Work in Progress story idea I had based on the old trope of a princess in a tower guarded by a dragon. Surely there's more to their relationship than just captive and monster, who's feeding and taking care of the princess?
This is the start of a dramatic romantic comedy sort of story about a dragon and her pet princess.

---

I am a dragon. That is an important thing to know as it will inform you of some basic facts, the first being that I am an elegant and glorious creature. Imagine my shiny, sparkly red scales glimmering in the sunlight as my large powerful wings move through the air, my horns, teeth, and claws perfectly sharpened as my golden hued eyes survey my kingdom. Yes, imagine the most stunningly large and beautiful dragoness you can and that is me. … Actually, imagine the eyes with a bit more elegant radiance and ah, there you are, now you’re beginning to see what I am.
The second reason it is important to know that I am a dragon is because that will inform you that I am an intelligent creature who is most certainly telling the truth, as it is widely known that dragons do not lie*.
(*While this statement may not intentionally be a lie, it may very likely be an exaggeration.)
Recently, I have come into the possession of a pet human. A scrawny male by the name of Princess. He’s a short, skinny little thing with a yellow mane that runs about halfway down his back. He seems to enjoy wearing long puffy clothing and complaining in shrill tones when not trying to ignore me. It’s a bit different from my usual exposure to humans, but, well, there’s no reason to get into that now I was just about to go check on Princess again.
I grab a few small items with my claws as I hop lightly upwards and flap my wings a few times before grabbing onto the large tower housing Princess. Don’t worry, my lair is surrounded by the remains of a former human castle and when I found out I would be housing Princess I reinforced the tower to be able to support my glorious form.
I tap on the wooden door lightly with one of my claws before pushing it open.
“Good Morning Princess, how are you today?” I greet him pleasantly, you would expect a pet to be glad to see its doting master, not Princess though.
“…” He sulks and tries to ignore me again.
“Are you comfortable?” I continue.
“I’m being held by a dragon in a tower.” He says with a low indignant tone.
I lean my head slightly, annoyed by his continued belligerence and huff lightly, a small plume of smoke blowing into the air and past the parapet. “Yes, but are you comfortable?” I continue.
Princess hesitates a little before finally speaking again. “It’s a little cold.” He admits, timidly.
I look around the room, through the opening of the doorway, and see that the fireplace is dark. “You need to keep putting fresh wood on the fire. If you expect me to reach in there and do it you’re going to have even less privacy than you do now.” I state as princess reluctantly strains to place another log on the andiron before I blow a small stream of flames at it, reigniting the fire. It would seem reigniting the fire has reminded Princess that I am the one caring for him as his posture seems to soften and he finally turns to face me.
“I heard something earlier, was someone here?” He asks, finally a little excitement in his tone.
“Yes, in fact, there was! A knight, it was wonderful!” I reply cheerfully.
“Really?” He asks excitedly, “Where is he, what happened?”
I chuckle playfully before answering, “Why I ate it, of course.” Suddenly Princess’s joyful reactions seem to disappear. “What? What did you expect to happen? The thing came in here riding a steed and brandishing a sword, saying absolutely dreadful things about me. Why, it was shocking, humans usually treat me with far more reverence and respect. But, since he demanded a duel, I indulged the foolish whim and promptly proved my superiority. That’s simply how it works, to the victor go the spoils.” I explained, though Princess seems no more appeased by my explanation than before. “I’m not going to eat you though, you’re different.” I say, in an attempt to cheer the perpetually sulky human up, though as usual, it is to no avail. I’d like to be able to comfort or reassure Princess, unfortunately, I must admit I’m not exactly well versed in human customs beyond matters of honor such as the annual sacrifice, contract negotiations, and duels. Why can’t he simply recognize that I’m doing my best to keep him happy and well cared for? It’s not like keeping him here was my idea.
“I brought you food.” I say, bringing the tray I had prepared up to the door and sliding it toward Princess with the tip of a claw.
“What is it?” Princess replies sharply, a hint of distrust, possibly distain in his voice.
“Does it matter?” I counter quickly, my tone instinctively raising to match.
