The Prince And The Dragon: A Fairytale
Title: The Prince and the Dragon
Pairing: (sort of) Phoenix/Edgeworth
Theme: Fluffy romantic fairytale...?
Rating: PG
Warnings: AU, sacchrine, mild fantasy violence
Summary: Phoenix improvises a bedtime story for Trucy, based on what he knows best: Miles Edgeworth.
"Did you remember to brush your teeth?" Phoenix asked, pulling up the diamond-patterned pink coverlet on his adopted daughter's bed. Trucy rolled her eyes.
"Yes, daddy." When Phoenix opened his mouth, she rushed to add, "I also flossed, washed my face, and brushed my hair out."
Phoenix smiled and ruffled her hair. Blood relation or no, they'd gotten used to the father-daughter dynamic and one another's habits and eccentricities pretty quickly. He kissed her forehead, recieved his usual tight squeeze and leaned over to turn out Trucy's bedside lamp, but her hand on his arm stopped him.
"Daddy, can I have a bedtime story first?" She asked, turning on her most adorable look. "Please?"
This is a first, Phoenix thought with slight surprise, then smiled. It was about time Trucy said something that sounded like a normal kid. "Sure! What kind of story?"
"It has to have magic in it!" Trucy chirped, unsurprisingly. "And a handsome prince... and battles and samurai and an Evil Magistrate!"
Phoenix gaped for a moment, then sighed. This was what he got for sending her to stay with Maya last weekend when Miles came over. So much for paraphrasing "Goldilocks"...
Still, he wa- had been a lawyer, and dealing with curveballs was part of the job... not to mention making things up. Settling into a more comfortable position, he looked at her expectant face and began as best he could.
Once upon a time, in a distant land, there lived a prince-
"What was his name?" Trucy interrupted, earning her a glare. Phoenix hadn't thought that far yet, for crying out loud! He desperately searched for a japanese-sounding name...
"M-Mitsurugi!" Phoenix blurted, his mind flashing back to rainy afternoons playing Soul Calibur with Miles and Larry on someone's old Playstation, and the samurai Miles always chose to play. Miles... Phoenix smiled because he suddenly had an idea.
"Was Mitsurugi a handsome prince?" Trucy asked eagerly, and Phoenix nodded.
"Very, even though he wasn't much older than you... he had silver eyes and hair, and very pale skin. He was always laughing, too, and curious about everything. He spent a lot of time reading and practicing to one day be a great leader.
Prince Mitsurugi lived in a small kingdom at the edge of an enchanted forest. Many people feared the forest because it was filled with strange creatures, but Mitsurugi's father was a scholar and a wise ruler who spent his time studying the forest's mysteries. He even allowed his son to play at the forest's edge, and he taught Mitsurugi to be kind to all strangers, defend the weak and always try to rule wisely.
Soon Mitsurugi became friends with two other boys. One was a little troublemaker, always causing mischief, who was the son of the forest's fox-spirit. His magic and tricks were always blowing up in his ridiculous face, but he made the others laugh.
The second boy was an orphan with bright blue eyes, who was Mitsurugi's greatest friend and shared in all his secrets. He admired the prince more than anyone else, and promised to help him become a great ruler one day, just like his father.
One day, however, Mitsurugi came back from the forest to find the whole castle in chaos. His father had been found, murdered, in his study, and nobody knew who had done it.
Trucy gasped and put her hands over her mouth. Phoenix wondered if the story was getting too dark for her, whether he should stop... but then she was grasping his sleeve, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Who was it?" She asked breathlessly. "Was it the magistrate? I bet it was the evil magistrate!"
"Exactly." Phoenix said, nodding. "The power-hungry magistrate had murdered Mitsurugi's father, and nobody knew that it was him. Still, Mitsurugi would rightfully inherit his father's kingdom, so the magistrate claimed that Mitsurugi was too young to rule, and that he, the magistrate, would look after the kingdom and its prince until then.
Now, the magistrate wasn't satisfied with just one small kingdom. He wanted more, and so he began training Mitsurugi as a great warrior. At first, he convinced the prince that he needed to fight to defend his kingdom from the enemies that had killed Mitsurugi's father, but eventually the excuse didn't matter anymore, and all that mattered was conquest.The prince's books were replaced with swords and armor, and the teachings of kindness were replaced with brutal efficiency. Anything that might make the prince soft or merciful was removed, including his friends, who were driven away and forbidden to see him.
