„Where could they have hidden the key?“ the beautiful girl whose name was Catalina, murmured. Frowning, she searched her proximity for clues. She had seen the item in question only once, in a wall hanging, picturing a forest scene. It had shown an exceptional chased brass key which looked heavy and very old. A small green dragon had offered it to a middle-aged woman in a hunting outfit who showed wavy silvery hair and elf ears.

Her parents had told her not to look for this very key, not under any circumstances. Rumors came up that it could bring happiness and luck yet also sadness and despair. Many experienced knights and dauntless princesses had already searched for it yet to no avail, and half of them went missing on their journeys.

However, running a chance of bringing back joy and auspiciousness to her home again was too tempting, no matter what. Determined, Calalina crossed the clearing toward a trail she had spotted, directly opposite.

Catalina walked along the trail thinking about the tapestry and wondered what became of the elf and the dragon. The legend was very old and her mother had recounted the story of how the tapestry was handed down through many generations of their family. Still it remained hanging in the great hall, beautifully woven but keeping the secrets held within locked up tight.

The trail was leading her deeper into the forest obscuring the brilliant sunlight.
Suddenly a red fox peeked out from under a bush to Catalina's right. Momentarily startled, she paused to watch what it would do.

Catalina was very determined but maybe she had taken a wrong turn. Was this part of the mystery with the key? The forest floor started to had thorny vines that did not look right. Did the air suddenly get colder? She clutched her arms tightly, she was going to find this key, maybe it was just a few vines.

The vines became more dense and soon Catalina found herself in complete darkness. She was unable to see and prickly thorns were targeting her fair skin. Panic was taking her from her quest path, she kept thinking maybe the stories of lost pinces and princess was true, maybe the key didn't want to be found.

When every negative throught was coming to her mind, and the thorns were touching her skin ... a loud bang was heard and the sunlight pierced her eyes. After a few moments of blindess she could discern a young, fair skin girl weilding a sword, but wait, did she see it wrong? No those can't be elf ears ... or can they?

Catalina rubbed her eyes still a little dazzled, when she looked up again she was alone. "Did I get a blunder?" she asked herself "but... someone get me free..." Catalina stoped murmuring surprised to see there was no vines around.

She saw the remains of an ancient road, now in ruins, struggling through the trees. Catalina decided to go on making for that road, being careful not to slip on the old flat stones. As he went on she felt tired, until she lay down on the grass and fell asleep.

Catalina was suddently awakened by a peculiar noise, a sort of singing, and on peeping throught the branches she saw pale girl with dark hair, playing on the grass with a weird tall man. The man was very tall and Catalina found herself unable to describe him more fully.

Was this a harp? Catalina asked herself, astonished. She hadn’t heard such an instrument in years.

However, the tune was familiar, her mother had sung it quite often to her at bedtime. She couldn’t remember the exact words yet it related to a dragon who rescued a princess. Wait, dragon, princess? Oh no, such themes were quite common in this day and age. That certainly doesn’t mean anything.

Catalina sat up, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. She realized the man only looked that tall because the woman was minuscule. Was she a pixie, perhaps? And would the unlikely pair know something about the key?

Catalina kept peeping the scene from her hiding place. As she watched, she had a strange feeling of unease about the girl. She had a melodious voice and was very beautiful. But from time to time, it seems to her at the same time as one of the most repulsive creatures ever seen, and her melodious voice sounded cold and sharp. As for the man, although she tried hard to look at him better, she could barely make out the silhouette.

She decided to creep closer to try to get a better look at the man without being noticed, but as she did so, she stepped on a twig and it broke with a loud SNAP! Catalina gasped as the pale girl lept up and fled. Strangely enough, the man stayed where he was and stared at Catalina curiously. Uncomfortable with being stared at, Catalina worked up her courage and walked over to the man to introduce herself.

"Hello, please excuse me. I am Catalina," she said in a soft and polite tone. "Well met in the forest," she added, a note of doubt creeping into her voice.

"Well met," the man echoed. His voice was low and somehow empty, as though wind blowing through an enormous hollow tree were to speak.

"May I ask your name?" Catalina said.

"You may ask, but don't expect an answer to such a rude question," the silver-haired girl with the sword joined into the conversation. It seemed she had overcome her startled fear and returned.

