Dragon bites, even from the little ones, can be quite nasty and, if left untreated, could become fatal. The miracles of modern medicine had failed to provide a reliable cure. The best wizards had done extensive research on the subject, but to no avail. Various combinations of spider juice, frog semen and walrus pubic hair, as well as their common derivatives, so often effective in treating in the plague and the clap, were useless. The only treatment, which proved to be effective, was to kill the offending dragon and cut off its tongue. The dragon’s forked tongue was used to make a poultice which, when spread on the wound, cured it completely, without even leaving a scar. This had the effect of providing a constant demand for skilled knights. But, I get ahead of the story…
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago in a land far, far away, there was a magical kingdom ruled by a kindly king and queen. They had a daughter, the beautiful Princess Alexis, who was loved and admired by all in the realm. She had many suitors who had courted her, including the handsome and noble Duke Ryan.
Duke Ryan was a swordsman of some note, in fact, the duke and his sister held the kingdom championship title for mixed doubles in both rapier and broadsword. The duke was the jealous type and not a few of the princess’s suitors had perished by his sword. That was an acceptable form of courting in those days. The duke was highly regarded by the king and queen; and by the time he had won the broadsword singles championship for the third year running, the king and queen had promised him Princess Alexis’s hand in marriage.
Princess Alexis truly liked and admired the dashing young Duke, but she was an independent lass, with a mind of her own. She did not completely approve of this arranged marriage business, in part because it was arranged, but primarily, because it was business. The king wanted to cement a real estate syndication deal with the duke’s aging father for a shopping mall and theme park to be developed on the eastern edge of the kingdom, which adjoined the duke’s land.
The lovely Princess Alexis was a loving daughter and did not want to disappoint her parents so she kept up all the appearances of being happily betrothed to Duke Ryan. Everyone in the kingdom thought they made a perfect couple. They appeared together at all the public functions, arm in arm, much to the pleasure of the king and queen.
Secretly however, the princess had fallen in love with Sir Roger, a much older knight who fought dragons for a living. Although Sir Roger was twice the princess’s age, he was a successful and skilled knight, who had fought and killed many dragons. He had traveled widely to many lands and had adopted various ways, habits and tastes from his travels, particularly those of Italy. He ate with a fork, which he acquired in Milan. He became adept in stealth, deception and intrigue in Venice. He also had a weakness for handmade Italian armor from Turin, its lighter weight made getting around easier at his age and it impressed the hell out of the dragons. Generally, he did not take to wearing armor unless he was actually planning on going into combat. He had long since given up wearing the heavy confining metal suit around town, just to prove he was a real knight. He preferred the soft leathers and fabrics of Florence and the Far East to the crude local wear.
As a young knight, Sir Roger was strong, fast and brutal in the pursuit of his foes. As he got older, his strength and speed were replaced by experience and an understanding of the dragon’s psyche. He was the first to use psychology as a weapon in fighting dragons. It was rumored that he could so intimidate a dragon, without even drawing his sword, that it would fall unconscious from fear. Dragons, although very strong, fast and deadly, were not particularly brave. They generally relied upon a great show of fire, smoke and loud bellowing to confuse their enemies.
Dragon slayers were generally feared as being dangerous men, not to be trifled with; and older knights were feared the most, having survived the most dragons and challenges from upstart young knights. Sir Roger’s reputation as an accomplished dragon slayer was further tainted by the public’s suspicion that he also possessed some dark, sinister and forbidden knowledge to aid in his success. The motto on Sir Roger's coat of arms stated, roughly translated from the old Latin, "Age and treachery shall defeat youth and skill." That sort of summed it up. Sir Roger was happy with his reputation; even if it wasn’t completely true, it did tend to keep the pesky young knights from constantly challenging him to duels. That sort of thing was fun for the youngsters, but was trying for someone Sir Roger’s age.
Princess Alexis found this older, more experienced man exciting, dangerous and very romantic. Their relationship began innocently enough, with some flirtatious notes passed back and forth by Sir Roger’s squire and Princess Alexis’s lady-in-waiting. Squires and ladies-in-waiting were generally trusted in such matters because the penalty for a breach of trust usually involved becoming dragon food. Sir Roger also suspected that his squire and the princess’s lady-in-waiting had some extra-curricular interests of their own.
As their friendship grew, they could always be caught deep in conversation in court whenever Duke Ryan was not around. There were beginning to be rumors in court circles that the princess and Sir Roger may have some interests other than for the benefit of the kingdom or the duke. The king and the duke dismissed these rumors as jealous gossip, for how could the lovely, young and innocent princess have a romantic interest in the aging and somewhat sinister knight. As for Sir Roger’s interest in the princess, that was understandable, everyone loved and admired her. She was a spunky young lady whose quick wit charmed all around her, both men and women. Many princes, dukes and counts had gladly lost their lives to Duke Ryan’s sword while trying to woo her.
Sir Roger was completely smitten by the lovely young princess. He could not believe, at his age, that a young and beautiful princess would have any interest in him. She was bold and confident, and sometimes he even felt as if she had pursued him. It was all very confusing. He wanted to be with her and to court her, but he could not be open with his affections for fear of hurting her chances for the shopping mall and theme park, and for fear of being run through by one of the duke's rapiers. The aging Sir Roger was fast to appreciate the difference between psyching out a dragon and getting into a swordfight with an angry Duke Ryan. Also there was the problem that although he was a knight of the kingdom, he was not of noble blood and thus would never be allowed marry the fair Alexis.
Their relationship had gradually intensified to the point of brief secret meetings and once even a brief stolen kiss. It is important to stop and explain that, at least among the nobility, virginity was highly prized as a sign of purity. However, the common folk seemed to have little use for it, and generally would fuck at the drop of a hat. Accordingly, there was much hat-dropping in certain parts of town. Sir Roger was known to have a large collection of hats, accumulated during his youth. On one of his travels, he had acquired some unusual tutoring from a Venetian master of some note, an interesting fellow named Casanova. He had also studied the techniques of some of the French masters as well. It would be safe to assume that Sir Roger was familiar with the various parts and uses of the female body.
