Once upon a time, in a time long forgotten lived a princess named Abigail. Abigail was the princess of a kingdom called Cedar Sparks, which was cursed along with her. As long as Abigail sang to the heavens in the morn and in the night, Cedar Sparks and she will be fine. If to fail, Cedar Sparks shall crumble from history. Abigail would go to the tower of the castle, and sing a song so sweet, it made heaven tremble, and fall to our feet.
King Midas, the king of Cedar Sparks and Abigail’s father tried to put an end to the madness. So he traveled to the North Mountain to pluck the rose born from the skies of the sun, and the stars of the night. Sadly, he never came back, alive. In the spring, they found his lifeless body at the bottom of the mountain.
“Run to the mountains, to the rivers and hills. Wherever you may be, I’ll be there.” Abigail sang in a voice of silk.
Abigail was 14, had eyes as blue as the sky, faire skin, and lips the color of blood. She always was always wearing flowing gowns with her wavy hair down. This day, like any other day, she was singing her song on top of the 100 foot marble tower on the front left side of the defense wall.
The towers were the most beautiful part of the kingdom. They flew up straight as possible, then, spread out this way and that, looking like a Cedar tree in winter. They been through everything, births, deaths, rejoiced times and sorrowful times. Times of peace and times of war. The two at the front of the gates, the most beautiful towers there, arched their branches forming a door of hopes and dreams.
After she sang, a stranger came to the kingdom, hearing Abigail’s voice from a distance. He wore robes made for a lord, and a cape as black as night, with fur on the top of it. He wore a necklace with a dragon on it as well. He had bright amber eyes.
“I must have her to marry.” The mysterious man whispered to himself.
Once Abigail finished her song, she did a backflip to the stairs and slid down the railing, nearly breaking a stain-glass window of a rose with the moon and stars as its petals and the sun and clouds as its stem, leaves, and thorns. Abigail rushed to her bedroom, decorated with cyan dragons all around the place, and a cyan canopy bed, with dragons lining the finished birch wood, supporting her bed.
Abigail started to clean things up, since she didn’t want the maids to do too much work, since they had her brother to deal with. She started with the bed, pushing the curtains out of the way, and fixing the sheets, making all the wrinkles disappear in a swipe of a hand. Then she went to her mirror, and picked up her makeup and perfumes.
“And how are we today?” Asked a fit woman, no more than 5 feet, with a red dress that nearly choked her body, in a voice only a mother could speak in.
Abigail replied. “I am well, mother, and how are you today?”
“I am well, my dragon. Thank you for asking” Queen Elizabeth answered back with a warm smile.
Everyone called Abigail a little dragon because she was just like a dragon, beautiful, but ferocious, cunning but sweet. She also had a burning fire of love for her family, and would rather die than be separated from them.
This was Abigail’s life. A loving family, a curse on her and on her kingdom. But she wanted something more. She wanted love. She wanted love that a family could not give her. She wanted her own prince Charming that would sweep her off her feet and have a happily ever after.
“Run to the mountains, to the rivers and hills.” Sang Princess Abigail, trailing off on every last word. She didn’t know why, but she felt like something was going to happen today, that could change her life. “Wherever you may be, I’ll be there.” Abigail finished her song. But, this time, instead of walking down the stairs, she stood frozen, in a state of shock. The townspeople screamed, running around, throwing baskets, throwing off shoes, strangers letting other strangers into their homes and guards letting citizens, travelers, and pretty much everyone into the castle. Someone noticed Abigail standing like a statue in the tower. The guards noticed as well and rushed up to save her. Sadly, they were too late and giant, webbed, scarred, bat-like, amber wing swooped right next to the princess. The wind it created pushed her back to the wall.
“PRINCESS… C-COME H-HERE.AWAY FROM THE- AAHH.” One of the guards yelled in a heroic and terrified voice, just before a giant, thick amber; spiked tail hit the tower, and sadly knocked all the guards off.
