1

My sister, Aurora, and I were flying together when we noticed something strange on the frozen land far below us.

Aurora flew steady beside me. She was a dragon, powerful and beautiful. Her silver scales shined in the sunlight, her wings cutting through the air like blades. I looked at her and felt small. Not weak, just… different.

How I came into existence?

My father was a shapeshifter and also a god. My mother was a dragon who had been locked away in a dungeon. The gods had sent my father to kill her. But when he saw her really saw her he couldn't do it. He felt her pain. He fell in love with her. It was love at first sight. Because of that, he gave up everything even his place as a god and ran away with her. That's how I and Aurora were born.

"Fioooona," Aurora called. "Why are you so quiet? What should we do?" She flapped her wings gently as she spoke.

"Should we go check it out? What about what Oma told us to do?" I asked. Oma was the leader of the dragons. Even though I wasn't fully one of them, they had never treated me badly. My family was strong, and I trained alongside the dragons like I was one of their own.

Even though I couldn't breathe fire like them, I could create fire from my hands. My red hair could turn into flames. I could also talk to animals and control them. And I had the power to shapeshift but since I didn't know how to fully control it, Oma banned me from using it for now.

"Don't worry about Oma," Aurora said. "She'll understand. Let's go see what it is. Hold on tight."

I wrapped my arms around her neck as she flew down gently.

When we landed, Aurora turned into her human form. Her long white hair flowed behind her as she bent down and poked something with a stick.

"It's a human," she said calmly.

"Is he alive?" I asked, kneeling beside her.

"He's a boy," she corrected me.

"So... what are we going to do with him?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "We're not taking him back to the village, are we?" I knew Aurora too well. If something looked sick or helpless, she'd take it home in a heartbeat.

"Of course we're taking him," she said. "Oma won't punish us for this."

"What if he's dangerous?"

"If he was, I'd feel it. And your hair would've already turned into fire. "

True. My powers always reacted to danger before I could even think. My hair would flare up like a warning.

"Now are you going to help me lift him, or do you want me to take all the credit when we're praised for this?" She finished

"Fine," I muttered. "But if we get punished, you have to tell them I had nothing to do with it."

"And if we get rewarded?" she asked.

"Then you can say my name."

"Typical Fiona," Aurora scoffed.

We tied his hands gently, just in case, and I helped lift him onto Aurora's back. Then she changed back into her dragon form.

As we flew toward the village, a group of birds flew past us in a hurry. I could feel the fear inside them it was sharp and cold. I looked around but couldn't sense anything else.

"Maybe they're running from hunters," I said casually.

"Hunters can't get this close to our village, Fiona. Be quiet," Aurora said, more sharply this time.

Something was wrong. I can feel it crawling under my skin.

"Aurora…" I whispered.

She didn't answer. I saw her eyes narrow as she sped up.

As we got closer, smoke started rising in the air. Then I saw fire.

"What's going on?" I asked her quietly.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe it's nothing serious."

I wasn't convinced, but I didn't say anything else until we landed. That's when we saw the panic.

Villagers were running, dragons were flying above in panic, some already falling. I couldn't breathe for a second. My chest felt too tight.

"What's happening?" I asked again, almost whispering.

"We're under attack," Aurora said. "Maybe they finally found us."

"Who?" I asked. She didn't answer.

I looked around and spotted our parents. My mother was in her dragon form, fighting fiercely. My father was pulling a child out of a burning hut.

"Moooom! Daaad!" I screamed. They both turned to look at me.

Hide her.

My mother's voice came into my head through telepathy. I could hear her clearly.

Aurora didn't waste time. She grabbed me and the stranger and flew us far from the flames. She found a safe spot, hid us under a stone ridge, and looked me in the eyes.

"Stay here. Don't come out until everything is over."

"Wait let me come with you. I know how to fight. I've trained!"

Aurora shook her head. "Not now, Fiona. You're still a kid, and I'm doing what our parents told me to. Stay with him. When I come back, we'll go see Oma. She'll reward us."

"I'll be eighteen soon, not a kid! I don't want to be alone. Please stay with me! I'm scared!"

"I'll be back," she said. Then she flew off to help our mother.

That was the last time I saw her.

I pulled the blanket over my head and held the stranger close as I cried.

Not long after, I started hearing the sounds thuds, crashes, cries. Then silence. One by one, our fighters started falling. The air turned thick with a strange green gas. It made the dragons collapse.

I waited. My fingers trembled. My heart hurt like someone was squeezing it from the inside. I couldn't feel my mother. I couldn't sense Aurora. I was too scared to even try shapeshifting.

I waited until I couldn't anymore.

Once the attack seemed to be over, I ran out to look for them. "Aurora!" I screamed.

But my father stopped me and pulled me back. "What are you doing here? Go back to where they left you!"

"I'm looking for them! I can't feel them"

He guided me gently but quickly.

"Stay here. I'll find them ,I'll bring your mother and sister back."

Before he could leave again, someone struck him from behind. He dropped to the ground, blood running down his face.

My father once a god could've healed himself. But he didn't.

Instead, he raised his hands and, with the last of his strength, opened a glowing portal. He pushed me and the stranger into it.

That was the last time I saw him.

Just minutes ago, we were flying and laughing. Then everything changed.

"Father!" I cried, tears falling down my face.

But nobody answered, everything was blank and black...

*****

Hours later, I woke up.

I was in a small, square room. It was quiet. Cold. I turned around, hoping to see the stranger. But he was gone.

I looked at my hands they were smaller. Something felt off. I tried to light a flame, but nothing came out. I tried to reach my family with my mind, but I couldn't feel anything.

I ran to a mirror.

I still looked like me… but not exactly. My red hair now had white streaks.

And that's when I realized..

"I'm not in the dragon village anymore… Where am I? What happened to me?"