by H. M. Gooden
Her dad nodded in agreement, picking his paper back up and smiling wistfully as Cat did the one hundred and eighty degree turn that teenagers are so known for, changing from a serious girl to one excited about an upcoming holiday.
"Your mom is in the shower. She's already eaten and we can leave as soon as you get your stuff together."
Cat gave a little squeal of excitement, then plowed through the finally found Lucky Charms before running back upstairs to grab her stuff.
This vacation is going to be awesome!
ONCE AGAIN, SAN FRANCISCO was shrouded in a cold grey cloak, with the water hardly visible beneath them as they crossed the bridge. It was still daytime and Cat had enjoyed a calm and peaceful journey, with her parents even letting her drive a leg of the trip. They pulled up outside Vanessa's place, where once again her sister seemed to have a sixth sense and came running out, giving her mom and dad giant hugs, almost lifting Mindy up at one point.
Her mom laughed at her, giving her a tight squeeze in return.
"Oh sweetie! It's good to see you too! You look great!" Mindy squinted at Vanessa accusingly. "Are you eating any vegetables?"
Vanessa laughed and rolled her eyes. "Mom! Of course I am. I'm an adult now and I need to be on top of my game here. Come and see the fridge if it makes you feel better."
Cat smirked at the mention of the fridge, remembering how it had looked the last time she'd seen it. Her sister gave her a sharp warning look before turning back to smile sweetly at her parents.
"Here, bring your bags up. The place I found for you is literally two houses over. Why don't you come in first, then I'll take you there after you see my place. The car will be fine there for the time being and I got parking spots for you and Marie-Jean for while you're here that I'll show you later."
Cat and her parents followed Vanessa inside, getting out of the damp cold that was trying to wriggle into her coat and under her scarf. Once inside, Cat was impressed by how much neater the place looked than it had on her last visit and how warm it was. Given that both an air and water talent lived here, she'd have thought it would've felt a little cooler, temperature-wise, but the fireplace was on and while walking through the kitchen, Cat noticed a kettle bubbling. Her mom did, in fact, look in the fridge and Cat was impressed to see it was almost overflowing with bounty, including an entire crisper full of veggies and fruit.
Raising her eyebrow at Vanessa in a silent question, Cat followed her mom into the living room.
Vanessa whispered to Cat under her breath, barely loud enough for her to hear.
"Mai's really, really good to have in the house. She can cook, clean and is super organized! She's like the best personal assistant a gal could want."
Cat nodded in triumph. She knew it wasn't likely her sister had accomplished all this by herself. She was more of a hurricane than a housewife. Slightly jealous of her sister for having such an awesome roommate before remembering she still lived with their mom, Cat followed her family into the living room.
Mai was sitting on the couch, watching TV with the remote in her hand and flipping channels. When she saw Cat, she ran over and gave her a quick hug, then politely bowed her head to Cat's mom and dad.
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Mai Ling and I am Vanessa's roommate."
Cat's dad stepped forward and shook her hand, pausing when he did to study the girl with awe.
"It's really nice to meet you. I'm Peter and this is Mindy."
Cat's mom waved, as her dad continued to speak.
"Pardon me for saying it, but I can feel you're very powerful. Your natural talent is quite stunning."
Mai blushed, shaking her head. "No, I am not very good. I have no control yet and I've really only done little things since I...woke up." She stammered with embarrassment.
Peter, as kind as always, rushed to reassure her.
"You may not know it now, but the power I can feel within you is immense, like the ocean. I have a little water magic myself, but it's like a puddle compared to what I feel here." Cat's dad turned to her. "Didn't you say she'd have a teacher?"
Cat bobbed her head. "Yup. That's what Robin said, but Robin's timeline is a little different than ours, so we aren't sure when they'll actually show up."
Peter shook his head, looking impatient.
"I wish I knew more. I can teach you a little theory while we're here if you'd like, but I have very little power of my own."
Cat watched as Mai got an excited look on her face, before it faded into regret.
"But sir, you are here for the holidays with your daughters and I could not impose on you."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"It's no problem at all. In fact, I've been quite firmly told that I'm not welcome in the kitchen this week, as my cooking always come out a bit watery." He looked over at his wife slyly while Mindy, still listening, rolled her eyes.
"I should have plenty of time to teach you some basics."
Mai's face practically shone with excitement and she smiled broadly before Vanessa interrupted.
"Sorry guys, but I need to take you over to see your place now. The guy who rents it is planning on leaving soon and I'd like to get you there so he can show you whatever he needs to before he goes."
Cat left her stuff in the spare room, which now housed Mai's meagre belongings, then followed her parents and sister across the street and three houses down to a pleasant large brownstone. They went up to the third floor and found that the apartment they'd rented was a nice three-bedroom place with a similar layout to Vanessa's place. Her parents got the keys and took a brief tour of the apartment before the owner left.
Cat's mom looked around with a satisfied expression. The apartment had big windows with lots of natural light and Cat could practically see her mom planning her next art project. As always, her mom packed brushes and paints for every occasion. Cat smiled at her fondly, then heard a knock on the door. For a moment she was confused, until she realized it was probably Evelyn and her mom.
