The Crystal Dragon Series Collection

by Katie Cherry

  So I do. Stepping into it, I find that it’s much larger than it appears to be on the outside. Looking around, I see that the walls are all mirrors and there are revolving racks of clothes. They have shirts, jackets, pants, shorts, capris, earrings, necklaces, shoes, socks, sandals, high heels, boots, and makeup. My mouth drops open in shock. Only the richest of girls on earth would even dream of owning all this! I have no idea how I am ever going to wear it all. This is every girl’s dream- and then some!

  I hear a gasp and see that Nathan had come in behind me. His eyes are bugging out in surprise as well. “You… this is all yours?” he breathes disbelievingly. I shrug.

  “I… I guess so. I’m never going to be able to wear it all!” I laugh. He nods and we exit the walk-in dresser.

  Pearl looks worried. “Is there enough in there? I asked Taylor to keep it stocked with clothes that she thinks might fit you… but there aren’t very many because we weren’t entirely sure… well, when you were coming back.” She stops there and tries not to cry.

  I can’t disguise my stare of disbelief. “Are you kidding? There’s beyond plenty in there, and I’m pretty sure at least most of them will fit,” I assure her. She smiles, relieved.

  “Still, if you ever want anything else or something doesn’t fit you, just let Taylor know and she’ll make you something else. Okay?” I nod, stunned.

  “Now then, let’s move on to the next room- I’m sure Matilda will be finished with lunch soon.”

  “Wait… there’s another room?” Nathan gasps.

  “Of course! This whole level is for Crystal!” Pearl replies, surprised at his surprise. My mouth drops open once more. The whole floor? That’s like having my entire high school to myself!

  Other than my bedroom, I have a spacious bathroom, a room with a pool in it, a room with a ping-pong table and full sized tennis court, a racquetball room, a snack room where I have my own chef as well- his name is Steve- and, my favorite, the balcony. When we climb the stairs and open the door, a cool rush of wind hits me, taking my breath away. Storm clouds are coming in.

  It starts raining while we stand there, but I don’t care. I love the wind on my face, the cool rain on my skin, and most of all the view. I can see the mountains, the forest, and the ocean, all of which hold memories for me. The only thing I don’t know much about is the dry, desert-like part of the land to the North of the mountains and forest. It looks dead and without life, but I recall that it’s not. I decide that I want to explore that wilderness someday. Nathan comes up and stands by me as we look out into the rain-drenched landscape. I look at him and smile. Whatever adventures I have, I want to have them with him by my side.

  By the time we retreat indoors, Nathan and I are drenched. Alexander and Pearl had sheltered inside while Nathan stayed with me outside, so they are dry. Thaddeus then walks up, smiling and holding a towel for each of us from the pool room.

  When lunch comes around, we’re all sitting up to a large mahogany table, Nathan and I swaddled in thick, warm towels. Before long, Matilda comes into the room, followed by six men in suits. They set down trays of fish, lamb stew over rice, chicken, turkey, watermelon, grapes, milk, duck soup, burgers, steak, salad, and more that I don’t even know the names of. We dive in. The food is fantastic and before I know it, lunch is cleared off the table and Hot Fudge Sundays are served, as well as banana splits. Afterward, Matilda brings Nathan and I a cup of hot chocolate to finish warming us up. It has a hint of mint. It not only warms me up, but makes me feel a lot better overall. Nathan and I thank Matilda, who blushes and bows before going back to the kitchen to start on dinner.

  Then Alexander and Pearl decide that they should get to know Nathan and me better. We play ping-pong while telling stories. Pearl tells me of the time she saved the babies of a new mother fox- the fox that I met in the Second Challenge.

  “I was walking in the woods,” she begins, “when I came across a den of foxes. The mother leapt out and growled at me, threatening me should I go any closer. I was intrigued because I had never met a talking fox before. Her name was Lola, and she told me that she was able to talk because she had helped the dragons with something. They, surprised by her courage, gave her the gift of speech with their magic.

