Friday, May 20, 2011
Young Authors
The Boy Who Flew with The Dragons
By Alex
This book is dedicated to all those dragons forced into hiding due to the amount of land us humans consume
Chapter One:
My Family
“This is so dull!” screamed Roslyan. I didn’t mind though. My sister always thinks life’s dull. She praises dull. She’s the QUEEN of dull. I never told her. I just kept on playing with my metal train set and grunted. And guess who walks in? My mum and dad. Amazingly, despite how my dad is the king’s ambassador and my mum is the royal tax collector; they always seem to have lots of time to do “exciting” stuff. They walked in, smiles gleaming on their faces, and said “Let’s go to the beach!” Groans came from our mouths. “Muuuuuuuuum! We always go to the beach! I want to stay inside! Hmph!” Roslyan was going to start having a hissy fit anytime soon. My turn. “Dad,” I said “Haven’t we been to the beach gabillions of times? I mean, we went to the beach the day before yesterday, we get sand in our water suits, and it’s always empty! Besides, we need to balance the amount of days we went to the beach with the amount of days at home.” See that? I gave him the unbeatable evidence, and he can’t talk back. I gave him the smug look. “Well,” he started “That’s where you’re wrong, you see? We do equalize the amount of days at the beach. We take one day off, then go to the beach again. We can empty the sand in your water suits; and you never know what will appear at the beach”. He finished off with his own smug look. I then said “Can we at least take the double horse carriage?”
I humphed at the sky as we rode over the rocky roads. Oops, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Lawrence Gibbson the Third. I’m eleven years old. We live in a large land called Galdeora. You already know about my sister, Roslyan Gibbson the Second. My parents are called Judeth Gibbson (dad) and Selina Gibbson (mum). I want to be king when I grow up. However, I know that’s not going to happen. You have to be in the royal family in order to be heir to the throne. My sister wants to be a princess; despite how many times I tell her about the royal family thing. She just says “Well, what do you know huh?” and stomps off in a huff. She knows I’m right, but she doesn’t admit it. That’s her loss.
Eventually, after what felt like an hour and a million toilet stops, we arrived at the beach. We all sat in silence and had a big “Phew!” we walked to the deserted beach and laid our picnic stuff on the soft, still sand. We feasted on strawberry sandwiches and drank from our waterskins. After having to sit in the sun for 20 minutes so we wouldn’t get cramps, we put on our water suits and waded into the water. It was cool and the sun beat down on my back. I felt the watery sand go between my toes and smelt the tangy, salty air. When I finished swimming, I walked to the shore and dried off.
Then I went to what I liked to call “Death Rocks of Doom”. These were rows of colossal rocks and were like a really big rocky staircase. The top rock had a small semicircle indent which looked a bit like a nest. Another thing about the rocks is that from the top you can see the sun set in the horizon. So I clambered on to the first rock. I took a quick glance at my goal, and I saw something ovalish sitting in the indent, right at the top. I racked my brains to try and remember if I’d put anything there previously. No memories showed. I clambered onto the next rock. The unfamiliar silhouette still showed. I rubbed my eyes. Nope, still there. I noticed that the silhouette was turning slightly red. It was from there on that the rock was getting redder and redder each time I clambered up another rock of the Death Rocks of Doom.
When I got to the top it was getting dark and I saw in the semicircle there was a big, oval, scarlet rock, about the size of a full waterskin. It looked as if it was polished. When I touched it, a jolt went through me, and I had the sudden urge to take it. I cradled it in my arms and then lifted it up to the light of the sunset. No light shone through. It was solid. I heard my dad calling me: “Lawrence, time to go home!” I didn’t want him to know about the rock for some reason. I was thankful that I was wearing a watersuit and stuffed in just under my armpit where my waterskin was then got my waterskin and placed it by my butt (slightly embarrassing and I thought “Does this make my butt look big?”). I climbed back down the Death Rocks of Doom. I landed my foot back on the sand when it was dark. My mum was a bit fussed how I climbed right to the top. I wanted to tell her about the strange rock but something told me not to. I didn’t tell my sister either because she would blurt it out to the world. I went into my personal changing room and took my rock out. It looked slightly different. I couldn’t put my finger on it but it was on the tip of my tongue. I wondered about it all the way home
.
Chapter 2:
The Hatchling
“I told you the beach would be dull” said Roslyan. This time, instead of grunting, I went through the series of steps to my room. I took out the rock from my pocket. I scanned the rock for more clues of why it looked different. I yawned. I looked at the sundial by the window. It said that it was half past eight. My mum and dad would kill me if I stayed up any longer. I hid my rock under my bed in a small wooden box I got for my birthday. The box was decorated with strips of thin gold along the lining of the lid. In the middle of the lid was a diamond shaped ruby. Surrounding the ruby was more strips of gold. On each corner of the ruby was a smaller diamond shaped sapphire. It was quite a box.
The next morning I woke up and the first thing I thought about was the box. I opened it up and I realized why the rock looked different. It was getting darker. When I found it, it was scarlet red, now it looked like it was a coal that had been put at a really high heat then left there to simmer for 5 minutes. I touched the rock. I retracted my hand. The rock felt as if it had been in a stove. I heard footsteps coming. I closed the lid and hid the box under the bed. The butler came in. “Your mother and father request that you go to eat breakfast, young master Lawrence” “Now?”
“Now.”
I wanted to stay and look at the rock but sadly I had to go. I slowly walked down and up and down and up the several stair cases. When I eventually got to the dinner table, my mum and dad were waiting, with smiles on their faces. “Morning, Lawrence” said dad. “Morning” I mumbled back. I really wanted to know about the rock. However, I was hungry. I ate up my sausages and egg then ran back to my room. I took out my box and opened the lid. The rock was darker.
I was curious about what rock it was. I walked to the family library. We had a copy of every book in the land. I went to the librarian’s desk and slapped the chime. An old man walked to the desk. He was wearing an old purple robe with gold lining and had a very long, grey beard. He had grey eyebrows that went up like an owl’s. He had a walking stick with a lizard like head on the top. It had an open mouth. I asked him “Do you have any books on hot rocks?” He replied in a very crumbly voice “Yes, but it might be a while before you get them, with all these books!” He gestured to the colossal shelves of books. “Well, I shall be waiting in my room. Have a nice day!”
Back in my room, I took a look at the rock again. It was slightly darker, and it looked slightly bigger as well. I studied it for a while. Eventually, I decided to touch it. Weirdly, it was cooler than before. After what felt like a minute (but actually half an hour), I heard footsteps. I hid the box under my bed. The butler came in and said “Here are your books, Master Lawrence”. I thanked him and took the 5 books he carried. When he left I closed the door with a big “CLUNK”. I took the box from under the bed. As I read “The Novelty Guide to Stones and Rocks”, I observed the reddish-blackish rock. However, despite the fact it knew just about all the rocks, it didn’t have any information. One down, four to go. The next book was called “How to Cook Massage Rocks for Extreme Relaxation”. I knew that this wouldn’t exactly help me. Two down, three to go. The next book was titled “Rocks that are HOT HOT HOT!” Didn’t look like what I was looking for but I tried it any way. Just like I thought, it wasn’t helpful. Three down, two to go. I was seriously considering that if these books weren’t helpful, I’d throw them and the rock out the window. This book was named “Cooking Rocks and Stones”. Sure enough, this book only mentioned what rocks to use for cooking. I thought about firing the librarian. I took a look at the last book’s cover. It was old and tattered. However, it had gold writing and a green background. It had dust and flakes of mud yet had some grandness to it. It was called “Olde Knowledge On Sizzleing Rokes and Stonnes”. Obviously, it was written in old english.
I scanned each page twice just in case I missed something. When I got to the last page, I saw a very large picture of an ovalish, blue egg. The text read “The roke you see befor youre eye is the rarest of them all. Tis the one, the only one that turns black after one month. If any are found, protect thee with thy life. Tis very hot after the first day found. After it turns black, it…” The rest was scratched out. I was somehow awestruck that out of all the books, this one seemed to of told me the most. I closed the book and searched for the author’s name. I found that in the bottom right corner of the cover the name “RIDDELTON G”. I looked at the sky. It was indigo blue. My sundial said half past seven. I was tired from today’s search. I hid the box and took the books back to the library. I then crawled into bed. The next day was beach day. I climbed the Death Rocks of Doom to check if any more rocks were there. Sadly, no. After that, the days flew by like a breeze. I observed the rock each day as it seemed to get bigger and darker. I also noticed that my dad and I weren’t getting along as usual. He seemed to get more and more cranky. He also yelled at me more often.
Eventually, a month passed. I waited and waited for something to happen to the rock. Nothing did. I was distraught. I had waited an entire month for something to happen to the rock and what happens? Nothing! I was miserable the whole day. My mum asked why I was cranky and I replied with a very loud “Just leave me alone, ok?” It was horrible. Each hour felt like 5. Eventually, the sundial said eight-thirty. I hmphed into bed.
I woke up at the noise of snuffling. I looked at the moon dial. It was 5 minutes to midnight. The first thing I did was check the box under my bed. It was shifting about the cold stone cobble floor. I lifted it from the darkness. It was visible in the white moonlight shining through the window. The rock became black as soot. It was starting to rock from side to side ferociously. All of a sudden, the rock crumbled and from the black powder a yellow lizard like thing with wings emerged. I asked myself what kind of species it would be called. Finally I came up with an answer: It was a dragon!
Chapter 3:
Rio
The tiny yellow dragon lay before me. Its big black eyes stared at me with wonder. I stared back. Time flew by. Slowly, I lifted up my hand and tried to stroke it. In return, it bit my pointer finger. I recoiled. I looked at my pointer. No blood poured from it. However, it did have a perfect circle indent. I stared back at the dragon. It stared at me expectantly. I wondered why and then realized: It needed a name. However, I needed to know how intelligent it was before asking questions. I asked “Can you understand me?” It nodded. I started asking it names it would like. “Albert?” the dragon shook its head. I thought for a minute. “Sam?” the dragon still shook its head. “Riley?” the dragon nodded, then shook its head. I knew I was getting close. “Rico?” it nudged me to go on. “Rick?” it put its head in its claws and rolled its tiny yellow head. I asked again “Rio?” The dragon trilled and threw its head up like a howling wolf, then smiled at me. I just got a dragon called Rio!
