The old dragoness frowned, but before she could say anything, Audun’s mother stepped forward. “While we were trapped in the walls we saw everything that went on in that castle. You were very brave, my dear, especially for a human.”
“Thank you,” Millie said, smiling at the dragons. The only one who didn’t smile back was Audun’s grandmother.
“There you are!” Azuria shouted as she hobbled across the snow. Simon-Leo was weighted down with a huge leather sack and a rolled-up rug so long that the end dragged on the ground as he followed her. Millie recalled having seen the rug on the floor of the Blue Witch’s chamber, but she wondered how the old woman thought she could possibly take it with them.
“That was fantastic!” shouted Francis. “I didn’t know dragons could carry fire the way you did.”
“Neither did I,” Millie said.
Zoë looked anxious as she drew close to peer at Millie. “How do you feel? You don’t look like you usually do. Your scales are still green, but they’re kind of pink around the edges.”
“I’m fine, Zoë. I just—,” Millie began.
“First this streak of fire shot out of the castle and then it hit the ice with a whoosh!” Francis said, more excited than Millie had seen him in a long time. “We didn’t know it was you until Audun brought you back. That ball of flames was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was. I was just—”
The snowdrifts behind the Blue Witch exploded and a horde of snowmen tumbled out, roaring so loudly that Millie’s heart skipped a beat. Azuria began to fumble at the sack Simon-Leo was carrying. Seeing that the old woman wouldn’t be ready before the snowmen reached her, Millie leaned toward Audun and said, “Why don’t we take care of this?”
Audun nodded and the two dragons took to the air.
While most of the snowmen watched them with wary eyes, some of their companions made great sweeping gestures with their arms and looked confused when nothing happened.
“I think they just learned that their magic no longer works,” Millie told Audun. The dragons swooped lower, making the snowmen duck. When Audun breathed poison gas in their direction, the snowmen grabbed their noses and pinched them shut. Although they had been prepared for a frost dragon’s poison gas, they looked startled when Millie lit the gas with her flame. Howling, the snowmen threw themselves into snowdrifts, then ran away with their charred fur still smoking. When they were certain that the snowmen were gone, Millie and Audun landed, standing so close that their tails touched.
“I don’t know about you,” said the Blue Witch, “but I’m ready to get out of here. Anyone want a ride? Simon-Leo, you can put the carpet down now.”
Simon-Leo grunted and dropped the sack so he could unroll the carpet on the snow.
“That can’t be a magic carpet,” said Francis. “It’s huge.”
“You bet it’s huge,” agreed Azuria. “I’ve had this thing for over fifty years and I spent a fortune for it. It can hold all of you, even the troll, although I draw the line at dragons.”
Millie laughed. “I think I can get home on my own,” she said, and turned to Audun. “I have to go now. I’m glad I got to meet you. Thank you for helping us. You saved Zoë’s life with your tonic and you helped us find the Blue Witch.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” said Audun. “You saved my entire family. You’re a very special dragon, Millie. Are you sure you have to go?”
Millie nodded. “My parents are going to be worried sick about me if I don’t get back before they do. Take care of yourself, Audun.” Millie could have sworn that he blushed when she kissed him on the cheek. Simon-Leo chortled, but Millie didn’t care. She felt as if she’d known Audun for years.
Although the carpet sagged under Simon-Leo, Azuria didn’t have any trouble getting it to rise. “Now you take over,” she told Francis, who was sitting beside her, his hand almost holding Zoë’s. “The way my eyesight is, I’ll have us crashing into mountains before you know it.”
Francis looked delighted and didn’t even glance back at Millie as he guided the carpet down the valley. Millie sighed and spread her wings. She took off, rising into the air to circle over the castle, then came back to fly low over Audun. “Will I ever see you again?” she called.
“You couldn’t keep me away if you tried,” he shouted into the wind, and waved until she was out of sight.
