Red Says the Dragon

by Sophie Stern

  She continued walking for what felt like forever until she began to see the trees growing closer and closer together. Kaira found it difficult to squeeze through them. Several times, she turned sideways to slip her slender body between two particularly close trees.

  And she kept going.

  Just beyond a patch of particularly dense trees was a small clearing. She walked through the center of it and stared up at the night sky. The stars were shining bright, but Kaira didn’t care about that. She just wanted to find a place to rest. Her dress was torn, her feet were tired, and she was sore from all of the walking.

  Kaira made her way past the trees on the other side of the clearing and kept going until she hit her foot on a small rock and tumbled over. Landing hands-first in the mud wasn’t pleasant, and it was all she could do to keep from crying. As Kaira knelt on her hands and knees, she turned her head and saw a darkness behind a large boulder.

  A cave.

  While there could be trolls in the cave, Kaira felt tired enough to bet that this cave, so deep within the heart of the forest, so close to the foot of the mountain, was empty. So she walked inside about a dozen yards and settled down next to a small patch of stones.

  She was far enough inside the cave to be hidden from view, yet close enough to the entrance that she could still see the trees.

  Kaira leaned her head against the stone and closed her eyes.

  Tomorrow would be a new day.

  Tomorrow everything would be better.

  4

  Sanguine was used to being alone.

  Most dragons were.

  So when he heard the shuffling, sobbing, and whining of a human girl in the vectors of his cave, he immediately went to see who had commanded his attention.

  It wasn’t every day, every month, or even every year that someone stumbled upon the East entrance to his lair, but Sanguine made his way down the wide hallways to seek out whoever had stumbled into his home.

  The caves of Mount Tarragon were dense, long, and mostly uninhabited. Sure, there would be the occasional wildlife that wandered in, but they never lasted for long. Often, Sanguine would simply ignore the creature if it was close enough to the mouth of the cave. Foxes and rabbits frequently sought refuge from the rain in the entryways of the cave for an hour or two, but it wasn’t often that Sanguine had the chance to see a human.

  He could smell her from the cathedral room.

  She was sweating.

  She was tired.

  She wasn’t as scared as she should have been.

  He slithered and pawed his way down the hall to the entrance of the cave. There he saw her delicate figure asleep behind a large rock.

  She thinks she’s being sneaky, Sanguine smiled to himself. She thinks she’s being clever by hiding from the monsters.

  Without a word, Sanguine slipped his large paw beneath the girl’s body and effortlessly lifted her up. She did not stir as the dragon carried her back to his treasure room, nor did she move as he placed her inside the cage he had for just such an occasion.

  A hunger stirred deep within Sanguine as he looked at her soft, resting body. Her hair was long and luscious: her bosom ample and aching. It had been a long time since Sanguine had captured a female. It had been more years than he cared to count since he had felt the gentle warmth that only a woman could offer.

  Still, he wasn’t ready to wake her just yet. Sanguine was a young dragon, but he still carried the wisdom of his kind. He knew that she would need time to adjust to her new situation and her new surroundings. She would need time to come to terms with her captivity. She would need to want to escape, but realize that it could never happen.

  And then Sanguine would be able to take her anywhere he wanted.

  Then he would be able to make her do anything he wanted.

  He turned, slithering slowly out of the room, not even glancing at his piles of gold and silver. He had managed to plunder quite a collection in his younger years, but nothing compared to his most recent addition.

  It never did.

  **

  Kaira woke slowly, immediately noticing how sore her legs still felt after her day. Aside from that, she was starving and had to pee. She sat up and stretched, forgetting for a second that she had spent the night in a cave. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized that she wasn’t sitting on the cold stone floor: she was sitting on cold metal.

  Kaira reached out and felt the bars of her cage.

  She immediately began to cry.

  They had found her.

  The trolls had captured her.

  Kaira couldn’t stop crying as she shook at the bars of her cage. Even as she screamed, she knew it was useless. They would hold her until it was time for supper and then they would eat her.

  That’s just what they did.

  “Let me go!” Kaira screamed. “Let me out!” Her screams resonated throughout the cave. She knew whoever was there could hear her. They were just waiting: waiting for her to give up, waiting for her to stop. Kaira determined to be as loud and as aggressive as she could to prove to her captors that she was not going to go down without a fight.

  “Free me!” She yelled. “Let me out of here!” After what felt like an hour of yelling, though, Kaira wondered if her tactics had been as effective as she hoped they would be. She was exhausted and her throat was sore from shouting too long. Her belly ached. Kaira reached into her pocket and pulled out her last piece of dried meat. Slowly, she began to chew, determined to make it last.

  When she was finished, she curled up on the floor of the cage and closed her eyes.

  She never should have left Father.

  She never should have run away.

  She never should have thought that she was brave when she was nothing but a coward.

  5

  “Wake up, girl.”

  The voice was stern and commanding.

  Kaira rolled over, grudgingly opening her eyes. Her body ached as she sat up inside of the cage. She wondered how long she had been locked inside. It felt like days, months even. In actuality, it had probably been just a few hours. She jumped when she turned toward the sound of the voice and saw who had spoken.

