Avery and the Dragon stone

The beginning

The sun crawled through the thick grey curtains into the bedroom, it danced across the hardwood flooring and up the walls. The stream of sunlight bounced off the light blue lamp which sat on the table aside of the full-size bed. 

"Argh!" A voice arose as the thick grey quilted blanket moved across the bed,

A girl sat up pushing the blanket back onto her legs. She had pale olive like skin with short blue hair that draped over half of her face, she let out a yawn pushing her hair out of her eyes. In this moment we see both the lip and nose piercings of gold placed upon her face. 

"Avery Eden Merrick! I said get up breakfast is done!" A voice yelled from downstairs

"Coming Mom!" Avery let out a soft response as she turned sitting on the edge of the bed, she reached to the side table where the lamp was and grabbed a ring which sat upon the table. The ring was golden with a red ruby stone, engraved were the words "A la mujer que amo" (To the woman I love). She slipped it onto her finger and stood up stretching slightly. her feet hit the hardwood floor as she opened the door to her bedroom, the bedroom itself was quaint, it had once been an attic when Avery and her mother had bought the home two years ago. the roof dipped in slightly where her window seat was, the walls were lined with bookshelves full of different books of every kind. There were trinkets everywhere, yet the room was very clean. At the food of the full-size bed was an ottoman where a brown leather bag sat along with a pair of black boots and a leather jacket.  

Avery walked down the cold wooden stairs down into the entrance way and through a archway into the kitchen. The kitchen itself was fairly modern, or so Avery's mother Clara had tried to make it seem, the kitchen was brown with white counter tops. The kitchen itself looked nice at first glance but once you looked deeper you would find just how many issues it had. 

"Morning little bird!" Clara said as Avery pulled open a cabinet reaching for a glass cup, she then walked across the cold tiled floor and to the sink.

"No Avery wait! -" Clara said in a hurry putting the pancake mix down.

Avery had turned on the sink by the time the word no could even come out of her mother's mouth.  Suddenly the sink began to spray water everywhere Avery gasped quickly putting the glass down as to not drop it, the cold water soaked her pajamas as her mom quickly slammed her hand down turning off the water. 

"The sink isn't working- I tried to tell you!" Clara said as she looked over at Avery who's clothing was now soaked. 

"Yeah, I noticed" Avery sighed and looked at her mother as she spoke. 

"Go change while I finish breakfast my little bird- and I'll clean up the water don't worry" Her mother gave her a soft smile as Avery pushed back her soaked hair and walked back up the stairs and too her room. The truth was Avery's mother had been raising her alone for years, after her father died when she was three. For years Clara and Avery did all they could to get by, saving as much money as they could. Eventually Clara started to fix the things that broke around the house to save money instead of having someone else fix it. Clara tried her best she even taught Avery all her education as she was homeschooled. Clara did so well with the homeschooling that Avery was able to graduate and finish schooling at the age of 16, now currently 18 she spent the past two years filling her life with as many adventures as possible. 

"Ugh stupid sink!" Avery groaned as she pulled the wet clothing off heading to her closet opening the door and pulling out a new set of clothing, she threw on the ripped blue jeans and a black tank top. She then went and sat on the ottoman at the end of her bed slipping her socks and boots on, she grabbed her bag and pulled out an old picture. In it was her mother Clara and the only photo Avery has of her father. A sigh escaped her lips as she pushed the photo back into the bag setting the bag back down.

"Avery everything is done now!" Clara yelled as Avery looked up at her bedroom door. 

She let out another sigh and walked back downstairs meeting her mother in the kitchen. Clara handed her a plate of pancakes kissing her daughter's forehead and sending her on her way. Avery went back upstairs without her mom noticing, or so she thought.

"Don't go making a mess up in your room Avery Eden!" Clara yelled annoyed as she looked at the empty dining table. 

Avery entered her room placing the plate on her side table and getting on her knees beside the bed, she reached under the bed and pulled out a folder which was stuffed full of pieces of paper. She sat back on the bed laying the folder in front of her on the bed, as she grabbed the plate of pancakes eating, she began to piece together the papers, random notes. Information on certain places in the islands close to her home, runes of what looked like old buildings, and newspaper clippings of certain articles. 

"Another day, another try" she said as she stuffed her mouth with the pancakes looking over the bed full of papers, her eyes moved from side to side taking in all the information. She had seen all of it a thousand times before, she had been to the islands, seen the plant life. She smelled the saltwater surrounding the islands and yet. This was the biggest adventure of her life, the one adventure she had yet to solve. Her father's death, articles of paper read "Man found dead covered in claw marks" Another states "rouge bear kills hiker through the northern islands" She sighed eating the pancakes and studying every piece of paper over and over again. 

She placed the empty plate on the side table and then glanced back at the papers, moments passed as a look of frustration crossed Avery's face "no! It wasn't a bear! Ugh!" She yelled as she took her hand swiping the papers off the bed as they floated through the air and landed on the floor. She curled herself up and fell onto her side thinking to herself. "He didn't die because of a bear! I- I don't know why he died but it wasn't a bear! Avery said covering her face with her hands. 

"Going over the articles again huh?" Clara said as she stood in the doorway clearly worried. 

"He isn't dead he can't be! It wasn't a bear it was something else it has to be! A-A- a monster or something! He can't be dead!" Avery yelled now hysterical tears flooding down her face. 

Clara rushed over pulling her daughter into her arms, this had been something Avery delt with since she was three.  The death of her father was the mystery to start her love of mysteries. The one mystery that she was never able to solve, maybe it was just a freak accident with a bear. Or maybe it was something else. Maybe there was an entire mystery revolving around his death.