AN: Woot! Another chapter! Not much to say so enjoy!
Own nothing but the tale! Comments and favs equal love!
It took nearly a month for Gilbert to reach North Ameland since the village lay on the northern most border of the kingdom. Initially when he set out he was still near the 'civilized' part of the kingdom where there were plenty of taverns with the three 'B's that a knight needed: Booze, beds, and brothels.
As he travelled northward taverns became sparse and he spent many nights sleeping under a tree with hardtack as his meal. His armor became quite bothersome and more than once he had considered deserting it. He could get new armor, but that cost a lot of money. So he sucked it up and wore it. When he finally reached the village he was tired, hungry, and irritated beyond comprehension.
Looking around he spotted the local tavern just ahead of him and nearly wept with joy. Finally an actual bed, real food, and hopefully a warm body to go with that bed. He urged his steed forward and quickly dismounted when he reached his destination.
"Shall I take your horse, sir?" a blonde haired boy asked as he approached the albino.
"Thanks," the ruby eyed knight said as gratefully and handed the reins to the younger man. "Tell me does the tavern have rooms available,"
"Yes sir, they have several. My brothers and I own the tavern and stables. I'm Raivis by the way," the young man, Raivis, said and extended his hand. Gilbert took the pre-offered hand and gave it a firm shake.
"Sir Gilbert Beilschmidt, awesome knight of the realm," the boastful man stated with his signature smirk and released the other man's hand.
"Oh, praise the king our pleas have been answered for you surely are here to slay the dragon," the violet eyed lad said with awe in his voice that made the albino's smirk widen.
"Ja, the king knew this beast was quite formidable so he has sent me his most awesome of knights to rescue your village," the prideful knight boasted placing his hands on his hips and raising his chin to strike what he deemed as a heroic pose.
"Sir knight we are most grateful for your aid. Please go into the tavern and ask for my brother, Eduard. Once he meets you he will see that you have our finest room and a meal fit for a hero. I will see to your valiant steed," the excitable villager said with a bow before he quickly led Gilbert's horse to the stables.
"I like this place. They know how to treat someone as awesome as me," the proud knight said. With his ego thoroughly stroked and inflated the albino knight swaggered into the tavern. He found himself standing in a fair sized bar with several tables set in the center of the space and no other decoration. The bar was empty since it was midday and all the men were at the lumber mill.
To his left there were stairs that led to the second story where the rooms for rent were. To his right could be found the bar that the silver haired man could see was rather well stocked. At the far end of the bar a door could be found that must have lead to a kitchen.
Behind the bar, the knight saw a man about his height with shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes set behind rectangular glasses. With a cocky strut to his steps the ruby eyed man made his way to the bar and took as seat at one of the stools.
"I was told by Raivis to ask for Eduard," Gilbert said as he leaned one elbow on the bar with his head resting in his hand. The blonde paused in wiping the glass in his hand and quirked an eyebrow.
"I'm Eduard and you are?" the bartender, Eduard, queried. The knight grinned leaning back and puffing out his chest.
"Sir Gilbert Beilschmidt, awesome knight of the realm," the albino said with a cocky smirk. Eduard stared at the knight for a moment unimpressed, and then returned to cleaning his glass. The prideful man was instantly incensed by the nonchalant attitude of the bartender.
"Hey! Didn't you hear me?!" the knight barked with a growl. The barman continued to casually clean his glassware.
"Yes, sir knight, I heard you just fine. I am just not impressed with those who have delusions of grandeur. The other knights behaved just as you do and, well, we saw what became of them," the blue eyed blonde said with a cool demeanor.
Anger swelled within the albino. How could this man speak so coldly about the men who had sacrificed their lives attempting to protect him and his sorry village? This arseloch had a pair on him. Thoroughly pissed off, Gilbert reached across the bar and grabbed the other man's shirt drawing him forward so their faces were meters apart.
"Listen here, you like prick. I didn't know those knights that came before me, but you will show respect for their station. They laid down their lives to protect this village and I'll be damned before I'll listen to any disrespect. Have I made myself clear?" the ruby eyed man stated menacingly as his eyes glared into cool blue. To the albino's surprise instead of the man cowering and spewing apologies he smiled.
