“All this was in the book?” Val asked Steven.
“You need never know what is in the book,” Steven answered. “Only that it is there.”
The prince pushed a bundle toward Steven across the banquet table. It was long and slender, and as Steven unwrapped it, both a dagger and a sword fell out. Each had a delicately carved handle that fit Steven’s hand perfectly. But more amazingly, on the blades were engraved the figures of two dragons. The engravings glowed with a light of their own and if you turned them just right, you could see the figure of a lady on the sword and of a child on the dagger. Steven smiled.
“If I may, Your Highness,” Steven said to the prince, “I should like a bit of fresh air. May I walk on the battlements?”
“By all means Steven George,” said Prince Valentine said. Then he addressed the people gathered at the banquet who were still whispering among themselves over Steven’s story. “May all the people know that Steven George the Dragonslayer has met and mastered the Terror of Rich Reach, and we are ever thankful for the safety that this ensures for our kingdom and our people. Wherever he goes, he is the emissary of the King and of his Prince. There are no boundaries to the protection that he provides.” And so, having shaken the prince’s hand and embraced him, Steven left the banquet hall.
***
“I am saying, Your Highness,” explained the Sergeant of the Night Watch, “that we saw Master Dragonslayer mount the battlement and that we never saw him come down. I am not saying that he disappeared, only that he cannot be found in the castle or the town of Rich Reach.”
“And he is gone without a trace?” asked the bemused prince.
“Now I am not saying that he left without a trace,” said the sergeant. “There is this here sheepskin vest that was just lying up there. We thought as you might like to have it Your Highness.”
The prince put on the sheepskin vest and was amazed that it fit him so well. He had remembered Steven as being somewhat smaller than he was. But the vest fit quite well and when the prince put his hand in the pocket he found a leather thong with a rock tied to the end of it.
“Did you leave your post while the Dragonslayer was on the battlements?” the prince inquired.
“Oh no sire,” affirmed the sergeant.
“I find it hard to believe that you did not see him depart.”
“Sire, I have given my full report. There is nothing in it that I didn’t see. I certainly won’t say that I saw a man mount the stairs to the battlements and draw out a sword and dagger that shown with their own light. Nor would I say that I saw a man change into a great winged serpent and rocket into the night sky dripping flames from his mouth as he went,” said the sergeant. “I put into my report exactly what I would say Your Highness, and not a word more.”
Prince Valentine looked into the night sky and smiled. Then he tugged slightly on the sheepskin vest.
“The shepherd walks among you,” mused the prince.
“What was that, Your Highness?” asked the sergeant.
“Was I talking to you?” asked the prince.
“I ah… As you wish sire,” said the sergeant.
“Carry on,” responded the prince as he walked away.
Previous Chapter: The Terror Within
1 comment:
> Nor would I say that I saw a man change into a great winged serpent and rocket into the night sky dripping flames from his mouth as he went.
A charming and fanciful end for Steven, I'm sure, but it has about it a touch of the Deus Ex. I can't think of how it was foreshadowed anywhere in the story, and this seems like the sort of thing that there should have been hints about, if only hints that become apparent in hindsight.
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