Chapter 7
“Here is where you will pick out weapons, outfits, and transfigurations,” El says. There are three rows, and in each row, there are two shelves- one on the right side and one on the left. The ones we can see are complete with red dresses, and green dresses, going to the back of the room. Some sparkle and shimmer, and some are just plain red. All of us, with the exception of George, (obviously) are too stunned to speak.
“Really? Wow!” George says. “Weapons? I’ll be totally awesome!” Yes, I’m sure you will be. One problem though- I’m pretty sure queens wear dresses, and don’t you remember how you feel about those?
“All of you can head down the aisles, and pick out something that matches your element,” El says. “Have fun!” I walk over to Everleigh, which is perfect because we head down the aisle that has red and orange on one side and the greens on the other.
“This is awesome,” Everleigh whispers. “But I wonder why she made us queens. Do we have to do something?”
“Yeah,” I say back. Danger sounds a little scary. But then again, I’ve gotten into a punching and yelling fight before. I was fine. Probably because I was the one doing the punching. I turn to the clothes. I look through the red clothing, and my fingers find a cool dress- it is red at the top, but at the bottom, flames (well, that’s what they look like) curve every which way. I hang on to the dress, as I find something to put in my hair. I walk over to Everleigh, who is still looking for a dress. Goodness sake- she always takes a long time to choose. Even if it is something as simple as an ice cream flavor. “Have you found the flowers?” I ask her. She’s earth. There must be flowers in her row.
“Yeah, right to your left,” She says.
“Thanks,” I say. I turn to my right, and select a dark red rose and stick it in my hair. I walk back to the fire side and select some blazing red boots with straps that will wind up my legs. I keep walking until I come to the weapon section. I look through the weapons. Knives, swords, poison, aha! A bow and arrow will be perfect! I always loved the archery summer camps.. I grab a red bow and arrow, and read the label. It reads: A stunning bow and arrow, perfect for long-distance shots, that will set fire to whatever the tip touches. I smile, and carefully move the quiver filled with red arrows of the shelf. I sling the quiver around my back, just so I can carry the last thing. The transfiguration. As I keep walking-occasionally glancing behind me to see what Everleigh is picking out- I don’t know what to expect for the transfiguration. What are we transforming into? Other people? Animals? I keep walking until I see some pendants with stones, and with different animals engraved into them. “Wow,” I whisper, carefully touching the pendant with a salamander. I carefully move my fingers through the pendants, finding all the big cats are set on one side. So many choices! But which one? Jaguar, lion, tiger, panther? It is so hard to choose! I can turn into an animal! But how on earth will I choose? I think about some personality tests I took. What was my spirit animal according to them? Lion? No, it was a tiger. I carefully take the pendant with the leaping tiger, and put it around my neck, waiting for something to happen.
“You have to close your eyes and think of the tiger,” a voice from behind me says. I whip around to see El, standing right behind me. Good grief! And I thought I was the stealth machine! I think, recalling how many jump-scares I’ve accomplished. “Give it a try,” El says. El is trustworthy, right? I shake myself. Don’t be silly. Harley’s parents approved this place… That is, if they even know it exists. I nod, close my eyes, and picture the tiger leaping. I open my eyes, and suddenly, my vision becomes a lot sharper. I am growing fur, a tail, and my body takes the form of a tiger. I can smell so much, and I retract my claws in and out. Wow. This sure is awesome.
“Can you understand me?” I ask.
“Yep!” El says. “That is why our pendants are so special- humans and other animals can understand!” El says. I open my mouth and roar-I’m shocked at how easily it comes out.
“Wow!” I hear Harley shout. I turn around, and see a beautiful doe, standing near the pendants.
“Everleigh, you look amazing!” I say to the doe.
“So do you!” She says. “Let’s go see what the others look like! They must have picked out their pendants by now!” Everleigh says. We run- and I’m surprised at how fast- into the next aisle. There, we find an arctic fox and an otter.
