"What do you mean," Snow White asked after nearly two days of travel and searching, her heavy traveler's cloak now partially stained with mud and dirt, "she's been taken by a dragon?" She looked confused as she continued, "From the rumors that lead me out here I thought that Charming rescued Naomi from it." "He did," the village elder nodded cheerfully, "but he couldn't actually kill it, m'lady." At her fierce look he continued quickly, "Dragon's are rare beasts, y'know and her Majesty might be a wee bit upset if people were slaying them all." "Right," Snow conceded the point, her black hair tied back in a messy braid. "So Lady Naomi was out washing clothes down by the river and the dragon snatched her, again?" she asked. A pause, "From the exact same spot she got taken from?" "Aye," a taller young man agreed. The bar keep arrived with their mugs of dark beer, setting them down with a thump. "Suppose she's unlucky that way," the heavily muscular man rumbled out. Snow had a fairly annoyed look on her face, "And I guess she was the last one to see the Prince?" They nodded seriously and Snow sighed. "What do you want to do, ma'am?" the little town's mayor asked her seriously, holding onto his hat and turning it nervously in his hands. She took another drink of the bad beer, visibly shuddering at the taste before looking around at the inn they were sitting in glumly. "It looks like," Snow said seriously as she rose tiredly, "I'll have to rescue her, myself." Ignoring all of their protests Snow smoothly rose from the table, tossing some coins on the table top as she strode outside to see a familiar sight. Rosebud stood there by the post with a very self satisfied expression in the red stallion's posture, two young men writhing in pain nearby as they weakly clutched at their vitals. "I warned you to leave him alone," Snow said pleasantly as she untied her horse. Smoothly pulling herself up into the saddle she asked crisply, "Is there an armorer in town?" "No," one of the men Rosebud had taken a disliking to painfully pulled himself up as he said, "but our blacksmithy dabbles in it." Snow nodded as she nudged her stallion forward, "Good enough." Nearly two hours later and the young woman was riding back out of town, fully dressed for battle. A helm covered her head, visor raised, and a gleaming shirt of chainmail covered her upper body. She awkwardly carried a wooden lance, tipped with metal, and along with her short sword a longer blade was slung over her back, a triangular shield strapped to one arm. Rosebud puffed out a complaint at the added weight and Snow smiled to herself wryly. "It could be worse," she sighed out as she patted his neck, "they could have talked me into wearing the platemail armor that smith offered." With a grim smile she mused, 'Not that plate would help much. Hampers your movement too much, and against a dragon's flame or claws it wouldn't do much good.' "Good luck," the mayor called out to Snow White as she passed the bar, the man now swaying slightly from the drink. "I'm going to need it," Snow answered as she left the edge of town and headed out into the largely untamed forest beyond. Following the old main road they traveled for a short while before veering off onto a roughly broken in trail. The thick forest that circled the town began to gradually disappear even as they eventually reached the river, following it up into the hills. The ground grew rougher, grass being replaced by dirt and rock, and soon there was a faint smell of brimstone hanging in the air. "We're getting close," Snow murmured, her blue eyes warily searching for signs of the dragon's den. Like the wyrms that the beasts were said to be related to dragons largely chose to make their homes underground, usually settling in naturally formed caverns. 'And this looks like dragon country,' she thought to herself grimly. All around them the bare stone had been scorched, even partially melted in places, and the surviving brush was withered and unhealthy, with sickly brown leaves and twisted branches. Few if any animals lingered nearby, only small creatures too little to be of any interest to something with a dragon's appetite. Even the skies were mostly clear, the usual sound of bird's song entirely absent as they went higher into the rocky hills. Something spurred Snow to climb down from her horse, advancing quietly as she made her way forward to peer around a large boulder. "Well isn't that interesting," Snow blinked in surprise as she took in the view that awaited her. Lady Naomi was chained up to the cliff side, the lovely redhead dressed in the skimpy rags left of her clothes, rags that did little to hide her lush curves. Oddly she didn't even look very dirty, the dragon apparently having taken some pains to take good care of her to feast on later. The beast itself was curled up nearby, the red and gold scaled creature thick in body with a thin neck and tail along with a slightly larger triangular head. 