Mira and the Dragon

Mira pulled her blanket over her head. The world was a scary place, so it was something she didn’t want to deal with. Mira would have spent her entire life wrapped in her doona like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Because beyond the blankets, she was a failure.

Fail.

Fail.

Fail.

Grade after grade, Mira failed. It was not like she didn’t try either. She probably worked harder than anyone. She spent hours of her playtime studying. She even asked her mum for help. But no matter how hard she worked, she never seemed to make any progress.

Being left behind.

That was Mira.

Bad at everything.

That was Mira.

A dumbhead.

That was all Mira ever seemed to be, a dumbhead.

A whistling noise filled her ears, sparking her curiosity. What could cause such a noise? She had to know, so she poked her head out from under the covers. The room was lit in a mysterious, bright orange glow emanating from beneath her. Below her bed.

She didn’t have any toys that could light up like that.

It was weird.

It was strange.

It was odd.

It was… well, what could it be? Mira didn’t know. As she continued to gaze, pondering the potential sources of the light, she noticed a shadow dance across her wall. Small taps on the hardwood flooring echoed around the room.

Mira could feel her heartbeat beginning to increase.

Was it a monster coming to swallow her whole?

No!

It couldn’t be a monster.

No monster would eat a loser dumbhead like her.

Curiosity overcame the eight-year-old’s fears, forcing her to peer over the side of her bed. She had expected, had hoped, she would identify the source of the light. She hoped to see a toy lying on its side.

But there was nothing.

It was as though the shadows had been nothing more than a figment of her imagination. This is what she wanted to believe. However, as the scattering continued, this time along the foot of her bed, she was forced to accept that there really was something creeping around her room.

Mira held her breath as the shadow grew larger and larger. She gripped her covers tightly, pulling them over her head, and tried to flatten her body as much as possible. Perhaps the monster wouldn’t see her if she hid. If she couldn’t see the monster, then maybe the monster couldn’t see her either. At least this is what she told herself as she tried to control her breathing.

She felt a heavy thump on her bed. It was so sudden that she had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from letting out a scream. She felt a poke through her covers, then another, and another. The creature was moving closer and closer.

She could hear the blood pumping in her ears. She didn’t want to face the creature. She was a massive coward. But she had also been bitten by the curiosity bug and simply had to know what she was dealing with. She lowered her covers and peered up at the creature.

Locking eyes with the mysterious creature caused her dread to subside instantly.

To her delight, it was a cat with black fur, a white muzzle, and white paws. Mira had never owned a cat before. All she had was her favourite cat plushie. The cat looked just like a character from one of Mira’s favourite cartoons. It even had a bow tied to its tail.

But it wasn’t a cartoon.

Because it was sitting on her blankets.

“Good evening. My name is Nora,” it spoke, extending its paw as if for Mira to shake it.

THE CAT CAN TALK?!

“Good evening, I am Mira…” Mira mumbled in response, taking the paw and shaking it. She was too shy to respond further. Nora had such a beautiful black coat; Mira just wanted to pat the cat. But she was worried it would frighten the creature.

Nora paced closer and raised her paw in the air.

“Do you want to pat?”

HOW DID SHE KNOW?! Mira thought to herself. She nodded, careful to avoid eye contact because she was simply too embarrassed to let Nora know how much she wanted to pat her.

Nora pressed up against the covers. Mira could feel the weight shift as the cat rolled onto her back. Mira instinctively began scratching the fur under her belly. It was so soft. Much softer than her plushie. Mira just wanted to snatch up the cat and never let it go.

“What do you think?” Nora asked, smugly.

“You are so soft.”

“Right?!” Nora’s eyes widened. Mira could imagine Nora blushing even if it didn’t show on Nora’s face. “Wait! I can’t get distracted.”

Nora rolled back to her feet and raised one paw to her chest. “Ehem…” Nora cleared her voice. “Mira… a big dragon has suddenly appeared and is attacking the Forest of Animals.”

“A dragon?!” Mira couldn’t believe her ears. That sounded bad. Like, really bad. Like, of all the things that were bad, that had to be up there. Dragons were powerful. Mira’s cartoons taught her this. Cartoons didn’t lie.