“Hey, Ms. Doe and Ms. Tiger!” the otter says.
“Hi! Is the otter Harley? I’m Everleigh,” the doe says.
“Yeah, the otter is Harley, I’m Emma, and the tiger must be Anabelle!” The fox says.
“Cool!” Everleigh says.
“Uh, how do we change back to humans?” Harley asks.
“If we had to close our eyes and think of the animal, we must have to think of what we looked like,” Everleigh says almost instantly. Her mind sure works fast. Wow.
“Smart,” I say. I close my eyes, think of myself, and when I open them, I’m human. “Let’s go see George. I turn back into a tiger, and everyone else turns back to their animal. We walk to the next aisle, where we find a white tiger. The tiger growls. Somehow, I can tell it is playful. Her eyes fly to my pendant around my neck.
“Did you copy me?” George asks, leaping, and pinning me down.
“Hey, hey! No, I’m orange, you're white. Relax!” I say. I get all my strength and push George off of me. George lands with a thud on the ground.
“Hey!” She says, getting to her paws. George slams into me, and we roll over laughing.
“Just like warriors!” I say, remembering the books of fighting cats and the clans.
“Yeah- Tigerstar!” George says. We are joking in a way that’s probably making Emma, Harley, and Everleigh confused. I’ve told Harley a little about warrior cats, but I don’t remember if she knows about Tigerstar, one of the evilest cats in warriors.
“Hey! I’m not Tigerstar, you are!” I say, pinning George down. She squirms, but I hold her down with all my strength. “Ha! I win!” I say, releasing George, and she gets to her feet. George swats at my face.
“How about that is enough play fights for one day, okay?” Emma says, giggling.
“She started it!” says George, now in her human form. She waves a finger at me.
“Did not! You're the one who attacked me first!” I say.
“How about we go get changed?” Everleigh says, holding up her clothes and weapon.
“Good idea,” Harley says. We all walk towards big doors, which I’m assuming are the dressing rooms.
“Wow, Anabelle, you look amazing!” Everleigh says. I smile.
“Thanks, you do too!” I say. Everleigh is standing in a forest green dress, and a brown lace up belt, with tall, brown heeled boots that go almost up to her knees. She has a pink rose tucked in her hair, and she has a white quiver filled with arrows slung around her shoulders. She holds a bow in one hand, and her doe pendant dangles around her neck. I look over at Harley, who is chatting with George and Emma. Harley’s hair has grown surprisingly long, and her hair is now blue.
I wonder if El could make my hair red. That’d be cool.
Harley stands in a dress that isn’t too long but is sort of like mine- many curves in it. Her hair is in two ponytails, and she has her otter pendant on. On her feet are blue sandals, with blue jewels placed on the straps. Harley has dazzling blue knives on a strap that winds around her waist.
Emma stands in a long, beautiful pale blue dress that drags behind her. The dress is flecked with white, and Emma’s hair is pulled back in a braid. I catch a glimpse of blue heels on her feet, and in one hand, she holds a hammer- not the kind of hammer for building a house, or something like that- a hammer that’s like frozen ice- in the front of it has a bunch of jagged spikes in the front. Her arctic fox pendant dangles around her neck.
George stands next to Emma, in a pretty purple dress, but with only one strap around her shoulder. The dress is simple, probably the best one she could find. She wears purple boots like Everleigh, but they aren’t as tall. She holds a purple bow and arrow (wow, bows are popular!), and the white tiger pendant dangles around her neck. Her hair is over her shoulder in a fish-tail braid.
“You guys look amazing!” Everleigh says. Emma, Harley, and George turn around.
“Wow, so do you guys!” Harley says.
“Nice boots, George!” Everleigh says with a wink.
“So, now do we just go home?” Emma asks, fiddling with her fingers. I swallow a snort of amusement. Ha! Go home? Why only come here so we can pick out pretty outfits?
