Between Worlds: The Dragon Prince

Prologue

"Long ago, Xadia was one land, rich in magic and wonder. In the old times, there were only six primal sources of magic: the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the sky, and the ocean. However, a thousand years ago, a human mage discovered new magic, the seventh source; dark magic. It used the essence within magic creatures themselves to unleash dark power. Horrified of what they saw, the elves and the dragons put a stop to the madness. They drove every last human to the west, and so the continent was divided in two. In the East, the magical lands of Xadia, and in the west, the human kingdoms. For centuries, the King of the Dragons himself defended the border. The humans called him Thunder, for when he spoke, his voice shook the earth and the skies. But on the eve of last winter's turn, the humans used unspeakable dark magic to slay Thunder. Then without mercy, they destroyed his only egg. His heir, the dragon prince. Now the world is on the edge of all-out war."

∼

Akira stirred from her restless sleep by the quiet sound of hooves. As she rubbed her eyes, she poked her head out of the cave she was hiding in. She watched as two men in excellent apparel rode past the cave on horseback. Being a naive child, she decided to follow them.

After a while of riding, both of the men stopped to take a break and look at the scenery. Akira was heavily panting from the long run to keep up with them. As she was catching her breath, she heard one of the men speak. "I will find a stream to fill our water supply. Also, I will look for some food for dinner," he said. The man had a weird-looking staff that was silver and had a purple gem on top of it. It was strapped securely to the side of his horse and he had brown hair, blue eyes, and a greying beard. "Viren, be careful. We are trespassing on Xadia territory after all," the other man says cautiously. The other man had brown dreadlocks pulled into a tight ponytail in the back. He also had brown eyes, a beard, and a small crown on his head. Viren replied, " I know Harrow, I will be as careful as possible. You need to be careful as well. Since you are a prince, and the next king of Katolis at that, you being here could be a threat."

Harrow sighed and put his hand on the side of his face. As he leaned on his hand, he replied with some annoyance laced in his voice, "I am aware of the threat that I pose here. While you are off getting supplies, I will do my best to set up camp. We should try to be back over the border by noon tomorrow." Viren nodded and replied with a sigh, "Got it."

After he rode off, the man called Harrow dismounted his horse and grabbed a bundle off of the back. Akira watched as the man kept trying to set up the firewood in the right position, but failed every time.

Maybe I should go and try to help him, she thought. As she has been having to camp by herself in caves for a while, she knew how to set up and clean up a campsite, even though she was at a young age.

Akira cautiously and slowly walked over to the man but since his back was to her, he didn't see her right away. "Excuse me," she said in a small, quiet voice. Harrow jumped at the sudden sound of a voice. He saw a young girl behind him who looked to be about 5 or 6 years old. She had long, silver hair; light, olive skin; small, black horns, violet eyes, pointed ears, and a small elfin tiara that had a green gem in the middle, which hung in the middle of her forehead. "Hello there," Harrow said after scanning her for a while. "What are you doing here? Are you lost? Where are you, parents?" Harrow asks.

Akira looked down shyly and nervously played with her hands. " I got woken up by you riding near the cave I was in. I decided to follow you to see what I could find. You looked like you were having trouble setting up your camp so I came over to ask if you wanted some help," she replied. Harrow gave a gentle sigh and smiled, " I would love to have some help."

While Akira set up the wood for a fire, Harrow asked once again, "Where are your parents?" Akira stopped arranging the wood and turned slowly. Harrow could see that tears were starting to form in her eyes. "My parents were killed by a person who was attempting to kidnap me. They told me to run and not look back. So I did, and I haven't seen them since," she replied sadly.

Harrow looked down after hearing the upsetting news. I wonder who was going to kidnap her. I probably shouldn't try to pry at the matter right now. I will ask her later if she wants to open up some more, he thought.

