A Rose Amongst the Dragons, page 11
part #1 of A Rose Amongst the Dragons Series
Thelton finished going around the room and telling the princess how he had caught each dragon. She had grown tired of his bragging a long time ago. She did enjoy being alone with him, and she enjoyed his passion, therefore she let him talk. While he talked, she would hold his hand or rub his arm or chest. He was so lost in reliving each tale, that he didn’t even notice her embrace.
After Thelton told about the last head, he just stood staring at the room.
“Do you want to love me, Thelton?”
Thelton jerked as he looked at the princess. It was if he was just realizing for the first time that she was even with him. He gasped. It was hard to resist the pull of her flawless beauty.
“Do you want to love me, Thelton?” The princess grabbed his hand and placed it on her shoulders. Thelton immediately tried to pull away but, she held it firm. She stood on her tippy toes and gently placed her lips on his lips, they were soft and wet and locked onto his while her tongue tickled him. Her nerves were on fire.
Thelton jumped back, shocked. He didn’t know what to think. He hated and yet loved the experience. Scared, he ran to the giant doors and pounded on them.
“Let me out,” he shouted.
The doors swung open. Thelton shot passed the guard and ran to the throne room. He needed to leave.
The princess slowly walked out of the dragon room. If she wasn’t so lost on her cloud, she might have noticed that Thelton had not kissed her back. Instead, she was blind to the world, because being around him gave her a sensational feeling.
The guard quickly closed the door. He was glad that no one had seen Thelton leaving the room. Hopefully, the king would never learn about it.
In the throne room, the king was snoozing when Thelton bolted through the doors. The noise startled the king to consciousness. He wiped the drool off his chin.
“My fine boy, I have not seen you around the castle. I thought that with you staying here with me, I would see more of you.”
Thelton bowed, and then rose. “To tell you the truth, Dear king, I am not comfortable here. As you can imagine, I am a man of nature. If it pleases you, I would like to wait at my home until we hear word on the queen.”
“My fine boy; no can do. This thing is too big. Almost every man from the village is searching for the queen’s nest as we speak. We must be ready, boy. For the minute they bring me word to where she is, you are to go out and take her down. I cannot let you go; you are the most valuable part of the plan.”
“My holiest king, I promise that once your messenger reaches me at my own home, I will be out quicker than I would from the castle because, I live closer to the forest than you.”
The king slammed down his fist on the arm of the throne. “No! You are the key to my plan. And Thelton, don’t get mistaken, although you are a legend outside these walls, in here, you are just a hunter. I make the rules, not you, and you will never defy me again!”
Thelton was aghast because the king had never raised his voice to him before. He had always had a very open relationship with the king. They talked so freely together with very loose boundaries.
It took every bit of Thelton’s pride to force his head up and look the king in the eye. “I am sorry, my Lord.”
“Never, Thelton!” The king yelled. “Now leave.”
Thelton went back to his room. The whole day had been too much, the seduction of the princess, and now the king’s fury. He lied on the bed and fell asleep. Out of boredom, he slept for two days.
…
The room shook to the banging on the outer door. Thelton sat up. He feared to who may be behind it. Was it the princess? Was it the king? Maybe it was the executioner. “Enter,” he said as he straightened his hair.
He relaxed when he saw it was only a servant. “Sir Thelton of Andleburg, you are expected to dine with the king tonight. You have two hours to ready yourself.” The servant was holding a change of clothes for Thelton. “Would you like me to help you dress, sir?”
Thelton yanked the clothes out of the servant’s hands. “Absolutely not, now leave.”
“Very good, sir.” The servant said closing the door behind him.
Thelton looked at the tunic suit he was to wear, scratching his back he still remembered how itchy and uncomfortable he was at his party when he had to wear clothes from the king.
“Why must wealthy people dress so bad?” He looked down at his own worn out clothes. “Now these are comfortable and just the way I like them”.
