Dragon-Rose Valley

"There weren't always dragons in the Valley, Malis. There used to be fairies." I had to admit. I was growing short with my answers. Malis had asked me questions the whole way back to our cabin. Malis was my non-binary younger sibling. They were six about to turn seven this fall. They did well to get on my nerves. I'm Ellie and I will be fifteen next month. I am in charge of taking Malis to collect water and teach them what to do and wha not to do for survival. Sometimes it seems pointless as they seem to not listen to me.

"Have you ever seen a fairy?" Malis asked without taking their next breath. I was out of my own breath from carrying the water buckets by myself. "Only at night from a distance. Now stop with the questions and lead us back to the cabin, Malis." I knew more questions would come later at bedtime when Malis would sneak into my room without mom knowing. Maybe she did know? If she did, she must not mind.

Malis and I finally made it back to our cabin. I hung the water pales on the hooks that were under our roof beside the front door. "How was the trip?" Oh great, mom has questions, too. We're alive so obviously the trip was fine; I wished to say. "It was fine." I shot Malis a look before they spoke. I was hoping Malis would not tell mom about the fairies. She will think I am filling their head instead of teaching them while out on our trips. "Hey, mom, have there always been dragons in the valley?" Malis asked. Mom looked over at me to see my reaction. She has no idea how much I do not care.

"Well, if I remember right, your grandma Rose had one come to her room at night when she was a little girl." She pet Malis' head like a cat. I always hated when she would do that. Picking up their tightest curls and making them spring back into shape. I hated that, too. However, I was interested in what she had just said. "Grandma? Her name was Rose? I thought it was Amber?" I was extremely confused. This was the first time I had heard mom call grandma, 'Rose.'

"Amber was your dad's mom. I probably talk about her more because I talk about your dad a lot." That was true. Mom wanted us to know everything about dad and things about mom had always seemed like one big giant secret. There had only been one time that I could remember that mom told me some things about our uncle we have never met and it was only because she had to work a double in the pub one night and she let her beer breath tell the story. Supposedly, our uncle and my mom had a falling out when they were younger. My uncle got on a ship and my mom has not seem him since. She only knows he is alive because she has been tipping pirates as they come through.

My curiosity was beginning to grow, "So, Rose, had a fairy come to her room? Did it stay in her room or did it come and go? Where did it come from? I mean, like, did it follow her home? Did it just like, show up one day? How do you know it's true?" I realized I was the one asking all the questions, now. I had to know, though. I had always dreamed of seeing a fairy up close. As far as anyone knows, there are no more fairies in the Valley. Especially since the Dragons showed up. "How about I agree to tell you everything I know at bedtime? Go start a fire so I can start dinner Ellie, and Malis set up for dinner."

I could hardly wait to eat. Normally I am hungrier than dragons breath, but it was not just hunger pains tonight. I needed the details on my grandma who I never hear about. Mom could tell I was antsy. Malis seemed to forget all about it. Lucky for them to forget such excitement. I tried to be extra nice to mom leading up to dinner. I thought it would help her share more. I even offered to run over to the pub and grab ale for her. She thanked me but declined the offer. "What are you trying to get out of me, Ellie?" She asked raising her red eyebrows at me. Oh shoot, she has me all figured out, I thought to myself. "Go grab Malis down by the stream it is time to eat." Finally. I had all my questions lined up and I even spent the walk down to the stream reciting them to myself so that I would be ready.

As I reached the stream, I could see Mali's brown curls plastered to their forehead. They were completely soaked and I groaned to myself. Malis was instructed to only collect stones in the shallow end and not fully submerge. This meant I would have to be the one to clean them up before dinner. Which would obviously waste more time before I could get my first question in. If we start dinner late, mom might cut me off before I get all my questions in. If that happens, Malis is in for it.

