Dragon Training 101

There weren't always dragons in the valley. It once consisted of normal humans doing normal human things. They read fairy tale books believing that's just what they were… Fairy tales. That was weeks ago, though, way before Ashley Adams, a normal teenage girl, got a little too curious about her brother's disappearance.

Ashley had tons of normal friends, played a normal sport, and had a normal high school romance. She looked normal with straight brown hair and hazel eyes. She was short but not too short. Skinny but not too skinny. Her twin brother, Ashton, looked and acted the same way; normal. In the weeks prior to Ashton's disappearance, however, he had been acting strangely. He was keeping secrets, sneaking off at late hours; doing things he had never done before. Ashley thought he might have a girlfriend, made some bad friends, or might even be selling drugs. That was before he disappeared though, and before she found it; a book in Ashton's normal book collection that wasn't so normal.

"Dragon Training 101," Ashley read out loud. She peeked over her shoulder to make sure no one else was around (With six siblings, you never really know) and opened it. Her fingers ran through each page gently, the thick paper stiff in her hands. This wasn't a normal book. It had a golden cover and thick rigid pages. Ashley was sure it had something to do with Ashton’s disappearance. It all made sense now… all his confusing talks about whether fairy tales were real or not. Ashley would just laugh because obviously, they weren't, but now she wasn't quite sure.

For weeks, Ashton had talked about make-believe things like fairies, princesses, and dragons. She couldn’t wrap her head around it, but now she was being forced to. He would whisper about missions and being the hero, nonsense that Ashley ignored.

She continued flipping, page by page, hoping to find anything that told her where he could be. Images of dragons and notes on how to train them filled each page. She flipped another page over, titled ‘How to Heal Fire Wounds’. A sticky note with sloppy handwriting lay beside it, reading: "tree by lily pond pull flower out ground." Her brows furrowed and she bit her lip, trying to understand what her brother could mean. This might just be the last hope of finding him and Ashley knew it was important somehow. She shut the book, leaving the sticky note inside, and quickly looked back at Ashton's empty bed before running to her own room.

"Pick up the phone, Matt," Ashley muttered, desperate.

One ring. Nothing.

Two rings. Nothing.

Third ring. "Hey, baby!"

"Matt! Thank god. I think I got a clue on where Ashton is. Meet me at Lolly's in 20."

'Uh… I don't know if I can. I'm babysitting Payton."

"Well, this is an emergency so either bring her or leave her. I don't care. Be there, Matt. I'm serious." She hung up and immediately grabbed her keys and threw on her monkey slippers. She and Ashton both had a pair. They matched all the time. It was their thing.

"Bye, mom. I'm going to eat with Matt," she called from the entranceway.

"Did you finish your homework?"

"Uh… Yeah," Ashley lied, already closing the front door. The winter air greeted her abruptly, chills shooting up her arms. She briefly contemplated turning around to grab her jacket but she was in too much of a hurry.

Her neighborhood was small and cute, just like the rest of White Springs, Florida. Barbecues were hosted every other weekend and you might just see your best friend while walking your dog. That’s just how this town was; small enough that everybody knew everybody. Sure some crime happened, it was Florida after all, but Ashton’s disappearance sparked a fire in the community. Everyone searched for him, but he had vanished without a trace. That’s what worried Ashley; what made her believe that maybe fairy tales were real after all. After finding the book, she was sure of it.

Ten minutes later, she arrived at Lolly's, the town's popular classic diner. A smile grew on her face when she noticed Matt's parked car. He was standing by the front door, his brown fluffy hair all messed up from the wind. Payton, his ten-year-old sister, was beside him. She was petite, with long blonde hair. They shared the same chocolate brown eyes that Ashley loved so much.

"Car! Now!" Ashley yelled from her car. They walked from the door to Ashley's car quickly, while she rushed them inside.

"Ashley, why are you acting like this?" Matt asked, a worried look on his face.

"Y'all cannot tell a single soul what I'm about to tell y’all," Ashley's face was serious.

"So, a secret?" Payton grinned.

"Yes. Promise y'all won't tell," Ashley urged.

"Promise." They both said.

“No. Say the whole thing,” Ashley demanded.

“I promise I won’t tell anybody what you’re about to tell me,” they both recited with eye rolls.

Ashley nodded, "What if… What if fairy tales are real?" Her heart dropped when their faces showed their skepticism, even though she wasn’t surprised.

"Okay, hear me out. Ashton used to ask me that all the time. I never thought anything of it until now. I went in his room and I found this book." She handed Matt the heavy book, getting frustrated at his confused face.

"Ashley…"

"Listen, Matt. I know I sound crazy, alright, but it makes sense. He just vanishes out of thin air and then I find this book. And this sticky note. Look at it. I think it means something. I think it's telling us how to get to him."

Matt grabbed the sticky note and looked at it hard. He let out a heavy sigh that sent Ashley's stomach dropping.

