Knox had no idea how long he had slept. As he sat up in his bed he looked over and saw Kendra fast asleep with Tess snuggled into her side. Oh, come on, he knew Tess was a snuggle bug but she really should keep it together. Knox rose to his feet and peeked through the curtains; the sun was piercing the sky, slightly above the horizon. Had he really slept all night? Knox heard muffled voices from downstairs and decided to go investigate. He crept down slowly, hoping to eavesdrop in case they were talking about him. As he crept past the living room, he saw Warren fast asleep draped over the couch, he snored lightly. Knox saw a mess of blankets strewn on the neighboring couch, leaving evidence that the person who had slept there was already awake. He slipped around the corner where he could hear the conversation. "How are we going to tell them about Seth?" Knox knew that voice was grama's, they must be talking about when Knox's aunt Marla and uncle Scott came back today. He leaned closer hoping to hear more.
"We tell them everything. That's the best we can do." Trask responded,
"What about Knox? His lack of expertise will get him killed if he goes. But if he doesn't come, I fear he will try to follow you guys. Most definitely getting himself killed." Grama mourned.
"Knox come out, I know you are listening." Mara's voice asserted; Knox had not known she was there but apparently; she knew about him. Knox stepped into the kitchen. All eyes were on him. "Nice catch," Trask muttered to Mara out of the corner of his mouth.
"How did you know I was here," Knox asked defensively trying not to sound too hostile.
"I could hear your breathing and your footsteps, they are quite loud," Mara replied, her voice deep and quiet. Knox did not think he had been very loud, but he had obviously not been quiet either.
"You want a pancake?" Tanu asked, he had been quiet until now. Knox saw that Tanu had been prepping pancakes over a portable grill.
"Sure," Knox responded, he knew Tanu was deliberately changing the subject.
################################
Kendra joined the others for a pancake breakfast prepared by Tanu, though he was heavily instructed by Mara. Kendra sank her teeth into a fresh pancake. It was warm, fluffy and sweet. Kendra had never tasted a pancake quite like this. "This is amazing Tanu!" Kendra exclaimed,
"Don't thank me, it's Mara's recipe and instructions," Tanu replied lightly,
"These are really good Mara, where did you get the recipe?" Kendra asked,
"My mom taught me to cook, we invented the recipe together," Mara replied, with a faint hint of a smile, basking in those old happy memories.
"Where is your mom now?" Knox asked curiously. Oh no, wrong question, Knox. Kendra thought
"She is dead," Mara replied, where happiness had been a second earlier was now replaced with grief and hardness. "How did she die?" Knox asked, could he just drop this? Kendra thought, how could Knox be so insensitive?
"A dragon killed her," Mara replied, her voice almost a whisper, Trask walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. She leaned into his touch, smushing her cheek on his hand, Kendra saw wetness in the corner of Mara's eyes.
"I am sorry," Knox said, looking truly regretful for asking. Kendra wanted to slap him and hug him at the same time. She knew that he couldn't possibly know about that, but he should know better than to ask such a personal question to someone he didn't know very well. Warren came in,
"Is everything ok?" He asked, taking in the scene.
"Yes, it's fine," Mara said quietly, lifting her head from her shoulder.
"What's the plan today?" Warren asked as he sat down, his plate heaping with pancakes and syrup.
"Well as you know, Kendra and Seth's parents come back from their trip, same with Knox and Tess's. We are going to have to explain the predicament with Seth to his parents. While Dale gives Pete and Zola a tour of Fablehaven. After that we need to make a supply run, considering only half of us have clothes that fit. There is a shopping mall not far from here. we'll gather supplies. Then we will come back for dinner and finalize plans for the mission." Trask announced, everyone acknowledged with either an affirmative answer or a nod. Dale burst into the room.
"They are early! They will reach the house in about 5 minutes." He announced.
"They shouldn't be here for another hour!" Grama Larson exclaimed.
