Willow ate cupcakes for breakfast. It was a special treat someone had given her. She didn’t like her normal breakfast, so this was a welcome break in the pattern.

The next week was when school started again. She was kind of nervous about it, but it could be fun. She really wanted to fly on Sky, but she was too young. Willow could hurt Sky if she flew on her too early.

Willow knew how useful Sky could be. She was told to try to build up Sky’s muscles, so she would be ready once it was time for her to be ridden. She also needed to be able to say a few words, which Sky was almost done with; she could say two words. She needed to be able to say one more word.

Sky could say remember and Willow. Willow was trying to teach her how to say hello. Sky could make the sound- sort of. It reminded Willow of trying to teach a baby how to talk.

Willow went to the stables, but Sky wasn’t there! Willow looked up, but there was a swirl of colors that she couldn’t decipher which dragon was which. Willow looked around. She couldn’t see Sky anywhere. She panicked. Willow ran to find a nearby adult and told them her predicament.

The person reassured Willow that sometimes dragons will leave but will always return. Willow relaxed. She had nothing else to do besides hang out with Sky.

She decided to hang out with her cat. She tried to teach Cedar not to scratch or bite a lot, but she only proceeded to get herself scratched. Cedar seemed to still be a bit used to her old ways.

Willow gave up and just petted Cedar. She was so fluffy. She seemed better fed than when she had first been found.

Willow decided to go for a walk. She found it very relaxing. She thought about her and Grey’s plan. She didn’t like it, but it was the best they could come up with.

She noticed that the vegetation looked a bit darker. She walked to the willow tree. It seemed a bit dry. It looked darker and it seemed like it was weeping. She saw a dark movement next to the tree.

She peeked around the tree. She gasped. It was pure black. Like it was burnt, she saw two amber eyes peeking out of the blackness. Another cat? She thought. She reached her hand out and the cat boldly sniffed it and rubbed her head against Willow’s hand.

The cat plopped on Willow’s feet and started to snore. Willow raised her eyebrows and stared down at the cat. Willow bent down without moving her feet and picked up the cat. She sat down and placed the cat on her lap.

She put her hand on her knee and put her chin on her hand. She blew a raspberry. She was going to be here a while.

When the cat woke up, she stood up with her tail high in the air. She stretched and got off Willow’s lap. Willow stood up.

Willow went to Grey’s house to tell him about the boy and the burnt tree, which she suspected were related. She knocked on the door, but he didn’t answer. She knocked again. Still no answer. She opened the door and gasped. The inside was burnt to a crisp! There was still smoke trailing upwards.

She ran inside and called his name. “Grey! Grey, are you there?” When there was no response she burst into tears. She took deep breaths and tried to calm down. Where could he be? Her eyes widened as she had a horrible thought. The devil took him. She knew that that was only a chance, but a very high one.

She turned around and the cat from before was there! The cat was staring at her. Willow stood up and patted her head for a second before walking. She stepped out and thought hard about what to do. She didn’t know what she could do.

I guess I just have to wait for him to kidnap me. She groaned. That didn’t sound enjoyable.

Willow clutched her head as a memory struck her. She was 5 years old and she had had a dream that had come true.

She crept into an alley. A dim light shown from the night sky. A star fell from the sky. Willow chased after it and caught it. It burned her hands. She dropped it. It burned the grass beneath it.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

She knew how the tree had burned. A star was how the tree had burned. The burns looked a bit different, though. Willow raced to her dorm. She went into her room.

Her head swirled with ideas and pictures. She couldn’t focus on one before it swirled away.

One clicked into view. A memory of her and Grey. Talking together and having so much fun. It made her determined. She could have that again. All she needed to do was get him back.

She stood and tried to figure out a way to get Grey back. Okay, how could she do this? She needed to get kidnapped, but how? How could she do it? She screamed in annoyance.

Willow heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” Willow replied. Amber entered.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

Willow sighed. “Not really.”

“What’s wrong?”

