Anna and the Dragon - Some Free Books For Kids

Chapter ———————————————-

Chapter

Ozzy and his squadron re-arranged their ranks so that the owls were moved to the front. Using hand gestures so to stay quiet, Ozzy made the signal to attack!

He had his owls which are well-known for being the only birds which can fly completely silent, be the first to attack.

Seemingly out of no where there came an onslaught of owls. They arrived in silence and took the Geese Police with teeth, completely by surprise. Their attack was perfectly timed with the arrival of darkness. The battle was over almost as quickly as it started. The Geese Police which were not too wounded to fly: retreated back into the water. The eagles and ospreys that came in as a second wave, helped to make sure nothing slipped past them. In a few short minutes the location was secured. Splash and Anna left to find the fire as soon as they knew things were under control.

Anna had to search to find Ozzy. It was now completely dark. The owls would have to help the eagles and ospreys to navigate back to Castle Candi. Anna was able to locate Ozzy by the sound of his voice when he was announcing orders to various men under his command. She explained they had to go. Ozzy agreed and wished them safe travel.

“After the owls have made sure the eagles and ospreys make it back safely to Castle Candi, do not go home! I have another job requiring your special abilities.” Which included being able to see in the dark, not only well, but well enough to allow the birds to fly at night without running into things. Ozzy planned to send them to the region that Anna and Splash had flew off to check.
Buzzy and Dan had also required the help of the owls in order to fly back to Castle Candi, safely. They joined Ozzy while he continued to bark orders at the owls.

“Glad you showed up when you did.” Buzzy said.

“Count on us.” Ozzy replied.

“All the same. We were in a fix. None of us know how much longer Splash was going to be able to hold them off using his magic but all of us knew that when he could no longer produce the force-field, that they were going to tear us to shreds.” Dan said in a grateful tone.
“Again, that’s what we do.” Ozzy said matter-of-factly. “Every day and night of the week. You guys need to understand that while it is not your nature, it is entirely our nature to fight. So as much as we DO love our dam duck and drunk buzzard; that was not why we rescued you. Its our job.”

“Drunken buzzard? Why what an insult to make! I’ll have you know that Buzzy resembles that remark!” Dan exclaimed with a laugh.

“Very funny you dam duck.” Buzzy replied. Having been doing his best to stay away from that very thing, he was quite hurt but more annoyed. “You! Most of all, know that I have been a good boy lately. I think I should be rewarded for that, not be verbally insulted.”

“Wait just a minute!” Ozzy intervened. “I think I can fix this. Buzzy, or perhaps I should use your proper name, Beehosowitz Reginald Buzzard, I do hereby formally apologize to you sir. Both on part of the royal air force and myself. Please accept our deepest and most sincere apologies for any inference connecting you and the influence of drinking.”

Buzzy was silent. He hadn’t expected an apology. “I uh, well, there’s no, I mean I, well thank you sir. I appreciate your point of view and …”
“Say no more Buzzy. Lets just put this behind us.” Ozzy said.

“Yes I agree. Put it behind us.” Buzzy agreed.

“Now if your feelings are no longer hurt, maybe we can move forward?” Dan asked.

“Yes by all means! To the castle!” Buzzy exclaimed.

Ozzy motioned for a couple of the owls to come over. He assigned them to make sure Buzzy and Dan got back safely. The two friends had other plans however. They told Ozzy they only needed one guide. As soon as they were far enough away from Ozzy they told the owl to change course.

“Take us to the other side of the horizon.” Dan said. “That’s where we will find Splash and Anna. They may need our assistance. By the way, what’s your name owl?”

“Hal. Glad to meet you.” he replied.

“Well Hal: Hal Owl? Howl?” He let go a sincere laugh. “You handle yourself well the rest of tonight and we’ll see about having you transferred to our team on a more permanent basis.” Dan offered and then mumbled. “Shame we can’t do anything about that name.”

“Would that be a step up sir?” Hal asked.

Buzzy and Dan said nothing. They were both thinking what Dan had just mumbled however. To answer his question, and be honest, they weren’t sure. The three brave night-flyers headed out across the sky toward the opposite horizon.

