The Princess in the Tall Tower
“The Princess is in the tall tower is there because she wants to be there.”
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Clang! Clang! Clang!
Princess Simoney sat bolt upright in her massive four-post bed, startling a cat, a dragonling, and a three-legged dog.
“Sorry, everyone,” Simoney apologized as Gus, the old dog, woofed and closed his eyes again. The little dragonling (whose mama said she was still too silly for a name) let out a squeaky roar and tried to take flight, succeeding in only knocking herself off the bed. She landed on the floor with a soft flump! and hiccoughed a few stray sparks. The cat merely gave Simoney a death glare before curling up again beside the dog.
Simoney slid from the bed, trying to not disturb Gus, or Her Majesty, the cat again. She scooped up the dragonling and yawned as she crossed to the window of her mountainside tower. Simoney threw open the windows to peer down on the drawbridge. She groaned at the sight that greeted her.
When she had first come to the tower in the mountains to study magic and the dragon culture, her parents had asked only that there was a drawbridge so they could still visit her on occasion. Of course, they hadn’t specified that she had to have an easily accessible door. This had spawned rumors that she had been trapped there against her will and so for the last two years she had had to put up with countless well-meaning knights, banging on the tower.
Their calls ranged from: “Let down your hair!” to “Princess! I’m here to rescue you!” and once- “Let’s ride off and be married at once!” Nivea had taken a snap at that last one. Nivea, the dragon ruler of these peaks, did not care for knights, having lost her sister to a knight two centuries ago, before humans and dragons had signed a peace pact.
Simoney sighed, setting the little dragonling down on her broad stone windowsill. She sneezed and a sparks sprayed against the curtains, singeing the heavy fabric. Simoney leaned out the window and called, “GO AWAY!”
“My Lady! I fear no dragon! I am come for you!” shouted the knight from atop his horse. From so high up he was little more than a shiny blob on a darker grey blob blazing in the early morning sun. Simoney squinted at the sun as it crested the Golden Peak- it would be just after six of the clock- an unholy hour for anyone to be awake.
“I DON’T NEED RESCUING!” Simoney shouted back. “GO AWAY!”
“BUT MY LADY- I WISH TO JOIN YOU!” replied the knight, waving a steel-plated arm.
Well, that was different. But also just as unacceptable as ‘riding off to be married at once.’ A sudden roar interrupted them as Nivea woke. The dragonling at Simoney’s side let out a squeak of joy as her mama rose from the Golden Peak, shimmering like molten gold as the sun glanced off her scaley hide. From the tip of her nose to the end of her tail, Nivea was almost one hundred feet long with massive silver claws and a ridge of silver spikes down her spine.
Nivea swooped over the valley between peaks in a few wingbeats, the knight’s horse whinnying in terror as the dragon approached. The dragon flapped her broad bat-like wings to slow her approach to the tower then curled about it possessively, nose in front of the drawbridge, blocking the knight’s escape. The horse screamed in panic as the knight dismounted and tried to soothe the poor creature.
“What do you want, pesky mortal?” demanded Nivea, smoke curling dangerously from her nostrils and lips. Her tail twitched an irritated rhythm against the tower walls, shaking the stones. Gus, the three-legged dog, whined from the bed and buried his nose under the blankets; he didn’t like when Nivea acted tough and mean.
“I wish to join Princess Simoney in studying dragons, Oh Great Queen,” replied the knight, the bold words drifting up to Simoney. She stared at the knight, completely dumbfounded. “My parents are trying to sell me off to the highest bidder as our lands have fallen into disrepair the last few years. But I refuse to be married off and given away like chattel!”
That sounded familiar to Simoney, who, thankfully, had three older sisters and a brother between her and the throne. So she didn’t need to feel guilty for wanting to get away from her royal upbringing. How odd that a young man would resist his life path like this. Nivea snorted and sniffed the knight curiously. Then, surprisingly, she chuckled her dragon chuckle, wisps of smoke drifting off her tongue, cat-like eyes squinched in amusement.