“No!” says El, suddenly by our side. “There is darkness coming…”
Chapter 8
“A darkness?” George echoes, swaying back and forth. A darkness? Oh jeez, I’m not about to risk my life for some crazy element kingdom! But then again...I’ve always wanted to fight, like, for real...
“Yes, there is a prophecy,” El says. El takes a scroll and unrolls it. She hands it to me. “Read it,” she says.
“When the five come
The world will change
When the five come
The ground will shake
One will arise
Out of the shadows
And create a threat
So large so powerful
Out of the shadows
A queen will come
A queen whose ambition
Has blinded her vision
Her soldiers
Her anger
For bloodthirst and power
Her darkness must be dispelled
Or our kingdoms will fall
In thunder and shadow
And nothing will be as before.”
I finish reading. I look around. Harley’s eyes blaze with anger, and I quickly hand the scroll back to El.
“So you brought us here so we could risk our lives fighting some crazy madwoman for you?” she snarls.
“Harley, these people need our help!” Emma says, placing a hand on Harley’s shoulder. Harley shakes her off.
“What if we die? What will our parents, siblings think, when we disappear, nowhere to be found?” Harley snaps. El steps in.
“Harley, time is different here. This place is magic. If you do die-”
“SO YOU ARE SAYING IT’S POSSIBLE?” Harley shouts. El sighs. Poor El, I would have no idea how to answer, but Harley does have a good point.
“Harley, everybody, listen. This world is as real as your own. We need your help. I can go back to the human world, but there are soldiers here who can’t. They are trusting you, depending on you to save their lives. Yes, the queen of shadows is a powerful queen with soldiers. But you are five queens.” El says. Harley scowls.
“Fine,” she snaps. El doesn’t say anything else, probably too afraid to anger her. El turns to the rest of us.
“So, are we all in?” she asks. I look at El. Her eyes are desperate, pleading. I hesitate, then nod. It seems too awful to let harmless people die. El’s face brightens.
“Alright! Here’s your map. It is up to you to navigate through the different kingdoms, to the Land Of Shadows. There you will find Queen Raven and her armies. But beware, Raven has set traps for you. Tread carefully, and good luck.” El hands the map to Everleigh. We all look at it.
“Wait, El, how will we get across the oceans?” Harley asks.
Chapter 9
“I can swim!” George says, putting her hands on her hips. I arch my eyebrows.
“You can swim a whole ocean? Impressive.”
“I thought I would save the best for last!” El says. “Oh, and hold each other’s hands.” We all grip each other’s hands, and suddenly, we are in a dungeon. Like apparating! In Harry Potter! Or, it looks like a dungeon at least. Prison cells line the walls, some having complicated locks that seem impossible to break. To my relief, I see no people in the dungeons- I’m not sure what any of us would’ve thought if we did. Emma opens her mouth, but a sharp, sudden, terrifying roar makes us jump. El leads us further into the dungeon, and my mouth drops open. Five dragons, pace a cage. One is red and orange, and her scales look like magma. She has lots of spines, and her tail is ignited in flame. El hands me a bottle. “Drink this, when Ash here lights her body on fire, it will keep you from being harmed.” Wow...Dragons. And we get to ride them? Awesome!
“Cool,” I say. I drink the red substance without complaint. El walks into the cage, and puts a seat on Ash, and leads her out. Ash snarls, and her body lights on fire when she sees us. I take a step back. Emma is holding on tightly to George, who is holding hands with Everleigh. When El finally coaxes Ash to dim her fire, she says to me,
“Come up to her. Let her sniff you,” El says. I slowly walk up to Ash, and put a hand out for her to sniff. Ash does. And her amber eyes meet mine.
“Who are you?” She growls. I jump back, and shock surges through me.
“They can talk!” I gasp. El nods. I turn back to Ash, who is twitching her tail as if deciding whether to kill me or not. My heart pounds, realizing the entire journey could end here. I choose my words carefully.
“I am Queen Anabelle, the queen of fire, and we all need to defeat Queen Raven. To get there, we must fly across the ocean.” I finish. Ash squints, as if in deep thought.
