by Sarah Earlene Shere, ©2024
(Sep. 14, 2024) — Sir Edmond lay motionless, staring up at the cave’s ceiling. The scaled tail of the great beast beneath him weighed heavily across his chest. The sound of water dripping somewhere further away echoed through the cave.
Suddenly, the knight felt the warm breath of the dragon as it moved its head closer to the young man’s neck. Edmond smiled as he reached up and patted the rough-hewn face close to him. “Now, Morpheus, you know I can’t stay.” The dragon gently tightened its tail around his friend, but quickly released it and sat up when Edmond touched the one place on the dragon’s scales that was ticklish. The man laughed as he dusted himself off.
Together, the two unlikely friends stood at the edge of the cave and looked at the village in the valley below. Edmond remembered how, as a squire, he had first found Morpheus. He had been accompanying Sir John through these mountains when he came upon an egg that had been crushed, exposing an abandoned, premature dragon. Seeing only harmless innocence, Edmond hid the dragon in a nearby cave, returning frequently to look after it.
Unfortunately, in time, Edmond’s secret friend was espied by some travelers. Fear swept over the village. By that time, Edmond was a well-respected knight of the king, thus was given the task of overcoming the “monster.” Instead of destroying his friend, the clever knight staged a grand ruse: rather than convincing the village that he had slain the dragon, he and Morpheus would put on such a show that the kingdom would think that Sir Edmond was keeping the beast in check.
Thus, every month or so, the dragon would stand atop the mountains, roaring and breathing fire. Sir Edmond would then charge up to meet him, disappear from view and return the next morning, apparently victorious.
Now Morpheus bent his long neck and nestled his face in the back of Edmond’s arm. The young man turned and stroked the dragon’s face. “Don’t worry, my friend, someday we’ll figure out a way to make them understand that just because a creature is different does not mean it should be feared.”