All I knew about dragons was that they could fly... and kill.
Not so long ago, I could never have imagined seeing a dragon.
They were just a fable, characters in a children's story.
But after all the magic was revealed to me, so were these beings that inhabited the Kingdoms for many more years than I even imagined.
And every time I asked about dragons, the answer was the same.
If you see one, run.
They were supreme born hunters, who with just a little of their fire could wipe out entire villages. Feared since the beginning of time, they were ferocious creatures that only harvested fear among those who confronted them.
That was why the Kingdom of Vulcan had always maintained a kind of reverence amongst the other Kingdoms. No one wanted to mess with the Kingdom of dragons.
And at that moment, under Renox's snout, with his claws dangerously close to my head, nothing I had read or heard could have prepared me for the panic I felt.
I was utterly terrified.
'Don't move Gaia.'
'Do something, Phoenix,' I begged, but I wasn't sure he could control the dragon.
Renox was shaking his head back and forth, studying his surroundings, trying to figure out perhaps who the stranger was that had woken him up.
'Renox I command you to back off!' Phoenix shouted without assuming any sort of authority.
The dragons did not seem to respond even to the image of their King.
Renox approached me and opened his mouth.
I thought it would all end right there, until I felt the vibration of its roar.
My hair came loose, my dress was ruined and my ears fell victim to the rumbling sound.
'Please,' I begged the dragon now.
It watched me again, warily.
I have to do something.
I thought only of the one new thing I possessed...the mark on my arm.
I ripped my dress at the sleeve, leaving the flame exposed.
With my mind, I summoned the light of creation, the power that was hidden in my necklace.
I summoned the light into my hand, letting it concentrate all into it.
'I can give you what you want,' I said to the being, not quite knowing what I was doing.
My hand fell against my arm, light over flame, the power of creation over the power of fire.
And I felt it.
I felt it in every vein of my body.
In every muscle, in every bone.
As if I was being given to drink something I was thirsty for even though I didn't know it.
The power came over me and made the dragon himself take a step back.
In my eyes I saw it.
Dragon.
Dragon.
Dragon.
The light that invaded me vanished and we were only left contemplating what had been generated right under our noses.
'It can't be...'
Phoenix stepped towards me, seeing how his own dragon had backed away.
In front of me, right at my feet, was what I soon discovered was....
'A dragon.'
I had done it.
A baby dragon.
I had created a dragon.
It moved with difficulty, its feet still not knowing how to support itself.
I was in shock.
I knew my power was great, that it had always been something extraordinary.
But what I had felt combining two signs together, two powers of that magnitude... I felt like I could never stop doing it.
It felt addictive.
As if the light had invaded every inch of my body and erased all the darkness until I was left alone with that feeling of infinite power.
I managed to get to my feet, even though I knew I was a mess.
None of that mattered, when I saw Renox.
His head lowered in my direction, his whole body in a bowing position.
'He's swearing loyalty to you. He's pledging obedience to you. Dragons only do that to Vulcan royals, but he swore loyalty to you.'
Phoenix said to me, taking the little dragon in his hands.
'It's a female dragon. I can't believe you did it... you must make more.'
No.
'No. I mean... not now.'
I wanted to leave, I needed to get out of there.
'Gaia, you have no idea what this would mean for us. A new litter of dragons. In just a few weeks, we would have all the strength we need to wipe out our enemies.'
'Our enemies?'
'Yes, war is coming and...'
'War? We want to avoid war, right?'
The greed of power was drawn in his eyes.
Use the power.
I couldn't do it. If I did it again so many times, I didn't know if I could let go of the feeling.
'I can't do this.'
I dashed out of that place, leaving behind my new creation and a dragon who a few minutes ago wanted me for food and now had sworn loyalty to me.
I needed to not feel so bad, I needed something to help me breathe again.
I raced up the stairs, but as I opened the door, I bumped into something.
Someone.
'Caelus?'
He held me close, pinning my arms.
'Gaia... I was looking for you. I felt... well, I felt you were in danger.'
He looked at the state of me, my hair, my dress, my terrified face.
'What happened to you? Are you all right? Did someone hurt you? Tell me who it was and I'll kill them.'
And as much as it was against my place in that Kingdom, against any reason or sense, against the Gods themselves, I....
I kissed him.
'Gaia...'
He pulled back, surprised by what I had just done.
I myself had begged him not to let it happen again.
But right there, at that very moment, I needed my soul mate.
'I need you.'
'But...'
I was so shocked, so overwhelmed by everything that was happening that I just wanted him to hold me and tell me that everything was going to be okay.
And he saw it, he saw it in my eyes.
With his gaze he asked me if this was really what I wanted.
I want you.
He took me by the waist, and in a graceful move, hid me in a nook so no one could easily see us, and simply answered my call.
'My Gaia.'
He kissed me so deeply I felt my whole body melt.
His kiss was exactly what I needed.
His lips met mine in a priceless connection that couldn't seem to stop.
It was intoxicating.
We were two pieces pleading, begging to meet again.
His hands ran up my back and all I could think about was him, me, us.
My hands entwined in his hair. I felt his breath hitch over my mouth with each kiss. My leg wrapped around his body, wanting to feel him even closer.
I was drowning in his kisses, losing total control of everything around me.
I didn't want to lose him, I couldn't lose him, but I didn't know if I could stay away from him forever.
