The Princess and the Dragon

Summary: For who could ever love a beast?

Chapter 1

"Recent murders around the city of Downsville have been escalating at an eerie pace. There have already been twelve women in total missing this year alone. None of them have, however, been connected to the Astrid Dobson's case, a woman who has disappeared mysteriously from her home three years prior to…."

The light from the television was illuminating through the living room, flickering continuously throughout the night on a low setting of volume. The reporter on the screen disappeared as a map flashed for the news station viewers.

Nobody was watching the television.

The compacted room was dark, silent. There was no sound save for the heavy rainstorm that warred outside the barriers of the small apartment. It was murky in a sense of solitude, almost lethal in a lulling perception. The musky scent of sex muddled the air, permeating the humid room with both humming and satisfied sexes. Dust settled on the bookshelf, reminding those who enter how clean the owners truly were. Clothes were strewn on the floor, representing the reality of the couple entangled upon the small bed. The bed was pressed up against the wall, the window just adjacent to it. The cool, frosty wind whispered through the cracks of the poorly built frames and chilled upon the naked skin of the couple. Puddles of water leaked from the pouring rain, entering the wooden windowsill only to dribble down and soak the thin sheet of blanket that was provided for both bodies.

A movement was heard. Eyelids drowsily awoke as the reddening, unfocused eyes blearily shifted from side to side. There was a string of a moan, barely heard before the heavy body quivered from both the coldness and weariness. The female brought up her arm and coughed into her fist, sniffling as she swung her legs over the edge of the mattress. The only blanket curled around her legs as if beckoning her to continue her dreamless state. She merely ignored the fabric and roughly pushed it away. The persistent itch tickled her throat. Unsanitary, she brought the germ-covered fist to rub her eyes, trying to get rid of the sleepiness.

But her alcoholic-induced mind prevented stability.

It had to be the alcohol.

Colleen coughed once more, scratched her thigh before wobbling onto her feet. Her hands swished around, trying to grasp the nearby drawer. A loud curse rang through when a glass of water, which was perched atop of the drawer shattered upon the floor.

Her companion merely shifted in his sleep before being lulled to sleep by the pattering of rain upon the window.

"Oh, my head," she muttered, holding it in her hand as she groaned. "Jack." With one hand nursing her pounding head, the other blindly sought for the shoulder of the man in the bed. "Jack…Jack clean up this mess." He nodded, waving his hand as if getting rid of a fly.

Muttering beneath her breath Colleen staggered towards the restroom, waving her arms around to maintain her balance. When she reached the toilet she closed the door halfway, as she was too drunk to care about privacy and sat on the rims. The cool touch of the toilet seat pressed up against her heated, sweaty skin, making her sigh.

Her eyes were closed, doing everything without the need of her vision.

The blueprint of her boyfriend's small apartment was completely detailed in her mind.

Colleen and Jack had been a couple since their third year of high school; their commitment rivaled most married couples. Though they had their ups and downs (who doesn't nowadays?), they've stuck together like peanut butter and jelly with extra, extra peanut butter in between.

But nowadays, the supposed love between the two didn't seem to exist to Colleen.

Jack was always completely engrossed with his job, throwing himself to the challenges of a lawyer. Colleen never said anything about it because it was his dream to follow in his father's footsteps. But as Jack was completely obsessed with his job, it made Colleen feel lonely more than usual. Sometimes, she felt as though he didn't remember that she existed. He would leave early, come home late, and when he came home, he'd lock himself in the room and continue on from there. Colleen didn't mind as much though. The human in her completely understood and accepted him as he was. As long as she had him, and he paid some attention to her, she was fine with it.

But the woman inside of her was snarling in fury.

That's why she demanded he take the day off today and allowed the two of them to enjoy themselves.

He didn't take the day off as she had wanted, but as soon as he arrived from work he did his duty as a boyfriend. He grudgingly went out (with an attitude she ignored), paid for the dinner and drinks. The drinks had made him lax, but not enough to make the couple stay out long enough.

"Oh, gods, no," Jack had said when Colleen begged to walk around downtown. "I have work early in the morning, Colleen. I can't afford to stay out late."

After a rump in the blankets, Jack rolled off and immediately snoozed.

The day was enough to satisfy her for the next three months, she told herself. Or was it?

Nope, it wasn't. The woman inside her snarled in utter fury.