She looked through the peephole, relieved to see her friend.
Cat opened the door, swinging it open a little wider when she saw the bags.
Evelyn walked past her, putting her bag on the floor near Mindy and Peter's.
"Hey! How was the drive?"
"It was okay. Mom let me drive, but I think she napped most of the way, so she wasn't too irritating."
Marie-Jean smiled and gently punched her daughter on the shoulder.
"Hey! That was to be our little secret, cher. I did work nights for the last three days and you know I trust your driving."
Evelyn just shrugged again. She walked around, peeking into each of the rooms, and after noticing a third room, looked over at Cat.
"Should I stay here? The other place may be tight with only three beds and four girls."
Cat was torn. On the one hand, everyone could have a bed, but she thought it was more important to stay together to work on things as well as to keep their parents as uninvolved as possible.
"No, I think we'd be better in the same place. I can sleep on the couch if you want to keep the bed."
Evelyn shook her head. "That's not fair. Why don't we figure it out together later? Draw short straw or something?"
Cat nodded. "Sure. Do you guys want to get something to eat now, maybe at a restaurant? Or should we just pick up takeout?"
Cat's mom looked at her watch.
"Let's order pizza. We can settle in and have a quiet night tonight."
As pizza was a staple in the McLean house, there hadn't been any argument about the choice of meal. Cat was happy to observe her parents interacting with Marie-Jean. She felt cozy and warm inside, looking at her family and her friends getting along so well, not realizing it was a visible warmth until Evelyn elbowed her.
"Umm, Cat, you're glowing right now."
Cat held up her hands and looked at them, then flushed. "Oops, sorry. I'm apparently really happy."
Evelyn smiled and as Cat looked at her,
she could tell that Evelyn was happier now as well. She'd seemed upset when they first came over, but whatever cloud had been over her had lifted while everyone chatted over pizza. Cat was starting to get tired though. Looking at her watch, she saw it was close to ten already. Her mother must have had a similar idea, because she got up and started to pack up the empty pizza boxes and tidy the kitchen. Her dad got up to help and the feeling of warmth faded slightly, enough to let Cat feel how tired she really was.
She stood up and stretched.
"I hope you guys don't mind, but I'm pretty tired and I'm ready to head to bed. Should we call it a night? I know we wanted to do some sight-seeing tomorrow."
Marie-Jean yawned, nodding in agreement and Vanessa and Mai stood up, ready to leave as well. The girls said their goodnights, hugged their parents, and headed back to the house down the street.
Once in the apartment, they unanimously decided that they'd take turns on the couch. Cat volunteered to go first, in case she met up with something that sapped her strength the next day that may necessitate the privacy or comfort of a bedroom. After brief goodnights, the girls turned off their lights. Further talk could wait until morning.
That night, each of the girls dreamed. Vanessa was visited by her wind spirit friend Aurora, who often came to give advice and practice. Cat was troubled by group projects in English, with a mischievous Mr. Grayson trying to get her to dance in front of the entire school on stage. Evelyn continued to dream about battles, but this time she felt she was in a different time, seeing the future. She was stuck on a bridge in a dense fog, with the feeling of darkness all around her and somehow knew that it was important to remember all of the details. But it was Mai who had the most unique experience that night.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Mai felt herself floating in a warm pool of water, her hair sliding silkily through it as it lapped against her. She was buoyed by the water and felt safe. She began to swim around and seeing some rocks on a small beach nearby, she headed over to take a better look at her surroundings. As she gazed at the scenery around her, she could tell that she was on a beautiful island. Then she heard someone singing. She followed the sound around a hidden alcove in the rocks. In the mouth of a small cave, partially hidden by ferns, was a woman with greenish blond hair who was half turned away from her, brushing her hair while she sang. Hesitantly, Mai approached through the warm and comforting water.
The woman continued to sing but when Mai was only a few feet away, still undecided as to what to say, the woman turned and smiled at her.
"Hello, little dragon. I've been waiting for you."
Mai was startled to be addressed in such a manner, but the woman only smiled enigmatically. Her long waist-length hair was a pale chartreuse and her skin was the colour of a pearl, with small delicate slits on either side of her neck. Her hands had stopped brushing her hair at this point and Mai saw that she had lacy webbing between her fingers with elegant dark green nails. She appeared to be dressed, but on closer inspection, Mai realized she had iridescent fish scales covering most of her body instead of clothing, with only her arms and face remaining uncovered. The scales came to a point, as though she was wearing a diamond necklace just underneath the slits on her neck.
Unsure how to respond, Mai fell back on her upbringing and bowed politely. However, in the water this ended up being very awkward, causing the woman to laugh and glided closer to her.
"How charming! I believe we will get along quite nicely. My name is Naunet. A mutual friend asked me to guide you along your river to the sea."
Mai was confused by her cryptic words.
"Thank you, but I don't understand. Mutual friend? River to the sea?"
Mai was sure she looked as befuddled as she felt, but the woman took it in stride. She swam around Mai, who realized with a start that the woman was part fish. She stopped again, this time in front of Mai after giving her a very thorough once over.
