Board Thread:Off-Topic Fun/@comment-8883075-20140401045205/@comment-8345449-20140413112214

Chapter 3: The Golden Apples

The next morning, the girl decided to travel to the Death Forest to obtain one of the golden apples that grew on the Golden Tree guarded by the Golden Dragon. When she reached the Death Forest, a white dove landed on her shoulder with a note attached to its leg. She opened the note, but there was only a single word in it - "RUN!"

Before the girl could make sense of the cryptic message, a sudden pain shot through her left arm. As she looked down, she saw a long golden serpent detach from her arm and then it wrapped itself around a strange tree that glittered in the light of the sun. Suddenly, the serpent turned into a strange-looking man dressed in a golden coat made of scales.

Bowing to the confused girl, the strange man explained, “I am the Golden Dragon. I'm a shape-shifter and I can change into any animal that I wish to.”

The Dragon then asked in a rusty voice, "What do you seek from the Death Forest? Do you want one of the golden apples from the Golden Tree?"

“Yes! I am after the golden apples and you have no right to stop me!” the girl answered out loud.

"Foolish child!” snorted the Dragon, "anyone who plucks an apple from the Golden Tree will be cursed with the most dreadful of all curses."

“I do not care! Once I have all the items I am seeking, I will have magic and can remove any curse.” replied the girl.

"And that is something, my dear, I cannot let you do," the Dragon said and turned into his dragon-form.

Frightened, the girl didn't know what to do at first. All of a sudden, the Dark Necklace around her neck started to shimmer. The warm summer’s day was transformed into a cold, dark winter’s night, and it began to snow heavily. The forest, which had been bustling with the noisy activities of the little forest creatures, became as still and quiet as a graveyard.

The Dragon angrily spat fire into the snow that had fallen around the girl’s feet and said in a deep, warning tone, "If you take an apple you shall become like the rest of them!"

He pointed towards thirteen warriors that surrounded the Golden Tree, each of them with a hand grabbing a golden apple and each of them transformed into solid gold. But even as the girl turned to look, the gold started to melt away.

Bewildered by the transformation of the golden statues, the Dragon snarled, "The Prophecy... Impossible! It's too soon!"

He turned towards the girl, a look of pure fear in his eyes. "What have you done?! Who are you??" the Dragon screamed at her as the thirteen resurrected warriors surrounded and stabbed the beast unto his death, leaving him without an answer as to who this mysterious girl may be.

Seeing that the Dragon was now dead and no longer in her way, the girl quickly plucked a golden apple from the Golden Tree and ran off as fast and as far as she could. She ran till she found what she thought was a safe place and stopped to take a moment to catch her breath. However, she suddenly realised there was a presence right beside her.

"Be wary of the curses," a voice whispered ominously into her ear before disappearing.