--She walked through the grass towards the kingdom. The only thing she could think of was Marco. It didn't seem right. Why did they have to part so suddenly and harshly. She tried not to think about it and kept walking. She was soon exhausted from the day's events and slept under the cover of a patch of bushes. The next day she was feeling a little better but not by much.
--She was busy thinking about how she would explain herself when she got home when two men with knives jumped from out of cover and grabbed her. A knife was held to her neck and her hands were being bound behind her back. She heard them talking.
--"Oh you're a pretty lady." One said in her ear.
--"Say, haven't I seen you before? You look familiar. What do you think, Jeb?
--"She does look a bit familiar. Where have I seen you before…..No I can't be."
--"What is it? Who is she?"
--"You won't believe it. Do you know who she is?"
--"I just asked you who she is, stupid. Tell me already."
--"We just captured the princess."
--"What?! No way."
--Lilia wanted to get out of this somehow, but there was no way. She was so frightened, that she couldn't do anything except stay still and quiet.
--"She's the one from those wanted signs that the kings troops put up all over."
--"Hm… You're right she is. What do you think we should do with her?"
--"Simple. The king is a rich man and would be very grateful for his eldest daughter. I think we should cash her in to the king. We would be set for life."
--"What makes you think the king will pay you? Why wouldn't he just take her?"
--"Because….. We'll threaten to kill her unless he pays us."
--"If we do that, it'll be the last thing we say, before getting killed by his army."
--"Do you think he'll pay us if we asked nicely?"
--"Oh you're funny. I doubt he'll pay us a thin copper coin."
--"That kills that idea. Isn't there some way we could get money for her?"
--"No. If she is even seen the king will manage to take her from us. What would you do with the money anyways?
--"I'd invest it."
--"Is that what you call burning it all at the pub?"
--"What do you mean by that?"
--"I've heard you say you'd invest our money several times. Every time I caught you spending it all at the pub."
--"You do the same thing."
--"Not nearly as much as you."
--"I have to find a women somewhere."
--"There's no way a woman would go for you if you were the king's son."
--"I haven't seen any woman liking you."
--"I've struck up a few conversations. I'm good at talking to the ladies."
--"You're good at getting slapped is all. I've seen those talks."
--"Wait….We don't need money to get a woman now."
--"What do you mean…Oh I see you clever rat, you."
--"Yes. We already have ourselves a lady. A nice one at that too."
--"A princess at that."
--"Well let's not just stand here gloating about it."
He took his knife and placed it on the dress.
--"HELP!" She screamed out.
--"Yell all you want princess. There's nobody around but us to hear you. Nobody's going to come rescue you out here."
--She continued to scream, terrified of what was next. Why was everything going so badly now? The injustice would have made her boil in most other situations. He then began to cut open her dress while the other man took off his belt. "We're going have lots of fun with you," he said with an evil smile.
Just then the leaves on the surrounding trees began to stir and where then blow around by a loud roar that echoed through the woods. A shadow had descended over them. Looking up they saw a dragon glaring down at them. Their faces instantly lost their previous expressions of confidence.
--The Dragon brought its face down to their level and roared again. Lilia had never seen men run faster than those two did. They dropped their knives and ran. One had to hold his pants up since he dropped his belt. They soon disappeared into the woods and a heavy silence arose. The princess looked up at Marco and felt ashamed. Not to mention feelings of guilt, she looked awful. Her hair was a mess, her faces was red from crying, the dress had a large cut down the front revealing her breasts, and she was covered in dirt. Marco didn't seem to even notice and unbound her without a word.
--"Oh, thank you," she said throwing her arms around his large neck. She would have cried except she was a bit dehydrated. He closed his eyes and laid his head down on the grass before her. She was puzzled until he spoke.
--"Get on." He said in his deep dragon voice now calm.
--"What?"
--"Climb on. We're going home."
