The Jadelings Journey

Chapter 1: Just a normal day.

It was a normal day in the mountain, Luna woke and ate breakfast as usual. It was early morning, the sun was rising and birds were chirping, singing a morning tune. Every day Luna got up before dawn to see the sunrise. The sky was beautiful. Luna loved the purple that would occasionally cross the sky, streaks of indigo and violet mixing with the pale orange and yellow that painted the sky. She wanted nothing more than to watch the sky with her best friend Olive all day. She watched, lost in her thoughts when she heard a cry from inside.
"LUNA!" Oh no, she thought, what did I do this time? Luna rushed back into the mountain to find her dad soaked from horns to tail.
"Oh no, I'm sorry," Luna said apologetically, ducking her head as she hurried to a cave that wasn't a cave but more of a closet with wooden doors and stone shelves that held towels made from palm tree leaves. She grabbed one of the larger towels and turned back hastily, headed for her father, dragging the towel behind her.
"Luna, why is the tap broken? We had it fixed last month," Luna's father asked, drying himself with the towel. Luna gulped. Her dad knew she had a reputation for 'fixing' things and the results leading to catastrophe.
"Well...I...um...I couldn't sleep so I-I thought m-maybe I could try to do a better job than m-maybe the repair dragon," Luna stammered. She knew her dad wasn't the kind of dragon who would hit her when she got in trouble, but the look of disappointment on her father's face was always just as horrible. Luna glanced out the cave entrance to look at the sky. The shades of light pink and orange streaked with yellow had shifted into a baby blue that watched the world below, the sun looking down upon the trees. A light breeze passed by, making Luna shiver slightly as she shifted her gaze to the trees, the willows swaying gently with the wind, the pine trees shaking lightly as little critters scurried up their bark to hide in the pine needles that matched the ones sprinkled the area beneath. Luna loved nature, the way the trees changed colour for autumn, their leaves falling like a sign from the universe that winter was coming, she loved the meadows near her home covered with wildflowers the pinks and purples, and the blues and greens carrying beauty in each petal and leaf. She would lay beside daffodils, her worries carried away by dandelion seeds alongside the hope for new beginnings. The forest was beautiful and Luna loved it every day.
"LUNA," Her dad yelled from behind her, pulling her out of her thoughts and back into reality. Oh no, what did I do this time, Luna's mind assumed as she spun around. A flock of birds took off behind her, flying into the cloudless sky.
"Luna," her dad repeated calmly," you're going to be late for school"
"Oh, yeah...school uh...I forgot," she started muttering the rest under her breath. She grabbed a basket that looked weathered and worn out but still usable, then rushed into a cave that had her name carved into the wall. A minute later she popped back out, a basket full of scrolls and books. She hurried past her dad, turned back, pecked his cheek (or the dragon version) quickly walked to the edge and took off with a basket full of knowledge and a mind set on learning. Her school wasn't too far away from her home, so her dad had started letting her fly solo at a young age. She looked down, searching the leaves for Olive's emerald scales. Luna remembered the day she first met Olive. It was the first day of school, she was only three but extremely nervous. Her mother had just left two weeks ago when school was supposed to start.
"P-please d-don't make me g-go p-please, I-I'll come b-back next w-week p-please." Luna had begged, holding her father's leg as tight as a snake."Please"
"Luna, you said that last week and this will be good for you, trust me. And if you still don't like it by the end of the week I won't make you go, ok does that sound good." her father had said peeling her off his leg and scooping her into his arms.
"O-okay," she'd said sniffing, "I just don't want you to leave me," She had started to cry, tears streaming down her face.
"Hey now, it's ok, it's going to be ok," her dad had said to her softly, wiping away her tears," Hey maybe he could be your friend" Luna looked to where he was pointing, a green dragon was talking to everyone, tapping tails, tagging wings then running off and just straight up goofing off. Most of his scales were emerald green but in some spots around his eyes and stomach there were gold scales, The tip of his snout was sprinkled with gold freckles that shined in the morning sun. When he lifted his head to show his long neck ( which he rarely did ) you could see brown lines snaking down his throat, Everyone thought they looked like battle scars but Luna thought they looked more like tree roots. Luna was watching him, observing the way he fearlessly welcomed everyone, She just stared till eventually he walked over to her and she shifted her gaze to the flower pot that sat at the entrance.
