Young Writers Society

This story is one that I wrote because I have a deep interest in writing for children. The age range is like 6-10. It is a fantasy chapter book and about 6500 words long. I need this to be attacked. Be brutal. Be mean. Forget everything about common courtesy. Tear it apart. Call out everything you didn't like. Don't even bother telling me what I did right (unless you want to). This needs to be nothing but a pile of broken dreams so that I can go back and fix it. And then do this again. Seriously, take no prisoners.

Chapter One

At the top of Mount Gernwich, there is a dragon. It is said that it is a ferocious beast. When I’m older, I’m going to slay it. My St. Bernard, Sir William Frederick Hansel the Third is going to come with me. We’re going to be heroes like the knights from the olden days. And, I, Crown Prince Derek, will be a legend.

On the day of my twelfth birthday I told my parents my plan. I was going to hike all the way up Mount Gernwich and slay the dragon. Even though no one had ever come back, I wasn’t scared to go. But my parents were scared to death. My father got this worried look on his face.

“Son, you are a Prince. You shouldn’t slay dragons. You can’t risk your life like that. You are supposed to be an example to the people.” He said. He was staying calm even though I knew my words had upset him. He looked worried for me and gently tried to persuade me to let go of my fantasy.

“What about the quest a boy must do to prove that he is a man?” I asked, trying my hardest to convince my parents that I could do it.

“That tradition lost its meaning long ago. Boys no longer have to complete a quest. The ones that complete a quest just do it because they want to have fun.” My father said, shaking his head, “There is no need to actually go on a noble quest.” He looked at me and it was clear that he would not give his approval, because it meant letting his only son risk his life.

“I don’t care. I will slay the dragon.” I said, thrusting my jaw forward.

“No you won’t.” He said, making his point clear with the tone of his voice.

“What good is it to be a prince if I can’t do what I want?” I said as I turned and ran from him. At first I went into the gardens and to practice with my sword. I grabbed an old sword that I hadn’t used in a long time and began to hit a target. I found that I bored quickly of practicing, which was unusual. I usually loved having a sword in my hand, but it just wasn’t enjoyable. I walked to the stables and sat in one of the stalls that were kept empty. Willy Hansel followed me there and sat next to me. The horses smelled really bad, but I didn’t really care. The servants would wash my clothes later if they started to smell bad too.

“Excuse me.” A girl my age said. I looked up and saw that she was the complete opposite of me. I had short black hair; she had long, flowing golden hair. I had green eyes, she had brown. I was tall for my age, and she was kind of short. I stood up and glared down at her.

“Don’t you know not to address the Prince?” I growled at her. She looked up and her polite smile turned into a disapproving frown. She took a step away from me.

“I’m not a servant. As far as I’m concerned, we are equals.” She turned her head up and looked me in the eyes with a look that almost said ‘I’m better than you’. She squealed when she saw Willy Hansel and bent down to pet him.

“Equals? The only way we could be equals is if you were a princess.” I said as I looked down at her. I didn’t like that she was petting my dog. She was wearing clothes that a princess might wear, but she could have stolen them or something. She stood up silently after I mentioned her being a Princess.

“I am. I am Princess Sierra Isabel Umberland. And I can probably guess who you are. Prince Derek Henry Anderson.” She looked at me with satisfaction, glad that she had proved me wrong. I had to believe her because only a fool would lie to royal.

“My father did not mention that you were coming, Princess Sierra. What country do you come from?” I saw that a few feet away, two guards were standing watch, keeping a very close eye on the Princess.

“My family comes from Brightwyn.” She said it with pride, and I could understand why. Brightwyn was not good for trading, but had large armies and a few gold mines that had supplied Brightwyn with all the wealth it needed. The country was very successful. But it needed trade because the only thing it seemed to produce was peaches and other kinds of fruit.

“And what brings you to my country of Pryholt?” I asked. She laughed and turned away from me.

“You’ll have to ask your father about that.” She laughed. I stared as she walked away, guards following close behind. She walked into the castle and left me standing alone with Willy Hansel in the stables.

“She doesn’t really act like a Princess.” I told Willy Hansel. He barked at me and we walked slowly back to the castle. I found it funny that she didn’t act like a Princess. Most girls took the title much too seriously.

