When Sticks Met the Dragons

         Sticks stepped into the courtyard. He held his sword at the ready and brandished it in front of him as his eyes searched for danger. He thought he saw a shadow dart behind a hedge to the right of the path.

         “Stand forth and do battle!” he called to it. It ignored him. Whatever it was stayed safely in the shadows. “Coward,” he muttered under his breath and then shouted it aloud for the beast to hear. He watched the hedge and thought he saw the creature coming out of hiding when he heard the sound of air going past big wings. He looked down and noticed that certain spots of grass were waving although there was no wind. He looked up just in time to see a giant dragon land and settle itself on the roof of the castle.

         “Strong words coming from one who wet his pants.” Sticks looked down and saw that the dragon was right. A blush turned his face scarlet as he tried to think of what to do about it. He finally decided to ignore it; he’d deal with it after he had dealt with the dragon. He turned his attention back to the dragon on the roof. Its lack of horns told him that the dragon was female. Her scales reflected the light of the setting sun causing them to shine like gold. Her wings were stiff and straight; they looked as if they had been molded out of amber. “What do you want, boy?”

         “I am here to rescue the princess that you hold captive.”

         “Do you even know her name?”

         “It’s umm—“

         “A liar too. Admit it, you don’t know the name and I’ll tell you why or rather how. Take your pick.”

         “Why or how what?”

         “Weren’t you listening at all? Why do they always send these idiotic pretty boy princes? Add an ‘s’ and it’s princess. Oh, well, no time for nonsense. My answer is because I most certainly do not currently hold a princess here against her will. Nor do I hold a maiden or prince or anything else for that matter in that manner.” The dragon broke off snickering here.

         “What’s so funny?” Sticks demanded. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at the dragon. Her reaction was to merely laugh harder. She had to put her claws in front of her mouth to keep from spitting fireballs at him. Sticks scowled.

         “You really should do something about those pants,” a soft dreamy voice said in Sticks’ ear. He jumped when he noticed the smaller blue-green dragon beside him. He recognized this one as female too, and she had a potbelly that reminded him of the other dragon’s wings. She was about his size with a shorter and more rounded snout than the other one.

         “Off with them then.”

         Sticks gawked at the little dragon. He knew he had not heard her correctly.

         “Excuse me…”

         “What are you waiting for? Hurry up now. Bandit will be home soon. Rain Cloud, the unicorn up there on the cloud, will wash them for you.”

         Sticks looked up at the cloud. Sure enough a unicorn was lying on it as it watched him. As it noticed his gaze, it lifted its tail in a friendly gesture. It was all a pure white except its hooves, the tip of its tail and its horn, which were dark blue. It tossed its head, and Sticks saw blue highlights.

         “Take him into the castle,” a voice not his own said in Sticks’ head.

         “Very well,” the smaller dragon answered and motioned for Sticks to head towards the door. “Don’t mind Golden Amber,” she continued as she noticed Sticks eyeing the larger dragon.

         “I suppose we should exchange names,” the dragon said as they passed through huge double doors and into the castle. “Mine is Zyrah.” Zyrah led Sticks down a long hall. A green rug ran the length of it, and the stone walls seemed to radiate heat. Sticks touched one and almost got burned. He held his hand and winced as he choked out,

         “They call me Sticks.” He straightened up as Zyrah turned around; it was bad enough that he had peed in his pants although he couldn’t recall doing it. He didn't think that Golden had scared him that much. They headed up a flight of stairs and then out into another hallway. As he followed Zyrah, Sticks noticed that she had on a diamond studded collar that was a shiny green, a shade darker than her. He also noticed a blue heart on the end of her tail when she swung it, and it barely missed him. Zyrah stopped by the first room of this floor.

         “Go in there and take off your pants. Toss them out here and then check the closet for something that fits. You might as well hand over your shirt too. We’ll have a regular laundry day.”

         Sticks went inside and found a screen to change behind. He did as the dragon said and pulled off his pants as he marveled at how similar the dragon was to his stepmother. He tossed them over the screen and hopefully out the door.

         Zyrah was prepared to receive the pants, but a shape darted in front of her, snatching the pants.

         “What’s this?” Bandit asked holding the pants up for Zyrah to see.

         “It seems our latest prince has wet his pants.”

         Bandit snickered.

