Just an Ordinary Fairytale

Sil the Magic Dragon

After they had heard the screech, Alex had taken off towards the sound. He hadn't realized that his feet were moving until he found himself in front of the beast. Something wasn't right about the animals roar.

Once he saw the dragon, he knew why. The dragons shiny yellow scales stood out in the fading light, but it was the ropes that caught his eye. The poor beast's massive wings were hopelessly tangled in a trap. It couldn't reach back to untangle itself.

The dragon let out another heartbreaking howl before realizing that he had company. "Please... Please help me! I have been here for hours, and mom wanted me home before dark!" The dragon sniffed, and a large tear rolled down his scaly cheek.

Alex had never seen a real life dragon before, and it mystified him that this shed-sized beast seemed like a kid. The dragon started sobbing again, crying out that his mother would be so worried.

"The poor thing," Alex had thought, it reminded him of Owen. He would often comfort Owen when he had his frightened fits. With his mind made up, Alex approached the crying dragon with soft words. There was no way he could ignore the helpless dragon, no matter how scary it seemed.

With a small knife, Alex cut the dragon free. It took longer than he would have liked. But it was getting darker by the minute, and it was hard to see the ropes he was cutting. For a moment, the dragon stopped sobbing and reached into a pouch by its heart. The dragon pulled out a glowing light, and it left the dragon's claws to hover above Alex as he worked. He had barely noticed.

"My name's Sil, by the way," The dragon sniffed. "I want to thank you. You're the first to pass by and help me." Sil let out another mournful roar. At that moment, the last rope snapped and Sil was free. Alex had to scramble back to avoid getting knocked off his feet.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Sil was jumping up and down, enjoying his freedom. The dragon stopped, noticing how dark it had gotten. Sil looked at Alex, the floating light still hovering above his head. "I can't thank you enough for helping me, I would have been stuck there forever if you hadn't shown up!"

"Well..."Alex hated to ask, "You could thank me by giving me and a friend of mine a ride? In the morning after you let your mom know that you're okay?" Sil agreed immediately, nodding his head. "That's great! So, have you ever heard of the Crystal Kingdom?"