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Dragons, for my sire was recently chomped by a hostile poisonous sea serpent and is indisposed."
The Princess considered. "I really had not anticipated this development," she confessed. "But I suppose
a prince is a prince. What is it you wish to ask me?" For it seemed to her that it was better to marry a
dragon than a commoner.
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"I must undergo a rite of passage in order to attain my majority and become King," he said. "I must
resume my natural form, and consume a lovely innocent princess. This is a thing required of all royal
dragons. Will you come to be eaten?"
The Princess experienced a somewhat greater dismay than before. She had not anticipated this
development either. She had rather hoped for a different type of question. "I will really have to go and
ask my father," she demurred.
"By all means," the Dragon Prince agreed. "It isn't wise to make a decision as important as this without
consultation. I will depart, and await you one week hence at the escarpment by the sea. If you decide not
to come, I will understand." He kissed her and departed.
The Princess made the arduous climb to the castle at the top of the mountain. She went to the King and
explained the situation. "I met this wonderful prince, O sagacious father," she said breathlessly, for she
remained exercised from the climb. "But he is a Dragon Prince and wishes to consume me. Should I go
to him at the escarpment by the sea next week for that?"
"Well, that depends, O innocent daughter," the King replied. "Do you love him?"
"Yes, father."
"Do you love him enough to die for him?"
She considered, for it was not an easy question. She really would have preferred an easier question.
"Yes, father, I suppose I do."
"Then I suppose you must go to him," the King said, evincing a certain regret. "But I fear we shall miss
you. Perhaps you should consult with your mother the Queen."
That had not occurred to her, so the Princess thanked him for the suggestion and repaired to the Queen.
"What!" the Queen demanded.
The Princess repeated the statement.
"Thank you," the Queen said. "I didn't hear you before. But I'm not sure I approve. What are the
credentials of this dragon? Is he really a prince?"
The Princess assured her that he was.
The Queen considered. "I am afraid I still don't approve. I can not forbid you this thing, being only a
woman, but if you insist on it, don't think to return to my region of the castle thereafter."
The Princess was saddened by her mother's disapproval, but realized that she was unlikely to have much
occasion to return to the castle after her tryst with the Dragon Prince.
When the appointed day came, the Princess garbed herself in her finest raiment, wearing a dress whose
d?lletage was so low and whose hem was so high that the dragon should have little difficulty seeing the
most delectable parts of her to bite first. After all, she loved him, and wanted him to be pleased with her.
She brushed out her marvelously silken tresses and set a ruby tiara on her head, its color suggestive of
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the blood she proposed to shed for her beloved. She touched a bit of red rose perfume behind her ears
and in die hollow of her cleavage, its odor also suggestive of that color. All in all, she thought, she had
done a creditable job for the occasion.
She set out afoot, for though it was a fair walk, her father had informed her that he did not care to risk a
fine horse too near the dragon. "After all, those creatures are notorious," he said. "Once they get the taste
of blood, they are apt to attack anything in view." She had had to concede the validity of this caution.
In due course, tired and dusty but still bravely beautiful, the Princess reached the escarpment. The
Dragon Prince had not yet arrived, for she had allowed sufficient travel tune and was a few minutes
ahead of schedule. So she paused to repowder her face and wipe the dust from her slippers, so as to be as
presentable as was feasible. She wanted her beloved's last sight of her to be a pleasant one.
Something caught her eye in the mirror as she touched up her nose. There was something off to the side,
behind the escarpment-something that had made a glint in the morning sunlight. She peered more
closely at the reflection in the mirror, for it would be unbecoming to turn her head and stare directly. She
saw that it was the shiny helmet of a mercenary soldier.
Curious, for there seemed to be no purpose in a mercenary deployment at this site, she used her mirror to
check farther. Soon she was assured: there was an entire troop of mercenaries armed with swords and
shields. This deepened the mystery: what could they want here?
Then the dragon appeared in the distant sky, winging his way toward the escarpment. Suddenly it
occurred to the Princess that this could be an ambush sent by her father to slay the dragon. It was, she
now recalled, the way his cunning mind worked. It was quite possible that the Queen had importuned
him to Do Something, and though of course the Princess had no idea what sort of encouragement a
woman could offer a man to do her will, she had on occasion seen her father change his mind after a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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