  Two large yellow eyes glowed at her from the darkness.

  It wasn't a troll, as she had originally feared.

  The eyes blinked twice, flashing red.

  Then she knew: it was a dragon.

  For once in her young life, Kaira was speechless. She had heard tales of dragons, sure. Everyone had. Kaira had never once thought, though, that she would be finding herself in the midst of one.

  Nor did she think that a dragon would ever hold her in captivity.

  “Tell me your name,” the dragon said.

  Kaira said nothing. She simply stared. Was it going to eat her? Was it going to kill her slowly? The dragon’s talons were long and sharp. Was it going to slice her to bits? Was it going to shred the skin from her body? Was it going to-

  “Speak!” The dragon commanded.

  “Kaira.” The name escaped her lips in a whisper.

  “Good,” said the dragon. “Now tell me, fair Kaira, why you have come to my cave. Why have you sought the presence of the great Sanguine?”

  As he spoke, the dragon flipped his head backwards, as if to demonstrate his greatness. It was an unnecessary gesture, Kaira thought. After all, she had never seen anything as large or as overwhelming as a dragon. She felt glad, for a moment, that she was in a cage. She knew, of course, that he could always breathe fire on her and kill her instantly where she sat, but the bars separated her from the dragon and that brought her a very small amount of comfort and security.

  “I-I-I didn’t,” she told him, stuttering. “I was l-l-looking for t-t-t-t-trolls.”

  “What’s wrong with your voice?” Asked Sanguine.

  Kaira hung her head. Not only had she been captured by a dragon, but she didn’t even have the dignity to speak when he demanded it. No one had ever made Kaira do anything that she didn’t want to
before. No one had ever been strong enough for her. No one had ever taken away her voice the way that this dragon, in just a few seconds, had managed to do.

  “Nothing to say?” Queried the dragon.

  A tear slid down Kaira’s face as she began to cry again.

  “Please,” she told her captor, “just let me go. Please. I just want to go home.”

  “Tsk, tsk,” Sanguine clicked his tongue. “You’ve given me no reason to let you free, nor have you offered me anything of value today. I’ll return tomorrow to see if you’ve decided to speak properly to me.”

  With that, Sanguine turned and retreated from the room. The walls shook and piles of gold shifted with each step the giant creature took.

  “Please!” Screamed Kaira, jumping to her feet and grabbing the bars of her cage. “Please! Please let me go! I need to go home! I’m not even supposed to be here!” She screamed, shaking her body against the cage.

  Sanguine seemed not to hear her pleas, for he didn’t even pause as he walked away from the delicate girl he had captured. In actuality, he did hear her. He heard her quite loudly. He heard her screams, her shouts, her desperation. Sanguine, though, was not the type of dragon who simply let a captive go. He was not going to simply walk away from the chance to enjoy the presence of a woman, especially one who smelled so sweet. It had been far too long since he had company and he didn’t plan on ending the experience anytime soon.

  He retreated to one of the many caverns that filled his cave and circled around until he found a comfortable position to rest in. He would need to conserve his energy when dealing with this one. Based on the fact that Kaira was still yelling, Sanguine knew he would be in for quite an adventure.

  6

  King Liam paced his bedroom nervously, waiting anxiously for any word of his daughter’s return. How could Kaira have been so headstrong? How could she have been so stupid? He knew, of course, that she had gotten much of her determinedness from him. The King was never one to step down from a challenge, nor was he someone to back off when things got difficult. That was how he had gotten to be the king, after all: he had earned it.

  A soft knock sounded at the door and King Liam called out, “Enter.”

  The door opened and closed softly. King Liam did not turn around as he heard the latch close, ensuring privacy with his guest.

  “You called for me,” a soft voice whispered. King Liam turned to see a fair maiden kneeling in the center of his room. She wore only a thin, sheer dress. Her head bowed, covered her face with her long brunette hair.

  “Come to me, Serella,” the King told her firmly. The girl did as she was commanded: immediately making her way to stand in front of His Majesty.

  Liam used a single finger to raise her chin up so that Serella was staring into his eyes.

  “I have missed you, beautiful,” he told her. The girl smiled and rose on the tips of her toes to kiss her master. It had been too long since she had felt the warm embrace of the king’s body. It had been far too long since she was intimate with the only man who had ever touched her.

  Liam pulled off his cloak and his tunic, glad for a few minutes to not be The King. When Serella was in his arms, he was simply Liam. He was just a man and she was just a woman. And for a little while, all was right with the world.

  Serella pulled the strings at her shoulders that kept her tiny dress in place. With a soft tug, the fabric fell softly to the floor and she stood naked before her master. Liam smiled approvingly at her slender body and perky breasts. Out of all of his women, Serella was his favorite. That was why he had called for her and not one of his other whores: Serella could make the pain go away, if only for a little while.

  She took a step toward Liam and knelt down before him, tugging gently on his pants until they, too, were off and his manhood was alert and free. She ran her hand along Liam’s legs, sending a shiver through his body before her hands reached his cock. She took the entire length in her hands and rubbed softly at first, then harder and harder until Liam let out a soft moan.