"Robin is a close friend of mine from the old days. You do not know him yet, as he is usually spends his time in the British Isles, but your friends have spoken with him many times. He, in turn, has asked for my help. I come from a far away country, where the weather is much more comfortable, but I have powers over the waters in the way that he does with the earth. As water is my domain, he has asked me to aid you in learning about your powers."
Naunet nodded once more to herself, a satisfied expression on her face.
"After seeing you, I am glad to have this opportunity. You have more power than I have crossed in many millennia and it would be wise to have you well trained and respectful of the consequences in order to preserve the narrow balance of the elements that currently exists."
Mai looked at the woman, even more in awe than before. This woman, like what she had called a Ningyo from the stories of her childhood, was a goddess.
"Please, my lady, I am at your command. I am not worthy of your time, but will attempt to please you to the best of my ability."
The woman smiled and drifted on her back in the water. "We are off to a good start then. The first thing I want to work on is your ability to shape-shift. You can already do this, you just need to understand how to control it. You are much more powerful in your true form."
"My true form?" said Mai, still confused. "How is this not my true form? I have been human my entire life, except just before I turned to stone. I thought the dark man did that to me."
Naunet shook her head sympathetically.
"No dear, that was your true nature escaping for the first time in many years. This sometimes happens at puberty for the first time, but you often did it as a baby. Your parents knew and protected you, but sadly, they died before they could educate you further or tell anyone else. As you grew, you forgot your nature and turned less, which suited their needs at the time when you were small. It is hard to hide even a small dragon in the human world, after all."
"But how do you know all this? I do not remember meeting you as a child."
Mai was still trying to make sense of what Naunet was telling her, but couldn't.
The woman moved around in the water again, unperturbed by Mai's confusion.
"I sensed your presence when you were new and came to see you once. You laughed and played in the waters of the bay as a dragon, but your mother was scared and drew you back. She didn't see me then."
Naunet looked at her with sorrow. "I am sorry for their passing. I didn't see them, but it did happen in my element. While I have many powers, I am not all-powerful. Nature is larger than just one being, no matter how much we may sometimes wish it to be otherwise. I do believe it was your mother's fear of you being discovered and taken from her that gradually suppressed your nature as you grew. After her passing, you entered puberty and your powers became stronger, surpassing the memory of this fear. Your aunt was not as strong in magic as your mother and therefore wasn't able to help you much."
Mai thought of her aunt. She felt again the crushing weight of the last day she'd seen her. It must have shown on her face, as Naunet came closer, gently brushing Mai's cheek.
"I sensed your work on that awful day when the Earth shook, then I felt your presence go away. At the time, I thought you were dead and I had deep sorrow for your loss from the world. But now Robin has asked for help and I am pleased to have been wrong. I have missed seeing dragons around and you come from a long, special line of azure dragons."
Mai's head snapped back in surprise. For the first time she thought she knew what Naunet was talking about. The Chinese had a legend of the azure dragon, one of the great dragon gods of their culture, the king of the East Sea.
"But those were just stories, like the constellations of the Europeans or the mythology of the Greeks. They are not real." Mai still didn't believe what the goddess was telling her, but at least she was familiar with the tale.
Naunet laughed lightly, sounding like water rippling over falls.
"Oh, my dear! There is more truth in fairy tales and legends than humans wish to believe. Ju
st because you think it's a story, doesn't mean that some of it isn't based on truth. In your case, you are not the King of the East, but your family is descended from the original azure dragon from many, many years ago. They were able to take human form and because of that, the tales have since faded into legend, as culture changed and people became more adept at killing those they saw as different or strange. Most creatures who were able to conceal themselves went into permanent hiding."
Mai knew that she was telling the truth. Humans had always been awful to other humans who were different, something she'd experienced often living in San Francisco. The names she'd been called for being of Chinese descent, or the way white men had attempted to take liberties with her because she wasn't considered to be deserving of respect the way a white woman was. The memories still made her furious. She could only imagine how non-humans would have been treated if she'd been treated as less than human herself.
"All manner of creatures still exist, although in fewer numbers," said Naunet, looking sad. "Most have far less power. Your family was able to maintain their power in varying degrees, but because not every member had the ability to take dragon form, they slowly lost their prominence amongst creatures. You were the last born of your line, the last azure dragon I have seen in the world. As such, it is doubly important you learn what you are and how to control your power."
Naunet stopped her slow back and forth movement in the water to watch Mai's reaction.
As Mai processed the information Naunet had provided, she felt simultaneously overwhelmed and like she was being tutored, learning the history of her people. Some of what she was hearing made sense. She'd always felt different and Naunet's words triggered memories of dreams of swimming with beautiful scales, thoughts that had faded when she entered her teens. Her aunt hadn't been able to tell her much, other than that the family had power at one time, but Naunet's words stirred her recollection of times as a child when Mai's mother had shushed her, or closed the door when visitors had come over. Her mind had covered it over like normal childhood things, but maybe, just maybe, she'd been in dragon form during those times?
