The Golden Apple

It's a writing group night. I love my writing group. We try to meet twice a month. The first one is a workshop night with a theme, writing prompts, and fun exercises. The second meeting we share submissions and projects. There is a prize, an old book. The winner has a chapter to sign, add to, decorate, or almost anything they want. Last month, after a year of attempts, I finally won the book and the Golden Apple (a special nanowrimo trophie unique to our local nano chapter). Submissions need to have an apple with "magical powers." This was my submission (Farwin is my main character and a dragon):

Farwin landed in the middle of the Lost Desert. His wings needed a break from the heavy air. Really he needed water or was the need for cherry pie. Maybe he wasn’t thirty maybe He was just very hungry. The idea of yummy pie caused him to want to eat food NOW! He looked around for something to munch on.

There was sand. There were rocks. There was more sand, a few prickly cacti, and still more sand. The sand was like a sea of, Farwin paused to think of the right word, "the sand was like a sea of sand". Then he noticed a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. It was then Farwin realized the rock in front of him had moved. He lumbered closer. It was not the rock that had moved but the camouflaged iguana sitting on the rock. “Are you edible?” Farwin asked the little creature more as a rhetorical question to himself.

“I would'’t be tasty.” the tiny voice squeaked.

“AHHH! You speak!””

“What did you expect? You talked to me first. Stupid dragon.”

“Excuse me?!?””

“You heard me, you are dumb. "Look at me I’m a dragon I am dumb. I talk iguanas and freak out when they reply." Stupid dragon, doesn’t even know desert iguanas talk.” with that the desert creature launched a spitball at Farwin hitting him between the eyes.

"Hey Now," Farwin returned spit fire and a massive spitball fight ensued. Suddenly a small iguana army magically appeared from no where. All of them were mighty spitball warrior iguanas and all of them were aiming at Farwin. Out numbered Farwin lashed out with his only defense, “Stop it or I will eat you all.”

He opened his mouth wide and prepared for a big bite. Just as his jaw almost bit the closest iguana and they all disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared, all except the original lizard. The iguana began to plea for his life, “Please don’t eat me. Please don't eat me. If you promise not to eat me I'll give you a silver dollar or a magic apple that will take you anywhere you want to go just don’t eat me."

“A magic apple, interesting? Is the silver dollar magical?”

“No, no it is not. Just the apple is magic. Weren’t you listening?”

“Fine, I’ll take both”

“That’s not how this works. The deal was I give you one thing and you don’t eat me."

“Hmm, do you have cherry pie? Cause I would settle for cherry pie.”