The Misadventures of Sir Bumble and His Extremely Reluctant Dragon

CHAPTER 1- The First Quest 📜✨

 

"Sir Barnaby Bramble!" the herald announced.

Bumble stepped forward into the throne room, trying very hard to stand at attention.

His armor didn't fit quite right—the breastplate was a hand-me-down from a larger knight, and it kept sliding to the left. His helmet had a dent in it from when he'd accidentally walked into a doorframe that morning. And his sword, while perfectly functional, had a tendency to slip out of its sheath at inopportune moments.

But he was here. Finally. After years of training, after countless mishaps and mistakes, after being called "Bumble" so many times he'd almost forgotten his real name was Barnaby—he was here.

Standing before the king.

About to receive his first real quest.

King Aldric looked down at him from the throne, his expression somewhere between amused and fond.

"Bumble," the king said.

Not Sir Barnaby. Not even Barnaby.

Just Bumble.

Because that's what everyone called him. Even the king.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Bumble straightened so quickly his armor clanked and the breastplate slid even further to the left. He tried to adjust it subtly. It didn't work.

The king cleared his throat, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You have completed your training."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"And you wish to prove yourself as a true knight of the realm."

"Yes, Your Majesty! More than anything!" Bumble's enthusiasm made him bounce slightly on his toes. His sword fell out of its sheath and clattered to the marble floor.

Several courtiers snickered.

Bumble's face went red as he bent to pick it up, his armor creaking loudly. "Sorry, Your Majesty."

The king's smile grew a bit wider, but his voice remained kind. "It's all right, Bumble. We're used to it."

Bumble wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse.

The king gestured to his advisor, who stepped forward with a scroll.

Bumble's heart leaped. This was it. His quest. His chance to prove he wasn't just a walking disaster. His chance to show everyone that Barnaby Bramble—Bumble—could be a real knight.

The advisor unrolled the scroll and read in a formal voice: "The village of Meadowbrook, three days' journey to the east, is being terrorized by a dragon. Livestock has gone missing. Fields have been scorched. The villagers live in fear. Your quest, Sir Barnaby, is to journey to Meadowbrook, find the dragon, and slay it."

Bumble's eyes went wide. "Slay a dragon?"

"Is that a problem, Bumble?" the king asked.

"No! No, not at all!" Bumble said quickly, though his voice cracked slightly. "I can do that. Absolutely. Slay a dragon. Easy."

It was not going to be easy. Bumble had never even seen a dragon, let alone slain one.

But this was his chance. His one opportunity to prove himself.

He couldn't mess this up.

The advisor handed him the scroll. "The details of the quest are written here. You are to depart at dawn tomorrow."

"I'll leave right now!" Bumble said eagerly.

"Dawn is fine," the king said firmly, though his eyes twinkled with amusement. "You'll need supplies. And rest. And..." He eyed Bumble's crooked armor. "...perhaps some adjustments to your equipment."

"Right. Yes. Of course." Bumble clutched the scroll to his chest. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I won't let you down!"

He bowed deeply—too deeply—and his helmet fell off, clanging across the floor and rolling to a stop at the king's feet.

The courtiers didn't even try to hide their laughter this time.

Bumble scrambled to retrieve his helmet, his face burning. "Sorry. So sorry. I'll just—"

"Bumble," the king said, and his voice was gentle now.

Bumble froze, helmet in hand, and looked up.

The king leaned forward slightly. "Do your best. That's all anyone can ask."

There was no mockery in his voice. No doubt. Just... kindness.

Bumble nodded, his throat suddenly tight. "I will, Your Majesty. I promise."

He backed out of the throne room as quickly as his ill-fitting armor would allow, clutching his helmet and trying not to trip over his own feet.

That night, in the knights' barracks, Bumble sat on his bunk, polishing his sword for the third time. Around him, the other knights were preparing for their own quests or returning from successful ones.

Sir Garrett, a tall knight with perfect posture and perfectly fitting armor, walked past and smirked. "Heard you're off to slay a dragon, Bumble."

"That's right," Bumble said, trying to sound confident.

"First quest and they're sending you after a dragon?" Sir Garrett laughed. "That's either a vote of confidence or they're hoping you'll quit."

"I'm not going to quit," Bumble said firmly.

"We'll see." Garrett clapped him on the shoulder—hard enough that Bumble nearly dropped his sword. "Try not to trip over your own feet on the way there."

The other knights chuckled.

Bumble waited until they'd moved on, then let out a long breath.

He looked down at the quest scroll, unrolling it again to read the details.

Dragon. Terrorizing Meadowbrook. Slay it.

Simple. Straightforward.

He could do this.

He had to do this.

Because if he didn't—if he came back having failed, or worse, didn't come back at all—everyone would say they'd been right about him all along.

Bumble the disaster. Bumble the joke. Barnaby Bramble, who couldn't even keep his armor on straight.

He rolled up the scroll and tucked it into his pack.

Tomorrow, he'd prove them wrong.

Tomorrow, he'd be a real knight.

At dawn, Bumble stood at the castle gates, his pack on his back, his sword at his side (secured with an extra strap this time), and his armor adjusted as best he could manage.

The sun was just rising, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold.

He took a deep breath.

"Meadowbrook," he said to himself. "Three days east. Find the dragon. Slay the dragon. Come home a hero."

He could do this.

Probably.

Maybe.

He stepped through the gates and started walking.

Behind him, he heard Sir Garrett call out: "Good luck, Bumble! Try not to burn the kingdom down!"

Laughter followed.

Bumble kept walking, his jaw set.

He'd show them.

He'd show all of them.

 

CHAPTER 2- The Dragon 🐲 🔥

 

Three days of walking had given Bumble plenty of time to think.

Mostly, he thought about dragons.

He'd read about them, of course. Every knight-in-training studied dragons. They were supposed to be massive—big as a house, some said. Scales like armor. Claws that could rend stone. Breath hot enough to melt steel.

Bumble tried not to think about that last part too much.

By the time he reached Meadowbrook, his feet hurt, his armor had given him at least three new bruises, and he'd tripped over the same tree root twice (on two separate days, which was almost impressive).

But he was here.

The village was small—a cluster of cottages around a central square, fields stretching out in every direction. Or at least, fields that had stretched out. Several of them were scorched black, the crops reduced to ash.

Bumble's stomach twisted.

A dragon had definitely been here.

The villagers noticed him immediately. A woman hanging laundry dropped her basket and hurried over, followed by several others.

"You're a knight!" she said, relief flooding her face.

"Yes!" Bumble straightened, trying to look heroic. His breastplate slid to the left. He pushed it back. "I'm Sir Barn—I'm Bumble. I've come to help with your dragon problem."

"Oh, thank the stars," an elderly man said. "It's been terrorizing us for weeks. Burned old Miller's barn to the ground. Took half the chickens. We're afraid to let the children play outside."

"Where is it?" Bumble asked, his hand moving to his sword hilt.

"Up in the hills," the woman said, pointing to the rocky slopes beyond the village. "There's a cave. We've seen smoke coming from it."

Bumble nodded, trying to project confidence he didn't entirely feel. "I'll take care of it. You have my word."

The villagers looked at him—at his dented helmet, his crooked armor, his earnest face—and Bumble could see the doubt in their eyes.

But they were desperate enough not to argue.

"Be careful," the woman said quietly.

"I will," Bumble promised.

 

The cave wasn't hard to find.

Bumble followed the scorched path through the hills, past blackened trees and melted rocks, until he stood at the mouth of a dark opening in the mountainside.

Smoke drifted out in lazy curls.

This was it.

Bumble drew his sword. It made a satisfying shing sound that echoed into the cave.

He took a deep breath.

"You can do this," he whispered to himself. "You're a knight. This is what knights do."

He stepped inside.

The cave was dark, lit only by a faint orange glow deeper within. Bumble's boots crunched on loose gravel. His armor clinked with every step.

So much for stealth.

"Dragon!" he called out, his voice only shaking a little. "I, Sir Bumble, have come to—"

"Achoo!"

A tiny, high-pitched sneeze echoed through the cave.

Followed immediately by a roaring jet of flame that shot past Bumble's head, so close he felt the heat singe his hair.

"AHHH!" Bumble yelped and dove to the side, his armor clanging against the cave floor. He rolled behind a boulder, his heart hammering.

That was FIRE. Actual FIRE! That had almost hit him!

Cautiously, he peeked around the boulder.

The orange glow was coming from a small pile of burning sticks—probably set on fire accidentally. And standing next to it, looking absolutely unbothered, was...

A dragon.

About the size of a large dog.

It had scales that shimmered red and gold in the firelight, small wings folded against its sides, and a tail that swished lazily back and forth. Its golden eyes fixed on Bumble with an expression that could only be described as deeply unimpressed.

"You're... the dragon?" Bumble said slowly, standing up.

The dragon blinked at him.

Then sat down and began grooming its claws, completely ignoring him.

"You're the one terrorizing Meadowbrook?"

The dragon continued grooming, utterly unconcerned.

Bumble lowered his sword slightly. "I'm here to... to slay you. That's my quest."

The dragon looked up, yawned—showing rows of tiny sharp teeth—and went back to its claws.

"Did you just... yawn at me?"

The dragon's tail swished.

Bumble stood there, sword raised, staring at the small dragon who was very clearly not interested in fighting him.

This was not how he'd imagined this going.

He'd pictured an epic battle. A fearsome beast. A heroic victory.

Not... this.

"Look," Bumble said, lowering his sword a bit more. "The villagers are scared. You've been burning their fields and taking their chickens."

The dragon's ears twitched, but it didn't look up.

"I'm supposed to stop you."

The dragon made a sound—something between a huff and a snort—and turned its back to him, curling up near the warm pile of burning sticks.

Bumble blinked. "Are you... are you ignoring me?"

The dragon's tail flicked dismissively.

"I'm a KNIGHT," Bumble said, a bit desperately. "With a SWORD. You're supposed to be afraid of me!"

The dragon closed its eyes.

Bumble stood there, sword in hand, armor askew, staring at the least cooperative dragon in the history of dragonkind.

He thought about the quest scroll. 'Slay the dragon'.

He thought about the villagers, terrified in their homes.

He thought about going back to the castle, proving himself, being a real knight.

And then he looked at this small creature—clearly not trying to terrorize anyone, just... existing. Sneezing fire when startled. Probably lonely up here in this cave.

Bumble sheathed his sword.

The dragon's ear twitched, but it didn't open its eyes.

"I'm not going to slay you," Bumble said.

The dragon cracked one eye open, looking at him sideways.

"I don't think you're trying to hurt anyone. I think you just... can't help it."

The dragon sat up slowly, watching him now with both eyes.

"So here's what I'm thinking," Bumble said, sitting down on a nearby rock. "The villagers are scared because they don't understand. But if you came with me—if we showed them you're not dangerous on purpose—maybe we could fix this."

The dragon tilted its head.

"And if that doesn't work... well, I'm on a quest. Could use a companion."

The dragon stared at him for a long moment.

Then it stood, walked over to Bumble, and headbutted his leg.