"Well done sir knight you have passed my little test," Eduard said calmly as he reached up and pried the other man's hand from his shirt front.
"What?" the pale skinned knight asked in confusion as he watched the other straighten his attire and take a step back.
"I like to test the merit of the knights that come to our village and you, sir, have passed with flying colors," the barman said as he returned to cleaning his glassware.
"Please, start making sense," the confused knight said and rubbed at his left temple.
"First, let me apologize if I offended you. I have much respect for the knights of the realm. It takes brave men to do what you do. However, I have met a few who are less than honorable and do not care to have that kind of man in my establishment. Your reaction to my cold words shows you are an honorable man with much respect for your station and comrades. I thank you, good knight, for coming to our aid and offer you all of my hospitality," Eduard said with a slight bow to the other man.
Ego bolstered Gilbert grinned widely and leaned casually on the bar.
"I'm glad to have my awesomeness recognized. Now if I could get a bed, a beer, and a meal I would be most grateful,"
The next day found Gilbert on a well worn trail heading to the northern mountain range feeling quite rejuvenated. He'd had an amazing meal with decent beer and conversation with some of the locals the night prior. While he had a good nights sleep in a warm, soft bed the lack of another warm body had slightly irritated him. Apparently, there were no brothels in North Ameland which surely had to be a crime.
Apart from that small matter, the albino found he liked the village. It was quaint and the people were very nice.
'Maybe once I retire from knighthood I could settle here?' the knight mused to himself, but quickly shifted that thought to the back of his mind. It would be many years before he retired and right now he had a quest to complete.
As he guided his horse along the path he found himself coming upon a fork in the road. The left path led to an incline that went up into the range. The right stayed along the base of the mountains and the edge of the forest.
Thinking back on the conversation he had the previous evening with Raivis he tried to recall which path the blonde had told him to take. The purple eyed man had said that the attacks had started after the loggers had gotten too close to the beasts layer.
Eyeing both paths the knight decided that it had to be the right path. There was no reason for the workers to go up into the range so the logical choice was the path along the forest. With a tug on the reins and a nudge to the animal's flank the silver haired man guided his steed to the right.
"Prepare yourself dragon for your awesome doom approaches," the albino said with a chuckle.
Matthew sat outside his cave enjoying the succulent deer he had killed that morning. While he now (thanks to Arthur) preferred his meat to be cooked, without Alfred there to start a fire for him he had to eat it raw. He held one of the creatures flanks by its lower half and took a large bite. He quickly swallowed the morsel and opened his maw to take another bite when he heard the clip-clop of approaching hooves.
Little alarm bells went off in the dragon's head and he quickly set down his meal. Moving quickly the violet beast dug his claws into the mountain face and climbed up to the outcropping above his cave. Hunkering low the cautious reptile crept to the edge of the rock and looked over the edge as the hoof beats drew ever closer.
Several minutes later a lone rider entered the little clearing on a large black horse. The rider was clad in full armor with the emblem of a great black eagle emblazoned on his breast plate. His head was covered and the sun glinted off his silvery helm. Matthew sighed and rolled his eyes at the sight of the man now in his clearing.
'Great, another knight. Just what I need today,' the periwinkle dragon thought as he shifted to stand and tell the knight he had no desire to fight. Slowly, the purple eyed reptile climbed down the rock face. Just as he was righting himself at the foot of the cave an arrow whizzed just past his right eye.
"Hey!" the surprised creature cried out and recoiled backward.
"I see you beast skulking like a coward. Come forward and face me head on or my next arrow will not miss," the knight shouted at Matthew. Typically, Matthew is very level headed and calm. However, being attacked completely unprovoked did tend to rub him the wrong way.
"Hey, hoser!" the violet creature shouted back with a glower. "I've done nothing to warrant you attacking me. So do me a favor and piss off. I'm not in the mood for this crap today,"
The lithe beast shifted to enter his cave intent on finishing his meal, but came up short when another arrow sailed dangerously close to his head.
