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  "writing": " \nFire and Ice\nChapter V - The Fallen Knight\n© Cederwyn Whitefurr\nJune 2003.\nAll Rights Reserved.\n\n Blinking its glacier blue eyes, the Dragon stared at the burning blade that\nhissed mere inches away from its nostrils, the flames sizzling against the\nwet mud.\n\n \"I can not kill you.not now, and not ever.\" Sir Kathis wept, as he dropped\nand wrapped his arms around the Dragon's neck.  \"I.I do love you.my beloved,\nand for what it is worth.I forgive you...Jessica.\"\n\n  Heaving a sigh of relief, the Dragon rolled its eyes back and shuddered,\nthen it froze and blinked.  In a second, Sir Kathis found himself flat on\nhis back, as the powerful, lithe reptilian form rose to its full height,\nhead twisting to and fro, sniffing the feeble breeze, a look of terror\nslowly spreading across its face.\n\n \"My love - what.what's wrong?\" Sir Kathis asked, as he rose from the mud\nwith a sickening squelch.\n\n \"Trouble - \" Growled the Dragon.\n\n Without warning, a dozen Knights' astride powerful armour-clad warhorses\nthundered from the forest, their lances dropping as their mounts pounded\nacross the clearing, mud and rainwater flying from beneath the thudding\nhooves of the warhorses.\n\n \"Jessica - go!\" Shrieked Sir Kathis, as he snatched up his sword and\ndropped into a defensive stance.\n\n \"My love - no, I can not leave you to fight and die.I can take you with me!\nI can save you\" Jessica squealed, as she twisted about and faced the\ncharging Knights.\n\n \"Go you bitch of a lizard!\" Sir Kathis screamed.  \"You already have, now\nflee!\"\n\n \"My love, please!  Do not send me away.I can help you!\"  Jessica begged,\nwringing her claws together.\n\n \"Go damn you!\"  Sir Kathis roared at her, and then sharply slapped her\nflank.\n\n Ignoring her mate, Jessica twisted her bulk and with a roar that only an\nenraged Dragon could muster, she threw herself at the Knights.  Grabbing two\nlanced in each claw, Jessica heaved and the Knight's shot from their\nsaddles, sailing over her head and slamming with satisfying crunches head\nfirst into two massive oak trees.  Again Jessica roared, and the remaining\nknights whirled and dodged astride their horses, as Sir Kathis bore witness\nto the full wrath of his beloved.\n\n*\n\n Without missing a step, Jessica lunged and her jaws slammed down around a\nyoung Knight, who barely had time to scream, before her teeth sheared closed\nlike scythes and bit him in half, armour and all..\n\n \"Jessica - to the side!\" Sir Kathis screamed in horror, as he parried a\nride-by charge from a Knight, their swords crashing and sparking.\n\n As Jessica spun to face the new threat, she roared in rage and pain as a\nKnight's lance ripped along her side, then splintered, driving the broken\nlance into her side.  Blood gushed from the wound, but this only served to\nmake Jessica angrier.  Roaring, she threw herself at the knight who had\ninjured her and her claw flashed out, smashing the knight and horse away, as\neasily as a man would swat a gnat.  Whirling their near-panicking mounts,\nthe Knights regrouped and charged her, but Jessica was no fool.  Her\npowerful muscles bunched beneath her scaled hide and she leapt into the air,\nher wings unfurling and beating strenuously, as she fought to gain altitude.\nHer wings created a localised cyclone, so strong did they beat, that flying\nmud and debris temporarily blinded the Knights and their mounts.  Rising\nhigher and higher, Jessica performed a wing-over manoeuvre, the dived\ndownwards, her jaws opening and her lungs filling with air, before she\nexhaled a cone of freezing artic air and ice, that swept over the knights,\nslaying many of them that were not quick enough to raise their kite shields\nto deflect the icy breath, others were more fortunate, but their mounts were\nnot - horses screaming in agony as leg's froze and joints snapped, many a\nknight being catapulted from his saddle, or crushed to death beneath his\nmount as it stumbled, fell and rolled over him.\n\n At Jessica's command, the clouds rolled back in, and a thick, almost\nimpenetrable fog.  Screaming orders and counter-orders, the Knight's whirled\nand galloped too and fro, blinded by the fog.but Jessica had no such\ndifficulties..\n\n A young knight, only just past his Squire-hood and flushed with bloodlust\nand rage, spun his squealing mount too and fro, his sword clutched tightly\nin a gauntleted hand, before he slapped up his visor, then screamed..\n\n Jessica's head snapped out like a coiled spring, and clamped about the\nknight's midsection, then she threw back her head and cast the shrieking\nknight skywards - before she snapped down with her jaws, crushing his waist\nand legs in her muzzle, before she gulped again and the screams were\nsilenced, as she bit down once more, then spat the mangled remains to the\nground.  Her wrath growing with each passing second, Jessica moved like a\nghost through the fog, the screams of equine and human pealing forth, ending\nfrequently with sickening gurgles and crunches of flesh and bone.  At last,\na deathly silence descended, and Jessica spun too and fro, searching for her\nbeloved, her heart turning to ice as she found his sword lying on the mud, a\nlarge swatch of blood soaking the leather-bound hilt.\n\n Sir Kathis had disappeared without a trace..\n\n*\n\nSir Kathis, weak, bloodied and beaten, had been knocked unconscious by a\nmace to the back of the head, that had very nearly crushed his skull.  When\nhe dropped, two Knight's had seized him between them, and as their\ncompanions fought and died, had galloped for all they were worth, out of the\nforest and back towards the Capital.  Pushing their exhausted mounts until\nthey literally dropped from exhaustion, the two Knight's bound Sir Kathis in\nropes and force-marched him back into the city.  