The Dragon Princess

Chapter two

Naida pushed open the doors to the war room; her posse following right behind her.

"What happened?" She asked aggressively. Her mother walked briskly across the room toward her daughter before embracing her in a large hug. She sighed; relieved. "Mom, what happened?" she repeats.

"King Eildrim died yesterday." She said attentively "And the new dragon king has started to create an army. We know what's going to happen..."

"We're going to be obliterated." Naida says, deep in thought. She turns to her group, and looks them square in the eyes. Grey was the only other person besides her mother who knew what she was, and who her father was. He looked at her sympathetically, even though she didn't need sympathy. Naida turned to the table in the center of the room, and looked down at the map that layed on it. Her mother grabbed her arm, and pulled her towards a corner

"I know what you're thinking, and I need you to promise me you won't." She knew what was going on through Naida's mind; that if she went there and claimed the throne, there would be nothing to do about it. No one would be able to stop her. But her mom knew better than she did. Naida looked at her friends, and back to her mother.

"Fine." She said aggressively before walking out. She ran towards the trees, she jumped up and grabbed a branch, as she pulled herself up, she flipped her legs over, and sat down on it. She heard a noise behind her, but she couldn't care less.

"I know what you're thinking." Grey said as he jumped up.

"Please, tell me what I'm thinking." Naida responded aggressively.

"You can't go, you have to stay here, and help the people prepare for war.

"But if I go, I can prevent the war." She added, she layed her head on Grey's shoulder, and sighed. "You know I'm going to go, no matter what you guys tell me." She looked up at Grey "I'm going." She said definitively.

"I know, and I'm coming with you." He said looking at her carefully. Naida's eyes widened. She placed her finger to her mouth to tell Grey to be quiet. She moved her hand, and the tree moved with it, she encased them, in a small wooden ball. Grey instantly felt more focused, and more alert. He looked at her questioningly, as if to say; what's happening? she looked at him cautiously. And let them down. Her feet hit the forest ground hard. She turned, and screamed. She saw a dragon, Grey turned to see what she screamed at, and stepped in front of her, between her and the dragon. It had red scales, and large wings. The dragons eyes were dark, like the night sky. It turned, and flew away. But as it flew away, it blew fire from it's mouth. The woods started to burn; causing some of the houses high in the trees to start to fall. Naida knelt of the ground, and placed her hand on the dirt, causing branches to heal, and catch the houses. 

"Go get the people out of the houses!" She yelled to Grey. He ran to a house, and climbed up the ladder. Returning moments later with people below him. He climbed into every house he could. Naida felt nauseous, she felt as if she was going to pass out. Grey had to hurry, using her powers so much was very draining. "I can't hold it for long!" She called to him. The other people who were standing nearby grabbed buckets and ran in the direction of the creek. They wouldn't be back in time. Her eyelids felt extremely heavy. She tried to fight it. Grey climbed out of the last house, he had a little girl holding onto his back. His feet hit the ground, and she let go. All she remembered after that was black. 

"Is she going to be okay?" Naida heard her mother ask

"Yes, she just needs plenty of rest." She heard another voice answer

"What?" Naida asked as she came to. Her mother sighed gratefully, and hugged her daughter tightly. Naida looked around the room, and knew she was in the infirmary. The wood seemed familiar after all the times she had been here. When she would overuse her powers, she would always wind up here. The doctors always thought she was fragile because she passed out so much. But she had never used her powers as much as she had last night. The doctor walked over to a small table, and grabbed a small purple flask off it. 

"Drink this." He said, handing her the flask. She complied. It tasted like a mixture of grapes, bluberries, and bile. She gagged when she swallowed. Naida sat up, and took the blanket that was on her, off. She placed her feet on the ground, and walked out, not even bothering to say anything. The second she saw the trees, her heart broke. Her home lay in black, charred ruins. She walked over to the war room, which had minimal damage. She looked inside, and saw blankets laying on the ground. People standing around talking, some children sat nearby in a circle, probably playing some kind of game. She walked over to Grey, who stood talking with Kova.

"You know this will happen again right? Only it'll be worse." Naida said seriously

"I know." He walked towards a corner with Naida. "When do you want to leave?" He asked as he looked around for any listeners.

"Tonight."