Ivy The dragon

by Selena He

Ivy the Dragon

Chapter 1

"Remember, Ivy, in three days you will search for

your parents. Not today. Today you're still twelve. In

three days, you go." Beatrice tells me kindly. "I know," I

respond, "But I'm just so impatient!" "First you have to

do your lessons. We study magic in the morning. Like

always." Beatrice pushes a pot of soil toward me. "Your

first task: make a flower grow out of this pot. A small

flower." Beatrice instructs. I giggle at her last sentence. A

few weeks ago, I had been trying to grow a cherry tree in

Beatrice's backyard. I accidentally made it as big as a

skyscraper! The cherries were delicious, though.

I snap back into reality. I focus on the pot and

picture a daisy in it. Yellow pollen, snow-white petals, a

bright green stem, thin leaves… I have to think of an

obvious image of it, or my magic won't work. I open my

eyes. A small stem is rising from the pot. Yes! Soon the

daisy is in full bloom. "Good job," Beatrice praises me.

"You might need these powers when you are finding your

parents."

I grin. Thinking of what I am going to do on my

thirteenth birthday sends shivers of excitement down my

back. And I have a very long back. With 2 pairs of kind of

long, very leaf-like wings. And a long, graceful green tail

with emerald-coloured fur shaped like two leaves at the

end. And seafoam-green scales each shaped like a

diamond (The shape diamond, not that mineral).

Yup, you guessed it. I'm a dragon. A plant dragon

who has the ability to study way higher levels of magic

than anyone (including the fairies, gnomes, elves, and

others) else around here.

If there's one thing I hate the most, it's winter. I live

in the Animal Care Shelter, and it's built in the forest.

The woodland creatures are my friends. Some fairies are

my friend, too. Oh, and Beatrice. How could I forget

about her? Beatrice raised me.

In winter, the woodland creatures hibernate. Some

migrate. The ones that do stay are too busy finding food

to play with me. And let's not mention I'm usually more

than twice as big as the woodland creatures. Sometimes

even ten times as big. Even living here for twelve years

has not made some of the animals release their fear and

become friends with me.

When I'm not playing and exploring the forest with

the animals, I learn magic with Beatrice. Beatrice also

teaches me other stuff, like which plants taste better,

names of places, and how to use my 36 senses in the

wild. I heard (chipmunks gossip a lot!) that humans only

have five senses. Can you believe it? Only five!

A typical day at the Animal Care Shelter includes

magic lessons in the morning, a break to talk to the

woodland creatures and play, then a lesson on plant life.

After that is my 36 sense test. Beatrice always

makes sure I get my 36 sense test. It sees if any senses

are getting stronger or weaker. But my 36 senses had

stopped changing a few months ago, but Beatrice still

insists on doing it.

The test usually takes the rest of the day, and

everything is done outside. Dragons, and all creatures,

belong outside. It is literally in their genes. The only

creatures that resists it, or doesn't feel it, are humans.

Humans are strange. They put themselves on top of the

food chain, and some even put themselves apart from

the rest of the animals. True, the other animals live

outside, bathe in rainwater, and are usually dirty. But

humans can fall into depression, they have something

called School, which is held inside, and most are mean to

others. I've often thought about humans, and almost

laugh at how unknowing they are.

"Ivy? Ivy?" Beatrice calls, awkwardly trying to shake

me. Beatrice is a fairy, and I am way bigger than her. I

jerk up, realizing I've been in a trance, thinking about

humans. "Ivy! You fell asleep in the middle of the test in

one of your 36 senses!" I blink about twenty times.

"Um… Wait-what? Um… I… Just do the test." I mumble.

Beatrice sighs and starts organizing some objects. The

next day is the same as the one before.

There is an extended magic lesson, with forest

animals dropping by in the middle to give me advice on

finding my parents. The next day is the same. I mean,

the activities are the same, but there is a tension in the

air that got more and more and more noticable for the

past three days. I know why.

Tomorrow, nothing will ever be the same again. For

the better or worse. Beatrice planned out my route ages

ago. I know it by heart. I crawl into my bed, the same

one I've been using for my whole life. Tomorrow, that will

change. Everything will.

Chapter 2

Morning is here in the Animal Rescue Shelter. The

yellow beams of light shining through the window prove

that. I am excited, but also a bit nervous. Today I am

going to find my parents! And it's my birthday. I've been

waiting practically my entire life for this day! And I'm

only a little bit scared.

Now Beatrice is walking in. Her silky black hair falls

right down to her knees, and her clearish green wings

flutter behind her. Beatrice is a fairy. I'm a dragon (duh).

But that doesn't stop us from being friends! Beatrice is

like a mother to me. I've known her since I hatched.

"Come," Beatrice says, leading me to the door. "Now that

you are thirteen (in dragon years), you can go out on

your own to find your parents."

Outside, there is a crowd of animals. They all came

to say goodbye to the last dragon on the Earth. The last

known dragon on the Earth, at least. Since I have grown

up, I will search the world for any more dragons. If there

are none, I will return, or at least try. Beatrice will go

with me as far as marked territory. Then I will be on my

own. I plan to go to the Crystal Mountains. It will be a

long journey, taking almost a month.

Beatrice takes her place beside me, and we soar

into the air. Flying with Beatrice is easy. Beatrice uses

her powers to create a safe path, and it is easy traveling

with her. Along the way, Beatrice gives me survival tips.

"Drink water only from clear, clean streams," Beatrice

tells me every time we stop. "You should see if you can

see the pebbles or fish in it clearly," she adds. We pass

through forests and rivers, until we go to the edge of

unmarked land. "Remember, stay away from humans,"

Beatrice says. Then she walks to me, her eyes misty.

She hands me something wrapped in a leaf. "Open

it," she whispers. I do it carefully. Sometimes I can be a

little clumsy! I don't want to drop anything, especially

now! Inside are two pieces of jewelry;a bracelet and a

necklace. They are both made of thin, delicate looking

vines. The vines vary in color, from the shade of emerald

green to grass green. Attached to both is a single, clear

gem. They are dragon-size. I put them on, feeling a bit

silly. When I was a small dragon, I used to make jewelry

out of daisies and dandelion stems. I stopped doing that

years ago! Beatrice tells me how the jewelry works,

interrupting my thoughts.

Apparently, they are supposed to help me on my

journey. "They're my gift to you," Beatrice whispers,

choking on her words. I nod, suddenly sad. I realize I will

miss the Animal Care Shelter. I feel sad, but determined.

I have to find my parents. I say goodbye to Beatrice and

all the birds that have flown with me. Then I take off into

the Unknown Land. Legend says that some dragons

ventured in the forests of the Unknown Land, and they

never returned. Some say it's dark and full of danger. No

one has ever made it back alive. But I am not afraid! My

family might be out there! Plus, I have learned enough

magic, so I can pretty much protect myself from

anything.

I have the gifts from Beatrice, a magic bracelet that

could warn me of danger, and a necklace that could heal

me much more quickly than anything else! Also, if I apply

the right amount of magic, I can even make a sapling

become towering before you can even blink (I am not

boasting, just to be clear)

I plan to go to the Crystal Mountains. The Crystal

mountains have great hiding spots, I think. My parents

might be hiding there. I spent the first night in a small

cave, but I fit in perfectly, using dragon magic. That

night, I thought about Beatrice and my good friends in

the Animal Care Shelter, and I miss them all. Beatrice

told me that on August two, many years ago, a dragon

egg mysteriously appeared in front of the animal care

shelter and hatched, right on the doorstep. So after that

Beatrice raised me, right there in the forest (okay, I lived

in the Animal Care Shelter, but you get the idea).

Beatrice is a forest fairy. She built the animal care shelter

two years before she found me (fairies don't age like

humans do. I don't know how old Beatrice is. She's not

telling).

I also think about long ago, when humans and

dragons were friends. When it was normal to splash

around with mermaids, to wave at fairies as they flew by,

and casually hitch a ride on a dragon. But that did not

last, of course. Humans hunted dragons, shot mermaids

for food, and kept fairies in jars as pets. Soon we all had

to go into hiding. That was so long ago, we are now

known as mythical creatures. I am still angry at humans.

