Once upon a time, there was a kingdom that sat on top of the world. Little cottages and houses were nestled snugly into some very big and tall mountains and the people there were content. It was cold, but every family was never found wanting. This happy and magical place was ruled by a princess and what a girl this princess was!

She was big, strong and beautiful; but the people were scared of her. This made her sad because she loved them all very much. You see, she was a princess, but she wasn't just any old princess. No doubt you have been read stories of princesses being kidnapped by dragons and being rescued by brave knights, but this girl was a dragon! She was a girl like any other, but her hands and feet were green, scaly and ended with sharp talons. Her skin was pure, white and fair, but underneath it was tougher than iron, like a dragon's scales. From her back a huge pair of wings like a dragon grew and from her bottom swayed a long dragon's tail. From her head a pair of horns grew and curled menacingly from under her long flowing locks of purple hair. She could even breath fire! That scared people the most.

She was taller than any man in the kingdom and strong enough to win a game of tug o' war with a dozen knights and she could do it alone! With one arm! She was kind and always thought about others, but she also had a temper and the people of the castle were at a loss on how to cure it. For you see, she was not always a dragon. The princess used to be just an ordinary girl before, but she was born with dragon blood in her veins. One day became that dragon so she could rule her kingdom. What a quiet and timid girl she was before! You never would have thought the two girls were the same. The people were afraid their cute princess was gone and the big dragon girl was left to rule the kingdom.

So the people of the castle put out a challenge: Cure the Princess' temper for a handful of gold coins. From all over the kingdom the people came and no two ideas were the same.

A bard and jester came and played silly songs and danced dizzily, but the princess did not even crack a smile.

A dashing knight errant arrived and tried to court the princess, but he quickly departed the castle trying to put out the flames that had covered his rear end.

At last a farmer came with nothing but a large jug of goat's milk. He said when he was feeling down, he would drink it warm then sit and relax. When the princess drank it, she became very tired but nothing more and she was still irritable.

With the help of the farmer the people of the castle figured out what the problem was. Their princess was having trouble sleeping. The farmer was paid a handful of gold and a new challenge was put out: A purse filled with gold to the one who lulls the Princess to sleep. From far and wide the people came and no two ideas were the same.

A sorceress arrived who claimed her spells could put her to sleep. The princess was a dragon though and magic had little sway over her.

An old sage with a book of a thousand tales came, but the old sage fell asleep first after reading many stories while the princess did not.

A tailor who claimed to have made the most comfortable mattress in the world couldn't even get her to slumber.

The people in the castle were distraught. Every day their princess could not sleep and every day the bags under her eyes were easier to see. Her temper was also getting worse by the day, so the people were also getting very scared. What would she do if she finally got very cross one day? The people in the castle offered a whole potato sack of gold to the one who could find a way to lull the princess to her slumber. From all over the world the people came and no two ideas were the same. But like before, none of the ideas worked. The people of the castle were very worried now. They ran about and thought very hard, but no one could think of an idea that worked.

     That was when one of them asked, "Has anyone seen the princess today?"

The Princess had gone missing and that scared the people of the castle. They searched high and low, but they eventually found her inside her chamber. She wasn't resting in the wooden chair made by the fairies, she wasn't on bed of the finest silks in the world, she wasn't even listening to the magic musical box crafted by the songstress sirens. She wasn't on, rolled up in, or between anything all the other people in the world had brought. On the floor was the potato sack full of gold, the princess was curled up on it like a kitten. The people of the castle were befuddled; they didn't understand.

     "But of course!" One of the princess' maids, a tall and lanky girl, cried out.

She told everyone the stories her mother had put her to bed with when she was little. Stories about dragons that stole and hoarded gold and kept it away in their caves. They had spent so much time thinking of her as a princess and not a dragon that they had missed the obvious. But even then the princess still stirred, tossed and turned in her sleep on the pile of gold that was her new bed. The people were worried she might not get a good night's sleep and be just as grumpy as before. She looked like she was reaching out for something, but no matter how much gold from the castle treasury they added to the pile, she still tossed and turned. Even when the vault was empty and the room was knee deep with coins, jewels, trinkets, art and magic baubles she still tossed and turned.

     "But of course!" One the princess' other maids, a short and chubby girl, cried out.

She quickly ran to the servant's quarters and all the people of the castle followed her. Everyone was curious, but she didn't speak a word. 'I must concentrate!' she replied to their questions. There she sewed and embroidered so quickly that her hands were quickly sore with blisters. In no time at all she had sewed and stuffed a pillow. It was a pillow as tall as a man and on it was a crudely stitched picture of a man on it. Some people recognized who it looked like and they eagerly followed the maid back to the Princess' room. There she laid it next to the slumbering princess who quickly wrapped herself around it. Like magic she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

The people were so relieved, but they dared not take any of the gold from the room while she slept to give the maids the reward. The princess might just awaken most irate. Many a brave knight are remembered for perishing while trying to rob a dragon's lair. At least it would just as safe with her as it would be in the vault they thought.

So the people of the castle quickly left and shut the door quietly behind them. Inside the room the Princess was grinning widely and happily mumbling something in her sleep. She then playfully chomped down on the corner of the pillow, on the face of the man pictured on the pillow.

***

Laven was minding his own business, walking under the trees rustling in a gentle breeze with a warm sun shining overhead, but he was suddenly seized by a sudden shiver that ran through his whole body. He rubbed his hands together and came to a stop as he looked around confused.

     Rose, the salamander girl, stopped walking too and turned around when she noticed Laven stop, "Laven, husband. What's wrong?" She asked.

     "Nevermind. It's nothing." He replied.

He said so, but he had terrible shivers every so often for whole afternoon. There was no way for him to explain it. The wind wasn't that cold and his forehead felt normal, so it wasn't a cold. Eventually he decided to ignore it and the feeling went away, or at the very least he stopped noticing it.