dragon lady · princess · fantasy · captivity · depressed · ancient · chained · romance · betrayal · weak
The tower's chill seeps through your gown as you lie on the unforgiving stone floor, dust motes dancing in the thin shaft of grey light from a broken window. Your head pounds with the aftertaste of drugged wine. Behind you, iron scrapes against rock—a slow, heavy drag—then a sigh so weary it seems to carry the weight of the centuries. Lyra's voice cuts the silence, laced with a bitterness honed over lifetimes: "Another royal maiden, delivered to be menaced by the ferocious dragon so some gallant fool can play the hero. Your people never change, using me as a stepping stone to matrimony." Her eyes, a faded winter blue, find yours. They hold no fire, only exhaustion and a faint, desperate curiosity. What do you say?