“Yes, it does, I’m not going to eat another person.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s wrong!” He shouts back angrily.
“Wrong?” I’m genuinely confused by this sentiment. “Fish eat other fish, insects eat other insects, birds eat other birds, I’m not sure why you humans deem yourselves to be so special, but nature would seem to disagree.”
Princess is angry, I can tell. That wasn’t my intention so I soften my tone. “It’s not human.” I say, pushing the tray closer. “I’m still trying to gauge how much you need to feed so it’s from a fawn I found grazing nearby. The rest I’m attempting to smoke and preserve for later. Is that acceptable?” I ask, unsure how Princess will respond.
“Yes.” He replies, quietly and abruptly.
I linger for a moment, hoping to see some sort of movement or response beyond the curt reply, however when one doesn’t come I carefully close the door before gliding back down to my lair uncertain what it will take to build a civil relationship with my new pet.

Chapter 2: The princess’s dragon

I am Princess Marilyn Elizabeth Dunworth. This is important to know as it should inform you that I am an elegant noble woman of royal lineage. One day I will become queen of my own kingdom, but first I have to escape from the horrific predicament I presently find myself in.
I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but one day I awoke to find myself imprisoned in a tower by a hideous and beastly dragon. The creature has blood red scales, and deadly razor sharp claws and fangs the size of your forearm. Its eyes are piercing and gold like the treasures it hordes in its lair below. Though I have been its captive for a couple weeks now I still have yet to find out why the creature kidnapped me. Perhaps my exquisite blonde hair caught its eye, with its lust for golden splendors.
It calls me its pet, and doesn’t seem to realize that Princess, is my title, not my name. Not that I care to correct my captor. I’m also fairly certain it isn’t aware of, or able to distinguish the difference between sexes because I’ve caught it calling me ‘he’ several times. Again, I find no need to further inform this creature with information it might somehow use in its nefarious dealings should it come into contact with anyone else. Perhaps its ignorance of humanity might spare any other unfortunate souls it may encounter. Besides, I’m hoping that I’ll be rescued soon. Surely the kingdom will be in an uproar, desperate to rescue their beloved princess.
It is strange though, the dragon fits many of the stereotypes one would expect. It has a horde of golden treasures it guards in its lair, it has kept me in a tower, and it isn’t afraid to devour humans, as it so proudly proclaimed just earlier today upon gleefully announcing that it had eaten a poor valiant knight whom had sought to rescue me.
Yet, it also seems capable of great care and caution. Occasionally it will visit me in my tower and present me with things it seems to believe I would enjoy. It is also diligent in its tasks as my… caretaker, in making sure I don’t go hungry or cold.
There was a bit of confusion at first regarding bathing, as it didn’t seem to understand why this was a necessity, however even that has become a routine it has accepted. It’s somewhat unnerving, bathing in a large cauldron which the dragon has warmed with its terrifying fire breath, but it assures me repeatedly that I am in no danger and it will not attempt to devour me, though I believe myself to be rightfully hesitant in distrusting the creature which has kidnapped and held me captive.
Even as it wraps its large clawed hand around me to bring me down from the tower for my bath, it shows restraint, it moves as though handling a delicate porcelain doll, leading me to believe it truly does not have much experience being on civil terms with a human, which only makes me wonder why it decided to attempt this in the first place. Not that I would actually ask, I fear what the answer might be.
Occasionally it attempts to lull me into a false sense of security by attempting to engage in small talk or conversations, though I know better. Despite how it may seem, this creature is a dangerous beast, and I must be wary and ever vigilant. One day my valiant knight will arrive to save me, or it will lower its guard, then I will be free once again and able to take my rightful place as queen.

Chapter 3: Playdate

Days in the tower are tedious. I spend a majority of my time either gazing hopefully out the window eagerly awaiting the signs of a rescue party, reading one of the few, very old, books the dragon as gathered for me, or doing my best to withstand the creatures attempts to ingratiate itself to me for its mysterious and duplicitous reasons.