Once dressed, he staggered into the dining room. He had dined there many times with the king. Sometimes there would be distinguished guests, but never more than fifty, and he never had to change his outfit before, because people seemed to love to see him in his ‘natural’ attire.
He looked around as he walked in, positioned at the table were almost two hundred guests, all of them stood as he entered. He noticed even the kings from the surrounding kingdoms were there. Thelton was the last to arrive.
He really wished he could have arrived to dinner in his own attire. All eyes were on him causing him to feel very awkward; he wondered what was going on. At the head of the table reined the King of Andleburg. Thelton was taken to an empty to the right side of King Wolfgang.
“Come sit down, my fine boy, come sit down. We have waited for you.”
Thelton sat.
“Doesn’t he clean up nicely,” the king joked. The guests roared in laughter. Thelton grew more uncomfortable, the wool in his tunic severely itched his skin, he was sure he could feel welts form.
“Wolfgang, don’t delay this any longer, why are we here?” The King of Candleshaw asked. Only a king could address another king by his given name.
“Good question from you, Trenton. You are all here for a very important reason. Tonight is the night I announce the engagement of my most beautiful daughter, Alashia.”
“A bit unorthodox, Wolfgang.” King Trenton responded. “I know that we talked about Alashia and Jonvalon marrying, but that isn’t for a few more years. Why start the engagement this early?”
Prince Jonvalon of Candleshaw wiggled in his seat. He was only fourteen, and he didn’t want to marry. He shyly looked over at Princess Alashia. She was so old. He figured she was almost old enough to be his mother, not his wife.
The king roared out in laughter. “Trenton, I am unorthodox, for I have done something without your consent, I do pray you will forgive me in front of all of our guests.”
Thelton stretched out in his seat, for it was nice to have the attention off of him, and even better, the princess was engaged. Maybe now she would leave him alone.
King Trenton face turned red, because he had been set up. All the guests eagerly watched to see what his reaction would be.
“Trenton, I fear to tell you that Princess Alashia is no longer betrothed to Prince Jonvalon.”
The King of Candleshaw’s face grew even a deeper red. How dare Wolfgang drop the news on him in front of all the other royals? “If you value peace in your kingdom, Wolfgang, you will not dissolve the betrothal so easily.”
King Wolfgang laughed even harder at his little joke. He turned his attention to Prince Jonvalon. “Jonvalon, tell me boy, do you really want to marry a grown woman?”
Prince Jonvalon s face turned pink. He dreaded the thought of marrying Alashia, even if she was so lovely.
Thelton bit into his roll and chuckled. The royal acted so strangely, he found their ways pathetic, but he was sure enjoying them as his entertainment.
Jonvalon ducked his head down and shook his head no.
“Jonvalon!” King Trenton yelled out.
“Hold your undergarments, Trenton. I still want my daughter to wed Jonvalon, it just won’t be Alashia.”
Confused, King Trenton calmed down.
“Princess Stephanie, stand up.” The king called out. A very innocent princess stood up. Her hair hung by her face in perfect ringlets.
“As you all know, the gods played a joke on me. Not a son born through my loins. We tried and tried, but only daughters. Princess Stephanie is Eight. When Jonvalon is good and ready, he can take his bride with her.”
Prince Jonvalon looked up and snuck a glance at Stephanie; she waved at him, all the guests laughed. Stephanie was not shy. Prince Jonvalon was, and he bowed his head again. He liked the idea of marrying her infinitely better than marrying Alashia. Alashia was just too old.
“You old curd,” King Trenton called out. He left his place at the table and dashed to the king’s side. He slapped King Wolfgang on the back.
“You set me up, Wolfgang. You gave us all a laugh.” King Trenton hugged King Wolfgang to show that there were no hard feelings.
“What do you think, Jonvalon, will Stephanie do?” Jonvalon glided his head up for a second to show a huge grin. The guests laughed again. The kings laughed as they hugged and shook hands. The bond was made and it was a much better arrangement than it had been.