The tiny dark-haired girl nodded. "Call me Elm and her Birch, and the man Oak, since our names are not for the like of you," she said. "We might as well be trees, since a forest is where you find us.“

A ghastly apparition, a supercilious beauty and a loquacious pixie? Catalina sighted, eyeing the strange trio. Suavity and conforming to etiquette were well known to her, though, and she decided to stick to them for now until she would discover the backgrounds of her collocutors.

With a profound bow and a swish of her dress, she addressed the tiny black-haired girl who stared at her, wide eyed.

"I am Catalina Cerenia and I come from a small village beyond the Mirkwood." she explained, taking in the exceptional clothing of the girl who called herself Elm. The fabric of her dress and sleeves looked as light as thistledown and shone like silk caressed by a mild morning sun. "I am looking for a key my family lost decades ago." Catalina admitted.

The tiny girl smirked and was about to answer when suddenly a loud noise arose, like the beating of big leathery wings, gaining on with every second. The leaves of the forest rippled and began to stream in the wind caused by the flapping of the airborne being.

As fast as the beating started a dragon was upon them. Tall and giant for the tiny forest clearing. His breath came strong and a bellow of smoke blew across the four as he landed with a thud that shook the ground. His scales were missing in places as if he had been in many battles. His scales were a dark red and black color. He looked old and wise as if he had guarded the forest for many years. He eyed them all carefully. Was he a foe or a friend?

The dragon knew Elm, Birch and Oak, but eyed the newcomer suspiciously. Oak took the lead and introduced Catalina to the dragon who did not have a name but was called The Old One. The dragon wanted to know why this princess was in the forest. That if she were to go on she would need to go on a quest. Was Cataline up for the challenge?

"Old One, I say to you that I am ready to face any challenge," Catalina said with determination in her voice. "As for a quest, I am already on the quest for the key that brings happiness and luck, sadness and despair. It belongs to my family and I will not be turned aside from this quest."

She was standing up to a dragon! Catalina was frightened but she would not let anyone see that if she could help it. Her hands trembled and she hid them in her sleeves for warmth.

The pixie girl who called herself Elm flitted around the dragon's head as if she were fireproof. Or maybe this was not the sort of dragon who breathed fire. Catalina had no way to tell for certain, but there had been smoke and that made her think there could be fire. She wanted to tell the little creature to watch out, but since Elm seemed to know the dragon and she did not, it seemed inappropriate, so she managed to stop herself in time.

As Elm darted around the dragon, it seemed she was checking to make sure he was not injured. “Why do you seem to know this dragon so well, and why do you take such care of him?” Catalina asked.

Oak answered, “We three have been together since we were very small, and when we feared we would be separated due to the dangers in this forest, the Old One found us, sheltered us, and cared for us. We owe him our very lives. It is to this debt and the bond between us that we take care of him.”

Catalina breathed a small sigh of relief. So the dragon was caring, after all. You couldn’t see it behind his tough exterior. Maybe he would aid her on her quest.

The red and black dragon yawned wide and showed off his enormous teeth. Then he said in a surprisingly quiet voice for one so large, "Stranger, if the key you seek is the one I believe, your family must have warned you of its perilous nature, and of the dangers of seeking it."

Catalina nodded. This was the truth, of course. "Despite their warnings, I must seek the key. Tragedy has struck my family and the land we live in. The key is my only hope of restoring my home. My parents can no longer protect me or hold me back; they are gone. Without them, without the protections their magic wrought, there is no one to keep the dangerous creatures from beyond the borders from invading our land."

She took a breath and went on. "Several of the bravest princes and heroines from the land have been lost or killed on quests to save us, and I can do no less. I hope to be the one to find the key and save my people!" It was her duty as princess. If she succeeded, she would live to become queen. If not, someone else would make the attempt in her place.

The fierce-looking dragon contemplated this information for some minutes, wagging his head. After a time which seemed endless to Catalina, he seemed to make a decision. He fixated the blonde princess, forcing her to lock gazes with him.

"Your motive seem honorable yet we don't know you at all. I am not sure we can trust you. You descend from a family who was known to catch and dungeon my dragon brothers and sisters. We are nearly extinct now here in the deep forest and bordering lands."

The dragon gave a deep sigh and looked in the distance, clearly remembering happier times. Then, his eyes began to swirl, showing perlmute colors, and his scales began to glow in a ray of rainbow hues.

"I know! We'll send you on a quest, see if we can trust you!" , he declared, looking content now. "Do you accept?"

