I never asked for any of this. One day fate just decided, “You know, I haven’t messed with Gavin in a while.” It’s not that I’m ungrateful or anything; I know how lucky I am. This just isn’t how I had planned on spending the rest of my life...
I guess I should explain.
It all started when I went out hiking in the woods by my house. Sometimes when I went hiking, I would get to see really cool animals. Well that day was certainly no exception. I was just sitting in a clearing that I liked when I heard this whimpering sound. I walked towards it and thought my heart would jump out of my chest. There, pinned beneath a tree, was a hawk!
I looked closer. It seemed like the hawk was held down by the tree, but it didn’t look as if it was hurt too much. I decided to help the bird. I leaned into the tree, trying to push it away when a voice called out, “Stop!”
It was a girl of about sixteen, give or take. She had long blonde hair and gray eyes that seemed both beautiful and dangerous. Her back was held perfectly erect, as though she had been trained in posture as a child. She was currently glaring at me fiercely. That wasn’t the concerning part though. The concerning part was that she had a bow and arrow. And at the moment, it was pointed right at me!
“Get away!” She said in a frightened voice. Her clothes were shredded, as if dogs had attacked her on the way here. Her arms were covered in deep scratches.
Because she was looking down the shaft of an arrow at the moment, her silver-blonde hair was pulled back, exposing her ears. They tapered up to a sharp point, like an elf. “Let me help,” I told her. “I could save him. Without me, he’ll die. No question.”
She glared at me for a hard minute before reluctantly stepping aside as I released the hawk. It took to the sky and cried out in joy. I cocked my head- that wasn’t the sound a hawk made. I looked over at the girl, only to see that she was already leaving. “What’s wrong with your bird?” I asked her. “Nothing,” She said. It was a brisk reply, at best.
“Well that’s funny, because it looks like a bird, but it calls like a reptile. What’s going on?” I indicated her clothes and she scowled down at them, as though it was entirely their fault that she had to talk to me.
She gave me a look, one that said ‘I don’t trust you but I think I have too.’ What happened next was the last thing I expected; she leaned forward and kissed me! It only lasted for a second, but when she pulled away, my lips tasted like everything good about nature. Berries, and spring water, and pine trees. Even to this day I can’t describe what the taste actually was, but it was incredible. I know that much.
After she pulled away from me, she gave a tight smile and whistled for her hawk. But then everything turned… strange.

The hawk wasn’t a hawk at all; it was a baby dragon! It was pale silver in color, like the stars, with long thin wings and big, intelligent eyes. Light reflected off of its scales, hitting directly into my eyes. For a moment I was blinded. Well when my sight comes back, so will my sanity. There is no dragon! They aren’t real. It was most likely just a reflection off of… rain water- or something. I opened my eyes once more, but my heart sank. I could still see the dragon perfectly.
It flitted down to the ground and settled at my feet, as though we were now suddenly good friends. “The world is still just as magical as it was in days of old.” The girl said softly. “Now, you just need the kiss of a magical being to see it.” She stepped towards me as if to comfort me, but I backed up in alarm. “T-this, this is crazy!” I said. Even though I had fully intended to shout it at the crazy girl, it only came out as a whisper. “There’s no such thing as Dragons. They simply aren’t real.”
“There are Dragons. There are also elves,” She said, pointing at the tip of her ear. “I wouldn’t have even told you at all, but we need you right now.” She went on to explain that I was part of an ancient prophecy.
The sun, the moon, and the stars are to go into the heart of the Demon Forest and retrieve the Dragon Queen. If they cannot rescue her before the first stroke of midnight, all of the Dragons will die.
I was the sun, she was the moon, and the dragon was the stars. She told me that she had never seen eyes like mine, a caramel so light that they were almost gold, and that it was clear to her that this made me the sun. Eyes are the window to the soul, that’s what she said. Maybe I was crazy, but I believed her. And so we went. We ran deep into the dark forest. We traveled for hours at a run with the elf, Eora as she was called, constantly checking for signs of followers.
When it seemed as though I could run no further, we came upon the very heart of the forest. It was eerie. Twisted black branches grew out of unhealthy looking trees. They seemed to be reaching toward us, trying to grab us- or to stop us. Sitting right there on a stone platform was a little girl. She had curly blonde hair and her skin was the color of a pearl. I might not have even realized that she was the one we were looking for, but for her eyes. They were intelligent, much more than they should have been. They were eyes that had lived for far too long to sit on the face of a child.
We tried to walk onto the platform, but it was as if an invisible wall blocked the way. I looked at Eora with a question in my eye. She thought for a moment then turned to the little Dragon. “You must go first, my friend.” She said. The dragon flitted through with no problem and sat upon a stone at the entrance. This time we could pass.
Eora stepped cautiously towards the girl and put her hand on the girl’s tiny shoulder. The girl seemed to rouse from her stillness with difficulty, as though she had been sitting there for a thousand years. She turned to look at Eora with vacant eyes. “You fear me.” She said with an infinite sadness in her voice. A single tear slid down her cheek and Eora began to age. I watched in horror as she turned twenty, thirty, and forty!
Suddenly, I knew that I would have to face the little girl to save Eora. I did just as she had, putting my hand upon her tiny shoulder. Once again, she roused slowly and turned her strange eyes upon me. A shiver seemed to run down my spine but I fought it. I couldn’t fear her, not with Eora counting on me. Slowly, the little face relaxed into a grin. “You do not fear me.” She said in a childish voice.
In the blink of an eye Eora was herself again; except for the tears of fear running down her cheeks. I took her hand reassuringly. She was safe now. The little girl stood up as though nothing had happened and followed us off of the platform and out into the forest.
When we were free of the ominous courtyard, she changed. Suddenly she wasn’t an odd little girl. She was a beautiful lilac Dragon. About as large as a decent sized house, the Dragon entirely dwarfed all of us. She turned her bright eyes to the young silver dragon that, compared to her, looked downright harmless. “My child,” She said softly. She nuzzled the silver dragon before turning back to us.
“Thank you for protecting my son.” She said to Eora, who bowed her head to the Queen. I hastily followed suit, realizing that I had no idea how to act around the Dragon Queen and the Prince of Dragons. Until right now I hadn’t even realized he was the Prince of Dragons. There was so much about this secret world that I didn’t know!
“And thank you, young one, for not fearing me.” She said, staring at me with her deep eyes. They really seemed to bore down into my soul. I hastily broke eye contact, feeling nervous about the way she had so easily broken into my mind. “Without your assistance, all would have been lost.”
“In repayment for the deeds you have done, I shall grant you the greatest of rewards. I, Pertherlla- Dragon Queen, name you a member of my court.” I felt my head start to spin and I wasn’t sure why. Eora gasped and looked at me. She hesitantly reached a brought her hand to touch my left ear. Suddenly she broke out into an enormous grin. “It seems as though we won’t be separated any time soon,” She commented. Curious, I touched my own ear, just as she had. I drew back in alarm. My ears had a point now. I was an elf.