“Alright,” she finally says. “Hop on,” I do, and it is really far off the ground.
“This is so cool!” I say. Apparently, the others are too stunned to speak. Then, El leads out a dragon that looks like it has rocks on its belly, and grass everywhere else. Its spikes are sharp twigs, and its wings look like giant leaves. Flowers are dotted on its scales, and I know that this is the earth dragon.
“Sequoia, this is Everleigh,” El says. Everleigh cautiously takes a step forward. Sequoia and Everleigh’s green eyes meet. They stand in silence for a moment, and then Everleigh speaks.
“Uh, hi,” She says. Everleigh closes her eyes and flinches backwards, her hand extended. Sequoia pauses before answering. She looks at Everleigh quizzically.
“Hi, why are you here? Same as Queen Anabelle?” Sequoia asks. Everleigh nods.
“Yeah, same as her.”
“Uh, okay, hop on,” Sequoia says. With help from El, Everleigh hops up on Sequoia, who walks over to Ash. In seconds, Sequoia and Everleigh are chatting about all the different types of plants, while not a single thing has sparked a conversation for Ash and I. I guess we just want to watch. So, watch I do, and El leads a blue dragon out. Her body is long like a snake, and she has legs, four, and two massive wings. In between her talons are webbing, and her tail is like the tip of an arrow. When she spots Harley, her eyes light up.
“Wow! My first rider beside Queen El! AWESOME! Hi, I’m Aqua, what’s your name?” Aqua asks, dashing up to Harley. Harley grins.
“I’m Queen Harley, you can just call me Harley though, and you are AWESOME!” she says, her eyes sparkling with joy. Aqua gives Harley a toothy grin.
“Hop on!” Aqua stretches out her tail, and Harley hops on it, then up to the seat El has placed on her. Lucky Harley. Ash hasn’t said much to me. Next, El leads out a feathered white dragon. The dragon’s eyes are a lilac color, and her wings are like giant birds. She steps nervously up to George.
“You’re Queen George, right?” she asks. George nods. The dragon bows. “Your Majesty, I am here to help you in any way you need,” the dragon says. “Call me Dove,” she adds.
George frowns. “Please! You don’t have to act like that around me! Ha, I’m barely a queen!” George says, rolling her eyes. Dove grins.
“Oh, thank goodness! I had no idea what to expect, but I really didn’t want to be bowing every time we spoke! Oh, I’m so glad your fun!” Dove says. Ha. I can’t even imagine a George that isn’t fun.
George doesn’t need help getting on Dove, because Dove is smaller than the other dragons. In an instant, the two are chatting, and are inseparable. Last, El leads out a shy, pale blue dragon. Her wings are torn, and she hides what she can behind El. She has lots of spikes, it’s obvious that she is an ice dragon.
“Hey, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” Emma says, taking a step closer to the dragon. She puts her hand out, and the dragon let's out a squeal and jumps back.
“Snowflake, it’s okay! You’re lucky! Emma is very very kind, she won’t hurt you!” El says.
“It's okay, Snowflake, I won't hurt you,” Emma says softly, though her brown eyes are stretched wide. She puts her hand out slowly. Snowflake nervously takes a step closer to Emma. Her body is covered in many spikes, but they all lay flat. Emma carefully puts a hand on Snowflake’s head. Snowflake stiffens. “Can I get on you?” Emma asks. Snowflake closes her eyes.
“Okay…” she finally decides. Snowflake’s voice is a sigh, but still a high soprano. Emma carefully hops up onto Snowflake, and she walks over to the other dragons. El nods happily, and then she removes something on the roof so they can fly out, (by waving her hand) and she walks out and the dungeon doors clang shut.
“Ok, so, um, let's figure out where we’re going,” I say. I take out the map, and unroll it. I look at the map. Everleigh leans over to peer at the map.
“First stop,” she starts.
“The fire kingdom,” I finish.
