This is in a (very long) Tincture I'm currently writing. I probably won't be done with it for a while but I liked this so much I wanted to share. Its supposed to be a 'fairy tale' 'child's bedtime story'. I'm sure you can guess what its about.
Date and location unknown
"Once upon a time in a land far away from here there was a poor beggar man. Once he had been a very great man. But time had not been kind to the man and where once he'd been a king he was now much less. Not a king of the whole world, just his world. People loved him and he loved them. The man had a family, friends and children and they did everything together.
"Then tragedy befell the man. His beautiful wife died suddenly. His best friend left him. One son died and the other hated him for reasons he couldn't really say. Seemingly overnight the man was alone through no fault of his own. Now alone he tore off his crown and left behind his great clothes and let someone else take his position. He became a pauper for without those around him who loved him he didn't see the point of being king.
"The man wandered the land, not knowing what to do. Then, one day, he stumbled upon a cave hiiiiigh in the mountains. He thought that was a good place to rest for the night so he went into the cave and fell asleep. He was woken when the occupant of the cave came home. It was a dragon.
"The dragon saw the man sleeping and let out a great roar. 'What are you doing in my cave?!' The dragon demanded. 'I am just looking for a place to rest,' the man pleaded. 'Please, don't eat me.' The dragon was amused by this and said, 'I'm not going to eat you silly human. I am a dragon. I do not eat the stringy flesh of humans. You may stay in my cave, but in the morning you must leave.' With that the man went back to sleep and in the morning he left as the dragon had instructed.
"The man returned to the cave that night. The dragon was there when he came. The dragon roared, 'Human! You come to my cave again?' 'Yes,' said the man, 'I am here to repay the kindness you showed me last night letting me sleep in your cave.' The man had brought a lamb from a shepherd, still alive. He set it before the dragon. The dragon looked at the lamb but did not eat it. Instead he just licked it as if to see if it was really a lamb the man had brought. Satisfied he dragon took the lamb and brought it close to it. 'Thank you human. You may stay the night again if you wish,' the dragon said. The man graciously agreed and spent the night in the dragon's cave.
"The man came to live with the dragon. Every day the man would go out and bring something back for the dragon. The dragon, easy to please, was always happy with the gift and added it to his hoard.
"One day the man did not come to the cave for the night. The dragon became worried of where the man had gone and set out to search for him. After several hours of searching he found the man sleeping out in the field. 'Why do you sleep out in the field?' The dragon asked when he found the man. 'I have used the last of my coin from when I was a king,' the man said, 'I had nothing to bring you tonight in return for letting me stay in your cave.' The dragon laughed at this. 'You think you must buy your way into my cave, human? There is always room in my cave for a friend!'
"After that the man and dragon were the best of friends. The man filled the hole left by his wife and best friend with the dragon. The dragon gave him everything and always made sure the man was happy and had good to eat and a warm place to sleep. The dragon told the man his true name and the man told the dragon of his wife and best friend and sons. The dragon was sympathetic towards his heartbreak but was more than happy to fill the man with new happiness and stories. The dragon showed the man the wonders of the wilderness and all its creatures. As a dragon the dragon could commune with all the beasts in the mountains and he taught the man how to talk to them as well. But as a human the man had a clumsy tongue when it came to animal languages. The dragon would laugh at his flubs and correct and help him learn it properly.
"As time passed the man learned from the dragon that the dragon was alone. Not that he had no mate or hatchlings, but he was the last of his kind. Or at least the last that the dragon knew of, and the dragon was old and had seen many things. He had not seen another dragon in a very very long time. That made the man sad, but also happy. The dragon knew what it was like to be alone, and as the dragon brought him companionship, so too did the man to the dragon.
"Then, one day, while the man was out, dragon slayers came. They had heard of the dragon, the last of his kind and sought to find him and kill him. They came when the man was out and captured the dragon!
"When the man returned he saw his dragon friend was gone, the cave empty of the beast. He waited all day and night for the dragon to come home, but he never did. Only after the sun had risen did the man go deeper into the cave where he'd never been. The dragon might have loved the man and been his true friend but he was still a dragon, and guarded his hoard jealously. When the man entered the cavern of the dragon's hoard it was empty. Not a single coin remained. The man thought the dragon had left him and heart broken he went down the mountain to the city. There he heard of the dragon slayers who'd come. They had taken the dragon to the lord of the city, a tribute to him.
"The man rushed to the castle where his friend was being held in an unbreakable magic cage. The dragon slayers were boasting to the lord about their great feat and saying they'd brought it in his honor. They would let the lord deal the killing blow so he could gain the status of a dragon slayer. The lord was pleased by this and accepted.
"The dragon slayers gave the lord a sword to kill the beast. At the last moment the man ran forward and when the noble man made to pierce the dragon's heart he instead stabbed the man in the chest. Enraged by what had happened to his friend the dragon flew into a fury. Using magic not even he knew he possessed the dragon turned the cage around him into rusty ash. In the confusion and chaos of the dragon freeing itself the dragon slayers were caught unaware. The dragon smashed the head of the lord and thrashed the dragon slayers against the wall with his great tail and wings. He rained fire onto everyone around him.
"Once the evil men were slain the dragon gathered the man up into his arms and flew away, far away into the mountains, leaving behind the dragon slayers who had stolen him and his hoard from his home. The dragon took the man deep into the forest to a spring that was said to be able to heal any wound, some even said bring creatures back from the dead. When the dragon arrived at the spring the man no longer breathed. The dragon put the man into the spring and prayed and waited. He would not move until the man did as well.
"After a long while the man breathed again. When he saw that the dragon was alive the man wept. 'Why do you cry, my friend?' the dragon asked. 'I cry because I am so happy you are safe and alive!' the man said. 'You are the only friend I have left. I don't know what I would do without you.' That made the dragon very happy.
"Once the man had recovered from his wound he climbed onto the dragon's back. The dragon said, 'We will go somewhere far away. Somewhere we will both be safe, where there are no more dragon slayers because there are no more dragons.' 'Where is that?' the man asked. 'I don't know. But we will find it. Together,' the dragon promised. Then the dragon flew away from the spring with the man on his back to find a new, safe, place to live. They lived happily ever after."
