[ TT ] [ WP ] The King has sent you , a wandering mercenary , to slay the Dragon and bring the Princess home . However , upon arriving at the Dragon 's Keep , you learn the Princess was not kidnapped , but instead is a runaway .

I sniffed as I shrugged my pack a little higher on my back. From the top of this hill, I could just see the grey stone tower in the distance. With the setting sun reflecting off it, it was almost pretty. 
 
 “ Almost, ” I laughed shortly. ‘ Almost ’ was how close I had been to making the biggest trade deal of my life. A unique delicacy, a niche in the market, a food I had served to the King himself, and was well on the way to making the most fashionable new cuisine at the court – and instead of the hefty golden compensation I had been hoping for, I was ‘ rewarded ’ by being chosen to cross the length of the Kingdom and fight a dragon practically bare-handed. 
 
 “ It is an honour, ” I had said as I swept a low bow towards the throne, seething inside. I wasn ’ t entirely sure if this was a calculated insult, or whether the King and his advisors just had no regard for my carefully arranged business dealings. What was it to them if some other trader moved in on my customers, my suppliers, even my favourite spot at the city market? I was just a grubby, low-class merchant to them, I supposed. 
 
 I continued on miserably, feeling sorry for myself and berating the world around me. All too soon darkness closed in and the air grew chill. I made camp at the edge of the road, just enough into the woods to avoid prying eyes. With a stone for a pillow, I drew my blanket around myself and curled up to get what sleep I could. 
 
 * * * 
 
 It was around noon the next day when I came to the tower itself. I had stopped briefly at the base of the hill, looking upwards with dread, and slightly loosening my sword in its scabbard. *What* *was* *the* *point* *of* *the* *sword?! * I thought desperately. *I ’ ve* *never* *been* *taught* *the* *first* *thing* *about* *sword-fighting. * I trudged upwards as if approaching a gallows. 
 
 The tower itself was surrounded by a rather delicate garden, full of the kind of flowers that I would derisively have called ‘ pretty ’ had I seen them on a ceramic tea-set. Here, they just looked oddly out of place. A dark wooden door stood imposingly in the side of the tower. I noted that there was no moat, and in fact a gently sloped path ran neatly up to the door. Still, there seemed little necessity for outside protection when everybody knew there was a dragon guarding the tower. Not even an army would attempt to siege this place. 
 
 Closing my eyes and giving myself up for dead, I raised a hand and knocked three times. 
 
 The door creaked open. “ Yes? ” said a voice expectantly. 
 
 Stupidly, I still had my eyes closed. I opened them to find a fairly short, blond-haired girl, perhaps in her late teens. She had two braids, one on each side of her head, and wore a plain, pale blue gown, made of some kind of home-spun material. “ Uh, ” I pronounced eloquently. I had not been expecting a serving girl. I coughed. “ I have come to save the princess! ” I announced triumphantly. 
 
 I don ’ t know what I had been expecting. Perhaps a gasp, or even a gratifying swoon – anything that would make me feel as brave as I was trying to act. I had not expected the bright, tinkling laughter I received. 
 
 “ Save me from what? ” she gasped out between giggles. 
 
 I blinked at her groggily, making my second impression as good as my first. “ What? Not you, the princess. ” 
 
 She smiled at me. “ I am the princess. Now, from what terror exactly do you think you need to rescue me? ” 
 
 “ The… the dragon? ” I asked tentatively. This was clearly one of my best days. 
 
 She laughed again. “ Dragon! ” she called into the darkness behind her. “ Dragon! ” 
 
 My eyes widened and I dreamed of running away even as I stood frozen to the spot in fear. She must have found a way to control this thing. Perhaps she fed it on the bones of would-be rescuers. I swallowed as I heard its scuttling feet come towards me. She opened the door wider – *perhaps* *its* *jaws* *won ’ t* *fit* *through* *the* *gap*, I thought frantically. I flinched as a shaggy blond mass hurled itself at the princess. 
 
 “ Who ’ s a good boy? Who ’ s a good boy? ” she cooed as she crouched down to embrace the Labrador. She looked up at me as she patted the dog ’ s side and its tail wagged appreciatively. “ This is Dragon, ” she said simply. “ Would you like to come inside? There ’ s a kettle on the stove and I ’ m sure you have a lot of questions ”. 

