Ashaedia and Myla stepped out of the silver portal and it closed behind them. Myla had teleported them to a castle. The carpet beneath their feet was cobalt blue and gold. Suites of silver armor lined the walls. Oil lamp hung on the walls and a large chandelier hung down from the ceiling. Behind Ashaedia and Myla was a stone throne with symbols engraved into it. A blue flag hung down above the throne, it had a silver star on it and then below the star was a gold dragon. A smaller throne was next to the larger stone throne. And then a small flight of stairs led to the thrones. The walls were gold and silver symbols shown on them. Ashaedia looked around in wonder.
“We’re at Dragonstar Palace. This is my home.” Myla said.
“Cool. So where’s your father?” Ashaedia asked.
“He’s out and about somewhere,” Myla said, looking up at the Dragonstar flag. “He’ll be back soon though.” Ashaedia studied her surroundings and spied a bookcase that seemed to glow pink.
“Oh, those or some history books that I read sometimes,” Myla said, walking over to the bookcase and pulled a large book out. It glowed white, and then glowed pink again. “But let’s get to why we’re here.” She put the book back into its glowing bookcase and led Ashaedia down a hallway to the left of the stone thrones. They turned left, right, left, left again, and down a flight of stairs and to a wooden door. Myla twisted the handle and opened the door. The door creaked loudly, and Myla and Ashaedia went inside.
The inside of the room was filled with countless items. A barrel with five silver swords in it sat in a corner, a small peculiar bronze instrument lay on the floor a couple steps away from Myla and Ashaedia, a golden harp stood by the barrel of silver swords, a golden lance was propped up on the wall next to the harp, a jar of what looked like blue marbles sat on a scarlet stool, a dark red violin sat in its black case at the far end of the room, and many other interesting items strewn the wooden floor. Ashaedia bent down to pick up the bronze instrument, but Myla pulled her up.
“Do not touch any of the items. If you were to touch something, those silver swords will fly out of the barrel and soar towards you and even if they missed you, they would chase you out of this room.” Myla said her voice serious. Ashaedia nodded. They tiptoed around the objects that lay innocently on the floor and came upon another wooden door.
“This is where we keep the Mirror.” Myla whispered.
“The Mirror?” Ashaedia asked. Before she can ask about this Mirror, Myla had turned the doorknob and was already inside. Ashaedia stepped inside. Inside the room, a ray of silver moonlight shined down on a silver and black mirror. It had ancient symbols and runes on the smooth surface that shined with silver light. The edge of the mirror was made of obsidian and a dragon design was carved into the obsidian. Myla led Ashaedia up the marble stairs. When Ashaedia got close enough to the mirror, the silver symbols disappeared and Ashaedia could see her reflection clearly.
“Ashaedia, this is the Mirror of Truth and Destiny. It is the most ancient mirror known in history. Kings, emperors, princes, princesses, queens, dukes, barons, and lords all desire the Mirror of Truth and Destiny because it is said that this mirror can transfer great power into someone. That power is the power to transform into any mythical animal and have complete control over all the worlds and lands. Just think: having the power to turn into a hydra or mighty chimera anytime you’d like and having everyone bow down to you! But with great power requires great responsibility. My father found this ancient mirror in a destroyed temple and knew that if it went into the wrong hands, despair would overcome Tellios. He then returned here and asked his most powerful sages, bishops, and sorcerers to put a powerful Defensive Spell on it. But you and I are able to touch the Mirror of Truth and Destiny because the Defensive Spell doesn’t harm someone if they have a good reason to be here.” Myla said, grabbing Ashaedia’s hand and guiding it to the smooth surface of the glass. When her fingertips touched the mirror, it illuminated with a blue light. The blue light shined on Ashaedia, and she closed her eyes.
“No, open your eyes. Vision is required for using the Mirror of Truth of Destiny.” Myla said.
Ashaedia opened her eyes and gasped. Standing by her side were Ashnero and Amidia.
