imag ref
So here we are, the princess and I, in the middle of nowhere. A few hours ago, we killed a dragon. We didn't really know what to do with the body, and we started arguing about it. Finally, we took one shoulder and left the rest.
I felt particularly bad for an old horse we had to kill. It caught a broken leg on a dragonbone and couldn't be saved. At least we took the heart with us. The rest we burned.
We also had a scimitar made from the dragon's skull. I considered it, but then I left it behind, as I didn't like the thought of it's staring eyes.
We were curious to where it fell, and Kook, the troll we talked to earlier, led us to its head, glinting in the light of the setting sun.
The eyes he had driven home, piercing into our souls, looked straight into me, demanding I give him a hand.
The king's daughter and I stood patting the head and chatting for a while. Finally, we decided to tuck the head in the bag and eventually leave it behind. Personally, I would have burned it.
We made our way out, back to the main road. We stopped at a farm house to say goodbye to the farmer and to rest. He offered the princess and me a place to stay, but we declined, as we were getting in a hurry.
We left the bag behind.
A few hours later, we reached the crossroads where we broke up; we were going in separate directions.
I bid her farewell and she offered me the scabbard. I refused, as I needed a new one anyway, so she returned it to her belt.
We parted, but not forever.
See, I had an idea. Not one of my greatest ones, but it was a start.
To make a long story short, I set out to get a scabbard for that thing. I took Kook into my confidence and promised to tell him how to become the richest man in the land.
He got me the scabbard for a small price; nothing compared to how much I had to pay the blacksmith.
I returned to the king's daughter, and we met up a few days later.
I handed her the scabbard, decorated with precious jewels she had given me.
She looked at it, and then at me, her eyes full of fire.
She was going to kill me right here and now.
But she didn't. Instead, she offered me her hand, and I took it.
I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I do know this - the fire in her eyes was lit, and the fire was burning me like cold fire.
I liked it.
She smiled and stood up, so did I.
"You know I have to go back, right?"
I stared at her, nodded and listened further.
"My blood burns in me. It's all I ever felt. Even now, I can feel it grow cold. This is not who I want to be."
What did she mean?
"I want to be free, ride on my own terms. I want to see the world with my own eyes, look at it from my own perspective. A new perspective.
"I want this as much as I want to breathe.
"And I need you to help me and to follow me.
"Are you willing?"
We stood close, our arms crossed, our weapons next to us.
I looked at her, I looked in her eyes, and I knew I wanted nothing more than to follow her, to be by her side forever.
I nodded.
It was all I could do. Her eyes glinted with a fire that burned me, burned my soul. I hadn't felt like this for a long time, not since the day I outsmarted Kook and stole her. But that was different, this was intimate, passionate, fervent. I couldn't stop now. My pull towards her was stronger than ever.
She smiled.
"I thought you could. That's why I told you the truth, and asked you to follow me. You already know you have some magical power over me. I can't do it without you."
My intelligence was clear, my memory impeccable.
I knew this.
She smiled more widely.
"Feel free to call me 'the princess,' or 'My princess'. Or 'my liege,' or... whatever you want to call me. I don't mind."
That may have been why she said it; it sounded to me like a warning, a trap. But I couldn't back down here. I wasn't going to.
So, I just nodded like a fool.
"Good. We're starting now. The lands following us will be rich, and the lands we pass will be hungry. If you want to create a kingdom, let us do that. We'll start on those lands.
"Now go, I'm tired and hungry, and I want a lot of things... but it will have to wait. I have to do something first."
I nodded again.
"Looking for people who have a dragon's head?
This was a good start, I thought, but I still didn't dare to ask.
"If they happen to have a scabbard, a scimitar, and some jewels, there's no mistake they belong to you, my liege."
I was totally confused after that.
"Go to ask Kook. He's always in town. I'll catch up with you soon."
I nodded some more and she sped off. My mind turned to her. I caught her just before she disappeared in the night.
"Wait. Princess?"
She turned around to look at me - did she know it was me?
I couldn't read her expression.
She nodded and turned around. Her white-blond hair was still long enough to hang to her hips. She wore the same armor I had to wear, clean and without a single stain.
Her eyes and her smile were vibrant, but empty.
She was... happy.
I couldn't understand it. I was confused.
"It is good to see you, too, my liege. I will tell Kook to come to you."
