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The heat is too much.
The dragon’s flame threatens to melt your shield, to render your sword useless.
But even so, you need to resist.
Your kingdom is counting on you.
The fair lady that gave you her hand is waiting for your return.
But, most importantly, your sister’s life depends on it.
Kara was taken from you and you need to get her back.
Your honor depends on it.
Kara’s life depends on it.
“You don’t get to keep my sister!” You yell to the dragon that, might as you try, you cannot defeat.
“The lady is mine!” the dragon roars in between jets of flames. It flies overhead, its shiny, dark purple scales reflecting the evening sun and you use the time to duck and take cover behind a large boulder.
“I’ll take Kara back! You won’t to stop me!”
“Foolish human!” the dragon growls. A hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, jet of flames hit the rock and you roll away, feeling the molted river that almost, almost gets you.
“You’re a dumb lizard!”
“Your sister is mine!”
The dragon makes a wide circle and you look towards the tall tower. You can see Kara’s golden locks flying in the wind as your sister leans forward from a window. The window is too narrow, too tall, for her to escape, but you are a knight and you are responsible for your sister and you will bring her back.
The dragon flies above you again, leaving a trail of flames and fire on its path.
You roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the destruction all around.
The dragon’s advantage is its flight. You need to take it down if you want to beat it.
You catch Kara’s eyes and your sister nods to you, encouraging you to do whatever it takes to defeat the dragon, rescues your sister and go back home, victorious.
You look to your left. A big rock sits there, waiting for you… if you could throw it to the dragon, then it will come down and then you will be able to kill it.
Yes, that’s a good plan.
You drop your shield and sword, they won’t help you now, and you run to the rock, lifting it with great effort. You know you will have only once chance, only one shot and if you fail…
… No, there’s no room for failure. No.
You will hit it and it will come down and you will save Kara.
Just as you are about to throw the rock, you are lifted from behind and you are startled enough to yelp.
“Alexandra.” Uh-oh. “I’ve told you many times, do not throw pillows. Do not hang your stuffed toys to the ceiling fan and do not let your sister climb the bookshelf!”
“But Moooooom!” You look up to see Mom’s amused eyes looking back at you. “I was saving Kara from the mean dragon!”
Mom sets you on her hip and she goes pick Kara from the top of the bookshelf that houses all your fairy tales books. Your sister wiggles in Mom’s arms and a foul smell hits you.
Urg. She needs a change.
Mom sighs. “Oh, girls, you’ve made a mess again.”
You look around.
It’s not messy.
Well, not too much.
Leggy, Kara’s purple stuffed dragon is still hanging with a shoelace from the ceiling fan. The fan is on and the plushie keeps making circles around you, barely avoiding hitting Mom in the head.
Uh. Next time you’ll hang it higher, so it doesn’t get stuck anywhere. Last time it hit Dad in the face and it knocked his glasses off. It was funny but Dad wasn’t amused.
You spent four minutes in the corner and you don’t like the corner.
The pillows Kara and you dragged from the living room and your rooms all scattered all over, making up the boulders and rocks you were hiding behind. Gram’s favorite throw pillow is where you dropped it when Mom picked you up and you still think you could take down the dragon if she lets you try.
But, knowing Mom, she is gonna make you clean up and it will be hard to replicate this scenario again.
You pout. You really were going to save Kara from the dragon.
“Go on, Alex.” Mom puts you down and pushes you slightly to the door. “Go wash your hands while I change your sister. Lunch is ready.”
You nod and scamper off. If you hurry Mom won’t make you clean the playing room.
XxXxX
“Mooooooom!”
“Don’t even try to pout. You’re a big girl now. Eat.”
“Dad says I’m still his baby,” you whine. Okay, so, sometimes, you are glad you’re almost four and not a baby anymore. Not like Kara who is going to turn two and still has to wear diapers. You don’t think you’d like to be stinky for long and you certainly enjoy that you can speak up your mind, not like Kara who can only say about ten words.
(Gram says you will grow to be a lawyer with how much you like to argue your way around.)
“Then you will have an hour-long nap with your baby sister after lunch.”
“Mooom!”
“You said you were a baby. Babies don’t eat Brussels sprouts,” she points out.
You huff and look at the plate glaring at you. Long gone is the half of cheese sandwich and the handful of chips and the only thing left glaring at you are those stupid, yucky, nasty Brussels sprouts.
There are three of them and they are gross and they are dumb.
“Can I go play?”
“Finish your plate.”
“Mooooom!”
“Alex.” Mom’s tone is final and you glare at her. She is not looking at you and she’s busy cleaning Kara’s face from the mess she did with her own half of sandwich and chips. She didn’t get Brussels sprouts, though.
Why did Kara get applesauce and you didn’t?!
“Please? Pretty please?”
Mom gathers Kara in her arms, liberating her from her high chair, and turns to you as she collects your sister’s plate. “You will stay seated until you finish your lunch. I’m going to put Kara to bed and then I’ll make some calls. Don’t get up until you’re done. Understood?”
