Legend of the Draco Snow Prince: Chapter 2

Written by: Nate the Great and Ash Cinder

Elsewhere, in another part of the city, a dalmatian in a long magenta robe was lounging on a couch playing his mandolin. He looked up and around him as he smiled at the many mirrors covering the walls, ceiling and floor. "This head of the dalmatian is quite attractive," he said to himself, "I must wear it more often than I have done of late, although it may not be the best in my collection." Just then, an image appeared in one of his mirrors. He saw a German Shepherd, a grizzly bear, and a blue dragon with a wolf pup in his arms. "May I present his royal highness, the Draco Snow Prince Nathan," said the German Shepherd in the mirror as the group was making their way out of the scene. "Nathan?" said the dalmatian in his chair, "Uhh, just one problem there, buddy: Nathan's dead. All the Dracos are dead. I mean, there's no possible way that kid could be Prince Nathan-" *THUMP!* The dalmatian jumped and looked at another mirror and saw the shimmering white silhouette of a human with snow white skin, white flowing robes, and a crystal crown. The human appeared to be moving along the sides of the mirror but whenever he got near the glass, his whole self would ripple. "Jack Frost," said the dalmatian as he calmed down and picked up his instrument, "Nobody's going to help you. Nobody knows where you are." Then the dalmatian strummed a note on his instrument as he added, "There's nobody left who even remembers who you are." The dalmatian was about to continue playing when he paused for a moment. "Wait... if the Snow King has shown himself after all these years then that must mean... Nathan is alive?" he thought and looked at the image of the blue dragon again and gasped, "And that's him!" He stood up and then he headed into another room, which looked like a cabinet with several cupboards. In each cabinet sitting behind a glass cupboard door, there were several masks that were perched on head dummies. He approached an empty one and using a key that was tied to his right hand, he unlocked it and opened it. "I think No. 6 will do for this afternoon," the prince said as he reached up and held his head. Then he twisted his head to the left and there was a click. Suddenly, the dalmatian's head was removed from the body and placed into the cupboard. Then the body closed the door and walked over to another cupboard numbered "6". Using the key on his right hand, the prince opened the cabinet to reveal the head of a Doberman. Then, the body lifted the head above its shoulders as it fitted the head into place, and it turned it to the right to fasten it in and returned to the room of mirrors. Suddenly, a smokey mist appeared in the air. It was Exortos, the Black Serpent. "Something's happened," he hissed angrily and the doberman came up and bowed to the snake. "I'm not surprised because I just saw him: Nathan." "Nathan? That Draco brat?!" hissed Exortos angrily, "My curse has not been fulfilled!"

Back on the train Travis helped Nathan and Jim put their luggage away as the train started to begin the journey.

Nathan was sitting next to a window with Lupin across from him. The wolf pup loved having his belly rubbed by Jim but he growled when Travis tried to take his seat.

Travis jumped up and scowled a little at the wolf before taking a seat next to Nathan, staring a little, impressed just how much he looked like the Draco Prince.

Nathan was slouching in his seat examining his necklace and looking at it some more while intertwining it between his fingers.

Travis notices the necklace. "What is that?" He asks.

"This? I've always had it since I could remember," said Nathan looking at the German Shepherd.

"Together with the Seasons?" Travis read the inscription. "So is that why you're coming with us?"

"Yes," said Nathan as he slouched in his seat and Travis could see he had a lot to work with.

"So... just so you know," Travis tried to explain carefully, "when we actually get there, it isn't enough to look like the Draco Prince, you have to act like them too." He tried to subtly warn him about his posture.

But Nathan just scoffed and asked, "How is it you know what princes do or don't do?"

"I make it my business to know. Look, Nathan, I'm just trying to help, alright. Make you more believable as the Draco Prince and all that."

Jim looked up at the two of them as Nathan sat up and said, "Travis, do you really think I'm royalty?"

"You know I do." Travis smiled.

"Then stop bossing me around," snapped Nathan as he slumped back into his seat as Jim chuckled and replied, "He certainly has a mind of his own."

