Reality

FYI: This is the next day

Swann woke with a start, something was wrong, danger was near, so was pain and death. She shot up in bed and gasped as she grappled to remember why. Then it seemed to disappear…like a cloud or a dream it was just out of reach.

Slowly she lowered herself back onto the bed and sighed. It must have been a dream. She realized she wasn't in her nightgown but jeans and a shirt. Unwin guessed she must have been out late and just flopped down on her bed. But then how was she under the covers if she had flopped down on the bed?

Again she propped herself up and shook her head. Something wasn't making sense; she smoothed the wrinkles on the silk cream cover. Maybe she had a drink and that was why last night was so blurry? But that was a very unlikely thing for her to do.

She glanced at the clock, it was…11:30! She was late, beyond late, she threw off the cover and jumped to her feet, then chuckled. She was on vacation. No need to worry about going to work unless she was hoping on a plane and going to Montana. What about Montana? She didn't know about any project in Montana. Swann sighed, strolling over to the window.

The room had a cream theme to it. The walls were cream and the paintings on the wall, depicting beach scenes with beach goers and children having fun were the only bright spot in the room. The plush carpet was the top quality and light streamed though the large French doors leading out to the porch.

Doctor Unwin blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. The sea was pounding against the sand as people tanned and played in the water. Boats were already out on the water, plunging and rising in it. The smell of salt filled her senses, as screaming gulls flew above her porch, wanting food. A breeze played with her hair tangling it and streaming it out behind her.

She strolled across the tile floor and leaned against the rail peering over at the pool, filled with mostly rich parents, retired and successful people like herself. Their movements blurred together into some abstract painting.

She stood there trying to remember last night. Nothing came to mind; she guessed she would remember some time. What ever she had done it couldn't have been that bad. Swann wandered back in, and realized that there was breakfast covered on the regal mahogany table.

After taking a quick shower the brown haired woman sat down to a breakfast of eggs, bacon, fresh squeezed orange juice and French toast. Swann wandered over to her laptop set up on the desk. She opened it and connected to the hotel's internet browser.

Maybe there was news on the dragon project, she thought absent mindedly. She frowned. Dragon project? What about the dragon project? Dragons are myths and nothing else. Children loved them because they were cool, along with fairies, Pooh Bear and Tinkerbelle.

She chuckled, until she saw the front page at Yahoo. There was a story, it seemed big, and something she should know. Again something was trying to break though in the back for her head as she clicked the video clip.

It showed a woman, about twenty or so, blustered by the wind. She was standing in front of what looked like a burned down hut. The area around the it was in ashes as well. There was ash on the woman's face, Swann doubted that it got there on its own.

"Hello, this is Cinda Spalding reporting live from Asia." The woman started in a dramatic tone, "Early this morning, this whole village was burn down to the ground, putting one in critical care and several others with major burns. This catastrophe was intentional if you can believe it. This whole town, their entire life is smoldering in this clearing."

Swann vaguely wondered if Cinda Spalding knew half the words she was saying.

Undoubtedly Miss Cinda stylishly tossed her hair before continuing. "This was intentional-" Swann rolled her eyes, she had just said that-"and an unkind thing to do to any peace loving community that just lives off grains and the animals of their work. They said it was like nothing that they had ever seen, large and menacing, with a horrific gaze. From what they say it swooped in and destroyed the whole town with it's breath of fire and flame."

The doctor blinked 'fire and flame'? What does that mean? She totally forgot her comment on how Spalding had mispronounced the word 'horrific'. Something was tingling in the back of her brain.

They widened the shot until it was in full view of what looked like an ash pile with a few logs sticking out of it. By the looks of it nothing was left to savage.

"This is what is left to the people of the village. This morning I saw them walking along their once busy street poking the ashes with sticks, most of them were crying. All the livestock was eaten while they fled, probably by wolves." Another reporter dashed into the video and whispered something in her ear. Cinda's eyes grew big and then she said into the mike.

"We've just gotten word that one of the villagers took a video of the monster with his phone before he ran. We will run that clip now, this is Cinda Spalding reporting from Asia and this is your news now."

The screen went blank for a second or two, Swann wondered what was going on.

Then a blurry image started to play, screaming and the sounds of running could be heard. People were fleeing passed the camera, their eye open wide and hair streaming behind them. The village was still in one piece by the looks of it. Things were getting knocked over by the fleeing people.

Then a swooshing sound came though, it was as if someone had taken a bed sheet pulled it up and quickly pulled it down. Everyone froze, the screaming stopped and the man who was running the camera seemed to be praying under his breath.

It appeared in the sky, the wings were open, the dawn's light streaming though them putting the whole town in a sickening reddish glow. It glided over the man, a simple swoop over the town. Even with the poor quality of the video Swann could see the scales, red like the wings, they shown in the light like they were wet with blood. Swann knew she was hundreds of thousands of miles away but she couldn't help be shiver at the sight of it.

The pointed head was looking sharply right and left, looking for something. Horns were spiraling behind its head. The ball at the end of the tail sailed out of view, and the man dropped the camera and all you could hear were his footsteps.

The lens was propped upwards into the dawn colored sky. The screaming continued and then there was flash of flame, almost hitting the screen. The sound went out and the screen turned into a sea of pixels. Swann's eyes narrowed, something was trying to click in the back of her head.

Pixels moved and swam on the screen for a second longer and then cleared. Again she was looking at the dawn sky, in the corner there were flames. The camera shook, the Doctor guessed that what ever it was had landed.

The head suddenly rose into the sky. The flames were lighting up his face, his nostrils flared, red eyes alight with arrogance. Short stubby horns dotted his chin like stubble on a man. The dragon glared at the camera and then smiled and the tape ended.

Unwin gasped as suddenly memories flooded her head, the white dragon, the mountains, the teen, Artemis, the escape, and flashes of strange people with long ears. Pushing back her chair she stumbled back in shock of what had just come back into her mind.

"You…" she hissed her eyes hot with fire. "You won round one, but today is different. Today I will have you once again you cursed dragon. And this time I will be prepared for your little fairy friends."

A/N: I do not own Tinkerbelle, Pooh Bear or Yahoo! Though Swann is mine! HUAHAHA! With her newly found memory and everything!

Another chapter, Another twist. I told you that this is a rollercoaster. I hope you stay for the ride! ;)

Last answer: Nothing (seriously nothing is the answer)

This weeks:

The wave, over a wave, a weird thing I saw,

Through-wrought, and wonderful ornate,

A wonder on the waves, water becomes bone.

Reviews on reviews: www. Brightfrostblog. Blogspot. Com (please take out the spaces) SPOILERS TO THE LATEST CHAPTER!

PS. A question for you to ponder: What does the Red Dragon have to do with anything and everything?

'Till next Friday! (the next chapter is called 'Red Scales')