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Lizard enters the library, where silence reigns in the deserted halls and only sunbeams play an endless game of leapfrog. He approaches a sleeping Revan, completely overgrown with cobwebs, in whose hair wonderful book-alkonosts have already managed to weave a nest.
- Hey, buddy, wake up! *pats him on the shoulder*
- ah.. uy.. br... ...Nelly, don't wash the iron in syrup... ah... m-m.. yes... more... cookies... no... no... no... just not a gummy in the shape of Dima Bilan... *suddenly jumps up in a cold sweat* - Noooooooheheheheeet!...
- Hey, what's wrong?
- *looks around* Whreee... are my coookieeess?
- I certainly understand, it's a heavy loss, stay strong friend! *meanwhile, something same-//covertly crunches in Lizard's pocket*
- Well alright, why did you come to the library then, could it be...
- Oh, yes, here, I brought some additions, hope this helps fill these emptying shelves! *throws a couple of sheets on the table*
- And... that's all?
- For now, yes, but read them, they're light and interesting... Lizard approves of such things! Now I'll go grab something to eat, don't be sad here :)
Revan took a sheet in his hands and read the title:
Is it worth stealing princesses?
Author - Larreina.
CHAPTER 1
Understanding a person is not difficult. It is difficult to understand them correctly
...The maiden sat and, with interest carefully hidden behind indifference, examined the walls of the cave, occasionally casting distrustful glances at the huge lizard. The dragon didn't care. He was asleep.
… And how well this day had started! The sun was baking, birds were singing… In general, the mood was so wonderful that one felt like singing! And why the hell did I go to save this… maiden? I mean princess…
The dragon was just about to head out hunting, especially since a charming spotted cow he liked had just been brought to the pasture. And the fact that the villagers would be outraged again, or might even force some walking can to drag themselves toward him in the heat – that's nothing terrible… The can has it worse, not him…
The dragon licked his lips, imagining a hearty breakfast from that very cow. And the villagers were to blame; he had offered their elder a deal – one cow every three days, but for some reason this strange little human didn't want to listen and ran toward the village with loud screams. Oh, how the dragon laughed then, watching the fleeing man… He almost lost his bast shoes from fear…
And who decided to ruin such a day? Who up there felt the need to torment a poor dragon!
A wild scream rang out so suddenly that the lizard almost fell to the ground in surprise. What an obnoxious way that maiden shrieked! For the first time, the dragon regretted that he couldn't plug his ears, and for the first time considered suicide.
- You just can't screech like that, - he growled, looking out for that hated maiden who had nearly left him deaf.
A small dot was visible on the road leading to the village. Beside it stood another dot, larger. The maiden jumped combatively around it, not stopping her screaming. The dragon sighed sufferingly, turning toward the maiden. Curiosity defeated hunger.
As he approached, the dragon saw that the second dot was a huge man in armor, unsuccessfully trying to catch the nimble maiden. But she resisted desperately.
The dragon hovered in the air, contemplating this picture with bewilderment.
- Do they not see me? – the lizard wondered. He looked at the "knight" and struggled to hold back a giggle inappropriate for such a large beast. – And isn't this can hot in his gear? It's thirty degrees out, no less…
The maiden screamed without stopping. The dragon listened.
- I'm not returning to the palace, I don't want to marry that bald guy, got it? Tell my father that!
- But, your highness… - panted the knight. – The esteemed Lord Kelar is not at all… bald…
- He simply has a lack of vegetation on his skull! – shouted the… princess, masterfully dodging huge paws. And who takes such types as knights? Ah, well, that's clear… With a guard like that, no enemies are scary…
- Hm… Well, I think it's not a great deficiency, - groaned the unfortunate man. He was already exhausted, apparently.
- And I don't care! He's as scary as my late grandmother! If you see him at night in the corridor with a candle – you'll stutter for an eternity!
The knight apparently remembered the aforementioned person, because he turned pale and froze. The maiden took advantage of the moment and quickly dashed down the road, zigzagging like a hare. The knight paused for a moment, wondering what to do. The dragon used this moment to make his presence known.
- Ahem… Respected sir, is help not required? – he asked delicately.
The guy looked up… And froze. Then he snapped out of it … and bolted down the road, armor clanking… in the other direction. Once again, the dragon marveled at human stupidity.
- Why don't these stupid little humans understand that I won't eat them, I won't! What do I need them for… Eat one – hundreds will come… And they'll be jumping around me… - he grumbled. A belated cry from the knight reached him: "Dragon!!!!!" - Well there, dissatisfied again…. Although I'll catch the maiden and give her back to them later…. Otherwise she'll go missing, and they'll think it was me…
Idea thanks to a certain dragon named Wing
Is it worth stealing princesses? Chapter two
CHAPTER 2
Your friend called me princess,
And you replied, hiding quiet fear,
Such princesses in ancient plays,
Were burned at stakes in the end..
