Harry's heart turned to stone. Nothing could have prepared him to deal with what Adrian had said. He knew he wasn't prepared for whatever it is that was going to happen, but he never believed he would be caught in surprise by the strange way that things were unfolding. Things were always wrong and time seemed to be against him in every step of the way. Battling with an unknown force was like trying to swim against a tsunami that craved to destroy everything in its path, and Harry was getting out of breath.
Something was always one step ahead of him, always watching and striking at the worst time possible. His lover, now torn between two destined partners, was now being more threatened than ever. Harry could no longer think straight, could no longer keep his head held high as if everything was going according to his plan, because it wasn't. Just now, he had awakened, and he knew that would only bring more trouble at his door.
That feeling of uneasiness was leaving a bad taste over his tongue and he could feel himself getting sick. But his resolve to get through it was bigger and stronger than a small defeat. His resolve consisted of a smile. That one and only smile, made just for him. The way that her lips curled at the sides and her upper lip would slightly hide itself as her teeth made an appearance, how her eyes would wrinkle at the sides and her cheeks would get swollen from how much happiness she felt. Happiness that Harry wanted to cherish, his lovely and carefree smiling Amelia.
No matter who he went against – or what – he would always fight it with every inch of flesh and bone in his body, to protect her smile and the goodness that was her soul. Nothing else mattered, not his title, not the kingdom, not the people. Harry was not virtuous enough to sacrifice her for the world, instead, he would murder every single person in the whole universe, for her.
''Purple?'' Harry asked calmly, his posture still as unmoving as the mountains under a hurricane. ''Did she have the Magum Noctis symbol?''
''Yes.'' The white-haired boy replied, tilting his head to the side.
So, it truly was the woman from his dreams, the one which haunted him every single month of the year and suddenly disappeared from his memory in a hazy daze. There was no time for stupid questions, there was only one possible answer.
''She's still alive, then.'' Came Harry's conclusion.
Adrian, on one hand, was confused with his insinuation.
''Alive?''
''Of course.'' He sighed, bringing his fingers to his chin while in deep thought. ''That happened years ago, but you vividly remember her despite not quite remembering the incident in itself. She bears the Magum Noctis symbol and she is a Phoenix on top of it all, she is a powerful creature who could have easily erased herself from your memory using a single word, yet she chose to make the memories of the events hazy, but not herself.'' He continued calmly, his eyes flickering between emerald green and a bright shade of sickening red. ''She is alive, and she was waiting for this moment.''
The younger Alpha simply watched his love rival go over the facts that he, himself, didn't care about going through. To him, his childhood memory had always been quite hazy and not to be trusted, but Harry was right, the woman's face was clear in his head, her eyes the most haunting the boy had ever seen. Indeed, she could have used magic on him, but she chose not to do so. The question remaining was why.
''Why do you think she didn't erase my memory?''
''Are you familiar with the human world, Adrian?''
''I can't say I am, it's a world outside of our own and not under our rule, it's a world that we shouldn't get tangled up with, so I choose to stay away so I don't get tempted.'' Was his honest reply, not minding what Harry could think of him because of his sincere words.
Harry hummed in acknowledgment, not paying it a second thought and not judging the other. ''In the human world, there is something called revenge. I'm sure you have the same concept here, one way or another. But humans are despicable and wicked in most ways, truly rotten to their core, just like us or perhaps slightly more. But they don't possess magic, they don't know how to cast spells or how to stop an army at the mention of a sacred word. Humans are much braver than us in that way.'' He explained, sliding his thumb against his bottom lip while turning his eyes to stare at the white-haired man. ''Humans have this intrinsic need to make their ulterior motives get exposed once they are about to reach their goal, and revenge is pretty tough to get. So humans use this haunting method, which is, they use their face as a weapon.''
''Their face?''
''Yes.'' Harry hummed. ''For example, accidents happen every day in the world, someone can get run over by a car in an instant as we speak. The driver has to look at the victim's face as they die, and that in itself is pretty haunting, but the worst part comes after. With the victim's family. The looks of murder. The eyes are truly one of the scariest things we can come across, once they reflect the rawest of emotions known to Men, hatred. And so, the driver continues to live his life with a sentence, but he is haunted every day by their eyes and the looks on their faces and he will always be looking right over his shoulder, because he knows someone will be coming for him.''