Not hard. Almost... affectionately.

Bumble blinked. "Is that a yes?"

The dragon sat down next to him, its tail curling around Bumble's boot.

"I'll take that as a yes." Bumble smiled. "You need a name. How about... Sneeze? Since that's what starts all the trouble?"

The dragon looked up at him.

Then sneezed.

A small burst of flame shot out and set Bumble's pant leg on fire.

"GAH!" Bumble jumped up, patting out the flames. "Okay! Okay, Sneeze it is!"

The dragon made a sound that might have been a laugh.

 

Later walking back to Meadowbrook:

Bumble's eyebrows were gone—completely singed off by that first sneeze in the cave. His armor had new scorch marks. And Sneeze trotted beside him, occasionally sniffing at interesting rocks or chasing a butterfly.

"Do you think they'll understand?" Bumble asked.

Sneeze looked up at him and blinked.

"Right. Well, we'll just have to show them you're friendly." 

 

They crested the hill, and the village came into view.

The villagers saw them coming.

Saw the dragon.

"THE DRAGON!" someone screamed.

"IT'S COMING BACK!"

"RUN!"

Chaos erupted. People scattered. Someone rang a bell. A man grabbed a pitchfork.

Sneeze's ears flattened.

His nostrils flared.

"Oh no," Bumble said. "Sneeze, don't—"

"ACHOO!"

A jet of flame shot out and hit a hay bale.

It exploded into fire.

"NO, WAIT—" Bumble started.

But Sneeze was already panicking. He sneezed again, setting a fence post alight. Then again, catching someone's laundry on fire.

"STOP!" Bumble shouted, waving his arms. "HE'S FRIENDLY! HE JUST SNEEZES WHEN HE'S NERVOUS!"

No one was listening.

Sneeze bolted behind Bumble's legs, trembling, and sneezed again—this time setting Bumble's cape on fire.

"NOT HELPING!" Bumble yelped, throwing off the cape and stomping on it.

 

It took an hour.

An hour of putting out fires, catching chickens, calming people down, and explaining—over and over—that Sneeze wasn't trying to hurt anyone.

Sneeze, for his part, hid behind Bumble the entire time, occasionally peeking out and looking deeply sorry for himself.

By the end, the villagers were... mostly convinced.

Mostly.

The village elder—a stern woman with singed hair (courtesy of a stray sneeze)—looked at Bumble with a mixture of exhaustion and exasperation.

"You didn't slay it," she said.

"No," Bumble admitted. "But the village won't be terrorized anymore. Sneeze is coming with me."

"Sneeze?" She looked at the small dragon, who was still hiding behind Bumble's legs.

"That's his name."

The elder sighed deeply. "Just... take him far away from here. Please."

"Will do!" Bumble said, trying to sound cheerful.

She handed him a small pouch of coins—the reward for completing the quest. "For your trouble. And for the fires you helped put out."

"Thank you," Bumble said.

 

As they left the village, Sneeze walked beside Bumble, his head low, his tail dragging.

"Hey," Bumble said gently. "It's okay. You didn't mean to."

Sneeze looked up at him with sad golden eyes.

"You're a dragon, and breathing fire is what dragons do. Wherever this road leads, we'll travel it together," Bumble promised. "Even through fire and mishaps."

Sneeze headbutted his leg again—gently, gratefully.

And despite the missing eyebrows, the scorch marks, and the general disaster of the whole situation, Bumble smiled.

He had a companion now. A friend.

And somehow, that felt more important than any quest.

Even if that friend was an extremely reluctant dragon who set things on fire when nervous.

Bumble's eyebrows would grow back.

Probably.

Eventually.

 

CHAPTER 3- The Weapon of Valor 🗡️

 

Bumble's eyebrows were starting to grow back.

Sort of.

They were patchy and uneven, which somehow made him look even more ridiculous than having no eyebrows at all. But he was trying to stay positive.

He and Sneeze had been traveling together for a week now, and Bumble had learned a few important things:

One: Sneeze did not like mornings.

Two: Sneeze did not like rain.

Three: Sneeze did not like being told what to do.

Four: Sneeze did like stealing Bumble's breakfast when he wasn't looking.

Currently, Sneeze was curled up on Bumble's bedroll, fast asleep, while Bumble tried to relight the campfire that had gone out during the night.

"Come on," Bumble muttered, striking his flint. "Just a little spark..."

Sneeze cracked one eye open, looked at Bumble struggling with the fire, and huffed.

Then he sneezed.

A small jet of flame shot across the campsite and hit the pile of kindling perfectly.

The fire roared to life.

Bumble blinked. "Oh. Thank you!"

Sneeze closed his eye and went back to sleep, his tail curling over his nose.

Bumble smiled and started making breakfast—or what was left of it after Sneeze had helped himself to half the dried meat.

As he ate, Bumble pulled out the quest scroll and unrolled it, looking at the official seal at the bottom.

Quest completed: Dragon of Meadowbrook.

Technically.

He'd completed it his own way, but it was done. The village was safe. Sneeze had a home (with Bumble). Everyone was happy.

Well, mostly happy.

Bumble still felt like he hadn't really proven himself. He hadn't slain the dragon like a proper knight would have. He'd just... made a friend.

Which was nice, but it didn't feel very heroic.

He needed something bigger. Something that would show everyone—show himself—that he was a real knight.

Bumble reached into his pack and pulled out a worn book he'd borrowed from the castle library before leaving: Legends and Quests of the Realm.

He'd been reading it at night, looking for inspiration.

And he'd found something.

He flipped to the marked page and read aloud: "The Weapon of Valor, forged in the fires of Mount Cinder, lies hidden in the Cave of Legends. Only the worthy may claim it, for the cave is protected by ancient riddles and trials. He who wields the Weapon of Valor shall be known as a true champion."

Bumble's heart beat faster.

A legendary sword. A cave of trials. A chance to prove his worth.

This was it.

This was exactly what he needed.

He looked over at Sneeze, who was still asleep.

"What do you think?" Bumble asked. "Should we go find a legendary sword?"

Sneeze's ear twitched, but he didn't open his eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes," Bumble said, grinning.

Three days later:

The Cave of Legends was not easy to find.

Bumble had gotten lost twice, fallen into a stream once, and accidentally walked in a complete circle for half a day before Sneeze had refused to go any further and sat down in the middle of the path until Bumble checked the map again.

But now, finally, they stood at the entrance.

It was carved into the side of a mountain, the opening shaped like a massive archway with ancient runes etched into the stone. Torches burned on either side—magical flames that never went out.

"This is it," Bumble whispered, awe in his voice. "The Cave of Legends."

Sneeze sniffed at the entrance and sneezed.

A small puff of flame singed the edge of Bumble's newly-growing eyebrows.

"Sneeze!" Bumble patted at his face. "I just got those back!"

Sneeze looked entirely unapologetic.

Bumble sighed and stepped into the cave. 

 

The inside was vast—a cathedral of stone with a ceiling so high it disappeared into darkness. The walls were covered in more runes, glowing faintly with blue light.

And directly ahead, carved into the floor, was a message:

SPEAK THE ANSWER TO PASS BEYOND.

WHAT WALKS ON FOUR LEGS IN THE MORNING, TWO LEGS IN THE AFTERNOON, AND THREE LEGS IN THE EVENING?

Bumble frowned. "A riddle. Of course it's a riddle."

He thought hard, his brow furrowing.

Four legs... two legs... three legs...

He had learned this riddle before. He just couldn't remember now.

Sneeze wandered over to one of the glowing runes and sniffed it curiously.

"Don't touch that," Bumble said absently, still thinking. "Four legs in the morning... maybe it's an animal that changes? Or a creature that—"

Sneeze licked the rune.

There was a flash of light, and a deep voice echoed through the cave: "INCORRECT."

The floor rumbled.

"Sneeze, what did you do?!" Bumble yelped.

Sneeze looked at him, then at the rune, then back at Bumble.

Then he sneezed nervously.

Fire shot out and hit another rune on the opposite wall.

The voice boomed again: "INCORRECT."

The rumbling got worse.

"Stop sneezing at the runes!" Bumble shouted.

But Sneeze was panicking now, sneezing in every direction—hitting runes left and right.

"INCORRECT. INCORRECT. INCORRECT."

The floor began to crack.

"The answer!" Bumble shouted desperately. "What walks on four legs, then two, then three?!"

He racked his brain. Four... two... three...

And then it hit him.

"A person!" he shouted. "A baby crawls on four legs, an adult walks on two, and an elderly person uses a cane—three legs!"

The rumbling stopped.

The voice spoke again, calmer now: "CORRECT."

The cracks in the floor sealed themselves. A doorway appeared in the far wall, glowing with golden light.

Bumble let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "We did it."

Sneeze sat down and began grooming his claws, completely unbothered.

"You almost got us killed," Bumble said.

Sneeze yawned.

The next chamber was filled with obstacles.

Swinging blades. Pits of fire. Narrow bridges over bottomless chasms.

Bumble navigated them carefully, his heart pounding, his armor clanking with every step.

Sneeze, meanwhile, simply flew over most of them with his small wings, looking bored.

"Must be nice," Bumble muttered, edging along a narrow ledge.

At one point, a blade swung too close and Bumble had to duck. His helmet fell off and tumbled into the chasm below.

"Great," he sighed.

Sneeze slowly flew down and retrieved his helmet, then landed on the other side of the obstacle course and waited, his tail swishing impatiently.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Bumble said, pulling himself up onto solid ground.

 

Finally, they reached the treasure chamber.

It was circular, with a raised platform in the center. And on that platform, bathed in a beam of golden light from above, was...

A spoon.

A wooden spoon.

Bumble stared at it.

"That can't be right," he said slowly.

He walked closer, looking around for the sword. Maybe it was hidden? Maybe the spoon was a decoy?

But no. There was nothing else in the chamber. Just the spoon.

Bumble picked it up, turning it over in his hands.

It was completely ordinary. Plain wood, slightly worn, the kind of spoon you'd use to stir soup.

"This is the legendary weapon?" Bumble said, his voice flat. "A spoon?"

Sneeze tilted his head, looking at the spoon with mild interest.

Bumble checked the book again, rereading the passage.

The Weapon of Valor lies hidden in the Cave of Legends.

Sneeze sneezed, and a small flame singed the edge of the book.

"Hey!" Bumble pulled it away, patting out the ember. "That's the only map we have!"

He looked back at the spoon, then at the empty chamber, then at Sneeze.

"Maybe I read it wrong," he said weakly. "Maybe there's another cave. Another legend."

But deep down, he knew.

This was it.

The legendary weapon was a spoon.

Bumble sat down on the platform, the spoon in his lap, and put his head in his hands.

"I risked my life for a spoon," he said.

Sneeze walked over and headbutted his knee gently.

Bumble looked down at the little dragon. "What am I supposed to do with a spoon, Sneeze? I can't fight with a spoon. I can't prove I'm a real knight with a spoon."

Sneeze sat down and looked up at him with those big golden eyes.

And somehow, Bumble felt a little better.

"You're right," he sighed. "We came all this way. Might as well keep it. Maybe it's... I don't know. Lucky?"

