The Dragon Prince

Alyssa

After three hours of flying, my wings are tired. I can’t pass for five more hours. Alex, Scott, Akhenaten, Tristan, and Rory had taken the lead. Then came Isabella, Jacob, and Megan. Vincent stayed close to my side, not getting ahead or behind me.

“Try not to think about this as a race, Alyssa. Think of something else,” Dahlia said.

“I’ll try,” I said to her.

I saw that I was falling behind everyone; Vincent got ahead of me but stayed not too far away from me. I managed to catch up after I did two powerful thrusts with my wings. Vincent was eyeing me as he looked back. I nodded to tell him I was okay and not to worry.

Just five more hours.

Soon, three hours passed, and the sun began to rise. My wings ached, and I tried my hardest not to fall behind. Vincent was watching me the whole night. I just kept giving him a look that I was okay, except for the fact that my wings would fall off.

“Are you alright?” Vincent said through our link.

Although I didn’t want to seem weak, there was no denying the fact that my wings were hurting. Besides, I can’t lie to Vincent; I can’t do that to him. “I’m tired of flying; I don’t think I will last the next two hours,”

“I have an idea,” Vincent started lowering his flight and flew underneath me. “Shift back and rest on my back, I’ll carry you the rest of the way,” Vincent said.

“Are you nuts!?” I said.

“Do you trust me?” I could see Vincent’s smile.

“I do,” I said with pride. It didn’t seem fair for Vincent to carry me the rest of the way. I lowered myself on Vincent’s back and shifted; my feet landed on his pure white scales. I felt the rush of wind on my body, threatening to blow me off Vincent’s back. I quickly secured myself to his belt with one of my hooks. I moved closer to his back, the wind resistance lowered, and it became easier to hold on to him. My back was throbbing, but I just focused on the thrusts on Vincent’s wings; after a while, I found myself drifting off into slumber.

I woke up when Vincent started to slow down. Below us was a vast, dense forest in every direction. I could see Alex and the dragons in the lead lowering down into a small clearing they had found. I sat up, holding Vincent as he started to land gently on the ground. I got off his back, and I winced in pain. My back was still hurting, but I felt much better after rest.

I met up with Izzy and Jacob. Izzy helped me stay on my feet and stopped supporting me when I nodded at her, telling her I could stand independently. “Are you okay?” Izzy asked.

“My back is killing me,” I groaned. “If it wasn’t for Vincent, I would’ve fallen into the sea and drowned,”

“I would never allow that to happen; if Alex or the other dragons have an issue with you riding on my back, they can go to hell,” Vincent snarled.

“Chill bro, I never said I had a problem.” Jacob raised his hand in surrender as Izzy laughed.

“You should have told me sooner that you’re wings were hurting,” Vincent wrapped his hand around my waist. “Please don’t think that you are a burden. I will do anything for you,”

“The others when to find a place to crash until nightfall, I suggest we catch up with them before they too far ahead,” Jacob said.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Vincent agreed. We headed off into the forest and met up with Alexandria and Rory.

“You guy found a place for all of us to rest at, Alex?” Vincent asked.

“There is a small cave that the others are checking out. It looks like an excellent place to crash,” Alex nodded,

“Looked like somebody has already taken a nap,” Rory crossed her arms.

“Back off, Rory! She’s not used to flying for such a long distance. I would choose your next words wisely when speaking to my mate,” Vincent threatened Rory, and she bowed her head in submission.

“Forgive me, Your Highness,” Rory shuddered.

“I’m fine; it’s just that my back hurts a little,” I said.

“You think you’ll be fine to fly the rest of the way?” Alex said with concern.

“After some rest I’ll be fine,” I smiled at her.

“Hey, you guys! The cave looks good,” Tristan said, running to us.

“Alright, all of you get some rest, Tristan and I will take first watch,” Alex ordered. “We’ll change every two hours,”

Vincent and I found a spot in the cave where we sat and snuggled together. It hurt to lay on the stone ground when my back hurt, but I tried to ignore it. I drifted off to sleep in Vincent’s arms; he was gently rubbing my back. I don’t know how long I slept, but Vincent shook me and woke me up. Vincent pulled me off the ground, and we were careful not to wake anyone around us. Vincent then told me that it was our turn to relieve Izzy and Jacob of watching the cave entrance for intruders.

“How’s your back?” Vincent asked me.

“It’s still sore, sleeping on the ground did not help,” I said.