Over the next fifteen years, Prince Mitsurugi became a feared samurai, known for a thousand conquests on the field of battle. Not once had he been defeated, or even injured in a fight. He seemed untouchabe, immortal, and people began to call him "The Demon Prince", because no human warrior could be so invincible or so ruthless.
Finally, the prince and his army had conquered every kingdom from the sea to the forest's very edge. Because there was nothing else to conquer, the magistrate set his sights on the forest, and sent Mitsirugi to conquer the lands of the great dragon to the northeast.
Mitsurugi, dressed in his chrysanthemum-colored armor, armed with his katana and with a ferocious army at his back, rode into the forest where the Fox Spirit lived. the spirit's servants scattered in terror before his soldiers, and even the Fox Spirit's magical tricks and traps barely slowed him down. Finally, Mitsurugi came face to face with his old friend, who had inherited the mantle of the Fox Spirit, and who begged Mitsurugi to stop his assault.
Mitsurugi, however, had forgotten what friendship even meant. He raised his sword to strike down his old friend, his face completely emotionless.
He stopped, however, when a loud roar suddenly echoed through the forest! With a sound like the sky falling, a great black dragon landed in front of Mitsurugi, its gigantic teeth bared in a snarl. The prince's army turned and fled from the ferocious beast, but the prince himself stood his ground without a trace of fear on his face.
Mitsurugi charged, and the dragon leaped to meet him. No normal human could have stood against that great beast, but Mitsurugi matched it blow for blow. They fought all day and all night Mitsurugi driving the beast back step after step, but never able to land the fatal strike. Just as the sun was rising, Mitsurugi lunged forward, ready to slay the dragon with a final, mighty blow. The dragon fell back, screaming and writhing as it hit the ground, and Mitsurugi turned his back on it in contempt.
The next moment, however, the prince was face down on the ground, crushed under the dragon's claws. The beast had faked its death and caught him off guard. Lying there, Mitsurugi was sure he was about to be killed and eaten... but he wasn't. The dragon, instead of ripping him apart, merely stepped back and let him go, adding insult to his defeat.
Humiliated by his first ever loss, Mitsurugi limped back to the castle where the magistrate waited. The magistrate had no care or sympathy for Mitsurugi, calling him worthless for having lost. The prince spent may long nights brooding, and he swore to redeem himself in the magistrate's eyes by killing the dragon.
After Mitsurugi had recovered from his wounds, he rode out again to do battle, this time with the forest kingdom to the southeast. This one was ruled by an order of priestesses, who were more skilled at banishing ghosts than at defending their borders. Mitsurugi easily fought his way to the very gates of their great temple, and was about to capture the young High Priestess of their order, when he was again interrupted by the arrival of the dragon.
This battle was even more savage than the one before, with neither holding back in their ferocity. Once more, the dragon was pushed back step by step, but it fought for every inch it gave. This battle lasted for two days as they battered at one anothers' defenses, until the prince lunged in for the killing blow once again.
This time, though, the dragon caught the prince's sword in its teeth before it could strike home, wrenching it out of Mitsurugi's hands. With a loud snap, the blade was broken in two and the battle finished. Mitsurugi waited for the killing blow to fall, but the dragon merely turned and flew away again, leaving its thoroughly thrashed opponent behind for the second time.
Mitsurugi stormed back to the castle and locked himself in the armory, staying up for days on end to reforge his broken sword. He made it longer, sharper and sturdier, thinking with every blow of the hammer how much he hated that dragon. He forged it in the hottest furnace he could find, cooled the steel in the purest water, and worked every dragon-slaying enchantment he could find into the metal. It took a month before the sword met the prince's exhausting standards, and when he was done he immediately rode out to battle again.
This time, the prince headed due east, into the lands of the clockwork men. The people there were made of metal and magic, but their steel and iron samurai couldn't stand against the prince's enchanted blade. It was ridiculously easy for Mitsurugi's army to fight its way to the capital, to the point where he felt no triumph at all when he threw open the gates of their throne room and strode towards their cowering shogun.
He didn't even look at the steel man, searching the skies instead for the dragon's familiar form. He wasn't disappointed, because he soon saw the black speck growing in the distance, settling down in front of him with a rush of wings. He smiled grimly as he stepped forward to meet the beast. This time, he wouldn't be defeated. This time, he would prove himself again, and earn back the magistrate's respect.
