Zilferia

I blink my eyes open, then quickly shut them again at the burning bright light. “She’s alright,” a voice says, sounding assuring. I wonder who he’s talking to. “We fixed her shoulder- as well as we could- and gave her a blood transplant. She should be good to go for tonight. Your Familiars should be fine within a few days.” I hear the person walk to the door, but I don’t open my eyes. The light is too bright- it hurts.

“Crystal?”

“Are you okay?”

“Talk to me! Tell me you’re okay!”

I hear the voices of my three friends and decide to open my eyes. The light has been dimmed, so I can see their worried faces clearly. Their faces relax with relief. Ham and Sierra have a few bruises, but Nathan looks worse. He has cloth wrapped around part of his face and his neck as well.

I’m suddenly confused. “What… what happened?” I exclaim. “I don’t remember anything after I passed out… did we win?”

The three glance at each other. “You should tell her- you’re her actual partner,” Ham says to Nathan. He nods.

“Tell me what?” I demand, anxious now.

“Well, um… I was knocked out for most of it too, but Ham told me what happened. He and Sierra both carried us to the next split, where they had to answer another riddle. Ham got it right, and he moved on and got to the end. The thing is, it teleported us here immediately, so we don’t know if we won or not. We won’t find out until tonight when they call us onto the stand for the ceremonies. I woke up in here as well just a few hours ago. And they um… fixed… your shoulder.”

I sit up, hearing the worry in his voice. Apprehensive now myself, I start pulling the bandages off my shoulder. Nathan stops me and looks into my eyes. “They… couldn’t completely fix it,” he cautions me. “Just… be prepared.” Now I’m really concerned.

I finish peeling them off. Taking a deep breath, I grab a mirror near me and examine my shoulder. The raw meat has been covered with skin again, but… it’s an ugly red scar and there are still pretty deep gouges through the muscle. I move my arm slowly. It appears they knitted the muscle back together so I can move my arm now, but… I can tell it will never be the same. It still hurts, but nowhere near how intensely it did initially.

I ask Sierra what time it is, ignoring the ugly shoulder. She tells me it’s a little after noon. My stomach rumbles. As though the sound had summoned him, a doctor comes in with a tray full of food. He leaves it with us and hurries off. I wolf down more food than Sierra and Ham combined, although Nathan is a close second with how much he consumes. When I finally finish, I lean back with a satisfied sigh.

Finally, I have nothing to do for the rest of the day but sit and talk with my friends.

It’s time to go to the ceremonies. Once we are ready, we head out a little early- we don’t want to get there late again. When we show up, we are again surrounded by the people from the Village. This time, Y’vette saves us and leads us up onto the stand. The other contestants are there as well- except the green and yellow team, that is. Hmm. I wonder what happened to them. I don’t have long to wonder about it because the ceremony then begins.

Nehru walks up to the front of the stage and addresses the crowd. I’m not really listening. I’m too busy worrying if we won or not- or if those jerks on the green and yellow team did. Unfortunately, we don’t find out right away. First, she pulls us all up and does the same thing as before. I’m first again.

“So, Ms. Shay. What a Challenge! I must say that you performed very well, especially considering all that time you missed training. I can’t believe you beat that cat! It was so fast! And how you held on through the pain… well, I was impressed! Anybody else?” There is a fair amount of applause at this- coupled with wolf whistles, of course. I struggle not to roll my eyes. I have a feeling that no matter what I did, these people would be impressed and would cheer for me.

“Tell us, what was your least favorite part? Was it getting clawed by that huge cat?”

“No,” I say quietly. The crowd is hushed, straining to hear my words. “No, the worst part of the whole thing was watching as the yellow and green team hurt my friends while I couldn’t do anything about it. I felt… so helpless.” My voice breaks as my mind replays Nathan being attacked by all those thorns and Sierra being thrown onto a hedge. Nehru lets me sit down. She says similar things to Nathan, but his response is a little different.

“The worst part of this Challenge,” he starts, “was when the cat called Crystal to do the riddle- and then when it… got her… well, at the time, I could barely see what was going on because they were moving so fast, but… when I saw her in pain and trapped under the cat… well, I tried to help her. But I wasn’t allowed to. I… hate feeling powerless to help as another person struggles.”

The other teams’ least favorite parts were the riddles, the dangerous path, the fog, the maze itself, etc. Finally, after talking to all ten of us, we are told to stand again. We all step forward and Nehru finally announces the winning team.

“And congratulations for winning the Second Challenge… Crystal, Nathan, Sierra, and Ham!”

I’m stunned for a moment. I find my chair before I faint or something. The others sit down as well. Thaddeus and Zelda come up to us, each with two boxes just a little smaller than the average shoe box. Thaddeus hands Nathan and I one as Zelda hands one each to Ham and Sierra. We are then told to open them.

Ignoring the angry, envious stares of the other contestants, I lift the lid. Inside, I find a pair of sleek, sturdy, comfortable looking shoes. They are black with dark purple lining- just like the rest of my clothes. I look over and see that Nathan has the same thing. Ham and Sierra’s shoes are black and red, but other than that, they look almost exactly the same.

Nehru explains to us what they are. “Those are Lightning Shoes,” she says proudly. She sighs at our blank looks. I hear a gasp of envy from Kat. “They enable the wearer to run just as fast as if they had that Gift- but the difference is that these have a limit. If you run all out for longer than ten minutes, then the shoes will begin to wear down. Within fifteen minutes, you would wear them to shreds, and they will no longer work. If you give them breaks of about two minutes, then there is no limit to the length of time they will endure. They are waterproof and fireproof as well. It’s one size fits all- once you put them on, it will mold to your foot and fit you perfectly so you won’t get any chaffing, and it won’t be too big or small. Once again, Congratulations!” The crowd bursts into applause and we are told we should go to bed so we can be ready for training the next day.

Nathan and I say goodnight to Sierra and Ham- both of which are still shocked that they won a Challenge. Of course, this prize doesn’t benefit Sierra much, but she is still happy with it. I pass Lloyd on the way to our house.

“How’s Eric?” I ask him. He shrugs.

“Same as always. He misses you, though. Are you going to check on him in the morning?”

“Of course,” I say. “Thank you for taking care of him while I was gone.”

