Page 20 of Rapunzel's Gambit (All That Glitters)

“My turn,” Pollox chuckled. With that, he let his tail whip across the man’s helmet so a ringing clang echoed up to me.

I squeaked in alarm, fearing that it had been a killing blow as the knight’s knees buckled. He face planted, helmet and all, into the grass mere inches from Pollox’s talons. Was I responsible for a death?

“Now,” Pollox snarled, turning to the quivering squire. “You will return from whence you came. If your king sends fifty gold pieces by dawn tomorrow, he may have his knight back. Otherwise, I’ll drop him off wherever I see fit.” Pollox cast an eye over the motionless knight, limp in his metal armor. “He looks like a swimmer. Perhaps over an ocean. Do you understand?”

The squire, trembling from head to foot, nodded frantically but remained rooted to the spot, eyes wide in panic.

“Dawn tomorrow,” Pollox repeated. “Fifty gold pieces.”

The squire still didn’t move. He would likely pass out from fright if Pollox scared him anymore.

“Go on then,” Pollox said, and blew a tiny fireball at him.

That did it.

The horse reared back in terror so that the reins tangled around the squire’s hand. As his mount bolted, the squire was dragged along, desperately trying to mount the terrified horse. The galloping hooves soon faded away.

“Is he dead?” I called anxiously, eyes still fixed on the motionless knight as my insides writhed like snakes.

Pollox flapped into the air and landed a moment later, clinging to the side of the tower so he could extend his head and easily talk to me. “No, but he’ll wake soon, and we can’t let him escape.”

I looked at my luxurious bedroom. “If this were less comfortable, I’d be able to convince him that I’m being held prisoner, but I think he would have a hard time believing that with all this here.”

Pollox’s eyes narrowed so he looked almost snake-like. “Excellent idea. Stay on the balcony for a moment.”

I did so, backing up so I was close to the railing, and squatted down. The wind still made me feel as though I would likely get blown off at any moment.

“Watch.” Pollox directed his gaze into the room, and it began to shift and change. The four-poster bed became a jail cell with iron bars, the sofa vanished and was replaced by hard slats with thin, hole-riddled blankets. The plush rugs transformed into straw littering the stone floor, and the paintings shifted to become manacles dangling in intervals with a large key hung on the opposite wall.

My jaw hung slack. It was the perfect prison cell.

“Hurry, get him up here and I’ll chain him to the wall,” I said eagerly. While Pollox flapped off to collect the knight, I ran to the wardrobe, which now looked thoroughly shabby and rotten. “I need something a prisoner would wear,” I told it. “Quick.”

At first, the wardrobe didn’t seem to understand and presented me with more luxurious dresses, but after articulating my desire again, it acquiesced and offered up a selection of threadbare, dirty frocks that might have once been beautiful gowns. Instead of the cosmetics and hair combs, a pot of dirt stood on a shelf. I rushed to transform my own appearance, scrubbing dirt onto my hands and face and tugging on a dress that could have passed for the one I wore the day before when Pollox took me away from the villagers.

As I mussed my hair, Pollox came back to deposit the knight on the balcony. He was still out cold. Could I trust that he was truly unconscious, or was he acting? Deciding to play it safe, I motioned for Pollox to shove the knight farther into the room. While Pollox used his tail to scoot the knight across the floor, I took the key from the far wall and tested it on the manacles. The cuffs sprang apart, and I secured it around the knight’s wrist. Then, with a sly wink at Pollox, I snapped the other cuff on my own arm.

The ridges over Pollox’s eyes contracted as he watched me. With a coy smile, I held a finger to my lips, then slipped the key into my pocket and sat propped against the wall next to the knight.

“What a well-behaved prisoner you are,” Pollox chuckled. “I’m a very lucky dragon indeed.”

The knight stirred, and Pollox snaked his head inside so he could stare at the captive. The man blearily opened his eyes, then yelped as he found himself nose-to-nose with the dragon.

“Please, have mercy,” I cried, trying to throw myself between the knight and Pollox, pressing one hand against the knight’s breastplate and the other held out defensively toward Pollox. “Spare him, I beg of you!”

“Only until dawn tomorrow,” Pollox hissed, menace in every syllable. He withdrew his head, and the ceiling shuddered as we heard Pollox curl up around the turret’s spire.

“How are you feeling?” I asked the knight anxiously, pressing my hand against his forehead.

“I’ve been better,” he groaned. As he slowly sat up, he stared around at the barren walls. “Princess, is this where the dragon’s been keeping you?”

“It hasn’t been long; it doesn’t matter,” I told him with a long-suffering smile. “Were you injured?”

“Not much.” He seemed to come to himself. “My squire, where is he? What happened?”

“The dragon’s holding you ransom for fifty gold pieces. Your squire went to get the funds.”

“He wasn’t hurt, was he? By George, I shouldn’t have endangered him. I should have taken that other squire up on his offer.”

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