"Trask you better put a hat on, Mara you have two options, either have Vanessa cover up your scar with concealer or just use your hair. We don't want questions raised by Pete and Zola about your injuries." Tanu said. Trask and Warren dashed off to find a hat that looked natural. While Vanessa helped Mara arrange her hair to cover the right half of her face. Trask returned 30 seconds later with a baseball hat that had an unfamiliar team logo on it. Vanessa finished Mara's hair, which now covered the right half of her face. Kendra had to admit it looked good on her.
"Ok guys act natural if any questions are raised about why you are here. Say you are good friends of the Sorenson's passing by on a work trip, which is the less elaborate truth." Trask said, there was a knock on the door, everyone froze except Warren who started to guzzle his pancakes down. Vanessa shot him a glare.
"What? he said act normal." Warren managed to say through bits of pancake. As Dale raced to the door Vanessa started dishing up her own pancakes. Kendra ran after Dale; she was so excited to see her parents again! Dale opened the door. There were parents, tanned and smiling. Kendra flung herself into their arms almost knocking them over. Knox and Tess came jumping into their parents' arms as well. Kendra wanted to stay in her mom's arms forever but, had to move when grama and grampa moved in for hugs. Kendra's parents were so happy. Kendra almost cried at how distressed they would probably be when they found out about Seth. Grama and Grampa led them all to the kitchen to make introductions.
"Marla, Scott, Pete, Zola. This is Tanu, Warren and his fiancé Vanessa; Trask, Bracken, and Mara, they are staying a staying of a couple of days on their way to New Zealand for work purposes." Grampa announced pointing to each new person he introduced. Kendra just noticed Bracken, he must have come in recently.
"We knew Warren and Venessa but we didn't know you guys where engaged, congratulations!" Kendra's Dad exclaimed as he shook Warren's hand. "When is the wedding?" he asked curiously, "We are still working on that," Warren replied vaguely. As Kendra's mom stopped hugging Vanessa and walked over to congratulate Warren.
" Pete, Zola would you like Dale to give you a tour?" Grampa Larson asked, Kendra's aunt and uncle enthusiastically agreed and followed Dale out of the room. "Scott, Marla would you two join us for a brief conversation, concerning the magical world? In the study," Grampa said it like it was a question but Kendra knew it was a command. Kendra's parents nodded and followed Grampa and Grama. The others rose to join them, Kendra realized that she should probably be part of this conversation as well. Kendra followed everyone into the study.
"You guys aren't here on a work trip." Marla stated as she sat down," What's going on?" Concern was her voice, Mara rose and shut the door.
"We have unpleasant news, remember when we talked about Kendra and Seth going to a dragon sanctuary called Wyrmroost?" Both of Kendra's parents nodded, fear was in their eyes. "Well shortly after your children arrived, things went bad. The dragons declared war." Grampa went on to explain the scandal at Stormguard castle and how Seth lost his memory. Kendra's parents were having a hard time keeping themselves composed at that point, Marla's eyes grew wet, Scott put his arms around her. Grampa explained about how the sanctuary fell and how they had fled to Cresent Lagoon, he then explained how they had found Seth alive. He talked about Kendra standing up to the demon king. He also talked about how they had found out that Seth was going to be at Titan Valley. As Grampa paused to take a breath, Kendra found her parents hugging her fiercely and telling her they were so proud of how brave she was. " But just because they survived those dragon sanctuaries does not mean they will survive them all, they have been extremely lucky they have not suffered serious injuries unlike others in the field," Grampa said gesturing to Trask and Mara, Trask took off his hat and Mara lifted her hair, to show the casualties grampa had mentioned. Marla gasped with shock and alarm; Scott said no words. "With the danger considered we have left the matter of Kendra going on the mission to New Zealand up to you, though if she does come, she would have many looking out for her."
"Who all is going?" Scott asked curiously, "Tanu, Warren, Vanessa, Mara, Trask, and Bracken are definitely coming," Grampa said, Kendra's parents leaned in and whispered to each other for a couple of seconds then they stood up.
