fairy tales of a different sort

Dragon's Curse- Round 3

My entry for round 3: A Grimm Romance. Song used- Save me by Aimee Mann. Quotes-  6 and 8. Picture- the third picture pair. Word Count: 2,379

She holds the bleeding heart,

parts of its shattered soul.

She is the light in the dark,

locked behind the guarding troll.

Her touch turns all to stone,

cursed by the dragon's throne.
~

Takara glanced out the window with longing, her hands resting on the cold stone of the walls of her room. In the distance she could see a palace beyond the ocean. The lights were barely visible in the gloom. She remembered the love and warmth that had filled it; the place where she was raised as a child.

One of the dragon spirits, roaming outside of the palace grounds, caught her gaze and shook its yellow eyes at her.

"In the olden days, when wishing still worked..."she whispered, "I'd wish for a different fate." She placed her hand on the glass pane, curling it into a fist. Those days were long gone, ever since the arrival of the dragons. As was her fate, already sealed without her consent.

"Dreaming of the past again, Takara?" came a raspy voice, filtrating into the room.

Takara turned swiftly around, narrowing her eyes while taking in the troll that entered her chambers. "What do you want, Luca?" she snarled.

"Feisty today, are we?" The troll grinned at her displeasure and shook his head when she came at him. "Ah, ah, ah. That won't work on me, remember?" He clinked his hand against his head. "Already stone," he rumbled out in laughter. "The Beast has insisted I informed you that dinner is done."

"I'm not hungry," she said dismissively, going to her four-poster bed.

"Tsk, tsk, Takara. I didn't ask if you were hungry." Eye level with her now that she was sitting, he stared into her eyes. "You know when the Beast of Dragons commands your presence, you don't have a choice but to go."

"Fine, Luca," she muttered while getting up and strode past him to the wooden door of her bedroom. "As you wish."

Takara walked through the long halls lit by blue flames swirling on torches. Instead of bringing warmth to the place, it only brought forth an icy loneliness to the grand palace, with its tall arches and domed ceilings. It was Dragons' fire, and normally one would find it breathtaking. But to Takara, it only added to the pain she felt; the flames that burned and licked at her own heart. The light didn't leave any shadows behind to lurk in the corners, or any imagination as to what could be hidden in the small recess of the rooms. And though it didn't put off heat, one touch could kill you as it consumed your body.

She stopped at one of the torches, the flames dancing in the breeze that drifted through the window. "Guess we are a lot of like, you and I." She waved her hand over it, watching how the fire would grow and shrink with her movements. It would be so easy to end it all. "We are both cursed by dragon spirits." She left it alone and entered the dining hall.

"Takara," the Beast of Dragons greeted her with a bow when he saw her come into the room.

"Beast," she greeted with a curtsey.

"It's Jayden, Takara," he reprimanded while straightening from his bow, his voice deep and commanding. "How many times must I ask you to call me by my name?"

"At least once more" she retorted with a shrug and sat down, not failing to notice the rose on the table.

"How are you adjusting?" he asked as he sat down to eat.