[[Spoilers: For Case 12 of Layton's Mystery Journey.]]

Arcadia

Once upon a time, a young prince lay his mother to rest. It was a burial unfit for a queen – he could barely afford the wooden casket – but she at least slept in her favorite spot, where the lights of the (their) city danced on the river. No amount of riches was worth such a paradise.

Or so the prince told himself.

The local healers did everything they could for her, he knows that, but their skills paled in comparison to the palace doctors. In her final days he had poured through his squandered apothecary books, trying to find a cure…

All he had at his disposal were common plants. Even a garden of healing couldn't help her at that point.

While the prince wept besides the water, seven dragons reigned over the (his) city, hording the treasures that rightfully belonged to the royal family. Most terrible of all was the mother dragon, whose hunger was never satisfied. Rumor had it she devoured citizens for breakfast and decorated the palace with their bones.

Fury burned through the prince's veins. If only he had an army, the provisions and the funds to overthrow the dragons. His subjects would be free.

He wondered if anyone would support him, for he had not yet come of age.

He wasn't strong enough to fight them on his own.

What he needed was a champion – someone wise, staunch and chivalrous. His mother, firmly believing in the old legends, had often spoke of a sorcerer who saved the world from an ancient evil.

Blinded by desperation, the prince broke into the vaults of the city library. (He was careful to clean up the shattered window.) Such knowledge was only permitted for scholars of magic, law enforcers and palace officials.

He scoured through books, scrolls and parchments, hoping to pinpoint the sorcerer's location. It seemed the sorcerer had vanished from the realm. For what cause, no one could say. Did he depart on his own accord or did some force drive him away?

All that remained of him were his teachings and his scattered descendants. Even his loyal apprentice was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he too had felt abandoned.

With his one hope lost, the prince buried himself in his studies. After years of scraping by, he managed to procure a place at university. And yet, ill luck continued to pursue him. In his first year, he was accused of a crime he would never commit. A former prince, charged with thievery. Was this how far he had fallen?

Then, an angel arrived to raise him up. A romantic notion, perhaps, but the young maiden really did have hair that rippled like the river, and eyes the colour of cornflowers. She wore a red tunic and a frown that could curdle milk, aimed at his accusers. She cleared his name using instinct and wit.

When the prince asked why she had come to his aid, she simply replied that it was her duty… and he didn't look like a common thief. She didn't even realize he was the crown prince! He was not insulted, but rather, touched by her dedication to help a person in need.

For all of her kindness, she wouldn't accept any payment from him. He implored her to employ him, not only for her sake, but for the city's. Finally, he would make a difference in the lives of his subjects… even if it was through running errands and messages to the maiden. He had been surrounded by servants in his early years, so he took no issue in playing the part.

News of the dexterous maiden spread through the city until, one day, the dragons caught wind of her work. The beasts demanded her presence at the castle, claiming there was a puzzle none of them could solve.

Despite his fears, the prince knew he couldn't abandon the maiden so dear to him. He accompanied her with a heavy heart.

How he had missed these royal halls! He recognized several tapestries, exotic plants and adornments, surprisingly, still in place from where his family had left them...

Had the armory been left untouched? His sword-fighting skills were atrocious (even during his youth), but this could be his one chance to slay the dragons…

What little remained of his nostalgia turned to horror when they entered the throne room, filled with the seven dragons.

His companion curtsied to each of them. The prince bowed his head, praying they wouldn't see his face.

The palace walls shook as the mother dragon spoke:

"Young maiden, we have summoned you to undertake a momentous task. What do you know of the royal family who once lived within these walls? We believe the heir to the throne survives to this day. You are to find him and bring him here, post-haste."

The maiden accepted her task, turned to him and smiled.

"It's you… You're the prince!"

When… How had she discovered his identity? Whyhad she revealed him before the dragons? Didn't she know what they would do to him?

He fell to his knees, shuddering when he felt the mother dragon's fiery breath above his neck. Fists clenched, he forced himself to look up and say, "D-do what you w-want with me, but please, leave the city alone."

A warm snout touched his head. "My darling boy, you don't understand."

Life doesn't always have princes, dragons and maidens. There isn't always a sorcerer who can whisk people's problems away.

In this case though, the dragons bowed to the price and extended a claw to him – or rather, a warm hand. They explained that they had been protecting the city for all these years, for the day he could become king. They offered him the throne and all of the treasures that were rightfully his.

The prince realized he didn't need a single golden coin. The dragons' allegiance was more than sufficient. All he wanted was to continue his studies and his work at the maiden's side.

He was disheartened, however, to hear she was setting out on a quest. She was destined to find her father... the sorcerer. Of course, the young king had no choice but to follow her.

With the help of seven dragons, they would reach her father in no time.