After all, no magical creature did them any harm!

Beatrice used to tell me stories about it. She talked like

she had lived there at the time, and saw all of it with her

own eyes. I draw a shaky breath. Beatrice! I wonder

what she's doing now.

After that, I spent days soaring above the clouds,

seeing nothing but the bright blue sky, fluffy

marshmallow-looking clouds, and sometimes little

patches of green beneath it. I have a good sense of

direction, and I don't get hungry very easily. I could

starve for 20 days without dying (but I never want to try

doing that).

Chapter 3

One day, after a long morning of flying, I decide to

land early to rest. Not for long, though. I don't want to

land into any type of danger. I circle over a piece of land

for a while, making sure it's safe. After a minute, I land. I

had just set my claws onto the grass when something

went spring! A net had just fallen on top of me. Two

humans walk out from behind a tree. "I told you, dragons

are real," one of them says. "There's one right here," he

adds. The other human frowns. "I guess it's true that I

doubted you. And that you did capture one. What are you

gonna do with it?" He scratches his head. "Sell it,

probably. Put it in the zoo or fair." The other human says

with a shrug. I remember Beatrice's words. Stay away

from humans.

I try to escape from the net, tearing at it with my

teeth. I just get even more tangled. "Look, it's trying to

escape." One of the humans warns. The other human

squints at me. "I see," he says. "Bring on the others,"

The other human nods, and yells, "Hey guys, we've

caught one!". I hear the pounding of dozens of human

feet. One of the humans that I first saw walked toward

me. "Naughty, naughty," he mutters. "But I can forgive

you," he says. "After you earn me some money!" He

smiles greedily. A group of humans came.

They ran to me, and examined me like I was an

object they were planning to buy. There were three of

them. "A pretty fine one. We'll show it to Dendritic,

right?" One of them says, grinning. "Yup, been planning

that." Someone else responds. "I'm mighty scared of it.

But if y'all give me some money, I'm in." The third one

says, backing away from me a bit. I growl to show my

sharp teeth. "Ah! I say, I am mighty scared of it, too."

The second one says, also backing away. Good. If they

go away, I might be able to escape, I think positively .

"Let's load it on that train, guys," someone says. I see all

the humans, peering over me, and grinning evilly.

I blink, remembering the night before. The humans

had called more people, and they pushed me into the

Train. Trains are not pleasant. I never saw one in the

Animal Rescue Center, but I heard about it. Humans use

them to travel. I had heard Trains killed a whole lot of

animals. I shiver. Now I am on a Train, and tied up, too.

I am bound in a thick, coarse rope. They don't hurt me

too much. Humans don't have much strength compared

to dragons, but they have dangerous weapons, and are

greedy.

I can move my head a little. I can look out a little

window. Through the window I can see green hills, a few

trees scattered around, and the shape of the Crystal

Mountains, getting smaller and smaller. You're going the

wrong way, a voice inside me says. I feel despair.

In an instant, I become even more determined to get

to crystal mountains, and to find my family. Okay, first I

have to get out of these ropes. A swirl of options fill my

mind. I finally decide on magic. I do a cutting spell. The

ropes fall off me easily. A few remains of the net fall off,

too. I slowly stand up, feeling alert and excited. You have

to get out of this Train, somehow, I decide. Or maybe my

mind did?

I start looking for places I can break out of. Creak.

A door attached to the wall swings open. A human walks

in. He looks at me, his eyes filling with terror. I roar,

showing my teeth and looking as scary as I can. I roar

again, louder, and cast a sound spell. Sound spells are

easy. I make the sound of a tummy rumbling. Then I eye

the human hungrily, and pretend I want to eat him. Then

I begin to walk toward him slowly, pretending I was

sneaking up to him. I learned in the Animal Rescue

Shelter that I was acting like what a predator is doing.

That human is acting the prey. I heard that humans are

scared of being eaten, partly because they eat so many

animals themselves.

The human's face turns white, and he runs off.

"G-g-guys! The dragon's out of the ropes! It's hungry,

too!" He yells. I try not to grin. This is sort of fun.

Escape. My mind orders me as soon as the human has

left the room. I do an exploding spell. The train flys

apart. I take off as soon as the train is destroyed.

I fly as quick as I can. I have to get away and find

my parents! I hear human screams behind me. A sharp

object pierces my left wing. Weapons, my mind says

while I try to dodge them. The weapons keep coming,

and soon my wings feel like they're on fire. Keep. Flying.

I tell myself as I struggle to fly. Looking around

frantically, I decide to take shelter behind some trees. I

fly there, and I hear the human voices fading away. What

a close escape!

Now all I hear is the peaceful sound of nature. I turn

to Crystal Mountain. It already looks closer than before. I

grin happily. My necklace will heal me easily. By

tomorrow, I should be able to continue my journey to the

Crystal Mountains.

After days of flying, I finally arrive at the edge of the

Crystal Mountains. I have to admit that it's a long

journey and most animals definitely couldn't make it. But

just simply looking at the Crystal Mountain would take

my breath away. It's made of actual crystal! Gleaming,

bright blue crystal. I would have pried out every piece of

crystal and gave them to Beatrice. But thinking of her

just makes my chest ache. I focus on the crystal

mountain, trying not to cry.

The first thing I notice is that there are no plants

around here. Here, I cannot spread my magic because I

am a plant dragon. (although I don't like this name that

much). Also, I think my parents have a small possibility

to live here, if they are still alive, because they probably

like to live near plants, too. But I searched anyway.

There are mountains of crystal (literally), it would

probably take me a whole day o search. I search for my

family, looking carefully for clues There are small

patches of soft ground, made of piles of tiny pieces of

crystal.

I've been searching for hours now. I don't like shiny

things, like crystals, so I decide to turn and leave this

place. Instantly, I stop, astonished. There are claw prints

in the crystal! I mean, it looks like someone, or

something stepped in it… I do a quick check with my own

claw. Yup, a dragon claw print. It is exactly like mine,

only a bit bigger. It is in a pile of soft ground. There are

more ahead! The ground is getting softer and softer. But

after I go a little further, I notice the ground is not so

soft anymore. Soon, I see no more claw prints. I walk a

little further, and soon find I am at the edge of a hole…

But how could a hole appear on solid, hard crystal? I look

in. The walls look rough, as if machines made it. My

claws slip on the smooth crystal, which is a very clumsy

and dragon-like thing to do (on crystal, at least). But I do

not fly out, or even pull myself up. I instead crawl deeper

into the hole, which turns out to be a tunnel. And for only

one reason: I see light below.

Chapter 4

The light seems to be getting brighter. It looks

yellow and warm, like sunlight, even though I seem to be

getting deeper with each inch I move. After what seemed

to be hours of crawling and slithering (by then, I feel like

my distant cousins, the snakes). The tunnel stops

abruptly. I am now in something like a room. A room

made of crystal.

Wow! This mountain is pure crystal, and, as it

seems, only crystal. Right down to the core. I check my

bracelet. My bracelet is made of vines, braided together,

and holds a single, clear gem. Same with my necklace.

When there is danger, the gem on the bracelet glows

bright red, and buzzes faintly. When it is safe, the gem is

completely clear. The gem is glowing bright red right

now, and vibrating on my wrist. It seems like it's saying:

Go in, you will regret it if you don't, but you might be in

grave danger or as happy as ever in your life if you do.

Well, I would choose going in, of course. My bracelet kind

of acts like a short prophecy, and prophecies are always

mysterious and scary. I don't like the feeling of them.