Adrian felt perplexed. So, this was all just a revenge plot? But, for what? What revenge? Adrian was a pacific person by heart, despite how strong his morals were.
''Why would anyone want to take revenge on me?''
''Not on you.'' Harry replied. ''On something else we ought to find out. And quickly, before doom finds its way to our door.''
Those words held strong meaning behind them, Adrian might not know but Harry and Aloysius did – Amelia's safety was hanging on by a thread, and Harry had to work fast before she got hurt. The inevitable truth was a defeat in itself, his dear lover was a Phoenix and she was in more danger than ever.
''I'll go back to the Towall Tribe and see if there is anything I can find that might be useful to us.'' Adrian concluded, getting up from his seat, needing no invitation to see himself out from the new Alpha. ''I'll be back by sunrise tomorrow.''
Harry simply nodded his head, acknowledging his words while getting up himself.
''Needless to say that, this stays between us, right?'' Tilting his head slightly to the side, Harry's fangs were showing hovering over his bottom lip in expectation and a thirst for dominance.
''Of course. I'll be discrete.'' Adrian hummed, before running a hand through his long white hair and turning to the door, walking towards it with determined strides, before coming to halt when his hand grasped the doorknob. ''And Harry.''
''Yes?''
''If we are working together, we have to respect each other.'' Adrian's voice held a strong tone resembling the one's from powerful Alpha's. ''So, I don't think I need to say this, but I will nevertheless.'' He turned, looking at the green eyed-boy over his shoulder, his eyes flashing red. ''Keep your hands off Amelia until this whole thing is figured out.''
Ah. The threat of an Alpha. The binding of the words, a rare yet dangerous magic. But, unfortunately, it did not seem to work on Harry, who simply kept his eyes on the other boy's while raising his eyebrow.
''That goes both ways, Adrian.''
''I'll do my part if you do yours.''
''Like-wise.''
With no further intentions to be vocalized, Adrian opened the door and let himself out, leaving a slightly fuming Harry in the office. The boy took a deep breath as he watched Adrian disappear, his chest feeling less pressure and a wave of relief hitting him. The only thing going through his mind was to reach Amelia, wanting to embrace her and kiss her, treasure her and cherish her despite the pact he had made with the other Alpha. Harry couldn't feel sorry, not at all.
.
Amelia was standing by the window of her chambers, looking outside as the sun greeted the Flare tribe, her eyes fixed on the small children playing outside while throwing a small red ball around the muddy land, their laughs almost able to reach Amelia's ears. If she tried hard enough, she would surely be able to hear it, just like how her eyes had adjusted her vision to look across great distances. In fact, she was standing in front of her window, but the children playing were a few miles away from the castle, yet she was able to vividly see the scene unfold before her eyes.
The girl hadn't realized what she was doing until she drifted her stare to her reflection, and understood just how far the children were. It didn't feel weird to her, however. It should have scared her or in the least surprise her, but her mind and body felt at ease and comfortable with the sudden finding that felt so familiar to her. There was nothing scary about it, in the back of her mind, she knew quite well that this was who she truly was.
A mythical creature, a creature meant to rule a realm and fight for her people. The idea wasn't unfamiliar, in fact, it made her calm down in a way. But was this, who she truly was? Or was it a different persona that dared to rule over her mind and take away her free will? She didn't know. All Amelia knew was that this excruciating pain was stuck deep inside of her chest, but how could she possibly explain that feeling? Would it even matter?
That constant feeling of wanting to give up, those haunted thoughts wouldn't leave her alone. However, she felt powerful. A sort of power that was unknown to her, something different and even primal. Would Harry understand her? Care for her, when she couldn't care for herself? Too many questions, very few answers. Confusion swayed her mind, but she couldn't bring herself to care, she wouldn't. Caring meant getting attached and she was unaware of what she would lose in the meanwhile.
Amelia found herself sighing quietly. Would it be enough? Her love. Her love for that person, would it be enough to free both of them from their sufferings? She had no idea when her mind became so depressed, but she believed it was due to the many different changes in the environment around her. She never cared much about who would be the one for her, but she thought Harry was the one. That single person in the universe made just for her, the one who would complete her and love her for eternity.