Anna and Splash were headed in the direction of the fire they saw flash across the far horizon, some time ago. There was a problem however. Anna recognized that they were not flying as fast as usual. She concluded that the situation from which they were just saved, had taken more of a toll on Splash than she first thought. It meant the wise thing to do was to get him recharged before trying to take on a dragon. However that meant she needed to find a good deed for him to do. She searched the darkness ahead hoping something would reveal itself.

A short while later Anna was relieved to see there was someone on the road below. They had a dim light and were moving so she coaxed the little blue pony down to see if they could offer any assistance to the ones below. It turned out to be a farmer who was trying to bring in his hay before it could rain on it. Anna asked why he was working so late and he said his one employee had fell ill so he was the only one available to get the work done.

It was a perfect circumstance for Splash because he could use his magic to get the hay brought in which would recharge him at the same time. Anna thought back to that night the leprechaun had given her the reigns to Splash. That he needed to do a good deed every day, or he would starve. She kept an eye on the sky while Splash did his magic. The farmer thanked them when it was time to go. He told Anna if she ever needed anything that he would help if he was able.

All that time spent helping the farmer allowed Buzzy and Dan to catch up. In fact they flew above Anna and Splash and almost flew past them but were overheard in their conversation. Splash was the one that heard them. He motioned for Anna to get on, and then flew her closer to the sound until she too, could hear the two talking while in flight.

“I think the dragon would choose to cook you first Dan. It just makes sense if you look at us as being in natural order.” Buzzy said.

“And just how do you figure that?” Dan replied in disgust. Then if you listened closer you could hear him mumble, “You dead-eatin’, rot-gut drinkin’, can’t fly straight even when sober, sorry excuse for a bird.”

“What was that last part?” Buzzy asked.

“I said you been meetin’ any girls with sinkin’ standards who no longer fly straight that feel sorry for a bird with an excuse?” Dan replied.

“Rather than explore just what you meant by that I will instead applaud your fast reply that sounded close enough to what you originally said to perhaps slip past an ordinary listener.” Buzzy answered while pretending to clap in between flaps of his wings.

“Rather than provide reason to extend this branch of our conversation I will give a nod so to acknowledge what you have said to me but to also infer that by not saying anything out loud that I am in complete agreement and am definitely not providing any avenue for further continuation of this conversation.” Dan said, finishing with a sigh.

“Excellent! For a minute there I thought you were going to have to have the last word.” Buzzy said while giving an extra effort into his wing flapping. It pulled him a little ahead of the other two.

Dan increased his speed to match Buzzy and upon pulling even with his friend, said, “I would never be such a bore as to even consider such a childish thought. I’m shocked you would even go there. What will Hal think of us? He doesn’t know you like I do. I know you would never be so childish as to have to have the last word. Or that you would increase your speed because you in your childish, basically peanut sized brain, have convinced yourself that a buzzard could out fly a duck? Now that really would be funny. And I doubt either of us is going to out fly the stealth fighter.”

“Wait! Wait up guys!”

“Hey, did you hear that?” Hal said to his two travel companions.

Before either of the other two could answer there came an influx of wind and then they were there. Along side. It was Splash and Anna. The gang was together again. Onward they all flew.

Splash let go a whinny. He was obviously feeling one hundred percent and happy his friends were with him.

“Princess please meet Hal. Hal the owl. or you can call him ‘Howl’.” Dan laughed. “Perhaps Hal should be given the nickname ‘Howlin’ Hal Owl.”

“Who’s your pal?” Buzzy chimed in.i“Why it’s Howlin’ Hal Owl. You’re pal!” Dan laughed.

Splash whinnied. Your guess is as good as anybody’s as to whether that was a laugh or a comment toward their foolishness. In any case the friends let the kidding stop at that and instead let themselves focus on searching the dark sky for any sign of a dragon.

They had to wait for morning to arrive before being able to locate the fire.

The barn had burned to the ground but no livestock or people were hurt. The man named Peabody was still standing in the same spot he had seen the dragon. He had not yet spoken about what it was he had seen. Actually it was because he wasn’t sure what it was he saw. It is easy to say you would claim to have seen a dragon but it is another thing when it happens. Who is going to believe you? More than likely you are still wondering what is was you saw? Sure it looked like a dragon, but is that really what you are going to tell people when they ask?

