A Dragon needs...
A Dragon needs...
by
Archie Pelago
A dragon needs a human princess in its lair. Not even the armor-clad,
horse-mounted knight who approached the ancient castle ruins knew why.
The ruins were mossy and crumbled, ravaged by time and nature. Only
creatures not of Man's realm would find comfort there. Even wolves
prefered the softer comforts of the woodlands to this forbidding skeleton
of a long-forgotten kingdom.
A dragon needs a place to hide its human prize. The princess would
be tucked away in the most well-protected, most isolated portion of the
castle. The knight instinctivly knew this as he tied his nervous steed to a
stone column near the castle's entrance. He unsheathed his massive
sword, designed to kill dragons, and ventured forward.
A dragon needs room to fight off those that would rescue its most valued
property. The twenty-foot-tall red dragon was in what once was the main
hall of the castle. The roof had collapsed long ago, giving the dragon plenty
of space. It sat on its haunches, spread its huge, leathery wings and roared its
challenge to the steely-eyed knight. The knight whispered prayers for victory
and charged the massive, scaly beast.
A dragon needs to defend itself. A huge stream of white-hot flame blazed
over the knight's head. Even though he was armored from head to foot, the
knight felt the dragon's fiercest weapon at work. The knight dodged blast after
blast of fire. When he felt he was close enough, he leaped, sword poised to
skewer the dragon's heart.
A dragon needs to fly. The wings pushed the dragon well out of reach of the
determined warrior. A few flaps and the dragon shot up through the ruined roof
and flew out of sight. With the dragon out of the way, the knight felt dissapointed
that he did not kill the creature. After all, he came here to gain reknown throughout
the lands by killing dragons and rescuing their human prey. He shrugged, sheathed
his sword and set out to liberate the princess from this evil place.
A dragon needs to tie up the princess, lest she run off while the dragon sleeps
or hunts. She was bound to a fallen slab of brick wall. Within a few moments, she
was free. The woman was lovely with her white cloth gown and long raven hair. She
thanked him with a smile and voice that were as lovely as an angel's. The knight grin- ned. Perhaps on the way back to her rightful home, he would have his way with her,
if she was truly so grateful for her rescue.
A dragon needs to be sly. When the dragon heard the clang of brick against metal,
he knew the knight had met the fate of so many that tried to rescue the woman he
loved. He came out of hiding to find the princess undressing the knight that she had
knocked out.
A dragon needs to feed. He blew a small puff of flame into the roasting pit, just
enough to start the cook-fire burning, but not so much that the now-dead knight on
the spit would burn up. After all, the princess liked her meat slow-cooked. She need-
ed the flesh of her own kind, something her father could not control. She was quietly
banished, but soon found comfort in the company of the dragon.
A dragon needs companionship. His loneliness was becoming unbearable until
she stumbled upon him in the forgotten castle. He didn't care about her feeding habits,
as long as she stayed with him. Besides, knights usually arrived here on horses, which
were always delicious.
A dragon needs a future. After both their bellies were full, the fire was extinguished.
As the sun set and the air cooled, they snuggled together in the castle's great hall. While they gazed at the stars, he felt an inner peace seldom felt among his kind. As long as knights felt the urge to rescue princesses and slay dragons, the years ahead were well secure for both of them.
A dragon needs security.