So, what did that make Adrian be? Another path she could choose to follow? Or another trap meant to imprison her? This was not what she thought her life would be like, and her heart crumbled a little at the thought. Her art meant nothing here, and everything she knew was knowledge from another world, a world that didn't belong to the one she was standing in at that moment.
She had no choice, she never did. She was imprisoned once more, and forever would be. That freedom she once craved, she sought for, was nothing more than a faraway dream. She carefully placed her palm over the window's glass, feeling the coldness of it slipping through her skin and engulf her in something more than just comfort. She found herself smiling at the touch, for whatever reason she didn't quite understand.
Her reflection was staring back at her, mimicking her and following her movements. But her eyes, were yet so different. One purple and the other bright gold, both staring right back at her like a portal to an unknown world, to something Amelia craved to lose herself into.
Nothing made sense, it didn't need to. She felt at home, staring into those eyes, her eyes – or someone else's. Her reflection then, pulled its hand away from the glass, looking back at her, smile disappearing from its features. Amelia found herself frowning slightly as she looked at what was supposed to be her reflection that now had a mind of its own. Her reflection tilted its head to the side, and Amelia mimicked it slower and gentler. Her reflection leaned closer to the glass, and Amelia followed, once more, slower and gentler, curious.
Her reflection parted its lips and blew hot air against the glass, fogging it and hiding itself from Amelia's view. She blinked in confusion, frowning as she brought her hand up again and lightly scrub away the fog with her fingertips. The ginger perked up, however, when she saw black scales, bumpy and almost feather-like. Unable to hide her curiosity, Amelia scrubbed the fog quickly to be able to see what was underneath, what would be the reflection covering the glass.
However, deep golden eyes were staring back at her, teeth bared and gaze sharp. A snarl was being formed in its throat, and Amelia's mind finally regained consciousness and took notice that the reflection was nothing more and nothing less than a black, black as the midnight sky, dragon. Horns were blaring from his skull, high and mighty, pointy at the ends and covered in the same black scales as the rest of his face.
''What...'' Amelia mumbled to herself, her eyes widening slightly as she looked over the reflection of a creature she had never seen up close.
It was different from the other dragons she had encountered before, the pocket-sized dragons, the familiars of many Magum Noctis to help them teleport and use a different variety of magic. But this dragon, this dragon couldn't compare at all. Amelia could only see his face and horns, and they were much bigger than Amelia's face in a whole. This dragon, was a full-sized one, and he was staring back at her in what looked like to be anticipation.
The black dragon held up his paw to his face, his fingers holding long and sharp claws, turning his palm upwards and enclosing his claws lightly, a gentle spark of fire appearing from his palm. He looked back at Amelia, waiting for something she couldn't understand.
''W-what?'' Amelia found herself asking that reflection.
The dragon's eyes lowered to her own hands before looking into her eyes once more. The ginger blinked out of confusion, and held her hand up, her palm facing up. She didn't know what she was supposed to do, or if she was supposed to do something at all. Did that dragon expect something of her? Probably, yes. But what? And that was a question Amelia wasn't sure wanted answered.
The dragon lightly flickered his claws around briefly, the flame growing in the palm of his hand. Amelia found herself mirroring his actions, and lightly flickering her fingers atop of her palm, but nothing was coming out of it. She blinked, trying again calmly. She frowned, noticing that nothing would ever come out of her hand and she found herself looking up at the reflection of the dragon.
His claw was nowhere to be seen, and he seemed pleased as he looked into Amelia's eyes. Why would he be pleased? Amelia didn't do anything, or better, she couldn't have made it happen. Yet, that dragon was looking pleased and most of all, proud of whatever it was she didn't accomplish. However, a burning light caught her eye. She took notice of the orange and yellow light flowing over the walls of her bedroom, how they danced and hid shadows and secrets of their own.
Amelia looked away from the window and found herself staring into one of the mirrors in the room. Her once auburn hair was now a deep and bright shade of orange and yellow, burning through the air and flowing like it had a proper gravity of its own. The flames were beautiful, her curls bouncing lightly like powerful snakes waiting to be awakened, the tips of her strands of curls turning slightly bluish as they flickered.
She perked up, yet a smile was forming over her features, as she turned back so she could look at the reflection, but she was no longer in her room. Instead, she was standing over a black path covered in water, her feet getting wet and making a soft splashing sound as she took a step to steady herself.
