A Girl & Her Dragon

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. In case the reader was not aware, the Valley is a local shorthand of sorts for Pleasant Valley, home to a rather special young lady named Courtney Acardi. And it was solely thanks to the unique abilities of our protagonist that the beast of legends was ushered into the modern age.

Perhaps I am rushing things a bit, as you undoubtedly wish to learn exactly how this event transpired. As your narrator, weaver of this tale, I believe it pertinent to divulge you with some rather telling background information.

Four years before the following events, Courtney’s mother left home with a man whom she met, ironically enough, through Courtney’s father. Even before this, her father never seemed to be a happy man, yet he was under the impression that going back to school would fill some nagging void within his life. A feat which he desperately wished would make his family proud of him. Little did he know that introducing his wife to a new classmate would be the end of what scarce joy he had.

Things were never the same after her mother left, sadly. In some ways Courtney would only blame herself. It was simply a point in her life where the once sheltered little girl only distanced herself more in reaction to the outside world. With her dad submerged in an ocean of his own self-pity, she only had inward to turn.

Depressing music, dark clothes, endless horror movies; Courtney found ways to cope by facing the darkness in her life head on. Ultimately, she found herself developing an unhealthy amount of self-hatred. It was no help that school was no place to be different, unfortunately, and her sullen disposition certainly made an outcast of the poor girl. Shouts of “freak” and “emo poser” were some of the nicer things that she had been called.

At only sixteen years old, Courtney had suffered more than many who were double her age. Some of her harsher traumas have been omitted from this portion of the tale; those will indeed come into play later on.

I tell you all of this to better set the stage for our story, a story of how one sad and angry girl came into a position of incredible power. For after this moment things would never be the same for her, or Pleasant Valley, again:

Tumbling black hair threatened to swallow Courtney’s face as she stared vacantly at the wall beside her bed. A cool breeze enveloped her arm with goosebumps as she listened to the rain outside. She hoped that the sounds of the cascade would help lull her to sleep. But as usual, sleep did not come. So, she just lay there as tears softly formed around her grey, sullen eyes.

Looping memories of events at school that day, and how she wished so many things could have gone differently, played without end. Such as how she should have told off Regina, the bully who attempted to trip her at lunch. Or when she should have defended the new girl in the gym locker room, who was solely mocked for being too shy to change in front of the other girls.

Courtney turned on her radio to drown out the ruminations, only to hear nothing but the dying whine of technology even older than herself.

“Useless, just like me.” She said aloud before pushing the silver radio off of her nightstand. WHAM. It thumped onto the wooden floor below as she stared at it until inevitably the room grew dark within the edges of her vision. Sleep has come at last!

When she opened her eyes, Courtney was inside of the most beautiful palace she had ever beheld. Deep blue marble made up the floor and walls, leading up to a trio of golden thrones which sat atop a set of stairs. White pillars with all sorts of plants and animals engraved into them held up a ceiling which seemingly was made of glass. The orange light of a rising sun filled the room, making it difficult to discern the banners which hung upon its walls.

“So, you’ve finally arrived.” Said the harsh, hollow voice of a man. The voice startled her, as she initially saw no one else when she entered the room, it came from the top of the stairs.

Standing in front of the three thrones was something out of one of the old horror movies that she used to watch with her dad. A nearly seven-foot-tall knight wore a suit of armor so black in color that Courtney could almost swear that she saw waves of other colors whenever he moved. It was just like whenever oil leaked from her dad’s car onto pavement after a good rain. The most intense part for her wasn’t the giant sword slung over his back, but instead the charred skull which sat where most men would usually have helmets…or heads!

“You do not appear afraid by how I look, that is an incredibly fortunate sign.” The specter before her said. He had no mouth, or lower jaw for that matter, yet somehow Courtney could hear his voice just the same.

“In time you shall come to encounter a woman who will assist you in unlocking your hidden potential. You may not understand now, but there is a great strength locked away inside of you.” Courtney rolled her eyes at that cliché, yet the skeleton knight didn’t seem to notice.

“Only through great pain, and loss, can you tap into the magic which flows within your blood. It would appear as though you are the first to awaken in many centuries. The lost powers of the kingdom of Tartaria shall soon return.” The being said while crossing its arms.

