Harmony Once More

Prologue

Long ago, in an ancient land called Tallen, there was the nicest dragon to ever live. His name was, King Tambo. King Tambo married Myia who became queen. The people of Tallen all loved King Tambo, and the King did a wonderful job leading his people. Humans and dragons lived in harmony. Together, they would fight the monsters that invaded the villages and protect each other. This all lasted until the King and Queen had a son called Urthal. He was a terrible dragon and yelled at everyone. He didn’t care what anyone thought. He was terrible to his parents, to the maids, and the guards. He would often steal things from grocers and the markets. It was his favorite thing to do. He practiced magic and worked on getting stronger. When he was finally strong enough, Urhtal killed his father but left his mother unharmed. He became king and welcomed monsters of all kinds into his kingdom. Urthal let them kill everyone. The became known as the Nightlings, and became his army. Some were pig zombies that walked like a human would. Large horns protruded from the sides of their heads. They were the masters of the swords and bow, and, with their Gowrows helping them, were even more powerful. The Trolls helped some, but only when needed. The Goat People, however, fled with the fairies and other creatures. The dragons, who had once lived in harmony with the humans, were now given one choice: serve Urhtal or die. Each month Urthal would send dragons to the villages in the middle of the night to take a child back to Urthal or eat them. The friendship and union that had once existed between the humans and dragons was no more. Some dragons were lucky and fled to hide before the king caught them. They were the only dragons that still tried to help the humans, but mostly met their demise after betraying Urhtal. A fortunate few made a quiet life for themselves, alone, hidden away deep in the forests…..

***

A small cry came from a hollowed-out log. Bolla slowly walked over and bent her head down to peer inside. A small girl was sitting there crying. Why was a human child out here? Bolla thought to herself. I haven’t seen one of these in years. Bolla looked at her wide eyes, watching her every move. The little girl stopped crying and looked at the dragon curiously. Her eyes were a bright green, her hair was black as charcoal. The girl started to scream, and cry. She looked at Bolla with terror. Bolla stumbled back startled. She tripped over a branch and fell back. The winced and she landed on a rock. The little girl stopped screaming, but tears still ran down her face. The girl started to slowly crawl out, starting to see that this dragon was not going to hurt her. “Please don’t eat me!” the girl said starting to cry more. “I’m not going to eat you.” Bolla said. “Why are you out here?” Bolla asked. The girl stuttered for a second but found her voice. “I was taken from my village by a…” she trailed off. “A dragon.” Bolla finished it for her. The girl nodded and sniffled. That’s what I thought. If a dragon took her, why is she not dead? Bolla thought about it for a moment, then turned he eyes back the girl. She was small and wearing an oversize shirt that was covered in holes. “Do you know where your village is?” Bolla asked. The girl shook her head. Bolla huffed in frustration making a puff of smoke come out. The girl jumped back screaming a little. “What’s your name?” asked Bolla. “Lily,” she replied. “I’m seven.” Bolla thought a moment before speaking again. “Would you like to come with me? I live about a two-day travel from here, and only come for water every three weeks.” “I guess so.” Lily answered. After that they started off up some rocky cliff, then descended a slop. When finally, the came to a big hill and started to walk.

They walked for a mile or so up the hill, then when getting to the top Bolla told Lily to climb on her back. She refused at first but gave in when Bolla asked her for the third time. Picking up her pace Bolla trotted toward the edge of the hill. Then with a quick movement she lifted her wings high and slammed them down into the air, forcing her up into the sky. They climbed the air until it was high enough then Bolla positioned into a glide. They flew over the Dark Forest, and the swamps. They saw many creatures, but no monsters. They only lurked at night.

Darkness came quickly, and the cold took over for now. Bolla needed to rest. The extra weight had made her tire quite fast. There’s no place safe to land. All kinds of monsters are out now. She had no choice right now. She needed rest, and so did Lily. Bolla found a clearing in the trees and flew down to it. It was a cozy little place. The trees enclosed them like a cage. When Bolla landed Lily hopped off, landing with a thud, then curled up under Bolla’s wing. Bolla hugged Lily in closer, and before closing her eyes she looked around and listened for anything unusual. Content that they were concealed, she drifted into a light sleep.

