"In a faraway place there lived three brothers. They lived on a farm somewhere just outside the village gates. Their parents had died a couple of years ago, caught and dragged down by the flue.

Now there were three people left on the farm amidst the few animals they had left. 

Gideon was the eldest of the three. Whenever he drove into town to gather supplies, people would come flocking to his carriage. Every time they demanded to hear more stories from him. 

He was more than happy to give in.

Often he would be gone the entire day while his task would take a less interesting person only a couple of hours. His two brothers never complained since he was also charged less than they would be.

After the eldest son returned with the supplies, the second eldest son would start working if he felt like it. Brennan was hard to get out of bed whenever he had a bad mood.

Sometimes he would stay in his bed for days. Unmoving and unresponsive.

All he would do was stare at the ceiling and sigh every now and then. 

This didn't bother Gideon because he would be away for the whole day anyway. He relished in the love and attention he received from the village people. 

The youngest son, however, had to work thrice as hard due to his brother' negligence. His name was Kennen. By doing all the physically heavy labour he became the strongest of the three. Especially since Brennan didn't help him out most of the time.

When Kennen was younger, and back when his parents were still alive, he would read more than he worked. His father kept his older brothers hard at work at all times of the day.

Now, due to Gideon being away from the house for that long, he didn't have time to read.

Still, the knowledge Kennen had gained over the years didn't leave him. He put it to good use whenever a problem occured on the farm. 

They lived like this for a couple of years. All of them were happy doing other things in life. Still, they always had each other when times got hard. Most of the time they would get along. And that is all that mattered.

Until one day soldiers of the king came knocking on their door. 

"We come with an order from the king" they announced. "There is a dragon living in the far East that can become a problem if we don't kill him straight away" the soldier on the right said.

The soldier on the left nodded. "That is quite true. A couple of man of each town have tried to slay the beast. None of them have succeeded thus far."

Together they brought their hands up, each holding onto one side of a scroll. It rolled open, showing the three brothers a contract. 

"This," the left soldier said pointing at the contract, "is a contract." He liked to state the obvious. "Only one man is needed for the job as to not attract the attention of the beast."

"That is quite right" the right soldier agreed. "An army wouldn't work. The man that takes this afwul beast down is the one who will receive fortune that is greater than you can imagine. Imagine a bath house filled with golden coins and then triple that."

Kennen, the youngest brother, frowned. "That is not that hard to imagine" he whispered.

His two older brothers ignored him. 

Brennan sat back down on his chair at the dinner table. He sighed, slumping down immediately. "That sounds like it will be afwully lonely and tiresome. Forgive me for not seeing the benefits of this endeavor."

The soldiers looked at each other without uttering a word.

They didn't need to worry if they thought none of the brothers would help their kingdom out. Gideon had already rushed to his room to gather the few home-made weapons he owned. He rushed down with his sack already packed.

"When can I leave?" he asked, puffing out his chest to appear bigger.

"We can leave right now if you are ready" the right soldier said.

The left one stepped out of the way to let Gideon through. "If you would like other weapons, you may travel back with us to the castle. There are better weapons for you to use there. Also, we have scientists' who have a strategy ready for you."

Gideon immediately threw his old weapons in a corner of the room. The weapons that he had become accustomed to meant nothing to him. Not when there was the promise of better ones.

Kennen rushed to the door to wave him goodbye, but Gideon never looked behind.

Months passed since the eldest brother left. 

Life was a bit harder on the farm now that Gideon wasn't there to pick up supplies. They were charged the normal price now that Kennen had to go to the village.

He didn't have the same appeal that his brother had. 

People thought he was nice but quiet. He stayed to himself most of the time. The only few times that people spoke to him were to ask him if he knew how his brother' quest was going. 

Had he already returned with the beasts' head dragging behind him?

They always turned their backs, disappointed, when Kennen once again had to tell them that he hadn't received any word.

After getting home with the supplies, Kennen would work hard to finish all the jobs on the farm. Brennan was unable to move off his bed completely now that Gideon was gone. He sometimes even forgot to eat.

Kennen worked hard and never complained.

One year after Gideon had left, word finally reached the small farm. 