In the morning I woke up with Rio lying on my stomach, slowly breathing. I took a minute just watching Rio sleep peacefully before he woke up. He stared at me with bleary eyes. I asked it “Are you hungry?” Rio jumped to his feet, suddenly awake and happy. I put on a woolly cotton jumper. It had a pouch on the front. I put Rio in the pouch and said “Now, stay still, eat quietly, and don’t come out”. Rio obeyed. I walked down and up and down the stairs. When I got to the table, my sister asked “Have you gotten over your grouch?” I replied “Yes, I have. All I needed was a good night sleep”. I asked mum “May I have a big, warriors breakfast mother?” “Yes” she replied. She clapped her hands and the servants standing in the corner of the room left. About 15 minutes later, they came back with silver dishes topped with silver domes. They placed a rather big one in front of me. Off came the dome, and I came face to face with the biggest breakfast I’d ever seen. The plate was a foot and a half in diameter. On the plate was a pile of baked beans, 5 sausages, 10 strips of bacon, 2 fried eggs and half a tomato. I knew that I would never eat all of it. However, there wasn’t just me. I ate three sausages dipped in the fried eggs, and then ate the fried eggs. I also ate all the beans (they would get sticky in my pouch) and 4 strips of bacon. Rio ate the rest of the food (apart from the tomato) when my family weren’t looking. When the food was gone, dad said “Eat the tomato, it’s good for you” and I stared at the tomato. I had already eaten half my body weight. Rio wouldn’t eat it. I had to eat the tomato. I picked up my gold fork. I stabbed the tomato. The juices squelched out and dribbled down the red tomato skin. I lifted the fork and lifted the tomato to my mouth and took a bite. Juiced dripped onto the table. I took another bite. The tanginess was killing me. I stuffed the rest of the tomato into my mouth. Tomato juice squirted into the sky. I swallowed, wiped my mouth and stared a victorious look at my dad. I then wiped the table clean of tomato juice. I then said “Thank you for the delicious meal. May I be excused?” Mum nodded and I went back to my room. When I got to my room, I lifted Rio from the pouch. He grumbled and so I put him on my bed. He looked as if he had swallowed two pig runt’s stomach filled with air. He crawled onto the pillow and slept. I felt the same way so I put a sign saying “DO NOT DISTURB” and then closed the door. I laid down on the bed and drifted into a deep sleep.
I woke up with a yellow dragon now the size of a full grown cat lying across my eyes. I lifted it by the sides and put Rio next to me. He stirred, then slept more. I stared at how big it had grown. I looked at the sundial. It was dinner time. However, I had just digested my breakfast and needed the bathroom. After that I decided to introduce Rio to the big bad world. I also needed to go outside to work off all my fat. I got my wooden Frisbee and dragged Rio off the bed. I was going to have to sew it up due to the claw marks caused by Rio. I remembered my ball made of a sheep’s stomach filled with air. I told Rio not to bite into the ball too hard or I would have to wash bile off him. I then put him in my pouch (easier said than done when you have to shove a clawing, wriggling dragon into a pouch when he’s the size of a cat) and walked out of the castle and into the Forest of Secrecy. I then took him out and placed him on the forest floor. The first few times I threw the frisbee and shouted “Go get it!” he just stared at me and continued looking for bugs. I then gave him a stern look and he started retrieving. I decided to throw it really high. He gave the frisbee a determined look and ran really fast. I then saw him flap his tiny wings, jumped a bit (I was encouraging him in the background by yelling “YOU CAN DO IT!”) and soared off the ground. I shouted “Yes!” and he grasped the frisbee with his front claws. He gasped and panted as he flew back to me to deliver the frisbee. I realized that he needed water and so took him to the nearest creek. I bathed him in the cool, slow trickling water. Rio placed his head in the water and took a nice long drink. Suddenly, Rio started glowing. I lifted him from the water so I could see him as a whole. Then, the light became stronger and Rio grew at and incredible speed. His wings grew to the size of my arm and a half, his tail grew just as long and his entire body was the size of a fully grown Golden Retriever. He also grew two tiny little horns the size of my thumb. At first I was full of joy. I then realized something else. “It’s going to be hard getting you back into the castle.”
Chapter 4:
Uh-Oh!
Rio wouldn’t fit in my pouch. The dragon couldn’t fit under my jumper with me. I thought about maybe I should get a barrel, push in Rio and then cover the top with leaves. I then thought that wasn’t such a good idea, because my sister would destroy the top trying to reach the surprise inside (done so ever since April fool’s day!). I decided that I smuggle in Rio at night. I told the dragon that he should stay put, and went to ask my mum if I could camp outside for the night. She nodded, and I got all my camping gear as quick as I could. I ran outside with a large camping bag. I then located Rio by following the trail of dead beetle shells. He was lying under a tree with a large belly. Then he glowed, and the round belly shrank and turned into size. He was now the size of an extremely, unnaturally big greyhound. I told him that the more he ate, the bigger he grew, and the bigger he grew, the harder it was for him to get inside. I then asked him if he would like to go hunting for geese with me, and he showed an ecstatic look. He lifted to the skies. As he caught the migrating geese, I went to a small nest with my bow and arrow. In the nest were 4 eggs and a magpie. I was disappointed at the fact that there was only one magpie, so I took aim and fired at the bird so no one else got the bad luck sign. My arrow went straight through the magpie and hit the tree. The magpie fell down to the ground with a thud. I climbed up the tree and retrieved my arrow. I decided that some eggs would go down well with the geese that Rio was collecting, and put them in my pouch and sealed it so no eggs would fall out. I then slithered down the tree to look for more edible things.
Rio and I arrived at the camp with our collected edible items. I saw that Rio had eaten due to the fact that he was as big as a five year old pony. In Rio’s mouth were three geese hanging by the neck. I had collected 4 magpie eggs, the magpie, some cinnamon, mushrooms, and three fish. I then took out a knife and gutted the fish, the magpie and one of the geese. I told Rio to gather some sticks and a branch while I gutted. Rio got some sticks and a very large branch and then cut it into firewood with his claws. After I gutted the feast, I made a fireplace, without the fire. I took out my tinderbox and tried to light the fire. I failed. I tried my last attempt to make fire and banged my thumb. I muffled a bad word and had a fit. I sat on the ground, massaging my thumb. Suddenly, Rio opened his mouth and a column of fire flew from his mouth. I jumped back and stared in wonder as this mysterious creature made fire. After five seconds, Rio gave me an innocent look. I thanked him and picked up a sharp stick. I skewered the fish and the magpie and slowly roasted them over the fire. I sprinkled on the cinnamon and got out a pan. I cracked open the eggs and chopped up the mushrooms. I then got another stick and skewered the duck and placed it over the fire. The feast was delicious. Rio had to be fed but he enjoyed the goose. I ate two fish and three eggs. The magpie was also eaten by Rio A.K.A Sir Snarfalot. I got out my compass and my portable moon dial while Rio grew several inches bigger till he was the size of a full grown horse. The moon dial said 7:30. I told Rio the time. He didn’t really care. I then told him the plan of what we do to get him back inside the castle. The plan was simple: Wait until nightfall, disguise Rio as a tent, then go back into the castle. When mum or dad realized that I was back in and asked me why I was inside, I would tell them that I was scared (bad part of the plan but had to be done). I knew armed guards were watching our foundation so we would have to be quick when the guards switched positions. Rio nodded in agreement after I explained. “Alright, let’s GO!”
8:30
Rio disguised as a tent: check. Full stomach: check. Own disguise as a bush: check. Guards moving: uncheck. I was disappointed at the uncheck part. The guards still weren’t moving. I decided that a distraction was at hand. I grabbed a rather small stone. I threw it over into another bush away from where I was. This was a little too suspicious for the guards and they wandered over like a moth to a light. Rio helped with the distraction and tripped the guards with his sulphur-colored tail. They fell into the bush with a face plant (get it? face plant and a bush? no?) and we ran as quickly as we could into the gate. As we got through the gate, Rio flamed a hole through the tent’s front so he could see. However, the heat made the rest of the tent go up in flames. Rio shrugged off the flaming tent and continued running. I shot him a “you-owe-me-one” look and ran as fast as my little legs could take me. Rio ran as fast as his huge, musclely legs could take him. He easily overtook me with his 4 legs. I decided that he could hold me on his back and legged it and jumped onto his back. He growled. I gave him the “you-owed-me-one” look and he let me ride. I was going to ask him if he could fly but that would probably be too much. Suddenly, Rio hopped, jumped, and flew into the night’s wave. I sighed and told Rio to fly into my quarters in the top right part of the castle. He obeyed. Thankfully, somebody had opened the window. I also thanked my window for being big. Rio flew up high, then folded his wings to his sides and nose-dived. The wind roared passed me. Rio suddenly opened his wings and glided to the window. Before he entered, he folded his wings again so he could get through the window. We landed with a slight bump but nothing was broken. I slid off Rio’s back and closed the window. I then stroked Rio’s nose and he purred. I told him “You’re a weird creature, but you’re also a good friend” I told him to stay where he was so I could get him something to drink and eat. I turned around only to find butler staring. My hair stood on end and my stomach flipped. Rio tried to hide under my bed by going flat on the floor and pulling himself under. I asked “How long have you been watching?”
Chapter 5:
Escape!
Butler stuttered “li-li-li-BIG LIZARD!”
“Shush! I’m trying to keep him a secret!”
“He? This creature is a he?”
“Yes, Rio is a he. And HE is a dragon. New species.” I noted the confused expression on Butler’s face as he took all this new information in. I told Rio it was ok to come from under the bed and meet this confused, scared, slightly excited man. “Now Butler, no one can know of Rio’s existence. If you tell anyone, Rio isn’t scared to burn you slowly. However, that is something I hope never happens” Butler nodded in agreement, due to the fact that he really didn’t have a choice. To show Butler who was boss, Rio growled. He took one look at his surroundings and said “Let’s clean this mess” I knew that this was a big mess; since there was an overturned bed, a broken candle with wax everywhere, a drawer laying on its side with the draws here and there, and a small yellow puddle on the carpet. I looked at Rio with a disapproving look. He gave an uneasy smile back
“You do know that we can’t keep Rio inside anymore” said Butler “He’s too big. If he stays here anymore he will be found by your parents or worse-the people of the town!”
“We will keep him inside, for outside he is more visible!”
“I know, but he’s easier to find here.”
I stopped talking. He had a good point that would help everyone. Continuing would just make me angry. However, currently, being beat at an argument was the last thing that I wanted.
“Butler, Rio stays here until further notice”
“Then you brought this upon yourself if something wrong happens”
“That won’t be possible”
“Anything is possible”
I humphed at the fact that Butler was right. All I wanted was to go to bed so I fell down onto the makeshift mattress and pillow (since the real thing had got a yellow puddle on it) and fell asleep.
