Miriam was just a regular girl. Well, she liked country music, brussel sprouts /w ketchup, and dragons, but other than that, she was somewhat normal. So it wasn't surprising that one day when she was going to a country singer's show, that she saw a dragon pendent hanging on a simple black cord. The dragon was about an inch high with two claws and two unfurled wings and was made out of a gray pewter. So she bought it and named him Mirth 'cause she learned by reading Anne McCaffery's books that all dragon names ended with -th. And that's how Miriam and Mirth got together and they were usually known as M&M.
There were two somethings that M&M kept secret from everyone except each other. They were that Mirth could come alive and fly off Miriam's neclace, and that they could mind-speak to each other.
Miriam and Mirth loved to watch tv in the afternoons. Mirth liked fiction shows since he was a mythical creature, while Miriam kinda liked shows with cute guys on them. She especially liked cute guys who were reformed thieves and pratical jokers. So when they were flipping through the afternoon shows and found a show called "Young Hercules", they decided to watch it. The show was set in ancient Greece and was chalk-full of mythology, so Mirth liked it. It also so happened that Hercules' best friend, Iolaus, was an ex-thief and was a total class clown, so Miriam was happy. Miriam sat on the floor with Mirth around her neck and they watched the whole half-hour show without moving, and were there to watch ever episode after that.
Both M&M were sad when the show was cancelled after the first season. They tried watching "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys", but Mirth didn't like it because there weren't as many new plotlines, and Miriam didn't like it 'cause Iolaus was now too old for her and because he kept getting killed and ressurected by Dahok and she couldn't follow everything else that happened to him. So instead they ended up not watching television much at all and instead read books about mythology and time travel. Mirth liked it (obviously), and Mirium liked the idea of the gods and goddesses interacting with mortals.
So they read all they could and sometimes they wrote their own stories. Miriam's family read her writings and that's how Miriam found out about the Writing Evaluation class. All you had to do was send in a manuscript and they would evaluate your writings. In the begining Miriam wasn't too intrested in getting their work criticed, but Mirth wanted to know what might be said about them (because Mirth helped with the storys too). So Mirth got Miriam to agree to send one story in to be evaluated on one condition: it would have to be a brand new story. So M&M put their heads together and got ready to write.
----***----
The deadline was fast approaching for M&M to get their new story in, and Miriam had developed a writer's block that she just couldn't get rid of, so M&M packed up their bags and decided to go camping and hope for an idea. Miriam's bags consisted of her guitar, her CD player with portable little speakers, the collapsible tent, and her big blue backpack stuffed with who knows what (including a change of clothes and dried sweetened cranberries). The only thing Mirth needed was his black cord and he made sure it was around Miriam's neck.
After Miriam had started a little fire, she got out their dinner and started fixing it while Mirth scouted for a perfect marshmallow-toasting twig. Just before Miriam opened the marshmallow bag, M&M heard a twig snap behind them and to the left. Mirth became a pewter pendent as Miriam turned to see a stranger approach them.
An old, hunchback woman leaning on a knobbly cane came out of the dark forest. "It's so cold tonight." she said in a cackly but pleasent voice. "May I share your fire?"
Another ability that Mirth had but M&M didn't tell anyone about was that he could see into stranger's souls and know if they ment harm or not. So Miriam did a quick check with Mirth before inviting the woman to sit and have a marshmallow.
After they ate and enjoyed the warmth from the fire, the woman said, "I thank you child, for your hospitality and I wish to repay it. What is the one thing you want most in the world right now?"
Miriam thought for a sec. Mirth was half-asleep, but awakened when Miriam asked him about her wish. He gave a little dragon shrug in her mind, so she said, "The thing I want most right now is to think of an idea for this story I'm trying to write." And she told the old woman about the writing evaluation class.
The woman nodded and replied, "Hmn. A good wish. I give you this riddle: Once you prove yourself in the three S's against the queen of eyes, you will have your story."
