"See, I told you it would be unlocked. Now we can take it!" Silva declared to Trino once they were safely inside Symon?s cottage. They had hidden behind nearby rose bushes until they saw Symon run from his cottage to Castle Redina for his weekly meeting with King Joseph.

	After he left, Silva, dragging Trino behind her, walked right into this cottage of forbidden magic. Symon was Redina?s most powerful wizard, as he frequently boasted, as well as it?s only wizard, and his cottage was rumored to possess many magical and forbidden items, or so parents said to scare their children. These stories did not frighten Silva, however, despite her parents? intentions, but rather attracted her to this cottage. "Let?s get it before he comes back," Trino urged. Silva?s slightly younger companion was no less attracted by rumors of magical items, but he was much more terrified of Symon and his powers. "We?ll have it and be gone long before he?s back. We just need to find it," she said, looking about. Symon?s cottage, true to rumor, was filled with many magical items including magic books, several staffs, and many objects about which they had no understanding. Silva and Trino, however, did not stop to ponder these items because they were looking for one particular object, Symon?s infamous glass dragon. This talisman was rumored, in parents? most terrifying tales, to be an actual dragon imprisoned in a glass sculpture. "It must be over here," Silva proclaimed, looking at a shelf full of glass miniatures. She saw sculptures of horses, griffins, badgers, unicorns, and many humans, all exquisitelt detailed, but no dragon. "I found it," announced Trino, pointing to a table with vials of multicolored liquids. "It?s magnificent," Silva said, looking at a six-inch tall glass dragon statue that glowed a faint golden light. Trino reached for it, but Silva shouted, "Let me get it. You?ll drop it." They both grabbed it, pulling in opposite directions. Symon?s dragon sculpture sliped from their grip and fell into a vial of bubble green liquid. "No," they shouted in unison as it broke into a thousand pieces of glass, gold, and green liquid. They glared at each other, but only for an instant. A cloud of green gas rose from where Symon?s dragon sculpture fell. This cloud was not wispy, like smoke form a fire, but thick, thicker than a deep fog, and with a distinct form, a 10-foot tall dragon form. Silva and Trino, again in unison, screamed, then fell to shivering in each other?s arms. "I am free!" it announced. "Free to finally destroy Symon!" "Never, Dembar," declared Symon from his doorway. He gave a quick, angry look at Silva and Trino, then pointed his hands toward Dembar, ready to case a spell on his old enemy.
	A beam of red light flew toward Dembar, but he ducked away from Symon?s magic missile, laughing. "Not this time. I?ve had years to prepare myself for this battle." Smoke was now flowing from Dembar?s nostrils and his shape was becoming less gaseous; he was becoming a real dragon. Dembar approached Symon, who was now trembling. "We have to do something to help him," Silva whispered. "What can we do?" asked Trino. "Let?s try that," Silva said, pointing to a staff with a glowing red globe on its top. "It?s magical, very powerful magic in that globe." Without waiting or asking how she knew that, Trino ran and picked it up. It was almost twice his height , but not heavy. He swung it, globe end first, hard into Dembar. That red globe, as Silva had said, was magical. Dembar?s body exploded in a burst of red and green light. Dembar was returned to gas form, which dissipated into nothingness. "You saved me," Symon said smiling at Trino and Silva. Then his usual displeasing frown returned to his face. "And you almost killed me. How did this happen and what are you doing in my cottage?" After an awkward silence in which neither child could formulate a plausible lie, Silva told what had happened. "You are fortunate that King Joseph was out hunting today," Symon replied. "Your recklessness has devastated my cottage and nearly caused my devastation. I must find a suitable punishment." He looked ominously at his shelf of glass sculptures. "Here is what we will do," he announced, "you will start by cleaning my cottage. Then you will both serve as my apprentice for a year." Trino gasped. "Of course other punishments could be found," Symon said, glancing at his glass miniatures. Silva and Trino agreed. A year later, having lost all interest in magic, Trino was happy to end his service to Symon. Silva, however, having shown both interest and talent, stayed with Symon, eventually becoming Redina?s greatest sorceress ever.
	This story was first published in 1999 in the now-defunct e-zine All Mixed Up. The story won first place in a contest for stories not using the word "the." Below are links to three more of my stories: "A Loving Monster among Monstrosities" was first published in the February 2000 issue of Fantasy, Folklore and Fairytales, http://fff.fantasytoday.com. It was the first story I got paid for and is one of my better stories. "The Kissing Princesses" was published in December 2001 by Anotherealm (http://www.anotherealm.com). It is a differnt take on the legend of a princess kissing a frog who is really a handsome prince. "Last of its Species", a short-short story published in the June 2001 issue of AntipodeanSF (http://www.antisf.com/).

Loving Monster	Kissing Princesses	Last of its Species

nicholasperry@earthlink.net