Dawn was sitting on the couch, staring blankly ahead at the door into the hall. In the corner, the TV chattered away unheard, unseen. She was wearing her favourite little pink dress and her feet, in their lace trimmed white cotton ankle socks, were pulled up onto the sofa which made her dress had ride up just enough to show her pretty pink silk panties.

Her heart quickened as she heard the familiar click, click of stiletto heels on the wooden staircase and she knew her wait was over, her Mommy was coming down to see her.

Dawn's sweet blue eyes widened with delight as her Mommy turned from the concealing stairs in to the hall. "Oh, Mommy!" Dawn exclaimed, "You look absolutely beautiful."

Amanda smiled, and Dawn's heart flipped as her Mommy walked towards her, hips swaying sexily.

Dawn, of course, always thought her Mommy looked beautiful, but right now not many people still with breath in their bodies and eyes in their head would have disagreed. The first thought that sprang into Dawn's mind, making her giggle in that way her Mommy found so arousing was 'Jessica Rabbit!'

It was the first time Dawn could ever remember her Mommy wearing red, she normally went with greens, blues or black, but this was scarlet.

The dress was split at the sides, right up to the top of Amanda's thighs, the strapless, shoulderless bodice looked like it had been painted on it was so tight, and it pushed Amanda's bosom up and out in a most striking way. The material was heavy and the front seemed to form itself around her thighs as she walked, whereas the back was longer and swept behind her like the train of a wedding dress. The top of the dress was decorated with small tassels with ruby beads on the end that glinted as she walked.

Although the dress was sleeveless, from her wrist to her elbows she wore what looked like fingerless opera gloves, made of the same material as the gown and again decorated around both ends with tassels beaded with rubies.

Amanda had left her hair free, and it cascaded in thick waves around her head and over her bare shoulders. Her only jewellery was a Celtic gold torc worn around her upper right arm.

Suddenly, a dark cloud passed over Dawn's mind, as the thought she quickly voiced, leapt at her. "Are you going out, Mommy?" The idea that her Mommy, dressed up like this, would go somewhere nice without her baby girl tugged at Dawn's heartstrings.

"No, sweetheart." Amanda said softly as she stood in front of Dawn. "I wouldn't leave my baby girl all alone, and Aunty Ali is away so I couldn't even ask her to baby sit for me."

The darkness cleared and the sun shone brightly in Dawn's face as the realisation came to her that her Mommy had dressed up like that just for her, and her pussy tingled with pleasure and anticipation.

"I want to write a story, honey. Would you like to help." Amanda asked, knowing the response without having to hear Dawn's gleeful affirmation.

"Come along then, honey." Amanda said as she held out her hand.

Eagerly, Dawn stood and, holding her Mommy's hand, walked with her into the hall.

Amanda had always been an author, but she hated typing and writing things out long hand took so long, even if her stories had a special magic when done that way. So after Amanda had taken the lovely, lonely Katie and made her cum to remember that she was Dawn and Amanda was her loving Mommy, she had taken a whole new approach to writing, letting Dawn experience Amanda's ideas, her thoughts and her desires, which Dawn would then transcribe when she awoke from the dream Amanda wove for her.

"After you, sweetheart." Amanda said as they reached the foot of the stairs.

Dawn giggled, knowing full well why her Mommy wanted her to go first, it was one of the reasons Dawn liked her pretty satin silk baby doll dress so much, because her Mommy could see her cute silk panties as she climbed the stairs and, more often than not, put her hand up Dawn's skirt as they climbed.

As they entered their bedroom Amanda told Dawn to undress and sit in front of the dressing table mirror. Dawn knew what was going to happen, and readily discarded her clothes, few that they were, and sat as her Mommy had instructed.

With Dawn seated, Amanda stood behind her and looked at the expectant, beautiful face, locking the trusting blue orbs with her deep green eyes and untied the pink ribbons that held Dawn's hair in loose pigtails.

Amanda reached for Dawn's silver plated hairbrush, her breasts brushing against Dawn's bare back, sending tingles of delight down the young woman's spine.