Here, he was put in irons,\nthen dragged away to the King's dungeons, held without trial and without so\nmuch as a chance to explain his actions.\n\n*\n\n For months, Sir Kathis languished in the dank dungeons, and every day, he\nprayed his beloved mate, the Whitetail/Dragon, Jessica..\n\n*\n\n Finally, six months after his capture, Sir Kathis was dragged from his\ncold, dank cell.  His hair and beard were long, filthy and unkempt, and he\ncried out in pain at the bright, torches the jailors carried.\n\n \"On your feet, scum.\" Snarled one, as he sunk his hobnailed boot into the\nfallen Knight's ribs.\n\n Sir Kathis shrieked and rolled away, his eyes wild and feral looking, and\nhe cowered helplessly, weakened by months of cruel torture and bad food.\nFinally, he was clasped in irons once again and then dragged from the\ndungeons, and paraded like some sick, scrawny prize before the hostile\nmasses that had gathered, and as Sir Kathis' eyes adjusted once again to the\nlight of day, a sickening horror came over him, as he realised he was being\nled to his own execution..\n\n  He was paraded down the main streets of the city, peasants, merchants\nnobles and even fellow knights jeered and pelted him with refuse; rotten\nvegetables, stones and even manure, as the guardsmen tugged sharply on the\nchain that was affixed to the disgraced knight's neck by a thick metal\ncollar.  His head hung low, Sir Kathis stumbled and fell, but was cruelly\njerked back to his feet once more and forced to stumbled blindly onwards,\ntowards the waiting stake and pyre that loomed before him.  The guardsmen\nstopped as a bear of a man, dressed in gleaming, ornately engraved full\nplate armour stepped from the ranks of the seething, murderous mob and\npositioned himself before Sir Kathis' execution party.  Grateful for the\nmomentary reprieve, Sir Kathis looked up and hope sparked in his eyes, as he\nmet the cold, flinty stare of the fellow Knight.\n\n \"Sir Pellanore, please, my brother, you must believe me, I did what I did\nbecause I know the truth.\"\n\n Silence descended over the crowd as they quietened and watched the\ndisgraced Knight and the other who stood before him, almost like a living\nstatue, so still did he stand. Stoking his long, luxurious beard with one\nhand, then he leaned back and smashed his fist into Sir Kathis' face, the\nsteel plate and chain mail gauntlet crushing Sir Kathis' nose and opening a\ngash across his right eyebrow.\n\n Sir Pellanore snarled.  \"Who is this filth that dare address me as\n brother?\"\n\n \"It is I, Sir Kathis, brother - listen to me!\" Sir Kathis gurgled as he\nspat out blood onto the cobblestones.\n\n \"By order of his Majesty the King, you have been found guilty of crimes\nagainst both King and his people, and are hereby sentenced to death by\nburning at the stake.  Your crimes are treason, conspiring with an enemy of\nhis Majesty, and having wilful relations with a beast!\"\n\n \"Lady Jessica is no beast!\" Sir Kathis snarled, his anger rising and his\nmanacled hands clenching. \"She is the one who freed me from my bonds of\nfalse servitude.  I know the truth now, I know what I had done in the past,\nunder the false guise of honour, valour and glory were a lie!\"\n\n \"Silence!\" Screamed Sir Pellanore.  \"Be silent dog, or I'll cut out your\ntongue here and now!  I will not stand to hear you utter such heresy.  We\nhave witnesses who seen you engaged in fornication with that...beast...that\ncreature spawned from the darkest of evil magic's, that is neither human nor\nanimal.\"\n\n \"Damn you brother, I will not be silent!\" Roared Sir Kathis.  \"She was once\na beautiful, proud and kindly noble.  Her and her mate once sat at court -\nat the King's very table....\"\n\n Hushed whispered rippled through the crowd, and even Sir Pellanore took a\nstep backwards, his face turning white as the truth of Sir Kathis' words\nrang like bells.\n\n \"Yes, our own Majesty had two Dragon's at Court.  Yet did he acknowledge\nthem? No - he could not, as they knew, as I do now, should their secret be\nrevealed, that they would surely be put to death.  They took the form of\nBuck and Doe, and sought to live amongst us peacefully, doing good and\nhelping those of lesser status.\"\n\n \"Lies!\" Sir Pellanore snapped.  \"Those dragon's were responsible for\nravaging the Kingdom, slaughtering dozens of Knights, raping, pillaging and\nmurdering....\"\n\n \"Listen to me!\" Sir Kathis coughed, and then his voice grew stronger. \"You,\nall of you, have been blinded to the truth of it.  Yes, I do not deny, that\nthey did turn away from goodness and honour, but not before her very own\noffspring, only an egg, was stolen from her!  They only sought the return of\ntheir offspring that was stolen from them.  Had it been returned, then they\nwould have spared others, and lived their lives alone and without harming\nanother living soul.  It was one of our own, a human, that brought their\nwrath down on our heads.\"\n\n Sir Kathis paused, and let his words ring out over the crowd, who fell\nquiet and listened, even Sir Pellanore grudgingly gave ground.\n\n \"I was quested to find and slay the Dragons, I found the male and put him\nto the sword, as my King demanded, then I have spent the last twenty years,\nhunting the female!  Twenty years, I sought her out, twenty years of my\nlife, and never once, did I wish to reclaim those years!  No - I befell\nastride the beautiful and lovely young Lady Jessica, and it be true I had no\nknowledge of what she was.  Why did I spare her life, when she finally\nconfessed to her crimes and laid herself at my feet, willingly giving her\nlife to me?  Why? Because I came to realise, it was not she who was wrong -\nbut I myself.\"\n\n  \"She had lost her only offspring, and by my hand, her mate.  At any time,\ncould she have slain me as I slept, yet what did she do? She took me into\nher tiny, dismal cottage, gave me food and lodging, and with the God's\ngraces, came to love me, and I to love her.  