The Dragons' Crystal

Chapter Thirty-Six

Four years later

Different is good, I've learned. It isn't bad. Different is beautiful and is what makes each person special. 

I'm different and my name is Odelle.

I heard the opposite growing up. I was always told how awful I was for being different and how disgusting it was. For years, I believed it and trusted in that knowledge with only my mother to tell my different. After meeting Darius, and finally fulfilling my destiny with Allira, I understand it now. I've learned to see through the lies of my past and I have come to be proud of who I am; from start to finish. I can remember being a young teenager and loathing how I appeared and what my life was. Now? I'm proud to say that I take pride in each part of myself. 

It was always Odelle isn't good. Odelle is bad. Odelle is awful and ugly. Odelle is sinful. I've combated each insult with a compliment to myself; things other people outside of Erstonia have since told me. I have learned the truth. 

I am good. I am beautiful, inside and out. I am pure and have been told my heart is of gold. I have friends now, friends that will last me a lifetime and more. I am kind. I am Queen. I married a man who loved me enough to sacrifice part of himself for me. I rule with love, peace, and friendship. I ensure that no one in my land, or the land I was raised in, is ever treated the way I was. 

After facing off against Caliban, I heard Allira's voice in my head. She was guiding me somewhere far away from my home and from Darius. She led me into the sky and told me my days of sorrow were long over. I watched my life flicker in front of my eyes as if I was watching it from afar. It was strange to see myself in those positions, but by the end of it, I knew that my life had been worth it. Meeting Darius alone and him confessing that he loved me had been enough, as well as the knowledge that I had made four friends. I was content with the life that I had lived. However, before we made it to wherever Allira was leading me, an unknown force began pulling me back down. 

"Huh. I suppose your time isn't finished yet. Do not worry, my dear friend. You won't know sorrow this way either. I'll see you when your time comes again." Allira had waved to me, her form barely visible, as she watched me disappear from her hold.

While I didn't know at the time what was pulling me back to where I had just departed from, I wasn't afraid. I was calm. The closer I got to the world I had left, the darker my vision became until it was pure darkness. I was unsure of what had happened until I woke in a bed that wasn't mine several days later. 

Darius had risked his life to save my own. He had the healers of his land split his heart and my crystal, placing the two halves together. I couldn't understand the science behind it though Darius insisted it had part to do with the remaining flickers of Allira's magic. Whatever it was, I was thankful for it. His willingness to share had given me an entirely new life. 

Shortly after the battle against Caliban, Darius was officially crowned the new King of the dragons. He returned, with me in tow, to his camp to sort things out. Being a king, he would have to live among his people and leave the camp behind. That day, he placed the camp under the rule of Genevieve, Dove, and Finn. They were to take turns going out and searching the world for others that needed a better home. Darius kept his word to me and named the camp in my honor, officially calling it Odella. I was invited to live there again, which I gladly accepted. I went home to Erstonia and met with my mother, sharing with her the entirety of my adventure while Darius helped me gather all the things in my room. I invited her to come with, but she assured me she would be fine.