Chapter 4
Norman and Dennis traveled this way for several hours. Norman played every tune he could think of, and Dennis danced gently through the air in time to the music. Eventually, though, Norman got tired of playing and tucked the flute back in his bag. He watched the passing scenery with great interest. Below him rolled the same patchwork of fields and forests, with towns showing up every so often, in all their various shades of green, gray, and brown. The clouds above him looked puffy and soft, and seemed almost close enough to touch.
After a while, Dennis craned his head around to look at Norman. “Have you ever heard of the Dragon's Apple?”
Norman was instantly curious. “No, I haven't,” he said. “What is that, a special fruit?”
“No,” Dennis chuckled, “it's a gem. It's called the Dragon's Apple because it's kind of pale red color, and it's about the size of a large apple. It disappeared from the dragon kingdom centuries ago. Legend says that a clan of ogres took it and is guarding it on an island off the east coast somewhere.”
“We should go find it!” Norman exclaimed. “Then I can fight the ogre and prove I'm worthy of being called a knight!”
Dennis gave the youth a level look, cocked his eyebrow, and said, “Really? You're on that kick again? Listen, kid, I don't think that getting into a fight with someone who just happens to be a dragon, or an ogre, or even a gryphon, is going to somehow prove that you deserve to be a knight. You went through the training, right?”
“Well, yes. . .”
“And your king knighted you, right? Did the whole tap-you-on-the-shoulder, “I dub thee” bit?”
“Well, yes, but he said the custom is for new knights to perform a task or something to prove their worth. I had originally planned to slay a dragon, but you and I both know how that turned out. So now, I figure I can fight an ogre. Maybe I can just, you know, beat him a little so he says “uncle” or something. That should count, right?”
Dennis chuckled and said, “Yes, I suppose it would. So, I take it you want to go looking for the Dragon's Apple?”
“Yes, definitely!” Norman said enthusiastically. “What else does the legend say about it?”
“Well, not much, really. Just that it's been missing for a long time, is guarded by ogres, and it's on an island. Oh, and I think I might have heard something about a curse or something. But I could be wrong about the curse.”
“A curse?! What kind of a curse? Am I going to break out in boils, or fall over dead if I touch the gem? What kind of a curse, Dennis?”
“Calm down, kid. I only said there might be a curse. Just like I only said there might be a gem, and there might be an ogre. We're just going to go looking for it. We might not find the right island, or if we do, we might not find the Dragon's Apple or an ogre. Just relax. Right now, we're just on an adventure. I've got a rough idea of where the island's supposed to be, and we should be there in just a few days. Let's just take those days as they come, okay?”
Norman took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. I'll try to stay calm. So, are you saying that if there's a curse, you don't know what it is?”
“Well, yes, I guess that's what I'm saying,” Dennis said cheerfully. “That's not a problem, is it?”
With a gulp, Norman replied, “No, I guess not. Let's go find that gem!”
“That's the spirit! Okay, it's going to take us a few days to get there. We'll want to find someplace to sleep for the night pretty soon. There's a couple of likely spots that we'll come across in the next couple of hours, so just let me know when you get tired.”
“Sounds like a good plan, Dennis.” With that, Norman settled back to enjoy the scenery and to daydream about ogres, gems, and glory. Soon afterward, the steady beat of the dragon's powerful wings and the soothing rush of the wind past his ears lulled the youth into a light doze. The rope harness kept him from falling off, and as soon as Dennis realized that Norman was drowsing, he began searching for one of his favorite resting places. Soon enough, he found it—a clearing nestled between a stream and a small cluster of trees, with some brush creating a natural windbreak on one side.
Upon landing, Dennis reached around to tap Norman with his nose. “Hey, kid, we're here. You might want to think about hopping down from there and getting your stuff set up.”
Bemusedly, Norman blinked and looked around at the clearing. It took him a moment to realize what was going on, but then he recalled that Dennis had mentioned finding a place to sleep for the night. He extricated himself from the harness and then pulled down his saddlebags, bedroll, and cloak.
“Would you like me to take that harness off, Dennis?” he asked considerately.
Dennis stretched his limbs and his wings, and shook himself all over, before answering. “Nah,” he said, “it's not in the way, and not likely to snag on anything. Might as well leave it on so you don't have to rig it back up tomorrow.” He paused a moment, then said, “I don't know about you, but I'm hungry! What say I go grab some dinner while you do whatever it is that you do? What're you hungry for?”
