1 Red Alert!

The Scarlet Dragon

CHAPTER 1

Red Alert! Plump juicy sausages, fresh fruits, warm cinnamon rolls, and fluffy scrambled eggs sat on the table in front of Prince Lucas. The prince drummed his fingers on the white tablecloth and stared dreamily at a tapestry of a unicorn and a lion. He had hoped to meet up with his best friend, Clara Gills. But breakfast had gotten in the way. "You have to eat something before you go," said his mother, Queen Tasha. Lucas grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and took a big bite. "There," he said in between chomps. "Now may I go?"

"Please don't talk with your mouth full," said his father, King Caleb. "And you must wait to be excused," said the queen. Lucas sighed and took another bite of his apple. He could hear a pair of boots clip-clopping along the stone floor toward the great hall. Stefan, one of the king's men, entered the room and bowed his head. The king and queen looked up from their breakfast. Lucas stopped munching his apple.

"Your Highness," said Stefan, "I have some very strange news." "What can it be?" asked the king.

"André and Grom have found an orphaned dragon's egg on the island of Crestwood," Stefan said. André and Grom were wizardly brothers and the rulers of Hobsgrove, an island province of the kingdom of Wrenly.