'It must be a younger dragon,' Snow noted as she studied it's gleaming fangs and brow ridges, 'only a hundred or so, maybe.' It gave her somewhat better odds, really, though she disliked the idea of hurting what amounted to a dragon child. 'Still,' Snow mused as she quietly returned to Rosebud, 'it's not like I have a lot of choice.' Smoothly Snow climbed into the saddle, grabbing the lance and holding it ready pointing forward if a bit high. She took a steadying breath the used her heels to nudge Rose bud into motion, another signal pushing him to a run. Racing around the corner they saw the dragon rousing itself from a nap, looking around before instantly fixing on them. 'There goes surprise,' Snow thought as she lowered the lance to strike. "Sir Knight," Naomi cried out happily, her breath nearly popping her bosom free from the remains of her blouse. A few beats of those massive wings began to push the ten foot long dragon up into the air, but Snow was prepared for something like that. Shouting out a half-remembered battle cry she ripped the lance right through the heavy leather wing, breaking the weapon but sending the beast crashing back to earth with a roar of pain. Casting the broken stump of the wooden lance aside Snow swiftly slipped her feet free of the stirrups and dismounted onto the rocky ground, drawing the heavy sword slung over her shoulder. Almost on cue the stallion moved around to the other side of the dragon, facing off against the much larger creature with it's pure bad-temperdness. "Oh be careful, Sir Knight," Naomi cried out worriedly, tugging weakly at the chains that still bound her to the cliff. Snow watched the beast warily, especially the tongue that darted out to occasionally taste the air. The dragon almost seemed reluctant as it swiveled it's head back and forth between Rosebud and Snow White, trying to decide which was the greater threat at the moment. 'Now how did Naomi get tied to the wall in the first place?' Snow found herself wondering, 'It's not like the dragon has hands....' The dragon reared up, great mouth opening as it looked over at Snow White then suddenly bleated in pain. Rosebud had just slammed his hooves down on the stunned dragon's tail, hitting it with a sudden burst of pain. Wheeling around it went for the horse, sleekly snaking forward before it realized it's fatal error. Cursing the weight of her armor Snow got on top of the beast, getting her sword around to hold the weapon against the dragon's throat. "I figured it out," Snow said coldly, "finally. Change to your other form, now." She smiled slightly, "Or I swear that I'll kill you, now." The dragon was still as it weighed it's options, then the dragon shuddered. As Snow jumped down the dragon shrank, pulling in swiftly as the wings disappeared, scales lightened and the body reshaped itself. The golden haired woman rose stiffly, clutching a bleeding shoulder as she coldly asked, "How did you know?" Snow turned back to the visibly stunned Naomi, walking over to unchain the woman. "You couldn't have locked her up with claws," she said casually, "you must have chained the lady up when she was unconscious." "Thank you," Naomi managed, looking at Snow in confusion, "you're... a woman?" Realizing the source of the confusion Snow took her helm off, smiling wryly as she said, "Sorry." She turned to look back at the dragon, the almost metallic gold haired woman garbed in a simple red gown, "Why do you keep capturing Naomi, anyway, Miss...?" "I am called Dawn," the dragon said. She gave a sideways glance at Naomi, a faint blush coloring her cheeks as she said, "In truth, it is difficult to explain...." Snow blinked, noting the thoughtful gaze that Naomi was now giving the dragon. 'I think she won't need rescuing from Dawn anymore,' she mused. Clearing her throat to get their attention she asked, "Naomi, after Prince Charming saved you where did he say he was going?" "Further west," Naomi answered promptly, "towards the High Queen's lands." "Even farther to go," Snow whimpered. She sighed and bowed, "Thank you." After Snow climbed up on Rosebud and walked away she could still hear the two women talking. "Your poor shoulder," Naomi exclaimed. "There is a healing spring nearby," Dawn reassured her, "I have used it before, like when Charming stabbed me." "Why have you been taking me captive, anyway?" Naomi asked her softly, helping support the other young woman. "I saw you washing clothes down by the river," Dawn answered her shyly, "and I was entranced by your beauty...."
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