She looked out of the window and saw him battling against the other suitors. She then shook her head.

"Men! Just like bloody buses… You wait ages for one and then three come along at once."

She sighed and walked out of the door, which had been freshly lock picked and went down the stairs. The men continued to battle without even noticing her as she carefully wound her way around the holes in the castle floor. These had probably been caused by the dragon getting angry. It would be dead now, poor dear. The princess came upon the body and absentmindedly patted the tail. At least it would be in a better place now which was more than she could say for herself. With that she left the castle behind her, the silence broken only by the clashes of metal.

- - -

Prince Bonamy wiped his brow. It had been tough work but he had got rid of both his opponents. True, he hadn't killed them; the one that had run off in fright had been too quick for him… And the other one, well it had been pointless from the start. Taking out his map of the castle, he ticked off the dragon and the main hall. All that was left was to find the tower which the princess inhabited.

"Princess Amabelle… Ingoldsby… Eerith," he really should have put his glasses on, these were some hard names. "Juliana Kundalini… Adour." A door? That couldn't be a name, except if her parents had felt unusually indebted to their carpenter. "Radiance of your kingdom and Pearl of this castle. I have come to formally request your hand in marriage." He waited for answer and was greeted with stony silence. This princess wasn't playing fair, it was harder than it seemed to have a one sided marriage proposal. He found the stairs and strode up them two at a time only to reach the door and find it open. He peered round and also found that the room was empty.

"F---"

It was the only thing he could manage just then.