The Dragons' Crystal

Chapter Twenty ~ Darius

I felt amazed. I could hear people arguing outside, yet this woman kept smiling. She was happy and content with her life, despite having nothing that could be deemed worth being happy over. I couldn't understand entirely, but knew she possessed a kind of strength that I would never have. 

As I looked to the window to investigate the voices, I found myself surprised to see it change. The sun set and a moon rose. It repeated itself dozens of times. The green of summer began to fade into the reds and browns of autumn. Why was time passing? 

"Oh, my dear. You have been messing around, haven't you?"

I turned my head, nearly jumping at the voice. Things had been so quiet aside from my internal voice that I had nearly forgotten I could hear. The scene had changed. No longer was I inside the woman's kitchen, but now her bedroom. 

She laid in bed with her hands over her stomach, groaning. "What do you mean?"

Next to her was a woman that looked close in age and nearly identical to her. Were they related? "I believe the sickness you've come down with is pregnancy."

"Pregnancy?" The woman's eyes grew wide, her face paling away from its dark color. "That can't be!"

"I have many reasons to believe it is. How else would you explain the weight you've been gaining?" The other woman sat on the edge of her bed, sighing. "I thought you were raised to know right from wrong. You aren't a married woman, much less do you have someone around. I wouldn't think you from that type of girl."

"I-I'm not!" She stuttered out. "I swear on the grave of my parents that I have not slept with any man! There must be a mistake here."

I felt my eyes widen again. Had Allira been the one to cause that? I couldn't see, nor understand, her plan. I didn't understand the want to disappear into a human and make them believe they were pregnant. What was the point? In my own thoughts, it wasn't the greatest of hiding places. My father could find humans easily. What made this one any different?

"Say what you will, but this is science. It doesn't lie."

I waited for the conversation to continue, but instead was greeted with the world moving faster than it had been before. I watched as the woman walked around the room, then in and out. I watched her sleep, weep, and pray. I, also, watched as her stomach grew. 

It was only minutes before the woman lay on her back, panting. She was surrounded by other women who cared to her every need. They held her hands, reassuring her that it would be over soon. Out of respect for the kind woman, I stood by her side and faced her. She had taken to this better than I had first thought. If it was Allira's doing, then how was she handling it this well? Unless she had been lying and had indeed slept with a man. The woman's final scream ended and the wail of a baby replaced it.

"It's a girl!" 

I glanced up, finding the breath being knocked out of my chest. I could see directly through the child's skin, revealing all the bones and organs. I hadn't thought anything of it, simply being confused as to why it was happening, before I noticed something odd. The child's heart was oddly sparkly. I had only seen hearts several times in my life, and each time they had been a faded red with veins. The heart of this child was violet and clean. 

All at once, the realization hit me. I knew exactly what Allira had done. She had hid inside of a human in a place where my father could never find her, becoming just another person in this world. In the midst of this epiphany, I watched as the women whispered among each other as they cleaned the little girl. They all looked frightened, or was it disgusted? I couldn't tell. I didn't understand why. She was a cute thing, with globs of black hair. 

She was quickly handed to her mother while the other women hurried out of the room. I stood to the side of the woman, looking down at the tiny thing. 

So, Allira was walking among us? I smiled. She shouldn't be too hard to find. I wondered if this vision would reveal to me where the person resided. If this happened when Allira first disappeared, then the girl should be well into adulthood. Odelle and I could handle that. Finding a person was easy compared to what we had faced. 

"Oh, my darling." The woman whispered as she kissed along the newborn's face. "I will love you until the end of time itself. You will always be the reason I smile now. You are my little miracle, my song." She paused, then grinned. "I think I know what I'll name you."

The little girl opened her eyes, revealing brilliant violet eyes. 

My smile faltered. It had to be a coincidence, right? I only knew one woman with violet eyes... My chest tightened as I suddenly realized the direction this was going. If I'd been able to stop the vision there, I would have.

"I'm going to name you..."

'No!" I yelled out, panic starting to fill my head. It couldn't be her. I begged for it to be her. 

"Odelle."