Suddenly, Akira jerked her head around like she heard something. Harrow looked at her with confusion and asked, "What's the matter?" She put her finger in front of her mouth and signaled for silence.

The man she assumed was Viren came speeding on horseback through the shrubs. Startled by the sudden movement, she ran and hid behind a tree. Viren didn't seem to have noticed her fleeing from the scene and dismounted while looking around at the campsite. "Wow, you did a good job setting up camp," he said with slight annoyance and surprise lining his tone. Harrow chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. He gave a slight glance towards the tree Akira was hiding behind. "I had some help," he said after a moment of awkward silence.

Viren raised his eyebrows in confusion and asked, "So, who helped you then?" Harrow gave a hand motion for Akira to come out from hiding. She slowly walked over to Harrow and hid behind him. "You don't need to be afraid of him. He is my high mage," he said, trying to ease her nerves. Viren looked her over and quickly grabbed his staff, pointing it right at Akira. Harrow put his hands up in a protective position in front of her. "Why are you protecting her Harrow? She's an elf and probably an assassin." Viren shouted at the unexpected movement. "What are you talking about Viren!? Why would she be an assassin!? If she were, she would have killed me while I was alone!" Harrow shouted back at him. Viren sighed and replied angrily, "Fine, I guess I will believe you, Harrow. That doesn't mean I trust you though, elf. "

As he unwillingly lowered his staff, Akira cautiously walked out from behind Harrow and warily sat down next to him. "Okay, so she isn't an assassin, so what is she doing here?" Viren asked as he gave her a glare that could potentially kill her. Harrow sighed and replied, "We woke her up when we rode by her cave and she decided to follow us. Once you left, I tried to set up the campsite but was having an obvious amount of trouble. She walked up and asked if I needed some help, which I accepted. Thanks to her help, I got the campsite ready in a few minutes."

Viren sighed and asked Harrow, "Well, what is her name and where are her parents?"

As he went to reply, he stopped and thought, Wait, what is her name? I never asked.

Harrow turned to her and asked, "Can you tell me your name?" Akira turned to him and replied quietly, "...it's Akira." Harrow gave her a gentle smile and patted her head softly. He then turned back to Viren and said with a cold tone, "Well, her name is Akira and her parents are dead."

Viren looked down at the ground and smiled at himself. After a moment, he replied with slight sarcasm, " I'm sorry, I didn't know." Harrow gave him a look and Viren shrugged it off. Akira looked up at him, not hearing the sarcasm, and said, " It's okay, you didn't know." She then started to play with her hands.

I know that he didn't know but I am getting a weird feeling from this guy like I know him or something, she thought. She shrugged off the weird feeling and glanced at the gem in Viren's staff. After studying it for a moment, she went back staring blankly at the ground.

Harrow saw her looking at the ground and, knowing that it was a sensitive subject, asked " So..., what have you been doing since your parents died?" Akira looked up with a depressed expression and replied, " I have been hiding from the kidnapper, as my parents told me to do" Harrow put his hand over his mouth and leaned on it.

She is a young girl who has no parents or shelter. If I take her back to the castle, she could play with Callum. Of course, she would have to wear a hood to cover her horns, but anything is better than living by yourself with no protection. Right? He thought.

After thinking for a while, Harrow looked up and turned to look at Akira. "Would you like to come and live with me at the castle? I have a stepson around the same age as you so I think you would get along well. Also, the kidnapper that killed your parents wouldn't think to come to the human kingdoms to look for you."Akira looked up at the man with excitement and replied quickly, "Really? Are you sure? I would love to!"

Just the thought of being away from this place and danger sounds amazing! she thought. Viren looks down at the ground and sighs.

Great, now I have to deal with this kid. I guess it won't be as bad as I think. If I want to do some experiments on her, all I have to do is grab her and trap her in my secret workshop, he thought as a gruesome smile started to form on his face.

Harrow smiled and looked up to the sky, "Great! We'll leave at dawn and return to the castle."