Risa's Destiny

by Rachel Starkie

  Apollo smirked, “Yea, I know.” He pushed himself up and stretched then growled, “Really, what do you want?” he snapped, and Risa turned to see Zuko watching them.

  “Well, seeing as you have been asleep for hours, and the spell to breathe has gone, I thought I would come and help out,” he said, lightly. “Plus, I am taking Risa with me; she needs to eat and get outside,” he said while throwing something at Risa.

  Risa grabbed the clothes Zuko threw at her and smiled. Pulling on the swimming trunks and the t-shirt, she dived into the pool, letting the cool water wash away some of her back pain. She swam over to her brother, who kissed her softly; she felt the shock again, and she dived under the water. Smirking, she heard Apollo calling her name, but she swam on. She pulled herself from the pool on the other side and sat on the bank. She was laughing when she saw Apollo’s face. “Risa, you left me to kiss your brother, gross,” he huffed, making Risa giggle harder. Zuko came to her side. “Bad kisser that one,” Zuko said, winking, making Risa laugh even harder.

  “Gods, if you hate that, Apollo, you will hate it when you meet The Dragon of the valley,” she said, giggling. “Kissing on the lips is a hello there,” she said, smirking and got up. Dragons were odd in the valley; they rubbed noses to say ‘hello’, and as humans, they give a peck on the lips as a hello.

  Zuko took Risa’s hand. “Come on; you need to wash up and change; then, we are going out,” he said, something in his voice made her frown at him.

  “You want to see mum’s and dad’s grave, don’t you?” she asked. When he nodded, she nodded as well. “Okay, let’s go.” She headed back to her room when Zuko followed her in; she just pointed to the bathtub. He sighed and got into the tub. He shifted into his dragon form this time and lay curled up. Risa looked at him. “Why is your dragon so small?” she asked, thinking just how big her own was.

  “Because I am a fairy dragon.” His scales, which right now were black, started to change to bright pink, then to blue, yellow and stopped back on black. Risa pouted and stomped off. Why did he get a cool dragon?

  “Risa, you are an ice-lightning dragon, far rarer than a fairy dragon,” he spoke in her head, which did make her feel better.

  Risa washed up fast and got out; she found a towel and dried off before getting dressed. When she was done, Zuko flew up and landed on her shoulder. They headed to the kitchen and found a meal waiting for her. A human Onyx was standing there looking very unhappy. “Go, Onyx, I know you hate your human form.” He smiled at her and kissed her cheek before he left. “Zuko, stop making Onyx be human; you know he hates it,” she said, tapping Zuko's nose, making him huff.

  “But, it is so much fun,” he whined. Risa just rolled her eyes and sat down to eat, her thoughts on where they were going. This was going to be harder than when she went alone, for this would be Zuko's first time. She would feel his pain, his grief, alongside her own. She shook her head softly and got up when she was done. “Okay, let’s go,” she said and walked out. She was shocked, no one was around, but then, she thought about it and was not that shocked. Risa had a feeling Zuko had made sure the others knew he was taking her, and they were to stay away. She walked through the tunnels and found the opening that led outside.

  Only this was not the one she had come in through. “Really, just how many opening does this place have?”

  “A lot, My Lady, dragon caves always do; that way, many can come and go without blocking the tunnels,” Onyx said, coming to them in his dragon form. Risa jumped on his back, and then, they were off; he flew, heading to the tree, and Risa felt Zuko move to her chest. She hugged him close. As they landed, she held him close, feeling his pain already, and they had not even got there yet. She took a deep breath. “Shift, please, Zuko,” she asked, letting him go, and he shifted. She looked at him; he looked so young right now. He stared at the floor and grabbed her arm, and they walked on together to the graves. Risa was just glad, this time, her dad’s grave had not been wrecked. She didn't think she could handle if Zuko had seen that. She bent and sat down in front of the graves. “Hey, Mum, Dad, look who has come to see you,” she said softly, letting Zuko come closer at his own pace. “Well, you got your wish. We are back together—we are one again.” She placed her hands on their graves, tears already flowing down her face. “We miss you so much,” she said, sniffing, finding it hard to handle her pain and the added pain of her twin. She felt him sit beside her.