He tucked the spoon into his belt, next to his sword.

It looked ridiculous.

But then again, so did he.

"Come on," Bumble said, standing up. "Let's get out of here."

That night, at camp, Bumble was making soup for dinner—or trying to. He'd forgotten to pack enough vegetables, and the broth was thin and watery.

He stirred it with the wooden spoon from the cave, sighing.

"This is going to be terrible," he muttered.

But as he stirred, something strange happened.

The soup began to thicken.

Vegetables appeared—carrots, potatoes, onions—bubbling up from nowhere.

The broth turned rich and golden.

The smell was incredible.

Bumble stopped stirring and stared into the pot.

"What...?"

He looked at the spoon.

Then back at the soup.

Then at Sneeze, who was watching with interest, his nose twitching.

"It's magic," Bumble whispered. "The spoon is magic."

He stirred again, and more soup appeared—enough to fill the entire pot, and then some.

Bumble started laughing.

"It makes infinite soup!" he said, grinning. "The legendary weapon makes infinite soup!"

Sneeze's tail wagged.

Bumble ladled out a bowl and tasted it.

It was the best soup he'd ever had.

"Okay," he said, still grinning. "Maybe a magic spoon is better than a sword."

Sneeze sneezed in agreement—carefully aimed away from the soup this time.

 

CHAPTER 4- The Princess in the Tower  👑📚

 

Bumble and Sneeze had been traveling for two weeks now, and Bumble's pack was getting heavy.

He had:

-One dented helmet

-One suit of ill-fitting armor (now with extra scorch marks)

-One sword (that still fell out of its sheath regularly)

-One completed quest scroll (dragon quest, done his way)

-One library book (slightly singed)

-One magical wooden spoon (legendary weapon, apparently)

-One extremely reluctant dragon (not technically in the pack, but still his responsibility)

And now, as they crested a hill, he had one more thing:

A quest.

In the valley below stood a tall stone tower, rising up from the forest like a finger pointing at the sky. It had no door at ground level—just smooth stone walls and a single window at the very top, where a flag fluttered in the breeze.

"A tower," Bumble said, his eyes widening. "Sneeze, do you know what this means?"

Sneeze looked at the tower, then at Bumble, then yawned.

"There's probably a princess up there!" Bumble said excitedly. "Trapped! Waiting to be rescued! This is perfect—this is exactly the kind of quest a real knight does!"

Sneeze sat down and began grooming his claws.

"Come on," Bumble said, already heading down the hill. "This is our chance to do something properly heroic!"

Sneeze sighed—an actual sigh, full of reluctance—and followed.

 

When they reached the base of the tower, Bumble cupped his hands around his mouth and called up: "Hello! Is anyone up there?"

Silence.

He tried again, louder: "HELLO! I'M A KNIGHT! I'VE COME TO RESCUE YOU!"

A window at the top opened, and a young woman leaned out. She had dark hair pulled back in a practical braid and wore a simple dress. She looked down at Bumble with an expression of mild annoyance.

"I don't need rescuing!" she called down.

Bumble blinked. "What?"

"I said I don't need rescuing! I'm fine up here!"

"But... you're in a tower," Bumble said, confused.

"Yes. I know. I live here."

"You live here? By choice?"

"Yes!" The princess—because she had to be a princess, this was definitely a princess tower—gestured around. "It's quiet. No one bothers me. I have my books and my telescope and my peace. It's perfect."

Bumble stared up at her. "But... but there's no door. How do you get in and out?"

"I don't," she said simply. "That's the point. People leave me alone."

"What about food?"

"The village sends up a basket once a week on a pulley system. It's very efficient."

Bumble's brain was struggling to process this. "So you're not trapped? You're not being held prisoner by a dragon or a witch or an evil sorcerer?"

"No. I'm just reading." She held up a book as proof. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm at a very exciting part—"

"Wait!" Bumble called. "I'm supposed to rescue you! That's what knights do! There are rules!"

The princess leaned further out the window, her expression shifting from annoyed to incredulous. "I didn't agree to any rules. I'm perfectly happy here. Please go away."

"But—"

She closed the window.

Bumble stood there, staring up at the tower, his mouth hanging open.

Sneeze headbutted his leg, as if to say I told you this was a bad idea.

"She doesn't want to be rescued," Bumble said slowly. "How can I rescue someone who doesn't want to be rescued?"

Sneeze made a huffing sound that clearly meant you can't.

"But this is a quest!" Bumble protested. "Princess in tower, knight rescues princess, everyone's happy! That's how it's supposed to work!"

Sneeze looked deeply unimpressed.

Bumble paced back and forth, his armor clanking. "Maybe she doesn't understand. Maybe she's been up there so long she's forgotten what it's like to be free. I should—I should climb up there and explain!"

He looked at the tower. Smooth stone. No handholds. No door. No way up except...

"I'll climb the outside!" Bumble declared.

Sneeze's ears flattened.

"It'll be fine," Bumble said, already looking for a place to start. "I'm a knight. Knights climb towers all the time."

Ten minutes later:

Bumble was stuck.

He'd made it about fifteen feet up by wedging his fingers and boots into tiny cracks in the stone. His armor was making everything harder—it was heavy, it kept catching on the wall, and his breastplate kept sliding to the left.

"Just... a little... higher..." he grunted, reaching for the next handhold.

His fingers slipped.

"Whoa—!"

He scrabbled at the wall, his boots losing purchase, and suddenly he was falling—

He caught a narrow ledge with one hand, his body swinging out over the ground.

"HELP!" he shouted.

The window opened again. The princess looked down at him, exasperated.

"What are you doing?!"

"Rescuing you!" Bumble called back, dangling.

"I told you I don't need rescuing!"

"I'm a knight! This is what I do!"

"You're going to fall and break your neck!"

"I'm fine!" Bumble insisted.

His hand slipped.

He fell.

It wasn't a long fall—only fifteen feet—but it was enough to knock the wind out of him when he hit the ground. His armor clanged loudly, and his sword fell out of its sheath and landed on his foot.

"Ow," Bumble wheezed.

Sneeze walked over and looked down at him, shaking his head slowly.

Above, the princess sighed. "Stay there. I'm coming down."

"You're... what?" Bumble sat up, wincing. "But there's no door!"

"There's a ladder on the inside, and a secret entrance," she called. "I just don't use it often."

Five minutes later:

A section of the tower wall swung open—a hidden door—and the princess stepped out, carrying a first aid kit.

She knelt beside Bumble, who was still sitting on the ground, and began checking him for injuries.

"Anything broken?" she asked briskly.

"Just my pride," Bumble muttered.

"Good. You're lucky you didn't break your neck." She pulled out a bandage and started wrapping his scraped hand. "What's your name?"

"Sir Bumble," he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Bumble?"

"It's... a nickname."

"I can see why." She finished the bandage and sat back. "I'm Princess Elara. And before you ask, no, I'm not cursed. No, I'm not being held against my will. And no, I don't need a knight to save me."

"Then why are you in a tower?" Bumble asked.

Elara looked up at her tower, and her expression softened. "Because over there—" she gestured towards the distant castle visible on the horizon "—I'm expected to attend balls and entertain suitors and smile politely while people tell me what I should do with my life. Up here, I can study the stars and read philosophy and actually think. Up here, I'm free."

Bumble looked at the tower, then at her, and something clicked.

"You're not trapped in the tower," he said slowly. "You're trapped by everyone's expectations."

Elara met his eyes, surprised. "Yes. Exactly."

They sat in silence for a moment.

Then Bumble said, "I understand that. Everyone expects me to be a certain kind of knight. Brave, strong, proper. But I'm... not. I'm clumsy and my armor doesn't fit and I befriend dragons instead of slaying them." He gestured at Sneeze, who was watching them with interest. "Everyone calls me Bumble because I mess everything up."

"Do you?" Elara asked.

"Do I what?"

"Mess everything up. Or do you just do things differently?"

Bumble blinked.

Elara stood and brushed off her dress. "You came here to rescue me because that's what you thought you were supposed to do. But maybe the real quest isn't rescuing me from the tower. Maybe it's respecting that I don't need rescuing."

"So... I should just leave?"

"You should do what feels right," Elara said. "Not what the rules say."

Bumble thought about that. About the dragon he'd befriended instead of slaying. About the spoon he'd found instead of a sword.

About doing things his own way.

He stood up, wincing slightly. "You're right. I'm sorry for trying to rescue you when you didn't want to be."

Elara smiled—a real smile, warm and genuine. "Apology accepted. And for what it's worth, you seem like a good knight. Just... maybe not a traditional one."

"I'm starting to think that's okay," Bumble said.

Sneeze sneezed in agreement.

A small puff of flame shot out and singed the bottom of Elara's dress.

"Oh no!" Bumble yelped. "I'm so sorry! He does that when he's—"

But Elara was laughing, patting out the small ember. "It's fine. Is this the dragon you befriended?"

"Yes. His name is Sneeze."

"Perfect name." She crouched down and offered her hand to Sneeze, who sniffed it cautiously, then headbutted her palm.

Elara grinned. "He's wonderful."

"He's a disaster," Bumble said fondly. "But he's my disaster."

Elara stood. "Well, Sir Bumble, thank you for not rescuing me."

"You're welcome?" Bumble said, still a bit confused.

"And good luck with your quests. I have a feeling you'll complete them—just not the way anyone expects."

She turned to go back into her tower, then paused. "Oh, and Bumble?"

"Yes?"

"Your eyebrows are growing back crooked."

She disappeared into the tower, and the hidden door swung shut.

Bumble touched his face. "Are they really?"

Sneeze looked up at him and made a sound that was definitely a laugh.

That night, at camp, Bumble made soup with the magic spoon—enough for himself and plenty for Sneeze, who had developed a taste for it.

As they ate, Bumble thought about Princess Elara.

She was right. He didn't have to do things the "proper" way. He could be his own kind of knight.

And maybe that was enough.

"You know what, Sneeze?" Bumble said. "I think we're doing okay."

Sneeze, his snout covered in soup, looked up and wagged his tail.

Bumble smiled.

His eyebrows might be crooked, his armor might not fit, and his legendary weapon might be a spoon.

But he had a friend. He was helping people (in his own way). And he was learning that being a knight didn't mean following all the rules.

It meant doing what was right.

Even if it looked ridiculous.

 

CHAPTER 5- The Sorcerer ✨🌹

 

The village of Thornhaven was having a problem.

A sorcerer problem.

"He's evil," the village elder said, wringing his hands. "Absolutely evil. Dark clouds hang over his castle day and night. Thorns as thick as a man's arm surround it. Strange lights flicker in the windows at all hours. And he never comes to town—never speaks to anyone. He's clearly plotting something terrible."

Bumble, sitting in the village square with a bowl of stew (made with his magic spoon, naturally), listened carefully.

Sneeze, curled up at his feet, was half-asleep and completely uninterested.

"Have you tried talking to him?" Bumble asked.

The elder looked scandalized. "Talk to him? He's a dark sorcerer! We can't just talk to him!"

