A few minutes later a man yells,“Open the door!” My heart skips a beat.

“What’s going on?” I mumble. I just got the egg, I can’t lose it now!  I jump to my feet and shove the egg under my pillow. I don’t think I can trust anyone, now that I possess something as valuable as the dragon egg. I am frightened nevertheless. I pick up a small knife. I race to the door and open it, knife in hand.

The man that stands in my doorway grabs my shirt by the collar and asks, through gritted teeth, “Where is the egg?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lie. I don’t trust him because he definitely means to harm the egg. He draws his gun and shoves me to the ground. I slowly rise since I am no longer scared. He points his gun at me and I grin. I can sense the fear in him. I’m sure he won’t pull the trigger.

“Where is the egg?” I stay silent. I know I mustn’t tell him anything, for he is not worthy of my trust. He holds the weapon to my chin, but I still refuse to speak. “Fine! Don’t speak! Just know, I will be back!” He storms out.

I laugh. The true value of the egg dons on me. I tell myself to trust no one. I am even more exhausted. I laugh. I return to my bedroom and fall asleep on my bed clutching the egg. When I wake up, my watch reads midnight. I look at the calendar and am shocked that I managed to sleep for twenty-three hours. I am still clutching the egg. I’m grateful that it’s not crushed.

The egg begins to quiver. Is it hatching? The egg heats up and shakes violently. I am having trouble keeping hold of it. The egg is starting to burn through the blanket. I remove the blanket and water bottle. Ow! That hurts me very badly. I drop the egg. A small crack forms at the side of the egg. I ignore the pain and pick the egg up, a part of the egg shell falls to the ground. I peel the rest of the shell away to reveal a gorgeous baby dragon. I am awestruck by him. He is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. His scales of blue and purple glitter like the stars. His tiny head is adorable with its tuft of sea blue hair.

He yawns. He stares at me with his deep violet eyes. At first I’m confused by his staring, then I realize he must be hungry. I set the newborn dragon down on my bed. I walk quickly towards the kitchen. I find some chicken left over from last night’s dinner and fill a small bowl of water. I return to the baby dragon, food and drink in hand. I set the food and water before him. The dragon practically inhales the chicken and quickly laps up the water.
Watching him brings me great joy. “You need a name,” I tell him. He hums in agreement. I think for a minute. I decide to name the dragon ‘Sea’, because of the tuft of sea blue fur on his head. “I think I will call you, Sea,” I say. Sea hums his approval. Sea puts his head down onto my bed and falls asleep. Even though I have slept for a long time, I fall asleep next to Sea.

A loud crash awakens me. I am greatly annoyed. I check my watch. It reads half-past two o’clock. Sea opens his eyes, and yawns. He looks miffed. I pick him up and begin to search for the source of the sound. As soon as I walk into the kitchen, Sea roars. I sense fear, but it doesn’t come from Sea or me. Who would have the audacity to break into my house?!

Sea leaps out of my arms and uses his wing to strike something which is hiding in the shadows. It yelps. “Please don’t hurt me,” it whimpers. I am starting to calm down.

“Come out of the shadows,” I say. A male steps into my view. I must admit he is handsome. He has sea-blue eyes, is very tall, and has black hair that covers one of his eyes.

“Who are you?” I ask. I am starting to get scared.

“Sora. Who are you?”

“I am Nyx. Why are you in my house?” I stay put, I don’t want to seem nervous by backing away. Sea walks to my feet and uses them as pillows as he falls back asleep. I pick Sea up. I want to be able to run away with Sea as fast as I possibly can.

“To warn you.”

“Warn me about what?”

“Many will harm you to take your dragon from you.”

“I don’t care. I can protect Sea and myself.”

“No, you can’t. You need to bring your “Sea” to his home in the heavens.” I am prepared to argue all night. I will never let anyone take Sea away from me.

“Why should I? Sea is safe with me,” I argue.

“No, he isn’t! You’re not going to be able to protect him from the dangers that loom overhead! The hunters will stop at nothing to take Sea. They will kill you and Sea is too young and weak to protect you!” Sora yells.

