“You're really back,” says Tesa a castle maid

  “Yes,” I say.

  “Sad, I’d hoped you’d have died.” says Tesa

  I’m not taken aback nor surprised. But I don’t know how to respond to the insult so I just leave and walk down the castle hall hiding my face under my hair. I walk the long white halls of the cold marble castle. I then enter my chambers.

  “They are much harsher than before.” I say to myself. I had only returned for three days and that’s how long it took to be reminded how much everyone wants me gone.

  But all I can think about is where my brother is. I was told that he left with a party of knights to come and rescue me. Needlessly, as the dragon let me leave. They have been gone for the last few days. And the kingdom is worried about their crown prince. But they let him as he was the greatest warrior in the kingdom and he had Gart with him the knight captain, the greatest knight in the kingdom.

  My brother Eric has always protected me from the glares and venom of the nobility. He would always say something along the lines of “you would dare insult the third princess.” Before telling them off, he was passionate about it too. Always speaking with confidence and power. As the crown prince he is trained that way.

  I laugh, maybe out of nostalgia, maybe it’s because of who my brother still is. I couldn’t believe he was like this. But nobody knows where he is now. I’m worried he went out to rescue me and never came back. It may be my fault if he died out in the cold snow.

  I think about our kingdom and what would happen next. My father the king is on his deathbed and my brother Eric is the next in line for the throne, how was he let out to go after that dragon. Without him my other brothers will surely scramble for the throne.

  I realise I’ve been pacing in my room so I stop to look at my glass window. Glass is expensive but it allows protection from the cold while also allowing you to look out. Despite my lack of need of protection from the cold I still have glass in my room. Because I’m royalty.

  I look through the window, out at the world below, dark and sick. People stay on the cold streets with no home or shelter. I watch the snow fall and wonder how cold it must be for the people who have no homes. My family never feels cold but I experienced it for the first time a few days ago and it was indescribable and horrible.

  I hear footsteps and the door creaks open and I look behind me to see Tesa the maid walk in. “Gart has returned.”

  “The knight captain?” I say “has my brother returned as well?”

  “I didn’t see him.” says the maid. She’s shaking for some reason.

  “Please, take me to the knight captain.” I say.

  So we walk down the halls of marble and across rugs of wool. Past the chef's kitchen where the cooks are all shuffling around to get dinner ready. They scramble and yell as they are behind schedule. The king needs different food as he is very sick so the chef is a bit out of his depth.

  Through the hall of armor where knights of great renown and history. Each armor piece has history written on it through nicks, scratches, and tears in the solid metal. Each of these belonged to a great knight from history. And their spirits are said to inhabit their armor and protect the palace.

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  We reach the castle gates and see the knight captain beaten and bruised covered in snow. He pants and slouches in pain. His sword on the ground, his horse standing behind him. When I walk in he looks shocked like he’s seen a ghost.

  “Princess?” the knight captain Gart says. “You're alive?”

  “Yes, fortunately the dragon spared me.” I say.

  “I see,” he says. “that’s great news”

  “Thank you, do you know my brother is?” I say.

  “Your brother,” says Gart looking down, “The dragon got him, I’m the only survivor.”

  “He’s dead?” I say. “But how?”

  I look at the knight captain, then to Tesa. Even Tesa, who is normally deadpan, seems shocked by this. I make a sobbing sound, my legs shake, then I collapse to the ground and stare at it mouth agape

  see drops of water on the ground. Where did they come from? I see they are from my eyes. I'm crying. My brother, the one who protected me from those other nobles. My brother, who had the sweetest smile and was the greatest warrior of the kingdom. He was my only childhood friend. And my only friend till this day that I can trust. Everyone else wants to gain my favor, my power, but my brother didn’t need that. He’s dead.

  Now that he’s gone. What would happen now? Who would get the throne? Why must it have been him who died? It should have been me.

  “I’m going back to my room.”

  “I see,” says Gart.

  Tesa seems too in a state of shock to take me there so I walk alone. Past the hall of armor past the chef's kitchen.

  “Princess, dinners ready.” says the chef as I walk by.

  “Tell them I won’t be eating tonight.” I say.

  The chef watches me leave.

  I enter my room and collapse to the floor. Staring at the ground. I wonder to myself, why, why did he have to die. Why did he have to leave. Why did he value me that much? Why would the dragon spare me and kill my brother? It doesn’t make sense.

  As I stare at the ground some more I realise. “It doesn’t make sense.” Why would the dragon spare me and kill him? Why did only the captain survive, how did he make it back while the rest of his party died.

  I look at the suffering people outside my window and think to myself. If the nobles had what they wanted they would suffer more. I think to myself about the kobolds civilization and how happy everyone was. Maybe that was because the dragon wanted it to be that way.

  The reason the nobles hate me is because I want them to have better lives. The nobles despise that about me. They are likely to go after me now. If I can prove they conspired to kill the prince then they would easily be taken out of nobility and become peasants. Only as long as my father is alive though. I have suspicions about my brothers wanting the throne.

  I no longer have my brother. So people will be coming after me. And I’m just guessing but I think that knight captain Gart will have something to do with it. I look out at the people and think I have to protect these people myself. I have to put a stop to all those nobles who sent me to be killed by that dragon. Those nobles who want me dead.

  I put my hand on the window, it feels cold. And that’s what I’ll have to be to get through this coming scramble for the throne. I have to find people on my side. After my father dies all bets are off. And the kingdom will be in crisis.

  Why did this happen? My mind returns to the dragon and it’s tears. Did a sensitive grieving being like that really kill my brother?

  Then I feel cold again for just a moment when I see it. a large black winged figure touching down just outside the city then disappearing the same moment it landed. It couldn’t be, could it. I put my hand on the window dreading what will happen next.