Stephens Story Ch 02 Dragon

Stephen's Stories 2. The Dragon Queen

Molly and Stephen and their story-telling were introduced in "The Professor series," but they continued to write stories and share them with one another. Stephen's stories will appear in the Romance category. Molly's stories continue the Dominance/Submission theme of the original series and will appear under BDSM.

Molly said over dinner, "I believe it's your turn for a story."

"What kind of a story would you like?"

"I told about my White Knight. How about a dragon?"

Part I. The Dragon

Rachel set off from her father's castle attended by two ladies, her groom, and two armed escorts. The countryside was peaceful, but there had been rumors of bandits, so when she decided to visit the Sunday market, her father insisted on this protection. It was not enough. Half-way to the market, they were set upon by a score of brigands. The knights tried to cover the escape of the women, but they were quickly overcome. One was killed; the other left unconscious on the road. The groom was knocked off his mount.

After the bandits had stolen anything of value, the leader took the women as well. Less than a half-hour after the ambush, the outlaws, the women, and all the horses had disappeared into the forest.

Rachel was helpless. The reins of her horse were held by a bandit and she could only cling to her saddle as they rode endlessly for days into lands she had never seen. Each night, she and her ladies were fed with scarcely a word, then bound and left to sleep under an awning. Her Nana suffered the most. She had spent her life in the court and her aging joints were not used to sleeping on hard ground. Christiana was a childhood friend about Rachel's age of nineteen. Rachel felt sorry for her friends but was also glad of their company in this trial.

Each morning they resumed the journey. Twice the robbers stopped travelers and took their gold and jewels. The second time they added another young woman, Louise, to their train. Rachel tried to speak with her but had difficulty understanding her dialect. Louise was beautiful, but feisty. Three other young women, two teenagers and their chaperone, by the looks of it, were captured the next day. The exhausting march continued until Rachel stopped counting the days. They eventually passed through the wilderness and came to a castle. She knew there was no way her father could track her to this place. It was equally unlikely that her captors would bother to arrange a ransom from so far away. What was to be her fate?

Rachel and the other five captives were led first to a tower chamber, where they were allowed to rest on beds made from bundles of straw. The door was strongly built and securely locked with only a small window to communicate to the staircase. A servant - another young woman - brought them food, after which they quickly fell asleep.

In the morning, servants bought food and water for the women to clean themselves. They were spoken to in a strange language. Their torn and dirty clothes were taken away and they were given simple garments to wear, similar to those of the servants. The six were placed in chains and led into the palace before a king and queen on their thrones. Three beautiful young women, also in chains, stood nearby available to serve, while a number of men passed in and out. The king ignored them. It was the queen who seemed to have an eye for the girls and it was she who examined her new slaves closely, gave some instructions to the guards, and sent them away. Rachel, Christiana, and Louise, found themselves in a serving area where they were put to work with other slaves. She never saw Nana again.

That night, Rachel had a strange dream. She was at home with Gogo, her childhood name for her governess, who was singing to her. Upon awaking, many memories played out in her mind. Nana had been her wet nurse and continued to look after her as she grew up; but before Nana the older woman had been in charge of the nursery. Rachel had loved Gogo, but she had died many years before. She had a strange accent and had often spoken to the children in her own tongue, telling her stories. One, in particular, had made a deep impression because Gogo had told it with such emotion. In a peaceful land far away, there appeared a dragon. Every now and then, the dragon would eat a young woman. The people became terrified and many girls fled the kingdom or were sent away. Rachel knew there was much more to the story, but she had the idea that Gogo was one of those refugees and that was how she had come to her father's castle.

As she tried to recall Gogo's stories and songs, it occurred to Rachel that she had spoken the same language as the kingdom where she now found herself. That was what had brought back her dream. From then on, she paid close attention to conversations around her and soon began to understand bits of the language.

In the second week, Rachel was sent to bring a tray of fruit to the queen in her chamber. She saw Louise sitting at the queen's feet. Rachel handed the tray to Louise and the queen ordered Louise to feed her by hand. Louise didn't understand and held out the tray. The queen repeated her orders angrily at her. When Louise did not comply, the queen struck her. Hatred flared in Louise's face.

