Submission

OurStory.txt

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-One day 
+There was once a girl named Hanna, who lived in a small rural village called Oakendon. On her 15th birthday, Hanna was given a pet baby dragon, which she named Cobalt, after the deep metallic blue of its scales. At first, all Cobalt could accomplish was lighting a few candles and hovering a few feet above the ground, but over the next few years, its strength grew enormously, and it was able to fly farther and farther and higher and higher. Hanna would often get Cobalt to fly her and her friends to the neighbouring villages or light bonfires on cold winter nights, but as they both grew older, Hanna could see that it felt dissatisfied with being simply a pet and being confined to her tiny village. Hanna, too, began to feel a stirring in herself and longed to explore the lands beyond the mountains surrounding her country. On her 25th birthday, she asked Cobalt if it wanted to join her on her journey, and it was so pleased that it flew in circles around her village for several minutes. Once she got Cobalt to calm down, she spoke with her family about her plans. They were very worried, as none of them had ever travelled past the distant mountains, but they could see that she was determined to embark on this trip, regardless of their concerns. Her father gave her his strongest sword as his blessing, and her mother sewed her a fine velvet cloak to keep her warm throughout her journey. After bidding farewell to her family and friends, Hanna and Cobalt set off towards the mountains to the south.
+
+At first it was a rough few weeks. The south was inhospitable and dreary. Hanna often felt a nagging sense of guilt after seeing Cobalt's whiskers droop when they would land upon yet another empty patch of land in search for shelter. It had seemed so excited to leave the village! Thinking back, the warm comfort of her sleepy village nestled the crook of the rolling mountains was more than enough for her life. Out here, the dry expanses of parched land, looming mountains both behind and further to the south, seemed an endless pursuit towards nothingness. Yet something else kept digging at the back of her mind. Picking at the dirt with a scrawny twig, Hanna let out a sigh. Cobalt nudged her back as if to ask 'why so glum?'. He was laying on his back, scales dusty from scratching and rolling idly in the earth. 'Do you ever think of going back?', she asked. 'What are we really doing here? Everyone seemed excited for us to leave, and so were we. Naively so. Did we forget that no one has ever returned from beyond the village?'. A moment of panic struck her. Why was it such a big deal to leave at 25 years old? Why was it that stories told from the villagers about the mountains to the south were grand stories of lush green and expansive adventure? It was as though they themselves were truly unaware about what lay outside.. Could it be they were lies, or villagers suffered collective memory loss? A plume of smoke threw Hanna from her thoughts. Cobalt was on his feet, his back arched, snarling towards something in the dust. As she looked closer she saw what appeared to be something resembling a bedraggled cat. A little hand reached out from the dust, dark and sharp with pointed claws. 'You guys seem to be wasting away. Would you care for a potato? I make a mean baked potato', it squeaked. Hanna rubbed her eyes. It was a raccoon. One that could speak. Great.
+
+Exhausted from her own thoughts, Hanna simply replied, 'sure'. It had been a while since she had eaten a home cooked meal. She looked at Cobalt, gently patting his side, and said 'He's a friend, let's be nice ok?'. Cobalt gave her a look, as if to say 'This guy? really?'. Hanna nodded and turned to the Raccoon, 'What's your name?'. He replied, 'It's Rocket, nice to meet you.'  As they sat near the fire Rocket had made to bake the potato, he began telling them stories of previous visitors to his lands.
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+He spoke about this young woman who had passed by his lands years ago, she had been the same age as Hanna and had left her home with her trusted Dragon. Hanna grew more curious, another woman travelling with her dragon? There were only a few villages that she knew had dragons that were still alive and free, no longer demanded of the King for his own armies. He continued on with his story, this woman had shown tremendous bravery flying off to distant lands in hopes of building a dragon sanctuary, where all dragons could truly be free. Hanna jumped up, startling Cobalt and the Raccoon, she turned to Cobalt and said 'Cobalt, I've seen you become more restless over the years. I know you're yearning for more, to know your own kind. I think we need to find this dragon sanctuary'. Cobalt's eyes widened, he hesitated, and then let out a roar, with tears in his eyes he nodded to Hanna. That night, after saying their goodbyes to Rocket, they flew off into the night to this mysterious dragon sanctuary, they flew for hours, but both Cobalt and Hanna were wide awake as they approached the sanctuary, a place they hadn't even known existed a day earlier. Not soon after they had landed in front these giant wooden gates, were they greeted with a man. As the man approached them, Hanna was shocked at how much he resembled her father. Before she could utter a word, the man said, 'Hanna, welcome. We have been expecting you.'
