Once upon a time, a princess bargained for a wish to a demon.
***
“I
wish for the power to protect my kingdom and shower it with boundless
fortunes.”
The
demon raised an animated eyebrow. “Are you willing to pay the price, if you make
that wish?”
“If
it helps me to save my kingdom from war, then yes.”
A
smirk crawled onto the demon’s disfigured face, and he gave her a wishbone.
“You can wish for anything you’d like. But beware that your wishing days will
come to an end.”
***
“My
dear Solene, you have an incredible power. One that can bring boundless
fortunes to your kingdom. But it can bring destruction and chaos to it as well.”
“How
do I control it?”
“Use
it with great care. Until you reach the age of twenty-one, you will be able to
control your power. But once you turn said age, you will never be the same princess
as you were before.”
***
It
had been seven years of showering Acordia in heavenly fortunes, and since the
war she had won. However, those seven years of wishing had taken its toll on
the young Princess Solene.
She
must choose between staying with her family and risking their lives in peril,
or isolate herself and win a battle inside
herself.
The frost-crusted and snow-plowed gravel crunched
softly beneath the sole of Solene’s lace-up boots. Her hands, freezing cold and
ghostly pale from lack of sunlight were tucked inside the scarlet coat she had
draped on. She hadn’t bothered to put on a pair of gloves; her body was able to
withstand the weather far longer than the average of a normal human’s.
Despite
the sharp, raw weather, soldiers were wandering across the frosted streets –
their occasional barks of orders cutting through the hushed air. Acordia, even
though powdered by mounds of snow and crusted by frost, obtained its own beauty
even in the iciest conditions that would have aroused aversions in other countries.
Winter captured Acordia in an ink black-and-white way, yet with light hints of
winter-ish blues and mild floods of soft tawny emitting from streetlights.
Cast
by pools of ghostly light and wintry atmosphere wrapping around Solene’s
quivering figure, a feather of cooling warm air left her breathing lips and her
hair – loose, curled, and inferno red – collected a lace of snowflakes. With
both hands pulling the edge of her coat together, her mundane thoughts couldn’t
help but wander to the recent flashes of fire, smoke, collapsing shards of
glass and ceramic and wood, and so much crimson stained everywhere.
She
had lost control of her power. And she knew it wasn’t safe anymore for her
kingdom if she were to remain here.
One
of her hands peeked out of the sleeves and trailed its fingers across a bush of
silver roses – one of the wishes she had used her wishbone for. They looked
mesmerizing under the feathers of snow and patterned frost. She held onto a
rose, staring at it longingly – if only she had a second. Before she could even
scrutinize the shape of its flawless, yet dangerous beauty, a spark of fire
blossomed from the mere touch of her fingertip and instantly ravaged the entire
bud of rose, reducing it into nothing but ashes.
Solene
watched – a horrified and pained expression etched on her pale face – the ashes
scatter from her fingers and soar in the wind.
It
was time for her to go.
***
Fog crept into the kingdom. Threads of translucent
grey and white rippled across the gentle waves of Acordia. An opaque bank of
clouds formed above the vacant sea, rolling closer toward the land of silver
roses. The mist grew and rose higher as it crawled under an old bridge,
blossoming and swallowing it whole.
The
dark mist obscured lit torches and bonfires, leaving feeble spots of red-orange
floating amid the grey clouds.
Parents
ushered their children into their straw-made cottages they called home.
Arriving sea fishermen scampered from their once colorful boats, each carrying
a bag of krill they could only provide for their families’ hunger.
The
palace garden was blanketed with silver roses that shone brightly regardless of
the thick fog that became a nuisance to many eyes. Stable keepers guided
frightened horses to their stables. Soldiers exited the courtyard as the fog
swept everything under their bone-chilling wisps of thick grey.
Beyond
the castle walls, the King and Queen of Acordia were pacing around in the
throne room. The three-month pregnant Princess Faye watched her parents tread
in haste and anxiety, as she nestled in her vibrant violet throne, concern
swimming in her emerald eyes. Her husband, Prince Wesfall, caressed her
shoulder, giving her a touch of needed comfort.
