Saved by Knight

By
Christopher J. Thomasson

I

Silver clouds,
Lined gold
By the sun,
Over snow
Covered mountains
Rose the most
Majestic of creatures.
Leathery, strong,
Purple veined wings,
Beat brilliantly
At the air.
Keen eyes
Missed nothing
From above.

II

A ravaged land,
Torn with hunger,
Heavy in drought.
The citizens,
Prayed for rain,
And for protection,
From the fire breathers,
The dragons from above.
Our knight,
Our hero of this tale,
Swore to protect
The children
Of our small village,
From the appetites
Of the dragons.
The count
Stood at twelve,
The number
Of children taken
By the hungry
Fire breathers.
They usually
Kept to themselves,
And bother the villagers
They did not,
But hunger
Does strange things
To a normally
Gentle creature.
Over time
Wars have been waged,
People killed,
All by the likes
Of famine.
This was one
Such time.

III

A small boy was he,
The knights own blood,
Brother to none.
Like his father before,
Adventure filled his being,
And one small glimpse
Of those graceful creatures,
Was all he desired.
From the house,
He sneaked away,
While the knight,
His father,
Watched the sky
For dragons…
He didn’t see
His son leave.

IV

Majestic he flew,
Over the land,
Searching for food.
The pang of hunger,
Drove the beast mad,
And it swooped
Lower still,
To the ground.
There must be
Something to eat,
In this dry,
Broken land.

V

He cut his palm,
On the sharp rocks,
As he climbed
Higher and higher,
Getting closer to the sky.
But the boy,
Though young,
Thought himself
Invincible,
And shrugged off the pain,
As he continued to climb
Up the mountains slope,
To the dragons lair,
He must go.

VI

Panic struck the knight,
When he entered
His home to find,
The boy was gone.
Many times
He’d told the boy
Of the dangers
Of going out alone.
“The animals are hungry,”
He told him,
“And they’ll eat what they can,
That includes you,
My little man.”
It came across as a joke,
As he jabbed,
Playfully at his son,
But now he wished,
The warning been given,
With utmost sincerity
And the hint of fear.
Outside he ran,
Yelling for the boy.
Sword in hand,
He scanned the surrounding,
Searching for that
Little mop of red hair,
Which belonged to his son.
Then he saw him,
A tiny speck,
Moving up the mountain,
With the dragon’s lair,
Directly above.

VII

Finding no food,
The dragon,
Turned for home.
The village he would search.
Livestock there was none,
But for a human meal,
Would have to suffice.

VIII

Other townsmen,
Saw the panic
Of the knight,
And word quickly spread,
That the knight’s son
Would soon be in distress.
Quickly he ran,
To the rocky slope,
His son’s name
He repeatedly called.
The knight knew,
That the dragon
Was not there,
Had in fact,
Watched the beast leave,
Earlier in the dawn.
But the time was near,
For the dragon
To reappear.
Faster he went,
Up the rocky slope.
A crowd had gathered below,
But none moved to help,
They just gawked amazement,
As the knight
Attempted his rescue.d

IX

He soared from the clouds,
His hunger unremedied,
In his lonely
Trek for food.
With grace,
Despite his lumbering bulk,
He danced through the air,
The dance of the dragon,
A dragon that was giving up,
For him, the dragon,
Death was better,
Than agonizing starvation.
It would only take
A split second of time,
Headfirst into the ground,
And his pain would end.
But what was this?
Just near his lair,
A human climbed,
Up the broken mountain.
The glimpse of a sword,
Sparkled in the
Half light of the sun.
And just above the man,
A boy, most tender meat,
Scrambled for
The dragon’s home.
The fire breather
Stopped his rapid descent,
He’d save death
For another day,
His meal was on the way.

X

The knight heard
The whistle of
The dragons rapid fall.
Behind him he glanced,
Just as the beast turned.
The knight fought,
The strain in his legs,
And surged upward,
Toward his only son.
He called his name,
And this time
The son heard.
“Take cover!”
he shouted,
as the boy looked up in horror.
The dragon was upon him.

XI

The knight reached the boy,
In just the nick of time.
His sword met
The claws of the dragon,
As he pushed his son behind.
Fiercely they fought,
The knight,
Protecting his son,
The dragon,
For some rations.
The knight found
The tender skin
Under the neck
Of the beast,
And opened a gash,
That would be
The end of the beast.
But as the beast fell,
Its fight was not gone,
With one final lunge,
With its talons it severed,
The gallant knights arm.
Side by side they lay,
The dragon and the knight,
As death clamed the victory,
Of a little boys disobedience.
With precious tears he was,
Saved by knight.

The End

Copyright March 2001 by Christopher J. Thomasson

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Email: grasshopper_ct@yahoo.com