Peabody hadn’t moved from where he saw the dragon because he still wasn’t sure what he was going to say. Yes what he saw did resemble a dragon. It was only there for a second before flying away however. Could it have been his imagination? He could see his wife and children from where he stood. He knew they were waiting. Probably wondering at this point. Why wasn’t he coming over to join them? He gave a sigh and decided he could not wait any longer. Peabody walked over and hugged his wife and kids. They didn’t ask anything. But he knew the time was coming.

Peabody put his kids in the house and walked out to the open air and to where his barn had burned. Suddenly he was surprised by a strong gust of wind and then Splash was setting down next to him.

“Don’t be afraid mister. We’re friends. Here to help.” Anna said as Splash slowly floated down to the ground. When they touched down and Anna had climbed off; Splash made himself small-down. Soon he was shrunk down to a third his usual size. He retained his appearance of a blue horse with a white mane, white tail and white socks but now Anna could pick him up and carry him around.

“Wow that is amazing. Will he grow big again when you desire?” Peabody asked.

“At the very least. Splash is a special creature. Part pony, part magic. You will see if that dragon comes back around.” Anna said.

“Dragon?” Peabody asked. He looked very interested in what she had to say. “Please tell me more.”

“Not much to tell. We’re looking for a dragon that possibly breathes fire. It was your fire that brought us here. Do you know how it started?” Anna asked.

“I’ve been standing here for hours trying to put all the pieces together. You mentioning a dragon makes me all the sudden think I wasn’t seeing things at all. Is that what I saw? a dragon?” Peabody asked.

“I don’t know. You tell me. Did you see a dragon? If so, do you have any idea where it might have went? ” Anna asked in return.

About that time Buzzy, Dan and Hal arrived on the scene. They landed near Splash. Peabody motioned toward them and said, “Friends of yours?”

Anna laughed. “You could say that. So, about the dragon. Any idea where it went?”

“None.” Peabody replied.

“Do you have anything to say about it that might help us?” Anna asked.

“Just that it was big. And dark colored. Though I am sure you are not going to run into the wrong dragon. I’m pretty confident if you find a dragon, you will have found THE dragon. One other thing. The dragon was much more agile than I would have guessed one might be. Faster too. I mean, if you’ve ever seen an alligator while doing something as fast as it can; then you should not expect this dragon to be that predictable or slow-moving. It moved quickly as soon as it became aware I was looking at it.”

“Thank you for answering our questions, Mr Peabody. We will try to stop by sometime in the coming weeks. If it is possible for Splash’s magic to help rebuild your barn, he will be happy to contribute. Oh by the way, you should look around out here later today. I think you might find some gold coins,” suddenly there was the sound of coins falling on top of each other, “which will help you buy the material needed to rebuild your barn” Anna said, and stuck out her hand for Mr Peabody to shake. They shook hands and Splash came wondering up. Next he made himself enlarge to the size for carrying Anna. Then the dragon hunters left the scene of the fire.

Chapter ————————————————–

Once they were up in the sky and flying across the landscape, Splash slowed down so the others could catch up.

“Stay somewhat spread out and keep looking for the dragon.” Anna told her friends. “I suggest we take a flight path that heads directly to the portal-pond. If we get real lucky then we’ll find the dragon there.”
“Do you think we’ll see the dragon?” Buzzy asked. “I am tired. I bet everyone else is too. We should get some rest before taking on a dragon.”

“I have to agree with the buzzard on this one.” Dan said. “Foolish to get into a fight with something you know little about but that what you do know; tells you it is likely big, powerful and perhaps can shoot fire out of its mouth. Do we really want to take on something like that when tired?”

“Splash isn’t tired.” Anna said.

“Yeah but you are. And don’t lie to us and say different. Nobody stays up all night and endures what we have, that isn’t exhausted.”

Anna let out a sigh. She really wanted to catch the dragon and she could feel they were close. It is a bad leader who doesn’t think first of those who are loyal followers. As such, Anna gave in and said, “Okay. Lets take it back to Castle Candi and everyone can get some sleep. We will go back out on patrol tonight after dark so be sure to get some sleep today.”