“Yes, well, I told you that I would help you out for this Challenge- but Crystal, you need to return him to his own kind. I don’t want to babysit him for the next Challenge. I had no idea what happened in this one because I was in the woods the whole time.” I hesitate. “He needs to go back to his own kind,” he presses.

“I… I know…”

“Will you take him back, then?”

“…Yes. Not now, of course. I’ll just have to do it before the next Challenge, I guess.”

He looks relieved. “Good. He seems pretty lonely anyway. See you later?”

“Yeah,” I mutter as Nathan and I continue on to our house.

Nathan looks at me and notices my sorrow. “You made the right choice,” he assures me.

“Yeah, I know,” I mumble. “It’s just… how will the dragons react to me walking around in the mountains with one of their young ones? I doubt they’ll just let me explain myself.”

Training goes on as usual for the next week. My schedule is about the same, except I’m now getting more sleep because of Nathan’s help. He takes Eric milk and watches him for a while in the mornings, and then we train with Thaddeus. Then he leaves to train with Vlad while I have one on one time with Thaddeus, have lunch, and switch. I don’t go to Eric in the middle of the day anymore because he can hunt for himself now and it’s almost impossible to get away with everyone watching me to ensure I don’t disappear again. Then there’s more training with Thaddeus and I check on Eric. I notice that he’s sad more now than ever. He can talk almost as well as I can, but he still calls me Kysta. He keeps asking me to play with him the next day, but I can’t. Even though it is now three weeks until the next Challenge, I doubt that Thaddeus will let me go again judging from what happened last time he let me have time off. Finally, I decide that I will try anyway. I need to return him to his real family- I promised Lloyd. Besides, I just can’t bear to see him so sad.

So, a few days later, I tell Nathan about my plan to return Eric. “I’m coming with you,” he says, a note of finality in his voice. “So don’t argue. Nothing you say will change my mind.”

“I wasn’t going to dissuade you. I was actually going to ask you to come with me.” He’s surprised- just like I knew he would be.

“What- really?”

“Yes, really. Dragons are powerful and I…” I swallow the words that almost escaped my lips.

“What is it?” he asks me softly. “You can tell me anything. I promise I won’t make fun of you,” he reassures.

“I… I’m afraid,” I squeak out.

“Well, of course you are,” he says. “It would be strange if you weren’t. With the power of the dragons… if you went out alone, then you would be insane- or suicidal. But don’t worry, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

So when we get to Thaddeus, we tell him that we need to talk to him- before he drags us up the stairs again. He raises an eyebrow quizzically. “Yes, what is it that you wish to talk to me about?” He questions.

I swallow and open my mouth to answer him, but Nathan beats me to it. “Well, Crystal and I noticed that we aren’t working together very well,” he starts. Thaddeus doesn’t really believe this, I can tell. “…So we were thinking that we should take today to train our trust in each other. We really need to be united in order to win so we can go home. So we were just going to ask if you needed a break today, and we can take over- if that’s alright with you, of course.”

Wow, I think. I can’t believe he came up with that so fast! And the way he said everything… it was like he knew just what Thaddeus was thinking, so he said what he wanted to hear… let’s just hope it’s enough. Nora agrees.

Especially after what keeps happening almost every single time you go off to the woods, alone or otherwise… she adds.

Thaddeus looks thoughtful. “Normally, I wouldn’t let you, but since you two will be together… nothing bad should happen…” I swallow my guilt and nod. “…Alright. But make sure to take your Familiars with you. They have fully healed, correct?”

“Yes,” I say. Nathan nods.

“Good. Be back in time for training tomorrow. I don’t care how tired you are, I won’t be any easier on you.”

We nod, ecstatic. I can’t believe he’s letting us go.

After thanking him, we head to the woods while he goes inside. I stop Nathan before we get to Eric’s little cave. He’s even bigger than when he tackled Lloyd- about the size of a mountain lion- so he would definitely hurt Nathan more. So after I tell Eric that he has another visitor, he’s happy rather than on edge, and he’s careful not to hurt Nathan or Greg.

Nathan and I made sure to wear our Lightning Shoes, just in case, but we don’t start sprinting off in some random direction. I don’t know where any dragons even are, so we just wander around, hoping that a dragon will spot us and let us explain instead of just killing us.

Nothing happens, so after about an hour Nora takes off to go find some food, promising to return quickly. Greg stays so that there is at least one Familiar with us at all times. We decide to head uphill and way from the trees so that the dragons have a better chance at being able to spot us. The thought still freaks me out, but I am comforted by the two Familiars and Nathan. And Eric, of course. If nothing else, then we will be able to escape using the Lightning Shoes. We are prepared for this, so there’s no reason to keep worrying, I tell myself.

As we climb, the trees thin until they are each far apart from the next. There is plenty of room for a dragon to land here. I notice large rocks, and it’s grassy and not very steep. We slow down and wait in the clearing for a while. Eric notices the large rocks as well. He scrambles up one that is near us and launches himself off. He snaps open his wings and glides to the ground. He does this for a while, so we stop to watch him. Nora returns and Greg has his chance to get some breakfast as well. After a few times of just gliding down, Eric decides to try and flap. So he jumps off and starts flapping like crazy. His right wing pumps harder than his left one, so he slices to the left and lands on the ground in a heap. I step forward, concerned, but he quickly jumps back up and climbs onto the rock again.

He’s fine, and he’s learned from his mistake, too. This time he makes sure to time his wing beats so they are the exact same. However, he doesn’t stay in the air for long since he doesn’t flap often enough. He soon gets the hang of it and is flying in wobbly circles around our heads. I laugh and congratulate him. He smiles a wide, toothy smile and glides down to an almost perfect landing.

I smile too. Then all of a sudden, I feel the air… vibrate around me and hear a faint thumping sound. It quickly gets louder. Thump. Thump. Thump. Soon it’s almost deafening. I can’t figure out what it is, but I have a feeling I will soon. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. It’s bone-rattling. I look up and finally find the source of the sound.

Coming toward us are two green dragons. I gasp, which causes Nathan to follow my gaze and see them as well. His mouth drops open. “Wow…” he croaks. The huge, powerful beasts are beautiful as well as majestic, which makes them even more awe inspiring. We are rooted in place as we watch them speedily approach.

