Drakon

marine purgatory

[⚔ k i a    d r a k e ⚔]

I sat cross legged in my holding cell, glancing at the dark-haired older lookalike of Terris. "Why were you trying to steal the orb of Silverra?" She said, her words sharp and clear, similar to Terris when she was in a bad mood as well. I stayed silent, my mind flashing back to what had just happened.

It was right after Celeste had proclaimed herself a daughter of a duchess, and chaos had ensued. I briefly noted Alistair fighting off a large water dragon with his sword, and Terris begrudgingly protecting a squealing Celeste, her batons tipped with lightning as she whirled through the water as easily as she would on the surface.

Usually, I would have joined in the fray, but there was something in my gut that was tugging me towards another door, one that was locked with a single padlock. A silver padlock. I ran towards it, swiping my lock picks from my belt as I began to pick the lock, the blades sliding in and out, in and out.

I felt someone sneak behind me, and I turned around, slightly sluggish in the unfamiliar water. I lashed out with my elbow, smashing the person in the jaw with a well aimed blow. I slipped into the room, before noticing a beautiful silver orb on a pedestal, glowing with silver energy. Marvelling at it's beauty, I snatched it, shoving it into my pocket as it shrunk in my hand and ran out. Gabrielle stood before me, her hands clenched into fists as she snarled at me.

"You dare throw back our hospitality?" She growled, before she opened her mouth, a blast of sound shooting out of her open throat as she slammed me into the door, and I struggled to move, let alone stand. As she prepared to yell another sound-wave at me, I hefted a dagger and threw it at her, pinning her shoulder to one of the coral pillars in the corner, and she huffed, yelling another time. I dodged the scream, before kicking my legs as fast as I could, trying to swim back to the group.

A couple of high pitched screams made me wince as I doubled over in pain. I guess the first cry must have done more damage to me than I expected. I hurried towards Terris, who, out of everyone here, seemed to be holding out the best. The silver orb in my hand glowed, and I felt my skin tingle. What did this orb do in the first place? I wondered.

Gabrielle's now familiar presence soon loomed over me, and I knew that in my current health and condition I couldn't possibly escape. Might as well finish the mission. I dived downwards, dodging a swipe from the now-dragon-form President, and slipped the orb into Terris' numerous pockets. I swam away, my movements sloppy and sluggish as my energy was drained. I couldn't even struggle as I was raised into the air by a solid water construct.

I looked at the president, who had returned to her human form, her black hair stretching out like tentacles. Her arms were outstretched, black markings appearing on her pale skin, and a large water construct of a giant octopus glowed a ghostly purple, the tentacles protecting the water dragons from Terris's lightning bolts and stretching towards Celeste.

"Astrapí!" yelled Terris, and a ball of lightning appeared in her hand, but instead of helping to cover their escape, she aimed it towards me.

"Leave me! Escape! Just go!" I tried to scream at them, but my voice was stuck in my throat. Literally. A red haired woman with curled in a high pony tail pointed the end of her long slender fingers.

"Should I silence her forever, Brielle?" The red headed mermaid snarled at me, and I winced back.  Briefly, I caught sight of Alistair yelling and kicking, and I wordlessly screamed at him to flee while he still could, to leave without me.  That only made him shout louder, his lips opening and closing.

"No. She will need her voice later. Bring her with us, Mairin." She said curtly, and the tentacle around me squeezed tighter, and my vision blurred as I lost consciousness...

"Well?" Gabrielle snapped, blue eyes seeming to bore into my very soul. I wished I could go invisible like Brighttail and the rest of the shimmer dragons.

"I... uh... " I stammered, trying to find an answer. I hissed in pain as the handcuffs dug into my skin and searing pain spread across my arms. Briefly, my skin glowed silver, and I glanced at it in shock.

"We're still waiting." The red haired Mairin remained glaring at me. In a way, she was more intimidating than Gabrielle.

"Can you let me think? I'm trying to think of an answer that won't insult anybody." I answered her as politely as I could. This time, my fingernails turned to claws, and I could do nothing but stare in horror. What was happening to me? Gabrielle and Mairin started whispering quietly amongst themselves, their hushed voices the only sound besides my panicked breathing.

"Where did you grow up?" Gabrielle asked suddenly.

I raised a brow. "Why the sudden change of topic?"

Mairin snarled, showing pearly white fangs. I never realized mermaids had fangs, but they were sharp and I didn't like that. "Show respect." At least she hadn't called me a mutt.  I bit back a scoff.

Gabrielle gave Mairin a pointed look, and the redhead grumbled a bit before stepping back. "Just answer the question."

"You look like Terris." I muttered weakly. Frankly, it was the only thing I could think of; I was stalling, trying to think of a way I could keep them from prying too much.

Gabrielle grabbed a piece of coral, pulling it off the wall with a crack. She clenched her fist, and it turned into a liquidy goop, and she held the first in front of my face, before she opened her palm again, revealing a doll which had facial features that resembled mine. I frowned. What was her point? She tossed it in the air, then obliterated it with a screech. Thanks to the handcuffs, I couldn't cover my ears in time, and I saw stars as my ears rang. I winced as Gabrielle began to speak again. "If you don't answer our questions, that will be you. Why did you take the orb of Silverra?"

I gulped, but remained silent. I caught another patch of silver scales flicker on my skin, and I scowled at it. It spread, ignoring my hopefully deadly expression. I wiggled my fingers, and they disappeared. "It looked pretty." In my defence, it did look pretty. It glowed silver, and silver had always been my favourite color, even as a four year old. Naturally, I was drawn to it.

"That is not the answer we are looking for." Mairin snapped. "Let me repeat, why did you take the orb of Silverra?"

I finally let out a scream worthy of the water dragons as scales took over my arms, as well as my legs. I lifted my shaky hands to my face, only to see my nails morph into sharp claws. "Tell me what's happening to me, then I'll tell you why I took the stupid orb." Gabrielle and Mairin started whispering again, conversing in quiet tones. However, thanks to my time as a street thief I caught several words, like Lukar, Terrande and dragon. I touched a finger to my face, and shrieked again. Scales had appeared on my face. I took a deep breath, before twisting my hands. My hands came free, and I managed to stop the handcuffs from falling to the floor with a clank. Gabrielle and Mairin were still whispering to each other, their attention far away from me. Silently, I padded forwards, careful not to make a sound or disrupt the water currents.

"Mairin?" Gabrielle's voice interrupted the silence, and I scuttled back to my original position, acting as if nothing had happened. "Where are the keys?" I hoped with all my heart that the two of them wouldn't look my way.

"I'm not sure. I'll go find the guards and ask them about it now, Brielle." Mairin left, leaving Gabrielle. Now, how to get rid of her too?

"Well, it seems like it's just us now." I muttered boldly. Gabrielle swiveled around, staring at me with her deep blue eyes. I stared right back at her with my violet ones.

"I'm going out to see what's taken Mairin so long." She gave me a harsh look. "Don't try anything funny." I gave her my most innocent look, which she scoffed at. She left, and I loosed a breath. Quickly shimmying to the door, I pulled my trusty lock picks out of my cloak pocket. Click. The door swung open, and I ran out. Freedom, at last. Well, only if I didn't get caught.  

image: black siren screaming (inspiration for the water dragon scream)