“Here is where you will pick out weapons, outfits, and transfigurations,” El says. There are three rows, and in each row, there are two shelves- one on the right side and one on the left. The ones we can see are complete with red dresses, and green dresses, going to the back of the room. Some sparkle and shimmer, and some are just plain red. All of us, with the exception of George, (obviously) are too stunned to speak.
“Really? Wow!” George says. “Weapons? I’ll be totally awesome!” Yes, I’m sure you will be. One problem though- I’m pretty sure queens wear dresses, and don’t you remember how you feel about those?
“All of you can head down the aisles, and pick out something that matches your element,” El says. “Have fun!” I walk over to Everleigh, which is perfect because we head down the aisle that has red and orange on one side and the greens on the other.
“This is awesome,” Everleigh whispers. “But I wonder why she made us queens. Do we have to do something?”
“Yeah,” I say back. Danger sounds a little scary. But then again, I’ve gotten into a punching and yelling fight before. I was fine. Probably because I was the one doing the punching. I turn to the clothes. I look through the red clothing, and my fingers find a cool dress- it is red at the top, but at the bottom, flames (well, that’s what they look like) curve every which way. I hang on to the dress, as I find something to put in my hair. I walk over to Everleigh, who is still looking for a dress. Goodness sake- she always takes a long time to choose. Even if it is something as simple as an ice cream flavor. “Have you found the flowers?” I ask her. She’s earth. There must be flowers in her row.
“Yeah, right to your left,” She says.
“Thanks,” I say. I turn to my right, and select a dark red rose and stick it in my hair. I walk back to the fire side and select some blazing red boots with straps that will wind up my legs. I keep walking until I come to the weapon section. I look through the weapons. Knives, swords, poison, aha! A bow and arrow will be perfect! I always loved the archery summer camps.. I grab a red bow and arrow, and read the label. It reads: A stunning bow and arrow, perfect for long-distance shots, that will set fire to whatever the tip touches. I smile, and carefully move the quiver filled with red arrows of the shelf. I sling the quiver around my back, just so I can carry the last thing. The transfiguration. As I keep walking-occasionally glancing behind me to see what Everleigh is picking out- I don’t know what to expect for the transfiguration. What are we transforming into? Other people? Animals? I keep walking until I see some pendants with stones, and with different animals engraved into them. “Wow,” I whisper, carefully touching the pendant with a salamander. I carefully move my fingers through the pendants, finding all the big cats are set on one side. So many choices! But which one? Jaguar, lion, tiger, panther? It is so hard to choose! I can turn into an animal! But how on earth will I choose? I think about some personality tests I took. What was my spirit animal according to them? Lion? No, it was a tiger. I carefully take the pendant with the leaping tiger, and put it around my neck, waiting for something to happen.
“You have to close your eyes and think of the tiger,” a voice from behind me says. I whip around to see El, standing right behind me. Good grief! And I thought I was the stealth machine! I think, recalling how many jump-scares I’ve accomplished. “Give it a try,” El says. El is trustworthy, right? I shake myself. Don’t be silly. Harley’s parents approved this place… That is, if they even know it exists. I nod, close my eyes, and picture the tiger leaping. I open my eyes, and suddenly, my vision becomes a lot sharper. I am growing fur, a tail, and my body takes the form of a tiger. I can smell so much, and I retract my claws in and out. Wow. This sure is awesome.
“Can you understand me?” I ask.
“Yep!” El says. “That is why our pendants are so special- humans and other animals can understand!” El says. I open my mouth and roar-I’m shocked at how easily it comes out.
“Wow!” I hear Harley shout. I turn around, and see a beautiful doe, standing near the pendants.
“Everleigh, you look amazing!” I say to the doe.
“So do you!” She says. “Let’s go see what the others look like! They must have picked out their pendants by now!” Everleigh says. We run- and I’m surprised at how fast- into the next aisle. There, we find an arctic fox and an otter.