"Have you asked him what he's doing up there?"

"We don't need to ask! It's obvious! Dark magic, curses, probably summoning demons—"

"But have you actually seen him do any of that?" Bumble pressed.

The elder sputtered. "Well—no—but the clouds! The thorns! The lights!"

A woman from the crowd spoke up. "We tried to stop him! Threw eggs at his castle. Toilet papered his trees. Even tried to burn those awful thorny bushes."

"You did what?" Bumble said, his eyes widening.

"We were defending ourselves!" another villager insisted.

Bumble set down his bowl. "Let me get this straight. You've never talked to this sorcerer. You don't know what he's actually doing. But you've vandalized his home and tried to set fire to his property?"

The villagers shifted uncomfortably.

"Someone has to stop him before he does something terrible!" the elder said defensively.

Bumble sighed. "I'll go talk to him."

"Talk?! You're a knight! You're supposed to defeat him!"

"I'll talk to him first," Bumble said firmly. "And if he really is evil, then I'll... figure something out."

The elder didn't look convinced, but he handed Bumble a small pouch of coins anyway. "Just... be careful. And if you don't come back, we'll know he was truly wicked."

"Very reassuring," Bumble muttered.

The sorcerer's castle sat on a hill overlooking the village, and as Bumble and Sneeze approached, he could see what the villagers meant.

Dark storm clouds hung directly over the castle—and only the castle. The rest of the sky was clear and blue.

Thick, thorny vines covered the walls and surrounded the property like a barrier.

And yes, there were lights flickering in the windows, even though it was mid-afternoon.

"Okay," Bumble said to Sneeze. "Maybe they have a point. This does look a bit... ominous."

Sneeze yawned.

They walked up the path—overgrown but clearly maintained—and reached the wall of thorns.

Bumble peered through the gaps, trying to see a way in.

And that's when he noticed something.

The thorns had buds.

Hundreds of them. Tiny, tight buds that hadn't opened yet.

"These are rose bushes," Bumble said, surprised. "They just haven't bloomed."

He looked closer and saw scorch marks on some of the branches—burn marks, like someone had tried to set them on fire.

"Oh," Bumble said quietly. "Oh no."

He walked along the thorny barrier until he found a gate—wooden, painted green, with a small sign that read: Please knock. I'm probably in the garden.

Bumble knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again, louder.

Still nothing.

"Hello?" he called. "I'm Sir Bumble! I'm here to—uh—talk!"

Silence.

Sneeze sniffed at the gate, then headbutted it.

It swung open.

"Oh," Bumble said. "It wasn't locked."

They stepped through.

Inside the thorny barrier was a garden.

Not a dark, twisted, evil garden.

A beautiful one.

Rows of vegetables grew in neat beds. Fruit trees heavy with apples and cherries lined the paths. Flower beds burst with color—tulips, daisies, lavender. A small greenhouse stood to one side, its glass panels sparkling in the sunlight that somehow broke through the storm clouds here.

And in the center of it all, a fountain bubbled cheerfully, surrounded by stone benches and more roses—these ones in full bloom, red and pink and white.

"This is... not what I expected," Bumble said.

Sneeze trotted over to sniff a patch of catnip and immediately started rolling in it.

"Sneeze, don't—" Bumble started, but it was too late.

A voice rang out from across the garden: "GET OUT OF MY CATNIP!"

Bumble spun around.

A man was striding toward them—tall, thin, wearing a dark robe that billowed dramatically as he walked. His hair was wild and gray, his face lined with a permanent scowl.

The sorcerer.

"I'm sorry!" Bumble said quickly. "He didn't mean—"

"That's medicinal catnip!" the sorcerer snapped. "For my tea! And your dragon is rolling in it like a common housecat!"

Sneeze, hearing the word "dragon," looked up—still lying on his back in the catnip—and sneezed.

A jet of flame shot out.

It hit the sorcerer's robe.

The hem caught fire.

"NO!" the sorcerer shouted, batting at the flames. "NOT AGAIN! NOT MY ROBE!"

"Water!" Bumble yelped, looking around frantically. "We need water!"

The sorcerer pointed at the fountain, and Bumble ran over, scooped water with his helmet, and threw it at the sorcerer.

It put out the fire.

It also soaked the sorcerer completely.

The sorcerer stood there, dripping, his robe singed and smoking, glaring at Bumble with an expression of pure exhaustion.

"Let me guess," he said flatly. "The village sent you to 'defeat' me."

"Uh," Bumble said. "Sort of?"

"Of course they did." The sorcerer wrung out his robe. "What did they tell you? That I'm evil? Plotting dark magic? Cursing the land?"

"Something like that," Bumble admitted.

The sorcerer gestured around the garden. "Do I look like I'm cursing the land?"

Bumble looked at the thriving vegetables, the blooming flowers, the happy bees buzzing from plant to plant.

"No," he said slowly. "You look like you're... growing things."

"EXACTLY!" The sorcerer threw up his hands. "I'm a gardener! That's all I've ever been! But does anyone in that village bother to ask? No! They see storm clouds and assume I'm summoning demons!"

"The storm clouds are for watering?" Bumble guessed.

"YES! Controlled rainfall! Perfectly calibrated for optimal plant growth!" The sorcerer pointed at the clouds. "Do you know how hard it is to maintain a spell like that? And they think it's evil!"

"And the thorns?"

"ROSES!" the sorcerer shouted. "They're roses! They just haven't bloomed yet because someone—" his voice dripped with bitterness "—keeps trying to SET THEM ON FIRE!"

"The villagers did that," Bumble said quietly.

"Oh, they did more than that." The sorcerer started ticking off on his fingers. "Threw eggs at my walls. Toilet papered my cherry tree—my prize-winning cherry tree! Broke three of my greenhouse windows with rocks. And last week, they tried to burn down my rose barrier. MY ROSES! Do you know how long I've been cultivating those? Five years! FIVE YEARS!"

He looked like he might cry.

Bumble felt terrible. "I'm so sorry. They thought—"

"They thought I was evil because I don't come to town and smile and make small talk," the sorcerer said bitterly. "I'm up here growing food and flowers and trying to make something beautiful, and they vandalize my home because I look scary."

He sat down heavily on one of the stone benches, his shoulders slumping.

Sneeze, who had been watching from the catnip patch, got up and walked over. He sat down next to the sorcerer and leaned against his leg.

The sorcerer looked down at the little dragon, surprised.

"I'm sorry he set your robe on fire," Bumble said. "He sneezes when he's nervous. Or excited. Or... pretty much any time, really."

"It's fine," the sorcerer said tiredly. "It's happened before. Everything happens before." He scratched Sneeze behind the ears absently. "What's his name?"

"Sneeze."

The sorcerer's mouth twitched—almost a smile. "Fitting."

Bumble sat down on the bench across from him. "What's your name?"

The sorcerer looked at him, surprised. "You want to know my name?"

"Of course."

"No one's asked me that in... years." He was quiet for a moment. "Aldwin. My name is Aldwin."

"I'm Bumble," Bumble said. "Well, Sir Barnaby Bramble. But everyone calls me Bumble."

"Because you bumble around?"

"Because I mess everything up," Bumble said cheerfully. "My armor doesn't fit, my sword falls out of its sheath, and I befriend dragons instead of slaying them."

Aldwin looked at Sneeze, then at Bumble. "You were supposed to slay him?"

"Yep. Didn't work out that way."

"And now you're here to defeat me?"

"I was," Bumble admitted. "But I don't think you need defeating. I think you need people to stop being terrible to you."

Aldwin stared at him. "You're a very strange knight."

"I get that a lot."

They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound the bubbling fountain and the bees humming in the flowers.

Then Bumble said, "I could help. With the villagers, I mean. Explain that you're not evil. Show them your garden."

Aldwin shook his head. "They won't listen. They've already decided what I am."

"Maybe they just need someone to show them they're wrong," Bumble said. "Someone who's not you. Someone they might actually listen to."

"A knight?"

"A very bumbling knight with a fire-sneezing dragon and a magic soup spoon," Bumble said. "But yes."

Aldwin blinked. "Did you say magic soup spoon?"

"Long story." 

 

Bumble made soup.

A lot of soup.

The magic spoon had filled an entire cauldron, and now they sat in the garden eating the best vegetable soup either of them had ever tasted.

Sneeze had his own bowl and was making happy little huffing sounds as he ate.

"This is incredible," Aldwin said, staring into his bowl. "How does the spoon—"

"I have no idea," Bumble said. "I found it in the Cave of Legends. I was looking for a sword."

"And you got a spoon instead?"

"Yep."

Aldwin laughed—actually laughed, a rusty sound like he hadn't done it in a while. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"My whole life is ridiculous," Bumble said, grinning.

They ate in comfortable silence for a while.

Then Aldwin said, "Why are you being kind to me? You don't know me. The village told you I was evil."

"The village also tried to burn your roses," Bumble pointed out. "I figured I should make up my own mind."

"And?"

"And I think you're just someone who loves plants and wants to be left alone to grow them. That's not evil. That's just... you."

Aldwin's eyes looked suspiciously shiny. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Bumble set down his bowl. "Now, how do we fix this? How do we show the village they're wrong about you?"

Aldwin thought for a moment. "The roses. When they bloom, they're going to be beautiful. If I could show them—if they could see what I've been growing instead of just assuming the worst—"

"When will they bloom?"

"Soon. Maybe a week. But they won't last long if people keep trying to burn them."

"Then we protect them," Bumble said firmly. "And when they bloom, we invite the village up here. Show them your garden. Show them you're not a threat."

"You think they'll come?"

"If a knight invites them, they might."

Aldwin looked at Bumble—at his crooked eyebrows, his ill-fitting armor, his earnest face—and smiled. "You really are a strange knight."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Sneeze burped a small puff of flame.

Both of them laughed. 

 

A week had passed, and the roses bloomed.

All of them, all at once, in a riot of color—red, pink, white, yellow, coral. The thorny barrier transformed into a wall of beauty, and the scent was incredible.

Bumble stood at the gate with Aldwin, watching as the villagers approached.

They came hesitantly, suspicious, but they came.

And when they saw the roses—when they walked through the gate and saw the garden, the thriving plants, the peaceful fountain—they stopped.

"This is what you've been doing?" the village elder said, staring.

"Yes," Aldwin said quietly. "This is what I've been doing."

"But the clouds—"

"For watering."

"The lights—"

"I check on seedlings at night."

"The thorns—"

"Roses. That you tried to burn."

The elder had the grace to look ashamed.

A child ran up to the fountain, laughing, and Aldwin didn't stop her. He just smiled.

Slowly, the villagers began to relax. They walked through the garden, admiring the flowers tasting the vegetables Aldwin offered.

And Bumble, standing to the side with Sneeze, watched it all and felt something warm in his chest.

He'd done it.

Not by fighting. Not by defeating anyone.

Just by listening. By being kind. By giving someone a chance.

Aldwin caught his eye and mouthed thank you.

Bumble grinned.

CHAPTER6- The Enchanted Forest 🌳

 

Bumble had heard stories about the Enchanted Forest.

