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m_findlowTitle: Fate inextricable
Fandom: Original
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG.
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 84 - Dragons at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomweekly
Summary: Carina finds more than just a magic shop.
Carina had stopped listening to her grandfather's conversation. He'd been in discussion with the watch repair man in his little stall but now they were no longer talking about watches and springs, but rather something that sounded very dull and boring and not at all interesting for a nine year old girl.
Of far more interest was the shop just across the way, squeezed impossibly between a florist, and another with large posters of cruise ships and sunny beaches on its windows. A grimy little sign over it read Basel Morgan's Magic Shoppe. She'd never seen the word shop spelled like that. She also didn't remember a magic shop here. It looked as if it were older than the arcade itself, like the other shops had sprung up around it, crowding it in.
She glanced up at her grandfather, lost deep in conversation. She slipped out from beside him and across the tiled arcade floor. The shop door and windows were black, giving nothing away. With a bravery that surprised her, she pulled open the door and let herself inside.
She felt the tingle in the air and across her skin as she took in the cluttered piles of steamer trunks and books, taxidermied animals and strange clothes hung from aged wooden hat stands. What kind of magic shop was this?
A man appeared from behind a dusty counter. He was a large portly man with a thick bushy white moustache that wasn't at all unfriendly.
'Are you Mister Morgan?'
He doffed his flat cap and bowed. 'That I am, and a good morning to you, Miss Carina.' It didn't occur to her to wonder how he knew her name. He frowned a moment and removed his cap again, peering inside it. A robin fluttered out and perched on one of the hat stands. 'Ah, wondered where that fellow had got to.'
Carina blinked in amazement. Most magicians had rabbits and top hats. 'Are you a real magician?'
'As real as you are, I should think.'
'Would you show me a trick?'
'Trick?' His thick white eyebrows brushed his cap. 'Why would you want to see a trick when I could show you something truly marvellous?'
Her eyes lit up. 'Oh, would you?'
He smiled congenially and lowered himself back down behind the counter. When his round frame straightened back up he had his meaty hands cupped together around something. 'Have you ever seen a dragon before?'
Carina had seen loads of dragons - just today. They were all over the flags that lined the main street. 'No prouder sight to see,' her grandfather had mused as he clutched her hand. She drew closer to the counter and gripped its well-worn wooden edge as Mr Morgan pulled his hands apart, revealing a tiny red dragon. Its scales sparkled in the lamplight and Carina squeaked as it moved, its tail and head moving so gracefully.
'They're not as big as I thought they'd be.' In all the books she'd read they were huge, fire-breathing beasts.
'Magical creatures, dragons. The most magical of all creatures, even unicorns. They can be any size they wish,' he explained, 'for it's very hard to hide when they are their full grown size. People are not very good at leaving them alone to enjoy the forests and lakes so they make themselves small enough to stay hidden.'
Carina carefully moved her hand closer, palm facing up. The dragon moved over and crawled onto it, tiny claws tickling. 'Aren't they lonely? Don't they have friends? I wouldn't ever hurt one.' There were boys at school who would crush such a tiny thing in their fist just for fun, but not her.
Mr Morgan smiled. 'Why a dragon is the very best kind of friend you can have, my dear. Fiercely loyal, and fiercely brave as well. A dragon will come to your aid even in the most dire of circumstances and fight even when it knows it may lose. Though you shouldn't worry too much about that. There aren't too many who have fought a dragon and lived to tell the tale. They live forever, you see, and so to have a dragon friend is to be placed in the company of many a fine individual who came before you.'
It was such a tiny little thing, she observed. It wrapped its long barbed tail around her little finger and then stretched out its large scaly wings. They were strong and thick, not at all see-through like the wings of a bat. How grand it would be to see one at its full size. Those wings would have stretched from one side of her street to the other and then knocked out the windows of old Mrs McGinty's little terrace house.
'I wish I had a dragon for a friend.'
'A dragon won't just befriend anyone. They are far too clever and discerning to spot a false friend, and far too proud to associate with anyone who isn't true of heart. But, here you are. Magic and fate inextricably wound together. It seems my tiny friend here has chosen you already.'
'Me? Really?'
'Keep him safe and keep him secret. Destiny will sort out the rest.'
Carina very gently coaxed the red creature into her large cardigan pocket. 'I will. I promise.'
'Then I bid you a very good day,' Morgan said, bowing again.
Carina skipped out of the shop, just in time for her grandfather to notice she'd slipped away.
'Where were you?'
'Just visiting the magic shop.'
'Magic shop, eh?'
'Just over there,' she replied, pointing, but there was no shop there anymore, just a boarded up space with old bill posts fraying at their edges. It had been there, she was sure of it. To be sure, she carefully pulled open the edge of her pocket. The little dragon looked up at her and seemed to smile. She carefully pushed the edge back over, concealing her new friend from unbelieving eyes. Magic, she reminded herself.