“Hey what’s that coming our way? Looks like a flock of the fattest bunch of birds i ever saw.” Dan exclaimed while pointing at what was a very strange sight coming their way.

It took only a few seconds for Hal to recognize his own in flight. “Owls don’t make for the best flockers. We’re pretty much exclusively solo flyers. Therefore if you get a bunch of us all flying to the same destination, it looks like a bunch of quail got into some fermented seed and ate until they could not any more, and then tried to fly.”

“Wave them in.” Anna ordered. We’re done until tonight. Hal please extend my thanks to all the brave flyers and tell them I will see all of them tonight.”

“Will do princess.” Hal waved good-bye and broke off from the group. He flew toward the chaos of owls which were headed to find them.

“Hold up team! We’re under orders to return to Castle Candi and get some rest. We will resume patrols this evening at dusk. Thank you men and women! The king thanks you and so do I!” Then Hal turned just in front of the flock and had them follow him on back to Castle Candi.

Anna, Splash, Buzzy and Dan all went back to Castle Candi to get caught up on some rest. Splash was fully charged but Anna decided to tie him down so he wasn’t off during the day spending all that energy they might need come night.

About two hours before the sun was due to set, came word from Ozzy that everyone was to meet before going out on patrol. Anna, Splash, Buzzy and Dan all arrived at about the same time for a briefing from Ozzy. They met in a meadow not far from Castle Candi.
“Everyone find a seat and get comfortable.” Ozzy said, while motioning around toward the various spots to sit down. “We have learned nothing new about the dragon other than it probably does exist. But then you guys were the ones who confirm having met credible witnesses. Also we know that the portal-pond is definitely more than it appears. The king has talked it over with other wise men of the region and the decision is that we should send someone over to the other side to see what we are dealing with.”

That news caused a lot of restlessness among those listening. Especially for Buzzy and Dan because they knew that Anna and Splash were brave enough to accept the challenge. The two exchanged a look which was asking how could they protect the princess if she crossed over to the other side? Both knew that the simple matter was they could not protect their princess in such circumstance. Both brave souls came to the same conclusion at the same time. Therefore they even surprised each other when both of them stood up and said, “I will accept that challenge and cross over to the other side of the portal.”

Anna and Ozzy were speechless. Both wondered if they had heard correctly? Buzzy and Dan were definitely heroes but not of such an in-your-face manner. Surely they realized their very lives would be at stake.

Anna was the first to break the silence. “Are you two drinking again?”

Ozzy then stepped in. “Hold on Anna. I sense sincerity. Are you two serious? Do I have to tell you that most likely if you cross over that you will be taken prisoner immediately and probably then fed to the masses. Or you’ll run smack into the dragon who will barbecue your sorry feathered behinds so fast you’ll not have time to tell each other good-bye. Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?”

Dan stepped forward and said, “We have been specially commissioned as colonels, by the king himself, to protect the princess and her pony at any and all costs. It is true that Buzzy and I are guilty of sometimes getting into the bottle but most the time it is just an act. We are actually keeping the princess safe. Most the time we can do that by being our usual buffoon selves. Yes we argue, sometimes physically trip over each other. Once we accidentally flew too close and knocked each other out of the sky. But we have never and are not now, afraid to risk our lives to keep them safe. And currently we feel the best way to keep them safe is to not let them cross over to the other side of the portal.”

“That is very brave of you both.” Ozzy said. “For once i see that your partner in crime, aka Buzzy, isn’t crying fraud as to what you claim. If Buzzy isn’t trying to get out of this then I can only assume that what you are saying is true. As a general in this military I salute my colonels with the most sincere of salutes. You men are truly heroes.”

“Yeah. Heroes. Can’t wait.” Buzzy said in a less than cheerful manner. Then he leaned close to Dan and spoke so only he could hear. “If this doesn’t get us killed, … we are definitely having drinks afterwards.”

Dan whispered back, “If this doesn’t get us killed; I will buy those drinks!”

Buzzy replied and loud enough so all could hear. “Deal!”

