~~~~
"I have finally come of
age," I stated, "it is now my chance to save the princess from the
dragon's castle." I placed my helmet over my head and picked up my sword,
ready for the perils that I would soon face.
"No you foolish child,"
the old man barked, "you will only fall into the dragon's fiendish
trap."
"I am no fool, and I am no
longer a child," I countered, "I will not fall for the dragon's
tricks, no matter how clever he may be."
"You misunderstand my
words," he continued, "the dragon's trap is greater than you think.
That whole castle may as well be a bear trap."
"You speak nonsense old
man," I spat, "I will return with the dragon's head in one hand and
the princess in the other." I leaped onto my horse and rode off into the
horizon, while the old man yelled at me to stop.
After several days of travel I
arrived at the castle and marched inside. In contrast to the old man's warning,
there was nary a trap in the whole castle. No pits, no spikes, not even a
rigged crossbow. There was only one threat within the castle. The dragon who
had nested himself in the center, surrounded by a pitch black pit.
"Face me you cowardly beast, so
I may save the princess post-haste," I roared.
"Go ahead tiny worm," the
beast laughed.
The battle was fierce, but I won in
the end. His flames barely touched me, and his claws could not keep up with me.
My mighty sword scarred his scaly flesh and left the horrific creature to limb
his last few steps. With a final kick, I sent him right over the edge into the
pitch black pit. He roared and screamed until he hit the ground with a thud.
The beast was no more, and the princess was mine to save.
"Five generations of brave
soldiers failed against this beast?" I muttered to myself, it appears my
predecessors were cowardly or weak, or maybe I was just that good. Regardless,
I ran up to the highest tower in the castle, where the princess awaited. I arrived
quickly, to the sight of the princess asleep on a shrouded bed. "Dear
princess please awaken, I have come to save you."
I ran to her side, shoved the covers
and pillows away and pulled her into my arms. Her face was covered by a veil so
I couldn't see her face. I pulled the veil up as I leaned in for my just
reward, but I stopped short as I finally noticed what was wrong. The
princesses' face, or rather the lack of a real face, besides a crudely drawn
pair of eyes and mouth. This wasn't the princess, it was a straw dummy in a
dress.
"What are you waiting for,
hero? Don't you want your kiss?" A voice chuckled from outside the window.
I turned to see the dragon, completely unharmed as he laughed at my situation.
"You fiend, what have you done
with the princess!" I yelled.
"You're looking at her,"
the dragon pointed at the dummy.
"But this is no more than a
straw dummy," I pointed out.
"Exactly, but that hasn't
stopped idiots like you now has it?" The dragon laughed.
"But, my whole life I've
prepared for this day," I mumbled, "has it been a lie all
along?" I dropped the "princess" and looked at my hands in
shock.
"And you want to know the best
part?" The dragon leaned his head in through the window and whispered,
"nobody will believe you." I stood there, frozen in place, unable to
even respond to his words. I didn't move even as he laughed at my misfortune. I
didn't move even as he picked me up through the window and deposited me outside
the castle. I didn't move even after sundown, I just stayed curled up in a ball
as the old man's words echoed through my head.
"The whole castle," I
muttered, "it may as well, no, it is nothing more than a trap."
~~~~
Sometimes the truth sounds like complete insanity, even to the one who speaks it. When you finally do learn the truth it can be earth-shattering, but the only thing worse than the revelation is the realization that no one else will believe you until it's too late.Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
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