"You don't believe me," she murmured.

"Look, just give this to the police. If it's true, they can handle it. Not us."

"No, Matt. Are you even listening to me? The police have done nothing! This is my only hope of finding my brother and now you're acting like I'm crazy." Tears streamed down her face.

"Hey, hey, don't cry," Matt wiped the tears from her cheeks, "You know I miss Ashton too. He was– is,” he sighed, “I meant is, my best friend. I'm just saying grief can make you think crazy things. This is one of those things."

"I believe you," Payton piped up from the back seat.

Ashley smiled weakly, "Well at least one of you do."

"Do you think he's in danger?" Matt asked.

"I don't know."

"I do," Payton said from the backseat. She held up the book, which had somehow ended up in her hands, and pointed to the very back page.

“Oh my gosh, you’re right Payton! I didn’t even look at the rest of the book because of the sticky note,” Ashley exclaimed, a frown appearing on her face as she read the word ‘HELP’ written in all caps. Her heart dropped. What if all this was for nothing? What if Ashton was already gone?

"Okay, so maybe you're onto something," Matt forced a laugh.

"We need to figure out what the sticky note means," Ashley stared at it, hoping something might give away what happened to her brother.

"Well, there's a pond full of lily pads on Mark Street. I pass it every day on the way to school." Payton blurted.

"Payton, you're amazing!!" Ashley exclaimed, "Buckle up guys."

Matt grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently, comforting her as they pulled out of the Lolly's Diner parking lot and made their way to Mark Street.

"What if he's dead?" Payton asked quietly as they turned onto the road. The sun was setting, casting a hazy orange glow on the valley beside them.

"He's not. I can feel it,” Ashley replied as she gritted her teeth, hoping she wasn't lying.

They pulled over onto the grass, staring at a huge pond with white flowers floating atop. Ashley grabbed Payton and Matt's hand, taking a deep breath before walking over to the water’s edge.

"Tree. It says we need to find a tree," she directed, the sticky notes' sloppy words memorized. Her slippers were now soaked from the wetness surrounding the pond, and the breeze stung her cheeks.

"There's lots of trees. How will we know what to look for?" Matt asked, exasperated.

"Is that it?" Payton pointed at a tree with flowers surrounding the bottom of its trunk.

"Well I see no other flowers, so I'm guessing so." They walked over to the tree.

"There's hundreds. How do we know which one?" Matt asked.

"Start pulling I guess," Ashley grabbed a flower.

“Wait,” Matt yelled, “We don’t even know what’s going to happen.”

“Matt, this is our only chance. We have to at least see,” Ashley grabbed the flower again.

"Wait!!”

“What now, Matt?” Ashley groaned.

“What if Ashton really is in danger? Payton's here. I don't want her in danger too."

"Thought you didn’t believe in fairy tales." Ashley chuckled.

"I'll be fine, Matt. Stop being so serious all the time," Payton rolled her eyes. Matt sighed and began ripping up the flowers alongside them until only three remained.

"Want to all go at the same time? Or is one at a time better?" Ashley and Payton shrugged at the question.

"Because, what if you have to be holding the flower for it to count?" Matt continued.

"So?"

"So, if only one of us is holding it, then only one of us is going to go," he pointed out.

"Okay then, let's all hold them," Payton said, reaching out and grabbing onto the first one, a pink flower, with yellow specks making a pattern on each petal. Matt and Ashley grabbed on and counted to three before tugging it out of the ground. Nothing happened.

Onto the next, a purple flower with white stripes. Nothing happened.

Matt gave Ashley a quick peck, holding his breath before grabbing the remaining one, which was blue and green, and counting to three. Nothing happened.

Ashley felt the tears start to trickle down her cheeks. Her hope was gone. Ashton was never coming back.

"See! Whatever happened to Ashton, it's real! This isn’t some stupid fairy tale. They don't exis-"

"Wait!!" Payton interrupted, "Over there. That tree has one rose under it."

"So? Y'all got to get it through your heads that fairy tales aren't real and Ashton isn't living in one!"

"No, Matt. Roses grow on bushes, not out of the ground by themselves. I'm ten and even I know that. It has to be it." They all ran over to the rose, Ashley’s hope coming back as she closed her eyes and said a quick prayer. Matt grabbed her hand with one of his and the rose with the other.

"One."

Ashley's hand tightened around the stem.

"Two."

This was it.

"Three."

Please, for Ashton.

They yanked the rose out of the ground. All around them the ground began to shake, harsh winds surrounding them in a vortex.

"Grab onto the tree!" Matt screamed. They held each other and the tree tightly, closing their eyes as everything around them spun. After only a couple of seconds, the world felt normal again.

"I'm too scared to look. You go first Matt," Ashley whispered fearfully.

Matt took a deep breath and opened his eyes, his jaw dropping at the sight. "You were right, Ash. Fairy tales DO exist."