I look around. The cave is well lit, and it feels like

someone's been here a few moments earlier. I don't

know how they got out. Or they are still here, a part of

my brain whispers. I jump nearly a mile in the air. It

feels like someone is behind me and talking to me! But

I'm 99 percent sure it's just my brain. Wait, it seems kind

of familier... I heard this same voice when I got captured

on my way here! It must be my mind ... But it's not the

same as my own thoughts… I make sure my necklace

and bracelet are on securely, and I start exploring. There

are big jagged pieces of crystal on the ground, and some

words are carved in them. It said this:

2 dragons captured. Located in the grand hall. 900000 dollars

I walk around more, looking around and trying to

find any sign of dragons. I have a feeling like somebody's

watching me. It gives me chills, thinking about it. There's

nothing here but crystal, crystal, and more crystal, I tell

myself. It doesn't get rid of the tight knot in my stomach.

I stop to rest, even though I'm not tired. I need to calm

myself down before I move on. This place gives me

creeps.

Without warning, a group of humans jump from

behind a rock. They are holding a giant net, big enough

to hold something gigantic… Like a dragon. One of them

is holding a jar filled with a colorful liquid. The human

holding the jar screws off the lid. A strong, sweet scent

fills the room. I notice the humans are wearing a kind of

mask over their faces, to keep out the scent, I suppose.

The humans throw the net over me. I try to fight back,

but the scent is too strong. The scent makes it hard to

focus and think. I throw my head back in an attempt to

get out of here, but it does not work. Nets. So annoying.

My eyelids start to droop. The last thing I see is a human

near the wall, writing on it,

1 more captured.

* * * *

I blink. I've awoken, realizing the liquid must have

put me to sleep. I look around. I find myself in a long,

dark room. I am on a sort of table, and bound tightly in

rope. My left wing is badly bruised. My head is in a kind

of harness, and it holds my mouth shut. I try to free

myself, but it is useless. The ropes bite into my scales,

my left wing stings, and worst of all, my necklace is

gone. I hear voices. There is an open door, and the

sound is coming from it. "Hello, everybody," the voice

says, "As you know, quite a while ago two dragons were

found roaming Crystal Mountains. They are currently in

that tunnel, right down there. After waiting for years, I

thought there weren't any more dragons in this area, so I

remove a few traps, and decided to leave this place with

two old dragons. But yesterday, another dragon was

found! It is now in the room right behind me!" This is

followed by some half hearted cheers. I don't like the

sound of what the human said. But with my legs, claws,

and wings tied down, what can I do?

There is a small noise. Is it the door opening? I can

barely lift my head. No, it's not. I hear another voice. A

familiar voice. It is… Beatrice's! I would have been crying

out for joy, if my mouth was not in a harness. Beatrice

has my necklace, and she slips it on my neck as quietly

as she can.

I can feel new strength, and pretty soon my left

wing is healing and my pain lightens. I struggle more,

wanting to hug Beatrice, but meanwhile the harness is

making rather loud clicking noises as I move. Clank,

clank, clank. "Shhhhh," Beatrice says softly, "Don't make

too much noise, or they'll come." I stop, trying to let her

know that I miss her and to not go away just yet. I have

so many questions! How did you get here? Where and

who are the other dragons they are talking about? What

are humans discussing? How did you find my necklace?

And most important of all: Can you help me get out of

here?! I try to say all that in my expression, but I clearly

failed.

Chapter 5

Beatrice is looking to the direction of the talking

humans. I fan out my ears (yes I can do that) so I can

hear more clearly, and listen.

"The dragons have great use for us, we have three

here…" "Dragon s ? Like plural? Right here in the crystal

mountain?" I ask, nearly loud enough to make the

humans hear me. The harness holds my mouth shut, but

I can talk through my teeth, which is a difficult thing to

do.

"Shhhhhhhhh. Don't make any sound." Beatrice

reminds me, trying to hide behind me. " … Krystall, let's

go back." a voice says. Then another voice snaps, "No!

Krystall and Vivian, you are not allowed to leave!

Dragons might still be a threat to us! Some of them can

breathe fire, remember? And I'm pretty sure there are a

lot we didn't include." Humans are still trying to wipe us

out!?

If I were a fire dragon, I would set each one of them

on fire, no matter what. "Let's check on the dragons, just

to be sure." A third voice says. The second one snorts,

but I think he or she follows anyway. The footsteps

slowly fade away. Checking on the other dragons, they

must be. That thought occurred to me why I wasn't with

them.

After a few moments, I hear about 6 sets of feet

walking towards my room. I try to hide my necklace.

Quick, hide! I try to say that to Beatrice using my

expression, turning my head toward her. This time, she

understands. She nods and dives behind the nearest

crystal. Just as her wings disappear behind the crystal,

the door opens and a human head pokes in and stares at

me. I stare back. Soon, the light turns on and I see more

people. I am positive that there were only 4 humans out

of the 6 that captured me.

"That's a new kind of dragon!" A person says,

looking smugly at me, as if shooting invisible knives at

me with his eye. His expression made me want to stab

him in the eyeball. But Beatrice never taught me about

killing animals, since I am half vegetarian and half

meat-eater. She has enough space for plants that could

feed all of the animals in the shelter. Beatrice hates

killing animals. "Yeah, we just got it today." Krystall

(probably) says, "want to get all of them in one place?"

The first one nods, finally turns away from me. "Sylvia,

Vivian, can you get the other two dragons please?" Sylvia

and Vivian both bow, and slip away from the cave.

Krystall glares at me, and then, to my astonishment, she

lifts my harness off my head and unties the rope! I can

talk and fly, at last!

I stretch my wings, it's good to be free. All of a

sudden, I remember that Beatrice is still hiding behind

the crystal. She must be so scared! I want to help her,

but I can't. My memory slowly tips back to the time when

I was still learning magic… magic! I can use that! I used

that when I was captured on my way to Crystal

Mountain. I take a deep breath. I can shoot spells at the

end of my tail, because it kind of acts as a wand. I have

to curl in my double-leaf shaped tail to hide the sparks

and light as I am conjuring the spell. Beatrice, I will

teleport you back to your home, see you there. I send

my words through my power, and she will probably hear

it in a second. And then I shove all my power to Beatrice

through the lines I just connected, successfully sending

her back without any explosions. I feel a little dizzy, but I

always do after I cast a spell.

Chapter 6

Just when my mind is cleared, Sylvia and Vivian are

back, followed by two dragons behind them. My tribe

mates! These two dragons are looking at me, astounded

and puzzled, probably because they've never seen me

before, and that's true. Meanwhile, two other humans left

the room, it seems like they don't want to join any

conversations in this room. "There," Krystall says, "Three

dragons altogether." I look carefully at the two dragons.

One of them is a fire dragon.

She has orange-yellow scales, bright red wings that

casts off fiery sparks, and has a tuft of fur at the end of

her tail that looks like burning fire. She seems to be

friendly, but at the moment she looks unhappy and

scared. The other dragon has rich, dark chestnut colored

scales, a long, thin tail with nothing on the end, and

looks strong and majestic. I'm guessing he is an Earth

dragon, and Earth dragons are related to plant dragons.

Beatrice taught me about all the different types of

dragons, back at the Animal Rescue Shelter.

"Hello," the fire dragon whispers. "My name is

Phoenix, and he is Maple," Phoenix gestures to the Earth

dragon with a flick of her tail. "We have been here a long,

long, time. It is horrible, because-" she can't get farther

than that, because a human, the one that had sneered at

me, walks in. "because humans are evil." I finish her

sentence under my breath. "How long have you been

here, Phoenix and Maple? Two years? Three?" I whisper,

realizing that person isn't paying any attention to us, he

is talking busily to Krystall. They (the dragons, not the

humans), think for a long time.

Just as I am about to ask other questions, Maple

says, "Probably for about 13 years?" Phoenix nods. My

eyes widen. "THIRTEEN years?! That's a really lengthy

amount of time. I don't think most dragons could survive

that without losing their minds." "True," Phoenix says,

"Let's talk. I want to know more about you. We haven't

met any new dragons after we were captured. I can

share what happened to us thirteen years ago." I

hesitate, and then I nod. Maple cleans a spot with his tail

so we can sit, and Phoenix begins her story.