Fandom: Original
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG.
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 84 - Dragons at
fandomweeklySummary: Carina finds more than just a magic shop.
Carina had stopped listening to her grandfather's conversation. He'd been in discussion with the watch repair man in his little stall but now they were no longer talking about watches and springs, but rather something that sounded very dull and boring and not at all interesting for a nine year old girl.
Of far more interest was the shop just across the way, squeezed impossibly between a florist, and another with large posters of cruise ships and sunny beaches on its windows. A grimy little sign over it read Basel Morgan's Magic Shoppe. She'd never seen the word shop spelled like that. She also didn't remember a magic shop here. It looked as if it were older than the arcade itself, like the other shops had sprung up around it, crowding it in.
She glanced up at her grandfather, lost deep in conversation. She slipped out from beside him and across the tiled arcade floor. The shop door and windows were black, giving nothing away. With a bravery that surprised her, she pulled open the door and let herself inside.
She felt the tingle in the air and across her skin as she took in the cluttered piles of steamer trunks and books, taxidermied animals and strange clothes hung from aged wooden hat stands. What kind of magic shop was this?
A man appeared from behind a dusty counter. He was a large portly man with a thick bushy white moustache that wasn't at all unfriendly.
'Are you Mister Morgan?'
He doffed his flat cap and bowed. 'That I am, and a good morning to you, Miss Carina.' It didn't occur to her to wonder how he knew her name. He frowned a moment and removed his cap again, peering inside it. A robin fluttered out and perched on one of the hat stands. 'Ah, wondered where that fellow had got to.'
Carina blinked in amazement. Most magicians had rabbits and top hats. 'Are you a real magician?'
'As real as you are, I should think.'
'Would you show me a trick?'
'Trick?' His thick white eyebrows brushed his cap. 'Why would you want to see a trick when I could show you something truly marvellous?'
Her eyes lit up. 'Oh, would you?'
He smiled congenially and lowered himself back down behind the counter. When his round frame straightened back up he had his meaty hands cupped together around something. 'Have you ever seen a dragon before?'
Carina had seen loads of dragons - just today. They were all over the flags that lined the main street. 'No prouder sight to see,' her grandfather had mused as he clutched her hand. She drew closer to the counter and gripped its well-worn wooden edge as Mr Morgan pulled his hands apart, revealing a tiny red dragon. Its scales sparkled in the lamplight and Carina squeaked as it moved, its tail and head moving so gracefully.
'They're not as big as I thought they'd be.' In all the books she'd read they were huge, fire-breathing beasts.
'Magical creatures, dragons. The most magical of all creatures, even unicorns. They can be any size they wish,' he explained, 'for it's very hard to hide when they are their full grown size. People are not very good at leaving them alone to enjoy the forests and lakes so they make themselves small enough to stay hidden.'
Carina carefully moved her hand closer, palm facing up. The dragon moved over and crawled onto it, tiny claws tickling. 'Aren't they lonely? Don't they have friends? I wouldn't ever hurt one.' There were boys at school who would crush such a tiny thing in their fist just for fun, but not her.
Mr Morgan smiled. 'Why a dragon is the very best kind of friend you can have, my dear. Fiercely loyal, and fiercely brave as well. A dragon will come to your aid even in the most dire of circumstances and fight even when it knows it may lose. Though you shouldn't worry too much about that. There aren't too many who have fought a dragon and lived to tell the tale. They live forever, you see, and so to have a dragon friend is to be placed in the company of many a fine individual who came before you.'
It was such a tiny little thing, she observed. It wrapped its long barbed tail around her little finger and then stretched out its large scaly wings. They were strong and thick, not at all see-through like the wings of a bat. How grand it would be to see one at its full size. Those wings would have stretched from one side of her street to the other and then knocked out the windows of old Mrs McGinty's little terrace house.
'I wish I had a dragon for a friend.'
'A dragon won't just befriend anyone. They are far too clever and discerning to spot a false friend, and far too proud to associate with anyone who isn't true of heart. But, here you are. Magic and fate inextricably wound together. It seems my tiny friend here has chosen you already.'
'Me? Really?'
'Keep him safe and keep him secret. Destiny will sort out the rest.'
Carina very gently coaxed the red creature into her large cardigan pocket. 'I will. I promise.'
'Then I bid you a very good day,' Morgan said, bowing again.
Carina skipped out of the shop, just in time for her grandfather to notice she'd slipped away.
'Where were you?'
'Just visiting the magic shop.'
'Magic shop, eh?'
'Just over there,' she replied, pointing, but there was no shop there anymore, just a boarded up space with old bill posts fraying at their edges. It had been there, she was sure of it. To be sure, she carefully pulled open the edge of her pocket. The little dragon looked up at her and seemed to smile. She carefully pushed the edge back over, concealing her new friend from unbelieving eyes. Magic, she reminded herself.
