EXCERPT FROM THE ARMOR OF THE GREAT KING
“Let’s see now,” she continued. “I remember reading once that dragons live for a very long time. That one looks big enough to have been around when the Great King was here. And that means the Great King probably chased him away before.”
“Hey!” said Joshua, his mind beginning to fall in step with Angela’s. “I’ll bet we could go up to that dragon and tell him to get off the sword. We have the Great King’s armor and that should convince the dragon that we mean business.”
“Let’s try it!” said Angela.
The two children walked back towards the dragon and his horrible noise. Joshua was in front, holding the shield in front of them both. The dragon saw them coming, put both front feet on the sword and began screeching louder than ever.
Angela walked up to within about ten feet of the dragon, planted her feet and defiantly put her fists on her hips.
She yelled above the din: “In the name of the Great King, I command you to let go of the sword.”
The dragon roared louder.
“In the name of the Great King, I command you to get off the sword,” she repeated.
The dragon stopped screeching for a moment and cocked his head, looking warily out of one eye. Then he started screeching, roaring and belching all at once.
Angela took a deep breath, looked the dragon in the eye, and said, “In the name of the Great King, I command you to be quiet!”
The dragon looked stunned and stopped in mid-screech. An expression of fear began to come over his face, and he shifted his hind feet nervously.
“Now get off the sword!” Angela commanded firmly.
The dragon twitched his tail and gnashed his teeth. He began to back up slowly, first lifting one paw off the sword and then the other. Joshua advanced with the shield towards the retreating dragon. The three of them moved in unison slowly, the dragon backward and the children forward until Angela was standing over the sword. She reached down and picked up the scabbard and drew out the sword.
“Now get out of here!” she shouted.
The dragon tucked its tail between its legs and took off across the plain.