The princess sat at her vanity and admired her image in the mirror. Her long golden hair shined as her maid combed through it. As the princess was preparing for bed, there was a knock on her door. Another maid entered the princess’ chambers. She had been out on the princess’ errand, and was returning with good news.

  “My Princess, he has left his quarters.”

  Princess Alashia sat up. She had been waiting to catch a glimpse of Thelton since she learned he was staying in the castle. She had fallen in love with him the first time he had come to the castle. She had never removed him from her heart. She started to shake in anticipation.

  “Quick, change me into my nicest night coat.”

  Her servants scrambled around the room as they gathered all the supplies. Slipping off the princess’ pajamas, they adorned her in a silk and lacey one. They reapplied her makeup and fixed her hair. She looked radiant. No man would be able to resist her. Feeling confident and frisky, the princess hurried off to the gardens.

  …

  Thelton wandered aimlessly around the well manicured grounds. He had little interest for flowers and ornamental brush; it just felt good to be outside again.

  He wondered how long the king intended to keep him as a prisoner. Did the king really plan to succeed? There was no way he would ever rid the world of dragons. He would be lucky to even find the dragon’s nest. Thelton meditated the idea of taking on all the dragons at one, could he take on a whole colony by himself?

  He had reached a fountain in the middle of the gardens. There were several statues of mermaids in the middle of the pool as crystal clear water cascaded off of the mystical figures. Moonlight danced on the water’s edge. Thelton reached his hand into the pool and cupped the water, bringing it to his face, he splashed himself with it. His face felt refreshed to the shockingly cold water.

  “Are you in need of a bath?” He heard a sweet voice say. Thelton looked up. The princess was next to him.

  He bowed to show reverence. The princess reached out and grabbed his hand, with it she pulled him up. Just touching him sent her nerves vibrating. He was more handsome than she remembered. His eyes made her melt while her brain became foggy and numb.

  “You mustn’t bow. You are worthy of the same adoration as I, Sir Thelton of Andleburg.” She said in the sexiest voice that she could produce. It came out a bit too raspy, for she didn’t have experience for luring a man in.

  He was so uncomfortable when Princess Alashia touched him, and he hated the way she pierced her eyes into his soul. He recognized the lust in them. It was the same look he was bombarded with by women all the time. He knew he was handsome and he believed that he had reached hero status.

  He tried to retrieve his arm but failed, because the princess kept a strong grasp on his hand. His free hand wisped the hair out of his face which sent another shiver down the princess. Princess Alashia kept her eyes locked on him. Her intense stare made him uneasy.

  “Dearest Princess, I would dare not be caught out in the gardens by moonlight with you. Your father might take my head.” Thelton tried to pull his arm away again, but she wasn’t returning it.

  With her other hand, the princess brought her fingers up to his right cheek and traced the ridges of his scar. Thelton’s skin prickled beneath her touch.

  “Is it true, did a troll really bite you here?” Her finger pushed deeply against the scar. Sweat permeated under Thelton’s brow.

  Thelton’s mind became foggy, barely being able to formulate words, he replied, “yuuh….yes, my Princess, it did.”

  “I bet you made good work of him.” The princess leaned forward and kissed Thelton’s scar. It was too much; he ripped his hand out of her grasp.

  “It was really nice seeing you. I must retire.” Thelton turned his back to the princess. She grabbed his shoulders and spun him around.

  “Don’t you find me beautiful, Sir Thelton of Andleburg?”

  “The most beautiful woman I have seen,” he replied not looking into her eyes.

  “Then why do you try to run from me?”

  He didn’t want to play little lover games. He wanted to slip into his room and be left alone. Actually, he would rather leave the castle altogether. Why must the king keep him as a prisoner? The princess ran her hands across Thelton’s shoulders. “Your arms are so strong. I bet your arm is bigger than my waist. Do you want to feel my waist?” He began coughing. His eyes dilated. The sound of an owl hooted behind them. He tried to push the princess’ hands away, but they just returned.

