Romance: The Campus Player: A College Romance

by Caroline Lake

  “You do still accept hostages, right?” Gissandra jingled her satchel for good measure.

  Harkrul stepped forwards in the silence, green eyes puzzled. “Wait. Let me get this straight. You want… to be captured?”

  “Yes. So I don’t have to be married to a prince. I heard dragons were one of the strongest creatures around, so I thought I would go find one. I can be useful as well. I could cook… or learn to. I know some accounting. I could sort out your treasuries or something. Would anyone be interested in taking the deal?”

  “What witchcraft is this?” A stout green dragon declared. “Princesses don’t volunteer!”

  “You’ve never had a princess, Sastran,” another snickered in response.

  Annoyance stabbed Gissandra, as several of the others agreed. Why was it so surprising?

  “I would think,” Gissandra yelled over the clamoring, “That a princess who actually wants to be kidnapped would be better than one who doesn’t! I don’t see the issue.”

  “Hear, hear!” A ten-foot red dragon said in a distinctively feminine voice, before coughing out a ring of smoke.

  “It is too odd, though,” Harkrul mused. “And you don’t look too much like a princess, either. You do not have blonde hair or blue eyes, and you are taller than the average human female.”

  “Well, I’m not a normal princess,” Gissandra said between her teeth, “But I assure you, I am one.” She pointed to her tiara and dress.

  “What lies!” Balon hissed, his claws grating the rock. In response, Gissandra tipped out the contents of her satchel, which had several jewel necklaces, some rings, and a mound of gold coins. There was also the glimmering crown.

  “This is the crown of Jaeland. It’s one of the most valuable objects in the kingdom, and I’m fairly certain my parents are going to flip if they discover this has ended up in a dragon’s treasure hoard. Not that I care or anything.”

  All the dragon’s nostrils had flared. It seemed they could smell the rarity of the object. Greed flashed in their eyes.

  Then, one dragon, not as bulky as the rest, nine-foot-tall and an intense shade of orange, pushed their way through the gathering. It bared teeth in what looked like a smile. It inclined its frilled head respectfully to her.

  “I don’t mind taking you on, princess, if that’s what you want.”

  “What!” Balon spluttered. “You would take on this… oddity?”

  “I don’t see why not,” the dragon said. “My cave could do with a little dusting.” The low growl allowed Giss to recognize the dragon as male. “Are there any objections?”

  Although there was a ripple of discontent, the dragons didn’t resist. It seemed they did take their role as princess kidnappers seriously. Enough so that they didn’t squabble over the treasure and try to take it for themselves, either.

  Monsters were strange, Giss concluded.

  “Excellent. It’s been a while since I’ve had a princess,” the dragon admitted. “The last one stole a potion of invisibility and sneaked out with two others. I believe she got captured by trolls afterwards. Put the things back in the bag, princess. I’ll take you to my cave.”

  “Sure.” Giss scooped the valuables back into the satchel, excitement and wariness mixing inside all at once. She studied the individual scales on the orange dragon, wondering if they flaked out like fish scales, or remained firmly glued on. “What’s your name?”

  “Kiraz. You better get on my back, princess. I advise sitting on the top of my neck and holding onto the horns to protect you from some of the wind turbulence.”

  Kiraz bowed his bright orange head towards Giss. Giss eyed the two curved horns, and the bone frill that stretched between them. “I haven’t exactly ridden a dragon before.”

  “Maybe you should make it a habit,” Kiraz said, with a toothy smirk, “If you’re planning to be a dragon’s princess.”

  “Very true.” Giss awkwardly clambered up onto Kiraz’s long neck, careful to not scratch her dress on the scales. The texture of the scales was rough – smooth to brush one way, and prickly in the opposite direction. Behind Kiraz’s head, the frill encompassed the two ram-like horns, and protected an egg-shaped cranium. She grasped the horns, wedging her fingers into the grooves, and glanced around at the other five dragons, all glaring at her with a mix of emotions. The blue one, who had wanted to eat her, looked particularly malcontent, and the small green one which had approved of her statement, stood next to Harkrul, both of them expressionless.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Harkrul said to Kiraz. “She could be dangerous.”