I looked at her back, and then I walked off. I found a quiet place and waited for the princess.
I saw giants and trolls on the way, but I didn't mind. Kook showed up half an hour later.
"Princess sent me to follow you," I said.
"I know. I wanted to say hello. I take it you are my new laird?"
He was smiling. He was satisfied.
"I'm also looking for a dragon, if you know where he is."
I didn't expect anything, and he didn't let me down.
"Yeah, I took your princess to a lair, in the mountain range at the south.
"No one has been there for a while; nothing happens there anymore. But, there is enough treasure for you to conquer all the lands, and enough people that believe in her even now, when she has given them nothing but promises."
It was exactly what I needed to hear.
"How do you know all this?"
He laughed.
"I'm a troll. I know everything. 'Sides, I fell in love with the princess."
His eyes glinted, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"May I ask you to join us?" I asked.
He nodded and smiled.
I was happy. The troll was happy.
The princess was happy.
I was with the princess.
It was a good day.
We walked back to where I had been waiting.
I had no idea the princess was on her way to meet me, and she didn't know I was on my way to meet her. How was that possible? But that's life. We'll never understand each other, but there's magic in being with someone.
The princess and I had been looking at each other for a long time, and we were both partially successful. We conquered our destiny, and many kingdoms were ours.
I felt what she felt, felt her in my soul. Magic still lingered, and it was as powerful as ever.
"You wanted to see me?"
She emphasized the word.
I had asked Kook to look for a scabbard, the scimitar, and some jewels from the lair - apparently intact.
"Yes, you have to see this."
She had a scabbard.
She didn't need the jewels anymore.
She smiled. The fire in her soul was red as ever, but it was a good fire, a fire to love.
I couldn't focus on anything but her.
She told me her news.
I wasn't sure what she meant.
"I'm pregnant, my liege! We're expecting a child."
She began to cry, tears rolling through her eyes.
I took her hands and she hugged me.
"How... how long?" I asked, so confused.
I didn't know princesses got pregnant. I knew trolls got pregnant, and the princess was an elf. I know trolls carried elves, but this was unique.
"A week. We were so happy and we knew, we knew it was the right time."
"I don't know what to say. Why didn't you tell me?"
I hugged her tightly, not letting her go. I didn't like to let go.
I knew I was the first one to know this.
"I wanted it to be good news. I wanted you to know how good it is to have you here with me, the right moment having come to build our kingdom.
She got up and strode away from me, leaving the door open.
I followed her.
"What about the dragon? What news on that front?"
"In the cave where you found me, there's a dragon's head, a scimitar, and some jewels. You can take them. They belong to you."
I just looked at her. I was so confused. The princess walked out into the yard.
She picked up a rock.
"What are you doing?"
She didn't look at me.
"A tradition. We're going to build our house, a house for the humans, a house for our child. And we're going to do it together. We'll sit on a block, and build our house stepping on small, but meaningful stones."
It was a strange and beautiful custom.
"What are we going to call our child, if it is a girl?"
I looked at her. I wanted to know.
Her smile was radiant, her hair beautiful.
She knelt down, our eyes level.
I touched her stomach gently.
Her smile was still there, but her eyes were full of tears as she looked at me.
She nodded, and I kissed her belly. She laughed.
I smiled more than I had ever smiled before. Maybe I was going to be the happiest man in the world.
"What about Kook? You were always close. He'll not leave you.
She smiled.
She looked at the sky.
"I've already noticed there's a hole in the clouds today."
Suddenly, the sun shone in full force. I was shocked.
"He'll stay with us, my liege. Trolls are loyal creatures.
I just smiled. I was so happy. I wanted to kiss her, to hold her, to hug her, to forever be with her.
I wouldn't know how to let her go.
She clenched the rock, waiting for when I would start the stone.
"C'mon. Let's begin.
She began to step on it starting off the path.
We walked down, and I realized we had been sitting on a pretty little cloud for a while. We couldn't reach it anymore.
I started to feel sad as we couldn't stay together.
She saw my expression.
"We're going to keep trying, my liege. It's just a stone - maybe a little cloud. You're going to be with me; I'll be here. "
I wanted to tell her that she meant more than stones and clouds. That I'd try to believe that.
I smiled. She smiled. She still loved me.
The sun was setting.
We were so happy.
My liege and my princess were going to be parents!