As the princess lay asleep I started a fire to keep us warm and fed my horse some corn and water. While doing this I realized it must have been ages since the princess ate and drink and I decided it was important to wake the princess up for fear she would die in her sleep of starvation.
I shook her shoulder gently as not to startle her even more and held a hand full of corn out for her. She took to my hand quickly consuming the small pile of corn straight from my palm. I had to pull the water away from her soon after, for fear she would drank it all to quell her dry thirst.
"Who are you?" the princess asked.
She began to once again devour as much food as she could.
"Easy," I said. "This food must last us a days ride.
"Who are you?" she asked again.
"I am Lady Saura, slayer of dragons."
"A dragon slayer. But you are a lady."
"Of this, I'm well aware."
"I find it hard to fathom that my father would purchase the services of a lady dragon slayer."
"As far as you father knows, princess he still hasn't."
"The dragon is dead then? You slayed it?"
"No. I'm afraid not."
"No. I saw you sword pierce it's belly. Surly you are mistaken, Lady Saura."
"I'm afraid it takes more than a sword in the belly to slay a dragon," I responded.
That's when I realized I made a grave error after rescuing the princess from the clutches of Yellow Tail. I forgot to retrieve my sword from the dragon's belly. The absence of the sword will make us vulnerable to the elements of The outlands. But I dared not tell the Princess Luquasia this.
The Princess Luquasia rose from the ground. "Then surly he it will come after me again. That vile beast will take me again." She began to pace the desert sands back and forth, lost in a panic.
"Fear not, Princess Luquasia. The dragon, Yellow Tail, will not come this far into the outlands for an escaped virgin princess. He will most likely move on and search the lands for other virgin ladies to capture.
"No," she said. "You don't understand. This Yellow Tail as you call him is obsessed with me. It will never let me go."
She began to walk towards Lavros.
"Come!" she yelled. "Come, lady dragon slayer. We must ride to my kingdom before the dragon approaches.
I could understand not Princess Luquasia's sudden panic. In all my years of dragon slaying I have yet to hear of one who showed affection for a specific virgin lady or piece of gold. I was positive the Princess Luquasia was mistaken in her fright.
I ran to the princess and held her arm before she could mount Lavros.
"Calm yourself, Princess Luquasia. Dragons do not become obsessed."
"You understand not, Lady Saura."
Princess Luquasia calmed herself. She once again sat upon the desert floor. It was then that she began her horrid tale, tears gently flowing down her rosy cheeks.
"There were many of them when I arrived at it's cave."
"Many of what?" I asked.
"Virgins, Lady Saura. Many of them. And it... killed them all. That bright Yellow Tail, covered in blood. I thought for sure I was to be slayed next. But it didn't. It left me alone when it was done slaughtering them. Then it devoured their bodies. It licked its cave floor clean of their blood. It kept me there. And every once in a while it would rise up to smell me. It would place it's nose directly in front of me and inhale. Those instances seemed to last forever. It seemed to wanted me and only me. We must go, Lady Saura. We must go before the dragon me again."
End of Chapter Seven
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