Cambria's Corner

There once was a small village in the hills. Her residents tended to their farms and their flocks and for the most part, life was fulfilling and simple. But everything changed when the dragon arrived. A great red beast, the dragon named himself lord of the land. He demanded tribute from the villagers, taking their sheep and their grain, as well as their gold. Uniquely, however, he also had a taste for a certain type of person: one who loved the color blue. 

For whatever reason, those who loved blue seemed particularly delightful to the dragon’s mighty sensibilities. He began hunting and devouring those who wore blue shirts, carried blue jewelry or tools, or even those who had blue eyes. Naturally, the villagers stopped using the color blue. Blue-eyed babies were exposed to the elements, blue clothing and jewelry was discarded or locked away, even talk of the sky’s beauty in the daylight ceased to be heard from the houses and avenues of the village. 

The villagers quickly adjusted to their new way of life. People adapt, after all, and the villagers were no different. Many even began to enjoy the dragon’s rule. He kept them safe from invaders, he gave them a new purpose to their work, and, perhaps most importantly, he gave them something to hate.

But this was not to be the fate of the village forever. One fateful day, a wandering knight arrived in the village. The knight was a sight to behold: clad in blue armor, riding a horse draped in blue finery, and from beneath their helmet eyes of the brightest blue. The villagers were wary, fearing that the dragon would approach and devour the traveler. However, one villager, the son of a village farmer, was drawn to the knight. 

“Your eyes… they are beautiful! We do not have anyone with eyes such as yours in our village. Why do you not fear blue?” inquired the farmer’s son. 

“Why would I?” returned the knight. “Blue is the color of my family and my king, and I am proud to wear it.”

“Because of the dragon!” the farmboy exclaimed. “He will devour you because of your love for blue, as he does with all of our lovers of blue!”

The knight, determined to end this slight against their favorite color, pronounced that they would slay the beast and free the town from its tyranny. The village half heartedly saw them on their way: they were not the first traveler to try to kill the dragon, and they would likely not be the last.

The knight quickly arrived at the lair of the dragon. They had fought many a beast before, and this hater of blue would not stop them so easily! When they finally came face to face with their foe, the dragon spoke. 

“You are here to try to kill me.” It was not a question, but a statement of fact. 

“I am!” crowed the knight. “You will not terrorize the people of this town any longer!”

“Very well,” sighed the dragon, stretching his crimson wings and mighty forelimbs. “Let us get this over with.”

“Before I battle thee, oh great beast, a question, if I may.” 

The dragon nodded his colossal head. 

“Why do you only eat those who love the color blue?”

A great quaking filled the room, and the knight realized that the beast was laughing. 

“I don’t,” chuckled the beast. “At first it was just a coincidence. The first few villagers I ate happened to be wearing blue, or had blue eyes, and the rest blamed that on why I ate them. I would not be the one to correct them, though. It… benefits me. After all, if they hate blue, they shan’t hate me.”

And with that, the battle began. It lasted for three days and three nights, and in the end, the blue knight stood victorious, cleaving the head from their foe. 

The knight returned to the village victorious. To their shock, however, the villagers did not seem to care! Even when presented with the decapitated head of their dead tyrant, they still treated the knight with fear and even hostility! The knight prepared to leave the village, dismayed, but before they could they were approached again by the young farmboy. The knight noticed that, alone amongst the villagers, the farmboy was wearing a pendant with a small blue charm. 

“Friend knight! Please, take me with you! I cannot stay here anymore.”

“Why not?” inquired the knight. “I will gladly take you with me, but first you must explain why your people continue to hate me so!”

“I do not know, good knight. I can only suspect that though the dragon is dead, the hatred he sowed now runs far deeper than it seems. I am just old enough to remember before the dragon came. Everyone loved blue! It was the color of the sky, and of the cornflowers in the fields outside town, and many of our kin had eyes as beautiful as yours. But once the dragon came, those who were once the greatest lovers of blue became its greatest despisers. I suspect they will continue to hate for many years: the dragon’s work was too thorough to be undone by his death.”

The knight contemplated this for a few moments. Eventually, their response came. “I suppose I cannot make them change their minds. I can only hope that their children or their children’s children will one day know a village which can once again rejoice in blue.”

And with that, the knight and their new partner rode off to further adventures, clad in their beautiful blue.