The princess cries. She sheds tears for a lost life, her lost self. Trapped in a tower, imprisoned by the king and queen away from the world. Forever separated from the laughs in the streets below. Without even a say in her life; every choice, every call, made for her. Her pleas unheard, her voice drowned out. And so she cries, her heart full of hurt.
A shadow falls over her; a shadow cast by great wings, and a long, sinuous form. Unmistakable in what it is; a dragon.
She glances up, recoils a bit at that maw of fangs, those sharp-pointed horns. But she sighs resignedly. "You're here to kidnap me, aren't you? To put me in a little cage in a dark cave? Do it. It changes nothing."
The dragon moves with surprising gentleness, a quiet grace. It folds its wings, lays down behind her. Curling around her, wrapping a long tail around her waist, it lowers its head to her eye level - and gives her a gentle nuzzle.
The princess is taken aback. Kindness? From this beast?
The dragon opens it's eyes - golden, bright, full of flame and resolve. It moves a huge wing forward - and uses it's edge to wipe a tear from the princess's face. It speaks in a gentle, oddly familiar voice.
"You're stronger than you think, little one."
The princess scoffs, a stray tears falling. "I don't believe that. If I was strong I'd have lived up to their stupid demands. If I was strong, I wouldn't be trapped like this."
"It's not your fault. The king and queen simply cannot see your strength, for it is not what they wanted from you. But it is there, and it is yours. You have a strong heart, little one. Full of kindness and resilience."
The princess looks away. "That's impossible." She shakes her head. "I'm broken. Damaged goods. Never even had a real childhood - thrown away, a failed attempt at an heir. What hope is there for me?"
The dragon cups a wing around her back. It's strong, but soft. Warm and comforting.
"You are hurt, yes. But those scars you bear are proof of that strength. You're still here, still pushing on." The dragon presses a claw to her chest. "You will forge on. Not for them, but for yourself."
The dragon draws in closer, curls around her tighter. Impossibly tight, and yet strangely comforting.
"You deserve to be free... and you will be. It's time to spread your wings."
The princess realizes why the dragons voice was so familiar. She takes a sharp, deep breath. It - no, she curls tighter and tighter around her.
Around herself.
The princess sheds another tear; not of sorrow, but of joy.
She smiles, holds her hand to her chest. And she feels her tail burst out of her back, her scales bloom across her skin. Her heart aflame, with strength always there, simply concealed.
She's made it this far. She's lasted this long.
She gazes out from her tower, at the open skies above. Endless, entrancing.
Those skies, that she loved to stare at ever since she was a little hatchling. Endless, enveloping. The firmament that surrounds the world, a thousand cities, a thousand beautiful landscapes. She would read her books, trapped in her tower, and stare wistfully at those skies. The same sky that stretched above such distant, beautful lands. Forever out of her reach -
But now, she feels her wings unfurl out of her back. And she smiles, knowing that soon, she will soar.
