by Rains, Nina
“They are trying to summon Dratini,” Latias told Renisham.
“How can they do that?” Renisham asked.
Latias looked at me before he answered, “The princess is not telling us everything.”
“Me?” I uttered. “But, what should I tell you? You can read my mind.”
“Well, it must have been something that slipped your mind,” Latias answered. “You were busy admiring us.”
Latias’ words flustered me, but I could not deny it. However, what should I be telling them?
* * *
“Why did you need our help?” Renisham asked.
I wanted to answer, but the faces of the three brothers changed as I was about to speak. They had already read my mind.
“Your sister did what?” Ampharos uttered in shock.
Latias looked at Renisham and asked, “You did not see through her? You have the gift to glimpse at the future.”
Renisham shook his head and looked at me. I could feel my body burn from his flaming eyes. I understood his reason. Another Elastinian woman betrayed them again. Saicin gave away a part of their brother’s heart.
“They contained my power in that dungeon,” Renisham answered.
“No,” I objected. “You knew that Frida wanted to take Saicin’s heart.”
“I only overheard the priestesses’ plans,” Renisham admitted. “It had nothing to do with my power.”
I gritted my teeth. He had been fooling me with his magic. But then again, his lies led me to save my sister. With that thought, my mind calmed down.
“Is he the Minhyeon you wanted to kill?” Renisham asked.
I nodded. My eyes mirrored the same rate of rage as Renisham’s eyes. I wanted Minhyeon and his brother, King Apollyeon, dead. The dragons knew that I would do everything to kill those vampires.
“This is bad,” Latias uttered. “It is just as the prophecy said.”
“W-what prophecy?” I asked.
The three dragons looked at me. Renisham and Latias looked worried, but Ampharos did not.
A hint of gold sparked in Ampharos’ eyes. His lips curved into an excited smile. Latias shot him with a sharp look. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled like a playful kid.
“Pardon me. I am human,” I reminded the dragons. “I can’t read dragon’s minds.”
Latias flew in front of Ampharos before the youngest dragon could speak. He looked at me. A tiny snowflake sparked at the center of his black eyes. He closed his eyes for a moment and looked back at me. The white flake was gone.
“It does not concern you, princess,” Latias answered.
Ampharos shook his head. He pointed at me as he mouthed, “It is all about you.”
I looked at Latias and Renisham. “I don’t care if it is about me or not,” I told them. “Just tell me. Can it save my sister?”
Latias and Renisham turned pale. I looked at Ampharos. The golden dragon’s cheeky smile faded. Something punched my heart and I clutched my chest. I could not read the dragon’s minds, but I knew what their looks meant. No. I thought and looked at the dragons. Saicin would never die. I would make sure of it. I would change my destiny if I had to.
I looked at the dragons with determined eyes. “Tell me about the prophecy,” I ordered them.
“We can’t,” Latias answered.
“Don’t you think I have the right to know?” I asked Latias while raising an eyebrow at him.
A snowflake sparked at the center of his eyes again. He looked away and answered, “You would have to learn about it yourself.”
* * *
Latias led me to a dark pathway at the mountain of Sijeem. I followed him with heavy steps. The dragons argued for a while. Renisham refused to tell me about the prophecy, but Ampharos disagreed with him. Latias took my side. He said I had the right to know.
I tripped on a rock and I tried to grab on Latias’ shoulder. I failed. My hands only grabbed his tunic and ripped it.
My eyes widened when I saw his back. It was not as toned as Renisham’s, but he had wide shoulders too. His skin was as pale as Renisham’s.
Latias had a scar on his back. It was from an arrow. I wanted to touch it, but he stepped away from me.
“Are you fine?” Latias asked. His voice was different. It was not as indifferent as before.
I nodded. I wanted to ask him about the scar, but I hesitated. Latias smiled a little and continued leading me. I wondered if he read my mind and just ignored my curiosity, or if he could not really read my mind.