Their third battle shook the earth and heavens to their very foundations. Every trick and technique was put to use, stones shattered, and for three days and nights the sound of blade on scale and claw on armor sounded through the land like thunder.
At last, they both collapsed to the ground, panting in exhaustion and barely even able to move.
"Why?" The prince asked in exasperation, glaring furiously at the dragon. "I've beaten a thousand armies, a hundred monsters, why can't I defeat one dragon?"
The dragon lifted its head and jabbed its nose at the cowering shogun. Then, it turned to look at Mitsurugi, and spoke for the first time. "Is that your idea of victory? What kind of wise ruler treats his neighbors this way?"
Mitsurugi opened his mouth, then shut it again. The clockwork men were no danger to his kingdom, not even a challenge to conquer. They were clearly weaker, harmless, the kind that his father had always taught him to protect...
"I don't have to listen to a monster." Mitsurugi snapped, trying to struggle to his feet, to lift his sword.
"Am I the real monster here, Demon Prince?" The dragon hissed, flapping its wings angrily. "Am I the one who tried to kill my childhood friend, simply because his lands were available? What would your father say?"
The prince stopped, staring at the dragon. He dropped his sword and just sat there for many long minutes.
Finally, he rose to his feet, sheathed his sword, and turned his back on the dragon. Without a word, he rode away and left the dragon and the clockwork men far behind.
The magistrate's men eventually found him sitting next to a lake, staring at the water regardless of the cold wind or his wounds. He put up no fight when they put him under arrest and took him back to the castle, where he was summoned to the magistrate's court.
"Why did you abandon your command in the middle of battle?" The magistrate asked the prince.
"I realized that the clockwork lands are no threat to us." The prince replied.
"That was not your decision to make!" Snarled the magistrate. "You countermanded my orders and that is treachery! You have betrayed our kingdom, Mitsurugi, and worse, you have disappointed me."
Mitsurugi could not reply or speak up in his own defense, despite knowing that the punishment for treachery was death. He had disappointed his father, he had disappointed the magistrate he respected... and he had disappointed himself. He had nothing and nobody to live for.
He was sitting in his cell that night, waiting for the dawn and the end of his life, when he heard a thunderous noise of wings. Rushing to the barred window, Mitsurugi saw the black dragon settle atop the peaked castle roof, roaring a challenge to the sky.
Archers rushed to the courtyard, loosing a hail of arrows up at the dragon's perch, but every one fell short, as did the next volley and the next. When a group of soldiers attempted to get some more height by climbing onto a lower roof, the dragon dove at them with a roar and scattered them like rabbits.
"I came to speak with the magistrate!" The dragon roared, its voice echoing in every room of the castle. "I will not leave until I speak with him!"
"What do you want with me?" The magistrate asked contemptuously, striding out into the courtyard.
"Your soldiers attacked the lands under my protection!" The dragon roared back, digging its claws into roof and sending shingles falling like rain. "I demand the life of the one responsible!"
"Their commander was Prince Mitsurugi," The magistrate smirked, realizing he could get rid of both Mitsurugi and the dragon at the same time, "you may have his life."
"So after all that, the dragon didn't kill him, did it?" Trucy asked, looking worried. "I mean, it let him go twice!"
"You're right, the dragon didn't kill him. Instead, the dragon took the prince back to its cave. Mitsurugi was certain that the dragon was going to show him on a one-way trip down its throat, but instead, it showed him its true form; a young man with bright blue eyes, and a smile the prince hadn't seen in fifteen years.
From then on, nobody bothered the people and creatures of the enchanted forest again, as the sky was always watched over by dragons... one black, and one silver.
"So the dragon was his friend all along!" Trucy cried, bouncing a little on the bed and clapping her hands in delight. "I knew it!"
Phoenix doubted it, but he let it slide. "Yes, he just wanted his old friend back."
"That's so sweet! So, what happened to the kingdom? And the magistrate?"
"Well, the magistrate tried to attack the forest again, but his soldiers wouldn't go up against two dragons, so they refused to go. The magistrate got furious and started throwing people in prison, until the people just got tired of it and threw him out. They were more scared of the dragons than they were of him, you see. After that... well, his daughter took over, and she did a better job."
"I wish that had really happened." Trucy sighed, settling back into her pillows. "Good night, daddy!"
"Good night, Trucy." Phoenix said, with a kiss on her forehead and a click of the lightswitch.
