Kondra wrinkled her nose and frowned. She raised her head and shouted, “Lulu, take Alfonse out for a walk, would you?” The holy dragon lowered her head and rested them on her front paws. She closed her eyes and spread her wings, letting them soak in the moonlight. After a few minutes, one of her eyes creaked open. Her youngest daughter had actually ignored her. “Lulu? Take Alfonse out for a walk. Now!”

Kondra exhaled out two jets of steam through her nostrils and closed her eye. Not that long later, Kondra’s brows furrowed, and she stood up. She went over to the corner that Alfonse was in and shot a laser beam at the mess the bear had left behind. Her gaze landed on the shivering creature, and she let out a snort before turning her attention away. “Young lady, if you don’t come out right this minute, I’ll go in there and get you. Don’t blame me for what happens then!”

There was still no response coming from Lulu’s room. Kondra slammed her tail against the ground. “Ten!” She took a step towards Lulu’s cave. “Nine!” She took another step. “Eight.” She dragged out the word, letting her daughter know she meant business. “Seven!” Really? Lulu wasn’t even going to respond? If that was the case…. “Three, two, one!”

Kondra stomped her way into the tunnel leading to Lulu’s room. “I gave you a chance,” she said. “And you didn’t…. Lulu?” Her head poked inside of her daughter’s room, but it was completely empty. There wasn’t a holy dragon in sight. Kondra whirled around. “Has anyone seen Lulu?”

“I think I heard her leaving with the cursed elf,” Leo said, his voice echoing out of his room.

“Leaving?” Kondra asked, her eyes widening. “Leaving where?”

“I don’t know.”

Kondra couldn’t see her son, but she could hear him shrugging through his voice. Her eyes narrowed. If Grimmy’s cursed elf was the one that brought her daughter away, then there was only one place they could’ve been going. She nudged her sleeping mate’s shoulder. “Wake up. We’re going to get our daughter back.”

Kondra’s mate yawned and opened his eyes. He rubbed them with the backs of his paws. “We’re bringing Leila back?” he asked. “I thought you were fine with Grimmy. Overall, he doesn’t seem like such a bad dragon. What changed your mind?”

“Not Leila,” Kondra said and growled. She glared at her mate. “Were you even listening to a thing I said?”

“I was,” Kondra’s mate said and bobbed his head up and down. “But I was also asleep, so….”

Kondra huffed. “Lulu was taken away by Grimmy’s little elf,” she said. “We’re going to go to the southern continent and get her back.”

“You knew she went to the southern continent, but you didn’t stop her?” Kondra’s mate asked and tilted his head. He leaned back and covered his mouth with his paw. “Forget I said anything. We’re going to the southern continent to bring Lulu back. Got it.”

***

Lulu’s eyes widened at the sight below. “What is this place?” she asked and gulped. Her eyes shone, and she couldn’t help but sweep her gaze back and forth over the land. “There are so many hard-to-find ingredients!”

“You’ve never been to a beach before?” Lindyss asked and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t go wild with your collecting, or you’ll ruin the ecosystem. Those corals and reefs are quite important to the survival of many ocean species.”

Lulu bobbed her head up and down, nearly throwing Lindyss off of her head. She descended and landed on the beach with a thump, kicking up a cloud of sand. She leaned her head to one side, allowing Lindyss to slide off. “And it’s not like I haven’t been to a beach before. It’s just that I’ve never been to such a massive one. The beach by my place is a bit frozen and stuff; there isn’t really anything on the shore.”

Lindyss reached into her pocket and pulled. As her arm pulled back, a long shadow was drawn out. It expanded to the size of a person before receding, leaving a chair held in Lindyss’ hand. She placed it down and took a seat. She reached into her pocket again and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. After she put them on, she took an empty glass out of her pocket along with a few small crystals. She placed the crystals in the glass and tapped on the rim. Water filled the cup, and she gave it a swirl, letting the crystals dissolve while releasing tons of bubbles.

“Where’s mine?” Erin asked, popping out from Lindyss’ hair.

“Make it yourself.”

Erin pouted. She covered herself with a layer of mana, took in a deep breath, and dove into Lindyss’ pocket. A few seconds later, she came out with a glass and a few crystals. Her face was pale, and she was noticeably thinner than before, her cheekbones especially prominent. “You have too much junk in there. I almost got lost.”

Lindyss shrugged. “Be glad I left the entrance open.”

There was a loud splashing sound, and a pillar of water rose into the air. A moment later, Lulu surfaced to the top of the ocean. She spat out a fountain of water. “How’d you find this place?”

“Thanks to Vur, I’m practically the ruler of the world,” Lindyss said. “I have maps of every continent, and it’s really hard to miss a beach as large as this.”

“And my parents won’t find us here?”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Lindyss said. “No matter where I hide, Grimmy always finds a way to abduct me whenever he needs me. If your parents ask Grimmy for help, he’ll lead them straight here.”

Lulu laughed. “As if my mom would ever ask Grimmy to help her with anything,” she said. “I’m pretty sure she’d rather die than ask a cursed dragon for help.” She stroked her chin while the waves bobbed her head up and down. “Then again, I suppose she’d fight him to make him do what she wanted. Who do you think would win in a fight? Grimmy or my mom?”

“I’ve taught your mother a lesson once,” Lindyss said and stared at the floating dragon, “but I can’t say the same about Grimmy.”

Lulu frowned. “Is Mom really that weak?” she mumbled to herself before diving into the water.