jenlisa one shots & short stories

Not All Princess Needs to be Saved (1)

Sit down with me and tell me

about the dragon who fell in love,

and almost burned the world for it

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived a beautiful princess. She lived happily in her kingdom until a terrible fire-breathing dragon began to terrorize her nation. To save her people from grief, the Princess volunteered herself to be the sacrificial victim to assuage the dragon's anger. And thus, she was locked away in a castle guarded by the same dragon, and was bewitched to sleep. Many brave knights had attempted to free her from this dreadful prison, but none prevailed. So the Princess waited and waited for her knight in shining armor in the dragon's keep in the highest room of the tallest tower for her true love and true love's first kiss.Until one fateful day, Prince Charming valiantly surged in with his noble steed and killed the dragon. He raced towards the highest floor of the tallest tower and kissed the pretty, sleeping Princess. True Love's first kiss broke the curse, and the Prince and Princess married and ruled the Kingdom in peace. And they lived happily ever after.

She knew that that was bullshit.

There were so many things that were wrong with this version of the story.

First of all, it didn't need to be a fire-breathing dragon anymore, and it didn't need to be terrorizing any kingdom—not that the dragons didn't attack the kingdoms any longer; indeed, they were still persistent in assaulting the nations during dragon raids and it was a recurring problem for all of the kingdoms in the continent. But the point was that the King and Queen can choose whatever wicked being can 'protect' their Princess, may it be a sorcerer or a witch or a dragon.

Second, there was no volunteering at all. Princesses were expected to leave their families and isolate themselves with a vile watchdog at a certain age. This wasn't exile. It was a rite of passage.

And lastly, Princesses were not bewitched for eternal slumber; they only pretended to be asleep until the first kiss.

She was told that it used to be real back in the day—back when magic was new, when princesses were untaught but sincere, and when princes were foolish but brave. Nowadays, princesses have become more naïve and princes less valiant. She didn't know why this tradition still existed in this century, though.

It was the way of the kingdoms, she supposed; to send their princesses to high towers and be guarded by wicked beings to be rescued by princes. It was a test of courage and honor, the elder ones said. The prince must be brave, skilled and disciplined enough to defeat whatever wicked being he faced.

But what of the princesses?

Princess Rapunzel was trapped in a hidden tower with a witch to guard her.

Princess Merida was detained in a ruined citadel with a bewitched bear to secure her.

Princess Anna was imprisoned in an ice palace with a snow queen to watch over her.

And now, it was her turn.

Princess Jennie was to be locked up in an abandoned castle with a dragon to keep an eye on her.

She had always prided herself as being fearless.

Now standing before the dragon, however, she could not help but tremble at the sight of it.

The dragon was a huge reptilian beast as large as half a room, with reddish-black scales that lined up its body like shields, serving as its impenetrable armor. Its teeth were like daggers, pointed and sharp, and its claws were like spears, the talons long and the grip powerful. The one thing that stood out from its terrible beauty, though, were its eyes—they were like earthly soil, so intense and captivating and with just the slightest hint of loneliness and clemency if one looked too deeply into orbs of solid brown.