"Thank you for rescuing me," Sarah breathed onto Katherine's face.
"It wasn't a problem." Katherine stood. "You were on my way."
"Thanks,"Sarah said again, this time saturated with sarcasm. To combat the guilt of her words to the princess, Katherine wrapped her pink cloak around the girl's thin shoulders. Sarah smiled, "thank you."
"You've gotta stop thanking me," Katherine joked.
Sarah blushed and brushed the hair from her face. "What are your plans now?"
Katherine thought on the question for a moment. So maybe the well wasn't magic, that didn't mean it hadn't sent her the love of her life. At the very least this girl was a princess, the reward for returning her to her family would likely be enough to drown both Katherine and Medda in riches for the duration of their lives. Having made up her mind, Katherine answered Sarah's question. "Escorting you home of course. It is my venerable honor to escort the princess home safely."
"Oh. In that case let's proceed." Sarah took a long pause. "Where are we?"
"You don't know?" Katherine asked.
"When you're abducted by a dragon you don't usually stop to ask about vacation spots," Sarah said annoyedly.
"Oh, sorry. We're in a secret garden buried deep within the kingdom of Manhattan. What are you princess of again?
"I'm the princess of Manhattan. I need to get to the castle so my brothers don't think I'm dead."
"Of course princess, follow me." Katherine led Sarah through the maze, managing not to get lost by following the bloody footprints Katherine had left during her initial navigation of the maze.
Though Sarah had been polite enough not to ask why Katherine was covered in blood, her politeness was beginning to fade. "So… what's with the mess on your arms, and legs, and sword?" Sarah phrased the question as kindly as she could manage.
"I slayed the dragon. I apologize for the gruesome sight, we'll be passing the corpse on the way out."
"You slayed the dragon?" Sarah said in disbelief. "But how?"
Katherine paused before answering, wondering if she should tell the truth of make herself look good. Katherine chose the truth. "It was luck. I thought I would die, but I got lucky."
"I'm sorry." Sarah gave her condolences. "I've just realized that I don't know your name."
"It's Katherine."
"Katherine of what?" Sarah asked.
"Just Katherine, I'm not nobility. I hate to disappoint you princess."
"It's not a disappointment," Sarah said earnestly. "Soon that will be remedied, a hero as brave as you deserves all the titles that can be given."Katherine blushed as red as the blood on her boots. The exited the maze together. When Sarah saw hulking corpse of the monster that had previously terrorized her she approached it before spitting on it. "Screw you!" she shouted, losing her composure. Sarah broke down in tears before sinking to the floor before Katherine wrapped her in a warm embrace.
"It's gonna be okay," she whispered. "You're safe now, he can't hurt you or anyone else ever again." Katherine pressed a soft kiss to the side of Sarah's head and rubbed her arms up and down.