A Dragon's Curse

Chapter Seven: Bonding Sisters

Chapter Seven

Bonding Sisters

 "Holly?!" I screamed.

I stood there, dumbfounded, as my older sister stood there in front of me. She had long black hair, that grew scales at the hairline. Her hair was as black as ever, and was frizzed and matted in every way possible. There were large dark bags under her eyes, and she looked like she got little exercise. She looked almost dead. Her skin was pale, looking as if it hadn't seen sunlight in years. She wore a long sleeved black T-shirt, a pale pair of old, pale pants, and white sneakers. The red scales that surrounded her face, neck, and hands gleamed in the sunlight.

"You know her?" Tanya asked, lifting an eyebrow. I looked over the older woman, she looked between the two of us.

Holly coughed, and looked over to the group. "Yes, we're sisters," she explained simply, her voice positively emotionless. Her hazel eyes had glints of gold in them that I had never seen before. Her pupil was becoming a thin oval that went up and down. 

"Sister dragons?" Myra asked. "Strange."

"We're all direct descendants of the original dragons. Two of the dragon's lines crossed about three or four generations ago. We're the first two to become dragons that are sisters," Holly shrugged. 

"Is this why you've been hiding for so long?" I asked.

Holly looked away. "How do you think our mother would react to learning what we are? Especially me. Look at me. I'm getting worse and there's no way to stop it. I can keep the scales hidden for only short amounts of time. That's why I my hands look so normal when they grab food. But I have to be fast, or else you would have suspected something."

"So you hid? Why didn't you tell me? I'm another dragon after all, right?"

"Because, you would have told. You were nine when I was sacrificed," Holly explained, her eyes scanning me. "Besides, I didn't know that any of you were going to be dragons. Only the guardians, such as Frank, know. I tried to get them to tell me, but they wouldn't say. They told me to train and just get ready for you five." 

Holly threw her shoes off, next to the red jacket. I noticed she wasn't wearing any socks. Her ankles were covered with the red scales, and instead of toenails yellow claws were bending down. She stretched out her toes, that were beginning to become webbed. "You'll learn to hate shoes," she smirked, looking to each of us. She frowned when she didn't get the reaction she thought she would. "That was a joke. But it's true. Now, take off your jackets and shoes."

Slowly, each of us took off what she had told us too. I looked to everyone, nobody seemed to have any signs of being a dragon - other than Holly.

"Hey Holly?" I asked. My sister looked toward me, and she tilted her head.

"What?" she asked.

"When will we start looking like dragons as well?" This seemed to grab everyone's attention. Holly sighed for a moment.

"I don't know," she admitted. "My guess would be the next five years. When I was sacrificed, I was five years early. All together, this is about ten years, and it isn't all of it. I'm containing most of this back. At five years I already had scales on my head, hands, and feet. That was about it."

"What does your true self look like?" M.J. asked. Holly looked surprised by the question.

"Would you really like to see?" she asked, her voice a soft whisper.

"Please," Candace nodded.

Holly looked at all of us, and then sighed. "Alright," she whispered. She closed her eyes, and held the necklace. A red light illuminated from her hands, and it slowly spread through. Her eyes opened, and we saw her grow an extra two feet. Horns popped out of her forehead, near her hairline. Her hands grew larger, sharper, and her eyes became thinner and her pupils were large and thin.