I woke at the sound of Butler shaking me and yelling “WAKE UP” as the noise of people screaming outside the window. I immediately woke up and looked at the window. The village outside was burning, getting burned, or collapsing. I tried to see what was doing the damage. I then saw a figure about 6 foot high wearing a steel helmet, chainmail, steel arm plates and leg plates armed with a flail. It had two horns sticking out his for head in a “U” shape. It was covered in grey fur and had fang-like teeth. It also had a cute fluffy tail that could have been cuter if not for the fact that it was practically soaked in blood. It’s black, beady eyes scanned the area to find another victim to bite the head off. I remembered my study of monsters and realized it was a Gramash. They were the expendable yet strong fighting force of the B.D.C.D. They were the acronyms of the Black Deathly Claw of Darkness. Their leader was named Nadon. He had managed to win the evil throne in a fight to the death with the previous boss of B.D.C.D. Anyway, my priority was to get out of the castle and into the surrounding Forest of Secrecy. I knew there was a secret path that led to a meadow. Until further notice we could camp there and figure out another plan. However, that was going to have to wait until I got a weapon and got out of here. I ran to my desk and clambered under it. I then felt the wall and pulled out some stone bricks and grabbed my secret collection of weapons. I got my dagger and put it into my pocket. I also got out my quiver full of arrows and my bow and slung it on my back. I also took out my divining rod and my blowgun. They both got put in my pocket. Butler told me to follow him. I told Rio to follow me. He slithered towards me understanding the situation. I ran alongside Butler as he went up and down the stairs. He suddenly halted and ran to a statue. He opened the hand of the statue and pulled on the end of the rope. A secret door way appeared right behind the statue. He told me and Rio to go inside. I ran in (Rio had to squeeze a bit) and he followed. He then pulled a lever and the door closed. Butler then lit a match and threw it up at the wall. A fire suddenly whooshed down the hallway’s walls and there was light. I saw the passage around me. Every three meters there was a statue of a knight. The statues wielded a sword and a shield. Butler and I walked on until there was a huge circular room filled with big boxes. Like the hallway, every three meters there was a statue. In the middle of the room was a small fountain with sofa/bed thingies. Butler walked over to one of the boxes and grabbed out some weird tiny packaging the size of a box for shoes.
“Catch!”
I barley caught it but in the end I did. I asked
“What is this?”
“A new type of portable food; magic and technology mixed together. Pull the small tag when the Port-a-food is on a surface”
I did as he said. I placed one on the floor and pulled the tag. The product exploded open and out came a roast chicken feast complete with plates. We had a wonderful dinner. Rio enjoyed the meal as well. The food was fresh and still hot! Suddenly, a huge thud vibrated down the hallway. Another sounded from the exiting hall way on the opposite side.
“Gramash!”
Butler ran to a statue and grabbed a sword and told me to pack all the Port-a-food I could into a bag of some sort. Then, the thudding got louder and louder until there was a great big “BOOM” and the sound of heavy footsteps. The same noise came from the outside hallway. We were surrounded. The first few gramash ran into the room and made a perfect circle with a space between each. Then, the other gramash came in and filled in the space. Rio growled, flashing white gleaming teeth. The gramash opened a large space in the circle where the entrance hallway was. There was silence. Then, the noise of chainmail, heavy footsteps and a whirling flail broke the silence. The light revealed an eight foot tall gramash with bulging muscles completely clad in iron. His horns had steel covers on the tips. We were face to face with the Gramash Chief.
“Ha, ha-ha! Nadon sent us to destroy two puny humans and-whatever this is? He might as well send a swarm of flies! The tiny feet would have killed ‘em! Har-har-har!”
“You forget that each of your warriors is a coward” mocked Butler
“Cowards?! I’ll show you who’s a coward! Gramash, attack!”
The first few gramash roared as they were about to attack. I grabbed all the food I could get and put it in the opened package of the roast chicken. It looked weird how the bag didn’t swell despite how much food I put in. The gramash finally made their way around the boxes and attacked Butler. As one tried to land a blow, Butler stabbed the beast in the stomach. He pulled the sword up and cut the chest and head in half. I was amazed at the skill bursting out of Butler as he lopped off heads and stabbed the small areas where there was a chink in the armor. However, despite how many beasts he killed, more still came to try and kill him. Rio helped by clawing, biting, whacking and kicking. Then, after about an hour of killing these beasts, their numbers started to decline. Butler was beginning to get tired. I knew that he needed help. I grabbed my bow and an arrow and fired at the gramash. The arrow flew past all of the gramash and hit the wall. I tried another arrow. It managed to hit a gramash on the toe. I said in my head “third time’s the charm” and fired. The arrow whistled past the gramash, hit a curve, swiveled round on the curve, and hit the gramash leader in the eye. He screamed in pain and tried to pull out the arrow. He pulled out his eye in the process. This gave Butler a chance to finish him off. At the time, Butler was occupied killing the other gramash, so I tried to do it myself. I fired another arrow to blind the other eye. I realized that I didn’t need to do that because blood was gushing out. I had realized at the wrong moment and had already fired the arrow. The projectile hit his neck. He pulled that out too. He pulled out a chunk of blood-soaked muscle and veins. The great beast fell to the ground, with his eye staring into nothingness. Warm blood trickled on the floor. The other gramash looked at their fallen leader, then looked at me. They ran to him, picked him up, and ran away. The floor was covered in blood. Some parts were worse than others. I was horrified at the scene that Butler and I. After I picked up the magic bag, I told Rio that blood isn’t strawberry jam.
“We must get out of here before more gramash come to get us back for killing their leader”
He walked to the exiting hallway and told us to stay here. We obeyed and tried to get the blood away or got to a place where there was none. Eventually, Butler came back into the circular room and told us the coast was clear. Rio and I hopped around the blood puddles and landed next to Butler. He told us to follow him and so we did. As we walked on, we noticed a large hole in the middle of the hallway. This was probably where the gramash came in. Rio and I tiptoed around it and continued our mini-hike. Finally, we got to the light at the end of the tunnel. The light came from the top of a ladder, but at least it was light. I opened the trapdoor at the top of the ladder and came out of a bush. The castle was 100 meters away. Rio was next to come out. He took some time getting out, but in the end he broke through the dirt ceiling and shook off all the mud. Butler came out last with bits of mud here and there.
“I hope Rio doesn’t do that again unless on a horizontal terrain”
I laughed for a bit and then remembered our current situation. I looked at the castle. The windows had flames poking through them. What was left of the village was slowly burning into piles of ash. The dead bodies were piled up. All the babies were crying and being taken to a bonfire to slowly burn. The sanctuary of my home was slowly being destroyed. I knew that somewhere inside the horror and pain there was my family. They must be
“We must rescue my family!”
“It’s too late Lawrence, it’s too late!”
Butler grabbed me by the arm. I tried to break free. My eyes blurred as tears welled up.
“We must get them!”
“There is no way they could of survived without being woken up. We had the rooms block sound from the outside”
I broke free from Butler’s grasp. I started running to the castle.
I was too late.
The castle blew up in front of my very eyes.
Chapter 6:
The Unknown Author
That night I was restless. I had lost everything I ever loved – my home, my family, the village that comforted me in time of need. Without that, who was I? The only person I knew who knows me was Butler. He had taken care of me since I was born. I looked at the situation:
I have a dragon called Rio: Good
I have a person who knows me and cares for me: Good
My family, my home and my friends were gone: Really bad
I was sworn enemy to the gramash with no hope of ever getting them to change to the good side: Bad
I still had food and shelter: Good
This was equally good and bad. However, the third one conquered all other goods and bads. I stood up and walked to Rio silently. I accidentally stepped on a twig and it snapped. Rio opened a large yellow eye. I told him “It’s ok” and he shut his eyes and fell asleep. I lifted a droopy wing and put myself under it. He had a warm, toasty belly with a nice organic blanket/wing. I rested my head upon Rio’s scaly arm. Rio purred.
I woke up lying on the ground with Rio standing right above me staring expectantly. The moment I saw those eyes in focus I suddenly woke up, startled. I sat up and looked around. Butler was sitting on a rock doing something. I couldn’t see what he was doing because his back was to me. I stood up and walked to where Butler was. I looked at what he was doing. He was weaving something.
“What are you doing?”
“Weaving a saddle”
“We have no horses”
“This isn’t a horse saddle”
“What is it for?”
“Rio”
I stared at Rio proudly. He was going to have a saddle. I then thought of a problem.
“Butler?”
“Yes?”
“There’s a problem”
“What?”
“Rio continually grows whenever he’s fed. Look:”
I got out a breakfast Portafood and opened it. It was a steaming breakfast of eggs, tomatoes, toast and sausages. I grabbed the plate and threw the food at Rio one bit at a time. He ate all of it (apart from the tomato) and gulped it down. Rio did his thing and grew a bit more. He was now as big as a large hippopotamus. His horns were as big as my arm, his tail was about the size of a carriage, his head was the size of a chair and each individual claw was the size of my hand.
“I took that into consideration and made it out of sunlither”
“What’s that?”
“A plant that has evolved to the extreme”
“How so?”
“The plant adapts to its surroundings in order to survive. Under pressure or tension it becomes looser or tighter in order to live. It also never ages. It works especially well in the night, due to the fact that it absorbs moonlight”
“Impressive”
“It is! Alchemists are still trying to find the plants secrets!”
I looked at Rio again. He had an excited look in his eyes. I gave him one back. Another thing was now added to the list of things of good and bad things. I looked at Butler weaving again. He was doing a really complicated weave.
“This is the “Dagger’s Throat” weave. It is the tightest weave of all. If there were two armies trying to pull the weave apart, one at opposite ends, they would fail miserably. However, if someone would pull on the weave’s string at the part your doing, the entire thing falls apart. Literally. This is why I have hidden the end string in a place that only one chance in a million you would find it”
“I’ll keep that in mind”
“Here is the saddle, Lawrence”
Butler handed me the piece of work that took him two hours to make. I almost accidentally threw it in the air thinking that it would weigh something.
“Wow that thing is light!”
“Yes. I forgot to mention that sunlither weighs almost nothing”
I walked up to Rio and told him to stay still so I could put on the saddle. I placed the saddle on his back.
“Who said that?!” I turned around and saw no one but Butler “Did you hear that?”
“What?”
“That voice. It suddenly popped in my head!”
Rio smiled and there was a deep rumble in his chest
I looked at Rio in disbelief.
“That was you?! I didn't know that dragons could talk!”
“Like what?”
“Nice!”
“Is anything wrong, Lawrence? You haven’t moved a lot for two minutes!”
I gave Butler a wave and smiled. He gave a surprised look.
“You just spoke to me in my head!”
“How?”
It took me sometime to explain to Butler what dragons do and how they mind speak, but in the end he figured it out.
“So, what’s the plan, Lawrence?”
“Well, when Rio was still in his egg, I was trying to find out what the egg was; I found a book that told me all about it apart from what happens after a month of keeping it. That part was scratched out. However, I still remember the author’s name. I saw it on the book cover. The name was Riddleton G.”
