“I HATE YOU!” Esmerelda screamed at her mother, then turned swiftly and darted into her room, and attempted to slam the door behind her. It didn’t work. The door closed slowly in the water, the battling currents and water pressure making it impossible to actually succeed at a good, hard slam.

Esmerelda locked the door so that the current wouldn’t blow it open, then leaned her purple scaled head against it and squeezed her eyes shut. Why couldn’t her parents understand that she was tired of trying to be the perfect little princess? That she was tired of sitting still and listening to politicians talk about conserving fish, that she was tired of everyone bowing at her feet and not meeting her eyes, that she was tired of trying to be this dragon that she wasn’t. Why couldn’t her parents see that? Why couldn’t they let her be free for once?

Because this time, they had gone too far.

They always called it The Above World. It made sense, really. All the dragons in the Sea Kingdom said that being out of the water on... land, they all said it was like being in another world. You were exposed, and light, and heavy, all at the same time. Most hatchlings got to see The Above World when they were thirteen, some even earlier.

Esmerelda was sixteen now.

All she had ever wanted was to feel the sun on her scales, the sky currents in her wings, feel the Above sand beneath her talons. And her parents had promised. They had promised that when she turned sixteen, Esmerelda could go to The Above, get a glance at the world.

And they had lied.

That very day, when she had turned sixteen, her parents had crushed her life’s dream beneath their webbed feet with the simple words “Maybe next year.”

Because it was those words that they had said every year of her life, up until the last, when they finally shortened it to just “Next year.” And they had lied. She would never be free.

Esmerelda stared out of her bedroom’s large, glass window, and swam over various expensive jewelry, imported waterproof cloaks, and soft sponge pillows until she reached it. She threw it open, and watched it wave slowly in the current. Then her normally friendly, sweet brown eyes narrowed into hard slits. She was going to The Above. She was Princess of the Sea Kingdom. She would like to see anyone try and stop her.

Well, except for maybe her parents. She most certainly didn’t want to see them try and stop her.

Esmerelda took a deep breath, and felt the salty ocean water filter through her gills. Then she grabbed a worn brown waterproof satchel, her favorite cloak, the turquoise one encrusted with diamonds, and packed her bag full of food. She also packed a small knife, a jade heart good luck charm, and a rope, because in the stories, adventurers always seemed to end up needing a rope.

And then, Esmerelda reached out for her jewel covered golden circlet crown, which was made of the purest gold and molded to fit perfectly over her head, and stopped. Slowly, she set her paw down. She wouldn’t be needing her crown anymore.

And with that, Esmerelda slung her bag over her shoulder, and leapt out of her window.

Esmerelda waved to the Warrior patrolling above the castle, and gave him a cheerful smile to signal that all was well. He blinked, and bowed his head hastily, and Esmerelda rolled her eyes.

And then, flapping her veined wings, she rose up, up, up towards the sun, which always seemed so far away, but now grew closer, closer, and closer still, until with one mighty downward flap of her wings, Esmerelda soared out of the water, and into the air, for the very first time.

She broke the surface with a startled squawk, than found her balance and let out a laugh of joy. She was still paddling in the water, for she didn’t know how to fly, and her wings would be too wet anyways, but it didn’t matter. Esmerelda found moving easier out of the water, and she reveled at the feel of the sky currents rushing through her wings.

“Yes! Yes yes yes yes YES!” Esmerelda squeaked with uncontained glee. “I am free. I am actually in the Above!” She tilted her head up so that she could see the funny feathered things swimming through the sky in quick, flapping motions, and she wondered what skyfish would taste like. She sighed with bliss.

And then... shadows blocked out the beautiful, glorious sun. Esmerelda blinked, and look up, only to come face to face with a pair of huge, green paws coming towards her, and a set of sharp, crescent moon shaped claws in shining silver claw sheaths.

Esmerelda dived down, but was now quick enough. The huge claws snagged her cloak, tearing through the beautiful fabric, and pulled her out of the water. Claws wrapped around her mouth to  prevent her from screaming, and held her limbs at her sides. The large green dragon that had grabbed her glanced down, and nodded to himself.

Esmerelda stared up at him with horror and fear, and the green dragon hesitated. It was only a second, but in that second, Esmerelda felt the tiniest spark of hope.

And then that second was over, and the green dragon was beating his large green wings, straining at the effort, soaring farther from the ocean, higher into the sky, and joining up with about fifteen other dragons hovering just above the puffy white sky coral.

“Vadar. Good work. That was both swift and efficient.” said a large, slightly darker green dragon with dark eyes.

Vadar nodded swiftly. “Thank you, sir.”

“Now bind her paws and jaws. Than drop her in the net. We’ll take her from here.”

Vadar obeyed, and though she struggled, it was pitifully clear that there was no chance of escape. A brown leather muzzle was shoved onto her snout, making it hard to breath and impossible to talk, and Esmerelda was thrown into a net held between two dragons.

And then, flapping wings, green scales, and sharp talons as Esmerelda was jostled back and forth, soaring through the skies of The Above, just like she had always dreamed.

But this was not what she had wanted.

This was not what she had wanted at all.