Chapter 1
The sun shone onto my armour. It glistened with a touch of magic - magic that I had added to it.
My feet were placed firmly on the ground, and I held a sword. My eyes were fixed on my opponent.
The green dragon puffed, letting smoke escape from her nostrils. "Are you ready?" she hissed.
"I was born ready," I replied, smiling.
The dragon opened her wings and took to the air. "Fight!" she yelled, and flew at me while exhaling a long line of flame.
I danced out of the way and waved my sword at her. It hit one of her scales, making a clack! sound. But it didn't hurt the dragon. Instead, she smiled mischievously, ready to continue our battle.
She landed on the ground, her claws digging into the dirt. Opening her mouth again, she flamed. It hit my shoulder just as I jumped out of the way, making me gasp and glare at her.
The dragon laughed. "Is that all you got?"
I raised my sword and lunged at her while she was still laughing. Her eyes widened when the metal hit her chest, and she fell backwards so that her legs were scrabbling in the air. But in a second she was back on her feet, smoke almost coming out of her ears.
She flamed, and it hit my chest so that I was knocked back, but didn't fall over. When she flamed again, I blocked it with my sword.
I lunged at her again, and this time, I got her front leg. It chipped one of her scales and she yowled. "Argh! I'm getting you back!"
She lunged at me, but I moved out of the way quickly. She tried again, but this time, she rammed into another dragon.
He was a white dragon - a rare colour. "Don't worry, Millie," he told the green dragon. "I'll stop this foul knight!"
The white dragon opened his claws and grabbed me, holding me up so that I was level with his eyes. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked.
Instead of answering, I whacked him in the nose with my sword. It began to bleed and I made my escape, dropping to the ground.
"Francis!" Millie wailed. "You hurt Audun!"
"I'm fine," Audun told her, holding his nose. "But I think I need a handkerchief to clean the blood…."
The air shimmered around Audun and he turned from being a dragon to a young man with silvery-white hair. Millie changed, too, into a young girl with strawberry blond curls and deep green eyes.
I had those eyes, too. They were the eyes of Greater Greensward royalty, even though I was the first male in Greater Greensward history to be born.
Even though my mother, who used to be the Green Witch, wanted me to become a wizard, I wanted to be a knight. I practiced my sword-fighting on my half-dragon cousin, Millie, all of the time. She had gotten married recently to Audun, who was a dragon, but learned how to turn into a human so he could be with Millie.
I don't know why I wanted to be a knight. It was unusual for a Greater Greensward royal, who usually had magic and wanted to use it to help the kingdom. I had magic, but I only used it to help myself be a better knight. My parents didn't like this too much, but once I become a full knight with magic, I think they will be happy.
While Millie tended to Audun's nose, I looked up at the sky. It was getting dark. "I think I should get home now," I said.
"The fight was fun, Francis," said Millie. "But don't give Audun a nosebleed next time."
I laughed and shook my head. "I won't, don't worry."
My armour clicked and clanged as I walked back to my home. It was a cottage that stood on the side of a stream, and even though it was small compared to the castle, I still loved it.
When I stepped inside, my mother was sitting on one of our chairs, next to my father. She looked worried. "Hello, Francis," she said.
I started to take off my armour before turning to my parents and frowning. "Is something wrong?"
"Well…" my mother bit her lip.
"We have to go somewhere," my father explained. "It's my father's birthday, and, well, I know you haven't met much of my family before, but I think we should go because he's turning a hundred years old."
"A hundred?" I asked, my eyes widening. "He's that old?"
"Francis!" my mother snapped, then sighed. "Yes. But we have to go. And when we go, you have to be nice to your father's family. Great-aunt Gertrude will be there, and Great-uncle Maurice, too."
"What about Father's sisters and brothers?" I asked.
"They've moved on," my father said. "Anyway, we're heading there tomorrow, early in the morning."
"When will we be back?"
"There's no saying, but soon, hopefully."
"Where do they live?"
"At the edge of Greater Greensward," my mother told me. "But get some sleep now, Francis."
I said goodnight to my parents and went to my room, thinking about what my relatives would be like. I had never met them before; my father didn't get along with his family very well, mostly with my grandfather.
As I climbed into bed, I thought about how great a family I had. I'm glad I get along with them, I thought. With that, I drifted off.