My Second Fairy Tales Date Friday, April 19, 2024 - 12:16 AM PST Topic Entertainment It was a quiet day in the court of Ardina, with the assembled nobility standing in various groups throughout the richly decorated palace hall. The various tapestries hug gaily from the walls, depicting the peaceful and benevolent rulers who had gone before, leading up to the throne, where the King and his most loyal subjects were gathered. On this particular summer's day the air was still, and the serene atmosphere was broken only by snippets of conversation from the happily chattering crowds. The King, at that moment was involved in discussion with his daughter over her seeming inability to find a suitable suitor. "Father, they're all such louts!" the princess exclaimed. "Seeking to please me by winning honour on horseback, and the slaughter of others. What woman could be wooed by such a show?" The King heaved a sigh, and smiled down upon her, "Catarina, I know that they are..." He paused in search of the right word, and then frowned at its evasiveness. "My dear, I wish for nothing more than your happiness, but I am growing old. Before long I shall depart this plain and I must have an heir to the throne!" Catarina snorted her disapproval, and then attempted to hide her unladylike gesture behind her white lace fan. Her long blonde hair flowed over her shoulders, and her simple white dress made her startlingly blue eyes all the more noticeable. By all rights she should have been married by now, to one of the knights from Ardina, or even lands further away. *Though still far too close for comfort.* she thought cynically. However the young lady was rather discriminating in her tastes and though logic would dictate to her, almost as often as her father did, that she needed to continue the royal line she found that she could not bear the thought of settling down and worse; having to perform the necessary duties that would produce an heir, with one of the brutish men who sought to win her heart, and her father's throne. The doors to the grand hall slammed open, and shook her out of her reverie. A tall dark stranger was striding through the throng of curious lords and ladies towards her, and her father. He was protected from their probing looks both by his unwavering gaze that held her captive, and by his hard, black, armour. *Another knight. How thrilling.* Catarina thought to herself, though he did seem more intriguing than the usual faire of over-eager young men. His armour, for a start, was fashioned in a way that was unusual to the people of their land - aside from it's colouring it had many spikes, and points soldered onto it, making her wonder what on earth he had expected to encounter. As he approached the throne he slowed his pace, coming to a rest directly in front of the King, before sinking down onto one knee. "Your majesty. My lady." He gave her a cursory glance up and down that made her shudder, and her stomach churn. She felt his eyes pierce through her clothing, and had to catch herself before she turned away from this rude man, who was looking at her as though she were a piece of meat, laid out for his perusal. The knight continued, "I've heard about a fearsome beast, that on young flesh is set to feast. That loathsome dragon, with fearsome roar, will plague your boys and girls no more." *Oh Gods, no!* Catarina though to herself. *Not a bloody poet and all!* She hid a quiet snicker behind her fan, suddenly glad of the pressing heat that had encouraged her to bring it with her. The knight drew his sword, and held the blood-encrusted blade high in the air, possibly in the hope of it drawing admiration from the assembly. "My Lord, I pledge myself your humble servant. I will seek out, and slay, this dragon that plagues your lands and makes your people fear to sleep at night." "And might I enquire as to the reparations you will seek for this task?" The King asked. "Should I succeed, I believe we will be able to come to a, uh, suitable arrangement." The knight returned, smiling arrogantly at Catarina. The fan moved higher up her face to hide a grimace, and her rolling her eyes. The knight seemed not to notice her actions, and stood, creaking ominously. With a flourish of his sword, he bowed to the King, then sheathed his blade, and headed for the doors. When he had exited the hall the King turned to Catarina. "Do we HAVE a dragon, then?" [pagebreak] After watching the knight hoist himself onto a black charger that was tethered outside the palace, Catarina had decided that the time had come to be reckless. Well, actually she had just decided that she'd been reckless most of her life, and now was no good time to stop. She had quickly ordered a servant to saddle her horse, while she had hurried to her quarters and pulled on something a little more suited to riding after smug knights who liked to wear pointy black things. She was now following said knight through Taither Forest, wondering whether he was actually going to slay anything, or just ride around for a while and then return to claim his "reward". "That little whelp had better not have lied to me." She heard him mutter coarsely to himself as he stopped his horse and dismounted. She quietly reined in her own mount, and waited, hidden in the thick undergrowth. He scanned the ground in front of him for a while before appearing to spot something off to his left. After letting out a bark of triumph he strode confidently off towards a path she had previously imagined to be nothing more than a fox trail. After giving him a few minutes to discover that all he was tracking was a fox, and nothing more she reasoned that he might have found something interesting, and decided to follow him. Carefully tying her own horse up, she crept up to the path, and peered down it. When no signs of human life made themselves apparent to any of her senses, she started off down the trail. After a good few minutes of walking, she came upon a grand clearing, with a cave set off to the right-hand side. The ground in front of the opening was scorched and blackened, and the knight, standing on it, seemed to almost blend in. The jagged rocks of the cave however, framed the most awe-inspiring sight, for standing in the middle of the opening was a huge dragon. It's scales were of a dark brown colour, with flecks of silver spotted throughout, and crowning it's imposing head were two large silver horns. As Catarina crept closer she could hear the beast and the knight... talking? She knelt behind a gathering of trees and small bushes and strained her ears to hear what was being said. "You're a dragon, and therefore a killer. You deserve to die, and I will be the one to claim the honour of ending your wretched existence." The knight advanced on the dragon, brandishing his sword. "Fight me." The dragon shook it's head and let out a heavy sigh. Catarina could see its razor sharp teeth glinting in the fading light of the summer's afternoon. *A dragon! We've actually got a dragon! Here!