When King Trenton took his seat, he humorously asked. “So is this Jonvalon’s and Princess Stephanie’s engagement party?”
“No way, not at such tender ages. Besides, we can’t have an engagement party for them until Princess Alashia is married.”
“The god’s have been short on males to all of us.” The King of Crenshaw blurted out. His kingdom was three kingdoms over and was not part of the tri-kingdoms, but they were friendly to the tri- kingdoms.
Thelton had quit paying attention to all the drama. Social events bored him. He let his attention be consumed by the fine food in front of him. He had downed his first three courses and was making good work on the fourth. As he shoved some duck into his mouth, his attention was unexpectedly seized by the king.
“The gods have been kind and have sent me the perfect match for Alashia. We have all been blinded to this possibility. We have searched high and low for a prince. Only Jonvalon have we found, no offence Trenton, but we both know that it wasn’t a very good match.”
King Trenton laughed in agreement. Prince Jonvalon even laughed.
“Alashia’s groom is not of royal blood or royal lineage.”
Many of the guests gasped in shock.
“But when I present him to you, there will not be a one of you that will throw ill will toward this match.” The king held silence for several minutes. He let the anticipation build. The queens could hardly control their eagerness to hear the mistake that the king was going to present.
“Family, friends, neighbors, I give you Princess Alashia’s groom to be…” The princess beamed, because she knew who it was.
The king motioned next to him, “I present to you, Sir Thelton of Andleburg.”
In horror, Thelton jerked away from the king, just then the duck got stuck in Thelton’s throat. He violently began coughing, had he heard the king right? As he worked on clearing the duck out of his throat, the dinner party all stood and clapped their hands. They agreed and supported the king on his match. The duck lodged deeper, cutting off his air supply. Thelton tried to cough, but nothing happened. The pressure in his head built, his face darkened. He felt the meat was going to rip out of his throat, its presence hurt badly. He forced everything he had to cough; it worked. A loud explosion burst out of his mouth along with his soggy piece of meat. As he cleared his throat, he looked around the table through his tear soaked eyes. Everyone was staring at him.
…
Thelton removed his scratchy clothes and dropped them on the ground. He gazed at himself in the mirror. Everything was spiraling out of control.
“There is no way I am marrying the princess, for marrying her is a death sentence. For starters, she is baggage. Not to forget that taking her hand would imprison me to the castle forever. I can’t think of a worse fate, for death would be better than that.
“I will run. That is the only answer. I hate it, but if I walk away from the throne, I walk away from the kingdom. I won’t be accepted in the kingdom or any of the outlying kingdoms. I will no longer be able to hunt dragons on this side of the earth. If I ran, then I would have to run far away where no one would ever recognize me. I would walk away from my fame, from my lively hood, and from my legend. I would become a nobody in a foreign land. How can I lose everything from one dinner party?”
He was very tempted to leave that night. He knew it was not wise. “I must have time to gather all of my gold,” for he had it hidden in several kingdoms. “If I leave now, then it would be too dangerous to return for it.”
“Maybe I will gather it over the next few days and hide it in Vegus Forest. Then, when I run, I can easily obtain it.” Thelton smiled at his plan, he could make it work. A darkening thought hampered his spirits.
“That won’t work because the forest is crawling with common men right now. Dragon crap!”
Thelton had forgotten to bolt the door. The hinges creaked, and he looked up. The princess slipped in. Thelton let out a big sigh, not her again. She was the reason his life was over.
“I bet you were shocked,” she said as she placed her hand on his thigh.
“You better believe it.” He said as he picked her hand up and threw it off, but it just returned.
“Both of our dreams came true tonight. You have me to thank, darling.” Thelton watched her balletic movement. He cringed at hearing her call him darling.
“All I can think about was our kiss. I went to dad and told him all the reasons we must marry. I even told him that you were a virgin.”
“Thanks,” Thelton sarcastically said.