Soon, they land in front of us. The darker one is also a little bigger, so I guess that it’s a male. It’s filled with power and pride while the smaller, more feminine one is a lighter shade of green and is filled with a wild beauty. The male’s head dips toward me, stopping just a few inches away. I can’t move a muscle. Suddenly, I remember what I learned about dragons from Thaddeus and realize that the dragon is probably about to look into my heart and judge me.

The dragon lowers his head until I am staring into one of his great eyes. It’s just a little smaller than the size of my head. I am immediately lost in their depths. I don’t know how long it is until he moves on to Nathan, but if I had to guess, it was probably only a few minutes, although it felt longer than that.

When he straightens again, he glances at the other dragon and then I hear his voice in my head, and I can tell that Nathan can hear him as well.

“Greetings, Crystal Dragon and Nathan Anderson. My name is Victor, and this is my mate, Tatiana. I see that you have our lost nephew with you. Thank you for taking care of him. Since my only sister- his mother- passed away, and all her babies with her, I thought that all was lost. But now I see that it is not. I presume that you came to return him to his own kind?”

“Yes,” I say. “…I named him Eric and I raised him for a while, but he really belongs with you.”

“Thank you. I’m afraid that we have to go through the Dragon Council first, however. Anything dealing with humans or the death of a dragon must be dealt with in Dragon Mountain during the council meeting. Luckily, that’s where we are headed now- and it’s fortunate for you as well. The council only meets once every other year. Since you are involved with this matter, your presence will be required to make the change of mentors. Are you willing to come with us, Dragongirl?”

I start when he says this. I really don’t think that I am this ‘Dragongirl,’ but apparently everyone else does. “Um… of course,” I say, still thrown a little off track by that one word. “But we obviously cannot fly, so we are willing to come if you are willing to fly us there.”

He smiles. It’s a lot more frightening than Eric’s, since he has teeth almost the width of my head. “Ah, but you could simply become a dragon and fly with us. After all, you are part girl, part dragon. You are as much dragon as you are human. It should be easy. …If you do not wish to, however, then I would be happy to give you and your companions a ride. Eric wouldn’t be able to make it there in time, if at all without us anyway. I saw him trying to fly, and he is learning rapidly, but he does not yet have the stamina to make it all the way there.”

“Thank you,” I respond. Greg comes racing back as we climb onto the dragons. I decide to ride with Tatiana while Nathan climbs onto Victor. I hold Eric close to me, keeping his head on my lap. Greg scrambles up the dragon’s leg and into Nathan’s lap just as the dragons stand and prepare to leave. Nora hovers above us, waiting. The two then launch powerfully off the mountain, heading Southeast. Nora flies alongside us for a while, but she soon gets tired and lands on my lap to rest.

The dragons fly so fast that we cover hundreds of miles in about an hour and a half. Finally, I see a huge, dark mountain ahead. “Is that Dragon Mountain?” I ask Tatiana.

“Yes. It is the only mountain with hollow insides large enough to hold so many of us. I do not enjoy being there, though. It is a dark, joyless place. Nothing grows there, and nothing has for hundreds of years.”

“Why?”

“Because Dragon Mountain is a volcano. When it erupts, it causes devastation for hundreds of miles around. Plants grow back everywhere else, but never on the mountain because of the noxious fumes that come from it.”

“Um… is it really a good idea to meet there, then? Couldn’t you just meet outside?” I ask, concerned. I don’t know much about noxious fumes, but I know that they won’t do good things to Nathan and I- or our familiars.

“No,” she says sadly as we prepare to land on the mountain. I can already detect a strange smell lingering in the air. “We can no longer do something like that.”

“Why? Nothing is more powerful than dragons, right? What do you have to fear?”

“…The Dragon Hunters. If we were to risk meeting in the open, the huge amount of dragons would definitely attract some attention from those evil humans. Normally, we wouldn’t fear them, especially when we are in a group, but lately we have discovered that they have made weapons of mass destruction,” she says as we land. “With these tools, they would be able to take out a large chunk of the dragons there. There is nothing we can do about the weapons, unfortunately. They are impervious to fire, and are strong enough to endure the power of our claws.”

“…Oh,” I say as I climb down, Eric happily bounding after me. I don’t know what to say. I would like to help the dragons, but I don’t know that I can. It sounds to me like these weapons are indestructible. What could I do against something like that?

As we walk into the mountain, the strange smell gets stronger. I start getting really concerned. “Um… Victor? Will these fumes hurt us?”

“No, not that I know of. It doesn’t do anything to dragons, but maybe it’s different for humans and animals. Still, the fumes aren’t as strong as they used to be, so you should be fine for a while.”

“…How long do you think this will take?”

“I don’t know. This doesn’t happen very often. Maybe a few hours, possibly longer. It depends on what else the council has to discuss.” I start feeling lightheaded.

“I don’t think we have that kind of time. Do you think we can do this any faster?”

“No… but I have a solution. Your friends will have to wait outside- including and especially Nathan- then you can turn into a dragon so as to bear the fumes. They won’t affect you anymore, and it won’t matter so much how long this takes.”

“Won’t it still affect them while they are outside?”

“Possibly, but it will take longer. They should be fine even if it takes all day. They will likely have a fierce headache, but it’s the only way.” I think about it. It does seem like the only solution.

“…Alright. I guess that’s what we’ll have to do,” I decide. I turn to Nathan and tell him our plan. He isn’t happy about it, but the fumes are starting to make him feel sick, and Greg has already passed out, his little body overcome by it. Nora goes with him, and it’s a good thing, too. She has to ride on his shoulder because she’s too weak to fly.

I’m starting to feel nauseous as well, so I quickly concentrate on the feeling of being a dragon- I don’t picture a dragon this time, because that would make me shape shift into a dragon already in existence. I want to see if I really am this ‘Dragongirl.’ So in theory, this should turn me into the dragon I’m meant to be.

However, I don’t really think that it will work, so I’m shocked when it does. Before I realize what’s happening, I am suddenly just a little smaller than Tatiana. I’m surprised to find that I’m not green like her, however. I crane my neck around and look at myself. I am differing shades of blue and gold. All my spikes and claws are a bright gold- beautiful yet deadly, while my scales are a dark, rich blue. I wait for draconic instincts to try and take over, but nothing does. I am myself, yet I am a dragon with deadly power.

