Decay and Rebirth of Fire

I haven't ever really ever seen a answer (at least one that think makes since or have found satisfactory) to why a maiden gets taken into the lair of a fire breathing dragon. So I made my own reason.

Many often wonder, but have never gotten an answer to one question. How does a princess end up stuck in a place under the guard of a dragon?

    Has she just one day entered the royal gardens and get snatched as she smells the flowers?

    Is it, she’s just tired of waiting for some prince to just show up and would much rather have a knight rescue her?

    Or something else entirely, a reason all her own that leads to finding the beast and its lair?

    Well, that is what is why the beautiful princess ends up as she does. She grew bored more and more every day that she sat at the window, watching the world outside. Waiting for anyone to show up and marry her. For her to see the what lay outside the wall that surrounded the castle. To view more than pictures in a book, even if for a little while.

She packs a bag of the needed essentials for that of a princess and waits for night. Dressed in servant's clothing with a lady in waiting, she escapes the castle. (This is not a ladylike thing to do and almost feels guilty leaving her common attire, but anything to truly see what is out there.)

Hurrying into the nearby forest, they walk all night to get as far from there and to the center of the trees. For its rumored that there is a dragon that lives in a cave among the trees and will take any and all of great value to his lair, hoping to come across a lost fair maiden to take as the ultimate prize. It was a perfect place to hide someone.

When the sun rises and they can walk no more, they lay in the grass under a large pine to sleep. But after a short rest, are woken to the hot air that stinks of sulfur and a larger shadow that darkens the one already left by the tree. Above them sits a large dragon; soft, golden eyes watching the sleeping woman with curiosity as to why they are there. It sits silently by their tree, trying not to waken them.

The lady in wait, however, only sees a fire red monster a breath away from where she lay, running back  to the castle, leaving the princess alone to fend off the monster. Not even caring where she goes as she screams through the trees.

The princess only stares back, wait for something, anything to happen. And is truly surprised when it opens its gaping jaws to speak to her. Perfect speech as it asks, “Human, what do you desire by entering this far into the forest? You do not smell like the others that have entered this place before.”

“I search for a dragon that lives in the forest and his lair.” putting on a brave face for what it may do.

“Then you are braver or more stupid than many who wander into this land.”

“'It 'twas only to see if it was true.”

“What a foolish young woman. Then I must show you, for you will never come back.” grabbing the princess and flying above the trees.

    They glide over a sea of green, heading deeper and farther into the unknown, at least for the princess. At an old, twisted tree, with the body of an oak and the branches of a willow, the dragon lands, standing on its hind legs as it still clutches his willing victim in its claws. A breath away from the creature shows a cave among the trees, where he enters the twisting tunnels that wind deep into the ground.

At last, at the end of this lays its den. An enormous dome filled with treasure from all over that shines off the light from a circle of fire above their heads that burns on the rock walls. The only other decorations in it's lair is an odd piece of furniture and one that is useless for a dragon. In the back of the cave sits a bed mat, as fluffed as a goose down pillow, big enough that it might have served as a head pillow for a enormous beast. This is where she was dropped, landing in the soft cushion in the most undignified manner, like an old toy abandoned on the ground.

“You have found my lair as you wished. Now you are never to leave or never come back. Those are your choices and the only ways to choose.” lowering its head to look at her, as it was a large animal compared to the princess, her standing up eye to eye with its lizard pupils.

She looks around the treasure filled home and keeps turning to look again and again at the ring of fire. True wonder of all that could be in just this room. Her only question when she looks back at the waiting monster is, “Can I walk out of the cave, even if it's with you, to see the trees?”

And begins a strange love story, with a princess and a dragon.

Months pass from warmer to cooler days. The girl and monster go on walks on most days it is nice enough to leave the cave. Her learning of forest life, plants and animals only before seen in books. And the dragon, hearing stories and myths of humans read to him by the girl in the books he has collected. The days pass peacefully and in an ever growing bond.

All seemed like a fairy tale, even when they fell in love. It was of no surprise to either, fully affirmed with the princess when going one summer night in a field of glowing moths. As they lay there she says, “I love this almost as much as you.”

The dragon smiles as best a dragon can and answers with, “I must then say to you, there is no comparison for mine of you.”, and both continued to watch the stars in the clear sky, everything right in the world.

But with a new spring and leaves growing on the trees, a knight would come and change the princess’s life again.

When the princess’s lady in wait returned from the escape in the woods with a story of the girl’s wanting to see the world and a dragon, the king sent many soldiers to find her in the forest from where she was taken.

But alas, the forest was large and many got lost and those who returned unwilling to go back in, fear of how strange the life in the trees were.

Slowly the search stopped and all of the kingdom stopped thinking she would ever return alive, many believing she was consumed long ago by the beast.                    

