The Dragon Portal

Chapter Nine

Rayna was a tall, blond woman, she was on a ladder halfway up the observatory, painting the wall a bright, cheerful white.

She held up a hand to show she heard us, then came down the ladder. She had paint on her shirt and face, but it didn't hide her piercing gray eyes.

"Hey, I'm-" She stopped mid-sentence and stared at me.

"Hello? Rayna?" Echo said, waving a hand in front of her face. Rayna blinked a few times, then seemed to recover.

"Sorry. I just seemed to remember someone who looks like you. I'm Rayna. Nice to meet you." She shook my hand in a firm, steady grip.

"It's fine, and same to you. Your observatory is beautiful."

"Thank you. The observatory is closed today, did you stop by just say hello?" Rayna asked us, "Or did you just not know?"

"We didn't know. We'll leave you alone now, we've taken up enough of your time. It was nice to meet you." I told Rayna. She nodded and went back up the ladder as we turned to leave.

"Sorry, I didn't know that the observatory was closed today. It's usually open." Echo said.

"It's fine Echo, it was still fun. I always like spending time with you." Again, just like before, when the farmer was hurting Diamond, but the freezing feeling that felt like it was coming out of me was cozy and comforting. The air grew freezing, and I felt amazing, being able to walk through it, but for some reason, Echo was shivering.

"Is the air colder than usual, or is it just me?" She asked.

"It feels good to me." I said, "Echo, I'm going to see if I can find Diamond now, before it gets too late, and I'm not going to be sleeping at the inn tonight."

"Okay, see you tomorrow?" Echo said, turning around.

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow." I said, running towards the forest. "Diamond?" I called when I reached the border, where trees met the path. A few moments later, Diamond stepped out of the trees.

"Diamond!" I cried, running to him, and stroking his blaze. "It's good to see you." He nudged me towards his back again, and I vaulted onto him. As soon as I was settled, he took off. We galloped over the path, and the empty fields surrounding it.

I stayed with Diamond until the sky started to grow dark.

"Diamond, I have to go, but I'll see you soon." I slid off of his back, and started walking back to town. I went immediately to Firedeath's, and walked inside.

"Firedeath?" I called, but he didn't answer. "Hmm, he must be out." I went up the stairs to the bedroom, and sat on my bed, looking out the window, thinking about Diamond as the stars came out. I was not worried about him, I knew that he had lived his whole life in the wild, but I wondered about his past with a herd.

Suddenly I heard the door slam open, then closed, then Firedeath yelled, "Violet? Are you here?"

"Yes." I called back, "I'm upstairs." He came up the stairs looking angry.

"Violet. What happened yesterday? And why didn't you tell me about it? We need to focus all our time on trying to find Skyla."

"I know, and-" I started, but he cut me off.

"You need to stay focused, and tell me about things like this." He continued, pacing.

"Yes, but-"

"And you blew off the report meeting from last night. I told you that you shouldn't miss it."

"There were-"

"And yet you missed it anyways."

"Stop!" I yelled at him. Suddenly I felt the cold coming up inside me again. My bed was suddenly feeling cold as ice. "Stop yelling at me for just one minute, and I'll tell you!"

He took a deep breath, still shaking with anger. "Go on."

"Do you know anything that happened yesterday?" I asked.

"Yes. I heard you tamed an untamable horse."

"I did. His name is Diamond."

"And why did you blow off the meeting last night?"

"By the time I got back to town, there was no time. It was completely dark, and Echo met me back at the stable, and told me to come to the inn. It was too late to go all the way to the other side of the city for a meeting that could be delayed!" I yelled at him.

"Fine."

"Oh, and today, I found Skyla."

"What? That's great!" Firedeath was on his feet now, bad temper completely forgotten. "Where did you find her?"

"She runs the observatory."

"I should have guessed."

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"I'll go talk to her tomorrow, then we'll make a strategy, and go home!" Firedeath slammed his coat onto his bedpost.

"Okay, now that we have that worked out, I'm going to bed. It's been a long day."

"Alright. I'll see you in the morning." Firedeath said, settling into his own bed. I slept restlessly, and woke early. I turned over, and saw that Firedeath was tossing and turning too. Finally, as dawn started to break the sky, he sat up.

"You awake?" He whispered, and I nodded. "Vi, there's something I need to tell you. Well, something I can't tell you, but no matter what happens, just keep ahold of your sight. Your dreams. Please. You have to promise me."

Something about the light in his eyes, and the half dawn seeping through the windows made me say, "Always. I promise."

"Good." His shoulders relaxed. "Well, it seems that it's going to be a long day, so let's start it early." He got up, and I followed.

"I'm going out for a bit." I said, moving towards the stairs.

"Be careful." Was Firedeath's only response. I went down the stairs, and out of the house. The early dawn light left some chilliness in the air, and I welcomed it as I walked towards the path that led to the woods where Diamond lived.

"Excuse me? Miss Violet?" Said an unfamiliar voice behind me. I turned around, and gasped. The queen stood in front of the royal carriage that I recognized. Inside, Princess Aria looked out, straight at me.

"Queen Lucille?" I said politely, kneeling for a minute. "Your Majesty, what are you doing here?"

"Are you Violet?" The queen asked me.

"Yes, that's my name." I said, voice catching at the end.

"After all these years. I can't believe you're still alive." She stepped closer, and lifted her hand. I stayed perfectly still, completely baffled, as she put a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry-" I started to say, when the queen whispered something else.

"You're still alive. My daughter." I gasped. There was no possible way that what she said was true.