Everyone had.

It was a place of magic and mystery, where the trees whispered secrets and animals spoke in riddles. Many knights had entered seeking wisdom or treasure. Some had returned. Some hadn't.

Bumble hadn't planned to go there.

But then he'd taken a wrong turn.

And then another wrong turn trying to fix the first wrong turn.

And now he and Sneeze were standing at the edge of a forest that definitely hadn't been on his map, watching as the trees seemed to... shift... when he wasn't looking directly at them.

"I think this might be the Enchanted Forest," Bumble said.

Sneeze looked up at him with an expression that clearly said of course it is.

"We should probably go around it," Bumble continued.

Sneeze sat down, refusing to move.

"Or we could go through it," Bumble amended. "That's fine too. Probably faster anyway."

Sneeze stood up and trotted into the forest.

Bumble sighed and followed.

The moment they stepped under the canopy, everything changed.

The light turned green and gold, filtering through leaves that seemed to glow from within. The air smelled like moss and magic. And the path—which had been clear a moment ago—split into three directions.

A sign stood at the fork, carved from living wood:

CHOOSE WISELY

LEFT: THE PATH OF COURAGE

CENTER: THE PATH OF WISDOM

RIGHT: THE PATH OF HEART

Bumble studied the sign carefully. "This is a test. We have to choose the right path."

Sneeze sniffed each path, then sat down in the middle of all three and began grooming his claws.

"Very helpful," Bumble muttered.

He thought hard. Courage, wisdom, or heart?

As a knight, he should probably choose courage. But he wasn't a very courageous knight—he'd befriended a dragon instead of fighting it, after all.

Wisdom seemed smart. But Bumble had never been particularly wise. He got lost constantly and made decisions based on feelings rather than logic.

Heart, then?

"I'll go with heart," Bumble decided. "That feels right."

He started down the right path.

A voice echoed through the trees: "THE KNIGHT CHOOSES HEART. LET THE TRIALS BEGIN."

"Trials?" Bumble said nervously. "What trials?"

Sneeze, who had been following reluctantly, sneezed.

A small burst of flame hit a low-hanging branch.

It didn't catch fire—instead, it bloomed with flowers.

"Oh," Bumble said. "That's... actually nice."

They kept walking.

The first creature they met was a fox.

It sat in the middle of the path, grooming its tail, and looked up as they approached.

"Greetings, traveler," the fox said in a smooth, cultured voice. "I am the Guardian of the First Trial. Answer my riddle, and you may pass."

"A riddle!" Bumble said, trying to sound confident. "I can do riddles. Probably."

The fox's eyes gleamed. "Listen carefully: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?"

Bumble frowned, thinking hard.

Speaks without a mouth... hears without ears... comes alive with wind...

"Is it... a ghost?" he guessed.

"No."

"A spirit?"

"No."

"A... a magical talking wind creature?"

The fox sighed. "No. The answer is an echo."

"Oh!" Bumble said. "That makes sense. Echo. Right."

"You failed the riddle," the fox said. "But I will give you advice instead, as is the custom of this forest."

"Advice?" Bumble perked up. "That's helpful!"

"Indeed." The fox stood and looked at him seriously. "When you reach the Heart of the Forest, you must turn left three times, then right twice, then spin in a circle, then walk backwards for seven steps."

Bumble pulled out a small notebook and began writing frantically. "Turn left three times... right twice... spin... walk backward seven steps. Got it. Thank you!"

The fox looked satisfied. "You are welcome, brave knight. Good luck."

It disappeared into the underbrush.

Bumble tucked away his notebook, feeling pleased. "See, Sneeze? We're getting helpful advice! This forest isn't so bad."

Sneeze looked deeply skeptical.

The second creature was a rabbit.

It hopped out from behind a mushroom and twitched its nose at them.

"Hello, Sir Knight," it said in a high, cheerful voice. "I have advice for you!"

"Oh, wonderful!" Bumble said, pulling out his notebook again.

"When you meet the trees, you must speak only in rhymes. They will not listen otherwise."

Bumble wrote it down carefully. "Speak in rhymes. Got it. Thank you!"

"You're very welcome!" The rabbit hopped away.

 

The third creature was a deer.

It stepped gracefully onto the path, its antlers decorated with flowers.

"Greetings," it said in a gentle voice. "I offer you wisdom for your journey."

"I'm listening," Bumble said, notebook ready.

"The trees of this forest are ancient and proud. You must bow to each one you pass, or they will be offended."

"Bow to each tree," Bumble repeated, writing. "How many times?"

"Three times per tree."

"Three times. Perfect. Thank you!"

The deer nodded and walked away. 

 

The fourth creature was a squirrel.

It chittered at them from a branch overhead.

"Hey! You! Knight!"

Bumble looked up. "Yes?"

"Important advice!" the squirrel said. "When you reach the clearing, you have to hop on one foot! It's tradition!"

"Hop on one foot," Bumble wrote. "Which foot?"

"Left foot! Obviously!"

"Right. Left foot. Thank you!"

The squirrel scampered away.

By the time they reached the Heart of the Forest—a clearing with a circle of ancient trees—Bumble had an entire page of advice.

"Okay," he said, reviewing his notes. "I need to turn left three times, right twice, spin in a circle, walk backward seven steps, speak only in rhymes, bow three times to each tree, and hop on my left foot."

Sneeze sat down and put his head in his paws.

"I can do this," Bumble said confidently.

He stepped into the clearing.

The trees rustled, and a deep voice spoke: "WELCOME, TRAVELER. STATE YOUR PURPOSE."

Bumble took a breath and began.

He turned left.

Then left again.

Then left a third time.

Now he was facing the wrong direction.

"Um," he said.

He turned right twice, which spun him around again.

Then he spun in a circle—his armor clanking—and tried to walk backward seven steps while hopping on his left foot.

He made it three steps before he tripped over a root and fell flat on his back.

"Ow," he said.

The trees rustled. It sounded like... laughter?

Bumble sat up, his face red. "Sorry! I'm trying to follow the advice! I just—"

He pulled out his notebook and started reading: "Turn left three times, right twice, spin, walk backward, hop on left foot, speak in rhymes, bow three times to each tree—"

"STOP," the voice said, and now it definitely sounded amused. "What are you doing?"

"Following the advice!" Bumble said. "The animals told me—"

"The animals," the voice said slowly, "were having fun with you."

Bumble blinked. "What?"

"They do this to every traveler. Give contradictory, ridiculous advice and watch them tie themselves in knots trying to follow it all."

"Oh," Bumble said in a small voice.

The trees rustled again—definitely laughter this time.

"But," the voice continued, "you tried. You listened to every creature, wrote down every word, and attempted to follow it all even when it made no sense. That shows respect. And sincerity."

One of the trees bent down—actually bent, its branches reaching toward Bumble like arms—and helped him to his feet.

"You have a good heart, Sir Knight," the voice said warmly. "Even if you are very, very gullible."

"I prefer 'trusting,'" Bumble muttered, brushing off his armor.

"The forest grants you passage," the voice said. "And a gift."

The trees parted, revealing a clear path leading out of the forest.

And on the ground, glowing softly, was a small crystal acorn.

"Take it," the voice said. "Plant it somewhere you wish to protect, and it will grow into a guardian tree."

Bumble picked up the acorn carefully. It was warm in his palm. "Thank you."

"You are welcome. And Sir Knight?"

"Yes?"

"Next time someone tells you to hop backward on one foot while speaking in rhymes... perhaps question it."

Bumble's face went red. "Right. Yes. Good advice."

The trees laughed—a sound like wind through leaves—and Bumble hurried down the path, Sneeze trotting beside him.

Later, at the edge of the forest, Bumble was sitting on a fallen log, looking at his notebook full of ridiculous advice.

"They were messing with me the whole time," he said.

Sneeze made a huffing sound that was definitely a laugh.

"You knew, didn't you?"

Sneeze's tail swished.

"And you didn't tell me."

Sneeze yawned.

Bumble sighed, then smiled. "Well, at least I got this." He held up the crystal acorn. "And I made the trees laugh. That's something."

He tucked the acorn carefully into his pack, next to the magic spoon and Aldwin's rose cuttings.

His collection of "legendary" items was getting stranger by the day.

But somehow, that felt right.

 

CHAPTER 7- The Tournament 🏆⚔️

 

The Grand Tournament of Valorhold was the biggest event of the year.

Knights came from all over the kingdom to compete in tests of skill, strength, and bravery. There were prizes, glory, and—most importantly—recognition.

Bumble had never been to a tournament before.

He'd never been invited.

But this year, the tournament was open to all knights, and Bumble had received a notice at the last inn he'd stayed at. An official invitation on parchment with a gold seal.

All knights of the realm are welcome to compete.

"This is it, Sneeze," Bumble said, holding up the invitation as they walked towards the tournament grounds. "This is my chance to prove I'm a real knight. In front of everyone."

Sneeze looked up at him and sneezed nervously.

A small puff of flame singed the bottom of the invitation.

"It's fine," Bumble said quickly, patting out the ember. "Still readable. Mostly." 

 

The tournament grounds were enormous.

Colorful tents surrounded a central arena where the competitions would take place. Banners fluttered in the breeze. Crowds of people filled the stands, cheering and eating and placing bets on their favorite knights.

And the knights themselves—

Bumble had never seen so many knights in one place.

They were all tall, strong, and confident. Their armor gleamed. Their weapons were polished to perfection. They stood in groups, laughing and boasting about their previous victories.

Bumble looked down at his own armor—dented, scorched, with the breastplate still sliding to the left—and felt very small.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," he muttered.

Sneeze headbutted his leg encouragingly.

"You're right," Bumble said, taking a breath. "I'm here. I might as well try."

He walked over to the registration tent.

The registration clerk looked up as Bumble approached, and his expression shifted from professional to... confused.

"Name?" he asked.

"Sir Barnaby Bramble," Bumble said. "But everyone calls me Bumble."

The clerk wrote it down. "Bumble. Right. And you're competing in...?"

"All of it?" Bumble said hopefully. "Jousting, sword fighting, archery?"

The clerk looked at him—really looked at him—taking in the crooked armor, the patchy eyebrows, the small dragon sitting at his feet.

"All of it," the clerk repeated slowly.

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Very sure."

The clerk shrugged and handed him a number. "Good luck. You'll need it."

EVENT ONE: JOUSTING

Bumble had never jousted before.

He'd read about it. Watched it once from the stands. But actually doing it?

That was different.

He sat on his horse—a gentle mare named Daisy who seemed as nervous as he was—and held his lance. It was heavy. Very heavy.

Across the field, his opponent sat on a massive black stallion. The knight was twice Bumble's size, with armor that looked like it had never seen a scratch.

The crowd cheered.

The herald announced: "SIR GARRETT VERSUS SIR BUMBLE!"

Bumble's stomach dropped. Sir Garrett. Of course it was Sir Garrett.

Garrett lowered his visor and raised his lance.

Bumble did the same, his hands shaking slightly.

The trumpet sounded.

They charged.

Daisy galloped forward—not very fast, but she was trying—and Bumble held his lance as steady as he could.