"Hi," Olive had said, looking up at her. She looked down, he'd been a bit bigger than her at the time but it would even out, he had a small scar on his snout that would become less noticeable over time. His smile was slightly lopsided and still is to this day, he had a single silver teardrop earring that shimmered slightly, and his eyes were golden brown that twinkled in a way that said 'You can trust me'.
"H-hi," Luna had whispered. He continued to look up at her for a few seconds before she realized he hadn't heard.
"Hi," she said again, louder this time.
"My name is Olive. What's yours?" he inquired.
"Luna," she replied.
"Are you new? Do you need a tour?" he asked. She nodded.
"Come on, let me show you around!" he said. She climbed out of her father's arms and down to the ground. Her dad was having a conversation with one of the teachers presumably about something boring.
"Bye Dad," she called
"Bye Luna," he responded. And the rest is history.
"Luna!" someone called. She looked down. There was Olive, his emerald scales shimmering in the sunlight.
"Olive!" she exclaimed. She dove into a dive.
"Where were you?" she asked
"Sorry I'm late, I forgot my homework at home," he explained
"It's fine, did you get them?" she asked
"Yep," he said, pulling out a bouquet. It was mostly roses, there were a few daffodils and snowdrops which were hard to come by, Luckily Olive's mother was a gardener.
"Do you think it'll work?" she worried.        
"Of course,"  he assured her.
"But what if we get caught?"
"We won't get caught. Let's pick up the pace, or we're going to be late,"
~~~
The school was boring as always, and a few teachers were missing, but that was kind of normal. The bell rang. Finally, she thought. She raced to the school entrance to meet up with Olive. It was impossible to navigate the crowd. She sat down near the entrance. She looked up at the sky. Normally watching the sky would calm her but not today. She studied the different shades of blue that hung over their world. Something flashed through the clouds. There were green scales and... black! Her eyes must be playing tricks on her. She squinted her eyes shut and then opened them just in time to see one final black scale. No way! They probably just painted themselves to scare little dragonets. It just can't be-
"Luna!" Olive called. She looked to her left. Olive was leaning against the wall beside her.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Olive asked. She gulped.
"Our plan," she lied.
"Shh, we can't talk about it here," Olive whispered. She rolled her eyes. She and Olive were going to hang out at her house.
"What do you suggest you do?" Olive asked once they left the school grounds.

"We give him the flowers and say they're from Mrs. Petal," Luna suggested
"Yes, that's genius, and I still have the flowers with me," Olive said.
"Perfect, now shh, we're getting close," she hushed. They landed on the slightly warm stone floor and walked around. Luna placed her school basket on the counter.
"Dad," she called. "I'm home," No one answered.
"Dad, where are you?" she yelled, fearing the worst.
"Luna, you might want to see this," Olive said. She walked over to him.
"What is it?" she asked. It was a note that read:
War Is Coming.
"Oh no," she gasped softly. What does this mean? Has Dad been abducted? I need to find him.
"We have to find him," she stated, slamming her fist on the table.
"What's your plan?" Olive asked
"I... don't know," she admitted, looking at the dent she made.
"Maybe we should check the library," Olive offered.
"Why the library?" she asked
"I don't know, but there has to be something useful in there," Olive remarked.
"Ok, you're right. I guess I'm sleeping alone." she sighed
"Why don't I sleep over and we can work on a plan," Olive suggested. These were some good points and she had never slept alone.
"Sure, but what about your mom?" she asked.
"One second," Olive said, flying out of the mountain. He was back in a minute with a pile of large leaves.
"She said it was fine," he said.
~~~
"I still don't get why we need a map," Luna commented.
"My cousin's friend saw a red dragon," Olive stated.
"Why does that matter?" she snapped.
"Your dad was clearly kidnapped and no one here would do such a thing so it must have been the red dragon," he explained.
"But what if your cousin's friend lied or maybe my dad went to visit Mrs Petal," she speculated.
"Yeah and left a note that said: war is coming," he said doubtfully
"Fine, it's worth a shot," Luna admitted.
"See, we've got nothing to lose," Olive added.
"Except my dad," she muttered.
"Good night, I'm always right," he sang, and they both fell asleep.
-Joon
1778 words
A/N This is a book I have been working on on Google Docs so I just copy and paste the chapters but I noticed Italics doesn't come through, Super annoying right? But I'm too lazy to do anything about it, sorry. BYE 👋