Emily's Room

Emily's Room

"Emily!" The sound of her mother's voice broke her reverie. "Are those towels folded yet?" Emily stretched and sat up on the bed where the towels lay in a jumbled heap.

"Yes, Mom," she yelled out. "I'm just finishing up the last of them."

"Make sure they find their way into the hall closet when you're done. Work first, play second."

Arrrgh! If I have to hear that one more time...

She quickly finished her work. As she placed the last of the towels in the closet, her mother's radar captured her as she heard "If you're done, why don't you go outside for a bit? It's a beautiful day."

How does she do that? How does she always seem to know when I'm done? It wasn't the first time she had that thought. "OK," she hollered.

Emily walked out the back door. What to do... The thought was interrupted as she spied her "secret room."

On the side of the house sat a clump of overgrown bushes. She worried her way into the center where a small area had been cleared.

Stretching out, she watched the clouds drift overhead, their tumbling play creating fantastic shapes that caught her imagination. That one looks like a castle and there's a range of mountains, filled with caves ... secret caves. Her thoughts began to slow as she was lifted into the new found world above.

"Crash!" The sound of something large moved in darkened woods. Pulling her sword from its scabbard, Emily stood, prepared to defend herself.

"Crunch, crunch ... " What ever it was, it was moving toward her. Positioning herself, she waited with an eager grin.

The window darkened as something large blocked the sun. The jewel-scaled head of a large dragon poked into the room.

"George," she said, "you startled me!"

Throwing her arms around the dragon's neck, she gave it a hug. It always amazed her how the hard plates felt almost soft under her embrace.

The dragon smiled, its large teeth shining. "Hi Emily," it said. "I came by to see if you had finished your quest. Work first, play second!"

"Not you too!" burst from her lips.

The reply seemed to startle the dragon. He jumped back, bumping his head on the stone ceiling.

"Ouch," he yelled, "Now who's startling who?"

In the warm sun, Emily could feel a smile spread across her face.

Notes

An entry for "Invalid Item" 
Prompt: Fantasy
Word Count: 397

Thank you for taking time to read my words. I would appreciate it if you took a moment and left a comment. Your reaction, impressions, criticisms, - yes, even praise are all equally welcome.

Ken