Garrett thundered toward him like an avalanche.

They were going to collide—

Sneeze, who had been watching from the sidelines, got nervous.

He sneezed.

A jet of flame shot across the field and startled Garrett's horse.

The stallion reared, and Garrett's lance went wide.

Bumble's lance—purely by accident—caught Garrett's shield.

Garrett toppled backward off his horse and landed in the dirt with a tremendous CRASH.

The crowd gasped.

Bumble pulled Daisy to a stop and looked back, horrified. "Are you okay?!"

Garrett sat up, dazed, his visor askew. "What... what just happened?"

The herald, looking equally confused, announced: "SIR BUMBLE WINS!"

The crowd cheered—some because they'd bet on the underdog, others because it was the funniest thing they'd seen all day.

Bumble dismounted and hurried over to help Garrett up. "I'm so sorry! My dragon sneezed and—"

"Your dragon sneezed?" Garrett said incredulously.

"He does that when he's nervous."

Garrett stared at him, then started laughing. "I got unseated by a sneezing dragon. That's... that's going in the history books."

He clapped Bumble on the shoulder—nearly knocking him over—and walked off, still chuckling.

Bumble looked at Sneeze. "That doesn't count as a real win."

Sneeze's tail wagged.

EVENT TWO: SWORD FIGHTING

Bumble's opponent was a skilled swordswoman named Lady Cassandra.

She was fast, precise, and clearly knew what she was doing.

Bumble... did not.

They circled each other in the arena, swords raised.

Cassandra struck first—a quick, clean blow that Bumble barely blocked.

She struck again, and again, driving him backward.

Bumble stumbled, his sword slipping in his sweaty grip.

He reached for it—

And accidentally grabbed the wooden spoon tucked in his belt instead.

He didn't realize his mistake until he'd already blocked Cassandra's next strike with it.

The spoon held.

Cassandra blinked. "Is that... a spoon?"

"Um," Bumble said.

She struck again, and Bumble blocked with the spoon—purely on instinct.

The crowd started laughing.

"Are you fighting me with a spoon?!" Cassandra demanded.

"I didn't mean to!" Bumble said. "I grabbed the wrong—"

She lunged.

Bumble blocked with the spoon.

And then—because the universe apparently had a sense of humor—the magic spoon activated.

Soup appeared.

A lot of soup.

It poured out of the spoon like a fountain, flooding the arena floor.

"WHAT—" Cassandra started, but she slipped in the soup and went down.

Bumble tried to help her, slipped in the soup himself, and landed on his backside.

They both sat there, covered in soup, staring at each other.

The crowd was howling with laughter.

The herald, barely able to speak through his own laughter, announced: "SIR BUMBLE... WINS... BY... SOUP?!"

Cassandra started laughing too. "A magic soup spoon. Of course. Why not?"

Bumble helped her up, both of them dripping. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't be," she said, grinning. "That was the most entertaining fight I've ever had."

EVENT THREE: ARCHERY

Bumble was actually decent at archery.

Not great, but decent.

He nocked his arrow, aimed at the target, and drew back the string.

Sneeze sat beside him, watching.

Bumble released.

The arrow flew straight—

Sneeze sneezed.

The burst of flame hit the arrow mid-flight.

It caught fire.

The flaming arrow hit the target and set it ablaze.

Then the fire spread to the next target.

And the next.

Within seconds, all the targets were on fire.

People were running with buckets of water.

The archery master was shouting.

Bumble stood there, bow still raised, watching the chaos.

"I'm disqualified, aren't I?" he said.

Sneeze looked up at him apologetically.

"It's okay," Bumble sighed. "I expected this."

THE AWARDS CEREMONY:

Bumble didn't win any of the main prizes.

Sir Garrett won jousting (in the later rounds, after recovering from his earlier defeat).

Lady Cassandra won sword fighting (after changing into dry clothes).

Someone else won archery (after they put out all the fires).

But at the end of the ceremony, the tournament master stood up with one final award.

"We have a special prize this year," he announced. "For the knight who brought the most entertainment, joy, and laughter to this tournament."

The crowd cheered.

"This knight may not have won through traditional skill," the master continued, "but he reminded us all that tournaments are meant to be fun. That sometimes the best moments are the unexpected ones."

He held up a ribbon—bright blue with gold lettering that read

MOST ENTERTAINING COMPETITOR

"Sir Bumble!" the master called.

Bumble's eyes went wide. "Me?"

"You! Come up here!"

Bumble walked up to the platform, his face red, his armor still smelling faintly of soup.

The master pinned the ribbon to his chest. "For the sneezing dragon, the magic soup spoon, and the most memorable tournament performance we've ever seen—congratulations, Sir Bumble."

The crowd erupted in applause and laughter—not mocking, but genuine and warm.

Bumble looked out at them, then down at his ribbon.

'Most Entertaining Competitor'

It wasn't "Most Skilled" or "Most Brave" or "Champion."

But it was his.

And he was proud of it.

"Thank you," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

That evening, at camp, Bumble sat by the fire, the ribbon pinned carefully to his pack where he could see it.

Sneeze was curled up beside him, full of soup and half-asleep.

"We didn't win the tournament," Bumble said. "Not really."

Sneeze cracked one eye open.

"But we made people laugh. We made them happy. And we got a ribbon."

He touched the ribbon gently.

"I think that counts as winning. Don't you?"

Sneeze's tail wagged sleepily.

Bumble smiled and settled back against his bedroll.

He had a ribbon.

A magic spoon.

A crystal acorn.

Rose cuttings.

A completed quest scroll.

And a dragon who set things on fire when he sneezed.

He was the strangest knight in the kingdom.

And he was okay with that. 

 

CHAPTER8- The Reverse Curse🔄✨

 

Bumble knew something was wrong the moment he entered the town of Turnbridge.

Everyone was talking backward.

"!gninrom dooG" a shopkeeper called out.

"?uoy era woH" a woman asked as she passed.

Bumble stopped in the middle of the street, confused. "Um... what?"

A child tugged on his cape. "!thgink a er'uoY"

"I... yes?" Bumble said. "I'm a knight?"

The child nodded enthusiastically and ran off.

Sneeze sat down and tilted his head, looking as confused as Bumble felt.

"Everyone's speaking backward," Bumble said slowly. "This has to be a curse."

An elderly man approached, walking with a cane. "!esruc a s'tI !thgiR"

"Right!" Bumble said, relieved that someone understood. "A curse! Do you know what happened?"

The man launched into a long explanation—all of it backwards.

Bumble tried to follow along, his brain twisting itself in knots trying to reverse the words.

"So... a wizard... came to town and... cursed everyone because... they were rude to him?"

The man nodded vigorously. "!seY"

"And then the wizard left?"

"!seY !enog s'eH"

"He's gone," Bumble repeated, his heart sinking. "So he can't undo the curse?"

The man shook his head sadly. "!oN"

"How long have you been like this?"

The man held up his fingers—three weeks.

Three weeks of speaking backward, unable to communicate properly with anyone outside the town. No wonder they looked so tired and frustrated.

"I'll fix this," Bumble promised. "I'll break the curse."

The man patted his arm gratefully. "!uoy knahT"

Bumble spent the next several hours trying everything he could think of to break the curse.

Attempt One: Soup

"Soup fixes everything," Bumble declared, pulling out his magic spoon.

He made an enormous pot of soup and served it to everyone in the town square.

It was delicious.

Everyone felt better.

But they still spoke backwards.

"!pous doog yreV" they said. "!esruc eht kaerb t'ndid tI tuB"

"Right," Bumble sighed. "Good soup, curse still there."

Attempt Two: Walking Backwards 

Bumble remembered the advice from the Enchanted Forest—turn left three times, walk backwards seven steps...

Maybe walking backwards would help?

He walked backwards around the town square three times.

Nothing happened.

He tried walking backwards while speaking backwards.

He tripped over a bucket and fell into a water trough.

Still cursed.

"!yrrros m'I" someone said, helping him out. 

 

AttemptThree: Reading Backward

Bumble found a book in the town library and tried reading it backward.

"The... eht... cat... tac... sat... tas..."

His head hurt.

The curse didn't budge. 

 

By evening, Bumble was sitting on the edge of the town fountain, exhausted and discouraged.

Sneeze lay beside him, equally tired.

"I don't know what else to try," Bumble said quietly. "I've tried soup, walking backwards, reading backwards, planting things... nothing works."

The elderly man sat down beside him. "!deirT uoy knahT"

"I haven't given up yet," Bumble said, though he wasn't sure what else he could do.

He pulled out his pack and started going through his belongings, hoping for inspiration.

The magic spoon—already tried.

The rose cuttings—he didn't think roses would work.

His ribbon—just a ribbon.

The quest scroll—he'd already read it forward and backward.

The crystal acorn—

Bumble paused, pulling out the small glowing acorn the Enchanted Forest had given him.

Plant it somewhere you wish to protect, and it will grow into a guardian tree.

A guardian tree.

To protect a place.

"Protection," Bumble said slowly. "The tree protects against harm. And a curse is... harmful magic."

He stood up suddenly. "I think I know what to do!" 

 

The townspeople gathered around as Bumble walked to the center of the square—the heart of the town.

He knelt down and dug a small hole in the soft earth.

"The Enchanted Forest gave me this," he explained, holding up the acorn. "It's supposed to grow into a guardian tree. A tree that protects."

He placed the acorn carefully in the hole and covered it with soil.

"Please work," he whispered. "Please protect these people."

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the ground began to glow.

The acorn sprouted—not slowly, but all at once, bursting upward in a shower of golden light.

A sapling emerged, growing taller and taller, its branches spreading wide. Leaves unfurled, shimmering like crystal. The trunk thickened, bark forming in intricate patterns that looked almost like writing.

Within seconds, a full-grown tree stood in the center of the square—beautiful and tall and powerful.

Its branches stretched over the entire town, and where its shadow fell, the air shimmered.

The curse broke.

It didn't shatter or explode—it simply... dissolved, like morning mist in sunlight.

"Did it work?" someone asked.

In normal speech.

"You're talking normally!" someone else shouted.

"The curse is broken!"

The townspeople erupted in cheers, hugging each other and laughing with relief.

The elderly man approached Bumble, tears streaming down his face. "Thank you, Sir Knight. We've been like this for three weeks. We thought we'd never speak properly again."

"I'm just glad the tree worked," Bumble said, looking up at the guardian tree in awe.

Its leaves chimed softly in the breeze, and he could feel the magic radiating from it—warm and protective, like a shield around the entire town.

"It's beautiful," a woman said, touching the trunk gently.

"It will protect you," Bumble said. "From harmful magic. From curses. The Enchanted Forest gave it to me, and I think... I think this is where it was meant to be."

"You gave up your gift for us?" the elderly man said.

"It wasn't really mine," Bumble said. "It was meant for someone who needed it. And you needed it."

The man smiled. "You're a good knight, Sir Bumble."

"I'm trying," Bumble said.

The town threw a celebration under the branches of the guardian tree.

There was music, dancing, and food—so much food.

