The Locked Door

I’ve been stuck behind this locked door for 5 years. Moryen the elf captured me when I was just a dumb teenager going on a walk. I was clearing my head after a fight with my mother… I’m sorry, a disagreement. Royals aren’t allowed to have fights or even talk about our feelings.

But what I wouldn’t give to have a fight with my mother now- a real fight. I miss my family; I miss my friends. Heck, I miss PEOPLE. I only see the elf when she visits once a week to drop off food. Behind her back I call her a goblin, ogre, witch- all the hideously ugly names I can think of. But to her face, I call her Moryen. Or “dearest Moryen, thank you for bringing me food! I was just famished.”

I hear something. I’ve heard when you lose one sense, another strengthens. In my case my lost sense would be social interaction. I hear everything, in preparation of Moryen coming. I must get my mind right to feign as if I don’t despise her.

There’s that sound again. It sounds like thunder, but softer, and breathier. What could that be? I move to my bed. 

The room I’ve been held in is just that, a room. On one side is a small window, but it can barely be seen out of with its gothic design. Next to the window is my desk. Moryen might have kidnapped me but at least she feeds me, gives me plenty of food, books, quills, and paper. Opposite the desk is a chest filled with just enough clothes to keep me decent. One nightgown, one dress for the daytime, and undergarments. Pathetic really compared to my previous wardrobe. Finally, my bed. It is a four poster with gauzy fabric draped around the sides and is my favorite part of the room. I pull the fabric and can close my eyes and pretend I’m somewhere else. Anywhere else.

Back to the sound. I can see the window perfectly from my bed as one is opposite the other. Suddenly glass shatters and my ears shake with a noise louder than I’ve heard in ages. The gauzy fabric which I cherish has protected my eyes and body from glass exploding in every crevice of the room. I realize I had buried my head underneath my arms to protect myself from the glass. Now I jump up and out from behind the fabric to see clearly what I already knew. A dragon. Am I really going to be kidnapped again? This time, I won’t go easily. Last time fear immobilized me. This time, I have a plan. 

The dragon reaches for me with his front arms. I dodge him and realize my legs are shaking. I did not predict this for today. I dodge the dragon and exclaim, “Why are you here!”

 I run to the other corner of the bed and lift the leg of the bed I have loosened over time. The metal quill Moryen left me made an excellent tool for whittling wood. Suddenly I have a weapon. I’m beginning to feel confident when the dragon grabs me with his talons. Panic hits, this is it. I’m going to be taken… again. I use the leg of the bed, my makeshift baton, to swing at the dragon. He grabbed me by the waist, so my arms are free. He nears my face slowly and I wonder if he’s here to take me or to eat me. I can see smoke coming from his nostrils and he smells of a recently extinguished fire. His nostrils contract and release and he sniffs me. His eyes are covered in a thin slimy substance, which can only be described as goo. I’m close enough to see his eyeball slime, this is not good. I’m paralyzed with fear. 

Being held in a tower has suddenly made me unafraid as I think, “what could be worse than being held here another five years?” 

I swing my baton as close as I can to the dragon’s eyes and narrowly miss. In surprise he drops me. It wasn’t my goal but it did what I needed. I’m no longer in the grip of a fire breathing dragon. I fell quite a distance and now I scramble back to my feet and race to the baton. My feet and my heart race together, in rhythm. 

Quickly and without delay, I race around the dragon and grab his tail. I wrap it around the baton one, twice, then three times. It is heavy, like lead, but adrenaline is coursing through my veins. I race around the dragon. He watches me quizzically and takes one heavy step. Dragons don’t make facial expressions, but all living creatures have feelings behind their eyes. It is this moment this his eyes show fear. His confidence wanes. And it’s all I need to take advantage.

He flips on his head and his eyes drop. The twist of his tail and the baton has acted like a giant rope, and he tripped on himself. I move quickly and grab all the fabric from my bed and a rope from my chest to tie him up. The same rope Moryen used to tie me up. I suspect she kept it in there as a reminder for what she can and will do if I try to escape. 

I quickly race to the window and tie the fabric that encased my bed, which is now my escape method, around the leg of my desk. I look out the window and realize I’m not so far away from home. I can see the castle from here. All this time, I’ve been within reach of home, and I had no idea.

I climb out the window and replace the grate that the dragon burst through. Miraculously, it still fits on the window. 

“Good luck getting out of there,” I tell him as I rappel down the side of the tower.

I begin running once I get to the ground. I’m close to the castle.

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My return home is electrifying and intoxicating. I tell everyone how I defeated the dragon and escaped. I rescued myself. 

“But darling,” my father, King Sarek says, “we sent the dragon to rescue you.”