Vincent turned to Mayana and smiled, but she still looked worried.

"My children!"

So Vincent urged Quicksilver into a gallop and followed Mayana back to her cave where a lone knight stood guarding a dark crevice at the back. Vincent urged Mayana to stay out of sight and went into the cave. He recognized this knight as Sir Tansy, one of Vadis' friends.

"Vincent, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I ran into Vadis just now, and he told me to take over for you," said Vincent, trying his best to sound like a younger brother bullied into doing something he doesn't want to do. "He said to tell you to join him by the High Cliffs, where he's got the Dragon cornered."

"By the Lady," swore the knight, "this'll be fun." And without questioning Vincent further he handed the boy his spear and dashed out of the cave toward the Cliffs.

When he was out of sight Mayana came out from where she had been hiding behind a boulder and called to her babies. "Children, it's all right! This is a friend."

And one by one five small dragons, no bigger than Vincent's arm, came crawling out of the crevice, blinking in the light.

"We're safe now," said Mayana, "and this knight who saved us is Vincent."

And the dragonettes crowded the boy, showing their gratitude by licking his face with their raspy tongues and blowing steam into his hair.

By the time Vincent and the dragons arrived at the town, the scared knights had already told the tale of the Boy Prince and his Tame Dragon, and a crowd of curious children were waiting to see this wonder.

Mayana walked carefully to avoid stepping on any unguarded toes, and allowed the bravest of the children to pat her flanks. The Dragonettes galumphed about, getting underfoot, and generally enjoying all the attention. Vincent found them a place to stay in the royal stables, where they could be happy and warm and made friends with the horses, and before long Mayana was given a job guarding the castle with the knights of the realm. At first the knights were afraid of her, but soon they grew to like her, and on cold nights she warmed their toes by breathing hot steam into their boots.

The dragonettes, when they were old enough, went to school with the children of the kingdom, and in the afternoon worked in the kitchens, helping the cooks to keep the food warm.

And so everyone lived happily ever after. Everyone, that is, except for Prince Vadis, who got so mad that Vincent and his Dragon were doing so well that he said he didn't want to be king, anyway, and ran away from home to a kingdom where he could hunt whatever he liked.

So when Prince Vincent, Defender of Dragons grew up he became King of Hesperon, and Dragons from all over the land came to visit, because the kingdom was a safe, happy place where Dragons need never fear knights, and knights need never fear icy toes in the cold winter.

THE END