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Once upon a time, there was a princex who loved kazoos. But they were sad because there were no kazoos to be found anywhere in their kingdom. They searched far and wide for any leads on a kazoo they could call their own. Years passed with no word on the mythical kazoo.
Finally, a messenger from a far off land came to their court with a wild tale. This messenger came before the princex and wove a story of magic and monsters. According to them, in a faraway land, there was a cave filled with many wonders and treasures. One of these treasures was the kazoo the princex so desperately desired.
The princex knew this may be their only chance to find a kazoo. But the journey to this land would be long and difficult. So the princex put out a call for the greatest herox in all the land. One such herox answered their call and so they set out. Together they crossed a sea, a mountain, and traveled further than the princex ever thought possible. They longed for their home, for their kingdom, but the need to fulfill their greatest dream spurred them forward.
After such a hard journey the princex nearly wept in joy when they finally reached the land the messenger had told them about. The first sign of what was to come came in the form of an abandoned village that had been ravaged by fire. "Dragon," they whispered to themself.
"Fear not, princex. I am here to protect you from this beast." The herox assured them.
The closer they got to the cave that was said to be home to the dragon, and its great horde, the more destruction they found. Other fallen heroes, a forest more ash than anything else, and no signs of life. A deep sense of dread began to fill the princex. What were they doing here? Why had they come on this fool's journey? They had left their people behind and for what? For a kazoo that may not even exist. In this place of death, it seemed such a small, trivial thing. Was it worth dying for?
They mentally shook themselves as the herox laid a gentle hand on their shoulder. "We don't have to go on, princex. It's not too late to turn back."
"No," the princex said firmly, "we have come this far. We shall find this cave."
"Very well," the herox said softly. "We shall press on."
Soon, they found themselves in front of a large cave, lit just enough to see the huge beast that slumbered inside. "We are in luck, princex. The gods have smiled upon on today." The herox whispered to them. "I shall kill it as it sleeps and we can find your treasure. Stay here where it is safe, princex." With that, they began to creep forward.
The princex grabbed their arm, stopping them. "I did not cross a sea, climb a mountain, and travel this far to be left behind. These weapons are not just for show. This treasure is mine to claim and I will not let anything stand in my way." The herox looked as if they would argue but simply bowed their head and gestured for the princex to follow them.
They inched closer to the dragon, watching for any sign of movement. The princex could hardly breathe when the herox was finally within striking range. They gripped their own sword ready to plunge it deep into the dragon's dark, scaly flesh. Just as herox raised their sword, the princex looked the beast in the eye. It was awake and knew they were there. They opened their mouth to warn the herox, but they were struck by the deep sadness in the dragon's eyes. It made no move to stop the herox even as their blade swung down to sever its neck.
"No!" The princex shrieked sprinting forward and pushing the herox away from the dragon. The dragon finally raised its head as the herox's sword clattered to the ground.
The herox spun around shouting, "What have you done!" They grabbed the princex, trying to snatch the blade from their hands. "You'll get us both killed!"
"You don't understand." The princex bit out, trying to pull away, but the herox only tightened their grip. "You're hurting me!"
Their cry of pain finally stirred the dragon from their pretend slumber. It let loose a deafening roar as it stood. The herox cowered in fear, releasing the princex. "You are insane," they whimpered, backing away from the beast slowly. "I am not dying for a fool."
With that, they bolted from the cave. "You do not deserve to call yourself a herox!" The princex shouted after them. The rush of adrenaline faded and the realization that there was a huge dragon behind them hit the princex suddenly. They slowly turned to face it.
"You are a most peculiar human. You came here, blade drawn to cut me down, but at the last moment, you stopped the other one. Why?" The dragon spoke with a voice both soft and sad.
"Why do you want to die?" Their voice shook a bit, but they managed to hide their fear.
The dragon bent its head down to get a better look at the princex. "Why do you say that?"
"You were awake the entire time and made no move to defend yourself. I was told you were a monster that had ravaged these lands. There was no fear or anger in your eyes. Only sorrow and acceptance. I could not let them kill a gentle beast like yourself."
The dragon bared its fangs at them. "And what if I am not a gentle beast?"
"Then I am the fool the herox thinks me to be and you eat me. But I'm not wrong, am I?"
The dragon heaved a heavy sigh. "For years, humans have avoided this place. I thought that this would finally be my chance to end this long, lonely existence. You should have let that herox kill me."
"No," the princex said softly. "You clearly are not a monster. I came here seeking treasure, but I will no slay an innocent to get it."
"Look around, little human. There is no treasure to be found here. There is only ash and death." The dragon chuckled bitterly.
"I don't understand. What happened here? Did you burn the village down? Did they hurt you?"
"If I tell you, will you leave?"
The dragon didn't wait for their answer. It made a soft grunt of annoyance and began to explain the truth to the princex. "Not all dragons breathe fire, little human. I am not the one who destroyed this land. The humans in the village lived side by side with dragons for years. We protected each other, shared all we had. It was peaceful until invaders came. They used dark magics the likes of which none of us had ever seen. Their black fires burned everything they touched. All of my people died protecting the humans. They lived, but this land could no longer sustain them, so they left. I am all that remains. Heroes and adventurers sometimes venture out here, but I've always easily scared them off. This land is cursed and no one should have to suffer because of it, but I have grown tired of this life. I thought you had finally come to end it."
"I cannot."
"Then go and leave me in peace. I will wait for the next foolish herox to wander in."
The princex turned to leave but hesitated. It seemed wrong to leave the dragon here to die. "You don't have to stay here." They said looking up at the dragon.
"Where I am to go? The world outside thinks me a monster. I just wish peace or death, neither of which you can give me."
"There is a place far from here, over a mountain, and across the sea that you could live. You see I am a princex and you could come with me to my home. I cannot bring back all you've lost, but I can take you away from this place of death."
The dragon cocked its head to the side and seemed to ponder their offer. "That is a very long way for a dragon to go. Every human along the way will try to harm me."
"Then I will protect you!" The princex declared. "I won't leave you here alone."
The dragon chuckled. "Well, with such a fierce princex on my side, no human shall stop me. I shall go with you, but not in this form." Before the princex could ask what it meant, smoke seemed to engulf its body. It swirled over their scales and covered them entirely. Out of the smoke stepped a human or so they appeared. "Not all dragons breathe fire, but some of us can change our form."
The princex raised a shaky hand and touched their face. "Is this real?"
"As real as my other form. I want to thank you princex. I had given up all hope until you arrived." They reached inside their robes. "I have no great treasure to offer you but I do have one small trinket from the village. It is all I have left of the people the once that lived beside us." They pulled out a single, slightly dented kazoo.
The princex's heart soared at the sight of it. After all of this, it did exist, but there was no way they could accept it. "This is the last piece of your home you have. I cannot take that from you, but will you play it for me sometime?"
The dragon's face lit up with delight. "Of course, my princex."
"What do I call you?"
"My name is as dead as this land." They looked around the cave. "I know you see only destruction here, but I was happy here once." They crouched down running their hand through the soot that coated the floor of the cave. "You may call me Ash."
"Well, Ash, let me take you home." The princex offered them their hand, pulling the dragon to their feet.
"I would like that very much, princex."