Many years ago, in the Kingdom of Raoun, there lived a very wise old king by the name of King Michael. King Michael had two very beautiful daughters, Princess Melissa, and Princess Patricia. Missy and Prissy, as they were called were twins. But nobody knew which was born first. You see, their mother died when they were very young, and the only other person who might have known which was born first was the midwife, but she was very old and pretended not to have all her faculties about her anymore.

As his daughters grew, the King watched them hoping to choose the daughter that would be best for Raoun to replace him. But, as with many fathers, King Michael just could not see his daughter’s faults. He loved both his daughters so deeply that he was sure that either one of them would be fine as Queen. The people, though, watched the king with great trepidation. If he chose Missy to succeed him surely the kingdom would flourish. But if he chose Prissy, the kingdom was sure to fall into ruin.

Before I go on any further with this story, I want to make sure you understand. Prissy was not a bad girl. In fact, she was likable, most of the time. Prissy was, well to put it kindly, a bit spoiled. Prissy wanted things her way, and only her way. Unfortunately, like many spoiled girls, she was very selfish and never thought about other people’s feelings. Prissy was also a bit snobbish, wanting only the best of everything, and that also meant she would only associate with people of the higher classes, feeling poorer people just weren’t worth her time. As you and I know, any Queen or King is no better than the poorest peasant is. And as any good King or Queen will tell you, the poorest peasant is who the King or Queen is there to serve the most.

I guess I should let you know a bit about Missy as well. Everyone loved Missy, but Missy didn’t know it. Missy was a reserved girl who cared about other people. She loved to go to the homes of the old people in the Kingdom and help them with there chores. “You served the kingdom for many years,” she would tell them “and now the kingdom should serve you.” And although had you asked her what was the most important quality in a Queen she probably would have said “Strength” or “wisdom”, she showed with her words that in her heart she knew the most important quality in a Queen is compassion.

Now that you know a little bit about the sisters, I should get on with the story, because this tale isn’t about them. Not really. This story is about Thomas and Jason, and it is maybe the best known history in all of Raoun. The youngest children in Raoun get told this story as a bedtime tale. Many further myths and legends have been made of these happenings in the years since. But this is the one true tale. These are the facts behind The Last Dragon, of whom you have read in your schoolbooks.

We know that King Michael had two daughters, and he had two choose one of the girls to be the Queen. We know that the people of the kingdom wanted one daughter over the other. And now you’re going to find out how it was that the king finally chose.

The king was getting very old, and he knew that it was time to make his decision. So he called his daughters to him. “Melissa, Patricia” he said, “I cannot choose one of you to be Queen over the other. I love you both so much. I love Raoun so much that I want only the best for you and for the kingdom. I want this kingdom to live forever, and I want the people to always love their Queen. But, I am unable to choose between my two daughters.” The girls both looked at their father.

“But father,” Patricia said. “A choice must be made.”

“Yes father,” Melissa said. “One of us must be named your heir. And since you cannot make the decision, than I will tell you to make Prissy your heir. She would be so much a better Queen than I would. She is smart and knows how to organize things so very well.” This was true, everyone knew that Prissy knew how to arrange for the best parties in the kingdom.

“This is very honorable of you my daughter.” The king said as he looked lovingly at Melissa. Prissy glared at her sister, wishing she had thought this up first. “But that will not do. I have come up with a plan, I know a way that will choose one of my daughters to be the Queen.”

“What is it father, what do you want us to do?” the girls cried in unison.

“Aaah, my dears, you have to do the hardest part. You have to stay here, while your young suitors leave on an adventure of dire importance to the kingdom.”

“What do you mean? I don’t understand.” Patricia said.  Her father smiled at her and took her hand. He reached over and took Melissa’s hand as well.

“My darlings,” the king announced “You have both been dating for some time now. And while you both will meet with any young man I ask you to, I am your father, and I am not blind, I know that each of you is in love and ready for marriage. I know you just don’t have the heart to ask me yet. Melissa, tell me about your young man.”

“Thomas, you mean?” Melissa asked, started that her father might know about her romance.

“Yes, that is the one.”

“Well,” Melissa paused and then blurted everything out as fast as she could. “He’s not royalty father, he’s not even nobility, and I know you will never grant me permission to marry him, but father I really do love Thomas. He is kind and gentle. He is a hard worker, and he cares so very much more about other people than he does himself. I met him at his grandmother’s house one day. I was there cooking her some stew so that she would have a nice dinner when this handsome young man came in. He had some dirt on his face and to be honest, he smelled kind of bad. But he came in, after working all day on his father’s farm, and then helping build another neighbour's house, to fix a leak in his grandmother’s house. Father, he was so exhausted when he was finished I just had to offer him a ride home in the carriage, and we got to talk and we found out that we liked each other. Honestly, we just started as friends. But then one day he kissed me and I knew that I loved him. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner father. Honestly.”

