Far away from the world of men there is a cave. To get there one must go through seas and mountains, woods and deserts, unknown countries with strange inhabitants. In the cave there is a mirror. All the girls in the world wish to look in that mirror and hear who is the fairest of them all and how to take her place.

He pricked up his ears, moved the tip of his tail and opened his eyes. He cast a glance on shining helmets and trays and turned his yellow eyes to a beam of light that got to the cave through a narrow gap in the rocks. Nothing seemed to change, so one could think that the dragon was waken up by a bad dream. But in a couple of hours the light was blocked by someone's shadow. After some rustling a knight dressed in armor entered the cave. He looked up and met intent passionless dragon eyes and, jumping closer to a wall, took a ready-to-fight pose. The dragon slowly closed his eyes, sighed deeply and, opening his eyes again, looked at the guest. Seeing that the knight is hesitating, the dragon smirked, sighed again and spoke in a hoarse, as if gotten old of not being used for a long time, voice.
"The world changes, new forests grow, seas dry out, and people are still as stupid as in the very beginning. Go, - he said, turning his eyes to a far dark corner of the cave. - Take her. I don't have any intention to stop you."
Dragon's indifference and calmness seemed strange. "It's suspicious, for no one ever came back alive from this cave, - the knight thought. - Next to the treasures there are probably bones of the fallen heroes."
Keeping an eye on the owner of the cave, the knight cast a glance at the corner the dragon showed. Half-turned to him there was a girl sitting in an armchair. Oh how beautiful she was! Not only did her beauty surpass the old legends, but it also exceeded the most daring hopes of the most dreamy youths. One glance at her was enough for the knight to forget about caution. Slowly and bashfully he went towards the girl and then noticed that she is looking intently in a mirror.
The knight then knelt down and spoke.
"Oh fair lady, who's beauty has no equal under the sun and the moon! Take your eyes off the dead glass and look at me, for I came to set you free". Taking off his glove, he reached to take the mirror and put it away. At the same moment the girl looked at him. Oh, what kind of glance was it! The hate that a young man feels towards a killer of his beloved one is nothing compared to the cold anger of those pretty eyes. With one sharp movement the girl returned the mirror to it's place and looked in it with a smile.
The knight backed away in terror. Only when he got face to face with the dragon, he came to his senses and realized what danger he exposed himself to. But the beast didn't move, he just kept staring at the knight with his yellow half-closed eyes. It seemed that the dragon was lying there and staring like that for centuries, and all the pity and anger and irony he might have felt turned into indifference.
Throwing a glance at the dragon, the knight dashed towards the girl with a cry of rage. A sward raised over the mirror glittered in the light. A loud scream filled the cave, and then there was a quiet wheeze. The knight, pierced with a spear, fell at the feet of the girl, who then turned back towards her mirror.
Closing his tired eyes, the dragon stirred his tail, moving the body of the knight to a pile of armors near the wall. An old yellow scull rolled out from the pile. Sighing deeply, the dragon looked at the girl.
"I'm tired of cleaning up your mess. Time goes by, and those poor fools are coming here again and again. I'm waiting for someone to come and raise a sword not over the mirror, but over you."
The girl didn't answer. She cast an angry glance at the beast and looked at her reflection again.
"I could burn you down, - the dragon said again after a pause, - but after you another one will come here to become the fairest of them all and stay here forever, alone with her treasure. And after her another will come, and the next one... There is no end to that". The dragon sighed again and fell asleep.

A lot of people think, that dragons guard treasures and kidnapped girls in their caves. But actually they just don't wish to leave their places. So they watch girls who come to their caves, bringing treasures with them and staying for good, waiting for their heroes, and then giving up their places to new girls, new treasures and new heroes.



(c) Gil-Galen


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