Running In Glass Slippers (Storybook Keepers #1)-First Draft

 The heat from the flames nearly takes off Luna's eyebrows as she runs down the dirt and cobblestone path. If you can truly call it a path, it's basically just patchy grass with some rocks here, there, and everywhere. It's extremely hard to run over, especially considering that Luna isn't wearing any shoes.

All around her, men, women, and children are rushing around screaming. Luna can't blame them though. If she hadn't already lived this dragon's rage precisely 47 times already, she would be terrified. Not that she isn't a little bit scared. The fire part is always a little bit unpredictable. This is the closest that Luna had been to being scorched in a while. Next time she would have to be more careful.

The tall castle walls are covered in a thicket of large, overgrown vines with thorns. There is just enough space between some of the vines that, when Luna stands on her tiptoes, she can peak through where you could normally walk through the high, stone wall and enter the castle courtyard. Usually there are colorful flowers blooming and fairies and butterflies fill the air with beauty, but today everything is black as ash, or on fire. The butterflies and fairies are hiding, so as not to get burned.

Through the thicket, Luna can see a boy on a horse, moving fast, and cutting through the intrusive vines with his sword. He has to reach the castle. When he has completed his mission again, Luna can go home for the day.

Come on! She thinks, I've seen you do this so many times. I know you can make it!

Luna looks down at the watch on her wrist. A watch that is invisible to anyone else around her. The face reads 4:05.

Maybe you could make it just a little bit faster? She silently urges.

The boy made it as far as she had ever seen him get before. The dragon sees him coming and snaps its large jaws and jagged rows of teeth at him, startling his horse. The boy jumps down off of the horse and retrieves his shield just as the horse bolts away. He straps it to his arm not a moment too soon because the dragon rears back and lets loose a mighty storm of fire in his direction.

Luna waits. She even begins to lightly tap her foot impatiently. She knows how this ends, but she is required to make sure that this time it happens just the same way as all the other times. So she waits some more.

After some impressive ducking and rolling, and some pretty close calls with that fire breath, the boy finally decides to go for his shot and throws his sword. It finds its mark right in the dragon's heart and sends the magical beast tumbling over the edge of the cliff, atop which the castle resides, and into the sea.

The village people cheered, but Luna keeps her gaze between the boy at the castle gate, a particular window at the highest points of one of the castle's turrets, and the new timer she has set on her watch.

As the clock counts down, Luna starts to get a little nervous.

It's never taken longer than seven minutes. As long as it's no longer than seven minutes...

She's startled out of her worry when a woman nearby points to the window that Luna had been so intent on watching and shouts, "Look, there! The prince has saved the princess, and the kingdom from the fearsome dragon!"

The villagers again break into loud celebration, and Luna cautiously works her way to the door of a nearby guard tower. From a pocket tucked inside her cloak, she pulls an ornate, silver key. In a swirling script, the letters SBK glint at her in the sun. Luna is careful to make sure that no one sees her insert the key into the lock and turn it. There is a small burst of something light, but powerful; magic. She gently pushes the door open, minding to take the key back out of the lock, and shuffles through. Once the door is closed behind her, Luna closes her eyes and lets out a deep breath just as someone else in this new room clears their throat.