The ring of metal filled the courtyard as my swordsmanship instructor and I clashed swords for what must’ve been the thousandth time. My mother sat nearby, along with my pet dragon, Sky, occaissionally shouting out advice or encouragement. Many of the guards in the area had paused to watch my duel. The matches with my teacher were always fiery and entertaining for spectators. Suddenly, my instructor caught the guard of my sword with his blade, causing it to fly from my grasp. He then pointed the tip of his sword at my neck, an exhausted smirk on his face. I smiled back and raised my hands in surrender.

“Your skills improve everyday,” he said, lowering his sword. “With a few more years of training, you might actually be a worthy opponent.”

“I’ll catch you off guard one of these days,” I bantered while pulling off my training gloves. “I just wish we could practice more often without having to worry about my fath-”

“Taria!”

I winced and turned to face the approaching man. His face became as red as his hair and robes as he drew closer. He grasped my shoulders and gave me a little shake.

“How many times must I tell you,” he screamed. “Use of weapons is not a skill a lady should learn! And you-” he pointed at my instructor, “Should know better than to train my daughter without my permission!”

“Falynx,” my mother said, coming up behind him. “I told him to teach Taria. Like it or not, the girl must learn to defend herself.”

“I will not hear of it,” my father yelled. “As a member of the royal family, she has all the protection he needs.” He turned towards me again. I instinctively turned my eyes downwards.

“I forbid you from practicing swordsmanship any further!”

“But Father,” I pleaded.

“Not another word! Now go to your room! You are not to emerge for the rest of the night!”

Choking back a sob, I fled to the castle, Sky following close behind.

   *   *   *

I threw myself onto my bed and cried into the plush pillows. Sky cood in pity before settling down into her nest in the corner. It wasn’t fair. Swordsmanship practice was one of the few things in my life that made me happy, but now Father had taken that away as well, just like archery, spear throwing, and halberd training. I sniffed and sat up, staring out the window at the disappearing sunset.

Suddenly, a thin frayed rope fell from above the window, gently tapping the glass. My sorrow quickly turned to curiosity as I sprang to my feet to investigate. But before I could cross the huge room, a figure cloaked in black slid down the rope past my view towards the ground. I threw open the window just as the person reached the ground and ran off into the forest, leaving the rope behind.

Without giving it a second thought, I ran to my closet, threw on a dark brown cloak, dashed back to the window, and started climbing down the rope. About halfway down, I heard Sky chirp from my room.

“Stay there, Sky,” I instructed. “I’ll be back soon.”

My feet touched the ground a few moments later and I took off into the woods, following the stranger’s trail. He was very hard to track; travelling over fim ground, doubling back, turning in circles. But each time I found his tracks again and followed.

After a few hours, I finally came across a large tree with a rope ladder hanging from it. After climbing the crude structure, I found myself at the door of a small treehouse, completely camouflaged and invisible from the ground. Without the ladder, I never would have even known that this was up here.

As i listened closely, I could hear someone rummaging around inside the small building. Thinking I would scare them if I just barged in, I instead knocked on the door. All noise inside ceased. I waited a few moments, then, deciding they must’ve not heard me, knocked again. But before I could strike a second time, the door flew open, and with it, a hand that grabbed the collar of my robe and dragged me inside. I froze, feeling a cold steel blade against my throat.

“Don’t move,” A voice said behind me. I obeyed.

My eyes swept over the small space. There were various boxes strewn about the room, most filled to the brim with food, waterskins, and various treasures. And, burnt onto the wall above some threadbare blankets, was the image of a ferocious dragon. I gulped in fear. I knew who I had found. The rumored Dragon Thief. He robs the homes of nobles and other high ranking officers, leaving nothing behind, except for the burn mark in the image of a dragon.

“Who are you,” the voice came again. “And how did you find me?”

“I saw you from my window and tracked you here,” I said, my voice trembling.

“Are you alone?” the voice questioned.

“If you’re asking that to make sure you don’t get caught, don’t worry. If I wanted to turn you in, it wouldn’t have been me knocking.”

The knife slowly edged away from my throat. I sighed in relief and turned to look at my assailant. But the person I saw was a far cry from the old, grizzled bandit I thought I would see.

The Dragon Thief was little more than a boy, maybe a year older than me. His midnight black hair was long and very messy, nearly covering his emerald eyes. The clothes he wore underneath his black cloak were tattered and covered in hand sewn patches. I stood there for a moment, confused. I had always thought with as much treasure as he steals, the Dragon Thief must’ve lived the life of luxury. Apparently not the case.

We stood there staring at each other for  moment before the boy tilted his head like a confused puppy and asked, “Do I know you?”

I furrowed my brow in concentration. His face did look familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“I don’t know,” I said. “There is something familiar about you…” The boy shrugged and sat down on a small crate.

“So what’s your name?” he asked.

“Taria,” I answered, sitting across from him on a chest.

His eyes widened and I mentally winced. Of course he would recognize my name; I was a princess after all. He slowly reached for the knife strapped to his hip, Never taking his eyes off me. I threw up my hands to stop him.