  “Mummy, Daddy, I miss you, come back,” he said in a small voice. Risa hugged him as he started to cry loudly. She said nothing, for what could she say? She had five more years with them than he did. She held him harder as he grabbed onto her. “Risa, why did this happen; who killed them?” he asked, softly sniffing.

  “I don’t know, but when I find out, I will kill them.” This time it was Risa who sounded dark. So much so, that Zuko looked up shocked; Risa's eyes were cold and hard. “Whoever did this will learn what happens when you mess with the daughter of Asta and Annabell Nightshade; they will learn what a mistake it was to take them from me,” she said darkly, and Zuko saw it then. The darkness which had started to grow within Risa, the darkness she hid, and he feared it. If Risa let it, it could take her over, and he would lose her.

  He grabbed her and held her close. “No, Risa, we will teach them. Remember, we do this together; don’t try doing it alone,” he said sadly, and Risa nodded then turned back to the graves. Saying nothing now, Risa looked over her shoulder to where Onyx lay. “Come on, Onyx. I know you want to come over; she was as important to you as she was to us,” she said to The Dragon. Onyx got up, and as he walked, his form shifted. He knelt in front of her mother’s stone. “My sweet, Anna, I am looking out for your young as you wish. You and Asta don’t need to worry; I will keep them safe. I miss you, Anna, and hope you and Asta have found peace together,” he said, before shifting back and flying off, needing some time alone.

  Risa got up, pushing Zuko down as he went to get up. “No, Zuko, stay; I am just going back to my house. You need time alone to grieve like I had; come back when you are ready,” she said and turned. She shifted into her panther form and took off; she could get home faster like this than walking as a human. She was tired by the time she got home, but she shifted and went inside. She could see where someone had tried breaking in, frowning she looked around, not understanding just what they wanted. But, she was about to find out, she got to work ripping things up, the carpet, the walls, everything. She knocked things over as she hunted. Her mind fixed on the task—she needed to know, but as time passed, and she found nothing, she started to fear she would never find it. Then when she was about to give up, Risa moved the flooring inside the pantry. There, she found a trapdoor, shocked, she pulled the trapdoor open and felt magic slam into her, but it quickly passed on. She got the feeling, had anyone, but she and Zuko did that, they would have been hurt badly.

  She was just about to pull the door open, as Zuko spoke behind her, scaring the shit out of her. “What did you find?”

  She screamed and spun, gasping, covering her heart. “Don’t do that!” She hit him lightly.

  Zuko smiled sadly. “Sorry,” he said then looked to the door. He opened the link, and Risa let him get the info he needed, not wanting to tell him about the people who had been trying to break in. She looked down the hole and saw some stairs, they headed down—not sure what she would find, but she had to know.

  Making their way down, Risa looked around; she saw a door and opened it. She walked inside and stopped, her eyes wide, as she saw photos all over the walls. She walked in, seeing the files and boxes; clearly, their mum and dad had found something and were trying to prove it. She walked to one wall and saw Ben; she glanced around and found a file with his name on. Picking it up, she started to read:

  From what we have found, Ben is clearly not human. His time with Risa makes this very clear, mainly his need to be with her. He is drawn to her like most magic beings are to their mates, he gets unhappy when not with her and down-right
mean when Risa is gone for too long—as if something he needs to live has been taken from him; however, his so-called father is clearly human and evil. I want to poke him in the eyes each time he looks at my baby girl like that. Who does he think he is, looking at my dear Risa like she is a freak. Maybe I should have kept Onyx with me to eat him; that would have sorted this all out. Anyway, for now, we will keep watch. Asta is having a harder and harder time keeping the hunters from finding Risa; it seems someone in Springwell has started to pay them to remove her. Luckily, he has Apollo; that boy may only be a year older than Risa, but he has a drive for hunting. His wolf is strong and will kill anything which dares to try and harm Risa. I get the feeling my baby girl will have a few mates by the end, for Hellion and Forrester both showed the same draw to her. Hopefully, they will at least wait until she is of age, or I fear, Asta may just try killing them. He always says Risa has to wait till she is 100 before she can mate.