… The maiden didn't even have time to squeak before she was in the air… But while the dragon flew to the cave, he learned so many new obscene expressions as he had never known in his entire life.
- And where do princesses learn to swear like that? – he sighed, releasing the maiden. From his sigh, some golden goblet rose into the air and smacked the princess on the forehead. She took a deep breath… And the dragon again regretted that he couldn't plug his ears.
- You, … , let me out,… , otherwise I'll make sure your relatives are [swearing] by orcs together with you, … over the knee… ten times… - she cursed. The lizard imagined this perspective… and shuddered, not from fear, but from laughter… And still, unable to hold back, he roared with laughter, releasing steam from his nose. The maiden fell silent, looking at the lizard warily. – Hey, you, … winged one, what's wrong with you?
- Well you, princess, are something else! – the dragon squeezed out through laughter.
- You scoundrel, you're even laughing at me? – shrieked the uncontrollable maiden. With a huge bump from the goblet on her forehead and a face twisted with rage, she looked so funny that the dragon felt ill and almost sobbed from laughter. A spit-and-image fury!!! Or no… a unicorn! Hee-hee… - Take this!
That same goblet, quite dented, flew at the dragon. Since the dragon didn't stop brazenly laughing at her nastiness, the girl grabbed some cute little spear and vengefully threw it at the dragon. It hit the dragon's head with a loud thud and … fell to the ground, causing the lizard no harm! This angered the maiden even more.
It seemed to the dragon that this lovely lady was about to start smoking from rage.. He stopped laughing and with difficulty squeezed out:
- What is your name, lovely creature?
- Are you mocking me, are you? – The maiden jumped around him, as she had recently around the knight, combatively clenching her fists and strongly resembling a monkey. The dragon giggled again, imagining her going into hand-to-hand combat. But suddenly the maiden calmed down. – I am Lorena. And don't you dare laugh at me, vile lizard!
- And since when did I become vile? – muttered the dragon. And addressed the combative maiden: - And what will happen if I continue? You are so funny, little human!
- Actually, I introduced myself, - said the maiden dryly. Then her eyes lit up. – And if you keep teasing… Then I will cast spells! See! And besides, they're already looking for me, and if Raten saw you, then everyone will guess where I am!
- Yes? You can even cast spells? - ignoring the words about the search, asked the dragon.
- I can! – The maiden proudly turned up her nose. Then she put her hands on her hips. – And I can roast you!
She stamped her foot, whispering something… but nothing happened. She frowned threateningly, snapped her fingers… and again nothing!
- I already believe that you are a great sorceress! – groaned the formidable and terrible lizard. – I am dying… of laughter.
The princess displeasedly pursed her lips and sat right on the stone floor of the cave, muttering something. The dragon listened.
- But I definitely remember… Stamp your foot or snap your fingers, and a fireball appears… I don't understand anything… - she whispered, ignoring the dragon. He decided that it would be interesting to chat with this brat.
The maiden snapped her fingers once more… And ice-cold water poured over her from a bucket that appeared out of nowhere!
Lorena howled, jumping up from the icy puddle and looking in horror at her wet pants and shirt. She looked angrily at the ceiling of the cave and threatened it with her fist.
- Well, Katie, I'll remember this! You'll learn not to play pranks on your sisters!
The dragon coughed, reminding her of his presence. The princess turned a furious gaze toward him and bit her lip. It seemed to the lizard that this unstable person was about to start sobbing, but no, it didn't come to that.
- Well now, I'm wet too, - sighed Lorena. Apparently, the refreshing shower had a sobering effect on her. – Satisfied, lizard?
- I am not a lizard, - protested the dragon. – Listen, are you really not afraid of me at all?
- And why should I be afraid of you? – shrugged the princess. She sighed again. – And how should I address you if I don't know your name? Therefore, if you don't introduce yourself to my radiant person, you'll be a lizard.
- What an ego you have, milady, - the dragon exhaled in shock. – I haven't encountered such a thing in a long time.
- Well, you shouldn't have stolen me, then you wouldn't have encountered it! But as it is… your own fault, lizard.
She smiled vengefully, and for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes, the dragon regretted that he had decided on this theft at all...
Is it worth stealing princesses? Chapter three
CHAPTER 3
Character is revealed
not in selfishness and whims, but in the ability to overcome
all difficulties with head held high
and not break
- You won't be able to pronounce my full name anyway, so let it be Wright, - he finally said.