  “Look, dear Princess,” he swallowed hard to say his next words. “I find you the most desirable woman that I have ever met. I am a gentlemen and I will show respect and honor for your name. One way to do that is not to have secret rendezvous with you in the garden by moonlight. I would never want to put you in a position where one might question your virtue.”

  The princess locked with his eyes again and as she reached forward, she held both of his hands. “I don’t worry about rumors, and I am not looking for a gentleman. I know that you are not a gentleman, Thelton. You are a warrior, a hunter. You move by instinct and lust. I am giving you permission to lust the most wanted woman in the kingdom. Every man alive would sell their soul to be in your spot right now.”

  Thelton was used to having women throw themselves at him. He had been encountered by some very bold pursuers. If he had to use force to push a woman away, he would, but he was in a sticky situation. He knew she was the king’s daughter, if he hurt her feelings, she might create rumors that would send him to the guillotine. He had to say enough to please her, but not enough to lead her on. He had an idea. “Beautiful, Beautiful Princess. Have you ever heard of lovers hide-n-seek?”

  The princess’ eyes widened. “No, it does sound intriguing. How do you play it?”

  “This is how you play it. One person hides, while the other one seeks. When the seeker finds the hider, they are allowed to do anything of their choosing to the other. Would you like to play?”

  The princess jumped up and down and clapped her hands. “Sounds fun.”

  “Would you like to seek, or would you like to hide?”

  The princess thought for a moment, her finger pushed her lips in. “I want you to hide.” She said as she put her face directly into his. “And I know just what I will do when I find you.”

  Thelton pointed to the hedge next to them. “You go behind that hedge and count to one hundred. When you have reached a hundred, shout out, ready or not.”

  As the princess slipped behind the hedge Thelton reached down and grabbed a rock and then, he ran faster than he ever had in his life. He was half way through the gardens when he heard the princess shout out. He stopped for a second and took his slingshot out of his elastic waist. He placed the rock in it and then shot it nine meters behind the princess. Beguiled, she turned to the direction of the noise.

  “For a hunter, you are not a very good hider, you are kind of noisy.” The princess teased. “I think someone wants to be found." The princess headed toward where she had heard the noise, the opposite direction from Thelton. With the princess on the wrong lead, he ran back to the castle, up the stone stairs, and into his room. He bolted the door behind him and slipped into bed. He breathed heavily.

  …

  When Thelton awoke the next day, he found a note under his door, He picked it up. The note was bathed in perfume. He choked as the fumes entered his lungs and stung his eyes. As he read the note, he blushed.

  Thelton sat on the edge of his bed examining the note. Things were too much; he would go and find the king. He needed to leave at once. He slowly opened the thick mahogany door, the hinges squeaked. He looked up and down the hallway. He had no idea where the princess’ room was, but he sure didn’t want to run into her.

  With the hallway clear, he began to make his way to the throne room. He silently moved along the massive corridors barely admiring the many pictures and armor lining the pathway. The lighting was dim. As he walked, suddenly his eyes were covered by petite hands.

  “I know where you are going.” The voice said. He immediately recognized it. He had not eluded his admirer.

  “You want to find the dragon room, don’t you?” The voice sang.

  The princess had caught his attention. He had never been to the dragon room. He was curious to see the accumulation of heads he had hunted for the king. He turned around and faced the princess. She looked stunning. Her hair was piled high atop her hair. There was a collection of flowers weaved in and out of her curls along with strings of pearls and beads dangling from her hair. Her makeup was perfect and she wore a stunning velvet evening gown. The sun was barely rising; the princess must have been up for hours to be adorned so.

  “I would like to see the dragon room.” Thelton said taking the bait.

