The King's Heir

Well, this was a true puzzle…

The dragon had known something was afoot when the parents had set this little scrap of a human down in the meadow. They had left it on a blanket with a lunch of apples and bread, and then told it to stay put until they came back. But the way they had left, without turning back to wave to the little one, with hurried whispers between each other, had left the dragon with an uncomfortable feeling.

The little one had stayed content at first, eating its bread and apple and watching the dance of the ants that had quickly crawled onto the blanket.

It had fallen asleep for a little while after the meal, then gotten up to pick flowers. After that little trip around the meadow, it had carefully rounded up all the beetles it could find, and set them up in a circle on the blanket.

The beetles, solitary creatures that they were, were uncomfortable meeting their neighbors in such close quarters. Thus, the little one had been kept busy forming and reforming the careful circle. When it finally got bored of the game, and the poor beetles were allowed to scurry away to their own devices, the little human sat up and took a good look around.

The dragon was unable to tell if the toddler was a female or a male, at that age all little humans had long hair and wore a similar long tunic as clothing, so telling them apart was impossible. What he could tell, however, was that its behavior was not what he had expected. No wailing was heard, no tears escaped the large brown eyes. Rather, the human child looked around and noticed the largest tree at the edge of the meadow, whose roots created nooks and crannies. It grabbed the blanket he had been left with, and walked over, making itself comfortable in one of the larger folds of the roots. No whimpers escaped the little mouth, and it actually seemed quite pleased with the situation, a smidge of a smile playing across its tiny face.

The dragon, who at first had decided to leave nature to run its course, was curious now. It decided that it would keep an eye on this new addition to the forest.

The night fell and the woods switched to its nighttime sounds. Euphoric crickets and wary owls taking the stage. There weren’t many large predators in these woods, yet the dragon couldn’t seem to go to sleep. Instead, it stayed close by, still watching the little human, pretending not to care much about what happened to it. However, when the little figure started shivering in its sleep, the dragon couldn’t help himself, and crept closer.

Now, when people think of dragons, they think of colossal beasts, that can bring down a tree with a swipe of their tail. But really, dragons… well, they are quite small you see. And our particular dragon, was actually not much bigger than a house cat. Lean and sleek, he crawled towards the young kid. He had soft downy fuzz, like that of a newborn chick all across his back, and his face seemed, well… mostly kind.

Dragons might not be huge, but they do emit fire, and that keeps them nice and toasty, unlike most reptiles who need the help of the sun to warm themselves. So the little dragon curled up on the toddlers back and the tension in the little human’s body eased as he felt the heat of another being seep through the blanket. And the dragon finally slept, knowing that he would be awakened if anything was to happen to his new charge.

The boy - for that’s what he was, the dragon discovered after the first few days of taking care of him - was quick witted and smart. He was eager to learn and to establish a sense of responsibility into his little life, and the dragon found him an eager pupil. The dragon taught him many things, from how to start a fire, to how to hunt rabbits, and even how to prop the rabbit into the fire to create a most delicious meal. The dragon also made sure to also teach the young child its own language. Dragons like to collect things, and this one loved languages, he taught the boy a few different languages as well as philosophy (draconic philosophy, which is quite different than human philosophy), and mathematics of course. The only thing the dragon was not very good at was teaching the child how to read, as it had never had a chance to do so itself. And so the child grew knowing the woods and the animals in it, as well as the rich knowledge that the dragon has hoarded. He formed a place of his own into the small world that he lived in, and was content. Our dragon had never felt such a kinship with another being, and couldn’t even remember what his life had consisted of before being the boy’s guardian.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, the boy was in fact the son of a King.

A prophecy, given centuries ago, had stated that this King’s first born child would be the downfall of his dynasty. He was, truth be told, a decent King before his wife became pregnant, but as she grew more and more rotund, and the King’s downfall seemed to press closer and closer, he became belligerent and unhinged. It was only when his dear nursemaid, an old lady by then, told him that she would make sure the midwife would declare the baby a stillbirth, that he was able to return to his previous self.

The only issue is that the nursemaid did not plan out how to discard that baby. So, while the midwife did declare the baby a stillbirth, and abruptly wrapped him and shoved him in her bag to take away, she was just as unable to resist the little boy as the dragon has been. Something about the way he watched the world around him, just made it impossible to go through any nefarious plan that might have been had.

The midwife and her husband had raised the baby as their own, in great secret, for three years… but when the King’s nursemaid died of old age, the King started worrying about what had happened to the baby, and started questioning everyone that had been involved. The midwife knew that it was only a matter of time until the King figured out what she had done. That is why her and her husband had left the child in that meadow, all those years ago. But she hadn’t forgotten about her little boy, the lovely child with his big expressive eyes, who rarely spoke.

It was only when the boy must have been around the age of 10 that something finally happened to shatter the boy and his dragon’s peaceful existence.