“Hey, Ms. Doe and Ms. Tiger!” the otter says.
“Hi! Is the otter Harley? I’m Everleigh,” the doe says.
“Yeah, the otter is Harley, I’m Emma, and the tiger must be Anabelle!” The fox says.
“Cool!” Everleigh says.
“Uh, how do we change back to humans?” Harley asks.
“If we had to close our eyes and think of the animal, we must have to think of what we looked like,” Everleigh says almost instantly. Her mind sure works fast. Wow.
“Smart,” I say. I close my eyes, think of myself, and when I open them, I’m human. “Let’s go see George. I turn back into a tiger, and everyone else turns back to their animal. We walk to the next aisle, where we find a white tiger. The tiger growls. Somehow, I can tell it is playful. Her eyes fly to my pendant around my neck.
“Did you copy me?” George asks, leaping, and pinning me down.
“Hey, hey! No, I’m orange, you're white. Relax!” I say. I get all my strength and push George off of me. George lands with a thud on the ground.
“Hey!” She says, getting to her paws. George slams into me, and we roll over laughing.
“Just like warriors!” I say, remembering the books of fighting cats and the clans.
“Yeah- Tigerstar!” George says. We are joking in a way that’s probably making Emma, Harley, and Everleigh confused. I’ve told Harley a little about warrior cats, but I don’t remember if she knows about Tigerstar, one of the evilest cats in warriors.
“Hey! I’m not Tigerstar, you are!” I say, pinning George down. She squirms, but I hold her down with all my strength. “Ha! I win!” I say, releasing George, and she gets to her feet. George swats at my face.
“How about that is enough play fights for one day, okay?” Emma says, giggling.
“She started it!” says George, now in her human form. She waves a finger at me.
“Did not! You're the one who attacked me first!” I say.
“How about we go get changed?” Everleigh says, holding up her clothes and weapon.
“Good idea,” Harley says. We all walk towards big doors, which I’m assuming are the dressing rooms.
“Wow, Anabelle, you look amazing!” Everleigh says. I smile.
“Thanks, you do too!” I say. Everleigh is standing in a forest green dress, and a brown lace up belt, with tall, brown heeled boots that go almost up to her knees. She has a pink rose tucked in her hair, and she has a white quiver filled with arrows slung around her shoulders. She holds a bow in one hand, and her doe pendant dangles around her neck. I look over at Harley, who is chatting with George and Emma. Harley’s hair has grown surprisingly long, and her hair is now blue.
I wonder if El could make my hair red. That’d be cool.
Harley stands in a dress that isn’t too long but is sort of like mine- many curves in it. Her hair is in two ponytails, and she has her otter pendant on. On her feet are blue sandals, with blue jewels placed on the straps. Harley has dazzling blue knives on a strap that winds around her waist.
Emma stands in a long, beautiful pale blue dress that drags behind her. The dress is flecked with white, and Emma’s hair is pulled back in a braid. I catch a glimpse of blue heels on her feet, and in one hand, she holds a hammer- not the kind of hammer for building a house, or something like that- a hammer that’s like frozen ice- in the front of it has a bunch of jagged spikes in the front. Her arctic fox pendant dangles around her neck.
George stands next to Emma, in a pretty purple dress, but with only one strap around her shoulder. The dress is simple, probably the best one she could find. She wears purple boots like Everleigh, but they aren’t as tall. She holds a purple bow and arrow (wow, bows are popular!), and the white tiger pendant dangles around her neck. Her hair is over her shoulder in a fish-tail braid.
“You guys look amazing!” Everleigh says. Emma, Harley, and George turn around.
“Wow, so do you guys!” Harley says.
“Nice boots, George!” Everleigh says with a wink.
“So, now do we just go home?” Emma asks, fiddling with her fingers. I swallow a snort of amusement. Ha! Go home? Why only come here so we can pick out pretty outfits?