We argue back and forth for about an hour, finally I say,“I doubt your integrity. How can I be sure you’re not one of these so-called “hunters” and this is not a trap?” I inquire.

“You are very stubborn,” Sora replies.

“The same applies to you, Sora.”

“Fine, I will just stay here.” I am too tired to protest.

“Ok, but you can’t touch Sea without my permission,” I tell him. Sora says nothing, and sits down.

“I am tired. I’ve been walking all day long.” Sora doesn’t look like he intends to harm Sea. I know looks can be deceiving, but Sora seems trustworthy.

“At least sleep on the bed.”

“Thanks,” he mutters. Sora stands up and follows me to my bedroom. I point to my bed.

“You can sleep on my bed tonight.”

“Thank you,” mumbles Sora. He lies down and quickly falls asleep.
I set Sea on the ground. I stumble to my closet. I pull out a pillow and blanket and put the pillow on the ground. I lie down and rest my head on the pillow. I cover myself with the blanket. I quickly lose consciousness.

The next morning, Sea wakes me up by prancing around on my back. I sit up and rub my eyes, but I am still a bit sleepy.

Sora is creepily staring at me. His stare makes me uncomfortable. His bangs cover one of his eyes, but the hair near the back of his head stands up in all directions. “Why are you staring at me?” I ask him.

“You mumble in your sleep.” Sora gets off of my bed.

“What did I say?”

“I don’t know you were quiet. I only heard you say one thing: “Sea”.”

“Oh. Anyway, are you hungry?” I ask him.

“Yes, but let me get the food.”

“No, if you go, I go with you. I don’t know that I can trust you,” I reply. I don’t know if he will report me to someone who would kill me to get Sea.

“You can’t leave Sea here alone. You also can’t let the public discover him. He will be hurt if people know he is alive,” Sora argues.

I go to my closet and take out two coats. I hand one to Sora and put the other one on. I open the large pocket in the interior of my coat and place Sea inside of it. There, problem solved. I say in my mind. Sora stares at the coat I just handed him. “Why?”

“It’s the middle of October. It’s cold and you’ll get sick if you don’t wear one.”

He puts on the jacket. “Let’s go,” I say. Sora walks out the door and I walk out after him. As we are walking, I say to Sea, “Stay silent, please.”

Sea hums, “Okay.” A couple of minutes later, I hear him snoring softly. I lead Sora to the nearest grocery store. When we get there he holds the door open for me. I have my suspicions, but this kind gesture makes me question Sora’s motives even more. No one is ever nice for no reason.

The cashier stares at me.

“Can I help you?” he asks.

“Nope,” replies Sora. He leads me away from the front of the store. I hear whispering. What is wrong with us? No one whispers for no reason. My heart starts to race. Can they see Sea? Sora picks up various boxes of food. I’m too distracted to notice what Sora is doing. I pull Sora close to my face.

“Can they see him?” I whisper into his ear.

“You’re being silly,” he replies, calmly. Immediately, the only other customers in the store leave.                                                         

“See? They’re gone,” Sora tells me.

“Nyx!” I hear a familiar voice call my name. What’s going on? You idiot! I tell myself. You shouldn’t have come here! I put on a steely expression and turn towards the voice’s source. It’s him! He wasn’t kidding when he said he’d be back. Seeing my shock amuses him. This time he is armed with a six-inch dagger and a samurai sword.
  He walks towards me. I don’t want my fright to be apparent, so I maintain a cold expression and stay where I am. Sora has dropped the food and I now staring at me. His eyes say, “Run.” I know I should, but I can’t leave Sora, and I’m too proud to back away so quickly. “Who are you?” asks Sora. “Draco.” Draco eyes me like a tiger does his prey. I will not cower!
  Draco hands me his sword and I take it. The hilt is black and studded with jade stones. The blade is sharp and pure white. “Why?” I question. Why would he arm his enemy? “To defend yourself,” he explains. The sword feels light and cold. Draco slashes at me with his dagger. The blade is jagged and black as night. I jump back. The blade misses me by an inch. Thank God it didn’t hit me! Draco throws his knife at Sora. Sora catches it, but it cuts his hand. “Are you ok?” I ask, concerned. “Yup!” he replies.
  Draco takes out another sword. This one’s hilt is golden and studded with emeralds. Its blade is long, thin, and shiny. He attacks me. I block his attacks with my sword. If this keeps up, I’m going to die soon. I think. The cashier walks towards us. He stares at me, wide-eyed and obviously afraid. He eyes my sword and bolts towards the front of the store. I peek around the corner of an aisle. I see the cashier run out the door. I’m no longer scared for myself, but instead I am worried about Sora and Sea. I am getting distracted by my worries. Draco is pushing me into a corner. I duck under his arm and drop my sword.

