Henrietta waited patiently, oblivious of Bartlett's predicament. She wanted to peek inside and see how it went along, but she decided not to, aware that it would only draw unwanted attention towards her. She was already aware enough of her grayish pink scales and her unusual appearance when compared to other dragons. Better stay out of their attention, lest it proved to be unwanted.

  Just as she started wondering why Bartlett took so long just to ask about the witch, the man himself walked out of the tavern. Henrietta was going to greet him when she noticed his ragged appearance and dour state. It's like he was exhausted after doing some intense workout.

  "Did you drink too much?" It was the first thing Henrietta had in mind on Bartlett's state, though she could not speak it out loud. Thankfully, Bartlett started speaking.

  "We got a lead," he said monotonously. "The witch is in the forest near the town. We should check it out."

  Henrietta simply grunted, though she wondered why he sounded weird. As he climbed on her back, the dragon decided that she should ask him when they were alone.

  The forest he directed Henrietta to was at the back of the town. Entering it already made Henrietta felt uneasy. The forest did not look that thick from outside, but as they continued inside, the sunlight was obscured by the thick foliage, and the trees seemed to become less separated. Soon, fog even settled into the area, despite it being clear earlier. There was a foreboding feeling of discontent that creeped Henrietta out.

  "Hey, Bartlett," asked Henrietta. "Are you sure this is the right way?"

  Bartlett did not respond to her question.

  "You're not sure yourself, huh?" she asked. "A simple yes or no should be fine."

  "I am fine," said Bartlett, albeit monotonously. "We are going the right way. The bartender in the tavern said so."

  "And stop talking like that. Why did you suddenly have a stiff voice?"

  "I am not."

  "Seriously, stop talking like that. You are scaring me, Bartlett."

  "Stop."

  "What?"

  "Stop."

  Bartlett's monotonous delivery of that line had no strength to it, which caused Henrietta not to react moments before she got to a cliffside. She let out a surprised roar just as her one of her forelegs slipped off. If it wasn't for her clenching her claws to keep her from sliding off, she and Bartlett might have plunged off the cliff. It wasn't that high for Henrietta, but Bartlett could easily be killed.

  "Shit!" she exclaimed after they got back up. "What's wrong with you?! Didn't you see the edge of the cliff?!"

  Her angry remarks were not heeded by Bartlett.

  "Hey! I'm asking you a question!" she said, angrily. "Answer me!"

  Bartlett did not respond, which caused Henrietta to become further convinced that something wrong happened to him. Just as she was going to force him off her back (which could potentially hurt him due to her talon-like claws), Bartlett finally spoke normally, except he was not making sense.

  "So. A talking dragon," he said. "That's unexpected."

  "What? Bartlett, what...?" Realizing that she was no longer speaking with Bartlett, she said, "Who are you?!"

  "The one you and your rider are looking for. The one you refer to as the witch."

  "Witch?" Henrietta scoffed. "I suppose it makes sense for you to speak through someone else, given your notoriety. It was you who led us to the cliffside, wasn't it? Where are you?"

  "Where I am is not important," said the witch. "Because right now you're the one in trouble. So, let's play a little game. I'll let you and your rider out of this forest if you are willing to let me in on your secret."

  "I have no time for games, witch!" retorted Henrietta.

  "Too bad. I'm the one making the rules here." The witch then laughed. "And if you care so much for your rider, you should try and protect him."

  Henrietta immediately understood what she meant when she saw the trees moving, moments before the branches started to move unnaturally. She immediately realized the danger and quickly ducked, but remembered Bartlett was still on her back when one of the branches managed to snatch him. Alarmed, she immediately climbed the tree and broke the branch to get Bartlett down, though then she realized something that might impair her ability to help.

  When she grabbed Bartlett's unconscious body, she noticed her talons, the same ones that could easily rend flesh. It dug through his meager leather armor. If she was not delicate, she could end up seriously injuring him. Worse, he could even be accidentally killed. Unlike the humans she killed earlier, Bartlett was like a precious doll.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "Bartlett, wake up!" said Henrietta amidst the hostile forest. "Can you hear me? Wake up!"

  She was forced to run as the trees creaked to life and started attacking her with their branches. The dragon awkwardly ran while holding Bartlett's clothes in her mouth. Loud, terrifying noises, unlike anything she heard before, intimidated her, along with the trees, which whipped her with their branch. The force of the attack was enough to make her keel in pain. It was much more forceful than being hit by a wooden sword when she was human. Back then, it left nothing but bruises. But this one felt like a sting from a cut.

  She was then surprised by the sudden appearance of a tree right in front of her. She attempted to stop, but was unable to, and crashed at the tree. She gasped, dropping the unconscious Bartlett as a result.

  Frustrated, she let out a roar.

  "Enough! Don't expect me to be so helpless, you bitch!"

