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Chapter 3

The Stowaway

Madeline stepped out of the cave and into the warm sun, Cookie running beside her. Mrs. Porter and Marcus ran up to join them.

"Madeline, there you are!" Mrs. Porter exclaimed. "Are you all right? You were in that cave for a long time."

"Yeah," Madeline assured her. "Cookie just had a really good hiding place is all."

"So, Madeline, were you scared going into that dark, creepy place all by yourself?" Marcus asked.

Madeline shrugged. "Nah. It was nothing."

"Oh really? I bet you were scared of all sorts of things in there! The spiders, the cave bats…the sand monsters?"

"Sand monsters?" Madeline rolled her eyes. "Oh please. I stopped believing in those things when I was five."

"Yeah? Well, what about dragons? Did you find any of those?"

"Uh…"

"Oh, Marcus, of course she didn't find any dragons." Mrs. Porter claimed. "They aren't real to begin with. Isn't that right, Madeline?"

"Um…"

"C'mon Mom!" Marcus argued. "If the tooth fairy and Santa Claus are real, anything's possible! So go on and tell us, Madeline! Are there dragons living in that cave?"

Madeline looked down at her feet, debating on whether or not she should tell her family about Devon and Cornwall. On one hand, she hated lying. Plus, if someone else had found something as fantastical as a dragon, she'd want to know about it. But on the other hand, the dragon she just met seemed to be dealing with a lot and most likely, involving her mom and brother would cause more trouble for them. So, she decided it would be best to keep her encounter a secret and leave Devon and Cornwall undisturbed.

"Uh…nope! No dragons in there! Maybe a few salamanders and hermit crabs, but definitely no dragons! You were right, Mom. I guess they aren't real after all."

Marcus folded his arms and grumbled.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, dear." Mrs. Porter said. "Now come along you two, we've wasted enough daylight."

Marcus sprinted ahead. "Last one in the water is dragon feed!"

"Hey! Wait for me!" Madeline ran behind him, along with Cookie.

"Arf! Arf! Arf!"

Unbeknownst to the family, Devon and Cornwall had emerged from the cave.

"I say, this is most exciting! To think, we're the first dragon to enter this strange kingdom!" Devon noted, as he and Cornwall stepped up to the Porters' minivan. "Everything seems so futuristic! Like nothing I've ever seen before!"

Cornwall swatted at a mosquito. "Still has all the same annoying bugs, though."

Devon knocked on the minivan. "Fascinating. What kind of creature do you think this is? Ooh, its skin feels odd. Almost seems metallic, doesn't it?"

"Whatever it is, I think it's asleep. Or dead."

"Oh my, what's this?"

Devon pushed a button under the license plate, causing the trunk to pop open.

"WAH!" the two fell over.

"Hm…how strange…" Devon said as he and Cornwall climbed in to get a closer look at the inside of the "creature." "This thing doesn't appear to have any teeth. And its tongue is very…leather-y. I wonder why it's not trying to eat us."

"Maybe 'cause you have horrible taste."

"What are you talking about? I have great taste! Have you not seen my art collection? Honestly, if you appreciated half of the things-"

"Oh, shoot." Mrs. Porter's voice was heard. "How did I leave this open?"

Devon and Cornwall fell silent and were powerless to do anything as Mrs. Porter shut the trunk and locked them in.

"Hey! We're trapped!"

"Oh dear! It is trying to eat us! Which means I was right about having good taste! I'm so honored!"

"Oh shut up! I knew I shouldn't have listened to you! We were better off staying in that cave! Why do you always have to get us into these messes?"

"Me? May I remind you that half of this body is yours? I can't go anywhere unless you go with me! Meaning it's just as much your fault as it is mine!"

"Hey, quit shoving your face in mine! You're getting spit all over me!"

"Oh, it's always about you, isn't it?"

"Ha! Look who's talkin'!"

A few hours of beach time later, Madeline and her family prepared to go home. Marcus was chasing Madeline around with a fake tentacle on his arm.

"Ooh, look out, Madeline! The sea monster's gonna get you!"

"Mom!" Madeline whined.

Mrs. Porter was carrying their folding chairs. "Marcus, what did I tell you about scaring your sister?"

"That I couldn't scare her with dragons. You didn't say anything about sea monsters!" he poked Madeline with the tentacle.

"Eep!"

"Whatever thing you're using to scare her, stop it now! We've had enough drama for one day."

Mrs. Porter opened the trunk and without looking inside, threw the chairs in and hit Devon and Cornwall.

"Now get inside, you two. Oh, Madeline, Mrs. Ramirez called and she's dropping CJ off for a playdate later today while Marcus is at basketball practice."

Madeline buckled her seatbelt. "Is Tiffany coming too? 'Cause you know how much Marcus likes her."

Marcus sat in the seat next to his sister. "Shut up! I do not!"

Mrs. Porter started up the car and it began to move sluggishly due to it being heavier than normal.

"Hm…that's odd. We must have packed more than we thought."

Devon and Cornwall, completely buried under all of the beach supplies, exchanged worried glances. They were in for a long ride.

Eventually, the Porters made it home, and Cookie was the first one out of the car.

"Arf! Arf! Arf!" he started to chase a squirrel in the front yard.

Marcus got out next, still wearing the tentacle.

"Roaaarrr! The mighty sea beast is hungry for some mega-fudge brownies!"

