literature

A Knight's Tale

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Literature Text

Eric’s chain mail clattered and clanked as he trembled.  How had he gotten himself into this?  I mean, ever since he was a child, he had dreamed of being the man in shining armor that rescued the princesses and slaughtered the beasts, but this was reality.  The mouth of the cave gaped open before him, dark and ominous.  Images of numerous frightening creatures flashed before Eric’s eyes and he froze in place.  First goblins, then trolls, undead soldiers and ghouls.  All of Eric’s nightmares came back to him in a rush.  There’s no way I’m doing this, he thought, shutting his eyes tight.  Suddenly, something shone bright in his mind’s eye, a picture of peace amid all the memories of evil.  
A beautiful princess walked towards him.  Her smooth skin glowing in the sunlight.  A crown of gold rested on top of her sleek brown hair and her eyes captured him.  Breaking the trance and looking around, Eric realized he was back at the castle where he received his orders.  Over the stone walls he could spy the village, half of it in ruins.  Poor people in rags wandered the streets with a sense of hopelessness.  A baby sat abandoned on the side of the road, crying.  That beast was responsible for all of this.  Eric was infuriated.  Tuning back, he came face to face with the princess.  Slowly she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.  “Good luck brave night”
Eric opened his eyes. I have to protect them, he thought.  Wielding his new found determination, Eric raised his sword and approached the front of the cave.  “Hey!” he yelled into the darkness, “Show yourself!”  He listened intently and heard something shift inside the cavern, but nothing emerged.  Bending down, Eric picked up a rock the size of his fist and heaved it into the shadows.  A smack echoed around the cave as the rock collided with something inside. “COWARD!” Eric screamed, his courage building with every passing second.

Then the ground shook.

Eric tensed and held his sword protectively in front of his face.  BOOM.  The ground trembled as another earthquake struck.  This one felt closer.  All of Eric’s courage melted away as a scale covered foot as big as him stepped out of the darkness, hitting the ground with such force that it left cracks in the earth.  A pair of fierce red eyes appeared high up as the dragon moved out of the blackness for the first time.  It’s natural armor shone bright in the sunlight.  Eric froze.  He’d pictured the dragon in his mind constantly ever since he was set off on his mission.  The images had haunted him throughout the day and invaded his dreams at night when he was searching for the lair.  Now that the real thing was standing over him with claws the size of his head and teeth just as big, he was terrified.  
The dragon came out slowly, circling its prey.  Eric turned with it, his eyes following the razor sharp fangs.  Then the dragon stopped.    Eric stood still and faced it, holding his ground.  Looking out of the corner of his eye he suddenly realized that the dragon had completely circled him; the tail wrapping around out of view.  He was trapped.  The dragon’s mouth opened slightly and a blood red tongue rolled out, tasting the air.  For a second everything stood still.
Then Eric heard a rustling sound behind him.  It tempted him to turn, but he didn’t dare take his gaze off the dragon’s head.  Suddenly, the tail slammed into the back of Eric’s legs like a cannon ball, causing him to complete a full flip before landing on his back.  Moaning, Eric opened his eyes just in time to see the dragon’s open jaws homing in on him.  Quickly, he rolled to the side holding his arms close to his body.  A rush of air blew against him as the dragon missed by inches and sunk its teeth into the ground.  Taking advantage of the situation, Eric jumped to his feet and sprinted towards the dragon’s head.  Raising his sword above his head, Eric swung with all his might at the neck of the monster, but was devastated as the steel deflected harmlessly off the scales.  The neck slid past him as the dragon pulled his head back.  Now the dragon was face to face with Eric.  Slowly, Eric backed up in a battle ready stance, but he wasn’t ready for what came next.  The dragon’s mouth opened wide and a fireball erupted out.  Unsure what to do, Eric hid behind his shield and was knocked backwards as it took the full force of the attack.  “AAAGGHH!” Eric screamed in pain and dropped his shield.  The metal had turned red hot and severely burned his left arm.  Then the pain vanished as the burns fried his nerve endings and the adrenaline kicked in.  His left arm was now virtually useless, but at least the pain was gone.  Gradually, Eric brought himself to his feet and picked up his sword, his left arm hanging down at his side.  This was impossible, he thought, I need a plan.  As far as he could see, there was no way to get through those scales.  They were just too strong.  The dragon started coming closer and Eric realized he needed more time to think.  He turned and ran for the nearest bushes.  Behind him he could hear the dragon trying to chase him down, but dragons weren’t meant to run.  The footsteps behind him began to fall farther and farther back as Eric lengthened the distance between him and the beast.  Upon reaching the bushes, Eric leapt behind them.  At least now he had a little thinking time.  Wait a minute… he didn’t hear any more footsteps.  Eric slowly raised his head and peeked over the bushes.  The dragon was gone!  Frantically, Eric looked around, trying to find where it had disappeared to when he heard a roar above him.  No, he thought and tilted his head back.  Wings spread wide, the dragon hovered in the sky for a split second before tilting forward into a full out dive straight at Eric!  “Crap!” Eric shouted and jumped out of the bushes, sprinting as fast as he could away.  The dragon came in behind him flying at ground level.  “Ahhh!” Eric yelled, willing his legs to go faster.  A roar erupted behind him as the dragon opened his mouth.  Looking back, Eric could see the giant teeth glint in the sunlight.  “Noo!” He shrieked as the dragon’s mouth came down around him.  Inside the mouth, the dragon’s tongue wrapped around Eric binding him.  He fought but couldn't’t get free.  Then it pushed him back and threw him down the throat.  Reaching out, Eric tried to cling to something, but the throat continued to slide past him as he made his way to the stomach.  There’s no way I’m going out like this, Eric thought, I have to protect those villagers.  He gripped his sword tight and sunk it into the side of the dragon’s throat, stopping him from falling.  “I have to protect them!” he yelled and using his feet to push off the side of the throat, he pushed all the way through the outside scales.  Then his world flipped as the dragon screamed and keeled over.  Now able to stand up, Eric hacked at the inside of the throat until he made an opening large enough to crawl out of.   Stepping out Eric looked to the head of the dragon.  Its tongue was hanging out and the eyes were glazed over, staring at something off in the distance.   Something dripped into Eric’s eye and he realized for the first time that he was completely covered in saliva, but he was too tired to care.  Dropping his blood-stained sword, he stumbled forward and fell over, his legs too weak to support him.  It’s over, he thought, and closed his eyes to take a well deserved rest.
People seemed to like my first short story so I figured I'd write another. This time I went with fantasy.
© 2008 - 2024 Rahndom
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lrigseltaeb's avatar
it's very good! write more plz!