience with magic and from what he had read about it, he knew it could be a volatile and unstable force. However, the look on the dragon’s face told him he really had no choice. He steeled up all his courage, reached forth and placed his hand on the diamond! And nothing happened. An angry dragon backhanded the Prince across the room, knocking him unconscious.
Then the dragon heard a gasp of surprise coming from one of his prisoners. Perhaps the Prince’s touch did do something, the dragon thought. He ran to the cell and looked in to find the new girl with the lute on her back struggling to hold something, but he couldn’t see what.
“What is it? What has happened?” he asked.
“Nothing. Nothing,” the girl repeated suspiciously.
“How can you say that? It’s obvious you are concealing something. Please, what is it? I must see!”
“Very well,” Sasha volunteered reluctantly. “A creature just appeared out of nowhere! I’ve got it here in my arms, but I won’t be able to hold on for long. He’s really quick. Open the door if you want to see him.” And so the dragon did.
Now, the thing about dragons is that each of them has a particular magical gift. The Green Dragon’s individual skill involved destroying utterly whatever he pointed his finger at, and thanks to Moriandra, Sasha had this information at the ready. Sasha walked to the doorway when suddenly, whatever it was got out of her grasp. “Oh no he—there he is! Get him!” And Sasha pointed to a far corner of the room. The green dragon pointed to the same spot and the area magically exploded, turning the cave wall into a pile of debris. “Now he’s over there!” She screamed, and the green dragon destroyed that part of the room. “Above you! Right above you!” she let out, and the green dragon aimed right over his head, burying himself under 15 feet of rubble. For a moment Sasha worried that the whole place was going to come down, but the moment passed. As for the creature, like all things imaginary, when Sasha stopped imagining it, it ceased to exist.
Mo, now free from her cell, congratulated herself for putting her trust in this girl. Though it confused her when the girl then started digging through the rubble, exclaiming, “Come on! We need to get him out before it’s too late! He’s hurt!”
“Hurting him was the point, was it not?” Mo posited before reluctantly helping; do-gooding put Mo in a foul mood. They attended to the green dragon’s injuries before locking him in the cell, each of his hands chained to the wall and bound in bandages so he couldn’t point at anything.
So, this is the afterlife, the Prince thought when he came to. It disappointed him that death should look so cave-like, but it pleased him that the general experience closely resembled living. He should acclimate well. Then his head started hurting, and he realized his mistake. When he sat up, Sasha ran over.
“Good news! Mo, the Purple Dragon has invited us to have dinner with her and stay the night. How do you feel about that?” The Prince wondered if he had suffered brain damage.
Sasha and the Prince held their breath and tiptoed ever so gently towards the pedestal. As they approached, a light from within the diamond began to glow, dimly at first, then brighter. When they were near enough to reach it, they heard a voice.
“Why is it doing that, I wonder?” Before they knew it, the dragon had Sasha and the Prince in his clutches. He moved Sasha closer to the diamond; nothing. When he did the same with the Prince, it shone like a candle. The dragon threw Sasha into an extra room carved in the wall of the cave, and closed the door. Sasha pounded and banged on it, screaming to be let out.
“There’s really no sense in going on like that,” a new voice said. Startled, Sasha turned to find a tall woman in the cell with her. “He’s hardly going to let you out because you tell him to.”
“You’re quite right,” Sasha said, noticing the strangeness of the woman’s clothes. “What would you recommend instead?”
“I’m hardly the person to ask. I’m the idiot imprisoned in her own cell.”
“My name is Sasha. Some call me Sasha the Merry Maker.”
“I’m Moriandra, the Purple Dragon. Call me Mo.”
Enthralled by the effect the Prince had on the North Star, the green dragon watched it light up and dim over and over again until finally he demanded that the Prince touch it. Fear struck the Prince’s heart. This was his first experience with magic and from what he had read about it, he knew it could be a volatile and unstable force. However, the look on the dragon’s face told him he really had no choice. He steeled up all his courage, reached forth and placed his hand on the diamond! And nothing happened. An angry dragon backhanded the Prince across the room, knocking him unconscious.
Then the dragon heard a gasp of surprise coming from one of his prisoners. Perhaps the Prince’s touch did do something, the dragon thought. He ran to the cell and looked in to find the new girl with the lute on her back struggling to hold something, but he couldn’t see what.
“What is it? What has happened?” he asked.
“Nothing. Nothing,” the girl repeated suspiciously.
“How can you say that? It’s obvious you are concealing something. Please, what is it? I must see!”
“Very well,” Sasha volunteered reluctantly. “A creature just appeared out of nowhere! I’ve got it here in my arms, but I won’t be able to hold on for long. He’s really quick. Open the door if you want to see him.” And so the dragon did.
Now, the thing about dragons is that each of them has a particular magical gift. The Green Dragon’s individual skill involved destroying utterly whatever he pointed his finger at, and thanks to Moriandra, Sasha had this information at the ready. Sasha walked to the doorway when suddenly, whatever it was got out of her grasp. “Oh no he—there he is! Get him!” And Sasha pointed to a far corner of the room. The green dragon pointed to the same spot and the area magically exploded, turning the cave wall into a pile of debris. “Now he’s over there!” She screamed, and the green dragon destroyed that part of the room. “Above you! Right above you!” she let out, and the green dragon aimed right over his head, burying himself under 15 feet of rubble. For a moment Sasha worried that the whole place was going to come down, but the moment passed. As for the creature, like all things imaginary, when Sasha stopped imagining it, it ceased to exist.
Mo, now free from her cell, congratulated herself for putting her trust in this girl. Though it confused her when the girl then started digging through the rubble, exclaiming, “Come on! We need to get him out before it’s too late! He’s hurt!”
“Hurting him was the point, was it not?” Mo posited before reluctantly helping; do-gooding put Mo in a foul mood. They attended to the green dragon’s injuries before locking him in the cell, each of his hands chained to the wall and bound in bandages so he couldn’t point at anything.
So, this is the afterlife, the Prince thought when he came to. It disappointed him that death should look so cave-like, but it pleased him that the general experience closely resembled living. He should acclimate well. Then his head started hurting, and he realized his mistake. When he sat up, Sasha ran over.
“Good news! Mo, the Purple Dragon has invited us to have dinner with her and stay the night. How do you feel about that?” The Prince wondered if he had suffered brain damage.
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