  “I noticed two things as she was talking- she was far too thin- I could see her bones and her fur was dull, and she had three little kits hiding behind her legs. I asked her what the problem was, and she told me she couldn’t leave her pups to go hunt because their father was killed by a wild wolverine, but they were starving, and she didn’t know what to do.

  “So I offered to watch the pups for her. She didn’t trust me at first, and I wasn’t surprised at that, but she agreed once I told her that I was a member of the Dragon family and was a friend with not only the dragons but to all creatures. …And that’s how I made a red fox as a friend.”

  “That’s really cool!” says Nathan. I agree.

  Alexander grins. “Just wait until you hear my story,” he gloats with a wink. “I was in the mountains, looking for an adventure when I was… oh, eighteen or so when I saw my first minotaur,” he begins. “I was overly confident then…”

  Pearl laughs. “I’ll say, you were!” He playfully glares at her before laughing himself.

  “Okay, I admit I wasn’t too bright back then. I was a teenage boy trying to impress a girl- and honestly, that almost never turns out right.” We all laugh. “Anyway, so I was heading into the mountains, trying to find something to fight so I could impress a girl named Amanda with nothing other than my Gifts to protect me. I soon found a mountain lion. I was about to take it down when what looked at first to be a hairy giant came and completely smashed the mountain lion in one hit from a tree he ripped out of the mountainside. The minotaur- still easily the biggest I’ve ever seen- then turned to me.

  “I ran and ducked behind a tree just before the minotaur’s tree struck the ground where I had been standing. I snuck around him and jumped onto his back, holding onto his horns. The beast swung around, trying to get me, but he couldn’t reach me. Then he slammed me into a tree and crushed me until I let go. Before I had even finished falling to the ground, he caught my leg and held me in front of him upside down.

  “He smiled gruesomely and flung me into the air too quickly for me to get my wits about me and use my Gift of flying to get out of there, so I came back down in a tree and was severely wounded. The minotaur tried to get at me for a while, but then it decided that I wasn’t a threat anymore and left.

  “Luckily, Amanda, who was watching invisibly, sped off to get help. To my surprise, it was the Dragon family that she brought. That was the first time I saw Pearl, and when I fell head over heels in love with her.”

  She laughs. “You were delirious with pain! You had no idea what was going on when I found you,” she protests.

  He chuckles. “Alright, fine. It was when I woke up and found myself in this gorgeous castle with a beautiful girl taking care of me… I’ve got to say, fighting that minotaur was worth it!” he finishes with a wink.

  Then Pearl asks Nathan to tell a story. “Well… I don’t really have a story like that,” he says. “My life was pretty boring before I came here. I guess… I could tell you about the day Vlad came to get me,” he decides.

  “Sure,” I say, curious myself as to what happened when he was kidnapped.

  He nods. “Okay… well, not only was I on the track team for my school, but I was in band as well. And there was a football game- the last one of the year- and our school had high hopes for the team. School was canceled for the day so we could all go down and watch as we played against the Ponies. Well, we all figured we would cream them since we were undefeated for the past two years… that, and we were the wolves, and ponies can’t exactly stand up to wolves in a fight.” I laugh, but no one else gets it. They all have blank stares and empty smiles as they wait for his story to reach a point that they would understand what was happening.

  “Well, the game was really close, but
our quarterback scored a touchdown with only eleven seconds left… holy cow! The stadium exploded!” he says, a faraway look in his eyes as he relives the moment in his mind. “The other side was screaming because they were so mad and our side was screaming because we had won, but just barely… Anyways, as my friends and I were leaving, a guy from the losing team’s school came over with three of his buddies and they had us cornered against a wall. As the biggest guy charged one of my friends, I jumped up and kicked his head. He went down like a sack of potatoes. The others looked at each other and ran, leaving their buddy behind. My friends asked how I learned to do that, and I just shrugged and told them that I had no idea,” he laughs as he remembers. “They decided that I must be a descendant of some Viking king or something… it was pretty funny.

