Queen Anna and the Evil Dragon Stanley

A Story by Cookie

A queen must defend her kingdom from an evil dragon and save her people.

Once upon a time, in a land far away, lived a Queen. Her name was Queen Anna. She lived in a castle made of white limestone. Its spires reached high into the sky and it gleamed in the sun like a beacon. Queen Anna ruled the kingdom of Limestone with compassion and sometimes with an iron fist. No queen can rule without having loyal and trustworthy advisors even with all her wisdom, Queen Anna was no different.
One day there was a loud and thunderous roar. As the people of the Kingdom of limestone listened, they looked to the skies and the roar got louder. Then, suddenly, fire burst forth from the sky. An evil dragon had awoken from his decades long slumber. The dragon's name was Stanley. You wouldn’t expect a vicious dragon to be named Stanley but there you go. The dragon had been captured long ago and sealed in a deep mine. Now the dragon had escaped and was terrorizing the land, eating anything or anyone it saw.
Queen Anna called to her most trusted and fierce knight. Sir Gary was the greatest knight in all the kingdoms. He had defeated many evil adversaries in the past. “Sir Gary, what shall we do? We've not seen a dragon in decades. How can we defeat such a creature?” The Queen said in despair, “ Stanley will burn our fields and eat our children!”
Sir Gary was not excited in the least. He had wrestled with dragons, beasts and fat women of all kinds. His bravery and strength were unmatched. “Relax my queen. It’s not that bad. This dragon has been locked up for decades. If we get this guy a date he’ll be ok.” said Sir Gary, “If not, I’ll just kill him.”
The queen's sorceress, Kam, entered the hall. She had been consulting her oracle to assess the situation.The Queen's sorceress was a beautiful, petite young woman with black hair, mesmerizing eyes and the viciousness of a rabid dog. She had been with the Queen for as long as anyone could remember. She had vowed only to use her powers to protect the Queen. She was so powerful, the last time she used them she almost brought down the sky and now she will only use them for one sole purpose.
The dragon, Stanley, had made his way back to the mine where he had made his lair. He had eaten his fill and needed to rest.
The Queen, Kam and Sir Gary developed a plan to eliminate the dragon. Apparently, there had not been a female dragon seen for over a hundred years, so getting him a date wasn’t on the table. They mounted their horses and began the journey to the long abandoned mine. They traveled quickly. Stopping for nothing. Soon the mine was in sight. Sir Gary crept slowly to the opening and looked down the shaft. There was nothing. No sound. Not a chirp or a tweet. The Queen and Kam caught up with Sir Gary. With the wave of her hand, Kam lit up the darkness as they made their way along the walls of the shaft. Soon they could see the fire light from the fires started from the dragon's breath. Sir Gary saw the dragon was asleep and quickly took advantage of the opportunity. He pulled his sword and ran towards the beast. With one fell swoop of his sword the dragon's head fell to the floor. “Wow! That was easier than I thought.” Said Sir Gary, “If he had been awake, I was giving us a 50/50 shot.” The trio made their way back out of the mine and back to Limestone Castle. The people prepared a feast in honor of their queen and her loyal companions. The people were overjoyed knowing they were safe under the protection of the crown.

They all lived happily ever after.
Except of course Stanley. He lost his head.

The End