They smiled down at her, and Ashnero put his hand on her shoulder. Ashaedia raised her other hand to Ashnero’s hand, but she didn’t feel a hand there. Was this an illusion? Or was it real? Ashnero and Amidia disappeared, and the edges of the Mirror burned with blue flames. Ashaedia’s reflection disappeared, and a scene appeared in the Mirror. An army of people dressed in shining black and gold armor rushed out across a battlefield, their lances and swords raised. Knights on black dragons soared through the cold air, and leading them was Ashnero. A couple soldiers on the ground carried the Faein flag. On the other side of the battlefield was an army of people dressed in green, dark green, grey, black, and white armor. They carried black rifles, pistols, bazookas, grenades, survival knives, and machine guns. A man was carrying the United States of America flag, and leading the army was the General. The two armies clashed as a third and fourth one joined. The third army was consisted of laguz, and leading that large army was Cailehis, Tivarion, Wynne, Nalia, Nesilian, and a bald man with an emerald green mustache. Red, black, and white dragons flew across the sky along with swarms of hawks and ravens. On the ground was a large army of cats, tigers, lions, and wolves rushing into the thick of battle. The fourth army was consisted of Light Elves and Shadow Elves. They were led by Malikinth and Firoh. Almost all of the knights rode on white horses, but the Shadow Elves rode on dragons high above the Light Elves. The Light Elven army was wearing white armor while the Shadow Elves wore black and gold armor. All four armies collided, and the war took place before Ashaedia’s eyes. But something caught her eye. A blue and silver rift had formed above the fighting armies, and a dragon with a white belly and dark blue scales that were tipped with gold and shining blue eyes flew out of the rift, roaring at the armies. All conflict seemed to stop, and all of the soldiers looked up at the great dragon. It seemed larger than a casino and its silver claws looked like they can rip through anything. Then the dragon’s blue eyes fell upon the General. It opened its humungous mouth, blue flames forming inside. Then a great blast of blue fire hurtled towards the General, and he was engulfed in the unforgiving flames.
And then the scene changed again. But this one made Ashaedia shed tears. The scene was in sepia tone, and it took place in a lush garden. A girl that looked about five or six years old was holding Amidia’s hand. The girl wore what looked like a dark blue dress with a dragon design on it. Amidia held a woven basket and in the basket looked like a bunch of grapes. She led the girl to a bench and lifted her onto it. Amidia took the grapes out of the basket and shared them with the girl. And when the scene made it look like the girl was staring directly at Ashaedia, Ashaedia covered her mouth to hide a gasp. That girl . . . It had the same long hair like Ashaedia. But that could be any girl! But when Ashaedia looked closer, the girl seemed to resemble her in some ways. That same small birthmark that was on her forehead looked exactly like Ashaedia’s birthmark. Her friends at school would always say that the mark looked something like a dragon. The girl’s eyes weren’t in sepia tone though; they stood out well against the brown and white surroundings. And those eyes . . . those beautiful eyes . . . Ashaedia knew who she was looking at. But before she can say who she was observing, a dark shadow was cast over Amidia and the girl. The girl pointed up at the shadow that seemed to block out the sun, but Amidia picked her up and dashed away. The shadow pursued them. Amidia sprinted through the large garden while the little girl closed her eyes. She tried to not trip on her dress, but a root sticking out of the ground caught the hem of her dress and she fell, but she shielded the little girl from the impact of the fall. The shadow was now over them, and a dark figure loomed over them. It laughed, and bent down to pick the little girl up. The little girl looked up at the dark figure, and a blast of light emitted from her mark on her forehead. The man reeled back like he just smelled something awful, but he quickly scooped her up in his arms. But Amidia jumped up and hurtled a ball of blue fire at the man. He dodged it, and disappeared with the little girl in his arms. Amidia sank to her knees and cried. And the vision was over.
The surface of the Mirror of Truth and Destiny returned to its normal silver runes and symbols and the edges were obsidian again. Ashaedia turned towards Myla and stared at her. Myla was staring back, her emerald green eyes filled with shock.
“That . . . that girl . . . was that me?” Ashaedia asked. Myla nodded.
“So . . . I’m the princess of Faein . . . would that make me a . . . Dragon Princess?” Ashaedia asked.
“Yes, Ashaedia, that would. Or should I say . . . Princess Ashaedia.” Myla said, and bowed. Ashaedia was shocked. Ashaedia, a princess? That was quite impressive. But Ashaedia was starting to understand now. That was reason why her hair could change color. That was why she had the dragon birthmark.
“And when the war scene was happening, was that dragon me?” Ashaedia asked again. Myla nodded.
“You inherited your powers from your mother and father. And in a prophecy it was said that a great war would cloud Tellios and North America with the ambitions of the Xerain and their leader, Xryx. But a princess named Ashaedia would stop the war, and peace would shatter those dark ambitions. Hearing of this prophecy, Xryx kidnapped you and took you to California and put you in an orphanage. You were then raised by normal parents and never learned of your powers,” Myla said, walking over to the Mirror and feeling the glass. “And once you learned, you would rise up against Xryx and destroy him.” Ashaedia looked down at her hands. They glowed faintly with blue light. She tightened her fists and saw blue flames erupt from her knuckles. Ashaedia closed her eyes, hate and revenge flowing through her heart. How could some heartless thing remove her from her family? What did the Xerain have against her? Were they going to kill her real family? Tears squeezed through her closed eyes, and she opened her eyes. They burned with blue fire. Myla took a step back.
“Myla, teach me. Teach me how to release my dragon form.”