Nathan twisted his neck to see who had just spoken and was surprised to see a dragon standing in the cave entrance on the other side of the room. This was not a large, beautiful dragon like Chrysolis, but rather a short, crooked dragon with a mean scowl on his face. He looked older than Chrysolis but was not even half her size. His scales were green like swamp water and his underbelly and clawed feet were the color of tarnished brass like dirty pennies.
Gart immediately spun to face the dragon, swinging Nathan by one arm like a little rag doll, barely missing the jester’s head. The giant plopped his captive down in front of his master.
“Hey, Boss! Look what I got this time!”
The dragon looked a bit surprised by the giant’s gift and looked down at the Prince with yellow eyes. “Well well, what have we here? A knight in shining armor? Gart, you’ve outdone yourself this time.”
“I done good, huh boss?”
“We shall see.” The dragon began to walk around Nathan, looking at him from all sides as if trying to see inside him. It made the prince uncomfortable to be stared at like he was tasty food or something. Finally the dragon stopped in front of Nathan and spoke to him.
“What is your name, Knight?”Nathan had always wanted to be a knight and stood up straight, not wanting the dragon to notice he was just a boy. Then he cleared his throat and tried to speak in a deep voice like a man.
“Um, I am Sir Vanderfluff of the Ivory Palace.” he said with a small bow of courtesy.
“Amiera?” the dragon seemed shocked. “You are lying. The Ivory Palace is not a real place. It is only a story that mother’s tell their children so that they will not be frightened of the dark. But I suppose it doesn’t matter where you’re from, so long as you are brave and willing to work hard for a good cause.”
This caught Nathan’s attention. A knight was always brave and ready to go on any noble mission. If he was going to be a good knight, he had to show he wasn’t scared.
“I’m not afraid!”
The dragon looked pleased. “Of course you aren’t. I can see that you are a true soldier with a warriors heart. Excellent! You will need it for the quest.”
“What quest?” Nathan asked.
The dragon ignored his question and walked over to the pile of shells which were obviously it’s bed. Making himself comfortable, he motioned for the prince to come closer. When he didn’t move right away, the giant gave him a hard nudge forward. The jester giggled and bounced over to sit cross-legged on the floor in front of the dragon.
“Do you know who I am, Knight?” the dragon inquired.
Nathan simply shook his head, not wanting to talk too much and give himself away. He was afraid that if the dragon found out that he was just a human boy, he might not let him go or he might have the giant squash him.
“My name is Snagglefang.”
At that moment, the jester piped in. “Yep, that’s right! Snagglefang the Crooked! The naggin’ dragon! Serpent of the Seven Seas! Lord of the Lizards! Big Boss BASALISK!!”
The dragon cleared his throat and glared as the foolish little fellow spun to face him with a big grin. He obviously thought his introduction was worthy of praise, but one look at his “boss” and the grin vanished as he plopped back to the floor in silence.
Snagglefang continued.
“Ah, it is true that some have called me such cruel names as “crooked” and “nasty” and even “Mr. Meany”, and I admit I can be a bit cross at times. But you would be grouchy too if you had been born the smallest in the family and grew up to be no bigger than the common horse. Beside that, look at these wings!”
Snagglefang turned his head to point with his nose and Nathan noticed two stubby, little, purple, wings sticking out of his back above his shoulders. They were no bigger than his feet and looked more like they should belong to a large bat rather than a dragon.
“You see what I am talking about? Pathetic aren’t they; and embarrasing I assure you.”
This time Gart spoke from behind Nathan. “I think they’re kinda pretty, Boss, even if they are teeny.”
Snagglefang jumped to his feet sending clam shells scattering across the cave floor as he released his temper. “What do YOU know, simpleton! The only small thing on your body is your head, because it has no brain in it!”
At Snagglefang’s outburst, the jester came unglued! He slapped his hands on his knees and started rolling on the floor laughing until he could hardly breathe. “Oh, that’s a good one, Boss! That’s rich!” he sputtered as he pointed at the giant’s bald little cone of a head.
Gart’s huge nose turned red and he stuck out his blocky chin even further than usual in humiliation.
“Silence, FOOL!!” Snagglefang shouted! “If YOU had half a brain, you wouldn’t still be here as a voluntary prisoner! You would have gone back to your silly little king by now and left me in peace!”
The jester stopped laughing and his face drooped again as he sat up with his back to them and started mumbling to his puppet.The dragon looked back at Nathan and gave a great sigh, shaking his head.
“You see what I have to deal with? No respect.” He settled himself back upon his bed of shells, gathering them under him again. “Forgive me. I should not be so sensitive about my handicap. I’m sure none of this concerns a great knight such as yourself. You are probably most concerned with why Gart brought you here. Am I right?”
Actually, Nathan was most concerned with finding his sister, but ever since the Dragon had mentioned going on a quest he found himself very curious about it. So he shook his head up and down and hoped it would not take long to explain.
“Maybe if I cooperate with the dragon, he will let me go quickly.” he thought.
Snagglefangs eyes seemed to grow hungrier as he smiled at the prince and continued. “Good, good. Then let me tell you a story that will help you to understand the importance of your coming.”
At that, the Jester perked up yet again and spun back to face them. “Ooooh! I love stories! Have I heard this one before, Boss?”
Before the dragon could answer, there was a loud thud that shook the cave as Gart plopped on the floor behind Nathan. Both the giant and the jester leaned forward with their chins resting on their hands in eager anticipation of the tale that was coming.
Nathan wasn’t quite sure what he should do. It seemed that Snagglefang was treating him nicely, but he still felt like a prisoner. After all, the giant and his hawk had attacked him without warning and taken him prisoner by force. Was he supposed to act like everything was okay now and just sit down like they were all good friends?
“Please sit down, Sir Vanderfluff.” The dragon pointed to a stool by the jester’s box and Gart grabbed it for him. “My tale may not take long to tell, but surely your armor is too heavy to stand in all day. You will need all your strength when you begin your journey.”
When Nathan had finally sat down on the stool between the dragon and the giant, Snagglefang began.
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