Jack Fallowfield looked up at the top of the apple tree, where ten shiny red apples still hung. His teeth worked over the end of a blade of grass as he contemplated his predicament. “Well this is a fine pickle,” he said to his partner, “pole won’t reach.”

Tobias, the other farmer helping him, studied the problem for a moment. “Blimey, thing grew quite a bit in one year, didn’t it? What do you think we should do? Shake it?”

​

“Trunk’s too thick now,” Jack countered. He chewed on the blade of grass some more.

 

“We need a longer pole to knock ‘em down.”

 

“Mate, I know what you’re gonna say, and no. You aren’t standing on my shoulders,” Tobias said firmly, “Not after last time.”

​

“Weren’t my fault,” Jack muttered.

 

“I don’t rightly care.” Tobias crossed his arms. “So, what’s the real plan?”

 

Jack sighed. “We’re going to have to climb up there and shake them out by hand.”

They both heard the sound of rushing wind from up above and paused. Their shoulders stiffened as they braced for what they knew was coming. Slowly, they turned and saw a golden form plunging downwards from the sky. “Humans!” Aurelia bellowed, “have no fear! I am here to help!”

 

The two farmers scrambled for cover as she came in for a landing. She struck the ground with such force it kicked up a massive dust could that left them coughing, but she seemed perfectly oblivious to their discomfort. As they picked themselves up, she bounded over to them. “I have heard your cries for help, weak humans,” she declared.

 

“Weak?” Jack’s jaw tensed.

 

“And I have come to your aid,” Aurelia continued, “So! Tell me. How can the mighty and kind Aurelia assist you today?” She smiled down at them and waited for them to answer.

 

Tobias took off his hat and scratched his balding head. Jack rubbed his chin. “Well.” He could not deny that the idea of making a dragon do farm-work amused him. He pointed at the tree. “We can’t get those last apples there. It’s too high for us.”

Aurelia turned towards the tree and studied it. She nodded sagely. “I see, I see,” she said, “Have no fear! I know the solution.” She reached down and gripped the trunk of the tree with both foreclaws.

 

“You gotta shake—” Tobias asked right as a giant ‘crack’ echoed through the field. The tree came toppling down, snapped at the base.

 

“And now you can reach them easily,” Aurelia declared with a smile.

 

Jack’s jaw worked silently for a moment. “You…you…”

 

“No need to thank me!” Aurelia insisted, and the worst part about it was that she was earnest, “Your smiling faces are enough reward.” She hesitated. “Did I say that right? Sir Nestor says that’s the thing to say.” The two farmers were silent, stuck in shock. “Ah. Speechless at my generosity and ingenuity, I see.” Aurelia winked. “Well! If you ever need more help, you know where to find me. But I’m afraid I must go. Other people in town may need my help. Farewell!”

 

With a single beat of her wings, she took to the air. Farmer Jack stared at his downed apple tree glumly and muttered, “blasted dragon was less dangerous when she stuck to lording it over us.”

​

​

​

Aurelia was confused.

​

Things had been going so well. After her night at the bar, the townsfolk had been warming up to her. A few of them even smiled when she came around, and not in the way she was used to. A dragon smiled, yes, but over a hoard of gold, over a defeated enemy, or smugly as part of a boast. The smiles that the humans wore were not like that. While they still shied away from her when she got too near and watched her carefully, they looked at her without the ill-will to which she had grown so accustomed. After much thought and consternation, she finally figured it out: they were happy to see her. Sir Nestor’s had been right all along.

 

However, they were still in the minority. Some of them scowled from a distance and turned to walk the other way. Others watched her from a distance and muttered to one another. These sorts of human were much more common than the ones happy to see her, and she was beginning to think even those that liked her were not sure what all to make of her. And in return, she was unsure what to do next to continue winning them over.

 

One evening, she consulted Sir Nestor about it. After she described the problem, he stroked his beard and let out a sigh. “Aurelia, I won’t try and deceive you. You stole from many of them and terrorized the rest. They’re going to be wary for quite a while.” He raised a hand to forestall any protests. “Now, as a Knight-Penitent, I know how hard it can be for those who are legitimately trying to be better. But they do not. My advice is to give it time. You cannot force people to think highly of you. In fact, attempting to do so often makes things even worse than before.”

 

His advice was good, and if Aurelia had truly understood it would have been most helpful. Instead, however, she said, “So it all comes down to the gold.”

 

“That’s an oversimplification, but it did start with the gold,” Sir Nestor agreed.

 

Aurelia thanked him and went on her way. She knew what she had to do now. Before, she had been dissuaded from going after the stolen gold. But now things were different. Now she could not gain the goodwill of the townsfolk without it. The old thrill of glittering gold rose within her heart once more. And if she were to find it, who is to say she could not return most of it and keep some for herself? She could begin rebuilding her hoard in earnest. And she thought she might have a way to do it that did not involve burning down some other human city.

 

Satisfied with this line of thinking, she quickly made preparations. In truth, there was not much to do. She crudely scratched out a note for Sir Nestor informing him that she had thought of a way to better serve the townsfolk and would be back shortly.

Wasting no time, she had taken to the air and soon found herself flying over the forest, further afield than she had gone in months. Her eyes peered down through the branches and searched for any sign of those cursed kobolds. She had searched for them before, of course, and failed to find them. However, that was some time ago now. Perhaps, given how long it had been, they had grown careless. Or perhaps not. Time and diligent effort would tell, and dragons have far more time than humans. Besides, if she could not find the kobolds, she could always look for this “Duke Clarence Hightemple”, the one who had sent her that taunting letter. If such a person actually existed, of course. It could have been another trick of the kobolds, so finding and interrogating one would help her avoid making another foolish mistake.

