The Valley Filled with Lies

“There weren't always dragons in the Valley.”

That’s what anyone involved in the CabSnogard Mission say, when asked why the dragons protecting us were all captured and removed. The same response repeated, no matter who you ask. It’s like they have all been programmed to sound like the same broken record. Even the mission was called CabSnogard, ‘dragons bac’ spelt backwards, to emphasise that the only aim of the mission was to send the dragons back to where they came from, where they would thrive better. Not only do I not believe a word of it, but I, Maxena Trover, am going to find out the truth.

I live in a house at the end of the cobbled street with my parents. It’s a small house but similar to most in the village. The style of the house is also similar with thatched rooves and timber framing. Inside my home is mostly made up of the living room. Tools are scattered everywhere, blocking any form of relaxation. At the back is my parent’s bedroom and the food store leading to the outside cooker. The best room in the house is my room, the small mezzanine that has a ladder leading up to it. ‘Max’ is engraved into each step of the ladder to highlight no one else can enter. It’s the only place that feels like mine. I’ve plastered the walls with as many pictures of dragons as I could fit. A model of a dragon sits precisely in the centre of my window sill. When the sun shines in, the shadow of the dragon fills my room. From my window I can see the whole street. Villagers walking down the road with flowers and shopping in hand, greeting each other as they pass. The road is hardly used by cars as they are only owned by a few; the Chief, the head vet, and the town protectors. I can also see the local swordsmiths and armourer, who are working harder than usual since the dragons have gone. On a sunny day, like today, the calm sea is just about visible, allowing ideas to swim around my head of how far I could explore one day.

My village is one of two in the valley. I live in Valyston, which is slightly larger than Lowbeak. Unusually, we share a Chief of the Valley, making the villages more connected than normal. The Chief is the highest role in villages. Our current Chief is loved by many but I have my doubts. It was only when he came into the position that dragons suddenly needed to be relocated. That cannot be a coincidence. His explanation was that there was evidence to support that mutations were occurring in the eggs of dragons, due to the environment in our villages. These mutations were apparently causing many dragons to die before reaching one years old, and therefore the species was in decline. This was when the CabSnogard Mission was introduced. Everyone in both villages had to help capture all dragons. Those that resisted in surrendering their pet dragons were locked away until the mission was over. I have since visited those that spent time in a cell. I don’t know what they had to endure but it flipped their minds completely. They all agree that the Chief was right to order the mission. What could have changed their minds so fast?

I would love to explore other villages and discover new places. But before I can, I need to find the truth in this place. I have questioned my parents who seem to know no more than I do. Though they seem to believe the lies. I have talked to everyone who was arrested which only raised more questions. The next person I have to investigate is the head veterinarian of dragons, Dr Venton. As the head veterinarian, he must know if the strange mutations are real or fake. He lives in Lowbeak, so I will need to travel there as soon as I can. In the early hours of the morning, I will creep out while my parents are still asleep. There is no point asking Dr Venton questions, I doubt he will give me answers and I don’t want him to become suspicious of me. If my parents find out I travelled to Lowbeak to search for answers, I will be grounded for as long as they think possible. I need to get to Dr Venton’s house early enough to see him drive off for work. Then I can search his house for evidence knowing he won’t be there to catch me.

The journey to Lowbeak is around a thirty-minute walk, which is short for most neighbouring villages. Thankfully, there is a road that links each village to allow the Chief, Dr Venton and town protectors to drive between each village quickly. I begin the walk at half four in the morning, giving myself plenty of time. I turn back as I leave Valyston. Will it look the same when I next see it? Or will successfully discovering secrets change how it appears? Using a torch I found in my parent’s store room, I light up the road in front of me. The same grassy hills surround me while walking the seemingly never-ending cobbled road.

Finally, I reach Dr Venton’s house, 64 Dragon-Moore Lane. It looks identical to the neighbouring houses. Same thatched rooves with blue framed windows. The path leading to the door is decorated to look like a small dragon has left footprints behind. Opposite the house was a field surrounded by tall grass, the perfect place to hide and wait.

