Mistress of Plant and Metal
"My sister is not going to be happy with you, Grim." Andy said as he fed his Solstice dragon some dragon fruit.
"I tried, okay, I can't help the fact that my memory isn't great. Joy will just have to deal with it." Grim responded, seemingly unconcerned about whatever Andy was saying.
"What are you talking about?" Andy looked over at Grim who was now trying to calm his Solar Eclipse dragon down. He handed him the remaining dragon fruit.
"What are you talking about?" Grim replied as he took the fruit.
"You inviting someone over for lunch without letting Joy know in advance..."
"Oh, that." Grim shrugged his shoulders.
"'Oh, that', what?" Joy asked when she walked in. She looked at Andy and then at Grim. Neither answered. "Well?"
"Grim invited someone over for lunch." Andy blurted. Grim gave Joy an innocent smile. She sighed.
"Well, Grim, that means you're fixing lunch while Andy and I clean up a bit." Joy gave her brother a stern look before he could protest.
"Fine. I'll get started on lunch." Grim stood up and walked over to the kitchen area.
"Who did you invite over?" Joy asked as she and Andy got started on the cleaning. "Please tell me it's not some stranger again." Grim and Andy, both, had habits of inviting travelers over for a meal every now and then.
"Er… well…" Grim started when there was a knock at the door. "That shouldn't be him, he said he had some business that needed to be attended to before he came… said it would take him a couple of hours."
Joy opened the door and her eyes went wide. "What are you doing here?" She practically hissed when she recognized the man standing at the door. Andy came to stand behind her, his hands clenched into tight fists.
"It's good to see you, too, Joy." Justin smiled a little. This had been one reason he wanted to come to the Island of Plant and Metal: to see Joy again and try to convince her to join him. "Can I come in?"
"You are not welcomed here!" Andy practically shouted. The metal pots began to rattle… it was as if they were obeying Andy's anger. Joy laid a hand on his shoulder to calm him.
"I was not talking to you… never address me unless I speak to you first." Justin spat. "Joy, marry me. We can rule the world together… figuratively speaking… I will always be supreme ruler."
"How many times do I have to tell you? No, I will never marry you. I can't stand your conceit; your arrogance and egotistical attitude is repulsing." Joy crossed her arms and stood firm in the doorway. Grim walked over and pulled her close to his side. His face was stern; he wasn't normally one to show emotions but he was very protective of Joy and Andy.
"I'll be back. I have things I need to take care of on this island. I won't take 'no' for an answer next time." Justin spun on his heel and walked out of sight.
"I'd like to see him come back…" Andy glared, hands still clenched into fists. He took a deep breath and then turned to his sister. "But, we have company coming soon and this place is still a mess."
"You're right. We'll deal with Justin later. One of these days he'll get the message." Joy said and then they got back to cleaning… Grim turned his attention back to the kitchen. The three Sun element dragons played with a rock out in the yard to keep from being in the way. "Helios, Ciardha, Summer, time for lunch!" Joy called once the cottage was clean. The three baby dragons came rushing in. They all rested as they waited for their guest to arrive. "So I take it he is another traveler passing through?" Joy rephrased an earlier question.
"You could say that." Came Grim's response, which caused Joy to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "He is an old friend from my travels. I've met him a few times before but it has been a few years since I've seen him. He seemed very interested in meeting you."
"He was quite intriqued by Summer and Ciardha. I mentioned that my sister has a Sun dragon he was really intriqued." Andy added. There came a knock at the door and Andy got up to answer it. "Welcome, please come in."
"Thank you, Andy. Sorry if I'm later than expected... I ran into someone in town that I would have cared not to see." Liber followed Andy to the table. He shook hands with Grim and nodded at Joy; both of whom were now standing.
"Not a problem, Liber. We haven't been waiting long." Grim motioned for Liber to sit. "This is Joy, Andy's sister, and that's her Sun dragon, Helios, over there with Ciardha." He pointed to the Sun and Solar Eclipse dragons snoozing on the bed. "Andy, where's Summer?" He asked when he noticed the Solstice dragon was missing from the usual trio.
"Um... she's under your chair." Andy laughed as Grim rolled his eyes. "At least she's not on your chair this time..." Grim couldn't help but laugh at that. The last time Summer had sat on his chair there had been a hole burned into it... something he hadn't noticed until he fell through.
"Grim started to tell me how you came to have three Sun element dragons but never finished." Liber tried to keep his mind off his run in with Justin. He hadn't expected Justin to leave his castle and do his own dirty work; he usually sent Shadow to do it for him.