  The princess latched her arm through Thelton’s and led the way. During their stroll, she bombarded him with unceasing chatter, yet he didn’t hear a word. He feared the king would see him with the Princess. Surely something like that would be frowned upon. He was claustrophobic at the princess’ intense interest in him. He decided that once he saw the dragon room, then he would leave the castle. It was becoming too much for him

  They took many turns through what felt like a never ending labyrinth of halls, finally stopping at a massive black door where the guard kept watch.

  “This is Father’s greatest room. Not very many people are allowed in. He loves to take other kings and nobility in there, but only with him, and only accompanied by a guard.”

  Thelton wondered if it was wise to go into the room without the king. “Perhaps, Princess, we should wait for the king. I am sure he would like to join us.” Thelton hesitantly turned his back to the door.

  The princess kissed Thelton on the cheek. “You are so serious. We will be fine.” The princess turned to the guard. “Stand aside,” she said.

  The guard was troubled. He didn’t know if the king would pardon him for letting Princess Alashia in. On the other hand, the king might revoke him for not letting her in. Confused, he stood aside and opened the door.

  Excitedly, the princess grabbed Thelton’s hand and pulled him into the room. She turned to the guard, “Now, shut the door.”

  The guard swallowed why his eye twitched. The king always had him accompany anyone in the room. Now, the princess was changing the orders. The guard feared the trouble he had gotten himself into, for he felt trapped between the princess’ temper and the chance that the king would find out what he had done. On the other hand, with the door closed, no one would see the princess and Thelton in the room. Maybe the guard‘s weakness would not be discovered. The guard quickly shut the door before anyone walked by.

  With the door closed, the princess snuggled into Thelton, her eyes already closed; she braced herself for a kiss. He didn’t even see, for he brushed right by her. Mesmerized, he scanned the room. The room was adorned with forty eight dragon heads. Pride squeezed his chest, had he really caught that many dragons? There was more than just heads in the room, there were also pictures made from scales. The room was a dream. If Thelton ever decorated his house, he was sure it would look something like the room.

  The princess opened her eyes when Thelton had brushed by. She began to pout her lip. Why did he not kiss her? She then saw the reason; Thelton had found his first true love. She let her lip relax when she realized that he hadn’t resisted kissing her, it was just that he was in his realm. She knew she couldn’t compete, and she was content to wait and let him take it all in, for she liked the change in his demeanor, he seemed to soften as he explored every detail of the room.

  Thelton completely let his guard down. He examined each head, paying particular attention to a purple and green one. He laughed out loud as he pointed to it.

  “There it is. That is the first dragon that I ever killed. My, my, I was only fourteen, just a boy. I thought that I was so old. Do you remember Gremell? He wasn’t very good. He lost more than he caught. However, he was still the only slayer around. I was just an orphan. I met him when I was eleven. He was a legend. I begged him to take me in. I knew that I was meant to slay dragons.

  “I bugged Gremell until he finally let me tag along, using me as his slave, I didn’t mind, because I used that time to watch and learn from the old man. Most of the lessons I learned, I taught myself, because Gremell was very careless, I learned mostly what not to do from him.

  “Once we went on a hunt where Gremell had gotten sloppy drunk and fell into a hole. He had hit his head very hard and it did something to him because he didn’t wake for several days. While he was in the hole I had to keep vermin and monstrous bugs off of him, there were so many, I couldn’t stop them all. Some of the bugs laid eggs in Gremell's skin, they hatched a week later.” The princess squirmed at Thelton’s story. “Watching Gremell pass out in the hole and having no control over his body or environment, I learned one of my most valuable lessons.”

  “What was it?”

  “I learned not to drink.” Thelton said as he took his beefy finger and traced the dragon’s face.

  “You can’t tell me that a hunter like you doesn’t touch alcohol?”

  “Never.”

  The princess was astonished. Alcohol was what ran the kingdom. It was at every meal, every party, and every social event.

  “You are a strange man, Thelton. You are twenty-five, right?”

  “That I am.”

  “You are a man of the woods and you don’t drink. But, more odd than that is that you are not married. Why is that?”

