The grand halls of Castle Skyreach buzzed with anticipation. Today was the day Princess Elara of the Cloud Kingdom would wed Prince Darius of the Earthen Realm, uniting sky and ground in a political alliance centuries in the making.
I, Zephyr the Dragon Tamer, had other plans.
As the priest droned on about eternal bonds, I burst through the stained-glass window astride my trusty dragon, Nimbus. Rainbow shards rained down on the assembled nobility as I bellowed, “This union is folly! The skies shall remain free!”
Chaos erupted. Guards fumbled for weapons as my fellow dragon riders poured in through doors and windows. Amidst the panicked crowd, Princess Elara stood out like a beacon. Her gown, woven from cloud-silk and adorned with star crystals, seemed to float around her. Even in the mayhem, her lavender eyes met mine with an eerie calm.
I leapt from Nimbus, using Prince Darius’s face as a convenient landing pad. He crumpled without so much as a whimper. “My lady,” I said with a flourish, “might I suggest a more… elevated partnership?”
Without waiting for a reply, I scooped the princess into my arms. With a snap of my fingers, Nimbus conjured a whirlwind that whisked us away, leaving behind a tempest of confusion and tattered decorations.
We materialized atop the Whisper Cliffs, where the very edge of the Cloud Kingdom met the vast sky beyond. The wind whipped around us, tugging at Elara’s elaborate gown and my weather-worn leathers.
“That was… quite the entrance,” Elara said, smoothing down errant strands of her silver hair.
I grinned, adjusting my flight goggles. “Well, I do aim to impress. Now, your highness, I’m afraid I’ll have to insist you change out of that dress. Can’t have you floating away on us, after all.”
A ghost of a smile played on her lips. “That won’t be necessary, Zephyr.”
I blinked. “You… know my name?”
“Of course. ‘Disrupt the ceremony. Ensure the bride’s safety. Bring civilian attire.’ I believe those were my instructions, were they not?”
My jaw dropped. “Wait, you hired me?”
Elara nodded, gazing out over the endless expanse of sky. “I needed a way out that wouldn’t implicate my family. What better than a daring ‘kidnapping’ by the infamous Dragon Tamer?”
I let out a low whistle. “Clever. But why go through all this trouble?”
“Look around you,” she said, gesturing to the horizon. “My entire life has been spent in a gilded cage. This marriage was to be another set of bars, albeit with a change of scenery. I want to see what lies beyond the clouds.”
In the distance, I could see the silhouettes of my fellow riders approaching on their dragons. “Well,” I said with a grin, “how would her highness like to learn the art of dragon taming?”
Elara’s eyes lit up with a spark of adventure. “I thought you’d never ask.”
And so, as my crew touched down on the cliffs, the runaway princess and the dragon tamer began an adventure that would become legend throughout the skyways and beyond.
