"The Legend of the Fire Stone" by Anna Simmons

1

Erith sighed. “It wasn’t my fault when I was born royalty,” she thought. “All they let me do is sit around and talk. And embroider. Ugh. I hate it! Sickening, foul work it is.

I envy the apprentice horse-girl, even. She can do what she likes!”

Denii sat down after grooming the king’s tall, fiesty stallion. “It’s not my fault I was born a servant,” she grumbled. My whole life is just work. I envy even the youngest of Rajitiiv-eik’s daughters. She can do what she likes!”

Humans, thought Erith’s cat T’shebak, they think they can do whatever they want.

Far off in a cave, in the mountains of T’alib, a dragon named Shpardith waited anxiously for the wizard.

“Oh, I hope he arrives quietly,” she thought. “That poof-I’m-here stuff is so annoying, especially with the mess in my carpet that they leave behind.”

Meanwhile, Erith was running to the stables at the very same time Denii was dashing towards the castle. When each of them came around the West tower, they bumped into each other and fell down.

“Um, are you the girl who is training to be Horse-master?” Erith asked Denii as they stood up.

“Er, yes,” she replied, bowing.

“Cut the bow, please. My name is Erith.”

“I am Denii, Erith-aik,” Denii said, using a term of respect.

“Well, Denii. I was just planning to set out to seek my fortune,” Erith said, hoping a half-lie like that would never be heard by her father, Rajitiiv. It was not what she had planned, but it was true that the youngest daughters of kings and other eiks did go to seek their fortunes.

“I thought that someone could come along. I guess, it could be you,” she added, hoping that it would be.

“But what about my job?” Denii asked, hoping that Erith would not change her mind.

“Forget the job. This is an order. How about getting my horses ready? Y’know, the black one and the white one without the spot. I’ve got food for long enough. We’re leaving as soon as possible. Meet me at the north gate by, oh, say about noon.”

“All right,” Denii trotted back to the stables. Just my luck, she thought, trying to convince herself that she didn’t want to leave. Erith watched her go, then turned to get her bag and her cat.

2

At noon they met at the gate. Denii was already there when Erith and T’shebak arrived. The horses were ready and waiting, happily eating the lilies in the garden.

Yuck. Lilies are the worst, T’shebak sniffed, his nose in the air.

“The cook will have a fit about those flowers. She gardens more than she cooks. We end up with a lot of salads, even at royal banquets. I’m glad I won’t be here when she finds out the state of her Sheala lily.”

I hate that. No good leftovers, the cat thought.

Even as she spoke happily and bravely, Erith found inwardly that she was already homesick. I’m not actually glad at all, she realized. Then, a voice in the back of her mind reminded her of the embroidery in the pile on her gilded dresser, waiting for her to re-stitch it.

“Come on,” she said to Denii, urging her horse to start. “Let’s go conquer the world.”

She wasn’t unhappy anymore.

3

Just past the village of T’kanith, they stopped to eat lunch.

Lunch, thought T’shebak, Food. Yum. “Meooowr”

 T’kanith extended all around the castle. Beyond the town to the south and west was mostly the Dratchi Desert, with the Perija Lake to the east. Only a thin strip of land separated the lake and desert, and the one major road of T’kanith was built on it. But to the north…

“We’re near the edge of the forest,” Erith had explained to Denii while chewing a bite of her tuna salad sandwich and not noticing that T’shebak had eaten most of the rest. “When we get through it, we go across the moor and cross the T’eiki. That’s the river that runs through the moor. After the river, we enter the hills. “Then,” she paused and they looked up at their ultimate goal, a silhouette against the cloudy sky, “the mountains!”

The same, unknown thing was drawing them both towards them. Towards the mountains.

4

Shpardith gazed dejectedly at the wizard when he did arrive.

“Took you long enough,” she growled, as the wizard cowered in the corner. “All of you are alike, you wizards. Run your own time schedule, I suppose.”

The wizard stood up and raised his staff, chanting.

“No, none of that, wizard,” Shpardith warmed, glaring at her visitor. “What’s your name, anyway?”

“My name is Yakika ke Alfshonish,” the wizard bragged, glowing himself up importantly, like a puffer fish. “Best wizard in all Phnorshlf.”

“Phnorshlf?”

“Phnorshlf. Do you have a problem with that, dragon?”

Shpardith didn’t answer. She was laughing too hard to talk.