“Oh Princess!” It calls up to me. The almost sing-song tone of its voice followed by a thud and slight tremor as it climbs up the tower to knock on the door.
This is another act of civility which I managed to convince it to follow, though the lack of response before it opens the door shows it doesn’t truly grasp the full reasoning of the act.
“Hello Princess.” It says, it’s cordial tone hiding it’s, no doubt, sinister intent. There’s a pause as it awaits a response, though I will not give it one. “I have a surprise for you, come here.” It says, waving one of its massive claws towards the door. This is new though, I can’t help but be curious.
“What is it?” I ask pensively.
“Come here, I’m going to pick you up.” It says, not shedding any further light on its intentions.
“Why?” I ask, despite knowing it’s unlikely to respond with an answer. As expected it does not say, instead it turns its head away from the tower and huffs, I can see a black cloud of smoke wafting by behind it shortly after. I know that it won’t wait much longer, I can either allow myself to be taken, or force it to reach in to grab me, likely destroying this place in the process. With that in mind, I approach the waiting hand.
“Good.” It says with a pleased tone as it wraps its claws around me, their movement slow but steady, searching for the right amount of purchase to hold me securely without hurting me. For a moment I wonder how it might react were I to scream out in pain? Perhaps that could buy me a moment, not that I could do anything from here that would aid in my escape. No, for now I’ll simply have to see what it’s planning.
After firmly wrapping me with its hand it lets go of the tower, gliding around the remains of the castle shortly before landing within the walls. The castle is a mere shell of its former self. The outer walls and towers remain, but everything within has been demolished, rubble and debris littered the courtyard, with the exception of a path to a large hole where the dragon had dug in and created a lair beneath the remains. I had seen this before, as it had shown me its horde and would bring me down for baths, but today it was a bit different. The debris had been cleared back, the grounds looked more open and clean than they usually would.
“It’s not bath time.” I remark as it sets me down upon the newly open ground. Some grass remains but it’s mostly just dirt and rocks, the rubble having crushed most of what remained of the castle courtyard’s former beauty.
“No it’s not.” The dragon agreed, though provided no further clue as to what its intentions were.
Here I stand, in the open, back on the ground again with the bright blue sky above, and a slight breeze wafting by, but I have no idea why or what the creature expects of me. I look around a bit, feel a pebble beneath my shoe and kick it away, but otherwise remain stationary. I’m not sure what game the beast is playing, but I have no intention of going along with it as it eyes me expectantly.
“Well… run, play.” It says, motioning with its hand as one would with a child.
“What?”
“Run. Play. Do as you please.” It says, before finally attempting to explain. “You always seem to be in such a dour mood. I thought perhaps it was because you needed more room to move around. While the tower is adorned with lovely furniture it is rather small. At first I didn’t think it would be an issue since you are rather small as well, but here. I’ve cleared a space for you to move freely.” It says, backing away seeming to give me access to the freshly opened grounds.
I’m taken aback, not sure how to react. Part of me says I should run, perhaps with this newly cleared path I could escape, however fairly early on the dragon warned me not to try. It said that it could easily track my scent through the surrounding forests and would swoop down before I would have any chance of getting away. I’m not sure whether it was telling the truth, or exaggerating to keep me from trying, though I must admit I’m not brave enough to test it just yet.
I begin to walk around a little, taking in as much of the surroundings as possible as it speaks up again. “I’m concerned.” It says, which causes me to stop in my tracks and watch as it speaks, what could it possibly be concerned about? “You seem skinny and upset.” I’m not sure whether to be happy or angry about that remark. “I’ve tried to keep you happy, I give you nice things, provide you with food, but you don’t…” It pauses, suddenly rolling back onto its side, exposing its underbelly to me while placing a claw upon it. “A large belly is a sign of happiness and status you see?” It continues, rubbing the exposed underbelly slightly, it’s a different color from the rest of its body, a tannish golden color. I hate to admit, but I’m morbidly curious about it. Legends say the underbelly is a dragon’s weak spot, and here this one is providing unfettered access. Is it truly softer than the rest of its scales? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? Was there truly a knight in there? As the questions race through my head once again I find myself too conflicted to act on any of them and find out.
