Dragon's Heart

Dragons heart 1

                              I

       "Laila, get inside right now!" hollered Grams. Grams normally does so when I have been out for too long, but I cant help my inability to assess time and its corolation with the sun. I call Silver , my grey stallion, over and I mount on her back. I gesture her to start galloping home, which is a little cottage on the outskirts of our village. My red hair whipped around behind me as the wind pressed against my face. Grams normally yells at me everyday for being out too late, but when I'm in the forest, whether its while im practicing sword fighting,  archery or just taking in the beauty of it all, I always get caught up in the moment and forget that grams and grandpa are waiting for me to safely return home. As I near the cottage, silver suddenly stops.

   "What's wrong girl?" I whisper in her ear. I have keen ears, so I am able to pick up on a distant high pitched screech from up above. Silver frantically kicks and slashes around, causing me to fall. The fall is a hard impact, I shortly lose my breathe and find myself face down on the damp green grass. The horrifying screech echoes through the sky causing me to panic. I jump back up and grasp onto silvers harness and jump onto her back,she started galloping at full speed the rest of the way home. I keep my head down but my eyes remain looking up, I'm trying to see something but I dont know what. The orange cream colored sky is undisturbed by any movement. what was that thing? We made it to the cottage, and I put silver back into her pen. The deathly noise replays in my head, sounding more like a cry then a sound of attack.

     "Laila, are you alright?" Grandpa asks as he steps through the doorway. Although his old age, he has a gentle smile that comforts me. He leans upon his cane and his bald head shines in the light. I cant help but laugh.

      "Yeah, im alright. What's for dinner?" I ask, still shooken from what just happened.

     Grams emerged from inside. "By the

gods and dragons, girl If you came any later we would have had you cooked and eaten for dinner, but you got lucky so we are having some stew and bread" I couldnt help but smirk at her remark,

    "Grams, dont speak such rubbish, you know dragons dont exist" but I was thankful she made something because I was starving.

      We all went inside and grandpa and I sat at the table. " Laila no weapons at the table" Grams hissed. I groaned and tossed my bow, arrow and sword over to Vulpine, my lynx cat, for her to keep them safe and guarded. Grams came to the table and in her hands she held a silver platter with a matching cover on top to cover the mysterious dish underneath. "Close your eyes" said Grams with a teasing smirk. I closed my eyes and grinned as big as my cheeks would let me. "1...2...3 open!" exclaimed grandpa and grams simultaneously. I blinked a few times to gain focus , but once I did I gasped in amazement. Before me was a small but beautiful cake, tears welled up in my eyes for I know how expensive the ingredients for cake is, and also for the fact that I have never eaten cake before. I leaped out of my chair and wrapped my arms around them. "Thank you, Thank you so so much" I said, choking on my own tears. "Happy 16th birthday sweetie" whispered Grams. "Lets dig in, im craving some cake" Grandpa said as he licked his lips. The cake hardly lasted 10 minutes. The sweet desert melted on our tongues with every bite, all I could think was 'I never knew anything could taste this good' . Once the cake was completely devoured I leaned back in my chair and sighed with content.

      "Laila you have one more gift" said grams as she handed me a letter. It was from my mother. "what is this?" I asked with curiosity.

      " Your mother wanted us to give it to you on your 16th birthday" grams explained.

      I turned my attention to the letter, slipping my finger carefully under the flap and opening it with a slow pace. I looked at grams nervously, then read the letter.

     Dear Laila,

  im sorry I couldn't be with you on your 16th birthday,  I miss you dearly and I will be back one day. I can only imagine how smart, caring, and beautiful you have grown to be. But if you read this letter then you have yet to meet me, and you dont know your true potential. You arent a normal person, you weild great power that you must learn to control. Once you have been 16 for 24 hours you will undergo your first transformation,  I must warn you, it will be a rather difficult thing to go through but I know you can do it. Share your secret with no one, for if you do, you and that person will be in grave danger. I will return to you soon and I will explain everything.

    lots of love,  Mom

    I close the letter quickly, not realizing that I was crying. I wiped my tears away and looked at grams and grandpa. "well, I know she loves me" I said with a forced smile. Grandpa gave me a warm smile. My eyes got heavy, " Thank you so much for this amazing birthday,  but I feel really tired so im going to bed".

    Grams gave me a kiss on my forehead, and I gave them both a good night hug. I whistled for Vulpine to follow me to my room. I closed the door behind her, then joined her on my bed. It felt good to be here after a long day. I close my eyes and surrender into my deep thoughts, the wind outside howls like a ghost. The night seemed peaceful, but then I heard it. It was a sound unmistakably familiar, it was that screeching noise of a monster. My eyes shot opened and I threw myself to my window. My eyes frantically searched the dark sky, but no luck. It seemed to be around midnight and it was too dark to see anything.

     I slouched into my welcoming bed and once again made an effort to sleep but my mothers letter remained in the back of my mind, what had she meant about not reaching my 'full potential'? I probably had five minutes of peace when I felt a pain shoot through my spine. I pulled my legs to my chest hoping it would go away. But the pain spread to my shoulder blades. It felt as if a fire was spreading inside me, I realized I had ended up on the floor. Tossing and turning, it wouldnt stop. I groaned in pain of which I have never thought I would ever feel. Until it stopped, sweat trickled down my cheek as I pushed myself up. I reached for my sheets when my back burned once again, almost as if it was being ripped open. I collapsed and it all went black.

••••••••••••••••••

     When I woke up, my body felt sore but unfamiliar. I shook my sheets that covered my body and looked around with blurred vision. When I found my mirror, I squinted, trying to see in the darkness. The clouds outside seemed to have passed by the moon because for a few seconds the light reflected through my window. 

      What I saw in the mirror took my breathe away, it was me but at the same time it wasnt. Instead of the image of a small girl with long mahogany red hair, with piercing Sapphire eye's,  there reflected a black creature staring back with unmistakably similar eyes. I looked at my hand which was now a scaly black claw with razor sharp nails, then looked back at my mirror.

    What happened to me? I thought to myself. I felt like I was in a daze, so I didnt know whether I was dreaming or if this was real, but what my eyes saw could never be erased from my memory.

In the mirror, looking right back at me, was a dragon.