Rachel saw danger and tried to calm the situation. "Louise, she wants you to feed her. Hand her a slice of orange." Too slowly, and with a look of disgust, Louise picked up a slice of fruit and offered it to the queen's mouth. The queen shouted another order and gestured to Louise to put down the tray. A guard stepped into the room and led Louise away.

In a moment the queen had regained her composure and told Rachel to come closer. She looked Rachel over and nodded approval. "What is your name?"

"Rachel, Mistress."

"You may take the place of that rude one."

She wasn't rude

. . . But Rachel knew better than to contradict the queen. From then on, Rachel became one of the queen's attendants. She never saw Louise again.

On most days, she washed and dressed herself in servants' clothes, was placed in light chains, and went to the queen's chambers. There were usually four attendants, all beautiful young women. If only one or two were needed, the others simply had their chains attached to a post or to the wall, to be available if called upon.

One day the queen was sitting audience with two attendants at her side. Rachel and another slave sat off to the side, chained in place as gentlemen entered and left with business. A few of the courtiers lingered along the wall. One of the men stood beside her but facing the queen. Nonetheless he spoke quietly with her. He looked strong and handsome and his voice was kind. His name was Rodrigo and he asked after her background and health.

Rachel noticed that Rodrigo was frequently in the palace and he seemed to seek her out daily, if only to exchange a smile or surreptitious greeting when she was not with the queen. If the queen noticed, she did not appear to mind.

On another day, Rachel had some rare moments to herself. She had not been called to the queen that day or given other duties. The weather was good and her service had been rewarded with a couple hours of idle time in the courtyard. Rodrigo approached and sat on a step near her.

This was the first time she had had a chance to converse freely with a native. After exchanging pleasantries, she asked where she was and why only women and no males slaves were bring brought into the kingdom.

Rodrigo got a very uncomfortable look on his face.

"You can't tell me? . . . Or you don't want to."

He struggled with words. "The queen likes to surround herself with the most beautiful women she can find. Certainly you are the most beautiful of them all."

Rachel watched him closely. "What are you not telling me? Why are we slaves in chains and not honored ladies of the kingdom?"

Rodrigo fidgeted. "The king and queen care for her people very much."

"When I was a child, my governess was from this land. She told me stories."

"What sort of stories?"

"About a dragon who ate people."

Rodrigo looked at his feet. "It sounds like a silly wives' tale."

"She fled from here to escape the dragon." Rachel wasn't quite sure if that was true, but wanted to push him.

Rodrigo didn't respond.

"It's true, isn't it?"

He looked her briefly in the eyes, but said nothing.

Quickly Rachel put it together. "So, women are kidnapped and brought here to be fed to the dragon so that no more of the king's subjects have to die. Is that it?"

Now fear showed on Rodrigo's face.

"And my Nana who came with me, and Louise have already been sacrificed?"

He nodded. "Older ones may be sent ot eh fields."

"And how soon will I suffer that same fate?"

"The queen decides. Sometimes she keeps her favorites around. When new women arrive, she keeps the younger and prettier ones. But if they are stubborn, or resist . . ."

"How often are they sacrificed?"

"At the new moon."

Rachel thought about that. She had now been at the palace four months. Four women had been given to the dragon.

A voice called Rodrigo back to the castle.

Rachel realized that her best chance of survival was to please the queen. To please the queen and not grow old or lose her beauty. She did not dare tell the story to anyone, not even Christiana. She sensed that would only cause the queen have her killed and probably Rodrigo, also. He was the only person with whom she could share her fears, and they dared not speak of them, even to one another.

Another four months went by. Rachel now spent every day with the queen and the serving girls seemed harried. She realized that was because there were fewer of them. One day as she sat with the queen, two guards entered, escorting three women - newly arrived slaves. They had been cleaned up and looked shocked and bewildered in their chains. Rachel could not help noticing that they were young and stunningly beautiful. They walked erect, with pride. Clearly, they were not peasants. Rachel realized that must have been how she had looked when she had first come to the castle.

