When the Dragons Left

The windows banging open awoke her. Blearily in the early morning light, she sat up, moving to stand and close the window that was thrown open by the sudden storm. That was when she noticed the folded note beside her on the bed. 

Standing, she closed the window and pulled her nightdress closer around her to stave off the sudden cold. She picked up the note and began to read. 

Princess,

I know we spoke of this possibility and you never put any belief into it. But it happens today, it has to. I want you to know that this is not a choice I make lightly, but the counsel of elders has deemed me going to be in the best interest of all. I will miss you for the rest of my days, none of us will ever forget you. 

I love you, now and always. 

It was signed simply with the symbol of the dragons. But she knew the author. 

She remembered the look on his face when he bid her goodnight the night before, the almost sadness that was hidden there. He knew then and didn’t tell her. 

He had never told her that he loved her before either. 

“No!” she screamed as she ran from the room. 

“Princess!” screamed the knights who guard her door and began to run after her, their armor slowing them down. They can’t keep up with her, not now, not with what is happening. 

I have to stop them, she thinks to herself over and over again, I have to. 

Sprinting through the castle, there was commotion all around. There were screams from the surrounding rooms, people staring through the windows at the chaos outside. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see the wind thrashing the trees outside, the storm swirling in the sky. 

Faster, faster, she thought to herself.

She cursed the tower in which her room resided. So far from where she needed to be. Suddenly the princess changed directions, turning down a servant corridor, nearly sliding down the stairs that lead to the kitchens below. The moment she hit the floor, she sprinted past the fearful-looking servants and cooks and out the kitchen door. 

Even though she was barefoot, she couldn’t feel the pain of the stones below her cutting into her, her focus only on her goal. She pushed herself faster, running through the garden and past the walls, her goal being the sacred hill of the dragons. 

She had visited this hill nearly every day for as long as she could remember. There had always been whispered of her oddness, as most of her friends were those dragons that were seen as near Gods by the others. She never paid the whispers any mind growing up. But now those friends, her family, were leaving. She couldn’t bear the thought of it.

Still running, she reached the bottom of the hill, the wind buffeting her, slowing her ascension. She pushed harder, her dress in tatters from the bushes and thorns she raced through. She ignored the winding path and drove directly up the side of the hill, tearing up her hands and she pulled herself up on rocks and roots. 

Reaching the top, she finally saw the source of the storm: the portal. They had spoken of the possibility of them leaving, but she never believed they would actually do it. They were integral to the world here, to the kingdom, to her life. 

 Most of the dragons had already passed through, their visage shimmering on the other side of the portal. The last passed through and she tried to catch her breath to speak. The only being still on this side, was him. 

He stood with her back to her, his black hair whipping in the wind.

“Please!”, the word ripped from her, caught up in the wind, “Please! All of you! Don’t go!” She knew they all could hear her, even with the wind.

He stepped through, turning to meet her eyes at last. There was determination in his piercing eyes, but also sorrow. She was too far to reach them, to reach him. 

“Take me with you!” she screamed, her final plea. If she couldn’t stop them, she would go with them. She ran for the shimmering portal in front of her. 

20 feet away, 10 feet, 5 feet…

Suddenly, the portal snapped shut, and the following silence was like a thunderclap. It was deafening in its emptiness. Crumpling where the portal had stood, no lasting trace of those she loved so much, the princess fell to her knees, her keening filling the silence. 

And with that, the dragons left our world forever. 

-

Eventually, the princess was found by her knights who carried her back to the castle. She was silent now, as silent as the emptiness that followed the portal disappearing. She would speak to no one, barely even acknowledging the presence of those caring for her injuries. 

For a few days, no one really knew what happened. But the world was eventually thrown into chaos when they realized the dragons were gone for good. It was as if they had vanished from all over the land at the same time, leaving behind nothing but fear and confusion. People had grown so accustomed to having the dragons present in their lives, that it felt like a part of them was missing.

In an effort to make sense of what happened, people relied on rumors and speculation. Some said that the dragons had gone to fight a great battle in another realm; others said that they had been driven away by an ancient force of evil. Whatever the case, no one could deny that the world felt much emptier without the dragons there.

Eventually, memories became stories, stories became legend, legend became myth. And the dragons were forgotten to time. 

To everyone but one princess and her descendants, who never forgot those dragons who they shared their lives with all those years ago.