“It’s ok darling.” The king replied. I know that when you are young and in love, you think nobody will understand your love. Especially when one of you is a princess and the other a poor boy. Do not worry. I know about your Thomas. He came to me himself the day after he kissed you and put himself at my mercy for being so forward as to kiss a princess. He is an honourable young man, and when he asked me for your hand in marriage I could not deny him or you.”

“When he asked…” Melissa trailed off. “You mean…” and then a big smile came over her face. She ran and hugged her father. “Oh father, thank you, thank you”

When Melissa finally calmed down, he turned to Patricia. “Now darling, tell me about your beau.”

“Father,” started Prissy, “ Jason is the most amazing man. He is smart. He is from a good family. He has his own money. He runs his own business. He raises horses. He knows all the right people. And he is in the auxiliary guard. He loves Raoun more than anything except for maybe me. We met at the ball at cousin Eric’s castle last fall. You remember, it was the best harvest ball last year. Cousin Eric introduced me to Jason, they had gone to the university together, and Jason asked me to dance, so we danced the night away. He is an excellent dancer Jason. The next day we went on the foxhunt together, and when he caught the fox, he kissed me in the excitement. We met at all the gala’s and somehow, well, somehow we fell in love. Probably because we have so much in common.”

“Indeed you do,” said the king. “And when you to are married I am sure that you will throw the best balls in all of Raoun. Maybe even in all the world.”

“You mean we are to be married?” And with this Patricia covered her father’s face with kisses.

When everything had settled down somewhat, the king said to his daughters. “Each of you will soon be engaged to a fine young gentleman. But for now, engaged is all it shall be. One or both of you may never end up marrying your suitor, because I am going to ask these young gentlemen to go on a quest. A quest like the ones of old. So be prepared my darlings that one or both of these young men, if they choose to accept my quest, may not come back alive.” The color went form the girl’s faces as their father spoke. They knew from his tone that whatever was about to happen was deathly serious. The sat silently and waited for their father to finish. “Send the gentlemen in, and wait outside” the king said to the page who was sitting silently in the corner of the room. The page leapt up and ran out of the room. Within moments the girl’s suitors were in the room.

“Gentlemen” the king said to them. “I have granted each of you permission to marry my daughter. This I will not take away. You must realize though, that one of you shall someday become king, and the father to kings and queens. I will not tell you today which of my daughters shall be named my heir, and shall someday be Queen, ruler of Raoun. I will not tell you this because I cannot. I cannot tell you this because my decision has not yet been made. The decision has not been made, as I am unable to choose between my daughters, as I love them both too much. So this decision is now on your shoulders. I am offering up a quest, a competition if you like, to find the most suitable King, the most suitable consort for the ruling Queen of Raoun. You may choose not to take this quest and I will still allow you to marry my daughter, however, if you choose not to take the quest, you shall not become king. This is a dangerous quest and I want you to think it over before you decide.”

“Yes your majesty,” the gentlemen answered and waited for the king to continue.

“Recently reports have come to me that a dragon has been seen near Raoun.”  The girls gasped, and the gentlemen paled ever so slightly. “It has been at least a hundred years since the last dragon has been reported within five kingdoms. But, for some reason a dragon is here, now. I am not sure which direction the dragon is in. Your quest is to find the dragon, and ensure that it does not harm Raoun in any way.” The King worded his quest in a very specific way, as the king had heard rumors of dragons, old wives tales he was sure, but still if what he heard was correct he knew this was the best way of choosing his heir. “You will go alone. Whichever of you succeeds in this quest will become husband to the heir of Raoun.”

Thomas stepped forward. “Sir. I do not wish to go and meet a dragon. I do not wish for adventure. I wish for a peaceful life here, with a wife and children by my side. I am a simple man, with simple ambitions. With this said. I will go on the quest you ask. I love your daughter very much sir. But I also love Raoun, and I do not want any harm to come to my home, my family, or my country. I am a strong young man, and protecting my kingdom is my duty.”

Jason also stepped forward. “Sir. I have been trained to protect this land. I too love my country and want to do the honourable thing. Sir, I crave adventure and would also like glory. I also love your daughter, and I will do anything for her. I know Patricia herself would not ask me to go on this quest, but I know that in her heart she desires me to gain honour and glory for myself and for her.  I too shall accept this quest.”