Blazing Dragons: A Squire’s Saga

Series 1 - Chapter 1

“Breach” (Part 1)

1. 1-1 – Breach (Part 1)

Story Concept By: Marc Pilon


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                His heart was racing as he desperately tried to navigate the winding hallways of Camelhot, searching for the source of a loud crash that had just reverberated through out the castle, which interrupted his blissful peace and quiet. The crash was so intense that he almost mistook it as a strike of lightning with thunder before peering out his bedroom window to expose a sunny, cloudless day which quickly extinguished his theory. Just moments ago, he was enjoying a relaxing, lazy hot summer’s day with the princess, peacefully slumbering the afternoon’s heat away in his room…

He actually had a break from squiring, so he decided he was going to catch up on some much-needed rest. Just before he was about to climb into his bed, there was a knock on his door. He walked over and proceeded to open it and found Princess Flame standing before him in her usual radiant pink dress. She always liked to surprise him with casual visits just to say hello, talk, or to simply keep him company for a while. He greatly enjoyed the Princess’s companionship, and always had. She was one of the few things in his life that could put him in a good mood even after the most stressful or unpleasant of days. In fact, for as long as he could remember, they have always been inseparable, doing most everything together, never once failing to put a smile on his face.

After explaining that he was about to catch up on some sleep, she asked if she could join him, rationalizing that she was exhausted from being ushered around all day by her step-mother, Queen Griddle, and father, King Allfire, attending to royal affairs. His stomach suddenly felt light, and he began to blush slightly at her suggestion and he quickly cocked his head to the side so she wouldn’t notice the tint of red forming on his cheeks. Without him being able to say anything to protest the idea, Flame entered his room and made her way to his bed where she crawled under his sheets in one swift, fluid motion. He stood perplexed for a moment, not really knowing what he should do until she reiterated that she thought he was going to get some rest and asked if he was going to join her. He nervously made his way to his own bed where Flame lay with her back towards him as her body was half under the covers. He timidly crawled under his sheets and remained on the opposite side of the bed, unsure if he should make any advancement. He remained as far away from her as possible. His heart began to race as he looked at Flame, curled up peacefully in his bed and watched her body slightly rise and fall as she inhaled and exhaled a few short breaths. The tingling in his stomach intensified and a bead of sweat began to form on his brow. He had always had feelings for her; strong feelings, but he never knew just how to express them. She was the Princess: High Royalty within the kingdom; and he was ‘Nothing but a mere squire’ He always thought to himself. What chance could he possibly have with a princess in the eyes of the royal court anyway?

It wasn’t until he felt her hand gently squeezing his wrist and pulling it over her abdomen that he broke from his momentary thoughts and finally let go of all his anxiousness, gently wrapping his arm around her and found his chest cradling her back. His racing heart feel to rest and together they cuddled in the warm rays of the sun, passing through the lone window in his room, and dozed off into a blissful slumber…
…‘Absolutely perfect’…

But now his body was growing numb as he was running violently through what seemed to be an endless number of passageways. Thoughts began to flood his head, "What has happened?” "Could anybody be hurt?" but most generically, "What is it this time?” Camelhot has been no stranger to sudden distresses and imminent dangers threatening the very kingdom and everyone inside. It was starting to become a routine event.

The only feeling he could sense now was the warmth of a hand within his own, Princess Flame's hand tightly wrapped around his. It was the only comforting feeling he had at the moment and it was most certainly a welcomed one as they sprinted along.

It was actually surprising to him that Flame had reacted to the sound well before he did. After being abruptly awaken from the crash, it was Flame that immediately got up to investigate and wasn't until she had left the room running that he could build up the courage himself to get up and chase after her. Deep down, he didn't want to know what caused the crash; in fact he wanted nothing to do with it. He would have rather remained in the unperturbed state he was just in previously, and not have to confront what he knew was going to be nothing but trouble. But when he felt Flame was rushing towards peril, his gut instinct told him he needed to take action, chase her down, and make sure no harm would come to her. He had to go, whether he had wanted to or not…

…His heart has always dictated his actions.
  
                Rounding the last corner before the Thrown Room, a blood-curdling scream echoed through out the hallways. The sound made the pair jump in surprise even in their already shell-shocked state.

