Gold. Why do people do crazy things for it? The king doesn't look any better every time we greet him. He only looks more angry. The tole of ruling a kingdom isn't doing anything good for his face. Which makes sense since he seems to do whatever he wants. And yet he doesn't seem to let us figure out his daughter's curse. Something to do with regulations, apparently. Three tests of manhood ensure that the right man will solve the curse to marry his daughter. Like that makes any sense. Now he wants us to steal gold from a dragon sorcerer. Pest control, stealing gold, what's next?

         Sorren has disappeared off the face of the land. When we last met, he told me that he found something about my "little necklace" that was worth more than what he had ever imagined. I told him he was obsessed with gold. He didn't deny it, but since then, he hasn't shown up. It's making me antsy; he might show up unannounced and demand another exchange. 

         Which leaves us to where I am now. After traveling with a couple of strange dwarves, I found myself stuck between Nicholas and Ernest who were arguing about which path to take. The things we have to do to meet a dragon sorcerer.

                                                                                            ~*~

         "It's impossible, we can't take that direction. It's just not the way to go," Ernest explained. Nicholas folded his arms and stood his ground.

         "I refuse to make amends. A prince makes the rules and his subjects follow them,: he said sticking out his stubborn chin. I rolled my eyes as the two were stuck at the crossroads in the middle of the woods. I amused myself with the idea of leaving them behind and making my own way across, but I noticed the sun was beginning to set. And when the sun sets, the woods become a hell hole for any helpless human.

         "It's too bad you know, seeing as how last time, Nicholas wasn't able to retain his honor by killing the troll," I sighed in fake distress.

         "Alma! I appreciate your support of your future king." Nicholas beamed. "But I must remind you that anything other than subject relations between a king and a commoner are forbidden. I am set to walk a much weightier path." Before he could protest, I took the crown from his head and put it in my bag.

         "A crown for a useless prince is meaningless." Ernest smirked. He ignored Nicholas and started walking towards the right path. Nicholas rubbed his head. The crown had left a ring of matted hair and made an awkward dent around his curls.

         "It doesn't help that you're taking a path without even thinking," I retorted. He turned around and glared at me. By this point, I was used to it.

         "Why do you assume that I haven't thought it through? I don't need to prove to you that this is the right way." And with that, he kept walking. Nicholas tried to call out, but I stopped him. It was clear that Ernest wanted to try this on his own.

         When Nicholas and I entered the cave, the first thing we saw was a purple castle built among flowing flames.

         "Why do I feel like this is unnecessary decor? Can't you just have a castle outside? Does it really help with the heating?" I complained. The cave was filled with craters and pockets of lava. As we got closer to the castle, we saw several dragons sleeping near the gate, all chained. Thank goodness.

         "I've always wanted to defeat a dragon. Maybe there will be a helpless maiden in the castle," Nicholas exclaimed as he skipped towards the door. As he strutted up the stairs, one by one the dragons opened their eyes. Just as he was about to open the door, the dragons rose from below and peered closely at their tiny visitor. Despite the heat of the cave, my skin began to shiver. If I was not fast enough, Nicholas would be soon be dragon food.

         As I reached for the winged pigs, the door burst open, and a thin woman in dark purple robes stepped outside. Nicholas drew his sword and pointed it at the small of her throat.

         "Evil woman, your spells won't work on me. I have the magic sword of Briar Rose." Nicholas flashed his nearly perfect teeth. There was only one crooked molar. "It's resistant to fire."

         The woman gave me a confused look. I shrugged my shoulders. Glancing to the side, I saw one of the dragons moving closer and closer to the prince. It licked its lips and began to open its mouth. Inside was a big ball of fire ready to be released. This time I didn't wait. 

         "Silly pigs, pair of wings, cannot fly, but things you fix. Listen closely to my spell, and angry souls can change as well," As the pigs moved their wings, I saw the sorceress sigh as her dragons moved away from Nicholas. Within a few moments, they were asleep once more.

         "Finally, I was hoping there would be some new workers. The children you see, I never have much time for them. I am the worst mother," the sorceress explained. Before we could speak, she opened the doors and ushered us in. With red fur carpet on the ground, the walls consisted of animal heads with sad, glass eyes. There were no tables or windows, and the entire castle was warmer than the hottest days of summer. A drop of sweat fell from my forehead. Meanwhile, Nicholas was frantically maintaining his curls.

         "I'm sorry for the mess. The children aren't exactly happy with the place either, but what can I do? My husband's world domination plans don't make for a stable living situation, and I'm afraid the dragon business only works best in caves." She snapped her fingers as the lights turned on.

         "Pardon me, but I heard that you were a sorcerer...not a young lady," Nicholas said. The sorceress turned to him and nodded.