The princess missed the sarcasm. She slid her body close to his. Thelton had an irascible response, but he held it inside, for it wasn’t wise to make a princess cross. She smoothly placed her hand into his. Thelton jumped up so fast he hit his head on the back bed post.
“Dearest bride to be; I still value your virtue and I am going to ask you to leave now.”
The princess pouted her lip; it had always got her anything she wanted from her father. It didn’t do a thing for Thelton. He pointed toward the door. Firmly he said, “Good night, Princess.”
The princess pouted even more as she slowly walked by him. He was the only person she had ever met that she didn’t have power over. She would change that, for she knew her features where exquisite, pleasurable to behold, and that everyman desired her. She didn’t doubt she could sway him her way. She blew him a kiss as she walked out the door, it banging closed behind her.
He was flustered, “I need to get out,” he thought. Foolishly, he again forgot to bolt his door. He climbed into his covers and drifted asleep. Half way through his slumber, a figure slipped into his room. It stood by Thelton, breathing very heavily. Thelton awoke to its presence, but because of the darkness of the room, he couldn’t see who it was.
“What do I have to do to get rid of you? Leave my room NOW!”
“Is that any way you talk to your future father?”
“The king,” Thelton gasped, as he sat up. “I am so sorry, I must have been dreaming.”
“I will forgive you in lieu of my good news. A rider came in the castle tonight. They have located the queen’s nest. They saw the queen her very self. How long do you need to gear up?”
“If I can have until midday tomorrow, your Gracious, I will be fully ready.”
“Good, good. How about a hunting party, how many men do you need?”
“I work alone.”
The king’s voice rose, “Don’t be cocky, my fine boy. They reported over fifty dragons with her. You may be the best, but you’re not that good.”
“I promise I can still get her, and I will do it alone.”
“I want more than just her!” The king yelled. “I want every dragon dead. I want every egg seized. We are exterminating the forest.”
Thelton groaned, for he wasn’t a people person. He despised people and he hated working with them. Everyone had their own ideas. Everyone wanted it their way. Everyone wanted the credit. Thelton hated people.
“I insist the man who found the nest goes with you. I personally know him and he is an exceptional hunter. Plus, I would like at least forty other men with you.”
“Forty?”
“Yes. And don’t worry, my fine boy, I will not let them steal your thunder. This is your expedition, and you will get ALL the credit.”
The king patted Thelton on the back. “I have faith in you, my new son. Go do well, and your bride will be here waiting for you when you get back. That does give you something to return to.” The king winked.
“It sure does,” Thelton said.
The king stood up, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, a proclamation goes out tomorrow to the three kingdoms. It will be announcing yours and Alashia’s engagement.
“Fabulous,” Thelton replied. His fists balled up.
Before the sun rose, Thelton had left the castle to collect his gear. His first stop would be the medicine woman.
Meanwhile, the village was crawling with messengers. They were putting flyers on every house to announce the engagement of Princess Alashia and Sir Thelton of Andleburg. The wedding would be two weeks after the forest was rid of the dragons. Indeed, the two events would collaborate for the largest celebration the kingdom had ever seen.
…
Flance of Candleshaw sat in the King of Andleburg’s courtyard while he passed the yellow proclamation back and forth between his hands, feeling rather disgusted, he wrinkled it up and spat on it.
“What does it say, father?” Sterling asked. He scratched his head, and ran his fingers through his shortened hair. He missed it, for it had been shaven off awhile back when he had gotten lice.
Flance glared at his son who had grown into a man. “You failed me boy, you failed me. If you hadn’t let The Dragon Slayer getaway, this would be my wedding announcement. It would be me marrying the princess, not the enemy. I would be the Great Dragon Hunter, reverenced by all the kings and every villager. It is your fault, my boy.”
Chapter 10
It was still very dark outside when Thelton knocked on the knobby pine door. He heard a croaky voice respond to his intrusion.