Yes, I do no not deny that I\nlay with her, as would a husband with his wife, and I was determined, to\ntake her paw in marriage.  It was us...who drove her and her mate to commit\nthe crimes that they did, and I felt, and still do, that she has suffered\nmore than any of us can ever comprehend.  I ask you this, who has suffered\nmore? Yes, we have suffered at her paw - once.\"\n\n  \"Who here has not suffered?\" Roared Sir Pellanore.\n\n  \"I say, is it not she who has suffered? Is it not she who has suffered\nmore than we ourselves?  For after the death of her mate, by my hand, she\nresigned herself to fate and stopped her murderous ways.  Now, she only\nwishes to live in peace and harmony with nature, and to be left alone.  For\nover twenty-five years, has she once raided your livestock? Murdered any of\nyou? No.  All she wants is to be left to her grief.  Is that too much to\nask?\" Sir Kathis shot back scathingly.  \"She forgave me for murdering her\nmate, and gave me her word, that never again, would she harm another human.\nFor the five years I spent with her, she lived up to that promise.  Now, I\nask, can we not do the same? If a cold heart of a dragon can find it in\nitself to forgive, then surely, can we ourselves not do the same?\"\n\n Almost magically, the crowd moved, forming a aisle down which strode a\ndozen of the Kings personal guard, their crimson cloaks flicking and\nbellowing in the cold winds that eddied and whirled across and through the\nsquare.  They parted and snapped to attention, as a regally dressed young\nhuman male, astride a coal-black stallion rode forwards.  He was an imposing\nfigure, dressed head to foot in incredibly detailed plate armour, his\nvisored helm shaped to resemble that of a snarling wolf, the eye's of blood\nred rubies and the canines of polished onyx.  He stopped a handful of paces\naway, then as a page clasped the reigns of the trembling and snorting mount;\nthe man reached up and slid off his helm, then tucked it beneath one arm.\nMutterings and astounded gasps swept over the crowd as they recognised their\nPrince, then with a loud rustle of robes, clothing and armour, knelt on one\nknee before him, his cold, dark eyes sweeping over the assembled crowd.\n\n \"I bring sad news,\" Spoke the prince, his voice quiet, but somehow carrying\nto the most distant ends of the square.  \"My father, the King, lays dead.\"\n\n Wails and dark mutterings swept across the crowd as they cried in\ndisbelief.\n\n \"I was with him at the last,\" Continued the Prince.  \"I held my father's\nhand as he passed into the next world, and I am the new King.  His final dec\nree was that this...this thing before us - was to be put to death, as per my\nfather's order.  I am here, to personally witness this foul wretch's\n demise.\"\n\n Anger once again boiled up from the crowd and they resumed jeering and\npummelling Sir Kathis as he was yet again dragged towards his inexorable\ndoom.  He did not bow his head this time, but shook the guard's hands off\nhim, and with dignity and honour, marched of his own accord to the stake and\npyre.  Here, he was bound to the stake and a hooded and cloaked executioner\nheld the burning torch, as he glanced at the Prince.\n\n \"Hold - \" Called the prince, as he dismounted and approached.  \"I will do\nthe honours myself.\"\n\n Startled gasps rippled through the assembled crowd.  As the Prince took the\ntorch from the executioner, who bowed deeply and backed away, the Prince\nmoved in close and stared into Sir Kathis' eyes - and Sir Kathis gasped, as\nhe seen the dark, soulless eyes of the prince flicker and change to a deep,\nsilvery colour, then just as quickly change back.\n\n \"I know who you are.\" Sir Kathis gasped, his face paling.\n\n \"Yes, I know.\" Whispered the Prince as a cruel, predatory grin spread\nacross his face, then vanished as suddenly as it had come.  \"I smell on you,\nthe scent of that bitch who laid me...tell me - did she please you? Did she\ngive you all that your heart and body desired? Did her warm, furry form\nbring you pleasure?\"\n\n Sir Kathis growled and struggled against his bonds as the prince smiled\nagain, his silvery eyes blazing with cruelty and hate.\n\n  \"I can not but help wonder, what it was like to bed her as a Doe.  Indeed,\nI will find out, alas for her sake, I will not bother masking my true self\nwhen I do.  I expect her pain will be unbearable, to say the\nleast...wouldn't you say so?\"\n\n \"For the love of God,\" Sir Kathis wept.  \"She is your mother...she has\nspent over forty years, seeking for you!\"\n\n \"God?\" Snorted the Prince contemptuously.  \"I am no child of that sad,\nmisguided Deity.  I know my wretch of a mother has sought me, yes, I know,\nyet for what ends? To teach me how to be kind, noble and gentle?  I am a\nDragon, not some lovesick dog that will lie obediently at my master's feet,\nawaiting a pat.  No, my dear, misguided human fool.  I know what my heritage\nis, and my future will be glorious indeed.  I do expect this shall be most\nexcruciatingly painful my dear Knight, so...do me a favour and\nscream...scream long and loud, this is going to be most unpleasant for you.\"\n\n Without further words, the prince stepped back and touched the torch to the\nbone-dry kindling.  As the flames caught and began to work their way up, Sir\nKathis grit his teeth and his gaze swept the bloodthirsty crowd...and he\nseen the heavily cloaked and deeply hooded figure standing nearby.  It's\neyes sparkled silver, and crystalline tears dripped from the corners of its\neyes then shattered as they struck the cold, uncaring cobblestones.  Sir\nKathis grimaced and set his face like that of a statue, a look of resolute,\neven calmness overcoming him, then he was wreathed in flames.  Never once\ndid he utter so much as a single whimper, much to the Prince's anger.\n\n*\n\n A hundred years had past since Sir Kathis had been burned at the stake, his\ncharred skeleton mysteriously disappearing the following night, and was\nnever recovered.  