         “That’s a first. All of the good ones must have come already. Speaking of which, all of them are waiting to start the party."

         Zyrah looked distressed.

         “I’ll handle this, you handle the party. Golden would eat them all if she had her way,” Bandit added.

         Zyrah ruffled Bandit’s hair and gave her a peck on the cheek before she hurried off to the stairs. Bandit stood waiting as Sticks threw his shirt out into the hall.

         “I bet your sword could use a polishing as well,” Bandit said in a voice that sounded like Zyrah’s as she tossed Sticks’ clothes out a window.

         “My sword stays with me.”

         “Fine. Toss out the scabbard then, why don’t you?”

         Sticks undid his scabbard and threw it into Bandit’s waiting hands. She turned it over and investigated the side that was to Sticks’ body. “Did Fairy happen to send you?” Bandit asked in her own voice. Sticks didn’t know why, but he trusted this new voice.

         “Why, yes. Why?”

         “She gave you this scabbard. It’s rigged to leak water when you draw your sword.”

         Sticks clenched his fists. He hurried to put on some pants and ran out into the hall waving his sword around and screaming, “Dang it! That little imp is going to pay!”

         “Calm down. A hot head never helped anyone, but it’s hurt plenty of people.”

         Sticks stopped as he noticed this voice belonged to a beautiful human girl. Her best feature was her bright eyes with these incredibly long lashes. She had dark hair that ran down to her mid-back in waves and a tan. A few freckles dotted her nose and upper cheeks.

         “Who are you?”

         “You’re in my home; you tell me.”

         “I’m Sticks.”

         “And I am Bandit, the dragons’ treasure.” Here Bandit threw the scabbard out the window.

         "Hey, what are you doing?! You’re in cahoots with Fairy, aren’t you?!”

         “Oh yes. I have nothing better to do with my time than play pranks on people.” Bandit rolled her eyes.

         “I knew it!”

         “Slow down. Haven’t you heard of being sarcastic? The dragons raised me, particularly Zyrah, and she knows Fairy’s mom. If you’re who I think you are, then you know who I speak of, the Queen of Pranks. You’ve been with them for over a year and yet, you still believe them. You are truly gullible.”

         “Hey, they’re very convincing." Sticks lowered his eyes and his sword, then added, "I don’t suppose you need rescuing do you?”

         “No, that won’t be necessary. Your sentiments are very sweet though.” There was a long pause. Sticks stared down at his sword and Fairy played with her nails. Sticks broke the silence.

         “I guess I should go now,” he said sadly and turned to go.

         “Without your clothes? They’ll be ready in a minute.” The ground shook as Golden flew through a window at the opposite end of the hall and landed. She walked gracefully down the hall, and Sticks was so struck by her beauty that he didn’t notice the ground shaking.

         “Here’s your clothes,” she said as she dropped his pants and shirt on the floor. Bandit picked them up and handed them to Sticks. She noticed his gaze and commented, “I suppose we’ve made a dragon lover out of you too, hmm? Why don’t you attend the party as my guest?”

         “What party?” Sticks questioned as he turned his attention back to Bandit and studied her. He wasn’t attracted to her even though she was attractive. He just saw her as more of a sister than a girlfriend. He looked into her eyes and thought he saw them agreeing with him.

         As if to prove it, Bandit said, “Zyrah’s Friends of the Dragon’s party. It’s in the upper levels. It’s nothing romantic. Frankly, I’m not interested in you that way. When we get to the party, you’ll find out why.”

         “Huh?” Sticks asked as he screwed up his face. What was that supposed to mean? Bandit was already walking down the hall, and she looked back over her shoulder impatiently. Sticks sighed and followed.

         Bandit led Sticks back to the stairs and then up them. The staircase spiraled in the dark, and Sticks began to get dizzy. He thought he saw a little black shape on a stair up ahead but dismissed it as a figment of his imagination. Noticing that he was out of breath Bandit stopped.

         “Sorry it’s so dark. Golden doesn’t like the light. She flew out the window and got a head start on us farther up the stairs. She should be finished climbing soon so I could open the windows. Zyrah loves the sun.”

         Sticks panted in answer. He wasn’t even really listening; he was tired and hungry.