Bolla woke to a loud huffing in her ear. Slowly she opened her eye. There it was- an ugly, snot gathering, Gowrow. Its foot long claws up and ready to slash.Bolla shot up, knocking Lily over. The Gowrow belonged to the Nightlings, the Kings army. They must be watching behind the trees. Just as she was in mid-thought, the Nightlings walked out from their hiding places. “Lily,” Bolla said in a hushed voice. “Stand slowly. Do not make a sound whatever you do!” She listened and stood. Bolla hugged her into her side with her wing. Bolla looked around franticly, her breathing became hard and fast. I can’t fly or they will shoot me with their arrows. They moved in closer, now surrounding them in a circle. Inhaling a large breath, she opened her mouth and let it out. A loud and raging roar came out, and following it was the orange heat. Fire. Spinning around making sure to get all surrounding them as it flew from her throat and out of her mouth. The Nightlings screamed something terrible and ran before Bolla had time to see them. Some of them had been hit with the flames, the Gowrows as well. They screeched and rolled around on the ground trying to get the fire to go out. It did no good. They were soon all motionless. Bolla was breathing heavily, Lily was crying and shaking under Bolla’s wing. “Climb onto my back Lily! Hurry!” Bolla knew that now she had shown their location the other dragons would soon be on them, including other monsters. She started to fly up higher, and higher with every push of her wing. She flew with all the strength she had. She could hear the horns from the Goat People, the howl of the wolves, the screeching of the hawks. Everything knew where they were. News traveled fast. Bolla knew it wouldn’t be long before the King Urhtal would hear and be in pursuit. They flew many miles before Bolla turned and saw the shadows of the other dragons coming her way. What have I done? How do I save Lily? Bolla’s thoughts tangled together into a giant knot in her mind. Then she saw a bright light glowing in the distance. A village! Maybe Lily’s! I could drop her there and lead the other dragons away from her. They want me, not her. Bolla flew harder as she saw the village nearing. Just then something hit her on her right side. She slammed hard against to ground smacking against a tree which stopped her. Lily flew off her like an arrow being launched from a bow. She hit a pile of brush and landed on her back. Bolla got up as fast as she could. The dragon that had knocked her out of the air landed a few feet from her. It ran toward her getting ready to slash her skin with its razor-sharp tail. She moved out of the way before it made contact. Twirling around just in time before another blow to her side. Bolla flew back, slamming against a rotten stump. She lay there breathing hard. The dragon walked over and stood above Bolla, getting his claws ready for the final strike. Bolla took a deep breath and let the flames out again. The flames hit the dragons face making it roar and fall to the ground. Bolla jumped up and ran over to Lily who was unconscious and bleeding. Bolla was about to grab her when something hit her again. This time she kept on her feet. It was a troll. This will be easy. She grabbed the troll by its arm and slung it around, anger burning through her body. She tossed it back into the woods, then went back to Lily. Bolla grabbed her by the shirt and took off. She flew toward the village, which had people standing outside and watching. She got so close to the ground she almost touched it. She dropped the poor little girl in the middle of the street. Then with a push of her back legs she was off into the air again. She could hear the screams of the people. She turned right, heading toward the mountains.