“Wait!” I yelled. He paused, hand grasping the hilt of the blade.

“I promise I came here alone, and I won’t tell anyone about you. I swear it.”

He watched me for a moment longer before releasing the knife. I sighed in relief.

“So what’s your name?” I asked, trying to break the quickly-forming ice. He crossed his arms and smirked at me.

“I’m afraid that’s highly classified information,” He said jokingly. I laughed and shot back.

Hey, no fair! I told you my name, so you gotta tell me yours.” He smiled and held his hands up in mock surrender.

“Okay, fine” he said sarcastically. “Whatever you wish, your Majesty,” he sank into an over exaggerated bow. “My name is Kyle.”

We went on talking for hour after hour. We shared stories of the past, dreams of the future, and everything in between. He told me he wanted to be a knight until his parents were killed when he was little, forcing him to become a thief to survive. And when he became older, he started stealing things to help other people, like extra food and other treasures. I told him of my various weapons training and the unique uses of each. A voice inside me told me I shouldn’t be sharing so much, but something about him just made him very easy to talk to. Finally, as the sun started to rise, he asked:

“So, do you like being royalty?”

My smile sank into a frown as I contemplated his question. After a moment, I answered.

“It’s odd,” I mumbled. “My father gives me everything a person could want. Exotic foods, beautiful dresses, people to wait on me hand and foot. But the one thing I want the most is the single thing he refuses to give me; my freedom.”

I stood up, beginning to pace as I continued.

“Everytime I find something I love, my father forbids me from it, claiming it’s too dangerous or is ‘not proper’ for a princess. He says he doesn’t want me to get hurt, but I know the real reason. He’s afraid of me straying from his way of thinking. I’m next in line for the throne, and he wants me to run the country just like he did, with greed and selfishness. But,”

I paused, trying to calm my racing heart.

“You don’t want to live that way.”

I turned to face Kyle, stunned that he took the words right out of my mouth. He smiled and stood, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“If you want to live differently, then do,” he said gently. “There’s no shame in not following in your parent’s footsteps. Be like Taria, not Falynx.”

My eyes stung as tears threatened to fall. Without thinking, I threw my arms around Kyle in a hug. He stood there for a moment, frozen, before hugging back.

“You okay?” he asked playfully.
I nodded and pulled away, wiping the tears from my eyes. But as I looked up, I saw that Kyle was crying as well.

“Um,” I started awkwardly. “Are you okay?”

Realizing what he was doing, Kyle jumped back and started furiously wiping his eyes.

“Yeah,” he said quickly. “Totally fine. I’m not crying, I just have something in my eye.”

I laughed and patted him on the back. For the first time in forever, I had actually found someone I could be friends with.

Suddenly, the door burst open and armed guards quickly filled the room. They immediately seized Kyle and formed a protective barrier around me.

“I thought I told you to stay in your room,” a familiar voice said. My eyes widened in shock as none other than my father walked into the room.

           *   *   *

“Father, please reconsider,” I pleaded. We had returned to the castle, Kyle was imprisoned in the dungeon, and I was locked in my room. My father had come to speak with me, telling me that Kyle was to be put to death by hanging for his crimes.

“There is no room for argument, Taria” my father said furiously. “The boy is a criminal: the Dragon Thief, no less! He must pay!”

He paused to regain his composure.

“I have already given the order. There is nothing that can be done.”

“But you’re the king!” I yelled, tears streaming down my face. “Please call it off! There must be something-”

“Enough, Taria!” My father yelled. “The boy hangs at sunset.”

My heart shattered. I fell to my knees and buried my head in my hands. My father continued.

“I hope that one day you can realize how foolish you are being.” I heard him walk away and shut the door behind him, lock clicking into place.

I got to my feet and walked to my window, where I could see the construction of the gallows in the adjacent courtyard. I stood there for hours, watching the preparations be made. As the sun began to fall below the horizon, I spotted a large group of guards in the distance, no doubt marching Kyle to his death.

I began to cry again. It was all my fault. If I hadn’t followed Kyle last night, none of this would have happened. But my father was right: Nothing could be done.

“Be like Taria, not Falynx.”

I raised my head as Kyle’s words echoed in my mind. My father might think nothing could be done, but I wasn’t my father. An idea struck me like lightning as I rushed to my closet. Hidden behind my infinite number of clothes, I kept a stash of all the weapons I had trained with. They were there in case someone broke into my room and I needed to defend myself.

“But,” I thought to myself as I picked up a long curved piece of wood with string attaching the ends. “Instead of stopping a thief, I’m going to save one.”

  
    *   *   *

Kyle’s Point of View:
Not gonna lie; I was scared out of my pants. Even to me, death is a very serious thing, especially my own. And now that I was being marched straight to it, it was the only thing on my mind,

I wanted to be mad at Taria: it was her fault I was caught. But I couldn’t. She was just a good girl from a really rotten family. And judging from her reaction to the guards barging in last night, she was just as shocked as I was. So I settled for being mad at King Falynx, instead.

