Today's #flashfiction #HowToDefeatADragon

“They're the world's most fearsome fighting team
They're heroes in a half-shell and they're green
When the evil Shredder attacks
These Turtle boys don't cut him no slack!”

Animal Planet* #quote

Remember it's common courtesy to rewind your DVDs for the next person who's going to use it!

How To Defeat A Dragon

         The ground crashed and quaked with each of the dragon's steps. The creature's claws plowed through the soil like a till preparing the land for harvest. The beast's black scales strength made them like flexing, living steel. If someone could survive long enough to touch him, they could feel the heat of the strange, magical organ deep in the body of the dragon that created the monster's fire breath that famously burned an entire forest in a single hour.

        Young Sir Leonard a recently knighted apprentice of the old knight Steve approached the dragon with an eerie amount of confidence. The dragon flung it's three barbed tails around the massive castle it called home. It stole the castle from the small kingdom Yondershire. The kingdom that no longer existed thanks to him. The people gave the dragon many names across the land, though the most common was simply Death. It fit as the color of the menace’s eyes matched bone perfectly.

        “Alone?” The dragon laughed showing his bloody teeth that still had bits of cattle stuck in them. “Been awhile since someone had the guts to come face me alone. Looking for some glory little human?”

         Leonard took a moment to respond. The dragon thought this odd. He'd grown used to humans acting quickly around him, usually out of hubris or fear. Leonard then replied, “Glory will be a side effect yes.”

        The dragon also found Leonard to small for the average cocky human. Usually the cocky ones that went after him were much larger to be so confident. He couldn't tell what the human looked like beyond his smaller than usual size because of all the armor he wore. An annoyance since he would have to rip it off to get at his flesh.

         “You're a little runt. And a side effect?” The dragon had a habit of playing or rather talking with his food before eating it if it didn't just wind up attacking him. Maybe it was because he tended to get bored. “Side effect of what?”

          Leonard wanted to phrase this properly. His mentor Steve taught him well. To live through life required more than the blade. And to get through this and save all the lands he would need to do what he must. “Why making us, and mostly you, rich.”

          “Oh?” Death almost grew bored of Leonard and killed him but now he grew interested.

          “I know you dragons collect treasure, and you must like some form of treasures,” Leonard kept speaking while holding his hands out in a friendly manner. “See you are the most powerful dragon to attack the lands right now and massive bounty on you. You help me fake your death like I killed you and we'll split the bounty. I'll buy whatever treasures you want with your share. Fifty-fifty split?”

          The dragon laughed. “How about I make you get the bounty and I take all of it in exchange for not killing you? Then yeah, I'll go off and go kill deer somewhere. There are plenty of dragon lands to go to.”

          Leonard smiled. He only really wanted to get rid of the dragon as was his knightly duty, but he wanted to make sure the dragon felt like he won so that's why he demanded the fifty-fifty split. Either way both of them lived happily ever after. Leonard with glory and pride in his heart and the dragon with a bounty of the ages.