Dragon Twins (Pending rewrite)

Chapter 16

Aldi

ON INSTINCT, I hid in an alcove. My ears strained to hear any little bit of sound.

"Aldi?" Hearing that wonderful voice, I slowly came out of hiding.

"Calvin!" I rushed over to where he was standing over my unconscious brother.

He grabbed me and pulled me into a great bear hug. "Aldi, you have no idea how much I've missed you." He released me and glared in disgust at Aden. "I heard they were parading you around as the long lost Kiara Highmourn. I came as soon as I could." Apparently it was too dark for him to see the similarities between Aden and I, as Aden's hand happened to be underneath him.

"How'd you even get in here?" I asked him. I didn't want him to look at me the way he had at Aden, so I kept the truth hidden.

He smiled wickedly at me. "A thief never tells." I sighed, I guess I had used that phrase on him one too many times.

"Okay, so how did you escape Kalliarkos?"

This, he was happy to answer, "After you had passed out, they were all focused on you. They didn't even notice me walking out the door." He looked down, "Father was furious that I didn't return with you."

Of course that's what he came here for. Draco's little protege got herself captured, and now he wants her back. No matter the cost.

"Calvin, I don't think you-"

"Aldi, I'm taking you back."

I stood my ground, "No, I'm not."

This enraged him, "What? Have you become accustomed to all the pleasantries here?" He grabbed my arm and started dragging me away. "I won't have you gaining all of the attention. You'll see. He'll have me rewarded for bringing you back."

Everything that happened next felt as though it was in slow motion.

My skin melted away to unveil the shimmering scales underneath. Silvery green wings unfurled from my back. My nails grew into claws, and my ears shifted into points. The shirt I had been wearing, was ripped to shreds. What had once been a dark hallway, looked as though it was filled with sunlight. This happened in a blink of an eye.

Instantly Calvin released my arm. "What the bloody hell are you?"

I tried to speak, but it came out in a low grumble. A strong smell then came to my nostrils. It smelled like urine. I looked down at Calvin's pants, and sure enough, they were wet. He saw where my eyes were aimed, and took off in a sprint.

Instead of running after him, I slid down on the ground. I winced when a sharp pain ran throughout my wings, as they hit up against the narrow walls.

I glanced at Aden's still form. A little too still. Slowly, I crawled over to him, my claws gently scraping across the cement floor.

I stood up and nudged him with my foot. The flats I had been wearing were somewhere in the shredded pile of my shirt. Somehow, my pants had survived.

He groaned and lifted up his head. It was too dark for him to fully see me, but his eyes widened when he noticed the outline of my wings.

"K-K-Kiara?" I didn't reply. I just sat back on the ground and waited for him to become fully conscious.

As soon as he did, all of the torches flared up, revealing my monstrous form. A bout of silence soon followed.

I felt every inch of Aden's stare as it roamed down my body.

After his examination, he said, "I'm taking you to Rebecca."

~~~

Rebecca's room was empty.

We scoured every inch of the room. I tried to be as cautious as I could, but my wings had still knocked things down.

"Where could she have gone?" Aden pondered. "There's only one exit, and surely she would've walked past us."

I wish I could tell him that the door leads to other places. Like it had led me straight to my bedroom. I tried to speak again, but it came out as another growl.

Aden, noticing my frustration, asked, "Kiara, what is it?" All I could do was point to the door.

He went over and felt around the edges of the doorframe, hoping to find some secret switch. He found nothing.

I rolled my eyes at him, and walked through the door. He followed in after me, and we both ended up in my room.

Not even caring about the physics of the door, he rang a bell for a servant. Meanwhile, I had tried to cover up my body with a blanket. My wings were not having it. I ended up waiting in the corner, out of the sight of the doorway.

The servant came, and Aden told him to go fetch Rebecca.

Several minutes later, Rebecca came barging into the room. I stayed in the corner and folded my arms across my flat chest. It seemed as though my breasts had disappeared.

She spotted me within seconds, her eyes widening in surprise and excitement.

"You shifted!" She noticed the absence of my shirt. "And it seems you're going to need new clothing."

I attempted to shrink in on myself, but the wings were making things awkward.

"How long as she been like this?" she asked Aden.

He shrugged, "I'd say at least a half hour." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I was unconscious for the first part."

Being the questionnaire that she was, Rebecca asked, "How did you become unconscious?" I smirked.

"Ah... Well... I was following Kiara... And then I got hit in the back of the skull."

Rebecca burst out laughing, pointing at Aden. "You. The legendary prince of Mordar, got knocked unconscious?" Aden's face was turning bright red.

"I don't think me being knocked out is the issue here." He looked to where I had sat backwards on a chair. "I think the problem is getting Kiara around the castle like that."

I put my hands out in innocence. I wouldn't consider it to be my problem, as I had no control over the shift.

Rebecca stepped closer. "Is she able to speak?" Talking about me like I wasn't in the room.

Noticing my discomfort, Aden replied, "I think we need to give her space, we'll discuss this tomorrow. I'll add extra guards to her room." At this, they left the room, leaving me to my own devices.

I walked over to my bed and stared at it. How does one cope with shifting into a dragon thing? I thought to myself. There must be something capable of making me shift back.

Slowly, I crawled onto the mattress and laid on my side, with wings hanging over the edge. Finding no possible way to fall asleep, I just thought.