  “We’ll see. Hold tight.” Kiraz raised his head, altering the angle and making Giss switch from almost relaxed to a why did I just agree to this and not ask if it was possible to walk state of mind– and Kiraz lumbered towards the cliff edge, before launching off in a jump, massive wings clawing the air. Giss suppressed a girlish scream of amazement, hanging on for dear life as Kiraz ascended, heading towards a nearby mountain pinnacle. Wind roared by, making speech almost impossible, and staring ahead over the frill caused the wind to sting and make her eyes water, so she ducked behind, instead taking in the view from the side, as amber wings moved in an upwards clawing motion. She tried to ignore the chill settling into her hands, and the peculiar curdling of her insides with every bob of Kiraz’s long body.

  Kiraz jerked his massive wings as if he was using the butterfly stroke, instead of the up and down Gissandra had expected. Letting her logical mind kick in, Gissandra wondered on why. She supposed the mass of a dragon made it that only a wing span almost three times the size of their bodies would work, like a kite. Except to make the kite soar higher, it needed some kind of thrust or propulsion – which Kiraz provided by lurching his body forward with each flap, delivering a rocking sensation, as if in a cradle.

  The view below was breath-taking. Puffs of cloud trailed around them. The kingdoms of Jaeland, Averin, and Kor burst out of the ground, surrounded by woodlands, mountains and lakes. She could even spot the main kings roads that linked each province together, and tiny stick-like structures dotted along it, which must be the guard towers.

  The ogre was right, she thought suddenly. Flying is magical; when, of course, she dismissed the thought that falling would be an awfully long way down.

  All too soon, the flight ended. The pinnacle turned out to be a large collection of cave entrances huddled together, charred walkways, spindly mountain paths and take off points, decorated with smooth, resting boulders. Despite this, the cave entrances showed some keen aesthetics, where the dragons must have carved into them much the same way neighbors liked to show off their gardens.

  Without stopping to let Gissandra tumble off, Kiraz strode towards a cave entrance, decorated with patterns of swirls to depict clouds, and triangles to demonstrate mountains. Gissandra liked it, although it was the kind of thing a six-year old could doodle in their sketchbook. It contrasted sharply with some of the more elaborate designs from the other cave entrances, including what looked like a very sexy dragon draped over the arch of the one next to Kiraz’s. It also had a lot of cats.

  Well, Gissandra assumed it was supposed to be sexy, since it had little hearts dotted on the dragon’s scales, and large eyes. Dragons probably had erotica, too. She wasn’t too sure about the cats.

  Inside Kiraz’s cave, Gissandra needed to adjust her vision to the dim lighting within. Faintly glowing torches illuminated small patches of the cave, revealing a catacomb structure of rooms, and obscure, thin passageways.

  “Stay on my head, princess. I’ll tour you around the rooms.” Gissandra, not really having much choice, agreed. Her eyes sought out dust, or treasure, and a twinge of disappointment resided when she noticed the dragon’s caves actually looked like normal human quarters. There was a kitchen with a cauldron raised over a fire, already bubbling with greenish colored water. A smell of roasted meat permeated the room. The kitchen work surface appeared too small for a dragon to use as four-legged and thumb lacking cr
eatures respectively. Quietly, Kiraz introduced her to a living area with grandiose sofas, again too small for a dragon, a washroom linked to a lake reservoir nearby, and several living chambers, all furnished with wardrobes, beds and mirrors. Giss blinked in confusion. Once they had passed the miniature library collection and the locked treasure room, and Giss was finally able to slide off Kiraz, she put hands on hips and raised an eyebrow.

  “Um, Kiraz. If I was to say anything, I would think these chambers were more designed for humans – even with the ceiling space.”

  “You think correct, princess.” The orange dragon snorted, wisps of smoke curling from his nostrils. “Stand back a little, and I’ll show you why.”

  Intrigued, Gissandra did as bid, wrinkling her face as a small cloud of dust kicked up from her feet. Kiraz wasn’t kidding about the fact his cave needed dusting.