Only one creature knew of where it lay, and it was this\ncreature that even now, moved into the large tomb it had carved by its own\nhoof-paws, as a final resting place for her beloved.  Jessica walked slowly\ninto the incredibly detailed and carved tomb, her hooves clicking softly\nagainst the cold stone floor, as she approached the large funeral bier.  On\nit laid a magically carved and shaped human-figure, which had been made to\nbe a stone copy of Sir Kathis.  It lay on its back, dressed in fine full\nplate armour, its arms folded across the kite shield that lay on the\nstatue's chest, the foot of the shield pointing down towards it's feet.\nHands were clasped over a stone hilt of the sword that likewise pointed\ntowards the feet.  Biting back her tears, Jessica loving laid a wreath of\nwild roses on her lover's tomb, as she had done, every year, for the past\ncentury.  Grief overcoming her, she dropped to her knees and clutched her\nhead in her paws as she wept unashamedly.\n\n \"My love, I miss you more now than ever, for it was through you I learned\nhow to love again.  You taught me the values of honour, valour and virtue,\nfeelings and thoughts I had turned my back on, but only you had the courage\nto make me face my crimes, and the heart with which to forgive me and spare\nmy life.  Would I, if I had been able, would I have spared you from your\nfate, and I begged for you to stay by my side, and not to return in shame\nand dishonour.  I did not understand why you did back then, but now, I\nfinally understand.\"\n\n Jessica rose, and then walked back towards the entrance of the tomb, before\nshe paused and bowed her head.  Her faded robe split and tore, as her body\nhumped and writhed, bone crackling and reconfiguring itself as her form\nrippled and ran, soon materialising as a large, silver dragon, her eyes like\npools of liquid mercury. Her wings stretched out, then folded back over her\nsilvery scaled back, before she looked down and at a single whispered\ncommand, made his Sword appear before her, floating magically in the air,\nits cold, blue flames rippling along its exposed length, it detecting the\npresence of a Dragon.\n\n \"My love,\" Jessica sniffled, her tears turning to crystal as they slid down\nher cheeks and tinkled to the cold stone floor.  \"You said to me once, that\nDragon's do not cry.  They do my beloved, it is just that no-one ever see's\nus do it.\"\n\n Clasping the two handed blade in one massive clawed paw, Jessica hefted it\neasily, feeling the agony as the magical blade seared her scaled palm.\nCarefully, she sat up, then entwined her paws around the hilt...and plunged\nthe blade deep into her scaled chest.  As the blade seared into her heart\nand her black blood gushed from the wound, she uttered a soft, sobbing cry,\nthen slumped forwards, the sword slamming itself deep into her body and\nsnuffing out her life like a candle extinguished in a sudden cold draft of\nwind....\n\nEND\n\n",
  "writing_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'> <br />Fire and Ice<br />Chapter V - The Fallen Knight<br />&copy; Cederwyn Whitefurr<br />June 2003.<br />All Rights Reserved.<br /><br />&nbsp;Blinking its glacier blue eyes, the Dragon stared at the burning blade that<br />hissed mere inches away from its nostrils, the flames sizzling against the<br />wet mud.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;I can not kill you.not now, and not ever.&quot; Sir Kathis wept, as he dropped<br />and wrapped his arms around the Dragon&#039;s neck.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;I.I do love you.my beloved,<br />and for what it is worth.I forgive you...Jessica.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;Heaving a sigh of relief, the Dragon rolled its eyes back and shuddered,<br />then it froze and blinked.&nbsp;&nbsp;In a second, Sir Kathis found himself flat on<br />his back, as the powerful, lithe reptilian form rose to its full height,<br />head twisting to and fro, sniffing the feeble breeze, a look of terror<br />slowly spreading across its face.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;My love - what.what&#039;s wrong?&quot; Sir Kathis asked, as he rose from the mud<br />with a sickening squelch.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Trouble - &quot; Growled the Dragon.<br /><br />&nbsp;Without warning, a dozen Knights&#039; astride powerful armour-clad warhorses<br />thundered from the forest, their lances dropping as their mounts pounded<br />across the clearing, mud and rainwater flying from beneath the thudding<br />hooves of the warhorses.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Jessica - go!&quot; Shrieked Sir Kathis, as he snatched up his sword and<br />dropped into a defensive stance.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;My love - no, I can not leave you to fight and die.I can take you with me!<br />I can save you&quot; Jessica squealed, as she twisted about and faced the<br />charging Knights.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Go you bitch of a lizard!&quot; Sir Kathis screamed.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;You already have, now<br />flee!&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;My love, please!&nbsp;&nbsp;Do not send me away.I can help you!&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;Jessica begged,<br />wringing her claws together.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Go damn you!&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sir Kathis roared at her, and then sharply slapped her<br />flank.<br /><br />&nbsp;Ignoring her mate, Jessica twisted her bulk and with a roar that only an<br />enraged Dragon could muster, she threw herself at the Knights.&nbsp;&nbsp;Grabbing two<br />lanced in each claw, Jessica heaved and the Knight&#039;s shot from their<br />saddles, sailing over her head and slamming with satisfying crunches head<br />first into two massive oak trees.