  The room started to get hot. Thelton did not choose his words closely, for the next words gave the princess hope. “I guess I just haven’t met the right woman.” Thelton didn’t mean what he said he was just trying to quickly dismiss the direction of the conversation. What he would really have liked to said was, “Why would I do that? Women are whiny, needy, and annoying. They are nothing but baggage. I never plan on marrying one.” Wisely he didn’t say it, for it would not be prudent to anger the princess, especially when he was in a restricted room with her.

  Princess Alashia grinned from ear to ear; she knew she was that right woman that he was waiting for. She had a fascinating way of looking at him, which made him uncomfortable. “You have at least loved a woman before?”

  “Sorry to disappoint. I am not interested in drinking and women. I like to live alone and do things my way. I am a little unusual compared to the kingdom's standards.”

  The princess was pleased with Thelton’s ethics. She was giddy to know that Thelton was saving himself for her as well.

  Thelton dashed to another head, eager to change the topic. “That one, that one, I remember that one. It was just a baby dragon, probably on its first hunt. I had seen it fly in with the queen. It was the first time that I had ever seen the queen. Wow, was she magnificent. I vowed then that one day I would slay her. The queen flew straight at me, I was so unprepared. She knocked her giant head into me and sent me on my rump. To my surprise, she didn’t clasp me in her massive claws, but instead she flew out of the way and let her baby come at me.

  “So her baby picks me up with its claws. I could have gotten away, but I didn’t try because things were working to my strategy. The queen, satisfied at her babies catch, flew back toward the forest. The baby followed slowly behind her mom. The queen had gained a considerable height and distance on her baby. When I was sure the queen was not paying attention, I pulled my sword out and stuck it straight into the belly of the baby dragon. The baby dropped fast and we had hit ground before the queen had even noticed.

  “To my luck we were in the swamps. I stabbed the baby a couple more times to make sure it died. Quickly, I buried us under the peat and moss. We were well buried by the time the queen turned back looking for us. I don’t think she could smell us because the bog had a strong sulfur stench, it masked our own smell. She soared overhead squawking and searching. She must have loved that baby, because she stayed close by for three days.

  “Still hidden in the peat, I had fashioned a breathing hole for me. As I got hungry, I was forced to eat that baby raw and I drank its blood to quench my thirst.”

  The princess grimaced as he told his story. The image he was painting made her want to vomit.

  “Eventually, the queen gave up and headed back to the forest. Yes, yes, yes, I love that head. I outsmarted the queen and stole her baby from right under her.”

  Despite the graphic details, as she listened, the princess fell more in love with Thelton. She was glad to see him finally relax around her. When he wore his smile, he became even more desirable. Everything about him thrilled her.

  He stopped at a green and red dragon head, a worry line crept across his brow, troubled he said, “This one, I don’t recognize this one. I know this head isn’t mine. Where did it come from?”

  Not paying attention, the princess replied, “Don’t know."

  “What do you mean you don’t know? Where did it come from?” Thelton’s voice elevated as he tensed up, it scared the princess.

  She thought for a moment and then said, “Some hunter from Candleshaw.”

  Thelton slammed his fist into a table, leaving an indent. Where had his pleasant mood gone? The princess began to get apprehensive. “Don’t worry, Thelton, he was nowhere as good looking as you.”

  “Do you remember this hunter’s name?”

  “I don’t know, maybe Lance.”

  “Flance,” Thelton growled under his breath as he slammed the table again, it cracked down the middle.

  The princess wrapped her arms around Thelton’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, dear, he has only brought daddy one dragon head. You are still, and always will be, the greater hunter.”

  Thelton didn’t even hear the princess, he was boiling in anger. Fearfully, the princess decided to try and distract him. She pulled his hand and led him over to the biggest head in the room.

  “Tell me about that one,” she said.

  Thelton looked up the nostrils of the head. “That one,” he said. His disposition instantly changed. She had tricked him into letting go of his anger.

 

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