  The dragon abruptly vanished. A human stood in front of her. Without any ceremony, mysterious flickering or some sort of magical purple cloud which you normally expected with dramatic transformations, a human had taken the place of where a dragon once stood. The human wore simple clothes, a cream tunic with jute pants, and nothing on his feet. A tuft of white fur rolled away from him, settling into a corner.

  He gave an elaborate bow. “I’m Kiraz. Still. I found learning to shapeshift into a human is quite useful for living space, amongst other things.” He then grimaced. “Though it takes a while to get used to the limb coordination and the spectrum of colors you see.”

  Giss blinked, speechless. The dragon-turned-human gave off a gruff, unshaven appearance, with visible hairs on his arms, chin, and cheeks. Amber eyes shone out of his face, matching with his auburn hair and beard. She saw the resemblance in his expression to the dragon that lay there before. She also noticed he stood a little taller than her.

  Interesting.

  Recovering slightly, Giss folded her arms. “Nothing I’ve ever read indicates dragons can shift into humans.”

  Kiraz nodded. “Not all the dragons can. They prefer to study other things instead, like lightning magic, or turning people into chickens. I could probably count on one hand the number of dragons in these mountains who learned human transformation. There’s probably others in different regions, but we’re a small group.” He grinned. Fascination gripped Giss. She hadn’t expected this.

  She also hadn’t expected to find the human form more attractive than it should be. She found herself feasting over his appearance, lingering over the odd orange glow of his eyes. He met her scrutiny without objection, and walked over, indicating her bag.

  “I’ll put the jewels in the treasury later. Since you’re my captive, I’m supposed to keep you locked up and treated as near as you want to be treated, since you are paying for my services.” He halted in front of her, a teasing smile on his lips. “But, I think a princess that volunteers is one who is unlikely to be running away anytime soon, if she likes her new home.”

  Home. The word bounced around, sending Giss off-kilter. In the idea of being taken captive, she hadn’t thought far enough ahead to think maybe she would like it, or to even consider the concept of home.

  She recalled what he had mentioned about the princess, captured by trolls. “Did you treat your last one badly, then?”

  Kiraz shook his head. “Only as required by her stepmother. They wanted her to wear servant’s clothes and scrub the floor, and insisted on having me inform them once I had defeated twenty knights or princes.”

  “Ah. The classic,” Gissandra nodded. “Humbling the princess and having a dangerous dragon who has conquered many heroes.”

  “Her escaping disappointed them greatly. Apparently humility was a little too humiliating for her, I suppose.”

  “Ha.” Gissandra wasn’t surprised. If one of her spoiled sisters had ended up in a place like this and got forced to clean, they would likely treat it as a massive trauma and then harp on about it for the rest of their lives. Even the tiniest speck of dirt sent them running away screaming.

  “It’s not easy, being a monster. But we get by, with or without you humans.”

  Gissandra matched Kiraz’s grin. “So, what’s the plan with me as your captive, anyway? I do house chores, or what?”

  Kiraz reached out to pat her on one bare shoulder with a warm hand. “We’ll build it up. Start with basic chores, and if it works out well, maybe we can get to sorting out the library and the treasury. As you might know, dragons guard their hoards zealously. I recommend you start with cleaning the kitchen. Tools are in there. If you want to learn to cook, you should ask the troll when she comes back.”

  “There’s a troll?” Giss stared at him, not sure if she had heard right.

  “You can think of her as the dragon’s resident cook. Sometimes a slab of meat isn’t enough, and she’s always coming up with the most wonderful dishes…”

  “Careful. You’re drooling a bit at the corner, there.”

  Kiraz raised a sleeve to his mouth, only to catch Giss in her lies. “Ah! To be fair, it is drool-worthy food. You see the narrow passageway, there? That links up to other caves, and to the troll’s home.” Kiraz gestured towards a tunnel entrance between two purple tapestries.

  Giss examined it suspiciously. “I think it might take a while to adjust to living with monsters. Do you have trolls and such dropping in regularly, then?”

  “Oh, yes. Giants, ogres, witches and wizards. I’m godfather to a werebunny’s ten thousand children as well. It’s quite interesting when he comes to visit.”

  Gissandra bit her tongue, deciding she didn’t want to ask for details. “I think I’ll prefer to change out of my dress, though. And do you have any balm for feet? Mine are a little sore.”