Queen
Aeda remembered those 6205 days when her oldest daughter would come home every
dawn with abnormal scars and bruises painting her face, arms, abdomen, and
legs, or the occasional scorch marks on her back and chest. Most of those
dawns, she would carry more than a thousand pounds of fresh meat for their
subjects to feed on.
The
Queen remembered how relentlessly she, her husband King Orion, or the royal
doctors asked if she had gotten hurt, and her forced joyful answer would be the
constant “I’m fine.” or “It’s nothing.”
She
couldn’t help but wonder what her daughter had been hiding from them for such a
long time.
It
had been seventeen years since their oldest daughter, Princess Solene,
disappeared.
It
had been seventeen years since the guards began their endless perilous search
throughout archipelagos and kingdoms from near and far.
It
had been seventeen years since Acordia’s subjects suffered from starvation and
desired decent meals. Something other than their daily krill and salted grain.
No
one knew for sure where their dear Princess had gone. And they were beginning
to lose hope.
***
A distant archipelago traveler arrived at the Acordia
palace. He asked for the King and Queen’s attention. “I have brought both
wonderful and devastating news!” he exclaimed as he knelt on one knee before
the royal couple. “The Princess Solene is alive! She is imprisoned in a tower
on a remote island on the far side of the globe, by a dragon!”
The
King and Queen were delighted to hear that their daughter was alive, yet were
beyond horrified of the dragon. So, to save Princess Solene’s life and bring
her back home, they challenged the Prince Kais from a nearby kingdom to travel
distant lengths to the island where the Princess had been held captive, alone. If he succeeds, he will be wedded
to the Princess and stand as King of Acordia.
The
thirty-five-year-old Prince Kais, who was eager to rule her beautiful kingdom,
accepted the challenge and set off.
***
It took Kais five years to reach the island. By the
time he set foot on land, the moonlight flooded his ailing features that he had
obtained from five years of endless journey. His skin had folded into wrinkles.
His once bright blue eyes had dulled into a drab shade of blue-grey. His once
athletic, muscular figure had turned frail and limp.
He
rubbed his exhausted, ailing eyes with the back of his hand. His blurred vision
cleared and a lofty tower loomed in the middle of the island. Just the mere
sight of it encouraged him to drag his feet toward it.
The
white-bricked tower shadowed over him as he stood right in front of the
heavy-looking door. He was disgusted and terrified to see dried stains of blood
splattered across the walls and valley near. The skeletons of numerous animal
corpses sat still as swarms of flies and insects decomposed what was left of
its flesh and organs. Some of them were still fresh, as if they were hunted a
while ago.
He
cringed in fear. He knew slaying this
dragon was definitely not an easy
task.
His
hand reluctantly pushed the colossal wooden door open. Its hinges creaked as it
swung open, curdling his ears.
The
inside of the tower was dim, only a few strands of moonlight fought their way
in through the apertures of the dwelling. The spiraling staircase appeared
fragile; the wood of the stairs were beginning to crack and fall off. Cobwebs
blanketed every part and corner of the room, prompting him to crinkle his nose
in disgust even more so.
Slowly
and cautiously, he crept up the seemingly endless stairs. He made his way up to
the highest and only room in the tower. He guessed that the place might have
been where the Princess was imprisoned in.
A
lashing sound came from behind him; like the sound of the wind or a blade
cutting swiftly through the air. Another lash resonated through the room. Then,
he felt heavy, warm, relentless breaths heaving a weight upon his shoulders and
back. A tingle of scorching heat poked his neck and he jumped and shrieked.
He
swiveled around in an instant and came face to face with a dragon.
However,
this dragon was unlike any other dragon he had ever battled. The dragon was,
surprisingly, appealing and elegant. Its scales were the color of scarlet, with
hints of blood red. The horns protruding from its head entwined and curve into
a unique shape resembling a crown. Its vivid green eyes lit up the entire room.
They felt as if they were piercing into his soul, reading his thoughts and
learning his past.
What
caught his attention the most was the large necklace twined around its scaly
neck. The necklace seemed to be made out of pure white gold, and a hand-sized rose-shaped
ruby gemstone embedded into the center of the necklace glimmered in the dark.
