Pib's Dragon
Authors: Beany Sparks
Tags: #magic, #fairy tales, #dragon, #shifters, #serval cat, #beany sparks
A dragon is about to find out what
happens when a cat discovers his cave of shiny
treasures.
After nine years, Pib is finally free
from his contract with the newly wed prince. Slipping out in the
middle of the night to avoid getting stuck in another contract, Pib
shifts into his cat and makes his way home to the little village he
foolishly left, hoping his best friend Wil still lives
there.
Dray is bored. His services as a
princess-guarding dragon are no longer needed and even his gold and
jewels are unable to cheer him up. His mood changes quickly when he
catches someone in his treasure cave, and it starts a series of
events that change his life forever.
When the two finally meet, sparks fly,
but Dray will have to move quickly if he’s to save his cat after
Pib gets kidnapped.
Twisted Fairy Tales
Copyright
©2016 Beany Sparks
First Edition
Smashwords Edition
Cover design by Beany Sparks
Editor Jason Bradley
Published by Rainbow Ninja
Press
This literary work may not be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part,
without express written permission. This book cannot be copied in
any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to
another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for
free or for a fee. Such action is illegal and in violation of
Copyright Law.
All characters and events in this book
are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is
strictly coincidental.
All trademarks are the property of
their respective owners.
Twisted Fairy Tales
By
Beany Sparks
To my fellow authors who
will be joining me in this series
Prologue
Pib snuck
into the darkened room, tiptoeing quietly so as not to wake the
newly crowned prince Geraint and his princess. Looking around, he
both thanked and cursed his shifter senses. While he was grateful
he could see inside the room, the smell of sex throughout the air
was something he could have done without.
Reaching the desk on the far side of
the room, he paused and glanced at the couple. Once he was
satisfied they were still asleep, he eased open the cover and found
what he was after—his freedom. After nine long years as the
bastard’s slave, the letter freeing him from servitude almost
brought tears to his eyes. Carefully folding it and placing it in
his inside pocket, Pib gently shut the desk and tiptoed back toward
the bedroom door, leaving the room as silently as he’d
entered.
He knew there was only a limited window
of opportunity for him to make his escape. Even though the pompous
bastard had made a production of signing the form and granting him
his freedom, Pib knew it was all for show. If he didn’t escape now,
Geraint would get him alone and force him to sign another contract
and then make some sort of bogus announcement about how Pib wanted
to stay.
Pib snorted, unable to help himself.
Luckily there was no one else around the castle at this time of the
night, though even if there was, Pib didn’t care. He was leaving,
and no one was going to stop him. Anyone who tried would have a
close encounter with his knife, or his claws, he wasn’t
picky.
“
Hey, Pib, where are you
off to in the middle of the night?” asked the guard at the front
door of the castle. Pib never bothered learning their names or
getting friendly with them, especially since Geraint could force
him to kill any of them at a moment’s notice. He’d learned that it
didn’t pay for him to form any attachments with those surrounding
Geraint.
“
Getting an early start on
my retirement,” Pib replied, smirking at the man while he continued
to stroll toward the exit.
“
Sorry, Pib, but I have to
check. Do you have a signed letter from Prince Geraint?” The guard
shifted from foot to foot, showing his unease.
Pib stopped in front of him and forced
a smile. “Of course,” he said, carefully extracting the letter and
handing it over to the guard.
He waited, watching the guard closely
as he read the letter. One wrong move and Pib was going to gut him.
Nothing could happen to that letter.
“
Looks good,” the guard
said, handing the letter back to Pib. “It’ll sure be different
without you around, but all the best. And, uh, don’t take this the
wrong way, but I hope I don’t see you again.”
Returning the letter to his pocket, Pib
looked up and smiled a real smile at the man. He wanted to laugh
when the guard’s face paled as he caught sight of Pib’s canines,
but restrained himself. “Don’t worry, I hope never to see you again
either.”
With that, Pib walked out of the castle
and made his way through the sleeping village. Pulling his hood up,
he used the dark material to blend into the surroundings. He wasn’t
taking any chances that Geraint wouldn’t wake up any moment and
send guards running after him. After all, Pib was practically
friends with all of the skeletons in Geraint’s closet.
Pib reached the edge of the village and
paused. After nine long years, he was finally free of Geraint, his
orders, and most importantly, his shackle. The magical cuff that
had decorated his right ankle for nine years had been removed after
Geraint had signed his release. The cuff was the only thing
ensuring Pib’s obedience, and finally, it was gone.
