The Dragon Scale

Chapter 2

"So I live in the village of Mons, the mountain village. We get our crops from the village of Topiaria, as all the villages do. We normally have enough food to survive the winter. But last year, we didn't get enough food. It was a terrible winter. Many people died. So when it was time to receive my object, the elder naturally told me...," he trailed off. Ella touched his shoulder sympathetically. He shook his head and started again.

"The elder told me to find the Herb of Revival. It's an incredibly rare thing, and only one is known to have existed. I did a little research and found that the Elf King and Queen had possession of it in their palace. That's why I wanted to know where it was," he concluded. Ella was slightly surprised.

"So you had to find something that would help another village?" Zachary looked upset when she said this.

"Don't you get it?" he asked, getting up. "The village of Mons is dependent upon the village of Topiaria for food! We can't grow our own food there! It's -- it's complicated. I'm sure you wouldn't understand. You always have enough food. You wouldn't know what it's like to starve..." Ella was shocked.

"Oh. Well," she tried to smile. It was hard. "if you want to fill your belly here for a while, you can come to my house. We can give you a place to sleep for a while. It looks like you haven't been in a house for a while," she giggled. He smiled and brushed his curly hair. A few leaves dropped to the ground.

"So where is your house?" he asked.

"This way," Ella pointed. Then she gasped. "Oh! I just remembered! Mother's making soup and toast for dinner! Let's go, otherwise she'll get angry and just give us some corn!" She grabbed his hand. It was cool and dry.

And Ella and Zachary ran toward the village, where the sunset and a hot steaming bowl of soup greeted them.