                "Step Mother Griddle!" Flame shrieked in horror, pointing out the name attached to the scream.
But Flicker knew the identity of the scream all but too well. It has made its presence almost everyday within the kingdom through either screams of anger or despair. It almost felt like she would yell for no other reason than to get some attention or intentions of intimidating someone. He himself has been the butt-end of those screams on numerous occasions, for either being in the way, needing to retrieve something for her through a ridiculous task, or simply being in the company of Flame. The queen wasn’t pleased at the thought of the Princess: a blue-blooded, proper, daughter of the king; would rather spend all her time with a humble, lowly squire instead of some foreign Prince. But this time, her scream was that of a different nature. It wasn't out of her usual emotional distress, but instead, that of horror.  

                "Oh Flicker, we need to hurry!" Flame cried; now well out in front of him as she began to run even faster.
  
               The last thing he wanted to do was accelerate his pace. The longer it took for them to arrive at source of the disturbance, the better. He hoped that the other knights would have the situation under control by the time they would arrive so he wouldn't have to intervene. Although he has proven to himself many times in the past that he can be courageous, collected, and knowledgeable in a dire situation, he always found himself absolutely petrified as the events unfolded. It was always out of pure impulse that he would react in any critical circumstance, after which, he always remained completely stunned that he not only was capable of performing such daring tasks, but also that he always managed to pull off whatever he would try and save the day. He rarely got the recognition for his deeds though. Instead they were always credited to his lord and master, Sir Loungealot, whom he squired under; always taking credit for his handy work. Although he, initially, always found himself to be upset, he would kept his mouth shut. No one, besides Flame and a couple of the knights would ever listen to him anyway. But beyond that, he could never repay his lord for what he had done for him as a child…

…His thoughts began trailing off as he entered the thrown room.

Passing through the entryway, they halted immediately in their tracks as masses of chaos and confusion dispersed before them. Together they froze in terror at the manifestation; a giant metallic dragon lie directly in the middle of the thrown room while a man, in purple armor, stood calmly next to it, facing in the opposite direction. He was looking towards the portly king who was standing in front of his thrown, dressed in his royal blue robe with Black spotted broidery, and showed no signs of fear. Instead, he just stared the man down with a scowl etched upon his face.

Meanwhile, four of the five Knights of the Square Table were fanned out behind the scene, transfixed on the mechanical beast, not daring to step forward in fear that harm would befall them if they made any sudden movements. Each extremely tense with their backs arched and eyes locked onto the ruby red glowing eyes of the monster.

Suddenly a fury of flames began spraying out of the mouth of the colossal metallic monster. This sparked a sudden cry of trepidation from behind, which startled both he and Flame making them turn around to see a trembling Queen Griddle and her son, Sir Blaze, a knight of all dragons, huddling together in the corner, shaking violently in fear.

Flicker was never too partial of the queen and her temperament. She never treated him with any respect, being nothing but a slave servant in her eyes, and actually wondered if she even knew his name. But he remained completely loyal to her and the monarch. It’s what he grew up to know.

Sir Blaze, on the other hand, Flicker tended to confide in much better than any of the other knights. Blaze was different from the other knights in his ideals and personality. He could be a bit eccentric from time to time, but he had his own charisma about him. Sir Blaze didn’t seem to mind that he and the Princess would spend so much time together and seemed to actually support the pair where others did not. Beyond that though, Blaze would actually listen to what he would have to say and not just brush him off to the side as most every one does. As far as being a knight though, it really didn’t suit Blaze that entirely well. Being the son of the Queen, he was given the title without having to prove himself worthy. He always seemed to cower in the wake of danger, and was too scrawny to do any physical damage in a fight… and came as no surprise to Flicker that Sir Blaze, the fifth knight, was hiding in a corner, and not being part of the action.

Turning back to the event, Flicker soon found his body starting to weaken and he began to tremble in apprehension. His chest started constricting, making it hard for him to breathe and he found himself in an all too familiar state of feeling scared and frozen when danger presented itself. Flame found herself clutching to Flicker involuntarily, seeking some sort of comfort and protection.
They both remained completely petrified as the chaos played out before them.


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A wave of exhilaration flooded Count Geoffrey’s body as he stood before the all-powerful and mighty King Allfire and his Knights of the Square Table of Camelhot. Staring King Allfire directly in his eyes, he could tell Allfire was frightened, even though his composure did not reveal it. For once it looks as if his dastardly plan was actually going to succeed!

Oh sure, he’s found himself in similar situations before: invading the castle with some outlandish plan, demanding the kingdom’s immediate liberation to him, all the while threatening the well-being of every ill-fated dragon within its walls if they would not comply to his demands. But each time his plans were never completely thought through to the end, or rehearsed in such a manor as this plan was. He usually found himself in extraordinarily large amounts of pain and discomfort as his plans were foiled and he was thrown out of Camelhot with such force it left him battered and bruised for weeks.