  She went for the offensive, blindly striking at some of the trees with all her might. To her delight, the tree fell. She even grabbed the branch striking her and, with a roar, broke it to pieces, and hurled it at one of the attacking trees in a violent rage. She even found out about her tail's capability when she whipped her tail to break another tree. But this euphoria and delight did not last long. She realized the hard way that her lithe body may be strong enough to break small trees, but big pine trees with a thick trunk was beyond what she was capable of. Unfortunately, she was blinded by rage, and when she hurled her whole weight in an attempt to break the tree, not only did she fail, she also crashed to a rather solid object, so much so that it broke her tail.

  The pain was great and overwhelming, as if this was the first time she had her bones broken. She roared in pain as she fell on the ground. Soon, she was wracked with such a painful sensation as the pain from her actions were somehow amplified, causing her to writhe in pain.

  "Aw. Little dragon can't stand some broken bones?" taunted the witch through Bartlett. Somehow, the condescending delivery of that taunt with Bartlett's voice made it even worse. "The trees have feelings too, you know. You hurt them, they hurt you back tenfold."

  "Shut up! If I have my gods damn fire, I will burn this whole forest down and your insufferable ass with it!"

  "Then burn the forest down," said the witch, this time with a rather uninterested tone. "Go on."

  Henrietta would do just that, if only it wasn't sealed by her collar. She opened her mouth, attempting to do...something. She felt stupid.

  "You can't. I knew immediately from looking at that collar alone," said the witch. "What are you going to do, then, dragon?"

  After contemplating her options, and knowing that she couldn't fight the witch, she reluctantly decided on what she should do next.

  "I'm sorry," she said towards the unconscious Bartlett, moments before she bolted away, attempting to run.

  "Well, that's disappointing," said the witch. "Guess it's punishment time for rule breakers."

  The witch took control of Bartlett's unconscious form, letting him walk unharmed through the foliage, disappearing behind the thick foliage. Henrietta, who ran in an attempt to find an escape, found herself increasing disoriented by the rapidly changing forest. She crashed into trees more often than not. Every time she did, it caused her body to be assaulted with pain. It was enough to convince her that running blindly through an enchanted forest was a bad idea.

  She looked around, unable to even tell if she made a progress or not. She did not even sure how long she was in the forest. Was it minutes? Hours? Days? The trees impeded her every step of her way, and the pain sapped the strength from her body and addled her mind enough that she couldn't think clearly.

  In a sense, she became a terrified animal, a plaything of a sadistic witch. This shook her confidence, made worse by the fact that she was a dragon, not a human. Her breath quickened, and the collar felt tight around her neck. Even the riding gear was constricting her. She also imagined the trees getting closer and closer to her, threatening to ensnare her and deliver immeasurable pain beyond what she had once suffered.

  She could do nothing but run, and subjected herself to the suffering and pain.

  Soon, she was exhausted, and lost all her strength. Defeated, she fell to her side, wracked with pain that had effectively stunned her. This was made more humiliating by the fact that she, a dragon, was defeated by trees. It made her remember the stories she read with her youngest brother, about evil dragons that were defeated because they were too arrogant and boastful. The story reflected her current situation, and it embarrassed her immensely.

  And amidst that embarrassment, her humanity took over. Bartlett was gone. Her savior, who she took for granted, was taken by the witch. She wanted him to help, but alas, it was no use. He was already a victim of the witch.

  "It seems the game is set," said a voice. It's source was indeterminate. "But we can still play a little more, if you wish. So, what say you, little dragon?"

  She gulped, swallowing her pride. The witch won. Whatever allegiance she had did not matter to her. With a croaked voice, due to exhaustion and pain, the dragon finally said, "I...give up."

  There was no reply.

  "Witch," said Henrietta. "I...I'm sorry. I'm sorry...for lashing out. For threatening to burning the forest. In truth...I am no dragon. I'm...just a woman, cursed into something I can't cope. I'm sick of being such a useless person, so I thought...I thought I can be of use to Bartlett as his steed. He's the first person who understood my plight...and is willing to help me. So, please. Take me instead. Just leave Bartlett alone."

  No response. Henrietta realized that she was only making excuses. She gulped and simply poured out her heart. She wasn't even sure if the witch even believed her at this point. She must do anything she could for Bartlett's sake.

  "That man you took, he believed in me," started Henrietta. "He believed me when I said I'm a Wyrithian princess cursed into a dragon. He had his doubts, which I understand. Princess Henrietta of Wyrith was never said to be missing, but that's all crap. I am Henrietta of House Vesparte. Bartlett, he's...he's just a kind man who trusted me, even when there is a chance that I was lying to him. If you want someone, take me. I'm far more interesting than him. I'm—"

  "Yes, yes, I hear you the first time," said a rather annoyed feminine voice. "I don't need to listen to your sob story."

  "H-huh?" said a confused Henrietta. She looked around, wondering where the voice came from.

  "But you know, it's not everyday you get to gloat against a defeated dragon, or see one suffering. It excites me," said the voice with a chuckle.

  "But by the end of the day, there is a point when the fun's over," continued the witch. "Follow my voice, dragon princess. Do you know where I am?"

  Henrietta finally found the source of the voice after she regained her strength to stand on all fours and look around. By this point, the fog had dissipated. It came from a red fox, though a big, human-sized one.

  "Hello, dragon," greeted the fox.