Shortlisted
Ming Ling and the Secret of the Dragon
Jewel
Ernest Wang, G
arkness consumed my gaze as I plunged into the icy depths of the sea. My head was spinning, my
arms and legs numb with cold. I drifted silently across the seabed refusing to give in to death. I saw a
glimmer of light in the distance but it was growing farther and farther away. Desperately I swam
onwards with the last of my remaining energy and felt the blinding light of its power surrounding
me……
roup 2: Fiction, Glenealy School
D
I woke up with a jolt of shock, finding myself gasping for breath. I wondered why this dream was a lot more
vivid than the rest and why it kept haunting me over and over again. I sighed; summing it up as a nightmare. I
dressed myself and left for school.
I loathed spring in Beijing. There were always sandstorms. Like today the air was gritty and gray. Our
soccer match was called off at the last minute. The playground was shrouded in a cloud of maroon sand. I could
barely see anything in my way. I pulled tight my face mask only to stumble upon an ancient and crinkly text in
the air. It read,
On the third night of red moon,
the earth as we know it will be consumed.
For the Dragon’s curse has been broken,
to calm down his rage you must obtain a token.
A hero that does not seek fame or the purest gold,
for the Dragon Jewel he shall hold.
The survival of the world he shall bring,
entirely depends on Ming Ling.
“
Good god!” I exclaimed as the text disappeared all at once. I had heard of myths of the Dragon Jewel, just
like every child in China. Legend says that deep down in a river an angel wanders around illuminating the
darkness underwater. If you so happen to run into it, you will be given the Dragon Jewel. Suddenly I recalled
my old nightmare. Putting two and two together I was meant to know the path.
When I came home I plodded up to my room. “All of this is a whole bunch of baloney.” I yelled,
pummeling the pillow trying to look for an answer. I could hardly relax my stressed shoulders until I drifted off
into the claws of sleep.
I woke up in a frozen atmosphere. “Where am I?!” I called out, “Hello???” “Be calm young hero,”
whispered a voice behind me. I span around to find a mystical being.
“
Who are you?” I said cautiously. “Zhen Liang, the first ever Chinese empress.” “Why are you here?” “It is
my curse to stay here eternally and guard the Dragon Jewel.” “But why?” “That I cannot answer young one.
Have faith, just trust you are me and you can accomplish anything!” Her voice faded into the background.
I lifted my head up sleepily as the milky dawn light seeped through my bedroom window. I yawned when a
flicker of motion crossed my gaze. I wearily looked around, daunted as I saw the faint outline once again
reminding me of the agreement. “I will not fail you…” I murmured. Flopping down on the bed, I closed my
drowsy eyes. “Perhaps I’ll get another visit from Zhen Liang.”
I arrived in a dark cavern. The only light I saw was the flicker of a golden scale faraway. My mind whirled
fast. “This isn’t the place I met Zhen Liang.” The flickering stopped and before I knew it I felt something
coiling agonisingly around me.
“
How dare you speak that cursed name!” it hissed in my face. “The one that betrayed the royal family at the
edge of Yongding River! The one that gave them to the Cao army at the blood moon!”
The realisation dawned on me, “It wasn’t silk on Zhen Liang’s cloak. It was blood!”
“
I am expecting more sense out of you,” the Dragon snorted. “Who are you???” “The real empress’s royal
guard but then Zhen Liang took over and exiled me. I was the only one that rebelled against the murderous
country.”
Releasing its grip, it went on, “The Dragon Jewel’s purpose was to imprison the Cao army from taking over
China but it also has the power to free them for eternity.”