“Well I guess we should start getting ourselves out to the portal-pond.” Dan said.

Splash gave a whinny. Everyone looked at the little blue pony and they followed his gaze to see what had the little guy upset. It was a stranger. He had come with the setting sun at his back. His face was shadowed by the angle of the sun but his size gave away who he might be.

It was an opposite world snow goose. A big one. He kept stepping toward them until he was nearly blocking out the sun which was setting behind him. Once he was close enough to see details, there were a few things different about this member of the Geese Police with teeth. A nickname Buzzy was fond of using when talking about the big snow geese from the opposite world.

This creature had all the tell-tale signs which set the opposite world snow geese apart. He had the sharp claws and sharp teeth. However he was also wearing glasses. The black colored, thick plastic ones that were square looking. He also had a hat and was carrying a small bag of luggage.

“Hello creatures from the other world. I come in peace but I am afraid that cannot be said of the majority of others from my world. I came to see your world and thought I might be of some help while doing so. My name is professor Baron Von Hungsetter.”

“Okay. I suppose you want me to take you to our leader?” Dan asked sarcastically.

“Not necessary sir. Not at all. I just thought you might have some questions about the doorway. It only works for a set amount of time you know? The heart of the summer and heart of the winter. It is closed the rest of the year. In case you are wondering it was your side that opened it back up. Once contact was made we realized that we had brothers and sisters over in this world also. As it turned out, they are quite a powerful bunch. As you may have noticed, so are we, their siblings from the other world. What you probably are unaware however, is that there is a king and queen in our world also. Along with them, exists the opposite world version of the Dark Queen. She is aware of what you did to the Dark Queen in your world. She wants revenge! It is her that has sent the dragon. It is wild. Very smart. Very violent. It cannot be controlled and we have never been able to reason nor even communicate with it. It is a force upon its own.

Now then you are probably asking yourselves why would I be telling you these things? The answer is simple. Just like in this world, our world also has good and bad. Sadly the bad has been the dominant force over the last two hundred years but there are still some fighting for the good side whom are still alive. I like to think I am one of those. I have reached an age where I only have a few years at best remaining. I wanted to see the other world. So here I am. Of course there are some things I cannot provide answers, but it is due to lack of knowledge rather than refusal to share.

Beware! The dark forces from my world, if allowed to spill into this one, will quickly network with your existing dark forces. Another thing to beware is that the Dark Queen from my world will seek to either fill that vacancy in this world as well, or she will find the original Dark Queen from your world and restore her to power.”

The group of friends all got up and began positioning themselves to attack the stranger. The big snow goose seemed unbothered by the actions of those surrounding him. That gave Anna a reason for pause. Whenever someone is surrounded by his enemy and they show no sign of fear it usually means they have some sort of trick up their sleeve.

“Wait! Everyone hold off. In fact, everyone back off. Away from this thing.” Anna barked. “He’s either telling the truth or he is another ambush. Maybe he is rigged to explode? Who can guess. I just don’t want to take any chances.”

Professor Baron Von Hungsetter began to laugh and then said, “Nothing like that friends. I understand your being cautious however. In fact I applaud it. The next time you meet someone from my world they very well might be a trap or ambush of some sort. The dark forces in my world are the most powerful and they are as ruthless as they are cunning.”

“That all sounds good but you haven’t given us any reason to trust you beyond just asking us to believe you’re a good guy.” Anna replied. Then she said, “I do know a way we can find out if you are telling the truth. We can ask Splash to tell us if you are lying by using his magic. Splash, use your magic and tell us if he is lying?”

Splash gave a whinny. Then he checked the goose over and when he finished he shook his head no. When he did the rest of the group relaxed and presented a much more casual body language.
“If you are telling the truth then you can be of help. What will we see if we cross over?” Dan asked.

“It is not so different than what you see here. However one big difference is that there are patrols and flight squads which are part of the dark forces. If they see you they will stop you. What happens after that I cannot guess.” The professor replied.

“Is there any trick to getting through the portal?” Anna asked.

