The King Midas Dragon Debacle

Flames licked the east wing tower of King Midas' castle. The dragon, who made a sound as if he was roaring and chuckling at the same time, was the crazed beast who'd gotten Maleficent with child to produce Lily. He was a wild, virile thing who'd left Maleficent's lair to torment King Midas.

The warriors who challenged him were torn apart, limb by limb. A leg thrust at the castle. The head, half-chewed, tossed in a lake. The stomach swallowed whole in front of some egging boys. An arm dropped into a forest left dangling from a leafy branch.

The worst was when King Midas' nephew challenged the dragon. King Midas wasn't sure why he let anyone try to take the dragon on single-handedly, other than that it seemed to him it wouldn't be fair to the dragon if ten lads took it on at once. What was the point fighting it if you knew you couldn't lose?

Anyway, those who challenged Maleficent's lover didn't want to share the glory.

Even so, Midas didn't know what golden cigarette he was smoking when he didn't put his foot down and refuse to let the lad challenge the dragon.

He deserved his nephew's fingernails to be spat out and dropped in his hairdo. As the dragon had seen fit and heralded with that roaring chuckle.

He'd really thought his nephew had what it took. That lad had been a great fighter. He'd once taken on three of his peers at once, in his youth, when they'd decided to tackle him. He had brains more than brawn, which is why King Midas dreamed he had a chance of putting a stop to his irritant.

At least he'd had the sense not to allow Frederick to challenge Maleficent's lover, but he'd accidentally turned him into gold. Poor Abigail.

The dragon came to wreak havoc upon the castle when he was bored. Once every couple of months. He stirred up enough chaos to bloody the castle and ensure repairs were inevitable but not enough to quell King Midas' fragile reign.

With the king's gold touch, there were people who couldn't comprehend how he'd conceived a daughter.

The joke was on them. Abigail was adopted.

As another hallway went up in flames, King George assured King Midas, "There's not a more valiant warrior than my son, David. If anyone stands a chance against that dragon, it's him." They were sitting at the Royal table. King Midas was at the head. King George was on his right side. He lifted his goblet to take a swallow.

"That's what I said about my nephew," wheezed King Midas. "And now he's dead."

King George's eyes flashed with authority. "Trust me. I know what David is capable of. He once defeated a three-headed dog with a throwing knife that beheaded the beast's heads with one well-aimed toss. Not even the Demi-god, Hercules, managed to defeat Cerebus, but David did," he bragged cheerfully.

Swishing his cloak with his shoulders, King Midas declared, "Then tomorrow, we shall see what your boy David can do."

The Blue Fairy looked on in her self-righteous smugness from beneath the hood of her dark blue cloak.

A Seer had informed her the dragon would fall tomorrow.

Queen Aurora had ordered King George not to sacrifice his son to the dragon.

Reul Ghorm couldn't care less who he sacrificed, so long she got the tail.

Who knew what would happen? David could die while a random stabber could butcher the dragon.

Reul didn't care. She'd already laid claim to the tail. King George understood. He agreed she could have it.

She'd sleep smiling tonight. Upside down with her wings folded around her. Her feet stuck to the ceiling. Aside from when she slept, Reul didn't use her wings anymore. It was easier to deal with humans when your wings weren't distracting them.

At dawn, King Midas' dragon emitted another half-roar, half-chuckle.

He was a smart dragon who knew he'd have a challenger today.

Most of his body was black. He had a sapphire-colored belly. A bright red mane fondled the back of his neck along with a matching tuft on the end of his large tail and eyebrows. His eyes were the green of a meadow. The claws on the ends of his scaled fingers and toes were sharp and a deep shade of blackish plum.

The sky's periwinkle and lilac coloring was broken up by a vibrant, fiery red.

From his nest of tree branches, unicorn tail hair, clocks, dead hummingbirds, and human livers, the dragon heard a battle cry. He licked his chops and stretched.

Why these humans didn't sneak up on him and behead him in his sleep was beyond his comprehension. They couldn't; his ears were too good for that. However, starting with a battle cry was beyond foolish. He could be in the middle of bathing his scales, and the battle cry would guarantee he was ready to fight before they approached.

His wings were ridiculously small for his oversized body. He could fly, but doing so put a huge strain on his back.

His tail swished as he decided to meet his foe not at his nest but at a nearby, superficial cliff.

That was where David and his supporters discovered the humongous, lizard-like body with sharp but laughing eyes.

David paused with his sword poised before him. "He sounds like he's laughing," he muttered with wonder. Then he swung his leg forward as the Red Fairy, advisor to King George, shoved him off.

The dragon yawned then dove straight at David to scoop him in sharp claws, carry him up into the sky, and fly in five fast circles. Last but not least, he intended to drop him into the crowd.

It was worth exhausting himself.

But David surprised the dragon by chopping two of his claws off with a skilled swipe.

The dragon flinched. His eyes hardened from mischievously malicious to coldly calculating. Slid his neck forward to bite David behind the ear.

When he tasted blood, he whipped his head back in victory. Excited fumes sifted from his nostrils as he leaned back on his haunches.

