“We made it! We actually did it”, says the princess as we see the entrance to a cave.

In the cave lies a dragon, and behind it is what we have been searching for. After six dreadful months the eggs of the royal families dragon are in sight.

The dragon that’s inside has dark purple scales that reflect off the setting suns light. It sleeps curled up and inside the sleeping dragon is they nest of eggs.

“Only because I was here to defend you, darling. After all you’re only a princess, and you can barely pick up a fork to feed yourself”, I reply jokingly.

She laughs, which makes her brown dress coat dance in the wind around her. Her hair gets caught in the setting suns light and makes it look like it’s a light green rather than a dark forest green.

I turn my face away from her reluctantly and try to focus on my task. Getting her back to the castle safely.

The eggs are a reflective lavender color, which contrast the dark, almost black, purple of the mothers scales. You can tell how old a dragon is based off of how dark their scales are

“Now I just receive one of the eight eggs. Easy. Simple.”, says the princess silently hoping that since the dragons sleeping that it won’t notice someone entering her home. “Wait here”

“Why do I have to wait here?”, I reply quickly, not wanting her to get hurt trying to get the egg.

“It’s my task, not yours, to retrieve the egg, like all my ancestors before me, and only people who are royal blood may enter.”

I look at her, and after so long together I am now able to tell that she’s scared. Oddly I don’t think it’s only the dragon that is making her scared. Usually she finds comfort in my presence, like I do when I’m with her. I wonder what changed.

Easily, she enters the cave a quietly retrieved one of the eggs.

“I know what you’re trying to do”, she says suddenly after stepping out of the cave.

“What am I trying to do?”, I ask genuinely confused.

“Don’t act dumb now, especially when we both know you aren’t”

“As much as I appreciate the compliment. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Stop messing with my head! You’re trying to steal the egg, so you can finally go to that stupid land across the sea that you’ve been talking about!”, she says looking outraged.

“The only thing I’m trying to do is get you home safe with the egg, so that you can live happily ever after with some stupid prince of your dreams!”, I reply back with the same angry tone.

“So what you’re jealous?!”

“Yes! I have been pining after you ever since you defend that little boy on the street. So forgive me if I want to be with someone and she just so happens to be a queen! It’s not like I tried falling for you! It just happened!”

“Grow up! It’s not like we could actually be together, no one will except a princess and a knight! No one will except me as their queen in general!”

“Don’t you get it! It’s not about me being a knight!”

“Its not about you-!“, the princess says angrily

“Sorry, I forgot that it’s always about you! You are to scared to admit you fell for a girl in general. Not just any girl, but your best friend who is just a lowly knight. The person who has been there for you through thick and thin.”

The silence that follows is tense and lasts longer than it should. It’s almost like the princess needs to ready herself for the words she says next.

Finally she responds almost robotically,”I don’t like you like that, or any girl. It’s okay if someone of a lower class does it, although it is still frowned upon, but for someone as important as a princess it is the most dishonorable things she could do”

This. This right here is the worst thing that ever happened to the knight. Not only because the love of her life just told her that she doesn’t love her. But mainly, because it doesn’t sound like her own words. In fact it sounds like she has just read from a text book.

With tears welling in both of their eyes the knight tries to comfort the princess, only to be pushed away.

At last the knight speaks,”You don’t mean that. Come on, darling.”

She tries to comfort the princess again, and gets rejected again.

“Darling?”

The princess stays quiet.

“You don’t mean that… right?”

She still says nothing.

“Darling, please talk-“

The princess finally speaks, “Don’t call me that”

“What?”

“I’m not your darling. In fact I’m not your anything. Not your princess. Not your love. Not even your friend.” With each sentence she gets louder. And with each sentence the knight takes a step back, as though being physically wounded, ”I’m not yours and your not mine. So grow the hell up and understand that we are nothing!”

The knight, now dangerously close to the edge watches as the princess sheds a single tear after her speech. Then, to lost in heartbreak, tries to take one last step away from the princess.

Suddenly the knight is falling, and someone is screaming.

The princess is to close to the edge, the knight thinks worriedly, not wanting her to fall. Oddly seeing her crying like a great big tragedy happening makes the knight wonder how much the princess believes her own words.

Although the knight is heartbroken, she feels free. It’s ironic how the knights favorite tale was of Icarus and the sun. Icarus the boy who flew to high, trying to reach for his love, the sun, but forgot that if you get to close you’ll burn.

The knight always thought it was silly to think he forgot that he would burn, she preferred to think that his love for the sun was so prominent that maybe. Just maybe it would let him closer than the rest. To this day she doesn’t believe that anyone made it as high as the boy with the wax feather wings.

When Icarus fell he did not cry, or scream, but he laughed and smiled, because after so long he felt his love more than ever before.

So like Icarus the knight fell, and felt the last of the princesses love for her. The knight smiles up at her hoping it will make her smile one of her show stopping smiles she has. The one that lights up her eyes and makes it seem like the stars shine a little brighter, but just for her.

Then, time speeds up again and the princess is still screaming. The knight is finally out of the air and the princess is hard to spot, because everything hurts. The knight is suddenly so, so tired. Everything is gone quiet.

Everything except her, still screaming with regret and heartbreak.