Chapter 2: Dragon Festival
Isabella looks out the window as the Dragon Festival goes on. A breeze gusts to her face, blowing her hair around. She enjoys the gentle wind, taking in the aroma. Isabella hears the door and turns to see General Carl. "Good evening princess."
"Good evening. Is there something wrong?"
"No, Princess. Your father would like to talk to you."
"About what?"
"I have no idea."
"Okay. You may leave." Carl bows, then exits. Princess Isabella looks at the festival one last time. She walks out and heads to the doors, and sees Regent Monogram in common clothing. She looks at him confused and asks, "Uh father, what is going on?"
"Well, daughter, I've been looking around and I noticed that you seem a little depressed here in these four walls."
"And?" she asks, smiling a little.
"And I thought that with the festival here, I thought I would take you to it."
"Really?" Isabella jumps up in excitement.
"Yes. Now hurry up. You should find some clothing in the dressing room."
The princess runs to one of the quarters and sees the seamstress holding some plain clothes. "Ah, there you are princess." She motions Isabella to come closer, and the seamstress starts fitting the clothing on her. When she's done, the seamstress examines her and says, "Wow. I can barely recognize you."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Where you're going, yes."
"Then thanks."
The seamstress says, "Now get going. Your dad is waiting."
Isabella runs out and meets her father at the gates. When she meets up, Regent Monogram says, "Now if anyone asks, your uncle took you to the festival, okay?"
"Okay, father-I mean uncle."
"Great. Now let's get going." The two head out to the fair, Isabella looking at the new surroundings. She passes a stream and stops to take a look at a duck, which seems to be having some trouble getting in the water. She picks it up and sets the duck down in the water softly. The princess pets it and watches the duck swim to its family. Isabella runs back to her father and continues walking. Soon, they enter the festival, which is full of exciting activity. Isabella runs to one game stand to another, unsure of what to do first. Regent Monogram laughs at the sight and says, "Go on. I'll see you later."
Isabella smiles wider and runs to the first ride she sees. After riding it and playing a few games, she buys some candy and walks around, watching everyone else. A gust of wind swept around her, and for a minute, she thought the wind was circling around her, but it soon vanishes and she thinks it was her imagination.
Phineas walks around the Dragon Festival, playing games and winning a lot of prizes. All the while, a small part of his mind is thinking about Isabella, who he hasn't seen in a month. When he buys some dinner, waiting for the festival finale, he sees a familiar girl watching a battle between ninjas. He recognizes the black graceful hair wavering in the evening wind. Suddenly, his hand feels like its burning, and he raises it to see a reddish glow, but it soon vanishes. What's with my hand?
He shakes it, but doesn't see the reddish glow again. Phineas looks around and sees a florist shop. He checks his money and walks to the shop. The boy buys a lotus and walks behind the girl. He hides the flower behind his back, and taps the girl on the shoulder. "Isabella?"
She turns and sees the boy. "Hi Phineas."
"Enjoying the festival?"
"I am. This is actually really fun for my first time."
Raising an eyebrow, he asks, "This is your first time?"
"Uh, yeah."
One ninja kicks and punches the other, knocking him down. The referee comes and counts, "Ee, ar, san! Iencia!" He points to the standing ninja, who takes a bow. Everyone cheers, as well as booing, and Phineas and Isabella clap. "That was great." Isabella said.
"Yeah, and it looks like my brother owes me some money."
The girl giggles, and they walk away. Phineas leads Isabella toward a hill. The girl asks, "Where are you taking me?"
"Someplace beautiful in the evening." He passes some trees and stop at the top of the hill. Isabella looks around and says, "I don't get it. What's so special about this hill?"
"Turn around and you'll see."
She does, and gasps at the sight. In front of her, the festival glows, but what catches he eyes was the landscape and the sunset. Rays of red and orange shoot out from the mountains that blend into the purple sky filled with white dots of heaven. Isabella gapes at the beautiful sunset, unable to speak. Phineas taps her shoulder, and she turns to see him holding the sea-blue lotus. Isabella places her hands on her chest and says, "Oh my. It's beautiful."
