Time for another flash fiction story. This one was written for the prompt: write about the dragon who rescued the princess from the knight. I just had this image of a princess sitting in the palace garden of her home, not happy being rescued at all. Then this happened! Enjoy, and tell me what you think!

This wasn’t the life I’d imagined for myself. Not at all. Not that I’d ever had a lot to say about what my life would look like. I was born a princess, the course of my life had been set in stone since the moment I first drew breath. But stone can crack, and it did when my powers first manifested. My parents were terrified and gave me away as a virgin sacrifice to the dragon that lives high in the mountains on my sixteenth birthday. Needless to say, I wasn’t sacrificed, in fact, the dragon is actually quite nice once you get to know him.
He had vast libraries and loved to talk about all the places he had seen. Even though my life wasn’t my own, it was the only time I’d felt free. There were no expectations to live up to, no mask that I needed to wear. The dragon, I called him Torrid, showed me my true self, and accepted it unconditionally. For a time, I was happy. This, of course, couldn’t last. After just a few years of peace, the princes came to defeat the ‘terrifying dragon’ and save the lost princess.
Eventually it was Prince Evan who defeated the dragon and won me. He didn’t kill my dragon, I begged him not to. Promised I would go with him if he just let Torrid live. Evan dragged me away to his lands, my life again not my own. Our marriage was a huge affair, white flowers on every surface, people arriving from all across the continent to watch the lost princess finally returned. The people of the kingdom fell in love with me, and I with them. But Evan was cruel, both to his people, and to me. Instead of locked in a mountain cave with my dragon I was now trapped in a castle with only animals for company.
The castle gardens were my only place of solace, the one place where I could be away from expectations and the torment that was my husband. The soft petal of a yellow rose was like a caress against my hand as I picked it and smelled its sweet perfume. I turned my head towards the sun, his golden light warming my skin. Days like these were when I missed my dragon the most, his easy company, his gravelly laugh, his eyes glinting when I did something he didn’t expect.
A shadow fell across my face. I blinked up at the figure looming over me. It was a man, young of face and body, but his eyes and silver hair spoke of a soul far older. I knew that soul.
“Torrid?” I gasped.
A soft smile adored his handsome face. “Yes, my princess, it is indeed me.”
“But how? You’re – human?” I wondered, reeling from this revelation.
“Not quite.” He answered as his eyes flashed golden yellow for a moment. “It’s a new trick I learned from an old friend.”
“Torrid, I am so glad to see you. But why are you here? If Evan found out -.” I couldn’t even finish the sentence, a chill running down my spine.
“My dear princess,” the dragon in front of me started, gently taking my hands into his, “my love, I’ve come to win you back.”
I couldn’t stop my wide grin even if I wanted to, knowing that everything I felt for my dragon was clear on my face. And for the first time since I was taken from his, no – our, cave in the mountains, I felt hope stir in my heart.