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“The story is centered on our protagonist named Tan. He is a gentle and honorable young man who fights tirelessly to defend his village monsters. These monsters may include ghouls, werewolves, banshees, and any others that may threaten the safety of humans. One fateful day, when Tan was returning to his home in the mountains, he spotted his betrothed, Kana frighteningly close to a mysterious creature. Fearing for her safety, he rushes to her side immediately.”
“Hm? Please continue, I find this story rather intriguing so far compared to the others I’ve heard today.”
“O-Of course, Director Furina! It would be my honor. A-Ahem, as Tan moved closer to them, he was shocked to discover that the mysterious creature beside her would be none other than a dragon! In this world, dragons, though scarce, were the most feared among the monsters. Entire armies would be mobilized to fight just one of them. Seeing that her fiancee was rushing towards them, Kana screamed at him, begging him to not come closer. However, the dragon having already been notified of his presence, snatched Kana with its claws and flew away.”
“Tan became furious with himself for not being able to protect Kana from the dragon that took her away. He decided to leave his village and join the Imperial Army in the nearby capital city. Tan wanted to become stronger so that he could fight dragons and rescue Kana from their clutches. He vowed to slay all the dragons and put an end to them once and for all—”
How preposterous! Neuvillette snorted. He was positively fuming as he listened to the story being proposed. The tiny chair he sat on in the waiting room of the studio was straining with both his weight and the growing list of charges he would place on the man’s head if given the chance.
To his relief, a certain someone shared his sentiment.
“Cut! Hold! Stop!” Furina interrupted with fatigue laced in her words. “Lauwick, the story showed great promise in the beginning but I’m afraid I cannot work with a premise like this. It is simply too overused.”
“Overused?” Lauwick questioned. “How so? I find this story to be quite inspiring. A young man leaving the small world of his village to get stronger and rescue the love of his life from the demonic dragon that would devour her.”
“Dragons, Lauwick, evil dragons.” Furina sighed. “This is no different than the countless stories of the hero facing off against some ‘evil’ dragon to rescue something, in this case, someone. Changing the name of your characters and giving them different reasons to slay dragons doesn’t make the story unique I’m afraid. Cake with chocolate frosting instead of vanilla is still a cake.”
Neuvillette huffed quietly, he swelled with pride at Furina’s defense of his brethren. It was exactly what he expected of his lovely Furina. His pure, compassionate Furina had not a mean bone in her body. Only she could see the good in everyone no matter how terrible they could be.
“But Director, defeating the evil dragon is an iconic trope within fiction. Since the beginning of time even! What could we possibly change to make it unique but still intriguing to the public?”
Neuvillette edged closer to the room. Eavesdropping was frowned upon but he couldn’t care less at this moment. His fingers itched to push open the door blocking his way and see what expression she was wearing. He held his breath in anticipation as everyone waited for how Furina would respond.
Her voice broke through the silence and graced his heart with the most delightful answer he could’ve ever imagined.
“What if the girl and the dragon had fallen in love with each other?”
“What!?” The room erupted with commotion over her absurd proposal.
“Think about it,” she continued. “Tan had seen Kana with the Dragon but why was she with it anyway? The scenario leaves room for an unconventional idea. The audience naturally assumes that she would be scared by such a creature so they would find their love an inconceivable outcome.”
“But Director, wouldn’t that then make Tan the—”
“Antagonist?” Furina finished their sentence for them. “ Exactement! The audience is now engrossed with the story. The dragon flies Kana away to safety while Tan chases after them with the misguided belief that he is rescuing her from the vicious beast.”
The troupe members gossiped amongst themselves. They found Furina’s new storyline to be bizarre yet captivating. Their Director was correct, this story was one they wished to follow to the conclusion. Would Tan succeed in separating them? Or will their love surpass all?
Furina giggled as she watched the commotion. She was happy to see her actors excited over the potential of the story. “Alright now, it’s getting late, why don’t we pause for the day and continue tomorrow?”
Neuvillette hurried back to the waiting area just in time to watch her saunter out of the stage room with a spring in her step.
Her face brightened as she saw him, gracing him with the sweet smile that he had been earning for all day.
“Neuvillette! I didn’t know you would be stopping by. Hope I didn’t make you wake too long?”
“Not at all,” he held out his hand for her to take. “Shall we?”
On the way back, Furina shares with him the play that her current troupe had planned to work on.
“So…what do you think?” She asked.
“Indeed, I find myself agreeing with your approach, it certainly makes for a more inspiring story. However, if I may add some additional thoughts, I find myself much more invested in the success of Kana and the Dragon than Sir Tan.”
Furina laughed, her musical voice swaying with the warm breeze. “Is that so? Well then, I’ll have to make sure they get their happy ending huh?”