  “When I started heading home on my bike, though, I was stopped by four guys that pulled up in a black van with tinted windows.” I nod, recalling my own kidnapping. “My friends had gone another way, so I was alone. I got off my bike as they stepped out of the van. I knew right away that something was up, but I pretended not to notice…”

  “Can I help you?” Nathan asks calmly as his heart stops with fear for a second, then starts pounding like crazy. The biggest one steps forward, looming over him with a permanent sneer drawn across his face. He was wearing leather clothes and stood head and shoulders above Nathan. He shrinks back, his heart pounding so hard he could feel it in his brain. He swallows hard and gathers his courage to speak again.

  “…Can I help you?” he repeats, too terrified to come up with anything better. The man continued to sneer down at him. The fear in him rises as the guy seems to be contemplating something, then it hits its maximum and disappears. He’s strangely calm. Looking up at the big guy, Nathan stares him in the eye for the first time. “I said, can I help you,” he growls, making it a threat this time. The guy arches an eyebrow. Finally, he speaks.

  “You have spirit, kid, I’ll give you that,” he says in a surprisingly normal voice. “So I will give you a choice, although I would rather do things my own way… you can either come with us quietly, or you can fight and come with us anyway. We have more people than you might realize, little boy,” he states as another van comes rolling up beside them. He gulps, but for some reason, his fear remains muted and he’s able to think clearly. “So you may fight us if you wish.” The glee on his face clearly tells Nathan how much he would rather fight as he continues. “…Or you can go with us willingly- not make a scene, not call for help, just come with us and do exactly as we say. You have one minute to decide.”

  Nathan’s first instinct is to kick this guy’s ugly face and then ride off as fast as he could on his bike, but he decides that that would be foolish. I can’t escape these guys for long if they really want to grab me… plus, if I agree, then they might trust me more and give me more freedom than I would have received otherwise… plus, who knows? They may have other people that they captured. I could try and help them… He reaches a decision.

  “Fine. Let’s go,” he says, walking calmly past him toward the van, dropping his backpack and clarinet by his bike. Everyone stares at him, utterly bewildered, as he climbs into the passenger seat. He leans out the door. “Hey, are we going, or what?” he remarks as he closes the door and buckles up. After standing there stunned for a moment, they all climb back in and the big bald guy starts the engine. Nathan notices that none of them are wearing seatbelts and a small smile begins to creep over his face. This might be easier than I thought.

  “…So they took me to this old, abandoned building and led me inside. None of them touched me; I just walked in. Once inside, they led me into this little room at the back of the building. There were two locked doors that we passed- the rest were wide open. I thought that surely there must be somebody in those rooms; why else would they be locked? I began formulating a plan to get us all out of there, but I lost track of my thoughts completely when I saw who they were taking me to. He looked like a serial killer that was famous at the time. Obviously, I was freaked…”

  Nathan swivels on his heel, charging past the unsuspecting thugs that brought him there and charges toward the locked doors. He somehow remembers to grab the key ring and swiftly unlocks the first door. Looking inside, he sees a girl about his age with stunning green eyes and short black hair.

  “What… who are you?” she demands, stunned.

  “No time,” Nathan gasps. “Let’s go. I’m getting you out of here.”

  “Oh… okay,” she agrees, standing and following him out of the room. They tear down the hallway toward the other locked door as multiple footsteps land heavily on the wood floor, gaining on them. He aches to run faster, he knows he can, but he can’t just leave the girl behind to be recaptured. Finally, he stops and lets the girl continue. She spins around, opening her mouth to protest, but he yells at her to go- now- and help anyone else she finds along the way. He tosses her the keys and she nods and runs off, tears streaming down her face.

