By Amanda Pizzolatto

Word Count: 3540

Rating: G

Summary: Another of Amanda’s Crossover stories.

A Quiet Evening

Bran Davies let out a breath. Well, here it goes. He was going to step out of this room a mere boy, though he was the son of Arthur, and by the end of the day, he would be a duke of Avalon. He shook his head as he thought over all of the information they had received in the past few weeks. No, this wasn’t the Avalon of his father’s realm, but an island named after it. Just like the other six islands were named after famous mythological places, even though Bran had only heard of a few. But he figured it only made sense, not much was really known about the Eastern side of the world. Guess he was going to learn. The ceremony was simple and quick, which Bran was grateful for, he was extremely nervous. Yes, it was great to be integrated into a group of a people, a society, that didn’t look down on him for looking so white-washed except his tawny eyes, instead, they looked up to him. But, that didn’t stop him from being so nervous. Maybe it was because he really wanted to show that they did place their trust in the right person? Either way, Bran did his best to hide the nervousness behind a mask, something the head genie, Gary, commented on when they passed.

“Good work on hiding your feelings. You are more like your father than you think, and you act more like royalty than you think,” the ruby-colored dragon told him.

Bran cocked him a half-smile. “Uh, thanks, Gary.”

“And now that it’s all over, why don’t you join everyone in the Christmas festivities? I know this might be new for you, but, this is just the first of many to come, might as well get started now. Besides, your friends are waiting for you.”

“Thank you, I think I will.” Bran took off down the hall, entering the stadium. Well, they called it the stadium. It looked more like a mix of a movie theater and stadium. The field had a massive tree standing in the middle of it, decorated with blinking lights and ornaments of many colors while tables were set up around it. Piles of presents could be seen toppling over underneath, while a few people were trying to keep the excited ones, and the youngest ones, from diving in just yet. The presents were going to be opened after dinner, as requested by the king of Avalon, Oz Vessalius.

“Bran! Over here!” called out a few voices. Bran noticed his friends waving at him and grinned as he rushed over to join them at their table. Zduhacs* were flying around, putting up some final touches to the festive scene.

“Hey, Bran, congratulations!” exclaimed Billy Bannister as he rose to shake hands with Bran, followed by Will Stanton and William Wagner.

“How does it feel to be a duke?” asked Peter Grant as he too shook hands with Bran.

“Well, I don’t know, I just became a duke. Ask me in a month,” came Bran’s reply as he sat down next to Peter’s sister Julia. He put his arm around her as she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“A month? Really?” asked Peter as he sat down on the other side of his sister. Billy, Will, and William also sat down.

“Yeah, Oz told me they would ease me into it. I won’t have full duties for a few weeks.”

“Oh, wow, lucky,” stated Bertram, Julia and Peter’s stepbrother.

Bran shrugged. “Hey, they all went through the same procedure with the genies. Think it’s only right that I should go through the same. I mean, there’s still a lot I don’t know about this island. There’s a lot that we don’t know.” Everyone at the table nodded.

“And there’s a lot that we still don’t know,” quipped a voice from behind Bran.

Bran turned and quickly stood up. “O-Oz! I mean, your majesty.” There was Oz Vessalius, flanked by Daisuke Niwa and Tadase Hotori. The other three dukes, Reiji Oozora, Taran, and Hicccup Haddock could be seen on the other side of the stadium, playing with dragons.

Oz laughed. “Oh, don’t worry about calling me your majesty and whatnot; I’m not used to it. And I don’t think I ever will be.”

“Um, alright.”

“Listen, I just wanted to say thank you for becoming the last duke. With the seven of us leading, I think we’ll do great as a society. To coin a phrase I’ve been hearing from the genies, let’s not make the same mistakes again.”

“Uh, what?”

“Apparently the last time they did this, something went wrong. Don’t ask, I still don’t know, they haven’t told any of us yet what happened. But, I’m hoping now that you’re here, they will.”

“I just hope it’s nothing too sad or anything,” quipped Louisa Grant from her seat next to Will Stanton.

Oz let out a sad sigh. “Well, based on what little I’ve found out, it might well be. The genies have been through a lot, and they’ve seen a lot. But, let’s not let that dampen our mood today, it’s Christmas! It’s time to rejoice! Doubly so now that we have all seven dukes!” Oz grinned as he patted Bran’s shoulder.

“Six dukes, one king, to be exact,” stated Tadase. Daisuke glanced at him oddly. Bran couldn’t figure out why he looked at him like that whenever Tadase said words like king, prince, or your majesty.