Chapter Two

When I got back to the castle, I climbed my way the third floor. I noticed that my mother was talking to another lady. I guessed that it was Sierra’s mother. I hadn’t seen Sierra since she left the stables, but in order to get to the third floor you had to go all through the castle. I had made the trip through the castle and there was no sign of Sierra. I approached my mother and she stopped talking to the lady for a moment. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Hello Mother.” I said before my eyes wandered to the woman she was talking to. She looked like an older version of Sierra. I knew that she had to be Sierra’s mother, making her also the Queen of Brightwyn.

“Derek, this is Queen Fawn. She comes from Brightwyn.” My mother said. I offered a slight bow to her.

“What a pleasure to meet you, Queen Fawn.” I said. She laughed briefly and turned back to my mother.

“Why, Natasha, I had no idea your son was already such a gentleman.” She turned back to me, “It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Derek. I wish that you could meet my daughter. But she has run off again.” She looked disappointed and embarrassed because of Sierra. I felt bad that she didn’t know that we had already met.

“I believe I have already met her. I was in the stables and she was there as well, taking care of her horse. Princess Sierra is very kind.” I said, trying to act grown up. I could imagine myself at my coronation, being the perfect gentleman and Prince everyone wanted me to be.

“She was in the stables you say?” Queen Fawn said, the interest in her voice growing with every word.

“Yes she was. But I’m afraid she left and I did not see where she was going.” As the words left my mouth, I saw Sierra coming around a corner at the end of the hallway. She looked like she had mud on her dress and shoes. Queen Fawn and my mother did not see because she was behind them, but they did see the odd look on my face.

“What is the matter, Derek?” My mother asked. I looked at her and Sierra snuck into the last room on the right side of the hallway, which happened to be mine.

“I’m afraid I became distracted. I’m suddenly not feeling well. I think I will go lie down.” I lied. I walked past the women and walked into my room. Sierra was sitting at the edge of my large bed.

“What are you doing in here, Prince Derek?” She asked. She was angry and I could tell.

“This happens to be my suite, Sierra.” I said. I began pulling off my leather boots to make my point. She watched in disgust.

“That cannot be true. The guard outside said that this room belonged to me.” She said in annoyance, “The last room on the left side.”

“This is the last room on the right side.” I said. She looked shocked for a second and then looked around. My eyes followed where her eyes went. The right side of the room was occupied by my desk, my hunting gear, and any other thing I might need in my ordinary daily activities. The left held my bed, and a door which led to my wardrobe.

“Well it appears I have made a mistake.” She said, her anger replaced by embarrassment. She stood and cracked the door open, but quickly closed it again. “I can’t go out there, Derek. My mother will see me and have a fit.”

“Could that have anything to do with the fact that you’re covered in mud?” I asked, laughing at her unkempt appearance. She turned to face me and the hurt was obvious in her eyes.

“I’m not covered in mud. I only have a little on my shoes and the hem of my dress.” She walked away from the door and sat back on the end of my bed. I stared at her in confusion and annoyance. She looked at me as if to say ‘Don’t make me go out there and face my mother’. I sighed and sat at my desk. I pulled out a few reports on the trade my father had told me to study. I began filling in numbers where it was needed. It seemed like minutes, but by the time I had finished, I had had to light a candle because it was dark out. I turned back to Sierra to tell her to go to her own room. I found her asleep at the edge of my bed. As I walked over to the edge of my bed, I saw she was sleeping soundly, and picked her up. I carried her from my room to hers, placing her on her bed. I left her like that, still wondering why she was covered in mud.

Chapter Three

When I woke the next morning, the sun was barely peaking above Mount Gernwich. I sat up slowly and was greeted with a series of licks from Willy Hansel. As I dressed for the day I remembered that Sierra and her family had come to visit. I tried extra hard to look presentable and practiced being a gentleman. As I emerged, I was met by a servant. He bowed low and handed me a slip of paper. I glanced down at the paper and waved away the servant. The paper read:

Derek,

Princess Sierra has requested that you join her in the gardens for breakfast at half past nine. Your father and I have been called out on very important business with the Prime Minister. We will be back before the close of the week.

