sighed.
“Well, I suppose that makes sense with you being a knight and
all.”
“I think it would be fun, Tathan. Can we?”
Vevin asked hopefully. “That way I could prove to Liselle that I
have restraint by not eating the princess!” That got Tathan’s
attention. He raised an eyebrow at Vevin.
“Ahh, yes. I had forgotten that dragons have
a taste for princesses. A princess is the only human dragons are
allowed to eat without penalty,” Sir Danth stated. “Perhaps this
isn’t such a good idea after all.”
“Princesses?” Tathan asked in confusion.
“Yes,” nodded Sir Danth. “The agreement was
made long ago. Dragons like princesses and have always accepted
them as sacrifices. Kings find daughters to be inconvenient in most
cases, so it worked out well to exclude them from the agreement,”
the knight explained. “It also gave kings a bargaining chip in case
a dragon got cranky.”
Liselle was offended all over again. “Why
are princesses inconvenient?” she asked dangerously.
“Well, you can’t do much with a princess,
can you?” He began ticking off the points on his fingers. “They
can’t become king, they throw temper tantrums, they get picky about
which prince to marry, and they’re always going about getting
kidnapped, all of which is extremely inconvenient.”
Liselle was glaring at him with her jaw set.
Tathan and Vevin wisely stepped away from the table. Sir Danth
looked at Liselle, then at the other two, then back at Liselle.
“What? Don’t glare at me. I like princesses,” he said innocently.
“If they get kidnapped, then I have a job to do, plus they’re
almost always pretty.”
Liselle folded her arms and continued to
glare.
“They also add a certain level of drama to
palaces, running around saying they want ponies and stomping their
feet and yelling things like: ‘No I won’t marry that eighty year
old lord just so you can get extra tapestries for the main hall’.”
Sir Danth leaned back on the stool and gave a distinct impression
that he was grinning. The knight had realized that Liselle was
getting angry and he was having fun with it. Vevin and Tathan were
trying desperately to cover laughter with their hands.
“Hmm . . . Fine. I see how it’s going to
be,” Liselle said. “I guess we’ll just have to save the princess so
that I can tell her your opinions.”
Sir Danth sat up straight. “Well now,
there’s no need to be like that. I’m just saying what others feel,”
he replied innocently. The others could no longer contain their
laughter. Liselle and Sir Danth joined in.
Tathan asked, “Did the sunshine birdie tell
you where the princess is?”
“She said the princess is being held in the
caverns of the Rojuun, though she didn’t know where,” Liselle
answered. “It sounds like we would have to figure it out for
ourselves, which sounds hard.”
“That would be hard,” Tathan admitted with a
nod. “I’ll admit I’m curious though. Let’s talk to Mother Tree and
see if she can tell us anything about the princess or Yebisu. If
Mother Tree doesn’t need us for anything else, then we’ll make
finding the princess our next task.”
“Really? You don’t mind?” Liselle asked in
surprise.
“Well, the three of you want to give it a
try and I don’t have any reason not to. It sounds challenging, so
I’m interested too,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t have any other
commitments anyway.”
“Then it is decided,” Sir Danth said,
hitting his fist on the table for emphasis. “We go to rescue
Princess Anilyia of Mayncal.”
Chapter 7
The next morning as they were leaving the
cabin, a group of Druids approached them, led by an older man with
grey-speckled brown hair and trimmed beard. He wore a brown robe,
signifying that he was an elder of the village. “Hello, my name is
Eithan. I was hoping you could answer some questions.” His rich,
mellow voice was mild, though he sounded upset.
The companions exchanged glances.
“Well, I suppose that makes sense with you being a knight and
all.”
“I think it would be fun, Tathan. Can we?”
Vevin asked hopefully. “That way I could prove to Liselle that I
have restraint by not eating the princess!” That got Tathan’s
attention. He raised an eyebrow at Vevin.
“Ahh, yes. I had forgotten that dragons have
a taste for princesses. A princess is the only human dragons are
allowed to eat without penalty,” Sir Danth stated. “Perhaps this
isn’t such a good idea after all.”
“Princesses?” Tathan asked in confusion.
“Yes,” nodded Sir Danth. “The agreement was
made long ago. Dragons like princesses and have always accepted
them as sacrifices. Kings find daughters to be inconvenient in most
cases, so it worked out well to exclude them from the agreement,”
the knight explained. “It also gave kings a bargaining chip in case
a dragon got cranky.”
Liselle was offended all over again. “Why
are princesses inconvenient?” she asked dangerously.
“Well, you can’t do much with a princess,
can you?” He began ticking off the points on his fingers. “They
can’t become king, they throw temper tantrums, they get picky about
which prince to marry, and they’re always going about getting
kidnapped, all of which is extremely inconvenient.”
Liselle was glaring at him with her jaw set.
Tathan and Vevin wisely stepped away from the table. Sir Danth
looked at Liselle, then at the other two, then back at Liselle.
“What? Don’t glare at me. I like princesses,” he said innocently.
“If they get kidnapped, then I have a job to do, plus they’re
almost always pretty.”
Liselle folded her arms and continued to
glare.
“They also add a certain level of drama to
palaces, running around saying they want ponies and stomping their
feet and yelling things like: ‘No I won’t marry that eighty year
old lord just so you can get extra tapestries for the main hall’.”
Sir Danth leaned back on the stool and gave a distinct impression
that he was grinning. The knight had realized that Liselle was
getting angry and he was having fun with it. Vevin and Tathan were
trying desperately to cover laughter with their hands.
“Hmm . . . Fine. I see how it’s going to
be,” Liselle said. “I guess we’ll just have to save the princess so
that I can tell her your opinions.”
Sir Danth sat up straight. “Well now,
there’s no need to be like that. I’m just saying what others feel,”
he replied innocently. The others could no longer contain their
laughter. Liselle and Sir Danth joined in.
Tathan asked, “Did the sunshine birdie tell
you where the princess is?”
“She said the princess is being held in the
caverns of the Rojuun, though she didn’t know where,” Liselle
answered. “It sounds like we would have to figure it out for
ourselves, which sounds hard.”
“That would be hard,” Tathan admitted with a
nod. “I’ll admit I’m curious though. Let’s talk to Mother Tree and
see if she can tell us anything about the princess or Yebisu. If
Mother Tree doesn’t need us for anything else, then we’ll make
finding the princess our next task.”
“Really? You don’t mind?” Liselle asked in
surprise.
“Well, the three of you want to give it a
try and I don’t have any reason not to. It sounds challenging, so
I’m interested too,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t have any other
commitments anyway.”
“Then it is decided,” Sir Danth said,
hitting his fist on the table for emphasis. “We go to rescue
Princess Anilyia of Mayncal.”
Chapter 7
The next morning as they were leaving the
cabin, a group of Druids approached them, led by an older man with
grey-speckled brown hair and trimmed beard. He wore a brown robe,
signifying that he was an elder of the village. “Hello, my name is
Eithan. I was hoping you could answer some questions.” His rich,
mellow voice was mild, though he sounded upset.
The companions exchanged glances.
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