St. George and the Dragon

Oh, boy. That got them all going even more. I just looked at Aysha and rolled my eyes (yes, dragons can roll their eyes too).

I blipped out when nobody was looking and went to find Gene. I explained to him what the King had said and told him that he should hang out at the lake for the next few days to deal with the suitors before I came out and "dealt" with him.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

A number of the suitors were gung-ho about attacking the dragon. A lesser number appeared quite thoughtful (and I saw some ride out shortly with their entire retinue, heading for home). The suitors actually got together to sort of plan what they might do. My estimation of some of them went up a bit (not much, but some). It appeared that not all of them were just free-loaders and fortune hunters. I blipped out and warned Gene not to take them lightly.

When I blipped back, I wandered back to my chambers to rest for a while and think about how Gene and I might make this work without getting anyone killed or to badly injured. (We may be predators, but we're not what I'd call blood-thirsty.)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

The next day was beautiful. The sun was shining. There was a light breeze blowing the palm fronds just a bit. There were a couple light, whispy clouds floating around in blue, blue sky. And I'd say the temperature was headed toward about 75 degrees (Fahrenheit folks). A perfect day to slay a dragon (or fake it anyway).

After a good breakfast -- hard, hungry work slaying dragons -- the suitors armored up and headed out. There was a bevy of hangers-on, out like it was a picnic or part of the tournament from the day before. I have to say, it did look like a fanciful parade -- they did put on a good show.

When we arrived at the lake, Gene was waiting. He was in dragon form, looking pretty fierce. He was on four legs, with big wings laid over his back. When he saw us coming, he rose up on his back legs, spread his wings and roared. I have to say, there was a bit of consternation over this display. It's just not an every-day occurrence for most people to see a dragon display.

He then morphed into human form and stepped forward to talk. A couple of the braver suitors stepped forward to parley prior to the fight. Gene asked, "how do you want to do this? Do you want to go one-on-one with me in human or dragon form? Do you want a general melee? I don't really want to hurt you guys."

They just looked at him in shock. "We're here to kill you," said one of the suitors.

"Or to drive you away," chimed in the other.

"Oh," said Gene. "Well, this is hardly fair. I am a dragon after all. You really have little chance of even hurting me, let alone killing me or driving me away."

"Well, the King wants us to kill you or drive you away. Whoever is able to do that wins the hand of his daughter, the princess, in marriage." (This from the first suitor.) "What do you propose?"

"Hmm," mused Gene. "How about, we try one-on-one, with me in human form. The first one to draw blood wins. If I blood one of you, you will withdraw, having lost. If you blood me, I will withdraw, promising to leave the area, and that person wins the princess. How does that sound?"

"Give us a minute," said the first suitor. He then returned to the group and explained Gene's suggestion. There was a bit of an uproar when he told the group what was proposed. They all thought that they had a great shot at beating Gene if the only thing required was first blood. Finally they decided to draw lots to see who got to go first.

The first suitor returned to Gene and told him that they agreed to his idea -- one-on-one, Gene in human form, first blood. Gene said, "oh, one minor modification -- if I happen to hit someone too hard so they can't continue, even if they're not bleeding, that counts as a win. Is that okay?

They agreed that that was reasonable.

Gene asked the King (who had come along to watch too) if he would officiate. The king agreed.

People spread out around a nice flat area that allowed for plenty of movement, and settled in to watch as the first suitor took his place in front of Gene. As we watched, Gene morphed a bit more, adding light chain mail to his form and pulling a nice sword from thin air (that caused a few 'ahhs' from the crowd.

The king started the match. It lasted probably eight or ten minutes as the suitor tried to get inside Gene's defence. I have to say, Gene had a bit of reach on the guy. It seemed too that Gene was trying to get the hang of using his sword too. Finally Gene reached out and lightly stabbed the guy in the arm, which immediately drew blood and the King called the match. The suitor was quite disappointed, but admitted to being bested and took a seat in the crowd where a couple of the women tagging along saw to his wound (and looked like they would quite willingly see to any other desires he might have too).

I noticed that Gene blipped out and back. He did it so fast that I don't think anyone else even noticed. He said to me (mentally), "I just took a slight breather, and took the time to get Mary and Laura away from the town. They're waiting for me on the beach with Ellen."

I just nodded as the next suitor stepped up to do battle.

This little fight went on about like the last one. I could see that Gene was handling his sword a bit better than during the first fight, and that his opponent was not as skilled as the first. Gene soon just reached out and whacked the guy upside the head, stunning him (he may have been out on his feet). The King quickly called a halt to this round, and the guy was helped to the sidelines (I know, wrong metaphor, but hey . . . ).

Gene blipped out and back again.

And the 3^rd suitor stepped in. This process went on through about a dozen suitors until I was the only one left. Gene asked me (mentally again) how I'd like to do this. I just shrugged and asked him how he was feeling, did he want to really spar for a bit? He shrugged back and said sure, let's give them a show.