"You've done nothing to warrant an attack? I beg to differ monster. There are a good number of bodies laid to rest in the nearby town that you are credited with killing," the knight said as he drew another arrow from his quiver and notched it.
"Wait? What? I've never killed any humans," the confused dragon queried as he dodged another arrow that was shot at him.
"Liar! How many purple dragons can there be in this forsaken land? Now be a good beast and let me kill you already," the pale man declared as he released another projectile this time aiming for the soft underside of his opponent's neck.
"Enough with the arrows already!" Matthew cried as he dodged yet another arrow. Realizing that this man could not be reasoned with the periwinkle reptile made a quick decision. Moving rapidly the dragon dug his talons into the rock face and climbed up to his earlier perch. He felt several arrows bounce off his granite like scales as he made his ascent, but the volleys stopped once he reached the safety of the outcropping.
"Coward!" the silver helmed man shouted angrily and dismounted. The gold fringed lizard watched with a grin from his perch as the knight stormed over to the cave. The man examined the rock wall and then began to climb.
"That isn't the wisest idea," Matthew said with an underlying note of concern in his voice. He didn't really give a care about the knight, but that didn't mean he wanted to see him hurt if he fell.
"Silence, beast. If you did not behave so cowardly I would not have to do this," the angry man barked out as he continued to carefully make his way up the wall.
"Wishing to preserve my life is not cowardly. Especially since I am not guilty of killing anyone," the violet dragon argued and glowered at the ascending man. The knight scoffed.
"Please, it has to be you. As I said before how many massive, purple scaled, silver fringed dragons can there be in one area. No, my reptilian adversary you are the beast I seek,"
The knight eyed the rock face for his next handhold and realized something. The punctures from the dragon's claws made perfect holds and led directly to his target. If he followed these tracks he would reach the monster in no time.
"Silver? If you hadn't noticed my fringe is gold and compared to most dragons I'm on the smaller side. Maybe if you had stopped to think for a moment you would have realized you have the wrong dragon," the purple creature groused indignantly as his thoughts drifted off. There had been another dragon in that area who was silver and purple, but he had left long ago. Hadn't he?
Matthew was drawn out of his thoughts be the sound of footsteps approaching him. His violet eyes grew wide as he realized the knight had reached his outcropping.
"I have you now monster," the knight said in pre-emptive triumph as he charged at the dragon with his sword drawn.
Matthew barely had time to draw back as the sword swung upward in an arch that would have tore open his throat. A deep growl rolled up from deep within his chest and smoke seeped out between his bared teeth.
"I don't want to hurt you," the amethyst lizard growled as he backed further to the edge of the outcropping dodging another swing of his combatant's sword.
"That's funny because I do want to hurt you," the silver helmed man said with a smirk as he feinted to the right only to pivot his stance and sweep his sword to the left. A pained roar escaped from Matthew as the sword bit into the underside of his right shoulder where his scales were softer. The wound was not deep or life threatening, but it still hurt like a bitch.
Through the pain all the usually docile dragon could see was red and his instincts took over. Reason and empathy abandoned Matthew and he swung his body around in a circular motion. His tail swept around like a massive whip. This action surprised the knight and he had no time to react as the appendage caught him full force in the torso. Upon impact he felt his ribs crack and his body sailed backward. Excruciating pain seared through his entire body as he slammed into the rock face. While his helm protected his head some the impact still knocked the man into unconscious almost instantly.
The knight crumpled into a heap and moved no more. Still enraged the violet dragon advanced on the man. He raised his claw to bring the killing blow, but paused when he saw a small pool of blood forming under the knight's head.
Panic quickly overtook the large reptile and he lowered his claw. He nudged the unmoving man with his snout and when there was no response anguish over took him.
"I've killed him. Oh sweet maple trees I've killed him. What do I do?" Matthew muttered in despair backing away slightly. Doing the only thing he could think of he roared out a call that he knew would bring his brother almost instantly.
AN: My better half fell over laughing watching me mime the fight scene that I personally think I did a poor job with. *Shrug*