The professor replied, “No. You should understand how it works however. It might save you getting caught on the wrong side. The doorway doesn’t close all at once. It opens and shuts slowly so the doorway gets thinner and thinner until it closes. So what I am saying is that the portal can become too closed to allow the dragon to get to the other side but it can still be open enough to allow a much thinner creature to still get through. I don’t know if that will help but it might. Now then, can you point me in the direction of something interesting to see?”

Dan pointed back over his shoulder. “Magicland and Castle Candi are that way.”

“Thank you sir. I wish you the best of luck in dealing with the dragon and the dark forces from my world.”

“Thanks professor.” The entire group said in unison. They watched the professor waddle towards Castle Candi until he was far enough away that he could not hear them.

“Well there you have it. We have preliminary intelligence on what to expect over there. That’s a lot more than we had an hour ago.” Anna said.

Ozzy gave one last look in the direction of the professor before answering. “Agreed. If we can count on Splash to be right about being able to trust the professor, and I have no cause for thinking otherwise, then I am much more open to the idea of allowing the princess to cross over.”

Buzzy and Dan both stood up. It was Buzzy who spoke first. “That is a bad idea. We should go across first and when we say it is safe THEN she can come over.”

“Echo that statement.” Dan said hastily after Buzzy finished speaking. “As mentioned we have our duty to protect the princess. That fact has not changed. It would be a foolish act to have her cross over before we have had the chance to do reconnaissance.”

“Agreed. Why don’t we do this. Why don’t Buzzy and Dan go ahead with their original plan to scout ahead by entering the portal first. After they return with information the princess has clearance to cross over. That is giving more permission than I have permission to give; so be happy with that. Princess please be careful because your papa is going to have my head if anything happens to you. I am only being this generous because I am counting on Splash to be able to keep you safe. Can I count on you Splash?” Ozzy said with a very concerned face.

Splash gave a whinny. Then he enlarged himself to the size he used for carrying Anna. She didn’t miss the hint and gave Ozzy a hug followed by a salute when he resisted the hug. That got Ozzy to snap to attention and return the salute.

Buzzy and Dan had fell into a conversation between themselves. Anna and Splash did not pick up on their conversation until all were in the air. Splash caught up to the pair allowing both him and Anna to catch the latter part of their discussion.

“All my clothes, hats and assorted various things, should go to Hal, if we both don’t get back. Otherwise I want you to have my stuff.” Buzzy said to Dan.

“Sounds like a plan. Figure the same for me. If we both go, give it to the owl.” Dan replied. “We probably should have written this stuff down. Oh wait a minute, here is the princess and Splash. They can be our witnesses. Since its the same plan for both of us, it should be easy enough. That okay with you princess?” Dan felt the rush of wind which always arrived just before Splash did, as such he asked the question without being sure the princess could hear him.

“Sure thing.” Anna replied. “Everything to the other, unless both die. Then it goes to Hal the owl.”

Splash whinnied.

“I think he’s telling you that you have nothing to worry about.” Anna said.

“If you fail to plan then you plan to fail.” Buzzy noted.

“Is that what that is?” Dan asked. “A plan? I thought it was our will.”
“Same thing.” Buzzy replied.

“I disagree.” Dan said. “A plan is a premeditated course of action which infers it can be changed any time during the course of being done. A will is something that says if we croak that we want our stuff to be given to these people.”

“So you think that while we’re in harm’s way that you might want to change what happens to your stuff? Buzzy laughed.

“No but I don’t think a plan is the same thing as a will.” Dan replied.
“I think you just wanted to argue for the sake of arguing. Plus it takes your mind off what’s ahead.” Buzzy said.

Dan let go a strong sigh. “Now is a heck of a time to become insightful. I appreciate the effort but right now I would rather you kept your mind on what you are going to do the second you see there is something waiting to do us harm on the other side.”

“Put your mind at rest then. I have already decided what course of action I will be taking. I was going to mention it to you before we crossed but I guess now is as good as later. If we are attacked or we see that we are in danger when we first get into their world there is really only one course of action.”

Dan let go yet another sigh. “I got it Buzz. Don’t wait for the other. Cross back over ASAP so we can warn the princess. No hard feelings for leaving the other. It is our duty to leave the other one. Agreed?” Dan asked in a rare sincere tone.