Miriam looked into the fire for a sec before turning back to the old woman, "But what does that mean..." she stopped. The old woman had disappeared!
Miriam was mildly surprised, but not shocked. Many of the old myths involve strangers giving advice or granting wishes after the mortal had proven themselves worthy. She pulled her battery-powered laptop computer out of it's case and onto her lap, flipped it on. Before she forgot, she typed in the riddle the old woman had told her. Miriam closed her eyes and thought to herself (Mirth had fallen asleep as a metal pendent on her necklace). She felt the solid weight of the laptob sitting on her lap, the licks of heat teasing her face and arms and legs as the fire jumped over and around the burning logs, the thrumming pulse from Mirth hanging around her neck, the slight chill of the night breeze flowing around the trees, and she wondered what the riddle ment.
Suddenly, Miriam felt change. The friendly heat from the fire was gone, but she didn't feel cold. The air around her seemed to be slightly dusty and warm, like it was a summer day instead of the middle of Febuary. Mirth felt it too and woke, alert, but did not fly off the necklace.
Miriam opened her eyes.
Now, she was shocked. She was sitting in a small clearing, and it was the middle of the day. Miriam wondered momentarily if she had falled asleep sitting infront of the fire and it was the next day, until she realized there was no fire. There wasn't even the remains of where a fire had been. It was just green, growing grass.
Miriam turned off her laptop and put it and the marshmallows back into her backpack before hefting it onto her back. She took the other small bag that contained the tent, and hid it under a few falled branches. Mirth asked her what she was doing, and Miriam replied that she wanted to find out just what had happened and where they were. So M&M found a path and headed out of the forest.
And were shocked anew. There, laid out infront of them, was the city of Corinth just like in 'Young Hercules'. "This is so unreal." Miriam murmmered and Mirth agreed. "What do you want to do?" Miriam asked him. Miriam kinda wanted to see Iolaus and that involved going to Cheiron's Acadamy. Mirth agreed, hoping that being around Hercules and Iolaus, they would see lots of mythical creatures. But M&M didn't know which direction the acadamy was. Then Mirth thought of something. "Ask..." he mind-spoke to Miriam. "...Jason." she finished the thought with a smile. M&M headed towards the castle.
There were two somethings that M&M kept secret from everyone except each other. They were that Mirth could come alive and fly off Miriam's neclace, and that they could mind-speak to each other.
Miriam and Mirth loved to watch tv in the afternoons. Mirth liked fiction shows since he was a mythical creature, while Miriam kinda liked shows with cute guys on them. She especially liked cute guys who were reformed thieves and pratical jokers. So when they were flipping through the afternoon shows and found a show called "Young Hercules", they decided to watch it. The show was set in ancient Greece and was chalk-full of mythology, so Mirth liked it. It also so happened that Hercules' best friend, Iolaus, was an ex-thief and was a total class clown, so Miriam was happy. Miriam sat on the floor with Mirth around her neck and they watched the whole half-hour show without moving, and were there to watch ever episode after that.
Both M&M were sad when the show was cancelled after the first season. They tried watching "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys", but Mirth didn't like it because there weren't as many new plotlines, and Miriam didn't like it 'cause Iolaus was now too old for her and because he kept getting killed and ressurected by Dahok and she couldn't follow everything else that happened to him. So instead they ended up not watching television much at all and instead read books about mythology and time travel. Mirth liked it (obviously), and Mirium liked the idea of the gods and goddesses interacting with mortals.
So they read all they could and sometimes they wrote their own stories. Miriam's family read her writings and that's how Miriam found out about the Writing Evaluation class. All you had to do was send in a manuscript and they would evaluate your writings. In the begining Miriam wasn't too intrested in getting their work criticed, but Mirth wanted to know what might be said about them (because Mirth helped with the storys too). So Mirth got Miriam to agree to send one story in to be evaluated on one condition: it would have to be a brand new story. So M&M put their heads together and got ready to write.
