I always wondered why people think being a royalty is easy.

You need to mind your etiquette, play political games, attend dozens of tiring events every day and you're not even allowed to have some privacy.

Your bodyguards always follow you around outdoorsy, maids help you get dressed, cleaned up and seem to never leave your side.

Today was another dreadful day, in fact my birthday was today but I was not looking forward to it in the slightest.

sigh another day getting dressed up like a doll and pretending to enjoy the gifts and company of those snobs.

Why must every day be so troublesome? Dance lessons, history lessons, fencing, horse riding, politics, philosophy, music and other things which a princess like me are expected to excel at.

And sadly my parents force me to learn all that every day without any breaks. sigh I don't even see them much - they're always busy with their duties and never have time for me other than criticising me if I start slacking off.

I dreadfully walked towards the ballroom to start greeting the guests. well dreadfully is just my feelings inside - outside I look confidently walking with a sweet smile - learning how to put on a mask in public is one of basic skills for nobles after all.

Entering the ballroom I start greeting guests with a smile as my birthday gifts pile up in the corner - the gifts I get are all the same anyways, jewellery, perfumes, boring books and similar things which I don't really care for getting. Still I need to keep my smiling mask on and pretend to like it all.

The ball continues as I need to dance with neighbouring countries' princes and listen in to various blabbering and rumours. A few rumours did seem interesting - apparently few barons kept telling how they saw a dragon flying by last week, dragons are quite rare though I wonder if I will ever get to see one. —

Finally near midnight I'm finally back in my room - finally some alone time, really the only alone time I get is for sleeping, though I'm not really sure I'm alone - maybe there's some skilled bodyguards hidden. I look at the pile of gifts near my bed and get even more tired by the realisation that I will need to write thank you letters for all of them.

Suddenly a blue shiny box catches my eye - not because it's shiny, but simply because I don't remember receiving it. Afraid of scolding I pick it up to see if hopefully there's a note on the gift.

As I take the box it seems to tremble as if something alive is inside. Panicking I drop it on the bed as I also notice some guards appearing from shadows with worried looks.

The box starts tearing as a cute creature appears, but everyone tenses up on the sight of it. it's the thing I always wanted to see - a dragon!

Everything seems to slow down as I see in slow motion that tiny dragon glowing and growing in size, my guards start dropping to the ground as if asleep and I feel my eyes getting heavy as well… The last thing I see is the dragon smirking at me as if amused.

— yawn I wake up fully rested and wondering why no maids woke me up yet I clearly feel the sun's warmth on my skin and I was supposed to have my fencing practice an hour before sunrise.

Suddenly what happened last night came to me and my eyes snapped open. This is not a place I have ever been before. I stand up and look around. It seems I'm in some sort of cave - did that dragon kidnap me??

Fear takes over me as I remember all the stories I hear about princesses disappearing never to be seen again. Suddenly a fragrant smell enters my nose - it seems like spices chefs use for food. I try to scream but somehow I make no noise.

Suddenly a nearby door opens and I see a dragon head looking my way. "bump". Scared I fall back to the bed, though now that I think about it why does a huge dragon have a human sized bed? Dragon smirks as if amused by my reactions.

"I suppose some explanation is in order - first I apologise for kidnapping you so to say but looking over your life over past few weeks you looked like a suitable candidate"

"You see, us dragons have a very low chance of getting children of our own, so we usually just adopt some human ones."

I look at it weirdly - how come I'm hearing the voice but he's not moving his mouth? Also adoption? Don't I already have parents? poor ones but still.

" I speak with the help of magic, and yes your mind defences don't seem very good, don't they teach Occlumency to royalty anymore?"

"Anyways, you can call me Azurax, if you still want to go back to that dull live you had, I can let you go, but if you decide to stay here I will give you a new life - there's a ritual we dragons invented to convert humans to our kind, as a dragon you can have as much freedom as you so long for - we can freely change our size, change our form, learn magic and have very long lifespans among other abilities "

He suddenly shifts to a middle aged man with azure hair as if to prove his point.

" So what is your choice? "

Thinking back to all the annoyances of noble life I so wished to escape from it does not take long to came to a decision.

" I see you have made up your mind, daughter. Happy adoption day"

Everything they said about dragons was untrue. They are not blood thirsty beasts. Of course, I didn't know that when one of the dark, scale-covered creatures swooped down on me while I strolled through the courtyard with my parents.

