"When you were seven, I was this perfect queen. I tried to help everyone, and I was learning basic healing skills. I enjoyed life, and I loved little you. You were a joy to behold. I knew how to Ride quite well, Sir Pendergast taught me. One day I was flying on a dragon, and suddenly a Green Dragon Rider came upon me. They kidnapped me, and took me back to their castle. Apparently, their alchemic skills can only harm, never heal. The young prince had been injured badly, and now they did not know how to reverse it. I came with them and made a poultice of mint and yogurt and thyme and told them to apply it daily to the wound. But then they trapped me in the dungeon and said that I would not be allowed to leave. So I've been here since. I dropped some saddlebags off of the dragon that I was Riding to make it look like I had fallen. I know that it was a cruel trick to play, but this was easier for everyone. You would not worry for me."

I look at her with a mixture of shock and relief. My mother is still alive. My mother is still alive! I start to laugh, at first silently and then louder and louder, until I'm actually rolling on the dungeon floor. Tears run down my cheeks, which are scarlet with exhiliration. I quickly become more sober, as I remember something. There was a book that I was supposed to read. What was it called? Oh, yes. 'Vissori Tribuni Calgori'. In the language of the Ancients, that means 'Devoted to Being Ridden'. I'm not sure why I need to read that, but I will. I trust my mother, and I only have ten days before I will be married to a mouldering old rodent. I beam at my mother, and then I walk back into the main castle.

"Everett, does the castle have a library? I wish to entertain myself by reading of those bold characters who live in tree houses and boxcars. If I am going to live here, I would like to not be bored to tears."
"Yes, love. It is behind the ballroom. I believe that there are some excellent reading sofas in there, and a few bellpulls direct to the kitchen. You could stay in there as long as you liked, and I don't mind."
I am so grateful that he had not beat around the bush, I forget to even reprimand him for calling me 'love'. I race off and go through a tight corridor behind the ballroom until I find a doorway. I enter the library and look around.

The library is beautiful. Giant wooden shelves are everywhere, stuffed with musty, gold embossed tolmes. There are velvet couches in strategic locations under windows, each draped with a soft blanket. I suppose that these were used as fainting couches back when balls were held here. Any young women whose corset was too tight and who had been dancing for far too long would inevitably loose conciousness and be brought in here. Now, the couches make good reading places. Braided velvet kitchen-direct bellpulls hang behind each couch. I could stay in here for days, ordering in food when I grow hungry and sleeping on the old sofas.

I walk over to the first shelf and get to work. Vissori Tribuni Calgori would be under Vis, so I search the titles in the section. Alg; Aor; Ban; Cet. No, this must be the wrong section. I head towards the back of the library, where the oldest and dustiest books are. Vel; Ver; Vig; Vis! I pull the large red book from the shelf. I believe that the item weighs more than me. I flop onto one of the couches, the white one with sleek curvature and white fabric like a swan, and a poof of dust floats up. I flip open the book and start to read.

There is a lot of nonsense about the first race of dragons. How they were far superior to regular dragons, and all of that jazz. But then I get a little further into the book, and find that there is a small pocket made in the page. I reach into the pocket and pull out a small blue packet. With it comes a strip of ivoried paper, which reads 'Read section seven, paragraph 13.' Of course I skip through the book until section seven, which happens to be a chapter about the breeds of Riding dragons. I count paragraphs until I reach number thirteen. "'The most magnificent of all dragons, however, is the original Rider Dragon, Mayestika Rolutha. This dragon was lost to the world many years ago, and many people think that she has died. Some conspiracies, however, still believe that Mayestika is still living in a cave somewhere. This amazing creature could bring peace and calm wherever it went, and its fighting skills are legendary.'"

I finish the paragraph in a hushed voice. A magical, ancient dragon who could fight and bring peace about simultaneously? Where are the application forms to get one of these things? I reach into the packet, and pull out a map. Except it is not a normal map. The lines on the parchment shimmer like jewels, and a miniscule blinking dot of scarlet on the map is in the Green Dragon castle, where I am! If I can find that Mayestika thing, I could use it to end the war, plus rub it in Everett's face! Now I understand why my mother wanted me to read this book. She knew about the secret packet. Maybe she even hid it there herself. But now a new problem pokes its ugly head up. How am I to go on a quest to retrieve this dragon if I am not allowed to leave the castle grounds? The inkling of an idea blossoms slowly, poking up through the problem like a lily through the dirt. Something that Everett said helps to 'water' the idea. 'You could stay in the library for as long as you liked, and I would not mind.' There are straight-to-kitchen bellcords that I could use to get food. My idea becomes a full flower, a roaring fire, a fully-hatched dragon crying up to the night. I leap and bound down and through passageways to get to my mother's dungeon. Let Operation: Covert Breakout begin.