         "Sorcerer, sorceress, it's all really the same title. I never planned on being a lead dragon breeder. You see, the dragon business is run more by men, but what can you do when your babies listen better to you!" she threw back her head and cackled gleefully. Barely paying attention to their conversation, I scanned the walls to see any signs of treasury rooms or chests that were hiding what we were looking for. Glancing back at Nicholas and the sorceress who were now on the topic of dragon spells, I took a chance and slipped towards a small room by the corner of the hall.

         The room was almost completely empty. With nothing but a small table, the walls were covered in even more animal skins. Remembering what the King had demanded, I searched the room for a golden statue of an ice dragon. There was nothing. I ran back to the other rooms as Nicholas asked about dragon trading rates, and saw nothing but the same things. The rooms were the same except for the drawing room where we had first entered. A brief image of a young child in one of the pictures popped up in my head and I ran back to the entrance. Before I could speak, I found the sorceress holding Nicholas by his throat. More sweat continued to drip down my forehead.

         "Please, there's a better way to handle this," I said, slowly lifting up my hands in defeat. The sorceress snarled as she tightened her grip around Nicholas, choking him.

         "You think I would be stupid enough to fall for that stupid spell of yours? My dear, you underestimate me so much that I question your intelligence," she mocked. "I am a sorceress! Don't you think I would combat all spells?" With a swift motion, she pushed Nicholas down to the ground. He gasped for air as he tried to crawl away. Smirking at his attempt to escape, she struck him with a bolt of lightening. Slowly but surely his hair disappeared, his mouth was replaced with a beak, and his royal blue suit looked more like feathers. As I coughed back from the smoke, and I saw him for what he was. Nicholas had become a peacock.

         "There, now you look a little bit more like what you really are," the sorceress cackled as Nicholas's beak bowed in shame. I didn't have much time left. I pulled the necklace off my neck and dangled it before her.

         "This charm is worth millions. You may be a sorceress, but you don't have the means to convince people of your time." I spoke the very words my parents taught me. I was bargaining. The sorceress raised one eyebrow and stepped forward.

         "I'm listening," she said carefully. I cleared my throat and brought the necklace to where she was. As the pigs were lit up, their wings playfully twitched.

         "It's a limited edition. You can only get it when it's in season. It's too bad you didn't get yours. It saves you a lot of time and money. Or it can be a fun game for the children." The more I talked, the more she nodded her head.

         "Perhaps. I don't really need much, but I do need something to keep me amused. The children want more toys." She folded her arms and frowned. "What do you want in return?" she slowly asked. I smiled politely and looked around.

         "Nothing much. Just a simple statue of gold that you might have?" I asked. She looked away as to hide what she was thinking, but I knew from her excited pace around the floor that her decision was already made. She snatched the necklace from my hands and snapped her fingers. Immediately a golden statue of an ice dragon appeared in my hands. I smiled and quickly grabbed Nicholas.

         "It's a pity I still have to kill you. We can't have non-buyers know about our business," she smiled wickedly and signaled her dragons. The dragons started closing in on us as I ran out the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little child playing with a dragon toy on the steps. Without thinking, I grabbed the child as well and began to run. The sorceress shrieked and motioned the dragons to stop.

         "My child! Don't scorch the child!" she screeched.

         I picked up the pace and ran as fast as I could with a bird in one hand and a child in the other. All I could see around me was fire and wings as the dragons circled around me.

                                                                                            ~*~

Somehow, I made it back to the castle alive. The rest was mostly guesswork, but there was one thing I knew when I returned. This was not fun anymore. The prince of the neighboring country had turned into a bird, and I had the child of a very angry sorceress under my care. So I went to the king to expect him to cover for me. But it was quite the opposite.

 

The old man didn't know what to say at first. When I showed him the statue his eyes grew wide with greed, but when I showed him the baby, he screamed and ordered his guards to send the baby away and have his mother killed. Which was not what I expected. Apparently Ernest never showed up, and all the other men had either died from the dragons or gave up as well. Part of me wondered if the king had beheaded them all. He told me he was still unconvinced of my "worthiness" to fix the curse. So as the final test, he ordered me to find me a necklace. It sounded simple enough.

 

It apparently belonged to a dragon once before, but it had disappeared one night. And since then, the dragon had been pillaging different towns to try and find its necklace. When I asked what it looked like, the king described it as a pair of winged pigs. As the king described the necklace in more detail, I felt dizzy. He was talking about my necklace. Sorren immediately noticed the disappearance of the necklace. He asked me where I had left it, and when I told him about the sorceress, he spat out a streamline of curses and ran off. I don't really have any other options other than Nicholas at this point. Sorren promised that he would take care of him, but I doubt it. He probably wants Nicholas to stay as a peacock forever. At least now he doesn't have to wear his stupid crown.