Lady Syrenna was sharpening her sword under a very large and ancient tree, the very same tree that the Moody Blob was on top of. She could hear the Moody giggling and gargling happily as the crows flew around it in a big circle. Syrenna stood and whistled loudly and soon a great golden eagle came and landed on her outstretched forearm. She spoke to it in a secret language that only she and the animals could hear and understand telepathically.

"Viniveer, good friend, can you please chase the crows away from the Moody? I'm afraid it might jump on one of them and escape into the sea. Besides, the Emperor told them to stay away."

"I shall, Lady. But I regret to announce that I cannot join you for tea this week, for there is an evil around. I can feel it in the air, and I must protect my eggs. I do not know what this evil is, but it is here. I can feel it in the water. I heard from the small birds that a great rock has appeared from nowhere and steams like a fire. My instincts tell me that it is not from any mountain around here. I can feel it in the Earth. It is dangerous."

(The above has been translated by the Lady herself, so that readers may understand)

And with that, Viniveer rose up on huge wings of gold and chased the teasing crows away. Lady Syrenna thought about what the eagle had said. She sheathed her sword and began packing for a journey to see this great rock.

"But that dead pig left a foul stench in my house and I must clean it out!" The Emperor whined as he shouldered his pack.

Ivanova kicked him hard in the leg, causing him to fall over. She laughed hysterically because he could not get up on account of the pack, which was holding him down.

Lady Syrenna had told them about what Viniveer had said, and they all decided that they would go and stop this terrible evil rock.

"Sally will clean your house, and she is also going to keep things under control while we are away, so don't worry." Syrenna said, glancing over to Ivanova, who was suggestively handling a big banana. Syrenna broke out laughing uncontrollably.

The Emperor finally got up and then flipped Ivanova off. Once settled down, the three began their journey.

Every now and then, Lady Syrenna would stop and ask a small animal, bird or tree for directions. To the Emperor and Ivanova, it looked like she was staring at the animals and plants, cocking her head and smiling. They gave each other a curious look.

"What the hell are you doing, staring at the poor little animals?" Ivanova blurted out. She was getting pissed off at it.

"I'm talking to them."

"Okay, well tell them to talk faster, 'cause I don't have all day to stand around!"

Lady Syrenna stuck out her tongue then continued in the conversation with a small chickadee bird.

They spent five days trudging through mud, bushes, and trees by the guidance of the little bird, perched on the Lady's shoulder. On day six, they came to a small clearing sheltered by a canopy of overhanging leaves. All about were charred branches and burnt trees, and ash was scattered on the ground. Right in the middle of all of this was a huge red and purple rock, lying in what looked like a nest of smaller stones. The three Royalties gasped.

The steam rising from the rock floated up in whorls to the sky. There was no evidence that it had crashed through into the clearing from any direction. It was just there.

Looking up, the Emperor asked, "Hey, the branches seem to be broken up there. Do you suppose it was dropped by something? The damn Reality people maybe?"

The others looked up as well.

"You dumbass!" Ivanova laughed, kicking a pebble in the Emperor's direction, "Do you think it would just land so perfectly in the middle of those rocks! You know what I just noticed? It really stinks out here!"

Ivanova was right. An odd sort of smell was coming to them on a light breeze.

"Maybe it's the rock." Syrenna said, looking to the little bird.

Ivanova went up to the rock. She made the most hilarious face of disgust. She then touched her hand to rock, only to immediately scream and pull her hand away as fast as she could. "It's so bloody hot!"

The Emperor began laughing at her. Ivanova pulled her swords and came after him.

Lady Syrenna went up to the rock and touched it herself. It was indeed quite hot. She put her ear close and listened over the yells and clang of metal and voices. All of a sudden a horrid scream was heard above the canopy of the clearing. The leaves began to jerk as if a big windstorm were pulling on them. The three looked up and what they saw froze them with fear!

A huge creature with a long neck and massive beating wings tore through the canopy towards them. They were hit with falling branches and leaves and a warm gust of wind. The three managed to break free of their fear and ducked into the bushes out of sight. The creature landed with a thud on the ground in front of the big rock. Its skin was scaly and a glossy red colour. It had horns protruding from its head and cheeks. Its wings were made of skin, not feathers, and its tail was as long as the clearing was wide! The three gasped.

It was a dragon!

