by Katie Cherry
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 all 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 similarly colored dragons. We organize it in that way because each dragon’s color is correlated to their main characterizing trait; so dragons of the same color generally get along better. This doesn’t mean that they are always from 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 rely on their own strength.
“We have mostly green dragons around here, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. 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 the most curious, blues are the smartest, and gold dragons are the rarest as well as extremely 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 or entity aids them and makes them more powerful. This may happen to you at some point, since you are part gold.
“The purples grow the slowest, and are the smallest because of that. They are timid like the greens. Reds are the fastest fliers and the most nimble. Sapphires are about the same as the regular 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 apologetically. “I guess I was too wrapped up with everything that was going on… plus I’ve never seen so many dragons! Of course… before today the only dragon I’d ever seen alive was Eric, so…” Tatiana chuckles, but no one notices. They’re too involved in an argument over something.
“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 or so 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 forest. I once again feel dwarfed compared to both Gale and the expanse of trees before me. A clean breeze dances past. I take a deep breath, releasing the toxins I’ve been breathing in.
Gale turns to me. “Well, young one? Do you have any questions for me?” I’m 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 prophecy? Was there… a prophecy about you?” He smiles a little, turning to gaze out at the forest again.
“I was expecting for you to 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 that 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 a little, thinking. “I believe that you will live a very long life for a human, but I doubt you will live as long as I have. It also might depend on which form you spend the majority of your time in. Regardless, I’ve lived a long time, even for dragons. Although I doubt that I will be around 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.”
“What, what? You… you weren’t always gold?”
“No. I was green, actually. I was completely average- I didn’t stick out in any way except that I was 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 massive 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 couldn’t stand to lose 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 dragons’ 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 hardly 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 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 astonished at this, but he didn’t leave. It wasn’t going to be that easy. He then got right in my face, washing my small body with hot air 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 managed to break 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 might actually be able to win the fight.
“But then he whacked me with his tail, something that I was not expecting. Dazed, I fell off his back. He quickly put a 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. It worked. I was more frightened of him than I had ever been before. I realized that he might actually kill me.
“I was so frightened, I wiggled around like crazy, trying
desperately to get free, but I had hardly budged under the weight of the paw. Finally, I blew fire into his eye. He backed away, roaring in pain and anger. 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 and find out 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 decide that it wasn’t worth it, so he left. The family was so grateful to me that it made up for all the fear that 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 dangerously prideful like many 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 said 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 the news, she was ecstatic. My father was as well. He suddenly took an 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.
“The Mage was glad to see me again, but what I did was the last thing he expected. I told him that I would have none of it. He was so shocked he didn’t immediately respond, but when he did, he warned me that I couldn’t just walk out on a prophecy. I couldn’t choose to live my life exactly how I wanted. I had to do as the prophecy said. I flat out told him no. He cautioned me against trying to 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 protect myself from it.
“I couldn’t hide forever. During my time in the mountains, a storm hit that lasted two weeks. It was so intense 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 instinctively rushed out to help him. 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, so I had very little food left. I gave him what little I had, unwilling to let him starve as well as suffer from his broken wing. I took care of him until the storm was over.
“I then helped him get back to his family. When I saw them all together again, relieved 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 of 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 do what I could. I will contact you as soon as we decide the next course we will pursue to attempt to persuade you next. Please, do not make the same mistake that I had when I wasted those years of my life running. …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 ended up deciding that during the meeting. Young Eric will stay with Victor and Tatiana, both because they are family and because they are of the same clan.”
“Oh, good,” I say, breathing a sigh of relief. Gale smiles.
“Is there anything else I can help you with, Dragongirl?”
“Yes, just one more thing,” I respond, recalling the First Challenge, when Nathan had died and I had somehow revived him. “I’ve been wondering for a while 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 hurriedly 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 have a theory to why you have such abilities,” he slowly begins. “…When Alex and Jake had their first child, he was extraordinarily concerned with the welfare of others. Before long, it was discovered that he would have dreams and… premonitions about both dragons and humans who were in need of his assistance. He also had a gift of healing. I believe that you may have inherited some part of his abilities.”
“…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, my mind focusing once more on the pressing need to return to Nathan.
He then bids me farewell, and with that, he flies away, disappearing into the clouds with just a few flaps of his enormous wings. I realize as soon as he leaves that he didn’t tell me why he thought 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 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. Looking around, I spot him about a mile away where the tree line begins. He’s lying on his back, with Nora and Greg lying still beside him. Worried, I wing my way over as fast as I can, followed by Victor, Tatiana, and Eric.
When I arrive, I see that they are still breathing- although shallowly. I carefully pick them all up and put them on my back. I bid farewell to the three dragons before Eric leaves my life forever. It’s a sad parting, but I try and assure Eric that everything will be fine and we can visit 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 dare back to the Village, hoping I can get them help before it’s too late.
Two hours later, just after the sun goes down, I land near the edge of the forest. Returning to my human form, I feel small and weak. Shaking it off, I 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 blame my weakness on my imagination simply because humans were so much weaker than dragons, but I soon put it together. Changing forms must be draining, and I’m now fatigued from the change. I didn't imagine it; I’m definitely much weaker than I was previously.
I finally reach the hospital around midnight, but I barely make it. I collapse from exhaustion just after knocking on the door.
Chapter Thirteen
Recovery
I’m jerked suddenly from my sleep, my eyes flying open. 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 re
freshed. I’m curious as to what the doctors gave me since I’ve only been asleep for a few hours. I freeze as I finally glimpse something moving in the corner of the room, hoping desperately that they haven’t noticed me. I haven’t moved much, so it’s possible that the shadow hasn’t realized that I’m awake.
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 hall. As we make our way down the hallway, our steps soft and silent, I debate between tackling the person now or waiting to see what they’re up to. 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 that’s where the doctors keep their information as well as supplies. It’s definitely time to confront the 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.
Deciding to draw upon my Gift of fighting, I pull back my arm and let it fly toward the first guy. He disappears and my fist sails through thin air. Confused, I instinctively take a step back and am grabbed from behind. The man has a crushing grip on my left shoulder, pinching a nerve. My arm suddenly goes dead and I can’t feel 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 body fills with dread. Who knew that being a princess would cause me so much trouble? 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 there’s a possibility of someone hearing and coming to rescue me, but I can’t talk because of the bigger man’s hand pressing firmly over my mouth. Luckily, the first man is feeling talkative anyway, so he tells me as he unlocks the window and pulls it up.