Your Mother, Queen Natasha

I sighed and glanced across the hall at Sierra’s room. I had never asked my father why she was here, and I would not get the chance for three more days. I noticed that it was nine, and decided to head towards the gardens. The gardens were large and open, covered in cobblestone paths and hedges, along with many flowers and trees. I walked towards a gazebo near the center of the gardens. There were trees surrounding the structure, with flowers at the base of each tree. I climbed into a tree near the front of the gazebo and sat hidden by its branches. As I sat, I noticed the Sierra was walking toward me on the path. I watched as she walked to the table sitting under the gazebo. She turned in a full circle looking for something, probably me. A servant brought out some fruit. I cleared my throat and Sierra whipped around to face me. I laughed as I jumped from the tree.

“Oh Derek, you scared me.” She cried as she grabbed an apple and threw it at me.I caught it and laughed before I took a big bite out of the apple. She sat down at the table and poured a bit of cream into a tea cup.

“Why did you want to have breakfast with me anyway?” I asked as I sat down. I grabbed a piece of bread and lightly buttered it. As I bit into it, Sierra looked at me and blushed.

“Well I didn’t want to eat alone. My mother went back to Brightwyn today.” She admitted. I was surprised and I’m sure that it showed on my face. Sierra blushed again.

“Why would she leave you here?” I asked, my voice rising slightly.

“She said that every summer I am supposed to come here to make sure that Brightwyn and Pryholt stay allies.” Sierra stared at her food, “I just don’t want to stay here. There isn’t anything for me to do.” She looked at the blue sky and then looked back at me. I understood how she felt. There wasn’t anything to do that was fun for a twelve year old.

“Well I don’t know. There really isn’t anything to do here, especially for a girl.” I said. I wasn’t happy that she was staying. I didn’t want to be her friend, but I had to admit it was lonely being an only child. We sat in silence for a moment. “Why were you covered in dirt last night?” I asked, out of the blue. She blushed again. She seemed to do that a lot.

“Maybe I will tell you later. But for now, I want to know what we can do for fun.” She said. She looked at her food and bit her lip. It was obvious that she was deep in thought. I thought for a moment as well. My thoughts wandered to what my father had said the night before.

“I think I know what we can do.” I said quietly, a grin sneaking onto my face. I knew I looked mysterious, and I liked it. With my parents gone, I could do anything I wanted.

“And what do you have in mind?” She laughed and stood up. I stood and walked to the pathway back to the castle.

“I can’t tell you that yet.” I shook my head, “Meet me back here in two hours. I’ll bring everything we need.” I said before I jogged back to the castle. I guess I was going to go to Mount Gernwich after all.

Chapter Four

Throwing three blankets into a large bag, I smiled to myself. I wouldn’t have to wait to slay the dragon! I laughed as I gathered a set of spare clothes and called to a servant. I continued to gather hunting supplies as the servant walked in. I almost didn’t notice her.

“Ah!” I exclaimed, “Could you gather three servant dresses that would fit Princess Sierra? Don’t ask questions and don’t tell anyone.” I commanded. She nodded quickly in my direction. She ran from the room without uttering a word. I realized that I had enough supplies and ran from my room to kitchen. A bag of apples and pears sat in the corner and I swooped up the fruit in one swift motion. I almost forgot the dresses for Sierra until the servant ran after me in the kitchen. She held out the wrapped up packages and left once I grabbed them.

Once I got to the gazebo, I realized that I was ten minutes late. I began calling out for Sierra. She was nowhere in sight.

“Sierra, are you here?” I called. I didn’t see her until I heard a branch snap in the tree next to me.

“Of course I’m here. I was in plain sight.” She joked. She jumped from the tree with an unladylike pounce. ‘She does not act like a princess’ I thought. I laughed as she landed and she did too. “So what’s the plan?” She asked. It was obvious that she was eager to get going.

“I guess you are just going to have to trust me, because I won’t tell you.” I said turning my back to her and walking away, “But we’ll be back before my parents return.” As if that made it okay. I could feel the weight of my heavy sword. It was making a huge difference in how fast I walked. I was not thrilled with the delay.