----***----
The deadline was fast approaching for M&M to get their new story in, and Miriam had developed a writer's block that she just couldn't get rid of, so M&M packed up their bags and decided to go camping and hope for an idea. Miriam's bags consisted of her guitar, her CD player with portable little speakers, the collapsible tent, and her big blue backpack stuffed with who knows what (including a change of clothes and dried sweetened cranberries). The only thing Mirth needed was his black cord and he made sure it was around Miriam's neck.
After Miriam had started a little fire, she got out their dinner and started fixing it while Mirth scouted for a perfect marshmallow-toasting twig. Just before Miriam opened the marshmallow bag, M&M heard a twig snap behind them and to the left. Mirth became a pewter pendent as Miriam turned to see a stranger approach them.
An old, hunchback woman leaning on a knobbly cane came out of the dark forest. "It's so cold tonight." she said in a cackly but pleasent voice. "May I share your fire?"
Another ability that Mirth had but M&M didn't tell anyone about was that he could see into stranger's souls and know if they ment harm or not. So Miriam did a quick check with Mirth before inviting the woman to sit and have a marshmallow.
After they ate and enjoyed the warmth from the fire, the woman said, "I thank you child, for your hospitality and I wish to repay it. What is the one thing you want most in the world right now?"
Miriam thought for a sec. Mirth was half-asleep, but awakened when Miriam asked him about her wish. He gave a little dragon shrug in her mind, so she said, "The thing I want most right now is to think of an idea for this story I'm trying to write." And she told the old woman about the writing evaluation class.
The woman nodded and replied, "Hmn. A good wish. I give you this riddle: Once you prove yourself in the three S's against the queen of eyes, you will have your story."
Miriam looked into the fire for a sec before turning back to the old woman, "But what does that mean..." she stopped. The old woman had disappeared!
Miriam was mildly surprised, but not shocked. Many of the old myths involve strangers giving advice or granting wishes after the mortal had proven themselves worthy. She pulled her battery-powered laptop computer out of it's case and onto her lap, flipped it on. Before she forgot, she typed in the riddle the old woman had told her. Miriam closed her eyes and thought to herself (Mirth had fallen asleep as a metal pendent on her necklace). She felt the solid weight of the laptob sitting on her lap, the licks of heat teasing her face and arms and legs as the fire jumped over and around the burning logs, the thrumming pulse from Mirth hanging around her neck, the slight chill of the night breeze flowing around the trees, and she wondered what the riddle ment.
Suddenly, Miriam felt change. The friendly heat from the fire was gone, but she didn't feel cold. The air around her seemed to be slightly dusty and warm, like it was a summer day instead of the middle of Febuary. Mirth felt it too and woke, alert, but did not fly off the necklace.
Miriam opened her eyes.
Now, she was shocked. She was sitting in a small clearing, and it was the middle of the day. Miriam wondered momentarily if she had falled asleep sitting infront of the fire and it was the next day, until she realized there was no fire. There wasn't even the remains of where a fire had been. It was just green, growing grass.
Miriam turned off her laptop and put it and the marshmallows back into her backpack before hefting it onto her back. She took the other small bag that contained the tent, and hid it under a few falled branches. Mirth asked her what she was doing, and Miriam replied that she wanted to find out just what had happened and where they were. So M&M found a path and headed out of the forest.
And were shocked anew. There, laid out infront of them, was the city of Corinth just like in 'Young Hercules'. "This is so unreal." Miriam murmmered and Mirth agreed. "What do you want to do?" Miriam asked him. Miriam kinda wanted to see Iolaus and that involved going to Cheiron's Acadamy. Mirth agreed, hoping that being around Hercules and Iolaus, they would see lots of mythical creatures. But M&M didn't know which direction the acadamy was. Then Mirth thought of something. "Ask..." he mind-spoke to Miriam. "...Jason." she finished the thought with a smile. M&M headed towards the castle.