"I am a fire dragon and Maple is an earth dragon." I

guessed right! I think."About thirteen years ago, when

Maple and I were only about 24, very young, I know, we

traveled around the world, having fun adventures

together, and making lots of friends, while carefully

avoiding humans. One day, we arrived at Crystal

mMountain. Yes, we only saw one, and later I heard

more magically popped out (the mineral fairies' work,

probably). We were sure that the mountain wasn't here

before, and we started exploring. We always find

exploring entertaining, although we were a little scared. I

didn't bring any magic with me, only food and a map that

didn't mark this crystal mountain's existence. We looked

at the mountain closely, and then we realized a dragon

was perched on top." Phoenix stops to catch her breath.

Maple fills in.

"We flew to her. At first, she didn't even see us, and

then after a few minutes, she looked up. Her face was full

of tears. She sobbed, 'Please, help me.' We asked, 'What

happened?' That dragon said, 'My name is Marigold.

Nightshade is in trouble, and I have to look for him. But I

need a place to put my egg somewhere safe. If I don't

help Nightshade soon, something terrible will happen. I

don't know what to do!' I wanted to be helpful, so I said,

'I know a place in that forest, in front of a building, called

'Animal Rescue Shelter', Beatrice the Fairy built it.

Beatrice can probably take care of it while you're away.'

We both felt bad for her. The dragon flew to the forest

with us where the Animal Rescue Shelter was. When

Maple and I came back to the crystal mountain, some

humans spotted us and we were captured. I have not

heard of her since."

"Wait," I interrupt, "I was found on the doorstep of

the Animal Rescue Shelter 13 years ago by Beatrice! That

dragon you saw was probably my mother!" Phoenix and

Maple gasp, and their mouths drop. "I wish I knew where

my mother is now!" I cry. Maple scrunches his face and

says, "I think she said she and Nightshade were going to

hide in a secret place, after she helps him escape, and

she told no one else but us." Then, I hear a human

talking. "Look at how miserable that new dragon looks,"

a nasty voice says. I recognize that it comes from the

human that sneered at me. The voice goes on. "I haven't

seen one so miserable as that dragon that got trapped in

that net I set up years ago. Dragons don't get trapped

easily," he ends this in a kind of whining tone, as if

dragons were just annoying flies that always bothers

him. I'm a bit offended, but I don't show it.

This human had black clothes on, and looked about

30 years old, "I'm getting collars and leashes made for

the dragons. They will be worth millions! Or even billions!

Money is just the best thing in the world! Right?" he

asked the others, "I think it's not nice to the dragons. I

would free them, if I were you. And I wouldn't want the

money," Krystall answers quietly. I look carefully at her.

She has long brown hair, tied up in a ponytail. She is

wearing a light blue jacket, black pants, and white

sneakers. She has a wise, friendly expression, and seems

kind. But the other human scoffs. "Ha! Not nice? You're

lucky to even be able to help us at all!" I'm not sure, but

I think I see another human take a step closer to

Krystall. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can free the dragons,

somehow," she whispers.

I recognize the voice. It is the same as the one that

had urged Krystal to leave earlier. She has wavy black

hair, and was wearing a fluffy sweater with a picture of a

kitty on it, a light blue skirt that peeks out of her

sweater, long white stockings, and brown boots that go

up to her ankles. "No, it's hopeless, Vivian. Dendritic is in

charge, you know." Krystall says softly. I frown. It is

obvious that Krystal and Vivian are trying to free Maple,

Phoenix, and me. Which is very confusing. Beatrice told

me to stay away from humans. Krystal and Vivian seem

like good humans. But aren't they one of the humans

that are teams with the one who wants to make money?

Called Dendritic, I think. I sigh. I had never had these

problems in the Animal Rescue Shelter. NEVER.

"Actually," That mean person says (his name is

probably Dendritic), with the nastiest expression, "the

collars and leashes are ready early. I guess these

monsters won't escape soon." He smirks, and then he

claps loudly, "Someone get the leash! NOW! Don't make

me mad! And get me a strawberry smoothie on the way!

No, blueberry!" Everyone seems to be frightened of him.

A human called Sylvia stands up quickly and rushes out

of the room. Sylvia has short blond hair, and is wearing a

flowered shirt with ruffles at the end, a plaid skirt, and

tall black boots. "Ok, Dendritic," she calls over her

shoulder as she leaves the room. "Call me sir!" Dendritic

snaps. He runs after her, out of the room.

The only ones in the room are Krystal and Vivian. I

feel safer, now that the mean person (Dendritic) isn't

here. Krystall looks at me, and sighs. Vivian begins

stroking Phoenix. "I never thought it would turn out this

way, you know, with all the kidnapping." Krystall says.

Vivian nods, and Krystall goes on. "I have always enjoyed

working with animals. When I saw someone trying to find

dragons, I thought it would be fun. But after I started, I

realized…" Vivian nods again. "I know. Dendritic only

cares about money. Instead of working together, he

orders us around. I feel so bad about capturing the new

dragon! Yesterday, Sylvia told me she felt the same

way."

Chapter 7

Krystall looks at me with determination on her face.

"We have to get you out of here," she whispers. I purr.

Unexpectedly, a snout pokes out of a big gap in the

ground. I had not noticed that before(the gap, not the

snout). It is ruining Krystall's grand moment. I don't

mind. Should I? Phoenix nearly screams, but she covers

her mouth just in time. "Hello," the dragon says, "Am I

interrupting something? My name is Hawk. Do you know

where Maple and Phoenix are?"

This dragon has a brownish-gold colored fur, (most

dragons have scales instead of fur), and paws instead of

sharp claws. He has an avine beak and some gigantic

colorful feathers at the back of his triangular head. He

also has a pair of enormous feathery wings shaped like

an eagle that is tucked in close. Maple and Phoenix run to

the edge of the hole. "Hawk? Is that really you? I haven't

seen you for years!" Maple cries. "I can't believe it!"

Phoenix exclaims.

Krystall stares at Hawk. "M-may I h-h-help y-you?"

Is the only thing she says. Vivian, on the other hand, has

lots to say, and begins immediately firing questions at

him. "Who are you? Why are you here? How did you get

here? How do you know about Maple and Phoenix? Are

you their friend? Are you our friend? Why do you-"

"Whoa," Hawk says, "Slow down. Umm, is it safe to

come out?" Vivian shakes her head. "No, but don't go

away just yet. Dendritic is going to imprison you the first

second he sees you." Vivian answers. "They are actually

coming right now," Krystall leans toward Hawk, and says,

"Hello, Hawk," in a quiet but surprised voice. "I'm glad to

see you, I don't know why. You have to go down that

hole until it's safe to come out." Krystall tucks a lock of

her hair behind her ear. "Alright. Maple and Phoenix,"

Hawk turns, talking quietly but firmly to them, "I am

going to free you soon." Then he disappears down the

hole, using some crystal to block the entrance. A few

seconds later, Dendritic storms back to the room, looking

extra angry, with Sylvia panting heavily behind him.

"She," Dendritic points at Sylvia, talking to Krystall,

"is a total mess." Sylvia shudders. Dendritic turns to her.

"You really thought you could get away with it, didn't

you? You thought you could really get away? Leading me

off to another street, wandering for ages when the right

place was just around the corner? And taking forever to

order my smoothie! I am EXTRA grumpy I couldn't get

my smoothie! And the leashes and collars! Did you drop

them with every step on purpose? Did you really think I

wouldn't notice when you took forever to pick them up?

You are a disgrace! You embarrassed me! PUBLICLY! And

when you dropped them in the middle of the road? I

almost got hit by a car! You are lucky I am not firing you

this very instant!" Sylvia quivers.

Satisfied, Dendritic turns back to Krystall and

continues talking," I am suspicious that she was

distracting me so you guys can do something secretly.

But you can't do anything now! I have the leashes and

collars in my hands!" He waves the collars and leashes,

and then steps forward to put the collar on my head. I

duck and growl, ready to sprint forward to slash Dendritic

if he gets closer to Phoenix and Maple. Phoenix breathes

a fiery breath at Dendritic. Maple growls. Without

warning, a paw gently taps my tail. Hawk! I twist my

neck, trying to get a look at him. "Shhhhh, ok, I get what

you mean. Dendritic is evil. I'll throw a seed up and you

can grow and use its branches to block the way if

Dendritic is chasing us. Can you help me get Phoenix and

Maple to come and tell them we are planning to leave

now?" Hawk whispers. I nod, and tell Phoenix and Maple

Hawk's message. But right now they're too busy dodging

Dendritic and his attempts to put the collars and leashes

on them, and Phoenix is trying to set Dendritic on fire.

