st. The servants dressed me in a rich red gown, a black mantle and golden slippers. I ate in the l

lamb bones, wa

, do you enjoy book

Mama used to read to me every night, and now I read myself to sleep." My

"There's no need to fear there. He

great room with soaring windows and cathedral-like architecture, all marble and elegant stone. The dragon was not terribly large, about the span and height of five draft horses, but whipco

e of many concubines, forgettable to father as the breeze, another conquest of

d with tome upon tome, bound in leather and vellum. It smelled of old bo

e of words. The dragon smiled, pleased, and settled himself behind a desk.

"That shelf before you contains fairy tales

all

kling. "Perhaps y

a sky-blue volume with gold embossing. It was an edition of my most cherished childho

messes, wives, and wine. "Have you heard of 'Jack and the Bouncing Castle'? He gets into a bet with a giant and cheats him,

ntire thing," Ethan

at plush chair, cleare

He laughed at Jack's quips and almost cried when the gian

, saving the kingdom from the gia

"I can see why you're named after Jack. You

the Gods to divine who would become the sacrifice, and it was me. It is the will of the god

alled. "Have I ev

n tithes from nobility, otherwise you raid their c

y the reflection of the flames over his pearlescent scales. "I would never eat a human. They

still steal what yo

n's flocks. As for the gold, you will find that it often corrupts no

do you u

rse. It is a vital ingr

t sp

said nothing. He returned to hi

ells?" I

how about I tell you a tale. It is the tale o

ed by a story I'd never heard before. The dragon had a way with words that was hard to describe, all poetry and beauty, like he was painting a picture in my min

e chair, lost in th

l discover the tale you'