Nora continued. “Only a brave warrior can defeat the dragon.”

“Then why are you here?” Mira asked, tilting her head. If confusion could speak, Mira would have an essay for Nora.

Nora covered her mouth with her paw, letting out a slight chuckle. “Mira! Only you can defeat the dragon.”

Defeat a dragon?! How?! She was a nobody. A total loser. There was nothing special about her in the slightest. The only thing special about her was how much of a loser she was. How could Nora think she could defeat something as scary as a dragon?

“Are you sure you mean me?” Mira asked, pointing to herself.

Nora nodded. “I’d never mistake you for the one and only hero.”

Despite hearing this, Mira still doubted Nora. How could she not? She was a loser. A failure. Someone who was a dumbhead. How could she be the hero Nora was looking for? But she also didn’t want to tell Nora this.

“Okay, I’ll help,” she replied. There was no way she could let Nora down. Not when she seemed so desperate. Even if Mira was useless, she had to at least try.

“Wonderful!!!” Nora exclaimed, spinning around several times excitedly. “Then let’s go!”

“What now?!”

How could Nora want to leave right away? Mira wasn’t ready. She was still in her pyjamas.

“Well, we can’t wait. The dragon could attack,” she replied matter-of-factly.

She had a point.

Nora jumped elegantly from Mira's bed, landing on her paws in silence. Mira threw her covers aside and slid from her bed. Her toes reached the cold Timber-wood flooring in a less graceful move. She almost lost her footing in the process.

“Alright, before we go, have you got everything?” Nora asked, wiggling side to side like a worm. She was so expressive with her actions that it almost made Mira laugh.

“I’ll just get my bag,” Mira replied as she ran over to her dresser to retrieve her backpack. This was her favourite bag. It had a unicorn on it. She loved unicorns. How could you not love a unicorn?

She quickly glanced around the room to see if there was anything else she needed.

Her mother always drilled into her that she should never leave home without a water bottle, so she made sure to pack one. Finally, she slipped some crayons into her bag. You never knew when you needed to write, and Mira wasn’t old enough to use pens yet.

“Okay,” Mira commented with a toothy smile. “I have everything now.”

“Alright, follow me,” Nora called, dashing beneath Mira’s bed.

Mira got down on her hands and knees and began to crawl under her bed. She had climbed under her bed before. In fact, she often climbed under it. It was a good spot to play. But today it seemed extra-long. As if her crawling would never end. As if it were a tunnel that went on forever.

Suddenly, a flash of bright light blinded her.

Was it her mother turning on a light to check up on her?

As her eyes adjusted, she saw the sprawling landscape before her. A large grassy field with butterflies flapping their wings, and the daisies blowing in the wind. Mira couldn’t help but think how out of place she must’ve appeared standing there in her striped pyjamas. The only thing that matched her attire was the bed standing conspicuously at the top of the grassy hill.

“The Forest of Animals is this way,” Nora commented, raising her paw to point. “We must take you to see the Great Elder Tree before you face the dragon.”

Great Elder Tree? She was curious what set this tree apart from other trees. Mira glanced in the direction Nora indicated. She couldn’t see a single tree, let alone anything that could be described as the Great Elder Tree.

“Is it far from here?” Mira asked. She wasn’t the fittest. She always finished last when jogging.

“Don’t worry, it’s only a short walk,” Nora tried to reassure her, but Mira was less confident as they began to walk. It wasn’t long before Mira was already exhausted. Despite making some progress, the forest was still nowhere in view. A turn of the head would reveal the bed still clearly visible on the hillside.

Mira felt pathetic.

Nora seemed to be fine, and she was a small cat.

Mira was supposed to be the hero.

How could she be so useless?

“Nora… I can’t walk any further…” Mira called, begging the cat to stop so they could have a rest. She could not take another step.

“Already?” Nora asked. Mira worried that her request would make the cat frustrated. She didn’t want that, but she needed to catch her breath.

“It is too far for me,” Mira protested.