My eyes widened with amazement how Latias’ appearance changed when we got out of the dark pathway. His hair turned into a mixture of white and yellow. His skin became pinkish, like a regular human. I quickly walked closer to him to see his eyes. I wanted to know how they really look like.
I gasped in awe. His eyes were turquoise, a very light turquoise – like the color when the clouds end and the sky starts. He was beautiful. My heart began to skip beats. I felt almost the same attraction as I did with Renisham. It was not as intense as with his older brother, but it was more intense than what I felt with Ampharos.
Latias was surprised by his own image in my eyes. He closed his eyes and suddenly, his appearance returned to being a man with pitch-black hair and eyes.
I felt strange suddenly. My heart stopped beating fast. I knew he was attractive, but I suddenly was not attracted to him anymore. He was using some kind of magic against me. He was indeed keeping me from liking him.
“This way, princess,” Latias told me.
“Can you just call me by my name?” I asked him. I liked my name and being called by it. It had been a day but no one had called me by my name. “It’s Aurora.”
Latias looked at me. He smiled a little and repeated, “This way, Aurora.”
Latias led me to a large ice wall. The wall was clearer than what they put up around me in the room. It was smoother and shinier like a mirror. I could clearly see my reflection.
“Mother,” Latias called with a bow.
I was surprised by Latias’ action. I wondered why he bowed before the wall.
“Ah, my son. Still wearing magic?” A voice of a woman spoke.
I turned to the mirror. A beautiful woman, with golden hair and a face that was almost as pretty as Ampharos’ appeared. She wore a shiny white tunic that reflected in my eyes.
The woman turned to me. Her eyes widened for a moment and reduced into fiery eyes. Latias suddenly stepped forward and said, “She is not Elastin, Mother. She is her descendant.”
Do all creatures in this mountain hate me? I wondered.
“I know, my son,” the woman replied. “She only reminded me of her.”
Latias looked at me and gave me a sign to bow down to the woman. I hesitated. I was a princess. The only person I should bow to was the queen.
Latias scowled at me and whispered, “She is a goddess. The preserver of oracles and prophecies.”
I gritted my teeth and bowed to the goddess. I had never heard of such a goddess. She must have been a human that sold her soul to one of the mighty true gods only to become a minor goddess.
“You are certainly right, your Highness,” The woman said. Her eyes flared with fury as if I had insulted her.
She could read my mind! My shameless and arrogant mind! I quickly gave her a bow of apology. The anger on her face disappeared.
“I am an ancient priestess that bore four dragons. The very first dragons that were gifted to the heavens by the underworld. I am Nyxia,” the woman explained. She turned to Latias and said, “Leave us, my son. Do not worry. I heeded your heart. She shall be safe with me.”
Heeded his heart? I looked at Latias. His eyes sparked a white flake again, but he quickly covered it with his magic. He smiled at me and said, “Renisham would take you back.”
* * *
“Come closer, Princess,” Nyxia said after Latias had left.
I stepped a little closer to the wall. The goddess smiled and urged me to come even closer. The moment I too
k another step forward, the ice melted and the world around me changed. It was the same as when Renisham showed me the vision.
I found myself in a large garden, filled with colorful trees and flowers. My bare feet loved the cottony-soft grass below me. Colorful and sparkling insects and birds flew all over the garden.
I was startled when I heard voices of little kids. They were chasing the butterflies. I saw Nyxia. She was looking at the kids lovingly. I recognized two boys. One of them with snowy hair was Renisham. The other one with golden hair was Ampharos. However, I got confused with the other two. One of them had bluish-white hair and the other pitch black.
“Renisham showed you the truth about Elastin, didn’t he?” Nyxia asked. I nodded. She smiled and said, “Renisham’s power allows him to see the past and the future. Just like the power given to me by the heavens.”
“You can tell me about the future of Elastin?” I asked.
Nyxia nodded, but added, “I can tell you the fate of the current queen and the possible fate of Elastin.”