Colleen sighed, muttering nonsense beneath her breath as she massaged her throbbing temples. The headache didn't seem to get any better. The lights of the rest room flickered on and off, casting darkness for a short while. The woman's stomach churned, signaling the need to vomit.

Immediately, Colleen got off of the toilet and vomited inside the toilet.

Outside of their apartment, thunder exploded through the clouds. It lightened the entire city as if it were daytime, sending a few night owls to their windows and look at the weather in an expression of wonderment or fear. There were more than a few times where lightning even struck, coming close to the city. But it never came close enough for the citizens to be concerned for their lives.

Colleen leaned against the wall. Her eyes closed as she breathed in and out. Perspiration clung to her face, dripping and sliding down her skin. She wiped her hand across her face and down her neck, feeling immense disgust at the state she was in.

Dear gods, why was she sweating so damn much?

Forcing herself up, Colleen went to the sink, turning on the water knob to wash her hands. She splashed water upon her face, wiping down her exposed skin with short brushes. Finishing up, she turned off the water and stared at the mirror before her.

Plain Jane, that's what she was. Messy, tangled waves of brown hair were everywhere, making it seem as if it was a bird's nest rather than a head of hair. Her brown eyes were red and muddled with overflowing tears from her unknown and indescribable crying session after Jack had fallen asleep. Her makeup she didn't remove yet was slathered over her face like a child's mess. She grimaced, opening the mirror to remove some makeup remover and cotton balls.

Whether she was drunk or not, makeup was not pleasant to sleep with. It was one of Colleen's pet peeves. She swiped the cotton ball across her face, magically leaving clean skin as it trailed over every crevice and surface. Once she was satisfied, she threw everything inside the sink. She'll clean it up tomorrow, when she actually has the head to do something.

"One more checkup," she said, tilting her face here and there as she made sure her face was nice and clean from the perspective of the mirror.

Her reflection wavered like water. The mirror lightened up eerily and sparkled in a few places.

Colleen narrowed her eyes in suspicion and leaned in towards the mirror. "What the hell?"

Her brown eyes turned green for a split second.

The light bulbs again flickered on and off.

Colleen shook her head, thinking that it was the alcohol playing with her mind. She exited the bathroom and rubbed her forehead. "Jack, you need to…." She coughed into her hand. "You need to…replace those light bulbs, they're flashing again."

Fatigue rolled over her body like a seductive snake, lulling her to close her eyes and fall asleep. Colleen closed her eyes, blindly groping around for a tank top and a pair of sleeping short's as her previous nightwear was too sweaty to wear.

Once she was done, Colleen climbed into the bed and pulled the blanket over herself. "Light bulbs," she mumbled beneath her breath.

The blankets weighed heavier and the bed was much more relaxing than it was before, surprising the woman. Colleen sighed, snuggling deeper into the bed that seemed to be made out of wondrous clouds. She didn't bother to cuddle towards Jack as she made herself comfortable. Something had been buzzing, but she ignored it. Soft whispers played against Colleen ear, blowing air against it as her hair moved with every word. Colleen didn't realize that the whispers were getting louder to a point where it was almost talking as any regular person was. Nothing mattered to her besides the rather cozy bed she was occupying.

And within a second, she was carried off to paradise.

ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION:

Ok, I know I didn't upload the final chapter to Atropa Belladonna including one of the four options that was up in the author notes (finish "DWTD", upload one chapter for each chapter, upload a one-shot or upload a new story). But I will! I promise, I'm still working on it! (:

This story is more of a personal project. Something I've been DYING to try LOL. The chapter is short, but meh, it's still something lol 8D I'm attempting to create my own fantasy world (Awww, crap spoiler LOL D:) with new names, government, people and places. It's difficult so far (and I'm only on chapter 2!), but it's somewhat fun C: BECAUSE THIS IS A PERSONAL PROJECT, I won't be updating this story as often. Probably in the beginning, it'll go crazy and then stop dead LOL. But the updates won't come as regularly as one of my other stories.

THIS IS JUST FOR TESTING.

But you are free to review, criticize and threaten me for more chapters LOL.

To those who are wondering when I'll update Atropa Belladonna: IT WILL BE SOON. Within two weeks at most! (: I'm trying to make it a GREAT ending ;D

Other than that, toodle-tah! C:

Edited (: