Chapter 10
“Well, let's go,” George says.
The dragons flap their wings, and they soar out of the hole in the roof, and into the heat of the sun. Emma shields her face with her hand.
“Ugh, it is soooooo hot!” she moans. Ash and I soak up the sun, happily.
“Ash, how much farther until the palace? I mean, it's my kingdom, there must be a palace.”
“Yes, it is not too far,” Ash replies. Ash glances behind at Dove, who is falling behind.
“Hey, Dove, come on! A snail would move faster than you!” Ash calls.
“Hey! Watch your tone!” Dove says, thwacking Ash on the back with her tail. Ash laughs, and growls at Dove.
As we keep on flying I catch sight of a huge palace. It sits in the middle of a lake of lava, and it goes up, and up and up. Around it, it's sort of like a savannah, like something you’d find in Africa.
“This is my palace?” I whisper.
“Uh-huh,” Ash says like she has no idea why I am so shocked. Seriously Ash? Not everyday you find out you're the queen of fire and you get to live in a giant palace! My mind flits to Mom and Dad. Don't think about them right now. I fight my tears. We keep on flying without saying a word. Emma and Snowflake then fly up to us.
“Hi, Anabelle!” Emma says.
“How are you liking the heat?” I say, smiling.
“Not cool, Anabelle! But when we get to my kingdom, you’ll be a block of ice!” she says.
“I sure hope not,” Everleigh says, a look of worry crossing her face.
“Oh, don’t you worry about it Ms. Everleigh!” George says, leaning over to pat her. She almost falls off Dove, who pushes her back up with her talons.
“Wow, it sure is hot!” Harley says, wiping sweat off her face.
“It’s not to-” A horrible gurgling sound makes me stop mid sentance. Then lava rises up, straight in front of Snowflake. The lava sprays in her face, and Snowflake roars. Pain and fury and fear all bubble up in that one roar. Snowflake falls, thrashing into the lava. Emma is up in the air, thrown off by Snowflake, and she is falling. Fear shoots like ice through my veins. I feel like stone.
“HELP!” Emma screams, panic stretching her eyes wide.
“Dove, do something!” George says frantically, pushing on her dragon’s horns. Dove reaches forward, and her talons flail, trying to grasp Emma. But Dove misses. I watch in horror, as Emma flails around wildly, until her body crashes through the lava- just like Snowflake.
Chapter 11
“SNOWFLAKE!” the dragons roar.
“EMMA!” the humans scream.
“Ash, can’t you get her?” I say.
“Hold tight. Your fire potion will protect you.” Ash says. I glance at my bow and arrows. “They’ll be fine too,” Ash adds. Ash dives down, and I close my eyes. I feel a sudden warmth, and know we are under. I look around, and I see Emma. A block of some sort of ice is around her, but melting fast. I see Snowflake. She waves her talons once Emma’s ice melts, and puts ice around herself. I close my eyes again, and then it is a few moments until we go up to the surface again. Ash crashes up through the surface and I open my eyes. The palace is very close. Ash and the other dragons fly very fast, and nobody says a word. It is scary. Silent. We all fly very high above the lava, just to be safe.
Ash drops Snowflake and Emma down on a beautiful porch overlooking the lava. Snowflake lies, sprawled out on the floor, and Emma lies on a swirling red, orange, and yellow couch. Everleigh and I are sitting on the floor, gripping each other’s hands. Harley sits in a chair on George’s lap. Tears run down her face. The other dragons, except for Aqua pace around away from Emma and Snowflake.
“Is she…” I can’t bring myself to say it. Aqua walks up to Snowflake and Emma.
“No.” Relief surges through me, and I think I almost faint. I glance at Emma. Her skin is red, everywhere, and her dress is a lot shorter. My eyes travel down towards her feet, and I see that the lava has eaten away at parts of her leg. I wrench my gaze away from the bare flesh which is dripping blood. Snowflake must’ve missed a spot. I look at Snowflake. Her wings are badly torn- even more than they were, and she has a few talons and spikes missing. I glance at Aqua, who is brushing her tail along Snowflake’s head.
“Can’t you do something?” I ask, as a soft moan escapes Emma’s lips. Aqua pauses stroking her friend’s head. Then her eyes light up.
“Yes! Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes!” Aqua suddenly squeals. She gently breathes some water into her talons. She throws it at Emma. Her red skin slowly turns back to normal. And- this can’t be possible- her full leg is back! I see the silk of her dress slowly stitch itself back together, growing longer every second, Aqua’s water reversing the effects of the lava. Everleigh sits up.
“Am I the only one seeing that Emma’s full leg is back?” She murmurs. I shake my head.
“No, no your not!” George says.
“Nope!” Harley says. We all jump up, and go over to Emma. I place a gentle hand on her forehead. Emma’s light brown eyes flicker open slowly.
“A-Anabelle?” She says. Her voice is hoarse and dry. “I’m...Alive?” She whispers.
“Yes. Yes you are,” Everleigh whispers, and tears stream silently down her face. Everleigh grips Emma’s hand, and George grips the other. Harley stands by me, and I keep rubbing Emma’s forehead.
“Is- is Snowflake?” Emma asks, fear in her voice.
“Yeah, she is,” Aqua says, who is over by Snowflake. She must have splashed some of her magical water on her, because Snowflake has her talons back, and there aren’t as many tears in her wings.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“I think so.” Emma says, then she rubs her eyes. “But I’m really tired.”
“Ash, does the lava usually do that?” I ask. I glance over at Ash. She closes her eyes.
“No,” She says, shaking her head. “That was the doing of Queen Raven.”
Chapter 12
“That horrible creature will die a horrible death!” growls Harley, pulling her blue knife out of her belt. She tosses it around a few times before she puts it back in her belt. Snowflake and Emma are still lying down, and the moon is high in the sky. If I had to guess, it would be about 11:30 at night. It is a clear night, with no clouds. I sit on George, who is in the chair, and make her rub my head. It feels really good. Eventually, she dozes off though, and I think I’m the only one still awake. I look around, across the bubbling lava. A branch sticks out of a tall dead tree, and on it sits a raven. A midnight black raven. Could that be Queen Raven? I wonder. Apparently, I’m not the only one up.
“Queen Anabelle.” I look around and meet the eyes of Snowflake. They are open as much as the sliver of a moon. “See that raven? That is her.” Snowflake says. I nod.
“The queen?”
“Yes.” We sit in silence for a little. “Try shooting her down. With your bow, I mean.” I take an arrow out of the quiver and turn it around in my hands. My stomach flips nervously.
“I don’t know how good I am, and I’ll be wasting it if it goes in the lava,” I say, and slide the arrow back into the quiver.
“No, you won't waste it. See that red button on the back of your pendant? Press that and the arrow you shoot will come back to you,” Snowflake says. My eyes widen in wonder.
“Does that happen with all the bows?”
“Uh huh.”
“But what about the lava? It’ll burn and melt.”
“It is fire and lava proof.”
“Okay, I’ll give it a try,” I say, and take the arrow out of the quiver. I load it in the bow, pull the string back, and let go. I’m not exactly a natural at this- I’ve shot a bow maybe once or twice at a summer camp. The arrow soars through the air, and hits the dead tree- not the raven. The tree erupts into flames, and I can’t find the raven anymore. When there is nothing left but ash, the raven is gone.
“Keep practicing,” Snowflake says.
“I will, but I am really tired. You’ll need the rest too. Goodnight, Snowflake,” I say. And I sit down on the floor.
“Night Queen Anabelle,” Snowflake says. I curl up next to Everleigh, who is asleep on the floor, her head resting against her hands. And eventually, I doze off too. I’m too tired to think about sleeping on a king size bed with a canopy tonight.
Chapter 13
“Anabelle! Time for breakfast!” a voice says. I open my eyes and see Harley standing over me. “Wow, you slept on the floor?” she says, amazed.
“Yeah,” I say rubbing my eyes.
“Everyone else is in the palace. I have no idea what is for breakfast. And here’s a palace map,” She says, handing me a quite large piece of paper. I examine it, then open the sliding doors and enter my palace. It is beautiful. The walls are a swirl of red, orange, and yellow, and torches hang from the wall. When we enter the dining hall, a diamond (I think) chandelier hangs from the ceiling. Three, actually, as the dining table is very very long. Five big bowls full of cinnamon buns sit on the table. The smell is wonderful.
“Are these homemade?” I wonder aloud.
“Yes they are!” says a tall woman in chef clothes. She bows. “Queen Anabelle, I am your head cook, Avara,” the woman says. I reach for a cinnamon bun, and bite into it. A warm, amazing taste fills my mouth.
“Is it good?” Avara asks, fiddling with her fingers.
“It’s wonderful!” I say. Gosh, this is seriously my new favorite food. Relief floods Avara’s face. But it goes away soon.
“Oh, no, I forgot the drinks!” She says. “Please don’t punish me!” she begs.
“Punish you? No, of course not! Don’t worry about it. Can you bring me apple juice?” I say. Punish her? For forgetting drinks? Dear. Wonder what the last queen was like. But then again...It kinda displays power, punishments. But punishing someone for something as simple as forgetting a drink? Ridiculous.
“Of course, of course! Does everybody want that?” Avara asks. Everyone nods. Avara rushes out of the room. This feels weird. A woman much older than me is actually respecting me, and obeying me. I’m like...The boss of her. Cool. But wrong. Definitely wrong.
“Those were really good!” George says. Somehow, she has managed to get frosting on her nose. Everleigh laughs.
“Yeah, they were,” She agrees. Emma is slowly nibbling on one. We all stare at her.
“I like them too!” She says. “But I need to savor it. I can only have two. That is my limit. I am not going to get sick like you are gonna, George!” She says. Harley and I laugh. George stops. She is in the middle of reaching for another cinnamon bun.
“How many have you had?” I demand.
“Only...Four?” She says. I moan.
“George, you're gonna get a tummy ache!” I say, irritably. I may be crazy, but I don’t exactly want to get fat. Gosh, how is George not fat?! “When Avara comes back, she is taking away those cinnamon buns!”
“Noooooo!” George moans. Emma, who is sitting next to George, slaps her hand away and moves the bowl of cinnamon buns out of reach.
“Hey!” George says.
“George! This is my palace, and I command you to stop eating cinnamon buns!” I say, laughing along with Harley and Everleigh.
“Fine,” George says, slumping in her seat. Then her face lights up. “So that means you have to do whatever I say when we get to my palace!” She says. I roll my eyes.
“Only if it is reasonable!” Emma says, waving a finger in George’s face, and she pushes it away. Avara then pushes open the doors, carrying a tray full of tall glasses of apple juice. She puts on right in front of us. Everyone says thank you, and Avara turns to leave, but I call her back.
“Avara, wait. Why don’t you eat with us?” I say. Avara turns around and smiles.
“If you are sure! I don’t want to interrupt some queen meeting, though,” she says.
“No, it’s fine!” Emma says. “Come sit!” Avara comes and sits down. I push a bowl of cinnamon buns toward her.
“Your work is amazing, have some!” I say. Avara smiles, and takes one.
“You know,” she says. “You guys are awesome.”
“Well, let's go,” George says.
The dragons flap their wings, and they soar out of the hole in the roof, and into the heat of the sun. Emma shields her face with her hand.
“Ugh, it is soooooo hot!” she moans. Ash and I soak up the sun, happily.
“Ash, how much farther until the palace? I mean, it's my kingdom, there must be a palace.”
“Yes, it is not too far,” Ash replies. Ash glances behind at Dove, who is falling behind.
“Hey, Dove, come on! A snail would move faster than you!” Ash calls.
“Hey! Watch your tone!” Dove says, thwacking Ash on the back with her tail. Ash laughs, and growls at Dove.
As we keep on flying I catch sight of a huge palace. It sits in the middle of a lake of lava, and it goes up, and up and up. Around it, it's sort of like a savannah, like something you’d find in Africa.
“This is my palace?” I whisper.
“Uh-huh,” Ash says like she has no idea why I am so shocked. Seriously Ash? Not everyday you find out you're the queen of fire and you get to live in a giant palace! My mind flits to Mom and Dad. Don't think about them right now. I fight my tears. We keep on flying without saying a word. Emma and Snowflake then fly up to us.
“Hi, Anabelle!” Emma says.
“How are you liking the heat?” I say, smiling.
“Not cool, Anabelle! But when we get to my kingdom, you’ll be a block of ice!” she says.
“I sure hope not,” Everleigh says, a look of worry crossing her face.
“Oh, don’t you worry about it Ms. Everleigh!” George says, leaning over to pat her. She almost falls off Dove, who pushes her back up with her talons.
“Wow, it sure is hot!” Harley says, wiping sweat off her face.
“It’s not to-” A horrible gurgling sound makes me stop mid sentance. Then lava rises up, straight in front of Snowflake. The lava sprays in her face, and Snowflake roars. Pain and fury and fear all bubble up in that one roar. Snowflake falls, thrashing into the lava. Emma is up in the air, thrown off by Snowflake, and she is falling. Fear shoots like ice through my veins. I feel like stone.
“HELP!” Emma screams, panic stretching her eyes wide.
“Dove, do something!” George says frantically, pushing on her dragon’s horns. Dove reaches forward, and her talons flail, trying to grasp Emma. But Dove misses. I watch in horror, as Emma flails around wildly, until her body crashes through the lava- just like Snowflake.
