“…There was peace for hundreds of years, save for skirmishes from nations across the sea and monsters. But Zahara kept both at bay.

“Two hundred years ago, there was an occurrence. At the yearly gathering, the rulers from Zahara never arrived, which had never happened before, and almost all the leaders were outraged. If it was a declaration of war, it would be a fatal blow to all the other realms. The panicked rulers wondered if they should strike first.

“King Elliot, the youngest to ever rule Calyda, offered a solution; send a group of trusted knights for answers before possibly rash decisions were made. Begrudgingly, the others each choose a trusted knight to make the journey as they waited.

“A month passed before only one knight returned, and shakily he explained what happened. At Zahara’s border, they found a mountain that seemed to appear overnight. One knight volunteered to stay behind while the others took a set of stairs that seemed to be a natural part of the summit. At its peak, they saw a heavy mist hiding the realm. Another knight stayed behind.

“When the remaining knights reached the bottom and could past the mist, they saw only an empty land, any sign a realm ever existed gone.”

“Gone?” interrupted Bryony, eyes wide. “But-”

Bluebell shushed her.

“So, they started to explore. But suddenly, the leading knight vanished. In their panic, two more went to look for her, and they were gone, too.

“Terrified, the remaining knight started to run, but the shadow so large it blocked out the sun covered him before a creature landed heavily in front of him, the ground trembling.

“He said the creature spoke. Told him to return home and tell everyone that Zahara was now forbidden before disappearing with a mighty flap of its wings.

“When asked what it was, the knight said it was a dragon.”

“A dragon?” repeated Bryony, Bluebell not shushing her this time. Dragons were creatures almost made extinct during the sorceress reign, and certainly never spoke.

Gwenyth nodded. “Or so he believed. All the other knights were gone, even the ones that stayed behind, so everyone thought him mad. Still, the remaining rulers declared that the realm would be forbidden, under the penalty of imprisonment, and no one has stepped foot in it since.”

The silence after Gwenyth was finished felt heavy, and Bryony jumped when Bluebell spoke. “But is it true? A dragon sounds… unreal.”

“One of my ancestors was in attendance,” explained Gwenyth, “and passed the story down to her children, where it eventually came to me.”

“But it can’t just disappear.” Bluebell shook her head, muttering to herself different ideas of what could’ve happened instead.

Gwenyth glanced at Bryony, who was silent. “Are you alright, little one?”

Shaking her head, Bryony kept quiet. She felt sad. She wondered how true the story was, and if anyone still cared about Zahara after two hundred years.