As I climbed the wooden steps, I looked out at the audience. The king appeared to had invited every noble, duke, and baron within a thirty mile radius to come and watch my execution. So it was basically every single person I’d ever stolen from. Great. My least favorite thing: karma.

The executioner led me to stand on the edge of the platform on top of the trapdoor. Swinging innocently in front of me was the noose. I gulped and fought to keep myself from shaking. If I was going to die, I refused to show any weakness. The course rope was slipped over my head. I shuffled uncomfortably as the bristles dug into my skin. They could’ve at least chosen a nicer rope.

As the executioner took position, a drum roll sounded. I closed my eyes and braced myself. However, as the drum roll ceased and the lever was pulled, I heard the whizz of something flying through the air above me and the thunk of it hitting the pole behind me.

Then the floor didn’t exist anymore.

I fell.

But instead of my neck being broken, I dropped all the way to the ground, feet slipping out from under me as I landed heavily on my side. As I fought to catch my breath, I looked back up through the trapdoor. Buried in the wood of the gallows was my savior. An arrow had cut the rope.

The crowd murmured with confusion. The king stood up and ordered his guards to seize me, but before they could make a single move, a roar sounded through the courtyard as a wall of the palace exploded outward. A large, green scaled dragon leaped through the hole and flew towards the crowd. And , effortlessly riding on the beast’s back, holding a bow and quiver of arrows, was Taria.

The response was immediate. People began screaming and running everywhere. Guards began to move towards me, but before they could, a jet of flame streamed from the dragon’s mouth, cutting off the guards and forming a protective barrier around me. Taria nocked and fired another arrow, aiming so it landed right in front of me. I grabbed it and used it to cut my bound hands and free the remainder of the noose from my neck.

I scrambled to my feet and looked up at Taria. She pointed to a nearby rock structure and mimed climbing. I nodded in understanding. As soon as there was a break in the flames surrounding me, I jumped through and sprinted to the giant boulders. People tried to grab at me, but I dodged them until I reached the stone and climbed as fast as I could.

Once I reached the top, I watched as the dragon made one last circle around the area and headed straight for me. I tensed my legs and prepared myself to jump. As the beast passed overhead, I leapt and grabbed hold of one of it’s large legs.

“Did you get him?” I heard Taria ask above me. The dragon hummed in response and began to quickly ascend. I climbed up it’s leg until I could see that Taria was reaching out to pull me up. I gripped onto her hand and she hauled me onto the dragon’s back. She took another arrow from her quiver and held it out to the dragon’s face.

“Sky, if you could, please,” Taria asked. The dragon, or Sky, breathed a small flame onto the arrow, setting it ablaze. Then, nocking the fiery quarrel, Taria turned back towards the castles and shot the arrow at a large tapestry hanging on the wall that beared the symbol of the royal family. The fabric quickly caught fire and began to burn.

Once the tapestry was ignited, Taria steered Sky away from the castle, towards the mountains. As the sounds of chaos faded, Taria and I finally looked at each other, breathing heavily. After a moment, both of us broke out into fits of laughter.

“Well,” Taria said, still giggling. “That was fun.”
“Speak for yourself,” I bantered. “Could you cut it any closer?”

After a few more witty remarks, silence fell once more. Taria appeared to be focused on controlling Sky, but I could tell it was just busy-work: Sky was flying herself just fine. After another minute. I finally asked the question that had been on my mind since we left.

“Why did you save me?”

Taria glanced at me before she answered.

“It was the right thing to do.”

I frowned, unsatisfied with her answer. I grabbed her hand.

“But why? You just turned your back on everything! And to what end? To save a thief that deserved to hang?”

Taria turned, finally meeting my eyes. She was crying.

“Because I couldn’t just stand by and watch you die. You’re the first person I’ve met that was willing to listen to me. And it was my fault you were caught in the first place. If I hadn’t followed you, none of this would have happened.”

I thought for a moment before speaking.

“That may be true, but then I wouldn’t have met you.”

She sniffed and wiped her eyes. When she looked at me again, all traces of sadness were gone.

“I guess you’re right.” She said

“But what about your family, your home, everything?” I asked. “You’ll be a wanted person now.”

“I would rather live as an outlaw with the person I love, than live as royalty with the person I loathe.”

I flinched, shocked by her words. I drew closer.

“Do… do you really mean that?” My heart threatened to fly out of my chest.

Taria leaned in, our faces inches apart.

“Every word.”

As the sun set, we shared our first kiss.

  *   *   *

King Falynx’s Point of View:

A few weeks later...

I stormed into the castle, people clamoring to either bow or get out of my way. As I made my way up the stairs to one of my treasure rooms, I thought about today’s events. We had been following a lead on Taria’s location, but when we got there, it was a dead end. No traces of them had been found. I sighed and pulled the key ring from my belt and selected the right key. I unlocked the door and stepped inside. But what I found stunned me.

There was nothing. Not a single coin of treasure remained. No jewels, no gold, no ornates statues or works of art. It was just an empty room. As I called for the guards, I noticed something burned onto the wall. It was the symbol of the Dragon Thief. But there was something different about this mark.

The dragon was holding a rose in its mouth.