Good night, sleep tight, and dream of dragons.
Pairing: (sort of) Phoenix/Edgeworth
Theme: Fluffy romantic fairytale...?
Rating: PG
Warnings: AU, sacchrine, mild fantasy violence
Summary: Phoenix improvises a bedtime story for Trucy, based on what he knows best: Miles Edgeworth.
"Did you remember to brush your teeth?" Phoenix asked, pulling up the diamond-patterned pink coverlet on his adopted daughter's bed. Trucy rolled her eyes.
"Yes, daddy." When Phoenix opened his mouth, she rushed to add, "I also flossed, washed my face, and brushed my hair out."
Phoenix smiled and ruffled her hair. Blood relation or no, they'd gotten used to the father-daughter dynamic and one another's habits and eccentricities pretty quickly. He kissed her forehead, recieved his usual tight squeeze and leaned over to turn out Trucy's bedside lamp, but her hand on his arm stopped him.
"Daddy, can I have a bedtime story first?" She asked, turning on her most adorable look. "Please?"
This is a first, Phoenix thought with slight surprise, then smiled. It was about time Trucy said something that sounded like a normal kid. "Sure! What kind of story?"
"It has to have magic in it!" Trucy chirped, unsurprisingly. "And a handsome prince... and battles and samurai and an Evil Magistrate!"
Phoenix gaped for a moment, then sighed. This was what he got for sending her to stay with Maya last weekend when Miles came over. So much for paraphrasing "Goldilocks"...
Still, he wa- had been a lawyer, and dealing with curveballs was part of the job... not to mention making things up. Settling into a more comfortable position, he looked at her expectant face and began as best he could.
Once upon a time, in a distant land, there lived a prince-
"What was his name?" Trucy interrupted, earning her a glare. Phoenix hadn't thought that far yet, for crying out loud! He desperately searched for a japanese-sounding name...
"M-Mitsurugi!" Phoenix blurted, his mind flashing back to rainy afternoons playing Soul Calibur with Miles and Larry on someone's old Playstation, and the samurai Miles always chose to play. Miles... Phoenix smiled because he suddenly had an idea.
"Was Mitsurugi a handsome prince?" Trucy asked eagerly, and Phoenix nodded.
"Very, even though he wasn't much older than you... he had silver eyes and hair, and very pale skin. He was always laughing, too, and curious about everything. He spent a lot of time reading and practicing to one day be a great leader.
Prince Mitsurugi lived in a small kingdom at the edge of an enchanted forest. Many people feared the forest because it was filled with strange creatures, but Mitsurugi's father was a scholar and a wise ruler who spent his time studying the forest's mysteries. He even allowed his son to play at the forest's edge, and he taught Mitsurugi to be kind to all strangers, defend the weak and always try to rule wisely.
Soon Mitsurugi became friends with two other boys. One was a little troublemaker, always causing mischief, who was the son of the forest's fox-spirit. His magic and tricks were always blowing up in his ridiculous face, but he made the others laugh.
The second boy was an orphan with bright blue eyes, who was Mitsurugi's greatest friend and shared in all his secrets. He admired the prince more than anyone else, and promised to help him become a great ruler one day, just like his father.
One day, however, Mitsurugi came back from the forest to find the whole castle in chaos. His father had been found, murdered, in his study, and nobody knew who had done it.
Trucy gasped and put her hands over her mouth. Phoenix wondered if the story was getting too dark for her, whether he should stop... but then she was grasping his sleeve, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Who was it?" She asked breathlessly. "Was it the magistrate? I bet it was the evil magistrate!"
"Exactly." Phoenix said, nodding. "The power-hungry magistrate had murdered Mitsurugi's father, and nobody knew that it was him. Still, Mitsurugi would rightfully inherit his father's kingdom, so the magistrate claimed that Mitsurugi was too young to rule, and that he, the magistrate, would look after the kingdom and its prince until then.
Now, the magistrate wasn't satisfied with just one small kingdom. He wanted more, and so he began training Mitsurugi as a great warrior. At first, he convinced the prince that he needed to fight to defend his kingdom from the enemies that had killed Mitsurugi's father, but eventually the excuse didn't matter anymore, and all that mattered was conquest.The prince's books were replaced with swords and armor, and the teachings of kindness were replaced with brutal efficiency. Anything that might make the prince soft or merciful was removed, including his friends, who were driven away and forbidden to see him.
