Vici

Set in ancient Rome, Vici is a short story about the taming of the first dragon and occurs hundreds of years before His Majesty's Dragon. While first published in The Dragon Book: Magical Tales by the Masters of Modern Fantasy, it was published again in December 2011 by Fantasy Magazine and can be read for free on their website.

Excerpt
''“Well, Antonius,” the magistrate said, “you are without question a licentious and disreputable young man. You have disgraced a noble patrician name and sullied your character in the lowest of pursuits, and we have received testimony that you are not only a drunkard and a gambler—but an outright murderer as well.”''

With an opening like that, the old vulture was sending him to the block for sure. Antony shrugged, philosophically; he’d known it was unlikely his family could have scraped together enough of a bribe to get him let go. Claudius’s family was a damn sight richer than his; and in any case he could hardly imagine his stepfather going to the trouble.