"Malis!" My tone was clearly frustration. With their smile bigger than the sun, Malis turned and waved at me with immense joy. Glad someone is feeling bright. "Dinner! Now! No waddling behind! And I'm not carrying you, either!" I decided to tell them we were late, to hurry Malis along. It did not spark any fires. "Malis, please! I'm starving!" I was yelling at them as I was walking away. With my back towards them, I heard a loud scream. "Ellie! Help!" I knew before I whipped around. Dragon's, I whispered to myself. I turned to meet my theory. On the other side of the stream, near the forest line, there stood a dragon between two large trees. The dragon screeched. "Malis! Run! Run!" Malis was frozen in fear. The dragon locked eyes with me. I could see it all unfold in slow motion. It was going straight for Malis. The dragon was closer to Malis than I was. I wouldn't make it on time. I tried anyways. I took off in a sprint down to the stream. Malis was still frozen in fear. I was nearing Malis and my hopes inclined. I was gaining up on Malis quicker than I thought. I reached out to grab Malis' arm and the dragon was standing right over the both of us. It screeched one more time. The next thing I knew, I had passed out.

"Ellie, Ellie please wake up!" As I started to come to, my eyes slowly peeled open and the blurriness made me question my surroundings. "Ellie! Wake up!" Malis was shaking my shoulders. The memory of the dragon crept in. I quickly sat up. "Malis! The dragon! We're alive. But how...?" Malis retreated to a corner and sat in a fetal position. It was then I realized we were an empty cabin all alone. "Malis, what happened? Did you see what happened? Do you know how we got here?"

Malis looked like they had not had any sleep for days. I stared at them for answers. As I listened to the silence and anticipated for sound, Malis started to speak. "It all happened so fast. I dont know if I am mistaken, but I think fairies still exist." My heart jumped. "What do you mean? Why would you think that?" In this moment I was wishing Malis was older to better explain situations like this in more depth. Their chin lifted off their knees and Malis' head turned towards me. With almost a whisper they quietly asked, "Do you think we will ever see mom, again?" Malis started to cry and quickly buried their face back into their knees.

I scanned the cabin for a way out. There were no doors or windows. There was a fireplace, a rug and one candle on the mantle with a book sitting next to it. I got up and made my way over to the mantle and took the book into my hands. It was a black book that looked older than Malis and I put together. The string binding it together was starting to fray. I took it over to sit next to Malis and flipped it open. It was blank. "What is the point of having a blank book in here with no quill or ink?" I looked over at Malis who was now wiping their tears and sitting up to lean into me. I put my arms around Malis and held them like I wish mom was holding me. While we sat there together, I tried to come up with a plan. I wasn't sure how we got here and I was not about to pressure Malis into telling me more details. I could feel my eyes stinging with tears of my own. The room started to glisten and wobble through my tears. I could hardly see what was right in front of me. I tried to suck my tears back in to not worry Malis. It was then that I thought I saw something shift inside the fireplace. I quickly wiped my tears and squinted at the fireplace and readjusted my eyes. The candle was flickering and I thought maybe I was just seeing things. I closed my eyes and laid my head on Malis'.

"Ellie...what is happening over there inside the fireplace?" My eyes shot open and I stood up. "You saw something, too?" We were both on our feet and looking for a way to defend ourselves if we needed to. I quickly shoved Malis behind me and told them not to make a sound. The fireplace started to form a swirling fog in the center. The fog was growing and a bright light was beaming from the center. I put up my hand to sheild my eyes from the brightness and with one eye open I kept my gaze on the swirling fog. To my surprise what emerged was nothing that looked questionable or scary. A girl about my age with long black hair and green eyes walked right through like magic.

"Hello and welcome. There is nothing to be afraid of. My name is Leela and I was the one who brought you here. I am sure you have many questions and they will all be answered soon. For now, please come with me." She turned and started to walk back into the fireplace. Neither Malis or I moved an inch. I looked back at Malis and Malis looked up at me with hesitation. Leela turned and smiled, "Well come on, we just set the table. I bet you are both hungry." She wasnt wrong. My stomach was in pain from being hungry hours ago and there was nowhere else to go. I shoved the small black book under my robes securely behind my belt and grabbed Malis' hand. We slowly made our across the room and followed Leela into the opening of the fireplace.

Once we were both through to the other side, the aroma of chicken and pork hit my nose instantly. We hardly get meat back home. This felt like a dream. The large mahogany table before us had everything you could imagine for a King. There were things I had never seen before and I could hardly wait to sit down and eat. Malis wiggled free from my grasp and took a seat. "Malis wait. Where are your manners?" I attempted to pull Malis back, but Leela encouraged me to also take a seat and eat all that we wanted. I had so many questions, but the smells were so distracting. I took my seat next to Malis and we gorged.

