Is it cliché to say that sometimes I felt like a Disney princess?

Well either way, it's true. I had nearly all the symptoms: Sensitivity, check. Feeling that something in my life was missing, check. Obligatory cute animal sidekick and dress, check. I even ticked off the dead parent box that the good ol' House of Mouse will never admit to having. The only thing missing was the blandness of character. I could kick up a storm any day.

I know, not what you were expecting to hear from a half-blood. But that was me non-stop for twelve years of my life. I often look back at those days trying to decide whether I preferred them to my life now and dangerously finding out that I don't.

Back then I lived with my dad and stepmum. Oh yeah, I have a stepmum. And while she's no evil witch or anything there was always an element of distance about her. A distinct, you didn't come out-of-my-womb kind of feeling.

We never hated each other, we just acknowledged that we lived in the same house. The same could be said for my dad, really.

Gregory Faraday was a known player, and I don't mean the kind on the stage. My stepmum, Mavis, was the latest in a long list of lovers going back to the nineties. I remembered a couple of other women when I was very little, but no one had been around as long as she had. As far as dear Dad was concerned she was the one. They had no eyes for anyone but each other, so eating at the dinner table was a nauseating experience for me at the best of times.

Needless to say, I spent a lot of time at after school activities or going to friends' houses. I always looked forward to Fridays. That was the day of the week that I got to sleep over at Jack house.

Now to most people that would be weird. A girl and a guy conducting regular sleepovers together, but Jack and I had been friends since we were crawling underneath sofas together. We were so close we were practically twins. Heck, our birthdays were only two days apart. It felt more natural than anything to me.

Jack lived with a bunch of family members all under one roof, but somehow, they always managed to fit me in, except his cousins who kept making excuses for why I couldn't have a turn at their Nintendo Switch.

One such Friday was on Friday 13th. Jack and I had never been superstitious, so our plan was the same as usual. At the end of the day I came out of my Spanish lesson whilst he left Maths. We were on autopilot pushing past the scurrying students towards our respective exits. I emerged from the main door while he popped up from the opposite stairs. The crowds around us scattered as usual to greet their respective rides home. But not us. We maintained a brisk pace forwards in a straight line making eye contact with no one until we were face to face.

He nodded at me. I nodded back and turned to where my dad was standing.

"Yes," he nodded before we could even say anything. "As long as it's – "

"Fine by me," agreed Jacks mum. Everyone was on autopilot right now.

The only thing that different from to normal exchange was that when Dad delivered his customary line "Say goodbye to your stepmother first", Jack and I found her conversing with a lady I had never seen before.

She had a large physique, unruly hair and wore a denim dress that didn't really suited her all that much. Next to her, she had a chihuahua that sniffed the pair of us and wagged its tail excitedly. I believe its presence justified the absence of my beloved pet pigeon, Speckled Jim.

Now, the origin of Speckled Jim is unclear to me. He just kind of showed up one day in one front yard. I was delighted, because our yard is completely paved over so with only ever saw birds every once in a while. But Speckled Jim had tags on his foot, which were way too small to read at first. Mavis, Dad and I spent days trying to capture this elusive bird and read the numbers on the tags.

Eventually, I found out that he was owned by an elderly couple who were struggling to feed and take care of him as we had done. Seeing how much of a liking I had taken to him, they let me keep him. The poor thing was easily flustered, so a dog – no matter how small – would be viewed at the greatest threat ever conceived by Speckled Jim. Sure enough, I found him perched on the roof on the science building.

"Come on. Come on down!" I called to him, taking some bird seed from my pocket. After a moment's hesitation he flew straight onto my extended arm and I continued to hold it aloft until he had finished pecking for morsels.

"Now you be good while I'm away," I told him. "Don't give Dad and Mavis… too hard a time, okay?"

He seemed to understand, and I perched him on my dad's shoulder as I kissed him (my dad, not the pigeon) goodbye.

…

Jack's family seemed to be on auto pilot as well. When his uncle Wallace open the door for us I swear he said "Welcome home" to us both. There was our customary snack bowl of Cheetos and crisps alongside a healthier selection of tangerines, blueberries and grapes. Jack's cousins were all health-nuts, and some of it had clearly rubbed off on me.

"Here's the dress you left here last time," indicated Jack's mum. I'd almost forgotten! Last time I'd fallen into a puddle of mud and ruined a cream-white dress. Jack had to lend me some of his clothes to leave with.

"Oh my gosh! Sorry, I forgot to bring back your stuff, Jack!"

"It's no problem. It's not like I gave you my best clothes. Although, the same thing can't be said for that dress. If I was a girl I'd be all over that thing."

I giggled at that. The idea was so ridiculous I nearly snorted tangerine juice out of my nostrils.

The Switch was still being used, so we went upstairs and watched a movie. We never agree on what to watch, but Avatar was one of our mutual agreements. Since it was practically background noise at that point, we just got to work on our fort for the night.

