Selfish

Submitted to the Nugget

Maddelyn Black, Student Submission

The prince pressed his chest against the pillar. The gothic echoes of the hall amplified the voices growing closer and closer to him. The gold and jewels around him made every footstep crisp and clear. Suddenly, the voices become clear.

“Are you sure you will be fine here by yourself?” asked a young chipper voice.

“Yes Mildgyth, I shan’t become inexplicably lonely without you here, and you must go. You can’t eat whole sheep like I,” rumbled a deep, dark voice.

“Emelth, I’m just cautious. I don’t much like leaving you. You are not safe alone,” interjects the chipper voice.

“Says the one that is half my height and none my weight,” snorts the deep voice.

“I am allowed to think what I think.”

“Well, be off. I want you to be back before dark.”

“Farewell.”

Soft footsteps quickly struck the floor, becoming softer until they were nonexistent. There was a pause. The knight began to move, to grab his sword; he must kill this beast in order to save the princess.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” announced the voice.

Startled, the knight dropped to the floor with a clatter. He could now see the yellow, burning eyes of beast. Then, its scaly jaws moved again.

“You might not believe it, but she chose to come to me. Kings are not much as fathers, just as     Queens are not much as mothers. They are too focused on getting rid of their children through marriage than raising them.

My princess came to this castle crying and bloody. The Queen had beaten her when she refused to marry, and the King disowned her for her disobedience.”

The knight sat there on the floor staring in awesome fear and profound admiration of the dragon. The dragon continued to stare at him, his gaze growing softer.

“I know that you are not here to harm her, but I cannot allow you to take her. I am much too selfish for that. Take your sword, take some gold and leave. Go to your kingdom and spin a tale of stealing from me. Become a hero and marry any of the ladies you choose, just not my Princess.”

The dragon straightened up, wings close to his back. The knight stood up. He grabbed his sword and looked at the dragon while his hand grasped a fistful of golden trinkets. The dragon stayed standing tall.

The knight left the hall and didn’t look back. He had promised not to.