“No!” says El, suddenly by our side. “There is darkness coming…”
Chapter 8
“A darkness?” George echoes, swaying back and forth. A darkness? Oh jeez, I’m not about to risk my life for some crazy element kingdom! But then again...I’ve always wanted to fight, like, for real...
“Yes, there is a prophecy,” El says. El takes a scroll and unrolls it. She hands it to me. “Read it,” she says.
“When the five come
The world will change
When the five come
The ground will shake
One will arise
Out of the shadows
And create a threat
So large so powerful
Out of the shadows
A queen will come
A queen whose ambition
Has blinded her vision
Her soldiers
Her anger
For bloodthirst and power
Her darkness must be dispelled
Or our kingdoms will fall
In thunder and shadow
And nothing will be as before.”
I finish reading. I look around. Harley’s eyes blaze with anger, and I quickly hand the scroll back to El.
“So you brought us here so we could risk our lives fighting some crazy madwoman for you?” she snarls.
“Harley, these people need our help!” Emma says, placing a hand on Harley’s shoulder. Harley shakes her off.
“What if we die? What will our parents, siblings think, when we disappear, nowhere to be found?” Harley snaps. El steps in.
“Harley, time is different here. This place is magic. If you do die-”
“SO YOU ARE SAYING IT’S POSSIBLE?” Harley shouts. El sighs. Poor El, I would have no idea how to answer, but Harley does have a good point.
“Harley, everybody, listen. This world is as real as your own. We need your help. I can go back to the human world, but there are soldiers here who can’t. They are trusting you, depending on you to save their lives. Yes, the queen of shadows is a powerful queen with soldiers. But you are five queens.” El says. Harley scowls.
“Fine,” she snaps. El doesn’t say anything else, probably too afraid to anger her. El turns to the rest of us.
“So, are we all in?” she asks. I look at El. Her eyes are desperate, pleading. I hesitate, then nod. It seems too awful to let harmless people die. El’s face brightens.
“Alright! Here’s your map. It is up to you to navigate through the different kingdoms, to the Land Of Shadows. There you will find Queen Raven and her armies. But beware, Raven has set traps for you. Tread carefully, and good luck.” El hands the map to Everleigh. We all look at it.
“Wait, El, how will we get across the oceans?” Harley asks.
Chapter 9
“I can swim!” George says, putting her hands on her hips. I arch my eyebrows.
“You can swim a whole ocean? Impressive.”
“I thought I would save the best for last!” El says. “Oh, and hold each other’s hands.” We all grip each other’s hands, and suddenly, we are in a dungeon. Like apparating! In Harry Potter! Or, it looks like a dungeon at least. Prison cells line the walls, some having complicated locks that seem impossible to break. To my relief, I see no people in the dungeons- I’m not sure what any of us would’ve thought if we did. Emma opens her mouth, but a sharp, sudden, terrifying roar makes us jump. El leads us further into the dungeon, and my mouth drops open. Five dragons, pace a cage. One is red and orange, and her scales look like magma. She has lots of spines, and her tail is ignited in flame. El hands me a bottle. “Drink this, when Ash here lights her body on fire, it will keep you from being harmed.” Wow...Dragons. And we get to ride them? Awesome!
“Cool,” I say. I drink the red substance without complaint. El walks into the cage, and puts a seat on Ash, and leads her out. Ash snarls, and her body lights on fire when she sees us. I take a step back. Emma is holding on tightly to George, who is holding hands with Everleigh. When El finally coaxes Ash to dim her fire, she says to me,
“Come up to her. Let her sniff you,” El says. I slowly walk up to Ash, and put a hand out for her to sniff. Ash does. And her amber eyes meet mine.
“Who are you?” She growls. I jump back, and shock surges through me.
“They can talk!” I gasp. El nods. I turn back to Ash, who is twitching her tail as if deciding whether to kill me or not. My heart pounds, realizing the entire journey could end here. I choose my words carefully.
“I am Queen Anabelle, the queen of fire, and we all need to defeat Queen Raven. To get there, we must fly across the ocean.” I finish. Ash squints, as if in deep thought.