She flew for a little while before she needed to rest. Where can I rest now? They are after me. She wanted to cry but didn’t. She felt a hot burning on her stomach. Bolla looked down and saw another dragon blowing flames up at her. She was too high up for it to hit her. That dragon must not be able to fly. she thought. An arrow struck her side making her fall. She hit the ground again, pain searing through her. A troll came out from behind a bush, swing an axe. He slammed the axe down almost hitting her neck. She jumped up, making the arrow grind into her skin more. She winced but kept moving. Giant iron poles came up out of the ground, making a circle around her. The top of the cage opened, and huge dragon swooped down and landed right in front of her. He wore a long blue and white robe, and a tall crown over his horns. His eyes were glowing a bright red, and his scales shone. “What do we have here?” the dragon said with a little laugh. “King Urthal,” Bolla said in a quivering voice. He growled and lunged forward. She was slow but still too quick for him. Hissing in anger he snapped his jaws. Bolla took another breath and blew out fire. He used his wings to turn it back on Bolla, making it hit her face. It burned and ate away at the soft skin under her hard yellow scales. She screamed in her head but didn’t let it come out. She shook it off then charged at him. Inhaling a big breath as she got to his feet, she blew out the fire once again and this time it hit him. Making his black scales glow with the embers. He wailed, and Bolla clawed him while she could. He fell to the ground, giving Bolla enough time to slip through a gap in the cage. When she did, she immediately pushed her legs against the ground leaping into the air. Urthal scrambled to his feet and went after her. He was beginning to catch up, but that’s when Bolla spied a tree that had a branch fall off leaving a sharp edge. She got and idea. Bolla got halfway to the tree but stopped, letting the king catch up. Once he was right behind her, she flew as fast as she could. She flew so close to the tree, and at the last second, she snapped her whole body to the right, dodging the sharp point. It was too late for Urthal. He sped directly into the long sharp branch, stabbing him like a sword. Bolla turned back to see if he was dead, pleased to find he was she turned back toward the village. She wondered if Lily was ok. When Bolla got above the village people ran in and out of their houses screaming. She landed in the middle of the town with a thud. Blood oozed out of her wounds, the arrow still in her skin. The men had their swords and bows out pointing right at her. They were about to fire when she said, “Wait!” They all stopped and stared. No one had ever heard a dragon talk since Urthal had taken over. “I’m not an enemy. I am the one who dropped Lily here.” She was out of breath when she finished. “So, you aren’t going to kill us?” one of them asked. “No! I just want to see Lily.” She needed to know if Lily was ok. She didn’t realize how much she cared for her. A man motioned for them to bring her out. They carried Lily out on what used to be a white cot, now covered with dry blood. She had bandages over her wounds, and shiny red blood staining her arms and legs. One of the women that carried her out looked down, letting a tear creep down her face. Bolla tried to move closer to see if she was ok but fell. She was out of strength. “Is she ok?” Bolla asked. The man shook his head, and that’s when Bolla started to cry.

A couple days passed and Bolla finally awoke. She was bandaged and had water and food by her side. She stood and yawned. How long was I asleep? She wondered. Then she walked out of the makeshift house the people had built for her. People were busily walking around and buying things. Mothers were scolding their children, and men were trading. They all stopped when they saw Bolla. It was completely silent. All eyes were upon her. “I am very grateful for your kindness. I am sorry that I couldn’t keep that girl alive. I tried but I guess it didn’t work.” She needed to break the silence. She looked down and saw a blood stain on the ground. It must have been where they brought Lily out the day, they showed her. Bolla accidentally let a tear slip and roll down her face. It landed on the stain, then started to pop and crackle. Bolla backed away. Everyone watched as it swirled up in a circle. Sparks and blood mixed and formed a shape. The spinning became faster as the shape grew. Then with a quick flash it all fell to the ground and disappeared, leaving a girl laying there. Bolla blinked. The girl stood and moved her long black hair out of her face. It was Lily! How? Bolla thought. The little girl stood there smiling at her. Everything was silent, as the people watched cautiously. No one had ever seen this happen before. “Lily!” Bolla screamed. Lily ran and hugged her neck. “I missed you!” said Lily. “I missed you too.” Bolla said softly. “Don’t ever leave me again.” said Lily. “I’m not going too, I promise.” Bolla reassured her. “Oh, one more thing. What is your name?” Lily waited patiently for Bolla to respond. Bolla realized that she had never told Lily her name. “It’s Bolla,” she said. “Bolla. I like that.” Lily squeezed her a little more.