As it happened, Christiana brought in a tray of meats at that moment. Fearfully, Rachel watched the queen inspect the new slaves with her eyes. Then she spoke quietly with the guards. One of them gestured to the girls to follow him out of the hall. The other took Christiana by the arm and escorted her out. Rachel's heart sank. It was a week until the new moon - she now tracked it assiduously. Clearly Christiana had been replaced and was to be the next victim. Within a couple of days, two of the new girls were serving the queen.

Two days later Rachel had a few moments to speak with Rodrigo and share her suspicions. He promised to investigate. When she next saw him, he confirmed the worst. "There is a cell where they keep the next offering. Christiana is there and no one is allowed to speak with her. There is a guard at the door at all times."

Rodrigo had not given up. On the evening of the full moon, he took a friend, Junot, and waited outside the castle until Christiana was brought by four soldiers. Her arms were bound tightly behind her back. Rodrigo and Junot followed quietly behind as the guards took Christiana into the woods about a mile from the castle. A blacksmith from the castle was squatting next to a small stone hut with the embers of a fire. He wore a mask over his face. The soldiers chained Christiana to a rocky outcrop and held her down as the blacksmith lifted a glowing iron from the fire and pressed the brand against her thigh. She screamed and the scent of burning flesh wafted across the clearing. Quickly the blacksmith and most of the soldiers headed back to the castle. Two remained on guard.

For hours, Christiana sat shivering and sobbing on the rock. Having failed to prevent these preliminaries, Rodrigo hoped to intercept and slay the monster when it arrived.

Eventually there came the footstep of more soldiers. As Rodrigo watched, six soldiers walked close to where they lay hidden, escorting the queen herself. She looked to see that the sacrifice was in place and then waved all the soldiers off as she shut herself in the hut. Nothing happened until they were well out of hearing. Then the queen emerged naked. She sniffed the air. Standing before her captive the queen raised her arms. Before their eyes, she grew in size and over several minutes transformed into a hideous dragon. Christiana shrieked. They could hear the dragon sniffing the air, following the scent of burned flesh to where her branded victim sat helpless.

Shaking off his astonishment, Rodrigo signaled to Junot that he would circle around and they would attack the dragon from both sides at once. But Junot was too impatient. Before Rodrigo was in position, Junot stepped from the trees and thrust his sword at the breast of the dragon. It glanced off her scales with leaving a scratch. With one irritated swipe, the dragon knocked Junto down. She killed him with a single bite to the head and then scanned the clearing. Rodrigo, shrank into the shadows behind the shelter of a boulder uncertain how to proceed. When he heard the dragon again, he looked up in time to see her sinking her teeth into the sacrificial maiden.

For the next half hour, Rodrigo watched in horror as the dragon consumed the girl. Sated, it transformed back into the queen who once again closed herself in the hut. At the first rays of dawn, the escort of soldiers returned to take the queen back to the palace.

Completely defeated, Rodrigo waited a safe interval and returned home.

When Rachel saw Rodrigo's body language, she knew immediately the worst had happened; however, it was several days before he confirmed it. He spared her the details, but simply stated that Christiana had been slain by the dragon along with his friend. As she cried in his arms, he swore this would not happen to her.

"Haven't other men tried to kill it?" she asked.

"If so, they tried and died."

"Rodrigo, I don't want you to die out there."

He went on his knees. "Rachel, I swear my undying love to you. I would rather die saving you than live knowing I did not make the effort."

She raised him off her knees. "Then I pledge you my love. She kissed him.

Just then the door opened and the queen walked in with her retinue. Rodrigo stepped back as the queen looked at them with suspicion on her face. From then on, Rachel felt as though she were always under the scrutiny of the queen. Although Rodrigo occasionally walked by, neither dared to exchange a glance and she was constantly expecting the worst. Rodrigo disappeared. After that there was neither sight of him nor mention of his name.