&nbsp;&nbsp;Again Jessica roared, and the remaining<br />knights whirled and dodged astride their horses, as Sir Kathis bore witness<br />to the full wrath of his beloved.<br /><br />*<br /><br />&nbsp;Without missing a step, Jessica lunged and her jaws slammed down around a<br />young Knight, who barely had time to scream, before her teeth sheared closed<br />like scythes and bit him in half, armour and all..<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Jessica - to the side!&quot; Sir Kathis screamed in horror, as he parried a<br />ride-by charge from a Knight, their swords crashing and sparking.<br /><br />&nbsp;As Jessica spun to face the new threat, she roared in rage and pain as a<br />Knight&#039;s lance ripped along her side, then splintered, driving the broken<br />lance into her side.&nbsp;&nbsp;Blood gushed from the wound, but this only served to<br />make Jessica angrier.&nbsp;&nbsp;Roaring, she threw herself at the knight who had<br />injured her and her claw flashed out, smashing the knight and horse away, as<br />easily as a man would swat a gnat.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whirling their near-panicking mounts,<br />the Knights regrouped and charged her, but Jessica was no fool.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her<br />powerful muscles bunched beneath her scaled hide and she leapt into the air,<br />her wings unfurling and beating strenuously, as she fought to gain altitude.<br />Her wings created a localised cyclone, so strong did they beat, that flying<br />mud and debris temporarily blinded the Knights and their mounts.&nbsp;&nbsp;Rising<br />higher and higher, Jessica performed a wing-over manoeuvre, the dived<br />downwards, her jaws opening and her lungs filling with air, before she<br />exhaled a cone of freezing artic air and ice, that swept over the knights,<br />slaying many of them that were not quick enough to raise their kite shields<br />to deflect the icy breath, others were more fortunate, but their mounts were<br />not - horses screaming in agony as leg&#039;s froze and joints snapped, many a<br />knight being catapulted from his saddle, or crushed to death beneath his<br />mount as it stumbled, fell and rolled over him.<br /><br />&nbsp;At Jessica&#039;s command, the clouds rolled back in, and a thick, almost<br />impenetrable fog.&nbsp;&nbsp;Screaming orders and counter-orders, the Knight&#039;s whirled<br />and galloped too and fro, blinded by the fog.but Jessica had no such<br />difficulties..<br /><br />&nbsp;A young knight, only just past his Squire-hood and flushed with bloodlust<br />and rage, spun his squealing mount too and fro, his sword clutched tightly<br />in a gauntleted hand, before he slapped up his visor, then screamed..<br /><br />&nbsp;Jessica&#039;s head snapped out like a coiled spring, and clamped about the<br />knight&#039;s midsection, then she threw back her head and cast the shrieking<br />knight skywards - before she snapped down with her jaws, crushing his waist<br />and legs in her muzzle, before she gulped again and the screams were<br />silenced, as she bit down once more, then spat the mangled remains to the<br />ground.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her wrath growing with each passing second, Jessica moved like a<br />ghost through the fog, the screams of equine and human pealing forth, ending<br />frequently with sickening gurgles and crunches of flesh and bone.&nbsp;&nbsp;At last,<br />a deathly silence descended, and Jessica spun too and fro, searching for her<br />beloved, her heart turning to ice as she found his sword lying on the mud, a<br />large swatch of blood soaking the leather-bound hilt.<br /><br />&nbsp;Sir Kathis had disappeared without a trace..<br /><br />*<br /><br />Sir Kathis, weak, bloodied and beaten, had been knocked unconscious by a<br />mace to the back of the head, that had very nearly crushed his skull.&nbsp;&nbsp;When<br />he dropped, two Knight&#039;s had seized him between them, and as their<br />companions fought and died, had galloped for all they were worth, out of the<br />forest and back towards the Capital.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pushing their exhausted mounts until<br />they literally dropped from exhaustion, the two Knight&#039;s bound Sir Kathis in<br />ropes and force-marched him back into the city.&nbsp;&nbsp;Here, he was put in irons,<br />then dragged away to the King&#039;s dungeons, held without trial and without so<br />much as a chance to explain his actions.<br /><br />*<br /><br />&nbsp;For months, Sir Kathis languished in the dank dungeons, and every day, he<br />prayed his beloved mate, the Whitetail/Dragon, Jessica..<br /><br />*<br /><br />&nbsp;Finally, six months after his capture, Sir Kathis was dragged from his<br />cold, dank cell.&nbsp;&nbsp;His hair and beard were long, filthy and unkempt, and he<br />cried out in pain at the bright, torches the jailors carried.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;On your feet, scum.&quot; Snarled one, as he sunk his hobnailed boot into the<br />fallen Knight&#039;s ribs.<br /><br />&nbsp;Sir Kathis shrieked and rolled away, his eyes wild and feral looking, and<br />he cowered helplessly, weakened by months of cruel torture and bad food.<br />Finally, he was clasped in irons once again and then dragged from the<br />dungeons, and paraded like some sick, scrawny prize before the hostile<br />masses that had gathered, and as Sir Kathis&#039; eyes adjusted once again to the<br />light of day, a sickening horror came over him, as he realised he was being<br />led to his own execution..<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;He was paraded down the main streets of the city, peasants, merchants<br />nobles and even fellow knights jeered and pelted him with refuse; rotten<br />vegetables, stones and even manure, as the guardsmen tugged sharply on the<br />chain that was affixed to the disgraced knight&#039;s neck by a thick metal<br />collar.