Chapter 11
“SNOWFLAKE!” the dragons roar.
“EMMA!” the humans scream.
“Ash, can’t you get her?” I say.
“Hold tight. Your fire potion will protect you.” Ash says. I glance at my bow and arrows. “They’ll be fine too,” Ash adds. Ash dives down, and I close my eyes. I feel a sudden warmth, and know we are under. I look around, and I see Emma. A block of some sort of ice is around her, but melting fast. I see Snowflake. She waves her talons once Emma’s ice melts, and puts ice around herself. I close my eyes again, and then it is a few moments until we go up to the surface again. Ash crashes up through the surface and I open my eyes. The palace is very close. Ash and the other dragons fly very fast, and nobody says a word. It is scary. Silent. We all fly very high above the lava, just to be safe.
Ash drops Snowflake and Emma down on a beautiful porch overlooking the lava. Snowflake lies, sprawled out on the floor, and Emma lies on a swirling red, orange, and yellow couch. Everleigh and I are sitting on the floor, gripping each other’s hands. Harley sits in a chair on George’s lap. Tears run down her face. The other dragons, except for Aqua pace around away from Emma and Snowflake.
“Is she…” I can’t bring myself to say it. Aqua walks up to Snowflake and Emma.
“No.” Relief surges through me, and I think I almost faint. I glance at Emma. Her skin is red, everywhere, and her dress is a lot shorter. My eyes travel down towards her feet, and I see that the lava has eaten away at parts of her leg. I wrench my gaze away from the bare flesh which is dripping blood. Snowflake must’ve missed a spot. I look at Snowflake. Her wings are badly torn- even more than they were, and she has a few talons and spikes missing. I glance at Aqua, who is brushing her tail along Snowflake’s head.
“Can’t you do something?” I ask, as a soft moan escapes Emma’s lips. Aqua pauses stroking her friend’s head. Then her eyes light up.
“Yes! Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes!” Aqua suddenly squeals. She gently breathes some water into her talons. She throws it at Emma. Her red skin slowly turns back to normal. And- this can’t be possible- her full leg is back! I see the silk of her dress slowly stitch itself back together, growing longer every second, Aqua’s water reversing the effects of the lava. Everleigh sits up.
“Am I the only one seeing that Emma’s full leg is back?” She murmurs. I shake my head.
“No, no your not!” George says.
“Nope!” Harley says. We all jump up, and go over to Emma. I place a gentle hand on her forehead. Emma’s light brown eyes flicker open slowly.
“A-Anabelle?” She says. Her voice is hoarse and dry. “I’m...Alive?” She whispers.
“Yes. Yes you are,” Everleigh whispers, and tears stream silently down her face. Everleigh grips Emma’s hand, and George grips the other. Harley stands by me, and I keep rubbing Emma’s forehead.
“Is- is Snowflake?” Emma asks, fear in her voice.
“Yeah, she is,” Aqua says, who is over by Snowflake. She must have splashed some of her magical water on her, because Snowflake has her talons back, and there aren’t as many tears in her wings.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“I think so.” Emma says, then she rubs her eyes. “But I’m really tired.”
“Ash, does the lava usually do that?” I ask. I glance over at Ash. She closes her eyes.
“No,” She says, shaking her head. “That was the doing of Queen Raven.”
Chapter 12
“That horrible creature will die a horrible death!” growls Harley, pulling her blue knife out of her belt. She tosses it around a few times before she puts it back in her belt. Snowflake and Emma are still lying down, and the moon is high in the sky. If I had to guess, it would be about 11:30 at night. It is a clear night, with no clouds. I sit on George, who is in the chair, and make her rub my head. It feels really good. Eventually, she dozes off though, and I think I’m the only one still awake. I look around, across the bubbling lava. A branch sticks out of a tall dead tree, and on it sits a raven. A midnight black raven. Could that be Queen Raven? I wonder. Apparently, I’m not the only one up.
“Queen Anabelle.” I look around and meet the eyes of Snowflake. They are open as much as the sliver of a moon. “See that raven? That is her.” Snowflake says. I nod.
“The queen?”
“Yes.” We sit in silence for a little. “Try shooting her down. With your bow, I mean.” I take an arrow out of the quiver and turn it around in my hands. My stomach flips nervously.
“I don’t know how good I am, and I’ll be wasting it if it goes in the lava,” I say, and slide the arrow back into the quiver.
“No, you won't waste it. See that red button on the back of your pendant? Press that and the arrow you shoot will come back to you,” Snowflake says. My eyes widen in wonder.