"We will allow Kendra to join you, on one condition, we'll come as well." The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife, Grampa was silent. Kendra now saw his predicament, if he told them it was too dangerous then Kendra couldn't go, but if he said yes he could put them in a lot of danger, no one spoke, Mara let her hair fall, and Trask put his hat back on.
"Marla, Scott, do you know what is one of the things that make dragons more dangerous than anything on the planet?" Trask questioned,
"Their size and fire?" Scott guessed,
"Though their size and breath weapons are part of the equation, what makes a dragon most dangerous is their paralyzing aura of fear, if you are the dragon's target, you will not escape, you will freeze, your mind will go blank, then the dragon will finish you. Unless you are one of the select few we call dragon tamers. People who can withstand dragon fear, and converse with the dragons. This trait makes tamers less appealing to kill in the dragons' eyes. They would make much better use as entertainment in the dragon's mind." Trask paused to let the info sink in,
"So, are any of you dragon tamers?" Marla asked curiously,
"Kendra is a dragon tamer, so is Bracken, Vanessa, Mara, and myself," Trask announced,
"I know you want to go to protect your daughter, but going would most certainly make you more of a hindrance than a help, no offense is intended, but it is simply that you are inexperienced in this area. Let me give you an example, if we were passing through and a dragon swooped down, those of us who could move would want to flee but because of others who can't one is more inclined to stay behind with the others. Am I right, Mara?" Trask asked,
"Yes, a situation like this happened before, Kendra, a man named Dougan, and I were cornered by dragons, Kendra had not unlocked her potential, so I was the only one who could flee. But I didn't, I had been told to protect Kendra at all costs, but, I did not reach her in time, the dragon ate Dougan, swiped and Kendra and kicked me off the ledge we were standing on. Kendra was unscathed, Dougan was killed and I was badly injured." Mara fell silent, Kendra knew that there was more to be said, she remembered that moment, it was the moment that Gavin and betrayed them all and revealed his true form, Navarog, a dragon so evil they made him an honorary demon.
"I never knew." Scott murmured, "How many of these sanctuaries has Kendra been to?" He asked.
"Including non-dragon sanctuaries as well 7, I think," Trask answered, Kendra's parents looked shocked. "I know you want to come to protect your daughter but do you see that you might slow us down more than help," Trask said,
"Yes, but, if we are sending our daughter with you, we need to be certain that she has a designated protector," Marla said firmly
"Warren has always been Kendra's guardian on these missions so, you don't need to worry," Tanu reassured calmly,
"I hear the others coming back, is there anything else you want to say?" Mara asked hurriedly,
"I think we are good, Kendra you will join us to go retrieve your brother. Now we have a supply run to make." Trask announced as he rose, as people started to leave, Kendra lingered as Mara started to rise, Kendra walked over to intercept her. "Why didn't you tell them about Gavin?" Kendra asked with curiosity.
"Well, your parents were stressed enough, there was no use stressing them about things that are long past," Mara's husky alto answered as she attempted to rise again. Kendra offered her hand and Mara took it. After Kendra helped her to her feet, Mara turned to her "Now run along to your parents, you never know how long you might have them." They walked out the door. She was right, Kendra should make the most of this time with her parents and her family when she wasn't running for her life.
#############################################
Kendra sat in the middle seat on the passenger side of the large rental van. While Kendra had shown her parents the pond, Venessa had disappeared. Around a half hour later she had returned with an eight-passenger van. The van was rather nice. Kendra had sat in silence and stared out the window most of the drive. Tanu drove since Vanessa was a wicked speeder, Warren sped and frequently ran red lights, Trask had a head injury, Kendra had no license, and Mara was a good navigator, causing her to be the one for this trip. Warren sat beside her fiddling with a puzzle cube. Vanessa sat at Warren's side. Her head snuggled into his shoulder. She was fast asleep, Knox sat in the back with Trask. Knox had been permitted to go on the supply run. In case they decided he would come after all. They had been driving for a while. When Mara announced that they were only 10 minutes away. Trask said he wanted to lay down some ground rules, so Warren gently woke Vanessa with a kiss on the forehead. Knox made a gagging noise. Trask cleared his throat and started to talk. Everyone turned toward him, except Tanu and Mara.