I remember how Lloyd told me that everyone gets lost to the power of a dragon. I search my feelings to see if anything like that is happening, but I feel like myself, even though I have never felt like this before. It’s new and unexpected, yet it feels normal, like this was a part of me that was buried deep underneath, just waiting to be fully discovered.

“Wow,” both dragons exclaim. Victor continues. “I… I’ve never seen any dragon like you.”

“Really?”

“I have never seen a dragon of more than one color. You are unique indeed. No one would doubt that you are a child of Alex and Jack. Do you… feel any different? I understand that most humans get completely lost to the power and wild nature of dragons…”

“No, I feel fine. Better than fine, in fact. You were right. It seems that I am indeed part dragon. It feels… natural to be in this form. It’s not foreign at all, although it should be.” I look down at Eric. He doesn’t seem surprised to see me like this. Maybe he saw the dragon in me before I did myself.

The four of us continue into the mountain, completely unaffected by the venomous fumes. Soon we emerge from the tunnel into a huge open space filled with dragons of all colors and sizes. At first I am overwhelmed by them all. There must be hundreds, all different shades of red, orange, yellow, blue, sapphire, purple, only a couple of golds, lots of greens, blacks, and some silver dragons. But like Victor said, there are no others with two colors.

There are some that are many times bigger than me, and very few that are smaller. We must be the youngest ones here. I suddenly feel claustrophobic and small. Most dragons are at least twice as big as me. Intimidated, I pull my wings up over my head and just breathe for a minute, trying to collect my former confidence. I lower them again and feel slightly better. Eric, daunted by both the number and size of the dragons as well, climbs onto my back and tries to hide behind one of the large spikes there. I can hear many conversations raging in my head, but they are all muted and in the background since I am not involved in any of them. I can gather, though, that they are waiting for something- or someone.

All conversation suddenly stops as a colossal gold dragon walks slowly into the room. He stops and calmly gazes around the room. I vaguely notice that all the dragons are bowing their heads to him, but am too astonished by this dragon’s presence to do so myself. He notices me and begins making his way toward me. I can feel the eyes of every dragon in the room watching me, waiting to see what I will do. The weight of their stares is suffocating.

As he gets nearer, I manage to bow my head respectfully, although I feel more like I’m hiding than paying my respects. My head lowered, I can only see one of his huge claws as he stops in front of me. I take a deep, anxious breath. This dragon obviously has power and strength and can easily affect the rest of the dragons, and I have a feeling it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s the biggest dragon I will probably ever see- even bigger than the silver one with the Sohos. If he wanted to, he could probably order all the dragons in this room to attack me. Who knows? I don’t exactly belong here anyway. This dragon could tell that at a glance. I hear his deep, rumbling voice in my head.

“Hello, child. I can see that you are new here. What is your name? I have never seen you before- nor any dragon like you. Although your scent is somewhat familiar. Who are your parents?”

“I… I…” I stammer, unable to form words. I’m so in awe of this dragon that my brain doesn’t seem to work right anymore. I force it to work anyway. It’s rude not to answer a questions- and I certainly don’t want to make him mad.

I swallow and force myself to look up at him. It’s a long way up. “My… my name is Crystal Dragon. And you’re right, I am new here. My parents are…”

“…Pearl and Alexander Dragon,” he says thoughtfully. “I should have known. Those two are some of the most incredible, brave, and caring humans that I have ever met… and I have lived a long time,” he adds, chuckling. I try to smile. “I should have known that their child would be the long-awaited Dragongirl… how are they? Doing well, I hope.”

I swallow again. “Um… well, not really. They… they are in the hospital at the moment.” So I quickly explain the whole story to him, about my brothers and I being stolen and my parents’ hearts being broken.

“Ah. That would explain why they haven’t visited in some time. Well, it’s good to have you with us, Crystal. I thought that you would be coming soon.”

“What? How… how would you know that I was coming? I didn’t even know until about two hours ago!”

“Because you are the Dragongirl. It was prophesied that you would aid us in our time of need, and that time is now. I should have known that it would be at our council… it all works out perfectly. …But what is that on your back? Is that a little dragon? Could it be… is that the child that was lost after his mother died?”

“Um… yes,” I reply. “At least, I think so, unless you lost more than one. His mother and siblings died. I rescued him and named him Eric.”

“Well, hello, little one,” I hear the big gold dragon say to Eric. Eric, instead of responding, just ducks behind my tail and tries to hide. “There’s no need to be afraid. We are all here to help you. My name is Gale the Gold.” Suddenly Gale looks up and finally seems to notice all the dragons watching us.

“I must go, Crystal Dragon. I must start the council- the other members are already here and waiting.” I glance over at the highest point in the room, and sure enough, there are four other dragons already there, waiting. All of them are the biggest and oldest dragons here. There is a sapphire, a silver, a black, and a white, but Gale is the grandest dragon of them all. “I will talk to you again soon. Very soon, in fact, since the matter of Eric is the first thing we shall attend to. The matter of you helping is the other. I will do my best to be fair, but I cannot guarantee what the others on the Dragon Council will decide. Now then, let’s get started, shall we?” With that, he slowly walks to his place.

Once there, he turns and addresses all of the dragons in the room. “Hello, my friends, and welcome to this Dragon Council! As all of you know, I am Gale the Gold and the oldest dragon alive- thanks to the Dragon Hunters killing Asoka,” he says, bitterness in his voice. “Our first item of business today is that of Jasmine’s lost child, who has finally been found!” He pauses as all the dragons murmur amongst each other. When this all dies down, he continues.

“He was found by a human- a member of the Dragon family. Crystal Dragon has raised our lost family member, naming him Eric, and is now returning him to us. The only thing to be decided now is whom Eric should go to. Jasmine had a larger family than most, so more than one dragon may decide to claim him. Victor, come forward please.”

His head held high, the green dragon, dwarfed by most of the other dragons, quickly makes his way to the front. He bows his head to Gale and stands behind him and to the left.

“As Jasmine was your sister, I believe that you have a right to this child. Does anyone object?”