         “Not in the mood for talking? That’s okay; I’ll talk for you.” Bandit held up her hands and made puppets here. “Hello, Bandit. Why, hello Sticks. How’s it going? Great! And you?—“

         “AAAHHHHH!” Sticks screamed as a dark shape materialized out of the shadow and jumped on him. He scooted backwards and began to tumble down the stairs. “Ooch! Ouch! Oww!” He hit something and stopped after only five steps. He straightened himself and looked up to see Bandit keeping him from falling off the step. He noticed something glowing around her neck. It was a golden snake, and it stuck out its tongue and hissed before it stopped glowing.

         “What was that?” Sticks asked, thinking of the dark shape and the golden snake. The dark shape darted down the stars and then jumped onto Bandit’s shoulder. Bandit bent down so Sticks could see better. It was a black cat with long silky fur and green eyes. It had a white belly with a few white hairs spread throughout the black. Sticks scrambled up looking sheepish.

         “Her name is Twinkle.”

         “I knew that; I was just testing you.” Bandit gave Sticks a “nice try” look and then turned and began to climb the stairs again. Sticks followed somewhat subdued. At one point, Sticks thought he saw the snake necklace on Bandit’s neck turn and hiss at him but attributed it to his overactive imagination. About three-fourths of the way up, Bandit stopped and clapped. The walls slid open to reveal that the tower walls were built out of stained glass windows. Bandit and Sticks reached the top of the stairs and the party without further incidents.

         The party looked great. As soon as they reached it, Sticks ditched Bandit for the conga line. Bandit didn’t particularly mind as she was planning on looking for Zyrah anyways. She spied Zyrah talking to Golden’s previous princess and her fiancé.

         Bandit walked up to Zyrah and said quickly, “Is Sticks the Guardian of the Secret Keeper?” and pressed Zyrah’s potbelly before Zyrah could say a word.

         Zyrah’s eyes went glassy and she answered, “Yes,” in a faraway voice.

         “Shall we announce it then?”

         “I don’t see why not. He’s such a nice lad. He’ll be a good guardian.” Zyrah nodded at Bandit.

         Bandit flipped over the tables and on to the stage. Applause greeted her ears as she finished. She smiled and waved at all of the princes and princesses. Golden, who had been sleeping on the stage, woke up and looked at Bandit as she called everyone in the room to attention.

         “All right everyone. Today, we have a very special guest, the Guardian of the Secret Keeper. Now for those of you who don’t know, the Secret Keeper is Bandit and Bandit is me. For future reference, Bandit is NOT the Secret Keeper. Don’t get it now, you’ll get it later; just think. Now, it remains to identify the Guardian, who is Sticks.” Bandit pointed to Sticks as she said his name.

         Sticks looked at Bandit in disbelief as the last word left her mouth. How could Sticks, the gullible klutz, be the guardian of one of the most important people in his world? For that matter, how could one of the most important people in his world be living with dragons in this secluded castle?

         Golden Amber must have shared his belief for she let go a massive fireball as she roared, “WHAT!!!” The fireball headed straight for Sticks.

         Twinkle jumped off Bandit’s shoulder and landed all the way across the room, on Sticks’ shoulder. Her eyes glowed and then a light passed over Sticks. The fireball hit them just as the glow reached its zenith. The two powers collided with a tremendous show of sparks and light and then the fireball disintegrated into nothing. The glow faded and Twinkle jumped off Sticks’ shoulder and began to wash herself. Sticks stood frozen with a dazed look on his face.

         Bandit disappeared off the stage and reappeared next to Sticks. In a moment he moved and stretched as if he had been standing still for a long time. Bandit stepped back and nimbly dodged as Sticks drew his sword with a newfound grace. Bandit smiled at Sticks’ namesake, his stick brown hair that tended to stick up.

         Everyone else in the fireball’s path looked down at their charred clothes in dismay and then up at Golden who whistled and drummed her claws on the stone floor.

         “Perhaps I should have fireproofed you. It’s just that everyone else here knows the fireproofing spell. All of the princesses here used to be Golden’s but they were rescued by the princes,” Bandit said to Sticks as she glared Golden Amber.

         “Does this mean we have to get married?” Sticks’ brown eyes begged Bandit’s to say no.

         “Of course not; I already told you. You are more like my big brother or something, NOT my husband.” Golden snorted her agreement.