With long smooth strokes, Amanda pulled the soft bristled brush through Dawn's golden, silky hair. Dawn loved it when her Mommy brushed her hair, especially if, as now, she was talking softly to her. "Such beautiful hair, such fine, long, beautiful honeyed locks.

"Each stroke making your hair smoother and longer, a real princess with her golden hair. And each stroke makes my pretty princess more and more sleepy."

Dawn watched her Mommy's beautiful red lips as they formed words she could only just hear, and the warm glow she always felt at times like these washed over her as her Mommy led her into the dream. The room seemed to darken as Amanda continued to brush, continued to take Dawn deeper into the dream Amanda would soon be telling.

For Dawn, the room seemed to spin and the mirror before her turned black and she would probably have been at least a little afraid at that if it weren't for her Mommy's voice, leading her into the dream.

The room lightened, although not by much, and what light there was came from a flickering candelabra in the corner of the large, stone walled room, which was warmed by a huge fireplace in which smouldered the embers of the previous days fire.

Dawn looked in the mirror before her at the young woman standing behind her, brushing Dawn's very long blonde hair. The tear that ran down the cheek of Melanie, her dusky lady in waiting, saddened Dawn more than the knowledge that with the rising sun, that even now was turning the sky an appropriately solemn shade of purple, she would be led to a fate probably worse than death.

"Don't cry, Mel." Dawn said. Dawn and Melanie had been close since childhood, and. it was for that reason that the queen had offered to get one of the serving maids to dress her beautiful daughter on this awful day. But Melanie would not hear of it. "If my princess is to be offered in sacrifice to that foul, evil creature, then I will be the one to prepare her." She had said in a manner one would not normally use to address the queen of the realm, but these were not ordinary times.

For the past six months the kingdom had been ravaged by a huge red draig. The creature had awoken in one of the deep gold mines that provided the king with his fortune. But, in his greed, he had mined too deeply, and the beast that had slumbered for who knew how long, had arisen and taken vengeance for what it apparently saw as the theft of its gold.

Every night since its awakening, the great red lizard had emerged from its subterranean home. On leathery wings it took to the air, flying high into the night sky where it circled in the darkness, only its glowing green eyes visible, its shape sometimes discernable as it occluded moon and stars. Then with an ear piercing scream it would descend, jets of blue yellow flame issuing from its mouth, setting ablaze farms, houses and fields blighting the surrounding countryside.

In desperation, the king called together his strongest knights, binding them to a quest to find the dragon's lair and kill the loathsome creature. Twelve set out, but only one returned, and he was so close to madness, his armour and clothes blackened, that at first no one understood what he meant as he cried. "It wants the Dawn! It wants the Dawn."

No sooner was the handsome knight, the youngest of those entrusted with the quest, inside the safety of the castle than he collapsed, exhausted from the journey.

The king ordered him to be cleaned up and brought before the king, queen and the whole court in the high throne room. By now all the wits he would ever after posses had returned. Although, in truth, that was not saying a lot.

"I am pleased to see you have stopped your babbling, man!" The king said, not even attempting to sound concerned for his noble warrior.

"The Draig, sire," The knight said, coughing deeply and clutching his chest to try and ease the pain. "It says it wants the Princess Dawn in reparation for the gold it says you have plundered from its lair."

The queen wailed and the king demanded "Did you find its lair?"

The knight tried to adopt a military air, but his now week knees betrayed him. "In a way, sire, that is to say, the draig found me, and must have dragged me to its den.

"There are many tunnels within your mine, sire," The knight explained. "We split up, and as we walked those dark deep paths, our ears were assaulted by the echoes of screams, as one by one, my brothers in arms must have encountered the draig.

"I wanted to run, my liege." The knight admitted. "To find air and sky once more, but I was lost, and then sulphur, like eggs left to go bad, assaulted my nose and I gagged against the stench. But still I pressed on."

The king slammed his hand against the arm of his gilded throne. "You mean you tried to flee but didn't know which way to go!"

"Perhaps, my lord." The knight allowed. "But still I headed down, towards the rancorous smell.

"Deeper and deeper I walked, the stench increasing with every step, until finally I must have passed out, for the next thing I knew, I was lying on my back looking up into the face of the draig!"

