The Magick of the Dragon Princess - Chapter 2

⬆️⬆️***Illustration Above Is Mine and was done after highschool***⬆️⬆️

~Please DO NOT copy my writings or artwork. Thank you.

Chapter Two: A Tower of Tears

      When I awoke from my sleep, I was wishing that this life of mine was all just a bad dream. Hoping that I was going to wake-up in a nice soft bed with my parents beside me. Sadly, I was still in my freezing tower living a horrible life as a prisoner to the kingdom of Basiliskah. Ever since I was very small, I have always been in this place. And since then I've often wondered, “will I live this way for the rest of my life?" What seemed like minutes, was hours, I could tell by the position of the sun, and it was time for me to be let out. So, that I could get my table scraps and explore the castle. I waited for the guards to unlock the door.

     Soon after one hour then became two, I started to shout repeatedly, “Guards let me out!” Thirty minutes past, and it was already almost three o'clock. I shouted ever louder and cursed a couple of them, but still no one came. Sitting on the cold stone floor, I started to think about my past and how I could tell time just by looking at the position of the sun. Knowing what season, just by the feeling of the weather changes. I even counted each day of every year I've been stuck here. Yes, I may have borrowed a couple of books from the eerie bookstore down the street.
Just to learn English and math, but I did give them back. I've been here more or less for four-thousand seven-hundred and forty-eight days. My point is the guards have never done this before. It soon became twilight, and I heard slow footsteps coming up to my tower. The door opened, and it was King Scorp himself. He started to pull out his sword, toying with it, as if he was going to lunge it at me. I was scared, hungry and weak, I didn't know what to do. Then something caught the corner of my eye, it was Mr. Whisk.

    The mouse that I shared my table scraps with. The king said with a weird smirk, “You think you're so special, huh?” I stared at the stone floor while he screamed nonsense at me. He smelt of a strong ale, and looked like he had been in a bad fight. Mr. Whisk clutched my tail. I pulled his little body up into my claws and put him in my patchwork pocket. Still shouting things that didn't make any sense, waving his sword every which a way. Before I knew it King Scorp was at my level on the floor and shaking me.
I tried to get away, but my body was so tired I couldn't. He shouted, “Are you listening to me at all beast!” The king saw Mr. Whisk in my pocket, and immediately grabbed him. I tried to snatch him back, but he threw me to the hard floor. He started to laugh and say, “You do know that these things carry diseases, right?” Holding the mouse in his hands I said, “Please don't hurt him, he's one of my best friends here in this tower.” “Really?”
Said King Scorp. Mr. Whisk was trembling in his fests, before I knew it Scorp had squeezed my friend almost to death. “How many other animals are you hiding in this tower?” Everything was spinning inside my head, all I could concentrate on was Mr. Whisk. Half alive he said with a little voice, “Watch over my wife and kids.” I picked up the poor thing and whispered in his tiny ear, “I will.” Soon after that, he died.

      As I looked up, the king was destroying all my decorations and all the homes of the animals that made their nests in my tower. Including slaughtering all the creatures that were asleep in them. Some tried to fight back, but none could defeat the drunken ruler. With one final blow, he killed the last of the animals. Feathers and blood were everywhere, and tiny little corpses stained the stone floors. Truly this wasn't happening. Crying couldn't make my friends come back. As Scorp was walking out my door he said under his breath. "What a freak.”

     Something in my mind went off when he said those words. Growling fiercely. I pounced on the evil king and said, “no one calls me a freak, not even you!" Hitting him repeatedly, I finally took my claws and scratched his face, leaving four bloody marks between his forehead and his lips. I was shocked at what I did to Scorp, and scared to. He picked himself up and ran out the door and locked it. Then he yelled, “Don't even think about getting food or water tomorrow or the next day girly!”
Falling back down on the stone floor, crying myself to the point I couldn't cry anymore. My tears almost frozen to my face, cause of the chill of the wind blowing in. I noticed that the only animals that were left were Mr. Whisk's wife and three kids', I asked them, “how much did you see?” They replied, “more than enough. Suddenly, I heard somebody weeping. I went over to look, it seemed like it was coming from an owls' nest. I then found a small white horned owl, he asked me, “where's my mama and papa?"

      Looking over at all the tiny animal bodies, I spotted the creatures parents. Quickly, I turned my head back. Staring at all the lifeless remains, it was painfully hard to look at all what was on the floor and the walls. I then heard another tiny voice, it was coming from the corner on the floor. I found two dead bats hovering over their baby that was still alive. The small creature kept on saying, “mama, daddy, wake up, wake up!”

      The little creature looked up at me and said, “why won't they wake up?” I replied in tears to both creatures, “they're in a better place now.” I immediately grabbed my needles and thread, and leftover fabric from under a block of stone I kept hidden away. I made three heart shaped pillows stuffed with hay, and three small blankets for the surviving animals. Kissing them good night, and promised all of them. “Come snow or high floods I know things will be better tomorrow.”

©2024 Julianne A.