There were once
millions of dragons all around the world living in harmony with humans and
animals alike. They were distinguishable
by their gorgeous, vibrant, blonde hair to match their golden scales. It was a good while before humans saw the
value of these creatures that could take on human form and mingle with
society. When they did discover it,
however, there began a terrible hunt.
Dragons were looked upon as commodities like animals. Some tried to keep them as pets while others
murdered them for their priceless attributes such as their claws and
scales. But dragons were not meant to be
held captive and fought back when attacked.
A savage war ensued until all the dragons were eventually removed from
the earth. That is, all but one. There was a king, the man who was known the
world round for being the one who had slain the last dragon, who while out for
a stroll in the woods one day, stumbled upon a young dragon. The poor thing quaked with fear in his
presence. Seeing the trembling form
touched the king’s heart. He smiled as
kindly as he could and told the dragon about a cave not too far up the mountain
that no man would care to reach because of the trouble he’d have to go through
to get there. Then, after one last
encouraging smile, he continued on his walk.
*Years Later*
As she raced
through the forest, Edolie could hear nothing but the relentless pounding of
her own heart. “Kipp! Kipp, where are you?” she shouted as loud as
she could. When Edolie had returned to
their little broken down cottage, she found her little brother was nowhere to
be seen. Racing through the woods, she
searched desperately for him.
“Kipp!” A seven year old boy
alone in the forest, only the worst scenarios played through her mind. Tripping over a fallen branch, Edolie found
herself in a clearing. Over by the
mountain, she saw Kipp with his back pressed up against the rock. Edolie’s breath caught in her throat at the
sight of the creature in front of him. A
golden dragon stood eight yards tall. He
slowly turned his head to face her. The
moment his shimmering emerald eyes reached her, she froze. His gaze lingered on her for a long moment
before he turned his attention back to Kipp.
The second she was no longer captive in his stare, Edolie leapt to her
feet and bolted over to Kipp. She
positioned herself between the dragon and her precious little brother. Her fear for Kipp’s life kept her from
noticing the blood running down her leg from the deep gash above her knee. In an exaggerated motion, Edolie threw her
arms out and glared into the monster’s eyes.
Edolie would have shouted for him to leave Kipp alone, had her speech
not been robbed by the strange way in which the dragon responded. It looked as though he had rolled his eyes at
her. Then, as the creature opened its
mouth, a low, loud rumble echoed in the clearing. A small pebble fell onto Edolie’s head,
prompting her to look up. Eyes wide with
terror, she gasped at the torrent of boulders of all sizes hurling themselves
down the mountainside. Not even Kipp’s
tugging on her dress could get the feeling back in her legs. No matter how badly she wanted to move, she
couldn’t. A large boulder bounced off
and was headed toward her when the dragon’s enormous, clawed front foot, swept
her and Kipp up. With a tremendous beat
of his wings, the dragon surged into the sky.
Next thing she
knew, Edolie was lying on the floor of their cottage, covered by her tattered
blanket. She held her throbbing head as
she sat up. Such a strange dream.
“Kipp?”
“Yes, Sister?” Kipp
came and knelt beside her.
“I had the most
unusual dream just now.” She
paused. “What time is it?”
“Evening.”
Edolie’s eyes
shot open wide. “What?! Wait a little. I’ll get your dinner ready!” She threw the blanket from her body.
With a large grin,
Kipp stopped her by saying, “Garrick gave me dinner already. I saved some for you. I’ll go get it.” He raced away.
Garrick?
An imaginary friend? Edolie
looked down and saw her bandaged leg. Why do I…?
Suddenly, it hit her. I-it wasn’t a dream?! “Kipp!”
Kipp ran back to
her, carrying a small bowl with soup in it.
“Yes?”
“Kipp, who is
Garrick? What happened?” she asked,
nervously awaiting his answer.
“Garrick saved
us from the avalanche.” He offered her
the bowl. “It’s good.”
“Garrick is…”
“A dragon!” Kipp
finished without hesitating.
Edolie touched
her hand to her forehead, feeling quite dizzy.
But that’s impossible. They were all wiped out years ago. She took the bowl from Kipp and sipped the
soup slowly. It’s cold. So that means Garrick
isn’t around. Most likely anyway. “Kipp?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t go
running off like that again, understand?
It’s too dangerous.”
Kipp nodded like
a good boy. “I understand.”
The next
morning, Edolie was awakened by the distant sound of trumpets blaring. Curious, she and Kipp went into town to
investigate. The first townsperson she
met told her the noise was to announce the return of the prince to the castle
that wasn’t too far away. The entire
town was in a tizzy over the news that the prince would be passing
through. “Isn’t this exciting, Kipp?”
she asked, squeezing his hand excitedly.
“Not
really. I’d rather go find Garrick.”
Edolie’s stomach
turned. “Forget about him.”
“Why? He saved our lives.”
“Trust me,
Kipp. It’s better you forget.” The last of Edolie’s warning was drowned by
the sound of the loud murmurs that arose from every townsperson. She and Kipp turned to see a train of horses
parade into town. Following close behind
them was a carriage everyone knew must be carrying the prince. They all rushed forward in an effort to catch
a glimpse of him. Edolie and Kipp were
the only ones who stayed back. The
carriage was passing them when a voice shouting shrilly for them to stop. Suddenly, everything was quiet as the prince
stepped out of the carriage. He stood
nobly, sniffing the air. After a minute,
he locked eyes with Edolie and all but sprinted over to her.
