“A choice, my fair maiden. You can leave now and forget about this elf whelp you seemed to have formed an attraction to, or you can die a most horrid death by his side. I give you this choice only because you are human and I have little desire to kill someone from my own race who is as young as you.”
“And I’ll give you this choice,” Faye said boldly. “Release Ven or suffer the consequences.”
“Big words coming from someone so small. Very well then, you have chosen death.”
Vincent released her from the chains and grabbed her wrist tightly, leading her through the stone hallway. Soon she was led into another chamber that held multiple metal cages suspended from the ceiling. Many of them contained bony remnants, the remains of countless elves. However, in one, an elf boy was still alive and he was crying out for help.
It was to this cage that Faye was thrown into. Ven hugged her and asked, “How are we going to get out of here?”
“I don’t know, I’m still working on that,” Faye confessed.
Vincent had climbed onto a platform where he sat down on a furnished seat, ready to watch the event proceed. Someone brought to him the cleanest water Faye had ever seen, and he drank slowly from it. “Release Krayto,” he commanded.
Suddenly, a giant door was opening and from it, a great dragon burst forth. Immediately it started spewing fire in every direction but towards Vincent’s podium. Bursts of fire rocketed past the cage, heating up the metal and singeing their hair.
The dragon jumped onto the cage, thrusting its long maw through the bars, attempting to bite them. Ven pressed as hard as he could back against the other side, the dragon’s teeth scrapping his chest, blood seeping out from wounds and staining his shirt a dark red.
“Excellent, now for the kill,” Vincent commanded. Faye struck out with her fists as the dragon snapped at Ven’s outstretched hand, gorging at its eyes. The dragon pulled back out of the cage, howling in pain, then forced its jaws further in, this time going for Faye. She dove for the hard floor, the dragon’s teeth tearing at her back. Ven struck at the dragon, but its angry snap sent him falling back against the cage.
Metal creaked and suddenly, the cage was falling, sending human, elf and dragon crashing into the rocky passageway. Surprisingly, the cage landed on its base, but it knocked the dragon loose, and it circled around, getting ready for another strike at the cage.
“Kill them!” Vincent shouted.
“He’s controlling the dragon,” Ven noticed.
“What? How?”
“See that insignia on its neck? As long as it’s there, the dragon is a slave.” Faye dove out of the way as a wall of fire suddenly shot towards her, and then got an idea. “You still with me, you three?” she asked, and from the folds of her clothes the three fairies appeared.
“Yes!” they said together.
“I need you to do a favor for me, attack the dragon’s insignia.” Instantaneously, the three flew from the cage and, dodging flying flames, sent forth a beam of light that shattered the magical attachment. The dragon paused for a moment, turned towards the platform, and then roared, fire discharging at Vincent’s guards before they could react. Vincent reached for his crossbow, firing at the dragon in rapid succession, bolts hitting it on its neck, body and wing. Despite this, it continued, landing on the platform, the dragon’s weight breaking the platform into pieces.
“No!” Vincent shouted as the dragon turned its head to face him, eating him in one bite. Then, it crashed into a wall, piercing through it and soaring free into the sky.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Faye commented.
“Yes, but how are we going to get out of this cage?” Ven asked.
“Leave that to me. Sora, if you will,” Faye commanded. One of the fairies stuck their small hand into the cage lock, shook it around for a while, and the door lifted free.
The two scrambled out and exited through the dragon sized hole in the wall. Outside, Locke was waiting for them, as were many of the other elves. They were all dressed in full armor regalia. “Well done, little one,” he said to Faye.
“I thought you weren’t going to fight,” Faye said. “Yet here you are all dressed up for battle.
“For some crazy reason,” Dorek said. “We decided that you were right, Faye. We should stand up and fight for what is right.”
“Prince Llewellyn,” Locke addressed Ven.
“What?” Faye shouted, surprised. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I thought you wouldn’t be my friend if I did,” Ven said. He straightened up to appear taller and more in control. “My people, I regret to inform you that the King and Queen, my beloved parents, are dead, killed by Vincent himself. But now, thanks to Miss Faye’s quick wit and determination, the tables have been turned, for I am still alive, which means the ancient Elvin bloodline still thrives. I may be young, but with some guidance, I am sure I can lead us from these dark slums and into happiness once again.”
There was a lot of cheering, but Ven, Prince Llewellyn, quieted them, continuing with, “With Vincent dead, we have lost our primary enemy. Now we can finally make peace with our fellow humans.”
He turned to look at Faye and speaking in a softer voice said, “Faye, if you are willing, I would like you to be our emissary to show your fellow humans that we are an equal race and capable of being great friends and allies. With you, they will see that this is true. So, what’s your answer?”
“I’ll do it,” Faye responded.
Elves cheered and Locke approached Faye, saying, “My wife and I have long been discussing something, Faye, and we have come to the agreement that you need good strong parents to look up to and you don’t have any. Therefore, I would like to adopt you and become your father; my wife will be your mother.”
“Thank you, Father,” Faye said, very pleased. Locke placed an arm around his new daughter and led her away from the mumble jumble of the present politics.
“Wait!” Ven shouted, chasing after them. Faye turned around to face him and he placed a and on each side of her face, leaning in for a long kiss.
They would live happily ever after.