“I may have lied when I said it was close by, but we need to keep moving. We cannot delay our journey,” Nora urged.

Mira could see the desperation on her face. Her home was threatened, no wonder she wanted to rush. As much as Mira needed to rest, she also knew how important it was to move.

“Can you give me a second?” Mira requested, setting her backpack on the ground and kneeling beside it. All whilst her mother’s words echoed in her head.

“I guess we can have just a minute,” Nora replied, but she was unable to hide the urgency in her voice.

Mira sifted through her contents, not that there was much in there, and retrieved her water bottle. She quickly stood back up and closed her eyes as she took a drink from her water bottle, focusing on the cool water rather than the pain of her burning stitch in her ribcage as she continued to walk.

“Mira!” Nora called suddenly. “We’ve arrived!”

Mira’s eyes snapped open, shocked by the sight of trees surrounding her.

“WHAAATTTT????!!!”

“Your water must be magical. When you drank from your bottle, there was a big burst of energy. That’s how we were able to travel here so quickly.”

Mira had always heard that drinking water could give you energy; she just didn’t know it was this much. If she knew it was this powerful, she would drink from it every time she had to play sports.

Mira glanced around the forest. They stood in the centre of a clearing, surrounded by a tree canopy that rustled in the wind. Fireflies danced in the sky, illuminating the surroundings in a faint, warm glow. A cut stump sat beneath a larger tree before them.

“Pretty,” Mira said, her thoughts aloud.

“Right!”

The sound of flapping wings filled the air as a large, pure white owl perched on the tree beside the stump. The bird appeared to be of a similar size to Mira. She didn’t know owls could get so big.

“Hellloooo Nora and hooooman~” the owl hooted.

“Hello, Toot,” Nora replied, bowing her head. Mira didn’t know what to do, so she bowed her head as well.

“Hoo Hoo! What brings you here, Nora?” Toot asked. The owl’s gaze felt piercing. It felt much like her teachers’ whenever Mira made a stupid mistake. Mira made them often, so she would know that glance anywhere. She tried to avoid looking at Toot directly.

“This is Mira,” Nora explained, unconcerned by Mira’s desire to attract as little attention as possible. “And Mira, this is Toot, the acting head of the Forest Animals.”

“Miiiiira?” The owl’s voice snapped Mira’s attention back to the present. The owl tilted its head sideways as if confused.

“You know, Mira is the hero to slay the dragon,” Nora explained to the owl. As if hearing this, the furry critters scuttled out of their hiding spots and gathered around Mira. They were all so cute. She wanted to pat them all.

“Hoo Hoo! How wonderful,” Toot squawked as she spread her wings.

“That’s why we have come to see the Great Elder Tree,” Nora explained.

“Very well, please goooo ahead.”

The fireflies lit up a path as if to guide them into a deeper part of the forest. Nora offered one last nod to Toot before rushing towards that path. Mira followed closely behind Nora; she didn’t want to get lost. If anyone could get lost on a lit-up path, it would be her.

The forest became still, tranquil, as if only the trees themselves existed. They walked until they came to a clearing with bright flowers surrounding a large, weathered tree.

“Great Elder Tree!” Nora called, prostrating herself before the tree. “I have brought the hero to defeat the dragon.”

The tree cracked and shook as two hollowed eyes opened. Eyes that seemed to focus solely on Mira.

“Hello there, young child,” the tree spoke softly. Its voice was like the crackling of branches in a slow spring breeze. “What is your name?”

“My name is Mira,” she responded, unsure whether to bow or not, so she just awkwardly gripped her pyjama top.

“I see… Mira… What a lovely name.” The tree smiled. “I am the Great Elder Tree. I have been guardian of this forest for millennia.”

Mira didn’t know what millennia meant; she was a dumbhead after all, but it sounded like a big number.

“What’s wrong, child?”

OH NO! Mira mentally screamed. Did the confusion show on her face? Would the tree be angry that she was a dummy?

“That big word I don’t know,” Mira nervously admitted.

“Oh, I see…” The Great Elder Tree shifted its gaze to the sky. “Simply put, it means I have been here a long time.”

