Stuck in the Land Of Dragons

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Theo came out of the portal and bumped into Thyrin. They were in the forest.

"C'mon guys. Follow me," Theo said. The group passed the beautiful lake with the sparkling waterfall. And soon enough, they came out in the village. Theo lead the group to his wooden shack and knocked on the door. Gabrina pulled it open and screamed.

"THEO!" Then Alex came running, and Bolivar came with Kaiya. Theo was squeezed into a family hug. Gabrina looked up, her face stained with tears, and gasped.

"Bellisca?"

"Gabrina?" The pair started crying and hugging. Theo gave Willow a look of 'What's going on here?'. Willow shrugged.

"Uh, Mum?" Theo asked.

"Yes dear?"

"Were you and Bellisca like, friends or something when you were young?"

"We were sisters."

"What?" Theo was shocked. "So for almost a month I lived with my Aunt without even knowing it?"

"And I lived with my cousin without even knowing it?" Willow shrieked.

Bellisca and Gabrina nodded.

"Um, Theo? What on Earth is that?".

"I'll tell you my story," Theo said.

So Theo told his story, from when he found the torch thingy to when he was almost eaten by Atholia but jumped into the portal just in time. Gabrina, Alex and Bolivar listened without interrupting. When Theo finished his story, Gabrina whispered something to Alex, who took off.

"I can't believe you did all that Theo!" Gabrina whispered with tears in her eyes. "And Bellisca! You were in that land for twenty-five years when I thought you were dead!"

"Mum? Why didn't you ever tell us about Bellisca?" Theo asked as Alex came back and sat on the ground.

"Well, I thought she was dead, and it made me really upset when I thought about her," Gabrina replied. Theo looked around at the group. Willow, grinning and sitting next to him, Wickley, looking amazed at Theo's story, sitting next to Alex, who looked equally amazed. Bolivar, grinning proudly at his son. Gabrina, crying proudly. Thyrin, talking to Bolivar. And Bellisca, crying. And behind Bellisca stood Ahigo. He tapped Bellisca on the shoulder, who turned around and shrieked.

"Dad!" She stood up and gave her dad a huge hug. Ahigo looked down at Willow and Wickley.

"So you must be my two new grandchildren. Gosh, before I only had three, but now I have five!" He exclaimed. Willow laughed. Ahigo turned to Theo.

"So Theo. Tell me your story."

Theo sighed dramatically. "Again?"

"Yes. Again. You disobeyed the village rules. You are in big trouble. But..." Ahigo's fierce face turned into a grin. "You did bring me my daughter back, so I'll let you off this time."

So Theo told his whole story all over again. When he finished he excused himself, grabbed Willow's arm, and ran to Leo's house. He banged on the door, and Leo opened it up.

"Theo! You're back!"

"Yup. This is Willow, my cousin, who I met in the land of dragons."

"Tell me the story!"

"OK."

Leo stared wide-eyed through the whole story.

"I can't believe you did all that!" Leo gaped when Theo had finished. "Can I see Adalinda?"

"Sure." Willow, Theo and Leo ran back to Theo's house.

"Here," Theo said. "This is Adalinda. Adalinda, this is my best friend Leo. Can we go for a ride?"

"You can ride him?" Leo squeaked with disbelief.

"Yes, we can ride her. C'mon, I'll give you a lift," Theo said. He grabbed Leo's foot and hoisted him up. The he gave Willow a lift up, and them swung his own leg over and they took off.

"Woo-hoo!" They all shouted.