The room, which was no room but yes a vast dimension, covered in purple lights, three golden rocks flowing over the water, seeming close. Amelia was a curious being by heart, took a few steps back, not really caring about analyzing her surroundings, she focused her stare over the rocks as she started walking forward, her hair still ablaze. The more steps she took, the further away the rocks seemed.
The ginger groaned, raising her eyebrow at nothing as she started to run, the water splashing around her feet due to the force of her steps, her burning hair flowing like a guiding light behind her. However, she was never able to reach those three floating rocks. So far, yet so close. It seemed like a game of play and catch, but she was never able to catch.
''You won't reach them'' A voice sounded across the vast dimension. Amelia perked up, stopping in her tracks and looking behind her, only to find the black dragon she had saw in her reflection.
However, this dragon had human-like features, he was standing up tall, with two arms, two legs, dressed in a rouge rope and black pants, his feet – or better, bare paws, still over the water.
''How come?'' Amelia found herself asking quietly.
She didn't feel scared, however. Something about the whole situation was deeply familiar to her and her consciousness knew about it.
''They are unreachable, for now.'' The dragon told her, voice firm and deep, taking a careful step towards her.
''Why?''
''So many questions, Phoenix.'' He hummed quietly, but gave no answer.
''How do you know that?'' The ginger found herself hissing, raising her eyebrow while her hair turned even more flammable and floating around her like a bomb waiting to explode.
''I know many things, just like I know nothing at all.'' The dragon told her, bowing his head slightly towards her in a sign of respect. ''Just like I know you, yet I don't know you at all.''
''You're not making any sense.''
''Not everything does, nor it has to.'' The deep voice was somehow soothing to the ginger. ''Dear Amelia, you've forgotten me already?''
''I never knew you in the first place.'' She hissed once more, taking a step back. She didn't know if she would be able to flee, or if she would be able to fight. Whichever it was, she would go back to Harry, she had to.
Chuckling calmly, the dragon shook his head. ''But you did, once, a long time ago, you were so little, I could hold you with just one hand.'' He told her calmly, not meaning to scare her away. ''I was the first person to ever hold you, to ever see you, and to ever name you.''
''No, all of those were done by my parents.'' She blinked, looking up at him.
''No, my dear. It was me.'' He told her quietly, wanting to explain but knowing how hard it would be. ''I was there when you were born, there when I had to protect you, there when you first cried, and there when I had to bring you into the human realm.''
Amelia wondered for a second, she knew that her parents weren't her real parents when Aloysius told her that she had been born from two dragons, so she knew that her parents, no matter if she wasn't born of them, were still her parents no matter what. They had raised her, cared for her and loved her. And that was the best she could have hoped for while growing up.
''Why take me away then?'' She asked, voice softer now. She knew that she was gullible, very much so, but ignorance was a bliss.
''Because you were in danger.'' He answered. ''You couldn't die and most of all, I couldn't bare if you did.''
''Why? What was I to you?''
''Everything.''
''What am I to you now?''
''Everything I hoped you wouldn't be.'' He told her. ''And everything I wanted you to be. You're a mix of the greatness of this world, just like the bad. You have it all, but you grew up well, Dike.''
''What did you call me?''
''Dike.'' The dragon took a step closer, until he was close enough that he could properly stare at the face of the child he had saved. ''The name I first gave you, the name everyone will know you for.''
''Know me for? What is that supposed to mean?'' Amelia groaned, tired of so many information and confusion.
''You were born to rule, to fight and to bring peace to this realm. You're the one everyone has been waiting for, the one who will bring us justice.''
''I think you're mistaking me for someone else. I'm no one.'' Amelia chuckled.
''You're no one and everyone at the same time. You'll grow, you'll rule, and you'll end this war.''
''No, I won't.'' Amelia shook her head, taking a step back. ''You have to be mistaking me for someone else. I'm nothing, and I will do nothing.''
''Until you have everything taken from you.'' The dragon mused, circling her calmly. ''You will cry, scream and breathe many last breaths. And finally, you will fight. It has already been written, and what Janus has written, can't be undone.''
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I'm back with this amazing and surprise-filled chapter! The story is getting packed with action and truths to be unfolded, but everything takes time, and Harry and Amelia are running out of it.If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a vote and a comment, it would mean the world to me!Thank you,Stay safe xx