  Risa blinked and smirked, her mum may have looked all sweet and kind, but she could be a down-right evil bitch. She was a warrior after all; she also had a bad mouth, which Dad always said just made her hot. She showed it to Zuko, who just nodded; he looked sad, and Risa thought it was the fact he was not mentioned once in the note. Risa moved on and then smiled. She read another one clearly written by her dad this time:

  If one more guy looks at my baby girl as if they want to fuck her, I will go phoenix on their asses and burn them to the ground. At times like this, I wish Zuko was still with us; he would teach a lesson to those assholes for daring to look at our Risa. I got word about Zuko, my brave son; he should be woken in the next two years. He will be ten. If that is true, they can be joined again. Risa is not doing so well. I fear she may just break; the need for her twin is so strong. Zuko, we miss you, my boy. I cannot wait for the day we can be a family again, and I can teach you all the things you need to know. The council says Zuko is doing well. They believe the spell did not have any lasting effects, and he should wake himself. They are pleased he is aging even in the frozen form. This makes it easier for him when he wakes. I fear that if he was still five, but found Risa to be ten, he may have flipped and done something silly to catch up. But for now, we can just pray he wakes safely and can rejoin us, then maybe, Risa will start smiling and stop spending so much time by herself. She is starting to push Ben away, but then again, she is just being a female—they are so confusing. Zuko, my son, I miss you, my boy.

  Risa smiled and showed it to Zuko, who grinned. “We all missed you, Z—never think otherwise,” she said softly. “Our bedroom always had two beds made up ready for you to come home,” she went on speaking in a lighter tone and moved around. She looked at the papers, but most were just notes about odd things, she did not understand. But one bit of paper got her attention:

  They have found out we are onto them. I fear what they may do; we have plans to move back to Dragon Valley. The council says The Dragon, which had attacked, was gone, and hopefully, Risa will be safe. We can be there for Zuko waking up, but the Eyes of Tumon are growing. The drive to summon the demon lord Tumon is great. They will stop at nothing. I fear what they will do if they found out we have sealed the magic well, which lays below Springwell. The magic is drawing many magical beings here. They plan to use Ben to draw the magic, as he is a magic-being child. However, we have yet to find out whose son he is. Time is running out. We plan to take him with us to Dragon Valley when we leave. But, I fear for Risa more; we had to use her magic as part of the seal. We had to seal her first shift. It would have caused her magic to be so strong. We also could not let them open the well. By using Risa’s first form as a seal, we have at least held them back. They will not be able to get the magic without killing Risa. We would never let that happen. Only Anna and I know what we have done. Even Apollo, the nosey bugger, doesn’t know; he would have run with Risa if he had known. His drive to keep her safe would not allow her to stay, but for now, they don’t know what has sealed the magic, and we have time—time to run and get back-up to put a stop to them. I just pray the fates are on our side, and we can get Risa to safety before it is too late.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Risa dropped the notes and backed up; her first form had not been her panther as she thought. She felt something dark pulse inside her as if that form wanted itself to be known. Zuko read the file and looked at her; he frowned, his eyes going dark, but then, he shook his head. “I cannot see it, all I see is darkness, but that could be the being itself or the magic of the seal, I don't know Risa.” Walking over, he hugged her.

  “No wonder they hated me and wanted me dead, they know I am the reason they can not get to the magic,” she said but then frowned. “But who are they? This…” she blinked as she looked back to the paper.

  “Eye of Tumon,” Zuko repeated. “I believe Tumon was a powerful demon lord, who even Lucifer hated and locked deep in Hell as he tried not only to rule Earth but Hell and Heaven as well. He wanted to rip down all the barriers and beings from the three realms, crashing together,” Zuko said, frowning. “To think an ass like that has a cult following,” he said, huffing softly. “We need to find all their information on it, but I think we need to pack all this up and take it back with us,” he said, looking around; the place was a mess. “Can you believe one of the greatest dragon riders and the next changeling councilman were so messy and disorganized,” he said, rolling his eyes.