Nyxia’s words confused me. Possible fate? She said she could see the future, but only the possibilities? The goddess smiled and offered to hold my hand. I hesitated for a moment but then held her hand.
Nyxia’s eyes sparked and her hands trembled. She let go of my hands and looked above. She looked disappointed and angry with the heavens.
“Is it about the prophecy?” I asked. Nyxia turned to me, with eyes full of surprise and worry. I cleared my throat and explained, “Your sons told me a little about it.”
Nyxia walked away from me. I wanted to walk with her, but she ordered me to stop. I could feel the anger inside her. What have I done again? I asked myself.
“Just stay there. I may be a goddess, but I am also a mother,” Nyxia warned. “I might break my promise to Latias.”
I was surprised by Nyxia’s confession. No! I refused to think that the prophecy tells about how I will harm her sons. Elastin had an evil queen once. I did not want to follow her legacy. I would never be a queen.
“But, you will be,” Nyxia told me.
“No,” I insisted. “I do not mean to ask for any of your sons' hearts. I only want them to help me protect my sister and Elastin.”
Nyxia looked at me for a while. It seemed that she did not only read my mind but also read my heart. I might have a stone-hard heart, but I could vouch for its pureness when it came to love. The goddess flashed an apologetic smile.
“No power could protect your sister, princess. She will meet her doom soon. Just as what fate had reserved for her,” Nyxia explained. “But, how she comes across that fate remains a question.”
Can they stop talking in puzzles? I wanted to yell. However, I did not have to. Nyxia could read my mind. She explained that every person had a destiny. Things would happen just as how the heavens plotted them. However, unlike the mystical creatures, humans were given a great gift. A gift of choice.
“The path leads to one end, but your sister would have to choose which path to take,” Nyxia told me. “The only thing you could do is to help her choose a path.”
Nyxia looked into my eyes. She must have been prohibited from telling me about it, but I understood the meaning of her looks. Saicin would die, but she would die either because her kingdom had fallen or because she sacrificed for the kingdom.
I shook my head. I looked at Nyxia and said, “I was never a believer of fate. I will make my fate and my sister’s.”
“My Rennie was right. You are more stubborn than Dratini.”
Dratini? I repeated the name. The boy with the pitch-black hair ran out of the large garden. Nyxia turned to me and smiled. Was he Dratini?
“My first son. The first gift to the heavens,” Nyxia told me.
Nyxia smiled and explained that Dratini was the beloved son of the heavens and the underworld. He was given the most powerful gift by the Gods of the heavens and the most dangerous gift by the Demons of the underworld.
“Love,” Nyxia said before I could ask her about the gift.
“Love?” I repeated in disbelief.
“Of course, dear, it is the greatest gift. The heavens believed that love could strengthen the world. The only reason to protect someone or something is because of love. You understand it well, don’t you, princess?” Nyxia asked.
I nodded. All I wanted was to protect Saicin because I loved her. Nyxia smiled.
“But Dratini’s love is different from human’s,” Nyxia added. “It does not break or waver. He loved with all his heart.”
“He must have known that Queen Elastin would betray him. Why did he still give his heart to her?” I asked.
“Because he believed that humans could change their hearts,” Nyxia answered. “He believed that she would love him for real.”
I looked at the child with the pitch-black hair and then, at Nyxia. Something bothered me. Why was she trapped in the wall? Along with the memories of the dragons when they were young.
Nyxia smiled and answered my thoughts. She said that she was a mother. “A mother could not forgive those who harmed her children,” she added. She looked above with fierce eyes and uttered, “But the heavens are cruel.”
Nyxia knew that Dratini would give away his heart and that he would be betrayed. She could not stop him, so she manipulated the oracles and the prophecies.
Dratini’s soul should have gone to the heavens, but Nyxia prevented his fate. She altered the prophecy and made Dratini’s soul go to the Underworld, where their father was. She asked Darugo, the God of mystical creatures, to preserve Dratini until his heart would be given to a man.
