The Tales of Cookie the Magic Dragon

Part Two

By Marie Nomad

Bloom yawned as she opened her eyes. The sun hasn't risen yet. She looked over to see her new pet dragon lying on the floor. He was still sleeping. She couldn't help but wonder where he came from? Was he a gem? No. Gems can talk. Maybe he was a creation of gems. She was confused.

Cookie started to twitch and whimper. Bloom grabbed a blanket and her princess teddy bear and tucked Cookie in. The dragon sighed as the teddy bear hugged his neck. All she knew was that he was alone and scared.

"Bloom! Rise and shine!" Jackie bellowed.

Cookie promptly woke up and then stared at the teddy bear. He looked up at her. "You were having a nightmare. But quick, hide!" Bloom opened her closet door. Cookie grabbed the bear with his tail and ran into the closet. "I'll get you something to eat." She whispered. "Just wait here." She turned towards the door. "Coming!"

XXX

Bloom shoveled her food as quick as possible. She wanted to get whatever leftovers are available for Cookie. Cookie didn't seem to like meat and is probably a herbivore.

"Whoa. Easy does it." Mark said as he paused in eating his pancakes. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I… I have plans today."

"I get it, it's summer, and you want to play after the chores are done. But you have plenty of time." Jackie comforted.

"What are you doing today?" Bloom asked as she tried to think of what to do with Cookie.

"Well, southern block is ready for picking." Mark said as he took a sheet of paper and draw out the diagram. "Jackie and I will harvest. Bloom, you take care of the house. You can go out after you do your chores."

Bloom's eyes brightened. Mark and Jackie always stay out late harvesting during harvest season and the southern block is far away. She could start training Cookie and keep him a secret from her family. "Okay."

Jackie's green eyes darted to Bloom. "You always want to join us with the harvest. Why the change in heart?"

The eight-year-old winced. Jackie could sniff a lie a mile away. "I… wasn't in the mood today."

"Uh huh." Jackie shoveled some of the pancakes in her mouth. "Well, we also need to keep an eye out for that thief. You be careful."

"I'll be careful."

XXX

"Cookie! Cookie! Cookie the magic dragon. I found him in a bubble and now he lives with me." Bloom sang as she made her bed. Cookie was gathering all the dirty laundry in a basket. She saw what he was doing. "Wow, you're really smart. Training you should be easy."

The dragon just looked at her and tilted his head.

"Well, you seem to understand what I'm saying." Bloom stroked his face. "That's a lot better than my past pets." She picked up the laundry basket and carried it to the laundry room. "You really help me with the chores. If it was just me, I would be doing it all day."

Cookie followed her.

"I guess you need to know about my family. I need to really wow, Mark and Jackie. Mark's my older brother. We just celebrated his 21st birthday. He owns this farm after Mom and Dad died. He works really hard to make sure the apples get harvested and the bills get paid. Jackie's 19. She's super tough and is so awesome. She loves to do rodeos for cash prizes." Bloom paused. "I can't do much yet. I'm still a kid. I don't know what I'll do when I grow up. I just want to help out here." Bloom put the laundry basket down. Cookie just put his head on her shoulder and raised his front legs around her in a warm hug.

"Thanks but I'm okay." Cookie hugged back.

XXX

"You don't understand. I don't have a childhood. All my life, I lived under my mother's shadow. I can't even insult her without drawing the wrath of the court. They see me as her reborn. I… I can't stand it. I… I'm broken." The prince said on the TV as Bloom and Cookie watched the film.

"This is so sad." Bloom sniffed.

Cookie put his front paw on the TV as tears ran down his face. "Rrrr..." He moaned.

"Are you okay? It's not real." Bloom turned off the TV. The dragon kept on crying and wiped his eyes.

"Here." Bloom grabbed a towel and wiped his face. "Want to go outside?"

He nodded.

XXX

Bloom took some of the wild weeds and started to form a crown of lovely daisies. Cookie was lying next to her just watching. He seemed better. "I wish you can talk. You must see some really cool things."

He shivered as he lowered his head.

"But, I bet you don't want to talk about it even if you could." She put a crown of flowers on his head. "I just go to school, take field trips, and help out here. It's really boring."

Cookie shook his head.

"You don't think so? Yeah, I guess you never been to school. I can't wait for Billie and Susan to come back from their trips. I want you to meet them. They would never believe me."

The dragon nodded.

"But, I kinda like this. No one else in the whole wide world knows about us. It's like I have a secret identity." She finished her own crown of flowers and put it on. "We could be superheroes. I will be Princess Bloom and her noble dragon steed, Cookie."

The dragon snorted and then let out a series of noises that sounded like laughter.

"I'm serious!" Bloom pouted.

Unseen by the two of them, a small camera drone caught the two of them.

XXX

Jackie and Mark stared dumbfounded at the sight of their little sister lying on the ground with a mini version of the monster that attacked Little Homeworld.

"What the hay!" Jackie screamed. She thought maybe they could use a drone to look for any signs of the thief and she did not expect to see Bloom hanging around with a gem monster.

"I know." Mark's teeth gritted.

"That's the baby version of the monster that attacked Little Homeworld! What's Bloom doing?"

"I don't know!"

"We have to call the police. Or animal control. Or… whoever's in charge of taking care of alien monsters." Jackie put the drone in standby as she got out her lasso and cattle prod.

"I'm looking it up right now. We can't go barging in and spook the monster. Keep an eye on Bloom." Mark got out his smart phone. He looked up the phone number for any specialists.

XXX

It had been tense at the beach house. No one had seen Steven despite everyone searching. Pearl sat anxiously as she helped organize the rebuild of Little Homeworld. The phone rang. Pearl didn't recognize the phone number. "Hello? This is Pearl."

To be Continued...