Once More Magic!!!!

Chapter 1.1: The Boring Days Are the Worst

Beatrice yawned as she approached her home, a quaint little castle perched just far enough from civilization to avoid unnecessary visitors. It wasn't much—barely big enough for a throne room, a kitchen, and her perpetually messy bedroom—but that was precisely why she loved it. Small, quiet, and entirely hers.

The towering spires of ancient castles? Overrated. Who wanted all that upkeep?

Pushing open the creaky wooden door, she kicked off her shoes and stretched, her arms grazing the low ceiling. "Finally," she sighed. "Peace, quiet, and..." She sniffed the air and frowned. "Am I seriously out of snacks? Again?"

Her daydreams of napping while bingeing on candied plums were rudely interrupted by a distant roar, low and guttural, shaking the ground beneath her feet.

Beatrice froze mid-stretch, her brow furrowing. "No," she whispered, almost pleading with the universe. "No, no, no. Not today."

The roar came again, louder this time. With a groan that could have shattered glass, she trudged to the nearest window.

What greeted her wasn't the usual stray beast or rogue magician. No, this was far worse: a massive, shimmering Gingerbread Fairy Dragon. Its cinnamon-dusted wings beat lazily against the sky, scattering a fine powder over the horizon. Its gumdrop eyes sparkled menacingly, and the frosting along its snout twitched with every growl.

Perched on its back were two cooks wearing oversized chef hats, each wielding rolling pins like weapons.

Beatrice blinked. "I'm dreaming," she muttered. "This is a stress dream. I knew I shouldn't have skipped breakfast."

The dragon roared again, sending a plume of sweet-smelling caramel smoke wafting through the air.

"Boss," one of the cooks said, elbowing the other. "She's just staring at us."

The second cook squinted down at the floating figure in the distance. "Probably scared stiff. Let's get to the city and—"

"Excuse me!" Beatrice's voice rang out as she floated effortlessly into the air, legs crossed in an almost meditative pose. "Hi, yes, hello. Could you not?"

The cooks exchanged glances, their rolling pins slack in their hands.

"She's definitely crazy," the first muttered.

"Let's see how crazy she is after this," the second cook growled, raising his rolling pin. "Ginger! Attack!"

The dragon's maw opened, releasing a torrent of molten caramel aimed straight at Beatrice.

She sighed, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Right. You asked for this."

Raising her hand, she extended two fingers, whispering, "Contained Pyre."

At first, nothing happened. A single, tiny ember flickered from her fingertip, floating lazily toward the dragon. The cooks smirked.

And then the world erupted.

A deafening roar of fire and energy consumed the air as the ember expanded into an impossibly large, contained inferno. The dragon didn't even have time to roar before it disintegrated, leaving only a cloud of powdered sugar in its wake. The blast rippled outward, swallowing forests, mountains, and deserts in a perfectly circular wave.

The cooks stood frozen on a lone patch of unscathed ground, their rolling pins trembling in their hands.

Beatrice hovered above them, casually flicking her wrist. The scorched wasteland glowed faintly, and in a blink, everything returned to normal—the forests regrew, the mountains stood tall again, and even the dragon-shaped crater disappeared.

"There," she muttered, brushing ash from her dress. "Happy?"

The first cook let out a strangled laugh. "Uh... boss?"

"Yeah," the second croaked.

"I think we should find another line of work. Like, right now."

The second nodded rapidly, his chef hat slipping off. "Definitely. No more dragons. Accounting sounds nice."

Beatrice didn't spare them a second glance as she floated back down to her castle. Her door creaked as she pushed it open, muttering under her breath, "Sentient cookie dragons. What's next? An ice cream hydra?"

She paused, considering the possibility. "Actually, that could be fun. As long as I'm not out of snacks."

With a final flick of her hand, she locked the door, letting it click shut behind her.

And just like that, the world returned to blissful silence. For now.