"As you know, Titan Valley will be treacherous, so we will need supplies such as food, clothes, baggage, and other things. Bracken is currently with the fairy queen assisting in making a knapsack like we had at the Wyrmroost mission but please still; try to pack only the essentials. When we get to our destination, we'll split up for clothing shopping, but we will meet back at the entrance for going to get other supplies. Everyone clear?" Everyone answered affirmatively, Kendra was nervous about the upcoming mission, but an afternoon with her fellow female knights sounded nice. A couple of minutes later their destination came into view. The mall was huge, Kendra could not see all of it. About 2 minutes later Tanu pulled into the parking lot. Tanu had found them a good spot near the entrance. They all hopped out.
"I am getting shotgun next time," Knox grumbled as he climbed out of the back.
"As you say, LOL nope. Unless you want to replace Mara as a navigator?" Tanu asked jokingly, knowing Knox would turn down the offer.
"Fine then can I go in the middle?" Knox asked.
"Maybe that can be arranged, but if you keep complaining you can ride in the trunk," Trask said from behind Knox. Knox stayed silent as they walked toward the front doors. When they entered the guys headed off in one direction, Vanessa lead Kendra and Mara off in the opposite direction. "I have a friend here. She owns one of the warehouses owned by the knights, but spends her free time here, she has a small clothing store. We can usually get a good price if we come with good gossip from the magical community." Vanessa said,
"What kind of gossip?" Mara asked cautiously, this was the first time she had spoke in awhile. "Nothing sinister, she just likes to be kept in the loop. My engagement with Warren will probably be more than enough." Vanessa responded, "Oh, here we are." Vanessa said as they approached a small shop the sign out front said "Knights of the Dawn, boutique, and salon"
"Wow, that name isn't obvious at all," Mara commented sarcastically as they approached the front doors.
"Believe it or not, it is so obvious it hides in plain sight. Sometimes standing out is the key to blending in." Vanessa responded Mara looked at the shop now wearing a thoughtful expression. "Oh, and we will need to show that we are knights without being too obvious. Uncover your scar Mara, that should be enough." Vanessa added as they walked through the door. Mara tucked her hair behind her ear. The shop was brightly lit, rows of clothes lined the walls. Some on hangers some folded neatly. A smaller room off to the side had a sign that said "Salon". Vanessa was looking around when a smile lit up her face. Kendra followed her gaze to a short blond woman, she had dazzlingly blue eyes, she was talking to who Kendra assumed to be a shop worker. The woman's gaze landed on Vanessa, her face lit up with a bright smile. She hurried over. "Vanessa Santoro! It has been forever! What brings you here?" The woman hugged Vanessa, "Well, we are hoping you would help us gather supplies for a business trip. And it won't be Santoro for long." Vanessa held up her hand with the ring on it. The woman gasped.
"Who is the lucky man?" She explained excitedly.
"Warren Burgess," Vanessa announced with pride.
" Aw, you are so lucky! Well, what can I help you, girls, with?" The woman asked.
"Kendra, Mara this is Hanna, Hanna we are heading to New Zealand, what would you recommend?"
"Well considering, it is currently winter in New Zealand. You will want something warm but not too warm. Since their winters at their worst are only about -10 celsius. I can get you some jackets that are lightweight, waterproof and warm, I have some brownies in the back, so I can get you custom-fitted ones. Let me just measure for the sizes." Hanna pulled out a measuring tape and started to measure Vanessa's shoulder-length, height, and stomach. Kendra was measured also. When Hanna went to measure Mara's stomach she flinched whenever the measuring tape wrapped around her.
"What's wrong dear? It is just a measuring tape." Hanna asked as she attempted to measure Mara for the 5th time.
"Field injuries," Mara responded lifting part of her shirt to show the red-tinged bandages underneath.
