“May I ask you a question?” Necedor pleaded.
“I believe you just did” the old man replied, “but you may ask another.” He had obviously changed. Instead of the vibrant colors he was wearing before, he was now in bright blues, and dark grays.
“Why do you think I am not ready to go on a quest?” Necedor was still upset at the distrust his teacher had for him.
“Because you are thick, you don’t notice what is around you well enough.” The old man spoke sadly as if saying these things pained him.
“That is not true. I” Before he could finish the sentence the old man cut him off.
“If this is true than tell me what I have done since I last saw you in the great hall.”
Necedor could not do it; he had not noticed what the old man was wearing just a half hour before.
“What is the lesson we are going to learn today” Asked Necedor, eager to change the subject to anything but his flaws.
“Major Healing Using Common Plants and Flowers” The old man informed him, taking out various plants in pots.
“Soris,” The old man looked up at Necedor, “How large is a Black Dragon?” He almost sounded ashamed that he did not know.
“About the size of a Red Dragon, about medium I guess.” Soris looked him in the eyes, “They can’t breathe fire. They can fly, and walk. However, what makes them more dangerous then the Red Dragon is their Shape Shifting abilities. They can change into various animals and people. Each Black Dragon though has limitations, it might be something subtle like eyes will look like serpent eyes or more noticeable such as, a tail. Usually the dragons can cover it well enough before they get caught.” Soris was looking concerned. “Why do you ask?”
Necedor did not answer, instead they continued with the lesson until dinner.
At the meat hall, candles above the heads of the people dimly lit the vast room. The King pitched what remained of his turkey leg to the dogs, and stood up. The hall silenced immediately. “As I am sure you have all heard there is a Black Dragon on the loose.” Various murmurs and gasps filled the room. As the King raised his hand, everyone was quiet once again. “We have no reason to believe that he will come this way as of yet. However, we have been asked to slay this mighty fiend.” Right then a man dressed in black garbs stood from his seat. “Sire we have no reason to slay this dragon, for all we know it could be peaceful. You slay this turkey here to feed your hunger, is it not doing the same?”
“Ordinarily I would agree with you, however, this Dragon is feasting off of humans, not just Knights but women and children. Therefore, we must kill this Dragon before it kills again.”
“I am sorry to hear this” said the man in black, reaching behind his back, “For you see, I wish to protect this Dragon, and if you are going to kill it, I will need to kill you.” The man threw a dagger at the king. The King, not wearing any armor, died as the dagger hit his heart. Quickly in the confusion, the black assassin made his escape.
“GUARDS! AFTER HIM!” Necedor yelled as he was kneeling beside his dead father’s body. The search continued through out the night, and turned up nothing, the only one seen leaving the castle walls was a small child.
Click here to email your thoughts on this story to the author.
