Giss held her thumb up. “That’s the point. I want to employ a monster for a kidnapping.”
“Ah. Makes sense. We’ll be stopping for breakfast in the morning, though. I’m not riding that the whole way there and back without some food in my belly.”
“I agree.”
Giss found it amusing the driver didn’t question the statement. Although people did seek monsters for employing, she was surprised he didn’t try harder to stop her. Then again, it might have been for the fact she handed him five gold coins as payment, which amounted to three months’ worth of wages.
Clambering into the carriage through a roll-out step, she locked the door, and peered through the small window in front to where she saw the driver sit, gather up the reins of his two horses, and flick them. The horses walked, then trotted into action, wheels rumbling and hooves clacking over cobblestones. The stuffy smell of leather permeated Giss’s nostrils, and dust tickled her nose and dried her throat. She ran a finger over the window, leaving a trail of clear glass on the dirt, and a smudge on her skin. The sword nudged uncomfortably against her thigh, so she adjusted it to protrude over the seat.
The carriage rolled on into the night, leaving everything she knew behind.
Chapter Three: Giss, the Ogre, and the Dragons
Breakfast of bacon, eggs and bread churned in Giss’s stomach. She watched the driver trundle away, eventually swallowed up by the trees. A light breeze stirred her cloak as she began the walk up the stone path. It didn’t take long before the throb of developing blisters rubbed her feet, and sweat plastered her forehead. Barely half an hour in, she almost screamed in fright when an ogre lumbered in front of her, wielding a huge, spiky club. Six feet tall and almost as wide, it had a stretched face like a potato resting on its stubby body. It wore animal furs, and dirt crusted its yellowish skin.
“Hello,” she tried, when the ogre didn’t move. It instead looked just as startled as she felt. “I hope you’re having a nice day.”
“You’re a human,” the ogre said, squinting. The voice hit a mid-pitch. Giss couldn’t decide if it was female or male, and didn’t want to make the wrong assumption. She had read that ogres were prone to rages if you made one slip-up, no matter how small.
“That I am.” Giss nodded, speaking a little slower.
“Humans don’t-come-here.”
It took Giss a second to comprehend what the ogre had said. It spoke sentences in a slur, as if they were one word squeezed out.
“This one is. I’m looking for dragons.”
At this, the ogre scrunched its face up, perplexed. “Why would you want to-do-that? Dragons are big and scary.”
“I want to be kidnapped by them. I’m a princess.”
“Oh.” The ogre scratched its head. Gissandra decided it might be a fairly young ogre.
“Do you know which direction they are? I’m a little lost, and you look like you might know things.”
At this, the ogre grinned, displaying blunt, square shaped teeth. “Yeah… I do! There.” The ogre pointed with its club. “Not-too-far. They gather by-the-ledge sometimes. You can see them flying if you-stand-there, too. I-like-watching them.”
“Do you? Why is that?”
The ogre shrugged. “I want to fly-like-them. I think flying-is-magical.”
Gissandra nodded, and smiled, once she had worked out what the ogre said. “Who is to say you won’t, some day?”
The ogre nodded furiously. “Yeah… yeah! Who is?” It checked over Giss, before completing a short, clumsy bow. “Thank-you-princess. Good-day.”
Watching the monster depart, Giss’s mouth curved up at the corners. Maybe monsters weren’t always as terrible and scary as most of the books depicted. Or maybe they were, and she just happened to bump into one of the less aggressive ones. She picked her way through the grass, leather shoes sinking into soft loam, and brushed her palms over bark and brush. The throbbing in her feet built up, and her breath came out in little pants. Crows cawing in their hoarse voices echoed through the tree canopy. Nine-plus hours of travel and walking with a body unused to travel placed a large strain on her.
Twenty minutes later, she approached a rocky precipice, which jutted out from a large, blackened clearing. The plant life abruptly halted at the edges of the barren ground. Giss identified it as a mix of charcoal and ash. The clearing itself looked large enough to allow a lot of dragons to roost at once – if they happened to be the size of houses.
A tremor of nervousness flickered through Giss. The remote possibility of being burned to a crisp before being asked any questions by the reptilian creatures sprung to mind. She had also, unfortunately, never seen a dragon up close. Unsure of what else to do, and footsore from her walk, she changed into her princess dress and tiara, and sat down at the edge of the cliff, legs dangling over the lip, watching the sky, the mountains and the forest beneath.
She wondered by now if the alarm had been raised in the castle, or if people assumed she was sleeping in, or locked up in her study in a tantrum. Maybe they would think she left the castle to visit the market, or maybe a servant would recall that furtive figure shuffling through the halls late at night. With any luck, when the court magicians eventually began crying for her, they would see her in the clutches of a dragon, and most of the princes and knights would be too afraid to tackle one of the most dangerous foes of all. Unless they had anti-dragon equipment. Which was rare and hard to find.