"What happened?" Hanna asked,
"Dragons," Mara responded gravely,
"I see, you will probably want a looser fit then?" Hanna asked,
"Yes, please," Mara responded, flinching slightly as Hanna tried to measure Mara more gingerly. "Has she seen a healer?" Hanna asked turning to Vanessa,
"Tanu has been working on her, she is still under treatment," Vanessa responded
"Tanu is good, but she should see a professional, dragon wounds can have hidden slow-acting poison," Hanna said seriously.
"We'll taker than into account," Vanessa promised. "What else do we need?"
###################################
Kendra sat in the middle seat on the passenger side of the large rental van. While Kendra had shown her parents the pond, Venessa had disappeared. Around a half-hour later she had returned with the eight-passenger van. Kendra had sat in silence and stared out the window most of the drive. Tanu drove since Vanessa was a wicked speeder, Warren sped and frequently ran red lights, Trask had a head injury, Kendra had no license, and Mara was a good navigator, causing her to be the one for this trip. Warren sat beside her fiddling with a puzzle cube. Vanessa sat at Warren's side. Her head snuggled into his shoulder. She was fast asleep, Knox sat in the back with Trask. Knox had been permitted to go on the supply run. In case they decided he would come after all. They had been driving for a while. When Mara announced that they were only 10 minutes away. Trask said he wanted to lay down some ground rules, so Warren gently woke Vanessa with a kiss on the forehead. Knox made a gagging noise. Trask cleared his throat and started to talk. Everyone turned toward him, except Tanu and Mara.
"As you know, Titan Valley will be treacherous, so we will need supplies such as food, clothes, baggage, and other things. Bracken is currently with the fairy queen assisting in making a knapsack like we had at the Wyrmroost mission but please still; try to pack only the essentials. When we get to our destination, we'll split up for clothing shopping, but we will meet back at the entrance for going to get other supplies. Everyone clear?" They all answered affirmatively, Kendra was nervous about the upcoming mission, but an afternoon with her fellow female knights sounded nice. A couple of minutes later their destination came into view. The mall was huge, Kendra, could not see all of it. About 2 minutes later Tanu pulled into the parking lot. Tanu had found them a good spot near the entrance. They all hopped out.
"I am getting shotgun next time," Knox grumbled as he climbed out of the back.
"As you say, LOL nope. Unless you want to replace Mara as a navigator?" Tanu asked jokingly, knowing Knox would turn down the offer.
"Fine then can I go in the middle?" Knox asked.
"Maybe that can be arranged, but if you keep complaining you can ride in the trunk," Trask said from behind Knox. Knox stayed silent as they walked toward the front doors. When they entered the guys headed off in one direction, Vanessa lead Kendra and Mara off in the opposite direction. "I have a friend here. She owns one of the warehouses owned by the knights, but spends her free time here, she has a small clothing store. We can usually get a good price if we come with good gossip from the magical community." Vanessa said,
"What kind of gossip?" Mara asked cautiously, this was the first time she had spoke in awhile.
"Nothing sinister, she just likes to be kept in the loop. My engagement with Warren will probably be more than enough." Vanessa responded, "Oh, here we are." Vanessa said as they approached a small shop the sign out front said "Knights of the Dawn, boutique, and salon"
"Wow, that name isn't obvious at all," Mara commented sarcastically as they approached the front doors.
"Believe it or not, it is so obvious it hides in plain sight. Sometimes standing out is the key to blending in." Vanessa responded Mara looked at the shop now wearing a thoughtful expression. "Oh, and we will need to show that we are knights without being too obvious. Uncover your scar Mara, that should be enough." Vanessa added as they walked through the door. Mara tucked her hair behind her ear. The shop was brightly lit, rows of clothes lined the walls. Some on hangers, some folded neatly. A smaller room off to the side had a sign that said "Salon". Vanessa was looking around when a smile lit up her face. Kendra followed her gaze to a short blond woman, she had dazzlingly blue eyes, she was talking to someone who Kendra assumed to be a shop worker. The woman's gaze landed on Vanessa, her face lit up with a bright smile. She hurried over. "Vanessa Santoro! It has been forever! What brings you here?" The woman hugged Vanessa,
"Well, we are hoping you would help us gather supplies for a business trip. And it won't be Santoro for long." Vanessa held up her hand with the ring on it. The woman gasped.