“Long? Like from the dinosaur time?” Mira asked. She had only ever seen dinosaurs in books at school, so she didn’t know much about them. She just knew they were old. She asked her parents and grandparents if they had seen dinosaurs, but apparently, they were even older than them. Mira didn’t know anyone older than her grandparents.

“Oh my, a curious one, are you?” The great elder tree laughed.

The laugh made Mira nervous. She hoped she hadn’t said anything that upset the tree. Was being curious bad? Maybe it was a way of saying ‘you don’t know something this simple; you are a dumbhead.’ Mira thought.

“Sorry,” Mira replied out of instinct.

“Oh no, being curious is a wonderful thing, child. To answer your question, I haven’t seen a dinosaur, but I used to know trees older than even me that had seen them.”

“REALLY?!” Mira shouted, forgetting her previous nervousness.

“Indeed, but some might say a dragon is a type of dinosaur.” The tree smiled softly.

Is a dragon a dinosaur? Mira didn’t even consider that.

“Speaking of the dragon, what is it up to? Has it begun its attack?” Nora asked, reminding Mira why she was here in the first place.

“That is a good question…” the Great Elder Tree trailed off, closing its eyes and with it, the forest fell silent. So quiet were the woods that Mira could hear the thumping of her own heart. What was happening? Was the tree alright? Mira glanced at Nora, who didn’t seem worried in the slightest.

After several seconds, the tree reopened its eyes.

“It appears to be resting just beyond the forest.”

“Thank goodness, we still have time,” Nora sighed in relief.

“That may be so, but we should make haste. Little Mira must obtain the legendary dragon-slaying blade,” the Great Elder Tree commented.

“Dragon-slaying blade?” Mira mumbled out of confusion. She knew what each of those words meant, but she didn’t know where she could find one.

“Do not fear, child; the legendary dragon-slaying blade rests within the confines of my vessel.”

“Huh?” Mira remained just as confused as before. She wished the great elder tree would just use easier words so a dumbhead like her could understand.

“Great Elder Tree!” Nora complained.

“What is it, dear Nora?”

“Can you use smaller words? You are making my head spin.” Nora gripped her head with one of her paws and made circular motions.

Sensing an opportunity, Mira nodded in agreement.

“Oh, I am so sorry. What I meant to say was that you don’t have to travel to find the sword.”

“Really?!” Mira liked that news. It was the best news she had heard all day. Then again, meeting a talking cat was also pretty exciting news.

“That is right, all you have to do is come over and touch my trunk.”

Mira looked around for something that looked like an elephant trunk, but she couldn’t see it. Maybe her eyes were as dumb as her brain.

“I don’t see a trunk.”

The great elder tree laughed.

“I’m sorry, deary. Please come and touch my bark.”

Mira understood that. She could find the bark on the tree. She was glad she didn’t have to keep looking for a trunk. It was good that there were so many options. It made it easy for a dumbhead like her.

Mira walked over and placed her hand on the tree trunk. A small section instantly rotted away, leaving a large gaping hole where Mira could see a shiny object inside.

“Are you okay?” Mira asked, concerned that she had hurt the tree.

“I am fine, deary. Please reach forward and grab the dragon-slaying sword.”

With this encouragement, she focused on the shiny object within the tree. Mira could make out the shape of a sword. Dark green vines wrapped around the hilt of the blade, holding it in place.

“How?”

“If you are worthy, you will be able to grab the blade,” the Great Elder Tree explained.

Mira thought she understood. She reached forward. She was so nervous, yet at the same time she was within arm’s reach of the blade.

Hero Mira, you are not yet ready to wield me. You must wait until your heart is strong.

Mira heard these words echo in her head as the vines that contained the sword thickened, the gaping hole closed up, sealing the sword inside as if the section of the tree had never rotted away in the first place.

“WHAT HAPPENED!?” Nora shouted.

“I’m so sorry… Ummm… I didn’t get the blade…” Mira nervously responded. “I’m so sorry…”

“I see…” The Great Elder Tree responded with a sigh.

