The Knight in Distress

All I need to do is deal with the dragon and get the princess back home. Sir Jonathan sighed. I hate it when it gets complicated.

The dragon was the standard red-scaled monstrosity that had grown to over thirty feet, maybe a teenager in the world of dragons. He had found the dragon’s lair. He had bearded the dragon in its lair. He had gotten the dragon to agree to release the princess. And then the princess said that she wanted to stay with the dragon. “We’ve fallen in love!”

Sir Jonathan frowned. Dealing with a dragon was easy when it was just a kidnapped princess; that was plenty standard in a mystic realm. However, he had apparently put the kibosh on an elopement, which is an entirely different kettle of fish. “Are you sure, princess?”

She pulled her dress around her indignantly and harrumphed. “It’s Amaranthe, you silly knight. And, yes: I’m very sure. We’ve been dating behind my father’s back for almost two years.”

He cocked his head for a moment, and then straightened up. “That’s most impressive, actually.” He put his sword away. “How did you pull it off?”

She smiled. “No one goes to the library after hours, just during the day. And he does have the ability to change his form to something…less scaly. We had some problems originally, but it was easy to settle on things later on.”

He smiled. “Okay, that takes care of one problem.” He leaned against the cave wall and looked up at the dragon. “There are three other issues to deal with, however.” He looked straight at the scaly teenager. “Have you established a hoard yet, youngster?”

“It’s ‘Noctis Interfector,’ and I’ve got a decent hoard.” He pointed at a pile of gold and art behind him. “I could pay for her father’s kingdom for at least three years.” He smirked. “I’ve been pretty lucky with investments.”

Sir Jonathan bowed just a little. “Impressive.” He kicked at the rocks in front of him, then glared at the princess. “So, Amaranthe, what do you propose to do about the proposed wedding to“---and he looked up for a moment before returning to look back at her---“Prince Jerin?”

She looked down. “We’re still working on that one.”

He pursed his lips. “That’s an issue that needs to be dealt with.” He looked back at the dragon. “Do you know a monk? We need to establish an identity for you if we’re going to get you two hitched.”

The dragon looked up and then away from the knight’s gaze. “No. I don’t even know where to find a monastery.”

He exhaled. “Kids.” He looked at the princess. “You do have three younger sisters, correct?”

She straightened up. “Well, yes. And Jasmeth has been looking for a reason to get out of the castle. She’s practically crawling at the walls.”

Sir Jonathan smiled. “Now you’re thinking. We just need to get the king on board with changing the details of your contract.” He then looked at the nervous dragon. “And I know where to find a monk who owes me a favor. I think you’re covered.” The dragon smiled in relief. “So here’s what we’re going to do----”

Once the Princess Amaranthe had let it be known that she was in love, the king rolled his eyes and shifted his plans accordingly; her stubbornness had been well established. Over the next several weeks, Prince Jerin was “forced” to accept the princess Jasmeth as his bride; he hemmed and hawed, even asked for a greater dowry, but the good King Thomas backed him down and even got him to agree to letting her run free of the castle every so often.

In the meantime, Noctis worked with the monk to establish himself as a rich merchant, including credentials with several merchant guilds. He also called in favors from those whom he had invested in; they were more than happy to help him establish credentials for another identity. By the end of the fortnight, Noctis was established as the very handsome “Ser Aaron Richenbach,” recently orphaned by his rich parents, leaving him a member in good standing of several merchant guilds with a huge fortune. The king was just relieved that his darling daughter had not fallen in love with the local apprentice pig farmer.

The wedding was magnificent.