tayla83-Your review made me so happy that I started to cry!
MystDragon2k-No, actually the princess is rather irelevent to the rest of the story, I don't even think she'll make an appearance beyond Yumi thinking about her. So I never really gave her character to be. The only truly bratty character is Sissy, and she has another role in this... (P.s.- Thanks for being the first reviewer!)
Julia Poprocks-See my above answer, and I just wanted to hug you back! (Hug)
Trake-I could give you a hint as to how the human/dragon thing is going to work, but that would involve giving away too much of my plot :)
Mewberries-I am going through a dragon obsession right now, which kind of spawned this fic. Glad to meet another dragon lover!
Leelei- I don't know if I can make it more than five chapters unless I come up with some little 'filler' incidents. This is one of the few fics I actually planned out ahead of time, outlining each chapter. Normally I write flying by the seat of my pants, lol!
Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Ransomed Heart
Chapter Two: In which Yumi and the Dragon are introduced
Yumi had given up fighting as they flew over the mountain. She was resigned to her fate; She was obviously destined to become some kind of dragon snack so there was really no point in fighting. The claw was still digging into her side, but the initial pain had receded to a dull throb that was easier to ignore.
The captured maidservant had closed her eyes, trying to pretend she was anywhere else, except for maybe back at the castle. Someplace other than being toted away to her impending doom by a dragon. Suddenly they jerked to the left. Yumi felt her head snap sharply and she looked around frantically to try to identify the cause of the sudden jerk.
A loud roar from above told her all she needed to know. Another dragon, this one a fiery crimson, was circling above like a vulture. Yumi choked back a scream as it dove again, spiraling towards them with deadly precision. Her dragon dove to the right this time, but was unable to avoid the brunt of the attack. It screamed, throwing it's head up to the sky as the other dragon's claws tore through scales and flesh on it's back.
Yumi screamed this time as the plummeted downwards, the dragon unable to stop the decent. At the last instant, just as Yumi was preparing herself for a premature death, the dragon regained control and lifted them up, slowly taking them back to their previous altitude. The crimson dragon was gone, having flown off after injuring the green one.
"What was that about," she snapped sharply at the dragon, not caring if she was rude. It was probably going to kill her later anyway, so she might as well get some answers out of it.
"Nothing," the dragon bit back coarsely. "That dragon and I just...don't like each other."
"That's pretty cryptic," Yumi snapped back under her breath. Not liking each other was a far cry from attacking one another.
If the dragon heard her, it didn't comment. The flight continued in silence, neither human nor dragon in the mood for conversation. Minutes later, the dragon swooped downwards into the mountains and pulled sharply into the entrance of a cave, dropping Yumi unceremoniously to the rocky ledge. She landed with a thump and cast the beast an annoyed look.
"Stop glaring," it snapped, moving past her to enter the vast cavern.
"Why should I," Yumi bit back, forgetting for a moment that she was in the presence of a dragon.
The dragon didn't seem offended by he tone, but it did look back at her stoically. "Because," it reasoned, "I have captured you, and unless you want to be eaten you may as well do what I say."
Yumi bit her lip nervously. Out of one captivity and straight into another, wasn't life grand? Suddenly her attention shifted as the dragon stumbled and fell forward, the resounding boom echoing through the cavern. The maidservant rush forward and slipped only to land in something vaguely warm and realized with a start that it was the dragon's blood.
"Your wound," she cried out, scrambling up and rushing to the dragon's side. "We have to stop the bleeding!"
"Through that archway," the dragon indicated with a nod. "There should be bandages in there, and a tub for water to wash the wound." Yumi gave it a curt nod and ran to find the supplies.
A minute later she ran back in, lugging a tub of water with bandages tucked under one arm. The tub had been next to a pool of water and the bandages had been on a stone shelf carved into the wall. The dragon had sprawled itself out and Yumi hastily began washing the wound, suddenly feeling sorry for the beast. She knew, on some level, that showing compassion for a dragon that had kidnapped her was absurd, but she couldn't simply leave it there to bleed itself to death.
The dragon hissed softly as the water soaked into the wound, wiping away the blood. Yumi ignored its expression of pain, continuing to clean the gash. "So, tell me about yourself," she said conversationally, trying to distract the beast from the pain before it lashed out at her. "Do you have a name, or shall I call you dragon," she quipped lightheartedly.
The dragon paused, considering. "It's Ulrich. What's yours?"
Yumi smiled into the wound, grateful that the dragon couldn't see her. At least it had a name, and judging by that it was a male dragon "I'm Yumi."
"What, no fancy title," the dragon bit out. "No 'Princess Yumi, heir to the throne of whatever city I took you from?"
Yumi cocked her head to the side, confused for a moment, then the realization dawned. Ulrich thought she was the princess. Of course, he had sniffed her, and spending all day stuck with the brat must make Yumi smell like her! The maidservant hersitated. Should she tell the dragon that she wasn't a princess. He might eat her if she did, and Yumi didn't want to risk it.
"I don't really like my title," She said slowly, a half-truth. She really didn't like her title, it just wasn't the title the dragon thought that she owned. She glanced down and notice that the dragon seemed to have other wounds. Old scars, she realized suddenly, made by the claws of other dragons. This wasn't the first attack. She switched to the bandages, wrapping him up quickly before speaking.
"You have a lot of scars," she observed aloud. "You get attacked quite often, don't you?"
Ulrich hissed again, this time with a growling undertone. "That's not your concern!" He rose and stalked away back further into the cave. His tail pointed at another doorway and he growled at her again. "Your room is through there"
And he was gone, disappearing into the darkened caverns.
Yumi placed her hands on her hips. Subject off limits, message recieved. She shook her head and went to her room (cave?) silently. It had a bed and a wardrobe, as well as a bedside table with a wash basin. The bare essentials. Finding herself exhausted, Yumi collapsed onto the bed and fell into a fitful sleep filled with dreams of dragon attacks.