“Riddleton G? I know that man! He was someone I gave mail to every once a month when I was a mail boy!”
“Really? Where does he live?”
“Really, really far away. In the town of Pintree”
“Pintree?! That’s several hundred miles away!”
“I know. Rio can only hold one person so we can’t use him to travel.
“That’s at his current size thought!”
“What are you implying, Lawrence?
I stood back. Rio flopped on the ground with the biggest full belly I had ever seen.
“Do your thing Rio!”
Rio started to glow. Then, his belly shrunk to normal size as the rest of Rio grew. His head was now the size of a table, his tail was ten meters long, his body was now the size of a juvenile blue whale, his horns was as long as my legs, his wingspan was well over twenty meters and each individual claw was the size of half my leg.
“I think that Rio is big enough for both of us to fly on”
“Butler, are you strapped on?”
“Yes Lawrence”
Rio started to run, and then got faster and faster. He then jumped, hopped and took off. As he started to ascend, the air got cooler and cooler.
Rio burst through the cloud cover and soared towards the sun. The view was spectacular. The clouds had bursts of orange and purple as the sun started to sink into the sky.
said Butler.
Rio banked left at the turtle-shaped-cloud. The sun sank into the clouds a few minutes later. The darkness was petrifying. All that was heard was the beating of wings. This came to be the longest hour of my life.
Rio’s wings suddenly stopped beating and started gliding instead. In the distance, we could see lights of Pintree. Those small lights started getting closer and closer as Rio got lower and lower. Eventually, we landed in a garden on the corner of the city. I looked at the house number on the letter box at the side of the house.
I had a reason to ask that. The wood that made the house was dark and crooked. The roof’s tiles were either cracked or gone, and there was the horrible smell of snails. I opened the back door of the house. It creaked. Butler walked in and pulled a string hanging from the ceiling. The darkness was lit up by a single lamp. The first thing that I saw was horrible. The place was completely trashed and there was blood on the wall. The blood wasn’t on the wall like you would think. It spelt something. On the wall it spelt: “look out” with arrows pointing upward. I walked into the centre of the room. I turned around and saw the word “below”. Suddenly, the floor caved in and Butler and I fell down into the basement. I landed on my butt and Butler belly flopped onto the floor. I looked around and saw a man in rags with dirt on his face aiming a bow and arrow at me.
“State your business or I’ll fire!”
The aged man put down his bow and raised an eyebrow.
“Who are you?”
“Where is it?”
We clambered up to the floor above us and outside.
Rio suddenly landed in the middle of the backyard. He showed his lightning colored scales and flashed his large white teeth. His wings stretched open just to show who’s boss.
“I read your book while Rio was in his egg. I wanted to know how you got this information”
Riddleton closed his eyes and stood there silently for a minute.
“This is how I found out about what I like to call a dragon”
“Hey, I called Rio a dragon too…”
The rest of the sentence was cut off by the beating of wings. A feminine blue dragon landed right next to Rio. We all stared in wonder at the other dragon.
“This is how I knew about dragons. Lawrence, meet Lyra”
Suddenly, shadows lurched at us. Swift creatures flew around. Rio blew a column of fire at his surroundings. They were too quick. One hit Rio on his head and muzzled him. They did the same to Lyra. I tried to take the muzzles off the fallen dragons. I failed. The creatures were too quick. They knocked everyone else unconscious. I was next. I stared around and tried to get an object to protect myself with. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and blacked out.
Chapter 7:
Escaping Death
I woke up on a cold slab of wet stone. I tried to get up. I found that I was strapped down to the stone with large leather straps. I looked around. Rio and Lyra were several meters to my right. Butler and Riddleton were on my left. They were both still knocked out cold. I looked up. Everything was made of cold, wet stone. I heard footsteps. They were of quickened pace. I look up and saw Nadon. However, this was not a male’s face. It was a familiar face. So familiar that it couldn’t have been true. I was face to face with Selina Gibbson, my mother.
“Mother?”
“Yes child, I am your mother. I am Nadon”
“Why mother, why?”
“Because agreeing with your father and being powerless was all so boring”
“So you killed thousands of people, took the place of a helpless mother, had a secret identity of a mass murderer and the fugitive of the law just so you weren’t bored?”
“Yes, and it was all so fun!
I looked at this mad woman with a thirst for power who had supposedly given birth to me and raised me. I was horrified.
“Who are you?”
“Your mother!”
“No you’re not! My mother is kind and helpful. You are a stranger to me!”
“Shut up! Shut up! All this blather is wearing me down! Kill these prisoners and dissect these creatures!”
“Mother, you don’t have to do this!”
“Goodbye, son of none. You are not the one I should have gotten here. Pity your sister is dead. She would have been an excellent heir.”
I cried as my mother walked away from me and left me for the dead. I had loved and lost for her and she just threw me away like trash. The room emptied again. As my tears dried, I spoke to Rio who was waking up.
Rio coughed up a spark that flew onto my wrist. The spark immediately burned the strap. I got the other strap undone with my free hand. I then undid the leg straps. I ran over to Rio and undid the three layers of leather. Rio did the rest.
Rio nodded. I ran over to Butler and Riddleton and undid the straps. I woke them up by slapping their faces softly.
“What’s going on?”
They stood up and we all ran for the door. It wouldn’t open.
Rio took a lung full of air and burned down the door.
“You had to use fire, didn’t you?” said Butler
“It ignited the alcohol barrel over there!”
We all looked to where Butler was pointing. There in the corner past the door was a burning barrel.
“Run past quickly!”
Everyone ran past the barrel as quick as they could. Rio burst through the small door with Lyra following. They got out just as the barrel burst and the burning liquid oozed everywhere. The flame caught the wooden support columns and slowly burned everything else. Apparently one of the gramash had used alcohol as a rat repellant and put it all over the support columns because they lit up like a matchstick. The fire slowly caught up to us as we ran down the hallway. Eventually, we started seeing innocent people locked up in cells as we ran through the dungeon. We had to keep moving but we couldn’t leave them behind. Rio understood what had to be done and started ripping holes in the cell doors as he ran. This slowed us down a tiny bit but it was for the good. We finally got to a staircase after ten minutes of running. The fire was already way ahead of us and was starting to burn curtains, doors and carpets. At the top of the stairs we told the prisoners to meet us outside and let them go. They all ran to the exits. By the time everyone else had gone, the evil fort was starting to collapse. Pebbles and stones were starting to fall. We all ran to the large doors that stood fifty meters away. The roof started caving in as the supports burned to ash. Rio and Lyra were already way ahead. Butler was running for his life. Riddle ton was slowing down behind me. I couldn’t just run away from him like my mother did to me. I ran towards him and put his arm around neck and ran as fast as I could. The others were telling me to hurry. The ceiling above me collapsed Riddleton got his arm and shoved me away.
“Go on without me!”
The rocks and boulders fell all over Riddleton’s slightly frail body.
“Riddleton! NO!”
I shoved aside rocks and debris to reveal Riddleton’s face.
“Go on without me. Take care of Lyra. In time of self defense, use this”
He lifted his hand from the rubble and gave me a blue and yellow blob. It formed into a handle, then one end grew long and sharp. It transformed into a gold and blue dagger.
“That is the weapon that will best suit you. When you are older it will change, depending on what you will be. Bye bye for now…”
The mysterious man died. I ran out of the building before any more rubble fell. We all ran out of the way of the fort. We looked at the fort burn after we caught up with the innocent prisoners. At the top of the tallest spire there was Nadon. She jumped off the back of the spire and into the burning fort. Five seconds later it collapsed. The crowd behind me cheered. After the cheer, I shouted:
“Everyone! May I please have your attention? Thank you. Now as you all know, Nadon has just been defeated. However, there is still something we need to do to add to the celebration: make a small shelter temporary shelter. Why should we do this you may ask? Because Nadon has destroyed many villages and cities. My plan is to make a civilization bigger than all the destroyed ones combined! Now, while my dragons and I do all the party making, you make yourselves shelters so that we can celebrate this tremendous occasion: the day good was brought to the land!
The crowd cheered. After the cheer they all went to make their shelters while Rio, Lyra and I built a bonfire, made wine and food. Due to the fact that there were three of us, we did the job quickly
As the villagers partied, I sat on a rock looking at the sun slowly rising into the sky. I laid back against Rio who was entertaining Lyra.
“Nice speech you gave there”
I turned around to see my sister sitting at the corner of the rock.
“Roslyan!”
I stood up and hugged her.
“How did you survive the castle exploding?”
“Well, I went outside when I discovered that you were outside. Then, you disappeared from your campsite back inside with your dragon there. I was going to go inside but then the castle blew up. I found you in the Forest of Secrecy again. I saw that you were sad so I didn’t annoy you. The next day, I woke up with you just about to take off on your dragon so at the last second I jumped on your dragon’s tail. Then, I hid behind the fence at Riddleton’s house. When you were kidnapped I held onto the crate that they transported you with. I got off at the woods here and waited ever since.”
I hugged her one more time then took her to the party so we could get some food. After the party, we sat on the rock again and looked at the sun setting. I looked at my list of things that happened:
Escaped death: Good
Destroyed the forces of evil: Good
Helped tons of people: Good
Became a sort of king: Good
Gotten sister again: Good
Not one thing on the list was bad. I was happy again. I had a home, friends, and family. The void was filled. I had just about everything I ever wanted right in front of me. From that point on, life was great. Really great.
By Alex
This book is dedicated to all those dragons forced into hiding due to the amount of land us humans consume
Chapter One:
My Family
“This is so dull!” screamed Roslyan. I didn’t mind though. My sister always thinks life’s dull. She praises dull. She’s the QUEEN of dull. I never told her. I just kept on playing with my metal train set and grunted. And guess who walks in? My mum and dad. Amazingly, despite how my dad is the king’s ambassador and my mum is the royal tax collector; they always seem to have lots of time to do “exciting” stuff. They walked in, smiles gleaming on their faces, and said “Let’s go to the beach!” Groans came from our mouths. “Muuuuuuuuum! We always go to the beach! I want to stay inside! Hmph!” Roslyan was going to start having a hissy fit anytime soon. My turn. “Dad,” I said “Haven’t we been to the beach gabillions of times? I mean, we went to the beach the day before yesterday, we get sand in our water suits, and it’s always empty! Besides, we need to balance the amount of days we went to the beach with the amount of days at home.” See that? I gave him the unbeatable evidence, and he can’t talk back. I gave him the smug look. “Well,” he started “That’s where you’re wrong, you see? We do equalize the amount of days at the beach. We take one day off, then go to the beach again. We can empty the sand in your water suits; and you never know what will appear at the beach”. He finished off with his own smug look. I then said “Can we at least take the double horse carriage?”