“P-Prince
Kenton?” the prince’s paunchy advisor waddled to his side.
“Take this girl
and boy to our castle!” he shouted without breaking eye contact. Two large knights came and lifted Edolie and
Kipp onto the backs of their horses. The
crowd stared in silent awe, each person inwardly speculating the reason behind
the prince’s strange behavior.
*At the Castle*
Kipp held on
tightly to Edolie’s hand as she looked around the enormous throne room. As soon as they’d arrived at Kenton’s castle
they were shown into the room while he hurried off into another part of the
castle, murmuring to himself. An hour
passed before they were joined. The
clicking of Prince Kenton’s boot heels echoed throughout the room as he walked
briskly over to them after throwing the doors open with excessive force. He stood inches from Edolie, studying her
face for a long minute before crouching and staring at Kipp. “Where is it?” he asked quietly, but with an
air of urgency.
“What?” Edolie
asked, honestly oblivious to what he meant.
Kenton returned
to standing before Edolie. He grabbed
her by the shoulders and shook her. “The
dragon! Where is the dragon?!”
The crazed look
in his eye coupled with the unexpectedness of his question frightened
Edolie. “I don’t know what you mean,”
she practically whispered.
“Don’t lie! I know you’ve been in contact with one! I can smell it!”
Edolie could
feel her heart steadily beating faster.
“That’s impossible. They were all
killed years ago. Your father was the
last man to see one.”
“I’m not
wrong!” He released her and paced for a
while before bellowing, “GUARDS!” A
group of guards trooped into the room.
“Take these two to the dungeon.”
Panicked, Edolie
held Kipp to her, “Why?”
He glared
intensely at her. “Until you are willing
to tell me the truth, you will not step a toe
out of the dungeon. Hurry up!”
The guards
seized Edolie and Kipp and dragged them down to the cold, dank, dark
dungeon. Edolie winced when her back
slammed against the stone wall.
“Kipp!” She waved her arms around
in the darkness, searching for him.
“I’m here,
Sister,” Kipp said calmly.
Her hand brushed
passed his arm and she quickly pulled him into a tight embrace. “Are you alright?”
“I’m alright.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
Edolie did not
answer him. Instead, tears began to fall
as she thought of everything she could have done to prevent this outcome. A long time ago, when their parents died,
Edolie vowed to protect Kipp in their place.
Weeping silently, she resolved to do whatever it took to keep him safe
despite their predicament. Even if it
meant causing herself harm, she would do it.
As she decided, she failed to notice the blood that seeped from her
not-yet-fully-healed wound. Her bandage
was soaked by the time she and Kipp fell into restless sleep.
*Back in the
Throne Room*
Kenton paced all
around, clearly agitated. His advisor
stood in the middle of the room, watching him anxiously. “P-Prince Kenton, are you sure?”
“Of course I’m
sure!” Kenton snapped, halting. “There
is a dragon out there and those two have been in contact with it.”
“But, Sir, even
if they have, that doesn’t mean they
know where it is!”
Commencing his
pacing, Kenton said after considering his advisors words, “That may be true,
but they didn’t even admit to meeting the thing so they must be lying!” His advisor
could see the futility in continuing to dispute the subject, so he kept his
mouth shut. “I will get them to talk! No
matter what!” He turned on his heel and
pointed to his advisor as he shouted, “Make sure they are fed only tasteless
porridge! And very little of it!” His advisor nodded and waddled quickly out of
the room. Kenton slumped into his
throne. “I will have you, Dragon.” A wicked grin spread across his face. “And I will enjoy ripping you apart.” His grin twisted into a grimace as he said,
“I will never forgive you disgusting things for taking my brother from me.”
*Days Later*
“Have you seen
Edolie?” a vendor asked a customer.
“Edolie?”
“You know, the
girl the Prince took with him.”
“Oh! That girl.
No, I haven’t seen her. Why?”
The vendor
rubbed his beard. “No one’s seen
her. Neither her nor her little brother,
Kipp.”
Garrick’s brow
furrowed as he overheard this exchange. Kipp?
Wasn’t that the name of that boy who tugged on my wing and tried to
climb on my back while I was sleeping in that nice, warm afternoon sun? He adjusted the hat that hid his blonde
hair as he thought.
“Hey, Boy!” the
vendor shouted at Garrick. “You buying
anything?”
Shaking his
head, Garrick replied while still deep in thought. “No.
Just looking.” He walked
away. A castle came into view as he
walked. What am I thinking? Even if they
are in trouble, it’s none of my business.
Suddenly, Kipp’s pure and innocent smile flashed in his mind and he
remembered the way Kipp had told him he was always welcome at his home if he
ever needed shelter. A short laugh
escaped Garrick’s lips as he shook his head at the memory. “I was so convinced such kindness had died
out by now.” With a heavy sigh, Garrick
crouched and looked up at the castle determinedly. “Fine.”
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