Courtney had never heard such an extraordinary claim in her life, and certainly not about herself. She furrowed her brows while contemplating her response.

“I’m sorry, tartar sauce? Let’s just assume that what you are telling me is true. How exactly am I, a social reject of a teenaged girl, supposed to do anything special?” Courtney spoke in venomous tones as she stomped her left foot. The knight glared through her soul with burning, crimson eyes as she continued her tirade.

“Sorry if I don’t quite believe you, but after all you are kinda inside of my dream… how will I know your words are true? I need some reassurance just in case this isn’t my imagination helping me escape my uneventful life.” Courtney twisted her lips into a snarl once she finished speaking.

Man, I must have forgotten to take my meds or something. I haven’t had a dream like this since mom left. And even then, I was being chased by all of those floating orbs with faces, not becoming the chosen one in some self-serving fantasy. She thought to herself as the skeleton knight hung his head momentarily.

“Perhaps I should have better explained things. You are standing in what is known as The Hall of the Timeless. Many centuries ago, magic was quite common. At least it was until a great evil called The Entity hid it away from the everyday person. Portals across the land once existed to transport those, not unlike yourself, to other realms which are beyond your current comprehension.” Courtney bit her lower lip, nodding her head to show that she was listening.

“All evidence of the once great kingdom, along with the magic it bore, was hidden away when The Entity conjured a massive wave of liquid earth to bury it all. With portals sealed, and magic conducting landmasses broken away, only those with the old blood could ever hope to access the long-gone abilities. However, a new generation brings the possibility to restore magic to everyone else. In due time of course.”

Courtney’s fists clenched as she fought to understand what she had heard. Perhaps a lifetime of being made to feel inadequate overpowered her desire to believe this message. Dangerous thoughts of freeing herself from her pointless life of pain flashed before her mental eye. She could only shake her head as tears blurred the edges of her vision.

As if he were intruding upon Courtney’s thoughts, the being before her spoke again. His words soothed her anxieties and filled Courtney with a resolve that she hadn’t felt in years.

“Self-doubt and hatred aimed inward are some of The Entity’s greatest tools of destruction against the Founder’s Chosen. Countless potential heroes have fallen victim to this scheme. Courtney Acardi, be not deceived, for you do indeed live a life of meaning.”

The skeleton knight pointed toward the glass above as the sky seemed to react to his action. Something red quickly flashed overhead, followed by the shadow of a great winged beast. Courtney was allowed only the most fleeting glimpse of scales and leathered wings before it vanished from sight entirely. The sky then began to grow darker, as if the sun itself were being eclipsed.

But it was no eclipse. Rapid growing tree limbs which burst to life with verdant green leaves quickly obscured the view through the sunglass overhead.

“Good omens indeed,” proclaimed the specter atop the stairs. “We have little time left together I’m afraid. For now, just know to look for changes in your world, and to anticipate noticing things which you have never looked upon before. Oh, and try not to stand out too much. Not until you are strong enough to defend yourself from horrors untold. Farewell for now, Lady Courtney.”

And with those words the skeleton knight began to fade away, along with the rest of the palace. She had no time to reply, to shout aloud that it was already too late for her to not stand out.

Courtney opened her eyes, startled by the events which had just unfolded. It felt all too authentic to have been purely a dream, and yet she didn’t feel worthy in her own heart to believe a word of it.

Without sound, she crept into the bathroom to wash her face. As she gently ran her fingers along her temples, Courtney couldn’t help but notice something off about her reflection. Where all of her hair had once been raven-black, a blonde streak suddenly appeared along her prominent bangs. Great, now I’m definitely going to stand out.

As she traced her fingers along the new abnormality, Courtney flinched hard. The long-forgotten radio on her floor began playing at its maximum volume. She hurried to turn it off before it could wake her dad from his slumber.

“Turn away while you can, for the times shall never be the same again.” The lyrics uttered out as Courtney removed the batteries from the back. Or at least she would have if there were any inside of the device. Yet it strangely turned off at her insistence just the same.

Booming thunder hammered the world outside as Courtney readjusted herself in bed. It took a long time for the beauty to go back to sleep that night. There were no dreams to behold this go around, only a shadowed void.