“Really, Derek, just tell me. I’m not just going to walk off with you without knowing where we are going.” She said, tagging along beside me. She was struggling to keep up with my longer strides and fast pace.I slowed slightly.

“We’re going to Gernwich.” I said, expecting that she would have a meltdown.

“Like the mountain with the dragon that lives at the peak?” Her eyes went wide. I couldn’t tell if it was from fear or amazement. I nodded briskly and continued walking. She followed me and in less than an hour we were in the woods. I could tell that Sierra was frightened. She would jump every time a twig snapped. I laughed to myself. ‘Girl’s don’t know how to have fun’ I thought.

“You did bring food, didn’t you?” Sierra asked after a few minutes of silence. She was already looking tired, but if we were going to make it to the peak and back before my parents returned, we would have to hurry.

“Yes I brought food. And if we run out, I can always go hunting.” I said back to her. She relaxed a little but looked a little confused.

“Don’t go hunting. Those poor innocent creatures don’t have to be our food.” She protested. I could see that she felt strongly about this. I sighed and agreed. She smiled and looked proud of herself. I muttered to myself about how she was going to be a pest the entire trip, but she didn’t seem to hear me. She went along talking about how amazing it was to be on an adventure.

Chapter Five

As the sun began to set, she practically begged me to stop for the night.

“Derek, we will get to the peak by afternoon tomorrow. We can slay the dragon that night and stay in his cave. Then we can go home. It will be quicker going downhill.” She sat down on a fallen log and stared at me.

“We can’t risk being late.” I argued, “I want to sleep too, but we have to get there soon.” She stared at me for a moment longer and then sighed loudly.

“I’m tired and hungry, but if you need to keep going, I guess that I will just have to deal with it.” She said. She did look tired and she was dirty. I smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet.

“We will stop when we find another place to camp.” I said, and I took off through the woods, leaving her to keep up with me. As I walked, I noticed that Sierra wasn’t near me anymore. I couldn’t see her at all. I sat on a rock and waited. I waited for a long time. It was long past dark and I became worried. I didn’t want to admit that I was scared. I got up and wandered away from where I was sitting.

“Sierra, are you out there?” I called, “Sierra, come on. This isn’t funny!” As I walked back to the camp, I had an idea. She would never find him in the dark. I bent down and cleared away all of the plants and rocks until there was a large circle of dirt. I rubbed two sticks together furiously until I was exhausted. Then I realized what I was doing wrong. I put a small pile of dry weeds in the center of my circle of dirt and then surrounded it with a bunch of small twigs. I got two sharp rocks and began striking them together. After a few strikes a spark flew and landed in the pile of weeds. The dry grass lit immediately and a small fire grew. I put more twigs and weeds around the flame until the fire grew to a reasonable size. I sat alone next to the fire for a few minutes and thought about my little quest.

I heard a wolf cry in the distance and curled up into a tight ball. I sat thinking about Sierra, hoping that she was okay. My parents would have killed me if I let her die. I knew I would be grounded if they found out that I had left anyways.

Suddenly, I heard a branch snap a few yards away from my camp. I jumped to my feet and grabbed my sword, which I had kept at my side since the sun went down. “Who goes there?” I called into the distance. Sierra stepped into the light of my fire, looking tired and even dirtier than before.

“Oh don’t be so ridiculous. It’s just me.” Sierra said. She stepped closer to me and I panicked inside. Was she going to hug me? My fears were gone when she punched me in the shoulder really hard. “How could you leave me like that?” She yelled. I grabbed my shoulder. She had punched me really hard.

“That wasn’t very ladylike.” I said, as I winced from the pain. She looked at me with her eyes full of anger. “I’m sorry I left you.” I apologized, “I thought you were right behind me. Honest, I did,”

“Still, you shouldn’t have gone so fast.” She turned away from me, “Where is the food at?” I laughed. She knew what she wanted. She had gotten right down to business.

“It’s in that brown sack over there.” I said, pointing with my uninjured arm. I was sure that a bruise would appear from her hit. She tossed me a pear and I cleaned it off on my shirt. As I took a bite, she pulled out an apple for herself. We sat in silence for a while, munching on our pieces of fruit. Sierra fell asleep quickly, resting her head on a rock. I climbed into a nearby tree that’s branched wove together low to the ground, practically making a hammock. I stared at the large stars for a while before I closed my eyes and fell asleep listening to the crickets.