Vincent turned me around, my back facing him. I felt his hands on my shoulders. I winced a little when he started rubbing. “That’s more than a little sore,” Vincent said with shock. Vincent then continued to rub my back, shoulders, and upper back. After a while, the had lessened, and it was starting to get comfortable.

“That’s much better; thank you, Vincent,” I said.

“Now promise me you’ll tell me if you are this tired again. Everyone understood why you had to rest on my back. I wanted to rip Rory’s heart out for how she spoke to you. Taking such a long trip for your first long flight is very hard,” Vincent said.

“I don’t want to look weak,” I said.

“You are one of the strongest people I know,” Vincent was about to open his mouth to speak more, but we heard a sound that sounded like a rustling of leaves.

“What was that!?” I said.

“Wait here,” Vincent said as he went towards the sound. Vincent took a small circle in front of the cave. “Astarot, see or sense anything?” He returned a few moments later. “I didn’t see anything, and Astarot didn’t sense anyone either. It must be an animal or something harmless. Lets us keep our eyes open for anything,”

Akhenaten and Megan took the last shift, and we laid back down. I didn’t sleep the previous two hours, but I got some time to rest. After the sun went down, we all got up and started to get ready.

“We will reach our destination tonight, and the wind will be in our favor, so that will take at least one hour off the trip. Now, listen up for those who have yet to go to Bermuda. An island is in the middle of the triangle, and around it is a powerful magical barrier that keeps out mortals or people with bad intentions. We’ll need this,”

Alex shows us a small yellow disk with black engraving on it.

“The barrier that protects the island was created by the Moon Goddess herself and is much stronger than any other magic known on this planet. Her grace made this disk so that we can enter. One is enough for us if we travel in one group, but the Elders have tightened security, so we have a few more to be safe,” Alex explained.

Alex handed out a disk to all of us and told us to hold onto it and never lose it.

“Remember, if you lose this important item, you risk death,” Alex said. “Every dragon leader from across the globe is gathering in one place. They’re not taking any chances,”

Gee, no pressure.

Vincent and I were the last to take off into the sky. My wings feel much better from the long rest I gave them, but I’m still slightly sore. Flying got much easier for me this time, as before I knew it, we had only two hours left of flying to go, and I felt like I could go another five hours. Vincent and I spent those hours talking to get my mind off things. Isabella joined our mind link, and we talked about everything and nothing.

The hours passed, and I saw strange lights in the sky. Vincent then told me it would look like the northern lights to ordinary eyes. But if you looked closely, the light was moving strangely. “That’s the magical barrier,” Vincent said.

I could feel my heartbeat rising, but I kept my wits, remembering what Alex said about keeping the disk needed to pass the barrier safely. I watched the front dragons of our group pass the shield, and they vanished before my eyes. I looked at Vincent, and he gave me a reassuring smile. I took a deep breath as it was our turn to pass; I felt a tingling sensation as I felt the magic of the barrier. This magic was powerful enough to kill anyone who passed through uninvited.

After a minute, we emerged on the other side of the barrier, and the tingling sensation disappeared. I looked ahead and noticed a large island. Why was such powerful magic needed to hide this place? After half an hour, we started descending. The island was a large circle of steep mountains. Houses were built on the mountainside, and giant towers were on top of those mountains. These towers were what kept the barrier in place. In the middle of the mountain ring was a large fortress with vast open space in front and back. Next to the landing platform was a large pool. As we all landed, I could see a dragon emerge from this pool; I’m guessing the collection goes under the mountain range so water dragons can enter this place.

We shifted back, and I looked at the two water dragons that emerged from the large pool of water.

“Kashekim, good to see you, old friend,” Akhenaten hugged the man.

“Good to see you too, although I would have wanted it to be under better circumstances.” Kashekim hugged him back, then faced Alex. “You must be Alexandria Callahan; I give my condolences,”

“Thank you,” Alex said with a blank face.

“I want you to meet my daughter, Kida,” Kashekim said.

“Hello,” Kida waved at everyone.

“Let’s head inside, and who else has arrived?” Akhenaten said.

We all started heading inside the Cidadel as Vincent whispered information about Kashekim. “Kashekim is the King of Atlantis,”

“I noticed,” I said.

When we finally entered the building, the foyer was full of dragons from the seven kingdoms. Most of them were in traveling garb, and some in usual attire.

“See anyone familair, Jacob?” Izzy asked her brother.