“Who raises me out of my slumber at such a forbidden hour? I have only just now chanced to come upon sleep.” The voice murmured from inside the cottage. “If you dare face my wrath, then enter. Otherwise, leave and let me continue my slumber.”
After Thelton told about the last head, he just stood staring at the room.
“Do you want to love me, Thelton?”
Thelton jerked as he looked at the princess. It was if he was just realizing for the first time that she was even with him. He gasped. It was hard to resist the pull of her flawless beauty.
“Do you want to love me, Thelton?” The princess grabbed his hand and placed it on her shoulders. Thelton immediately tried to pull away but, she held it firm. She stood on her tippy toes and gently placed her lips on his lips, they were soft and wet and locked onto his while her tongue tickled him. Her nerves were on fire.
Thelton jumped back, shocked. He didn’t know what to think. He hated and yet loved the experience. Scared, he ran to the giant doors and pounded on them.
“Let me out,” he shouted.
The doors swung open. Thelton shot passed the guard and ran to the throne room. He needed to leave.
The princess slowly walked out of the dragon room. If she wasn’t so lost on her cloud, she might have noticed that Thelton had not kissed her back. Instead, she was blind to the world, because being around him gave her a sensational feeling.
The guard quickly closed the door. He was glad that no one had seen Thelton leaving the room. Hopefully, the king would never learn about it.
In the throne room, the king was snoozing when Thelton bolted through the doors. The noise startled the king to consciousness. He wiped the drool off his chin.
“My fine boy, I have not seen you around the castle. I thought that with you staying here with me, I would see more of you.”
Thelton bowed, and then rose. “To tell you the truth, Dear king, I am not comfortable here. As you can imagine, I am a man of nature. If it pleases you, I would like to wait at my home until we hear word on the queen.”
“My fine boy; no can do. This thing is too big. Almost every man from the village is searching for the queen’s nest as we speak. We must be ready, boy. For the minute they bring me word to where she is, you are to go out and take her down. I cannot let you go; you are the most valuable part of the plan.”
“My holiest king, I promise that once your messenger reaches me at my own home, I will be out quicker than I would from the castle because, I live closer to the forest than you.”
The king slammed down his fist on the arm of the throne. “No! You are the key to my plan. And Thelton, don’t get mistaken, although you are a legend outside these walls, in here, you are just a hunter. I make the rules, not you, and you will never defy me again!”
Thelton was aghast because the king had never raised his voice to him before. He had always had a very open relationship with the king. They talked so freely together with very loose boundaries.
It took every bit of Thelton’s pride to force his head up and look the king in the eye. “I am sorry, my Lord.”
“Never, Thelton!” The king yelled. “Now leave.”
Thelton went back to his room. The whole day had been too much, the seduction of the princess, and now the king’s fury. He lied on the bed and fell asleep. Out of boredom, he slept for two days.
…
The room shook to the banging on the outer door. Thelton sat up. He feared to who may be behind it. Was it the princess? Was it the king? Maybe it was the executioner. “Enter,” he said as he straightened his hair.
He relaxed when he saw it was only a servant. “Sir Thelton of Andleburg, you are expected to dine with the king tonight. You have two hours to ready yourself.” The servant was holding a change of clothes for Thelton. “Would you like me to help you dress, sir?”
Thelton yanked the clothes out of the servant’s hands. “Absolutely not, now leave.”
“Very good, sir.” The servant said closing the door behind him.
Thelton looked at the tunic suit he was to wear, scratching his back he still remembered how itchy and uncomfortable he was at his party when he had to wear clothes from the king.
“Why must wealthy people dress so bad?” He looked down at his own worn out clothes. “Now these are comfortable and just the way I like them”.
Once dressed, he staggered into the dining room. He had dined there many times with the king. Sometimes there would be distinguished guests, but never more than fifty, and he never had to change his outfit before, because people seemed to love to see him in his ‘natural’ attire.