Chapter Six

I awoke to something fat standing on top of me. I opened my eyes to see Willy Hansel. He had followed me and Sierra all through the woods! I climbed down from my tree and Willy Hansel jumped down. I knelt next to the big dog and scratched his ears.

“What are you even doing here?” I asked the dog. He barked in return. “I know I should have brought you along but you shouldn’t have come you silly dog.” I stood and turned to face Sierra. She was already awake and eating a pear. She saw me walk towards her and promptly threw a piece of fruit at me.

“Look what I found at the bottom of the sack!” She said as she threw it, “Oh and sorry I didn’t wake you when your dog got here. You were still asleep.” I caught the fuzzy peach in my hand and stared at it. I hadn’t noticed the peach in the sack either. I split the peach open in my bare hands and pulled out the pit. I let my teeth sink into the soft fruit, enjoying how the juice slid down my chin. It tasted better than any peach I had ever tasted. Peaches were rare in Pryholt and each one was a treat. I knew why Sierra had given it to me. Brightwyn had a lot of peach orchards, but they couldn’t be traded because of how long traveling took. The fruit was always rotten by the time it got to Pryholt except for a few that miraculously survived.

“Thanks for the peach.” I mumbled, even though my mouth was full of the fruit. She laughed and slapped me on the arm. I cringed because she slapped me right where my bruise was starting to form.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” She said happily. She paused for a moment and then turned back to me. “You’re welcome.” She finally said.

“We had better get going before we waste the day away.” I said, “As it turns out, we travelled a lot farther yesterday that I thought we had. We will be at the peak by midday.” I grabbed all of our gear and walked up the mountain. The peak was blocked by trees, but I could almost see the cave entrance. The rocks were slick and there was moss on the ground. That had to mean that there was a stream nearby.

“Derek, I’m thirsty.” Sierra said. It was as if she read my mind. I turned around to face her.

“There has to be a stream nearby. Let’s go look for it. And try to be quiet. You might hear it before you see it.” I said. I looked for more moss and followed how think it was. Soon enough, we found the stream and Willy Hansel walked down to where he could jump into the stream to wet his dirty paws. Sierra began slurping water from her hands. Again, she wasn’t acting like a Princess. She turned and caught me staring at her.

“What?” She said. There was no humor or sarcasm to her voice. It sounded kind of strange.

“You just don’t act like a Princess, that’s all.” I said. I sat on the bank and slurped some water along with her. Sierra stared at me for a moment and then sighed.

“I know I don’t act like a Princess. But there was never a need to until now. I have an older sister and brother. My brother is nearly fifteen and my sister is eighteen. She married into another throne so that made my brother the Crown Prince. I didn’t have any duties because I was just the third child. My parents taught me, but never enforced what I learned until a few months ago.” I nodded at her confession.

“That makes sense.” I said, even though it really didn’t. We walked all the way to the peak in silence until we reached the cave. We saw that the rocks were burned black and that there were abandoned pieces of knight’s armor lying all around. Willy Hansel found a bone on the ground and began chewing on it. I didn’t want to know what kind of bone it was. I thought to myself ‘Where did the knights go’?

Chapter Seven

“So…” Sierra said, “Are we going to go in?” She looked at me with some fear in her eyes. I shrugged and looked at the ground. Willy Hansel was puttering around the cave entrance, occasionally walking over for a quick scratch behind the ears.

“We can’t just go home. Can you imagine how foolish we would look?” I said. I was mostly thinking of myself. I couldn’t tell my father that I had failed. He would never accept me then.

“Well then let’s go in.” Sierra said, “I don’t want to waste away the day just sitting around. How terribly boring would that be?” She stood and walked to the mouth of the cave. Willy Hansel followed after. She turned around and waved me over to her. I stood and walked to the entrance of the cave. I could feel the fear in my stomach growing. But I needed to be brave. I was supposed to slay the dragon.