- Some kind of strange name, - thought the maiden.
- It is what it is! – the dragon took offense. – I didn't laugh at yours. And besides, you are the first human who calls me by my name!
- Well alright. Forgotten. – Lorena waved her hand. – Better tell me, do you have anything to gnaw on?
The dragon was simply stunned.
- What? – he asked stupidly, thinking he had misheard.
- Do you have any food? – the princess lost patience. – I didn't have time for breakfast.
- Look there, behind the mountain of gold, some knight remains should be lying around… You can finish them off, - Wright generously offered. – He was tasteless anyway.. turned out to be very stringy..
He thought that the maiden would now howl and send him somewhere, but she calmly said:
- Bring it here. I'm so hungry that I'll even agree to a knight.
- I was joking! – the dragon became flustered.
- Me too. Listen, I've always been curious: how do you pull knights out of their plate armor? Doesn't it get stuck in your teeth later? – asked the maiden with curiosity.
- If it gets stuck, we usually use a sword as a toothpick, - said the dragon with a serious look. Lorena turned out to be terribly amusing, and he almost stopped regretting his action. – Actually, I don't eat knights… They are tasteless. Cows are better…
- A cow is good! - Lorena's eyes shone. - Bring it here!
- Yeah, right, I'm running already! – the dragon took offense.
Lorena thought. Sighed and made a pleading face:
- Please-e-e-e!!! You are kind!
- What makes you think that? – countered the dragon, turning to fly away. Better fulfill the request of this crazy person than listen to her screams later…
***
The dragon flew away. Lorena cast a glance over the cave, and quite an indifferent one – at the mountain of treasures. What did she need them for if about the same amount is lying around in the treasury at home?
She bit her lip and quickly left the cave… She has five minutes, no more…
- Darkness, it's almost a sheer cliff here! – she exhaled, trying to even out her breathing. – Damn, why am I afraid of heights?
Her heart beat very fast. And for some reason, the huge bump on her forehead was itching. Lorena swore not very well, hastily stepping away from the edge.
- Well, knights must get up here somehow? – thoughtfully muttered Lorena, looking at the serenely blue sky. – Alright. One must look for positive moments in everything. Let's try to find some here… Oh, right! My father's people won't find me here! At least one plus.. And even if they do find out where I am now, it's unlikely they can do anything again.
The stubborn girl sighed and returned to the cave, displeasedly wringing out her wet clothes..
- How kind they all are… Everyone wants to help me… Only it turns out a bit strange, - grumbled the girl, looking around the cave for a place where she could sit. She only found some pile of clothes, sloppily and not very cleanly heaped in a corner.
- Well, this will do, - the princess noted philosophically, rubbing her bump. – You really did me a favor, you nasty lizard! I'll be walking with this bump for an age now…
In the pile of jewels she found a heavy mirror in a gold frame and quickly looked into it. What she saw did not set a positive mood. Short black hair in dust and standing on end, as if she had never combed it, a strange doom in her eyes... Lorena snorted and threw the mirror away.
- Well where is that dragon stuck? I'm bored! Oh, here comes that monster! He has arrived! – she muttered, watching the approach and landing of the giant lizard. To tell the truth, he wasn't even that big, nor scary at all. For some reason Lorena wasn't frightened at all when he set her down on the cave floor.
He had very beautiful scales. Dark green, consisting of small same-//scales. And yellow eyes, which seemed to the princess to be squinting maliciously. Also, he turned out not to be a vicious beast like those she read about in books. On the contrary, a very cute and kind… ahem… creature.
- I thought you wanted to escape, - Wright growled, lowering a cow carcass onto the cave floor.
- How am I supposed to get down? – grumbled the girl. – You wanted me to escape? Then you should have put up a ladder or provided a rope…
- Can't you leave a single phrase without a comment? – Wright grumbled good-naturedly.
- And how did you guess? – the girl turned up her nose.
- Your crown is about to fall off, - the dragon noted maliciously.
- Don't dare mock me! – the girl flared up. – Oversized lizard!
- And don't call names, little misunderstanding!
- Why you… you... - The girl took a deep breath.
- Alright, alright, I get that arguing with you is impossible, however much I might want to. You can calm down, lovely lady, I no longer intend to quarrel with you.
- That's wonderful. Listen, can you roast the cow?
- Easily, - Wright nodded. A second – and the cave smelled very delicious of roasted meat.
- Are you sure you didn't need to take out the insides and skin it first? – Lorena asked warily, stepping closer. – I have no idea how to cook meat, but for some reason it seems to me that this isn't right…
- I don't know… But if you want, you can take the legs for yourself, and I'll take the rest, - the dragon generously offered.
