The Endless Quest
(This is a story I wrote for a short story competition at my school, so I thought I’d share it with you. Looking back, I could have made it a lot better had there not been a word limit, so I couldn’t add in all the details that I originally wanted to.)
Lysander approached the dragon cave, creeping towards it slowly. This was it. He was going to rescue the princess and save his village! He snuck into the cave, scanning his surroundings. There was the princess, hanging over a fire.
Now, we all know how the story is going to end…right? Lysander will save the princess with a daring rescue and slay the dragon…Or will he….
Just then, Lysander heard a deep growling noise behind him. He slowly turned around…There was a magnificent dragon looming over him, with shining golden scales, its teeth bared in a snarl. A few plumes of smoke escaped from its nostrils. Uh oh….
The dragon lunged towards him, setting the cave ablaze. Lysander ducked behind a boulder. With a roar, he rushed forwards, his sword in hand, and plunged it into the dragon’s chest. It collapsed on the floor, while Lysander rescued the princess from the fire.
This is where the story is supposed to end….But it won’t.
Lysander approached the dragon cave, creeping towards it slowly. This was it. He was going to rescue the princess and save his village! There was the princess, hanging over a fire.
ust then, Lysander heard a deep growling noise behind him. He slowly turned around…There was a magnificent dragon looming over him.
He rushed forwards, his sword in hand, and plunged it into the dragon’s chest. Lysander rescued the princess from the fire.
Lysander approached the dragon cave, creeping towards it slowly. This was it. He snuck into the cave, scanning his surroundings. There was the princess—
Wait, What! Lysander thought. Didn’t I do this already? He looked around. What was going on? The dragon loomed up behind him once again, and Lysander plunged his sword into its chest again. He then rushed over to the princess and released her.
Lysander approached the dragon cave— No. He thought I’m not doing this anymore. Something’s going on here, and I’m going to figure out what. He turned away from the cave.
Just then, he heard footsteps coming from the forest. Who could that be? He ducked into the forest.
Suddenly, a deep chasm opened in front of him. He stumbled forward, nearly losing his balance. But with a sigh of relief, he managed to steady himself.
Then, he took a deep breath, and jumped. He soared through the air, and for a moment it seemed that he was not going to make it. But he did. And his feet hit solid ground again. Yet as soon as he got there, the chasm closed again. Interesting….
It was there that Lysander discovered the source of the sound he had heard earlier. It was a young man, with a messy mop of brown hair, and electric blue eyes, wearing gleaming silver armour and carrying a sword. He was trekking through the forest.
No…It can’t be! Lysander thought.
The young man was…..Himself.
The two Lysanders stopped and stared at each other. Time seemed to stop. They both reached out their hands. Their movements mirrored each other. But as their fingers touched, electricity seemed to fill the forest. The second Lysander crumbled to dust before his eyes, the wondrous expression still fixed on his face. The wind scattered his remains far away.
Lysander couldn’t breathe. What on earth was happening! He had just watchedhimself die before his eyes! Was everything all an illusion? Had all this been a lie? Am I going crazy?
Just then, he heard a voice. It seemed to be echoing all around him. “No, no, no! You’ve ruined everything!”
“What do you mean?”
“The story was supposed to go on forever! Your quest was never meant to end! Why did you have to turn back? The whole story is ruined!”
Lysander looked hurriedly around. “Who are you? What are you? What happened back there?”
The voice laughed. “I’m your creator of course! Every story needs a creator! And as for what happened? You saw your past self. That was you before you went to the dragon cave. The chasm you encountered was just you crossing over a page!
When the past and present encounter each other, one of them has to die to balance it out.”
“So I’m not actually….real? Everyone in my village…they aren’t real?”
“Of course not! You’re a fairy tale character! You exist simply for the entertainment of children!”
Lysander glared. “You don’t get to decide that.” The voice wavered. “What?”
“I want to be real, and there’s nothing you can do to stop that.”
“I—What?”
Lysander stepped forward, he could feel the air in front of him shimmering. He reached towards it, and stepped into the real world.
Little did he know, the dragon behind him slowly raised its head. It may not have been able to speak, but it could certainly hear….