Over the next fifteen years, Prince Mitsurugi became a feared samurai, known for a thousand conquests on the field of battle. Not once had he been defeated, or even injured in a fight. He seemed untouchabe, immortal, and people began to call him "The Demon Prince", because no human warrior could be so invincible or so ruthless.
Finally, the prince and his army had conquered every kingdom from the sea to the forest's very edge. Because there was nothing else to conquer, the magistrate set his sights on the forest, and sent Mitsirugi to conquer the lands of the great dragon to the northeast.
Mitsurugi, dressed in his chrysanthemum-colored armor, armed with his katana and with a ferocious army at his back, rode into the forest where the Fox Spirit lived. the spirit's servants scattered in terror before his soldiers, and even the Fox Spirit's magical tricks and traps barely slowed him down. Finally, Mitsurugi came face to face with his old friend, who had inherited the mantle of the Fox Spirit, and who begged Mitsurugi to stop his assault.
Mitsurugi, however, had forgotten what friendship even meant. He raised his sword to strike down his old friend, his face completely emotionless.
He stopped, however, when a loud roar suddenly echoed through the forest! With a sound like the sky falling, a great black dragon landed in front of Mitsurugi, its gigantic teeth bared in a snarl. The prince's army turned and fled from the ferocious beast, but the prince himself stood his ground without a trace of fear on his face.
Mitsurugi charged, and the dragon leaped to meet him. No normal human could have stood against that great beast, but Mitsurugi matched it blow for blow. They fought all day and all night Mitsurugi driving the beast back step after step, but never able to land the fatal strike. Just as the sun was rising, Mitsurugi lunged forward, ready to slay the dragon with a final, mighty blow. The dragon fell back, screaming and writhing as it hit the ground, and Mitsurugi turned his back on it in contempt.
The next moment, however, the prince was face down on the ground, crushed under the dragon's claws. The beast had faked its death and caught him off guard. Lying there, Mitsurugi was sure he was about to be killed and eaten... but he wasn't. The dragon, instead of ripping him apart, merely stepped back and let him go, adding insult to his defeat.
Humiliated by his first ever loss, Mitsurugi limped back to the castle where the magistrate waited. The magistrate had no care or sympathy for Mitsurugi, calling him worthless for having lost. The prince spent may long nights brooding, and he swore to redeem himself in the magistrate's eyes by killing the dragon.
After Mitsurugi had recovered from his wounds, he rode out again to do battle, this time with the forest kingdom to the southeast. This one was ruled by an order of priestesses, who were more skilled at banishing ghosts than at defending their borders. Mitsurugi easily fought his way to the very gates of their great temple, and was about to capture the young High Priestess of their order, when he was again interrupted by the arrival of the dragon.
This battle was even more savage than the one before, with neither holding back in their ferocity. Once more, the dragon was pushed back step by step, but it fought for every inch it gave. This battle lasted for two days as they battered at one anothers' defenses, until the prince lunged in for the killing blow once again.
This time, though, the dragon caught the prince's sword in its teeth before it could strike home, wrenching it out of Mitsurugi's hands. With a loud snap, the blade was broken in two and the battle finished. Mitsurugi waited for the killing blow to fall, but the dragon merely turned and flew away again, leaving its thoroughly thrashed opponent behind for the second time.
Mitsurugi stormed back to the castle and locked himself in the armory, staying up for days on end to reforge his broken sword. He made it longer, sharper and sturdier, thinking with every blow of the hammer how much he hated that dragon. He forged it in the hottest furnace he could find, cooled the steel in the purest water, and worked every dragon-slaying enchantment he could find into the metal. It took a month before the sword met the prince's exhausting standards, and when he was done he immediately rode out to battle again.
This time, the prince headed due east, into the lands of the clockwork men. The people there were made of metal and magic, but their steel and iron samurai couldn't stand against the prince's enchanted blade. It was ridiculously easy for Mitsurugi's army to fight its way to the capital, to the point where he felt no triumph at all when he threw open the gates of their throne room and strode towards their cowering shogun.
He didn't even look at the steel man, searching the skies instead for the dragon's familiar form. He wasn't disappointed, because he soon saw the black speck growing in the distance, settling down in front of him with a rush of wings. He smiled grimly as he stepped forward to meet the beast. This time, he wouldn't be defeated. This time, he would prove himself again, and earn back the magistrate's respect.