- Well thanks. Alright, I agree! – The girl sat on the cave floor and reached out her hands to the carcass.
- I brought you some water too – The dragon produced a nearly full barrel of rainwater from somewhere and placed it before Lorena.
- Oh, thank you… there's enough here to wash up too!
- No problem. It's no trouble for me, - Wright was clearly embarrassed.
But nobody was listening to him anymore...
Is it worth stealing princesses? Final part
Chapter 4
If you helped a friend in need,
he will surely remember you,
when he finds himself in need again.
Evening crept up unnoticed. Lorena turned out not to be such a capricious maiden as Wright had thought. She was just a bit spoiled. But she didn't refuse the prospect of spending the night on a pile of clothes, explaining that it was better than nothing. Wright could only marvel at the actions of this strange little human.
They agreed that tomorrow he would take her east, to the sea, so that the king's soldiers couldn't find her. Wright didn't mind, but for some reason a strange thought crept into his head: he would miss this slightly flighty, but cheerful and very kind maiden. Strange.. no human had ever evoked any emotions in him other than amusement. And here.. nothing more to add.
The dragon pushed another huge log into the fire and carefully, with a claw, adjusted the blanket that had slipped off Lorena. He sighed.
***
Night… The fire burned out, and an icy wind blows into the cave. Lorena shivered and sat up. The cave was flooded with the mystical light of the moon. Wright was asleep, puffs of smoke occasionally escaping from his nose. Lorena sat for a while, looking at the dragon and the cave with a slightly wary gaze, and sighed. The fire had burned out. The maiden walked around the cave, wrapped in her blanket.
- Strange that I don't want to leave… - she whispered. – Well alright, what's there to regret…
- Stop grumbling, go to sleep, - the lizard muttered sleepily. Lorena actually shuddered from surprise.
- Calm down. I'm going now.
- Well good, - Wright grumbled.
Lorena left the cave and watched for some time the bustling lights of torches somewhere below, at the foot of the mountain.
- They're already searching, - she said quietly. And added vengefully: - You won't find me. Let Katie marry that weirdo instead of me, and I will… travel! They say there is a Magic Academy on the islands, that's where I'll head! And no one will find me there!
- Of course they won't, - came from the cave. – Especially if I eat you right now. If you keep not letting me sleep.
- Oh-oh, how delicate we are! – the girl sneered. But she obediently went into the cave and sat on her bed. And a second later she was fast asleep.
***
- If I had known that flying on a dragon was so great, I would have flown on you every day! – the princess spoke enthusiastically and very quickly. Short black hair, always disheveled anyway, stuck out in different directions like feathers of a bird that had been in a fight, and her blue eyes shone with genuine delight.
- Yeah, right, that's how I'd carry you! – Wright grumbled. – I didn't sign up to be a free transport for bratty girls.
- And where would you go? – Lorena smiled. She adjusted the belt with several daggers and looked at the lizard with gratitude. – Thank you. You are a wonderful dragon, Wright. Truly, I don't know why you gave me daggers… I don't know how to use them!
- You'll learn. And I am more than sure that they will come in handy for you. Now, that's enough sentimentality, - the dragon commanded, noticing that the maiden had started suspiciously sniffing. Lorena smiled.
- Come on. I'm telling the truth. And I really liked flying on you.
- Welllll… Maybe you actually will have one more chance, shrimp. Here, take this.
The dragon brought something green to the girl on his claw. She stared at it with curiosity.
- My scale. Don't lose it. If you need me, call. You can use it indefinitely, but still not too often, otherwise I'll get tired of flying back and forth. But if you miss my company – just squeeze the scale in your hand and say my name. Just try to make sure no one else hears, especially a mage, alright?
- Agreed, - Lorena shrugged, smiling happily. – Eh… no one else has such a treasure! This is better than any gold!
- Well alright, go. It's time for you, - the dragon said quietly.
- Okay. Until next time, Wright. And thanks for the help.
… She slowly headed down the narrow road to the port city to board a ship there.
- I hope none of the common residents saw me? – thoughtfully muttered Wright, looking after the girl. - Otherwise they'll catch this restless one, and then I'll have to pull her out of trouble again…
The dragon shook his huge head, getting rid of a sudden vision where he was saving a bratty princess again, and hastily rose into the air.
***
...A new day began… Birds sang, and the sun shone as brightly as yesterday. The dragon was just flying over the capital when he heard a wild scream coming from one of the palace windows:
- Aaaaaa!!! I don't want to marry this bald fool! Let Lorka marry him!
...Well no way, I am definitely not saving that one, Wright firmly decided…
(Posted in the library by Polosataya)
