THE MOMENT
Princess Emmallyn was as happy as a songbird as she strutted through the dark stone hallway. It was midday, and a series of windows let in the light at intervals. The black stones seemed to absorb ambient light, and the effect was a dim passage with solid beams of light angled down like spears. She was technically in a cage and couldn't leave the castle, but in the near month she'd been there, she didn't really want to. And, after that amount of time, it was easy to start feeling comfortable. The castle might as well have been hers, for as often as she saw the actual owner.
She'd been worried at first. A dragon approached her in human form and easily swept her away to his castle. But, after four weeks, there still hadn't been any sign of a rescue attempt; things couldn't have gone any better. And, the situation was still improving. She'd been summoned to the dragon's presence, which was an unusual request. After a couple of twists connected by long stretches of hallway, she walked through the open, heavy doors of the throne room.
SingeGrim, the black dragon, sat on a black metal throne in his human form. He was a handsome gentleman with distinguished silver hair cut short and scholarly black and gold robes. Emmallyn approached his throne and gave him a polite curtsy, although he'd never insisted on it.
"What's this about?" She asked with a friendly, curious smile; she was expecting a good outcome.
"Congratulations, as of today, you've been here for an entire month," SingeGrim started to expain, but his tone didn't have any of the joy Emmallyn might've expected with 'congratulations'. "It seems like no one's even thought of coming to rescue you, and from previous experience... if they're not coming within the first month, they're not coming at all."
"What are you going to do with me?" she asked with a smile and stepped closer. The only reason no one was coming for her was that she'd asked them not to. Princesses being stolen by dragons was common enough that she had reason to believe it'd happen to her one day. But, she also had a plan that, so far, was working perfectly. In all that time, she hadn't once felt fearful of SingeGrim, and he never so much as threatened her. To her, it felt like he was only going through the motions of kidnapping her, and maybe as a dragon, he didn't understand women. It was a theory she imagined long before she was taken, and SingeGrim's behavior only seemed to confirm it.
"I'm not going to eat you, don't worry," SingeGrim shook his head. "But, I also don't need you here if you're going to be useless; you'll be sold as a slave," he said.
"What?" Emmallyn blinked. "I'm not USELESS!" That was more offensive than her future troubles. "I've cleaned up this dusty old castle! I'd cook for you too, if you'd talk to me and tell me what you want." She grew bolder and walked close enough to touch his hand. "And... I am a woman," she reminded him with a gentle caress.
"Well, yeah, Princesses tend to get rescued more than Princes... though I don't know what happened with you," he made an exaggerated shrug with both palms facing upward, specifically to pull away from her touch. "You're worth more than a male, as a slave too. I've been in similar situations a few times," he nodded.
"Isn't there anything I can do to convince you to let me stay?" Emmallyn asked. She pouted slightly and straightened her back to accentuate her chest.
"No," SingeGrim shook his head. "You're a woman; not my type."
"What?" That didn't make sense at all. Why was she there, then? "Okay, why are you bothering to kidnap women?" she asked. She was annoyed, but still wanted to communicate that the door was open. "You have a spacious lair," she spread her arms to gesture at the throne room. He had an entire castle, and a cavernous lair beneath it that she'd only seen once before he locked her inside the walls. "...piles of gold," she'd seen glittering mountains down there. "and.. oh yeah, you are a firebreathing dragon." She touched him again and met his serpentine black eyes. "Sounds like prime dating material," she grinned.
"I don't strictly kidnap women," SingeGrim shook his head. "I kidnap ROYALTY, Princes and Princesses alike. And, beyond that, I'm insulted that you imagine forceful kidnapping is the only way I can get someone. You honestly believed this is a courtship ritual for me? For dragons??" a smile spread across his mouth, gathering the wrinkles at the corners. "At least now I know why no one bothered to rescue you; they're probably getting along better off."
"HOW DARE YOU!" she struck lightning fast with an open palm against his face, and he laughed.
"I'm sorry, I thought we were just making up wild assumptions about each other," he said. "You want to know why I'm bothering to kidnap anyone?" He stood from his throne, and Emmallyn stepped back to give him space.
"I have a spacious lair," he mimicked her gesture and indicated the throne room. "...piles of gold," he made a dismissive gesture down toward the cavern below. "... I daresay, I agree I'm prime dating material. But, these things didn't just happen, they're deliberate decisions, built up with deliberate action," he smiled. "I get a dud every now and then, but by and large, most Kings are willing to pay a tidy sum to get their children back. And, slavers aren't a bad backup."