“A-A-A-A- AAAAAAAAHHHHH S-SOME-SOMEONE H-HELP!!!!!” Abigail shrieked. She was very good at attacking, and she could defend herself without a man, but if you were in her place, where a 600 foot amber- winged beast was trying to attack you, I bet you all the money in the world you would frozen in fear.
A giant claw of death complete with what seem to be blood stains, and giant, razor sharp talons came to find themselves wrapped around Abigail. They locked her arms in a downward position, as if to trying to tie her. One of them moved up to her hair, where it seemed to brush her hair like someone would do to calm someone’s nerves. It then went back down to meet its brethren at her neck. The leg that connected the death trap claw machine that has caught Abigail for its prize jerked, moving Abigail out of the tower and dangling her from a 100 foot drop. The foot moved her up to the demon’s face, where 2 giant amber eyes that would make anyone melt met her eyes for a split second. The creature then smirked, showing rows of razor sharp swords lining its gums. Each one fitting perfectly with the 2 next to it underneath, making a zigzag of black thread between them.
Abigail wanted to scream, but she couldn’t. For one thing, a talon was pressing against her red lips, so hard that she could nearly taste where it had been. And second, she was too scared. She could feel her insides being squeezed from fright, and the claws on her.
Suddenly, the amber dragon flew away, with the trembling princess in his hand. Far, Far away from the kingdom of Cedar Sparks, far away from any life. The only thing living is the grass on the ground, and the trees like skyscrapers, some like pillars, and some like people, very small, but very wise.
After what seemed like hours of flight, the dragon brought Abigail to his house, err, more like cave, where he huffed, laid down, and lifted his left wing up as in inviting her to sit next to him. After a few seconds, the dragon put its wing back down, and went to sleep. Abigail looked around, there wasn’t much there. Except for a wooden door that she tried to open, but it wouldn’t budge. She walked over to the 60 foot sleeping beast and noticed a string around its neck, along with a crown. Abigail cupped her mouth, gasped, and took a few steps back, tripping on stalagmites.
“He killed my father, he… but… no… He wants to kill- no, I won’t let that happen.” Abigail whispered to herself in a scared tone. She then noticed something else. A key next to the crown-now-made-necklace. She grabbed it. Lucky for her, it came off the string without the string, well, rope, braking.
She ran to the wooden door tried unlocking it with the key. It worked. She turned the golden dragon with ruby eyes that was cleverly the door knob. It opened with a creek.
Inside were mountains of gold, emeralds, diamonds, rubies, and jade. The walls were made out of gold as well. It was breath taking; it seemed like a treasury for the entire world.
Abigail closed and locked the door. It was now dark, but the cave was well lit. Abigail looked at the cave, how sad it looked. The water that dripped from the dampness of the rains last week seemed to wail as they fell. Whenever the hearth would crack, it would seem to say
“Leave now! This is a residence of EVIL. Neither the devil nor any demon would dare set foot in this unforgiving place, leave now while you still have your last breaths to spare.”
Abigail looked outside, even though she was many miles away from the kingdom, she could see the tips of the glass houses, the dome of the castle’s throne room that lay in the entrance hall, the peaks of the towers that seemed to look like white cedar trees with no leaves. All but one thing was beautiful, the destroyed tower that she was taken to the cave of horrors. She started to cry, knowing that she’ll never see her family again. The dragon woke from the sound of Abigail’s sobs, and so it walked her way, and put its wing around her shoulder, not to harm her, but to comfort her. The silk like wing then brushed her tears, making sure to tell Abigail that he was a friend, not an enemy.
“Thank you.” Abigail said, trying not to cry any more, trying to cheer up, trying to tell herself that all will be okay.
She looked up at the dragon’s eyes, and she smiled. She stopped crying. She grabbed the dragon’s ‘hand’ and walked back off the edge of the cave. The night was freezing, and all of Cedar Sparks iced over. But Abigail was okay, for she was snuggled up against the amber dragon’s chest. The hearth in her heart started up, and so did Ember’s heart. He wanted Abigail to be his love, and he has her finally in his arms.