“Absolutely!” Buzzy replied. “You know if you did anything else that I would not think of you to be the man you are. We have to trust the other is capable of taking care of himself.”

“Glad we got that understood old friend.” Dan stuttered around and then finally spit out, “What about after we have warned the princess? Do we go back for the other?”

“Good question. I’m really glad you brought it up. Here’s the thing.” Buzzy replied with confidence. “Neither of us would want the other to come back into a situation where there was little or no chance of getting out. As noble as it is to go back, there is a point where the odds of success become so dismal that to ignore them would be a slap in the face to those who had most likely already given their lives toward the cause. I know it is easy to talk about now but not so easy to do in the heat of the moment but that’s why we’re talking about it now. We should do the smart thing.”

“I couldn’t agree more!” Dan said. “You hear all that?” He asked Anna.

“Yes.” Anna replied. She had nothing to add.

The horizon showed a winter storm coming in. One minute it was a sunny winter day slightly above the temperature that water freezes. The next the horizon showed dark clouds coming in. The group of flyers heading up into the mountains to the portal-pond destination, could feel the shift in wind direction and also it was blowing harder.
Anna suddenly got an idea. If there was going to be a big winter storm to hit then it would likely mean the temperature was going to drop. Perhaps dramatically. If the dragon, or perhaps better said, when the dragon became aware of the oncoming winter storm. It might try to get back to the warm side of the portal. If that was the case then they might actually see it. She spurred Splash on with a gentle kick of her heels. He would know what she meant. As they began to speed away from Buzzy and Dan, she hollered back at them.

“Head for the portal-pond. We’re just trying to get there in a hurry because of the storm coming. It might be the dragon will try to get back to his home.” She yelled the last part of it in hopes they could hear her.

“What do you suppose lit a fire under her butt?” Buzzy pondered, as he continued to fly in the direction that Splash had disappeared with Anna.

“Dragon.” Dan replied, picking up his flight pace so to encourage Buzzy to fly a little faster. It wasn’t Buzzy’s fault. He wasn’t made for speed. That didn’t mean Dan wouldn’t push him when necessary.

“They think it might try to get home through the portal before the winter storm arrives. If that is the case it will be in a hurry to get to the portal and then through it.”

“Agreed.” Buzzy said. Then he shut up to conserve energy. The two friends flew in silence toward the mountain tops.

Chapter ————————————————

The dragon sensed the incoming storm. Although not a slave to warm weather like all the other reptiles, she preferred warmer weather and especially did not care to be caught in a blizzard. The new world was interesting but not so much that she was going to tough out the extreme cold which the oncoming winter storm promised to provide. As such she was willing to risk whatever dangers that might be lurking, in order to get back to the portal before the storm.

As she approached the portal-pond she decided to do a fly-over at high altitude and have a look from above. There were signs that the location had changed though just in minor ways. The dragon was able to recognize small differences from when it had last looked upon the location but it could not see that there was cause for taking a cautious approach.

She waited until directly over the pond and then drew in her wings and began a dive toward the water. Entering the barrier between the two worlds there was about two seconds of wet before she came jutting out the other side back into her world.

————– Chapter ——————–

The water was still rippling when Splash and Anna arrived at the portal-pond. Buzzy and Dan arrived a few minutes later to find their two friends standing at the water’s edge where the ripples leftover from the dragon’s dive, came drifting into shore one after another. Looking down on the water they could all see the reflection of a winter storm arriving overhead. The sunlight that had been so abundant earlier in the day was now being crowded out by the dark blue and light grey of a snow storm getting ready to happen. The wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping noticeably. Anna and Splash exchanged a look.

“I saw that!” Dan exclaimed.

“Me too!” Buzzy quickly followed.

“Don’t even think about going into that water before we do!” Dan said, while waddling his way toward the water. “You two made promises. We are suppose to go first.”

“No we didn’t. We just didn’t refuse the orders. We certainly never promised to let you guys go first.” Anna replied.

By then however Dan was already in the water. Buzzy followed his friend’s lead by flying up over the water and then diving into the pond. Dan timed things so that he dunked under the water at the same time Buzzy dove into it and they both popped out the other side of the portal at the same time. Though they were expecting there to be something to greet them when they arrived on the other side they didn’t expect it to be just one guard that was sleeping when they came through.