"Who is the lucky man?" She explained excitedly.
"Warren Burgess," Vanessa announced with pride.
" Aw, you are so lucky! Well, what can I help you, girls, with?" The woman asked.
"Kendra, Mara this is Hanna, Hanna we are heading to New Zealand, what would you recommend?"
"Well considering, it is currently winter in New Zealand. You will want something warm but not too warm. Since their winters at their worst are only about -10 celsius. I can get you some jackets that are lightweight, waterproof and warm, I have some brownies in the back, so I can get you custom-fitted ones in a matter of minutes. Let me just measure for the sizes." Hanna pulled out a measuring tape and started to measure Vanessa's shoulder-length, height, and stomach. Kendra was measured also. When Hanna went to measure Mara's stomach she flinched whenever the measuring tape wrapped around her.
"What's wrong dear? It is just a measuring tape." Hanna asked as she attempted to measure Mara for the 5th time.
"Field injuries," Mara responded lifting part of her shirt to show the red-tinged bandages underneath.
"What happened?" Hanna asked,
"Dragons," Mara responded gravely,
"I see, you will probably want a looser fit then?" Hanna asked,
"Yes, please," Mara responded, flinching slightly as Hanna tried to measure Mara more gingerly.
"Has she seen a healer?" Hanna asked turning to Vanessa,
"Tanu has been working on her, she is still under treatment," Vanessa responded
"Tanu is good, but she should see a professional, dragon wounds can have hidden slow-acting poison," Hanna said seriously.
"We'll taker than into account," Vanessa promised. "What else do we need?"
###################################
Kendra, Vanessa, and Mara rendezvoused with the guys at the entrance to go look for baggage and food. Tanu and Warren had to drag Vanessa away from the wedding dresses. Mara almost looked like she was about to laugh as Tanu and Warren dragged Vanessa away from the window of a boutique as she threatened to bite them. Knox looked confused, clearly wondering about the bite threats. Kendra snickered at his confused face. Trask also watched he kept himself as effectively composed as Mara did. When that was over; they had gone to pick up bags. Knox had picked a duffle bag with a pattern of basketballs. Warren had found a backpack that said, "Warning, I do dumb things." This had greatly amused everyone, except Knox again, because Knox was so new to everyone he did not understand any of the inside jokes. Trask had picked a brown medium-sized duffle bag. Vanessa had picked a black backpack with red floral patterns of roses. Tanu had chosen a bag with about 8 million hidden compartments. Mara had chosen a plain black backpack, she had also picked out a small spool of gold thread and a sewing needle. Kendra decided and a dark purple duffle bag with a unicorn that displayed a strong resemblance to Bracken's unicorn form on it. Warren and Knox had disappeared for about ten minutes, after that and returned with a whole cart loaded with junk food, chocolate bars, and frozen pizzas. But when Mara pointed out that you can't cook a pizza over a fire, and that there would be no fridge in the backpack. So the Pizzas would thaw and go bad. Warren had to sheepishly admit that he had not been thinking. After they had put all the food back. They looked for more strategical food choices. Like cereal, some long-lasting fruits, stuff to make s'mores, crackers, canned food, Mara used her unbeatable logic to point out that they should also buy a can opener. They were now all set for their trip. The van had been more cramped than ever. Since on the way home, they also had groceries and clothes.
Warren and Vanessa sat next to Kendra again in the middle. Knox, against his complaints, had ended up in the back with Trask again. Tanu drove again, Mara was now multi-tasking with helping Tanu navigate and embroidering something into her new bag with the thread she had purchased. The ride back was relatively quiet, except Knox's complaints about the seating that came up every ten minutes. As much as Kendra did not like his complaining, Kendra enjoyed having some time, where the worst Knox could complain about, was the car seats. Kendra knew that when they reached Titan Valley life was about to get a whole lot harder.