Heart Fire

Chapter 1

As I opened my eyes, the only thing I saw were beautiful, gilded doors. Without much thought, I opened them. I knew something was amiss the moment I crossed the threshold of that chamber. My eyes were instantly drawn to the exquisite decorations on the walls - dragons soaring against a misty sky, and dragons descending into fiery depths. In the center of the room, on a small altar supported by crystal dragons, there lay a pink stone exuding an extraordinary power.

Two strangers stood there, a woman with hair as white as winter and vibrant purple eyes, her presence exuding majesty. The man, also unfamiliar, emitted an air of mystery, his gaze concealing countless enigmas. I couldn't shake the feeling that their fates were closely intertwined with my past, but I had no idea why I felt that way. Was it intuition? I wasn't sure, but it felt strangely real.

"Do you think we should do it?" the man asked in a hesitant whisper, glancing as if at me. Impossible, they couldn't see me; he was looking blankly at the wall behind me. "It's really risky."

The woman replied with an enigmatic smile and whispered something I couldn't hear. Her words made me believe that all of this held a deeper meaning, beyond my understanding.

I felt an internal struggle, unsure whether they should go through with this strange act, which I couldn't comprehend. Their hands approached the pink stone, and I couldn't tear my gaze away. I knew something significant was unfolding before my eyes, but I remained lost, merely observing a scene I couldn't fathom.

Then, moonlight streamed through the window, and my hair began to shimmer in a pink hue, like crystals. It was as if they sensed my presence, and they both looked at me, causing shivers of pain and pleading to course through my body.

Their eyes spoke of apologies, of letting me down.

Suddenly, like in an endless dream, I woke up. My heart was racing, and my mind was still wrapped in that mysterious chamber, the pink stone, and the unidentified beings. I wasn't sure why this dream haunted me repeatedly.

I lay back in bed, trying to sleep again, but my imagination was running wild, and I couldn't calm it down. As it was already 5 a.m., I didn't want to wake Elara and decided to occupy myself with something else. I remembered my aunt talking about Banshees once - rare beings known for their prophetic dreams. Perhaps, in the end, I would discover to which species I belonged. Ever since I was a child, my dream was to find a family and friends who would accept me for who I am. Of course, Elara, my aunt, is different from others; she loves me unconditionally, and I know it will never change. She's an elf, but I have no idea what I am. At school, I always stood out because of my hair and eye color, so I was never accepted like other human children. Sometimes they played with me, but I always felt like an outsider, or worse, a target for cruel insults. However, ever since supernatural beings and humans have lived together in peace for over two hundred years, the sight of a supernatural creature has become commonplace. Creatures like werewolves, elves, and many others are part of everyday life. But then, they appeared... my curse. White scaled snakes, something unknown. I despised them with all my heart. Students at school started to fear me, ridicule me, and at best, avoid me. Since then, I've always been on the sidelines, or worse, in the center, being called slippery snakes, mutants, or monsters. But it could have been worse, right? They often said that if they weren't afraid of catching this repulsiveness, they would have already beaten me up so that I'd never show up again. Fortunately, they never had to do it, because after finishing the school year, Elara withdrew me, and it's been four years since then. I studied at home. Elara didn't spare me; every day I read, studied biology, math, chemistry, physics, as well as many other extra subjects. Additionally, there was self-defense, which for some unknown reason, Elara emphasized the most; thinking about it, yesterday's training was tough. However, I never won against Elara even once; she's a strong warrior. Thinking about it, I touched the new bruise on my thigh that had already started to turn yellow and green. The only advantage od havinh scales is that it effectively cushions Aunt Elara's blows.