Of course, if they discovered what she had managed to snatch from the vaults, they might be a little more enthusiastic about rescuing her. A few curious frogs hopped to her from the rim of the clearing, ribbitting. One of the trio puckered up its lips as it clambered onto her lap.
“No kisses for you.” Giss tapped the big frog on its head. It gave her sad eyes and waddled off, forlorn. The other two hopped afterwards. It may have once been a prince. It equally had the chance of being a reverse curse, so when she kissed it, she too would turn into one; so it was usually best not to mess around with those things until being absolutely certain. Giss wondered how many magically enchanted princes and princesses lay in the forest, waiting for their curses to break. A popular curse for a while was turning princes and princesses into chickens, but if the prince or princess then mated or laid an egg, the resulting egg was golden. So, due to the overwhelming number of curses not being broken like usual, because people realized they could sell the eggs for a thousand gold each, the chicken phase died out. The point of curses in the fairy kingdoms eventually normalized, although you still saw the odd revenge curse from embittered siblings in large families, or the classic evil stepmother set-up with a spinning wheel.
A shape dived through the clouds, dark wings spanning out. At this distance, it matched the size of Giss’s hand. A thrill of excitement and fear hit. A dragon? She eyed it like a cat, never breaking contact with the soaring mass. It made loops, sometimes dipping and sometimes rising, as if playing. She doubted she could grab its attention from her position, so continued observing it. Giss spotted a greenish hue on its wings with one dive, the sun rays catching the bat-like fabric, and strained harder to establish the color of the dragon.
She got the absolute fright of her life when a heavy shift of air buffeted her from behind, followed by a shadow. In a panic, she scrambled away from the edge, in time to see a dragon strike the ground next to her, wings flared. It kept the wings unfurled and teeth showing as it scrutinized her. Gissandra, still in a state of shock and adrenaline, absorbed in the sight of the ten-foot-tall, mottled blue dragon.
“Well, well, well.” The dragon’s snout thrust forwards, nostrils flaring. The syllables escaped as a hiss. “Looks and smells like a princess.” Long, chipped talons dug into the ash.
Gissandra attempted to keep her voice steady. “That would be correct. I’m Gissandra Jael of the kingdom of Jaeland, ninth in line to the throne. And you are?”
“Your end. Little girls like you shouldn’t be roaming out here.” A blue, whiplash tail flicked in agi
tation. “I’ve never tasted princess meat before...”
“Oh.” Gissandra struggled to control her fear. “I want to volunteer to be a dragon’s princess, though. Maybe you shouldn’t eat me.”
The dragon, at first adopting a look of malicious glee, changed it to one of dumb astonishment, jaw dropping. “… What?”
“I want to pay a dragon to kidnap me. For the honor of my kingdom.”
The dragon whipped its long, serpentine neck backwards, regarding her with utter confusion. “Princesses don’t volunteer. Their families arrange it, or they get captured, screaming in their pathetic human fear. At least, my princess is like that.”
“I don’t think I need you to tell me what I’m not supposed to do,” Giss said, wearily. “Wait. You have a princess, and you were going to eat me?” She flinched when the dragon let out a deep bellow, the sound carrying off the cliffs and into the air. She risked a peek backwards, and saw the looping dragon suddenly freeze and hover mid-air, before making a bee-line for the ledge. Upwards, more shapes appeared, all responding to what must have been a dragon-call.
“Well. This should get interesting.” Giss folded her arms, moving more to the side by the trees so she wouldn’t get squashed.
“Do not escape! Or you will die!” The dragon spat at her. Giss had already decided she immensely disliked the mottled blue’s personality.
“Look, I’m just going over here so your friends don’t crush me when they land. That’s not a problem, right?”
The dragon glared at her in ugly suspicion as she walked slowly and deliberately to where plant life bloomed, and stood as regally as she could muster. It took some time before the rest of the dragons came down. Gissandra concealed her fear as best as she could. There were six dragons in total, decked out in various hues, sizes and shades. The biggest towered at fifteen foot. The smallest crouched at seven foot. Their scales shone iridescent colors in the sunlight, from blue to yellow, red and green.
The largest, a buttery yellow, almost golden shaded dragon, snapped at the blue one who had summoned them. “Why did you call, Balon? What is the issue?”
Balon lowered his gaze respectfully, before snapping back. “My sincerest apologies, Harkrul! But I found a princess wench in the wilds.”
Gissandra decided to interject, before Balon could tarnish her intentions. She didn’t trust him, and had every reason not to. “Hello!” She projected her voice, causing all the dragons who had not spotted her standing there, to rustle and glance in her direction. “I’m Gissandra Jael, of the kingdom of Jaeland, and I want to be kidnapped by a dragon and be their princess. I have some valuables for payment.”
Silence fell over the gathering. Some of them shuffled uncomfortably.
“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.
Romance: The College Bad Boy: A Young Adult Romance Page 70