Dan could understand why the guard was sleeping however. It was such a beautiful, warm sunny summer day. The sky was blue with an occasional white fluffy cloud. The surrounding landscape was just fields and some trees. Both friends waded out of the water and shook off when they reached the shore.

“Look there.” Dan said, pointing toward the ground near where the water met the shore. A pair of large footprints were visible in the moist ground. It was not the footprint of a man, or any large animal that they had ever seen. It looked like the print of something that weighed a lot, and that was big. There appeared to be claws on those feet. “Dragon prints.”

Buzzy stepped toward the prints and looked more closely at them. He noticed there was another print above the two Dan had seen. It gave a hint in which direction the dragon had went after getting out of the pond. He motioned in the direction the third print had been pointed. “Guess we could fly out that way a bit and see what we see.”

“What about the guard?” Dan asked. “Think we should tie him up?”

“He’s not exactly our prisoner. Based on his size, I’m not so sure we would be able to tie him up. That’s a big snow goose.” Buzzy replied.

“Well if we stay here and keep discussing it then he can wake up and prove all that we said.” Dan said while starting to run so to take off.

Buzzy joined him and two took a couple more steps and then were flying. They got up in the sky and saw there were some mountains similar to the ones in their world. The portal-pond was located in a valley on this side.

“Up there.” Buzzy said, pointing up in the sky.

Flying above them was a large creature that appeared dark with the sun behind it. It was clearly the dragon.

“I suddenly feel lucky to be just a small little bird in the sky.” Dan said to his friend who was flying along side him.

“Me too.” Buzzy agreed, while keeping an eye on the big dark thing flying above them.

“Has anybody given any thought as to what we were going to do with the dragon once we caught up to it? Dan asked.

Buzzy laughed and then said, “Like anybody thought that it really existed. Until just now, after actually seeing it, did I believe it was really going to be alive. So I guess we go back and report what we saw.”

“Which isn’t much. I mean so far we got a landscape similar to the one in our world. A snow goose sleeping at his post. A dragon flying overhead. That about covers it.” Dan said.

The two friends swung their flight direction back around the opposite way they had been flying. Every few seconds one of the two would glance back and up to make sure they were not of any interest to the dragon. It was an eerie feeling when the dragon would fly between them and the sun. By the time that shadow reached down to the height they were flying it had grown considerably. When it crossed over their bodies it felt like it took forever for them to get back into the sunlight giving the impression that the dragon was ten times bigger than its actual size.

“Hey I just thought of something.” Buzzy said, and he flew a little faster.

Dan, who naturally was capable of flying faster, easily sped up to match the speed of his friend. “What’s on your mind old friend?”

“You’re gonna like this.” Buzzy said. “We are just a plop into the pond and then out, and then a short flight further from being able to step into the cantina and get ourselves a drink. I think we’ve earned it.” He finished with a big smile.

Dan was usually their conscious but he wasn’t going to play that part on this occasion. If they made it back to their world he was buying the drinks.

The guard was awake when they returned to the portal-pond but he had no time to react when they flew right into the water and came out the other side with a plop!

Anna and Splash were there waiting. It hadn’t been easy for them to do nothing while also having no communication to let them know things were okay. They knew that it would be the worst possible decision to cross over since the plan was for them to wait. That was often what separated successful plans from a fiasco. To quote a famous football coach, everybody needs to do their job.

The snow was coming down by the time Buzzy and Dan returned back to their world. The four friends departed for Castle Candi immediately. When they got back a meeting was called for the castle elders to meet with the king and his military officers.

Buzzy and Dan did not fall under the heading of military officers. They did hold a colonel’s rank in the air force but the meeting was for generals and key personnel. Both birds wasted no time finding their way to the cantina.

“Drinks for me and my mate. Keep ’em coming.” Dan said, while bellying up to the bar.

“You’ve never failed to keep your word !” Buzzy said, while raising his drink in a toast to his friend.

“Quite a day we had.” Dan replied while also raising his drink in a toast.

“Gonna be quite a night!” Buzzy added while laughing.