The two soldiers who had visited them one year before were back knocking on their door. They showed the two brothers the helmet of their fallen brother.

"Your brother was a brave man" the right soldier said. "Many people followed him after meeting him in the castle. He had something about him that dragged people in" he explained.

"That is true" the left soldier agreed. "Sadly that lead to his downfall. Unable to tell the people to go home, the dragon noticed the group before they were able to get close. The only thing that was left was his helmet."

Kennen dropped to the ground, cluthing the helmet of his brother close to his chest.

Brennan came walking down the stairs. It was the first time he moved in months. "What is going on down here?" he asked, his voice hollow. 

"Gideon didn't survive" Kennen spoke through his tears. 

Brennan stilled. He let the news sink in. Then, he walked to his younger brother and put his hand on his shoulder. He didn't speak until Kennen looked up at him through tear stained eyes. "Then I will avenge him" he said weakly.

"That is very honourable of you sir" the left soldier said.

"So true" the right soldier agreed. "You may immediately travel to the castle with us. Our scientists have come up with a new strategy. One that we think may help you."

The second eldest son nodded. One more time he squeezed his brother' shoulder before taking off with the soldiers. 

Kennen remained on the floor, weeping with his brother' helmet in his arms.

Another year passed by in which Kennen was forced to do all the work on the farm by himself. None of the townspeople came to ask if he need them. If he needed anything now that he was all alone.

Living on the outskirts of town could lead to a lonely live. 

At some point Kennen brought all his animals to the market. He sold them off one by one. All except his horse whom he kept. 

No one asked why he got rid of his sole income or the only beings that got him free food. They were much too happy that they now had strong animals with plenty of meat. 

And no one asked questions when the money he got from selling his animals was spent on books. Kennen and his horse stayed in the farm for a year. They would go out hunting late at night and didn't return until the wee minutes left of the dark were replaced by sunlight.

There was not a man alive who had seen Kennen since that day he sold everything.

That is what they told the two soldiers when they drove through the city, on their way back to the farm. Both of them got off their horse and walked to the door. The left soldier knocked.

The door flung open rather quickly. 

Both soldiers took an abrupt step back. "We're sorry we have to be the bringers of bad news once again" the right soldier started.

Kennen held up a hand, stopping him from continuing his story. "I can see the helmet you are holding. My brother has perished, hasn't he?"

The right soldier nodded.

The left soldier opened his mouth; "We are sorry we have to come here again to ask you for your help. Especially now that you have lost both your brothers. But the kingdom, you see, we ne-"

Again, Kennen held up his hand to stop the man. "No need to explain. I'm ready."

Kennen didn't wait for the soldiers to step aside. He simply closed the door and walked out to the back. Before the soldiers could ask him to join them on their way to the castle, Kennen drove off with his horse. He knew where he had to go.

The dragon was supposed to be somewhere in the far East. All he needed to do was find a wasteland. That shouldn't be too hard to find.

The soldiers returned back to the castle without the third brother. They told the king their tale. 

"Let us hope that the boy returns as a warrior. Otherwise I will be forced to send out my army" the king said dreadfully. He didn't want to have to pay his army that much money. Neither did he want to pay the third brother that much money.

He simply just wanted the dragon to disappear. And never to return.

It took the third brother five months before he reached the wasteland created by the dragon. 

He pulled on the reigns, forcing his horse to stop. His eyes wandered over the area. From out here he could already the corpses scattered over the field. 

His hand landed on his left side chest and he closed his eyes. Kennen prayed for his fallen brothers and all whom had fallen here. Then, he continued on his way. 

Not straight into the battlefield. Kennen had read in one of his books that most dragons would focus on one side of their territory only. And if everyone else had come in through this side, then the dragon' attention would be here.

So instead Kennen took another two weeks before he reached the other side. 

Low and behold the dragon even made his nest here. On the ground for everyone to find.

If you knew what you were looking for. 

Kennen got off his horse, tying it to a tree a couple of miles away from the wasteland. He traveled on foot until he reached the dragon' nest. There he waited for the dragon to return.

From far away he spotted it, flying in the sky. It had noticed the intruder but too late for him to stop him to enter. His belly became more and more orange the close he came. Kennen sat down on the ground and waited patiently for the dragon to come down.