  “You should have seen them trying to cook,” Risa said, shivering. “I ended up learning to cook for myself, just so I did not have to eat the mess they called ‘food,’” she said, laughing softly.

  They called Onyx down to help and started to box everything up. They also tried to sort it as they went—anything to do with Ben was put into one box, and anything about the Eye of Tumon, into another. They found info on both Risa and Zuko as well, but that was more their mum and dad’s thoughts on them, which made them feel cherished and love, but also a sense of loss as they read. Apollo got a few too—the best was the one of their dad flipping his lid over Apollo’s lust for Risa, just because Apollo had started bathing with her. She giggled, remembering that. What she found most funny was that she was the one who had started pulling Apollo into the bath; he would go off hunting and come back dirty but do nothing about it. She would pull him to the bath to wash him, not wanting to be with a dirty boy. Her dad went off for a long time on Apollo about keeping his hands to himself, only for him to say, in the end, ‘that maybe it would not be so bad if Risa mated him as long as Risa was 100 when she did it.’

  After three hours, they had everything boxed up, and Risa had only broken down a few times. Zuko and Onyx had held her. Zuko was holding up better, but Risa thought he would break down later. As they got the last box closed, Onyx came back with another. “I tracked this down in the house; it was hidden well, but I found it,” he said and laid it down on the table. He opened it, and there were two sets of letters, the bigger pile was to Zuko, and a smaller one to Risa; clearly, they had more to say to the son who was not there, but Risa did not mind. The letter which was lying on top grabbed her attention; there was black on it, and it smelled strongly of smoke. Her hand shook as she picked it up; it just had her name on top of it. She opened it.

  Risa,

  If you are reading this, then we died. I am sorry we left you alone. We just hope the council hears about this and comes to get you. The fire is spreading. I am so glad you are not here. Your father is too ill to move; I will not leave his side. He is my beloved, and we will leave this world together. But I had to write this to you. Be strong, my sweet girl, and fight. Don’t give up and show the world just how strong a woman you can be. Your life will be hard and lonely at times, but don’t let hatred fill you. Don’t let the pain of loss make you lose sight of who you are—my sweet angel who will help anyone who needs it, the girl whose smile brightens the world. We got word on your brother just days ago, something has gone wrong and darkness has been found. They are waking him in the next few days, and we fear he will be
lost to that darkness. He needs you to remind him of who he is; be strong for him, my sweet. Be strong and never forget how much we love you. We are both sorry to leave you now, but we are glad you are not here. You do not need to worry. We will feel no pain. We have already got everything ready. The fools who think they have won, do not know who they are messing with. A strong spell has been placed on our hidden room; this letter will be placed with others concealed in our room for you to find. I just hope you do find it, but you never were as nosy as your brother. So, if you are grown when you read this, I only hope you can forgive us for the pain and loneliness you had to deal with. We will be taking a pill that will put us to sleep, and then stop our hearts; we will feel no pain. On our death, a second seal will be placed over the magic well… Oh yes, the magic well; you don’t know this town is built on a well. This well draws magic to it, pure magic, and many beings want it. The Dragon knows, ask him for more information on the well. Anyway. The first seal is you, my sweet girl. You will find all the info in the basement hidden in the pantry. Only you and Zuko will be able to find and open it. Listen, my sweet girl, be strong; we placed a heavy thing on you. We know they will never stop hunting you or wanting you dead to break the seal, but they must not. They cannot summon their lord, or it will be the end of the world. You also need to know, your first form is a demon; we don’t know what kind, but we felt it awaken. At first, we thought it was being away from Zuko, but then, it awoke one night. Your demon craves its twin—the demon which sleeps in your brother. However, seeing as your brother is in a coma, his demon will not wake until much later. Yours, however, wanted to return, and we had to seal it, as it was killing you. You were not ready for that form to wake, not for a long time; it was too powerful. We are so sorry. Had we known, we would never have split the two of you as we did, but what’s done is done, and we had to think fast. We sealed your demon and used that seal to lock the magic well. Just remember, we only did what we thought was best, and we love you. Be strong, my sweet girl. And, tell your brother how much I wish I could have been there when he woke up. He is my strong man, and I love him.