Samuel had recovered from his dragonsbane poisoning a few days ago and was doing great. I caught him reading some books in my library and looked generally happy outside of his home kingdom. Sometimes, he waked up in the middle of the night in panic, but a bit of reassuring usually did the trick; apprehending the moment he would meet his governor for a final time did mess his head a little bit. I was surprised that the king didn't send a knight to check up on the human, as if he didn't care about him. Too bad, his loss.

One morning, we hopped on my flying broom, landed near the castle of the realm of interest and walked a little bit. One guard spotted us: « Halt, who are you and what are you intentions ?
– The adventurer's guilds' appointed memories keeper. I would like to have an audience with your governor, lord Charles the fifteenth.
– Do you have an appointment ? the guard barked
– Why would I ?
– Procedures. You must have a written appointment with his Majesty and it has to be stamped by him.
– I told you you needed that, Samuel whispered to me.
– Oh. Well, tell you what, I will tell you the why I deliberately came without notice, I sternly tell the guard. One of your comrades was sent to me and he declared me as the enemy of your kingdom and attempted to 'end my reign of terror'. Since I was apparently supposed to be dead, and since I was the 'enemy' of your kingdom, I naturally didn't give notice.
– Procedure is procedure and that's it, the guard dismissed without showing any concern for what I just said.
– You really are tone-deaf, are you not ? In a less than good mood, I would not be asking you politely to enter the fortifications, I would be blasting right through them without giving a second thought about "procedures". Anyway, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, cause I am going in no matter what. The choice is yours. »

Another guard intervened, interjecting that the one I was talking with was an idiot. Both started arguing about enforcing having a written note or just letting me in. He knew picking a fight with me was going to end poorly and they weren't paid enough to fight dragons. Another round of arguing later, I was finally let inside the perimeter of the fortification and lead through the castle doors, Samuel following my tracks. He looked calm, but the next rooms were going to wreak his good demeanor.

We entered the castle and were lead through by the guard. He apologized for how stupid his companion was because he just got out of training. We arrived to a couple of grand doors leading to the throne room. As we approached, they opened into the room itself and we were let through. The room was disproportionately huge with a thick carpet and guards flanking it a few meters apart, leading to the throne. At our sight, the king looked pissed, but remained calm. Samuel was a nervous wreck, he stood close to me, apprehensive of the monarch's reaction. The guard leading us bowed, announced us and regained his position. The crowned individual looked at us:

« Good morning. There is better be a good reason why I was rushed here, or there will be consequences for disobeying my directives !
– Good morning sir, I replied jovially. There is a good reason- (cut off)
– Don't you dare disrespect me and call me 'sir'. I'm already irritated I have to listen to you, like if I had no other pressing matter to take care of.
– Oh, I fainted surprise, of course. That's a good start. You know damn well I'm not your subject and I will refer to you by 'sir', as I do with many royal families and they don't mind, whether you like it or not. Considering what you qualified me of, procedures are out of the window. I was feeling in a good mood today so I entered through the main entrance. Now, I will ask you to calm down because you're escalating this by yourself.
– And now you're giving me orders !? How dare you have such disrespect for the governor of a grand kingdom like mine !? the king replied annoyed. Samuel, you disappointment of a dragon slayer. You failed a lot of missions I gave you, including this one with a sword supposed to help you in your task. We gave you countless hours of training and yet you still failed. You were destined for greatness, you're stuck in limbo.
– I'm sorry your Majesty, Samuel answered very nervously with a trembling voice, I failed again. That sword got the best of me and... (cut off) – Enough ! the king stepped over, At this point, I have no other choice but to deal with you directly.
– Before that, I will tell you why I'm here, sir, I interrupted. You declared me as the enemy of your realm. Impressive title, but you forgot very important details. Indeed, I loaned you some money to help you build your 'grand kingdom' when you were in a delicate situation, said money was to be reimbursed in a couple years. I helped your troops win battles and your realm wars so it could enjoy its independence today. You turned the edge of your own blade against yourself when you sent a dragon slayer, thinking you could get out of debt by framing me as the enemy of your territories. I had high hopes for a calm conversation and revive our relationship this morning, but your behavior proves otherwise.
– (the king remained silent)
– Plus your dragon slayer's sword had a putrid smell of dragonsbane, a substance you failed to disclose the nature of, you know, toxicity. My reading of this isn't just 'I gave you a weapon to help you with that mission and you failed'. It looked like you wanted to get rid of Samuel even if you had to use some underhanded techniques. Well done, for you have shattered the trust and faith he had in you, he now refuses to work for you.
– First, you come in without notice, the king barked furiously, then you disrespect me, then you give me orders and finally you decide to humiliate me in front of everybody ?
– What are you hinting at exactly ? Are you admitting that I'm right ? You better believe I'm damn right, they didn't give me a particular title for nothing ! – First, I'll deal with that letdown of a knight, then I'll punish you. »