“Does that happen with all the bows?”
“Uh huh.”
“But what about the lava? It’ll burn and melt.”
“It is fire and lava proof.”
“Okay, I’ll give it a try,” I say, and take the arrow out of the quiver. I load it in the bow, pull the string back, and let go. I’m not exactly a natural at this- I’ve shot a bow maybe once or twice at a summer camp. The arrow soars through the air, and hits the dead tree- not the raven. The tree erupts into flames, and I can’t find the raven anymore. When there is nothing left but ash, the raven is gone.
“Keep practicing,” Snowflake says.
“I will, but I am really tired. You’ll need the rest too. Goodnight, Snowflake,” I say. And I sit down on the floor.
“Night Queen Anabelle,” Snowflake says. I curl up next to Everleigh, who is asleep on the floor, her head resting against her hands. And eventually, I doze off too. I’m too tired to think about sleeping on a king size bed with a canopy tonight.
Chapter 13
“Anabelle! Time for breakfast!” a voice says. I open my eyes and see Harley standing over me. “Wow, you slept on the floor?” she says, amazed.
“Yeah,” I say rubbing my eyes.
“Everyone else is in the palace. I have no idea what is for breakfast. And here’s a palace map,” She says, handing me a quite large piece of paper. I examine it, then open the sliding doors and enter my palace. It is beautiful. The walls are a swirl of red, orange, and yellow, and torches hang from the wall. When we enter the dining hall, a diamond (I think) chandelier hangs from the ceiling. Three, actually, as the dining table is very very long. Five big bowls full of cinnamon buns sit on the table. The smell is wonderful.
“Are these homemade?” I wonder aloud.
“Yes they are!” says a tall woman in chef clothes. She bows. “Queen Anabelle, I am your head cook, Avara,” the woman says. I reach for a cinnamon bun, and bite into it. A warm, amazing taste fills my mouth.
“Is it good?” Avara asks, fiddling with her fingers.
“It’s wonderful!” I say. Gosh, this is seriously my new favorite food. Relief floods Avara’s face. But it goes away soon.
“Oh, no, I forgot the drinks!” She says. “Please don’t punish me!” she begs.
“Punish you? No, of course not! Don’t worry about it. Can you bring me apple juice?” I say. Punish her? For forgetting drinks? Dear. Wonder what the last queen was like. But then again...It kinda displays power, punishments. But punishing someone for something as simple as forgetting a drink? Ridiculous.
“Of course, of course! Does everybody want that?” Avara asks. Everyone nods. Avara rushes out of the room. This feels weird. A woman much older than me is actually respecting me, and obeying me. I’m like...The boss of her. Cool. But wrong. Definitely wrong.
“Those were really good!” George says. Somehow, she has managed to get frosting on her nose. Everleigh laughs.
“Yeah, they were,” She agrees. Emma is slowly nibbling on one. We all stare at her.
“I like them too!” She says. “But I need to savor it. I can only have two. That is my limit. I am not going to get sick like you are gonna, George!” She says. Harley and I laugh. George stops. She is in the middle of reaching for another cinnamon bun.
“How many have you had?” I demand.
“Only...Four?” She says. I moan.
“George, you're gonna get a tummy ache!” I say, irritably. I may be crazy, but I don’t exactly want to get fat. Gosh, how is George not fat?! “When Avara comes back, she is taking away those cinnamon buns!”
“Noooooo!” George moans. Emma, who is sitting next to George, slaps her hand away and moves the bowl of cinnamon buns out of reach.
“Hey!” George says.
“George! This is my palace, and I command you to stop eating cinnamon buns!” I say, laughing along with Harley and Everleigh.
“Fine,” George says, slumping in her seat. Then her face lights up. “So that means you have to do whatever I say when we get to my palace!” She says. I roll my eyes.
“Only if it is reasonable!” Emma says, waving a finger in George’s face, and she pushes it away. Avara then pushes open the doors, carrying a tray full of tall glasses of apple juice. She puts on right in front of us. Everyone says thank you, and Avara turns to leave, but I call her back.
“Avara, wait. Why don’t you eat with us?” I say. Avara turns around and smiles.
“If you are sure! I don’t want to interrupt some queen meeting, though,” she says.
“No, it’s fine!” Emma says. “Come sit!” Avara comes and sits down. I push a bowl of cinnamon buns toward her.
“Your work is amazing, have some!” I say. Avara smiles, and takes one.
“You know,” she says. “You guys are awesome.”
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