Chapter 1- I get police questioned by mythical creatures…

My adventure started when a dragon burst into my room on a Saturday night at about 2:30am. On its back were two people; a human/elf and an elf.

The human/elf was vaguely familiar. He had blond streaked brown hair and brown eyes; deep, caring brown. His skin was quite tanned; like the golden-brown colour of burnished bronze and he had pointed ears and slightly slanted eyebrows, which gave the impression that he was an elf. But when I looked closer he had more rounded eyes and was much less fluid than his female, definitely elven, companion. He was of average height with well-formed muscles on his arms, legs and torso. It was clear from the way he placed his hands on the dragon's side that he had a special bond with it and his aura was nearly as powerful as the magic surrounding the large 'mythical' beast. He was wearing a dark blue tunic, which was precisely the same shade as the scales on the dragon's head, over a pair of shining white leggings and some sturdy brown boots for his feet. He also had a dark brown belt holding a magnificent silvery deep blue sword. Only the pommel was sticking out but you could tell it was worth a lot by the huge sapphire nestled in two bits of tempered metal embedded in the cross-guard below the leather wrapped hilt. The blade was hidden beneath the sheath but it was obviously sharp and powerful and it had some kind of glowing magic about it. I stepped back nervously as he slid down from the dragon.

When he moved he moved with the speed and grace of a well-proportioned cat. He looked about 18 and was so obviously completely bewildered by what had just happened to him that he was looking quite disorientated. He had a few twigs in his hair and there were a lot of leaves stuck to the bottom of his boots. He also had quite a few tears in his tunic, leggings and stuck on his sword belt.

As I looked on in amazement he healed the small cuts. The first thing I thought was, magic, but rather than let this extraordinary event bother me I turned my attentions to the huge dragon that was now occupying rather a lot of my bedroom.

The dragon was HUGE! It was a deep sapphire blue with large inquisitive eyes that had different shades of blue flecked into the main jewel-like azure and they seemed to see right into your soul. Though it wasn't fully grown yet, however hard to believe that was, it seemed to have an air of maturity from perhaps all the recent hardships of its short but violent life outside its egg. Its nose was long and delicate but I knew it could do terrible damage if it wanted to due to the large sparkling white fangs peaking over its large also blue lips. Its scales glittered and shone like jewels in the moonlight. It had a powerful pulsing aura around it that flickered like moths to a flame. You would expect the smell of it to be like rotting meat but instead it was oddly of… water. Fresh flowing water. On its back was a complicated sort of harness or saddle, obviously made by those with much nimbler fingers than any human or dwarf could possess, on which the elf was perched precariously. And, prior to any previous thoughts I had had in my rather short life so far, I was sure that I had never seen such a magnificent beast as the one that was staring down at me now.

The elf was still on the dragon and was stunningly beautiful. She was tall and slender with slight muscles on her arms and legs. She had straight midnight black hair down to her waist and sparkling emerald eyes framed with thick dark lashes. These eyes however were just as the gem itself: beautiful, cold and, when sharpened, dangerous. Her skin was the colour of light honey in the sunlight. She was clearly a full elf by the pointed ears, slanted eyebrows and angular eyes like a cat's, which were all more pronounced than the mans. When she slid down from the sapphire creature she landed smoothly on the balls of her feet. It was a well-practised and balanced movement belying the near impossible strength lying in coiled muscles ready to be released in a seconds notice. It was an intimidating prospect.

Even from where I was standing I could smell the exotic tingling scent of crushed pine needles. She moved forward slowly to stand by the man. When she moved she did so with the athletic grace of an experienced huntress. This too didn't exactly warm me to her. It was impossible to tell how old she was because she looked like a 20 year old yet the wisdom in her eyes was that of a 100 year old; it was easy to tell that she had been places and saw things beyond the normal, for this world anyway. She was wearing a deep green tunic that accentuated her eyes over a pair of chocolate brown leggings and some soft brown boots to match. She also had a sword sheathed in a thin brown belt that swung from her waist as she swung from the dragon. This sword was thin and silver with a plain though pretty swirled hilt- it looked more ordinary than the one on the mans belt. She also had a bow and a sheath of arrows slung over her back. This girl knew how to fight.

Then the great dragon spoke. Her voice was unmistakably female and held immense power and wisdom. It was surprisingly deep and had a lingering tune to it. "Who are you and where are we?" she demanded.

I slowly found my voice again. "Well you're in Ingleby Barwick, in Stockton …"

They all looked at me in confusion. "Umm, England, Europe, Earth, the Universe?" As 3 sets of eyes looked at me quizzically still, I realised that they

still didn't seem to have a clue what I was talking about. "And my name's Lily," I added hastily. The man and woman looked at each other silently and I suddenly realised that they were having a mental conversation. And that's when it hit me. I did know these people!

Quickly I ran to my bookshelf and pulled out the right book. I looked at the dragon and then at the dragon's head on the cover of my favourite book. And I smiled.