“IMPOSSIBLE!” Nora screamed in protest. “Mira is the hero of legend. If anyone could grab the legendary blade, it should be her.”

Although Nora probably thought she was being supportive of Mira, it only made Mira feel worse. There was a silence, an expectation, that clung to Mira like a weight. It was the feeling of failure she often carried with her. She just wished it would end.

“You may not have been able to retrieve the legendary blade, but that doesn’t mean you cannot defeat the dragon. We can still provide you with some armour,” the Great Elder Tree responded with a sense of sorrow in their voice.

Mira nodded and promptly left, not just to try on armour but because she couldn’t bear to disappoint the tree any further. She couldn’t imagine how upset it must have felt. Mira was their only hope. And she failed the sword’s test. She wasn’t worthy. If the great elder tree felt as bad as Mira felt, then it must have been pretty sad.

Nora led Mira to the chopped tree trunk to sit. Mira gripped her hands tightly, continuing to avoid making eye contact with Nora lest she burst into tears.

Perhaps sensing Mira’s disappointment, Nora rested her paw on Mira’s leg. “Don’t worry, Mira, we have plenty of armour that will be more than enough to defeat the dragon,” Nora offered, but her words did little to comfort the growing despair in Mira’s heart.

Toot brought over the armour, and Mira began to try it on. But it soon became evident that, even when she found the right size, she could barely move in it. It was simply too heavy for someone as weak as her.

“What’s wrong?” Nora asked.

“It’s hard to move,” Mira explained.

“But we don’t have any other armour.” Nora looked worried. The same look that she had when Mira failed to retrieve the dragon-slaying sword.

The look of despair.

Despair from Mira’s uselessness.

Mira paused to think. She had to, or she would run away in tears. Surely there was something she could do. She recalled a time when she played a knight in a school play. The knight had no lines and just stood in the background like a tree. Mira wasn’t good enough to have a speaking part. But the armour they wore was made out of cardboard. That was easy to move in.

“Do you have any cardboard?” Mira asked. She doubted woodland critters would have any, but it was the only thing she could think of.

“Hmmm…” Nora raised her paw to her chin. “Actually, I think there may be some around; let me go and ask for you.” Nora rushed off whilst Mira couldn’t believe her own ears.

They might actually have some cardboard.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the animals of the forest began presenting what little cardboard boxes they had. Which turned out to be a lot. More than enough for Mira to begin crafting.

She got out her crayons and began to shade it in a metallic grey. She tried her best to keep within the lines, but occasionally she would slip beyond them. It was difficult to stay between the lines when she had to be as quick as possible; she had to fight the dragon after all.

Somehow, the creatures had more than enough cardboard to be able to make a helmet, a breastplate, a shield, and even a makeshift sword. But looking at her armour, it was clear how lacking it was. She wished she were better at arts and crafts.

“That looooooks amazing!” Toot remarked.

Mira momentarily couldn’t contain her smile. Someone had complimented her. They liked her work. But it was only momentary, as she began to think about all the girls in her class. All of them were better at drawing than she was. They always had their work displayed in the school. Hers were tossed in the bin. She lowered her head.

“I am bad at drawing.”

“What do you mean? It looks amazing!” Nora complimented, performing a backflip and landing perfectly on her feet.

Mira was too embarrassed to say anything; her finger covered her eyes. If she couldn’t see Nora and the other creatures, then they couldn’t see how embarrassed she was either. That was how it worked.

Once she had managed to collect herself, she pulled on the armour to make sure it all fit right. It was slightly baggy, but at least it covered everything. Best of all, compared with the wooden armour, she could actually move in it.

“You look like a strong knight!” Nora exclaimed, hopping around in circles.

“Really?!” Mira asked excitedly, before she realised something. A frown formed on her face.

“What’s wrong, Mira?” Nora asked, noticing the sudden shift in Mira.

“I said I would fight the dragon, but I don’t know how we can get there in time. I’m all out of water,” Mira sighed, turning her empty water bottle over. Without any more water, there was absolutely no hope they could travel quickly enough to reach the dragon.

“Perhaps I can help you.”

