Jamaican_Dynamite
Selected Wed, Jun 15, 2022
"I think they're scared of me." Pat mentioned as they watched the clouds float across the horizon.
"Really? What makes you think that?" Henrietta sarcastically brought up.
"Well..." Pat stopped to reconsider saying anything else.
The couple stared at the little bundle of joy they had recently inherited. Whether they liked it or not. The plan at the beginning was to perhaps raise an extra batch of chickens in an attempt to help bolster the farm's profits for the season.
Unbeknownst to both of them at the time however. One of these eggs didn't come from a chicken. Nobody paid attention, not even the hens themselves, until said egg hatched. And with that, they were the proud, albeit, wary parents of a dragon.
Nobody knew it's real name. But it took a quick liking to them, and they had to think of something.
Peach laid happily on the porch next to them, soaking in the sunlight. Her scales matched the fruit, and she really liked the fruit. So, the name stuck.
But when you're a random farmer, and you raise an orphaned dragon. There tends to be a lot of complications in one's life. Namely, for example; an armed entourage approaching your farm from down the road.
"Um, Patrick? I think we got company. They look a little upset." Henrietta spoke.
"Oh don't I know it." Pat answered. "Go round up some of the fellas. We'll just have to talk to 'em."
Commotion arose, as it usually does in such situations. A few minutes went by, and some fairly large armored guards were met by some equally large farmhands on the edge of the property.
"Howdy." Pat greeted. "To whom do I owe the visit?"
A particularly well adorned knight stepped forward, sword in hand. It seems like they weren't exactly in a negotiating mood.
"I believe you are already aware." The knight spoke.
"No, I'm afraid I'm not." Pat continued. The squint he gave due to the sun made it probably seem as if he were asleep standing up.
"You are the Dragon King. Are you not?"
This raised a slight chuckle from the farmers that had gathered.
"I only got the one. Didn't know it garnered such a title."
Those words must have struck a nerve. One of the bigger guards stepped forwards. However one of Patrick's farm hands, an orc working for extra pay, took a step forward himself. See, they actually liked to fight.
"Now wait just a second." Pat warned. "It don't have to be this way."
"Go on." The lead knight asked, aiming his sword at Pat's neck from a couple of feet out.
"Peaches doesn't mean any harm." He explained to the blade. "She simply protects my land. She likes all us. Now my question to all y'all is why do you keep testing her?"
"Do you understand the damage they cause? All the lives lost? How many kingdoms have fell-"
"Your kingdom keeps cutting us off. We can barely get a deal on supplies. I reckon if you're going to come down here and scream at me, we could at least make peace."
A shadow glided over everyone. Nobody moved, perhaps because they were concerned at what it might be. Pat checked the porch of his home only to find it empty. The knight, following his gaze, wondered what he was looking for.
"...Well that's not good."
"What's that?" The knight in charge asked them. Some of their horses began to nervously stir.
"You gone and made her mad." Pat shrugged.
"Um, boss?" One of the other farmhands started. "I lost track of her."
A shadow crossed the ground again, but when everyone looked, there wasn't anything in the sky to be seen.
"If I were you. I'd get back on my horse, head back into town." Pat faintly offered. He then turned to his workers. "Uh, guys. Pack it up. We can't find her. That's a bad sign."
The knight's group stacked up. Aiming their shield's high while their archers trained on the farm.
"You tested my patience too long!" The armored figure threatened. "Where is it?!"
The thing that swept over the entire group at an alarming pace caused a panic. The horses went crazy, throwing some of the men to the ground. Some of the farmhands also knocked down by the wake turbulence did exactly what they planned to do earlier. To the knight's surprise; most of them took off running back into the depths of the fields.
But not the man standing before him. He simply dusted off his hat, and held it as they watched. The thing that stood up behind him was a horrible thing. A massive lizard that already was the size of at least three of their steeds put together. It had quietly touched down and ran up to them at such an inhuman pace, it made him freeze.
Pat had taken a step from the sword, as Peaches eyed it herself. The knight, it seemed, was too in shock to actually move. One of his men moved. Maybe to flee, maybe to attack. To this day, no one knows. The dragon pulled back, grabbed him in its jaws and flung him against a nearby tree. He bent the wrong way around it, and sailed further into the brush, never to be seen again.
"Retreat! Retreat!!" The others declared. Of course, while Patrick wasn't shy of the horrors this sort of this brought. He still wasn't immune to it.
Peaches rained hell on the group whether they wanted it or not. Before long, half the road was aflame. And a good third of the battalion sent to get her did not make it home. He waited on the porch for her return however. Until the front door flew open.
"I'll make scarecrows out of all of ya!" Henrietta promised, waving her broadsword like a madman. "I'll, awe shucks, did Peaches get started without me??"
"Yeah, she did." Pat sighed.
"This would've been fun." She said, casually dropping her shield and waiting for the dragon to return to its parents. Of course Henrietta was there waiting for her. Which worked for Peaches, as she'd grown quite tired of chasing the knights.
"Who's a good girl? Yes, you are! Yes, you are!" She explained, happily hugging the beast around it's neck.
"Save some for us next time Peaches?" Pat asked as he sat nearby, errantly tossing her one of the fruits she loved so much. "My swordplay is getting a little rusty."
---
*'Everybody packing out here. Like who? Farmers. And farmers ~~mums~~ dragons.'*
r/Jamaican_Dynamite
---
Submitted by Jamaican_Dynamite on Wed, Jun 08, 2022 to /r/WritingPrompts/
Full submission hereThe prompt
Just because one of your eggs hatched a fire-breathing dragon, people now think you’re evil. You’re really just a regular farmer trying to make a living, who now has to deal with an overprotective dragon, heroes that want to kill you & fanatics who want to worship you as a new demonic lord.
Read more stories for this prompt