The Tower's Prize

            I ran forward, my hair flipping messily behind me. I knew that I’d be brushing out tangles for days. My lungs were burning and my legs were tightening up and I didn’t know if I’d be able to go any further along the rocky path that laid in front of me. Stumbling, I knew that I had to complete the mission that the king had assigned me. Otherwise, I feared I might be executed.

            I finally arrived to the tower that supposedly contained the prize. I circled it, trying to see if I could find any stairs, a rope ladder, or something. My search was without results. I sighed and pulled myself up the tower, glad that I had decided against wearing a skirt. My arms trembled as I tried to prop myself up using my fingers and toes. I finally pulled myself to the top of the tower.

            As I stumbled through the window, I looked around at the seemingly empty room. Great, I thought. I better flee the country because there’s nothing here. Then I saw a door, tucked behind a curtain. I decided it was worth a try and grabbed the cool, dusty doorknob.

            I pulled, and struggled to get the door open. I finally did and inside, I found a giant dog. Sighing, I pulled out my stash of dog treats so that I wouldn’t have to deal with him. He was the size of a pony. Dealing with those dogs was so much work.

            I looked around the room for treasure, stepping gently so I didn’t wake up the dog. He didn’t stir as I walked around. I started to get more frustrated because I couldn’t find anything. I exited the room and started to search for something else. I needed to discover what the king wanted or I would die.

            I tried to recall the words of the king. “Bring me back the treasure that the tower holds. It shouldn’t be too hard to see. It is the only treasure that the tower holds. You must bring it back to me as quickly as possible.”

            I had already run from guards, crossed fences and imaginary borders. I had even climbed this stupid tower. I gave the room another glance and didn’t find anything. I went to go reexamine the dog and to see if he was even alive still.

            Walking in, I said, “Here boy!” The dog instantly perked up and ran over to me. There wasn’t anything on the floor where he had been laying and I couldn’t find anything on his collar. I decided I might as well just take the dog with me, just in case.

            He stubbornly stood his place as I tied him to the front of me. I didn’t know how I was going to make this work. I managed to scale down the wall, losing my breath the whole time. By the time I got to the bottom, I was exhausted. But I knew that I had to keep going. I tried everything to make the dog move, but it wasn’t working.

            This was going to be a long walk and I hoped the king would be happy with his stubborn, slobbery prize.

Picture found at: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/greatdane.htm