I humphed at the sky as we rode over the rocky roads. Oops, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Lawrence Gibbson the Third. I’m eleven years old. We live in a large land called Galdeora. You already know about my sister, Roslyan Gibbson the Second. My parents are called Judeth Gibbson (dad) and Selina Gibbson (mum). I want to be king when I grow up. However, I know that’s not going to happen. You have to be in the royal family in order to be heir to the throne. My sister wants to be a princess; despite how many times I tell her about the royal family thing. She just says “Well, what do you know huh?” and stomps off in a huff. She knows I’m right, but she doesn’t admit it. That’s her loss.
Eventually, after what felt like an hour and a million toilet stops, we arrived at the beach. We all sat in silence and had a big “Phew!” we walked to the deserted beach and laid our picnic stuff on the soft, still sand. We feasted on strawberry sandwiches and drank from our waterskins. After having to sit in the sun for 20 minutes so we wouldn’t get cramps, we put on our water suits and waded into the water. It was cool and the sun beat down on my back. I felt the watery sand go between my toes and smelt the tangy, salty air. When I finished swimming, I walked to the shore and dried off.
Then I went to what I liked to call “Death Rocks of Doom”. These were rows of colossal rocks and were like a really big rocky staircase. The top rock had a small semicircle indent which looked a bit like a nest. Another thing about the rocks is that from the top you can see the sun set in the horizon. So I clambered on to the first rock. I took a quick glance at my goal, and I saw something ovalish sitting in the indent, right at the top. I racked my brains to try and remember if I’d put anything there previously. No memories showed. I clambered onto the next rock. The unfamiliar silhouette still showed. I rubbed my eyes. Nope, still there. I noticed that the silhouette was turning slightly red. It was from there on that the rock was getting redder and redder each time I clambered up another rock of the Death Rocks of Doom.
When I got to the top it was getting dark and I saw in the semicircle there was a big, oval, scarlet rock, about the size of a full waterskin. It looked as if it was polished. When I touched it, a jolt went through me, and I had the sudden urge to take it. I cradled it in my arms and then lifted it up to the light of the sunset. No light shone through. It was solid. I heard my dad calling me: “Lawrence, time to go home!” I didn’t want him to know about the rock for some reason. I was thankful that I was wearing a watersuit and stuffed in just under my armpit where my waterskin was then got my waterskin and placed it by my butt (slightly embarrassing and I thought “Does this make my butt look big?”). I climbed back down the Death Rocks of Doom. I landed my foot back on the sand when it was dark. My mum was a bit fussed how I climbed right to the top. I wanted to tell her about the strange rock but something told me not to. I didn’t tell my sister either because she would blurt it out to the world. I went into my personal changing room and took my rock out. It looked slightly different. I couldn’t put my finger on it but it was on the tip of my tongue. I wondered about it all the way home
.
Chapter 2:
The Hatchling
“I told you the beach would be dull” said Roslyan. This time, instead of grunting, I went through the series of steps to my room. I took out the rock from my pocket. I scanned the rock for more clues of why it looked different. I yawned. I looked at the sundial by the window. It said that it was half past eight. My mum and dad would kill me if I stayed up any longer. I hid my rock under my bed in a small wooden box I got for my birthday. The box was decorated with strips of thin gold along the lining of the lid. In the middle of the lid was a diamond shaped ruby. Surrounding the ruby was more strips of gold. On each corner of the ruby was a smaller diamond shaped sapphire. It was quite a box.
The next morning I woke up and the first thing I thought about was the box. I opened it up and I realized why the rock looked different. It was getting darker. When I found it, it was scarlet red, now it looked like it was a coal that had been put at a really high heat then left there to simmer for 5 minutes. I touched the rock. I retracted my hand. The rock felt as if it had been in a stove. I heard footsteps coming. I closed the lid and hid the box under the bed. The butler came in. “Your mother and father request that you go to eat breakfast, young master Lawrence” “Now?”
“Now.”
I wanted to stay and look at the rock but sadly I had to go. I slowly walked down and up and down and up the several stair cases. When I eventually got to the dinner table, my mum and dad were waiting, with smiles on their faces. “Morning, Lawrence” said dad. “Morning” I mumbled back. I really wanted to know about the rock. However, I was hungry. I ate up my sausages and egg then ran back to my room. I took out my box and opened the lid. The rock was darker.
I was curious about what rock it was. I walked to the family library. We had a copy of every book in the land. I went to the librarian’s desk and slapped the chime. An old man walked to the desk. He was wearing an old purple robe with gold lining and had a very long, grey beard. He had grey eyebrows that went up like an owl’s. He had a walking stick with a lizard like head on the top. It had an open mouth. I asked him “Do you have any books on hot rocks?” He replied in a very crumbly voice “Yes, but it might be a while before you get them, with all these books!” He gestured to the colossal shelves of books. “Well, I shall be waiting in my room. Have a nice day!”
Back in my room, I took a look at the rock again. It was slightly darker, and it looked slightly bigger as well. I studied it for a while. Eventually, I decided to touch it. Weirdly, it was cooler than before. After what felt like a minute (but actually half an hour), I heard footsteps. I hid the box under my bed. The butler came in and said “Here are your books, Master Lawrence”. I thanked him and took the 5 books he carried. When he left I closed the door with a big “CLUNK”. I took the box from under the bed. As I read “The Novelty Guide to Stones and Rocks”, I observed the reddish-blackish rock. However, despite the fact it knew just about all the rocks, it didn’t have any information. One down, four to go. The next book was called “How to Cook Massage Rocks for Extreme Relaxation”. I knew that this wouldn’t exactly help me. Two down, three to go. The next book was titled “Rocks that are HOT HOT HOT!” Didn’t look like what I was looking for but I tried it any way. Just like I thought, it wasn’t helpful. Three down, two to go. I was seriously considering that if these books weren’t helpful, I’d throw them and the rock out the window. This book was named “Cooking Rocks and Stones”. Sure enough, this book only mentioned what rocks to use for cooking. I thought about firing the librarian. I took a look at the last book’s cover. It was old and tattered. However, it had gold writing and a green background. It had dust and flakes of mud yet had some grandness to it. It was called “Olde Knowledge On Sizzleing Rokes and Stonnes”. Obviously, it was written in old english.
I scanned each page twice just in case I missed something. When I got to the last page, I saw a very large picture of an ovalish, blue egg. The text read “The roke you see befor youre eye is the rarest of them all. Tis the one, the only one that turns black after one month. If any are found, protect thee with thy life. Tis very hot after the first day found. After it turns black, it…” The rest was scratched out. I was somehow awestruck that out of all the books, this one seemed to of told me the most. I closed the book and searched for the author’s name. I found that in the bottom right corner of the cover the name “RIDDELTON G”. I looked at the sky. It was indigo blue. My sundial said half past seven. I was tired from today’s search. I hid the box and took the books back to the library. I then crawled into bed. The next day was beach day. I climbed the Death Rocks of Doom to check if any more rocks were there. Sadly, no. After that, the days flew by like a breeze. I observed the rock each day as it seemed to get bigger and darker. I also noticed that my dad and I weren’t getting along as usual. He seemed to get more and more cranky. He also yelled at me more often.
Eventually, a month passed. I waited and waited for something to happen to the rock. Nothing did. I was distraught. I had waited an entire month for something to happen to the rock and what happens? Nothing! I was miserable the whole day. My mum asked why I was cranky and I replied with a very loud “Just leave me alone, ok?” It was horrible. Each hour felt like 5. Eventually, the sundial said eight-thirty. I hmphed into bed.
I woke up at the noise of snuffling. I looked at the moon dial. It was 5 minutes to midnight. The first thing I did was check the box under my bed. It was shifting about the cold stone cobble floor. I lifted it from the darkness. It was visible in the white moonlight shining through the window. The rock became black as soot. It was starting to rock from side to side ferociously. All of a sudden, the rock crumbled and from the black powder a yellow lizard like thing with wings emerged. I asked myself what kind of species it would be called. Finally I came up with an answer: It was a dragon!
Chapter 3:
Rio
The tiny yellow dragon lay before me. Its big black eyes stared at me with wonder. I stared back. Time flew by. Slowly, I lifted up my hand and tried to stroke it. In return, it bit my pointer finger. I recoiled. I looked at my pointer. No blood poured from it. However, it did have a perfect circle indent. I stared back at the dragon. It stared at me expectantly. I wondered why and then realized: It needed a name. However, I needed to know how intelligent it was before asking questions. I asked “Can you understand me?” It nodded. I started asking it names it would like. “Albert?” the dragon shook its head. I thought for a minute. “Sam?” the dragon still shook its head. “Riley?” the dragon nodded, then shook its head. I knew I was getting close. “Rico?” it nudged me to go on. “Rick?” it put its head in its claws and rolled its tiny yellow head. I asked again “Rio?” The dragon trilled and threw its head up like a howling wolf, then smiled at me. I just got a dragon called Rio!
In the morning I woke up with Rio lying on my stomach, slowly breathing. I took a minute just watching Rio sleep peacefully before he woke up. He stared at me with bleary eyes. I asked it “Are you hungry?” Rio jumped to his feet, suddenly awake and happy. I put on a woolly cotton jumper. It had a pouch on the front. I put Rio in the pouch and said “Now, stay still, eat quietly, and don’t come out”. Rio obeyed. I walked down and up and down the stairs. When I got to the table, my sister asked “Have you gotten over your grouch?” I replied “Yes, I have. All I needed was a good night sleep”. I asked mum “May I have a big, warriors breakfast mother?” “Yes” she replied. She clapped her hands and the servants standing in the corner of the room left. About 15 minutes later, they came back with silver dishes topped with silver domes. They placed a rather big one in front of me. Off came the dome, and I came face to face with the biggest breakfast I’d ever seen. The plate was a foot and a half in diameter. On the plate was a pile of baked beans, 5 sausages, 10 strips of bacon, 2 fried eggs and half a tomato. I knew that I would never eat all of it. However, there wasn’t just me. I ate three sausages dipped in the fried eggs, and then ate the fried eggs. I also ate all the beans (they would get sticky in my pouch) and 4 strips of bacon. Rio ate the rest of the food (apart from the tomato) when my family weren’t looking. When the food was gone, dad said “Eat the tomato, it’s good for you” and I stared at the tomato. I had already eaten half my body weight. Rio wouldn’t eat it. I had to eat the tomato. I picked up my gold fork. I stabbed the tomato. The juices squelched out and dribbled down the red tomato skin. I lifted the fork and lifted the tomato to my mouth and took a bite. Juiced dripped onto the table. I took another bite. The tanginess was killing me. I stuffed the rest of the tomato into my mouth. Tomato juice squirted into the sky. I swallowed, wiped my mouth and stared a victorious look at my dad. I then wiped the table clean of tomato juice. I then said “Thank you for the delicious meal. May I be excused?” Mum nodded and I went back to my room. When I got to my room, I lifted Rio from the pouch. He grumbled and so I put him on my bed. He looked as if he had swallowed two pig runt’s stomach filled with air. He crawled onto the pillow and slept. I felt the same way so I put a sign saying “DO NOT DISTURB” and then closed the door. I laid down on the bed and drifted into a deep sleep.