  It was then that Serella leaned forward and took the entire length of Liam’s dick in her mouth, sliding all the way down the shaft and all the way back up. He closed his eyes, rubbing his hands through her hair, then pushing her head further and further down onto his dick. When Serella started to gag, he released her and she stood with a smile, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

  Liam leaned in to kiss her as Serella’s hand made its way back to his dick, continuing to rub and play with it.

  “Bed,” Liam whispered to her.

  “Mmm,” was all Serella said.

  The two fell together onto Liam’s soft blankets and continued to kiss deeply. Liam rolled onto his back, bringing Serella up on top of him.

  “Now,” he told her. Without a word or further direction, Serella perched on her feet and gently lowered her damp pussy onto Liam’s throbbing dick. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the pleasure of her wetness, enjoying how tight and virginal she was. They had been together many times before, yet he never tired of her.

  Serella bounced up and down on Liam’s cock. She went slowly at first, slowly gaining speed until she began to squeeze him tighter and tighter. Liam reached down and began to rub Serella’s aching clit as she held onto his thigh with one hand and used the other to squeeze her firm breasts.

  “Cum for me,” Liam commanded. His dirty girl did as he told her, leaning back into her orgasm and moaning softly as she came for him. Liam stopped holding back his own orgasm and exploded into ecstasy at nearly the same moment.

  When they were through, Serella kissed him softly and snuggled up next to Liam. She didn’t know how long it would be before he called for her again. Though she saw Liam more than any of the other girls, it was never often enough. She found herself craving his touch, his tongue, and his dick when they were apart for too long.

  After a moment, Liam kissed her softly on the forehead. Serella needed no further pressing: she knew what it meant. Their time together had been nice, but it was time for Liam to return to his duties. He had simply needed a quick cheering up and Serella, in less than half an hour, had provided the perfect escape for him from his worry.

  “Until next time,” Liam kissed her goodbye. Serella pulled her dress back on and, without a word, left the King’s chambers.

  He dressed himself slowly, remembering each moment of their time together slowly, but it wasn’t long before the pleasure faded away and he found himself just as worried as he had been before the young woman’s visit.

  What had happened to his princess? Where had young Kaira gone? She was braver than most, but still young. Most of all, she was beautiful, and King Liam had been around long enough to know what happened to beautiful girls who were captured. The King found himself sitting on the edge of the bed with his head burrowed in his hands. He missed his daughter. She was all he had now, and he had lost her.

  7

  Kaira’s stomach growled.

  She wondered, anxiously, how long she had been sprawled across the floor of her cage, how long it had been since she had seen the light of day. The dragon had not returned in a long time and Kaira was frightened. Even worse than being eaten, she reckoned, would be starving to death on the floor of a cage.

  Her food was gone. Her throat hurt from screaming. She would do just about anything for a cup of water. Her cage smelled of refuse and urine.

  As Kaira rolled around, moaning from the pain in her stomach, she thought that she heard a noise in the corner.

  “Hello?” She called out. “Is anyone there?” Maybe someone had come to save her. Maybe someone had come to free her from the dragon’s lair. A prince, perhaps? Anyone?

  “Show yourself.” Kaira commanded into the darkness, trying to sound braver than she really was. What if it wasn’t a savior? What if it was just another dragon? What if it was a different type of creature, one the dragon hadn’t killed? What if it was going to get her?

  Kaira waited, silently.

&n
bsp; After a moment, just as she was about to open her mouth again and scream, she saw the dim flare of a torch flickering. Then, after a moment, a man appeared.

  Her mouth dropped open in shock as she saw the rugged, fit, and shirtless man enter the room. Kaira was not a virgin, by any means, but she had never seen anyone who looked like this man. Why was he in the cave? And why was he coming to her? Had he come to save her? Was it some knight she’d never met? Immediately embarrassed by her appearance and her obviously horrible smell, she shirked back in the corner as the man came closer.

  He stood at her cage, staring at her. His hair was long, falling just past his shoulders. Kaira tried not to stare at his abs, but found herself failing.

  After a moment, the man spoke, “I am a servant of the master Sanguine. I have come on his orders to bathe and feed you before he sees you again.”

  Bathed? By this man? Kaira wasn’t sure about that. She’d been naked in front of a man before, but this was different. This was intimate. Aside from the occasional assistance from Gladys, no one had helped bathe her in years.

  Suddenly bold, Kaira piped up. “I can bathe myself,” she told the man. “I don’t need your help.”

  He frowned. “I am giving you an order,” he informed her. “You will permit me to bathe you and you will be fed.”

  “What gives you the right to think I’m just going to let you bathe me?”

  “What makes you think that you have a choice?”

  Kaira pursed her lips together and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not gonna’ do it,” she told him.

  The man pulled out a key and unlocked the cage. Setting his torch in a holder on the wall, he reached into the cave and in one swift movement pulled Kaira out. Before she knew what was happening, she was over his shoulder and he was carrying her down the hallway。

  “Let me go!” She kicked and hit him as he carried her.