The castle sat abandoned, a relic of the past. All human settlements were miles away, and the castle stayed hidden and forgotten in the depths of its surrounding forest. The dragon had chosen it for the peace and quiet it brought, though also for its space and ancient beauty. The dragon would often leave it's castle home, looking for food or another knick-knack to add towards its hoard. It always came back to an empty castle, where it would rest and bask in the peaceful silence.

    Nothing seemed amiss when the dragon left that day, but as it glided silently to the highest tower, it noticed the barest flicker of flames from one of the windows. Intrigued, the dragon landed and crept down winding stairways and long hallways to the source of the light. Finally, the light of the flames became visible, giving off an amber glow in the otherwise dark hallway, but the dragon came to a halt when it noticed the voices coming from the chamber containing the source of light.

    Harsh words and sharp commands echoed through the hall, and the dragon narrowed its eyes at the open hostility it heard. Along with the anger, the sharp smell of fear permeated the air, and the dragon gave a low growl as it realized that the person that smelt of fear was in danger.

    Curiosity dashed, the dragon crept inside the room, where it spotted a human knight standing over a cowering human female. His sword was drawn and he waved it wildly over the girl, who flinched at the slightest of movements.

    The dragon drew to it’s full height, wings spread dangerously and a deep growl resonating within its throat. The knight spun around, freezing at the sight of the enraged dragon before him. With no preamble, the dragon lashed out, its sturdy tail whipping the knight and throwing him across the room. He slammed on the wall and slid to the floor. The dragon used the small opportunity to curl its body around the human female, its large wings shielding her completely from the knight's view.

    The knight didn't stay down though. He staggered upwards and with shaky courage, he yelled a battle cry and launched himself towards the dragon, steel sword poised to strike through its heart.

    But no man was enough to cross a dragon's rage, and with a roar the dragon used one of its wings to slash across the man, the force behind it enough to once again send the man flying. This time crashing through the window and falling to his death, an endless stream of profanity used as his last breath.

    With the knight no longer posing a threat, the dragon uncurled itself slightly to better observe the trembling human female. The smell of fear around her had decreased, somewhat, but it was the cuts and bruises that littered the girl's exposed skin that caught the dragon's attention. The dragon's low whine and insistent nudging got the girl to finally look at it, and for the first time, the dragon noticed the circlet of silver resting atop the girl’s head.

    The princess seemed both surprised and awed, but the dragon now only saw a cub with the need of care. The dragon slowly got up and left, coming back shortly after with food and healing salves for the young princess.

    The weeks that followed were filled with a caring dragon and a curious princess. The dragon showed her all of the knick-knacks it had gathered around the world and helped the princess in anyway it could. The princess quickly lost any trace of fear and laughed freely at all the gifts of food the dragon brought her.

    Thus the dragon saved the princess, and long after she had healed, the princess could be found walking the halls of a not so empty castle with a motherly dragon right by her side.