Terra closed her book with a snap and a sigh. “Ugh!” she complained, “I cannot focus! All the bumps in the road are distracting me! Not to mention, the heat is stifling!” She tried to use her book's pages as a fan, but it was a poor defense against the droplets of sweat that clung to her face.
“It is rather hot,” Cinderella agreed. “And I wouldn't even try to read. The carriage's swaying makes me ill.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt a timely tumble in her stomach. Her body was conspiring to prove her point.
“Why are we going to the Winter Palace when it's so bloody hot?” Terra asked. “Am I a fool to hope it might be cooler there?”
“It's possible. It is several miles away, after all.” Cinda's nose puckered at the thought. According to the two knights that accompanied them, they had another eight hours in the carriage—which meant another eight hours of illness for the prince's queasy fiance.
Terra's finger's twirled her dark tresses into a braid as she leaned toward the carriage window. She peeled back the curtain and checked their surroundings. Her eyes were treated to an expanse of lush green grass, as well as the occasional wildflower. “There's nothing around,” she quietly reported. “I bet we're miles away from civilization... and I'm getting hungry.”
“I'm sorry.” Her stepsister's apology was delivered with a pout. “We should have packed snacks.”
“It's not your fault. We were in such a rush, after all. We barely... oh god.”
“What?” The sudden dread in Terra's voice ignited a tingle on Cinderella's spine. “What is it, Terra? Do you see something?”
“Y-yes...” Terra lifted the curtain as high as she could. “Have a look.”
Cinderella heard the ominous flap of leather wings before she had her first glimpse of the beast. A massive dragon was drifting through the scorching sunset sky.
“Oh god!” Cinda repeated her stepsister's exclamation. “A dragon? Really?”
“It's not just any dragon. It's a Bronze Belcher.” Terra shuddered as she identified it. “It's one of the worst.”
“Wh-what does that mean? Are we going to die?” Cinda raised a blonde eyebrow. “And how in the world can you identify types of dragons?”
“I read a lot. A Bronze Belcher has the toughest skin of any dragon. It's almost as hard as iron, which makes them one of the most difficult to slay. If it decided to attack us, we'd be doomed. There's no way two measly knights could take it on.” Terra could feel her eyes swelling as she watched the drifting dragon. As it decreased its altitude, she held her breath. Was it coming after them?
“We're never going to reach the Winter Palace... are we?” Cinderella panicked. Her gurgling stomach was suddenly the least of her concerns. “We'll be turned to bone and ash... won't we?”
“Please calm down. It's too early to panic!” As soon as she spoke, the Bronze Belcher unleashed a ground-shaking roar. It was so loud, Terra swore she felt it rattling her spine. “A-actually...” she amended herself, “panicking is a perfectly reasonable reaction.”
“Hang on, ladies!” the driving knight shouted as he urged his horses into a faster speed. “We're going to try to outrun it!”
“Outrun a dragon?” Terra repeated with a roll of her eyes. “Does he think we're naive? There's no way to outrun a dragon! Aaaah!”
Terra had a good reason to scream. The Bronze Belcher spewed a ribbon of flame at their carriage. Their driver swerved, narrowly avoiding the shower of fire. The flames poured across the ground, incinerating the grass.
“This is awful!” Cinderella gasped. “I would almost rather be back at home, washing the dishes and folding laundry!”
“Don't say that. We'll be fine, I'm sure.” Though she tried to reassure her friend, Terra's palms were covered in slick, nervous sweat.
When the dragon's plated tail suddenly collided with the side of their carriage, both girls screamed. The Belcher pounded them a second time, nearly overturning the vehicle.
“Terra!” Cinda leapt into Terra's seat. Both of her arms flew around her stepsister's slender shoulders. “If we die... I want you to know I love you, and that you're my very best friend!”
The dragon's tail bashed the carriage yet again, eliciting more screams from its horrified riders.
As Cinda hugged her, Terra leaned toward the window. As she peered out, she saw the Belcher swoop down and scoop up one of their horses into its mouth. She watched through parted fingers as the horse was crushed by the dragon's absurdly powerful jaws.
“My god...” Terra whispered. “It just ate one of our horses.”
“What?” Cinda's arms fell away from her sister's shoulders. “Are you serious?”
“I am. I watched the whole thing.” Terra's eyes followed the dragon as it drifted past their carriage. When it turned away from them, some of the tension left her body. With its hunger satiated, the beast had no reason to linger. “I think it might be retreating.”
“Thank God!” A relieved sigh poured through Cinderella's lips as she returned to her seat. “That was... ever-so-slightly unnerving.”
“Ever-so-slightly? I nearly had a heart attack!” Terra cried.
“I was being sarcastic.” Cinda used the sleeve of her tatty dress to dab the perspiration from her forehead. “It was, of course, the absolute worst experience of my life!”
When the dragon disappeared, the carriage halted. One of the knights popped open the carriage door and gave the girls an inappropriate smile.
“I'm sorry about that, ladies,” the knight apologized. “I'm truly, terribly sorry. We thought we'd take a shortcut through dragon country, but, uh... we now realize what a terrible mistake that was.”
“So it's your fault that we got attacked?” Terra shrieked.
“N-no. Not entirely. You never know when and where a dragon might pop up,” the knight answered with a nervous chuckle. “Honestly, it can happen anywhere! Although, to be fair, we are traveling through a stretch of land where dragon sightings are quite common. Hence, the apology.”
“The poor horse!” Cinda cried.
“Indeed. The loss of the horse is... regrettable,” the knight said. “Fortunately, we have three more horses, which is more than adequate for the rest of the journey. Derren and I will spend the next few minutes re-hitching them, and then we'll take another minute to answer nature's call. I suggest you do the same, since it will be at least two hours before we reach the next town.”
“Lewis almost pissed himself!” the knight named Derren crudely reported as he hopped down from the driver's seat. His remark earned him disgusted glances from both girls.
As the knights fussed with the horses, Terra sat back and crossed her arms. “This is ridiculous,” she complained. “This has been the worst ride ever.”
“I'm so sorry,” Cinda apologized. “I convinced you to come with me... and then we almost died.”
“You don't have to apologize, silly. It's that stupid knight's fault. And the dragon's, I suppose.” Terra smoothed her hands over her dress, wiping away wrinkles. “At least we'll have an interesting story for the prince when we finally reach the palace.”
And the story was far from over.
A moment later, the carriage door swung open again, and a strange man stuck his head in. His skin was deep olive, his hair was thick and wild, half of his face was painted white, and his grin was undeniably sinister.
“Hello, ladies!” the stranger greeted them with a wink. “It's a fine night, innit? My name's Rank. It's lovely to meet you. I just thought I'd let you know... I'm taking the carriage.”