Under these strains, Rachel broke down. The queen found her sobbing to herself one day. She summoned the guards. "You have served me well, but I have no place for a woman who cannot control her emotions." Then she turned her back. The guard took her down the stairs to the dungeon. She did not attempt to resist. He opened the door to a small cell with a narrow, barred window high on the wall, chained her to the wall, and closed the door. From then on, she was alone. A servant regularly brought food and water, but no one spoke to her. She mentally counted the days to when she expected the next new moon.

The evening came when her door opened, her arms were bound behind her, and four guards escorted her out beyond the palace walls. They walked a long way through the woods in silence. Eventually the came to a clearing where she saw a small hut. A man was starting a fire off to the side. The soldiers chained her to a rock. Two of the guards left. The other two engaged in an argument with the blacksmith, who wore a mask. "The fire is not hot enough," he said, as he threw more wood on the fire. "Perhaps another twenty minutes. You should go now before she shows up."

For a while, the guards paced nervously, looking up the trail from which they had come. Eventually he persuaded them to leave. "I can handle this by myself."

One of the men insisted on staying behind, eager to see another woman branded. The blacksmith lured him into the edge of the woods and slew him with his sword.

Twenty minutes later, the blacksmith pulled a red-hot iron from the embers. On a rocky ledge twenty feet from where Rachel was chained, was the carcass of a small dead pig. He plunged the brand into the pig and raised the smell of burning flesh. Then he disappeared into the shadows.

Soon other soldiers arrived escorting the queen. She spotted Rachel and looked around. No one else was present. She sniffed the air and nodded. As she moved into the hut and closed the door, the soldiers departed.

A half hour passed before the door opened from her shelter and the queen emerged, naked. She sniffed the air and detected the scent of burned flesh. Addressing Rachel on the rock, she said, "It is a pity. I liked you and had hoped to keep you; but somehow it seems you have discovered my secret." She raised her arms in the air. As she was about to trandform, an arrow struck her chest. She gasped with surprise and stepped back. She put her arms in the air again and was struck by a second arrow. As she staggered back. Rodrigo entered the clearing.

"Witch!" he cried.

She put her arms up a third time and began to grow. Her head distorted with long jaws and sharp teeth. She leaned over to the ground and went down on all fours. As a tail grew, her skin became covered with impervious scales. With a snarl and gnashing of teeth, she chased Rodrigo around and out of the clearing. When he had fled, she began sniffing the air. She began staggering toward the pig, bleeding out her mouth and nostrils.

Rodrigo appeared quietly behind Rachel, signaled for her to be silent and freed her from her bonds.

As the dragon sank her teeth into the pig flesh, she gave a howl at the betrayal. It was a woman's flesh she needed, but she could not find it. Frantically, she smelled for Rachel and searched blindly about the clearing, but time and again, her nose led her back to the pig. Watching from a safe distance now, Rodrigo and Rachel observed the blind and frustrated dragon grow weaker and more desperate.

As the first light of dawn appeared, the dragon began to resume the form of the mortally wounded queen. Rachel could stand it no longer. She drew Rodrigo's sword from his sheath and advanced on the dragon. As the scales disappeared, Rachel thrust again and again into the now mortal skin. Rodrigo threw his cloak over her and pulled her forcibly away. He led her back to their hiding place in the woods.

When the soldiers returned they were astonished to find the queen lying dead. She still had a tail and scales on the lower part of her body and two arrows in her breast. They left her and fled to the palace.

The court was thrown into confusion. The queen was dead, but rumors swirled that the dragon was also. The servants and soldiers did not know whether to expect a backlash of punishment or a celebration. Toward the end of the day, the king made an appearance. He looked as though a great weight had been thrown from his shoulders. Rodrigo and Rachel slipped back into the palace in darkness. Although several soldiers looked at her curiously, none questioned either of them about that night.

The king announced a period morning for the queen. In respect of her memory, he freed all the servants in the castle. Never again, he declared, would his soldiers hunt for slaves, and all people in his kingdom would be free. Rachel was the first to descend into the servant tower to unlock the chains.

After marrying Rodrigo, she became a respected lady in the kingdom. But never again did she or Rodrigo revisit the place where she was almost eaten by a dragon.

"I love it, Molly exclaimed when Stephen had finished. It's like a fairy tale.