"That's not how the story goes"

Chapter 10

There was a knock at the front door. Mr. Orman smiled and opened it. A knight stood at the door. Mr. Orman stepped aside and welcomed the man in.

"They're right this way sir," He led the knight upstairs to the master bedroom. He opened the door. "Here we are-" Mr. Orman stopped. The bed was empty. He frantically searched around the room.

There was a post-it note sitting on the nightstand. Mr. Orman snatched it and read it.

Eat it old man >:P -Alex

-

"I spy with little eye something...green," Sub said.

"The trees," Denis groaned.

"You got it!" Sub cheered. "That was easy. Here I'll go again. I spy something brown."

"The trees," Denis mumbled again.

"Bingo! Alright, I spy something...hm...orange."

"The trees!" Denis and Alex snapped. Sub giggled and skipped ahead of the two. They wandered for a while, looking for a safe place to rest, before coming across a small stream.

They put down their bags and settled in for when night came. Sub gathered sticks, Alex gathered water in a flask, and Denis watched for wildlife.

Sub put the sticks in a pile on the ground and arranged them for a fire. He moved dried grass and leaves out of the way to make sure none of it caught fire.

Alex walked back over and put the flask in one of the bags. He walked over to the pile of sticks and grabbed two.

He rubbed the two together. Sub stood off to the side, laughing.

"Need a little help there bud?" He snickered. Alex groaned and rubbed the stocks together more. Sub rolled his eyes and went over to Elijah, still sleeping on the ground.

He lightly shook them, trying not to startle them. Their eyes opened slightly. They looked around before jumping in fear.

Squeaks and roars came from them. Sub looked at them confused and picked them up.

"Uhhh-" Sub mumbled and brought Elijah over to Alex. Elijah flailed around. Alex took the dragon and put the ring on his finger again.

"Where are we?! What the f*ck did you three do?! Why am I a toddler?!" Elijah yelled. Alex gave them a guilty smile.

"We kind of ran away," Alex mumbled. "But don't be mad-"

"Don't be mad?! Are you crazy?!" Elijah argued. Denis came over with the tea and poured it into Elijah's mouth. "Don't touch me! You three are....in big trouble...when I..." Their eyes shut and Alex sighed.

-

Elijah woke up again, this time their proper age. They looked around and noticed the other three by the stream, trying to catch fish from the sides of it. They sighed, got up onto all fours, and went over to them.

"What are you doing?" Elijah asked Alex.

"We're trying to catch fish," He explained. "We want to see if we're successful." Elijah rolled their eyes and walked away again.

They came back a few moments later with their hair tied back and wearing a shirt and pants.

Elijah went into the stream. The others watched as their head ducked under every now and then, each time coming up with a fish.

"You have to actually get IN the stream." Elijah laughed.

"We just didn't want to get wet." Alex mocked. Denis and Sub sat there confused. Alex looked back at them, then went over to one of the bags.

"Come here," Alex said. "I have something for you guys." The two went over and knelt down next to each other. Alex pulled out a bracelet and a necklace.

"Here. Put these on," Alex handed them each one. Denis put on the necklace and Sub put on the bracelet.

Elijah walked up to them as Alex was explaining how it worked. They made sure to get close and started to shake off the water. The trio jumped and covered their faces.

"Hey! I'm all wet now!" Denis called.

"You'll live," Elijah mumbled and went back over to their clothes. Sub and Denis sat there silent for a moment.

"We heard them!" Sub cheered. Alex lightly shook his head.

"Did you listen to a single thing I just said??" He asked. Denis and Sub shook their heads.

-

Elijah lightly blew on the fire. It started up again and lit the area around it.

"It got dark quickly," Denis mumbled. The others nodded. Elijah went over to Alex and laid down, resting their head on his lap. Alex lightly scratched behind the dragon's ears, making their tail wag slightly.

"Are you going to explain why we're out here now?" Elijah asked. Alex sighed.

"My dad was going to send you away to the castle," Alex looked down at his hands. "At first I thought it might've been a good idea, but he casted a spell on you-"

"What spell?" Elijah asked, lifting their head.

"Oh. It made your eyes glow blue and you agreed to whatever he said." Alex said. Elijah's eyes widened.

"That's not- He can't do that," Elijah said. "That's against the rules."

"What rules?" Sub chimed in.

"It's a certain set of rules that the family member's agree to. One of which being that you can't cast any spells on a dragon unless it's a medical emergency or given permission by them." Elijah explained. They stared at the ground for a moment before they stood up and walked away. Denis tried to stand up to go after them, but Alex grabbed his arm and shook his head.

"Give them a minute," Alex mumbled.

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