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"What is it with you and dragons, Princess?" her
father asked, taking a jadeite carving down from the
mantelpiece.
"Dad. I just like them, so I collect them. And don't
call me Princess. I'm not ten years old anymore. I'm
in my thirties. Call me by my real name."
"Sorry. Old habits die hard, Laura. It just seems
like every time I come to dinner, there are more of
them."
"Well, you're right. I have been getting a few more.
Once I really looked at one, I began to notice them
everywhere. They are so intricate, so beautiful."
"But dragons are fearsome creatures who breathe
fire."
"Not all of them. What about Puff?"
"Puff aside, the rest of them have a rather unsavory
reputation. All that capturing of fair maiden stuff.
Knights in armor dashing to the rescue. It's in a
lot of books so it must be true."
Laura laughed. "I'm beyond the fair maiden stage,
Dad. And I don't think dragons are much of a threat
to old maids."
"You aren't an old maid. Look at you. You're pretty,
smart, accomplished. You just haven't found the
right dragon slayer yet."
"Enough about dragons already. Dinner is served,"
Lauren said as she set plates of steaming pasta at
each of their places and poured out a rich red wine
into two goblets. The once a month ritual of dinner
with her father, which had started shortly after her
mother died, was an event to be looked forward to,
their own special father and daughter
connection.
"So what else have you been up to besides acquiring
dragons?" her father asked.
"Same old, same old," she answered. Although her job
as a librarian gave her access to the universe and
all it encompassed, for all intents and purposes she
was locked into a small brick building in an even
smaller town. Her real life travels took her only as
far as the front door of her house and back. All of
her adventures took place between the pages of the
books that surrounded her.
"You need to get out more," her father said,
bringing her back to the present.
"I know. It just seems like there's no time. And
fixing up this house is taking all my money right
now. Maybe I can take a trip next summer."
After dinner, they carried their wine glasses into
the living room of her newly purchased house and sat
with their feet up on the coffee table in front of
the fireplace. They laughed and reminisced about a
time when she was only a child and he was a young
man. It made them both feel good to revisit those
past memories.
"Well, Princess, I had better be going," her father
said, standing and setting his glass down on the
table. "As usual it was a wonderful evening."
"Da-a-d!"
"Oh sorry, it was a wonderful evening, Laura.
But in spite of your being all grown up, you are
still a princess to me."
"What can I say to that. You know I always enjoy our
visits so if you want to call me Princess, so be it.
Goodnight now, drive safely," Lauren said as she
kissed him on his cheek.
"Goodnight. Oh, and have some one look at your
heater. I think it's malfunctioning. It's awfully
cold in your house."
"The heater's fine. The house is just drafty but the
fireplace makes up for it."
She stood in the doorway and waved goodbye as he got
into his car and backed out of the driveway, smiling
to herself. He never stopped parenting in
spite of the fact that she was well beyond needing
it. Yes, her house was in need of work but it was
what she could afford and she was proud of being a
homeowner. Slowly, she had begun to repair and
remodel. Each project was an adventure and she was
enjoying every minute of it.
She went back into the house and turned out the
lights. The fire in the fireplace was barely
smoldering and a chill had already begun to invade
the room. She quickly washed her face, brushed her
teeth and donning a flannel nightgown, jumped into
bed. Pulling the comforter over her, she laughed to
herself about her father's dragon remarks and fell
soundly asleep.
#
She knew she was dreaming but she couldn't seem to
wake up. She was dressed in a flowing white gown and
standing against a tree unable to move. A huge
dragon stood in front of her belching fire from his
nostrils. The heat from his breath was almost
unendurable. Shaking with fear, she tried to escape.
Hot, she was too hot. She had to get away.
Struggling, she awoke and found she was wound
tightly in the bedding. Most nights the house was so
cold, she huddled under the covers just to keep warm
enough to sleep. She threw off the blankets but then
realized that heat was pouring into the room.
She sat up and looked around. Smoke was pouring in
from the living room. A low roaring noise filled her
ears. Fire! She jumped out of bed and ran to the
door. Flames reached out to engulf her. She slammed
the door shut and ran to the window. Never opened,
she found it was painted shut. She groped for the
metal dragon on her bedside table. grabbed it and
smashed the window. Fresh air poured in. But the
space was too small for her to crawl through. Glass
shards cut her arms as she tried to break open a
bigger hole. Blood ran down her arms as fingers of
smoke crept around the doorframe. She began to lose
consciousness.
#
When she came to, she was being carried from the
blazing building in the arms of a firefighter. She
looked up into his handsome face, and as the flames'
reflection danced across his helmet, she realized
that she had indeed been rescued by a knight in
shining armor.
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