* "I will not fight you." The dragon said slowly, as though speaking were an effort for it. "I've never hurt a man in my life, and I will not start now." *Hang on a minute...* Catarina was confused. "Come then, stranger from afar. End my 'wretched existence'. I do not wish to live any longer in this skin." "Gladly," sneered the knight, and ran at the dragon. Catarina saw the scene play out in slow motion before her eyes. The dragon brought itself up to its full, and majestic height and held its head high, refusing to give up its dignity, even as the black knight's sword slid into its chest. Catarina thought she saw the glimmer of a smile cross its face, and the trace of tear hung at the corner of its golden eye. Before she could bring her emotions under control she had shouted out, and the knight swung round, a crazed smile slashed across face, which was ruddy with the exhilaration his blood lust had brought him. "I have slain the beast, and now my prize is brought to me," he sneered, and marched towards her, grabbing her round the waist as she struggled to get away. He carried her back to the clearing in front of the dragon's den and threw her to the ground. Catarina bit her lip to stop a cry escaping as her head cracked against the ground, and the world danced in front of her eyes. Regaining her composure she tried to sit up, but her hands slipped backwards away from her, and she was disgusted to find herself lying in a pool of the dragon's blood. The crimson liquid seeped into her clothing, staining her skin and her soul, even as she wept at the injustice of it. The knight had shed his armour and knelt over her, pinning her helplessly to the floor beneath him. Catarina writhed in his harsh grasp, trying desperately to escape his filthy touch, and the smell of sweat and death that seemed to pervade his very being. Her attempts were fruitless however, as the man reached down, to tear aside her clothing, the only protection that was left to her now. She closed her eyes and tried to find a safe place, deep inside her mind, somewhere that no one could defile. [pagebreak] On her back, with her blood-stained hair framing her face, the princess sighed as she found the safety she had been seeking and felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her. She opened her eyes to see the trees swayed gently above her and realised that a great weight actually had been lifted from her, as she could no longer see her tormentor. Slowly turning to her side she saw the knight's fallen body, though she had remembered it being a bit taller. Then again, she'd also remembered it having a head. Catarina looked up to see the dragon licking its lips thoughtfully. "I always imagined humans to taste a bit nicer," it muttered to itself. "In my experience the girls generally taste nicer then the men." Catarina volunteered, and then blushed when she realised exactly what she'd just said. The dragon just smiled at her, and shifted slowly so that it was lying with its head by her delicate frame. She rose to her knees and gently moved so that she was leaning against it. "I suppose saying thank you isn't really good enough," she whispered, almost brought to tears by the sight of the magnificent animal so injured, "but thank you anyway." With that she pressed a kiss against the dragon's forehead. The huge animal let out a final, shuddering breath and lay still. The forest seemed to stop, and lay silent in reverence of the dragon's demise, the hush broken only by the princess' wracking sobs. Through the silence another sound began to build. To the princess it sounded like a thousand glasses shattering, and the heavy drum beat of an army marching to war. The noise grew until Catarina thought she could stand it no more, and then it changed, it became almost touchable as it swirled and danced, centring around the fallen dragon. Disturbed, she crawled backwards until the wall of the cave allowed her no further room to move, and there she sat, with her knees hugged up to her chest, her face obscured by wild mane of hair. A great light suddenly started within the dragon, shining outwards and reaching every last corner of the cave. Not a stone, not a crack, not a leaf was left unbathed by its brilliance, as though it were searching out the flaws and imperfections in what should have been a peaceful country scene. When it grew too bright for her to look on any longer, Catarina shut her eyes and hid her face in her hands. As quickly as the light had started, it ended, the noise stopping with it, and she was left trembling, hardly daring to move her head for fear of what she might see. Severely reprimanding herself for her cowardice she forced herself to risk a glance at the clearing and what she saw left her frozen in shock. Where the body of the knight had lain was left a charred and blackened piece of earth that she knew no plants would ever grow upon, however the rest of the clearing was awash with the colours of delicate plants, and common forest creatures. The ground that had been stained with blood now held a carpet of greenery leading up to the cave, where the dragon had taken its final breath. Here the biggest surprise lay - quite literally. In the place of the dragon was a young girl of about eighteen, certainly no older than the princess herself. Her long black hair was in stark contrast to the pale ivory of her skin, and her lips were full and red. Catarina gasped, and at the noise the girl started to an upright position. The princess had a moment to marvel at the deep emerald of the girl's eyes before she burst into tears. Forgetting her nervousness, Catarina crawled to the young woman and wrapped her arms around her and held her while she cried. Finally the sobs subsided and the girl turned to face Catarina, who promptly lost herself in the deep pools of green that were looking at her curiously. "I'm... human. I thought I'd be stuck with claws and scales forever. I'm Lilith again, not just the dragon." Catarina found herself mesmerized by the girl's lilting Irish accent. "You made me human again. " "I did? Well, maybe I..." the rest of Catarina's reply was cut off by Lilith's cool lips pressed against her own. She moaned, allowing the other girl access to her mouth, and shuddered with pleasure at the welcome intrusion. As she revelled in Lilith's gentle touch, and cool, sweet taste Catarina knew why none of the knights that had sought to win her over had ever succeeded. None of them would ever had been able to make her skin tingle, and her heart thrum in her chest by just looking at her, far less satisfy her in the way that Lilith's less than innocent kiss did. Breaking the kiss momentarily, Catarina gently guided Lilith to the soft floor of the cave, and wrapped her arms around her, smiling contentedly to herself. As the girls lay down in their natural paradise Catarina smiled to herself. *An heir? There's always adoption...* This article comes from Shmeng http://www.shmeng.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.shmeng.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=654