Allia and the Dragon – Gabriella Whitby
Allia and the Dragon
Ignoring the flames billowing behind her, Allia continued to run.
She clutched the golden orb to her chest. How had she agreed to this in the first place? You’ll be rich, her older brother Eli had told her. You’ll be famous. You’ll have everything you could dream of. But when had this agreement come to stealing the treasure of a living, fire-breathing dragon?
Roars broke Allia’s thoughts as she was jolted back to reality. Dim sunlight glinted on her sun-browned skin as she glanced at the top of the forest. The shimmering of golden scales caught her eyes. It was fascinating, but terrifying.
Dread coursed through her veins as she locked eyes with the creature. Even with the trees, she was sure it could spot her from a mile away, especially since she was holding its prized gem.
It had been surprisingly easy to steal. The dragon had been out hunting for prey, and it had just left the orb in its cave, unguarded. Of course it had to spot Allia while she was just leaving. Even with her skills, she would never make it out of the forest alive.
The dragon dived towards the mossy floor, its wingbeats echoing in Allia’s ears. Breathing heavily, Allia looked behind her to catch a glimpse of the dragon and forgot to watch where she was running, and the tip of her leather boot snagged on a root. She screamed as she fell to the damp forest floor, the orb flying out of her arms, bouncing off a tree …
… rolling straight into the roaring flames behind her.
“No, no, no, no,” Allia screamed. This couldn’t be happening.
The dragon flew closer and closer as Allia grabbed a bottle of water from her satchel and splashed water all over the orb and the flames around it. She lunged to pick up the treasure as the dragon landed on the flames nearby, somehow unscathed. The orb was scalding hot, but Allia had dealt with worse. Impossibly, it hadn’t melted in the heat of the fires.
An earthshaking roar echoed throughout the forest as the dragon spread its feathered golden wings, staring straight at Allia with its beautiful ruby eyes. But the expression on its face … was that terror?
It just continued to watch her, however. But it wasn’t watching Allia herself, she realised. It was watching the orb, which was slowly cracking open.
“It’s not a golden orb,” Allia breathed, while staring at the beautiful tiny dragon now lying in her arms. “It’s an egg. A dragon egg.”
The baby climbed up onto Allia’s shoulders and stared deep into her eyes, its large ruby eyes so similar to its mother’s.
She slowly and carefully set the baby dragon on the charred forest floor. It yapped happily and walked towards its mother, who scooped the hatchling up in her talons. The mother dragon stole one last glance at Allia, nodding her great golden head peacefully, before leaping into the sky and flying back to her cave.
Gabriella Whitby
Allia and the Dragon was the winner of Queensland Writers Centre’s 2025 Youth Writing Comp, for writers aged 10-16. For more information about Queensland Writers Centre’s Youth Writing programs, events and opportunities visit queenslandwriters.org.au/youthwriting.