Nyxia did not expect the adverse outcome of her action. She forgot about the gift the Demons of the underworld gave to Dratini.
“Hate. Unchangeable and unwavering hate towards anyone who betrayed him,” Nyxia told me.
Hate? I felt my heart sank down to my stomach as my body trembled with fear. I killed Frida and abolished her temples out of hate. I wondered how much devastation a betrayed dragon, gifted with unwavering hate, could cause.
“He could destroy the world,” Nyxia answered my thoughts. My mouth dropped open in shock. She followed Dratini with her eyes and said, “He could rule the world in hate.”
No. Saicin! For the first time, I wanted to blame my sister, but I stopped myself. Nothing would change even if I blamed her. However, my heart shook in fear as I thought of whom I would have to stop just to save her.
Apollyeon was protected by the Demons of the underworld. Minhyeon would bear the soul of Dratini, the most-loved creature of the mystical worlds. How could I stop them on my own?
“There is still hope. The heavens would not go down without a fight,” Nyxia told me. “They would take my children from me again. That is why they keep me here. So, I can not change anything they want to happen.”
I shook my head and uttered, “I-I don’t understand.”
Nyxia looked up sharply again and then looked straight at me. She explained that the heavens created a prophecy to counter her manipulation of the prophecies and it included me.
The prophecy told that when Dratini’s heart is shared to a man, a woman would come to take her sons’ hearts. The woman must win the hearts of the three remaining dragons. Only then could she get a power as powerful as Dratini’s hate.
The woman’s power would cleanse Dratini’s soul. Then, the heavens would take him in.
“Win the hearts of the dragons?” I asked.
“Do you know what it means?” Nyxia asked. Her tone changed. She sounded like a mother, defending her children. I stepped away from her as I shook my head. She took a deep breath and with a trembling voice, she said, “You will kill my sons.”
“No!” I quickly corrected her. “I won’t ask for their hearts. And if I really had to, I promise, I wouldn’t betray them.”
“Humans can change their hearts,” Nyxia said. Her eyes beamed red with anger.
I wanted to speak, but a vine from the garden wrapped around my throat. The
grasses clung to my legs. I could feel stinging pain from the leaves – as if they were sucking my blood. The vine wrapped around my throat tighter, choking me. Tears started to flow down my cheeks.
Latias! I thought bitterly. He brought me here, so his mother could kill me. As much as I pitied Nyxia, I wanted to kill her at that moment to defend myself.
Chapter Six
My eyes were about to close when I caught a glimpse of Renisham. He was on the other side of the ice wall. His eyes turned red when he saw me, struggling to hold on to the little life I had left.
“Mother!” he yelled.
Nyxia ignored him. She continued to control the vine. Renisham hit on the wall and begged for her to stop. She did not.
Renisham turned into his flaming-red dragon self and blew at the wall. Nyxia turned to his son in frustration. She turned to me with even angrier eyes.
No! I wanted to yell as the vine became stronger. Nyxia wanted to snap my neck. Suddenly, everything around us fell apart, like a colorful ice sculpture that melted.
I dropped on the flooded ground, gasping for air. Renisham returned to his human form and ran to me. I tried to open my eyes, but I was too weak. I could only see him in a blur.
“Aurora,” Renisham called.
A smile formed on my lips when I heard my name. It sounded beautiful with his low, powerful voice.
Renisham carried me on his arms and laid me down on dry ground. He turned to the flooded water and returned it into an ice wall.
Nyxia appeared inside the ice. Rage filled my heart when I saw her face clearly. I forced myself to crawl near the ice. I wanted to shatter it. I understood her reasons, but I still wanted my revenge.
Renisham picked me up and pulled me away from his mother. I ordered him to free me, but he did not. I punched hard on his chest. He let me go when I calmed down.
“Why don’t you trust me?” I asked in between breaths. I looked at Renisham with tears in my eyes and said, “I am not and won’t be like the woman who betrayed Dratini.”
Renisham smiled softly. He wiped my tears and said, “I know.”