"Just like you." Phineas said. He hands her the flower, and she takes a whiff. "Mmm. What a wonderful aroma."
They sit down on the grass, watching the sunset vanish. When it gets dark, with nothing but the fair for light, Phineas hears the drums. "C'mon. The finale is starting." He gets up and helps Isabella up, and taking her down.
"Finale?"
"Yeah, the best part of the festival. You'll love it." He runs back to the festival, pulling the girl with him, and jumps up some boxes and barrels. He helps Isabella up, and then they climb on the roof. She asks, "Uh, are you sure this is safe?"
"Trust me. These are the best seats here." Phineas said, and Isabella smiles. "Okay."
The drums begin again, and Phineas and Isabella sit down. Soon, the boy points to the left, and the girl sees the parade. They watch it pass by, mesmerized by the grace. As she watches, Isabella says, "You were right. These are the best seats. Look, there's the dragon."
The dragon flows and turns around the parade, acrobats around it. The bright colors mix into one, making a beautiful dragon. As more acrobats show their skill, Isabella leans closer to the boy, and Phineas can smell her shampoo. Funny. Very fancy smell for someone in a village. A couple of acrobats twist and spins, and Isabella says, "Those acrobats look weird."
Phineas sees them too, and suddenly gets a strange feeling in his stomach. "For some reason, I don't feel right."
Suddenly, the acrobats rip their clothes off to reveal their ripped clothes and cloaks and their swords. Everyone screams as the warriors run around. Phineas quickly gets up and says, "C'mon Isabella."
She gets on her feet and they run over the roof. Phineas jumps down to the ground, and turns back to the girl. "Hurry jump!"
Isabella turns and sees some warriors climbing on the roof. They spot her and start running toward her. Her eyes widen and she quickly jumps off, one of their blades inches from her. Phineas grabs her and sets her down gently on the dirt. The two run away, and the soldiers run after them. The kids run through the alleys, and Phineas says, "Keep running. I have an idea."
Isabella does, and the boy disappears in another alley. The princess dashes through the alleyway, takes a turn, and runs into a dead end. "Oh no." She turns and sees one warrior walking toward her. He smiles, saying, "Well, what do we have here? A girl without her mommy?" He takes a closer look and says, "The princess. What is the princess doing a long way from the palace?"
"How do you know me?" Isabella asked.
"Doofus Khan told us the description of you, and you fit that description, princess."
The girl looks up and sees Phineas behind a stack of barrels. He motions her to keep him busy, and she says, "Do you know what his plans are, by chance?"
The warrior laughs, and Isabella guesses, "You're not gonna tell me?"
"No. He didn't tell us. He wants it to be a big secret, princess."
The barrels start to tip and Isabella smiles. The warrior asks, "Why are you smiling?"
"I'm smiling because of the reaction you'll make."
He scratches his head, and turns to see the barrels on top of him. The soldier screams as he is buried in a bunch of fish. Phineas jumps off the roof and Isabella says, "Thanks for saving me."
"No problem. But why did he call you princess?"
The girl rubs her arm, hesitant to answer. "Well…he called me a princess because…I am the princess."
Phineas's jaw drops, and says, "You're the princess?"
"Sorry I kept it a secret, but I thought if someone knew, Doofus Khan could come get me."
"I get it. So where's your father?"
"I don't know. I hope he's okay." They walk out of the alley, Phineas checking if the coast is clear, and run back to the road. They look around for Isabella's father, but don't find him. Phineas asks, "I wonder where he is, or anyone for that matter."
Suddenly, five soldiers jump in front of them, baring their blades. Phineas stands in front of the princess, and the warriors start to walk toward them. The kids back up, and one of the soldiers walk to them. A pole flies in the air, knocking him back. Candace lands in front of the two and says, "You stay away from my brother."
Baljeet roll next to her and aims his crossbow at them. Buford punches another and walks next to the brains. "You mess with my friends, you mess with me." Ferb jumps over the soldiers and twirls around his Kusari-fundo around.
The warriors look at each other. "What do we do?"
"I don't know. We weren't ordered to capture kids."