Gasps rang out from the gathered court until silenced by a glare from their sovereign lord.

"Smoke drifted from its nostrils as its green slitted eyes looked malevolently at me, and I prayed to be spared such a horrible death!"

By now the king was growing weary of the tale, "Get to the point, sir!" He demanded

With a nod of his head indicating his understanding, the knight continued. "It was then that the mighty draig spoke its demands, my lord. 'You are to bring me the princess Dawn.'"

"What nonsense." The king pronounced regally. "Are you trying to tell me that this malodorous creature not only can talk, but also knows enough of my kingdom to know I have a daughter called Dawn?"

The knight swayed unsteadily as he explained. "Yes, sire. Its voice alone is enough to shake the roof trees of the earth itself and it said you were to deliver Dawn on the morning of her eighteenth birthday."

Again the queen wailed loudly "That is the day after tomorrow!"

"Quiet, woman." The king spat, "I'm trying to think."

The whole room fell into deathly silence as the king rubbed his short beard. "And how are we supposed to deliver Dawn to this monster?" The king asked, a flash of cold steel in his eye directed at his wife to prevent another outburst. For the king had weighed up his options, and decided that his kingdom could get by without a princess, but not without the things that accursed draig was burning each night.

"Sire, the draig said we were to bring her as the sun rose on the morn of her eighteenth birthday and lead her into the its lair. It said we would find a wall with two manacles hanging from it and we are to clap them to princess Dawn's wrists and leave. It was very insistent that we should leave!"

"So," said the king, his mind already made up. "If twelve of my supposedly finest knights could not find this fiend's nest, how are we supposed to deliver the princess Dawn?"

The knight did his best to stay upright, despite the pounding headache he was currently suffering from, as he answered, unsure how it would be received. "It said we were to follow the fire."

"What in heavens name does that mean?" The king demanded of the trembling nobleman.

"I couldn't say, sire. For as soon as it had issued its demands it reared up and flame spewed forth and it turned its face towards me and the next thing I knew, I was waking up outside the entrance to the mine, my body burnt and aching."

"And you ran here to tell us, like some demon spawns lackey." The king said, failing to hide his disgust for what he saw as a rank coward.

This time the young knight did manage to show his bearing as he said "Yes, my liege, and I will live with the taint of my failure for the rest of my life."

Taking a deep breath, that seared his heat damaged lungs he made an oath. "I swear now before you and my peers that I will return to the demon's den and kill the fetid beast, or die myself in the attempt."

But no sooner were the words spoken than darkness welled up and dragged him down into restful oblivion.

"Get this cowardly wretch from my sight!" The king ordered, and immediately courtiers descended and carried the wounded soldier out of the throne room.

The king pondered for a while before finally saying. "Very well then, send for my daughter and we will see if her blood really is of my line." Again a cold glance was exchanged between the king and his once unfaithful queen. "If she is truly my daughter, she will gladly sacrifice herself for the good of our kingdom."

It was Melanie who found the young princess, standing on the highest tower of the castle, staring out towards the hill beneath which the draig now held sway.

"Princess." Melanie called softly, not wanting to startle her mistress; but Dawn was well aware of Melanie's presence and suspected the nature of her errand. For although everyone else had wondered at the babblings of the lone knight, Dawn had known instantly what he had meant.

In hushed tones Melanie related all that had happened in the throne room. When the handmaiden had finished, Dawn said with a wan smile. "So, if I sacrifice myself, my father will at last accept me as his, at least until tomorrow morning, and if not, I condemn myself and my mother."

Melanie knew better than to comment on such matters, preferring the safer, "Come, my lady, you know the king doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Dawn had offered to pay the price, and for the first time in her life her father embraced her without the usual stiffness that had always been between them before. And now, as she sat naked before the mirror, Melanie plaiting and dressing her golden locks, Dawn accepted her fate with true regal forbearance.

When Melanie had finished her coiffure, Dawn stood and allowed Melanie to robe her in a simple green dress. The garment was well made but not of the quality Dawn normally wore, 'What's the point in wearing a fine gown if I am to be devoured.' Dawn had reasoned and had it been solely up to her she would have worn homespun, but Melanie, and the queen would not hear of it.