I woke up with a yellow dragon now the size of a full grown cat lying across my eyes. I lifted it by the sides and put Rio next to me. He stirred, then slept more. I stared at how big it had grown. I looked at the sundial. It was dinner time. However, I had just digested my breakfast and needed the bathroom. After that I decided to introduce Rio to the big bad world. I also needed to go outside to work off all my fat. I got my wooden Frisbee and dragged Rio off the bed. I was going to have to sew it up due to the claw marks caused by Rio. I remembered my ball made of a sheep’s stomach filled with air. I told Rio not to bite into the ball too hard or I would have to wash bile off him. I then put him in my pouch (easier said than done when you have to shove a clawing, wriggling dragon into a pouch when he’s the size of a cat) and walked out of the castle and into the Forest of Secrecy. I then took him out and placed him on the forest floor. The first few times I threw the frisbee and shouted “Go get it!” he just stared at me and continued looking for bugs. I then gave him a stern look and he started retrieving. I decided to throw it really high. He gave the frisbee a determined look and ran really fast. I then saw him flap his tiny wings, jumped a bit (I was encouraging him in the background by yelling “YOU CAN DO IT!”) and soared off the ground. I shouted “Yes!” and he grasped the frisbee with his front claws. He gasped and panted as he flew back to me to deliver the frisbee. I realized that he needed water and so took him to the nearest creek. I bathed him in the cool, slow trickling water. Rio placed his head in the water and took a nice long drink. Suddenly, Rio started glowing. I lifted him from the water so I could see him as a whole. Then, the light became stronger and Rio grew at and incredible speed. His wings grew to the size of my arm and a half, his tail grew just as long and his entire body was the size of a fully grown Golden Retriever. He also grew two tiny little horns the size of my thumb. At first I was full of joy. I then realized something else. “It’s going to be hard getting you back into the castle.”
Chapter 4:
Uh-Oh!
Rio wouldn’t fit in my pouch. The dragon couldn’t fit under my jumper with me. I thought about maybe I should get a barrel, push in Rio and then cover the top with leaves. I then thought that wasn’t such a good idea, because my sister would destroy the top trying to reach the surprise inside (done so ever since April fool’s day!). I decided that I smuggle in Rio at night. I told the dragon that he should stay put, and went to ask my mum if I could camp outside for the night. She nodded, and I got all my camping gear as quick as I could. I ran outside with a large camping bag. I then located Rio by following the trail of dead beetle shells. He was lying under a tree with a large belly. Then he glowed, and the round belly shrank and turned into size. He was now the size of an extremely, unnaturally big greyhound. I told him that the more he ate, the bigger he grew, and the bigger he grew, the harder it was for him to get inside. I then asked him if he would like to go hunting for geese with me, and he showed an ecstatic look. He lifted to the skies. As he caught the migrating geese, I went to a small nest with my bow and arrow. In the nest were 4 eggs and a magpie. I was disappointed at the fact that there was only one magpie, so I took aim and fired at the bird so no one else got the bad luck sign. My arrow went straight through the magpie and hit the tree. The magpie fell down to the ground with a thud. I climbed up the tree and retrieved my arrow. I decided that some eggs would go down well with the geese that Rio was collecting, and put them in my pouch and sealed it so no eggs would fall out. I then slithered down the tree to look for more edible things.
Rio and I arrived at the camp with our collected edible items. I saw that Rio had eaten due to the fact that he was as big as a five year old pony. In Rio’s mouth were three geese hanging by the neck. I had collected 4 magpie eggs, the magpie, some cinnamon, mushrooms, and three fish. I then took out a knife and gutted the fish, the magpie and one of the geese. I told Rio to gather some sticks and a branch while I gutted. Rio got some sticks and a very large branch and then cut it into firewood with his claws. After I gutted the feast, I made a fireplace, without the fire. I took out my tinderbox and tried to light the fire. I failed. I tried my last attempt to make fire and banged my thumb. I muffled a bad word and had a fit. I sat on the ground, massaging my thumb. Suddenly, Rio opened his mouth and a column of fire flew from his mouth. I jumped back and stared in wonder as this mysterious creature made fire. After five seconds, Rio gave me an innocent look. I thanked him and picked up a sharp stick. I skewered the fish and the magpie and slowly roasted them over the fire. I sprinkled on the cinnamon and got out a pan. I cracked open the eggs and chopped up the mushrooms. I then got another stick and skewered the duck and placed it over the fire. The feast was delicious. Rio had to be fed but he enjoyed the goose. I ate two fish and three eggs. The magpie was also eaten by Rio A.K.A Sir Snarfalot. I got out my compass and my portable moon dial while Rio grew several inches bigger till he was the size of a full grown horse. The moon dial said 7:30. I told Rio the time. He didn’t really care. I then told him the plan of what we do to get him back inside the castle. The plan was simple: Wait until nightfall, disguise Rio as a tent, then go back into the castle. When mum or dad realized that I was back in and asked me why I was inside, I would tell them that I was scared (bad part of the plan but had to be done). I knew armed guards were watching our foundation so we would have to be quick when the guards switched positions. Rio nodded in agreement after I explained. “Alright, let’s GO!”
8:30
Rio disguised as a tent: check. Full stomach: check. Own disguise as a bush: check. Guards moving: uncheck. I was disappointed at the uncheck part. The guards still weren’t moving. I decided that a distraction was at hand. I grabbed a rather small stone. I threw it over into another bush away from where I was. This was a little too suspicious for the guards and they wandered over like a moth to a light. Rio helped with the distraction and tripped the guards with his sulphur-colored tail. They fell into the bush with a face plant (get it? face plant and a bush? no?) and we ran as quickly as we could into the gate. As we got through the gate, Rio flamed a hole through the tent’s front so he could see. However, the heat made the rest of the tent go up in flames. Rio shrugged off the flaming tent and continued running. I shot him a “you-owe-me-one” look and ran as fast as my little legs could take me. Rio ran as fast as his huge, musclely legs could take him. He easily overtook me with his 4 legs. I decided that he could hold me on his back and legged it and jumped onto his back. He growled. I gave him the “you-owed-me-one” look and he let me ride. I was going to ask him if he could fly but that would probably be too much. Suddenly, Rio hopped, jumped, and flew into the night’s wave. I sighed and told Rio to fly into my quarters in the top right part of the castle. He obeyed. Thankfully, somebody had opened the window. I also thanked my window for being big. Rio flew up high, then folded his wings to his sides and nose-dived. The wind roared passed me. Rio suddenly opened his wings and glided to the window. Before he entered, he folded his wings again so he could get through the window. We landed with a slight bump but nothing was broken. I slid off Rio’s back and closed the window. I then stroked Rio’s nose and he purred. I told him “You’re a weird creature, but you’re also a good friend” I told him to stay where he was so I could get him something to drink and eat. I turned around only to find butler staring. My hair stood on end and my stomach flipped. Rio tried to hide under my bed by going flat on the floor and pulling himself under. I asked “How long have you been watching?”
Chapter 5:
Escape!
Butler stuttered “li-li-li-BIG LIZARD!”
“Shush! I’m trying to keep him a secret!”
“He? This creature is a he?”
“Yes, Rio is a he. And HE is a dragon. New species.” I noted the confused expression on Butler’s face as he took all this new information in. I told Rio it was ok to come from under the bed and meet this confused, scared, slightly excited man. “Now Butler, no one can know of Rio’s existence. If you tell anyone, Rio isn’t scared to burn you slowly. However, that is something I hope never happens” Butler nodded in agreement, due to the fact that he really didn’t have a choice. To show Butler who was boss, Rio growled. He took one look at his surroundings and said “Let’s clean this mess” I knew that this was a big mess; since there was an overturned bed, a broken candle with wax everywhere, a drawer laying on its side with the draws here and there, and a small yellow puddle on the carpet. I looked at Rio with a disapproving look. He gave an uneasy smile back
“You do know that we can’t keep Rio inside anymore” said Butler “He’s too big. If he stays here anymore he will be found by your parents or worse-the people of the town!”
“We will keep him inside, for outside he is more visible!”
“I know, but he’s easier to find here.”
I stopped talking. He had a good point that would help everyone. Continuing would just make me angry. However, currently, being beat at an argument was the last thing that I wanted.
“Butler, Rio stays here until further notice”
“Then you brought this upon yourself if something wrong happens”
“That won’t be possible”
“Anything is possible”
I humphed at the fact that Butler was right. All I wanted was to go to bed so I fell down onto the makeshift mattress and pillow (since the real thing had got a yellow puddle on it) and fell asleep.
I woke at the sound of Butler shaking me and yelling “WAKE UP” as the noise of people screaming outside the window. I immediately woke up and looked at the window. The village outside was burning, getting burned, or collapsing. I tried to see what was doing the damage. I then saw a figure about 6 foot high wearing a steel helmet, chainmail, steel arm plates and leg plates armed with a flail. It had two horns sticking out his for head in a “U” shape. It was covered in grey fur and had fang-like teeth. It also had a cute fluffy tail that could have been cuter if not for the fact that it was practically soaked in blood. It’s black, beady eyes scanned the area to find another victim to bite the head off. I remembered my study of monsters and realized it was a Gramash. They were the expendable yet strong fighting force of the B.D.C.D. They were the acronyms of the Black Deathly Claw of Darkness. Their leader was named Nadon. He had managed to win the evil throne in a fight to the death with the previous boss of B.D.C.D. Anyway, my priority was to get out of the castle and into the surrounding Forest of Secrecy. I knew there was a secret path that led to a meadow. Until further notice we could camp there and figure out another plan. However, that was going to have to wait until I got a weapon and got out of here. I ran to my desk and clambered under it. I then felt the wall and pulled out some stone bricks and grabbed my secret collection of weapons. I got my dagger and put it into my pocket. I also got out my quiver full of arrows and my bow and slung it on my back. I also took out my divining rod and my blowgun. They both got put in my pocket. Butler told me to follow him. I told Rio to follow me. He slithered towards me understanding the situation. I ran alongside Butler as he went up and down the stairs. He suddenly halted and ran to a statue. He opened the hand of the statue and pulled on the end of the rope. A secret door way appeared right behind the statue. He told me and Rio to go inside. I ran in (Rio had to squeeze a bit) and he followed. He then pulled a lever and the door closed. Butler then lit a match and threw it up at the wall. A fire suddenly whooshed down the hallway’s walls and there was light. I saw the passage around me. Every three meters there was a statue of a knight. The statues wielded a sword and a shield. Butler and I walked on until there was a huge circular room filled with big boxes. Like the hallway, every three meters there was a statue. In the middle of the room was a small fountain with sofa/bed thingies. Butler walked over to one of the boxes and grabbed out some weird tiny packaging the size of a box for shoes.
