By Neev Aradhana Suresh
There have been many stories written of daring knights in shining armor swooping in to rescue damsels in distress. Young maidens, especially princesses, seem to be very fond of getting themselves into a bit of trouble. This is a story about a gorgeous princess and a handsome, brave knight. But excuse me, this is no way to begin a fairytale. Let’s begin at where it all started…
A long time ago in a land far far away, there lived a princess and her name was Sabra. She was the daughter of King Ptolemy whose fame and renown was known even across the seas. Legend holds that this king lived in Egypt, but alas, legend is mixed up with myths and lies. Enchancia is the true name of this kingdom. People from far and wide would come to just glimpse this wonderful realm. In the center of it, flowing straight from its heart, was a river. It tinkled as it flowed all the way around the kingdom. It was said that one sip of that water would make a person so happy that they would never cry or feel sad ever again. This domain was impeccable, splendid, and absolutely flourishing. Dear me, did I forget to mention that I am Princess Sabra, myself?
My life was perfect but one horrible day, the sun didn’t come out, the rain didn’t stop, and the river that had once been life to my city became an overwhelming torrent of death. All the citizens stayed indoors. Nobody smiled. Nobody talked. We all waited. Enchancia had never behaved like this before. Everyone hoped for better weather for the next week, but all hope was in vain. The weather got worse and worse till no one could even step out of a house without being washed away or hit with some sliding object. As the days turned into weeks and in turn into months, my father’s face became clouded with worry, and I lost hope of ever seeing the sun again. Everyone was hungry and many people had fallen sick and even died. I grew thinner and thinner. This went on for what seemed to me millennia. Nothing could go worse than this, I pontificated to myself. Little did I comprehend how wrong I was.
One day, something was seen flying on the horizon. At first, I wondered who or what it could be, but when it came closer, everyone moaned in terror. It was a dragon, full grown and terrifying. Swooping over the river, it landed on the palace, next to the very window I was sitting idly by. The citizens peered out of their doors in horror as the dragon reached out one gnarled claw and, shattering that window, grabbed me. I feebly struggled and screamed but I couldn’t resist. I was too exhausted, too pale, too hungry to do much harm. Slowly, the dragon inched the writhing me closer and closer to its mouth. The people all looked away in agony.
“Stop, please stop!” cried a voice nearby. It was my dad. “Dragon, please listen! I will give you anything, anything you want if you will just leave my daughter.”
The dragon looked amused. “Alright, here’s what I want: five young maidens (preferably little fatter than this one), every morning for the next ten days.” With that, it flew away.
My father was greatly distressed. He loved his people and they in turn respected him. What could he do? Nevertheless, he loved me much more. So, he first made some of the female prisoners and criminals from the dungeon go to the dragon. But by the third day, it was evident that there were not enough maidens to go around for ten days.
“I’ll go, papa,” I said, “The citizens must be protected.”
My father wouldn’t listen. “No, Sabra. I can’t let that happen.”
“But, dad,” I argued, “The dragon will be satisfied if I go.”
“No,” my father replied, and that was that. Nothing would change his mind.
He sent out a decree that if anyone could do anything about the weather and the dragon, he would be the next in line to the throne. On the fifth day, my father was fatigued, powerless, and stressed out. That night, I put on a white embroidered dress, the sign for mourning, and silently slinked out the castle. I went to the dragon’s lair and tied myself to a tree. I couldn't even remove the knot that held me on that tree. Before dawn, I noticed a skull lying right beside my foot and cold sweat dripped down my face.
When the dragon was in sight, it looked at me and snarled, “Well, well, well, what a fine surprise! The king has decided to give his poor little daughter after all.”
I closed my eyes and waited for my assured fate. Nothing happened. I heard the dragon scream. I opened my eyes to see a handsome knight in shining armor charging towards the dragon atop his majestic black stallion. The knight drove his sword into the dragon’s foot. The dragon yelped like a wounded puppy. Then its anger blazed and it ran howling towards the knight. The knight was very close to me now and with a quick slash of his sword cut the knot that had fastened me to my grave. He handed me a short dagger and nodded solemnly.
Immediately, a plan flashed into my head and I ducked behind the tree. The knight let out a bone-chilling battle cry and ran towards the dragon. The dragon opened its enormous jaws and blew a hurricane of fire at the knight. The knight screamed and threw himself to the ground. Flames enveloped him from my eyes and I could see him no more. My time had come. I had been creeping behind the bushes along the peripheral of the place and behind the dragon. Now I emerged from them, twigs scratched my arms and dug out streaks of blood, but I barely paid heed to them. With all the strength I could muster, I flung the dagger at the dragon’s back.
The fire ceased and the knight cowered silently on the ground. The dragon forgot its prey and slowly turned around to face its attacker.
“I’m not afraid of you!” I yelled up at its face.
Its face twisted into a hideous grin. Blood and sweat dripped over its face and onto the ground. Its entire gigantic body was emitting smoke after that burst of fire.
“Oh, but you should be, little princess. Pretty little girls in white gowns cannot take down dragons like me,” it replied softly.
“You’re right,” I replied, sitting down comfortably, “Girls in white gowns alone cannot take down dragons, but with a little help they can.”
The dragon looked puzzled and then remembered its fury. It raised a gnarled claw to crush me to the ground once and for all.
But my time for death had not yet come. Suddenly its eyes rolled back into its head and it collapsed onto the ground. Dead.
The knight had stabbed the dragon from behind. He had saved me. As soon as the dragon was dead, Enchancia became bright again. We had saved Enchancia. Together.
The knight lifted the helmet off his face and held out his hand to me. I took it and stood up.
“My name,” he said, “is Sir George.”
As for the rest of the tale, I’ll leave you to dream. Whatever ending you come up with though, one thing's for certain, I lived happily ever after (and I never lie!).
By Neev Aradhana Suresh
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