The Dragon Slayer
Title: The Dragon Slayer
Written for brigits_flame , October 2010, week 1
Prompt: Hero
Words: 721
Warnings: mentions of violence
“And just before the ghastly beast could devour Princess Eleanore, I took Sir Peredur‘s sword from the burnt pile of bones and severed the dragon’s head. Even in death, it thrashed around, almost knocking me unconscious with its tail.”
“Did you bathe in its blood? I hear that makes you invincible,” one of the other men in the tavern asked, clearly fascinated by Hal’s story.
“Bathe in its blood? Heavens, no! I have no idea where that myth about dragon’s blood comes from. I’ve never experienced anything as dreadful as it; it bit right through the iron where it splattered on the sword. When the blood flowing out of the dragon’s body reached the bones on the caves floor, they dissolved. Look, I was hit by some of its blood.”
Hal rolled up his sleeve and showed a long scar on his lower arm. “I would have been mad to take a bath in that vile substance! Princess Eleanore and I were lucky to escape mostly unharmed.”
“But you did?” A young man asked.
“Yes, we fled the cave, listening until we were sure the dragon had perished and would not follow us. I took Princess Eleanore back to the king’s castle and he was so thankful to see his daughter alive that he offered me her hand in marriage. Of course, we had to wait until the period of mourning for Sir Peredur was over, as she was promised to him before the dragon killed him. Not everybody was happy that Princess Eleanore was marrying a mere stable boy, but we have been happily married for over five years now.”
“And is she really as beautiful as everybody says she is?” came the slurred question from a man so drunk he had nearly fallen off his stool halfway through Hal’s tale.
“Oh, certainly, my friend,” Hal replied with a grin. “She is just as gorgeous as the stories say she is, and then some. I cannot wait to return home to her. Now who wants another round of mead?”
As a new round of mead arrived, Hal raised his mug. “To Princess Eleanore!”
~ ~ ~
When many more tales had been told and most patrons either lay motionless under the tables or had stumbled home, Hal turned to his companion. “Shall we retire to our room?”
His companion nodded and they made their way up the stairs.
“You yet again forgot to mention that your knees were shaking so horribly you could barely move. And that was although the dragon had promised not to harm you.”
“Well, what kind of story would it be if I admitted that? And did you not see the gruesome scar I gained in that heroic battle?” Hal replied, grinning.
“I was always under the impression that you gained it in a heroic battle with a hot iron when you stood too close to a blacksmith,” Hal’s companion laughed, removing her hood when entering their room.
“Why is it that everybody but my own wife believes I’m a hero,” Hal complained playfully. “Without me, dear Eleanore, you would be married to stuffy old Peredur, bored to tears doing embroidery in a tower room.”
“I’d get to do embroidery instead of going on regular trips through the country?! Why did I never think of that before I asked the dragon to abduct me?”
“Oh, if you’d prefer that, I’m certain you could still persuade the dragon to fry me; surely your father could find another suitably unpleasant knight for you. It’s just too bad I wouldn’t be around to spread the tales the dragon demands to be told in exchange for disposing of fiancés and husbands. I’m sure that this time, it will demand something more interesting than just spreading word that its blood doesn’t cause invincibility.”
“You can’t really blame the old creature for being tired of having to ward off blood-thirsty knights all the time, just because they think its blood will make them immortal. It’s a good thing that in the end, you didn’t run away from your chance to be a hero, as I thought you might when I saw you look into that cave.”
“For you, I’d always be a hero,” Hal replied with a syrupy smile.
“I’m sure you would,” Eleanore laughed. “As long as it doesn’t involve spiders or dragons.”
Written for brigits_flame , October 2010, week 1
Prompt: Hero
Words: 721
Warnings: mentions of violence
“And just before the ghastly beast could devour Princess Eleanore, I took Sir Peredur‘s sword from the burnt pile of bones and severed the dragon’s head. Even in death, it thrashed around, almost knocking me unconscious with its tail.”
“Did you bathe in its blood? I hear that makes you invincible,” one of the other men in the tavern asked, clearly fascinated by Hal’s story.
“Bathe in its blood? Heavens, no! I have no idea where that myth about dragon’s blood comes from. I’ve never experienced anything as dreadful as it; it bit right through the iron where it splattered on the sword. When the blood flowing out of the dragon’s body reached the bones on the caves floor, they dissolved. Look, I was hit by some of its blood.”
Hal rolled up his sleeve and showed a long scar on his lower arm. “I would have been mad to take a bath in that vile substance! Princess Eleanore and I were lucky to escape mostly unharmed.”
“But you did?” A young man asked.
“Yes, we fled the cave, listening until we were sure the dragon had perished and would not follow us. I took Princess Eleanore back to the king’s castle and he was so thankful to see his daughter alive that he offered me her hand in marriage. Of course, we had to wait until the period of mourning for Sir Peredur was over, as she was promised to him before the dragon killed him. Not everybody was happy that Princess Eleanore was marrying a mere stable boy, but we have been happily married for over five years now.”
“And is she really as beautiful as everybody says she is?” came the slurred question from a man so drunk he had nearly fallen off his stool halfway through Hal’s tale.
“Oh, certainly, my friend,” Hal replied with a grin. “She is just as gorgeous as the stories say she is, and then some. I cannot wait to return home to her. Now who wants another round of mead?”
As a new round of mead arrived, Hal raised his mug. “To Princess Eleanore!”
~ ~ ~
When many more tales had been told and most patrons either lay motionless under the tables or had stumbled home, Hal turned to his companion. “Shall we retire to our room?”
His companion nodded and they made their way up the stairs.
“You yet again forgot to mention that your knees were shaking so horribly you could barely move. And that was although the dragon had promised not to harm you.”
“Well, what kind of story would it be if I admitted that? And did you not see the gruesome scar I gained in that heroic battle?” Hal replied, grinning.
“I was always under the impression that you gained it in a heroic battle with a hot iron when you stood too close to a blacksmith,” Hal’s companion laughed, removing her hood when entering their room.
“Why is it that everybody but my own wife believes I’m a hero,” Hal complained playfully. “Without me, dear Eleanore, you would be married to stuffy old Peredur, bored to tears doing embroidery in a tower room.”
“I’d get to do embroidery instead of going on regular trips through the country?! Why did I never think of that before I asked the dragon to abduct me?”
“Oh, if you’d prefer that, I’m certain you could still persuade the dragon to fry me; surely your father could find another suitably unpleasant knight for you. It’s just too bad I wouldn’t be around to spread the tales the dragon demands to be told in exchange for disposing of fiancés and husbands. I’m sure that this time, it will demand something more interesting than just spreading word that its blood doesn’t cause invincibility.”
“You can’t really blame the old creature for being tired of having to ward off blood-thirsty knights all the time, just because they think its blood will make them immortal. It’s a good thing that in the end, you didn’t run away from your chance to be a hero, as I thought you might when I saw you look into that cave.”
“For you, I’d always be a hero,” Hal replied with a syrupy smile.
“I’m sure you would,” Eleanore laughed. “As long as it doesn’t involve spiders or dragons.”