The knight reaches the crest of the mountain, looking this way and that. The wind bites at his extremities. The cave should be around here somewhere.
‘Do you think you’ll have the strength to fight the dragon after this, m’lord?’ so says Fride, his squire.
‘Dragon? Oh, like a metaphor. Very good Fride, I see now how you might compare our hardship to that of the mythical beastie. We’ll make a bard of you yet.’
‘Eh- no, m’lord. I mean the actual, literal dragon.’
The knight stares. ‘What, really? There’s a dragon in the cave?’
‘Yes, m’lord.’
‘A live one?’
Fride says nothing.
‘Oh for fuck’s sake.’
Paddy Dobson
3rd February 2021