+
+As she stepped through the worn doorway, she was hit with this sense of familiarity. That creak of the door as Cobalt padded through after her was simultaneously comforting and eerily disconcerting. She glanced around and surveyed the sanctuary. It resembled the shell of a cozy village. Houses were scattered here and there, cobblestone lined the corridors between gardens and elderly meandered through the dust. 'Here we are,' the man announced. They had arrived at a building resembling a great hall. 'Please, after you', he said.
+
+Hanna stepped through an enormous set of carved wooden doors. When she was fully inside the building Hanna gasped, staring at what was in front of her. There were dragons, everywhere. Their scales gleamed brightly in the candlelight, as if they were made of gems or precious metals. Some were curled up on the floor, still dreaming about their past adventures in faraway lands, while others were perched high up in some alcoves in the wall, peering through the windows, waiting for the sun to rise over the mountains. A magnificent ruby red dragon turned its head as they entered, and it flew over to meet them. The man and the dragon bowed their heads to each other, and the man said, 'Crimson, I would like you to meet Hanna and Cobalt. They have come to inquire about the sanctuary.' Crimson nodded its head and motioned for them to follow.
+
+Crimson brought them to what seemed like an elder dragon, as it seemed a little less spry, compared to Crimson. The two dragons murmured to each other for a minute or so, glancing occasionally at both Cobalt and Hanna. Soon after, Crimson nodded at Cobalt, and they both flew out one of the windows. Hanna started to run after them, but the man stopped her and said, with a friendly smile, 'Don't worry, she's just showing him around the grounds.' The man then led her out of the hall and into a smaller hut, where they could sit down and talk over some breakfast. Hanna was silent for most of the meal, as she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. On one hand, she wanted Cobalt to be happy and be able to spend time with other dragons like itself, but on the other hand, Cobalt had been her close friend for many years, and she could not bear to say goodbye. The more she ruminated about her dilemma, the more her eyes began to well up with tears, which the man quickly noticed. He asked Hanna what was on her mind, and she asked, 'Will I be able to come visit Cobalt, if he stays here?' The man smiled gently and said, 'Of course you can, both humans and dragons alike are welcome here. Well, only the peaceful ones, that is.' He let out an chortle, which put Hanna a little more at ease. He continued, 'In fact, if you like, you can even stay here for as long as you like. Our land is very vast, and there are many empty homes here, as this place used to be a thriving village, before it was turned into a sanctuary.' Before Hanna could answer him, they felt a large gust of wind coming in through the window and heard the sound of large wings flapping, to which the man remarked, 'Sounds like they're back.' They headed outside and saw Crimson and Cobalt just landing in front of the great hall. Cobalt came up to Hanna with a grin on its face and nuzzled her face with its snout. Hanna stroked its head gently and whispered, 'You look very happy. Did you have a good look around?' Cobalt nodded, and with that, Hanna made up her mind.
+
+Hanna and Cobalt locked eyes and in the moment they both knew what was next. Hanna flung her arms around Cobalt's neck and trying not to cry, whispered 'this is your home now.' Cobalt leaned into Hanna affectionately. Hanna couldn't remember a time she had been without Cobalt, but knew in her gut that this was the right place for him. She eventually loosened her grip and stepped back. Cobalt let out a happy screech and launched himself off the ground, joining his new friends in the sky. As Hanna watched Cobalt soar the man put his arm around her shoulder. 'Don't worry' he said. 'Dragons have perfect memories, he'll never forget you.'
+
+THE END.