Storm Crown

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. In fact, there was no such thing as dragons unless you believed in them, of course. I, however, was not a believer until one fateful day.

Bet I have your attention, hey. Well, the story goes like this.

Once upon a time, as all fairy tales start, there was a girl living in the 21st century. You guessed it, It was me. Now, I was an average kid, learnt how to walk, talk, and run. All that usual stuff, you know. I had the best childhood, but when I turned 18, my whole world fell apart. My parents died in a car crash, my older brother got a divorce, and I had just lost my job. It definitely wasn't the best time in my life. Everything I cared about was gone. Until I met Nicholas.

I guess you want to know what happened.

It was 2022, and I had just been fired from my job. I decided to go for a run, as you do when you need to clear your head. I took my usual path, through the park and then towards the city. The weather was starting to change. What was a lovely clear, blue sky was now overcast and cold? The wind was becoming really strong. The leaves were beginning to spiral into the atmosphere. I stopped in my tracks to look up at the sky and my surroundings. To my surprise, there was nobody around. The park was empty. I was the only one there. So I continued watching the weather. Then all of a sudden, the clouds started spiralling. They spun faster and faster until the clouds formed into a tornado. It hit the ground right in front of me. Lightning struck the tornado all around, and then I heard screaming. Not screaming from the people near the park but screaming from the inside. It started up the top of the tornado, and in seconds, the noise was right in front of me. I saw something fall inside when I heard the screaming. Then out of nowhere, the tornado, the clouds, everything just disappeared, and suddenly it was back to clear blue skies again. I was definitely confused. I even thought that I had somehow dreamt that moment up. Whatever it was, I definitely thought it was a metaphor for my life. But then I heard someone say 'Ouch'. I looked down at the ground in front of me, and to my surprise, it was a man. He was wearing amour? I bent down to look at him, still thinking I was dreaming.

"Are you ok?" I asked, feeling confused.

"I, I can't see. Where am I?" The man looked toward me and shouted with a scared tone.

His eyes were completely white. I took a guess that he'd been struck with lightning. I felt terrible for him, but how did he end up in that tornado, to begin with?

"You're ok? You're on the outskirts of the city." I said calmly.

"What city?" He said with panic.

"You're in Rode Beach city," I stated.

"Rode Beach? I've never heard of Rode Beach, and what's that, Honking noise I hear?" He asked Questionably.

"Rode Beach is world-famous. I'm sure you've heard of it before, and that honking sound is the traffic." I was starting to get confused.

"What is traffic?" He asked, confused.

"You know, like cars, trucks and motorcycles driving to get somewhere." It didn't matter how much I explained; he had no idea.

"Why are you wearing amour anyway?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Oh, You don't recognise it. I'm one of King Thomas, the 16th's knights. I'm sure you have heard of him, being the ruler of the land and all." He stated.

"King Thomas? Ruler of the land? Excuse me, but What century do you think this is?" I was feeling concerned. Did the lightning strike erase his memory, and now he thinks he's a Knight?

"What do you mean what century do I think it is? It's clearly the 8th century." He was very confident about that.

"I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this, but it's actually the 21st century. It's 2022, to be exact." So I wasn't exactly sure how he was going to take that.

"You have got to be joking. The last thing I remember before I ended up here was that I was looking for someone called Constance. I was also being chased by a rather large Dire Wolf. I ran into the waterfall so it would lose my scent, and then somehow I ended up here?" He paused, thinking about everything he had just said. "Oh my word, I must have run into the lost tears of Princess Honora. Legend says that if you should happen to stumble upon the lost tears of the Princess, she shall grant you with what you most need. I know I can't see right now, but It lead me straight to you. You must be the girl of legend. You are Constance, aren't you?" He said with confidence.

"Yes, I am. I'm Constance. But this makes no sense. Dire Wolves, Lost Princess's tears, the fact that you know my name. What does any of this have to do with me?" I didn't know what to think at this point.

"It does not matter how. You need to come with me. You are the only one that can save us all." As he spoke, he grabbed my arm, I saw a flash, and suddenly I found myself standing on top of a mountain with this strange man I had just met.

I didn't care that I had just been taken somewhere in a flash of light. I could see the most beautiful scenery standing on that mountain top, but only one question came to mind.

"What's your name?" I asked

"My Name is Nicholas?"