“A large full belly is a sign that you’re happy, healthy, well fed—“
“Or pregnant.” I cut in sarcastically, unable to help myself.
“Hmm?” It rolls back over, leaning its head closer towards me, acting so carefree and innocent.
“You clearly don’t know anything about humans.”
“Oh no? Do you know why I live inside this castle?” It asks rhetorically, its tone growing forceful and upset. “It’s not because it’s particularly comfortable, or any more secure for me than a standard cave. It’s because it’s a symbol of the ridiculous things you humans respect. Despite being a wise and noble dragon who protects and oversees these lands, humans would just view me as some vicious creature that lives in a hole in the ground. No, you humans need monuments that defy nature, that distort and disrupt the landscape to show any sort of acceptance or approval. I don’t live inside this castle because I WANT to, I do it for you!” The dragon says, pointing one of its clawed fingers at me. “For you humans to show your proper respect!”
I can’t help but recoil a step or two as it points at me, it’s simply terrifying, a creature of this magnitude taking such a tone. You would be a fool not to feel a primordial fear screaming out inside you. And yet, after several weeks of being here, of having no say, something snaps. Against my better judgement I take a step forward. “Respect? Respect?! For what?! For terrifying people? For eating them and their livestock? For demanding sacrifices? For taking people against their will?!!”
“Taken against their will?! I NEVER--!” It begins to counter.
“As if I would ever believe you!!!” I yell back before it can finish its rebuttal. My body is shaking, my eyes are watering, yet the words come out more forcefully than anything I’ve ever said in my entire life. It isn’t until the dragon reacts though that I begin to realize what a tremendous mistake I’ve made.
The dragon slams a hand down as it returns to all fours, the ground shakes as the sound of the forceful thud echoes and reverberates off the walls. “That’s it!!!” It booms, smoke beginning to billow from its nostrils as an intense anger burns inside. “Back to the tower!!!” Its arm begins to pull back as its hand opens wide, obviously aiming to scoop me up.
I instinctively drop down, huddling into as small a ball as I can and placing my hands over my head. “No!” I scream as I hear the creature’s arm swinging toward me, an intense wind rushes past me before nothing but silence. I cautiously open my eyes to see the dragon’s hand right in front of me. Claws still spread wide, scales taught as muscles twitch underneath, flexing pensively as though being held back by some unseen force as it wavers, uncertain whether to proceed.
“No?” It asks sternly. I’m certain this means I only get one chance to respond with a satisfactory answer.
“I—I…” I stumble a moment with my words. I’m certain it wants me to apologize or say something of the like, but I just can’t. I won’t. Then again, I also don’t want to return to that tower, it’s been too long since I was able to move freely. “I… want to run…” I manage to squeak out through a trembling voice.
The dragon’s claws continue to flex as it contemplates how to respond. Finally it pulls back before squeezing tightly into a fist. There are light thuds as it walks away before sitting down again. This time no longer openly lounging, but sitting with its gaze fixed onto me like that of a predator stalking its prey.
I exhale deeply before taking deep panicked breaths to regain my composure, before drying my eyes and shakily standing up again. There’s nothing but silence and the soft padding of my shoes against the ground as I begin to jog in a circle around the clearing. It keeps its eyes on me the entire time, though gradually the tense look of anger disappears and seems to give way to an expression of melancholy. Though I can’t be sure, while it kept its eyes fixed I was only brave enough to risk the occasional glance. Horrible as the situation was, it did actually feel good to run.
After that incident things went back to the normal routine, more or less. We were both more cautious and quiet, walking on eggshells. It was awkward and strange, to say the least. Days passed, more knights arrived, more knights were devoured. It was beginning to seem as though there was no hope that the situation would change until there was a knock on the door. This wasn’t the normal knock though, it was softer, smaller… human?! I rushed to the door, flinging it open. My eyes were momentarily hazy adjusting to the light but there he was, tall with long bright red hair, wearing a dull red tunic.
I waste no time in trying to figure out what’s going on. “Who are you? How did you get here? Where’s the dragon?”