“Alright, stay behind me, Sierra.” I commanded. I drew my sword and walked into the cave. The rock was black and red and there was hardly enough room for both of us to stand side by side. We walked for a few minutes, always on guard. We came to a fork in the cave. The paths had no visible end.

“We could split up…” I suggested. Sierra looked at me with surprise. Willy Hansel wandered ahead and I stared after him.

“I’ll go get Willy Hansel and you can go on the left side.” Sierra said. She hurried after Willy Hansel and left me alone. I took a deep breath and started down the deep tunnel. It got warmer the deeper I went. Soon I went into a large, empty room. In the back was a large rock that was such a dark purple that it was almost black. I looked around and in the corner Sierra was huddled with Willy Hansel.

“Sierra!” I exclaimed. I walked over to her and she put a finger to her lips.

“Don’t make any noise.” She barely whispered, “That rock…. Isn’t a rock.” Her voice shook slightly.

“What on earth do you mean?” I said, lowering my voice slightly. She looked over at the rock and shook her head.

“That isn’t a rock… it’s a… it’s a…” I turned as the room shook violently. The rock stood up and stretched out its long, long neck. Its eyes were red and its teeth were white as pearls.

“It’s a dragon!” I screamed. The dragon sat up and stared at Sierra and I. It opened its large mouth and… laughed. It laughed. It was a low smooth laugh that could chill you to the bones.

“Why, children, this is a surprise.” The dragon sounded like a girl, “It’s been so long since I have had visitors.” Black smoke started swirling around the dragon like a snake. It covered the whole dragon and then faded away. The dragon was gone, and in its place was a woman. She had raven black hair and was wearing a purple dress. She was the human form of the dragon.

I held out my sword, “Who are you?” My voice shook and I could feel the sweat running down my face. She smiled and laughed again.

“I am Elaina.” She said, “And you must be Prince Derek. Your reputation proves to be accurate.” She taunted.

“What reputation?” I countered. Sierra and Willy Hansel sat in the corner, not moving and not making a sound.

“Why, your reputation of being foolish and reckless. You never could be the Prince your father wanted you to be, could you?” Her face twisted into a smile, “And you, must be Princess Sierra. I hear that you are worse than he is.” A sudden anger filled me. She could insult me all she wanted but she couldn’t insult my friends.

“There is one thing you seem to have left out.” I said to her, my voice no longer shaking, but filled with power, “I also have a reputation of being excellent with a sword.” I had spent many hours with a sword in my hand, attempting to become one day better than my father. I was far more skilled than any other boy within three years of my age. At the mention of a sword, Elaina’s smile vanished.

“Is that a challenge?” She asked, her features becoming venomous with anger, “Let’s see how good you really are, Derek.” A sword appeared in her hand. She held it with confidence. I lifted my own blade, ready for her attack. She lunged at me and I deflected her blade.

“Derek!” Sierra cried, “Be careful.” Elaina turned towards her and waved her hand. A gag appeared on Sierra and a rope tied her hands together.

“Do not interfere.” She commanded. With her slightly distracted, I took the opportunity to lunge at her and hit her sword hard. She gasped loudly and it sounded like a shriek. She was off balance and I continued to hit her sword with mine, each blow becoming harder. She tried to make a few good hits, but each one was unsuccessful.

“Give up, Elaina!” I shouted at her. She snarled back, but didn’t say any words. We continued to duel for several minutes. I was beginning to get tired. Each swing took more effort and I could barely stand the heat in the cave. Elaina could tell and was beginning to make more difficult moves.

Finally, I put all of my strength into one more hit. As the blades struck, her sword went flying into the air. I ran to catch it and barely grabbed the hilt of the sword. I turned to Elaina and she fell to her knees. She looked bitter and tired of the long fight.

Chapter Eight

“No one has beaten me in a sword fight in at least thirty years.” She growled, with a short laugh, “I guess my age is catching up with me. Go ahead. Take me. I can be your prize.” I stared down at her and felt a rush of pity. She hadn’t chosen this life. She had been born into it.

“No,” I said, Elaina looked surprised, “I will let you go, but you must promise me something.” She looked at me with doubt in her eyes. She didn’t believe me. I made a show of taking her sword and throwing it a few feet in front of her.