The king stood in front of his throne, hand on his sword guard and walked. Samuel became white as a sheet. He didn't know 'hell' was to be pierced by a royal blade and getting disposed of like an obsolete object. I simply warned the king: « Don't you bloody dare. This is your last chance to walk back on your decision. » The king unsheathed his sword and began to swing it towards Samuel who is screaming for dear life, terrified of what he's witnessing. Through some shield magic, I blocked the blade with my arm, saving my new friend in the process. I knocked the attacker back a few meters with a well placed sword swing and a kick. The king exclaimed stupefied:

« You dare deny me the right of life and death over my own subjects !?
– Samuel is no longer just a subject for you to toy with, I replied calmly but very firmly, he's also one I chose to protect and care for. He's a lovely person to live with. He doesn't deserve the punishment you tried to hand him, nor did he deserve the few days of horrible symptoms. I categorically refuse you hurt him more, don't even think about letting him rot in prison 'cause I won't let you. You may not know, but people capable of emotions and reasoning in this room are watching and listening to you closely. Each action sends a strong message. You indirectly told you are ready to use underhanded techniques to get rid of those you deem too incompetent to carry out their tasks, if not straight up execute them unjustly and on the spot if they survive.
– I decide who lives and who dies by my own blade, the king replied seething, I and only I get to decide, nobody else, not even you !
– Ha ! I don't care about your so-called right when the person you were going to coldly assassinate because they ticked you off is innocent ! I reply raising my voice to impose my point and let it be heard. I don't give a second thought about your futile procedures ! You being royally pissed is the cadet of my concerns ! However, you have forgotten who I am exactly and how I helped you. » I unsheathed my own sword, tip resting on the ground, eyes glowing. I continued calmly and firmly. « You have defied many dragons before and you lost many times. Crossing me by sending a dragon slayer, then attempting to murder him, the victim of your caprices, are two mistakes you're about to pay for dearly. »

The king was seething red of uncontrollable anger. The guards were wondering if they should intervene and attempt to deescalate. He finally ordered: « Catch that dragon and drag him out of my sight. I have never thought I would be defied today and I've seen enough. Teach him a lesson if you wish. » Many armored humans stood still, others threw themselves but were quickly immobilized. Poor Samuel looked like his soul left him, his face was a ghostly pale white color with tears running down.

I looked at the king right through his eyes with a piercing gaze: « I'm not quite done. You, teach me a lesson, are you out of your mind ? Let me explain in a few simple words. I, appointed keeper of memories of the adventurers' guilds, mysterious magician, and supposed enemy of your kingdom, will challenge you personally to a duel. This duel shall remind you who helped you rebuild your kingdom, who exactly you declared as your enemy, what I'm capable of. You will feel the fiery anger of an angry dragon. En garde, and let us dance ! »

The ballet began in the throne room. Some guards could only look at the elegant dance of blades clashing and singing their melodies in awe, some others were terrified and just stayed put. The rest bailed out for their lives. Those who were immobilized had no other choice but watch the scene. The king was channeling his rage in brutal swings and was determined to not lose. I cast a few spells to catch my adversary off guard. Many opportunities I left open were met with a block and counter.

After what felt like an eternity, knives and bullets whizzed through the air, deliberately missing the king by mere millimeters. His face turned from red of anger to pale of fear, the fear of impending death. His sword was singing notes of despair and anger. He was so desperate to regain control of the battle he used dirty tactics and toxic weaponry. I answered by wielding two blades, using more powerful spells, more direct attacks. My fiery breath weapon burned toxic coatings, letting the monarch get a taste of what a dragon's rage felt like. The king suffered many blows and near-misses with my unpredictable style of dual wielding. I was in control of the field, not him.

As we progressed, the king's music and dance grew tired while mine was still going strong. After all, I'm used to defeating persistent dragon slayers, achieving that required a lot of endurance the king didn't have. When I felt the monarch was loosening his grip over his sword with the force imparted over my own, I disarmed him dual-blade style.

His primary and secondary swords went flying, and emitted a final note when reaching their destination. End of the music. End of the dance. The king looked at me in disbelief he's been disarmed twice by a dragon. The fight was heated, but the room went stone cold.

« I lost.
– You lost, I promptly replied, smoke still flowing out of my nostrils and letting my second sword disappear into ether.
– I lost in front of my guards, my soldiers, in my throne room, in my own castle, in front of my own people ! the defeated king replied with a trembling weak voice. I lost to a dragon, of all things ! That's what a dragon's anger feels like. »

I slowly advanced towards the monarch on his knees, the tip of my sword hovering over the ground. As he realized what could happen, he panicked and broke down in tears. "Please, the monarch pleaded, I implore your kindness to not kill me. I know how angry you are with my ways and how you wish to avenge dragons I hurt, but please let me live. I promise to change for the better."

The room held its breath, as the cold, indifferent edge of my sword kissed his neck.

(to be continued)