…But not this time…

He spent months preparing his invasion, building his perfectly constructed mechanical dragon: the ultimate in combat warfare, and practicing the speech he would bellow to King Allfire. The stage was set and nothing had gone wrong as of yet. It made him feel confident for once, that is, not failing so early in his plan. He cleared his throat, as it was time to set his malicious plan into action.

Throwing his hands in the air he let out a maniacal laugh as he seized the moment. With the controls for the metal beast in hand, he grinned and looked King Allfire directly in his eyes once more.

“You’re days are numbered Allfire!” Geoffrey exclaimed in a forceful tone as he pointed his controller towards the King, who retained his composure.

“What is the meaning of this Geoffrey?” The King belted out hastily to him, but Geoffrey just smiled as his plot was flowing along just as he had planned.

“Hand over Camelhot to me or meet your untimely demise!” He proclaimed with as much elocution and pronunciation as he could to make himself perfectly clear in his demand to the king. He smiled inwardly as he knew this time he had the King cornered.

This time, Camelhot would be his.


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King Allfire was less than amused at the scene that was unraveling in front of him. Geoffrey has threatened his Kingdom on several occasions and failed miserably on every account. He found Count Geoffrey to be more of a pest or nuisance rather than an actual threat to his kingdom. But he knew well enough to take him seriously as he didn’t want to lay risk to his court and subjects.

“You must have gone completely out of your mind Geoffrey if you think I would just hand my kingdom over to a mad man such as your self.” The King hollered to Geoffrey, trying to sound as calm and collected as possible even though he was a bit tense in seeing the coerce mechanical dragon that stood in the middle of his thrown room. He has found himself against Geoffrey in many encounters in the past, but he never felt as if though he were in any real danger. But this instance was different. The metallic monster was much better crafted than Geoffrey’s previous attempts at creating weaponry. But he inhaled deeply and quickly lost his edginess.

“I have given a solemn oath to protect this kingdom and everyone in it!” King Allfire shouted to Geoffrey as his patients were now starting to wear thin, “So why don’t you take that monstrosity of yours and get out of my kingdom before I force you out!”


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The soon-to-be King Count Geoffrey grimaced at the King’s words. This wasn’t exactly how he planned this moment to turn out. He started to become very displeased with this. The King was supposed to realize the seriousness of his predicament and hand over Camelhot to him and while they were leaving his castle, he would destroy the dragons once and for all.

He angrily pointed at the King. “I think it would be wise to reconsider your decision, King Allfire.” speaking calmly but sternly to the King.

He wasn’t playing games anymore. He was going to take this castle by whatever means necessary…


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Flicker remained completely nerve-racked watching as the evil Count Geoffrey threatened his home and their lives with his diabolical machine. His eyes never left the scene and everything around him completely dissolved from his consciousness. He didn’t know what to do…what to think. His heartbeat never slowed down from the time he first heard the crash and now his arms and legs were stiff as a board in petrifaction. This all seemed like nothing short of a nightmare. It was Flame that finally snapped him out of his stupor.

“Flicker we have to do something!” Flame said as she managed to pull herself together to realize the critical nature of the situation at hand, all the while never relinquishing her clutch on Flicker.

He snapped to, and drunkenly looked at the floor for a moment trying to recollect his composure. His mind began racing as he began trying to think of a way, anyway to solve this crisis that Geoffrey was plaguing them with. Many things from earlier in the day ran through his mind as well, making it hard for him to concentrate and rationalize anything that would be helpful now.

He actually began to panic as his mind kept drawing blanks and a feeling of hopelessness started setting the pit of his stomach which added to the numerous things already running through his thoughts and body. His head started to ache and his body began to shake in his alarmed state. In every other instance he had to step in during a situation, an idea or plan would immediately pop into his head and without giving it a second thought, he was running to execute that plan. But now, he was coming up with nothing and his body was feeling a daunting physical torture that was becoming visibly noticeable. Clenching his teeth, he doubled over and clutched his head with his hands as the pressure was building and beginning to become unbearable.

He felt Flame tightly grab and cup his hands within her own, as she tried to soothe and calm him as well as put all of her hope and trust into him. Where in any other case, the added pressure would have gotten to him and make him panic even more. But that wasn’t the case this time. He slowly found his mind starting to clear and his heart rate decrease as Flame’s hands acted as comfort for him. His body quickly stopped shaking, the churning in his stomach ceased, the pressure growing in his head relinquished, and he began calming down and thinking straight once more...

Suddenly his head snapped up and his eyes shot wide open. His impulse kicked in and he unconsciously began to act. This made Flame jump in surprise, as she wasn’t prepared for his abrupt reaction.

