The next morning, everyone was ready for another round of stories. Roland and Miranda had even told them that they'd actually written some of the stories down themselves as they were being shared, and they gave the notes to the royal scribes.

"And you get all upset when I'm writing all night!" James smirked, knowing that he was always staying up late to do writing.

"Yes, but unlike you, the royal scribes know when to call it a day or night," Roland smirked.

"And we gave the notes to the scribes this morning, so they could have a good night's sleep and get a fresh start on it today," Miranda added.

"Well, okay, but who's going to start the stories now?" James asked.

"I think Vivian said she wanted to tell a story," Sofia replied as she watched Sandra start to follow the servants to the kitchens to bring in breakfast. "And Sandra, you're a guest here. You don't have to do this."

"Okay, but Vivian told me that she wanted to let Crackle try one of my cookies last night," Sandra agreed as she brought over the plate of cookies, then sat down again.

Vivian smiled as she looked up from giving Crackle one of the ginger cookies. "First, Sofia, I have to ask you if you remember Crispy, and where we found him."

"Oh, yes, I remember Crispy," Sofia rolled her eyes good naturedly, recalling the adventure she and Vivian had had with the supposedly innocent "baby" dragon, which turned out to be not only full grown, but also a wanted jewel thief.

"My parents and I actually found Crackle in the same place!" Vivian smiled, and as the servants brought in breakfast, she began her story.

Vivian's flashback

Vivian and her parents were walking in the woods near their old castle. She was still shy and tended to stay around the castle when she wasn't at Royal Prep, and it often took a lot of persuading on her parents' part to get her to come out and go for walks or spend time together.

One day, they were walking in the woods when they came across what looked like a large rock. Since Marcus was a geology buff, and had a huge collection of rocks and minerals in his study, he took it with him as they made their way back to the castle.

That night, the family heard strange noises coming from Marcus' study. They looked inside, and saw that his new rock was broken in two pieces, and a small blue dragon was sitting on the table between them.

"Well, what do you know?" Marcus smiled. "It wasn't a rock; it was an egg! I'll still keep the pieces and study those, but Vivian, dear, would you like this dragon as a pet?"

Vivian smiled, and Cecily nodded in agreement. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Marcus," she replied. "Having a pet might be good for Vivian. It will help her feel less lonely, and maybe bring her out of her shell."

"So what would you like to name your new friend, Vivian?" Marcus asked.

At that moment, the dragon hiccupped, and a crackly burst of fire flew from her mouth. Vivian smiled. "Crackle!"

End Vivian's flashback

"That was a nice story, Vivian," Sofia smiled. "We'll have to tell Clover about that!"

"I'm sure he'd love to hear it," Vivian agreed as they all went outside again.

"So, who's going to tell the next story?" Lucinda asked as they settled down on the blankets that had been spread on the ground as everyone had been eating.

"There's only one way to find out," Sofia smiled as she saw someone approach.

Author's Notes

This flashback takes place before the events of The Shy Princess, where Vivian is still shy.

This flashback also takes place before the events of All the Sprite Moves, where Vivian is still living in her original castle.

Vivian and Sofia's encounter with Crispy the dragon was from Bad Little Dragon.