“Alright,” she finally says. “Hop on,” I do, and it is really far off the ground.
“This is so cool!” I say. Apparently, the others are too stunned to speak. Then, El leads out a dragon that looks like it has rocks on its belly, and grass everywhere else. Its spikes are sharp twigs, and its wings look like giant leaves. Flowers are dotted on its scales, and I know that this is the earth dragon.
“Sequoia, this is Everleigh,” El says. Everleigh cautiously takes a step forward. Sequoia and Everleigh’s green eyes meet. They stand in silence for a moment, and then Everleigh speaks.
“Uh, hi,” She says. Everleigh closes her eyes and flinches backwards, her hand extended. Sequoia pauses before answering. She looks at Everleigh quizzically.
“Hi, why are you here? Same as Queen Anabelle?” Sequoia asks. Everleigh nods.
“Yeah, same as her.”
“Uh, okay, hop on,” Sequoia says. With help from El, Everleigh hops up on Sequoia, who walks over to Ash. In seconds, Sequoia and Everleigh are chatting about all the different types of plants, while not a single thing has sparked a conversation for Ash and I. I guess we just want to watch. So, watch I do, and El leads a blue dragon out. Her body is long like a snake, and she has legs, four, and two massive wings. In between her talons are webbing, and her tail is like the tip of an arrow. When she spots Harley, her eyes light up.
“Wow! My first rider beside Queen El! AWESOME! Hi, I’m Aqua, what’s your name?” Aqua asks, dashing up to Harley. Harley grins.
“I’m Queen Harley, you can just call me Harley though, and you are AWESOME!” she says, her eyes sparkling with joy. Aqua gives Harley a toothy grin.
“Hop on!” Aqua stretches out her tail, and Harley hops on it, then up to the seat El has placed on her. Lucky Harley. Ash hasn’t said much to me. Next, El leads out a feathered white dragon. The dragon’s eyes are a lilac color, and her wings are like giant birds. She steps nervously up to George.
“You’re Queen George, right?” she asks. George nods. The dragon bows. “Your Majesty, I am here to help you in any way you need,” the dragon says. “Call me Dove,” she adds.
George frowns. “Please! You don’t have to act like that around me! Ha, I’m barely a queen!” George says, rolling her eyes. Dove grins.
“Oh, thank goodness! I had no idea what to expect, but I really didn’t want to be bowing every time we spoke! Oh, I’m so glad your fun!” Dove says. Ha. I can’t even imagine a George that isn’t fun.
George doesn’t need help getting on Dove, because Dove is smaller than the other dragons. In an instant, the two are chatting, and are inseparable. Last, El leads out a shy, pale blue dragon. Her wings are torn, and she hides what she can behind El. She has lots of spikes, it’s obvious that she is an ice dragon.
“Hey, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” Emma says, taking a step closer to the dragon. She puts her hand out, and the dragon let's out a squeal and jumps back.
“Snowflake, it’s okay! You’re lucky! Emma is very very kind, she won’t hurt you!” El says.
“It's okay, Snowflake, I won't hurt you,” Emma says softly, though her brown eyes are stretched wide. She puts her hand out slowly. Snowflake nervously takes a step closer to Emma. Her body is covered in many spikes, but they all lay flat. Emma carefully puts a hand on Snowflake’s head. Snowflake stiffens. “Can I get on you?” Emma asks. Snowflake closes her eyes.
“Okay…” she finally decides. Snowflake’s voice is a sigh, but still a high soprano. Emma carefully hops up onto Snowflake, and she walks over to the other dragons. El nods happily, and then she removes something on the roof so they can fly out, (by waving her hand) and she walks out and the dungeon doors clang shut.
“Ok, so, um, let's figure out where we’re going,” I say. I take out the map, and unroll it. I look at the map. Everleigh leans over to peer at the map.
“First stop,” she starts.
“The fire kingdom,” I finish.
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