“Whatever, point is, it looks like we’re all here!” exclaimed Oz.

“Nope.” Everyone glanced behind Oz, the ruby scales of Gary flickered under the bulbs of the Christmas tree lights as he shook his head.

“Um, what do you mean by no, Gary?”

“There are two more groups you must get, two more stories.”

Oz let out a sigh, “Just two more?” Gary nodded. “Well, as long as it’s just two and not the ten we had last month.” Bran smirked, he was referring to their group, ten different stories apparently, but they had all gathered in one place, orchestrated by the genies, no less, with the help of an alien. That whole adventure was a totally different story, and when it finally ended with them getting on Avalon, well, some of it at least seemed like a bad dream. And Bran wanted it to stay that way.

“Well, we still have a lot to celebrate! We’re almost done gathering everybody!” exclaimed Daisuke.

“Yeah, mind explaining why you need to gather all of these people, us, again? I’m still not getting it,” said William, scratching his head with a hint of confusion on his face.

Gary let out a huff. “We will say it all again once we have gathered the last two stories, Master Wagner, so that we do not have to repeat ourselves a thousand times and may answer all questions to everyone’s satisfaction.”

“Ugh, they said that the last twenty times,” mumbled Daisuke.

“But hey, we’re getting closer now! Come on, there’s a few more people I need to talk to real quick before dinner starts. See you at the next meeting, Bran!”

“Uh, sure you don’t want me to come?” asked Bran.

“No, you’re fine, this isn’t duke business. Just needing to say hello to a few people I haven’t spoken to in a while. See you later!” said Oz as he walked away with a wave, followed by Gary, Tadase, and Daisuke.

“Well, guess we’ll find out once we get those last two groups,” said William with a sigh.

“Then, let’s help all that we can,” said Will. The others agreed. Dinner was soon served, and the festivities were well underway, the joy of receiving and giving presents soon pushed the worries and questions to the back of minds.

Later, sometime after present wrapping was cleared up, Bran made his way outside. He lay down on the grass and glanced up at the sky. A warm body snuggled up next to him.

“What’s on your mind?” asked Julia.

“It’s so wonderful here,” whispered Bran as he wrapped his arm around her. He smiled at her. She smiled back before they kissed.

“But why are you out here?”

“I just wanted some quiet, that’s all. So much has happened in the past few months that I need some time to catch up and process it all.”

Julia laughed. “Right? But I’m waiting until tomorrow. The day after Christmas is always a sleepy and quiet day.”

Bran smiled. “Probably a better idea, but, since everyone else is sleepy tomorrow, I might have to get started on getting training as a duke.”

“That’s true too,” replied Julia.

“Julia?”

“Yes?”

“Will, will you be my duchess?”

Julia blinked at him in surprise. “Shouldn’t you ask my father that first?”

Bran grinned. “I did.”

“And?” she asked expectantly as she propped herself up on her elbow to look at him. .

“Well, what do you think he said? He said yes,” Bran replied with a grin.

“Yes!” she exclaimed as she hugged him.

“Yes what?”

She laughed. “Yes Bran, I’ll be your duchess.”

“Good, now everything’s perfect.” He pulled her in for another kiss before she snuggled up against him; the two watching the night sky and letting the peace of the moment wrap them up like a blanket. A blanket they had been long waiting for.

*Zduhacs: A bipedal dragon with its front limbs operating like hands, six draconian wings, and four eyes. They can grow to about ten feet tall, the guardians of Avalon.

The First Day of Christmas

Bran Davies opened the door, only to find that Edmond Dantes, none other than the Count of Monte Cristo, was standing there with Bran’s longma* steed, Glurain.

“What are you two talking about?” asked Bran as he joined them outside.

Edmond turned and smiled. “About you, actually, and your dukeship. I know it’s only been a day, but, I was wondering if there was anything I could help with. I figured Glurain would know more since they haven’t exactly told you everything you have to do just yet.”

“There really is not much, but you could have him as your personal secretary,” remarked Glurain.

“Well, um, I’ll, I’ll think about it. I might know for sure if I would need you in a month.”

“Of course. If you’ll excuse me, I have no intention of making you late to your first meeting. Good day.”

“Thank you, Count.”

“Oh no, Edmond, call me Edmond. After all, you are a duke now, you have that right.”

“Very well, Edmond. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, get going or you’ll be late!”

Bran chuckled. “Yes sir!” He approached Glurain, but paused as a thought passed his mind. “Actually, um, Edmond?”

“Yes?”