Speedily, I run outside and put Sea on the lower branches of a tree. “Climb. I will probably die. Go into the woods. Find a dragon who will take care of you,” I hum.

“No! I want to stay with you!” Sea protests.

“I’m sorry, you don’t have much time. I won’t survive.” Tears fill his eyes.

“Ok,” he agrees.

“I’ll find you again, if I don’t die.” With that, I run back inside. Draco bumps into me. I guess this is it. I think. I get back up.

Draco stands up slowly. I rush to where Sora is standing. He is glaring at Draco. I pull his ears to my lips. “I left him in a tree. Go find him and protect him, please.” I whisper as quietly as I can.     I no longer care about my life. The only thing I want is for Sora and Sea to escape and be safe. 

“C’mon. Tell me what you said. You’re gonna die anyway,” Draco says. His statement is infuriating. I pick up my sword.

“Go,” I tell Sora.

“No. I won’t leave you to die,” he tells me.

“What about…?” I ask, trying to keep the fact that Sea is outside a secret.

“It’ll work out. There won’t be any danger. It’ll stay hidden,” Sora assures me.

“You don’t know that. Just go. I’m going to die anyway. I want you to stay alive at least!” I yell. He refuses to move. I’m frustrated. I know I can’t change his mind, so I don’t try to. I attack Draco. I can’t land a hit. He moves too fast! I say to myself. I swing my sword even faster, hoping to wound him. He runs from me. What is he planning? I wonder. I know he isn’t frightened. He walks over to Sora. Sora is ready to fight. Draco tries to wound him, but Sora dodges the attacks. I run to where they are fighting. I place myself in front of Sora. Draco attempts to shove me out of the way.

Sora says, “Run, you can go now.”

“No,” I say. Sora grabs my wrist and pulls me to the side.

“Please, I can’t take care of the thing you want me to take care of. You need to go now.”

“Nope, if you die, I die with you,” I tell Sora.

“You really are stubborn,” says Sora. I smile. He smiles back. I’m no longer afraid. I’m still a bit sad that Sora refuses to leave and save his own life. Draco throws himself at us. He manages to fall on top of Sora. He holds his sword to his throat. No! I am angry at myself, because I don’t think I can help him. Draco jams his sword into Sora’s throat. Sora coughs up blood.

He smiles at me and says, “Thanks, for being so nice to me.” He closes his eyes and I can see that he is dead. I collapse. I can’t believe that just happened. I never actually thought I would see someone die like that.

I pick myself up. All I see is red. Draco needs to die. I lunge at him and try to slit his throat. He dodges my attack and swings his sword at me. I jerk my neck back. He only manages to make a shallow cut near my collar bone. It burns, but I ignore the pain. I keep trying to kill him. Finally, I wound him. I cut deep into his leg. He cries out. Victory is near. I grin. I attack again. Draco plunges his sword into my heart. I gasp. I have failed. I tell myself.  I wish I could go back to the day I met the dragon. I wish I never promised to take care of Sea. I wish I could’ve protected Sora. I regret every decision I made that lead me to this day. I want to go back in time and fix all of this, but I can’t. I don’t feel the blade anymore, I’m just numb. I’ve failed. As I breathe my final breath the true meaning of this sentence sinks in. I am a failure who cost Sora his life.

In Alpharetta, Georgia, an eight-year old girl named, Nishchala, wakes up with a start. She is clutching her notebook. Wide-eyed and shaking, she reaches for her pencil. She breathes a sigh of relief as she realizes it was all just a dream.