Nixiesocean: Hi! I'm baack! Okay, now, read this chapter! Yes, it may be short, but no, I am not getting lazy!

Chapter 12: The Great Princess Rescue

So, here I am, being a scribe for the king of Furde. He speaks, and I write. Seriously, how long does it take a princess to get ready to given to a dragon for heaven's sake! Oh, he's talking, I better keep writing.

"We'll start from here, Lady Katharine." The King said.

"To the King and Queen of Auszin and Guen,

We, in the country of Furde are pressed with a threat. An assassination attempt on our heir and only son has caused us to send you this missive. Our next in line, Princess Ilona, must be given to the local dragon threat, Asnarinith. As you know, the last two in the family are too young to assume the throne. We ask, in a gesture of honor, that you send your next in line, Prince Brennin. As we have heard, he has a knack for finding out things. Please, send him.

Signed,

The King of Furde."

"Sounds good." I reply. "I'll have it sent immediately. Here, my lord, put your seal here." Just as he was stamping his seal on the letter, the princess came around the corner with my fiancée. Her cheeks were wet from tears and bowed to me. Did everyone know me as a female knight? "Come along, Princess Ilona." I said. "We have a white mare readied for you."

"Tell me this first, am I fallout person for your favored son?" She had tears in her eyes as she said this, having one slip down her peach cheek.

"Yes." The king, my soon-to-be father-in-law, said. "He will take the throne, what good are you? You are a doll, to be given away at my will." The princess nodded and turned to me, biting her lip to keep it from quivering.

Suddenly, I didn't want Prince Brennin to come. I didn't want him to see the rude man that was the king. "Come." I said, holding her hand. We left. I helped her mount. "Princess, I have to tell you this. My father wasn't any better. Don't be sour." I said as we headed out. "Heck, I hated Lance when we first met. Yet, you see me now, engaged to a man I hated. Don't be bitter. You'll be back soon." I patted her back and we rode in silence until we were outside the city.

"My only question is, why do the princess of other countries seem to have everything go their way? Queen Ditri was in love with, at that time, Prince Perhin's valet. Yet, it turned out that her lover was in face the twin of the prince. She had a happy ending. What can I do to have that ending?"

"I don't know, maybe its just luck. After all, I almost died saving your brother." I said jokingly. She didn't laugh. I didn't bother to mention Cyrun. That would only make the princess more distressed. We approached the vile dragon that demanded my fiancée's sister. "Asnarinith!" I called. The red dragon bent down to see his prize.

"Is this the princess?" His low-throated growl permeated my eardrums. "If it isn't, Katharine, I will have your hide."

"I have no hide, dragon." I spat at the dragon. Then I turned to the lady next to me. "Princess Ilona, acknowledge who you are."

"I am a princess. Ilona is my name." She said monotonously.

"Good." The dragon rumbled. "Good."

I was about to turn away when I remembered something. "Asnarinith, she better still be a virgin when she is claimed." I threatened.

"And I suppose a noble knight like yourself will save her from her dreadful fate?" He laughed.

"Not I. But another." I smiled. "After all, she is a princess." I galloped away.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why did you make me leave, Bamien?" Cyrun demanded. "I have a right to be there, to support my friends!"

"Cyrun, they have to sort out their own problems." He said. "We dragons-"

"Don't you get it? We are not dragons!" She screeched. "We are humans. We have to help others with their problems, if not, they become our problems!"

"Please. No matter how you change your shape, you are a dragon inside. You can speak like one, you can act like one and you can think like one. Cyrun, on the inside, you are a dragon!" It was then that she noticed how close Bamien was. They were in her rooms, yet now they seemed to share them. He was close. She could feel his breath, ever so faintly on her cheeks. Tears were in her eyes. "Don't cry, Cyrun. Please, forget this fight ever happened." He brushed her cheek with his fingers. A tear escaped her eye and he brushed it away with his finger.

"Bamien," She whispered. She reached out and put her arms around his neck and leaned it for a kiss. His lips touched hers and she felt like nothing mattered. As long as he held her right here, nothing bad could go wrong. She was breathless from the kiss. Her stomach felt like a hundred butterflies were contained in it. "Will you forgive me?"

He didn't know what she meant. "For what?"

"This." She leaned in for another kiss, releasing quickly and applying another.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You need to make the announcement. Prince Brennin will be here in just a few hours." I hurried. "If not, I'll have Lance make it!" he heard my threat and shook his head.

"I can't," He replied. "I can't condemn her to a life with a man she hates."

I was amazed at the state of this man. He was so sure he didn't care about his daughter, yet here he was, trying not to condemn her.

"And yet, Lance almost was. What if we had never fallen in love?" I demanded. "What then? Then Lance and I would've been wed, despite our hatred." I said, taking hold of he king's hand. "Then, what? Then, we would have lived together, hating each other for the parent's mistake."

"Father, I used to read to Ilona. She believes in fairy tales. She believes that lone-at-first-sight can happen! Make the announcement!" He took a threatening step to the curtain that blocked the crowd from the royal family. The king shook his head.

"I can't." He said. Lance, tired with all this, stepped between the curtains. We heard his voice through the fabric.

"Citizens! As you know, the dragon Asnarinith has claimed the Princess Ilona, our beloved Ilona, as his prize! In one weeks' time, a great hunt will ensue! The first man to bring back the princess unharmed will be able to claim her as his bride! Should the man that rescued her die along the way back, the man that has done the killing her may pick her up and continue on his way, with the princess!" A great cheer was a response. "There is one rule to this Great Princess Rescue!" The crowd was silent. "If you have a wife, you may not participate, lastly, one may not win the princess for another man!" Another cheer.

Lance reappeared inside our area. We nodded and left, knowing how terrible the princess would take this.