“Climb atop my nose, little knight,” Nivea replied, voice warm with welcome now. “I will take you on the shortcut up to Her Highness.” The knight hesitated briefly, one hand still on his horse, seemingly debating if he really trusted the dragon. After what felt like an eternity the knight gave his horse one more pat of reassurance before clambering onto Nivea’s broad, golden nose, clinging tight to a small silver spike. Nivea straightened, sitting up on her hind legs to stretch her nose right up to Simoney’s window.
Simoney jumped back as the knight clambered and slid from Nivea’s nose to clatter into an ungraceful heap on the thick rug. The little dragonling hissed and jumped down from the windowsill as Gus and the cat finally got up and came to investigate.
“You will like this joke, Simoney,” Nivea said, letting out another dragon chuckle. “I’ll have the caretaker come for the knight’s horse, don’t worry about him.”
The knight scrambled to his feet. Up close, Simoney could see the armor was ill-fitting and a bit rust-stained from long use. “Well, Nivea typically tolerates the caretaker, my parents and about three other humans. What’s so special about you?”
The tall knight glanced down at himself. “Oh, right-” He swiftly pulled off his helmet, allowing a thick, heavy blonde braid fall from its confines. He was actually a she, much to Simoney’s delight. Goddess above, she was tired of men trying to save her all the time. Full lips sat above a stubborn, pointed chin and high cheekbones and a strong nose marked her out as a lady of the Cerberell family. Simoney’s jaw dropped open as her heart stirred in her chest at the sight of the lady’s blush-rose cheeks. Wow. She had never seen anyone so lovely in her life. The lady knight grinned self-consciously and set the helmet down, mindful of Gus, who was now investigating her boots, tail wagging in curiosity.
“I am Lady Ellavyn Cerberell,” the knight said, undoing the straps on her arms, carefully letting the armor pieces fall. Simoney quickly moved forward to help her.
“Well, you are most welcome here, Lady Ellavyn,” replied Simoney with delight, her fingers tingling in excitement.
“Oh, please, call me Ella!” insisted Ellavyn.
“Ella, then,” Simoney said with a grin, helping her tug off an armored boot. “I can’t wait to show you the library and for you to meet the others studying here. There are only a handful of us here; breakfast won’t be for another hour though. I’m afraid dragons, and consequently those of us studying them, are rather more nocturnal than typical creatures and people.”
“I had to bring some of my own personal jewel collection to pay for my way here; they’re down in my horse’s saddle bags,” Ella said, pulling off the last piece of armor. She wore sturdy riding pants and a loose, linen shirt underneath her armor. “As are my extra boots.”
Simoney grinned and hurried to her wardrobe. “Here!” she called over her shoulder. “My older sister, Astria, tried to hand these down to me last time she visited. They were too big, but I never bothered to do anything with them.”
Simoney passed the worn leather walking boots out to Ella. The lady knight smiled and accepted them with a quiet word of thanks. She pulled them on over thick socks and they fit her feet perfectly. Ella grinned, admiring herself in the full-length mirror hanging on the inside door of the wardrobe.
Simoney glanced at the clock on her mantel-just before seven in the morning. “We still have some time before breakfast, but I can take you down to meet the cook - Gennifer- a lovely older woman,” explained Simoney, pulling on her dressing gown and tying the sash in a sloppy bow. “She’ll always try to feed you fourths, so watch out if you still want to fit into that armor later! And we can stop by the courtyard to visit your horse- it’s out behind the tower- it’s hidden by the ridge from the road, so not many people know it’s there. We don’t often have a lot of human visitors.”
Ella’s slightly worried face broke into a huge grin. “You really mean I get to stay?”
“Yes, of course!” Simoney said with surprise.
“Thank you, thank you! No marriage to that stuffy old Lord Darbus for me!” exclaimed Ella, jumping for joy and nearly tripping over her discarded armor. She giggled as Gus woofed in excitement, hopping along on his three legs.
“Come on, let’s go! You’re free!” cried Simoney, threading her fingers through Ella’s and tugging her out the door. “I can’t wait for you to meet the others!”
Ella laughed and bounded alongside her new companion, a cat, a three-legged dog, and a dragonling trailing along in their wake.