Catalina was determined and the quest sounded worthy if it was going to help her to find the key. She nodded fiercely, "I accept your quest!" It was hard to say so because this would take her from her own quest that she originally came to the forest to accomplish but if it meant getting closer to the key this was just part of the original one. She looked to the Old One. "Where would this quest take me?" He blew smoke out of his nose and smiled delightfully. "Well young child, I will be taking you far away, but first you must get on my back.“

Catalina was still a bit wary of the Old One, but instead of succumbing to her fears, she held her head high and climbed on the dragon's back. He stood up and walked around in circles, warming up his joints. After walking around a bit, he started slowly flapping his wings and making his way over to the group of three forest creatures. He exchanged some words with them, but Catalina couldn't hear as his flapping wings were already generating loud wooshes of air.

All of a sudden, they took off! Catalina screamed with surprise as she almost lost hold of the Old One's scales. She grasped so tightly afterwards that her knuckles turned white. "I hope you're not afraid of heights, young one!" the powerful dragon shouted back as they gained altitude.

After several hours of flying, Catalina had grown used to the rhythm of the strong wings holding them afloat. She had become adjusted to her seat as well, and was now able to relax a bit without holding on so tightly. "How much longer?" she called to her pilot. "I thought I told you this was a long journey," he responded. "We are but a small portion through." The dragon snorted with slight impatience. "Can you tell me more about this quest, and where we are going?" Catalina asked.

"We journey to the far dragon realms, child," the dragon told Catalina. "Your task will be to persuade the Queen of the Dragons to entrust us with an egg. My time will come not too long from now, and I need an heir to take over my responsibilities".

"If you succeed in your own quest, dealing with you and your descendants will be a large part of my heir's work, so if we are to allow such a result, we must know that you can be trusted. There is no greater test of your trustworthiness than assisting with raising a new baby dragon."

Catalina wished very hard that the dragon had also brought along one of the others she had met. She felt afraid at the prospect of being the only human in a land of dragons. She steeled herself to be brave.

The Old One flew and flew for what felt like forever. Catalina, even fell asleep on his back, waking up here and there. They took breaks on the ground to eat small meals, it was a week before they got to their destination.

A large forgotten castle stood in the distance with dragons flying all around it. The Old One's wings beat faster as if he was very excited. Upon getting to the bottom of the castle it looked as if it was made for the dragons, the entries as big as the dragons themselves.

At the gate sit a blue dragon who looked lazily over. "Old One what brings you?" At this point Catalina, stood silently beside his leg and he moved his wing to reveal her. "I have a quest for this girl and need to see the queen." The other dragon nodded and allowed them in. He had a blue egg himself and many small baby dragons flew around him.

As they walked through the portico into the main square of the castle village, Catalina was amazed by all the dragons she saw around her. There were dragons large and small, orange and black, flying and walking. She had never seen more than a couple in her whole life, and seeing this many in one place was overwhelming. Quite frankly, a little bit frightening as well. Although many kingdoms, most of all Catalina's own, had become allies with the dragons and stopped killing them thinking they were horrible beasts, humans and dragons still preferred to stay separate for the most part.

Catalina got her bearings about her and held the Old One's scales as they walked through the streets. They traveled along the roads, winding higher to get closer to the actual castle. Catalina noticed many stares directed at her during their climb. "Pay them no mind," the Old One mumbled. "They are simply curious because we don't have humans in our castle town very often."

They had arrived close to the end of the day; as such, the sun was setting once they reached the castle. Catalina shivered and pulled her traveling cloak tightly around her. "Is the queen good and wise?" Catalina asked the Old One. "Of course," he answered, "although she can be somewhat short-tempered. Let's hope we've come at a good time."

Hoping she could impress the queen, Catalina steeled herself and stepped into the castle with the Old One by her side. The queen requested that they be seen as soon as they arrived which caught Catalina by surprise as she was already awfully tired. She stood tall and awaited the audience. The Old One stood beside her outside of the queens chambers.

Catalina was again surprised as they walked in and the queen descended down the stairs she was not in the form of a dragon but a human. She spoke very kindly, "Hello Old One and dear princess. I have taken this form as it may be more calming to you. The Old One has spoken to me through our mind voice and I know of your quest here already. I am going to give you an egg of my own so it will be very special to me and very important. I hope you are up to the task.“

There had to be some kind of trick, Catalina thought. It was not a quest if the queen simply gave her the egg the moment she arrived.