He looked around as he walked in, positioned at the table were almost two hundred guests, all of them stood as he entered. He noticed even the kings from the surrounding kingdoms were there. Thelton was the last to arrive.
He really wished he could have arrived to dinner in his own attire. All eyes were on him causing him to feel very awkward; he wondered what was going on. At the head of the table reined the King of Andleburg. Thelton was taken to an empty to the right side of King Wolfgang.
“Come sit down, my fine boy, come sit down. We have waited for you.”
Thelton sat.
“Doesn’t he clean up nicely,” the king joked. The guests roared in laughter. Thelton grew more uncomfortable, the wool in his tunic severely itched his skin, he was sure he could feel welts form.
“Wolfgang, don’t delay this any longer, why are we here?” The King of Candleshaw asked. Only a king could address another king by his given name.
“Good question from you, Trenton. You are all here for a very important reason. Tonight is the night I announce the engagement of my most beautiful daughter, Alashia.”
“A bit unorthodox, Wolfgang.” King Trenton responded. “I know that we talked about Alashia and Jonvalon marrying, but that isn’t for a few more years. Why start the engagement this early?”
Prince Jonvalon of Candleshaw wiggled in his seat. He was only fourteen, and he didn’t want to marry. He shyly looked over at Princess Alashia. She was so old. He figured she was almost old enough to be his mother, not his wife.
The king roared out in laughter. “Trenton, I am unorthodox, for I have done something without your consent, I do pray you will forgive me in front of all of our guests.”
Thelton stretched out in his seat, for it was nice to have the attention off of him, and even better, the princess was engaged. Maybe now she would leave him alone.
King Trenton face turned red, because he had been set up. All the guests eagerly watched to see what his reaction would be.
“Trenton, I fear to tell you that Princess Alashia is no longer betrothed to Prince Jonvalon.”
The King of Candleshaw’s face grew even a deeper red. How dare Wolfgang drop the news on him in front of all the other royals? “If you value peace in your kingdom, Wolfgang, you will not dissolve the betrothal so easily.”
King Wolfgang laughed even harder at his little joke. He turned his attention to Prince Jonvalon. “Jonvalon, tell me boy, do you really want to marry a grown woman?”
Prince Jonvalon s face turned pink. He dreaded the thought of marrying Alashia, even if she was so lovely.
Thelton bit into his roll and chuckled. The royal acted so strangely, he found their ways pathetic, but he was sure enjoying them as his entertainment.
Jonvalon ducked his head down and shook his head no.
“Jonvalon!” King Trenton yelled out.
“Hold your undergarments, Trenton. I still want my daughter to wed Jonvalon, it just won’t be Alashia.”
Confused, King Trenton calmed down.
“Princess Stephanie, stand up.” The king called out. A very innocent princess stood up. Her hair hung by her face in perfect ringlets.
“As you all know, the gods played a joke on me. Not a son born through my loins. We tried and tried, but only daughters. Princess Stephanie is Eight. When Jonvalon is good and ready, he can take his bride with her.”
Prince Jonvalon looked up and snuck a glance at Stephanie; she waved at him, all the guests laughed. Stephanie was not shy. Prince Jonvalon was, and he bowed his head again. He liked the idea of marrying her infinitely better than marrying Alashia. Alashia was just too old.
“You old curd,” King Trenton called out. He left his place at the table and dashed to the king’s side. He slapped King Wolfgang on the back.
“You set me up, Wolfgang. You gave us all a laugh.” King Trenton hugged King Wolfgang to show that there were no hard feelings.
“What do you think, Jonvalon, will Stephanie do?” Jonvalon glided his head up for a second to show a huge grin. The guests laughed again. The kings laughed as they hugged and shook hands. The bond was made and it was a much better arrangement than it had been.
When King Trenton took his seat, he humorously asked. “So is this Jonvalon’s and Princess Stephanie’s engagement party?”
“No way, not at such tender ages. Besides, we can’t have an engagement party for them until Princess Alashia is married.”