Bumble contributed soup (made with the magic spoon, naturally), and it was a huge hit.

Sneeze got his own plate of roasted chicken and was currently the center of attention among a group of children who thought a fire-sneezing dragon was the coolest thing they'd ever seen.

"Careful," Bumble warned. "He sneezes when he's excited—"

Sneeze sneezed.

A small puff of flame shot out and toasted a marshmallow one of the children was holding.

The children cheered.

"Perfect!" the child said, eating the marshmallow happily.

Bumble laughed and shook his head.

The elderly man sat down beside him. "You're heading home soon?"

"Yes," Bumble said. "Back to the castle. I've been gone for a while. It's time to report back to the king."

"What will you tell him?"

Bumble thought about that. "The truth, I suppose. That I completed quests, just... not the way anyone expected."

"And that's enough?"

"I hope so," Bumble said quietly.

The man smiled. "I think it will be. You've helped a lot of people, Sir Bumble. In your own way. That's what being a knight is really about."

Bumble looked up at the guardian tree, its crystal leaves glowing softly in the twilight.

He thought about Sneeze, sleeping peacefully after terrorizing Meadowbrook. About all they'd been through together.

About this town, speaking normally again because he'd planted a tree.

"Yeah," Bumble said, smiling. "I think you're right."

Bumble and Sneeze stood at the edge of town the next morning, ready to leave.

The townspeople had given them supplies for the journey—bread, cheese, dried fruit, and a new cloak for Bumble since his old one had been set on fire (again).

The guardian tree stood tall in the square behind them, its branches swaying gently.

"Safe travels, Sir Bumble!" the townspeople called.

"Come back anytime!"

"Bring the dragon!"

Sneeze preened at the attention.

Bumble waved goodbye and started walking.

The castle was three days away.

Three days to figure out what he was going to say to the king.

Three days to prepare for whatever came next.

But for now, he had a dragon at his side, a pack full of strange treasures (minus one crystal acorn, now a guardian tree), and a heart full of hope.

And that felt like enough.

CHAPTER 9- The Return 🏰✨

 

The road home was familiar now.

Bumble had walked it weeks ago—nervous, uncertain, his ill-fitting armor clanking with every step. He'd been so determined to prove himself, to come back a hero.

Now, walking the same road in reverse, he wasn't sure what he was.

A hero? Probably not.

A proper knight? Definitely not.

But he'd helped people. He'd made friends. He'd completed quests in his own strange way.

That had to count for something.

Didn't it?

Sneeze trotted beside him, occasionally stopping to investigate interesting smells or chase a butterfly. He seemed completely unconcerned about what awaited them at the castle.

Bumble envied that.

"What do you think the king will say?" Bumble asked.

Sneeze looked up at him and yawned.

"Very helpful," Bumble muttered.

They'd been walking for most of the morning when Bumble spotted something ahead.

A stone well sat beside the road, old and weathered, with ivy growing up its sides. A wooden sign hung from a post next to it, the letters carved deep into the wood:

THE WISHING WELL

MAKE A WISH, TRAVELER

BUT CHOOSE WISELY

Bumble stopped, reading the sign twice.

"A wishing well," he said. "I've heard of these."

Sneeze sniffed at the well's base, unimpressed.

Bumble approached slowly and peered over the edge. The well was deep, the water far below reflecting the sky like a mirror.

"Make a wish," he read aloud. "Choose wisely."

He sat down on the edge of the well, thinking.

What did he wish for?

Better armor that actually fit? He'd been wishing for that since he became a knight.

Respect from the other knights? That would be nice.

For his quests to have gone "properly"? For the dragon to have been slain, the princess rescued, the sorcerer defeated?

Bumble pulled off his dented helmet and looked at it.

The helmet had been with him through everything. It had fallen off more times than he could count. It had a dent from the Cave of Legends, scorch marks from Sneeze's sneezes, and a crack from when he'd used it to carry water to put out Aldwin's burning robe.

It was a disaster.

But it was his disaster.

He thought about Sneeze, curled up at his feet. The dragon he'd befriended instead of slaying.

He thought about Princess Elara, happy in her tower with her books.

About Aldwin, surrounded by blooming roses.

About the Enchanted Forest, laughing at his gullibility but giving him a gift anyway.

About the tournament, where he'd made people smile.

About Turnbridge, protected now by a guardian tree.

He thought about his ribbon—Most Entertaining Competitor—and his magic soup spoon, and the rose cuttings in his pack.

And he realized something.

He didn't need to wish for anything.

He already had what mattered.

"I don't have a wish," Bumble said aloud, looking down into the well. "I mean, I could wish for things. Better armor, or for people to take me seriously, or... I don't know. But I don't think I need to. I have Sneeze. I've helped people. I've made friends. I have... enough."

For a moment, nothing happened, but then the water at the bottom of the well began to glow.

A voice rose from the depths—ancient and warm, like sunlight through water.

"MOST WHO COME HERE WISH FOR POWER. FOR WEALTH. FOR GLORY. FOR THINGS THEY DO NOT HAVE."

Bumble leaned back slightly, startled.

"YOU WISH FOR NOTHING," the voice continued, "BECAUSE YOU ALREADY SEE THE VALUE IN WHAT YOU HAVE. THAT IS RARE, SIR KNIGHT. AND WORTHY OF REWARD."

"Oh," Bumble said. "I didn't mean—I wasn't trying to—"

"CLOSE YOUR EYES," the voice said gently.

Bumble closed his eyes.

He felt warmth wash over him, like standing in summer sunlight. His armor grew lighter. The straps adjusted. The weight shifted and settled.

"OPEN YOUR EYES."

Bumble opened his eyes and looked down.

His armor was different.

It wasn't the battered, ill-fitting hand-me-down he'd been wearing. It was new—simple, unadorned, but perfectly fitted to his frame. The breastplate sat straight. The pauldrons rested comfortably on his shoulders. The gauntlets fit his hands like they'd been made for him.

It wasn't fancy. It wasn't decorated with crests or engravings or gold trim.

But it was his.

"I—" Bumble's voice caught. "Thank you."

"YOU ARE WELCOME, SIR BUMBLE," the voice said. "WEAR IT WELL. AND REMEMBER—TRUE WORTH IS NOT IN WHAT YOU WISH FOR, BUT IN WHAT YOU ALREADY CARRY."

The glow faded.

The well was just a well again.

Bumble stood slowly, testing the armor. It moved with him, easy and comfortable. No clanking. No sliding. No pinching.

He looked at Sneeze. "It fits."

Sneeze's tail wagged.

Bumble picked up his helmet—still dented, still scorched—and put it on.

It fit too.

He laughed—a surprised, delighted sound—and started walking again, his steps lighter than they'd been in weeks.

Two hours later, the castle came into view.

Bumble stopped at the top of the hill, looking down at the familiar towers and walls.

His stomach twisted with nerves.

This was it.

He was home.

And he had no idea what the king would say.

"Come on, Sneeze," Bumble said quietly. "Let's go face the music."

They walked down the hill together.

The castle gates were open, and the guards recognized him immediately.

"Sir Bumble!" one of them called. "You're back!"

"I'm back," Bumble confirmed.

"Is that... a dragon?" the other guard said, staring at Sneeze.

"Yes. His name is Sneeze. He's friendly."

"He's very small."

"He sneezes fire when he's nervous," Bumble warned. "So maybe don't startle him."

The guards exchanged glances but stepped aside to let them through.

The courtyard was busy—knights training, servants hurrying about, horses being led to the stables.

And the moment Bumble stepped into view, people started noticing.

"Bumble's back!"

"He actually survived!"

"Is that a dragon?"

Sir Garrett was sparring with another knight near the training grounds. He stopped mid-swing when he saw Bumble and walked over, grinning.

"Bumble! You made it back in one piece!" He clapped Bumble on the shoulder—gently this time, since Bumble's new armor actually fit. "Wait, is that new armor?"

"Yes," Bumble said. "A gift. From a wishing well."

"A wishing well gave you armor?"

"Long story."

Garrett crouched down to look at Sneeze. "We've met before, haven't we? At the tournament. You and your well-timed sneezes."

Other knights were gathering now, curious.

"I was supposed to slay him," Bumble admitted. "But I befriended him instead."

"What else did you bring back?" someone asked.

Bumble pulled out his pack and started showing them.

The magic soup spoon.

The rose cuttings.

The ribbon from the tournament.

The completed quest scroll.

The knights stared.

"You went on a quest and came back with a spoon?" one of them said.

"It's a magic spoon," Bumble said defensively. "It makes infinite soup."

"And a ribbon that says 'Most Entertaining'?"

"I won it at a tournament!"

"And... rose cuttings?"

"From a friend."

There was a moment of silence.

Then someone started laughing.

And then they were all laughing—not cruelly, but with genuine amusement.

"Only you, Bumble," Garrett said, shaking his head. "Only you would go on a quest and come back with soup and flowers."

Bumble's face went red. "I helped people! I broke a curse! I—"

"We know," Garrett said, his expression softening. "We heard. Word travels. The village with the backward speech? The sorcerer with the roses? The princess in the tower who didn't want rescuing? You've been busy."

"You... you heard about all that?" Bumble said, surprised.

"Bumble, you're famous," another knight said. "The knight who does everything wrong and somehow makes it right anyway."

"I don't do everything wrong," Bumble protested weakly.

Sneeze sneezed, and a small puff of flame singed the edge of Garrett's cape.

"Sorry," Bumble said quickly.

Garrett patted out the ember, grinning. "See? Everything wrong. But it works."

A page approached, slightly out of breath. "Sir Bumble? The king requests your presence in the throne room."

Bumble's stomach dropped. "Now?"

"Now."

The other knights fell silent, watching him.

Bumble took a deep breath. "Right. Okay. Throne room. I can do this."

"Good luck," Garrett said quietly.

Bumble nodded, his throat tight, and followed the page towards the castle.

Sneeze trotted beside him, loyal as always.

They stopped outside the massive doors to the throne room.

Bumble could hear voices inside—the king, his advisors, courtiers.

His hands were shaking.

He looked down at Sneeze. "What if he says I'm not a real knight? What if he takes away my title? What if—"

Sneeze headbutted his leg gently.

Bumble took a breath. "You're right. I did my best. That's all I can do."

He straightened his shoulders, adjusted his new armor, and nodded to the page.

The page opened the doors.

"Sir Barnaby Bramble!" the herald announced.

Bumble stepped into the throne room, Sneeze at his side, and walked towards the throne.

Every eye in the room was on him.

King Aldric sat on his throne, his expression unreadable.

Bumble stopped at the base of the steps and bowed—deeply, respectfully.

"Your Majesty," he said. "I've returned."

"So I see," the king said. "And you've brought... a dragon."

"Yes, Your Majesty. His name is Sneeze."

A few courtiers snickered.

The king raised a hand, and they fell silent.

"Tell me, Bumble," the king said. "Did you complete your quest?"

Bumble swallowed hard. "Yes, Your Majesty. In my own way."

"In your own way," the king repeated. "Explain."

And Bumble began to speak.