  “Go ahead. Clothes are in the chambers over there, abandoned by the last princess. There’s a soothing ointment on the dresser table. She used to trip over her own brooms a lot since she insisted on wearing ball gowns.”

  “Nice.”

  “Oh, and Gissandra.”

  This was the first time Kiraz had used Giss’s name. it made her alert, focusing on the dragon.

  “Yes?”

  Kiraz stepped close to her. When he spoke, his breath caressed her neck, sending peculiar shivers through the princess. “Let me give you some fair warning. In my human form, I am perfectly capable of interacting with your kind, in more ways than one.” Very gently, he took a few unruly strands of Giss’s dark hair, tucking them behind her ear. The touch of his skin on her ear delivered a series of small, electric shocks.

  “Oh. Wow.” Gissandra felt her cheeks beginning to burn. She stepped away and turned to him, the flush vanishing as quickly as it appeared. “I enjoyed that way more than expected. Which is to say, I wasn’t expecting that at all.”

  At this, Kiraz let out a low chuckle. “You’re certainly a calm one. I was hoping to rattle your brain a little there.”

  “You did, don’t worry.” Gissandra examined him thoughtfully. Yes. I can see it. I can envision myself with him. “Though now you got me curious. I don’t find dragons attractive. No offense. They look really magnificent, with the wings and the claws and the breathing fire and various other factors. A human dragon, however? I’m not complaining, for sure. So what is it like as a dragon regarding humans?”

  “Wow. You’re blunt.”

  “People tell me that.”

  “Okay.” Kiraz narrowed his eyes, finger stroking his chin in contemplation. “As a dragon… humans tend to look the same to me. In my human form… I have all the human hormones and said ability to appreciate human forms. So it depends on my shape, really.” A mischievous smile stole over his face. “Want to know anything else? Like how big I am down there?”

  “Ah. We can save that talk for later. I think I have enough to go by for now.”

  “Oh? ‘Later?’ I will look forward to that.”

  Good God, I’m actually flirting with a dragon. Barely ten minutes in. My parents are going to kill me. Gissandra fought to keep her face straight. “Sure. I be
t it can get pretty boring in these caves otherwise. Now if you excuse me, I’ve got to go and scrub things.”

  Kiraz gave her a bow. “Thank you, princess. I have an errand to run now, with the Old God of the Swamp. Nice chap, misunderstood because of all the tentacles. I’ll see if I can bring anything back as well. Monsters can be quite imaginative with their gifts.”

  Giss nodded. She watched Kiraz saunter out of the room. He turned to give her one last wave, before instantly enlarging into a dragon, and ambling out of sight.

  A big part of Giss hoped Kiraz was up for dealing with the troubles and knights that might come their way.

  Chapter Four: Too many Knights

  Giss wiped her brow, leaning against the broomstick she had just used to sweep the floor. Brendag the troll cook worked over the cauldron, tossing odd pinches of spices into the pot, creating flashes and different combinations of smells. Giss wrinkled her nose as the troll flung in what looked like very mysterious meat, tinged blue at the corners.

  “Come on, dearie!” The troll gestured to her with a warty green hand. Tufts of shocking pink hair stuck out from her head in the traditional don’t give a damn troll style. “If you want to learn to cook, you need to be following what I do!”

  “No offense, but I’m certain anything you do, I can’t imitate. We humans are just not as… magical as you. If I toss a bunch of things into a pot, it’s either going to explode or poison me.”

  Brendag tsked to herself. “Nonsense. I’m sure anyone, even the most magically devoid of creatures, can learn. It just takes a little bit of intuition, and… oof!” The cauldron fizzed a violent red, spitting out bubbles. Then, a loud, disgusting burp emitted from it, leaving the room with a stench like burned skin.

  “There! Perfect.” She dipped a ladle into the mixture, took out some of the concoction, and sipped it, smacking her lips in appreciation. “Mm! Have a taste, dearie.”

  Giss resigned herself to the tasting, preferring not to offend Kiraz’s favored cook. The ominous, red tinged liquid in the ladle made her feel sick. Obligingly, she took a tiny sip – and as ever, was surprised.