This part was the harder one to get right, of the two with that make up the conversation with the dragon, but still fun!  And, for some reason, it’s the one I corrected the most just now, while I was reading through my post!

 The Sacrifice 

Part Fifth: A Princess

A shocked silence followed the demand. The speechless quiet was broken at last by Henry.

“You ask for a girl?” he shouted over the Wall. “A lady? You would have us send a maiden to her death to save ourselves? Whoever deemed you greedy should have—”

“Henry—please!” King Cedric interrupted. “There is no call to lose our tempers; that’s precisely what the brute wants. But,” he added turning towards the dragon. “Our answer is no. It is preposterous—entirely out of the question. We should—”

“Father! Wait!” Everyone jumped at the sound of the Princess’s voice.

“Penelope, please—” the King began, but she ran up to him and slid her hands into his, leaving their faces inches apart. He stopped at the sight of the tears in her eyes. “He says he shall destroy the whole City if I don’t.” She kept her voice low so the dragon could not hear, but she could not keep it from trembling.

“Penelope,” the King said gently. “You are the most devoted of princesses and the bravest of daughters, but it is absolutely and entirely out of the question.”

“Father,” his daughter protested. “I’ll die anyway. If I can save the City. . . sh-shouldn’t I?” She glanced involuntarily at the dragon. He was watching her intently, with a delighted, expectant expression on his long, scaly face. But not even so great and wicked a creature could keep a flicker of confusion from behind those hungry, red eyes. Penelope saw it, and knew he did not understand why she should care about her people.

“How long will you give us to decide?” King Cedric asked, in a subdued voice.

“I’ll be extra generous,” Abadalyx answered with a smile.  “And give you a whole week.” He drew himself up and lifted his wings. “And if you surrender a princess to me then, I promise I will not touch anything else in your town; not a creature, not a brick. But do not try to deceive me—do you think I cannot judge between a princess and a peasant girl?” He spat a blast of fire near the foot of the Wall, scorching the green grass of the Valley. “Then farewell, for seven days, my lord!” One flap of his wings lifted him into the air. He rose higher, circling above the City before he turned West and flew into the mountains.

The townsfolk shuffled and whispered. Children wailed. The guards muttered curses on the dragon under their breath. The noblemen stood slack-jawed, and Queen Eleanor burst into tears. Henry looked ready to explode if anyone touched him; standing there with his fists clenched and his keen, blue eyes blazing. Penelope, trying hard not to cry, edged away from him.

“Let us return to the Castle,” King Cedric said.