The Dragon at the base of the tower jostles her teacup. Her last charge had been rescued days ago by a woman in a velvet cloak and long, sparking fingertips. She huffs. The tower has been too quiet since the girl left.
They used to have tea in the afternoons, sitting in the shade of the tower when the weather was warm. It got terribly boring to wait around all day in a tiny little tower like this one after all, and The Dragon was determined to make sure her guests were well taken care of
during their stay in her care.
It still didn’t stop them from leaving.
What good of a dragon is she, who can’t even keep a single princess in a tower?
She sets her cup down with a clack. A chip flies from the saucer. What kind of dragon spends her afternoons playing with little floral teacups? She should be out ravaging villages and stealing livestock and looking for a new princess to capture!
The Dragon stretches her wings and leaps to the tower window. Was she unhappy here, the Princess? She had really tried to make it nice for her. The walls are draped in blue and green cloth - All types of silks and satins with such lovely textures. The bed linens are rumpled and messy, like The Princess was in a hurry to leave and didn’t think to tidy up. The whole room is unkempt, dishes still sit on the table by the window, dresses and shoes are strewn about the floor. It was not the largest room, but it was big enough to fit The Dragon, so The Princess surely had enough space to move about. Why would anyone want to leave?
To The Dragon, it was perfect. Any reasonable princess would happily stay here. Maybe it was the clothes she didn’t like. She picks up a dress from the pile on the floor. The purple fabric shimmered in the light. How could anyone just leave a dress like this on the floor? It will get wrinkled!She goes to hang it.
The Dragon sticks her horned head into the wardrobe. The coat hangers clang together, knocking dresses and jackets of all colors and fabrics to the floor. A cap gets tangled between her horns, the ribbons falling into The Dragon’s eyes. She tries to untangle herself, to pull her
head from the wardrobe, but the silky fabric has tangled her firmly inside. More dresses go flying to the floor. Oh, The Princess left a mess in this tower, anything could stain the fabrics. They will get
dirty, or stepped on, or torn, or—
The Dragon jerks her head from the wardrobe with a long riiiip. She stumbles backwards, tripping over the table and sending the dishes clattering to the floor.
“Hello?” It comes again from outside the tower. “Is there someone up there?”
The Dragon sticks her head out the window, still draped in fabric and lace and with a torn princess cap between her horns.
The stranger yelps, ”Oh, pardon me! Are you the princess of this tower?”
The Dragon snorts and blows a bit of smoke. Her? The princess? What was this stranger thinking?
But, she supposes, it would be nice to not have to worry about finding a new one, or worrying over what they would like to wear, or if they would keep the tower clean. She glances back into The Princess’s room. It does need a bit of tidying...
The Dragon straightens the princess cap between her horns, tucks the ribbons and lace away from her eyes, and turns back to the window.
She snaps her jaw shut and nods. Yes. She is the princess of this tower.
“Are you in need of any rescuing, Princess?”
A puff of smoke and a grunt. No. Surely she is not.
“Oh. Well.” They start. “Are you in need of any company then? It’s been quite a long journey, and my legs could use a rest. And maybe a drink if its not too much trouble, miss!”
The Dragon, always the hostess, shuffles out the window and lands at the base of the tower next to the stranger. She starts a fire and puts her kettle on. Gingerly picks up her teacup from earlier, running a claw over the slight chip in the porcelain.
The stranger is clothed in leather armor, with soft but versatile linens underneath. A simple broadsword is sheathed at their hip. The Dragon could appreciate a practical fashion sense. She huffs her approval.
The stranger, The Knight, sets their things in the grass beside the fire and begins to tell the story of how they got sent on this journey, to find a princess and rescue them.
“I’m not as interested in the princess part, I suppose. But it’s nice to be able to protect people.”
The Dragon pours them a cup of tea.
“Thank you, miss. Say, more people will come this way looking for a princess to rescue and I'd say it’s not very befitting of a princess to have to turn all those folks away!” They look at her. “Are you in need of a doorman? I could save you the trouble of having to shoo away all those pesky potential suitors.”
The Princess, draped in her fine fabrics and with a cap between her horns, tenderly picks up her little floral teacup in her claws and clinks her cup against The Knight’s. She would like that very much.