The Cowardly King. (First in the Trapped in the Depths collection)
As his men were slaughtered around him in the enormous dark cavern which the dragon had taken for its nest, the King's heart pounded in his chest, his gaze locked in horror as he took in the liquid fire which still burnt on the dusty rocky floor of the cavern.
And then, he did something that any other monarch, knight, or dragon slayer would have been disgusted with; the King drew his sword, and he plunged it into the ground….and he then….collapsed onto the ground, in an act of cowardice that would have shamed his bloodline forever.
When his people had moved to this island to colonise it, to begin anew and discovered it was rich in minerals such as tin, copper, iron, and gold….ooh, yes, gold in abundance, they had rejoiced. Forests thick with timber, lands uncultivated but were rich, and fertile. Finally, they could become as wealthy as they'd long desired, and the land itself….Oh, it was magnificent! Fields that the Gods themselves shaped as a wonderful gift, which could be irrigated, and made to grow for miles around. In contrast, orchards and vineyards could grow fruits and grapes in abundance for wines, beers, and ciders. At the same time, metalworkers could at last indulge in their craft in ways their original lands were unable to provide, and go much further, and the island itself was walled by rocky mountains, which made it hard for invaders to raid their new lands.
But alas, as they began exploring the island and began building their first village, while architects worked to design and build a citadel, more magnificent than before, the King and his people discovered they were not the dominant rulers.
They discovered a dragon, living on the island.
The King and his people learnt of the dragons's presence months after the construction of the first buildings of the village after their arrival a year ago; at first, they had been left alone, they hadn't bothered it, and it hadn't bothered them. The dragon seemed content to leave them be, but the presence of the beast was too much. The King knew they had no choice, they had to find the beast, and kill it, before it killed them all. But he and his men were used to fighting raiders, small armies. The dragon, and beasts like wyverns, ogres…they were otherworldly, destructive. But they had to try, for their future. They had moved here, and the King had no intention of leaving this island; they had to succeed in killing the dragon, and by doing that they would conquer the land!
Or so they thought.
After consulting his advisers, his magicians, the King had taken a small band of volunteers, bemoaning the fact there were so few of them here, but he had to make do, and they'd set off. They began tracking the dragon down, for days until they spotted the beast flying towards the mountains, following it in its wake, until it went into a cavern. Once they were inside, the King and his knights found three unhatched dragon eggs inside. That made sense. The caverns were perfect for a nursery, and it was long known many dragons stole and hoarded enormous treasures while preferring deep, dark caverns for maximum safety against foes.
But the eggs were not unhatched for long.
When the eggs began melting, revealing the dragons, the King ordered his knights to slay them.
But in doing so, they had forgotten a long-known truth, to never harm a mother's children.
The dragon had gone into a rage, spewing its fire which was like molten lava being spat at them, and the screams! Oh, the screams were terrifying! And the men themselves….they had screamed, burning to death, melting from the heat.
Once he saw his men's deaths, the King didn't even try to raise his sword and charge the dragon.
Deep inside, the King was a coward. He was capable of fighting men. Men were easy. Men were predictable. Men shared vulnerabilities. To fight a man, you just needed to wait. He had learnt that lesson, during his years as a knight, but deep down he was afraid of long-drawn-out fights where he could not control the situations. If he could control a fight, then he could keep his head high.
But dragons-!
If the dragon could slaughter his knights, causing them to scream horrifically as their bodies burnt and melted away, what chance would he have? And so, the King shoved his sword into the ground, and surrendered himself to the dragon, seeing how hopeless it was.
"Please, spare me!" He shouted at the dragon as it slowly stepped over the still-burning rocky ground and loomed over him until its shadow drowned out the light and he beheld nothing else. "Show mercy. I will give you anything."
The light had darkened the dragons' face, but something flared, but he didn't have time to work out what it all meant when the dragon pushed him down with a paw to the ground, knocking his crown off his head.
"Death is not enough for you," the dragon said, pushing down on him, making it harder to breath, not helped by his chainmail armour, the King was terrified and tried to think of a way out of this…. "You will know my pain."
Desperately, the King tried to think of a way out of this, but it was hard with the weight pressing down on his chest, soon the dragon would have crushed his chest to pulp…he needed to think of a way, something that would get through to the dragon in such a way that would work….
-8-
The King had spent a while working on a way he could spin the bargain the way he needed, but as he stood before his wife, and his nobles, and explained his plan, while spinning the story of the battle, the dragon threatened him, his kingdom, and their lives…unless they fulfilled the terms in a deal that had been manipulated by him.
-8-
Author's Note - I've always wanted to do a Damsel story, but then I had the idea of writing a collection of one-shots to show the history of the evil bargain. Please tell me what you think.