Dragon's Gleaming Jewel

My parents stared at me, and I saw disappointment in my mother's eyes, and I could tell that my dad was angry just by glancing at his face. My dad was about to say something, when my mom interrupted him. "Esther, why'd you go outside without telling us first?" my mom asked, betraying no emotion in her voice. "Well, you always keep me inside ALL the time! I can never go outside on my own..." I responded. My mom looked at me for a second, then she said, "It's ok. I would've done that too, if I were you," My dad looked at her with shock written all over his face. "Wha-!?" he started, but then stopped when he saw my mom's face. "Yeah...I guess I would've done the same..." he mumbled. "We just worry about you, Esther. We don't want something horrible to happen to you while you're outside," my mom sighed. "Ok, I'll try not to do it again," I said. I added, "Does that mean I'm not in trouble?" My mom thought for a moment, and replied, "We'll see in the morning," My parents walked to their bedroom, clearly exhausted. Well, I thought, 'we'll see' is a better answer than 'yes'. I groggily walked upstairs into my room. I flopped down on my bed, and thought about Ardent and where he was right now. "Maybe...there are other dragons besides Ardent?" I murmured to myself. I still couldn't believe dragons were real. But, I doubted that Ardent was just a figment of my imagination. I rolled over onto my side and tried to get some rest. Eventually, I drifted off into a deep, peaceful, dreamless sleep.

END OF CHAPTER 3!