Creative Writing Competition Entry 3

This fictional story is the property of (3). Any resemblance it bears to any other person, (living or dead) character, incident or other known literary works, screen play or Television programme World Wide is coincidental.

Destiny Burns

"Seaside, seaside!" cried a voice. She opened her eyes. There was her little sister Desirče bouncing up and down on her chest. It was the third time that week she'd had the dream. As they packed for their trip, she thought about the symbols in the dragon's mouth and the expression of sadness and desperation in the eye. Then she shook her head. She was probably just reading too much into a meaningless dream. Finally, all her things were neatly packed into her travel-case - with a little space for souvenirs - and loaded into the car. She helped Desirče with her seat belt, strapped herself in and picked up a book for the journey. It was an exciting story about three friends and their adventures at a school for children born with a gift for magic and very soon her strange dream was forgotten as she lost herself in the tale. When they stopped for lunch, Alannah wandered off to browse the used books section of the small store and came across a thin tome on magic. She usually scoffed at illusions but this seemed to be the real thing, spells not conjuring tricks. She paid at the counter and slipped the book into the back pocket of her jeans before settling back in the car with her half-finished novel and quickly got absorbed back into the story.

The view from their hotel window was breathtaking. From the window she could see past a little patch of sandy beach to where the tide had gone out, leaving behind beautiful rocks, that looked rusted over because of their reddish hue, with creamy marbled veins running through them. She opened the window and breathed in the salty sea air and then, with a rush of happiness, scooped up her little sister and danced around the room, spinning her round till they both fell over laughing. They had dinner at the hotel and when it was over, Alannah begged her parents to let her go for a short walk on the beach but it was getting dark and they said she'd have to wait till morning. As a compromise, she and Desirče were allowed onto the deck outside the restaurant. She leaned over the railings and thought longingly of walking out under the stars. To her surprise, she saw a lone figure out on the rocks illuminated in the moonlight as if picked out by a spotlight but when she tried to point it out to her father, standing watch at the door, whoever it was had vanished. Her father laughed gently and told her the moon was famous for playing tricks on the eyes and they made their way back inside to bed.

After breakfast, they rushed down to the beach. Alannah started clambering over the rocks but found it a lot more difficult than she'd assumed and wondered again about the person she'd seen the night before. They had a fun morning running in and out of the sea and soon it was time for lunch. They were going to a little teashop nearby so they went in to change out of their wet and sandy clothes. As Alannah picked up her jeans from the day before, the little book of spells fell out of her back pocket. Desirče pounced on it and ran around the room shouting "Mine!" Alannah chased after her, furious. "Give it back you little pest," she cried. Desirče jumped on the bed near the open window and Alannah lunged after her. The book flew out of their grasp and sailed out of the window, caught on a breeze that sprang up from nowhere. "My book!" she wailed, and raced to the window. The book seemed to be levitating over the rocks, waiting for her to notice it before it fell. She ran out of the hotel room, calling back that she'd meet her parents at the front entrance, and went to retrieve her book. The young man from the night before was flicking through the pages when she got there. "That's my book," she panted, holding out her hand for its return.

"Any idea how to read it?" he asked seriously, handing it back. He looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't place him.

"I haven't actually tried yet," she answered, "it seems to be some sort of spell book and the symbols in it reminded me of ……. well …… something." She suddenly felt shy. He seemed nice enough but there was something about him, a dreamlike quality she couldn't define.

He told her his name was Tallen and they chatted for a while. She even asked him if he would like to join her family for lunch. He declined but said that as he was staying nearby, he would probably see her again before she left.

"Read the marked page, you'll find it interesting" he said over his shoulder as he walked away.

Puzzled, she scanned the book and came across a page with markings identical to the ones from her dream. Shock jolted through her and she wanted to ask how he'd known but Tallen was gone. She headed back to the hotel entrance, clutching tightly to her book and warded off her parents' concerns by saying she was hungry. They had lunch and Alannah looked through her book, constantly returning to the familiar page. As she stared, she heard a voice inside her head "Ab aterno, ad infinitum. Evigilo, custos draconum! Ab ovo occultus aperium!"

Without realising, she began silently mouthing the words, instinctively knowing that this was the spell set down on the marked page but not knowing what it meant. Her father's voice, asking her where she'd learned Latin, snapped her out of the trance. She asked him if he'd understood.

"Let me think, I'm a bit rusty. Repeat it phrase by phrase. Okay, 'from the beginning of time, to infinity; awaken, guardian of dragons. Uncover the secret of the egg?' That sounds odd! Say that last bit again….. 'From the egg, the secret is revealed.' Wow, heavy stuff, what is it for?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I think I know where to find the answer! May I please be excused? I'll be back at the hotel by dinner and I promise not to go out of sight of the hotel."

Her father agreed and she ran to the rocks. She had to find Tallen. While she scrambled up and down she muttered the spell to herself, trying to determine its meaning. On the third recitation, there was a loud rumble and the ground shook. She overbalanced and as she fell, she felt strong arms wrapped around her and she gazed into a pair of golden eyes filled with sadness and desperation.

"I've been waiting for you so long I'd almost given up," smiled Tallen sadly. "There is no time for explanations, it is time for me to go but at least the egg will be safe now the new guardian has arrived."

"My dream," she gasped, "the dragon!"

"Yes," he agreed, "it was a sort of preparation for your duties."

"Not a very good one, and I'm only a kid, how am I supposed to know what to do?"

"You have all the necessary qualifications, for you are one of us. Follow your instincts and when the time comes, pass on the gift. In the meantime, keep the egg safe. You will know when the right time comes and who to pass the responsibility on to. They will find their way here as you did."

He handed her an iridescent rock that fit into the palm of her hand and turned away. Wings sprouted from his back, his face elongating to a snout and a shimmer of scales glinted in the sunlight as the dragon took to the skies and was gone.

Alannah looked down at the egg pulsating in her hand and smiled. She knew what to do because the egg had the power to teach her. When she got back to the hotel, she carefully hid it away in her travel-case and went to join her other family for dinner.

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