“Yes,” A deep, angry voice growls. I look around, trying to discover the source of the voice. A dark black dragon a little bigger than Victor steps up, a proud look on his scaly face. “My younger brother does not reserve the right to our sister’s child. He has not yet even earned his title. As the oldest, I should be entitled to raising young Eric. It is my right.”

“Very well. Please come forward, Vincent the Proud. We will have to judge who is worthy of raising this child.” With a satisfied smirk, Vincent strides haughtily up to Gale’s side. He doesn’t bow to him. My wings flutter a little with anger. I cannot believe that this jerk thinks that he is so much better than everyone else. The air about him just seems… wrong somehow. All I know is that I don’t like this dragon. Not at all.

“Does anyone else make a claim on Eric?” No one says anything. “Very well, then. We will decide after the meeting who Eric will stay with. We may even let him decide. But now, for our other item of business. We have a very special guest with us today.” Gale turns and looks at me as Victor and Vincent go back to their places.

“Crystal Dragon, would you please join me in the front of the room?” I swallow hard, my wings fluttering with nervousness as the eyes of every dragon in the room land on me. I hear hundreds of conversations erupt in my head, almost deafening me. I walk slowly up to Gale’s side, barely remembering to bow my head first. My tail swishes from side to side anxiously as I stand there.

At first, Gale tries to wait for the dragons’ conversations to die down, but they just get more and more excited as they realize what this must mean- and especially when they notice my multicolored scales. So after a few minutes of this, Gale has to roar loudly to silence them all.

“Good. Now that that’s over with… I know you have all heard the prophecy of the Dragongirl. It was not specific, but it is obvious that Crystal is the one. Never before have I seen, in all my years, a dragon of two colors. Likewise, I have never seen a human become a dragon and not lose themselves to the form completely. It is a very good sign that she is here. Our dark days are coming to an end! This dragon-human will help defend us against the Dragon Hunters and save our world!”

I quickly interrupt. “…I…never said that I will take on the Dragon Hunters for you.” Complete silence. This is what my statement causes. Shock and surprise spreads across every dragon’s face. Glee spreads over Vincent’s.

“I knew it!” he exclaims, striding up and standing proudly in front of Gale. “I told you she wouldn’t help us! She is a human, after all! Everyone knows how selfish they are! I will do it! I will save us! I will take on this Patrick guy myself! He doesn’t scare me…” Gale growls loudly, cutting him off.

“You don’t know what you are talking about. You have never seen the Dragon Hunters’ power. You have no idea of the havoc they can and do cause. I understand Crystal’s hesitance. She is wiser than you.

“However,” he continues, turning to look at me with his great, golden eye. “I strongly urge you to reconsider. I understand that you do not wish a prophesy to rule your life, govern your every action. I know how that feels. Regardless, I have discovered that eventually, you end up fulfilling that prophesy whether you meant to or not. It is still up to you, of course. What does the rest of the council say?”

The sapphire dragon steps up and stands on the other side of Gale. “I think that we should leave this up to the Dragongirl, but before she makes her final decision, we should do something to show her how much we need her help. And then we let her decide.” Her head swings around and she peers at me. “…I trust that she will make the right decision.” She lets this hang over my head, a subtle threat. I respond to this by dipping my head respectfully to her. She dips hers back and returns to her spot.

The silver and white dragons agree with her, but the black one does not. He stands and strides to the front. “I disagree. You are all too soft. I think that the Dragongirl should help us or go away. She must do as the prophesy says. However, I don’t believe that wereally need her help. We can solve this ourselves. We don’t need a puny human to help us. We are the strongest and most powerful race in all of Zilferia. So help or not, I don’t really care. …Do as you wish. My clan and I can take care of this threat,” he cockily promises as he sits back down, satisfaction written clearly on his face. I can tell that he’s related to Vincent- he’s so full of himself. But maybe that’s just how black dragons are.

“Are we in agreement, then?” Gale asks, looking at the council. “We will let her decide, but try to help her make the right choice?” They all nod at this, looking at peace with the decision. Vincent and a lot of the other black dragons, however, do not. But majority rules, I suppose. Gale turns to me. “Do you agree to this?” I nod, grateful that they are letting me choose. “Thank you, Crystal. You may go back to your spot. I will speak with you afterward.” I nod again and head back to Victor and Tatiana, feeling the tightness in my chest ease.

They continue talking about their dragon news, but not much of it catches my interest. Gale announces that one of the dragon families had laid some eggs and they are doing fine. He says a bit more, something about clans. I turn to Tatiana.

“What is he talking about? What are clans? Are they like… families?”

“Yes, in a way,” she replies. “A clan is a group of the same colored dragons. We do it that way because each dragon’s color is their main characterizing trait, so dragons of the same color get along better- for the most part. This doesn’t mean that they are the same family, however. Vincent and Victor are brothers, but they are different colors, therefore in different clans while still in the same family. The blacks, as you may have noticed, are the most proud. They never think about what their actions could mean. They believe in their own strength.

“We have mostly green dragons around here. Greens are kind of timid. We don’t speak up very often, so when we do, we have something important to say. We don’t really enjoy being the center of attention- unlike the blacks. White dragons are peacemakers, silvers are the most curious, blues are the smartest, and gold dragons are the rarest as well as powerful- at certain times.”

“At certain times? What does that mean?”

“No one really knows. I don’t think that even Gale fully understands it. All I know is that for the most part, golds are just as powerful as the rest of us- most of the time. Yet sometimes, an unknown… substance aids them and makes them more powerful. This may happen to you at one point, since you are part gold.

“The purples grow the slowest, and are the smallest because of that. Reds are the fastest fliers and the most nimble. Sapphires are about the same as blues- smart. But sometimes they seem to be able to see more than the rest of us in a given situation. They detect out of the ordinary things before any of the other clans. Did you notice that no one seemed to detect your presence at first except for a few sapphire dragons?”

“Um… no,” I reply, a little apologetic. “I guess I was too wrapped up with everything that was going on… plus I’ve never seen so many dragons! Of course… these are practically the first dragons I’ve ever seen…” Tatiana laughs a little, but no one notices. They are too involved in an argument.

“Don’t worry, I understand. It’s a little overwhelming at first. But you will eventually get used to it.” With that, she turns back to the debate. I sigh. I doubt I’ll ever get used to so many dragons at once. I’m only used to being a dragon because it was apparently a part of me all along.

