The Princess Saved Herself

The dragon had dark eyes and scales eerily similar to

Human flesh.

Fangs just a tad too sharp for

Human teeth.

Human as he was, he still knew how to

Breathe fire; red cloudbursts of

Rage and

alphabet dust.

The dragon kept the princess locked away.

Daily she would sob and wait for her prince

To rescue her.

He never came.

At first the flames were gentle;

The flickering of a candle

In the bright breeze of

A summer evening.

But when the dragon was mad

The flames scalded her body

And his claws dug into her body

And her body was an outlet

And her body was disposable.

On the twelth day of the seventh month

She felt a flame brewing from deep within her;

A flame of anger; the embers of revenge.

On that day

The princess grew claws

Fangs

Firebreath

Determination

Vengeance settled deep within her breast.

The dragon’s snores the only sound,

She crept to the edge of her cage

And with an intense courage

And grace

And love

She burst through the cell.

She took to the skies

On her newfound wings.

The princess

Saved

Herself.