&nbsp;&nbsp;His head hung low, Sir Kathis stumbled and fell, but was cruelly<br />jerked back to his feet once more and forced to stumbled blindly onwards,<br />towards the waiting stake and pyre that loomed before him.&nbsp;&nbsp;The guardsmen<br />stopped as a bear of a man, dressed in gleaming, ornately engraved full<br />plate armour stepped from the ranks of the seething, murderous mob and<br />positioned himself before Sir Kathis&#039; execution party.&nbsp;&nbsp;Grateful for the<br />momentary reprieve, Sir Kathis looked up and hope sparked in his eyes, as he<br />met the cold, flinty stare of the fellow Knight.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Sir Pellanore, please, my brother, you must believe me, I did what I did<br />because I know the truth.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Silence descended over the crowd as they quietened and watched the<br />disgraced Knight and the other who stood before him, almost like a living<br />statue, so still did he stand. Stoking his long, luxurious beard with one<br />hand, then he leaned back and smashed his fist into Sir Kathis&#039; face, the<br />steel plate and chain mail gauntlet crushing Sir Kathis&#039; nose and opening a<br />gash across his right eyebrow.<br /><br />&nbsp;Sir Pellanore snarled.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;Who is this filth that dare address me as<br />&nbsp;brother?&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;It is I, Sir Kathis, brother - listen to me!&quot; Sir Kathis gurgled as he<br />spat out blood onto the cobblestones.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;By order of his Majesty the King, you have been found guilty of crimes<br />against both King and his people, and are hereby sentenced to death by<br />burning at the stake.&nbsp;&nbsp;Your crimes are treason, conspiring with an enemy of<br />his Majesty, and having wilful relations with a beast!&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Lady Jessica is no beast!&quot; Sir Kathis snarled, his anger rising and his<br />manacled hands clenching. &quot;She is the one who freed me from my bonds of<br />false servitude.&nbsp;&nbsp;I know the truth now, I know what I had done in the past,<br />under the false guise of honour, valour and glory were a lie!&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Silence!&quot; Screamed Sir Pellanore.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;Be silent dog, or I&#039;ll cut out your<br />tongue here and now!&nbsp;&nbsp;I will not stand to hear you utter such heresy.&nbsp;&nbsp;We<br />have witnesses who seen you engaged in fornication with that...beast...that<br />creature spawned from the darkest of evil magic&#039;s, that is neither human nor<br />animal.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Damn you brother, I will not be silent!&quot; Roared Sir Kathis.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;She was once<br />a beautiful, proud and kindly noble.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her and her mate once sat at court -<br />at the King&#039;s very table....&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Hushed whispered rippled through the crowd, and even Sir Pellanore took a<br />step backwards, his face turning white as the truth of Sir Kathis&#039; words<br />rang like bells.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Yes, our own Majesty had two Dragon&#039;s at Court.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yet did he acknowledge<br />them? No - he could not, as they knew, as I do now, should their secret be<br />revealed, that they would surely be put to death.&nbsp;&nbsp;They took the form of<br />Buck and Doe, and sought to live amongst us peacefully, doing good and<br />helping those of lesser status.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Lies!&quot; Sir Pellanore snapped.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;Those dragon&#039;s were responsible for<br />ravaging the Kingdom, slaughtering dozens of Knights, raping, pillaging and<br />murdering....&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Listen to me!&quot; Sir Kathis coughed, and then his voice grew stronger. &quot;You,<br />all of you, have been blinded to the truth of it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, I do not deny, that<br />they did turn away from goodness and honour, but not before her very own<br />offspring, only an egg, was stolen from her!&nbsp;&nbsp;They only sought the return of<br />their offspring that was stolen from them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Had it been returned, then they<br />would have spared others, and lived their lives alone and without harming<br />another living soul.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was one of our own, a human, that brought their<br />wrath down on our heads.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Sir Kathis paused, and let his words ring out over the crowd, who fell<br />quiet and listened, even Sir Pellanore grudgingly gave ground.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;I was quested to find and slay the Dragons, I found the male and put him<br />to the sword, as my King demanded, then I have spent the last twenty years,<br />hunting the female!&nbsp;&nbsp;Twenty years, I sought her out, twenty years of my<br />life, and never once, did I wish to reclaim those years!&nbsp;&nbsp;No - I befell<br />astride the beautiful and lovely young Lady Jessica, and it be true I had no<br />knowledge of what she was.&nbsp;&nbsp;Why did I spare her life, when she finally<br />confessed to her crimes and laid herself at my feet, willingly giving her<br />life to me?&nbsp;&nbsp;Why? Because I came to realise, it was not she who was wrong -<br />but I myself.