As the great creature held me in their claws, I was initially gripped with fear. I thought the strong digits might crush me or the claws pierce my flesh. While my heart pounded in my chest and I struggled to get my breathing under control, a million thoughts flashed through my head. I regretted contemplating killing myself, only because it meant the certain end to the hope I had that I might somehow escape the tyranny of my parents over my life.

But as I was carried, I realized the care that the dragon carried me with. They occasionally gave a glance down at me.... not as if I were some morsel, but as if they cared for some precious cargo they carried. Slowly, I calmed and became more curious about my situation than fearful.

The Dragon landed near the top of great mountain, landing on an outcropping from the mountain more than big enough for the Dragon's massive footprint. They carefully set me on my feet, released me, and then gestured with one of their front claws for me to follow them.

Upon crossing the threshold into the darkness, the Dragon leading me started to shimmer and thier shape to change. They became more humanoid, though taller and still retaining their scales and many of their dragon traits.

"So sorry to whisk you away on a sudden." The Dragon spoke in a low, fried voice. "It seemed like something of an emergency for you, princess."

As I was trained, I reacted with anger at being called 'princess.' "Excuse you! I'm a prince!" I replied.

The Dragon lifted their brows as they turned to look at me. "Is that so?"

"Y..yes?" I said, not sure if I had to keep up the act if the Dragon knew.

"Perhaps I should take you back then..." The Dragon suggested, starting to move back toward the opening and gesturing with their hand.

"N-n... why did you kidnap me?" I tried to change the subject.

"It seemed you were in trouble. Contemplations of suicide due to suppressing yourself, being denied every aspect of your identity by your parents, and not to mention the ways they mentally and emotionally abused you...."

"They did no--" I cut myself short and looked down. For a few moments, I let memories of being shouted down for my opinions, being physically hurt by my parents, and how they denied and shamed me when they found out that one of the handmaids had been letting me wear her old dresses in private and put makeup and jewelry on me. "They... they did."

"I and my partner wanted to give you a better life, but we can take you back if you don't like it here."

I took a deep breath and looked up. For the first time, I actually looked at the Dragon and the room I was in.

The Dragon was as tall as the tallest man I ever saw. Their eyes were a cool and gentle blue, partly clouded and peered through gold rimmed glasses sitting on the end of their nose. A purple tinged white beard went down to their belt with a waxed and upturned mustache, and they had matching cropped hair. They wore a purple, black, gold, and silver plaid kilt and doublet, stockings and heeled black boots.

The room appeared to be a royal chamber with rich carpets, bookshelf-covered walls, a fireplace, and lavish decorations everywhere.

"Are you a king?" I asked.

They gave a non-committal wiggle of a hand. "Kind of, you don't have an accurate word for it in human language." They raised their brows. "You may call me Polari, and you may use any of your human pronouns for me, I'm not picky." They scrunched up their nose and smiled. "I don't know exactly what you would like to be called..."

My heart seemed to freeze for a moment, then it sped up as if trying to catch up to where it should have been. My breath caught as I tried to speak. I swallowed, cleared my throat, and as I spoke I felt a warmth rise up through me. "Princeps Morfa... she and they." I looked up, feeling a familiar fear threaten to grab and shred my blooming joy apart as I sought Polari's face for approval.

Polari only smiled that warm smile at me. "A pleasure to meet you, Princeps Morfa."

And then the fear released. I gasped in relief and in surprise. Before I could recover, I felt overwhelmed with a need to sob with joy. I started to feel my knees give as I sought to crumble into a disgusting crying mess.

"Would you like me to hold you while you work out your feelings?" Polari asked.

I nodded weakly and Polari moved quickly to catch me and hold me against themself.

"It's okay, Princeps. You're safe. You can stay here as long as you like or go when you like. You will be loved, educated, cared for, listened to... but it's all up to you, okay?"

I sniffled and sobbed and nodded against their shoulder. It was so unexpected that I might escape that torture for something better. But I got lucky enough to be rescued. I started to look forward to tomorrow instead of dreading it.

It was my 18th birthday. I grew up in a loveless family, with an almost contractual relationship with my parents. As long as I did not step out of line and continued my royal duties, they would pay me in a luxurious living. If I broke the contract and followed the whimsy of my heart, punishment and a further restriction of freedom awaited. I was like a nightingale trapped in a birdcage. While I continued to sing, I would be cared for.