5

The next day dawned like an orange being thrown into the sky. It was probably the fasted sunrise in the history of Druni. Erith awoke slowly, though, and stirred the campfire very reluctantly. Denii was not awake, so Erith went over to her and shook her. Denii did nothing. Erith tried everything she could think of, but Denii was an impossibly heavy sleeper. Finally, as a last resort, Erith took a scoop of the batter that was going to be made into breakfast and flung it in Denii’s face, while yelling, “PANCAKES!” as loud as possible.

Both horses and T’shebak jumped, frightened, but Denii just yawned and sat up slowly. “What’s for breakfast?” was the first thing she said.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen of the cave, Shpardith had gotten over her laughing fit and was questioning the wizard.

“So,” she said demandingly, putting her elbows on her knees. “Your brother said something about a stone or something along that line when I talked to him last week. What did he mean?”

“Er, well you see, dragon, it’s kind of a long explanation. The wizard king, Eshribia ke Dellidaniki told it to me, long may he live. Do you know all his formal titles? Of course not. Well, he’s the King of Peggle, the Duke of Thethet, and Lord of my very own beloved Phnorshf. Besides, he’s also…”

“Get on with it,” Shpardith growled, throwing a dishtowel in his face, “You’re just stalling.”

“I was just getting to the important stuff,” Yakika spat angrily, “Truth is,” his face softened into a sheepish grin, “It’s kinda a family secret.”

Shpardith roared.

6

Back at the camp, Erith and Denii were setting a destination goal while T’shebak washed himself.

“See that black spot. Here?” Denii asked Erith, pointing up at a point of darkness in the mountains. “I say we set for there.”

“Sure,” Erith agreed. “What d’you suppose it is? I think it’s a big boulder.”

“Nah, it’s too dark. I say it’s a house.”

They were both right. The point they had chosen was a cave. Shpardith’s cave. And Shpardith was one dragon who did not like visitors.

7

At the castle, people were panicking. Almost. Erith was only the youngest of Ravitiiv-eik’s many daughters. Of course, she was supposed to set out to seek her fortune, but so soon? She hadn’t even taken lessons on how to sit down properly, and her eating habits certainly left something to be desired. Why, she couldn’t even remember which fork to use! Everyone agreed that a search party should be sent out, but no one wanted to take the trouble to rescue minor royalty, especially when the wizard problems had gotten so big. The only person who could be spared was the cook. The king and queen wanted to give the assistant cook a chance because they were tired of salads.

“I don’t see why an old rickety chair like myself has to go find that young upstart,” said T’shidinaia the cook, wiping her hands on her apron. She threw some herbs into a bag and set off northwards. Only logical, she thought, with the desert and the lake in all the other directions… and I don’t think she would have taken the road. She was annoyingly unfond of people.

8

“Whew,” gasped Denii, exhausted. “That river was hard to cross.”

After many long days of traveling across endless moor, they had come to the foot of the mountains. Standing in its shadow, and looking up, all they could see of their destination was a huge black spot like a gaping mouth. Above it, two long slitted crevices looked surprisingly like eyes. Erith thought she could even see a dark, blood red gleam in one of them.

“Mrowr” remarked T’shebak the cat.

They started up.

9

Now Shpardith was really cross. The wizard who had come this week to take her recipes to the Daily Wizar Ding was a babbling idiot. She was only keeping up with this blasted food column business because it was a tradition started by her great-great-grand-dragon.
            All that the wizard said as he accepted the paper from her powerful claws was, “Eye of dragon, eye of dragon, eye of dragon.”

She suspected that it was some ancient wizard ingredient like the tongue of, oh say, newt. She shuddered at the thought, and to get him out the door casually blew a small puff of smoke, accidentally singeing his long white beard.

10

“Well, I guess this is where we were heading,” Denii said, looking doubtfully at the huge cave door in front of them, “I wonder if anyone lives here.”

            “There’s only one way to find out,” Erith grinned, and started in.

            Once inside, she promptly tripped over Shpardith’s WELCOME mat.

“Wow, it’s dark in here, “Denii whispered nervously, having followed Erith into the cave.

I don’t see what the problem is thought T’shebak, the cat. I can see just fine.

            Erioth got up and bumped her head against the hanging photo of Jibatiketh, Shpardith’s cousin. He was a famous basketball player. Shpardith herself preferred to cook.

            As a result of bumping her head on the photo, Erith sat down hard on Denii’s shoe. Denii leaned against the wall for balance, flipping a switch. Suddenly, the whole room was illuminated.

Those two look like goofs, the cat thought proudly. He stalked importantly into Shpardith’s bedroom and curled up between her giant wings.

Then, Shpardith woke up. 

11

            T’shidinaia was incessantly bored of searching for a seemingly nonexistent aik, even if she was a daughter of Rajitiiv-eik. Several times she almost turned back, but something was pulling her up towards the mountains and a small scarlet gleam far overhead.