 

She winged over the forest, slowly zig-zagging across the canopy with her eyes peering down through the branches here and there. Though the trees did block her view to an extent, they would also prevent them from seeing her as easily. Well, unless they were already looking up at her. Still, she had a little time to spare.

 

Her efforts paid off much sooner than she expected. From above, she spotted a small, scaled form stalking a doe through the undergrowth. With barely a sound, she dove down. The kobold only became aware of her when she crashed through the canopy right on top of it. Before it could scream, she had it in her claws.

 

“No hurt!” it shrieked, “No hurt, oh noble dragon!”

 

“Calm yourself,” Aurelia growled, “I’m not going to hurt you. I want to know what you did with my hoard.”

 

“Gave it to the duke-man,” the kobold babbled, “He holds our king-lord in his dungeon. We do what he says!”

 

She scrutinized his terrified features and found no lie in his eyes. Good. Now she knew for certain who her real enemy was. “One other question.” The kobold nodded eagerly. Aurelia brought him within inches of her snout, grinning in a decidedly unfriendly manner. “Which direction is to this Duke?” she demanded.

​

​

​

“Dragon!” the guard on the wall called, “Dragon on the approach!”

 

Aurelia winged her way over him and above the city, one much larger than Stonebrick and much better decorated. Pennants and statues topped the towers. Banners hung from the walls. Duke Clarence Hightemple certainly knew how to impress.

Aurelia casually, almost lazily, winged her way towards the castle in the center of town. However, she saw a crew of soldiers on the wall scrambling to load a ballista and quickly changed her tune. They could load any manner of nasty things into a ballista, and she had no desire to find out what brand of unpleasantness the duke preferred. She came in for a landing a short ways away from the front gate, folded her wings, and ignored the peasants scrambling for cover. Then, in as much of a non-threatening stance as possible, she waited.

 

The guards paused. Though nervous and hesitant, they did not aim the ballista at her. This was progress. “I am here,” she called up to them, “to talk to Duke Clarence Hightemple.”

 

A voice boomed out across the town, louder than her own and seeming to come from everywhere at once. “Ah. The usurping dragon. I was wondering when you would show up.”

 

Aurelia tried not to react, but could not help but jump a little. The voice sounded normal, but without a clear origin point and so loud that it still made her hackles rise. “Duke Hightemple,” she responded in acknowledgement.

 

“Have you come to wage war on me, dragon?” the duke spat out, “Burn my town. Despoil my lands. It is your kind’s usual strategy.”

 

“My name is Aurelia,” she said slowly, deliberately, “And no. I won’t be burning anyone today.”

 

The duke fell silent for a moment. Aurelia took it to mean that he was hesitating, unsure now of what she intended. “Then what is your purpose here?”

 

“To wage a war of a different kind,” Aurelia said, “A war of wits.”

 

“Wits?” the duke replied. He laughed, a thoroughly discomfiting sound. “Oh this is amusing. I accept. I normally only duel those who promise to challenge my intellect, but for you I’ll make an exception.”

 

Aurelia felt her hackles rise once more, but she kept her cool. “And if I win, you will return the gold. Or else it will become a real war of fire, blood, and death.”

 

“Agreed,” the duke said, “But since you challenged me, I will pick the circumstances of the duel.”

 

Aurelia considered this proposition. “That would give you quite the advantage.”

 

“You are the challenger.” The duke’s tone was smug.

 

“In exchange for not burning the city down,” Aurelia countered, “You may pick the circumstances, but I have to agree to them.”

 

Now it was the duke’s turn to pause and consider. “Agreed,” he said slowly.

 

She smiled and, lacking a person to directly address, gestured expansively towards the castle. This whole “voice in the sky” thing was throwing her off. The duke must have some sort of magic, she mused, and a moment later a chill ran down her spine. Far more dangerous than knights, the human wizards were known for their crafty tricks and magic that far outstripped their puny frames. Most humans were stupid, yes, but wizards were one of the rare kind of human with keen minds and dangerous, cunning intellects. Aurelia began to fear that she had made a mistake.

 

“In that case,” the duke mused, “This whole affair is a dispute over who owns the gold, yes?”

 

“Yes,” Aurelia agreed.

 

“In that case, the matter seems to be one of legal concerns.”

 

“Perhaps.” Aurelia’s voice had a slight growl to it. She wanted this man to get to the point.

 

“In that case, I propose a legal duel. We’ll both present our arguments, and the one who has the best claim to the gold will maintain or gain ownership of it. Furthermore, when I win, you will not only leave my town unmolested, but will also owe me a single service, which I shall name at the time of my victory. What say you to that?”

 

“What sort of service?” Aurelia demanded.

 

“Well.” The duke chuckled. “That’s for me to know, and you to find out in the most unpleasant way possible.”

 

Aurelia’s eyes narrowed. This proposal was a mental contest in which he would have the advantage, no doubt. She knew little about human laws, but she assumed that their leaders knew them quite well, especially a wizard, the cleverest of the lot. She smirked. Oh he thought he was so clever, but she saw through his scheme. He would not so easily catch her in that. “If I accept, you will need to give me some time to learn about how your legal system works.”

 

“Of course,” he said and managed to somehow be both condescending and gallant at the same time, “How long do you think that will take?”

 

Aurelia mulled that question over in her head.  Human society did not seem that complicated. Certainly it lacked the finesse and refinement that dragons had. Still, she did want to give the subject a fair amount of attention. The stakes did matter quite a bit to her. She certainly did not want to lose because she underestimated the humans yet again. Therefore, she took the longest amount of time she thought it could possibly take her to learn their laws and doubled it just to be safe. “A week,” she told the duke, “give me a week, and I will be ready.”

 

“A week.” His voice dripped with scorn. “Well, so be it then. One week, dragon.”