“The god’s have been short on males to all of us.” The King of Crenshaw blurted out. His kingdom was three kingdoms over and was not part of the tri-kingdoms, but they were friendly to the tri- kingdoms.
Thelton had quit paying attention to all the drama. Social events bored him. He let his attention be consumed by the fine food in front of him. He had downed his first three courses and was making good work on the fourth. As he shoved some duck into his mouth, his attention was unexpectedly seized by the king.
“The gods have been kind and have sent me the perfect match for Alashia. We have all been blinded to this possibility. We have searched high and low for a prince. Only Jonvalon have we found, no offence Trenton, but we both know that it wasn’t a very good match.”
King Trenton laughed in agreement. Prince Jonvalon even laughed.
“Alashia’s groom is not of royal blood or royal lineage.”
Many of the guests gasped in shock.
“But when I present him to you, there will not be a one of you that will throw ill will toward this match.” The king held silence for several minutes. He let the anticipation build. The queens could hardly control their eagerness to hear the mistake that the king was going to present.
“Family, friends, neighbors, I give you Princess Alashia’s groom to be…” The princess beamed, because she knew who it was.
The king motioned next to him, “I present to you, Sir Thelton of Andleburg.”
In horror, Thelton jerked away from the king, just then the duck got stuck in Thelton’s throat. He violently began coughing, had he heard the king right? As he worked on clearing the duck out of his throat, the dinner party all stood and clapped their hands. They agreed and supported the king on his match. The duck lodged deeper, cutting off his air supply. Thelton tried to cough, but nothing happened. The pressure in his head built, his face darkened. He felt the meat was going to rip out of his throat, its presence hurt badly. He forced everything he had to cough; it worked. A loud explosion burst out of his mouth along with his soggy piece of meat. As he cleared his throat, he looked around the table through his tear soaked eyes. Everyone was staring at him.
…
Thelton removed his scratchy clothes and dropped them on the ground. He gazed at himself in the mirror. Everything was spiraling out of control.
“There is no way I am marrying the princess, for marrying her is a death sentence. For starters, she is baggage. Not to forget that taking her hand would imprison me to the castle forever. I can’t think of a worse fate, for death would be better than that.
“I will run. That is the only answer. I hate it, but if I walk away from the throne, I walk away from the kingdom. I won’t be accepted in the kingdom or any of the outlying kingdoms. I will no longer be able to hunt dragons on this side of the earth. If I ran, then I would have to run far away where no one would ever recognize me. I would walk away from my fame, from my lively hood, and from my legend. I would become a nobody in a foreign land. How can I lose everything from one dinner party?”
He was very tempted to leave that night. He knew it was not wise. “I must have time to gather all of my gold,” for he had it hidden in several kingdoms. “If I leave now, then it would be too dangerous to return for it.”
“Maybe I will gather it over the next few days and hide it in Vegus Forest. Then, when I run, I can easily obtain it.” Thelton smiled at his plan, he could make it work. A darkening thought hampered his spirits.
“That won’t work because the forest is crawling with common men right now. Dragon crap!”
Thelton had forgotten to bolt the door. The hinges creaked, and he looked up. The princess slipped in. Thelton let out a big sigh, not her again. She was the reason his life was over.
“I bet you were shocked,” she said as she placed her hand on his thigh.
“You better believe it.” He said as he picked her hand up and threw it off, but it just returned.
“Both of our dreams came true tonight. You have me to thank, darling.” Thelton watched her balletic movement. He cringed at hearing her call him darling.
“All I can think about was our kiss. I went to dad and told him all the reasons we must marry. I even told him that you were a virgin.”
“Thanks,” Thelton sarcastically said.
The princess missed the sarcasm. She slid her body close to his. Thelton had an irascible response, but he held it inside, for it wasn’t wise to make a princess cross. She smoothly placed her hand into his. Thelton jumped up so fast he hit his head on the back bed post.