I did not particularly care for this arrangement and for my duties to the family and the nation, but I had no power to escape and I had thus frozen my emotions and grown into my role. After all, this was the path of least resistance for me to follow. My whole life was planned out for me, and on this day, I was to be decorated like a doll. Intricate jewels shaped like leaves were interwoven between my locks to match my flame-like hair. Dressed in a gossamer lilac gown embroidered with flowers, in a couple of hours, I was to be paraded like a prize for suitors from all over the world, to be married off in some political alliance.

Perhaps out of the small silver of conscience they possessed, my parents had informed the servants to get me ready early and leave me with a few hours of freedom before the processions begun. I decided to spend it in the garden. This was the one place I could feel, even for a moment, the illusion of freedom. High above the castle walls, overlooking the grand vista of the city. The beautiful wisteria clustered around me and swayed gently in the wind, engaged in a little dance with my fluttering hair and gown. The heavy scent of the flowers mixed with the scent of fresh, chilly air and swirled around in the night. It was still early, and I could still see the full moon in the sky, a beautiful backdrop to the scene.

Suddenly, I noticed a shadowy figure disrupting the serene night scene. It approached so quickly that I barely had time to register the sight. A beautiful serpent of enormous proportions dominating the space before me. It’s body was covered with light blue scales, made stunning with the moonlight falling on them, twinkling and reflecting every way. The dragon shone like a jewel in the reflection of the moon, and two deep, intelligent eyes came face to face with me.

“Do you want to be taken away?”

The booming voice seemed to awake some primordial part resting deep within me, resonating within my body and seeming to envelop the night.

I tilted my chin, looking up at the thing of beauty, the dragon in flight. Freedom personified.

“…Yes.”

It was a foolish answer, but perhaps it did not matter either way. What difference did it make were I to be whisked away by dragon or man to some unknown land? At least I could appreciate this dragons beauty.

“Come.”

For some unknown reason, the dragons voice felt comforting in a way and I willingly let myself be enveloped in its claws and placed on its back.

“Sleep.” The dragon commanded, and so I slept.

When I came to, I was in a large, gilded cave, glistening with gold specks all over the walls, the soft luminescence beautiful in the dimly lit atmosphere. I could see children running in circles, the sound of free laughter and play that I had never experienced as a child.

“You’re up”, a soft voice remarked.

I turned around. Beside me was seated a beautiful lady in her 20s, with long, silky jet black hair and flashing golden eyes. With some effort, I recalled the events of the previous night.

“What happened? Where am I?”

“Happy adoption day!” I blinked in visible confusion.

She chuckled, her little laugh more melodious than any birdsong I had heard before. It was an easy laugh, giving me the impression that she had given this little speech before to some unknowing others.

“I guess I should explain the situation. I am Eva, the queen of dragons. We have a tradition of allowing each of our kind a little human pet when they turn a hundred if they wanted. Yesterday, you were chosen for adoption by our youngest hatchling. Of course, contrary to belief, we are a peaceful species. If, after meeting her, you want to go back home, we’ll send you on your merry way.”

She gave a thoughtful pause, as if she was carefully picking her next words like strawberries from an abundant field.

“As you know, dragons are powerful. Once you bind yourself to her, you cannot reverse it and you have to serve her for life- no, even after death. It really is a lottery. Some dragons are kind and bond with their humans, and it becomes a beautiful partnership. Others treat their humans like slaves. It all depends on your luck. Oftentimes, we recommend our hatchlings to choose troubled royals as they rarely refuse the offer.”

I turned her words over in my head and recalled the beautiful scene I had witnessed last night. Sapphire scales glittering in the moonlight as their reflections danced every way, the whipping of the wisteria and my lilac gown in the wind as I felt the chill of freedom on my skin.

“Can I meet her?”

“She’s just past here.” Eva gestured to a little doorway near our side of the cave. I nodded my thanks.

I stood before the door, steadying myself with a deep breath. After a few moments, I slowly brought my hand up and knocked, the quick tapping akin to the quickening pace of my heart.

“Come in.”

The booming, primordial voice resounded. I turned the knob, ready to greet a new life of freedom, to fly out of the cage.

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