The King said, "go." We raised our swords to each other in salute and stepped together. Oh, it was fun. We finally each had some competition, being pretty evenly matched both physically (size, strength and stamina) and in skill (well, I might have had a slight edge). We hacked and hewed at each other, sparks flying from our swords. We changed styles to more of a fencing style, with lunges, blocks and ripostes. This went on for a good 30 minutes, with us dancing all across the clearing and people cheering us on.

I finally asked Gene, "how long do you want to do this? It's been fun, but we ought to bring it to a close fairly soon."

He responded, "yeah, any time now. How about this next pass, I trip as I'm going backwards. You can spring forward as if to lop off my head, and I will yield. That work?"

I said, "sure." And that is what we did. I attacked, he fell back, and then literally fell back. As I leaped forward to supposedly strike a killing blow, he yielded.

The King stepped in and accepted his submission (never considering that the entire thing wasn't really fair -- having a dozen men fight Gene one after another). Gene said, "I will abide by the rules of our engagement. I will leave the area, although it is rather pleasant and I will miss it. I will not bother you further."

With that, Gene blipped out -- which rather surprised everyone except for Aysha and me. There was momentary quiet while everyone took a breath and realized what happened, and then the cheering began. It was a rather rowdy party that returned to Selene; and the town went rather crazy when they found out what had happened. Essentially, "yea, no more dragon."

Upon our return to the palace, those admitted gathered in the King's audience chamber. He gratefully thanked me, ordered a feast for that evening, and bid everyone enjoy themselves. He then pulled Aysha and me aside, asking, "Aysha my dear, are you willing to wed George." It seems that ultimatums and promises aside, he wasn't going to force her to marry if she chose not to marry.

While taking my hand she responded, "yes father, I will marry George. I rather like him." And she gave me a cheeky grin.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Plans for the wedding were quickly made and word sent out to the King's allies and friends, who began to gather.

Aysha and I carried on as before in the evenings -- talking, playing shatranj, and making love in a variety of ways, always striving to give each other the maximum amount of pleasure possible (oh wow, she was a fast learner).

The stray dog disappeared during the day, and I was openly invited to the meetings with the King and his advisors. I still listened and learned. Mostly I kept my own counsel and discussed things with Aysha over the shatranj board in the evening. Every now and then, they got me to give my opinion. In most all cases, Aysha and I had already discussed the issue and come to a scenario that we thought best, so I was able to articulate a position that supported her, and provided even more rational to the council of why her suggested solutions were indeed good. (I was practicing supporting her as best I could, as her future consort.)

The day of the wedding arrived. We were wed in the palace -- although there was discussion about using the mosque -- but women were still not allowed freely within the mosque back in those days. There was a lot of pomp and ceremony. Besides the actual wedding, Aysha was formally recognized as the King's successor and the future Queen, while I was formally recognized as her consort and the protector of the realm (tiny as it was).

After the wedding, we were both very happy to escape the party crowd and well-wishers. We retired together to Aysha's chambers (where my meager possessions had been moved earlier that day). We had our customary evening talk and game of shatranj. And then, we eagerly retired to the bed.

Aysha and I thoroughly enjoyed our bed sport. I made sure to worship her body -- caresses, kisses and hugs. I pleasured her in as many ways as she could stand, providing her with numerous orgasms before finally succumbing to my own. During the night, we woke each other frequently to continue our love-making. In the morning I remembered to cut myself slightly and bleed on the sheets so there would be proof of her virginity to hang from the palace's wall.

We were quite happily wed. Life was pretty good with Aysha. She was a wonderfully talented woman while dealing with her people and the surrounding tribes. She was also wonderfully wanton and highly talented in bed. We found ourselves surrounded by youngsters in our first 10 years, making the King a very happy man.

The kids just seemed to happen, usually after Aysha and I blipped over to Gene's beach and spent some time with him. He and his three wives were a constant delight. Aysha also found herself enjoying stripping down to her birthday suit and spending several weeks at a time wandering nude on the beach, interacting with Gene and the girls (and their several offspring). It made for some nice hedonistic vacations when things became too stressful at home.

The kingdom itself continued to prosper. There were few attacks on the tribe, as word of my battle with the dragon spread through the region and across Europe. I do have to admit that it was embellished considerably over time (which was better for the kingdom's safety).

We raised our children to know their dragon heritage, as well as their mother's heritage. They each manifested different dragon abilities, and I made sure that they knew my family as well as hers (never know when you might want to have some help from the family).

The old King died after about 20 years (with his eldest grandchild almost grown), and Aysha took over ruling. We were together for another 40 years before she passed of old age. It was a sad time for me, but we left a strong family to rule the little kingdom. After her passing, I said my goodbyes to the family and left to continue my adventures elsewhere.

And that, my friends, is the true story of St. George and the dragon.