Mira turned her head towards the unfamiliar voice.

Her eyes widened.

A UNICORN! A REAL-LIFE UNICORN!

It was pure white apart from its mane, which was the colour of a pretty pastel palette.

“Are you surprised to see me?” the unicorn asked with a slight chuckle.

Mira nodded, somewhat embarrassed.

“Do you want to give me a pat?” she asked.

HOW DID IT KNOW?! Did all the creatures of the Animal Forest know how to read minds?

Mira pulled at her backpack straps, keeping her gaze locked on the ground as she nodded.

“I enjoy pats. Please come forward.”

Mira, without any hesitation, approached with her hand extended. Her hand brushed against the fur. It was soft. Perhaps even softer than Nora.

“No fair! I want pats too!” Nora complained, jumping up and down on her back paws and flailing her front paws in the air in a fit of frustration. Mira didn’t want to make Nora sad. Being sad is bad. And making someone sad makes you bad. Mira didn’t want to be bad.

“I can pat you too, Nora!” Mira commented, stretching her hand out to Nora, who calmed down and muzzled up against Mira's hand. “What’s your name, Miss Unicorn?”

“My name is Sprinkles—”

“QUICK! THE DRAGON HAS AWOKEN!” the voice of the Great Elder Tree boomed throughout the forest, cutting off Sprinkles' introduction. The woodland critters who had been curiously watching Mira quickly ran to hide.

“We must go to the edge of the forest immediately!” Nora screamed.

“But even with Sprinkles, how can we get there in time?” Mira asked as she mounted the unicorn.

“I can get anywhere quickly. All you have to do is believe,” Sprinkles explained as she began to gallop deep into the thickets.

Mira closed her eyes and wished. She wished with all her heart to reach the dragon before it could harm the beautiful forest.

“That’s it Mira!” Sprinkles commented, “Keep wishing!”

Slowly, Mira opened her eyes as Sprinkles ran; it was like running through a tunnel of rainbows. So many pastel colours flashed before Mira. It was so pretty. Just as she had always known. Unicorns were amazing.

She knew for a fact they would arrive at the dragon before it could do any harm. As she thought this, the speed at which Sprinkles ran increased even further. Before too long, the tunnel blurred back to the colours of the world outside.

“We’re here,” Sprinkles softly spoke. Nora jumped from the back of the unicorn as she lowered herself so Mira could easily dismount. “Very well, I shall wait at a distance. Good luck, Mira.” With that, Sprinkles vanished in a puff of glitter.

“As Sprinkles said, you got this!” Nora yelled her encouragement as she ran to hide behind a large rock. It seemed Nora clearly thought that words spoke louder than actions.

Mira would complain to the cat, but she had more pressing issues at hand. Namely, the large dragon that stood before her. It was bigger than her dad. And he was big. It had big green scales and big purple horns. The only things bigger than the horns were the teeth. They looked sharp. Mira suspected it would hurt to be bitten by them. No one told her it had sharp teeth and horns.

Its glowing red eyes locked onto Mira.

“WHO ARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU DISTURB ME!” The dragon roared.

Mira wanted to run. It was a real dragon. A REAL DRAGON!!! How was she supposed to fight a terrifying monster like that?

“I am Mira!”

She had to act brave, but it was so difficult when she felt as weak as she did.

“MI…?!” The dragon trailed off. There was a blank stare from its glowing red eyes as it scratched its chin with its sharp claw. “WHATEVER! YOUR NAME DOES NOT MATTER! ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT YOU’LL BE YUM YUM FOR MY TUM TUM.”

Mira didn’t want to be a snack. Being eaten was something low on the list of things she wanted to experience.

“I don’t want to be eaten,” Mira replied, voicing her concerns.

“BWHAHAHA!” the dragon laughed mockingly. “TOO BAD! I’LL EAT YOU THEN BURN DOWN THE FOREST!”

“Why?” Mira asked, hoping to find any alternative to fighting such a terrifying creature.

“W-WHY? The dragon stuttered, looking confused as if this was the first time anyone had ever asked the creature this. “BECAUSE I AM A DRAGON. I WANT TO BURN IT DOWN.”