Around seven o’clock, the house wakes up as Dr Venton opens the front door. My fingers dive deeper into the soil as Dr Venton jumps behind the wheel and drives off. My heart pounding as I realise it’s now or never. This is the first time I’ve ever considered entering a home without permission and hopefully will be the last. Ignoring my stomach as it gets tighter and tighter, I push off the ground with my hands that now have soil filled fingernails. Getting into the house is easy as all villagers leave their doors unlocked, so I only need to break the trust. The walls of the hallway are covered in squares of different shades of paint. It appears that whatever had been hung on the walls, for a long time, had been recently removed. In the search for a study, I quickly poke my head into each room downstairs before I make my way to the staircase and begin climbing.

As I reach the top of the stairs, an arched wooden door, left ajar, stands in front of me. Through the opening I can see a desk with papers flying all over the place. The organisation I had seen in the other rooms of the house was eradicated in this room. I push open the creaking door wide enough for me to slip through and begin to hunt for any explanation of what the CabSnogard Mission really is.

While rummaging through the papers, I hear someone clear their throat behind me. Shivers twist down my spine and every muscle in my back tenses. I feel every hair on my skin jump up, as if ready to defend whatever is behind me. My feet slowly turn around, carrying my body with them. My eyes are the last to look.

Sudden relief is felt as I see a boy who isn’t Dr Venton, although a few facial similarities are present. Holding a bat in his right hand, he asks me what I was doing in his father’s office. While thinking of a potential lie, I also focus on the idea that I must be being questioned by Dr Venton’s son, Fleck Venton. I thought he was away at the Dragons Veterinary School in a village far from here. Before being completely lost in confusion, I hear him repeat his question. I start to respond by claiming that I am Dr Venton’s assistant. Immediately, I see that he does not believe a word. I can only think of the truth and so I come clean. I have to know what the CabSnogard Mission is and maybe he feels the same. Maybe he can help.

The bat he holds starts to rise. I feel my body fold in on itself, as a smaller target is harder to hit. However, his right hand drops the bat on the table next to him. He informs me that there is no use looking through the study, he already searched high and low and found nothing. His father who used to take notes on everything has seemed to uncharacteristically stopped. He was just as confused as I was. He wanted answers just as much as I did. I finally found someone who thought the same as me and wasn’t prepared to let the dragons go without questions being answered.

Fleck let me do my own search of the study, but he was right. There was nothing to be found. I continue to search for hope as I don’t want to feel defeated. There was no one left to investigate but the Chief, and that wouldn’t be easy. Fleck took me back downstairs, mentioning how much his father had changed so quickly in the recent weeks. He used to be obsessed with dragons. Pictures of them hung all around the house, but out of nowhere he took them down and buried them in a closet he never uses. That explains the different shades of paint in the hallway. Fleck wishes there was more that he could do, but the Chief was untouchable and no one was answering any of his questions. He leads me outside. Before closing the door, he wishes me luck and hopes my investigation uncovers more than his. I look to where Dr Venton’s car was parked before he drove off, creating probably the worst idea I have ever had. I spin round and bang on the door. As soon as Fleck reappears, I instantly warn him of my plan.

“Before Dr Venton drives off tomorrow, I am climbing into the back of the pickup truck.”

It is the only way to discover what he is up to. He will unknowingly lead me to answers that we both desperately want. Fleck’s face perfectly expressed everything he felt. Without him saying a word, it was clear he only saw it ending badly. But I had to do this. His next words were not what I had expected, but also surprisingly pleasant to hear.

“I’m coming too.”

We spent the day discussing everything we knew and what we expected to find when his father turned off the engine. Although, neither of us had any idea what we were heading into. Most of the day we went over our plan. Dr Venton wakes up at around six o’clock each morning. I needed to be in the back of the truck before then. While his father is busy eating breakfast, Fleck will say that he is heading off early to visit a friend in Valyston. After saying goodbye, he will join me in the back of the truck. Before we realised the time, the sound of Dr Venton’s truck ran through the house. Immediately, I felt Fleck grab my hand as he prompted me to follow him. We rushed to the back garden where there was a small shed in the corner. It was hardly visible with plants of all types growing up the walls. Inside was a workbench surrounded by different surgical equipment. In the centre of the shed there was an empty space which Fleck promised to fill with blankets as soon as he could, along with some dinner. I am definitely missing my bed now and wondering if my parents had been fooled by the pile of pillows I had left under the covers.

