the dragon and the prince

Once upon a time a dragon swallowed a handsome prince. Down the prince fell, into the warm confines of the belly of the beast. There was room in the belly, enough space for the prince to make a home. So he did, for a while. There was no need to fear others anymore, because the fire spewed from the dragon’s mouth kept everyone else at bay. The prince could rest, with only the darkness of his thoughts to keep him company.

One day the prince realized that he yearned to see the light. The dragon nestled the prince in a deceptively comforting embrace, but the prince began to question if he would be happier being with others. So he challenged the dragon to a match of strength.

The prince and the dragon wrestled for what seemed like ages, the prince finally overcoming the beast. Brute force tore the scaly belly wide, enough for the prince to leap out of the dragon and into the light of day. The dragon flew away to nurse its wounds, leaving the prince alone with his thoughts once more. It humbled the prince to be free. But the cries of the dragon echoed in his mind. The prince knew that someday the beast would return.

As time passed, the power of the beast over the handsome prince began to subside. The others no longer feared that being near the prince would risk their seeing the dragon return, with a vengeance stewed in unbridled rage. And so the prince was able to temper his thoughts, claiming dominion over the recesses of his troubled mind. There was room for happiness. The prince knew that he was blessed. It became his mission to love.

The prince’s story shifted once a magician’s apprentice appeared. The apprentice had his own secrets, but he was good, and he was kind to the prince. Theirs was a special friendship, built on intimacy and trust. A fairy tale blossomed, a gentle kinship between the apprentice and the prince. It was during this time that the prince let down his guard, letting the apprentice come to know his scars.

‘I have my own,’ said the apprentice.

And he did. Together they could help each other heal. But one night, having lost sight of the shadows, the apprentice watched in horror as the dragon swooped down and gobbled the prince up.

The apprentice ran back to his classmates, traumatized from having looked into the eyes of the beast. The fairy tale had reached an untimely end. It would be up to the prince to kindle a fire from the ashes.

In the belly of the beast, the prince raged.

‘Let me go!’ screamed he.

But the dragon was content to keep its satisfying meal. So the prince wrestled in the belly, kicking and tearing against the walls that seemed to have been fortified since the previous encounter. Yet the prince fought, remembering the eyes of the apprentice and the special bond they had shared. He was determined to see those eyes once more.

The prince fought with vigor, finally able to claw through the walls, leaving a bloody mess that would never be able to fully heal. The dragon howled at the prince, sending a message through the burning of its coal-red eyes.

‘I will return,’ the eyes seemed to say.

This the prince knew well. And the prince knew that the vengeance of the dragon would continue to escalate. If he was going to survive amongst the others, the prince would need to be ready, and he would have to muster great strength. Fortunately for the prince, he wouldn’t have to go it alone.

The prince and the apprentice made amends, forgiveness a virtue that the apprentice had learned from the sages. And so the two were able to grow alongside one another, the prince sharing his creativity, the apprentice sharing the magic he had learned. Though the prince felt ashamed to be haunted by the beast, the apprentice held his hand.

‘We will fight it together,’ said the apprentice to the prince.

And so they did, each time the dragon made an unwelcome return. The apprentice was moved by the strength of the prince to battle such a relentless beast. The dragon grew stronger each time its belly was torn asunder, requiring more willpower from the prince each time he was consumed. A cycle of battles ensued, each one strengthening the dragon yet weakening the prince. Yet the apprentice held the hand of the prince, understanding how difficult it was to battle such a formidable enemy time and again. The apprentice was determined to stay. But he was growing scared of the coal-red flickers in the eyes of the prince.

Without the prince knowing, the apprentice called on his classmates to help fight for the prince. The apprentice knew that he could not save the prince on his own. He grew increasingly desperate, watching the skies for signs of the dragon’s approach. Whispers in the shadows and mirages in the light began to taunt the apprentice, who tried to use his magic to make the anxieties disappear. But the apprentice could not deny the reality: Something dark was closing in on the prince. And the apprentice began to worry that the dragon was living amongst them.

Indeed, there the dragon was, lurking in the shadows, waiting for its time to pounce. It was a clever beast, feeding off the insecurities of the prince and the waning resilience of the magician’s apprentice. The dragon could sense that the apprentice was losing his power, the knowledge of the sages reaching a limit. The apprentice, too, felt his magic beginning to fail against the might of the beast. And as the dragon attacked again and again, the skies blackened, and the light within the apprentice began to fade. His love for the prince was losing to the rage of the beast. The will of the prince to fight the dragon was becoming unstable. He loved the apprentice in return, but something was changing. The apprentice watched as the eyes of the prince morphed from an intoxicating blue to a terrifying coal-red. The apprentice no longer knew where the prince ended and the dragon began.

‘Please,’ begged the apprentice of the prince. ‘Fight it.’

The prince was trying, but the dragon’s belly was becoming impenetrable. The apprentice ran to his classmates, and they summoned all their powers, desperate for their magic to save the prince. The apprentice believed in the prince. He believed that the prince could save himself. He didn’t want it to be true, that a farewell was approaching. But the dragon could smell the pain and the trauma. Emboldened by the damaged thread between the apprentice and the prince, the dragon made its greatest attack.

Out of the dark abyss, the dragon flew towards the prince, its howls and screams filling the skies with fright. Fire streamed from the dragon’s mouth. The apprentice raced — desperately — towards the prince.

‘Take my hand,’ the apprentice cried.

But before the prince could entwine his fingers with those of he whom he loved so much, the fire formed a wall between the star-crossed lovers. The dragon cackled as the flames reached higher, the tough layers of scales on the beast blinding the apprentice as they reflected the punishing light.

‘Please,’ pleaded the apprentice. ‘Let him stay with me.’

But the dragon was merciless, blood like tar flowing across its murderous teeth, its putrid breath dizzying the apprentice with the noxious odor of hellish sulfur. The dragon seemed to mock the apprentice, knowing that it had won against the feeble magic that it had drained from the desperate boy. The dragon screamed into the night, going in for the kill. And the apprentice could do nothing but watch as the dragon gobbled the prince up once more.

The apprentice could hear the cries of the prince as the dragon flew off into the night, towards a hidden place where it could rest and hold the prince tight in a disgusting embrace. The fires burned themselves out, leaving charred remains of the ground where the apprentice and the prince had once grown such beauty. With acidic tears burning through his eyes, the apprentice ran to where the prince had been standing while the dragon closed in. The apprentice found footprints dug deep into the ground, a gentle reminder that the prince had indeed been there.

One day, thought the apprentice, one day he might escape.

Light eventually tore through the sky, illuminating a path through the darkness. The apprentice returned to his classmates, taking their hands in stride as they embraced his broken heart. The footprints began to fade. The apprentice would have to rely on memory. It hurt him so much, to say goodbye. He would never be the same. And so a new story began to write itself, leaving the magician’s apprentice to forever grieve the loss of the handsome prince to the belly of the beast.