All but one man, a knight who knew the woods better than most and longed for the king’s favor. Willing to wait for a warmer season to return to the forest. If not come back with the princess, then the blood and fangs of the monster who killed her.

    Many days of hard riding and careful tracking leads him to a cave. A cave deep in the forest and smelled of a dragon’s lair.

The princess was inside, napping after being taken to a hill that had the sweetest fruit ever tasted. As she slept, her love had sneaked out to surprise her with a new dress she had been asking for from magical silk spinners who made fabric in this area of the woods.

She is woken as a human hand touches her, a man’s face telling her to get out of here, she was safe from the dragon now. Looking at the man who had entered while she was asleep, tells him the dragon will be back soon and not to bother. And when she was about to tell him he is her lover, said dragon returns.

The dragon sees the knight by her while she rests, baring teeth and claws, knowing what he wants. Breathing fire at the intruder when he pulls out his sword. The knight dodges the flame and charges the dragon when he  hears a scream.

They fight a deadly battle among the treasure horde. Both use their all to protect the princess from each other. But it is over quickly when the knight stabs the dragon’s eye as he tries to grab the knight with his teeth. He roars in pain and left half blind. While trying to get his balance and wipe the blood from his eye, feels a sharp pain grow in his chest. He gasps as he falls on his treasure pile. An eye on his real prize as she watches in horror of what is happening.        

He dies, jaw wide open when a last gasp escapes in a soft wind of sulfur.

She is left numb, sitting still in disbelief of the murder witnessed, only staring until the slayer drops his sword. Snapping her from her daze and into action.

Running to his corpse, she wraps her arms around his face. Not caring if she ruins an already falling apart dress. A tear falls down her face and on to his scales. Now, as beautiful and as useless as diamonds in bringing him back.

But she is not left to mourn long.

The murderer pulls her away from the body and out of the cave. The entire time he drags her to the waiting horse, she is hitting and trying to pull away. Because maybe if  she can escape, could reach a dagger and....

They both are on the horse and being taken farther and farther away from her home. The entire time, she mourns her lost love. No will to return home, but despises the fact they are returning to from which she escaped.

*******

The celebration is a large affair. All who come to greet the returned princess feast on the bounty of food for the reunion of the royal family. The one who has come back, however, watches the celebration from afar. This place no longer home. The very noise making her remember this was no longer forest life, making her want to leave.

 And that is just what she did, promising to never return to this life she had left behind. After leaving the dining hall where everyone else still partied, she leaves a note explaining that she was not returning and the reason why, that she was going back to her real home. This was not the life she could live if she could not be where her beloved was and wasn’t properly mourned.

It was left on a pillow for servants to find in the morning, going to find clothes that would allow her to again get out of the castle. Again in a servant's set of clothes, this time ones from the  kitchen. The guards paying no attention to her once she tells them she is to pick herbs that must be picked by the moonlight.

Her feet do not stop until she has mounted a horse, the fastest one in the stables, and on out of a back entrance for the gardeners. Riding into the darkness to back to the cave that is her home and holding the body of her lover. The journey last days and the horse is almost run to death by her fear of being caught again by a knight.

But no one comes and  nothing stops her going back. And when she enters the still lit cave, the place seems untouched. Nothing seems moved or missing, all but one thing gone. Nothing of the dragon’s body remains, no trace or clue to where the corpse may have gone.

Why would anyone move a body, let alone a dragon’s from a cave?

And how would it be possible without disturbing any of the piles of treasure?

It had to be somewhere, it couldn’t have been that easy to hide a body that big...

A noise comes out of a space in the back of the cavern when she turns to leave and investigate. Out of the blanket she used to sleep under on the bed mat pops a set of large eyes on a small body that watch the human who had entered this place. A spitting image of the dragon who lived here before it; from the golden eyes who would watch everything in a masked light of wonder, to the fire red scales that shined like  a ruby under the fire ring that lit the room.

She runs to the baby that calls to her, pulling it into an embrace, letting warm scales, heating her skin under the thin rags she wears.

“Oh my love, how I have missed you!” the habit she would do if he was gone too long, the gesture not forgotten, even after all that had happened.

But the small look alike of her love only purrs and snuggles closer into the arms that hold it.

It may be the rebirth of the one she had lost, or a cruel joke by the fates, but she didn’t care. It was, in her mind the one she had lost, her given a chance to take care of the one who had given her this life. The one she truly wanted to live.

Life must go on and she was home, ready to start where it had left off.

Author's Note

I am leaving it up to you how (bitter) sweet you want the ending to be and how it is implied for the ending.
This is a pre/sequel to 'A maiden and her dragon'.
I am worried most on grammar, and would like to know if I used too many commas or not