Pure Illusion
Isabel age nine
Tyler age six
Hunter and Hero dash to hide in my closet as my father opens my bedroom door. I can feel him smiling at me and Tyler as we lie cuddled in my bed, pretending to be asleep. “There are a lot of giggles in here. More giggles than two giggle monsters are capable of making.”
We hear him crack open the door and his heavy footsteps creak against the wood panels as moves towards us. “Hmm. Though my eyes see two, I wonder if there’s more giggle monsters hiding somewhere in this room. My children should know I’m always the winner when it comes to hide-and-seek. They better tell me now before it’s too late. Because when I win, the two extra giggle monsters will have to go home instead of staying the night.”
I jolt up, breathing hard. “Dad, they’re in the closet.”
Tyler sucks his teeth, pinching my arm. “Tattletale.”
“Ouch!” I rub my stinging skin, scowling. “Dad would have made them go home. Now they can stay, right Daddy?”
“Right, baby. Boys, out this second.”
They come out of the closet with their heads bowed and their eyes downcast.
My father grins down at them, sitting in the rocking chair by my bed. “All right. Don’t look so pitiful. You guys can stay the night. Climb in bed.” He scans my bookshelf as Hunter and Hero crowd us, snatching covers. “What will it be, guys?”
“Pure Illusion!” everyone yells in harmony.
“We seem to have a popular theme. Pure Illusion it is then.”
Deep within the snowy mountains and green valleys, a twelve-year-old princess named Zel came upon a shiny golden egg while playing in the meadows of the deep forest. The egg was a tiny thing that could easily fit into the palms of her hands. She concealed the egg well within the fabrics of her puffy dress and hid it if from the guards. In doing so, the princess was able to take it home to her lavish room within the stoned walls of the massive castle that ruled the sky and land.
The golden egg was so smooth and shiny she could see her reflection in it like a mirror.
Because of her status in Seaberia, Zel had no friends. She spent most of her days playing in the forest and singing to wild animals. Her parents with the rest of her family were slaughtered by a rival kingdom named Attuqius. Attuqius enslaved her people and allowed Zel limited liberty, but freedom all in the same. Little Zel truly had no one. So throughout time the princess would talk to the egg and sing to it. Zel told the egg all her dreams and wishes and all her secrets. The golden egg was her only friend.
On her sixteenth birthday, Zel woke and found fragments of golden shell sprinkled across her bed. Right at the foot of her bed stood a baby dragon. Zel was told that dragons were just a folktale, a myth that only existed to entertain. The princess was astonished to take in the sight of a fire-breathing dragon.
In time Zel and her dragon grew close and formed a powerful bond not even fire could destroy. Her dragon developed and matured rather quickly. Zel concealed the dragon until she could no longer. The dragon grew to be just as big as her castle.
Word spread quickly to the royal family of Attuqius. The little heir of Seaberia was no longer harmless. Zel was a threat. She was an enormous hazard that could destroy their entire empire. The army of Attuqius wanted to terminate Zel along with the rest of her people. Seaberia would be no longer.
Before the night of the war, Dailah, the prince of Attuqius came to warn Zel. He was fond of the princess and never wanted to cause her harm. He informed Zel about everything and that she needed to flee while her heart was still beating. But Zel wanted to stay. She wanted to protect her people. She wanted to save her kingdom. She wanted to make them see reason.
On the day of the battle, Zel faced the ocean of soldiers with Dailah strong at her side and her dragon on the other. She tried to make the royals see reason. But how could they reason with something as destructive as death? But the royals did devise a plan. Zel and her people were allowed to live in their kingdom. Seaberia would burn to ash and Dailah would be killed for treason. The only thing she had to do was relinquish her beloved dragon.
Zel commanded the dragon to move to the opposing side. Dailah appeared ill but he would just have to trust her. The scene was misinterpreted. This was all pure illusion. Though Zel trained her dragon very well, she had no control over what it did. Therefore, she could not offer aid when the soldiers went up in walls of scalding flames.
The royal family of Attuqius was finally defeated. Together, Zel and Dailah restored the balance of both kingdoms. Her people no longer suffered or lived in fear.
The lonely girl with a golden egg, no family, no friends and little freedom became a queen of the most powerful kingdom of all. Zel and Dailah wed and had an army of children of their own. Her dragon lived happily along with them.
Every day was filled with laughter and love.
Zel never craved for more than what she already had.
The End.
My father finishes and kisses us all goodnight; he even kisses Hunter and Hero on the forehead. They are both eager for the kisses. Hunter told me once that his mother never hugged and kissed them and he never wanted hugs and kisses from his father.
“Night kids. Hunter, you’re in charge. Take care of my babies.”
Hunter gives my father a solemn salute. “Yes, sir.”
“What about me,” Hero whines. “I want to protect them, too.”
“Of course. Hero, you are next in line.” My father smiles at us and then gives his head a slight shake before closing my door.
Tyler and Hero tussle with the blankets and Hunter can’t stop staring at me. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I’m just making sure you’re breathing.”
“I can take care of myself, Hunter.”
“A princess always needs a knight to look after her, even if she’s stronger than he will ever be.”