Thoughts

[Chris Strongheart]

Carolinus sat down in his chair, the ever present feeling of "getting too old for this" settled on him. He had received word from Peter that his only grandchild was locked in a deep sleep - the result of the chattering of the sand merks and her gift.

He remembered fondly the small child she had been, coming to this realm, climbing up on his lap and snuggling close as he told her the tales of the realm. He sighed softly as he recalled her growing up into the young woman she was - and how much trouble she had willingly taken part in or caused, and how she always managed to escape the worst punishments by letting her blue eyes well up with tears and promises that she'd never do that again.

He sighed softly again and picked up the last letter he received from her.

Dear Grandpapa,

I'm afraid I've run into a bit of trouble at Red Fountain. Well, besides the obvious of the boys finding out that I'm a female. Luckily, Sky hasn't seen me in a dress yet - well, not counting the time Sky saw me at the start of term dance, but then, Sky didn't know that the singer was me so technically Sky hasn't seen me in a dress.

I suppose there's no beating around the bush, is there, Grandpapa. Well, the heart of the matter is... I accidentally merged Sky with Gorbash. I swear, I didn't mean to merge Sky! It's just, well, I was casting the removal spell you taught me when Breog dropped Sky and Gorbash flew up to grab him, just like Gorbash did with Dad and well, I managed to end the spell just as Gorbash grabbed Sky. Yes, I bolloxed the spell, but I didn't mean to! There just wasn't any time. Sky would have ended up a Sky pancake if I took the time to complete the spell.

I am going to contact Dad and see if he can help Sky. Well, not magically, because that's your department after all. But I think Dad can try and teach Sky the way Smrgol taught him. I only hope that Sky will listen and pay attention. Dad's a good teacher so Sky would learn something from him.

And I don't want to hear a word from Aunt Danielle about me having a crush on Sky. I don't. Really. Besides, Sky has a girlfriend named Bloom - she goes to that fancy all girl school (and Brian, do hush about that. I told you seven thousand times, going to a school that uses magic like it's going out of fashion is not a school for me - I don't have magic.), Alfea.

And the last thing I need is a scandal saying that I caused Interstellar War Three because I had the nerve to flirt with Prince Sky of Eraklyon in front of Princess Bloom of Sparx. As if I could compete with her. She's a pureblooded girl from Sparx. I'm just some little halfbreed. And not a word, Brian. I'm sick of you telling me that I should stop putting myself down. I can't help it if I'm being realistic.

Besides, exactly what do I have that Sky would find interesting? I'm not the kind of girl that likes wearing skirts or dresses on a daily basis, or wearing make-up. I don't do the fairy princess, helpless damsel in distress thing very well. I speak my mind way too freely. And I tend to disagree with him.

Although, Sky did take me to the Dragon Arena and showed me the new hatchlings... No, Aunt Danielle, that wasn't a date. Sky thought I was a boy at the time. And I was good - I didn't blush or anything to make Sky think I liked him. Not that I do or anything.

Like I said, Sky's happy with Bloom and I'm not interfering with that. Besides, given Sky's track record, you remember the letters I sent you after the Diaspro thing broke, I really don't want to get involved with Sky. Gossip and me can stay very far away. I have no desire to be linked to Sky romantically if I can help it. I don't feel like having my name and the name of the family dragged through the mud.

But... I will say this... Sky does look cute as Gorbash. But you didn't see that - and I will deny it to my dying day if word slips out that I thought Sky was cute as a dragon. Of course, the whole teaching Sky to be a dragon should be interesting. I'll keep you up to date on what's happening with Sky.

Love, hugs and kisses
Christine

Carolinus chuckled softly. He leaned over to a scroll and jotted a number down. At the rate this was going, he'd need a new scroll. 'Not in love indeed,' Carolinus thought as he counted the number of times Sky's name appeared in the letter. 'At least he doesn't have an I in his name - I can just see her dotting the I with hearts.'