Royal Nightmare
    
“Don’t run, little Rose,” hisses the dark green dragon as he zips after me. “I just want to know what you taste like! Ha! Ha! Ha!” he cackles as he spits fiery balls of saliva.
    
Great, just what I need. A homicidal dragon chasing after me.
    
I run, tripping over humungous tree roots and slashing my face against enormous overgrown branches. My dress gets tangled in the overgrown bush, and my hair is now decorated with gigantic leaves. Actually, everything is huge and overgrown. A place like this would have had a gardener to trim the trees and mow the grass. However, I do not see anyone at all, not even a peasant. I am truly alone, except for the dragon.
    
I keep running, and my dress gets caught around a large tree stump. I should be wearing trousers not this ridiculous ball gown!
    
Anyway, I tug at the dress and end up veering to the side. I crash behind a bush. My face and hands are scratched with thorns, and I notice a pinprick on my fingertip.
    
Fortunately, the dragon does not see me, and he flies past. I close my eyes and sigh with relief. I even smile.
    
Suddenly a breeze blows, and my face is covered by a leaf. I try to brush it off, but it sticks. It then explodes into green mist. I fall over, unconscious.
    
A handsome boy is standing over me holding my hand. My skin is free of scratches except for the pinprick on my fingertip. I am lying on a bed, looking straight into his face. His eyes are green like the dragon’s, so I am afraid of him. Yet I summon up the courage to speak. “What . . . what happened?”
    
“I saw you were sleeping. So beautiful . . . I just kissed . . . ,” he mumbles.

I remember everything! The witch who cursed me, the sewing needle that pricked my finger, and the kiss that would free me of the endless sleep. I laugh with joy that I am free. Perhaps this in my fairytale ending after all.