The Other-worldly Protector

Chapter 1: Dragon Moors

The campsite was a bustle of activity in the early morning sunshine. Twelve young campers wound their way between seven tents, chatting with each other or sorting out their supplies. 

Just outside the campsite, a girl sat on a rock, gazing at the scenery. Her wavy brown hair swayed loosely in the breeze as her dark brown eyes stared ahead.

Lush green hills bathed in the warm sunlight and scattered upon them were trees, some orange some dark green. In the middle of it all, a river twisted and twirled around the hills and trees like a silver ribbon. The campsite was towards the top of the largest hill so the girl had an excellent view of it all.

"Kiara!" a girl with bright blue eyes, a few freckles and a seemingly permanent cheeky grin on her face skipped up to Kiara. She wore a patterned blue headscarf and similar camping gear to everyone there.

"Hi Lillian," Kiara smiled as she turned her eyes away from the river to face her, "what's up?"

 "What's up?" Lilian replied, "we were looking for you everywhere —even in the instructor's tent!"

"She did that. Not me," a third girl said as she walked up beside Lilian. She had intense grey eyes and her long black hair was cut into a blunt fringe and tied up in a high ponytail the fell to her lower back.

"Sure, but it was Anita who suggested that you were in the tent," Lillian told Kiara.

"Yeah, but, I didn't think you'd actually go in," Anita retorted as she flicked back her black hair, "anyway, how come you're here, Kiara?"

"Don't worry, I packed my supplies early so that I could come here," Kiara assured the two, "I just can't seem to get enough of this view."

As one, the three friends' eyes wandered across the landscape and they let out a content sigh.

"Look, even Anita's looking at it like the way she looks at Josh," Lillian smirked. Anita elbowed her and the three burst into giggles.

"EVERYONE GATHER AROUND!" Mr Belch, the instructor, boomed. All the campers scurried to the instructor. "I trust you've all packed your supplies. Today we'll be hiking through the woods."

"The woods? That's away from the river," Kiara whispered to Anita.

"It's alright, we'll probably go to the river tomorrow," Anita whispered back.

"Now," Mr Belch continued, "everyone, find a partner—"

"OR A THREE!" Lillian shrieked, grabbing her two friends and pulling them close.

"Or a three..." sighed Mr Belch, "Just remember to always stay on the trail and never separate from your partner —or three. Dragon Moors is a place many miles from any town or city. No one will be there to help you out if you lose your way."  He eyed the students to make sure his message sunk in. "Alright. Let's head out!"

The campers soon found themselves trudging through dense vegetation and towering trees. Kiara, Anita and Lilian were at the back of the line. They were supposed to be looking out for the rare Redstart bird, however, like most of the other campers, they had given up a while ago, and were just talking to each other.

"Dragon moooorrrs... DRAGON moors? Do they want more dragons?" Lillian chuckled before continuing, "Why even name this place after dragons? There's nothing 'dragony' about it —not that I'm complaining. I wouldn't want to be eaten by a dragon!"

Kiara snorted, "Don't be stupid, dragons don't eat people."

"Uhh. Yeah they do," Lilian retorted, "they'd rip you limb from limb the moment they spot you." Lilian mimed it wildly with her hands. Kiara giggled —they had obviously not watched the same movies.

"Nope. Dragons are gentle and misunderstood creatures," Kiara told her.

"Gentle? That's rubbish," Lillian flicked her hand as if shooing away Kiara's ideas. "What do you think Anita?"

"I think dragons are fictional characters based on historical legends," Anita replied plainly.

"Well OK then! If you wanna be that boring," Lillian huffed. Then her face lit up. "But, if dragons are real, you would be the trapped princess and— and Josh would be the knight in shining armour who rescues you!" Lillian squealed.

"As if! I'm no princess."

"Admit it. You'd be anything for Josh."

"No way! And stop talking about Josh all the. . ."

Kiara had stopped listening and stood frozen to the spot. She watched her two friends as they continued to walk, their bickering grew further and further away. Kiara was trying to figure out whether her ears were playing tricks on her or not because she could hear a strange sound echoing through the forest whereas the others hadn't even noticed it.