Allura of the Dragons (On Hold)

Truth and Expectations

Braziers lined the temple walls as I paced just out of sight from all the riders who were eager to meet me.  My dress gently followed all of my movements and I could feel my nerves boiling up.  I went over what the dragon told me as I tried to figure out what I would tell everyone.  They are expecting a princess, a savior, and above all else my father's daughter.

"Would you stop pacing?" Shadow emerges from the darkness that in enveloping the temple in an embrace.  "You're making me nervous."  Shadow grabs my shoulders gently and then pulls me into a quick hug.

"I can't do this." I tell him as my heart races and my head starts pounding.  "They all expect too much from me.  I'm just a kid." I tell him and he smiles sadly at me.  His blue eyes search the depths of my soul before he looks away.

I hear the people go silent and I know they are waiting for me to make my appearance.  SHadow offers me a steady arm and I gently place my hand on it.  We glance at each other and his confidence calms me as we make our way into the temple.

The firelight casts shadows that make my dress come alive.  People start to whisper but I see Apollo, William, and Emmett sittings towards the front of the temple.  I smile their way and they all return it warmly.

Shadow gently pushes me towards the front of the altar as he takes his seat in the pews.  I walk up the stairs hoping that I was anywhere but here.  I turn to face my audience as I reach the top of the stairs and I could feel the dragon inside me again.

"As many of you know, my name is Allura.  I wish I could offer you some knowledge that would put your minds at ease, but that would be a lot of expectations to put on a sixteen year old girl.  I wasn't raised here or even on the other realm.  I was raised on earth where I was your typical teenager.  Everything changed when I formed my first circle and my close friends and I were risked off to Relaine for what people told us, was our own protection."  I think about Melanie.

"But I was lied to and manipulated all for the game.  I broke off an engagement to a prince and I found the love of my life in another.  I have gained and lost so many family members in the short time since I discovered my destiny.  In a year, I have had three different fathers but Bane was the father who brought me to this world."

"So, I just want you to know that I am new to all of this.  I can speak to dragons and preform complex spells but deep down I'm not who you think I am.  I will try to live up to the expectations that have been placed on me, but honestly I need your help in achieving my destiny."  SHadow smiles at me and I take a deep breath.

"A wise dragon once said that I can't do this on my own.  I need friends, and mentors, and family to help me develop into the savior of all of this." I motion to the world around me.  "Thus, I just want to thank you for putting so much faith into me even though I have had doubts about my own abilities.  Thank you for believing even in the darkest of times.  Thus, I leave you here hoping you are not disappointed in me.  Hoping that you believe in my capabilities and my destiny so I can one day believe like everyone else does."

I stop talking and a single old man stands up and starts bowing to me.  My heart stops as one by one everyone does the same.  As Shadow bows, I feel their love and admiration swell into my body.  I feel a single tear falling down my cheek.

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