“Quickly Flame! Come with me!” Flicker said to the Princesses as he grabbed her hand and began rushing back into the very halls they originally navigated earlier to find the source of the distress. But now they were running through them to hopefully find a resolution. His mind was clear and set on one hope.

…’There has to be something that can stop that thing’…


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‘Curse that Geoffrey!’ Sir Loungealot grumbled to himself as he stood, eyes locked on what appeared to be a poorly designed, metal version of a dragon. Geoffrey obviously didn’t do much anatomy study of an actual dragon before constructing this monstrosity.

This was far removed from what he wanted to do today. He was hoping for a pleasant and relaxing evening of wining and dining with a bottle of Camelhot’s finest wine, several stuffed birds and pheasant with the entire side trimming, cooked and served by the royal chef, Turnspit, followed by a relaxing bubble bath and then a very long and comfortable sleep…

…Just something different to help him break free from his normal routine…

But apparently that wasn’t in the cards today as the Dreaded Count Geoffrey De Bouillon; ‘Oppressor Par Excellence of the Poor and Weak’ Loungealot whispered to himself finishing off Geoffrey’s full title, all while rolling his eyes; was trying yet another one of his ill-fated attempts to overtake Camelhot for his own reign. A grimace had taken over his expression as he began to become even more and more irritated at Geoffrey for pulling this stunt.

He knew his night wasn’t completely ruined yet though, and he looked to his left to see his fellow knights standing along side him: closest to him, Sir Hotbreath, a small stocky yet robust dragon with an uncontrollable issue of belching fire, Sir Galahot, standing next in line, a very large and muscular dragon with skin tinted an unusual shade of blue rather than green, and lastly Sir Burnevere, an older almost elderly, more slender dragon with keen intellect on the far end.

‘If only one of these spineless cowards would ambush the machine and take down that idiot Geoffrey, I would still be able to at least enjoy the latter half of my evening.’ He began to rant in his mind. ‘They’ve stopped him every time before…what makes this event so special?’ Sir Loungealot thought to himself, reminiscing of previous encounters where the other knights easily vanquished Geoffrey’s evil plots.

A thunderous roar and sudden movement from the machine snapped Loungealot from his thoughts and made him recoil in surprise. The monster had turned itself completely around to face the king and now had its back towards him and the other knights. He knew if he wanted to save his evening, some one had to make a move and make it now.

“Alright, someone needs to quickly sneak up on that thing and render inoperative, while the others rush Geoffrey and take him out.” Loungealot leaned over and whispered his ingenious plan to his fellow knights, all the while never taking his eyes off the beast.

“Aye then, who’s it going to be?” Sir Burnevere started, but it soon became nothing more than mumbling and trailed off as Sir Loungealot stared off for a moment as he got lost in his imagination, playing out in his mind, Galahot charging and obliterating the machine while Hotbreath and Sir Burnevere storm after Geoffrey and Capture him, all the while he makes a gallant and noble charge to save the queen from danger…earning him a few extra brownie points from the Queen.

All of a sudden he felt many hands on his back and before he could realize or react to what was happening he was being pushed forward towards the monster…

…They thought he meant that he would risk his tail and charge that thing!

He was about to turn back when they began chanting and cheering for him. He couldn’t turn back now; his reputation would be shattered if he retreated in fear like a child. He did have an image to uphold after all, so he continued on despite his better judgment.

He carefully tiptoed his way toward the beast while thoughts, doubts, and mental images ambushed his head. What was he even going to do to the thing once he reached the thing?

His forehead was drenched in sweat, his body was trembling in fear, and he found himself wondering where his squire, Flicker, was. He would have sent him forward to engage the beast rather than himself. Or at least Flicker would have one of his crazy ideas or contraptions to stop the thing…

…”Blasted all, Flicker”… He quietly cursed his squire. He really couldn’t see this ending very pleasantly, yet he pressed on anyway.


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Geoffrey swiftly pressed a button on his control pad which made his war machine turn about to face the king. If Allfire wasn’t going to just hand over his castle, he needed to show him that he really meant business.

The metal dragon completed its rotation and its glaring red eyes were now transfixed on the king.

“Perhaps a little demonstration will be in order than.” Geoffrey threatened King Allfire as he held up the controls and precariously hovered his finger over one of the buttons. “What do you think, hmm?” He taunted the king with his rhetorical question.

This made Geoffrey feel as in a state of euphoria. He had complete control over the situation and was dictating every move of the negotiation. He’d dreamt of this feeling for years, and to experience it, made him quiver in delight.

