~~~

  “Greetings Princess,” the leader of the fort said as he and the Princess took their seats in the fort’s VIP greeting room. The chairs were specially made to easily include tails since most beastkin had them. “How was your expedition?”

  Princess Fluffy studied the unwavering expression of the blue scaled gecko man, one of their kingdom’s more powerful warriors.

  He was dressed in full plate armor, except for the helmet. The armor was quite smooth with no visible hard edges, seemingly made with the idea to deflect as much as protect. The only place this wasn’t true was the armor around the tail. The armor there was instead made of leather with small yet sharp, quill-like spikes placed all along it. As a technical military leader, Princess Fluffy happened to know that it was made that way so that, if detached, the gecko man’s tail would do as much damage as possible. That or just be a general danger that needed avoidance.

  “It went quite well for the most part, Sir Maximus.” She started, making sure she kept a regal tone and bearing as was taught to her growing up as royalty.

  Normally she would have skipped such formalities, but this gecko man, Sir Maximus Destroyer Rex, was known for his scrupulousness. It would be a real pain if he ended up nagging her like all her other etiquette teachers. Not literal, mind you, she was his superior. But anyone forced to deal with politics learns to slip a metaphorical knife into their words.

  “We’ve secured a dragon that we think is the one everyone has been talking about.”

  Maximus stoically nodded in response, “Indeed, I couldn’t help but presume so after my daughter made that disgraceful display.”

  The Princess gave a feline smile at that. “Yes, your daughter, young lady Bixxy. I believe I heard that she’s been showing remarkable promise as a potential dragon whisperer?”

  This remark actually caused the knight to give a slight, prideful smile.

  “Yes, Princess. She’s been sneaking into the dragon pens practically since the day she hatched. I’d been planning to send her off to the Grand Dochna Academy.”

  Princess Fluffy’s eyes widened at that. The Grand Dochna Academy was the most prestigious academy on the continent! Only those with a great amount of talent or geniuses even had the chance to try the entrance exam! Even the Princess hadn’t been able to get in!

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The academy was supposedly founded by an ancient hero and their sage companions after banishing a great evil. They founded it while proclaiming that the great evil would return one day, and they hoped that with the help of the Academy, that far distant generation would defeat it when it did return. As such, the Academy admitted beings of any race as long as they showed an appropriate level of talent and dedication to self-improvement. It was a school for future legends.

  “Do you really think she’ll make it in?”

  The gecko man nodded. “I believe she has good odds. She might not be the most studious, but she’s incredibly diligent and does have a knack for working with the dragons we have here.”

  Princess Fluffy nodded and let the father luxuriate in his pride for his kin for a little bit before moving on.

  “I do need to report that we were attacked by fey folk in the pass.”

  Sir Maximus’s expression immediately grew dark at this. “How many did you lose?”

  “Only three of my forward units. Quite good for escaping an ambush in such a disadvantageous position.” Fluffy replied while calmly sipping her tea.

  A clang sounded out as a gauntleted fist hit an armored leg.

  “Darned fey and their constant machinations.” Maximus growled. “Was it an assault on you specifically or were they just aiming for your prize?”

  “It’s unclear, we made all haste to get through and escape. We even had to use the metal carriage to smash through an impromptu blockade they had set up at the exit of the pass.”

  “Hmm, that could be a real issue. Especially with all those adventurers needing to exit the forest once they’ve given up. Perhaps-“

  Just then, a hard knocking on the door interrupted Sir Maximus.

  “Excuse me Princess.”

  He bowed deferentially before getting up and opening the door to reveal a slightly shaking, fully armored soldier.

  “Yes? I was having a discussion with the Princess.”

  “Sir!” The still shaking soldier saluted before continuing, “there’s an issue with the new dragon, sir!”

  Maximus raised an eyebrow at that. “An issue?”

  “Yes sir! We administered the sedative gas in the lindworm’s cage so that we could slip the magic blocking collar on, as per regulations…” the soldier then hesitated, as if he himself didn’t believe what happened next.

  “And?! Spit it out!”

  “S-sir! The lindworm’s head relaxed and dozed off pretty quickly, but when squire William entered the cage, the tail… opened up to reveal a horrid maw! The thing has a life of its own! It hissed like nothing I’ve ever heard and nearly grabbed William up! It’s been rampaging in its cage and trying to get out even now! W-what do we do sir?!”

  Maximus turned to the Princess who was mumbling to herself,

  “An abhorrent, or just a mutation? It’s true we didn’t closely study the thing, but we just didn’t have the time and our dragon whisperer was already dead…”

  Turning back to the soldier, Maximus asked, “and where is my daughter?”

  “She was near the carriage last I saw her, sir. Sir Spike was watching over her to make sure she wouldn’t approach.”

  Maximus let out a relieved sigh before putting his helmet on. Now fully armored he looked more similar to an *“armadillo girdled lizard man” than a “gecko man”. The sight was quite intimidating.

  “Excuse me Princess,” he bowed, until she waved him off. He then turned to the knight. “Lead the way, I’ll handle this.”

  ~~~

  "Armadillo girdled lizards" are literally just called "armored lizards" usually.

  me stupid if my next chapter starts to be late, but any mean comments about my story will totally hurt my feelings!

  I like polls.