“Catch!”
I barley caught it but in the end I did. I asked
“What is this?”
“A new type of portable food; magic and technology mixed together. Pull the small tag when the Port-a-food is on a surface”
I did as he said. I placed one on the floor and pulled the tag. The product exploded open and out came a roast chicken feast complete with plates. We had a wonderful dinner. Rio enjoyed the meal as well. The food was fresh and still hot! Suddenly, a huge thud vibrated down the hallway. Another sounded from the exiting hall way on the opposite side.
“Gramash!”
Butler ran to a statue and grabbed a sword and told me to pack all the Port-a-food I could into a bag of some sort. Then, the thudding got louder and louder until there was a great big “BOOM” and the sound of heavy footsteps. The same noise came from the outside hallway. We were surrounded. The first few gramash ran into the room and made a perfect circle with a space between each. Then, the other gramash came in and filled in the space. Rio growled, flashing white gleaming teeth. The gramash opened a large space in the circle where the entrance hallway was. There was silence. Then, the noise of chainmail, heavy footsteps and a whirling flail broke the silence. The light revealed an eight foot tall gramash with bulging muscles completely clad in iron. His horns had steel covers on the tips. We were face to face with the Gramash Chief.
“Ha, ha-ha! Nadon sent us to destroy two puny humans and-whatever this is? He might as well send a swarm of flies! The tiny feet would have killed ‘em! Har-har-har!”
“You forget that each of your warriors is a coward” mocked Butler
“Cowards?! I’ll show you who’s a coward! Gramash, attack!”
The first few gramash roared as they were about to attack. I grabbed all the food I could get and put it in the opened package of the roast chicken. It looked weird how the bag didn’t swell despite how much food I put in. The gramash finally made their way around the boxes and attacked Butler. As one tried to land a blow, Butler stabbed the beast in the stomach. He pulled the sword up and cut the chest and head in half. I was amazed at the skill bursting out of Butler as he lopped off heads and stabbed the small areas where there was a chink in the armor. However, despite how many beasts he killed, more still came to try and kill him. Rio helped by clawing, biting, whacking and kicking. Then, after about an hour of killing these beasts, their numbers started to decline. Butler was beginning to get tired. I knew that he needed help. I grabbed my bow and an arrow and fired at the gramash. The arrow flew past all of the gramash and hit the wall. I tried another arrow. It managed to hit a gramash on the toe. I said in my head “third time’s the charm” and fired. The arrow whistled past the gramash, hit a curve, swiveled round on the curve, and hit the gramash leader in the eye. He screamed in pain and tried to pull out the arrow. He pulled out his eye in the process. This gave Butler a chance to finish him off. At the time, Butler was occupied killing the other gramash, so I tried to do it myself. I fired another arrow to blind the other eye. I realized that I didn’t need to do that because blood was gushing out. I had realized at the wrong moment and had already fired the arrow. The projectile hit his neck. He pulled that out too. He pulled out a chunk of blood-soaked muscle and veins. The great beast fell to the ground, with his eye staring into nothingness. Warm blood trickled on the floor. The other gramash looked at their fallen leader, then looked at me. They ran to him, picked him up, and ran away. The floor was covered in blood. Some parts were worse than others. I was horrified at the scene that Butler and I. After I picked up the magic bag, I told Rio that blood isn’t strawberry jam.
“We must get out of here before more gramash come to get us back for killing their leader”
He walked to the exiting hallway and told us to stay here. We obeyed and tried to get the blood away or got to a place where there was none. Eventually, Butler came back into the circular room and told us the coast was clear. Rio and I hopped around the blood puddles and landed next to Butler. He told us to follow him and so we did. As we walked on, we noticed a large hole in the middle of the hallway. This was probably where the gramash came in. Rio and I tiptoed around it and continued our mini-hike. Finally, we got to the light at the end of the tunnel. The light came from the top of a ladder, but at least it was light. I opened the trapdoor at the top of the ladder and came out of a bush. The castle was 100 meters away. Rio was next to come out. He took some time getting out, but in the end he broke through the dirt ceiling and shook off all the mud. Butler came out last with bits of mud here and there.
“I hope Rio doesn’t do that again unless on a horizontal terrain”
I laughed for a bit and then remembered our current situation. I looked at the castle. The windows had flames poking through them. What was left of the village was slowly burning into piles of ash. The dead bodies were piled up. All the babies were crying and being taken to a bonfire to slowly burn. The sanctuary of my home was slowly being destroyed. I knew that somewhere inside the horror and pain there was my family. They must be
“We must rescue my family!”
“It’s too late Lawrence, it’s too late!”
Butler grabbed me by the arm. I tried to break free. My eyes blurred as tears welled up.
“We must get them!”
“There is no way they could of survived without being woken up. We had the rooms block sound from the outside”
I broke free from Butler’s grasp. I started running to the castle.
I was too late.
The castle blew up in front of my very eyes.
Chapter 6:
The Unknown Author
That night I was restless. I had lost everything I ever loved – my home, my family, the village that comforted me in time of need. Without that, who was I? The only person I knew who knows me was Butler. He had taken care of me since I was born. I looked at the situation:
I have a dragon called Rio: Good
I have a person who knows me and cares for me: Good
My family, my home and my friends were gone: Really bad
I was sworn enemy to the gramash with no hope of ever getting them to change to the good side: Bad
I still had food and shelter: Good
This was equally good and bad. However, the third one conquered all other goods and bads. I stood up and walked to Rio silently. I accidentally stepped on a twig and it snapped. Rio opened a large yellow eye. I told him “It’s ok” and he shut his eyes and fell asleep. I lifted a droopy wing and put myself under it. He had a warm, toasty belly with a nice organic blanket/wing. I rested my head upon Rio’s scaly arm. Rio purred.
I woke up lying on the ground with Rio standing right above me staring expectantly. The moment I saw those eyes in focus I suddenly woke up, startled. I sat up and looked around. Butler was sitting on a rock doing something. I couldn’t see what he was doing because his back was to me. I stood up and walked to where Butler was. I looked at what he was doing. He was weaving something.
“What are you doing?”
“Weaving a saddle”
“We have no horses”
“This isn’t a horse saddle”
“What is it for?”
“Rio”
I stared at Rio proudly. He was going to have a saddle. I then thought of a problem.
“Butler?”
“Yes?”
“There’s a problem”
“What?”
“Rio continually grows whenever he’s fed. Look:”
I got out a breakfast Portafood and opened it. It was a steaming breakfast of eggs, tomatoes, toast and sausages. I grabbed the plate and threw the food at Rio one bit at a time. He ate all of it (apart from the tomato) and gulped it down. Rio did his thing and grew a bit more. He was now as big as a large hippopotamus. His horns were as big as my arm, his tail was about the size of a carriage, his head was the size of a chair and each individual claw was the size of my hand.
“I took that into consideration and made it out of sunlither”
“What’s that?”
“A plant that has evolved to the extreme”
“How so?”
“The plant adapts to its surroundings in order to survive. Under pressure or tension it becomes looser or tighter in order to live. It also never ages. It works especially well in the night, due to the fact that it absorbs moonlight”
“Impressive”
“It is! Alchemists are still trying to find the plants secrets!”
I looked at Rio again. He had an excited look in his eyes. I gave him one back. Another thing was now added to the list of things of good and bad things. I looked at Butler weaving again. He was doing a really complicated weave.
“This is the “Dagger’s Throat” weave. It is the tightest weave of all. If there were two armies trying to pull the weave apart, one at opposite ends, they would fail miserably. However, if someone would pull on the weave’s string at the part your doing, the entire thing falls apart. Literally. This is why I have hidden the end string in a place that only one chance in a million you would find it”
“I’ll keep that in mind”
“Here is the saddle, Lawrence”
Butler handed me the piece of work that took him two hours to make. I almost accidentally threw it in the air thinking that it would weigh something.
“Wow that thing is light!”
“Yes. I forgot to mention that sunlither weighs almost nothing”
I walked up to Rio and told him to stay still so I could put on the saddle. I placed the saddle on his back.
“Who said that?!” I turned around and saw no one but Butler “Did you hear that?”
“What?”
“That voice. It suddenly popped in my head!”
Rio smiled and there was a deep rumble in his chest
I looked at Rio in disbelief.
“That was you?! I didn't know that dragons could talk!”
“Like what?”
“Nice!”
“Is anything wrong, Lawrence? You haven’t moved a lot for two minutes!”
I gave Butler a wave and smiled. He gave a surprised look.
“You just spoke to me in my head!”
“How?”
It took me sometime to explain to Butler what dragons do and how they mind speak, but in the end he figured it out.
“So, what’s the plan, Lawrence?”
“Well, when Rio was still in his egg, I was trying to find out what the egg was; I found a book that told me all about it apart from what happens after a month of keeping it. That part was scratched out. However, I still remember the author’s name. I saw it on the book cover. The name was Riddleton G.”
“Riddleton G? I know that man! He was someone I gave mail to every once a month when I was a mail boy!”
“Really? Where does he live?”
“Really, really far away. In the town of Pintree”
“Pintree?! That’s several hundred miles away!”
“I know. Rio can only hold one person so we can’t use him to travel.
“That’s at his current size thought!”
“What are you implying, Lawrence?
I stood back. Rio flopped on the ground with the biggest full belly I had ever seen.
“Do your thing Rio!”
Rio started to glow. Then, his belly shrunk to normal size as the rest of Rio grew. His head was now the size of a table, his tail was ten meters long, his body was now the size of a juvenile blue whale, his horns was as long as my legs, his wingspan was well over twenty meters and each individual claw was the size of half my leg.
“I think that Rio is big enough for both of us to fly on”
“Butler, are you strapped on?”
“Yes Lawrence”
Rio started to run, and then got faster and faster. He then jumped, hopped and took off. As he started to ascend, the air got cooler and cooler.
Rio banked left at the turtle-shaped-cloud. The sun sank into the clouds a few minutes later. The darkness was petrifying. All that was heard was the beating of wings. This came to be the longest hour of my life.
Rio’s wings suddenly stopped beating and started gliding instead. In the distance, we could see lights of Pintree. Those small lights started getting closer and closer as Rio got lower and lower. Eventually, we landed in a garden on the corner of the city. I looked at the house number on the letter box at the side of the house.
