The Seven Knights of Princess Snow White
Part Seven - the finale
Hi!
This is Part Seven of The Seven Knights of Princess Snow White - a seven-part story in The Red Riding Hood Saga.
If you missed it, here is Part Six: Seven Knights Against Fáfnir - Finishing Blow. Or, you can start from the beginning at Part One: Caliburn.
Last time, the battle between the Band of Seven and the dragon Fáfnir finally reached its climax, with Gram managing to rip out the dragon’s heart after a long battle! Now, will the dragon finally fall?
Part Seven: The Seven Knights of Princess Snow White
Gram fell from the dragon after ripping out its heart.
They hit the ground, with Fáfnir's heart landing next to them.
The heart pulsed, still beating.
Fáfnir stood still, looking at us and its own heart.
Then, the dragon collapsed.
The ground shook from the impact of the dragon's falling body.
Luckily, none of us were caught in the wake of it.
Exhausted, I hurried over to Gram as quickly as I could, "Are you alright?"
Gram struggled, but managed to get up.
Giving me a tired nod, they said, "Yes."
I looked over at Durandal, who had pulled his sword out from the dragon's claw.
"And you?" I called out.
He nodded, and weakly replied, "Yes, I'm alright."
For a moment, we stood still, looking at the dragon's still-beating heart.
Suddenly, a grunt came out from the dragon's mouth.
In shock, we turned and struggled to ready our swords.
But, the dragon didn't move.
"To think," it began to slowly say, through pained and tired breaths, "that I would die... in such an abomination..."
Painfully, it took a few more breaths, as the thumping of the heart next to us began to slow.
"Disgusting..."
Then, as Fáfnir exhaled its last breath, its heart stopped thumping as well.
***
For a long time, I would wonder - was Fáfnir born like us dwarfs?
Had it been born without a home and without a family, like us?
And what had it seen and experienced that made it so disgusted with humans and the world that they had built?
But, at that moment, it didn't matter - what mattered was that we had protected our home and its people.
The Band of Seven had slain the dragon Fáfnir, and the kingdom was safe once more.
I would recover quickly after the battle, with Galatine following soon after - since our injuries were due more to exhaustion and overexertion of our bodies and our mana rather than any damage done to us, we were able to heal more quickly than the others.
Ascalon and Joyeuse would be rescued from the rubble of the watchtower - though greatly injured from the fall, they would make full recoveries after spending a good part of a year resting at the castle.
Durandal's injuries would heal in a few months, though he would stay at the castle until his partner's injuries were healed as well.
Dáinsleif's injuries would also take a few months to heal. As for his cursed sword, he was able to sheathe it when he awoke - words would never be enough to describe something as transcendent as a fairy's curse, he would explain, but he believed that since his sword played a part in how Fáfnir was slain, it had 'counted' for the curse to be satisfied.
And as for Gram, thanks to his enchanted sturdiness, he would heal quite quickly, only needing a few days to recover.
The seven of us would separate again - the others would travel throughout the kingdom once more and do good deeds in our princess's name, while I would stay in the capital.
I would watch over the king and the prince, as well as the people of the capital, while also keeping guard over the Tower where Princess Snow White slept in her Glass Coffin.
And though separated, the Band of Seven was no longer fractured.
We were united once more, with a common purpose.
To protect this land where our princess slept, for the day when she would awake again.
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If you’ve enjoyed this seven-part short story, then be sure to check out the rest of The Red Riding Hood Saga as well!