He’s not as confident as one would expect a heroic knight to be, he pauses for a moment before replying, “My name is…”

Chapter 4: A stroke of desperation
I must admit, I was becoming frustrated with Princess. He never seemed to appreciate anything I had done for him. In fact, over the past week, despite having gone out of my way to provide him more room and freedom, he’s even more distant and rebellious than before. Honestly, had I known how much trouble he would be I never would have accepted this deal in the first place. I was THIS close to simply devouring him and being done with the whole thing, when I had a brilliant idea!
Naturally, being a powerful dragon ruling over a vast territory, I have acquired a good selection of treasures over time. There was one in particular that might just solve my little problem. The trick was finding it.
As I descend below what used to be the human’s throne room into my lair, it only takes a moment for my eyes to adjust before they’re greeted by the wondrous site of my horde. Ah, for such tiny things they do bring such joy. Such lovely sparkly little trinkets, I love to scoop some up then hear them drop back down with lovely little clinks, tings and clangs. A melodious downpour of precious metals and jewels matched with marvelous flitting flashes of light.
“I could do this all day.” I happily sigh, before snapping back to the task at hand. The object I’m searching for is a curious little engraved stone with a soft green hue. It’s not something I’ve had any particular interest in using before, but could be exactly what I need to finally get through to Princess.
This particular trinket is called a stone of transformation and is purported to allow its user to take any form they wish. I claimed it from the alchemical laboratory of a formerly reputable wizard when this castle was originally inhabited. Today, I shall use it to take the form of a human female. Perhaps then Princess will finally lower his guard around me. Of course, I might need to be careful, if this transformation is as perfect as it claims to be Princess might be overwhelmed by my beauty. I laugh at the thought as I continue to search. Perhaps a large pile of gold and treasure, while appealing to the eye, isn’t the best way to store ones things.

Chapter 5: Knock, knock…
I must admit, after changing to a human form and walking up many flights of stairs, I can see why humans are such an irritable bunch. It’s so much easier to fly, and a far more manageable distance at the glorious scale of a dragon. I also have to occasionally remind myself to walk on only two legs instead of all four, humans seem to make a habit of choosing the most difficult way of doing things. Perhaps when I return to my original form I should offer to take Princess on a flight. Being untethered from the ground for a while might lighten his mood.
The climb up the stairs may also be a little more treacherous than they would normally, due to the various large wooden beams and stone pillars I used to provide extra support for the tower. To be fair, I never intended for humans to actually use these stairs, however should this experiment prove successful, I may need to invest some time in rearranging the supports and repairing some of the original structures.
Eventually I make my way to the parapet surrounding the tower, approach the door, and knock. Princess takes a moment to open the door, but then immediately assaults me with questions, “Who are you? How did you get here? Where’s the dragon?”
“My name is…” I begin to say as he places his hands on mine and pulls me into the room, quickly assaulting me with more questions. He sure is a high-strung one.
“How did you get here?” He asks looking out the door rather anxiously.
“I took the stairs, of course.” I reply.
“Stairs? There are stairs?!”
“Yes, th—“ Once more I hardly begin to speak before he has grasped my hand firmly and started to pull me along, making his way around the parapet to the stairway entrance and beginning to head downward, though finding himself blocked rather quickly by some of the supports.
“You climbed all the way up here through this? Well, come on, we have to hurry before it gets back!” He says beginning to scuttle over and around the supports in a hurry. I’m a bit worried he might hurt himself if he keeps moving like this.
“Slow down, there’s no hurry.” I say, pulling him back a bit.
“Slow down…? No hurry…?” He says, turning around to face me and staring at me with a rather unpleasant expression. “Are you kidding?! There’s a giant fire breathing dragon out there somewhere! I’m not sure how you got past it, but if you did that means we have to go NOW while we still can!”
“Is it really THAT bad?” I ask, stunned by the urgency and desperation in his voice. I’ve done so many things to accommodate him, to make him comfortable, why does he constantly rebuke me?
“Wh—I don’t… Aren’t you here to rescue me?!” Princess stammers.