Something was wrong. The enormous winged reptile frowned thoughtfully, swirling the thick, increasing mass of blood over his tongue. The taste wasn't human. David tasted like…an amphibian? No, a reptile. A…a dragon.

It was that moment when it occurred to the dragon one of his teeth was missing. In its place was a hole gushing with blood.

In his defense, dragons lose their teeth as easily as sharks. And the sword was so sharp he didn't feel it.

He licked his chops and felt a cut on the side of his mouth.

Thunder filled him. He stamped one of his hind legs. The small crowd watching him below the cliff roared as small rocks tumbled down.

The dragon blew fire at David, who was waiting for a reason to use his new shield. Enchanted by the Red Fairy to be immune to fire, his shield mostly deflected the attack.

However, the flames caught a bit of his sleeve.

Without pausing for thought, David switched his sword and shield so he could use his shield to snuff out the fire.

He had a superficial burn below his torn clothing but nothing more serious. David was young and fit. The dragon was entering the middle-aged zone in dragonhood. While it was true he was still spry enough to take on any other man from any other kingdom, David was the loophole.

The dragon decided he should try something new. He'd always thrived upon attack mode—it was fun and too easy to flush the pride out of these dumb lads.

However, winning this particular fight might call for a false defense mode.

So he coiled in on himself, leaving only his eye poking out. Readying himself to bite David's head off.

David did not disappoint. He wasted no time coming at the dragon. Nevertheless, he did not swagger. The dragon was used to the vain, swaggering opponents. David's movements did not compute.

The dragon swiftly raised his head to bite David's head off, but as he came down upon the valiant man, he felt something sharp piercing into the back of his neck. David had raised his sword right as the jaw opened for him. He was now hacking the upper half of the dragon's head off.

The dragon's tail whipped David off the cliff with a thrashing swipe seconds before it died. David soared down to the gasp of disbelief from the onlookers. A woman gripped her husband's upper arm and shrieked, "David, the runner-up prince, met his death! I bet he's hearing angels sing." Her face had gone ashen as she heard King George's son smash his head on a rock.

A woman in a frilly black and white dress with her strawberry-blonde locks hanging loose under a white handkerchief lifted her skirt (exposing her white laced petticoat) as she scrambled to the dead twin of a prince.

She had every intention of taking his face in her hands, but as she reached for him, he stirred. She jumped back, secreamed, and scurried away from him. All in response to his movement.

He slowly rose to his feet, groping his head in one hand and the other grappling anxiously for his sword. He didn't think of his shield. His shield had frisbeed itself on a tree branch several hundred yards higher than the cliff. His sword had gotten stuck near the dragon's hind leg.

Some people rushed to aid David. Among them were the Red Fairy, Prince James, and King George. The Red Fairy took David's chin in her cold, clammy hands and healed the injury to his skull. The only magic she could perform without a wand was skin-to-skin healing.

Clapping a hand on David's back, King George praised, "You did well, my boy! You defeated that ghastly beast."

The Lilac Fairy and King Midas escorted the party up to the dead dragon.

"As promised, for ridding my kingdom of this nuisance," King Midas boomed, "my daughter is yours to marry."

David shook his head. "She doesn't love me."

"That's true, but I turned Frederick into gold."

"There's this lake—Nostros. The water from that will bring him back so he may marry your Abigail."

King Midas' eyes clouded with interest. "But if you didn't want to marry her, why help me?"

"I did it for the buffet," joked David.

The Lilac Fairy was smiling like starlight. She pulled off her compass necklace and dropped it around David's neck. "Thank you for helping us! This necklace was created in the far, far north with Elven magic. As long as you wear this compass…" David examined it. The arrow inside glinted like starlight. "You will never be lost. Also, no one can kill you. With magic or sword." She curtsied. "Lastly, should you find yourself in a severely tundra region, you will be warm."

David was stunned. "This is incredibly kind of you."

Reul Ghorm was watching the scene from miles away. Through her spyglass. She was excited. The dragon was dead at long last. The wand she needed would soon be in her possession.

King George picked up the sword. Using both hands, he brought it down upon the tail.

Putting the spyglass down, Reul blew out her candle, smiling broadly. She knew, as she left the room in the inn she currently occupied, King George remembered his promise.

As she was skipping her way to the dead dragon, unable to watch what transpired, King George lifted up the tail and dumped out the treasure.

A bronze wand came out, emitting red sparks that turned into red bubbles.

He picked the wand up and handed it to the Red Fairy with a bow. "For you."

The Red Fairy blushed as she studied then pocketed the wand. She knew Reul Ghorm was going to be furious when she found out, as she'd overheard her asking the King for the tail.

But Reul had stolen the wand from its Maker in the first place. The Red Fairy had heard she'd accidentally magicked it in the dragon's tail while dueling the Teal Fairy. Supposedly, Reul had hemmed, "Oh well. Tum te tum!" then walked off.

The wand maker had died several years ago. Reul hadn't sought to remove the wand until his death. Since she felt safe, she had been trying her best to get it back in her hands.

She came running up to the Kings. Suddenly, she slacked her gait, smoothing her skirt down.

As promised, King George handed her the tail.

Several hours later, she discovered the wand's absence.

Gone went her giddiness.

She whispered resolutely, "King George must die."