Without hesitation, the dragon swung its claws at Mira, and she swung her cardboard sword in response. The two collided and repelled each other.

“GAH!!!” the dragon screamed, rubbing its claw with its other hand. “I CAN SEE THAT YOU ARE STRONG!!!”

“I-I won’t let you harm the animals of the forest!” Mira blurted out in a stutter.

The slight fear on the dragon's face suggested that Mira was much stronger than she initially thought. Too bad for her, the previous attack had resulted in her cardboard sword folding in half.

“BIG TALK FOR A WEAPONLESS CHILD!!!” The dragon mocked.

There was no hope of defeating the dragon now. But even without a weapon, she would fight to protect all the animals in the woods. She would do everything in her power to win.

“I may not have…” She paused to gasp for air; her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. “I may not have a weapon, but I will defeat you!”

At her declaration, there was a sudden glow. A blinding light. Similar to the mysterious light that brought her to this world in the first place. In addition to the light, she felt a heaviness in her hand. As if she were holding onto a broom. As the light dimmed, she glanced down.

What she saw surprised her.

Because it shouldn’t have been there.

The dragon-slayer blade.

But how?

Mira. You have finally grown stronger, and you faced your fears. Only the brave can wield me.

She heard the sword's voice in her head.

“SO WHAT IF YOU NOW HAVE A WEAPON! YOU ARE STILL A PATHETIC LITTLE GIRL!” the dragon roared.

Mira was still nervous, but now she had the dragon-slayer sword. This was the most powerful sword in the world. If that couldn’t defeat the dragon, then nothing could. The dragon roared, and Mira swung the blade. It met with the dragon's belly, offering little resistance.

She expected to see a gush of blood like in the movies, which required her parents to sit with her. But instead, the mark left a soft golden glow.

“IMPOSSIBLE!!! I CAN’T BE DEFEATED!” The dragon stumbled backwards and began to glow. “NOOOOOOO!!!!” With that final scream, the dragon vanished in a flash of bright light and a small puff of smoke.

“Mira!” Nora screamed, rushing up to Mira. “You did it! You defeated the dragon!”

Mira couldn’t believe it herself. Somehow, she managed to take down a big, scary dragon. All by herself.

“I did it…” Mira responded, more to herself than to Nora.

“That’s right, you did!” Nora jumped at Mira, forcing her to drop her blade to catch Nora.

“I can’t believe it…” Mira began to tremble.

Excitement?

Exhaustion?

Exactly what it was, she didn’t know.

But regardless, her body was trying to respond to what had just happened. She defeated a dragon. A real dragon. One that was bigger than her dad.

“Mira, I’d love to celebrate your victory with everyone in the Animal Forest, but we need to get you back to bed before anyone notices that you are gone.”

If her mum noticed she was missing, Mira might get in trouble. She didn’t like getting in trouble. That was one of her least favourite things.

Sprinkles galloped up and invited Mira to mount once more. Knowing how fast Sprinkles could run, Mira knew it would only take a few seconds to arrive at her bed. Sure enough, the pastel tunnel dimmed, and she saw her bed sitting alone on the grassy hill.

Nora jumped off Sprinkles, and Mira closely followed behind.

“Well, I am afraid this is where we must say goodbye,” Nora remarked, a slight tinge of sadness in her voice.

“Will I ever see you again?” Mira asked Nora.

“If you ever feel sad, we will be there.”

Hearing this, Mira felt as if a large weight had been lifted. She lowered herself to the ground and crawled under the bed. There was a flash of blinding light as she felt the wooden floorboards below her.

She was back in her dark room. Morning had not yet risen, and she was feeling very tired. She hopped into her bed and pulled her covers up, not even realising her eyes were already drooping.

She had just slain a dragon. Not everyone has slain a dragon. In fact, Mira didn’t know anyone else who had slain a dragon. But Mira had managed to do it. So that meant she could do anything.

She may have failed in the past.

But that didn’t mean she was going to fail again. She would keep fighting until she finally succeeded. Just as if she were fighting a dragon.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

The End