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Gerard's father, like all the other knights, had ventured bravely forth and bravely died in the talons of the dragon, but Gerard was crafty and began his quest by journeying far into the western forest where lived the Witch of Ancient Sorrows. Gerard had steeled himself to charm a miserable crone, but the Witch he found was a shy and pretty thing, and the task of seduction was simple pleasure. She resisted and cried out at first like any virgin did, but she surrendered in the end like every virgin did.When Gerard asked the Witch for power to defeat the dragon, she showed him a white pebble on a leather string and fastened it around his neck. "The Stone of Surcease will ward you from harm, but the dragon's fire will sear metal to your flesh, so you cannot wear armor to this battle. And no weapon held by man can breach the dragon's skin, so you must let him consume you, then claw out his heart from within."Gerard laughed. "A knight prancing naked into a dragon's lair would be a sight indeed. Enough jest. I know the secret histories, and my sword comes from legend. It has the blessings of two gods, its edge can cut shadows, and it needs but a witch's charm to guide my right hand true."The Witch found his scabbard and drew out the sword. "You mean this old thing?" She thrust it at the knight's bare chest. The sword's point pierced his flesh, stopped at bone, crumpled like paper, then dissolved into dust.A moment later the wound in his flesh had become an itching scar. While Gerard marvelled at his broken sword and unbroken chest, the Witch found a steel gauntlet and pressed it to his skin. "Shall I prove for you the dragon's fire as well?" she asked.Gerard grinned and said, "I yield to your wisdom and familiarity with power, and I hope that all success in my humble quest will lend glory to your name."And that was the end of that.When Gerard entered the dragon's lair a full moon later, the dragon was fast asleep beside a half-eaten horse. To lure the dragon into reckless feral abandon, Gerard had dressed in soft leathers, as if he were a thief in search of treasure. But there was no treasure there. The dragon's glow left no shadows in the cavern, and all that the knight could see was as barren as the winter sun."What fortune is this?" Gerard muttered to himself. "How shall I anger the dragon now?" After brief consideration of the horse's carcass as a bone of contention, Gerard saw a gleam in the dragon's mouth, and he had a clever thought. He crept quietly toward the dragon's snout.The dragon's teeth were as bright and smooth as day. The dragon's talons were as sudden and swift as rain. Gerard was knocked to the ground and pinned beneath the dragon's claws.When Gerard caught his breath, he feigned fear and screamed, "Oh please sir dragon please don't eat me!"The dragon's voice was a rush of air, like a flock of birds in flight. "WHY

NOT?""I mean no harm I've heard great tales of how splendid you are your scales like silk your sapphire eyes your breath as sweet as grain I thought it too incredible too much like a minstrel's tale I had to come and see for myself is your tail needle sharp are your teeth gleaming gold?"The dragon's laugh was a forest consumed by fire. "YOU CAME TO STEAL A TOOTH.""No not at all my mother is ill her nose was cursed and fell off the surgeons say she will not survive a fortnight without another made of dragon's spit and gold I said to myself now where am I going to find a dragon's spit and gold and then I saw your cave and thought why not have a look and here I am and then I saw the gleam inside your mouth and thought what if those teeth are gold he has so many in such fine shape perhaps he won't begrudge one small crooked one that maybe has an ache so we could help each other if your tooth does ache and if it is really gold, is it?"The dragon's growl was a flood-breached dam. "YOU CAME TO STEAL A TOOTH!""No no no no no no no no no no no no yes please may I go?"The dragon's silence was night.A long moment later, the dragon released his claws. A short moment later, a golden tooth, as large as a fist, fell to the ground near the knight."GO," said the dragon.Gerard was taken aback. He had expected to be deep inside the dragon's gullet by now, and had he been the dragon in this encounter, he certainly would have devoured himself long ago.He put the tooth in his knapsack and asked the dragon, "May I have another?"The dragon curled his silvery tail around Gerard, and said, "FIRST GIVE ME YOURS.""Oh no no no you don't want any of mine they're all rotten not like yours this is a fine tooth any father would be proud but what I meant to say was it isn't really the shape my mother needs and I was wondering if I might search for another but if it's too much trouble this is fine I'll just go but do you mind if I take a quick look inside your mouth anyway?"The dragon placed the sharp tip of his tail in Gerard's mouth to stop his tongue."ENOUGH JEST," said the dragon. "YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST KNIGHT TO TRY TO POISON ME, BUT YOU ARE THE MOST RECKLESS."The dragon's claws came to shred Gerard's leathers from his skin. "WHAT SECRET LENDS YOU COURAGE IN THIS FOOLISH QUEST?"A talon snagged against the witch's charm on Gerard's neck. The dragon pulled at the slender string, but it did not yield, and the knight was lifted into the air like a rabbit in a snare. Gerard grasped the rough surface of the dragon's talon and steeled himself to dive down the dragon's throat when the moment was right.The

knight dangled like a pendant in front of the dragon's face. An eye as large as Gerard's head stared at him, and Gerard stared bravely back.The dragon's blink was a mirror crashing on stone.Gerard shivered and looked away. The dragon's gaze had changed, had become something fierce and strange.Gerard felt himself lowered gently to the ground, felt himself released from the dragon's grasp.The dragon's whisper was a razor shaving flesh. "I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED A TOY THAT CANNOT BREAK."Gerard ran.The horses were already dead when Gerard reached his camp. He hid and ran and hid some more, but there was no hole the dragon could not find, no shelter the dragon could not crack. Before the day grew cold, the dragon fished him out from the mud at the bottom of a pond, and carried him back home to the lair. The knight resisted and cried out at first like any virgin did, but he surrendered in the end like every virgin did.When the Witch entered the dragon's lair a full moon later, the dragon was fast asleep beside a half-crazed knight. Gerard cowered but made no noise as the Witch approached, and did not resist when she reclaimed her Stone. She left as quietly as she came, and returned to her camp outside the lair, to wait.The dragon's grief was a thousand wolves dying. He fled the cavern with his broken knight and was never seen or heard again.The Witch of Ancient Sorrows told Prince Ramelar this tale, before resuming her solitary life.And that was the end of that.Author's NotesI wrote this story in a daze of creativity in about a week of spare time. It began as a mood-image of an overconfident guy suddenly discovering that he's way out of his depth. In the process of writing out the fairy-tale twist, I discovered I could add another twist and turn it into a neat little one-two punch.So the big problem with this story is it's too much of a bait and switch. It's hard to pick tags that are meaningful without ruining the ending. It's hard to lure someone who would like the story into reading it, without ruining the ending. The story needs a different beginning that promises something closer to the first twist, but it's hard to do that without messing up the symmetry. At one point I thought I might be able to fix it by writing another story to precede this one, but I never got a good handle on that, and moved on to other things.