Chapter 1

DRAGON GIRLS BOOK 5 Aisha the Sapphire Treasure Dragon by Maddy Mara

1 Aisha and her grandmother pushed open the wooden door of the antique store. It creaked loudly. Aisha loved coming here. The store was filled with very old, very interesting things: rich tapestries, heavy chests, fancy vases, paintings with thick golden frames. There was even a suit of

armor near the door. It was the kind of place where you might find something special in a dusty corner. The days Aisha spent with her grandmother were the best. They always had lunch, and then visited the antique store. Looking at treasures from the past was their all-time favorite thing to do together. "Let's look at the jewelry," Aisha's grandmother suggested. The jewelry was displayed in a glass cabinet at the back of the store. Aisha and her grandmother loved trying on all the old pieces. Now that Aisha was doing a jewelry-making course, she liked looking at the old rings and necklaces to get ideas for her own creations. "I'll be there in a moment," Aisha replied. "I'll just take a quick look around first." Aisha had a quivery, excited feeling in her stomach. The moment she stepped inside the store today, she knew something was going to happen.

Something magical. Recently, Aisha had been to a very special place with her friends Mei and Quinn called the Magic Forest. There, the three girls had discovered they were Treasure Dragon Girls! This meant that they could do all kinds of cool things like fly and roar powerful, magical roars. They were also good at finding treasure and protecting it. Aisha couldn't wait to go back. Aisha looked down at the friendship bracelet on her wrist. She, Mei, and Quinn had made matching bracelets in jewelry class. Each had chosen a different color. Mei had picked ruby-red, and Quinn jade green. Aisha's favorite gemstone was sapphire, so in the center of Aisha's bracelet was a gorgeous blue bead. She picked blue whenever she could—for her clothes, her pencil case, even her hair ties. As Aisha looked at the bracelet, something strange began to happen. Was she imagining it, or was the bead glowing like real sapphire? Aisha rushed to the window so she could inspect the

bead more clearly. Outside the antique store, snow covered the ground. The light was already starting to fade even though it was still afternoon. Aisha made a face. She hated winter. This was another reason why she longed to go back to the Magic Forest. It was so warm and bright there. She stared curiously at the bead in her bracelet again. It was definitely glowing.

Then Aisha heard someone singing. It wasn't her grandmother or the shopkeeper. They were busy talking together. Aisha listened more carefully to the words: Magic Forest, Magic Forest, come explore… Aisha spun around. Hanging on a nearby wall was a large tapestry. She had always loved tapestries. From a distance they looked like paintings, but up close you could see every single perfect stitch. Aisha gazed at the scene in the tapestry. A snow-covered landscape of trees and mountains glistened like a diamond. Aisha leaned in. The singing seemed to be coming from the tapestry itself! Aisha felt her heart beating. Was she imagining it, or were the woven trees in the tapestry swaying, just a little? She took a step closer. She could almost smell the dark, smoky scent of pine cones in winter. Aisha was certain she could even hear the woven leaves on the tapestry trees rustling!