“Could you, I mean, if it’s not too much to ask, could help me in selecting a ring?”

Edmond looked at him in surprise before a big grin spread across his face. “Of course I will! But, don’t you want to ask one of your friends to help?”

“Oh, I’m sure a few would want to come too, but, you’re kind of the expert on these things,” stated Bran as he ran a hand through his white locks.

Edmond shrugged. “If you say so. Very well, I shall help you.”

“Thank you! Oh, um, if you could plan it while I’m at the meeting too? Invite the guys too.”

“Of course! The meeting ends around noon, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then head back here for lunch and we’ll head out around two. Sound good?”

“Sounds great!”

“Wonderful! Now get to that meeting!”

Bran laughed. “Yes sir!” He quickly mounted Glurain and the two took off. Glurain got Bran to the capital of Avalon, Annwn, in about half the time it would take a train or a car. Something Bran was very grateful for because he was running a little late.

“So sorry I’m late! Made some last minute arrangements!’ he blurted when he finally entered the meeting room.

Oz shot him a big grin. “Oh don’t worry about it, you’re fine! Hiccup just got here too. But now that everyone is here, let’s get started!” The seven gathered around a long table. Oz glanced at Tadase. “What can you tell me?”

Tadase glanced at Bran. “Um, shouldn’t you begin by getting Bran up-to-date? He doesn’t know everything we do.”

Oz chuckled nervously. “Oh right, oops, sorry. But, I mean, all we’re talking about today are the two last groups we need to get to Avalon.”

Bran nodded. “And that I do know about.”

Tadase sighed. “Oh, alright. Well, from what I’ve gathered, one is definitely about this guy named Zak Storm. He managed to get lost in the Bermuda Triangle and is having to deal with pirates. I was thinking we should send in Hiccup and a few of his friends to check it out.”

Oz nodded as he glanced at Hiccup. “Sounds like a good idea. What about the second one?”

“That one is harder, the only one available to the rest of the islands, Antillia already has theirs, is a show about Elves. It does have dragons, but . . . I guess the genies want to wait and see what the others are like that come after them? I mean, right now apparently only Zak Storm is a definite.”

“Hmm,” muttered Oz as he thought for a bit. “Well, I guess the best we can do is focus on this Zak Storm until the genies can let us know for sure which group is the last one.” The others nodded.

“And I think I may have found a little bit of something that might explain all of this. Well, at least some of it.” Everyone glanced at Tadase expectantly. He let out a breath before he continued. “OK, so, from what I’ve gathered, it seems that the homeworld of the genies, and a couple of other worlds, have these portals that can transport people to other worlds, other stories. The world the islands came from is one as well. And . . .” Tadase paused and glanced at Bran. “The Cassil du Porim is from another.”

Bran’s eyes widened. “Say, say what? The Cassil du Porim?”

Tadase nodded. “Yes. The castle itself isn’t supposed to travel from world to world, it’s only purpose is to house the portals that allow you to.”

“So, the fact that it is moving from world to world . . .” began Daisuke.

“Does that mean it’s broken, or something?” asked Reiji.

“Something like that. Point is, something, or someone, threw it out of whack, and I guess by gathering all of us onto seven islands, it will help to fix it. I don’t know how, exactly, but that’s the gist of what I’ve found,” stated Tadase with a shrug.

“Well, that at least is a step closer to knowing exactly what’s going on,” stated Oz.

“Why won’t the genies say anything about it though?” asked Hiccup.

Tadase let out a sad sigh. “ I think, I found a little something for that too. I think they tried this once before, and it failed horribly. I think they want to be absolutely sure this will actually work before moving forward.”

“And if we have any concerns or worries, they want to put those to rest by letting us stay here for a while, get to know each other,” stated Taran.

“Does that mean the last ones they tried this with didn’t get to know each other all that well?” wondered Daisuke.

Tadase shrugged. “I think the genies themselves will have to tell us that. I couldn’t find much more on the matter. But that is all that I found. I think the genies allowed that much to be known just to wet our curiosity.”

“No kidding, it’s certainly working for me,” muttered Hiccup.

“Same here,” quipped Reiji.

“Yeah, if there’s anything that catches your curiosity, that’s certainly worth checking out,” quipped Daisuke with a mischievous grin.

“Yeah, whatever,” muttered Reiji with a roll of his eyes.

“Alright, enough, point is, the genies are trying to fix all of this, and they need our help. Let’s do what we can to do just that, alright?” stated Oz with an authoritative tone.  

“Yes sir,” stated the others firmly.