It takes another hour to finish up the council meeting. I wonder how my friends are doing. I decide that I should probably head back to them as soon as possible, so once most of the dragons have left through the various exits, I start heading toward the one we entered through. I have only taken a few steps before I am approached by Gale. My wings twitch a little. I’m still unnerved by how huge he is.

“Crystal, may I have a word?” he asks me.

“Of… of course,” I reply. Leaving Eric with Victor and Tatiana, I follow Gale as he flies up through the hole in the top of the volcano. We perch on the ring and look out at the huge forest. I once again feel dwarfed compared to both Gale and the huge expanse of trees before me. A clean breeze dances past. I take a deep breath, releasing the toxins I have been breathing in.

Gale turns to me. “Well, young one? Do you have any questions for me?” I am surprised for a moment. That’s not what I was expecting him to say.

“Um, yes. I… I was wondering… why did you say that you know how it feels to be governed by a prophesy? Was there… a prophecy about you?” He smiles a little, turning to gaze out at the forest again.

“Somehow I knew that you would ask me that. The answer is a bit complicated, but the easiest answer would be that yes, I was indeed involved in a prophecy. When I was young, maybe forty or fifty.”

“Fifty?! That’s young?!”

He chuckles. “You must remember that we dragons can live for hundreds, even thousands of years. Fifty is nothing.”

“How… how old are you?”

“You do not need to know the exact number, so suffice it to say I am almost one thousand years old.”

“…Wow,” I think, stunned. A thought then suddenly occurs to me. “Gale? Do… do you think that… I will live that long? Because I am a dragon… but I’m also a human.”

He frowns, thinking. “I believe that you will live longer than any other human alive now, but I doubt that you will live as long as I have. Although, I doubt that I will be alive for much longer.”

“What? Why? Are… are you ill?”

“No. It… has to do with the prophecy I was and am a part of. You see, it said that I would save the lives of every color of dragon. Of course, it didn’t mention me by name seeing as I was not yet born when this prophecy was foretold. It simply referred to me as a young, pure-hearted dragon. With each color of dragon that I helped, it said that I would grow that color of scale. After I helped every color, I would then be filled with power and knowledge and… become gold.”

“Wait, what? You… you weren’t gold when you were younger?”

“No. I was green, actually. I was completely average- I didn’t stick out in any way except that I was an unusually obedient for such a young dragon.

“One day, I was alone, wandering through the forest when I came upon a large cave that I had not yet explored. I entered and found a small family of purple dragons near starvation. When I asked them why they had not eaten, they told me it was because of a huge, black dragon that came into their territory and ate the food there. I assured them that I would help in any way I could. Then came the hard part- figuring out how I could help them when I myself was small and weak in comparison to this giant.

“I decided to try talking to him. My mother begged me not to- she didn’t want to lose me- I was her only surviving child. I told her that I had to do it because no one else would. I hated to do it, but I disobeyed my mother and left in the middle of the night to go find this dragon. I wandered again into the purple dragon’s territory and waited for the black dragon to come. It was said that he hunted at night.

“I finally found him just a little while before dawn. He was feasting on the carcass of a bear. I was quite frightened, but I faced him anyway. When I strode into the clearing, he barely glanced at me, too involved in his meal. His muzzle was covered in the dark red blood of the beast as he gorged. I swallowed my fear and walked right up to him so he couldn’t just ignore me.

“He growled at me to go away, but I didn’t. In fact, trying to sound as ferocious as I could, I growled back and told him to go away. He was extremely surprised at this, but he didn’t leave. It wasn’t that easy. He then got right in my face and told me to run home before I regretted it.

“I told him no. He was doing the wrong thing, and he needed to go to his own home. This made him angry, and he attacked me. Fortunately, I was ready for him. I had made sure that a large rock was behind me. So when I jumped out of the way as he leapt for me, he crashed into the rock and broke a claw on his right paw. This just served to anger him more. He turned for me again, but I quickly leapt onto his back and crawled between his wings- where he couldn’t reach me with his wings, forelegs, hind legs, or head. I thought I was all set. I thought that I could actually win the fight.

“But then he whacked me with his tail, something that I was not expecting. Dazed, I fell off of his back. He quickly put his heavy paw on top of me, pinning me down. I could barely breathe. He then leaned down and put his face in front of mine, hoping to intimidate me. Well, it worked. I was more frightened of him that I had ever been before. I realized that he might actually kill me.

“I was so frightened, I wriggled around like crazy, trying to get free, but I hardly budged under the weight of the paw. Finally, I blew fire into his eye. He backed away, roaring in pain and anger, and I quickly flew home, hoping that what I had done was enough to help the purple dragons I had met. I couldn’t find the courage to go back there until a week later. I did finally go- I had to find out if I had done any good for the purples.

“And I had. I apparently made the black dragon think that it wasn’t worth it, so he left. The family was so grateful to me that it made up for all the fear I had felt when I faced him. I went home feeling like a true hero.

“A month later, I grew a purple scale.

“I didn’t notice it until my mother pointed it out. I didn’t know what that meant, and neither did she, so we went to see the head dragon council member- my father. He was a black dragon, but wasn’t nearly as prideful as most of the other blacks. He took me to the Dragon Mage to see if he could figure it out. When I showed him the purple scale, he was so surprised! He then told me about the prophecy. He also told me that I was destined to help the members of every dragon clan. I, apparently, was destined for greatness.

“When I went home and told my mom, she was ecstatic. So was my father. He suddenly took interest in me when he had mostly ignored me before that. I tried to act like I was happy about it, but I wasn’t. I didn’t want to be forced to help others just to fulfill some stupid prophecy. So one day I decided that I had had enough.

“About a month after I talked to the mage, I went back. He was glad to see me, but what I did was the last thing he was expecting. I told him that I would have none of it. He couldn’t respond for a while from shock, but when he could, he warned me that I couldn’t just walk out on a prophecy. I couldn’t just choose to live my life how I wanted. I had to do as the prophecy said. I flat out told him no. He warned me that I couldn’t escape it, that it would follow me for the rest of my life until it was fulfilled.

