Abby's Dragon

Abby’s Dragon

"Abigail!" The sound of her mother's voice broke her reverie. "Have you got your teeth brushed yet?" Abby stretched and sat up on the bed. The hills and valleys of the land of "Goforth" became blankets laying in a jumbled heap.

"Almost, Mom," she yelled out.

"Almost? Are you even out of bed? Hurry up, breakfast is almost ready and the school bus will be here in thirty-minutes. Remember, work first, play second!"

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

She quickly jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom. She turned on the taps and waited as the water warmed. Picking up her toothbrush, she squeezed a glob of toothpaste on to it. The bristles went every-which-way as she pushed the paste into it. They look like dragon scales! She giggled at the thought of brushing her teeth with a dragon.

The steam began to spiral up, turning the mirror opaque. The vapors swirled, reminding her of clouds. She could see …

“Squeak, squeak, squeak.”

Abby wasn't sure she had heard anything but it did sound like it might have come from within the medicine cabinet. She carefully opened it, peering inside. Bottles and boxes sat silently in rows. Nothing there.

The sound came again. This time, she was sure of it. She looked at the mirror and saw a flash of green in a corner that was almost vapor free. She cautiously wiped a bit of the steam off.

A large eye was staring at her. “Eeeek!”

“Eeeek!” came the response.

She dragged her hand across the mirror, making a clear swath. The jewel-scaled head of a large dragon rose above the mirror’s rim. It looked left and right and then poked its head through the mirror into the bathroom.

"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 Abby," it said. "I came by to see if you had finished your tooth quest. Work first, play second!"

"Not you too!" burst from her lips.

The reply seemed to startle the dragon. He pulled back, bumping his head on the top of the mirror’s edge.

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

This brought a laugh to Abby’s lips.

She stuck the toothbrush in her mouth. “I ot to et eady or ool,” she said.

George looked at her quizzically. “What did you say?”

The look on his face made her spit foam out with her laughter, flecks splattering on George’s snout.

He licked his face. “Ummm. Minty.” This made her laugh harder.

“George, I've got to get ready for school. I don’t have time to play right now.”

“Play? Look Abby, this is serious. The evil witch is trying to turn all the toadstools into shields for her rat army.”

“Ohhh.” She thought for a moment. “Well, while I’m at school, fly over the fields and shake salt on them. The salt will dry them up and they won’t be any good.”

“Great idea! We make a great team!” he exclaimed.

“Abigail Brown!” Her mother’s stern voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Mom, I’m finishing. I’ll be down in two minutes. Promise.” She stuck her tongue out toward the door.

“Tsk, tsk,” said George. “That’s no way for a knight of the realm to act.”

“OK, George. I’m sorry. Now, I've got to run but I’ll see you after school.”

“Promise?”

“Promise!” With that, Abby turned off the water and, as the steam faded, so did George.

“Abby, what are you doing?” The sound of her mother’s voice at the door made her jump. “Who were you talking to?”

Abby smiled. “I was talking to George. He’s a dragon.”

“I swear, you have the most active imagination of any child I know,” she laughed. “Now, if your conversation is over, please get dressed and get downstairs,” she said, playfully swatting at her daughter’s backside.

As Abby scooted toward her bedroom, a flash of blue-green caught her mother’s attention. She walked to the mirror and found a streak of color at the upper edge of the mirror.

Has she been playing with my make-up again? I need to talk to her about that. Shaking her head, she headed downstairs to finish packing lunches.

** Image ID #1983947 Unavailable **

An entry for the March round of "Invalid Item" 
Word Count: 735