 

CHAPTER 10- The Judgment  👑⚔️

 

Bumble stood before the throne, every eye in the court watching him.

King Aldric leaned forward slightly, his expression unreadable. "You say you completed your quest 'in your own way.' I'm listening."

Bumble took a breath and began.

"Your Majesty, you sent me to slay a dragon that was terrorizing the village of Meadowbrook."

"I did," the king confirmed.

"I went to the dragon's lair. I found him. He was... very small. And scared. And alone." Bumble gestured to Sneeze, who sat at his feet looking up at the king with curious eyes. "He didn't mean to terrorize anyone. He just sneezed fire when he was nervous, and people got frightened."

"So you befriended him instead of slaying him," the king said.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The village was happy. No one got hurt. And Sneeze—he's a good dragon. He just needed someone to understand him."

A few courtiers whispered among themselves.

The king's expression didn't change. "Continue."

"Then I went to rescue Princess Elara from her tower."

"And did you?"

"I... tried to," Bumble said carefully. "But she didn't want to be rescued. She was happy there. She had her books and her telescope- her peace. She asked me to leave her alone, so I did."

More whispers.

"You left a princess in a tower," one of the advisors said sharply. "That's abandoning your duty."

"With respect," Bumble said, his voice stronger now, "she wasn't in danger. She was exactly where she wanted to be. Rescuing her would have made her unhappy just to make everyone else feel better. That didn't seem right."

The king studied him. "Go on."

"I went to the Cave of Legends to find a legendary weapon." Bumble pulled out the wooden spoon. "I found this."

Someone in the court laughed.

"A spoon," the advisor said flatly.

"A magic spoon," Bumble corrected. "It makes infinite soup. I've fed entire villages with it. It's helped more people than any sword could have."

The laughter died down.

"Then I was sent to defeat an evil sorcerer," Bumble continued. "But he wasn't evil. He was just a gardener who wanted to be left alone. The villagers had vandalized his home because they didn't understand him. I helped them see the truth. Now they're friends."

"You befriended the sorcerer too," the king said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Is there anyone you didn't befriend?"

Bumble thought about that. "The Enchanted Forest tricked me with bad advice. But the trees laughed, so I think they liked me anyway?"

A few people in the court chuckled.

"I competed in the Grand Tournament," Bumble said, pulling out his ribbon. "I didn't win any of the main events. But I won this."

He held up the blue and gold ribbon: Most Entertaining Competitor

"I made people laugh. I made them happy. And I was proud of that."

The king's mouth twitched—almost a smile.

"And finally," Bumble said, "I broke a curse in the town of Turnbridge. Everyone was speaking backwards because a wizard had cursed them. I tried everything I could think of to break it. Eventually, I planted a gift I'd been given—a crystal acorn from the Enchanted Forest. It grew into a guardian tree and broke the curse. The town is protected now."

He finished and stood there, his heart pounding, waiting.

The throne room was silent.

King Aldric sat back in his throne, his fingers steepled, thinking.

"So," the king said slowly. "You befriended a dragon instead of slaying it. You left a princess in her tower because she asked you to. You found a soup spoon instead of a sword. You made friends with a sorcerer. You entertained people at a tournament. And you broke a curse with a tree."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Bumble said quietly.

"That is," the advisor said, "the most unconventional quest report I have ever heard."

"It's not how a proper knight would have done it," another courtier added.

Bumble's shoulders slumped. "I know. I'm sorry. I tried to do things the right way, but—"

"But you did them your way instead," the king interrupted.

Bumble looked up, surprised.

The king stood, descending the steps of the throne until he was standing directly in front of Bumble.

"Tell me, Sir Bumble," the king said. "Did the village of Meadowbrook thank you for dealing with their dragon problem?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Did Princess Elara appreciate that you respected her wishes?"

"She did, Your Majesty."

"Did the sorcerer's village reconcile with him because of you?"

"Yes."

"Did you break the curse in Turnbridge?"

"I did."

"And did you help people everywhere you went?"

Bumble thought about the soup he'd shared, the kindness he'd offered, the friends he'd made.

"I tried to," he said.

The king smiled—a real smile, warm and genuine.

"Then you completed your quests exactly as a knight should."

Bumble blinked. "I... what?"

"Being a knight," the king said, "is not about following a script. It's not about doing things the way they've always been done. It's about helping people. Protecting them. Making their lives better." He gestured to Sneeze. "You saw a frightened creature and chose compassion over violence. You saw a happy princess and chose respect over tradition. You saw a lonely gardener and chose understanding over judgment."

The king placed a hand on Bumble's shoulder.

"You are exactly the kind of knight this kingdom needs, Sir Bumble. The kind who thinks with his heart, who sees people instead of problems, who makes friends instead of enemies."

Bumble's eyes were stinging. "But I didn't do anything the right way—"

"You did everything the best way," the king said firmly. "Your way. And I am proud of you."

The throne room erupted in applause.

Bumble stood there, stunned, as the courtiers and advisors clapped and cheered.

Sneeze looked up at him and wagged his tail.

"I—" Bumble's voice broke. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You're welcome." The king stepped back and raised his voice so the whole court could hear. "Sir Barnaby Bramble has completed his quests with honor, courage, and compassion. He has proven himself a true knight of this realm. Let it be known throughout the kingdom!"

More applause.

Bumble wiped his eyes quickly, trying not to cry in front of everyone.

The king leaned in and said quietly, "Though I do have one question."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Where did you get the new armor? It actually fits you."

Bumble laughed—a wet, shaky sound. "A wishing well gave it to me."

"A wishing well."

"I didn't wish for anything, and it gave me armor anyway."

The king shook his head, smiling. "Of course it did. That's the most Bumble thing I've ever heard."

Later, Bumble sat in the knights' common room, surrounded by the other knights.

They wanted to hear everything—every detail of every quest.

He told them about Sneeze setting the village on fire (accidentally).

About Princess Elara throwing a book at him.

About the Cave of Legends and the soup spoon.

About Aldwin's roses and the villagers' vandalism.

About the Enchanted Forest tricking him into hopping backwards on one foot.

About the tournament and the soup flood.

About Turnbridge and the guardian tree.

About the wishing well.

They laughed at all the right parts and listened intently to the rest.

"You really made soup for an entire village with that spoon?" someone asked.

"Multiple villages," Bumble said proudly.

"And the dragon really sneezes fire?"

"Show them, Sneeze."

Sneeze sneezed on command, sending a small jet of flame across the room.

It singed the edge of a tapestry.

"Sorry!" Bumble yelped, jumping up to pat it out.

The knights roared with laughter.

Sir Garrett raised his mug. "To Sir Bumble! The strangest, kindest, most entertaining knight in the kingdom!"

"To Bumble!" the others echoed, raising their mugs.

Bumble's face went red, but he was smiling.

He raised his own mug. "To doing things your own way."

They drank, and the common room filled with warmth and laughter and the kind of camaraderie Bumble had always dreamed of.   

 

He slipped outside into the castle courtyard, the rose cuttings from Aldwin carefully wrapped in cloth.

The night was quiet, the stars bright overhead.

He found a spot near the wall where the morning sun would reach—a small garden bed that had been neglected for years.

Kneeling down, he dug small holes in the soft earth and planted each cutting with care, the way Aldwin had taught him during their afternoon in the garden.

"Grow strong," he whispered to them. "Bloom beautiful."

Sneeze sat beside him, watching quietly.

When the last cutting was planted and watered, Bumble sat back on his heels, looking at the small patch of earth.

It didn't look like much now—just bare stems and soil.

But someday, they would bloom.

Someday, this corner of the castle would be filled with roses—red and pink and white—and everyone who passed would see them and smile.

A reminder that beauty could grow anywhere.

Even here.

Even from someone like him.

Bumble smiled and stood, brushing the dirt from his hands.

"Come on, Sneeze," he said softly. "Let's get some sleep." 

 

That night, Bumble lay in his bed—his own bed, in his own room in the castle—staring up at the ceiling.

Sneeze was curled up at the foot of the bed, snoring softly.

On the table beside him sat his treasures:

The magic soup spoon.

The rose cuttings from Aldwin.

The ribbon from the tournament.

The completed quest scroll.

His new armor, carefully hung on its stand.

He'd done it.

He'd completed his quests.

He'd proven himself.

Not by being the strongest or the bravest or the most skilled.

But by being himself.

By being kind. By listening. By caring.

By being Bumble.

He smiled and closed his eyes.

For the first time in a long time, he felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

 

EPILOGUE: THE NEXT QUEST 📜✨

 

Three days later, Bumble was summoned to the throne room again.

He wasn't nervous this time.

Well, maybe a little nervous. But it was the good kind of nervous—the kind that came with anticipation rather than dread.

Sneeze trotted beside him, tail swishing happily.

King Aldric was waiting, a scroll in his hand.

"Sir Bumble," the king said, smiling. "I have a new quest for you."

Bumble's heart leapt. "A new quest?"

"There's a village to the north reporting strange occurrences. Mysterious lights in the forest. Odd sounds at night. They're worried it might be something dangerous."

"Mysterious lights," Bumble repeated, already thinking. "Odd sounds. Do they think it's a monster?"

"They're not sure," the king said. "That's why I'm sending you. You have a gift for seeing things others miss. For finding the truth beneath the fear."

Bumble took the scroll, unrolling it to read the details.

"I won't let you down, Your Majesty," he said.

"I know you won't." The king's expression softened. "And Bumble? However you choose to handle this—whatever way feels right to you—I trust your judgment."

Bumble's throat tightened. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The next morning, Bumble stood at the castle gates, his pack on his back, his new armor gleaming in the early sunlight.

The magic soup spoon was tucked securely in his belt.

His ribbon was pinned to his cloak.

And Sneeze was at his side, ready for another adventure.

Sir Garrett came to see him off. "Try not to befriend whatever's making the mysterious lights."

"No promises," Bumble said, grinning.

"And try to keep your eyebrows this time."

Bumble touched his eyebrows—finally grown back, though still a bit crooked. "I'll do my best."

Garrett clapped him on the shoulder. "Good luck, Bumble. Come back with another story for us."

"I always do."

Bumble and Sneeze walked through the gates and down the road, the castle growing smaller behind them.

The morning was bright and clear. Birds sang in the trees. The world felt full of possibility.

"What do you think it is?" Bumble asked Sneeze. "The mysterious lights? Maybe a lost traveler with a lantern? Or a magical creature? Or—"

Sneeze sneezed.

A burst of flame shot out and singed the bottom of Bumble's cloak.

"Sneeze!" Bumble yelped, patting out the ember.

He looked down at the dragon, exasperated.

Sneeze looked up at him, completely unrepentant.

Bumble sighed and checked his reflection in his polished shield.

His eyebrows were singed again. One of them was completely gone.

"Really?" he said. "We made it three days."

Sneeze's tail wagged.

Bumble started laughing—helpless, genuine laughter that echoed down the road.

"Alright," he said, tucking the shield away and adjusting his pack. "Here we go again."

And together, the knight and his dragon set off down the road towards their next adventure.

THE END 💚🔥⚔️