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;She had lost her only offspring, and by my hand, her mate.&nbsp;&nbsp;At any time,<br />could she have slain me as I slept, yet what did she do? She took me into<br />her tiny, dismal cottage, gave me food and lodging, and with the God&#039;s<br />graces, came to love me, and I to love her.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, I do no not deny that I<br />lay with her, as would a husband with his wife, and I was determined, to<br />take her paw in marriage.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was us...who drove her and her mate to commit<br />the crimes that they did, and I felt, and still do, that she has suffered<br />more than any of us can ever comprehend.&nbsp;&nbsp;I ask you this, who has suffered<br />more? Yes, we have suffered at her paw - once.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;Who here has not suffered?&quot; Roared Sir Pellanore.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;I say, is it not she who has suffered? Is it not she who has suffered<br />more than we ourselves?&nbsp;&nbsp;For after the death of her mate, by my hand, she<br />resigned herself to fate and stopped her murderous ways.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, she only<br />wishes to live in peace and harmony with nature, and to be left alone.&nbsp;&nbsp;For<br />over twenty-five years, has she once raided your livestock? Murdered any of<br />you? No.&nbsp;&nbsp;All she wants is to be left to her grief.&nbsp;&nbsp;Is that too much to<br />ask?&quot; Sir Kathis shot back scathingly.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;She forgave me for murdering her<br />mate, and gave me her word, that never again, would she harm another human.<br />For the five years I spent with her, she lived up to that promise.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, I<br />ask, can we not do the same? If a cold heart of a dragon can find it in<br />itself to forgive, then surely, can we ourselves not do the same?&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Almost magically, the crowd moved, forming a aisle down which strode a<br />dozen of the Kings personal guard, their crimson cloaks flicking and<br />bellowing in the cold winds that eddied and whirled across and through the<br />square.&nbsp;&nbsp;They parted and snapped to attention, as a regally dressed young<br />human male, astride a coal-black stallion rode forwards.&nbsp;&nbsp;He was an imposing<br />figure, dressed head to foot in incredibly detailed plate armour, his<br />visored helm shaped to resemble that of a snarling wolf, the eye&#039;s of blood<br />red rubies and the canines of polished onyx.&nbsp;&nbsp;He stopped a handful of paces<br />away, then as a page clasped the reigns of the trembling and snorting mount;<br />the man reached up and slid off his helm, then tucked it beneath one arm.<br />Mutterings and astounded gasps swept over the crowd as they recognised their<br />Prince, then with a loud rustle of robes, clothing and armour, knelt on one<br />knee before him, his cold, dark eyes sweeping over the assembled crowd.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;I bring sad news,&quot; Spoke the prince, his voice quiet, but somehow carrying<br />to the most distant ends of the square.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;My father, the King, lays dead.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Wails and dark mutterings swept across the crowd as they cried in<br />disbelief.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;I was with him at the last,&quot; Continued the Prince.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;I held my father&#039;s<br />hand as he passed into the next world, and I am the new King.&nbsp;&nbsp;His final dec<br />ree was that this...this thing before us - was to be put to death, as per my<br />father&#039;s order.&nbsp;&nbsp;I am here, to personally witness this foul wretch&#039;s<br />&nbsp;demise.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Anger once again boiled up from the crowd and they resumed jeering and<br />pummelling Sir Kathis as he was yet again dragged towards his inexorable<br />doom.&nbsp;&nbsp;He did not bow his head this time, but shook the guard&#039;s hands off<br />him, and with dignity and honour, marched of his own accord to the stake and<br />pyre.&nbsp;&nbsp;Here, he was bound to the stake and a hooded and cloaked executioner<br />held the burning torch, as he glanced at the Prince.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Hold - &quot; Called the prince, as he dismounted and approached.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;I will do<br />the honours myself.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Startled gasps rippled through the assembled crowd.&nbsp;&nbsp;As the Prince took the<br />torch from the executioner, who bowed deeply and backed away, the Prince<br />moved in close and stared into Sir Kathis&#039; eyes - and Sir Kathis gasped, as<br />he seen the dark, soulless eyes of the prince flicker and change to a deep,<br />silvery colour, then just as quickly change back.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;I know who you are.&quot; Sir Kathis gasped, his face paling.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Yes, I know.&quot; Whispered the Prince as a cruel, predatory grin spread<br />across his face, then vanished as suddenly as it had come.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;I smell on you,<br />the scent of that bitch who laid me...tell me - did she please you? Did she<br />give you all that your heart and body desired? Did her warm, furry form<br />bring you pleasure?&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Sir Kathis growled and struggled against his bonds as the prince smiled<br />again, his silvery eyes blazing with cruelty and hate.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;I can not but help wonder, what it was like to bed her as a Doe.