Moon Dragon

The full moon covered the palace in its glow, the roses in the gardens seeming to stretch to the moon to get more of its light. The flowers were not alone, on the edge of one balcony that looked over the gardens sat a boy. His long silver hair typical of the elf he was. His eyes, the color of leaves, stared at the moon in want. Oh, how he envied the moon. It never had to worry about disappointing anyone?, never had to worry about the affairs of others. It just stayed up in the sky and didn’t care what anyone else thought or cared. Kai wished he could be like the moon and just do what he wanted.

“Kai! What are you doing up there?” a voice called from the garden below him.

“Wishing I could be the moon.” Kai replied, recognizing the voice of his best friend, Basil. Looking of the side he knew he was right, seeing the small figure standing near the fountain. Basil’s brown eyes looked back at him questioningly.

“I don’t think that’s one of the options.”

“One can always hope.”

“Well stop it, your father is looking for you.”

Kai groaned. Great, the person he least wanted to see. King Sundance was one of the greatest kings the elves had ever had. He was, however, a stern and unrelenting father, as well as a cold and distant man. He expected much from all of his children and it was easy to disappoint him. Lately, he had become even more unbearable, with Kai now sixteen and about to go through The Showing.

The Showing was a time when every sixteen year old or mental equivalent from every race, gathered at specific places. Once at these places they entered one at a time into a room and then the room turned them into their true selves. Whatever species they may be. It was the most important time... before adulthood. To become one’s true self was what every child dreamed of. After the showing they no longer had to worry about whether they were good enough to be what they were, they would be able to get rid of their self doubt. Something Kai had a lot of.

Kai’s father was currently trying to shove every elvish fact, and custom, anything that discerned an elf, into him. His father was adamant that he remains an elf. Kai could sort of understand; both of his older brothers had changed, and his father would probably take it personally to have another child change, he would probably see it as an insult to his parental skills. However, Kai had three younger brothers and four younger sisters, so it wasn’t like the king was low on heirs, one was bound to stay an elf.

“I’m on my way.” Kai said, with a great sigh of frustration.

Kai hopped of his balcony and started working his way toward his fathers study. The hallways never ceased to make him slow down and look around, with their beautiful white pillars and shining stone walls. Kai always loved beautiful things, especially gems and stone. His sisters always teased him about having more jewelry than they did. Kai didn’t see anything wrong with liking pretty things, though his father thought it made him vain, which Kai supposed was true. Kai wasn’t afraid to admit that he was good looking, more on the side of beautiful than handsome, and he did like to accentuate his looks with pretty stone. The only thing about his looks that bothered him was that he looked more like a woman than the man he was. Many visitors and guests of the castle had even mistaken him for a girl.

Kai stood outside his fathers’ study, quickly coming out of his thoughts, the large ornate doors never failing to give him an anxious feeling.

“Enter.” Called the steely voice of his father, before Kai had even gotten the courage to knock. Slightly unnerved Kai entered the room with wall-to-wall bookshelves. There were two cushioned chairs that sat before his fathers’ desk. The desk itself was immaculate, with only a quill set and a pile of papers. Not even one picture was placed on the desk. Kai looked at his father, a severe but young looking man. Kai had inherited his silver hair from his father but while Kai’s eyes where green, the king’s eyes where a cold blue. Kai took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the nightmare he was sure was to come.

“You sent for me.”

“Ah yes. I wanted to discuss your plans for after the showing.” His father said. Kai noted that he had not been asked to sit. He had been right then, not a friendly conversation.

“What do you mean?” asked Kai, confused; after all, no one was stupid enough to make plans for after the showing. You never know what could happen.

“Just that, what plans do you have for after the showing?”

“None sire.” Kai replied, wondering worriedly where this was going.

“I thought as much. Therefore I have taken the opportunity to sign you up for Starflower academy.”

Kai couldn’t believe his ears. The Showing hadn’t happened yet and his father was already choosing his future, Kai expected that they would have some problems like this afterward, but not so soon. “What?”

“Why wait to plan when we already know the outcome?” his father said in a chiding, making Kai feel like a child who had asked a silly question.

“But, we don’t know the outcome!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, of course we do.”

“No we don’t! Anything could happen! Your wishful thinking and cramming elven ways at me isn’t going to change whatever the outcome will be.” He exploded, finally having enough of it. Kai had had enough of the kings stubborn refusal of anything that was against his will. His father slammed his hand on his desk standing and catching Kai’s glare with an icy one of his own.

“Listen here, you will be an elf. No matter what anyone says, you will be an elf. The only reason you wouldn’t be is if you didn’t want to be.” Anger was contorting his fathers face, before smoothing out.

“You can’t really believe that.” Alex stopped here.÷

“I can and I do. True selves hah! They only say that to appeal to you young people and make you dream about other species. It’s a way to bring new blood into the races nothing more.” He came around the desk to come stand before Kai in a relaxed manner, as if nothing was the matter and everything made perfect sense, when nothing could have been farther from the truth.