“Dearest bride to be; I still value your virtue and I am going to ask you to leave now.”
The princess pouted her lip; it had always got her anything she wanted from her father. It didn’t do a thing for Thelton. He pointed toward the door. Firmly he said, “Good night, Princess.”
The princess pouted even more as she slowly walked by him. He was the only person she had ever met that she didn’t have power over. She would change that, for she knew her features where exquisite, pleasurable to behold, and that everyman desired her. She didn’t doubt she could sway him her way. She blew him a kiss as she walked out the door, it banging closed behind her.
He was flustered, “I need to get out,” he thought. Foolishly, he again forgot to bolt his door. He climbed into his covers and drifted asleep. Half way through his slumber, a figure slipped into his room. It stood by Thelton, breathing very heavily. Thelton awoke to its presence, but because of the darkness of the room, he couldn’t see who it was.
“What do I have to do to get rid of you? Leave my room NOW!”
“Is that any way you talk to your future father?”
“The king,” Thelton gasped, as he sat up. “I am so sorry, I must have been dreaming.”
“I will forgive you in lieu of my good news. A rider came in the castle tonight. They have located the queen’s nest. They saw the queen her very self. How long do you need to gear up?”
“If I can have until midday tomorrow, your Gracious, I will be fully ready.”
“Good, good. How about a hunting party, how many men do you need?”
“I work alone.”
The king’s voice rose, “Don’t be cocky, my fine boy. They reported over fifty dragons with her. You may be the best, but you’re not that good.”
“I promise I can still get her, and I will do it alone.”
“I want more than just her!” The king yelled. “I want every dragon dead. I want every egg seized. We are exterminating the forest.”
Thelton groaned, for he wasn’t a people person. He despised people and he hated working with them. Everyone had their own ideas. Everyone wanted it their way. Everyone wanted the credit. Thelton hated people.
“I insist the man who found the nest goes with you. I personally know him and he is an exceptional hunter. Plus, I would like at least forty other men with you.”
“Forty?”
“Yes. And don’t worry, my fine boy, I will not let them steal your thunder. This is your expedition, and you will get ALL the credit.”
The king patted Thelton on the back. “I have faith in you, my new son. Go do well, and your bride will be here waiting for you when you get back. That does give you something to return to.” The king winked.
“It sure does,” Thelton said.
The king stood up, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, a proclamation goes out tomorrow to the three kingdoms. It will be announcing yours and Alashia’s engagement.
“Fabulous,” Thelton replied. His fists balled up.
Before the sun rose, Thelton had left the castle to collect his gear. His first stop would be the medicine woman.
Meanwhile, the village was crawling with messengers. They were putting flyers on every house to announce the engagement of Princess Alashia and Sir Thelton of Andleburg. The wedding would be two weeks after the forest was rid of the dragons. Indeed, the two events would collaborate for the largest celebration the kingdom had ever seen.
…
Flance of Candleshaw sat in the King of Andleburg’s courtyard while he passed the yellow proclamation back and forth between his hands, feeling rather disgusted, he wrinkled it up and spat on it.
“What does it say, father?” Sterling asked. He scratched his head, and ran his fingers through his shortened hair. He missed it, for it had been shaven off awhile back when he had gotten lice.
Flance glared at his son who had grown into a man. “You failed me boy, you failed me. If you hadn’t let The Dragon Slayer getaway, this would be my wedding announcement. It would be me marrying the princess, not the enemy. I would be the Great Dragon Hunter, reverenced by all the kings and every villager. It is your fault, my boy.”
Chapter 10
It was still very dark outside when Thelton knocked on the knobby pine door. He heard a croaky voice respond to his intrusion.
“Who raises me out of my slumber at such a forbidden hour? I have only just now chanced to come upon sleep.” The voice murmured from inside the cottage. “If you dare face my wrath, then enter. Otherwise, leave and let me continue my slumber.”