“Good morning, princess.” A male voice said to Abigail in a sweet, loving, tone.
Abigail woke instantly, thinking that she was backing home, that it was all a dream. When her eyelids flew back, showing an ocean of blue bordering a black island, she saw that she was still in the cave of sorrows.
“Who are you, why did you bring me here?” Abigail demandingly said to the man. She shot straight up and walked right up to the dying fire and grabbed the fire skewers, stumbling since her heels broke and her dress was ripped to shreds, but her hair was just fine.
Abigail threw off her heels and marched straight up to the man with amber eyes and a necklace with a dragon coiled around the string, the feet looking like they were walking on his chest. Its head, turned towards whoever is in front of him, and its wings half closed.
Abigail put the skewer to his neck
“You have 10 seconds to TELL ME who you are, and what you want, along with WHAT happened to the DRAGON.” Abigail howled at him, pushing the skewer a bit harder on his neck. “Or God will give you BLOOD to drink.” Abigail hissed, referencing her favorite book.
“I am Ember. I wanted to be with you, my love but not in a creepy way. And as for the dragon, I’m it.” Ember said in a smooth voice, with a bit of fear mixed in it.
“Ember says what?’ Abigail confusedly said, taking the skew off of Ember’s neck, but still holding it like the fate of the world depends on it.
“With this pendulum,” Ember pointed to his necklace. “I can transform into a dragon.
At this point, Abigail was so confused she wouldn’t be surprised if her best friend, Princess Kylie, came out of thin air, doing the tango with a tree, just an everyday tree. Nope, wouldn’t faze her at all. But then again, Princess Kylie has already attempted that.
Ember clutched his pendulum and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his pupils were long and narrow, and the whites of his eyes turned into the darkest shade of mid-night. Two wings sprung from his back, two amber colored 6 foot bat wings, tattered and torn. His teeth turned into razor sharp mountains lining his jaw. A spiked tail shot out. His faire skin started to look dry and cracked, but it also looked like the most beautiful waves flying out of the ocean, knowing that their fate would be to crash on the unforgiving sands, only to be born again in the salty seas. It looked like waves in a crystal clear sea, on an amber sunset, just when the sun coons its last lullaby to the skies, just when the sky is taken over by the twilight, showing off its children, and the moon, illuminating their spectators, dancing wildly.
Abigail was shocked. Ember was telling the truth. His neck piece turned into a key, and the string into a rope. But where was the crown? Did she just imagine it? After all, her eyes loved playing tricks on her. She was tired, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling off that she was in danger.
“Did you kill my father?” Abigail blurted out, not realizing that she even moved her lips.
“Wait, what? Abigail, what are talking about?” Ember asked in a confused manner. Tilting his now human head.
“King Midas. Did you? He disappeared on the North Mountain, which we’re obviously on. He tried to reverse my curse. J-just tell. I need to know.”
“No. I tried to reverse his curse with him.”
“Wait, he had a curse too?”
Ember sighed and started panting around the cave. “Thy king Midas, ruler of Sparks.You’re fate tis now thy own. Expect ye a child, a girl. If thoust King can’t break thy curse by the day the sun sets on thoust babe’s birth, you shall die and the babe shall be cursed. Find the rose of sun and moon on the ices of the north.” Ember recited the curse of the king.
Abigail dropped the skewer and sobbed, this was the first time she heard that she was the reason for her father’s death, because of a curse. Ember tried his best to cheer up Abigail, but he found that she just needed to digest what she just was told, so he kept his distance.
Abigail walked to the edge of the cave and saw something so ghastly and horrible. The buildings, the castle, and the towers were starting to crack. All the buildings to the right were already cracked and falling apart, along with half of the dome on the castle.
Cedar Sparks was being erased from history and no one could do a thing since everyone (except for the guards and the royal family) fell into an eternal sleep.