Leela took a seat across from us both and also filled her plate and belly along with us. After I had downed some pork, a handful of grapes and pastries, the questions were coming to a point inside my head. "How did we get here, Leela? Last thing I remember, Malis and I were almost killed by a dragon." Leela smiled while she chewed on her chicken thigh. She took a sip from her mug and sat straight up. To me she seemed excited to fill us in just as much as I was eager to know more. "I was that dragon." Leela still smiling, gave us a moment to process by leaning forward and taking another bite of food. While Malis' jaw hit the floor, I stopped chewing and just stared at this girl who looked so similar to myself. We both had piercing green eyes, but I had red long hair. Her eyes did look like the dragon's eyes and I could see how her black hair matched the dragon's black scales, but I could not picture her turning into something so grotesque.

"Help me understand, I started. You can shapeshift into a dragon? How?" Leela's smile never seems to fade. She dropped the chicken bones onto her plate, wiped her face on her sleeve, stood up and walked towards the door. "There is more, I am also a fairy." I jumped to my feet and lost all my questions. Malis filled in for me. "No you're not. You're too big. Plus you dont have fairy wings." Leela walked over to Malis. This was the first time I was scared of her. With a very serious look on her face she crouched down to Malis' height and looked Malis right in the eyes. She leaned in close and with a loud enough whisper for me to hear she asked, "Would you like to see my fairy wings?" Malis grinned and looked over at me. I was still puzzled and lost for words. "Yes!" Malis jumped up and down. "Show me your fairy wings." Although she had just offered to show us her wings, I was still reluctant. I also thought fairies were small. I also thought there weren't any fairies left.

"Alright, I will show you, but first, I need that black book back." Leela shot me a look and held her palm out towards me. My eyes widened and I began to feel vulnerable. I reached into my robes and pulled it out. I gave her the book and asked, "What is so important about it? There isnt anything written inside of it." Leela looked puzzled and fanned open the book. I gasped. It was filled with writings and illustrations. "I swear it was blank!" Leela looked over at Malis and in a joking tone she said, "She must of looked at while she was in the other room." Malis giggled with her. Malis loved it when I looked silly or dumb. I crossed my arms and my attitude that mom said I always have, grew strong. "I'm beginning to think you enjoy making people look like a fool." I shot at her. Leela gasped and also giggled. "I am not crass or rude. I simply like to have harmless fun. She threw the book on the floor and it opened up to the only two blank pages in the whole book. She met my eyes and said, "See you in a moment" and jumped into the book like she walked through the fireplace. It was pure magic right before my eyes. "Where did she go?!" Malis picked up the book and flipped through it. Nothing happend and I was beginning to think we were about to be tricked into something worse.

"Hello, I am over here." The voice was small. Malis and I started to look all over the place. As I was about to give up, pinch my arm to wake up from whatever dream I was having, a real fairy, the size of a small field mouse flew right in front of my face. She was glowing bright just like I remembered when I saw fairies as a little girl from a far distance at night. Malis was clapping their hands and dancing around the room. "She really is a fairy! Look at her sparkling wings, Ellie!" I stood in astonishment. All my life I have always wanted to experience seeing a fairy up close and now I have no idea if I am believing what I am seeing. I still had so many questions.

Leela flew infront of Malis and ask them to hold open the book. She landed on the blank page and made her way to the binding of the book and fell right in. The book fell from Malis' hands and Leela popped up into her normal size. "As you can see, being a fairy or shaping into one, isnt the most lucrative. It wasnt always like this. We were always able to shift when ever we chose at any time in any place. If you sit down at the table, I will tell you everything. I will even tell you about your grandma, Rose.

With nothing but eagerness at this point, Malis and I both took a seat. To our amazement the whole table was instantly cleaned up. I was realizing in this moment that I should not let anything else surprise me from here on out. It was clear we were in another world and Malis and I had a lot to learn if we were to ever get back to mother. We took our same placements and all my questions surfaced once again. How does she know grandma Rose? That was to be my first question. Why did she bring us here? How can she also shape into a dragon and why? Leela placed the small black book on the table and opened to the first page. "I hope you like stories. This is a story of curses, danger and beauty."