It tilted his head one way. The dragon looked at Kennen from high up above. Finally he swallowed his flames and descended. "Why have you come here?" it growled.

"I don't mean to cause you any harm" Kennen said. His voice remained steady. To show the dragon he really meant no harm, Kennen held up his hands. 

The dragon narrowed his eyes. "Just because you don't hold a weapon doesn't mean you have none. And who is to say there isn't an army hiding behind the trees?" He looked suspiciously at the trees outside his territory.

Kennen remained seated. "Because the army thinks that this is a one man job" he explained. "They send me out here alone to defeat you."

"So you are here to kill me?" He breathed in deeply, creating another flame deep in his belly.

Kennen shook his head, stilling the dragon' anger. "I have come here to see what the problem is. They told us that they wanted to kill you before you could become a danger. Is it your plan to kill the people in this land?"

The dragon roared angrily, showing off his long fangs. "It is always the same with you people. I create a wasteland that even the biggest fool would identify as dragon terrritory. And then you foolish people still wander in. Armed even!"

Kennen didn't answer. The dragon continued.

"All I want is some of the sky to myself. I just want to fly around, you know? Just explore for a bit. But I can't enjoy the scenery when people down on the ground start screaming and shooting arrows at me, now can I?"

The dragon sighed. "Maybe I have a bit of an anger issue. I will admit that much" he added. 

Kennen got up, smiling at the dragon. "Then our problem is solved!"

"What did you say?" the dragon asked, confused.

"All we have to do is explain that to the king and then everyone will leave you alone. Don't think I'm not mad about you killing my brothers but we simply misunderstood one another. Maybe us humans should have taken some time to talk to you."

The dragon stared off into the distance. "Maybe me breathing fire at them also didn't help" he admitted.

Kennen started to walk away. "Just let me get me horse and we will settle this one and for all."

Together the dragon, the horse and Kennen traveled to the castle of the king. It was a strange sight, the third brother and the dragon casually talking to each other as they traveled North.

Once they reached the castle, it was barricaded and soldiers were trembling in their armor behind the gate. The dragon was standing on the ground watching the drama with mild amusement.

"King!" Kennen called. "Everything is safe. This is just a simple misunderstanding!"

No answer came from the castle. 

"The dragon means no harm. He just wants the wasteland to himself!" Kennen shouted. Still no one answered. "The dragon also promised he would protect us from other dragons if any were ever to cross our borders."

Someone walked over the stone tiles towards the wall of the barricade. 

"Come again?" the advisor of the king asked shakily.

The dragon puffed out some smoke to seem impressive. Everyone trembled. Kennen looked sternly at the dragon who immediately pretended to be fascinated by the grass.

"The dragon means no harm. He just has a rude kind of humor and a small anger issue" Kennen explained. "If no one comes into his territory then the dragon will protect us and leave us alone."

The advisor of the king hurried back into the castle. Minutes later, he came back. "That is alright with the King!" he screeched, shaking in his boots. "As long as you don't claim the reward since you didn't defeat the dragon."

Kennen smiled kindly at the advisor. "That is not a problem. The dragon and I will return to our own lands."

The dragon and Kennen parted as friends, each returning to their own territory. 

The youngest brother was greeted by the whole village whom had already heard of his victory. Finally they came to him to hear his tale. He was given the finest food and never got charged for anything.

He married a woman he met at the bookstore, both looking to buy the same book. After that they never parted.

Kennen honored his brothers by calling his own sons after them. He went to visit the dragon every now and then. When his sons were old enough he even brought them with him. 

That is how Kennen became the most celebrated and feared man in the kingdom."

"And that is how that story ends" the old woman said. 

The plate of chocolate muffins was empty. You stared at her in wonder. "Wasn't Kennen mad at the dragon?" you asked surprised. The cat softly purred in your lap. 

The old closed her eyes, shaking her head. "Kennen wasn't mad. He learned from reading all those books that it is important to ask someone how they feel. We often misunderstand others simply because we believe we know how they feel."

She closed the book on her lap. "Sometimes it is better to ask than to presume."