Allfire remained unfazed and quiet while keeping a very stern look about his face, but out of the corner of Geoffrey’s eye he could see a small drop of sweat running down the side of the king’s temple. He had him on the ropes! The King was actually starting to break!

“What, cat got your tongue Allfire?” Geoffrey snickered as he waited a moment to see if the mighty king would respond. “All right then! On with the show!” Geoffrey screamed after the king remained silent and he viciously pounded away on his control pad all the while letting out a malicious cackle. It was time to show off his craftsmanship to these foul Camelhotians and show what this thing was truly made of. He was going to strike fear into everyone’s heart and bestow bleakness into their souls!



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Loungealot was almost there and the thing hadn’t even noticed him yet. He was actually going to do it! He had to make this look really good, so he started to plan out his strategy in his head. He would jump on its back, tear off its head, and strike his sword through its back which would cause a display of sparks and flashing light as the metal dragon would come crashing to the ground, after which, he would then put one foot on its chest plate and hold his chin high in victory as the others would cheer!

‘This is going to look extremely heroic’ He thought to himself while he envisioned not only the praise and adoration he would get from the King, Queen, and Knights for this, but also the gifts and riches that would probably be bestowed upon him as well.

…‘Maybe even a nice long vacation too!’…

He was now just a couple paces from the beast and buckets of sweat were now pouring from his face and dripping from his chin down to the floor below. His body was shaking so badly it nearly threw him off balance as he continued tiptoeing his way over to the foe.

‘Steady now…’

He was now in striking range. He was just about to lunge when, suddenly, the monster turned around and its deep, hellish glowing red eyes, caught hold of his own pupils, which were now beginning to dilate because he began realizing just what was happening, and its mighty steel fist clenched together with a mighty crunching and clanking sound and was beginning to cock back for a devastating strike.

Sir Loungealot just stood there and took it all in as he was unable to move. He knew he was about to be in a world of pain.

“…Oh bloody hell…”


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King Allfire could do nothing but stand and watch in awe and disbelief as the massive machine completely pummeled his most gallant and courageous knight into mincemeat.

The machine dealt many powerful and overwhelming blows to Loungealot’s stomach and chest before cracking him across the chin with one firm blow, and sent the obese dragon flying back several meters to crash violently onto the solid concrete floor.

Allfire was completely in shock and mouth agape as Geoffrey just took out one of his most acclaimed knights without even breaking into a sweat!

He turned his head away from the monster and back to Geoffrey to notice that the evil Count never once took his fiendish eyes off him during his little demonstration. This sent a cold chill up his tail and spine as he took in the harsh reality that he now found himself terrified of the formally thought-to-be harmless nuisance, Count Geoffrey.

He swallowed hard as his mind was in pandemonium, unable to cogitate what he could do to get himself out of this situation. Geoffrey just grinned devilishly at him, showing his yellow rotting teeth, knowing this battle was all but won.



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Flicker’s legs were starting to hurt as he continued to dash around the maze of halls within the castle, frantically trying to return to his room, where this whole nightmare had began. He noticed that he still had Princess Flame’s hand and began to wonder if she was holding up alright. He was completely fatigued already from running around so much and could only imagine how she must be feeling. But when he looked beside him to see the determination on her face, his mind shifted back to what he was going to try and look for to be able to stop the contraption that was threatening their home.

They finally came to the hall where his bedroom resided and continued at full speed until they came to his door. With great force, he swung the door open, making it violently crash against the wall that lay behind it. He and flame both entered the room and halted on the platform above the steps that lead down on to his bedroom floor.

He scanned his room looking at his inventions while thinking of what properties the mechanical dragon possessed. He looked at each individual device, contemplating what effectiveness it would have in stopping the great beast. His hopes began to fade again as each invention he scanned over seemed useless in what was needed, until he came across one particular gadget lying next to his bedside. His eyes lit up and a smile broke upon his face. He knew this was what he was searching for.

“That’s it!” Flicker shouted to Flame in jubilation as he began to run and retrieve the item. He knew if he could only get his invention to the thrown room in time, before Geoffrey made his final move, he would be able to stop the mechanism and save their home…or at least he hoped. But this meant more running and dragging his invention all the way back to the thrown room, which would take more time and energy then he had and he was fatigued as it was. He was most certainly not looking forward to having to do all that running again, but he quickly threw that thought aside. It seemed very insignificant when his home was at stake. He picked up his apparatus and swiftly exited his room dashing, once more, back into the hallways of Camelhot; continuing forward with Flame right by his side.

…’this just has to work’…


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