Their third battle shook the earth and heavens to their very foundations. Every trick and technique was put to use, stones shattered, and for three days and nights the sound of blade on scale and claw on armor sounded through the land like thunder.
At last, they both collapsed to the ground, panting in exhaustion and barely even able to move.
"Why?" The prince asked in exasperation, glaring furiously at the dragon. "I've beaten a thousand armies, a hundred monsters, why can't I defeat one dragon?"
The dragon lifted its head and jabbed its nose at the cowering shogun. Then, it turned to look at Mitsurugi, and spoke for the first time. "Is that your idea of victory? What kind of wise ruler treats his neighbors this way?"
Mitsurugi opened his mouth, then shut it again. The clockwork men were no danger to his kingdom, not even a challenge to conquer. They were clearly weaker, harmless, the kind that his father had always taught him to protect...
"I don't have to listen to a monster." Mitsurugi snapped, trying to struggle to his feet, to lift his sword.
"Am I the real monster here, Demon Prince?" The dragon hissed, flapping its wings angrily. "Am I the one who tried to kill my childhood friend, simply because his lands were available? What would your father say?"
The prince stopped, staring at the dragon. He dropped his sword and just sat there for many long minutes.
Finally, he rose to his feet, sheathed his sword, and turned his back on the dragon. Without a word, he rode away and left the dragon and the clockwork men far behind.
The magistrate's men eventually found him sitting next to a lake, staring at the water regardless of the cold wind or his wounds. He put up no fight when they put him under arrest and took him back to the castle, where he was summoned to the magistrate's court.
"Why did you abandon your command in the middle of battle?" The magistrate asked the prince.
"I realized that the clockwork lands are no threat to us." The prince replied.
"That was not your decision to make!" Snarled the magistrate. "You countermanded my orders and that is treachery! You have betrayed our kingdom, Mitsurugi, and worse, you have disappointed me."
Mitsurugi could not reply or speak up in his own defense, despite knowing that the punishment for treachery was death. He had disappointed his father, he had disappointed the magistrate he respected... and he had disappointed himself. He had nothing and nobody to live for.
He was sitting in his cell that night, waiting for the dawn and the end of his life, when he heard a thunderous noise of wings. Rushing to the barred window, Mitsurugi saw the black dragon settle atop the peaked castle roof, roaring a challenge to the sky.
Archers rushed to the courtyard, loosing a hail of arrows up at the dragon's perch, but every one fell short, as did the next volley and the next. When a group of soldiers attempted to get some more height by climbing onto a lower roof, the dragon dove at them with a roar and scattered them like rabbits.
"I came to speak with the magistrate!" The dragon roared, its voice echoing in every room of the castle. "I will not leave until I speak with him!"
"What do you want with me?" The magistrate asked contemptuously, striding out into the courtyard.
"Your soldiers attacked the lands under my protection!" The dragon roared back, digging its claws into roof and sending shingles falling like rain. "I demand the life of the one responsible!"
"Their commander was Prince Mitsurugi," The magistrate smirked, realizing he could get rid of both Mitsurugi and the dragon at the same time, "you may have his life."
"So after all that, the dragon didn't kill him, did it?" Trucy asked, looking worried. "I mean, it let him go twice!"
"You're right, the dragon didn't kill him. Instead, the dragon took the prince back to its cave. Mitsurugi was certain that the dragon was going to show him on a one-way trip down its throat, but instead, it showed him its true form; a young man with bright blue eyes, and a smile the prince hadn't seen in fifteen years.
From then on, nobody bothered the people and creatures of the enchanted forest again, as the sky was always watched over by dragons... one black, and one silver.
"So the dragon was his friend all along!" Trucy cried, bouncing a little on the bed and clapping her hands in delight. "I knew it!"
Phoenix doubted it, but he let it slide. "Yes, he just wanted his old friend back."
"That's so sweet! So, what happened to the kingdom? And the magistrate?"
"Well, the magistrate tried to attack the forest again, but his soldiers wouldn't go up against two dragons, so they refused to go. The magistrate got furious and started throwing people in prison, until the people just got tired of it and threw him out. They were more scared of the dragons than they were of him, you see. After that... well, his daughter took over, and she did a better job."
"I wish that had really happened." Trucy sighed, settling back into her pillows. "Good night, daddy!"
"Good night, Trucy." Phoenix said, with a kiss on her forehead and a click of the lightswitch.
Good night, sleep tight, and dream of dragons.