"Prince Rhys! Report at once!" King Nathaniel shouted. He was the King of the large town of Landen, and Prince Rhys was his son.

"Father, I'm here! What is it?" Rhys asked. The prince of Landen was a very upper-class individual, and he showed that in two ways - his dress sense and the way he spoke. He had short ocean-blue hair, and he was wearing a light blue shirt, a pair of navy blue pants, a pair of white gloves and a pair of white boots. A brown belt was around his waist, and a sheathed hunting knife was attached to it. He had a white cloak clipped around him.

"Princess Anna is here, awaiting your hand in marriage. You do remember that you are marrying Princess Anna, don't you?"

"Father, my heart is with Princess Maia." As soon as Rhys had finished speaking, King Nathaniel looked very cross. He had arranged for Rhys to marry Princess Anna, and he was rejecting her.

"You want to marry a girl you found on the beach? Prince Rhys, if you had your way, you'd marry every girl in Landen, regardless of who they were! You don't know anything about Princess Maia... she could be a Layan. At least we know that Princess Anna is of Orakian heritage." Nathaniel said sternly. The Layans were the enemies of the Orakians, and there was something about Maia that made Nathaniel suspect she was a Layan. Rhys couldn't figure out what it was.

"That's preposterous, Father! And nothing you say can stop me marrying her, so I will marry her, regardless of whether you like it or not!" Rhys snapped, just as Princess Anna entered the throne room.

"Your bride is here, Prince Rhys." the guard who had just escorted Princess Anna said.

"She is not my bride!" Rhys shouted. King Nathaniel looked very fierce.

"Yes she is, Prince Rhys! Now marry her or be condemned!" Nathaniel boomed, frightening Princess Anna. Rhys was also startled. It was just then that Princess Maia padded out of her room. She saw Princess Anna, and she turned to face her.

"And who are you?" Princess Maia asked.

"I am Prince Rhys' bride, Princess Anna." Anna replied.

"Shut up, you ragged old bat! I am Prince Rhys' bride!"

"Enough of that! You were left to die on a beach!"

"No, I'd actually been washed ashore!"

"Liar, liar, dress on fire!" King Nathaniel rose from his throne.

"Silence, princesses! Since we cannot settle the matter, I will now ask Prince Rhys to choose whom he will marry." Nathaniel said. He turned to face Rhys. "So then, who will you marry?"

"I will marry Princess Maia." Rhys said calmly. Nathaniel was furious with the prince's decision, but he had said that it was Rhys' choice.

"Fair enough. You know the marriage ceremony off by heart, so we don't need a priest." Nathaniel said. He sat back down on his throne, and Rhys led Maia up in front of Nathaniel.

"I, Prince Rhys, do take thee..." Rhys began, but an almighty crash prevented him from saying any more. A huge dragon had burst through the roof of the castle, and it grabbed Princess Maia in its clawed hands! It was a large brown dragon with leathery wings and very bumpy scales. It had two curvy horns on its head.

"You horrid Orakian! How dare you taint a Layan princess!" the dragon roared, tightening its grip on Maia. Rhys unsheathed his hunting knife and thrust it at the dragon.

"Release her this instant, you foul beast!" Rhys shouted. The dragon laughed and spread its wings.

"I'm sorry, Orakio-lover. I really can't allow you to marry Princess Maia. It would disgust Laya herself!" the dragon snarled, flying out of the hole in the castle roof with Maia in tow. Rhys sheathed his hunting knife.

"She was a Layan all along! I knew it..." Nathaniel grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Father. I didn't know. But I still love her. I will rescue her, I swear it!" Rhys announced. Nathaniel called to the guards.

"You need to cool off in the dungeons." Nathaniel said, ordering the guards to take Rhys down there. When the guards grabbed him, the prince began to struggle.

"Release me, this instant!" Rhys shouted.

"Sorry, Prince... your father's orders overpower yours." the guard replied. He and the other guard dragged Rhys down to the dungeons, where they locked him into a cell. As the guards began to leave, Rhys rattled the bars of the door.

"This is uncalled for! I order you to let me out!" Rhys roared, but the guards ignored him.