"I'll try to finish it over lunch." Grim replied. He could tell Liber was unnerved by something but wasn't about to ask. They began to eat and Grim told the story about how he had come across the strange eggs. "As I was tending to the Plant dragons, Artemis, Hexas, and Shamrock came to me with three eggs. I wasn't about to ask where they came from and seeing how I had no other choice but to bring them to Joy... well, that's what I did. A few days passed and they eventually hatched while we were out tending to other dragons." He looked at Andy and Joy who were both trying hard not to laugh.
"We came home to a scorched disaster." Joy laughed. "Almost everything was burned... however, the three baby dragons were curled up on the floor fast asleep when we came home. There was no way I could be mad; they were so cute. Grim, however..." She laughed again. "Grim was angry until the little Solar Eclipse dragon yawned and flitted over to him. Ciardha and Grim have pretty much been inseparable ever since."
"At least he doesn't freighten the other dragons. Artemis and the others have taken the little guy under their wings while we're out there."
"Summer seems to like Phobos and Demos more than the other Metal dragons... I guess it's the two-headed thing. All of the Metal dragons enjoy having her out there; Penny as formed an almost motherly attachment to her." Andy spoke up and as he did Summer stirred. Grim stood up and moved his chair out of the dragon's way. "A little warm there, Grim?" They all laughed.
"Helios tends to stick close to me... Tinker and the others haven't really warmed up to the baby Sun dragon. But then... it's their nature to be cautious around strangers, even other dragons." Joy said which got Liber thinking.
"Joy, do you mind if I ask you something?" Liber was now curious. She shook her head and he proceeded. "Is Tinker by chance an Opposite dragon?"
"Yes, he's a Malachite dragon. He and the others live in a cave just inside the forrest. I have been the only one who has been able to approach them without threat. Even Andy and Grim cannot approach them unless I'm there. Tinker, especially, does not like strangers."
"If you care for the Opposite dragons, then I have completed my mission." Liber sighed in relief as he pulled out three cloth bags. He handed the white one to Joy, the green one to Grim, and the orange one to Andy. They looked questionally between the bag, each other, and Liber. "Joy, you are the third Mistress of the Elements. You are the Mistress of Plant and Metal. We have received warnings and demands... that if we do not meet "The One's" demands then we will be under attack. It will be a war we cannot win unless we find all four of the Mistresses of the Elements and their generals." He paused to allow that to sink in. "Now..."
"Wait. Did you say 'The One'?" Joy looked at Grim and Andy and then back at Liber. He nodded. "As in Justin 'The One'?" Her face grew pale as she thought about their earlier encounter with Justin. Liber nodded again. "He was here earlier. He said he'd be back and this time he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."
"'No' to what?" Liber questioned. It seemed that the Mistress of Plant and Metal has history with Justin. "How do you know him?"
"We dated-briefly. If after that ended, he's been asking me to marry him and I keep telling him 'no'. I could no longer over look his arrogance and egoticism. Mistress or not, I will not allow Justin to ruin my home." Joy said and then took the necklace out of the bag. As she hooked it around her neck, the ground shook and a loud roar errupted from outside. Grim and Andy hooked their necklaces around their necks before the four ventured outside to see what was happening.
"Justin." Andy hissed, as they noticed a Gold standing close by with Justin walking towards them. As Justin approached the group, he noticed Liber standing among them. Suddenly, an Apocalypse dragon landed not too far away from the house and stood facing the Gold dragon ready to defend her master if needed.
"Easy, Desdemona." Liber held his hand up to his dragon when he heard her low growl. "Justin, leave! Now! You are too late... again. The third Mistress as awakened. Your task here is incomplete."
"Come with me, Joy. Leave these weaklings behind. Join me and no harm with come to those you care about." Justin reached his hand out to Joy. She looked at him and then at her brother and Grim.
"My place is here with my generals. Harm any of my people and face the consequences." The dragon pendant began to glow slightly. Justin took a step back and then finally decided if he fled now, he could return another day. The group stood tense as they watched Justin climb back on his Gold dragon and head off into the distance. "He'll be back." Joy turned to face Liber and the others.
"He'll be back, but we'll be ready." Grim said. The others nodded. They gathered what they needed for the journey to the Main Island and then headed off to prepare for the war that was now becoming more and more inevitable.
"How did it go, my leige?" The Lord of Sun and Shadows asked as Justin entered the throne room.
"Liber is better than I thought!" Justin slammed his fist on the table causing the guards in the room to jump. "I will stop the next one. The forth Mistress will not awaken... and if she does, she will be mine."
Shadow held back a smirk. He had been blamed for failing before, it was a small victory knowing that Justin, himself, had failed. "To the Island of Fire and Cold, then, my leige?" Justin nodded as he glared into the darkness before him.