The next episode of Crookback and Plunkett and the Damsel in Distress is here!

Here is is folks! And remember you can listen to it by clicking THIS LINK. Enjoy and keep checking back for more updates, or better still, subscribe! Full stories will appear as eBooks on the Jottify store in due course.

Crookback and Plunkett and the Damsel in Distress, Episode 2

Princess Marigold had woken up rather early the previous day. After dressing and brushing her long blonde hair, she found herself at a rather loose end. She wasn’t fond of all the usual princess- like activities, such as sewing, painting and looking pretty, all of which her father regularly encouraged. Instead, she liked practising fencing and riding her horses, both of which her father found rather un- ladylike and therefore actively discouraged. But King Anthony loved his daughter and put up with her tomboyish antics.

On this particular day, everyone else had gone out to attend to their royal duties and she had no-one to accompany her out on her horses or to the fencing arena. It was seen as very dangerous for a beautiful young princess to do either of these activities alone. She was usually flanked by two big, strong guards, who made sure any over- zealous suitors or would- be kidnappers stayed a safe distance away. Today, all the guards had gone out with other members of the family and she was under strict instructions to stay at home. Marigold was not very good at staying at home and doing nothing, so within about an hour, she had decided that she could sit around no longer. She pulled on her brother’s boots and headed out towards the stables.

Flamaban the dragon knew that everyone was scared of him. He had a reputation for being big, ferocious and having particularly hot fire- breath. The entire kingdom knew of his huge hoard of treasure that he guarded fiercely. He was mean and nasty and terrifying! The problem was that this really wasn’t true. You see, no-one knew that he wasn’t actually the original Flamaban, the dragon who had created such a fearsome reputation for himself. He was, in fact, Flamaban’s nephew, Flamaban the Second, and he wasn’t like his Uncle at all. He was gentle and kind and just wanted to be friends with everyone. But poor Flamaban didn’t have any friends. He just sat in his cave surrounded by all his Uncle’s treasure, wishing he had a friend who he could invite round for a cup of tea and a chat. Most dragons don’t drink tea, but Flamaban rather liked it. He didn’t mind that it put out his fire- breath, because he had never used it. In fact, he found it an inconvenience, especially when he accidentally set fire to the flowers he had planted in the mouth of his cave or burned his own eyelashes. On the same morning that Marigold decided to go on her own to see her beloved horses, Flamaban decided he had had enough. He decided that if no- one liked him, he would have to do something about it. So he made his way to the mouth of his cave, flapped his giant wings, and, with a roar of desperation and loneliness, flew into the distance. He would find someone to be his friend.

A few hours later, Marigold was galloping along on her favourite horse, Horatio, with the wind blowing in her hair, feeling happy and full of life. She was going so fast and having such a lovely time, she didn’t hear the sound of a large, scary dragon swooping towards her, before it was too late...

Montmerency sped across the landscape, towards the wicked Flamaban’s lair. He felt proud and noble, just how a knight should. His helmet shone in the sunlight and the wind whistled through the gaps in his armour. Soon, he could see the entrance to Flamaban’s cave in the distance. The newspaper report had told how Marigold had disappeared from the castle the previous day and was thought to have been plucked from her horse by Flamaban. On its return to the stables, the horse’s mane was found to have been slightly singed, which pointed towards the dragon as the culprit for the kidnapping. Montmerency just hoped he had got to the cave in time to rescue the beautiful maiden. He slowed the horse to a standstill and prepared to dismount. But what was that he could see coming over the horizon? It appeared to be a short fat horse, ridden by a rider of the same description. Surely it couldn’t be Percival? As the figure came closer, his fears were realised as he recognised without doubt the portly frame of his rival.

‘What are you doing here?’ asked Montmerency, as Percival drew nearer.

‘I’m here to rescue the princess of course!’ replied the stouter of the two.

‘No you’re not!’ exclaimed Montmerency. ‘I was here first and you wouldn’t have heard about the Princess if it wasn’t for me!’

‘I am also a knight and I deserve a fair chance at saving a young lady in need,’ said Percival, ‘and anyway....’ Percival paused and looked up. Montmerency had disappeared inside the cave! Kicking his horse into action, Percival followed him at a pace. He reached Montmerency just as he had arrived in the main room of Flamaban’s cave complex. Montmerency had come to a sudden stop at the sight that met him inside the cave.

The final episode of this story is coming soon!