“If you shan’t sing to the children of the skies, Cedar Sparks shall cease to exist. Any man, woman, and child not born nor married into royal or protective blood shall fall into an ageless sleep. If you sing to the heavens, to the moon and sun as well, Sparks shall be fine.” Abigail recited her curse, watching the cracks move ever so slowly like a virus.
Many suns and moons have passed since that day and Abigail and Ember fell madly in love. Abigail forgot all about her curse, and Cedar Sparks. But, Prince Chris did not forget about Abigail.
Enraged with the dragon that took his sister, he gathered an army from Cedar Sparks and many other kingdoms to find Abigail, and to get even with the dragon, even if it meant bloodshed.
“I want to wish you a happy birthday, Abigail. So I made you this.” Ember lovingly said, holding out a gift to Abigail.
“Thank you, Ember.” Abigail replied, taking the parasol from his hands. She opened it to find a necklace, exactly like Ember’s, except it was silver, and had red beating eyes made from rubies.
“You can’t turn into a dragon, but you can always know I’m there.” Ember cooed while hugging Abigail.
Abigail put the necklace on and fixed it so the dragon was dead center, she loved it, and she loved him. Suddenly, there was a massive banging sound coming from outside of the cave. Ember and Abigail looked at each other in fear, than looked to the entrance of the cave, as to see what it was, then back to each other. Abigail stepped back as far back as possible as Ember transformed into a dragon that swooped her away that faithful day. But instead of his usual amber eyes, his eyes were blood red, glowing like a flashlight.
Someone stepped into the cave, and then two, then three; they kept coming in until a person with a male structure stepped in with full armor and a cape. The man took off his head piece, revealing a face that looked like Abigail’s face, only more masculine.
“You beast! Prepare to die, fowl creature.” Shouted Prince Chris, holding his sword out to Ember… well, dragon Ember. The army started to come at Ember, poking and prodding him. Finally, Ember transformed into his human form, and grabbed a sword.
Prince Chris and Ember dueled each other, the metal clanging and bashing like a tiger with its prey.
“NO! STOP! STOP FIGHTING!” Abigail screamed at the two loves of her life. She grabbed a sword she found next to a fallen knight and ran into the middle of Ember and Chris. But it was too late. Chris slain Ember and Abigail had to watch it just inches from her.
“No. NO. NO NO NO!” Abigail shouted out, looking at her lifeless love. “What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” Abigail, now sobbing, her eyes like waterfalls flooding her face yelled at her brother.
“I-I… I saved you, from the dragon.” Chris sputtered out, looking at what he did, not realizing he just committed the most unforgivable sin imaginable, bloodshed. Abigail nearly ripped her brother’s throat out, if it wasn’t for the fact that she was still too sad about the loss of Ember, her only love, how, how could something so horrible happen? Why her, why now?
Abigail went back to Cedar Sparks and saved it, saved the people as well. Everything went back to normal, except for Abigail.
Abigail could never be normal again, for the loss of her love was too much to bear.  She could hear his last words in her head playing over and over like a broken record. She could smell him, his cinnamon scent poisoning her, teasing her that she would never have him again.  Abigail couldn’t take it anymore, the fact that his last words, his scent, the necklace, it was too much for Abigail.
She ran up to the tower, crying for her lost love. In a flowing dress and the North winds hitting her just right, she took a step onto the window sill, then onto the frame of the window. She looked back at what she would leave behind, her family, her friends, and her life. She took one last look back. She then lifted her arms up, and took a leap of faith, quickly falling from grace.
Many moons have passed since then, and all that’s left of Cedar Sparks is a crumbling tower where a ghost of Princess Abigail looks out to a world that has long forgotten her name and the romance, tragedy, and despair of Cedar Sparks, a secret that seems history never wanted you to know. Some people, people who can’t bare the tragic ending, say that Abigail and Ember met again in heaven, others say that Ember never actually died and when she leapt off the tower, he flew to the rescue, Abigail landing on his back in dragon form. Sadly, this was never true to the actual story, they both died, it was their sealed fate, star crossed lovers.