“After that, I tried to ignore the prophecy, but I couldn’t. Not with the Mage’s words still ringing in my ears and with one of my scales still purple. My mother and father wouldn’t stop talking about it either, so I ran away and hid in the mountains for a few years, trying to hide from it.

“I couldn’t hide forever. During the time I was in the mountains, a storm hit that lasted two weeks. It was so strong that I didn’t dare go out. On the eighth day, the storm blew a young red dragon into a tree outside of my cave. I rushed out to help the poor thing. I dragged him into my cave, barely not getting blown away myself.

“I revived him, but at a cost. I couldn’t go out and hunt since the storm, you see, so I had very little food left. I felt bad for that dragon and couldn’t just let him die of starvation, so I gave him what little food I had left and took care of him until the storm was over.

“I then helped him get back to his family. He couldn’t do it by himself because he had a broken wing. When I saw them all together again, happy and rejoicing… I realized something. I realized that what the Mage said was true. I couldn’t run away from or hide from the prophecy- it was a part of me, a part that I couldn’t let go of.”

“…Wow,” I say, touched by the story. “So you continued helping all the clans, then?”

“Yes. And I learned and grew a great deal along the way.”

I sigh. “I know that you meant for that to help me… but… I… I can’t do it. I’m sorry. My prophecy says that I will sacrifice so much… and the Dragon Hunters have weapons that I can’t do anything against that you can’t do… I’m sorry. I just… can’t do it.” Gale turns and looks at me with his great, sad eyes.

“I understand. I will not force you. But you have agreed to let us try and change your mind, so I had to give it a shot. I will contact you as soon as we decide what to do to try and persuade you next. Please, do not make the same mistake that I made when I wasted those years of my life. …Is there anything else you wish to ask me?”

“Yes, actually. Did you guys decide who Eric will stay with yet?” Gale chuckles.

“Yes, we decided that during the meeting.”

“…Oh. I guess I wasn’t really listening.”

“It’s perfectly alright. I understand. Yes, we decided that young Eric will stay with Victor and Tatiana.”

“Oh, good,” I say, breathing a sigh of relief. Gale smiles.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Yes, actually,” I respond, recalling the first Challenge, when Nathan had died and I somehow revived him. “I’ve been wondering for about a month now how I managed to do something… odd.”

“What did you do?” he asks, genuinely curious.

“Well… my friend Nathan… died. And… well whenever I have a hard time controlling my emotions, my dragon eyes come out. When they were out, I cried and he… well, he came back to life. I know, it sounds crazy,” I continue before he can say anything. “Which is why I want to know if you know why that happened? Or how?”

He looks thoughtful as he ponders this. “I think I know why you have such abilities,” he begins slowly. “…When Alex and Jake had their first child, he was extraordinarily concerned with the welfare of others. Before too long, it was discovered that he would have dreams and… premonitions about both dragons and people who were in need of his assistance. He also had a gift of healing. I believe that you may have inherited that from him.”

“…Oh,” I say, unsure if I’m any less confused or not. “Okay… I guess that makes sense.”

He nods his head to me slowly. “Was there anything else you needed?”

“…I don’t think so,” I say after a few seconds.

He then bids me farewell, and with that, he flies away, disappearing into the clouds. I realize as soon as he leaves that he didn’t tell me why he thought that he would die soon.

I shrug it off and head back to Victor and Tatiana. We quickly go back out the way we came, hurrying to Nathan. I’m worried because I now realize that we were in there for most of the day, and that means that he must have breathed in a lot of toxins by now.

I don’t see my friends when I first emerge from the tunnel, so I start panicking. Scolding myself, I stop and think. I look around and spot him about a mile away where the tree line begins. He’s lying on his back, with Nora and Greg lying still next to him. Worried, I wing my way over there as fast as I can, followed by Victor, Tatiana, and Eric.

When I arrive, I see that they are all still breathing- although shallowly. I carefully pick them all up and put them on my back. I bid farewell to Eric, Victor, and Tatiana before Eric leaves my life forever. It’s a sad parting, but I try and assure Eric that everything will be fine and that I will visit him sometimes. It doesn’t do much to ease the pain. I sadly turn my attention back to my poisoned friends and fly as fast as I can back to the Village, hoping that I will get there before it’s too late.

Two hours later, just after the sun goes down, I land near the edge of the forest. Turning back into my human form, I feel small and weak at first. I shake it off and grab my three friends, but I quickly discover that I can barely move Nathan, let alone when my hands are full with Greg and Nora as well. Thinking quickly, I open Nathan’s backpack and carefully lay the two Familiars inside. Leaving it unzipped on my back, I can now carry Nathan, although I have to stop and rest every few yards. At first, I’m confused as to why I feel so weak, but then I put it together. That must happen whenever I change forms. I hadn’t noticed before because my dragon form is so much stronger than my human one that I didn’t even know I was fatigued!

I finally reach the hospital around midnight, but I barely make it. I collapse from exhaustion just after knocking on the door.

I blink my eyes open, jerked suddenly from my sleep. I don’t see anyone else in the room. It’s dark, but I can still tell that I am in a room in the hospital. I’m filled with relief. Good, that means I made it and that Nathan, Greg, and Nora got help, I conclude, sitting up. I feel refreshed. The doctors must have given me something to help me regain my energy quickly, because I’ve only been asleep for a few hours. I glimpse something moving in the corner of the room and freeze, hoping desperately that they haven’t noticed me. I hadn’t made much noise at all, so it’s possible that the shadow hasn’t noticed me yet.

It hasn’t, as far as I can tell. It continues moving slowly from the open window to the door, carefully opening it and slinking into the hallway. I quietly slip out of bed and follow the shadow person into the hallway. As we make our way down the hallway, our steps soft and quiet, I debate between tackling the person now or waiting to see what they will do. I decide to wait, mostly due to my curiosity. The person goes into the last door on the right. Now I’m concerned, because I know what this is where the doctors keep their information as well as supplies. I decide that it’s time to confront this shadow-man and stop them before they do something irreversible and damaging. I take a deep breath and step through the open door.

…And come face to face with a tall man in a black cloak. I gasp and take a step back, but I run into something. I spin around and find myself trapped between two men in black cloaks. I glance back and forth between the two, wondering how I’m going to get out of this one.