But surprisingly he is very skillful, it's tough for Phoenix

to aim straight at Dendritic.

I turn back to Hawk, but he is gone. He only left the

seed, which is on the ground, in a pile of soil. I take a

deep breath. It seems I'll have to grow the seed, and

then signal Maple and Phoenix to come here. I look

around, making sure Dendritic is distracted, then I focus

on the seed, and imagine it growing into… A tall oak.

All of a sudden, the ground rumbles. "What are you

doing?" Dendritic snaps, turning his head to look. The

distraction gives Phoenix and Maple enough time to

snatch the collars and leashes away from him and throw

them on the ground. And I don't know why Phoenix

decides to not set Dendritic on fire. Krystall, Vivian, and

Sylvia rush to Dendritic. For a moment I think they are

going to help him get up, but then I see they are busy

tying his arms and legs together with some ropes. When

they finish, he is squirming so much that he reminds me

of a worm. Or a fish above water. I don't feel even an

inch of compassion in my heart, and I'm sure no one else

does. There is some more rumbling behind me. I think

the tree should stop growing now. The tree is still

growing. Oops... It's crashing into the ceiling... oh no!

It's still growing! It's growing through the ceiling! Bits of

crystal are crashing down. Hawk is back. He calmly but

quickly leads everyone into the hole, which is actually a

tunnel. I find tunnels are popular in the Crystal

Mountains. The tunnel is dark and narrow, but everyone

gets through without too much pushing. (Dendritic didn't

come, of course). This tunnel is going upward, and is

very long.

Finally, I see light ahead! It brings us to a sort of

cliff. This cliff is covered in grass and flowers. It's a relief

to be with plants again. I run around joyfully, exploring

and nibbling the bittersweet flowers. I haven't eaten in

about 10 days! Krystall, Vivian, and Sylvia are grinning

and chatting happily. Phoenix, Hawk, and Maple are

sitting in a circle, and talking in low voices. Hawk stands

up. "I will send a telepathic message to my family," Hawk

says. He closes his eyes, and starts to talk in a low voice.

Finally, he looks up. His eyes change color slightly,

something that happens to mammal dragons when they

do magic of any sort. "I have found my friends in one of

the Crystal Mountains," Hawk whispers. "I have also

found Marigold's daughter," He closes his eyes again.

When he speaks again, it is in a wispy, thin voice.

"Find Marigold, find Nightshade," I stare at him.

"Find them, find them, and watch out for-" Hawk squints

and shakes his head. "Watch out for what?" I ask. If

there's danger wherever my parents are, I want to know

what the danger is. Hawk just shakes his head again. I

notice his eyes are returning to their normal color. "I

don't know," he says, his voice normal again. "I got cut

off. My magic skills are getting a bit rusty. Usually I only

need to dig and find food. Not to do magic." Hawk's furry

head lowers in disgrace. "It's all my fault. If I had

practiced my magic regularly, then we would know what

the danger is."

"Don't be sad." I pat his back. "I'm sure Phoenix and

Maple can figure something out." I add. Phoenix and

Maple nod. Phoenix blasts a spurt of fire. "I'm sure Maple

and I can figure something out," she says. Maple nods in

agreement. They start talking in low voices. Swiftly,

Hawk looks up. "I got another message! It said that if we

travel to the North Sea, and go to the highest, biggest

island, then we should find your parents!" Hawk squeals.

I smile, "Lets go to the North Sea, then!" I declare sort of

grandly, and turn to everyone. "Does anyone disagree," I

say, not really asking them, but thinking about my

parents.

Krystall, Vivian, and Sylvia are the only ones who

seem to give it a second thought. "Well," Sylvia starts to

say, "Hawk, you said your magic skills are not that good.

No offense, but I think we should not rely too heavily on

it. Maybe we could investigate further or something?"

Hawk gasps. "Um, I kind of agree," Vivian adds. "Me

too," Krystall says. She turns to the rest of us and says,

"I completely agree. It's logic, after all. I hope you don't

take this the wrong way, Hawk," Krystall says, glancing

at Hawk.

I frown. I turn to Phoenix and Maple. "What about

you?" I ask in an almost annoyed voice. I can't help it.

Do the humans want to stop me from finding my

parents? Beatrice was right. All humans are evil and

mean. I glare at the three humans in a dirty way. "Yeah,

I agree with Hawk," Phoenix says. "I trust Hawk, too,"

Maple says. "Then it is decided! Hawk, do you know the

way to the North Sea?" Hawk nods, looking a bit nervous.

"I do," Hawk answers in a whisper, and takes off.

Phoenix, Maple, and I get ready.

"Um… I…" I turn around. Oh. It's Vivian. "Uh… you

are my friend," Vivian starts to say. Liar, I think to

myself. Vivian continues, "And I want to come with you.

Even if I think what you are doing is wrong, I just…

Please, Ivy. Listen to me. I disagree with what and where

you are going to go and do, but I just want to come with

you. Krystall and Sylvia want to come to. I-If I am

wrong, then, well, I apologize. But, please, Ivy, please. I

want to come. Please let me come." Vivian is on her

knees now.

I want to just say no, and leave her and all the other

humans on that cliff, but a part of my mind is saying,

listen to them, Ivy. Bring them. You will regret it if you

don't. They are truthful, you will see. I don't like that

piece of my mind. But it just isn't right to leave the

humans stranded on that cliff. So I fake a smile, and then

say, "Sure you can come. Maple, Phoenix, come here.

The humans want to come." Maple and phoenix come,

and the humans climb onto our backs. Vivian climbs onto

my back. "Thank you, Ivy, thank you," she whispers in

my ear. I can't help feeling happy.

Hawk leads the way. I can fly in my sleep, so where

to sleep at night is no problem. There are only a few tiny

problems, like I am always tired, but ignore that, and it's

actually very convenient. After a few exhausting weeks of

non-stop travel, we arrive at a rocky place where small

islands made of rocks stick out of the water. The highest

island is where my parents are… I look around for a solid

hour, but find nothing. "Hey Hawk," I call. "Are we there

yet? Do you see it? The island? My parents?"

"Not yet," Hawk calls back. I wait in silence for a

minute or so, and then Hawk shouts to me again, "I think

I see it. Right there. See?"

Hawk points a furry paw at an island. This island is

definitely the biggest island of all. It is grey, with a few

jaggedy spots and water rushing up one side of it. It is

too far away to tell if any dragons are on it. I flap my

wings as hard as I can. I want to see my parents as soon

as possible! Good bye, orhan Ivy. Hello, happy Ivy with

two wonderful parents! I might even have a brother or

sister. You never know, right? We reach it. After landing

and searching, it is clear that there are no dragons on

this island. The three humans jump off our backs to sit

down and rest.

I turn around to look at Maple, Hawk, and Phoenix. I

try to hide my sadness. "Where are my parents, Hawk?

Where?" I ask. Hawk looks… Guilty. Very, very guilty.

"There are no dragons on this island," he says, "I… Well,

shortly after I got the message, my family told me that

Marigold and Nightshade did not go near this place at all.

I got a false message. That happens to dragons that

don't practice magic enough. Your… Your parents are not

here, Ivy." Hawk gulps. As soon as I take it all in, I grow

angry.

"How dare you!" I cry. "I thought I could trust you!

You have been… mean! More than mean! Hurtful! You did

the worst thing ever known! You are a disgrace to

dragonkind!" I yell at Hawk. I cannot believe it! How

could Hawk do this? The next worst thing not to have

your hopes come true is when someone brings up your

hopes, then squashes them down. I feel awful. I feel like

Hawk has betrayed me. "Did you even know my

parents?" Hawk looks at me. "After I suggested it, you

looked so… So hopeful, I just couldn't… I'm so sorry."

