Stella & Her Sword

“Princess Stella, we must go!” The Queen exclaimed. It was April 16th, 1836. And Princess Stella Smith, age 14, was hiding under her bed. Of course, her homeland, Dronia, had been attacked once again. By none other than the feared dragon of Mt. Tomas.

Dronia is a wealthy village, and has advanced weaponry, and could usually fight off any thing that came in its way. But not this. Stella’s father, King Smith, was offended at the thought of defeat. He insisted victory. Though Stella’s mother, Queen Smith, knew their fate. She, and her daughter, had to escape. “Stella! Come! There’s no time!” The Queen exclaimed. Stella slowly crept out from under the bed, fearful of the dragon out her door.

Stella was a talkative girl, usually, but when struck with immense emotion, she didn’t speak a word. In this case, fear. Stella and her mother ran down the main hall, through the utility closet, then paused. “You’ll have to make it from here.” Stella’s mother said. Stella was confused. “Huh?” She asked. “What do you mean?” Stella pondered. Stella’s mother pushed an iron shield to reveal a wooden trap door. “I surely can’t fit.” The Queen said. “But... I can’t survive alone!” Stella hollered. The Queen just smiled.

She reached for Stella’s neck, and grabbed the silver necklace The King had given her on her 2cnd birthday. It was a rare and beautiful necklace, for sure. A miniature sword, bold and proud, was attached to the silver chain. A sword made from amethyst, thick and pure. “Whenever you are fearful, or you just simply miss me, just hold the sword. And hold it tight. I’ll know when you do.” The Queen said.

It was just a necklace with a miniature sword! What’s supposed to happen? The Queen glanced behind her at the sound of a scream. She recognized it. It was her husband’s. It was clear he had perished. “Go!” The Queen said, hugging her daughter. “Now! There’s no time!” Finally, Stella wiped the tears from her eyes, let her grip around her mother loosen, and she opened the trap door. She took one final glance at her mother. “Be brave.” She spoke. “And remember.” She continued. She held here hands to her chest. “Just follow the sword’s point.” She said.

Stella crawled into the tunnel, not looking back. She didn’t want to say goodbye. So, she didn’t. She just kept on crawling. She looked behind her, and fire burst through the door, swallowing her mother whole. “Go!” She said. Stella crawled as fast as she could. The fire was getting closer and closer to her. She took a sharp left and shielded her face. The fire barely got her, though it soon died down. Stella sighed in relief. A tear rolled down her cheek. Her village was gone. Her parents were gone. Her best friend Tanya was gone. Her pet owl, Peril, was gone. Everything was gone.

She held the sword tight. She then burst through the metal and found herself in a forest. Confused as ever, she took off her necklace and threw it on the ground before her. “Three moons, what!?” Stella began to say. Her mother’s words echoed in her head. “Follow the sword’s point.” She said. She studied the necklace carefully. How had it given her such power that she could burst through bare metal? Was it the power in her? Or the power in the sword? Was there any power at all? Had the fire simply weakened the metal? Stella had so many questions. And no answers. Then, the sword slowly pointed in the direction of Dronia.

Stella knew what she had to do. She grabbed the sword and held it tight, just like her mother had instructed. Suddenly, the miniature sword went from tiny, to gigantic! It was an amethyst, life-size life-saving sword. It’s a weapon! Stella thought. Mother and Father gave it to me in case I was in trouble! It all made sense. How it grew? Stella didn’t know. But she saw the red-scaled beast in the distance, wreaking havoc in Dronia. And then, right then and there, she knew what to do. She ran full force towards her village, screaming as she went.

She stumbled across a rock and bruised her knee. It healed in an instant. Apparently, the sword had some magical healing power, too. She jumped over Dronia’s tall, elegant stone wall, only to see the dragon, facing her father, lying on his back. Once he saw Stella, he smiled gleefully. Filled with anger, Stella jumped on the dragon’s back. She stabbed at the dragon’s scales, but she couldn’t do it! The dragon let a burst of fire consume her, and she fell on the rocks, fatigued. Her sword fell from her grasp and shrunk back to its miniature size. Then, the dragon faced Stella’s father once again. Stella couldn’t lose any more family! Then, Stella had an idea. She grabbed the sword once again, but, before it could get the chance to grow, Stella threw it at the dragon. The dragon was surprised at the sight of it, and then smirked as if he thought Stella was a fool. Though Stella wasn’t.

The dragon swallowed the sword whole, and The King gasped. Though Stella was the one smirking now. Then, Stella ran to her father, and jumped in front of him. Stella then dove into the dragon’s mouth, and slid down his throat, like a slide. She found herself in a prison of bodies of her relatives, friends, and horses. It struck her. Though she didn’t want to join them. And she didn’t want her father to, either. So, she frantically searched for the sword, and she couldn’t find it. It seemed like all hope was lost and Stella sat down.

And wept.

Until she saw a glint.

A glint of hope.

A shine.

A shine Stella would never forget from that day on. She rushed over and picked up the sword. It grew, and Stella stabbed at the dragon’s guts, and, finally, Stella heard a cry, and the dragon toppled over. She had done it! Her plan worked! She had successfully killed the dragon from the inside! She climbed out, and her father hugged her gleefully. “You did it!” He exclaimed. “You saved Dronia!” He said. The sword shrunk to its original size, and Stella’s father tied the silver chain back around Stella’s neck.

Stella heard cheering. People arose from the debris and cheered for Stella. Stella saw the local market man, she saw buskers, and she even saw Tanya, who Stella had assumed died. Peril, Stella’s pet barn owl, flew above her and landed on Stella's shoulder gracefully. Though, when Stella had killed the dragon, the dragon had left Stella with a curse: she could never speak again. And as I said before, Stella was a very talkative girl. And this caused Stella’s sadness that followed her everywhere. Stella learned sign language and was able to communicate once again. And you know what? Stella was fine with that.

Tanya’s relatives had all perished, and The King took Tanya under his wing. Tanya was given a necklace with a miniature shield on it, and Stella and Tanya became the two warriors of Dronia. (The first female warriors of Dronia, too! And the youngest!) And whenever Stella missed her mother, Stella would grip her sword, and up in heaven, Stella’s mother would know. Then, The King, Stella, Peril, and Tanya lived happily ever after.

THE END