So, it starts with the dragonlette, she thought.

Taking her drawing and equipment, she ran back to see the hatchling.

And despite people all around, all she could see was...

... a vision of herself, the baby dragon and the unknown woman she knew to be in danger.

This young lady had never believed in magic; had never believed in anything but her own ordinariness ~ but now she was aware that something very real, very special and very, very unusual was happening ~ and that she was at the centre of it.

It concerned the strange man in the woods, the harpist, the baby dragon ~ and herself.

Between them, she knew now, they had to save a woman's life.

This was to be the first of her special tasks ~ to fight against evil.

She was just a girl ~ not a superwoman, but she had new special friends ~ and she had a special talent. She could draw.

Was this going to help her?
Was this her equivalent of 'a superpower'?

How was she going to find the strange woman, and could she save her from the evil which threatened her?

She had to do something and suddenly she knew exactly what it would be; she picked up her pad and pencils and she ....

Started to draw. She drew picture after picture of buildings and streets. They were very unfamiliar to her and yet she knew in time, they would paint a picture. As she finished each, she heard the harp music.

Where was the blue eyed man? Would he know what mystery hid in her pictures? She must find him......

But what was this? The little dragon was wobbling toward her. making a distressed sound and eyes whirring.

Someone handed her a bowl of meat chunks. "Feed her!" they cried. She wouldn't approach anyone else.

As she looked into the beautiful multicolored eyes of the little dragon, she heard in her head, "My name is Delia. Will you be my friend?"

...

the sparkling saphire hues of the young dragon seemed to twist and swirl within themselves hypnotically. while the little one carefully chose each mouthful, she spread her drawings about her. tucking the stray strands of her ebony hair behind her ears, she began to study her pictures. they were not ordinary pictures, and because she had drawn them without conscious decisions of the subjects, she carefully studied each one hoping for clues. the three letters on the sign in the first picture were E D G, the rest obscured.in the next, the building that was quite visible, was a small clothing shop,on a street that ran parallel to a small river. the street sign was facing away from view, but knowing the "marsh end river" was across town from her normal travels, it was the first solid thing that she could use to start her quest of finding the woman. she took out her pencil and started making a list of the questions that were filling her brain... what does the sign say? where could the shop be located?
and many others.she had been concentrating so hard, she hadn't noticed delia had finished eating and was now sleeping next to her, looking like a living, breathing jewel. "how do i take care of you little one?" she quietly asked the creature that had come to her for...

Delia, the little dragonlette woke.

Again the beautiful little creature spoke, though no sounds actually issued from her mouth.

~ "You have already learned much in a very short time, and you will easily learn how to take care of me ~ just as I shall take care of you, Princess Maia."

~ "Princess Maia?!? ~ I am a princess? ~ I just thought that I was just an ordinary girl, leading a very ordinary life ~ until today, that is." She, added, beginning to look confused and exhausted.

~ "Yes, Highness, you are a princess and you are special. You belong in our land, where everything and everyone was once always good, until the evil ones took over. Then your parents placed you in this world, for your own protection."

~ "But there is evil here too! I can sense the evil surrounding the woman in my drawings."

~ "Yes, there is both good and evil here. Kind people have protected you from harm and you, in turn, will protect good people from evil. You have a special mission and a special talent to help you to succeeed. Later, you must do your duty in our own land, and rid it of the evil ones, thus freeing your incarcerated parents

~ "But first I must save this mystery woman."

~ " Yes, and I will help. We shall examine the drawings together. Together we shall solve this mystery. The harpist and the woodsman will help us, too. Just believe in yourself."

These were startling words from such a tiny creature ~ but very uplifting.

With new-found confidence, Maia turned to smile at her magical friend, but Delia was no longer a tiny creature; she had already grown considerably.

Delia noted the look of surprise on Maia's face,
~ "I can make myself invisible, too" she added, and Maia was sure that she saw a smile in the dragon's hypnotic eyes.

And indeed Delia did smile - inside and out, because she knew that in the world Princess Maia was just beginning to discover, there is magic. And magic is not really complete without a special companion - someone to walk beside her. Not an ordinary companion, of course.

A small tow-headed boy was watching Delia and smiling. As he looked up and smiled at Maia, he noticed the drawing of the shop. "I know that shop, Princess!" he exclaimed. "My guardian, Prince Rouark goes there often."

"It's near the marsh end river, isn't it? she asked."

"Yes", said the boy, "so you know it, too?"

"Not really", answered Maia. "Could you take me there, please? ~ I think that this could be a matter of life and death!"

The princess, the boy and the dragon set off for the old clothes shop. It must be important in her quest, thought Maia, but she could not imagine how, or why, it should be related to any dangerous or evil activity.

It took quite a while to walk to the building in question. When they arrived, Maia surveyed the shop frontage and compared it to her drawing. They were identical. Maia shivered in amazement.

From the outside of the shop, nothing looked amiss, but as Maia pushed open the front door, and the bell rang, she was enveloped by the most terrible feeling. She was glad to have Delia with her, but feared for the boy.

"Run!" she shouted to him. "Run to Prince Rouark!"

She hoped that he could escape in time; she hoped that he would bring help. Though the shop was empty, and nothing had happened to cause her harm, she knew that she was in great danger.

Suddenly ....

the worn, wooden floored creaked, and the woman from her drawing appeared from the back room. "May I help you?" she asked seeing Maia, in a very ordinary voice, still looking at her in a very ordinary way. Delia reminded Maia," She can neither see nor hear me."

Maia felt frozen in time and the room itself became oddly cold, she thought" this is the mystery woman, she is in danger, and she has no idea? was I mistaken? " However the hairs raised on the back of her neck and the goosebumps on her arms, said otherwise, the feeling of danger was thick in the air.

"Miss, can I help you?" repeated the mystery woman, jolting Maia from her thoughts, she then...

... noticed Maia's drawing of the shop.

"Oh you are an artist, Miss ~ are you hoping to sell us this work? - It's very good ~ very detailed." The woman enthused. "Have you been watching us?" she added, nervously.

"No" Maia responded quickly.

"Then how could you have done this drawing? It is so perfect it could almost be a photograph. Is it copied from a photograph?"

"No" Maia repeated, not knowing how to explain.

She needed to change the subject.

"I'm looking for a gift for someone. Could you show me some gloves, please?" She sounded ridiculous, she knew. Gloves? In this weather? It was the height of summer.

Then a sudden sound startled her.
It was the sound of .....