The little bird that was on Syrenna's shoulder had flown frantically away when the dragon had screamed, and now the three wished they could do the same, but the dragon would definitely see them. They sat as quiet as they could, watching the massive beast.

Syrenna was tight against a tree, Ivanova was flat under some bushes and the Emperor was shaking behind a thorny vine bush. He was sniffing loudly because he hadn't quite gotten over his cold yet and Lady Syrenna was sure that the dragon would hear him. She glared at him but he continued to do it.

Ivanova grabbed Syrenna's arm. "I think I found the source of that smell." She whispered, pointing into the trees. The three looked. In the branches above them hung burnt skeletons and half-eaten carcasses. On the ground were the rotting chunks of regurgitated flesh and splattered blood, not to mention the dead corpses of animals with missing limbs (probably meals saved for later). The three gasped and covered their mouths. They turned their heads away. The Lady was mad. Quite mad! For some of the animals she had met and talked with before, in past days. She bit her lip and put her hand on the hilt of her sword.

The dragon cooed softly to the great rock and began stroking it, blowing a great fiery breath over it. The rock steamed more and wiggled. The wiggling excited the dragon. It sniffed around the rock and nudged it and began circling it.

The Emperor scratched his nose. Something was irritating it. Ivanova smacked him for sniffing so loudly. Syrenna watched the dragon with the rock and thought about it. Why the hell would a dragon play with a rock? Why was the rock wiggling? Then it hit her. "It's a bloody egg! That's it's egg!" She said, a little louder than she intended.

Ivanova licked her lips. "Perhaps we can have some scrambled eggs once we kill the big one!"

All of a sudden, the Emperor started sneezing out of control. He sneezed and sneezed and sneezed. The dragon looked in their direction and spotted them!

It roared and thick black smoke billowed from its nose. It hunched over and blew a heavy stream of hot red fire at them. They dived out of the way just in time. The trees ignited and the clearing became brighter.

The three stood, braced and ready, weapons drawn, in front of the dragon. Ivanova smiled and laughed then ran up to the dragon and began slicing at its belly.

The dragon roared and kicked Ivanova into the bushes. Syrenna summoned what was left of the thorny vines and commanded them to tangle around the dragon's legs. She then began stabbing the dragon viciously. It then broke free and flung the Lady into a burning tree.

The Emperor called to his crows, and they came in a flock so great that it darkened the sky. The dragon's nose expelled thick black smoke once more and then let go a column of hot, hot fire into the flock. The Emperor screamed as crows fell and flamed.

Ivanova picked herself up and stormed over to the dragon, stopping only ten feet away. She raised her right hand and summoned her indestructible fire of eternal death.

The eternal fire of death exploded from her hand, charging towards the dragon's head. The dragon opened its great mouth and counter-attacked the wild flames with its own. They collided and burnt each other up with a big flash of red and white. Ivanova was shocked. "Well, I guess you can't always fight fire with fire!"

Just then, there was a rumble in the surroundings. It came from air, tree, and ground. The dragon cocked its huge head and the Emperor and Ivanova, keeping one eye on the dragon, looked around. Lady Syrenna, still stuck up in the burning tree, peered around as well. She saw a great moving in the forest and sky, and then they burst out.

ANIMALS!

Animals of all shapes and sizes. From beast bears to mice and eagles to chickadees! A herd of Pegasai flew past the Lady. She jumped out of the tree and landed on the back of a beautiful blue-eyed young one. The animals of the Island and of the Mystical Forest came together as one around the dragon. The dragon backed up against its huge hatching egg. It growled and snorted at all the animals. Just then, the remaining crows swarmed the dragon's head, blinding it as the other animals attacked. Lady Syrenna sent two Pegasai for the Emperor and Ivanova, and they were whisked up to meet her. They watched the animals attack.

The dragon spit fire and blew smoke then, finally giving up, rose into the air with its newly hatched baby. They flew right past the three of them. The baby opened an eye and saw Syrenna. Syrenna saw the huge eye and bit her lip. She raised a hand and called out to the animals in the Silent Animal Language. She told them not to kill the dragon, just to chase it to the highest cave in the tallest mountain of the Island where it could raise its young and not bother any of them. They did as she asked.

The small chickadee landed happily on the Lady's shoulder. He was the one who had called the animals to help. The three thanked him deeply before riding the Pegasi back to their calm, quiet homes. Sally was ever so happy to see them.

The End

PS: the fire was put out and the dead carcasses, corpses and skeletons were buried.