&nbsp;&nbsp;Indeed,<br />I will find out, alas for her sake, I will not bother masking my true self<br />when I do.&nbsp;&nbsp;I expect her pain will be unbearable, to say the<br />least...wouldn&#039;t you say so?&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;For the love of God,&quot; Sir Kathis wept.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;She is your mother...she has<br />spent over forty years, seeking for you!&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;God?&quot; Snorted the Prince contemptuously.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;I am no child of that sad,<br />misguided Deity.&nbsp;&nbsp;I know my wretch of a mother has sought me, yes, I know,<br />yet for what ends? To teach me how to be kind, noble and gentle?&nbsp;&nbsp;I am a<br />Dragon, not some lovesick dog that will lie obediently at my master&#039;s feet,<br />awaiting a pat.&nbsp;&nbsp;No, my dear, misguided human fool.&nbsp;&nbsp;I know what my heritage<br />is, and my future will be glorious indeed.&nbsp;&nbsp;I do expect this shall be most<br />excruciatingly painful my dear Knight, so...do me a favour and<br />scream...scream long and loud, this is going to be most unpleasant for you.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Without further words, the prince stepped back and touched the torch to the<br />bone-dry kindling.&nbsp;&nbsp;As the flames caught and began to work their way up, Sir<br />Kathis grit his teeth and his gaze swept the bloodthirsty crowd...and he<br />seen the heavily cloaked and deeply hooded figure standing nearby.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&#039;s<br />eyes sparkled silver, and crystalline tears dripped from the corners of its<br />eyes then shattered as they struck the cold, uncaring cobblestones.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sir<br />Kathis grimaced and set his face like that of a statue, a look of resolute,<br />even calmness overcoming him, then he was wreathed in flames.&nbsp;&nbsp;Never once<br />did he utter so much as a single whimper, much to the Prince&#039;s anger.<br /><br />*<br /><br />&nbsp;A hundred years had past since Sir Kathis had been burned at the stake, his<br />charred skeleton mysteriously disappearing the following night, and was<br />never recovered.&nbsp;&nbsp;Only one creature knew of where it lay, and it was this<br />creature that even now, moved into the large tomb it had carved by its own<br />hoof-paws, as a final resting place for her beloved.&nbsp;&nbsp;Jessica walked slowly<br />into the incredibly detailed and carved tomb, her hooves clicking softly<br />against the cold stone floor, as she approached the large funeral bier.&nbsp;&nbsp;On<br />it laid a magically carved and shaped human-figure, which had been made to<br />be a stone copy of Sir Kathis.&nbsp;&nbsp;It lay on its back, dressed in fine full<br />plate armour, its arms folded across the kite shield that lay on the<br />statue&#039;s chest, the foot of the shield pointing down towards it&#039;s feet.<br />Hands were clasped over a stone hilt of the sword that likewise pointed<br />towards the feet.&nbsp;&nbsp;Biting back her tears, Jessica loving laid a wreath of<br />wild roses on her lover&#039;s tomb, as she had done, every year, for the past<br />century.&nbsp;&nbsp;Grief overcoming her, she dropped to her knees and clutched her<br />head in her paws as she wept unashamedly.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;My love, I miss you more now than ever, for it was through you I learned<br />how to love again.&nbsp;&nbsp;You taught me the values of honour, valour and virtue,<br />feelings and thoughts I had turned my back on, but only you had the courage<br />to make me face my crimes, and the heart with which to forgive me and spare<br />my life.&nbsp;&nbsp;Would I, if I had been able, would I have spared you from your<br />fate, and I begged for you to stay by my side, and not to return in shame<br />and dishonour.&nbsp;&nbsp;I did not understand why you did back then, but now, I<br />finally understand.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Jessica rose, and then walked back towards the entrance of the tomb, before<br />she paused and bowed her head.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her faded robe split and tore, as her body<br />humped and writhed, bone crackling and reconfiguring itself as her form<br />rippled and ran, soon materialising as a large, silver dragon, her eyes like<br />pools of liquid mercury. Her wings stretched out, then folded back over her<br />silvery scaled back, before she looked down and at a single whispered<br />command, made his Sword appear before her, floating magically in the air,<br />its cold, blue flames rippling along its exposed length, it detecting the<br />presence of a Dragon.<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;My love,&quot; Jessica sniffled, her tears turning to crystal as they slid down<br />her cheeks and tinkled to the cold stone floor.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;You said to me once, that<br />Dragon&#039;s do not cry.&nbsp;&nbsp;They do my beloved, it is just that no-one ever see&#039;s<br />us do it.&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;Clasping the two handed blade in one massive clawed paw, Jessica hefted it<br />easily, feeling the agony as the magical blade seared her scaled palm.<br />Carefully, she sat up, then entwined her paws around the hilt...and plunged<br />the blade deep into her scaled chest.&nbsp;&nbsp;As the blade seared into her heart<br />and her black blood gushed from the wound, she uttered a soft, sobbing cry,<br />then slumped forwards, the sword slamming itself deep into her body and<br />snuffing out her life like a candle extinguished in a sudden cold draft of<br />wind....<br /><br />END<br /><br /></span>",
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