“Almost,” Jacob said.

“I see Queen Crystal, leader of Dolmeny, Kingdom of Antarctica. Her daughters, Ashley and Caitlin, are with her as well. The people in the middle of the room are from the Kingdom of America and China. The gray-haired man is Haoyu, the leader of Anchaek in China, and the boy beside him is Bao, his eldest son. He’s a bronze dragon, one of six alive today. The woman over there is Haoyu’s wife, May, and the girl next to her is their daughter, Daiyu,” Jacob said.

Jacob then continued to the American leaders. “The woman talking to May and Daiyu is Renna; she’s the daughter of the American leaders. Her parents are Nathen and Amanda. The man next to Nathen is Jeffery, he is their oldest child,” Jacob said.

Jeffery and Bao were giving each other cold and deadly glares. I took quick notice of this, and I grew worried.

“Is it just me, or do Jeffery and Bao not like each other?” I said.

“It’s no secret they hate each other; just don’t get between them,” Vincent said. “Bao is very racist to Americans,

“Moving on, there is Fiona, leader of Europe, and next to her is her daughter, Haley. The woman talking to Fiona is my mother, Pricilla,” Jacob said.

“That’s you’re mother!?” I said.

“Unfortunately,” Megan and Izzy said in unison.

“Did I just hear you two agree on somthing for the frist time?” Jacob smiled at his sisters.

Izzy and Megan both rolled their eyes at him. Soon, the room grew silent as two beautiful brown-haired women entered the foyer. “Who are they?” I asked.

“The woman on the left is Gloria; she holds the title of the Crown Dragon, a title bestowed by the Moon Goddess. Her grace also left her in charge of Bermuda. The woman on the right is her daughter, Skyler. She has been trying to claim me as her mate for years,” Vincent said.

Gloria has so much elegance; I had no other words to describe her. Her dress compliments every curve, and the color makes her eyes glow. Her eyes are strange; they are dark purple.

“Gloria is a Shadow Dragon, the darkness to my light,” Vincent explained. “Light can’t exist without Shadow, and vice versa. Just like us, shadow dragons are almost extinct,”

Skyler was almost a mirror reflection of her mother. Her dress flowed gently to her knees and complimented her well. Her eyes were dark green but no less beautiful.

“Welcome, everyone. I thank you all for coming on short notice. As most of you know, Varrfarrinn has called this emergency meeting to discuss the possible threat to the world. For now, I will let everyone get comfortable in their rooms. We will gather in the grand dining room at four and have dinner tonight,” Gloria said.

“Fancy word for ball,” Vincent whispered, and I giggled a little.

“Guys, Gloria has asked to meet with us since we called this meeting.

“No time like the present,” Vincent nodded.

“Alyssa, you’re coming with Vincent and me. You know about the enemy, and Gloria will want to know who they are,” Alex said.

Alexandria, Vincent, and I arrived at Gloria’s room and knocked on her door. Gloria opened the door and let us in. “Alex, how was the journey?”

“Uneventful, it was smooth sailing,” Alex said.

“Good. You are Vincent, the first male white dragon. Now, my dear, have you accepted my daughter’s proposal for marriage?”

“No, I’ve told Skyler countless times that she is not my fated mate and to leave me alone,” Vincent scoffed in annoyance.

“If you’re daughter knows what’s good for her, she’ll keep her filthy hands off my mate!” I covered my mouth as soon as I finished my sentence. Gloria looked at me in shock. When did I get possessive over Vincent?

Gloria then smiled. “You must be Alyssa, the girl causing so much racket. Glad to make your acquaintance. I asked you here to understand what’s happening before discussing the latest events with everyone. What can you tell me?”

I don’t know how often I’ve told this story to others, but it’s getting easier each time I share it. Gloria didn’t say anything while I told my story. She listened and gave small nods here and there.

This Sozin poses a significant threat to the magical world and humanity. Experimenting and attacking kingdoms is something we must pay more attention to. Thank you all for your time; we’ll discuss this better later today with everyone.” Gloria turned around, and her gesture meant that this conversation was over.

After that brief conversation, someone came and escorted us to our rooms. Since Vincent and I were mates, we shared a room and bed. We both unpacked our suitcases and decided to rest until the meeting.

(Meanwhile)

“Have you found anything in the cave they stayed in?”

“Yeah, take a look at this?”

“Call Lord Sozin; we have a way inside the Moon Goddess’s Citadel.