Yeah, I'm not ashamed to admit it. We still built forts out of cushions and bedsheets. We tended to tie one corner to Jack's bunk and then try a layout that would be high enough that we could crawl under but not going to capsize. Jack's aunt brought us popcorn and Fanta Zero (she too was a health nut) and left us to determine when to go to bed.

Night fell, and I glanced one last time at the cream white dress, which we had added to the wall. I could hear the tapping or raindrops on the window. It seemed less of a calm sound this time, almost panicked. But despite it, I almost managed to fall asleep.

That's when I heard the roar.

I rushed to the window to find out what the sound was. To my horror, it wasn't raining. The tapping on the window was none other than Speckled Jim, who had left multiple dents on the glass. I opened the window the left him in, which startled Jack.

"What just happened?" he demanded. "Nellie, why have you opened the window? Is the Speckled Jim?"

"Jack! Did you not hear that roar?" I urged.

"No, you must have been dreaming?" he shrugged. But there it was again.

"See? It's just a puppy barking. You know we get those around here."

"Okay, WHAT?" I shrieked.

Speckled Jim seemed to know exactly what I was talking about. He fluttered nervously around the window trying to urge me over. Whilst normally I would have been afraid to approach such a sound, something kicked in my brain and the urge to wander over was too much. I gave and rushed to the window.

That's when I truly got afraid.

The creature beneath the window had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, a blood-caked mane, and a ten-foot-long diamondback snake-headed tail which grew out of its shaggy behind. I recognised the rhinestone dog collar it wore. Somehow, this was the chihuahua that had frightened Speckled Jim earlier that day.

The monster leapt through the window with a crash, which even Jack couldn't deny was a little strange. We both had the same thought this time, run through the door.

So, we did. Our small stature gave us a natural advantage indoors. But the monster was relentless. Even the tightest of space for it was smashed aside like cardboard. Not only that, but it was also breathing fire ahead of itself, setting off the smoke alarms in the house such before it pulverized them in frustration. This creature was slowly turning Jack's house into a bombsite.

"We need to call for help!" yelled Jack, picking up the phone and dialling 911.

"Police, yes! Animal control! I don't know exactly what it is! It has a lion's head, a massive tail of snakes and… Yes, I know it sounds crazy! Please believe me!"

Although Emergency Services aren't allowed to hang up on you (company policy), I could tell the person on the line wasn't really listening. So, I did what at the time seemed stupid but in hindsight saved both of our lives. I pressed the hang up button and called my dad.

"Nelly? What is it? You haven't been fighting with Jack again! You're getting too old for me to come pick you up so late."

"Dad! I know this is going to sound crazy, but this lion-head goat-bodied snake-tailed monster is attacking us!" I shouted. I don't know what I was expecting him to reply, but the response I got was only one word.

"Chimera."

"What?"

"Nelly, whatever you do, don't try and fight that monster. Normal weapons can't hurt it. I'm on my way. Try to hide and cover your scent with something."

And with that, he hung up.

"He's on his way," I relayed to Jack. Apparently, we have to cover our scent.

"What are you two yelling about?!"

Jack's dad had just woken up and was looking at us furiously. I saw Chimera readying another fire blast. He was in middle of the doorway. I could get to him in time.

But Speckled Jim could! In one fell swoop, he jabbed his beak straight into the monstered left eye, sending it into an uncontrollable frenzy. Well, less controlled then before. It ended up stampeding through another wall almost knocking itself out. Almost.

Jack, Jack's dad – who incidentally was called Rick – and I gawked in awe at the massive hole leading outside.

Speckled Jim had doubled on the attack, fluttering at swooping like crazy. I knew for certain that he would not relent until the beast was subdued. Something which, according to my calculations, would take a bajillion years and then some.

Before I did anything else reckless, a car showed up driven by my dad.

"Greg!" exclaimed Rick. "Thank goodness! Please, take these two and wait here! I need to get the rest of the family to safety!"

Dad nodded and almost shoved us into the car. I was shocked to see a boy I recognised from school in the front passenger seat. His name was Ian Eagledrip. He was a few years older than me, in fact he looked like a high schooler, but always stopped by to say hi to me whenever he got the chance. He'd helped me out with some bullies in the past even if he himself got picked on for his weird limp.

I must admit something… I kind of had a bit of a crush on him. I mean, can you blame me? An older guy with a kind smile and cute laugh like his, how could I not? His presence in the car took me aback almost as much as Chimera's did.

"Guys, are you okay?" he asked. "You don't look wounded. Did the monster do anything?"

"Monster?" demanded Jack. This remark didn't seem to amuse Ian at all.

"Is he not –?"

"No. My dad interrupted him. No one else is. We need to go."

"But my family is still in there!" cried Jack. "You can't just – "

My dad didn't listen. He pressed down on the accelerator and sped away.