Magic carpets are very fast, but even the best magic carpet is no match for a flying dragon. Millie could have been back at her grandparents’ castle within a few hours, but she slowed her pace to match that of the carpet. However, every now and then she flew ahead, lost in her thoughts, and then had to fly back to look for her friends. The last time this happened was right before she spotted the mountains of Upper Montevista. It was late in the day and she would have preferred to go on, but she turned around to tell the others that they were almost there. Not everyone was happy to hear the news.
“I hope my parents aren’t back yet,” said Francis.
“What will you do if they are?” Zoë asked.
“Tell them about how I used my magic, I guess,” Francis replied after a moment’s thought. “That should make them happy.”
“What are you going to tell your grandparents?” Zoë asked Millie.
“I don’t know,” Millie replied. “My father’s parents probably won’t want to see me. My mother’s parents will probably be mad that I left the way I did.”
“Are you going to tell your parents what happened?” asked Francis.
“Eventually,” said Millie. “I’ve never kept secrets from them before. I don’t see any reason to start now.”
“We’ll, I’m going to look up my old friend Mudine,” said Azuria as her carpet skimmed above the top of the tallest mountain in the range. “We have a lot of catching up to do and I want to know if she’s really looking for someone to share a cottage. While I’m at it, I’m going to ask her about that witch doctor friend of hers. Maybe she’d like to show me where to find him.”
“I’m going to stay at your grandparents’ castle for a few weeks until my parents are back from their trip,” said Simon-Leo. “You don’t think they’ll mind, do you, Millie?”
“Oh, they’ll mind, all right,” Millie said, laughing.
Francis turned around to glance back at Simon-Leo, a guilty expression on his face. “You’ve been so quiet, I forgot you were there,” he told the troll. “I guess I should turn around and take you back to where we found you.”
“You don’t need to do that,” said Millie. “I think Simon-Leo should stay with Queen Frazzela and King Bodamin. Maybe after they’ve had a troll living with them for a few weeks, they’ll appreciate a granddaughter who’s a dragon only part of the time.”
Francis snorted. “That’s a great idea, but who’s going to suggest it?”
“I will,” said Millie. “And this time I think I can talk to my grandmother without worrying that I might lose my temper.”
“Because she already knows that you turn into a dragon?” Francis asked.
Millie shook her head. “Because I don’t think I’ll turn into one unless I want to. You can’t imagine what a relief it is to know that I might finally have a choice.”
Books by E. D. Baker
THE TALES OF THE FROG PRINCESS:
THE FROG PRINCESS
DRAGON’S BREATH
ONCE UPON A CURSE
NO PLACE FOR MAGIC
THE SALAMANDER SPELL
THE DRAGON PRINCESS
WINGS
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Tales of the Frog Princess series!
“[A] brilliantly created world of magic and mayhem.” —VOYA
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What if wings suddenly sprouted from your back?
Tamisin always knew there was something slightly weird about herself. But she never guessed she was really
from the fairy world. . . .
Don’t miss E. D. Baker’s fairy books!
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Sleeping Beauty’s sister is very much awake . . .
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E. D. Baker’s
The Wide-Awake Princess series!
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A house that walks. A cat that talks. And one ordinary girl whose life is about to become much more magical . . .
Serafina’s life takes an amazing turn when she becomes the new Baba Yaga, and discovers that strangers can ask her one question that she must answer truthfully. It’s like a glimpse into a crystal ball . . . but telling the future doesn’t always mean knowing the right answers.
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Copyright © 2008 by E. D. Baker
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages
Published by Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
This electronic edition published in 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Baker, E. D.
The dragon princess / by E. D. Baker.—1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.—(Tales of the frog princess ; bk. 6)
Summary: Although a princess, Millie cannot keep herself from turning
unexpectedly into a dragon, so she ventures off to the Icy North to find the Blue
Witch, who she hopes will help her learn to control her dragon magic.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59990-194-7 • ISBN-10: 1-59990-194-3
[1. Princesses—Fiction. 2. Dragons—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction. 4. Humorous stories.]
I. Title.
PZ8.B173Dp 2008 [Fic]—dc22 2008008016
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E. D. Baker, Dragon's Breath
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