Travis sighed and rolled his eyes slightly.

"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot."

"Well I think we did too," said the young dragon, "And I appreciate your apology."

"Apology? Wait, I didn't say anything about an apology, I was just saying..."

"Please, just stop talking. It's only going to upset me," said Nathan as he looked out the window.

"Alright fine, I'll be quiet if you will." Travis held up his hands.

"Fine," said Nathan as he crossed his arms still looking out the window of the passenger car and asked, "You think you're gonna miss it?"

"Miss what? Your talking?" Travis sassed.

"No," snapped Nathan, "The palace of the Dracos."

"Not particularly, no."

"But I thought it was your home," said the young blue dragon turning to the German shepherd.

"It was a place I used to live." He said emotionlessly.

"So you plan on making the Azure City your true home," said Nathan as he got up to leave the cabin but found Travis' legs in the way.

"What is it with you and homes?" Travis asked, noticing his legs were blocking him, but didn't bother moving them.

"Well, for one thing it's what every normal person wants," said Nathan trying to get by but resorted to climbing on the seat across, "And for another, it's where you feel... feel... oh, just forget it!" He was aggravated by how simple minded and stubborn the canine was when Jim entered. "Oh, thank goodness it's you just please remove him from my sight!" said Nathan pointing at Travis. "What have you done to him?" he asked Travis severely.

"Me?! It's him!" Travis pointed to him accusingly.

"HA!" laughed Nathan as he stormed out of the compartment. Jim sighed and looked at Lupin the wolf pup. "Oh no," he said, "An unspoken attraction?"

"Attraction?! For that disrespectful little brat? Have you lost your mind?" Travis said, defensively.

"I was only asking a simple question," said Jim shrugging his shoulders.

"Attraction. Ridiculous." Travis scoffed and sat down, looking out the train window at the country side rolling by.

Elsewhere, Exortos was furious when he heard that Nathan was still alive. So he conjured some demons and ordered them to put an end to Nathan before he could rediscover who he was. "Go and destroy him," he hissed and then turned to a crystal ball and in the corner, Langwidawn was there wearing a lion's head.

Meanwhile, Jim was walking down the aisle of the passenger car when he heard some voices. "Last month, the traveling papers were blue, and now, they are red" said the voice. The bear looked at the traveling papers and gasped in horror when he heard the conductor calling for tickets. He hurriedly rushed back to the cabin and found Nathan asleep and Travis looking up at the bear. "It's what I hate about this government," groaned Jim holding up the traveling papers, "Everything's in red."

"Red? Crap! What do we do?"

"I propose we move to the baggage car quickly before the conductor comes," said Jim nervously.

Travis moved to Nathan, who was sleeping and shook him to wake him up, when Nathan suddenly punched him in the face out of reflex.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Nathan sitting up, "I thought you were someone I- Oh, it's you Travis. Well, that's okay then."

Travis held his nose in pain.

"We gotta go." He pulled Nathan up with his other hand.

"Where are we going?" asked Nathan as he got up with Lupin barking out the window and then whimpered as if something spooked him. Nathan picked up the wolf pup in his arms and made his way out.

"The Baggage Car." Travis said, leading him out of the passenger car followed by Jim.

Lupin followed them all and then Nathan was the last inside. "There wouldn't happen to be anything wrong with our travel papers, would there, Maestro?" said Nathan as he came up to the canine with suspicion in his tone.

"Of course not, your highness, I just hate for you to mingle with all those commoners." Travis said.

Lupin started barking at a flash of light and suddenly there was an explosion followed by a jolt as Nathan landed on his stomach and Travis fell backward on top of him. Jim looked out the missing door. "There goes the dinning car," he said sadly as he watched the passenger cars fall behind.

"Sorry." Travis said to Nathan as he got off of him. "What's happening?"

"I think somebody has flambéed our engine," said Jim looking at the engine which was shooting sparks and flames from its funnel.

