After Happily Ever

Hey guys!  I got such good feedback from my Happily Ever After short story that I decided to follow your advice and add on to it!  If it gets good feedback again, I may have to make it a chapter book!

After Happily Ever

I laughed.  My voice flew over the trees.  Will laughed with me.  The steady, slow wing beats lifted us farther into the air.  I felt so free, flying above the world on the golden dragon, with will sitting just behind me.  He was free from his mother, Madam Gothel, and now I was free from her too.

“Lily,” Will spoke softly into my ear.  “Where should we go?”

“Hmm…” I looked forward at the shimmering scales of the dragon, named Tuli, and pondered all of the places he could take us.  Tuli rolled his eyes back and looked at me.  I saw sadness reflected in his big, glowing, green eyes.  I decided immediately where Will and I needed to go.  I shifted my position so I could look at Will.

“Will,” I began.  “I know where we have to fly to.”

“Anywhere Lily.”  He said, smiling.

“We are going to find,” I said, pointing towards Tuli.  “His home.”  Will smiled at me.

* * * * *

“Are you sure Tuli doesn’t see his home anywhere?”

“He isn’t acting like he recognizes this territory.”  Will said.  “Calm down Lily.  We’ll find it soon enough.”

I sighed.  Will just didn’t understand.  I had a connection with Tuli.  I stroked his golden scales.  They were tough, yet smooth.  I leaned forward and whispered into Tuli’s ear slit.

“Don’t worry, Tuli.  We’ll find your home soon!”

* * * * *

“Lily, I’m really sorry, but I just don’t know where Tuli’s home is.  After these mountains, the land turns to ocean.”  Will spoke gently.  “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine.”  I looked away from Will and towards the sparkling ocean.  It wasn’t fine.  Tuli was so sad.  I knew what it was like to be without family.  I didn’t want Tuli to feel the same way.

Suddenly, Tuli’s wings started beating faster.  We were rocketing through the air.

“He must have seen his old home!”  I yelled to Will over the roar of the air in our ears.  “It must have been a cave in the mountains!”  Tuli sped forward, towards the edge of the mountains where the shore line started.  But he didn’t stop.

“Tuli!”  Will shouted.  “Where is he going?”  I shrugged my shoulders and clung on to Tuli’s broad back.

Tuli got closer and closer to the water until his talons were skimming it.  He unexpectedly spiraled up into the air.  I screamed.  Will and I were slipping off his back.  He jerked forward into a straight position again.

“Oh thank-” But before I could finish my sentence, the golden dragon dove down towards the water once more.  Without hesitation, he streamed into the cool sea.

Oh, no!  Help! I tried to scream, but all that came out of my mouth was bubbles.  When Tuli had hit the water, I had lost him.  I couldn’t breathe.  I didn’t know which way was up and which way was down.  I couldn’t find my way back to the surface.  I felt the darkness closing in on me.  The salt was stinging my eyes.

Suddenly, a strong force hit me.  There was absolutely no air left in my lungs.  My eyes were abruptly burning with light.  I felt a tight grip around my waist.  I coughed and spluttered.  I was hanging just above the ocean.  Tuli’s talon was suspending me, my silver slippers skimming the surface of the water.

I felt safe in Tuli’s talon.  That is, until he dove back into the calm water.  Then, I pretty much freaked.  But I could breathe.  And I could see.  When Tuli was touching me, it was like I wasn’t even in the water.

“Will?”  I was surprised that I could talk.  “Will, what’s happening?”

“Lily, make sure that you don’t let go of Tuli!”  Will shouted back to me from on top of the massive dragon’s back.  “I never realized that Tuli was a water dragon.”

“A what?”  I asked as I climbed back onto Tuli’s back, carefully making sure I was always touching him.

“Water dragons live in underwater sea caves.  They can survive in water, air, or land.  They’re very rare.  That’s why I never assumed Tuli was one.  They were nearly hunted out of extinction.”

“Hunted?  By who?  Fish?”  I asked jokingly.

“No.”  Will said seriously.

I was about to ask who in the world would hunt underwater dragons, but I didn’t need to say a thing.  Spreading out for miles, I saw a civilization.  Under the ocean.  I looked at Will.  He nodded.

“Atlantis.”  I breathed.

* * * * *

As Tuli swam over the enormous city, I stared in awe.  I saw one building, towering above the rest.

“That’s the grand palace.”  Will said.  “According to the stories, the beautiful mermaid princess Ariel lives down there.”

“Ooh!”  I said.  “Let’s stop there!  Please?”

Will nodded in agreement and steered Tuli down towards the immense palace.  As we landed, I noticed that the normal laws of physics that water and pressure had on a person at the bottom of the ocean didn’t apply.  Not only when we were riding Tuli, but also when we were touching the sandy streets of Atlantis.

I knocked on the door.  A butler opened it.  He looked human from the waist up, but had a green fish tail as well.

“We’re looking for Princess Ariel.”  I said to the merman.

“Princess?”  He scoffed.  “It would be hard to call her that.”  Nevertheless, he led us up the grand staircase.

“She’ll be in here.”  The butler pointed to the farthest door on the left.  I ran up to it and knocked.  There was no answer.  I knocked again.

“She won’t hear you miss.  Just go on in.”  The butler said.

Won’t hear me?  That’s strange. I thought.  I pushed open the heavy door.

Inside was a girl about my age with jet black hair and a silvery tail.  She had a shiny tiara with black stones place lopsidedly on her head.  Running from her ears were white wires connecting to a tiny black box with buttons on it.  She glanced up at us and removed the wires from her ears.

“Princess Ariel?”  I asked.

“Do you mind?”  She said.  “I’m listening to my iPod.”