New story!

Remember that story Grace wrote (The Demon Scarab)?
Well, apparently inspired by the fantasy series we've both been reading and some make-believe game she made up on the spot when goofing off with Benny's plastic sword and armor set, she is now writing a fantasy tale entitled Cranwreath. Enjoy!

Cranwreath
Chapter One
Lysendar's Journey

Once upon a time, far across the Sea of Infinity, in the faraway land of Dalsone, there was a country called Cranwreath. And east of Cranwreath were the Demon Hills, where lay the kingdom of the villainous Delbrum, Lord of Darkness and Evil. South of the Demon Hills was Lysendar Meadow. Lysendar was a white horse with a golden mane that knew all the secrets of good, evil and even how to take complete control of Dalsone. There was only one way to make him reveal anything: he had to be captured and asked to speak by someone who was fearless of Lysendar and his deathly stare. Which was not an easy task, for Lysendar was stronger than fifty men, swifter than any trained horse and much too smart for halters and ropes. And Lysendar did not speak Horse nor any language of man, but actually mumbled and huffed in an old language once used for ancient spells now forgotten. In the Demon Hills Delbrum had sent his soldiers to set traps around Lysendar Meadow. It had been two weeks when Posgar, Delbrums chief war leader, returned with eleven soldiers. As Posgar strode into the hall Delbrum frantically started asking questions. "Did you set the traps? Where are the others?" "We were overtaken by the fire lizards," answered Posgar. "You fool!" The booming voice of Delbrum made Posgar flinch. "I told you to cross the river not go through the forest!" Delbrum scolded angrily. Though fire lizards are only a few feet long, their sharp teeth, fire breath and ability to fly makes them far from dangerous. Deon, the griffin, had been watching from a large hole in the stone wall meant to be a window. After hearing this he swiftly took off back to Cranwreath. He had no trouble getting through the Demon Hills but as soon as he was above Fire Lizard Forest the small dragons were after him. There were three. The first one sped directly at Deon. Noticing the pursuer, Deon struck out with his talons. The fire lizard gave a harsh cry, then fell to the ground like a stone. The two others stood in the air a moment. At every breath they let out, a puff of smoke escaped the gaping jaws. Suddenly Deon sped straight downward toward a large rock in a clearing in the forest. The fire lizards followed, just inches from the tip of Deon's tail. The griffin was about to hit the rock when he turned and flew toward the sky. The fire lizards crashed into the rock. One was dead and the other with a large gash in it's head was moaning in pain. Seeing that there were no others, Deon started on his journey again. Soon he was over Lysendar Meadow. Below there was no sign of the white horse. What had once been a fair plain had become more of a battlefield. The bloodstained field lay silent in the oncoming dusk.

Days later in Cranwreath the young princess Alexandra had been waiting for her friend Deon. She walked quickly out of the front door of the palace and frowned at the snoring guard with his back against the wall. "Get up!" she said, smacking him on the shoulder.