"Something's not right, I'm gonna check it out!" Travis proceeds over the coal truck and into the train. "Anybody here?" He called out, his fur getting singed from the intense heat coming from the engine. He reaches for a lever but burns his hand in the process, howling in pain, turning back and heading into the Baggage Car.

"We're going way too fast!" called Nathan as he poked his head out to look at the surrounding area.

"Nobody's driving the train!" Travis said, shaking his burned hand as he got back inside the Baggage Car. "We're going to have to jump!"

"Did you say jump?" asked Nathan as Travis opened the side door to the baggage car and there was a deep ravine. "After you!" called the dragon looking at the canine.

"Okay, maybe we can uncouple the car!" He immediately ran to the cable to see it was welded in place, but tried in vain to get it open. "Come on I need a wrench, an ax, anything!"

"Here!" shouted Jim as he passed a hammer to Travis. Lupin barked at his dragon and he looked down at a box full of dynamite.

Travis hit the cable repeatedly with the hammer, only for it to break. "Come on there's gotta be something better than this?!"

Then Nathan gave the dog a stick of TNT and the fuse was lit.

Travis stuck the TNT into the cable and ran over taking cover with the others behind a crate.

"What did they teach you at that orphanage anyway?"

The baggage car's front blew off and then it got detached from the engine at last. Jim came out and tried turning the brake valve but the handle broke off and the bear turned to the German Shepherd worriedly.

"Don't worry, we've got plenty of track and no engine, we'll just stop eventually."

Just then, there was an explosion as the demons turned into one giant monster came up and destroyed an approaching bridge. The three travelers gasped at the sight. "You were saying?" asked Nathan over Travis' shoulder.

Travis looked around, trying to think of something quick. "I've got an idea," He said, moving to the end of the train and dropping down to look underneath it, "Vlad give me a hand with this!"

Jim tried helping but he fell head first into an open box. Seeing that the bear couldn't help, Nathan grabbed the chain and went towards Travis.

Travis grabbed the chain, a bit surprised to see Nathan handing it to him. "Not you!"

"Jim's busy at the moment," called Nathan as Travis took the chain and tied it around the bottom of the car. He was almost done when something came loose and made the German Shepherd lose his grip for a moment but the dragon caught him. They looked up and saw the thing hit a nearby tree and knocked it down. "And to think that could have been you," he said to the canine.

Travis got up and brushed off his clothes. "If we live through this, remind me to thank you." They all got ready to throw the chain and grappling hook over the side of the train. "Here goes nothing." Travis said as they all pushed it over. The train hooked onto the track and started pulling it apart, managing to turn the train around on the track so that the side of the train was sliding down the track, slowing down even more.

"Well, this is our stop!" called Nathan as he held Lupin in his arms and some luggage.

They all joined arms and jumped, landing softly in the snow with all their luggage as the rest of the train continued down the track behind them before running off the broken bridge and crashing below in a fiery inferno. They all got up out of the snow and brushed off their clothes. "Remind me never to get on a train again." Travis said.

Back in his castle, Exortos was watching through a mirror and saw that his plan didn't work and he was furious. "How could I let him escape?!" he growled as he set his wand down to pace back and forth. "I know, it's very upsetting, sir," said Langwidawn, who was wearing a leopard head, "I guess this wand is broken." He tossed the wand into the air but Exortos caught it before it made contact with the ground. He growled angrily as he cornered the feline headed prince. "I poured my soul into this wand," he hissed, "My life, my very existence depends on it. And you almost destroyed it!" He pressed Langwidawn to the wall by the throat while pointing the wand directly into the prince's face. "I get it! I get it! You break it, you bought it!" choked Langwidawn. "See that you remember, you miserable wretch!" growled Exortos as he shoved the canine to the ground. "Oh sure," muttered the prince, "Blame the minion. We're easy targets." "What are you muttering about?" growled Exortos. "Nathan, sir," said Langwidawn quickly, "Just wishing I could do the job for you sir." Exortos smiled as he said, "I had something else in mind. Something more enticing. Something really... cruel."