I had a reason to ask that. The wood that made the house was dark and crooked. The roof’s tiles were either cracked or gone, and there was the horrible smell of snails. I opened the back door of the house. It creaked. Butler walked in and pulled a string hanging from the ceiling. The darkness was lit up by a single lamp. The first thing that I saw was horrible. The place was completely trashed and there was blood on the wall. The blood wasn’t on the wall like you would think. It spelt something. On the wall it spelt: “look out” with arrows pointing upward. I walked into the centre of the room. I turned around and saw the word “below”. Suddenly, the floor caved in and Butler and I fell down into the basement. I landed on my butt and Butler belly flopped onto the floor. I looked around and saw a man in rags with dirt on his face aiming a bow and arrow at me.
“State your business or I’ll fire!”
The aged man put down his bow and raised an eyebrow.
“Who are you?”
“Where is it?”
We clambered up to the floor above us and outside.
Rio suddenly landed in the middle of the backyard. He showed his lightning colored scales and flashed his large white teeth. His wings stretched open just to show who’s boss.
“I read your book while Rio was in his egg. I wanted to know how you got this information”
Riddleton closed his eyes and stood there silently for a minute.
“This is how I found out about what I like to call a dragon”
“Hey, I called Rio a dragon too…”
The rest of the sentence was cut off by the beating of wings. A feminine blue dragon landed right next to Rio. We all stared in wonder at the other dragon.
“This is how I knew about dragons. Lawrence, meet Lyra”
Suddenly, shadows lurched at us. Swift creatures flew around. Rio blew a column of fire at his surroundings. They were too quick. One hit Rio on his head and muzzled him. They did the same to Lyra. I tried to take the muzzles off the fallen dragons. I failed. The creatures were too quick. They knocked everyone else unconscious. I was next. I stared around and tried to get an object to protect myself with. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and blacked out.
Chapter 7:
Escaping Death
I woke up on a cold slab of wet stone. I tried to get up. I found that I was strapped down to the stone with large leather straps. I looked around. Rio and Lyra were several meters to my right. Butler and Riddleton were on my left. They were both still knocked out cold. I looked up. Everything was made of cold, wet stone. I heard footsteps. They were of quickened pace. I look up and saw Nadon. However, this was not a male’s face. It was a familiar face. So familiar that it couldn’t have been true. I was face to face with Selina Gibbson, my mother.
“Mother?”
“Yes child, I am your mother. I am Nadon”
“Why mother, why?”
“Because agreeing with your father and being powerless was all so boring”
“So you killed thousands of people, took the place of a helpless mother, had a secret identity of a mass murderer and the fugitive of the law just so you weren’t bored?”
“Yes, and it was all so fun!
I looked at this mad woman with a thirst for power who had supposedly given birth to me and raised me. I was horrified.
“Who are you?”
“Your mother!”
“No you’re not! My mother is kind and helpful. You are a stranger to me!”
“Shut up! Shut up! All this blather is wearing me down! Kill these prisoners and dissect these creatures!”
“Mother, you don’t have to do this!”
“Goodbye, son of none. You are not the one I should have gotten here. Pity your sister is dead. She would have been an excellent heir.”
I cried as my mother walked away from me and left me for the dead. I had loved and lost for her and she just threw me away like trash. The room emptied again. As my tears dried, I spoke to Rio who was waking up.
Rio coughed up a spark that flew onto my wrist. The spark immediately burned the strap. I got the other strap undone with my free hand. I then undid the leg straps. I ran over to Rio and undid the three layers of leather. Rio did the rest.
Rio nodded. I ran over to Butler and Riddleton and undid the straps. I woke them up by slapping their faces softly.
“What’s going on?”
They stood up and we all ran for the door. It wouldn’t open.
Rio took a lung full of air and burned down the door.
“You had to use fire, didn’t you?” said Butler
“It ignited the alcohol barrel over there!”
We all looked to where Butler was pointing. There in the corner past the door was a burning barrel.
“Run past quickly!”
Everyone ran past the barrel as quick as they could. Rio burst through the small door with Lyra following. They got out just as the barrel burst and the burning liquid oozed everywhere. The flame caught the wooden support columns and slowly burned everything else. Apparently one of the gramash had used alcohol as a rat repellant and put it all over the support columns because they lit up like a matchstick. The fire slowly caught up to us as we ran down the hallway. Eventually, we started seeing innocent people locked up in cells as we ran through the dungeon. We had to keep moving but we couldn’t leave them behind. Rio understood what had to be done and started ripping holes in the cell doors as he ran. This slowed us down a tiny bit but it was for the good. We finally got to a staircase after ten minutes of running. The fire was already way ahead of us and was starting to burn curtains, doors and carpets. At the top of the stairs we told the prisoners to meet us outside and let them go. They all ran to the exits. By the time everyone else had gone, the evil fort was starting to collapse. Pebbles and stones were starting to fall. We all ran to the large doors that stood fifty meters away. The roof started caving in as the supports burned to ash. Rio and Lyra were already way ahead. Butler was running for his life. Riddle ton was slowing down behind me. I couldn’t just run away from him like my mother did to me. I ran towards him and put his arm around neck and ran as fast as I could. The others were telling me to hurry. The ceiling above me collapsed Riddleton got his arm and shoved me away.
“Go on without me!”
The rocks and boulders fell all over Riddleton’s slightly frail body.
“Riddleton! NO!”
I shoved aside rocks and debris to reveal Riddleton’s face.
“Go on without me. Take care of Lyra. In time of self defense, use this”
He lifted his hand from the rubble and gave me a blue and yellow blob. It formed into a handle, then one end grew long and sharp. It transformed into a gold and blue dagger.
“That is the weapon that will best suit you. When you are older it will change, depending on what you will be. Bye bye for now…”
The mysterious man died. I ran out of the building before any more rubble fell. We all ran out of the way of the fort. We looked at the fort burn after we caught up with the innocent prisoners. At the top of the tallest spire there was Nadon. She jumped off the back of the spire and into the burning fort. Five seconds later it collapsed. The crowd behind me cheered. After the cheer, I shouted:
“Everyone! May I please have your attention? Thank you. Now as you all know, Nadon has just been defeated. However, there is still something we need to do to add to the celebration: make a small shelter temporary shelter. Why should we do this you may ask? Because Nadon has destroyed many villages and cities. My plan is to make a civilization bigger than all the destroyed ones combined! Now, while my dragons and I do all the party making, you make yourselves shelters so that we can celebrate this tremendous occasion: the day good was brought to the land!
The crowd cheered. After the cheer they all went to make their shelters while Rio, Lyra and I built a bonfire, made wine and food. Due to the fact that there were three of us, we did the job quickly
As the villagers partied, I sat on a rock looking at the sun slowly rising into the sky. I laid back against Rio who was entertaining Lyra.
“Nice speech you gave there”
I turned around to see my sister sitting at the corner of the rock.
“Roslyan!”
I stood up and hugged her.
“How did you survive the castle exploding?”
“Well, I went outside when I discovered that you were outside. Then, you disappeared from your campsite back inside with your dragon there. I was going to go inside but then the castle blew up. I found you in the Forest of Secrecy again. I saw that you were sad so I didn’t annoy you. The next day, I woke up with you just about to take off on your dragon so at the last second I jumped on your dragon’s tail. Then, I hid behind the fence at Riddleton’s house. When you were kidnapped I held onto the crate that they transported you with. I got off at the woods here and waited ever since.”
I hugged her one more time then took her to the party so we could get some food. After the party, we sat on the rock again and looked at the sun setting. I looked at my list of things that happened:
Escaped death: Good
Destroyed the forces of evil: Good
Helped tons of people: Good
Became a sort of king: Good
Gotten sister again: Good
Not one thing on the list was bad. I was happy again. I had a home, friends, and family. The void was filled. I had just about everything I ever wanted right in front of me. From that point on, life was great. Really great.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Joey the Marshmallow
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be a marsh mallow in a supermarket?
Here's a small story of the life of one:
Have you ever felt like a pillow? White, soft and mushy? I do all the time! I was born soft and mushy in a giant compressing machine and then I was put into a bag with other “marshmallows”-a hoomin name-and they became good friends. However, that was then. Now, I live a boring life looking at hoomins. One time, a fat, stubby kid came up to me, but then saw our enemies-the gummy bears. Anywho, today I’m looking at the Twix Girls-row! They are HOT! I’m thinking to write to them and see if they want to go to the “OTHER ISLE” to watch the toilet paper. Sometimes they even have bears on them so we can do graffiti.
Day one:
I stared out the bag that held me prisoner, looking at the Twix Girls flirt from the opposite side. Suddenly, the bag shook and a kid with a handkerchief around his neck and a satch grabbed us off the shelf and threw us into a basket. I face planted some cream crackers and barbeque sticks. Barbeque sticks said he’d kill me for no reason. Then, the basket shook and I saw a bright light AKA the sun.
One hour later, the bright light ceased and a fake bright hot light was lit. A giant pancake with five sausages on it grabbed the crackers and barbeque sticks and skewered the cracker. I was next and the barbeque sticks went right through me. Then, the grubby hand reached inside the basket and pulled out a TWIX! She was amazing! As she slid down the skewer, I said “Chocolate, we go so well togeth-urg!”
Hope you liked the story
Here's a small story of the life of one:
Have you ever felt like a pillow? White, soft and mushy? I do all the time! I was born soft and mushy in a giant compressing machine and then I was put into a bag with other “marshmallows”-a hoomin name-and they became good friends. However, that was then. Now, I live a boring life looking at hoomins. One time, a fat, stubby kid came up to me, but then saw our enemies-the gummy bears. Anywho, today I’m looking at the Twix Girls-row! They are HOT! I’m thinking to write to them and see if they want to go to the “OTHER ISLE” to watch the toilet paper. Sometimes they even have bears on them so we can do graffiti.
Day one:
I stared out the bag that held me prisoner, looking at the Twix Girls flirt from the opposite side. Suddenly, the bag shook and a kid with a handkerchief around his neck and a satch grabbed us off the shelf and threw us into a basket. I face planted some cream crackers and barbeque sticks. Barbeque sticks said he’d kill me for no reason. Then, the basket shook and I saw a bright light AKA the sun.
One hour later, the bright light ceased and a fake bright hot light was lit. A giant pancake with five sausages on it grabbed the crackers and barbeque sticks and skewered the cracker. I was next and the barbeque sticks went right through me. Then, the grubby hand reached inside the basket and pulled out a TWIX! She was amazing! As she slid down the skewer, I said “Chocolate, we go so well togeth-urg!”
Hope you liked the story
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Monday, November 22, 2010
My glog on blog for english (thats a mouthful!)
http://123xander123.glogster.com/glog-shmbas/
If this link won't work, i can't post anything at my apartment
If this link won't work, i can't post anything at my apartment
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