“One of my friends is missing,” Willow replied.

“Who?”

“No one.” Willow left the room.

When school started again, Willow’s first class was in a somewhat strange place. It was right next to the front door and must have been new because she had never seen it before. Nonetheless, she entered the room.

She looked around the room. The door opened into the inside, so she closed it and looked around again.

“BOO!” Someone yelled.

“AH!” Willow yelled back and punched the air in the direction it came from. Her hand hit nothing and she lurched forward. She heard a very loud laugh coming from the left of her fist.

She swiveled around, glaring at the man who was there. He was tall and had dark hair. “Hello. My name is Mr. Stan.” The man said.

“My name is.” Willow said.

“Your name is what?” He asked, giving her a look.

She sighed. “My name is Willow.”

Mr. Stan nodded. “Thank you. Now, I bet you are wondering what this class is. This is the class where I teach you how to train your dragon.”

“Sky?”

“Yes.”

“I can train Sky by myself!” Willow crossed her arms.

“Really, can you now? Tell her to come here.” Mr. Stan said, also crossing his arms.

Willow glared at him before leaving the room.

“Where are you going?” He said, closing the door.

“To get Sky, obviously.”

He gave her a look. “Tell her to come here without leaving the room.” He opened the door. Willow stared at him blankly. “That’s what I thought.” He said. Mr. Stan closed the door.

He whistled a peculiar tune. A few seconds later, there was a tap on the door. He opened the door and a small gold dragon entered. Mr. Stan petted the dragon’s head. Willow’s eyes widened.

He flashed her a smug smile. “I will be teaching you how to do that. But first, do you know how to whistle?”

“Of course! It’s easy.” Willow replied. She tried to whistle and horribly failed. It sounded like she was trying to blow out air.

“Mhm… watch what I do.” He put his fingers in his mouth and blew out. A sharp whistle came out. “This isn’t how you are supposed to do it, but it helps you practice.”

Willow impatiently put her fingers to her mouth and blew out. A quiet whistle came out.

“Better. Put your tongue between her fingers and make it into a U-shape.” Mr. Stan said, demonstrating.

“Okay.” Willow put her fingers and tongue in the right spot and blew. A whistle came out.

“Better, but it needs to be louder. Try to put your fingers at the right angle. It will take a while, but you will eventually make it.”

Willow tried different angles and finally got a sharp whistle!

“Good. Now try to make up a tune that you will teach Sky.”

Willow spent 15 minutes coming up with the perfect tune. “Now can I learn how to bring Sky to me?” Willow asked.

“Now we can.” Mr. Stan replied with a smile.

They spent the rest of their time trying to get Sky to come, but she was too far to hear Willow’s call. When their time was done, Willow’s throat hurt from whistling so much. She waved goodbye and went to her next class, which she liked less than her first class.

When the school day was over, Willow walked to Grey’s burnt cottage.

“AHHHHH!” Screamed Willow. The ground had enveloped her, sucking her in. She fell for what seemed like forever but was probably only 1 minute. She landed with a harsh thud. She gritted her teeth and stood up.

There was a 30-foot monster that was red and had dark horns. The devil. Willow thought with a shudder.

“Why hello, young child. Do you recognize me?” The devil said in a deep voice and spread his arms out.

Willow shook her head.

“What about now?” He said and turned into something that looked like a human. “What about now?” He said and changed again. “What about now? What about now? What about now? What about now?” Every time he said it, he turned into a different person. Sometimes people she recognized.

He said it one more time and turned into Grey. She fell to her knees. No, Willow thought. He must be trying to play with me. She struggled back up to standing.

“What about now?” He asked and turned into the man she saw at the willow tree.

She glared at him. “Is that why you burned the tree, to mark my death? Huh?!”

“Maybe.” The devil said. He turned into the devil again and loomed over her looking her in the eye. His eyes were cold and unforgiving. “Take her away, I'm done with this girl.”

A dragon came in and knocked her out with a bonk on the head.