Hawk hides his snout behind his paws. I glared at him.

Then I turn to Phoenix and Maple. "And you two! You

knew my mother! Didn't you know, all along, that my

parents were not really here? And you told me to go! You

chose to believe Hawk! I cannot believe you! You are the

worst friends, that's what you are!" Phoenix and Maple

just stand there.

Finally, Maple speaks. "I apologize, Ivy. It was long

ago, more than thirteen years. If I had remembered at

that time, then I would have stopped you. But I didn't.

And I regret it so much." Maple says. Phoenix lifts her

head, and I see a tear trickle down her face. "I'm sorry,

Ivy. I really am! Please forgive me. I made a mistake." I

slowly feel my anger diminishing. "I forgive you," I say,

meaning it. "Really?" Phoenix and Maple ask. "Really," I

smile at them. "Hawk, I forgive you too. Come here,"

Hawk uncovers his face and I see his fur is damp, like he

was crying. "Hawk, I'm sorry. I was angry. But I'm not

anymore." Hawk perks up a bit, and walks over to us.

"What are we going to do? I mean, after I misled

everyone, I don't know what we should do. I am not

going to offer any magic related advice. None. If you

have any questions on digging, I can help." Hawk says. I

nod. "Maple, Phoenix, do you think you could think of

where my parents might be?" Then I add kindly, "It's

okay if you are not sure. I won't be angry again." Phoenix

and Maple nod, and start talking under their breath.

After a few minutes, Phoenix looks up. "Marigold and

Nightshade are probably that way," she says, pointing to

another faraway sea in the distance. There are a few

acres of land separating that sea to this one. I squint at

it. The humans hop onto the backs of Phoenix, Hawk, and

Maple. Then we begin flying. It's an exciting flight.

Chapter 8

I fly beside Hawk, Phoenix, and Maple, speaking

excitedly. Now that I am not angry, I feel much better.

"We are going to find my parents! We really are! Thank

you, thank you for telling me! I am so happy! Hawk, I

thank you! You helped us escape from the Crystal

Mountains! I appreciate it! I appreciate everyone!" Hawk

smiles. Phoenix blows a joyful stream of fire, then says,

"There are a few small islands we can sleep on at night.

It will be a long journey, about 3 days. Thankfully

Marigold told us the exact spot, and we asked her to cast

a spell so that we can see the map in our minds (a very

strong spell, to have lasted 13 years)." Phoenix stops to

catch her breath, then continues.

"So, in case she needed more help, we could help.

She lives underwater, at the bottom of the ocean, with

water dragons guarding the castle. Marigold is absolutely

the best at magic, and she made infinite air inside the

secret underwater place." Maple nods. Hawk grins. Even

Krystall, Vivian, and Sylvia seem to like my mother. It is

like everyone here likes Marigold. My mom, I mean. It's a

bit weird saying that.

The first night begins, and we arrive at the first

island just in time. It is already quite dark, and soon the

first stars will come out. Phoenix breathes a spurt of fire

to make a fire so we can see. Hawk catches some fish

and we start eating them. It is actually my first time

eating meat. It tastes… Strange, but yummy. Krystall,

Vivian, and Sylvia all scorch the meat first, and then eat

it, which I think is unnecessary. Soon, we drift off to

sleep in a cuddling way, with the humans using my wings

as blankets. Humans are tiny!

After the day of escape and flying over that cold

North Sea, the days after seem to be kind of boring.

Well, not boring, just not really… What's the word?

Spooky? Scary? Shocking? So many S words! Maybe

bloodcurdling? Hair-raising? Horrendous? Unnerving?

Language is not very precise. But if I sent a telepathic

message, it would become clear in an instant. I prefer

telepathic communication over other languages. Wait, is

telepathic messages a language? Hm… Another confusing

thing about language. Anyway, back to what's

happening.

All we do is fly, and the only interesting thing to do is

talking to the humans. They have lots of stories to tell,

like about the television, and the phone, and of course,

the flying monsters called airplanes. There is not much to

see. Just the sea and the endless sky.

There are a few interesting things, though. Mostly on

the islands. The clouds are sometimes interesting, too. I

usually try to guess what a cloud looks like. Sometimes I

see really interesting clouds, like one shaped like a head

of a dragon. But the really captivating stuff is on the

island.

Sometimes we stop on an island in the middle of the

day, to drink water and let the humans stretch their legs.

Then we explore the island. We don't stop for long, but

the time spent exploring is really fun. Sometimes I see

mysterious bones, some even looking like dragon bones!

I like looking at the trees. Some islands are covered in

trees. Other islands have no trees, or only a few. And one

had only one tree on the entire island! Something else

that keeps me occupied is looking at the island's animals.

There are some really strange animals out there.

I saw some with these weird bony things sticking out

of their head. They were covered in fur, like Hawk. When

they saw me, they ran away pretty fast. Not very speedy

compared to me, of course, but still a bit fast compared

to other stuff, like crabs (sometimes I see crabs on the

islands, too). And there are also other cool stuff.

For example, one time when we had to take a break

on an island for the humans to rest, I saw this big thing

made of rock. It was shaped like an enormous pile of

sand, except it was brown. The top is skinny, and

gradually it gets wider and wider. And then a red liquid

started pouring out of it! Hawk hurriedly pushed

everyone away that time. I never saw it again. I also saw

these things called palm trees. They looked strange. And

I got to step on sand. A whole lot of sand. Sometimes the

sand got stuck in between my claws, and the humans

had to find big pieces of wood to remove it. That never

happened to Phoenix, Maple, and Hawk, though. That

made me a bit jealous.

There are also fish. A whole lot of fish. Fish are so

interesting. Some are silver, some blue, and some

multicolored. They have these things called fins. They

help them swim under water. I know that because the

humans told me. They also have things called gills. Gills

help them breath under water. Imagine that!

Being able to breath under water! But the most

amazing fish were these fish called flying fish. When we

were flying, a bunch of fish soared into the air, just like

that! They had their fins spread out like a bird, and it was

so strange! The best part was that I caught some in my

mouth and ate them. It was a nice snack.

I also see mermaids. Only from a distance.

Sometimes I see The Mermaid. The Mermaid is a

mermaid that I've only seen from far away. Sometimes

she is only a smudge of grey, and sometimes she is so

close I can make out the shape of her and what she is

wearing. Whenever I see her, I back away. I don't know

how, but I can sense an air of evil around her. It might

be a 37 sense! Phoenix, Maple, and Hawk sense it, too. I

don't know anything about her. Sometimes, I am so

curious I take a step toward her. But my extra sense

always pulls me away.

Chapter 9

On the third day, I find something strange. There

seem to be more things swimming in the water. These

creatures look bigger than fish, and they blend into the

water pretty well. I share my thoughts with others. "It

might be water dragons. I mean, I'm not sure if they

exist, but they might be it." Krystall says thoughtfully.

"Or they might be sharks, or whales, or even dolphins"

Vivian says.

"I'm pretty sure these are water dragons. They

usually live far away from human land, under the sea

surface." I say, thinking about the lessons I learned

about dragons with Beatrice. I memorised those by

heart. I can probably recite them non-stop for a few

minutes. "Marigold and Nightshade's home is nearby."

Maple stops, saying his sentence in a whisper. We fall

silent. Something is moving in the water, under us. We

can all hear it. I turn around, but there is nothing but a

small island a short distance away.

"What the…?" Sylvia starts to say, but she is

interrupted by a thundering roar under me. Huge waves

splash over us. Maple, Phoenix, Hawk, and I fight hard to

stay balanced. Now I can see something under the

waves, getting closer and closer… In an instant, about

ten long, elegant bluish-purple water dragons are rising

out of the water. Immediately, they turn to our direction.

Their powerful tails let them charge at us at lightning

speed. Their sharp, hooked claws are clutching us tightly.