  He waits behind a corner for them to come lumbering past. He quickly trips the first, so about three others trip over him and they all tumble. As they fall, he runs. He can’t run back the way he came or the way the green-eyed girl went, so he heads a different way. As Nathan runs down this new, unexplored hallway, almost twenty other guys chase him, heavy scowls on their faces. Behind them are the four that fell, limping slightly, but clearly determined to catch him anyway. He puts on another burst of speed and makes a sharp turn into another hallway. Just like bulls, most of them can’t turn fast enough and keep going. Nathan allows himself a small smile as he continues running, glancing back. Now there are about eight- still too many, but much more manageable.

  He tries turning again, but this doesn’t fool any of them this time. And, unfortunately, he ends up in a dead end. He’s in an empty, dust-covered room with nothing but a wooden table in the center. He’s trapped.

  He whirls around to see if he can get back out the way he came, but the route is already blocked by panting, angry thugs. Nathan gulps and retreats a few steps. They all grin cruelly and run towards him. Before he realizes what’s happening, he’s grabbed and thrown on top of the table.

  “Well, after that, they started beating me up. Vlad rescued me, telling the thugs off. He apologized for their roughness- he didn’t want them to go that far. He healed me up and talked to me about Zilferia and the Games and stuff. Well, that’s all I’ve got,” he finishes. Thaddeus insists that he has no story, so it’s my turn. I tell them about my trip to Dragon Mountain. They are surprised and overjoyed to hear that I am- or… was, at least- the Dragongirl, but that excitement quickly dies once I tell them of my kidnapping when I got my dragon part taken away, as well as a bit about my month with Patrick- just enough so they know that I am now a Giftless, powerless girl that isn’t really special in any way.

  To my surprise, they are saddened for me, but they aren’t disappointed in the slightest- they give me a big hug instead. “Oh, my poor baby!” Pearl cries. “I am so so sorry that happened to you, you poor thing! Don’t worry, maybe we can find a way to help… somehow.”

  “You… you still want me?” I ask, confused.

  “Of course!” Alexander gasps. “Why wouldn’t we? You are still our beautiful, talented daughter, and we love you no matter what!”

  I smile, my eyes filled with tears as I feel the love and acceptance of my true family for the first time.

  Nathan and I stay with my parents for a couple more days, but he soon gets restless, itching to see his family again. I know how he feels- I want to go home and see Kiki again. I also want to see my ‘parents’ on earth again, as well as the few friends I have in my neighborhood… I just want to get back to my regular, boring life.

  We decide to tell my parents. We have to break it to them gently, however, since they obviously didn’t react well to losing me the first time and there’s no guarantee of how they will respond to me wanting to leave again.

  We decide to break it to them over lun
ch. As we’re finishing off the last tidbits of the meal, I glance over at Nathan, nervous. He gives me a slight nod of encouragement. I take a deep breath. “Nathan and I think…”

  At the same moment I start to speak, so does Pearl. “Your father and I have…” We look at each other. “You go first,” she says.

  I nod and take another deep breath.

  “Um… well, Nathan and I have been thinking… and we love it here on Zilferia, but… we have been here for a very long time, and…”

  “You want to go home,” Alexander finishes. I look up at him, surprised.

  “Well… yes. I mean, we can come and visit, but… we have another life besides the one we got dragged into here… and we miss it. Does that make any sense?”

  “Of course it does,” Pearl replies, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “It would be strange to not want to go back to the comfort of what you have known and loved for the vast majority of your life. Don’t worry, I understand… I didn’t always want to be queen- or princess, back when I was your age- so I ran away from my responsibilities and worries every once in a while to get back to what I loved first- the forest. …It is alright for you to go, it would be selfish of us to keep you here when you don’t want to be here. But there is something we want to ask you two, as the winners of the Games. You do not have to accept this mission…”

  “We’d like you to help us find our son, Rex,” Alexander finishes for her. “It would involve traversing the multiple realms and going head to head with danger and it will be challenging to find him, since he will most likely have no idea who he really is.” He looks at us seriously. “We can’t do this, as we are getting too old for such adventures, but you two are in your prime. You don’t have to do this; we can continue to use the Games to attempt to find him, although I would prefer not to do so since they are not very productive in anything except hurting you young, wonderful people.”