“What do you want then, Prince Derek?” She practically spat the words at me. I glanced over to see Sierra still tied up. I had forgotten that she was there.

“Well, first, I want you to let her go.” I pointed to Sierra. Elaina rolled her eyes and flipped her hand toward Sierra again. Sierra was lifted off her feet and the ropes were removed. She even had on a new dress and wasn’t dirty anymore. Elaina had gone a little overboard, and I didn’t know if it was to spite me or because she was grateful. “And, you have to promise that you will help us whenever we come to you.” I said. I knew I was asking a little much, but I had to make sure she was on our side.

“Three. I will only help you three times.” She challenged me with her tone of voice. I nodded at her proposal.

“Fine, you will help us three times. But it will only count if we ask for it.” I agreed. She didn’t say anything back, so I assumed that she agreed to the terms I had set. I lowered my sword and stared at her. “Included in that is that you don’t hurt us or whoever is with us.” Sierra gave me a weird look and I shrugged. I needed to be prepared in case we brought someone else up to Elaina.

“Fine, oh Prince.” Elaina mocked, “But that’s it. I don’t owe you anything after you three times of help.” She said. She stood up and walked back to the corner of the room. Smoke surrounded her once again and she turned back into a dragon. My eyes became wide when I remembered her true form.

“You could have killed me, and yet you didn’t. You could have turned into dragon. Why didn’t you?” I asked her. Her large, majestic body turned back towards me.

“Let’s just say that I know what you are destined for.” She said. She curled up into a ball, disguising herself as a rock once again. I turned to Sierra who was already almost out the door with Willy Hansel.

“Are you ready to go, oh Prince?” She said. I nodded and jogged over to her and Willy Hansel. Her words were meant to be light but her tone was heavy with exhaustion. We walked out of the cave and were surprised to be met with a small group of soldiers, including my personal guard, Rolland.

“Prince Derek!” He shouted. I extended my hand and he shook it firmly.

“Hello, Rolland, it’s good to see you. What brings you up to the top of this fine mountain?” I joked, knowing fully well what he was doing on the mountain.

“We were looking for you, Prince Derek, and the young Princess.” He bowed to Sierra and then turned back to me. “How did you survive the dragon?”

“It was a close call, Rolland. Maybe I’ll tell you about it sometime.” He knew that it was my way of saying that I didn’t wish to speak of the dragon. At least not right then. He nodded and turned to his horse once again. As we walked back to the castle grounds, it was nearly silent, except for one of the newer guard asking me annoying questions. By the time we finally made it back to the castle, no one was talking and everyone was extremely tired.

Chapter Nine

When we reached the gazebo in the center of the garden, Sierra and I sat down. The guards all walked back to the castle, which I thought was ridiculous because we had just returned from running away to slay a dragon. I turned to Sierra.

“So was that an adventure or what?” I said to her. She laughed and nodded at me.

“That was definitely the best adventure I’ve had.” She admitted. Willy Hansel barked in agreement and started jumping around us. I wondered how he even had the energy to do such a thing. We laughed at his energy and walked back to the castle. As we walked I turned to her.

“You never told me why you were covered in mud that first night.” I said unexpectedly. She looked at me and laughed.

“I was walking along the edge of the forest and stepped into a mud puddle. I was thinking about running into the forest and never coming back, but now that I’ve been in the woods, I’m glad I didn’t.” She answered. She smiled and we laughed. As we entered the castle, we saw my mother and father. My mother and us and did something totally unexpected. She laughed.

“It looks like you two have been having fun together.” She remarked. Sierra smiled and I laughed with my mother.

“Yes we did, Queen Natasha, we went on an adventure!” Sierra exclaimed. She slapped me on the arm again and I smiled this time, even though it still hurt. My mother laughed again.

“What kind of adventure did you go on? Did you go to slay that dragon?” My mother teased us. She didn’t say a thing about how dirty we were.

“Yes we did. We went to slay the dragon.” I said with a smile. My mother smiled and asked me to tell the tale. I was happy to do just that. We walked back out into the garden and sat at the gazebo where the adventure had begun. I smiled at Sierra. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have her as a friend.