Gemstones

Prologue

Alex's P.O.V.

When I was a little boy, I used to go into the forest, where the tall green trees seemed to stretch on forever. I used to run around, having pretend battles with powerful foes only my mind could have conjured up. Then one day, I found a peculiar bush, one that looked sort of like an archway. It called out to me, so I crawled under the arch, being the curious little 6 year old that I was.

The world around me transformed, and everything turned even more bright and beautiful than before. Rolling hills covered in bright green grass spread across my vision. I took a step and gasped when I stepped on something. I looked under my foot and spotted a purple gem. There was a crack down the middle. It was obvious that it didn't belong there, and it looked as though it had been dropped multiple times. I picked up the glittering rock and placed it in my palms as I sat in the grass. Suddenly, it started to glow. I looked at it with curiosity, as it started to change shape. I gasped when the glowing stopped, and in my lap was a purple dragon about the size of my arm.

The dragon lifted it's head up, a tiny yawn escaping it's jaws. It whimpered, looking at the cut down it's back. "You're hurt" I said to the dragon, and it chuffed at me, then rubbed it's head against the palm of my hand. "Do you have a name?" I asked it, as it stretched its wings. It looks up at me and I smile down at it. "I think I'll call you Amethyst, because that stone you used to be looked awfully like that kind of stone, we're learning about things like that in my second grade class"

The dragon set it's head down, mesmerized by my very boring story. As night had begun to show itself, I sat the dragon in long grass, and told it that I would return tomorrow to play. On these days went, me returning to the place, playing with the dragon, until the dragon was four feet taller than me.

On my 9th birthday, when I ran out into the forest, the archway was gone. I returned home, sadness evident on my face. My mother scolded me for talking crazy about the magic in the woods, and forbade me from ever going back. So slowly, I let myself forget about the dragon I found in the woods.