The Duke of Finchall sat on the wide stone steps, his chin resting in his palm. A handbill advertising the Ninth Brazenaar Companion Competition dangled from his other hand. The Duke watched his faithful companion scamper around the courtyard, claws scraping against worn stone.
“My lord, may I offer you a drink?”
The Duke looked up. His squire, Rivar, stood behind him, caught in a low bow. A serving girl stood behind the squire, bearing a steaming flagon on a silver tray. The Duke looked at the flagon, and back at Spot. Visions of the trophy, once again out of the Duke’s grasp, danced before his eyes.
“I’m not thirsty,” he replied.
“Very well, my lord. Can I interest you in something else?”
“Have you got the competition trophy lying around somewhere?” asked the Duke. He thought of his neighbour, Baron Darkrown. The Baron didn’t need yet another piece of silverware to add to his impressive collection. I don’t even have a collection, thought the Duke.
“Alas, I do not.”
The Duke turned around in time to see the squire dismiss the serving girl.
“I thought we might win this year, Rivar,” said the Duke when the girl was out of earshot.
“As did we all, my lord. But I am quite sure that Spot did not intend to urinate on the Chief Judge.”
“No, I’m sure he didn’t. But he did it all the same,” replied the Duke.
“And I am sure he did not mean to start a fight with the other competitors. He was merely full of excitement at leaving the castle.” The squire stole a glance at Spot, now pouncing at dancing shadows in the corner.
“You are probably correct, yet do it he did.”
“And if I am honest, I would venture that Spot also did not mean to devour the Adjudicator.”
The Duke shrugged in reply, and gazed across the courtyard. Spot snapped at a butterfly that veered too close to his head. A kitchen boy inched around the edge of the yard, eager to avoid Spot’s lashing tail.
“Spot? Here, boy.”
The Duke whistled and snapped his fingers. The rare Gudmundian Spotted Dragon whipped around and lumbered across the courtyard towards his master. Spot lowered his massive head and allowed the Duke to scratch behind his horns. The dragon thumped his hind leg in appreciation. The Duke sighed.
As much as he loved his companion, he couldn’t help but wish his mother had given him a puppy.
Hahaha…Nice.
*laughs!* No, I didn’t see it coming.
I can feel for the Duke. It is way cuter when your pet puppy devours the Adjudicator.
Great fun.
Aww, poor Spot! He doesn’t understand that he’s supposed to devour his competitors!
For not having a prompt, you still came up with a good one. I do love your humorous pieces.
Yay, you did do a story in the end!
I love the idea of a scampering dragon too.
I can see how training a dragon would be tough, especially a rambunctious one like Spot. Good fun, Icy.
I agree with Larry. Spot just doesn’t know better. Me, I would prefer a dragon over a puppy any day, or wait, am I allowed to have both? Although they would have to grow together… wouldn’t want the dragon eating the puppy.
Great fun and a nice play on words.
I adore this! In my opinion, dragons are cuter than puppies. It could be that I’m not allergic to them. Great twist at the end, and playfully written. 🙂
Very cute story, Icy. Poor Spot, I’m sure he has a good heart. 🙂
Oh that was a lovely ending. Really enjoyed that.
And your blog is letting me comment again!
I didn’t anticipate Spot being a dragon, but having read your other stories I knew there had to be some sort of a twist!
Haha, methinks Spot is a somewhat troublesome pet, and I want one just like him.
LOL Didn’t see the dragon coming! Very funny.
I was totally unprepared for the ending. Bravo.
Loved your title for this one, after seeing how things played out. How can you stay mad at Spot? A fun read!
I loved the light hearted tone. I’m sure once we figure out how to bioengineer them, they’ll be all the rage.
This was a lot of fun. Too bad those pesky but cute dragons are so hard to train.
Aww poor Spot he should have just won for being so cute. Fun Story!
At last! Something to make Crufts more watchable. Bring on the dragons. Not so much “sit, boy, sit” as “eat, boy, eat”.
Hah! Good ‘un!
Ahahahahahahahahahahahaaa. I can only imagine how obedience class goes.
Glad everyone has enjoyed this!
Brilliant Icy – Love the humour in this and Spot won my heart 🙂