This is not how I expected things to go at all. Perhaps Princess is right about one thing, perhaps I truly don’t know as much about humans as I thought I did. Though, I’m beginning to think of a way I can learn and become closer to Princess at the same time.
“My name is,” I begin to introduce myself again though I suddenly realize a draconic name doesn’t exactly translate well to human language, urrgh… what are some human names?! “My name is… Humie?” I say, hoping to distract him for a moment to refocus our efforts.
“Humie?” He asks, looking at me curiously. I nod in agreement as Princess cocks his head and quirks his eyes at me. “I’m going to go with Hugh, ok?”
“Ah, yes, Hugh, that’s what my friends call me!” I quickly reply. Ha, to think I was worried for a moment. This plan is perfect!
“So Hugh, why ARE you here?” Princess asks with an odd tone to his voice.
“Well, I’m a… travelling trader. Why, I provided that very outfit you’re wearing. I trade with the dragon who rules this area from time to time and she said she was concerned about you and was wondering if I could see how you are.”
“Really?” Princess asks, finally holding still for a moment. “So you’re NOT here to rescue me?”
“No.”
“And the dragon just LET you right in?”
“Yes.”
“… It’s a SHE?”
“… Yes… Couldn’t you tell?”
“HOW are you supposed to tell?!” Princess replies with a truly shocking question. I mean, honestly, how could you NOT know that I’m a female?!
“There are a few different signs actually, but, the easiest one is the eyes. Haven’t you ever noticed the elegant feminine eyes?” I ask. Surely she’s noticed my eyes, they’re radiant!
“No.” She answers flatly, before starting to act a bit more frantic again. “Anyway, I’m Princess Marilyn Elizabeth Dunworth, so, if you’re not here to rescue me, what’s going on? What are we supposed to be doing?” She asks, though I’m momentarily caught off guard by finding out Princess isn’t truly her name.
“Princess Marilyn… All of that is your name?” She gives me that look again. “I mean, of COURSE it is. Ha, that silly dragon, thinking your name was Princess. How… funny…”I’m a wee bit annoyed by this revelation. “What would you LIKE to do? We can talk or… I would say visit the courtyard but, perhaps we should allow the dragoness to make the stairway a little more accessible first?”
Princess… I mean, Marilyn… apparently… seems disappointed at first, but begins heading back up the stairs to the tower. “Yes, let us talk. … Tell me of your travels! Have you any news from the kingdom? Are there plans to rescue me?”
He seems much more energetic all of a sudden, eagerly pulling me back into the tower to sit down and talk. I must admit, I am a tiny bit concerned about how well I will be able to keep up this charade, but I’m certain it will be worth it. With this I will learn all about humans and Princess… I mean, Marilyn, will be amazed and overjoyed by how capable and considerate I am!

Chapter 6: A little confused…
The dragon’s been acting strange lately. Actually, the dragon isn’t the only one who’s been acting strange. I’ve recently been introduced to a traveling trader named Hugh. He’s an unusual man, though his visits are appreciated. Normally I wouldn’t associate with traders and the like, but I am somewhat desperate for human interaction, even if he is somewhat odd. Although, he is certainly pleasant to the eyes. Tall and muscular, though his bright red hair seems peculiar, there’s an almost unnatural sheen to it. Perhaps he uses some of his wares to enhance the color, either that or the dragon has tainted my appreciation for it being too reminiscent of the creature’s scales.

In any case, I am appreciative of his visits, and even the dragon seems to be in a cheery mood afterwards. It wasn’t long after Hugh’s first visit that the dragon began to work on the castle again. This time more than simply clearing away an opening in the courtyard, it… she, I suppose, actually set to work removing some of the rubble and blockades around the tower, presumably to make it easier for Hugh to traverse during his visits. I still find it a bit strange to think that the dragon would be friends with a human merchant, but it does seem to have its benefits.
After Hugh’s first visit, she was certainly eager to show the new information Hugh had shared with her. I had begun to settle in for the night and made sure to keep the fire fed when there was a knock on the door. The dragon seemed unusually eager and excited, she didn’t even wait for me to speak before proceeding.