Eventually, the sun begins to creep through the shed window after a sleepless night. My watch reads five thirty. I pick up one of the blankets to keep warm and quietly walk towards the truck. The mud splatters up the sides of the light grey vehicle was evidence enough that his daily destination was not in either village. I pull back the cover concealing the open compartment of the truck and squeeze myself between the various veterinary supplies. Hopefully, Dr Venton does not need any of these supplies before Fleck and I have had a chance to get out. Though if he does, we will already have learnt the secret location.

I had never been in a vehicle before, which my stomach made me aware of by stirring up the butterflies. The nerves must have fast forwarded time because before I knew it, Fleck was beside me and the engine was running. I could feel the truck react to each stone underneath and turn that Dr Venton made. Fleck put his hand on mine to help reassure me while silence was the only method of communication we could use.

After a twenty-minute drive according to my watch, the engine was switched off. We heard Dr Venton and other unknown voices walk away. Looking to each other for confidence, we started to shuffle towards the back of the truck. Peering out we saw a scene neither of us could have pictured. No village in sight. No trees, no houses, no life. All that could be seen was sand-coloured mountains piercing the sky. Once the voices completely disappeared, we jumped out of the truck which was parked next to a few other vehicles. Who could they belong to? The ground of dried grass and gravel crunched as we made our way to where Dr Venton entered a cave.

The cave had a small opening that was artificially lit by countless small lights that must have been recently installed. The light illuminated cave drawings all along the wall. Drawings from hundreds of years ago. They showed people settling in the area, including where our villages are now. The drawings explain how the people settled and integrated with the dragons that were already there. I knew that repeated phrase was a lie, and this is evidence. There were always dragons in the valley. I looked over to Fleck. His father had walked past these drawings every day, yet still repeated the lie. I could see every muscle in his face drop as he realised he could no longer trust his father.

I pulled Fleck away from the wall. We had already seen what we needed to and the longer we looked, the more it hurt. Following the path down, we came to a fork. To the right, it led to what appeared to be a large opening in the cave where voices echoed. Fleck and I chose the left path. It was a steep incline but looked untravelled. Using our hands to pull ourselves to the top as the path got increasingly steeper, we found the perfect vantage point to view the whole cave. We crawled to the edge as much as we dared. Feeling the crumbly rock beneath our fingers as we got closer to seeing what was happening. There must be around twenty people all working in an organised fashion, each knowing the others next move.

Turning my eyes away from the people, I begin to see what looks like cages in the depths of the cave. Shining metal bars being the only source of light. As I look closer, I see shapes moving above the shadow. It takes my eyes a moment to adjust before I realise what I am looking at. I nudge at Fleck and point towards the darken shapes. As his eyes widen, I know he sees them to. The dragons.

Focused on what we are searching for, more cages and shapes become visible. Although we don't have a clear view, it is clear that all the dragons that were captured were not taken to a better place. Instead, they were all crammed into dark tiny cages in a cave that is unknown to most.

While trying to count the dragons I could see, my attention is brought back to the centre of the room. A recognisable voice echoes around the cave. The Chief stops everyone from what they are doing as they gather around him. He begins making a speech filled with sentences I can only assume make sense to those in the crowd. Most sentences travel through one ear and quickly out the other. However, one sentence latches on and whirls through my mind as I try to understand what it could mean.

"We can move on to part 2, the sooner we get the dragons to do what we need them to do, the better."

As the surrounding sentences continue to sound more like code than actual words, my understanding fails. I feel Fleck tense next to me as he also repeats the sentence in his head. As the chief continues his speech, I begin to gaze over the crowd. Their faces now more visible as they look up towards the Chief. Scanning the faces, I realise two stand out. My parents. I knew they had been involved in capturing the dragons but I believed they knew nothing more than I did. How could they still be involved knowing it isn’t about helping dragons to thrive? How could they hide where they were going to work every day? I couldn't move my eyes away from where they stood. Watching them, I could see every lie they told me.

"There weren't always dragons in the valley."

They would have seen the same cave drawings. Every time they said that lie, with an evidently fake smile, they were lying to me. They lied to help cover up whatever the CabSnogard Mission really is.

As I continue to stare down my parents, their eyes suddenly met mine. Soon followed by the Chiefs, as he tracked their stares.

End of Chapter 1