Oz glanced at Bran. “You have no problem with this?”

Bran shook his head. “No problem whatsoever. I want to help you, and the genies. Avalon has become more like home to me than the farm I grew up on. You need me, I’m here. I’m sure the others are more than willing to help too.”

“Well considering Billy and the half-dragons kind of have no choice in the matter,” began Reiji.

“Oh they do, it’s just, you make a much better safe haven than any other place on Earth,” replied Bran.

“There’s that too,” muttered Taran.

“Are we in agreement then?” asked Oz. “Hiccup will lead a group to retrieve Zak Storm, and we will do what we can to make sure the genies will not have to go through another mistake.”

“Yes!” chorused the other six.

“Well, then, the ayes have it, and I guess the meeting’s adjourned. Thanks for keeping it short. Really short. I guess I allotted too much time,” stated Oz with a nervous chuckle as he pointed at the clock. There were still a good twenty minutes left.

Tadase shrugged. “It’s fine, you don’t always know how long a meeting will go. Having too much time is better than not having enough.”

“Right. So, um, does everybody just want to go home? Or did you want to talk about something else?”

“Home,” came the unanimous decision.

“Ahem, if you don’t mind. Um, what are my duke duties for tomorrow?” asked Bran.

“You’ll be getting a full tour of Magmell for the next few days, however long that will take,” replied Oz.

“Mine only took a week,” stated Tadase.

Reiji blinked. “How did you do that? Mine took two weeks!”

“Maybe if you had been paying more attention, it would have only taken one week,” quipped Daisuke. Reiji merely grunted and crossed his arms.

Oz laughed. “Alright you guys, knock it off. Let’s not give Bran a bad impression of ourselves, shall we?”

“I think that’s already been taken care,” muttered Bran. The others laughed.

“Well, we are trying our best to make you feel at home,” stated Oz.

Bran grinned. “And you’re doing a pretty good job of it.”

“Woohoo!” cheered Oz. “At least that’s working.”

“And what’s this I hear about you working on making a special young lady a duchess?” asked Tadase.

Bran blushed. “Oh yeah, um, I’m going to get the ring after lunch. I’ve asked the Count of Monte Cristo to help.”

“That’s great man!” exclaimed Daisuke as he patted Bran on his back.

“The perfect Christmas present,” stated Tadase with a grin.

“Hey, um, would you mind if I tagged along?” asked Hiccup sheepishly.

“No, you’re more than welcome to come! All of you are invited, if you want to join us.”

“I think it would be a good idea. We haven’t exactly had much of a chance to get to know all of you, so, I think this would be a good opportunity,” stated Oz.

Tadase nodded. “Then let’s do it!”

“Yeah! But, lunch first, I’m starving.”

“Reiji!” exclaimed the others before they burst out laughing. The only interest he had in his city were the restaurants. He knew where each one was located.

“Oh, alright. Let’s head over to Magmell and get some lunch first. Then we’ll go ring-shopping and try to get to know each other a little better.”

“Sounds like a plan,” stated Tadase.

“Then let’s go before my stomach decides to eat itself!” exclaimed Reiji before bolting out the door.

Daisuke sighed. “Fine, let’s go.” The six followed Reiji out, chatting the whole way. They ended up having a great time, and did get to know each other a bit better. But they knew, they had many more days to better their acquaintance. Besides, there was another group of people from a story that needed to join their ranks.

*Longma: A Pegasus-like horse with the paws, scales, wings, and horns of a dragon.

List of Books/Movies and Anime Used

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

(Bran Davies, Will Stanton)

The Aedyn Chronicles by Alister E. McGrath

(The Grants)

Avalon High by Meg Cabot

(Will Wagner)

Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

(Taran)

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

(Hiccup Haddock)

Dragons in Our Midst by Bryan Davis

(Billy Bannister, half-dragons)

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

(The Count himself)

Pandora Hearts by Jun Mochizuki

(Oz Vessalius)

D.N. Angel by Yukiru Sugisaki

(Daisuke Niwa)

Shugo Chara by Peach-Pit

(Tadase Hotori)

Dragon Drive by Kenichi Sakura

(Reiji Oozora)
After an harrowing experience with the Doctor and the Vashta Narada; the characters of The Dark is Rising, Dreamhouse Kings, The Aedyn Chronicles, and Inkworld  find themselves being called to a mythical island named after the mythical island of King Arthut’s realm, Avalon. Now, on the island, they find out that there’s more to learn. For more info, check out avalonianapples.wordpress.com or rosesnvines.wordpress.com/tagged/avalon.