Elaborate swirling details were carved into the gold piece, replicating a
rose’s stem. Dark pink diamonds dotted along the details, accenting it
beautifully.
The
dragon’s pupils were slit, aggression burning in its intense eyes. It opened
its jaws. Electric blue light mixed with vivid red at the mouth of its throat.
Acetylene and oxygen-shaped plasma began to form into a ball as it assessed for
the right time to strike its ball of fire.
Prince
Kais’s eyes bled tears, crouching down with both his arms shielding his head,
as if it would protect him from the searing plasma. “Please, I beg you. Don’t
kill me!” he cried, yet he was smirking in malice under the cover of his arms.
Recognition
flashed across the scarlet dragon’s eyes for a brief moment. Its once slit
pupils widened as the aggression in its orbs melted into wonder and curiosity.
The dragon closed its gaping jaws, swallowing the fire within it. The creature
tilted its head to the side, both of its eyes appearing rather cat-like.
Prince
Kais noticed the dragon ceasing its assault and took this moment as an
opportunity to unsheathe his sword, pointing the tip of his blade dangerously
close to the creature.
The
dragon’s former cat-like eyes transformed back into their aggressive and slit
state. Its clamped jaws curled into a deadly snarl, baring its razor-edged
teeth and keen fangs.
Kais
penetrated his sword into the dragon’s right front leg, creating a noticeable
gash. Silver blood poured out of the wound like a river. The dragon whimpered
as it stared at the slash painfully. It whipped its slender head at the one
responsible for its wound and growled stridently. The sound could compete with the
booming rumbling of thunder. Its jaws enlarged. And with a strong, quick lash
of its tail, Kais’s sword was knocked out of his grasp.
Prince
Kais collapsed to the cemented floor defenselessly – his sword clattering and
skidding across the room. The winged creature strode closer to the Prince,
cornering him onto a balcony. It gave out a penetrating roar, making his limbs
go limp.
Its
teeth lengthened further. The Prince quivered. Before he could process what it
was about to do, the dragon swooped down its head and chopped his head off with
one clean bite.
Prince
Kais’s head rolled across the ground, the petrified look still etched on his still
face. The fresh meat and blood spilled from the chopped-off neck; the mere
sight of it building a river of rich red provoking the dragon to lick its
fangs, thirsty for the presence and taste of blood everywhere in its throat and
tongue and lips.
The
colossal, yet slender figure of the scarlet-scaled dragon was replaced with a lovely
young woman. Her inferno red hair cascaded down her back, a few stray strands
dancing over her moonlit features. Fire rose in her keen green eyes under the
soft pools of light the stars and moon created, and they scorched a path
through the air. Her pale skin mirrored the moon’s delicate color. A white-gold
crown on her head wavered in white flames like millions of scattered searing
stardust that had been pieced back together through the flames of inferno and
the seas of blood she had created. Oddly, the crown didn’t burn through her
head like it should have done; it eradicated into actual white fire.
Even
after twenty years living in the middle of nowhere, she didn’t gain a single
wrinkle or strand of silver in her hair, or any other changes an average human
would have gained throughout their adult years. The beauty she possessed at the
age of twenty-one stayed true to her features.
Grinning
maliciously, she watched the dead Prince’s skin pale. Then a pair of fangs bore
from her mouth. She knelt down and pierced her fangs into his neck. Blood
surged through her throat, the thick and salty taste of it sending satisfying
tingles through her taste buds. Her pupils grew into slits as hunger took the
best of her. She continued to devour every ounce of blood streaming through the
corpse’s veins.
Her
blazing crown and red hair gathered the crimson liquid from his beheaded self.
Satisfied
and full, she removed her fangs from the impaled spot. More blood from the
wound streamed as one with the blood that was flowing from where the Prince’s
head had been. The blood made its way across the balcony and rained down the
ledge, forming a waterfall that would terrorize every person or thing
witnessing the sight.
The
sight of Princess Solene who turned into a blood-thirsty beast, and the blood that rained from the tower.
Fairuza Hanun, 24/09/2016