I decide to just beat them up and ask questions later. I pull back my arm and let it fly towards the first guy, but he suddenly disappears and my fist flies through thin air. Confused, I back up and am grabbed from behind. The man puts a gloved hand over my mouth, stifling my scream for help. He also has a crushing grip on my left shoulder, pinching a nerve. My arm suddenly goes dead and I can’t feel or move it. I am now at these people’s mercy. …And I have a feeling they aren’t very merciful.

The first man reappears and strides up to me with an air of authority. He leans down and peers into my eyes, then smiles. “Looks like we’ve got our little Princess,” he sneers triumphantly to the other man. My eyes fill with fear. Apparently being a princess isn’t a very good thing to be. It looks like I’m about to be kidnapped again. I’m dying to ask the man what he’s planning on doing with me, both for information and so that there is a possibility that someone will hear and come rescue me, but I can’t because of the bigger man’s relentless grip. Luckily, the first man is feeling talkative anyway, so he tells me as he unlocks the window and pulls it up.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here. Well, my mission tonight was simple. I was to look at their patients’ records to see if the rumors were true- that the princess was here. If she was here, than I was to drug her- you- so that you wouldn’t wake up until tomorrow night. Then my companion and I were to return and kidnap you and take you to our leader. Ironically, it seems that my job is made faster and easier because of you!” He steps out the window. Once he does, the man holding me pushes me out the window after the first man.

I hook my feet onto the sides of the window, trying to pull away as the first guy pulls on my arms, but to no avail. The man is too strong. Soon I am being tugged into the nearby woods. After a while of this, I finally fight through the panicked fog in my brain and concentrate once again on the feeling of being a dragon. I feel the scales emerge from my skin and wings erupt from my back, clipping the guy holding me above his eye. He falls back, landing on his back in the undergrowth.

Before I can finish the transformation, the first guy pulls out a large syringe with a green liquid inside and injects it into my foreleg. I quickly revert to my human state and fall to the ground, devoid of all my energy and unable to control my muscles. I look at the man, wide eyed. He scowls at me. “I knew you would try something like that. Luckily, Patrick thought ahead and told me to bring this. I didn’t believe him when he said that you could turn into a dragon, but he took precautions and gave me this liquid. As I’m sure you have noticed, it makes you turn back into yourself and you can no longer control most of your muscles. The best part is that you can never turn into a dragon again, no matter how hard you try.”

Disbelieving, I concentrate on being a dragon again. Nothing. I try harder. Still nothing. My eyes widen and a tear escapes my right eye. This means that I can’t help the Sohos, I can’t help the dragons, and I can’t even help myself. This is the worst, and I am overwhelmed with fear with virtually no outlet. The man laughs. “I see it works, just like Patrick told me it would. He is truly a visionary man. In fact, he somehow knew that we would need this…” he searches in the bushes around us. He finally pulls out a sled a little longer than my body.

The second man grunts and heaves himself out of the plants, wiping blood off his forehead before it drips into his eye. He scowls angrily at me after laying me on the sled, then grabs the rope in front of the sled and begins pulling. I close my eyes, just wanting to die. I know that these guys want to use me against my friends and will cause great destruction and sorrow- unless I can stop them. However, I won’t be able to- not in this state. I open my eyes and gaze at the sky overhead and am suddenly struck by the beauty of the night sky. As I watch, it slowly lightens as the sun begins to rise over the tops of the mountains.

About an hour later, we stop. I can now move my head, but nothing else. I look up at them to see what they’re doing. They are talking, quietly arguing about something. Finally, the second man turns to me and tells me they will be right back. They are going to go get some more people to help handle me when I can move again. I open my mouth to say something insulting, but the only thing that comes out is a weak croak. The two laugh at me and walk off.

Now I’m worried about the wild animals in the woods. They could easily walk right up and eat me while I can’t do anything about it. I start to wish that they had been smarter and left one of them with me while one ran ahead or something. Surely they would be better than being eaten alive by some wild animal- right? So I start trying to yell for them to come back, but again, all that comes out is a weak little croak. As I continue, I get a little louder and stronger. I finally stop and rest my vocal chords.

After a little longer, I can move my arms. I decide that it will have to be enough for me to escape from these maniacs and get back to the Village. I start hauling myself off the wooden sled and back the way we came, using my elbows and forearms. I wonder if anyone is looking for me yet. Surely someone has noticed by now! The sun is already up. I wonder if they will even bother sending out a search party? I worry. I am just an expendable person who ‘plays’ their little ‘Games.’ They can easily do without me. I sigh and begin despairing. At the rate I’m going, I will quickly be recaught by those guys again. I’ll never make it back to the Village, and no one cares enough to come rescue me, so I’m on my own.

After a little longer, my legs gain a little strength so I can crawl a little faster and my forearms no longer have to bear my full weight. I stop and rest. Leaning against a large rock, I feel my arms screaming out at me in pain, but I don’t look. It won’t help to see all the blood anyway. As I am resting, I hear some people- three or four- walking toward me. I freeze, barely daring to breathe. They stop a little ways away from me. I hear them talking, but I can’t make out anything they are saying because they are too far away. They continue walking again, slowly. I make out what they’re saying as they come near.

“Are you sure they came this way?” a worried voice asks.

“Yes,” a disgruntled man says. “See the sled marks?” They move on past me.

They don’t get far when they stop again and I hear someone say, “…is that blood?!”

Another concerned voice replies, “…Yes. That is blood. I wonder what happened? How much trouble is she in this time?” Hmm. These can’t be the same people in black cloaks. They wouldn’t care what happened to me. Nor would they be worried. …These people must be on a search party from the village! Deciding that my best bet would be to contact these people, I call out, even though my voice is still nothing more than a croak. Luckily, they hear me anyway and hurry toward me.

They catch sight of me and gasp with relief, surprise, and disgust. I look down. My arms are almost completely covered in blood with rocks and sticks ground into them. The blood has been dripping down my shirt and pants, covering them as well. All of a sudden I realize just how much blood I’ve lost. I try to stand, but I sway and fall. One of the guys in the group catches me, saving my head from a meeting with the large rock. He looks down at me, surprise in his warm brown eyes. Those eyes are the last thing I see before I pass out from blood loss.