The Soft-Hearted Prince and His Dragon

6 - Sen

Who does he think he is, deciding what my life should be? The damn man has to save the world, I thought to myself. Does he ever stop to think about what others want? Does he ever realize that others might have a different idea of what is best for them?

A thought came to me that I did, in fact, want to leave the cave and be with someone and feel safe. I pushed it away. I was too angry to engage in it.

And what about him? Does he ever think about what he wants? This thought stopped me in my tracks. Was I angry because Galen didn't think about himself? No, that wasn't it... But I could sense the answer was there somewhere.

And then it came to me. Everything Galen said was about what would be good for me, but he never said he wished I stayed with him. That he wanted me for... me. It felt like I was just another of his charity cases.

I felt an unpleasant pang. It wasn't fair to call it "charity cases." Galen was a good guy who tried to make the world a better place, and it was one of the things I so admired in him. But I knew I didn't want to be that to him. I wanted... No, I didn't want to think about that. There's no point. It could never... The thought was insistent, though.

I looked around. I automatically headed up the mountain to the plateau. I decided to go there and cool down before returning to the cavern. I climbed up the remaining steps and slumped to the ground.

The anger was slowly dissipating, leaving me feeling exhausted. It was becoming clear to me that I yelled at Galen and made a fool of myself because I wanted to be special to him. That was not fair. He meant well... And what if he felt about me the way I felt about him? I remembered all the physical contact, the seemingly accidental and the quite deliberate. All the teasing. All the getting to know each other. I thought about how he leaned into my embrace after he saved the Dikos Mas man. And even just the fact that he stayed in the cave with me for so long. Was it all to help me, or did he like me the way I liked him?

I stayed out for a long time. I didn't feel like coming back because it meant seeing Galen and having to face the shame of how I acted. When I finally set out for the cave, a battle raged in my head about whether I should explain my reaction to Galen. It felt daunting, but I figured it could also be liberating to speak about it and set things straight. That way, I would learn whether he was on the same wavelength, and I could kiss all the doubts goodbye. Yes, that sounded right. I have to talk to him.

I walked through the tunnel all jittery, feeling fear and excitement at the same time. In my mind, I already saw Galen jumping around my neck, declaring his love for me. A dragon-man can dream, right?

The familiar sound of the waterfall welcomed me home as I looked around and listened. There was no one in the cavern.

"Galen?" I asked and stood frozen. He must have gone out, too. Probably needed a walk. He'll be home soon, I thought. It threw me off that I didn't hear him walk away. I should've been able to, even from the plateau. I must have been too deep in my thoughts.

Without even wanting to, I went to where he kept all his possessions. Both his money and the clothes he wore when he came were gone. He hadn't worn them since he had decided to stay with me. We agreed he'd be safer in simple clothes bought in the village. That way, no one would suspect him of being a prince.

My heart sank. Well, I fucked this up.

***

I didn't have any time to process because, within a few minutes, my ears picked up steps approaching the cave.

"Galen?"

It was a stupid question since I could hear that at least two people were coming. Most likely someone to fight me. I felt too crestfallen to care, so I lay down and waited. The challengers rarely entered the cave, but they might change their minds when I don't come out.

A voice filled my ears, making everything in me tense up. "We have your pet," someone yelled. "Garon or something."

"I think it was Galen," another voice corrected him. I could hear the voices moving away from the cave now as if they had started running.

"Potato tomato," the first voice retorted, breathing heavily.

"That's also not how—"

"Shut up, okay?"

The rattling of chains lingered in the air like a herald of bad news.

I didn't wait. I didn't instruct my muscles to move; they did it on their own. When I reached the end of the tunnel, I saw two figures disappearing between the trees in the direction of the village. Long grey braids were flying behind them.

It was a trap—I knew it immediately. Dikos Mas tried to get me between the trees where I couldn't move so well. And using my fire would mean endangering myself, too, as I was, unfortunately, not immune to it. But they knew Galen's name. Was he really there? I squinted into the forest and hesitated. A few seconds later, I heard a yell.

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Chapter 7 comes out August 20, 2022!

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The background picture of the book cover by

Pexels (https://pixabay.com/photos/cave-cavern-dark-daylight-1835823/), and

Parker_West (https://pixabay.com/illustrations/dragon-monster-creature-beast-3001238/).

Cover done in Visme.

Cover art of the chapter by

LoboStudioHamburg (https://pixabay.com/photos/mountains-valley-sunlight-panorama-1660789/).