One Little Spark: Part 2

Chapter 8

"Now THAT is a sword!" said Rachel with excitement in her voice.

"Astonishing!" said Dreamfinder with widened eyes.

"Ooooooh!" Algar whistles.

"That is the most beautiful sword I've ever seen!" shouted Figment happily. "But where did it come from?"

"Who cares?" said Rachel. "Let's get it!"

          Rachel runs off towards the lake to grab the sword for Dreamfinder. She figured that maybe this might serve as a peace offering for that accidental kiss earlier today. Simplicity itself: swim up, grab the sword, bring it to Dreamfinder, win the day, and live happily ever after. Rachel's feet touch the water, but as she runs in knee-deep the sword suddenly lowers back down into the heart of the lake, disappearing from plain sight.

"Huh? Where did it go?" Rachel asked aloud with confusion in her eyes.

"It's gone!" said Figment.

"This sucks! How are we going to find a sword now?"

"There, there, Rachel." Dreamfinder intervenes, trying to calm down his beloved friend. "It's alright. With or without a sword, I'll still protect all of you." He walks up to her to give her a pat on the back when all of a sudden, the sword returns to sight! It rises back up from the water glimmering like starlight dullness of the gray waters. "What?"

"It's back!" Rachel exclaimed.

"That's strange. One moment it disappeared when you ran up to it, the next thing I came up and now it's back."

"So neat!" shouted Figment. "I'll go get it!" Figment flies off across the lake to grab the sword, but once he was about to take it into his dragon-claw hands, it disappears all over again back underwater. "Darn! I almost had it!" But just as Figment had flown away back to his friends, the sword once again returns. "Huh?"

"Rie-rurn!" cawed Algar, as if saying, "My turn!" Faster than his wings could carry him like a rocket, as well as flying much faster than Figment did, Algar swoops down towards the hand that is holding the sword eager to grab its handle with his beak. But once again, the sword disappears into the water, eluding itself from Algar's grasp. Defeated by his failure, Algar returns to his friends and perches onto Rachel's shoulders with a sad sigh. "Aww..."

"There has to be a pattern to this." said Dreamfinder to himself, stroking his beard.

"Your turn, Dreamy." Figment calls out.

"What?"

"You haven't tried to take the sword yet. Now's your chance."

"Very well." Dreamfinder sighs.

          Dreamfinder, being the last person to have the opportunity to retrieve the sword, prepares himself to make his attempt. He takes his shoes and socks, his hat, and whatever other accessories he was wearing, off and tosses them aside to avoid getting them wet. With the first splash of water soaking his feet, he readies himself to swim for it. But just as he was about to do it, something else has appeared through the foggy mists of the lake. A boat of carven brass shaped with the head of a woman and on either side the shapes of a swan's wings, at great speed, floats smoothly across the lake. It swiftly approaches Dreamfinder and stops right in front of him. Nothing else is happening. The sword is still holding up in the middle of the lake and it would seem that this boat might be...

"I think it wants you to get on, Dreamfinder." said Figment.

"Really? Me?" Dreamfinder questioned, receiving a nod from everyone. "Hmm...if this boat wants me to jump on, then maybe...you don't suppose this boat will take me to the sword, do you?"