The next second, we are all pinned to the island by the

water dragons. I am too surprised to fight back. Krystall,

Vivian, and Sylvia gasp. I stare at them. Now that I am

not flying for my life, I see them clearly. They have a tail

with flippers at the end, like mermaids.Their claws are

webbed, with antenna things on their heads, and dark

blue helmets with designs of waves on them. I can't

describe it as anything else. I read about water dragons,

but never saw one before.

They look majestic, proud, and stern. There are six

of them, 4 of them have the dragons captured (including

me). One is pinning down the 3 humans. One is looking

at us. Krystall and Sylvia are too alarmed to even try to

escape, though they wouldn't be able to move even if

they tried. Vivian is mumbling,"Not sharks. Not whales.

Certainly not dolphins."

I look at the dragon that has captured me. "Look," I

say. He glares at me. "I'm a dragon. I'm not dangerous. I

just want to find my parents, Marigold and Nightshade."

The water dragon does not look convinced. "Please! I

really am!" "REALLY?" The dragon says. "Yes!" I tell him

how I was raised by Beatrice, then captured, then

escaped, captured again, and escaped. Now you've

captured me all over again." The water dragons'

expression softens a bit. I go on "I mean no harm!

Really! I want to find my parents." My head lowers. "It

has been horrible growing up without parents. I felt like a

worthless orphan, " I say softly. "Well, I really cannot

imagine growing up without my mom and dad. It really

must be horrible." The water dragon says, his eyes full of

sympathy.

He says something to the other dragons. The others

seem a little reluctant, but-"Yes! I was trapped!" Phoenix

called out. She blows a hopeful blast of fire. The water

dragon pinning her down narrowly dodges it, and glares

at her. "Also, we helped Marigold to find a shelter for her

dragonet, and I am almost certain Ivy is Marigold's

daughter." Maple adds. They tell their story. A water

dragon nods thoughtfully. "Marigold did tell us about the

two dragons that helped her, many years ago." The other

dragons start talking, too.

In the end, Phoenix, Maple, Hawk and I are released.

The dragons that captured us help pin down the humans.

Two water dragons don't help. One of them is the one

that had been staring. They swim toward us. "We are

actually guarding Marigold and Nightshade's home. We

shall show you to your parents," they say in unison,

bowing their heads. I'm happy that I am going straight to

my parents this time, but I feel a bit weird having my

other friends (the humans) still being kept prisoner.

"Ermm ... Could you ... Release them?" I ask, pointing to

the humans. The water dragons shake their heads.

"Humans are dangerous and evil. They have betrayed us

once. They will not do it again!"

I shake my head. "No, no. Some Humans are nice.

These humans have helped us escape from Crystal

mountain." I quickly say. Phoenix, Hawk, and Maple nod

in agreement. "Fine." the water dragon says gruffly.

"After all, you're Marigold and Nightsade's daughter." He

gestures to the dragons that have humans. "Let them

come. Under constant supervision." the dragons obey,

and soon Krystal, Vivian, and Sylvia are walking behind

me.

Chapter 10

The dragons lead us under water, to where Marigold

and Nightshade are. I already knew that my parents lived

at the bottom of the sea. Surprisingly, they have

enchanted helmets that could make oxygen, which

means we can breathe underwater when we put it on our

heads, so we don't have to hold our breath. The place

where my parents live is at the bottom of the ocean. If

we swim there without magic, I will probably drown not

even a tenth way through. We all put them on quickly,

and I found out the helmet also gives me night vision.

Krystall, Vivian, and Sylvia put on the swim suits the

water dragons grumpily gave them, and we all swim

deeper and deeper.

On the way to the secret underwater place, one of

the water dragons started to talk to us, and I just found

out that I am able to communicate with other dragons

through the magical helmet. The water dragons can

breathe underwater, of course "Hello, little dragon. My

name is Hurricane. I am the leader of our group. What is

your name?" He asks in a deep voice. I tell him, and he

nods. "I believe you," he says. He continues to lead us to

the bottom of the sea. The other water dragon turns

around. "My name is Misty," she says, smiling. "Your

parents have wondered where you were." "How much

longer do I have to swim?" I whine. I can't help it. My

talons are for flying, not swimming. They feel like rubber.

And my wings are numb and cold in this icy water. Misty

looks at me like I had just asked if I am a dragon. "It's

not called the bottom of the sea for nothing," she says

kindly.

"But you are a plant dragon, and remember, it must

be worse for Phoenix and Maple. Oh, and definitely those

humans." I look at Phoenix. She is cheerfully chatting

with Maple and doesn't seem cold. Or hungry. Or tired.

I look at the humans. Krystall is swimming, and

reminds me of a frog. Vivian is doggy paddling and

moving side to side. Must have never had swimming

lessons. Sylvia is swimming like a mermaid. Literally. I

am still staring, I mean, inspecting, when we reach the

bottom. My claws land on soft, wet sand. Thank

goodness! I think I was getting swimming sick. Is there

such a thing? The humans' limbs look as though they

become rubber, and they seem like they can't move their

limbs anymore. It is pitch dark, with only small spots of

light ahead. I started to swim toward it, and later learned

that the water dragons' antenna things glow in the dark

and made those lights.

I notice it is getting lighter. "Marigold's spell," Misty

explains to me. When it is finally light enough to see, I

see a palace! It seems to be made of clear glass, and

glitters and sparkles in the light. I just stand there, my

mouth wide open. I am both surprised and happy. The

current gently pushes everyone inside. Hurricane has to

carry Vivian. Her tongue is hanging out of her mouth,

and she really reminds me of a dog. I stifle a laugh, and I

see Hurricane is trying to hide his laughter behind a stern

expression.

I walk through the gleaming doors and stare at

everything in awe. Outside, it looked impressive, but

inside it looked even better! And it looked so welcoming,

to. Hurricane and Misty turn to me. "Our job is done,"

they say, and swim away. I sigh, and look at the

ginormous place. It will take forever to search! What

should I do when I see my parents? Should I say hi?

What will I call them? Mum? Dad? Mummy? Daddy? Or

just Marigold and Nightshade? When I imagined meeting

my parents, I never thought I would be so nervous.

"Wow!" Hawk gasps, "It's the best place I have ever

been!" "It is amazing," Phoenix agrees. "We'd better

begin to search where Ivy's parents' room is. This palace

is gigantic." Krystall says sensibly. I groan. "Maybe we

should see if there are guards around. Asking them is the

best choice we have." Maple suggests. We all look

around. There! I see some guards inside the castle! My

wings are still sore from the swim, so I try to run to

them.

The guards look up sharply when they see me. One

of them step forward and says to me in a booming voice,

"Halt! No intruders allowed. If you don't leave right now,

we will ring the alarm bell and you will be in much more

trouble than you are right now!" "Uhh… Hello, guards. My

name is Ivy. Hurricane and his group brought us here." I

point outside the glass window of the palace, although I

know they are gone. The guards frown. I continue to talk.

"My friends and I had come here to confirm that Marigold

and Nightshade are my parents. I've never seen my

parents."

To my surprise, the guard nods and says, "I

understand. Marigold and Nightshade have been looking

for you, or rather listening to the news we report (they

never go out of the palace), for about ten years. You do

look like Marigold and Nightshade, if they are your

parents." He looks at me, then continues to say, "Your

parents are quite smart and kind, and they work well

together. This palace is huge, so I will show you and your

friends Marigold and Nightshade's room." I signal my

friends to come, and then we follow the guard deeper

inside the castle.

Chapter 11

It takes forever to walk to my parent's room. We

passed room after room. Finally, the guard stops and

points to the doors of a room not far ahead. These doors

look a bit different from others. They are huge, made of

acacia wood, and there are golden dragons painted on it.

And there are also statues of dragons made from

emeralds. We finally stop at one, marked with a bright

Marigold. Also, there is another water dragon guarding

the door. "Tell that guard your parents are Marigold and

Nightshade, and he'll allow you to enter your parents'

room. I'll leave you here. I have to go back."

Then he left. I told the guard, and was led into the

room. The room had a bed in the corner, a table, and

chairs. There was a fire crackling in the other corner,

with flowers in vases attached to the wall. In one of the

chairs, there was a dragon. Her back was facing me.