One warrior runs out, carrying a box, and yells, "Guys, we have everything! Let's get out of here!"
Everyone sheathes their swords and run south, out of the town. The kids watch them go, and Candace places her pole on the ground. "That was easier than I thought."
"Man, I was hoping to squash some bad guys." Buford said.
The teen turns and asks, "Phineas, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay, good." She sighs and sees Isabella. "Why hello there. Who might you be?"
"I'm Isabella."
"Nice to meet you. So where's your father?"
"My uncle is somewhere around here, but I don't know where."
They walk around the village, where everyone is hiding in their houses. Isabella looks around a house and sees the familiar white hair and beard. "Uncle!"
Regent Monogram turns and sees his daughter. "Isabella!"
She runs to him and hugs her father. The others walk to them and Monogram says, "thank you for keeping my niece safe."
"No problem."
"Now come on before they come back." Regent Monogram and Isabella walks away, and everyone walks back to their homes. Phineas watches her leave, then walks with her brother. A princess. I can't believe it.
One week later…
Doofus Khan paces back and forth as his soldiers work on the secret weapon, every once in a while, he would check on their progress. One warrior walks up to him and says, "Sir, one of our scouts has information."
"Let him here."
The soldier walks back and lets the warrior with a cane in. Doofus Khan looks at him and says, "General Ainsof…why do you have a cane?"
"One of those ridiculous children drop a tower of barrels on me, and one sprained my ankle." Ainsof said.
"Okay. So what is it you want to talk about?"
"Well, when I was trying to find supplies, I saw some children and one of them looked familiar."
"Did I order you to chase kids?" the leader said dangerously.
"I know, but when I trapped a girl in an alley, I found that she is Princess Isabella."
Doofus Khan's eyes widen as he hears the news. "What?" he whispered. His hand burst into flames, scaring the warrior, but doesn't seem to be burning the leader. He extinguishes it before it could do any damage, and lets Ainsof continue.
"Yes. I tried to capture her, but, again, her friend dropped barrels on me."
Doofus Khan thinks about this information as he continues pacing. "Well, this is…surprising news. Order your men to capture her and bring her here."
"Yes sir." Ainsof limps his way back and Doofus Khan walks to a window. He looks out to the land, and says to himself, "So, Isabella, I have found you after so long."
Phineas adds the last piece to his invention and says, "There. That should do it."
Baljeet and Buford look at the machine, and Baljeet asks, "What is it?"
"It's something that I call, a propeller. When I turn it on, we will float in the air like birds."
"Cool. Turn it on already." said Buford.
Ferb turns it on, and the propellers start spinning. After a while, Phineas jumps and starts to float in the air. "C'mon, this is fun."
The other boys jump and start to float too. The swim in the air and perform tricks while Candace tries to get their mom to see their machine. What they don't know, is that a girl watches in the shadows. She smiles as she watches the red-haired boy floats. Suddenly, she feels the wind around her, and looks around to find the source, but it soon vanishes. What was that?
Isabella turns back and sees the machine gone, the friends on the ground. Candace runs out, dragging her mom out, and shows her the yard. Linda walks back in, leaving Candace muttering. Phineas sees something move, and Isabella quickly hides behind the wall. Finding nothing, Phineas walks back in his house with Ferb, and Baljeet and Buford go back to their house. When they're gone, the princess strolls away from the house and heads for the hill, and sits on the grassy ground. She watches the sky move across the sky, forming into shapes. Isabella closes her eyes as she feels the air swirl around her, enjoying the feeling. "I wish I could stay here forever."
Soon, the princess gets up and walks back to her palace, but stops when she hears a rustle behind her. She turns to find the source, but sees nothing. She continues walking back to the palace, and Phineas looks around the tree and watches her. After a while, he shakes his head and says, "What am I thinking? She's a princess. I'm a commoner. Why would she like a simple commoner like me?"
He walks back and stops to look at a palace. He feels a warm sensation on his hand again, and sees it glowing orange. It vanishes, and he continues walking, but stops and puts his hand in the stream. Seeing nothing, Phineas takes his hand out and runs back to the village.
