Chapter Two
"The Knight, Sir Otto, had just slain the dragon. He was traveling back to court to meet with the King, King Sauvin, and the Princess, Princess Orowina. In the Kingdom of Sharapuur." grandfather reads. "Now I know you're lying!" the boy says, as though he's just caught his grandfather eating pie he didn't get a bite of.
"There is no King of Sharapuur!" the boy states, a recitation from one of his history lessons. "The "Kingdom" of Sharapuur is desolate desert of cut-throat pirates and slavers!" the boy exclaims. "How right you are, indeed." Grandfather nods his head in acceptance of the facts. "Sharapuur is indeed, as you say, a desolate desert of cut-throat pirates and slavers. But is wasn't always as such. In fact, King Sauvin was indeed one of the last ruling parties of Sharapuur." the grandfather grins inwardly, knowing that his stories often have many side-benefits while reading to the boy, including a good history lesson. "Really!?" the boy says. "But... how?" the boy asks.
"Well now, if I told you all that, it would probably ruin the story, wouldn't it?" the sly grandfather asks. "Oh, you're right!" says the boy, now ready to listen again.
"Now, Sir Otto, Holy Knight of the Golden Serpent, Champion of the Realm, rode his great white warhorse, Cloud, to the gates of the castle. Whereupon the guards in the tower saw their champion coming, and lowered the drawbridge over the moat of snakes to allow him in. The huge creaking barricade lowered by giant chains from the cranks within the..." "Snakes!?" the boy cuts in excitedly again. "They have a moat of Snakes?" the boy asks in wonderment.
"Yes, oh yes. Poisonous snakes, with the moat walls too-tall to climb out of, fed by all manner of things... including thieves who get caught!" grandfather says, his eyes seeming to glaze over just a bit, as if remembering something. "Wow! That's soo exciting!" says the grandchild.
"Indeed! And you should know, many of those snakes are still sacred to the people of Sharapuur to this day. Particularly the Golden Asp, one of the most poisonous snakes in all the world." Grandfather says. The boy gasps, than asks "The one you have on your arm?!" "The very one, correct." grandfather says, pulling his sleeve up to show the glittering tattoo of a golden asp. "The one you shall some day wear, my boy." The grandfather smiles knowingly. The boy, putting two and two together, asks, "If the Knight was of the Golden Serpent, and you have a Golden Serpent on your arm..."
Grandfather shakes his head, "No, my boy. Not of the Order of Knights. Our family is not of that heritage, and in many ways, I am most thankful for that. No, the tattoo does indeed reflect the same Golden Serpent, but for a different reason all together. But that, my boy, is a story for later." "Awww!" the boy says, trying to remind himself to ask for that story tomorrow.
"Let's see, ah yes, ...lowered by giant chains from the cranks within the citadel walls. As Sir Otto was waiting, he contemplated his future. "How wonderful it will be to finally be married to my love, Orowina. Even though King Sauvin bade me quest to slay the Dragon, Bloodflame, a great desert drake, for her hand in marriage. For I have overcome that obstacle, and we are to wed this very week! And I shall use the Dragon treasure as her dowry." How wrong he was. Though Otto and Orowina had been engaged for almost a year now, there was no way for Otto to foresee the true future events that would transpire. For secretly, trouble was brewing within the festively decorated halls of the King's palace. For unbeknownst to Sir Otto, there was more than one man in the court who harbored a burning desire to wed the Princess..."