But what was the trick? She thought of the hens back home. Was the queen going to give her an unfertilized egg and then claim it was Catalina's fault it did not hatch? Or was it more subtle than that, an egg with a baby the queen knew there was something wrong with and she could get rid of it by sending it off with a strange human?

The queen seemed kind, far too kind. Catalina had enough experience in life to be suspicious of such.

"Oh," she said, "That is a great honor, but I thought I would have to prove myself to you to earn it? What is it I have done that makes me so worthy already in your eyes?" It would help to see what the queen's reasoning was, to figure out what trap had been put in front of her.

The queen frowns for a moment astonished by those words "I didn't say you will have it now. Nor by me" she turned and walked to the ancient colored window, then looked afar for several moments as if she forgot she wasn't alone.

"For this is my order!" she suddeltly claimed "that you must cast aside all your weapons and any companions. You must go to the cave in the bowels of Gwabella, wherein abides Nodthoag. You shall know Nodthoag by his constant snore and the look of a sleepy dark toad. Go to him offering your talents. Then, if it be his pleasure , Nodthoag will avail himself of the offering“.

Catalina looked to the old one and back to the queen, without his help this was indeed going to be a very long journey. She looked back to the queen. "I understand my mission and accept it. Thank you for this chance."

She took what the queen presented into her bag and bowed to the queen. This was going to be a huge job to take over the Old One's position. She was to head in the direction the queen pointed. She had heard of Nodthoag before and it was not a very clean place. She was going to have to find somewhere to buy some not so nice clothes.

Catalina turned in the direction of the queen's gesture. "Wait!" declared the queen. "You may choose but one item from my collection to aid you in your quest." The queen spread her cloak out, and stitched to the bottom were three small items.

"The first is a small bottle filled with a healing liquid that will save any creature from death. The second is a dagger poisoned with a substance obtained from far away that will instantly kill the first creature you stab with it, "explained the queen. "And the third is a tiny crystal ball that will allow you to see events in the immediate future. Choose wisely."

Catalina stared at the items, thinking hard. The healing liquid would be of great assistance were she to be injured during her journey, but the dagger might help if she encountered a mighty adversary. The crystal ball might be the best, however, with its future-predicting capabilities. However would she choose?

Calm yourself, Catalina whispered in her mind. The queen said choose wisely, so I must think about this logically. There must be one item with an obvious advantage over the others. What had the queen said again? Choose one item...from her collection? Catalina gasped--she had cracked the secret!

"I choose your cloak," she stated. "You yourself said I could choose one item from your collection, but you didn't specify your specific collection of those three items."

"Well done," the queen answered, smiling. "You have performed well on your test. I judge you more than ready to take on my quest and face Nodthoag." Passing Catalina her cloak with all three items still attached, the queen wished her good luck and a swift journey.

Soon she found herself at the bottom of the mountain, pitted with caverns. It was the canyon of Gwabella that no humans never visited before. Catalina climbed the lowest cave between a heavy barrage of nettles and flints. The entrance was rather strait but Catalina managed to pass without serious trouble.

She deemed at first that the cave was empty. Going forward, Catalina stumbled over certain remnants, which appeared to be the skeletons of various animals. Then she discerned in the dark the formless bulking of a gasping mass. And the mass stirred a little as she approached, and put forth a huge and toad-shaped head. And the head opened its eyes very slightly, as if half awakened from an endless dream.

"Oh Lord Nodthoag” Catalina bowed making every effort not to show that the smell from the frog was disgusting her “I am here by order of the Dragon Queen to be at your service".

There was a sluggish inclination of the toad-like head and the eyes opened a little wider. Then Catalina heared a deep rumbling sound. And the sound shaped itself, into words she was able to understand: "Thanks are due to the Queen for this offering" the giant toad comes closer and yawned. "But, since I have fed and have a nice nest for my offspring, I am doubtful regarding what disposition I can make of you“.

Oh, look, the Easter Fairy has deposited an egg here:

If you are up to it, let's continue the story! I'll choose one post every page whose author's will win a prize, sometimes presenting the context, other times not, betimes small, otherwiles bigger.

I am very curious which talent Catalina has in mind to offer the dragon. And where is the mum of the dragon babies? How much of them are in the nest and will Catalina prevail, being allowed to choose an egg? Do as you like!