Taking a deep breath, Pib stepped over
the invisible boundary line and felt the remaining enchantments
shatter and disappear, leaving him standing as his true self for
the first time in years. Reaching inside, he called out his inner
cat to come out and play, and in seconds, his clothes disappeared
and he was standing on all fours in his serval form. Stretching, he
threw one last glance back at the castle and the village before
slinking away into the trees, using the natural camouflage to
shield him as he made his way toward the start of his new
life.
****
Geraint bolted up in bed, glancing
around to see what could have woken him, when he felt the last of
his spells shatter. Growling under his breath, he got out of bed
and stormed over to the window, scanning the edge of the
village.
He turned and made his way back to bed.
He had some frustration to work out of his system, and now he
conveniently had a wife to fuck. He just had to make sure not to
break her; he couldn’t kill her like the others if he got out of
control.
“
Curse you, cat, I’m not done with you yet! You
will be mine once again, and you
will
pay for
running away,” he swore quietly to himself.
One
Roaming through the countryside, Pib
enjoyed being on four legs. Not only because he hadn’t been able to
simply wander for nine years, but because although there weren’t
many serval shifters around, there were still enough that he didn’t
automatically get recognized. Which was good; he didn’t relish the
idea of making his way from village to village and leaving
screaming people in his wake. Despite his reputation of being a
cold-blooded killer, Pib wasn’t interested in killing or being an
assassin, but when you’ve got a magical cuff around your ankle, you
don’t really get to have opinions.
At least I’m free.
Hopefully Geraint will decide to live out his life with his new
bride and forget all about me.
Pib snorted to himself. He’d have a
better chance of sprouting wings and learning to fly, but he’d do
what he had to in order to protect the new life he built. He just
had to build it first.
He paused at the sight of the trees of
the great forest before him. He could practically feel the magic in
the air, and he took a deep breath before exhaling. He was finally
home. Giddiness filled him, and his cat took over, running full
pelt into the grove and then vaulting high up into the air. A quick
glance around showed that there was no one to witness his antics so
Pib started leaping through the trees, something he’d mastered a
long time ago. No one ever thought to look up into the branches,
which gave him an advantage. Pib had managed to evade a number of
pursuers by shifting and climbing.
After what felt like minutes, but was
probably at least a couple of hours, Pib reached the far edge of
the tree line. He ensured the coast was clear then he jumped to the
ground. Down a short hill was the village he’d grown up in. Not
many folk lived in the village, perhaps a hundred when Pib had last
been there, but the number of houses hadn’t grown much by the looks
of it. The village was secluded, and hardly anyone ever visited. It
was for those people who wanted to live a quiet life away from all
of the hustle and bustle. Everyone knew everyone else, and they
looked out for one another.
It was also the one place in the whole
world that did not belong to any single kingdom, and therefore
there was no king for them to answer to. But that didn’t mean they
were defenceless. The village sat in what the locals referred to as
Dragon’s Tail, because at the end of the village, there was a bend
that would take you up to Dragon’s Keep, which was a huge mountain
filled with the homes of various dragons throughout the lands. They
didn’t all reside there, but it was known to be their home. The
mountain was said to be packed with the treasures of the dragons
who visited various lands to perform duties, such as guarding
princesses for various reasons.
As he reached the edge of town, Pib
raised himself onto his back legs and shifted as he walked. He went
from walking as a serval on two legs to human in a second. His dark
cloak covered him from head to thigh. His black pants were tucked
into his expensive, and very comfortable, boots, which were a blue
so dark they were almost black.
As he made his way to the tavern, there
were some looks tossed his way, but no one said or did anything to
stop his progression. He needed information, and the tavern was a
fount of knowledge. When he walked in, he found the place was
empty.
“
We’re closed, stranger,”
the keeper said, drying a cup behind the bar. He was a big man,
muscular, with dark hair and a beard. There was something familiar
about him, but Pib couldn’t put his finger on what it
was.
“
I’m not here to drink. I’m
here for information,” Pib replied, using his most innocent
tone.
“
And what information would
that be, youngin’?” the man asked.
Youngin’? Really?
Pib
almost growled but restrained himself at the last
moment.
“
I’m looking for a wolf,” he replied. At the man’s raised
eyebrow, Pib clenched his teeth for a moment before elaboration.
“His name is Wil, he was in the
care
of the three
jackasses—I mean, three brothers, when he was younger. Perhaps you
can tell me where I might find him?”
The man grunted and shook his head.
“You had it right the first time. They are jackasses, but they’re
rich jackasses. You’ll find Wil at the bottom of Dragon’s Keep. You
know where that is?”
“
Sure, it’s around the
bend, just after Dragon’s Tail ends.”