The Dragon's Abode(Compressed)

Part 3: Chapter 2

More than three decades ago:

“Hand it to me. I’ll get the dragon’s core. You stay here and keep watch of our cove… I’ll be back in a while.”

“Alright… but promise you’ll let me revive him. If anybody has to pay the price for necromancy it should be me.” The raven haired woman replied.

She was a girl then and did not understand where things went wrong while she was reviving the dragon.

“I’ll let you revive him.”

Her mentor's last words echoed in her mind.

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The faint glow of the waning moon seemed to stare back at her as she looked up admiring the serenity despite the chaos of her troubled mind.

"I was naive afterall." She thought as she tied the ends of her braided raven black hair.

She turned back one last time. The lights from village flickered dimly from a distance incited an ache in her heart. All her memories in the village with the girl and the dragon and the old lady that had been so kind to her came over her and she let them wash her pain away in a final wave.

Months had passed and she had taught the girl all she needed to know. Years ago she had been contented with her peaceful solitude through trials and hardships, never had she thought that she'd have people around that care for her and never had she thought she'd truly care for someone else until she met the kind old lady-who gave her, and the girl after her, shelter.

She had grown fond of the girl for her curiosity, enthusiasm and passion.

Leaving would be painful but she had to. Fate needs to play it's part. The pattern that had been set since time immemorial. Though vague but she knew it all too well.

She let out one last sigh at the memory before she went on her way welcoming the path of solitude once more. But this time was different from when she left her blood relations.  This time she felt she'd lost a part of herself.

"It seems I had found a home in a place where I'd never have belonged." She said smiling to herself.

She pulled her hood over her head and walked on under that faint moonlit night.

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"So Azalea left..." The dragon repeated what the girl told him.

The girl nodded as she looked up from behind her knees.

"You know... I had already found out the truth before grandma told me about it..."

The dragon sighed.

"Your curiosity makes you discover things..."

"I just wanted to say, I've never regretted my curiosity. It made me feel guilty when I opened the grimoire without my mentor's consent but when I told her about it she wasn't upset. She assured me that I was meant to open it. Everything made sense when I saw the letter attached to the grimoire. The jar remained when I went through time..."

"... because your grandmother had the jar with her in that time period... Yes." The dragon filled up.

"Handling my life's core drained her lifeline. She died because of me. All that's left of her now are remnants of the promise she made to your mother in that letter..."

"... A promise that she'll take care of me after my mother's demise... I'm glad her death didn't go in vain... My mentor did the right thing. Grandma would never have appreciated it if she had conjured her own abilities to bring her back. It's no one's fault..." The girl replied. "It's simply an evil deed by an envious leviathan who wishes to tarnish a dragon's name... But the world will know the truth. We're all just beings stuck in a convoluted circle adhering to the pattern that was there since time immemorial. But things are bound to be made right... Justice will prevent the triumph of such a hideous existence."

"You amaze me, little one. It seems to me you are more than just a young soul in a humane vessel. I realized chaos was prevented from descending to the earth not because of my life that has been saved but because of the existence of souls like yours. You three are pure of heart and you are older than your years."

"You aren't referring to my face now are you? I still look very young." The girl replied humourously.

"No I think you have a few wrinkles here and there because you have been frowning too much since your mentor left for her journey." The dragon teased her.

"Well she won't be coming back, I know... She has a mission to fulfill." The girl replied.

The dragon could sense her anguish at the partings. Three days from then she will have to part with the remnants of grandmother who took care of her, her mentor and her mother. She was braced up for the partings but her heart felt heavy still.

"You know..." She spoke. "Grandma might not be related to me by blood but I've always and always will consider her my grandmother. I am honoured to have been raised by such a kind soul. Grandma had had me prepared to part with her. I think I am braced up. But I wasn't ready to part with my mentor."

"There's more to her then meets the eye isn't it... The more you think you know about her the more you realise you know nothing..." The dragon replied.

"Her burden is heavy... She's a soul amongst the stars. She's like a lonely star embarking on a journey across the universe." The girl smiled. "I wish to be like her."

"You're you... Azalea is proud to have you under her guidance. You're a star embarking on a journey across the universe as well. You're an old soul, little one." The dragon replied.

"So when you said I got wrinkles you didn't mean it? You actually meant I was an old soul." The girl laughed.

"Now that you're laughing I don't see them anymore." The dragon chuckled. "Now would you like to embark on a starry journey on your celestial carriage, your highness?" The dragon bowed.

"I would love to!!!" The girl hopped up in excitement.

They both took to the skies and halfway up the girl stood on her feet on the dragon's back and took her Phoenix form taking her own flight from there.

From a distance her mentor felt it in her like something was calling. She looked back.

There she was. Soaring the skies. The only Phoenix that ever shone so brilliantly.

Azalea smiled.

"Finally the birth of a true Phoenix."

The moon's glow had never seemed so faint.