Ninety

Long ago, in a kingdom perched on the edge of wild mountains, a mighty dragon descended from the skies, bearing chests of gold, jewels beyond counting, and ancient relics that sang with forgotten power. The dragon approached the king and spoke thus: “Give me your daughter in marriage, and I shall leave these treasures to strengthen your realm forever.” The king, gazing upon the glittering hoard and his humble stone walls, agreed. The princess was taken away on wings of fire, and the dragon departed, leaving behind one of his eternal servants—a beautiful, long-eared being born of dragonflame, bound to guard the remaining treasure until the dragon’s return. But the king grew restless. The gold was not enough; he wanted his daughter back, and the servant too, for such a creature could be chained in a tower and made to serve the crown. He ordered the fairy locked away in the highest spire, where no wind could reach and no eye could see. Enraged by the betrayal, the king called for heroes across the land: “Find the dragon! Bring back my daughter and the stolen glory!” Brave knights rode forth, swords gleaming, seeking to slay the beast and claim the reward. Yet none returned with the princess. Whispers say she never wished to return. The Hidden Version (whispered in taverns and among the wise) The truth, as some old wanderers and forbidden scholars tell it, is different. The princess did not weep when she left. She walked willingly beside the dragon, for he had promised her not chains, but freedom from a throne that felt like a cage. They vanished into the high places where stars burn brighter, and there they remain—two beings who chose each other over gold or crowns. The one left behind was no mere servant, but a dragon-born fairy, created from the last breath of ancient flame to guard treasure that was never truly his. He stood silent for decades, eyes like dying embers, never asking why he existed only to watch and wait. Then came the man they now call the Brave One—though he laughs at the name—a sorcerer who read too many forbidden books and felt too deeply the wrongness of cages disguised as duty. He entered the hoard not for riches, but because he saw a living being bound to lifeless metal. In that moment, he swore: no creature should be born only to serve objects. He did not fight the fairy. He spoke to him. He broke the golden chains—not with force, but with words that asked, for the first time, “What do you want?” And so the sorcerer took the fairy away—not as captive, but as companion. The hoard lies half-empty now, its guardian gone. The king rages and sends hunters, claiming the Brave One stole his treasure and his honor. But in the shadows of inns and forest paths, another story spreads: the sorcerer did not steal. He gave the fairy the one gift dragons never offer—choice. Some say the fairy still does not fully understand freedom. He follows the mage, quiet and watchful, learning slowly what it means to desire rather than merely exist. Others say that one day, when the fairy finally chooses for himself, the old dragon will wake… and the world will tremble. But until then, travelers speak softly of the man who refused to let a legend remain a slave—and the fairy who, for the first time, began to dream.