“Princess Angelica?” One of the maids said as she opened the door to an empty storage-now sauna- room.

As she closed the door and headed to the back, the middle aged woman fanned herself from the increasingly warm air. The windows were too small to circulate the air. Torches on the walls gave the room an eerie glow but also added to the heat.

When no one responded she let a sigh of annoyance and started to head back to the exit, unbeknownst to her, something moved in the shadows.

A sudden scraping sound made the woman freeze in her tracks. Her heart raced, her breath caught in her throat. It sent shivers down her spine. The sound was soon followed by a low snarl. It crept closer. The woman braced herself so she instinctively for a nonexistent sword around her waist.

The woman whirled around just in time to see a baby dragon leap forward, its wings outstretched, and talons extended like deadly claws. It let out a screech only for it to smack the woman in the face and drop to the ground, disoriented.

“Angelica! I told you to keep them tied up or they’ll escape…” She hollered, in hopes of another response then gazed down at the little winged creature to find its beady orange eyes staring back blankly. “…and I am not watching it!”