To the Victor Goes the Spoils

Honeymoon

(I do not own the images to this stories.)
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She could see them falling from the sky. Thirty empty suits of armor, dropped to the ground all at once. Thirty suits of armor that once housed thirty brave knights. But all that remained were the empty metal shells that smashed into one another, as the loud clanking sound echoed each knight's doom.

And why did they die, why were they killed? It was all her fault. Because she was a princess and her father, the king, had offered her as the ultimate prize. Whomever was the victor had won the right to claim her hand. Thirty men, thirty knights faced their doom. For her father had sent them into battle, to defeat the dragon of the mountain. And whomever could prove victory, would win her hand in marriage.

But none of them returned alive, and to the horror of the court, the beast had dropped what remained of the brave warriors right at the king's feet. Everyone in the entire court screamed and scattered into the shadows. Like everyone else, the princess ran in terror as she tried to flee into the darkness. But she hadn't gotten far when something had snatched her off the ground.

It was at that moment she could hear the thrashing above her. As she looked up, she saw that it had taken her. For she was in the clutches of the dragon's talons. Not knowing what else to do, she screamed in terror. But deep down she knew that her fate was sealed. It had captured her, and there would be no escape. Feeling as frightened as she was feeling overwhelmed, her mind could not take anymore. And soon darkness took over.

She awoke with a gasp, but to her horror she had realized that it had not all been a dream. For when she opened her eyes, she could see the beast looking down at her. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn it was smiling at her with a cat that swallowed the canary type grin.

She didn't make a sound as she lay there completely still. As she could feel the bed of straw beneath her, she soon realized that she was completely naked. She began to tremble not only in fear, but also from the cold air that caressed her bare skin.

"I see that you are finally awake." The beast said.

Shocked by its words, she was barely able to respond as she stuttered. "You—you talk?"

"More or less." It replied. "I'm actually communicating with you telepathically. If I tried to actually talk to you, I'm afraid the intensity of the sound would fracture your hearing."

"Where are my clothes?" She asked.

"They were in my way." It answered.

Tears came to her eyes at the realization that she was about to die. A part of her wanted to beg for mercy, but another part of her didn't want it to have the satisfaction of knowing that she was afraid to die. "Go ahead! Just get it over with!"

But the dragon just began to laugh. "Eager, are we? I thought we should get to know each other first."

"Why do you have to make this more difficult for me?" She cried.

"I don't want any of this to be difficult for you." It replied. "I want you to be as comfortable as possible. That is why I brought you to this bed made of straw. I find it most comfortable; it is why I sleep here every night."

"I thought dragons slept on piles of gold." She said.

"That is a false legend about my brethren, and myself." It told her. "Why would I want to sleep on a pile of cold hard trinkets? I would much rather sleep with something soft, warm, and supple beneath me."

Angry that it kept on toying with her, the princess decided to let the creature have it. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that it was rude to play with your food?"