The King had fallen sick, he brought in many doctors, and counselors to tell him how to heal. He was leeched, poked with many needles, he drank all the most vile potions that were forced upon him. Yet, nothing worked. The King kept on losing his hair, his vitality, and most courtiers whispered among themselves, that he would be gone within the month. The Queen had never had another pregnancy, and the kingdom would be without an heir, but the King did not care about that, instead he focused on one last miracle that was promised him… according to the new Oracle, if the King could find a dragon, that dragon would be able to heal him. The how’s and why’s weren’t very clear, but the King had a new lease on life and was very eager to find said dragon. Of course the King, like you, believed that dragons were big, and so he set out to find this majestic beast that would grant him a long life.

He boy and his dragon were soon faced with constant movement from soldiers, servants, and anyone else who had heard the King was giving a reward to the first person to bring him a dragon. They learned to hide during the day, and quietly hunt at night. Their existence went from boisterous fun to quiet fear, and the boy was not happy. One evening, while hiding from the crowds, he overheard a group of hunters mention the prize money, and the fact that the King was looking for a dragon.

The boy went back to find his dragon and told him of what he had heard.

Now to be honest, the dragon was not very interested in helping this King that he had never heard about. However, the boy seemed so excited to go to a palace and meet a King, that the dragon didn’t dare share with him any misgivings.

They embarked on the journey to the castle the next day, after an early breakfast of stolen duck eggs. The journey, was really quite short, the midwife not having thought that the boy would survive past its first night in the woods, had not walked more than a half day away from their village at the foot of the castle. The boy and his dragon simply followed some soldiers that they had seen passing near the meadow that morning. Now the boy was quite a sight, while he and the dragon bathed quite often, he was a barefoot young boy, wearing a makeshift tunic, much like the one he had been found in years ago, except this one was made entirely out of rabbit pelt, sewn together clumsily with sinew. When he arrived at the castle walls with the dragon hiding under his tunic, the boy asked to see the King only to be pushed back and laughed at. The soldiers had no intention of letting this rugrat come into the wall.

The boy raised his voice, telling them that he had a dragon, and that he could surely heal the King. However the soldiers were not interested in what such a scruffy looking lad had to say, and sent him rolling down the hill with one strong shove.

One of the kitchen girls had heard him, and something in the way he held himself told her that there was possibly more to this boy than it might seem.

She followed him for a while, until he sat down near a tree and started to talk to himself. She was about to walk away, realizing that what she had taken for fierce truthfulness was indeed the beginnings of madness, when the dragon popped his head out of his boy’s tunic. Maricel, for that was her name, had never seen such a creature, and while she did not recognize the fierce dragons that she had been told about, there was an inkling in her mind that this creature was, most definitely, an actual dragon!

Maricel whistled softly while approaching the two so as not to startle them. Once they acknowledged her, she told the boy that she could get him in the castle if he wanted, but that he’d have to share the King’s payment with her.

The boy had never really cared about the treasure, and was more interested in meeting a King, so the arrangement was quite agreeable to both.

They waiting until dusk, when Maricel gave the boy her coat, had him put the hood up, and carry a basket to cover up his body as much as possible. They walked quickly through the gates, hearts beating fast, but the guards barely even noticed them. Sometimes, being a servant did have its advantages…

Maricel took the boy and the dragon back to the shed behind the kitchen and told them to wait for the main course. They would help her carry the heavy dish into the dining hall, after which they could explain to the King who they were and why they had snuck in.

The plan was executed to perfection and soon the boy and his hidden dragon were in the middle of the dining hall, ready to speak to the King.

The boy coughed, first softly, then a little louder, but the King ignored him, his chair was covered in pillows. His feet, heavy with gout, were raised on a chair, and his yellowed eyes looked listlessly around.

The boy harrumphed this time, hoping for some response. The King waved his hand at him, as if he were a fly. Well, the boy was not one to be deterred, so he loudly told the King that he had brought him a Dragon.

At this statement the King’s eyes brightened a bit, his gaunt face scrunched up and he looked at the boy with a tiny bit of interest.

The King leaned in, and asked the boy where this dragon of his was. The boy, quite proud of his best friend, took his dragon out of his coat, and held him out to the King to see. Meanwhile the dragon was feeling a bit undignified, being held like a kitten, but his love for the boy was so fierce that he allowed this minor inconvenience.

The King frowned, squinted, coughed a couple of times. He motioned for the boy to come closer. After looking at the dragon for a few more seconds, the King’s face contorted in disgust.

The boy watched all of these emotions fly across the King’s face, and decided that he was not very impressed by Kings in general and that he would much rather be back in his woods, spending time in contemplation with his dragon. The King started coughing again, and angrily waved the boy away. The boy and the dragon left quickly before the King could call up his guards, they left through the kitchen and before Maricel could ask the boy what had happened they were both through the gates, well on their way towards their woods.

The dragon never even thought to speak up to tell the King that he truly was a dragon no matter what the King might think of his appearance.

And so, the boy and the Dragon lived happily in their woods, with a few visits to Maricel and some other friends that they made in the village once the boy realized that not all other humans were as unpleasant as the King.

The King’s dynasty died along with him, only a few weeks after the boy’s visit to the castle, with neither the boy nor the Dragon any wiser that the boy had been meant for that throne.