"Oh no! Not before dinner, mister! Now take that thing off!" Mrs. Porter scolded before she opened Madeline's car door. "I'll let you know when CJ's mom gets here, sweetie. In the meantime, why don't you go play in the backyard with Sir Sprinklehooves?"

"Okay, Mom." Madeline picked up her unicorn and headed into the backyard.

With the kids gone, Mrs. Porter opened up the trunk with intent to empty it. Devon and Cornwall gasped quietly and shut their eyes, knowing they were about to be caught. That is, until Mrs. Porter heard her phone going off and she turned away.

"Hello? Oh, hi Elena. No, we just got back. Oh, of course! You know, CJ's always welcome here."

Now completely distracted, Mrs. Porter went into the house, not even bothering with the trunk. With the coast clear, Devon and Cornwall fell out of the car and onto the concrete driveway.

"Goodness…" Devon rubbed his head. "It seems this metal beast doesn't wish to consume us after all."

Cornwall lifted up one of the chairs and tried taking a bite out of it. "Must have gotten sick from all this junk the humans fed it. It's practically inedible."

The two-headed reptile stood up.

"Well, at the very least we're far from that nasty old cave." Devon said. "So, our troubles are finally over!"

"If you say so…"

Meanwhile, Madeline had just settled in her backyard, roleplaying with Sir Sprinklehooves and some of her other unicorn plushies. Devon and Cornwall snuck up from behind a shrub and listened in.

"C'mon, Sir Sprinklehooves, if we're going to save Princess Butterflykiss, we need to go into the dragon's den! Oh gee, I don't know, Madame Rainbowtrotter, I'm scared of dragons. They love to eat unicorns like us. They think we taste like cotton candy."

"Oh my, she's a natural!" Devon commented. "What incredible improvisation!"

"Sure, but she thinks we eat unicorns? These humans know nothing about our diet!" Cornwall scoffed.

"I suppose it's not one hundred percent accurate," Devon confessed. "But even the best productions have some aspects of fiction in them. I think she has the potential to be an excellent director. Perhaps one day I could be in one of her stage plays."

"Dream on! We're only here until we learn how to be a real dragon and not a second more, remember? This kid is not worth messing up our reputation even further."

Just then, Marcus came outside holding something behind his back.

"Shh!" Devon shushed his other half. "Someone's coming! Hide!"

The two heads ducked into the shrub as Marcus approached his sister.

"Hey, Madeline…" he greeted sinisterly.

Madeline looked up from her toys. "What do you want, Marcus?"

"Oh, I couldn't help but notice my little sister out here with her pwecious unicorns, so I thought I'd come and keep them company."

"Ooh, a plot twist!" Devon said quietly. "This is getting more climactic by the minute!"

"No thanks." Madeline declined. "Me and my unicorns are perfectly happy playing alone."

"Aw, c'mon! Don't be like that." Marcus insisted. "Listen, I feel bad about all those times I tried to scare you and I want to make up for it. And I thought I'd start by introducing your unicorns to a new friend."

Madeline became intrigued. "Really? Well, in that case, okay. So, who is it?"

"His name is…" Marcus kneeled down and then revealed what was behind his back: a water blaster. "Mr. Drencher!"

Madeline gasped as her brother sprayed her unicorns, getting them all damp and soggy. Devon and Cornwall were also shocked by this.

"Oh, whoops! They're all wet now. But don't worry; they'll be dry in no time after this…dirt storm!"

Marcus picked up a pile of mud from the ground and threw it right at Madeline.

"Hey! Stop!"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Devon and Cornwall became disgusted by the boy's actions.

"That ruffian!"

"Yeah, who's he think he is?"

"Uh-oh! Look out, little unicorns, before the giant squishes you!" Marcus stomped on one of the plushes, making it let out a tiny squeak. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Too late!"

Madeline sniffled as tears formed in her eyes. But before Marcus could continue his reign of terror, he noticed a huge shadow casting over him. Madeline gasped at Devon and Cornwall's sudden appearance.

"Excuse me!"

"Pick on somebody your own size!"

Marcus's jaw dropped as he stared at the two-headed creature in front of him.

"W-W-Wha? H-H-Huh? H-H-How the-?"

"Guys, what are you doing here?!" Madeline demanded.

Devon and Cornwall ignored her and instead went to confront Marcus.

"How dare you use your size and power to intimidate this poor, innocent child! Why, you're nothing but a…a…a bully!"

"I suppose you get off on being a big jerk, don't ya, buddy boy?"

Marcus kept stuttering. "Y-Y-You're…you're…"

"Well, you ought to be ashamed of yourself for this despicable behavior! As a big brother, you should be setting an example for your sister, not tormenting her for your own amusement!"

"Yeah, how'd you like it if somebody bigger and stronger harassed you for sick kicks, huh? Bet you wouldn't enjoy it one bit!"

Madeline tugged on Cornwall's arm. "You guys?"

"Well? What have you got to say for yourself, young man?" Devon scolded.

"Y-Y-You're a…you're a…" Marcus stammered.

"Yeah, yeah, spit it out already!" Cornwall commanded.

"You're a…a dragon!" the boy beamed suddenly.

Devon and Cornwall gave each other looks of confusion, surprised at Marcus's reaction.

"Ha, ha! That is soooo cool!" he pointed at Madeline. "I told you they were real! In your face! Mom! Mom! Come outside! There's a dragon in the backyard! MOM!"

Madeline and the dragon watched as Marcus rushed into the house.

"Hm. We really aren't good at this 'scary' thing, now are we?" Devon said.

That's all for now. Review if you'd like.