The morning rolled around as though it were any other morning for Meryn, but the morning was not any other morning.  Today, Meryn of the Woodlands was going to die.

    She was young, yes, but in the eyes of the king, she was a petty criminal and nothing more.  The twenty-year-old woman knew this because he spat the words out when she proposed an arrangement of sorts--a plot, really--to escape with her life.  Knowing the king was searching for a dragon keeper, Meryn asked if she could fill the position and employ her talents of rearing the calmest of creatures.  With his great gut shaking with laughter, the man denied her request.

     “You are nothing but a petty criminal!  For that, you must have your fate at the gallows.  You will hang for what you did to your own countrymen.”  The king scowled at her.

     Meryn sighed.  “Good luck trying to find a more fitting dragon keeper, then.”  She walked out calmly with her guards flanking her at four corners.

     When she was younger, the woman would have told the tale of what really happened out in the wood, but she was not younger.  Instead, she would die with her dignity intact.

     The morning of her death, a young guard came into her cell.  He was tall and lithe, and he didn’t seem to be the greatest guard material.  He handed her a long black dress with a white lace collar to put on; it was the customary attire for women that were headed to be hanged.  She shook her head.  It was then that the young man spoke.

     “You didn’t kill them, did you?” he said suddenly.  “The king’s tax collectors, I mean.”

     “What do you care?” Meryn wondered aloud.  She sighed and looked up with big doe eyes.  Though she wore trousers like a man and wore no cheek stain, she was quite beautiful if one looked closely.  Then she said, “I did kill them.  They attacked, but they attacked the wrong woman.  I don’t tolerate that kind of behavior from any man no matter his status or background.  Women are not toys.”

     The guard looked at her for a few moments as he wondered why the king didn’t know this.  “Why didn’t you tell anyone about what happened?”

     “No one believes a woman, especially when the men are nobles,” she said simply.

     He grimaced.  It was all too common for women to be thought of as inferior.  His mother and father raised him to have respect for all people no matter their heritage, background, or gender.  It was unimaginable to him why anyone would think otherwise, but then again, people were too self-involved around here.  The capital was crawling with the wealthy. Meanwhile, the small population of the poor hid in the shadows living day to day and always seemed to be scraping the bottom of the barrel.  He knew this first hand.

     “I’m getting you out of here,” he said in a hiss.

     “What?” Meryn said, taken aback.  Not a soul in the world ever cared for her.  Why would this man feel such a way?

     “I’m getting you out of here,” he repeated.  “When we reach the front of the palace, there will be a barn to your right.  My mother will be there.  Tell her you’re a friend and that you need to be out of sight for a while because there’s some horrible man after you,” he said.

     The woman smiled sadly.  “While your idea of justice is admirable, you should think things through more carefully.  How are you going to distract the sentries on the outer wall of the palace?”

     “My dragon will do it.”  Dragons were rare creatures.  The king himself didn’t even own a dragon!  How this lowly guard came across a dragon was beyond her, but she knew one thing:

     “…You’re off your rocker.”

     The young man said, “Don’t you want to be free?”

     The word “free” sounded enticing, but what was free?  She often wondered what freedom was.  Now she knew that freedom was the taste of the salty sea air as she steered a small sailboat across the bay.  It was also the wind in her hair as she rode a galloping horse through a field.  That heart-pounding, fleeting moment…that was freedom, and now that she was stuck in a gloomy, dank cell in the dungeons of the king’s castle, she longed for that feeling once more.  She needed it.

     Meryn stood.  “Let’s do this.  But first, your name.”

     He didn’t hesitate.  “It’s Artemis,” he replied.

     “Well, Artemis, it’s good to meet you.”  With this statement, she turned and allowed her hands to be tied with a slipknot that would come free easily.  This way she would be able to run to the barn.

     “I’ve called my dragon telepathically.  His name is Nae’tal… if something goes wrong, call him,” the guard whispered.

     “I will,” she said as he walked her through the labyrinth of hallways.

     Meryn’s heart began to thump hard against her ribs.  Hopefully she would escape.  Hopefully she’d be free once again.  It was all in the hands of a man she just met and a dragon--a creature whose trust was hard to earn.  She wondered briefly if she could trust them.  Then she realized she had nothing to lose; today was supposed to be the day she’d die.

     The pair ascended the stone stairs and Artemis threw open the heavy wooden door.  Meryn gasped at the brightness of the sun and shut her eyes while Artemis guided her down the path to the great iron gates of the castle.

     “Let me know when you’ve adjusted,” he whispered.

     “I am,” she said soon enough.  About thirty feet off to the right, she saw the barn.  Through the open windows, Meryn saw a woman inside, presumably Artemis’ mother.

     The guards suddenly yelled as they spotted the great, massive creature in the distance.  Nae’tal was far off still, but all eyes turned to the animal as it flew over the treetops of the forest.  It was flying toward them.

     Meryn thanked Artemis quietly, slipped off the ropes, and ran.