            She was at the foot of the mountains already, having made good progress. “One good thing about being a plant person was that you are generally a good tracker,” she told herself,  “and a good thing about being a cook is that you always have delicious meals. I just love salads.”

A green shimmer to the right of the path caught her eye. She bent closer to it and discovered a small shining plant.

“Ooooh,” she thought happily. “This makes up for that ruined lily. The Mageflower hasn’t been spotted for over twenty years. Too bad it’s not very good to eat. It’s too powerful, it could make you grow long blue hair or something.”

She picked part of the plant, since she didn’t want it to die, put it carefully in her frying pan, and started climbing toward Shpardith’s cave.

12

            When Shpardith came out of the living room to her cave, she hardly seemed to notice that she had a cat on her back.

            I like the view from up here, thought T’shebak who had woken up from his catnap. It’s kind of prickly, though.

            When Shpardith saw that she had more visitors, she sank down on her couch despairingly. “If you’re going to stay,” she said to the bedraggled girls, “You may as well put those horses somewhere. You’ll find a cave down the path, to the left a bit.”

            As Erith and Denii left with the horses, Shpardith closed her eyes and fell asleep. She was tired of having so many visitors on the same day.

13

A committee of wizards was at the door.

            “Hahum… is a Ms. Shpardith here? From the Daily Wizar Ding.We’ve heard a complaint that one of our members had his beard singed. We’d like to verify if….”

            “Be quiet,” one of the other wizards whispered, poking the speaker in the ribs. “Can’t you see this is our chance. She’s sleeping! Perfect time to get the stone. All we have to do is kill her and pull the thing out of her eye…something like that.”

            The group of wizards started to approach the sleeping dragon.

14

            The wizards sneaked closer and closer. Once Shpardith turned over and they all jumped back. But other than that, she showed no sign of waking. Finally, as one of the wizards drew his knife, and was about to run it through her neck, he was hit on the back of the head, by a frying pan. The cook had arrived.

            All of the wizards automatically got turned into marshmallow fluff, with long, white unsinged beards. The one with the knife still had his hat on. T’shebak woke up and yowled in contempt. He didn’t like being disturbed when he was having his afternoon nap.

            Well,he thought, I’m hungry, but I don’t like marshmallow. That pointy thing looks okay though. So, he ate the hat.

            Shpardith got up slowly, her eyes still half-closed. “Uggabluff,” she said, and meant it. “What happened and who are you and what is that creature doing, acting like a fountain and burping all those weirdly colored bubbles?”

            Sure enough, T’shebak the cat had started reacting to the magic of the wizard’s hat and it was not a pleasant experience.

15

            When Erith and Denii came back from the stable cave, the cook and Shpardith were having a long talk about plants and food.

            “Really,” said T’shidinaia, “I love your columns in the Daily Wizar Ding, but I really think you should switch to writing about plants. Salads would be nice.”

            “Oh, hi,” said Shpardith, noticing the girls. “Could you possibly do something about this fluff? It’s ruining my carpet!”

            As the girls cleaned up, they overheard Shpardith talking to T’shidinaia and her saying something about how the wizards had been saying “eye of dragon, eye of dragon” and how that was probably why they had tried to kill her. “Greedy fools,” scowled the dragon.

            Then Erith had an idea. “Hey Denii,” she asked, “Did you notice when we came up how the whole mountain looked like a dragon?”

            “Yeah, sure I did,” her friend replied. “I think it’s even called Dragon Mountain.

            “Well, I have an idea about what the wizards might have meant about ‘eye of dragon,’ even if they didn’t know it themselves.”

            “Yeah?” asked Denii, looking up.

            “Well, I thought I saw a red gleam in one of the crevices that look like eyes. Maybe that is what they meant by ‘eye of dragon.””

            “Yeah, let’s go try to find it. I think Shpardith has a stairway in the kitchen.”

            On the couch, while Denii and Erith were climbing, and Shpardith and T’shidinaia were talking, T’shebak had stopped burping bubbles and was now busy sprouting wings. Of course, no one noticed him.

            Erith and Denii came back downstairs with a large red stone, which seemed to be on fire from the inside. It looked heavy, but the way they were carrying it made it seem as though the stone were as light as air. 

            Shpardith declared the mystery solved, and she and T’shidinaia went into the kitchen to bake chocolate cake and to make salad, of course. There was a celebration all over  the whole land of Druni because the wizards disappeared into the mountains, never to be heard of again.

            And of course, nobody notices me, said T’shebak, proudly spreading his new golden wings.