As Melanie hung a fine beaded chain belt around Dawn's waist, the princess looked at herself in the mirror. The square neckline displayed her young firm breasts nicely, the tailored skirt fitting snugly around her thin waist before flaring out over her hips, and the hem hung about halfway down her shapely calf. The only touch of real elegance were the sleeves, they were made of the finest organza silk and slit down the outside from shoulder to satin cuff.

"Will you wear a crown, my lady?" Melanie asked.

But again Dawn demurred. "I'll wear the topaz diadem you gave me for my birthday last year." Dawn said, and Melanie thought her heart would break.

After fitting the single jewel on its fine silver thread in the centre of her life's forehead, Melanie reached into a pocket of her apron and took out a silver chain from which hung a matching stone. "Will you wear this also, my lady?" She asked bashfully, "I asked a gypsy to put a spell on it, to protect you from the evil creature."

Dawn's smile was soft and she embraced her maid, her friend, and she felt Melanie's warm lips brush her cheek in a parting kiss before she allowed Melanie to fasten the cheap necklace around Dawn's long graceful neck.

"It's time, my lady." Melanie said, the tears once more blurring her sight, and to cover her grief she adjusted the way Dawn's dress hung.

The king had ordered that the whole of the castle's inhabitants, noble and servant, were to line the ramparts in a silent act of gratitude for the sacrifice his only daughter was about to make. So before three thousand eyes, Dawn, escorted by 4 armoured knights and one lady in waiting, rode out of her castle for the final time.

The horses plodded onwards, their riders silent. Each village they passed through bore the marks of the draig's nighttime visits, and the villagers stood in silent admiration for their saviour as she rode through.

When they arrived at the entrance to the now deserted mine, they dismounted and tethered the skittish animals who could sense the evil that lurked in the dark tunnels.

"I don't see any fire." The captain of the princess's guard said as he peered into the black abyss. Then, almost like a mote dancing before his eyes, there appeared a small yellow light, joined moments later by a second and a third. The captain called his sergeant and, by the time he stood beside his commander, there were hundreds of tiny fireflies swarming at the very edge of their vision.

Just then the sun rose above the eastern mountains and the luminescent creatures started to fade. "I think this is what the draig must have meant." The captain announced. "Quickly, before the sun hides them" he added.

Taking Melanie's hand in hers, as much for Mel's sake as her own Dawn entered the dark passage following the captain and his sergeant, the two privates bringing up the rear nervously.

Once inside, the darkness soon returned, and the swarm of shining insects could just be discerned in the distance. They had thought of taking torches, but even that amount of light would have swamped the glowing guides, so with great caution they pressed on in total blackness, scared that at any minute they might fall down some long forgotten shaft.

For what seemed like hours they followed the glinting guides, always going down, deeper into the bowels of the earth, and Melanie now knew why they were so called, for the stench was enough to make her wretch. Dawn however seemed unaffected by the odour and simply held Melanie's hand and forged ahead, head held proudly aloft.

Gradually they became aware of a faint light ahead, and as they rounded the next bend, they were all but blinded as they stepped into a huge chamber. The light seemed to come from the very rocks themselves; the stone was as white as marble, veined with pure gold, and they knew, even before they spied the manacles hanging from black iron chains, that they had found the draig's lair.

Nervously they looked around, expecting to be burnt to a crisp at any second. The rough-hewn floor bore long gouges and was strewn with partly gnawed bones, some with fetid gobbets of meat still attached. It was a veritable charnel house.

Quickly, for he did not want to remain in this place a second longer than he needed to, the captain inspected the manacles. They were heavy and red with rust, the hinge squealing as he opened it. He was unsure how they locked but that wasn't his problem.

"My lady." He said, looking at the proud young princess who stood holding her maids hand.

With a small nod Dawn allowed Melanie to guide her to her place of confinement. Melanie took one look at the rusty shackles and said defiantly. "You can't expect her to put her delicate wrists in there, they will be torn to shreds, the poor girl will bleed to death even before the draig gets to her." Suddenly the thought occurred to both Melanie and Dawn that such would probably be for the best.