“Hello Princess!” She proclaimed, I’m fairly certain she was smiling as well, though the sharp teeth on display made the gesture a bit less inviting than intended. “Oh, or should I say, Marilyn?” She grinned, obviously pleased with herself. “Ha ha, how silly I was, luckily my good friend Hugh informed me of my mistake.”
“You’re REALLY friends with Hugh? A human?” I asked, wondering how this relationship ever came to be.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, because he’s a human, and you eat humans…”
“He?” She seems confused for a moment. She definitely doesn’t recognize the difference between human sexes for some reason, though she seems to swiftly move along without giving it much thought. “You seem to be rather hung up on that particular point for some reason. I don’t see what that has to do with befriending someone?”
I honestly don’t understand how this dragon doesn’t get it! Sometimes she’s so intelligent, even considerate, and yet others so clearly out of touch with basic emotions and concepts. “Because you treat them like food! You obviously don’t view humans as equals, you call me a pet!”
She does her trademark huff sending a puff of smoke sailing by as though I’m the one who’s frustrating her by just not getting it, then tries to explain, her words are somewhat halted and deliberate, clearly she’s picking them carefully. “Yes, that’s true, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be a friend. Humans keep pets, horses, dogs, bulls, and more. You use them for labor and food, yet you will still call them your friends, or say you love them. You don’t view them as your equal, yet you can still appreciate them. I feel that my methods are actually better than that. I only hunt what I intend to eat, and I never go out of my way to hunt humans. The only ones I would devour are those who would seek to challenge me, or those offered to me.”
“You mean sacrifices.”
“Yes, though that makes it sound far less meaningful than it is. An offering is much nicer.”
This is obviously going to be another point of contention. Let’s see, I yell at her about how it’s a horrible thing, she tries to rationalize and make it sound noble, we go back to arguing again, that’s the pattern by now right? Perhaps, just this once, I should let this one slide… return to it another day.
“So… what’s your name?” I ask in an attempt to redirect the conversation. There’s a loud thud down below followed by a tremor that shakes the whole tower, after adjusting to regain my balance, I look at the dragon beyond the door, I swear I can see a sparkle in her eyes for just a brief moment, I can’t believe it, but she’s actually excited that I asked. Has she been as starved for conversation as I have this whole time?
“I’m so glad you finally asked! My name is…” She pauses, leaving me confused as to why she would be so eager, then suddenly stop. “Ah… I apologize, I’m not sure how it translates to the human tongue. I suppose you might characterize it as, an elegant growl?” Well now I can’t help myself, I’m actually intrigued.
“An ‘elegant growl’?” I ask, uncertain what she could possibly mean by that.
“Yes. Hmm… you’ll have to listen carefully, I’ll demonstrate…” And she did just that. Believe it or not it was quite possibly the most elegant growl I’ve ever heard, which is a remarkably strange thing to say.
“Ggrroowarrr!” I do my best to replicate the sound she made and come nowhere close to it.
She pulls back and cocks her head a bit before leaning back in again. “Were you trying to say my name?” I swear she was holding back laughter.
“Was it that bad?”
“… Nothing that can’t be overcome with a bit of practice, I suppose.” I guess that’s a sort of compliment coming from someone like her. “Though, perhaps, it wouldn’t hurt to have a human name as well. … Why don’t you give me one?” She asks, catching me quite off-guard.
“Me? Name you?” I repeat, rather shocked at the suggestion.
“Yes. Why not? I’m certain you know many fine names and can find one that is fitting. Why don’t you contemplate that for a while and we can discuss your decision at a later time? Perhaps a few more decent conversations will help. Is that acceptable, Marilyn?” She asks in a surprisingly pleasant tone.
“Yes, yes that is acceptable, Ggrrowwurr.” That time she actually did laugh.

Since then, things have been much the same as before, I’m still a princess in a tower guarded by a dragon, but occasional visits from Hugh and more amicable and pleasant conversations with the dragon have made things a little bit more bearable for now.