Fight of the Nymphs - The Master of the Dragons

4. NYMPHS OF THE FOREST

       

The weekend came around almost as quick as the previous one had disappeared. The weather had taken a turn for the worst however. The sun that had once graced the sky was now engulfed in dark clouds hovering menacingly over the village. The light breeze had died down, leaving a close, humid feel in the morning air which made the Drewetts cottage feel very stuffy.

Sandy was first up. She made her way down stairs to the living room and turned on the TV. Mr Drewett was next to emerge about ten minutes later. He walked past the living room where Sandy was sat and grunted, "good morning," on his way into the kitchen.

"Morning dad," replied Sandy, not taking her eyes off the TV.

"Do you want some toast?" called Mr Drewett from the kitchen, his voice distorted by a yawn.

"Yes please dad," Sandy replied, still fixed on the TV.

Within a few seconds, Billy had appeared at the bottom of the stairs clutching his favourite toy.

"Morning Billy boy," called Mr Drewett seeming more awake now. "Toast?"

"Uh-huh," came his reply as he made his way to the sofa and placed himself next to his sister, clearly still trying to wake fully as he slumped back rubbing his eyes.

A few moments later Mr Drewett entered the living room holding three plates. He passed one each to Billy and Sandy and made his way over to the armchair in the corner of the living room with his own. Each of them tucked into their toast silently.

Mr Drewett had been at work all week, as had the children been at school and play school. The weekend came as a much needed break for them all, more so for Mr Drewett, who's new job was working on a new building site. He was a developer by trade and had moved his family down to be nearer the site his firm were working on in the nearby village.

After breakfast, Sandy put her plate in the kitchen and made her way to the porch where her shoes were neatly placed. With a mouth still full of toast, she shouted to her father that she was taking Benji down to the stream. Benji, who was sat at the top of the stairs, heard the sound of his lead and bounded down, almost knocking Sandy off her feet. As they left the house, the muggy morning air struck Sandy. The weather was going to warm up as summer drew nearer, but for now, the sky was still making up its mind on what today would endure. There was an overwhelming sound from the forest of many birds chirping away. Before heading for the stream, Sandy took Benji for a quick jog up and down the lawn, just to give his legs a bit of a stretch, and allow him to terrorise a few black birds that were hunting for worms.

It had been about ten minutes before Sandy decided to lead Benji down to the stream. As they reached the entrance to the woods, she decided now would be a good time to try another entrance. Her instincts took her left of the entrance that she usually took that lead to the stream. Sandy thought that this might lead to another part of the stream that she had never seen before, and picked up the pace. She was almost at a jog as she went deeper and deeper into the woods and had to be careful not to trip over Benji who was galloping gracefully alongside her. With still no sign of the stream, Sandy began to feel that this did not go to where she expected. A few minutes later, however, the darkness of the woods lifted and Sandy found herself stood at the edge of a vast lake. The water was a murky green with a slight wave washing the water up to the bank as the wind blew the waters surface. In the distance, Sandy could make out what she could only believe to be a large island in the middle of the lake. It wasn't clear what was on the island from where she was stood, but Sandy could clearly see a cluster of tall trees surrounding the shore of the far away land.

After a short while of admiring this new sight, Sandy decided to head back and re-enter the middle entrance that took her straight to the stream. She pulled Benji away from the lake side and headed back the way she came.