“Well, I've got some dried meat, but some fresh venison sounds wonderful! Are there deer around here?”
“Deer, moose, wild pigs, you name it. Venison it is, though! I'll be back before you know it.” And with that, Dennis launched himself into the air, circled once, and went looking for supper.
Norman busied himself with setting up the night's camp. He gathered wood and soon had a fire crackling merrily away, with a pot of water heating for tea. He spread his bedroll nearby, with his cloak on top for extra warmth. He sliced some bread and cheese and got out a couple of apples. Then he sat back to wait for Dennis to get back with their main course.
Meanwhile, Dennis was hovering lazily high above a small herd of deer, waiting until a likely one wandered far enough away to be an easy grab. He thought about the events of the day with a smile. He'd enjoyed flying with the young human and listening to him playing the flute. The kid didn't talk too much, and even though he was awfully enthusiastic about wanting to prove himself by fighting something, Dennis had hope that he'd be able to convince Norman that some other way could be just as good. His musings were interrupted by movement below. A large doe had wandered away from the edges of the herd. Dennis furled his wings slightly and dove downward. When he got close enough, he stretched out his forelegs, grabbed the doe, flared his wings again, and lifted himself back into the sky faster than thought. The impact of his grab had neatly dispatched the deer, and he carried her still form back to the clearing where he'd left Norman.
Norman was delighted to see the deer that Dennis had brought back, and quickly cut of a good-sized chunk to roast over the fire. While it cooked, the dragon ate his meal on the other side of the clearing out of consideration for the human. After all, dragons are notoriously messy eaters, by human standards, at least. When he was done, Dennis came back to the fire, settled into a comfortable hollow in the ground, and said, “So, tell me about yourself, kid.”
“Well, there's not really very much to say,” Norman replied. He settled himself on his bedroll with his dinner and took a few bites before answering. “I grew up on a small farm with my mother and father. Didn't have any brothers or sisters, though. My father taught me to hunt and fish, but he knew I always wanted to be a knight. So when I was old enough to be apprenticed as a page, he sent me off to the castle. I spent a few years as a page, and then a few more as a squire, and I was finally knighted a couple of weeks ago. Father would have been really proud of me, but he got sick three years ago, and died a year later. Mother's had a hard time keeping up with the farm, but she's been able to rent out part of the land, which keeps our bills paid and food on the table. I'm glad I'm a knight now, because I'll be able to send her money, and take care of her like she deserves. She's a fantastic cook and baker, and she made this cloak I'm sitting on. Remember the flute I was playing earlier? My father carved that for my mother, and she used to play it for me all the time when I was little.” He sighed softly. “I really miss them. I'm glad I've met you, though. It's harder to be lonely when you've got someone to talk to,” he said with a smile at the dragon. “Now it's your turn. Tell me about yourself.”
Dennis tilted his head up toward the sky, closed his eyes for a moment, and hummed softly to himself. “Well,” he said, “there's not a lot to say about myself, either. I hatched with my brothers and sisters about two hundred years ago. We were a fairly small clutch, only a dozen of us. We were raised by both of our parents until we were big enough to hunt for ourselves, and then my father mostly stayed away. He'd show up a few times a year, though, to check and see how we were all doing, and as we got older, he'd take a few of us at a time on hunting trips. We couldn't all go, of course—we'd scare all of the game away! By the time I was fifty, we were all pretty much living on our own, and shortly after that, Mother and Father had another clutch of dragons to raise. Since then, my clutch-mates and I have pretty much gone our separate ways, but we check in with each other and with our parents. We know our younger siblings, but we're not as close to them as we are to each other. As for myself, I love to explore, and I love to watch you humans. You're the first one I've traveled with, though.”
Norman said, “You said you've been on your own since you were fifty! How old are you, anyway?”
“I'm still pretty young, just shy of my two hundredth birthday. Why? How old are you?”
“Two hundred is young?” Norman said incredulously, shaking his head. “I'm only eighteen.”
“Trust me, I'm really not much older than you, in human terms. Don't worry, we'll get along just fine,” Dennis said with a smile.
After finishing his dinner, Norman once again got out his flute and played for a bit, while Dennis hummed along with the music. Then, with a small sigh, the youth put his things away and curled up in his blankets for the night. The soft sounds of assorted insects and small animals rustling through the brush, along with the slightly louder sound of Dennis's breathing, soon lulled Norman into a deep sleep, in which he dreamed of flying and of returning triumphantly home with a fabled treasure.
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