You huff again and cross your arms.
“Alex.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mom shakes her head and leaves you in the kitchen. You can see from your seat that she’s settling Kara in her pack ’n play with Leggy… you don’t know when Mom got her down… last you checked, she was still flying around the playroom.
Kara’s soft blue eyes seek yours as she suckles on her big, red pacifier, the moment Mom leaves her on her own.
With how much Kara ate you know she will be asleep within minutes.
You smile at her, briefly and she smiles back at you from behind her pacifier and she closes her eyes.
You turn your attention back to the plate and the stupid Brussels sprouts.
The more you stare, the grosser they get.
The more you stare, the larger your frown gets.
The more you stare, the stupider they get.
The more yo-
Oh.
Oh.
They are… moving.
No. No. No.
They are moving, rolling towards you, barely. They shake, they struggle, they want to get close. They want you to eat them, you are sure, but you won’t. Nuh-oh. Nope.
The room starts closing on you, the lights dim and the walls start getting longer, thicker, oppressing.
The windows darken and, where is the sun? There wasn’t supposed to be any rain today!
The Brussels sprouts roll closer, an inch closer. An inch too close…
… Are they growing? Oh, God. They are… they are growing fast and now they are as big as your hand!
How does Mom think you are going to eat that?
They are still rolling towards you, but they can’t come close. You don’t know why or how, but they are rolling, but not moving.
They are still getting bigger, though.
From the corner of your eye, you see something shiny and yellow and wow!
The sun emerges from the other side of the table!
It’s light so bright you look to the other side, blinded.
“Nom-nom!” says the sun. “No sissy!”
You open your eyes again, and yes. The sun is chomping happily on one of the brussels sprouts and, oh, the sun has already eaten one!
“Nom-nom,” repeats the sun. “No sissy!”
You blink again, smiling wide. “Kara!” You chirp happily, seeing how your baby sis is reaching on her tiptoes for the last Brussels sprout. “My hero!”
Kara smiles up at you and you wrinkle your nose at the green bits stuck on her teeth. “Sissy save!”
“Yes, Kara! You saved me!”
You jump down your seat, knowing that now that your plate is clean you can totally leave. Kara is dancing in her spot and you notice that she’s dragged her red blanket with her so you take her free hand, swinging it with yours as you to dance, overjoyed.
You don’t have to eat the nasty veggies!
A light sound from Mom’s office makes you both stop dead in your tracks.
Kara’s widened eyes meet yours and you two run towards Kara’s pack ’n play. With an ease born of doing exactly the same thing countless of times, you help Kara climb in and you follow her without thought.
Mom is going to check on you both and she won’t be mad if you decided to crash Kara’s nap.
You have done it before and you know you will keep doing it.
As long as your veggies are gone, Mom doesn’t care if you nap with Kara or not.
Your sister hurriedly pops her pacifier in her mouth and wiggles under the red blanket, the lower half of her footed blue pajamas sticking out. You quickly get rid of your pants, tossing them over the railing and you snuggle against Kara’s back.
You two slow your breathing and wait.
And wait.
And… Kara’s asleep, the sucking sounds she makes are steady and faint, letting you know that you are on your own now.
But, your eyes feel stuffy and your tummy is so full.
Kara’s heat is solid against you and you wiggle again, stealing some of the blanket from her.
Kara whines and you echo the sound. You hate sleeping with pants but you hate being cold and you always get cold when you nap.
A slight weight settles over you. You crack an eye open and you see Mom leaning down over the railing, fixing your grey comforter over both of you. “Shh, little Firefly,” she whispers. “Go back to sleep.”
You shift, turning on your back.
You blink heavily when Mom reaches down and takes your thumb from your mouth and replace it with one of Kara’s pacifiers.
You frown and groggily reach for it, tugging.
You are not a baby.
“Ah, ah. No Alex,” Mom scolds you lightly. “Leave it. No thumb sucking for you.”
You whine.
“No, love.” She starts caressing your brow, smoothing it with her fingertips. “Shh, Firefly. Go to sleep.”
You blink once, but then you can’t open your eyes.
Mom’s humming low and you are pulled to the sound, to the ease it makes you feel.
As you start drifting, you start imagining what new adventure your sister and you will get into.
Once you wake up, you will help Kara defeat the dwarf that haunts the sandbox in the backyard.
Once you eat dinner, Kara and you will fly into space and jump between galaxies fighting pirates in Mom’s office while she works for a little while.
Once Dad gets home you will have a bath and this time is Kara’s turn to save the duckies from the evil shark.
And once you go to bed, you will defend Kara from the monsters under the bed and in the closet. You will snuggle with her and keep all the bad dreams away.
And tomorrow…
Tomorrow you will have lots of more adventures and no one, no dragon, no Brussels sprouts, no dwarfs, no space-pirates, no shark and no monster will ever defeat you.
‘Cause you’re the Danvers Sisters and you should come with a warning.