Chivalry Isn't Dead | A Clawtie Fanfiction

• A Fool's Dream •

Sweetie laid in rest with a pillow under the tree behind the castle, letting the strong, cold wind rinse off the exhaustion for doing the most draining task ever in that afternoon. Doing absolutely nothing.

However, the irritating voice of a male pup came to wreck her day, and she wasn't fond of that idea.

"What do you want, Claw?" she responded to the call, sitting up with a grumpy face as Claw walked over to her.

"Glad seeing you here again. I wanted to tell you that I'm going to try and enjoy my goal, for I have a new one!"

"That's nice," Sweetie replied in a monotone. "What is it about? Taking over Barkingburg? I want to be its queen if you do."

"No." Claw smiled. "Even better. I'm going to capture Sparks again!"

The hint of gladness on Sweetie's face immediately faded, silence overtaking the two for a good minute before she replied, "'Capture Sparks again'?"

"Yeah, I let him go. However, I'm going to capture him and he'll do my bidding once more! Isn't that such a wonderful idea?" Claw was enthusiastic with his plan, unable to understand why Sweetie slapped herself in the face with her own paw. Maybe there was a mosquito on her nose, but if so, that's gotta hurt.

Sweetie cleared her throat, her eyebrows going diagonal, one of them even twitching. "Okay then." She held her irritation back, which slightly came out when she spoke up. "Why do you need to tell me though?"

"Because this time, I want you to watch me do it, and I'll record how fun it would be instead of just… trying to achieve it."

Sweetie's mouth extended to one side, head tilted with her eyes half open. "I have no time to play games with you, Sir Not-a-knight. Your inferior presence is a dread to my already terrible day, so I beseech you, for your sake, to get out of my face before I call the guards."

"Meanie," Claw blew on his cheeks like balloons, receiving a questioning "eh!" from the female, who shook her head right after.

"Why aren't you even fazed by my threats and insults?"

"I dunno, maybe because you're the only puppy friend I got. I don't really say anything to anyone else."

The pup trailing in his words, Sweetie's frustrations lowered, releasing a sigh. "Alright, fine. I'll go with you but remember that I'm just doing this because I'm bored. I have nothing to do here anyway, especially with the crown being heavily guarded currently."

Claw's tail wagged violently, nodding with fury, which Sweetie found kind of interesting despite her expression similar to looking at a disgusting creature. Nonetheless, the shepherd grabbed her by her paws and threw her up the sky, a small shriek coming out before she landed on his back, holding tight.

"Was that necessary?" she stuttered, trying to compose herself.

"No, but it was fun, and we need to get there as soon as we can so we can get you back to the castle at exactly six o'clock."

The statement parted Sweetie's lips. "You know my reading schedule?"

"I don't want to bother you when you're busy in your library. That's all." Claw smiled at her, turning his head back to the front to continue his dash.

Soon, they arrived. A cave in the mountains, yet it wasn't Dragon Highlands—that place had many homes that were close together, or that's what Sweetie heard. This cave was isolated, which was questionable, considering dragons don't usually keep to themselves, especially when they're sleeping, unless…

Claw barked. "Sparks! I will have you obey me, and this time, I'm going to enjoy how I do it."

Sweetie hopped off of the shepherd, twisting a front toe inside her ear from how loud the male yelled. She stood in the sidelines, wondering how did Claw got the dragon to obey him. Also, how did he even let his own pet, Sparks, go if it was loyal enough to let him ride on his back.

Immediately, a pair of light green orbs shot through the darkness, a fiery breath emerging out of the cave before a large footstep made the very ground shake.

"Here he comes," Claw whispered.

First coming out of the cave was the reptilian head, which bore the fangs that could crush anything whole, and the horns that could bash through the toughest walls. The body was like an impenetrable wall, built with such beautiful yet tough scales, and the wings made it feel like a snake getting legs. It was an unfair arsenal, especially with the flexible tail, which could whip anything once and they'll immediately see the light.

Claw stretched, eyes furrowed in seriousness. "Come on, let's get this over with!"

Sweetie felt coldness run through her spine, and her anxiousness as the two faced off went high up. She squirmed in her seat, waiting in anticipation of what may be the greatest battle in history. A mighty beast versus a brave pup. She was the only one to witness this; she needed to know who would win this possibly once-in-a-forever situation.

However, Sparks then let his tongue stick out, lowering himself like a pup waiting for his pup-treat. What irony.

"No, Sparks! Marshmallows later. Remember what we have to do."

Sweetie's lips slowly parted for her jaw to hang open, leaning forward a bit. The two males turned to her, the knight pup a bit embarrassed.

"I can't just let Sparks go, actually. He's the only one who understands me, aside from you, and—"

Before he could finish, he found Sweetie turning away, taking stomps on the grass back towards the direction Claw brought her away from—Barkingburg's Castle.

"Sweetie, wait."

"You dragged me all the way here just to show your playing of Pretend?" She moved her head to her side, vexation steaming out of her closed canines that showed. "You disappoint me, Claw. No wonder The Princess sent you away, you always have your head in the clouds. All your efforts turn into vain because of it."

Claw's ears lowered, whimpering from the words that were sharper than any sword, being stabbed in his heart. Her statements were unnecessary and hurtful.

"Hey," he stuttered sheepishly, "I can bring you back home if you want to—"

"Clam it, moron. I don't want to ask for help from an incapable individual. Not to mention how blurry his future is all because he wanted to prove something that ended up turning into a shortsighted goal for bravado and pride, and execute narrow-minded ideas. You probably just want a red feather on your helm."

The male faced the ground, gulping from the awkward correctness that the terrier saw as horrendously insignificant of him. He didn't even know what to reply, he was backed into a corner with nothing in mind to defend himself against the lashing.

"Now excuse me, I have better things to do than waste my time on you. Au revoir!".

Sweetie raised a paw to bid goodbye, unable to even look at the pathetic pup, who stood there watching her as her already tiny figure became smaller and smaller, and he could only turn to Sparks, who looked at him as well, both exhaling a sigh.