Saturdays with Stella*: Dracotopia (Part 1)

Original illustration by Stella.

On a stormy night before the nineteen thirties, two sisters, twins to be exact, were huddled on a ship by themselves. They had set out on a voyage to Indonesia for a vacation, and all had gone totally wrong. Most of the crew members had fallen overboard, this included their father. Diseases spread, food ran out and the ship seemed to have a knack for getting attacked by sharks. Then soon scurvy began to take its toll. The sisters seemed to never get it, it may have had something to do with the strange orange fruits that only they had been brave enough to try. It claimed the lives of the others leaving them on the ship by themselves. This is how they ended up here with no others. The ship lurched and Victoria was tossed across the room. Elizabeth was knocked over. They both lost consciousness at that point.

Victoria woke up on a beach next to Elizabeth. She began to stroke Elizabeth’s face muttering ‘Please be alive Liz, please”. Liz’ plump body snuggled into the sand. At least she is alive thought Victoria. Liz mumbled something about French toast and tap dancing monkeys. Victoria peered at her reflection in the water while waiting for Elizabeth to wake up. Her thin pale face was dirty and her black hair looked like a hamster’s nest. Elizabeth blinked her eyes open as she pressed her red hair down. Oh yeah, we also are fraternal twins said Victoria to herself, noticing for the thousandth time how different they looked.

“Vicky, do you have any idea where we are?”

“Not the foggiest idea.”

The girls dosed in the sun hopping that there would be humans on the island. Just as they were getting comforted they froze as they heard the sound of something large stomping though the undergrowth. A massive silver two-legged reptilian creature emerged from the dense rain forest. It sported a pair of muscular wings and rigged ram-like horns. Liz screamed at the top of her lungs as Vicky pushed her over while the monster shot a burst of cold air at them. “I think what happens is that the cold air freezes the moisture around it” said Liz, being the smarter of the two “and that is what makes the frost”. Vicky yelled over the monsters roaring “It looks like those dragon creatures in fairy tales!” The dragon flapped its wings, revealing a leather saddle. Oh so now you tell me that there are people on this is island thought Liz. It knocked the two sisters to the ground, snarling viciously. The gargantuan animal crouched into a pouncing position, narrowing its eyes.

We are done thought Victoria.

Come back again next week to find out what happens to Vicky and Liz! 

 *Stella is my 10-year-old daughter and on Saturdays, I let her rent this space from me because she thinks blogs are cool. It is her hope that her writing will appeal to kids her age as well as to the adults who read here too. (For the intro to Saturdays with Stella, click here.)