Lotus

Chapter 39

The next few days didn't go by particularly quickly, which was kinda nice. For once, I didn't feel like I was racing against the clock. I had no idea how much I needed a few moments to just breathe.

That goes to say, my days weren't completely unfruitful. I was able to help heal other dragons with my Father, like we used to do before I left for Jade Mountain. As much as I liked the familiarity of it, though, there was something that felt...wrong. Almost as if I was meant to be somewhere else instead. I tried to brush that feeling aside whenever I felt it, knowing it would get me nowhere.

It was particularly strong one day, but before I could push the feeling to the back of my mind, it festered into something closer to dread. I was wondering why when a very pale green dragon walked into the hut. Flashes of panicky yellow flicked across her scales as she carefully walked towards me. 

As I turned to face her, I recognized who she was. "Princess Drench," I said, bowing my head.

She just nodded, an anxious look on her face. She nervously tapped the ground and looked out the window next to her, as if she was looking for something.

"Can I, uh, help you with anything?" I said. 

She flinched, as if surprised that I was there. "Oh, y-yes. I need these treated, please," she said as she gestured to several scratches on her face, which I hadn't seen when she first came in.

"Of course. Please sit here." She moved over to and sat down on the cot next to me. I then went to a small cabinet with pre-made tinctures inside, pulling out a bottle with thick green contents.

Drench whimpered slightly as I smeared the green paste over the thin scratches, trying to be as gentle as I could. To try to distract her from the pain, I asked her the question that had been bothering me since she first walked in. 

"How did you get this?"

"Y-you mean the scratches?" I nodded, giving her a look that implored her to continue. "O-oh. Well, it was actually my sister, Drizzle."

"Wait, Queen Drizzle did this to you?"

"Y-yes." I felt my eyes widen in surprise. "It wasn't for anything bad, though. We just had a huge disagreement about something. T-this is actually the first time it's happened before." I watched as she absentmindedly picked a leaf up off the table next to her, and she slowly started shredding it.

It looked like there was more that she wanted to say, but she stayed silent. As I continued fixing up her wounds, I spoke. "Well, if you want to talk about it, feel free. I haven't seen anyone around this part of the rainforest for most of today. Well, except for you, of course."

She nodded, continuing to not say anything. After a few minutes, something inside her seemed to snap, and she started talking.

"I...I probably shouldn't say anything, but I feel like I'm going to burst if I don't. I-I'm really worried about her."

"Drizzle?"

She nodded, then pushed on. "Things have been getting worse lately with the whole...hybrid issue." She glanced at me quickly then looked away. "Fights are breaking out more and more often, so much so, that we can hardly keep track of it all, especially all of the dragons involved. I'm sure you've noticed."

I grimaced, and nodded curtly, thinking back to the worrisome number of dragons my father and I had to treat the last few weeks. Although I didn't like it, I couldn't say that I was that surprised.

"Because of how bad things are, the queens of all seven tribes have decided to meet together within the next few days to decide how they should address it."

Heavy dread started bubbling up inside of me. My throat now felt like it was made of sandpaper, and I swallowed hard.

"That's where these come in," Drench continued, gesturing to the scratches. "I had a really bad feeling about this meeting, and I tried to tell Drizzle. But she wouldn't listen. Then, when I tried to stop her from going...s-she lashed out at me."

I couldn't say anything. A meeting between the queens? To address the...'hybrid issue'? 

Drench seemed to notice what was going on in my mind. "I-I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have said all of that." She laughed awkwardly, looking anywhere but at me. "I just--"

"No, no, it's okay," I said, my voice tight. I...You…" There were too many things circling in my mind, none of them staying still long enough to fully vocalize. After a moment, my mind focused on one thing. "When did she leave?"

"I think about an hour ago." Her eyes widened as they met mine. "A-are you thinking of following her?"

I didn't need to respond for her to know the answer to that.

She nodded her head slowly, thinking hard. Her scales rippled with dark shades of gray and maroon. "As much as I don't like it, it might just be the best option in this situation. I have a feeling that whatever they decide, it won't be a good outcome for anyone." She then stood up, and started to walk out of the hut. She was halfway out when she briefly glanced back, and said, "I think she was going to one of the mountains near Jade Mountain Academy." With that, she disappeared into the rainforest.

I took in a deep, shaky breath and sat down on one of the nearby cots. I'm not sure how long I sat there, but eventually, my father came back in, with a wide variety of fresh plants.

"How was…" He trailed off as he saw me sitting there.

I interrupted before he could say anything else. "I need to go." I saw his confusion, and proceeded to explain the situation to him. His scales grew increasingly more pale as he listened, but he didn't say anything. "Look, I know you don't like the idea of me doing this, but I don't think I really have a choice in the matter. Yes, It probably will be super dangerous, but if I don't try to do anything, our whole world will become more dangerous, and not just for me. Besides, this is what my mother wanted for me, right? To bring change for the better of all of the dragons like me?"

After a long moment of shocked silence, he chuckled lightly, then nodded. "She was right to give you that name. Even if this wasn't something you needed to do, you've already lived up to it. I can't believe how much you've changed since the beginning of the year."

He then pulled me into a quick hug. While it wasn't much, I felt a stinging sensation in my eyes. "So, does this mean I can go?" I asked to keep myself from crying.

He laughed. "I don't think I could stop you if I tried."

I smiled at that, then gathered a few things to take with me. Halfway out the door, I turned to look back at him. "See you later?"

He nodded, then waved at me. My grin widened, and I turned back around and took to the air. 

I only hoped that I wasn't too late.

.....

So…

It's been a while. (That's one way of putting it.)

Once again, I really want to apologize for that. I made this chapter extra long in order to do so. I hope you enjoyed it!

Also, thank you all so much for the 1.09K views!! I never thought that I would get even close to that many, so it means the world to me. I really appreciate it! :D

Anyway, I hope that you had a wonderful summer, and thanks for reading!

XLizzyMX