As soon as I opened the door, the dragon turned

around. "Nightshade, is that you? Oh ... " She gasped,

because she sees three humans, a fire dragon, and an

earth dragon (I am behind Maple, I don't know why). She

is a plant dragon, too, but older than me. She had

emerald eyes, graceful wings like a bird, except with

leaves instead of feathers, and her tail coiled behind her,

like a vine. I noticed I had the same emerald eyes. Was

this dragon my mother? She walks swiftly to Phoenix and

Maple. Her mouth spread into a wide grin, "Phoenix!

Maple! I didn't think I would see you again. My, I am

surprised.''

She talks to them like they were old friends (they

probably were). "Marigold! I'm so happy to see you! I

have to say, I have news about that egg-" Phoenix says.

''Oh.. you see, I couldn't find my egg after I helped

Nightshade. After I searched for hours, and the sky was

darkening, Nightshade and I were very sorrowful."

Phoenix listens intently. She's probably finding the right

time to tell Marigold that her daughter is right here, in

this room. Marigold did not notice, and continued to talk,

saying,

"When I found the water dragons, I learned that

humans capture dragons, and it is not safe to come out

from the bottom of the sea. The water dragons are true

friends. They guard this place and search for my egg

every day. Oh, I've been sick with worry! Thank you for

helping me, all those years ago. Now I know there is still

some chance that my egg is safe. Oh, I do hope it

hatched all right. What is your news?" "Well, Maple and I

got captured, and we found-" at this moment I choose to

step out from behind Maple. Maple looks surprised. He

must have not known I was hiding.

Marigold looked straight at me for a while, saying

nothing. "Why are you staring at me?" I blurt before I

can stop myself. Sometimes I do that. Marigold doesn't

look surprised, she just replies, "You have the same

wings as Nightshade. And the same posture." I don't

know what to say. Marigold is still looking at me, "What

day were you hatched, dragon?" she simply asks.

"August two, in the very late afternoon. And my name is

Ivy, please call me that," I answered.

"Oh!" Marigold says, still looking at me. Although she

tries very hard to hide her excitement and no one

notices, I can tell she is too surprised to say anymore.

She is excellent at controlling her

emotions, I observe. "I am ecstatic that you brought Ivy

here," Marigold turns to Phoenix and Maple. Phoenix is

twitching her claws, very much want to hug her and

never let go. Krystall, Vivian, and Sylvia shiver when

Marigold lands her sight on them with piercing force.

"Why are you here, humans? Don't you dare harm

any dragons, or I'm turning you to slugs!" She says

sharply. I explain, "No, they are nice. They helped us

escape from the dragon hunter. And by the way, I am

here to ask: Are you my mother?" My question made

every dragon in the room (including the humans) quiet.

Kyrstall is biting her lip. Marigold hesitates. I am pretty

sure that Marigold knows it, but she wants to avoid the

question because she will be too happy to be controlled.

If it was me, I would probably be, too. "Yes," Marigold

finally says in a low, trembling voice "my lost daughter."

Chapter 12

A few hours later, my mom (it still feels weird to say,

or even think about it) and I are sitting at a table. The

humans went to another room to rest, and the other

dragons are having a snack with the water dragons in

another room. I'm telling Marigold about my journey

here, and my life at the animal Care Shelter. When I

finish, Marigold (I mean my mom) nods, and replies,

"Yes, I knew Beatrice. A long time ago, when you were

an egg, I was telling her that I wanted to name my

daughter Ivy, and I saw she fulfilled my wish, without

even knowing. Nightshade will be so happy!" "Where is

Nightshade?" I ask. Marigold, (I mean my mom!

ARGHH!) blinks suddenly, then quickly stands up. "Oh! In

all the excitement of meeting you, I forgot to tell you

where he is! He is in another room. I'll show you where it

is. Follow me." Mother starts walking and shows me to

another room, this time with dark blue berries painted on

it. "He doesn't like being disturbed," mom whispers to me

after knocking on the door.

The door slowly creaked open. In the doorway stood

a tall dragon with bright green wings like mine, green

scales, and a wise expression. "Hello, this is Ivy, our

daughter, remember her? She came here with other

dragons and humans," mother said in one breath.

Nightshade smiled, showing rows of sharp teeth.

Mother quickly filled him in on the details.

Nightshade insisted on going to Phoenix, Hawk, Maple,

and the humans so he could thank them. He wants to

make a formal impression on them. We go with

Nightshade to another room, and he thanks Phoenix,

Hawk, Maple, and the humans, "Thank you, Phoenix,

Hawk, Maple, for bringing my daughter safely home, and

thank you Krystall, Vivian, and Sylvia, for helping Ivy,

even though you ARE humans." Nightshade (Father)

says, bowing grateful to them. Mother also thanks them.

I feel so happy and peaceful.

A few weeks have passed. My friends have their own

rooms, and so do I. Each day, I spend time with my

friends and family, along with the water dragons. They

are not nearly as serious once you get to know them.

After a couple of days, the gates swing open, and in

flies ... Beatrice! "I have so much to tell you! About my

journey, and new friends, and of course about Mom and

Dad. But first I want to know about that time in the

Crystal Mountains. How did you get there?" Beatrice

laughs. "Well, a while after you left, I decided to hike up

the Crystal Mountain to see if you made it. I teleported to

the mountain first, of course, and I found your necklace

in a hole in the ground. That wasn't good, so I

investigated.

I realized you were captured, and gave you the

necklace. And you safely teleported me home, along with

a telepathic message." That makes sense, I think.

Beatrice is here because yesterday, I told Mom and Dad

about Beatrice, still living in the forest. So Mom

contacted Beatrice with a spell, invited her to come live

with us, and she teleported here! When Beatrice and

Mom talk for a bit, Beatrice asks, "Are you going to live

here forever?" Mom shakes her head. "No, I heard about

a place that is inhabited, just a day's journey from here. I

plan to go there, because only a day after I learned about

it, I heard about people scuba diving. And I am simply

longing to be near plants again. " Mom shivers with

excitement.

Only a few days after Beatrice came, we fly away

from the water palace. Mom let the water dragons live in

the palace. And we're in the right place! I see the green

fields already reaching out towards the sun, and the

meadows, the forests, and the streams full of fresh, ice

cold water. Mom, Dad, and I start to help the humans

build a treehouse (it looks more like a tree mansion).

There is plenty of food here, and according to Mom,

there will never be winter. Beatrice is contacting all the

other dragons in the world to come here (there are more

than I thought). This place is huge! I love it!

Chapter 13

I am enjoying the afternoon sun. Plant dragons love

sunbath. Then suddenly, something whispers, Ivy, you

are doing great. The exact quality of a good princess. I

am so proud of you. I jump, clearly scared that I am so

sick that I am imagining voices. But, come to think of

it,I'm pretty sure that I heard this voice before.

There aren't any creatures near me, and other

dragons and fairies look untroubled. That's spooky! But I

decide to not tell my parents about this. Well, at least not

right at the moment. I try to reach the voice with my

mind. I say quietly with my mind. For some reason, the

voice I send out is way smaller and sort of lighter than

the mysterious one. That sender must be a male and

definitely older than me. Great job, Ivy. I'm so proud of you.

The voice repeats.

After a short pause, the voice starts again. You want

to know who I am? Oh, you will see. Then the voice chuckles.

And how do you know my name? I ask. You will see, Ivy, you will

see. Just wait. Um. How long!? Patience, Ivy.

Patience is one of the qualities of a good princess. So... I have to wait?

"Ivy! Come here! The humans need help in the house!" Mom calls. I

jump up. That voice will have to wait. "Okay, Mom!

Coming!" I run to the humans house.

After a while, the sky is getting dark, and the first

stars are coming out. I snuggle between Mom and Dad,

watching the bright yellow stars twinkle. Contented, I

close my eyes. Now I have my parents, my friends I

made, and new dragons will come every day. I drift off to

sleep, dreaming of the glorious years yet to come.

THE END