His hands, still on my back, held me so tightly that I ended up almost hanging to his body. I was at his mercy, between his arms and his kisses.
I wanted to stay in that moment forever.
In how he made me feel so good inside and out.
He made me feel so alive.
He was my light.
'Gaia!'
Phoenix's shout separated us in an instant.
'We'll talk about this later,' Caelus said to me, still a little dizzy from our kisses.
'Caelus...' I said without thinking I could let him go.
'Later.'
With one last quick kiss he vanished in a second, leaving me totally absorbed in the feel of his lips on mine.
'Gaia,' Phoenix said reaching the spot where moments ago I had found my beloved's lips.
'Yes?' I replied trying not to look stunned.
'You can't just walk away like that after what you did, not after changing the history of this Kingdom. Think of all we could...'
'Phoenix, this is not the place or time to talk about this.'
'You think you can just run away from this?'
'I can't do it now, I don't know if I can control myself, I'm sorry, okay?'
He grabbed my arm.
'I don't care what you have to do, but you're going to keep creating dragons right now.'
'Or what?'
'Or I will end our engagement this instant, and you will never get all the signs.'
I let go of his hand.
How could he say something like that to me?
We can hurt him.
'Desperation doesn't suit you, King Phoenix.'
I left as fast as I could, sprinting up the main stairs, thinking only of the privacy of my chamber, hiding behind the door to think in silence.
I had to think what I would do with the new power, with Phoenix and his threats, with Caelus' kisses...
I opened the door with that intention.
'Sister? Where have you been? What happened to my dress?'
Mena was inside my bedroom, wearing a pink dress as big as possible.
'Mena, this is not a good time.'
'I have to tell you something important. Well, something happened with Galaga and I wanted to talk to you about it.'
Not now.
'I told you it's not a good time,' I said again without even understanding what she said.
Mena didn't take it well.
'It's always the same with you. I understand you're a Queen but just once I'd like to have my sister back. You're the only family I have, Laia.'
My eyes began to water.
She was absolutely right. I was inconsiderate, I wasn't thinking about her, I wasn't there for her. But I had too many things on my mind. I couldn't cope with it all any longer.
'I'm sorry,' I told her with tears welling up in me.
'Laia...'
'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,' I fell to the floor, dejected, shaken.
I wanted to stay strong, but I was only human.
A human who felt, who suffered, who was overwhelmed.
I was not some kind of supernatural being.
I was flesh and blood.
But everyone seemed to forget that, and asked too much of me. Everyone was controlling me in some way, and I was fed up.
It was a lot of power that I was being asked to control and I just didn't feel that I was capable of doing it.
The shadows were always lurking, waiting for me to weaken enough to take control and destroy for their own benefit.
I had to be constantly fighting between the light and the darkness that lived inside me.
And to that I added the royal demands, Phoenix with his Kingdom problems, my retinue following every move I made, the war, Jonah's continuous stalking...
And Caelus, Caelus with his beautiful dark blue eyes and his carved face. The most perfect man I could have imagined... and yet I couldn't have him.
I couldn't even love my soul mate.
Whoever was writing my story didn't seem to be on my side.
Mena hugged me tight, reminding me what it felt like to have an older sister.
Many times during the years I lived with her and Marco, she was the one who dealt with our fights, she was the one who was always there for both of us.
That's why I was so angry that I couldn't be there for her when she needed me. Because my life couldn't be that simple any more, and I hated it.
'Don't cry Laia, it's okay.'
'No, it's not. I'm tired Mena. I'm a mess.'
'You're doing your best, sister. It's okay to feel overwhelmed. It's normal, the weird thing would be if you didn't feel like that.'
I hugged her even more.
I could feel the resemblance she had to my mother Elina, the same kindness, the same tenderness.
'I'm happy for you and Galaga,' I told her between sobs.
'How did you know?'
'I just knew.'
We laughed through my tears and I simply felt very alive, very human.
'And you sister? When are you going to stop this charade?'
'What are you talking about?' I asked watching her.
Her blue eyes invaded me, searching me for every hidden secret.
'You don't love Phoenix, you love Caelus. I can tell. What I don't understand is why you are not together. I know he is a pirate and all that, but if you love him, you should be with him.'
'Mena, no.'
'Why can't you even admit it? Believe me, I won't be the one to judge you.'
I got up from the floor and tried to find something to change the subject.
'The only reason would be if you were protecting him from something. You always think sacrifice equals protecting.'
I froze in that instant.
Was this a confirmation of my love?
I didn't know.
I only knew that if it came to that, Caelus' life would be in danger.
'I don't love him, okay? Why don't you show me some of the new dresses, I would love to see them.'
I lied but she didn't hear me, she was still in her own mind.
'And if you are protecting him, it must be because of the journey you made together... because of the Tree..... oh Laia, it was the Gods, wasn't it?'
'Mena...'
'I can't believe it. Laia, you're not with him because the Gods forbade it? This is so wrong.'
This couldn't be happening.
Caelus...
He can't die.
I must protect him.
Release us.
No.
Don't be weak.
Stop it, it's my sister.
You need us.
'Stop it,' I said holding my head.
'Laia, what's going on?'
You're weak.
You'll kill him because you are weak.
Use us.
Release us.
'No, I can't.'
Let us help you.
Let us help you.
'Laia...'
Let us...
'Mena, run.'
Darkness invaded me.