• Cimorene was fed up with being a princess. It was always “Bow this way” or “ Be polite” or “That isn’t done Cimorene! It isn’t proper for a princess.” So, when her parents try to force her to marry the bubble- headed prince Therandil, she decides to run away. She ends up becoming the princes of the dragon Kazul. She must cook, clean and sort the dragon’s treasure all day. She loves it.

    However, a few pesky wizards have been hanging around lately and causing trouble. They stole an important book from the dragon Gaurim, and they are snooping around Kazul’s cave. And somehow they have gotten a hold of a poisonous plant called dragon’s bane, which makes Kazul sick. Cimorene goes to the dragon Roxim for to help her in seeking advice from the king. On the way she meets a strange man just outside of the dragon’s caves, behind an iron cell door.

    The man looked up. His face was a light brown color. That is, his whole face was that color. His eyes, lips, hair, everything. Cimorene jumped back.
    “I apologise for startling you,” said the strange figure. “I didn’t see you coming.” He stood up and gave a stiff bow.
    “Who are you?” Cimorene demanded. “What are you doing here?”
    “I’m a prince,” he sighed. “A cursed prince with nowhere to go because of my mistake.”
    “What mistake?”
    “It’s a long story,” He sighed.
    “Somehow they’re always long” said Cimorene. “You haven’t come to rescue me from the dragons have you? Because I don’t have time to spend a whole hour arguing with you today.”
    “I have no interest in dragons, I assure you,” he said hastily. “And if you would let me out I would be utterly grateful. Who are you by the way?”
    “I’m Cimorene, princess of the dragon Kazul.” She studied the prince for a moment. “Alright, turn around and plug your ears.
    “What for?” He said, surprised
    “It’s part of the spell to open the gate.” She had heard the spell when Kazul had said it as they were traveling to Kazul’s good friend Morwen the witch’s house. She didn’t want to trust this prince with the secret, no matter how trustworthy he appeared.
    The prince shrugged and did as she told him. Quickly, Cimorene recited the spell:


    “By night and flame and shining rock

    Open thou thy hidden rock

    Alberolingarn!”


    In a moment the gate swung open. The prince, being turned around, did not notice. Cimorene touched his shoulder to get his attention, and was shocked when she felt it.
    “You’re made of rubber!” she said.
    “I know,” he sighed. “It’s part of that long story I mentioned.
    “I’m afraid that I don’t have time for stories right now,” she said politely. “I have to run on an urgent errand. If you’ll excuse me I’ll...”
    “Can’t I come with you?
    “Why would you want to do that?”
    “Well, I’m kind of lost, and you seem to know your way around here, so I thought...”
    “Well, I suppose you could stay in serving room, it’s just off the banquet hall. I checked it out, nobody will be in there. And there’s a shortcut to where I’m going, so maybe I can make up some lost time.”
    Cimorene led him to the serving room . “Wait for me to come back and don’t go wandering around until I do.”
    Cimorene left and using the shortcut, managed to get there faster than she had expected she would. When she got to Roxim’s caves, she found it so untidy she could even find the dragon.

    “Dragon Roxim?” She called into the cave. A lamp came flying at her from somewhere in the room.

    “What? Who’s there?” She heard a voice call out, along with a lot of banging and more flying objects.

    “I’m Cimorene, princess of the dragon Kazul. She sends her greetings...”

    “Oh, that’s nice. I’m sorry but I don’t have the time to talk today, I’m looking for.. oh where did I put it?”

    “Come here. Let me see if I can help you.”

    Cimorene waited at the entrance and Roxim made his way to her.

    “Now, what was it you were looking for?”

    “I was looking for an emerald I picked up a few years back. I thought it might do as a proper coronation gift.”

    “Why would you need that?” asked Cimorene, genuenly surprised.

    “Didn’t you hear? Someone poisoned the kings coffee this morning. He’s dead.”

    Cimorene was taken aback. She thanked Roxim for the news and told him why she had come. After that she helped him find the ruby shield, which took a lot of digging and prying. It eventually turned up under a broken mirror. Then Cimorene hurried home to give Kazul the news.

    “It must have been someone who knows the king well” said Kazul when she had gotten back and told him the news. “Every morning the king drinks coffee that’s so thick it could burn the top of the dragons mouth.

    Cimorene tried to imagine coffee so thick and hot it could burn the mouth of a dragon. She failed.

    “You could put dozens of dragon bane plants in there without even changing the flavor of it.” Kazul said. “Well, if there’s to be a new king, there is so much to do. I have to..” Kazul started to stand up.

    “Get back in bed! You are in no state to be carrying rocks around the forest!” Cimorene said. The ritual for choosing the dragon king was ancient. The was a large stone, about the size of a human, that vibrated in a strange way. Because of these vibrations, it was impossible for most dragons to carry it very far. However, there was always one dragon who seemed to find the vibrations a pleasant buzz. He was always named King.

    Kazul laughed. “It’s not optional, Princess. I have to do this, sick or not.”

    “Well, you can at least get your rest now. I’ll run your errands for you.”

    Kazul lay back down with a heavy sigh. “Thank you princess. First I need a gift...”

    And so started hours of Cimorene running back and forth to other dragons caves with messages and searching for a worthy gift for the new king.

    She was on one of these errands when she heard voices yelling. She looked down the hall and saw the strangest thing. The two wizards were in the caves! And they were chasing the rubber prince, whom Cimorene had forgotten completely! They were shooting beams of magic at him. One narrowly missed Cimorene’s nose.

    Cimorene ducked behind the wall of the cave as more beams came flying. The rubber prince was doing some sort of bouncing thing to avoid getting hit. Cimorene racked her brains for something to do. The nearest dragon cave was too far away, and she didn’t have any weapons.

    “Cimorene!” someone whispered near her. Startled, Cimorene turned and saw Alianora, her good friend and princess of the dragon Woraug. She was carrying a bucket of soapy water

    “Alianora! What are you doing here?” Cimorene whispered back.

    “I was walking back to Woraug’s caves when I saw those two wizards and I got scared and hid. They went into the serving room and a minute later they were chasing him. What are we going to do?”

    “I’m not sure,” Cimorene said. She thought hard about her small bit of magic training and what she had learned from Kazul’s library. Suddenly, she had an idea. Not a very good one, but it was a start. She had remembered a spell that could bring objects from across the room to you. She figured she could try to bring the wizards staffs to her, for these are what directed their power. Without them they were powerless.

    Cimorene stepped forward and said:



    Across the room lies the thing

    That I desire you to bring.

    The wizard’s staffs will come to me

    Thou do now as I bid thee.

    And then...

    Absolutely nothing. The wizards looked up, confused, but the staffs stayed firmly in their grip. They started towards the wall where they were hiding. Alianora started to panic a little, and Cimorene racked her brains even harder that before. There had to be something! The wizards rounded the corner.

    “Well, if it isn’t out good friend Cimorene,” said Zemenar, the older wizard.

    “Take that!” Alianora yelled suddenly as she tossed the bucket of suds at him. At first he just stood there, then, strangely, he started to shrink.

    “No!” he screamed as he did. “Not soap suds! That is so demeaning! You can’t do this, I’ll be back! I won’t stay like this forever!” And with that, he melted and became nothing more that a puddle on the floor. They turned to the second wizard.

    Cimorene grabbed the bucket from Alianora. “Tell me your plans,” she said as she slowly dripped the water on his head. He smiled slyly and disappeared.