Part III

The rooms in the manor of Lord Phineas were embellished with ornate tapestries of knights in shining armor. Old traditions in the town spoke of men with boundless bravery; brazen warriors who ran, shield and sword in hand, into battle. They rejoiced in spilled blood, reveled in joyous victory, and refused to recognize the limits of their own mortality. They were men of the highest honor. They were fearless. They were knights.

Thomas remembered these legends. As a young boy he would run around with his young comrades, pretending to battle every dangerous terror his mind could conceive. In the comfort of his imagination he had fearlessly bested thieves, ogres, and dragons. Now, as an adult, he recognized the weakness of his frame and the depth of his fears; he did not want to fight the dragon.

After Phineas showed Thomas the crystal suit of armor, he wasted no time to pose the idea to Thomas that he should wear the suit of armor and fight the dragon. If he refused, Phineas promised to revoke his blessing and ruin Thomas' reputation among the merchants. Success in the mission would result in Phineas publicly accepting Thomas as his son.

Of course, he made this proposition when Ella was not listening. Phineas had waited until his daughter was bustling around the kitchen before he approached Thomas. He then forbade Thomas from breathing a word of their discourse to Ella. Now, she was distraught thinking that Thomas was foolish. She thought that he had a death wish and did not care about the matter of planning their wedding. Her heart felt as if a firm hand gripped it too tightly and her mind raced with visuals of Thomas in the jaws of the dragon. Phineas was able to calm her down by painting Thomas as a valiant hero who was sure to succeed.

When Phineas made the grand announcement to the village, Thomas was hailed as their savior. All of the townsfolk chimed in with their own praises and prayers for Thomas. One elder gifted his lucky dagger, rusted and dull, but full of well-wishes. Another offered a bronze amulet. The priest said a prayer for the sake of his soul.

Thomas was hailed a hero, but felt like a small mouse. He was terrified and felt no comfort in the words of the people. He was doing this for only one reason: to keep Ella.

***

Preparation for the trek to the dragon's cave took two days, but it was now time for Thomas to tempt fate. He would go alone. No other man needed to risk his life against the beast. By horse, the ride would take just over a day. The dragon made its home in the hills of the deep western woods. When hunters braved that area of the forest, they heard the snarls of the sleeping beast and smelled its burnt breath.

By now the fear of the whole endeavor had nearly eaten Thomas. He called on his last remaining shred of resilience for the strength to be brave. A troupe of villagers had gathered around him near the edge of town. Phineas stood in the crowd, nodding smugly to Thomas. It was obvious that he anticipated Thomas' death. Ella was nowhere to be found in the crowd. Thomas' heart sank. The crystalline armor weighed heavy on his body. Ella was confused at his selflessness and refused to support his quest. The brief comfort provided her from Thomas's heroic acclaim had faded. She said that Thomas was witless and acting brutish for the sake of proving himself. Thomas hated that Ella was seeing him as a lout trying to establish his brawn for sport . He wished that he could tell her that her father put him up to it.

Not wanting to dwell on his broken heart for long, Thomas kicked his horse and ran into the forest. Cheers and applause rang out from crowd behind him. In the woods, Thomas slowed his horse and focused his thoughts on his celebrated return, ignoring the thoughts that told him his death was imminent. He continued into the woods.

***

It was dusk and the fading sun was casting the tree tops in an amber glow. Thomas stopped his horse and slid off, his armor clanking as he hit the ground. He rolled his shoulders and shook out his feet with a deep sigh. The armor pressed into his skin and tired him. His journey was nearly complete. Thomas held no desire to rush the last leg of the trip. Hunger gnawed at his stomach. He opened his pack and pulled out a chunk of spiced dried meat. He started to bite into it as he heard a loud rustle in the woods. He immediately stood up, alert, he scanned the darkening landscape of the forest. He heard the rustle again.

"Who goes there? Present yourself," he ordered. There was another sound, this time the sound of dead branches breaking underfoot.

"Hello?" Thomas backed into a tree, pushing his horse in front of him.

"Only a coward hides behind an innocent animal," a familiar voice rang out. Ella stepped out from behind a large tree. Thomas was shocked.

"Ella! You cannot be here. Why are you here?" Thomas ran towards his fiancee.

"I could not let you go alone. I do not trust my father. I do not trust the safety of this suit. I wanted to tell you that you do not have to do this." Her pleading eyes revealed that she knew the truth about why Thomas was pursuing the dragon.

"He told me he would disgrace me. Disgrace us. I could not bear to live if I could not call you mine," Thomas embraced Ella.

"We can say you could not find the dragon. No one will question your retreat."

"We may have to leave Bisterne."

"I will leave with you, but you must promise to abandon this pointless task."

Thomas nodded to Ella.

A thunderous roar ripped through the woods. The couple broke out of their embrace. The earth heaved and trees swayed with the great footsteps of the large beast. Smoke swirled in the air. Thomas shoved Ella behind him as two glowing ember eyes appeared amidst the trees.

Author's Note: This part of the story is an entirely new addition to the tale of the Bisterne Dragon. In the original story, the knight's encounter with the dragon isn't mentioned, only its outcome. For my version of the story, I wanted to capture the emotions that I imagined each character was feeling. I imagined Phineas was smug that his plan to get rid of Thomas was working. Thomas would feel scared and ashamed that his weariness did not reflect the bravery of historical knights. Although he was terrified, he would feel empowered through the love of Ella. However, Ella would feel betrayed by Thomas, but scared for him. She would be beginning to suspect her father's motives.

In the original story, the knight is assisted by a wizard and three dogs as he prepares for battle. I decided to remove the encounter with a wizard, because I felt that it didn't add a ton of value to the story in the direction I was taking it. In the original story, the wizard is the source of the mirrored suit of armor. For this story I replaced the mirrors with crystal and made Phineas the source of the armor. I replaced the three dogs with a horse, because I felt that it was more valiant.

Story Source: The Bisterne Dragon