The dragon returned the prince to the very spot they had met, smiled, and left him. Left without speaking a word. Nothing. The prince walked around in the garden awhile, dazed, confused, awash with feelings of guilt and shame. Oblivious to the beauty around him. Nothing was beautiful now. Nothing mattered. He had betrayed his father. His people. His kingdom. For the forst time in the young prince's life, he had met the enemy and failed to defeat him. What was worse, he didn't even try. What was even worse than that, was that he had ridden with the enemy. And enjoyed it. That night, in his tower, the prince was a wreck. He couldn't sleep. He felt awful. Terrible. Sick. Dead. He swore to himself that he would never do it again. That, if he met the dragon again, he would not hesitate to draw his sword and slay it. He hated the dragon. Hated it for destoying his people, hated it for causing him to betray all that he stood for and believed in. The prince kept himself busy for weeks building a new tower. He avoided the gardens, forsaking his walks for his work. He built more castles and fortresses. Fortified his kingdom. He had his archers build more bows, his smiths forge more armor and swords, his carpenters build more catpults. He did whatever he could to allay the guilt and shame he felt from his betrayal. Gradually the prince began to feel better about himself. He resumed his walks in the garden, conscious of his surroundings and the possibility that the dragon could be behind the azaleas. He became more confident. Sometimes he would spend long hours alone in the garden. Then, one day, he heard that familiar voice: "Hey prince" whispered the dragon. Instantly memories of sailing over clouds and oceans and hills and valleys flooded the prince's mind. The wind rushing through his hair. The freedom! The rush! His heart pounded in his chest. His palms were sweaty. He swallowed hard. He shut his eyes. Clenched his fists. And he got on. Sometimes the prince would go weeks, maybe even months, without riding the dragon. But he would always go back. Time after time. He would reason within himself: "It's not hurting anyone." But he knew it was wrong. One day as he was brushing his beard in the mirror, he noticed that his hands were beginning to turn scaley. This alarmed him at first, but he dismissed it. He started wearing gloves when he went out. On another occassion, he thought he felt ridges on his back. "Oh well," he thought, "it's just part of the price you gotta pay. It's worth it." He kept his heavy cloak on most of the time. He quit carrying his sword when he went out. Winter came and went. Spring was here again and everything was full of life. Birds sung. Flowers bloomed. Bees buzzed, butterflies flitted. The prince was in a hurry to get rid of his knights. They used to spend so much time together. But the prince was thinking of soaring. High above this castle, these hills of green grass, these beautiful flowers and trees. He cut thier meeting short and rushed to the garden, searching for the dragon. Finally found him. Jumped on. The dragon smiled, "Let's go!" he said. Up, up they went. Just like every time before. Higher. Farther. Longer each time. But this time was different. The dragon let out a small, evil little laugh. Then a deafening scream. He dove, heading for the royal village. He spewed fire. He devoured little children. Cut women in half with one swish of his razor sharp tail. Burnt churches and houses. Smoke filled the sky and it grew dark. People ran and screamed. Terror was everywhere. The prince could do nothing but hold on. He turned his head and tried not to see what was going on, but there was nowhere that he could look where there wasn't any destruction. Then it was over just like that. The dragon returned him to the very spot they had first met, smiled, and left just like every time before. The prince felt sick. His head swooned. He felt like his insides were being squished and cut into pieces. Daggers pierced his heart. He vomited. Beads of cold sweat dripped from every pore in his skin. To be continued... Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com |