“How would you know this?” asked Kai flabbergasted.

“It’s the logical explanation rather than all that fanciful notion about true self. It’s the only thing that explains why your brothers changed.” Kai couldn’t believe it. His father had warped reality because he couldn’t believe that his sons wouldn’t be elves deep down. How was he supposed to argue with someone like that? His father never talked about his brothers, Terrence and Rain, going so far as to ignore his sisters when they asked about. The one time he acknowledges that they existed he makes them into bad guys? What?

“Father, you can’t be serious!”

“What do you mean?” his father asked as if he didn’t understand what Kai meant.

“You know that they wouldn’t have left us if they had a choice, especially not Rain considering where he went.”

“Never mention his name again!” his father thundered, his eyes storming. Kai was stunned silent. His father never raised his voice. It was always cold and low, when he was angry he became silent. Kai felt a pang in his chest he needed to leave.

“Of course father, I apologize. Is there anything else?” the king looked pleased.

“No nothing else.”

Kai quickly bowed and left. He ran down the hallways straight to his room and flung himself on his bed with tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. His father was crazy! He knew that his brother leaving had disappointed him, more than anything that prankster Rain had ever done before. But he hadn’t known he was so angry about it, it was the most emotion he had ever seen on his fathers face, and he upset that he had been the one to put it there. Their leaving must have hurt his father or something, enough to make him fracture the reality of the showing. Kai had learned about the process for the showing like everyone else. The spells where designed to bring out the true selves of the person standing beneath them, physically. The magic was ancient and couldn’t be tampered with. Wanting couldn’t change the outcome.

Kai squeezed his pillow curling into himself and forcing his thought away from his father and to The Showing. I wonder what I’ll be. He thought. It would probably be best if he stayed an elf. It would keep his father happy and it was the only life he knew. But Kai couldn’t help wishing that his true self were something else. Something far away from the palace and his father. Finally exhaustion over took his worrying mind and he slept.

The air flowed over and under his wings, as he fluttered them. It was night and the air was warm, a perfect time for flying. If only he could get off the ground. He looked at where he was, stuck on the ground. The ground was green and grassy, there were bushes and trees scatter around the valley, and a large cave carved into the mountain face behind him.

“What are you thinking about little one?” rumbled a voice from the cave. He turned and saw an enormous dragon peering at him from the mouth of the cave.

“Flying.” He answered honestly.

“You are still too young. Soon little one but you must first learn patience.” The dragon said, amusement heavy in her voice. He grumbled at having to wait, turning instead to peer at the moon. “Yes, patience is a virtue,” continued the dragon, “one with witch you struggle. Come inside little one, now is the time to rest not the time to fly.” She turned around and walked into the cave not waiting to see if he would follow him.

He looked at the moon once more with longing before he turned and followed her into the cave if perhaps, a little sulkily. The cave was vast, filled with other smaller caverns and mounds of gold and gems and other pretty things. It was the epitome of a dragons cave. He made his way to one of the smaller piles and curled up on it.

“I wish I could fly now.” He said, still sulking. It wasn’t fair that he had to wait he should be old enough. In other races he would be considered an adult not the baby she thought him to be. It was ironic he admitted that he was pouting like a child.

“I know little moon, and one day you will soar above the clouds. The wind will surround you and lift you to a place where you will feel as if nothing can touch you. Where you will feel utterly free and powerful.” The older dragon rumbled, painting a tantalizing image for the child. “However, that day is not today. Sleep, child. Tomorrow you can play with the others and perhaps go treasure hunting.”

That thought was able to calm the child. Treasure hunting was one a favorite of all the dragon children. He went to sleep with the image of finding sparkling jewels with his friends floating through his mind.

She looked down on him with as much of a fond smile as a dragon’s face could make. He was young and impatient, imaging himself older than he was. But she could understand his frustration, he was more mature that the others his age, caused by his unusual circumstances. A motherly instinct of protection coursed through her for the child that was not really hers. But he was as close as she would ever get to a child, and she as close to a mother. She curled around him sleepily, vowing to protect the child she considered her son.

Kai awoke from the all too real dream, still trying to come back to reality. He sighed and stretched out on his bed, with the strange images still afloat in his mind. Kai went about getting dressed, he chose black pants and a sky blue shirt, his usual outfit. It was easy too move around in and wasn’t as flashy as the other nobles. Kai was of the opinion that their fancy outfits made them look like fancy chickens, with their chests puffed out and all.

Kai decided to skip breakfast not in the mood to face his father and the court, instead he went to the gardens. The gardens were the most beautiful place in the palace, and they where constantly kept up with by gardeners with strong earth magic. There where several sections of the garden, the simple yet fragrant flowers where the more popular section as there were many benches to sit on and two marble fountains to enjoy.

Then there was the complex flower section, the more sophisticated of the nobles preferred this section. Kai personally thought that the tiger orchids were especially stunning. However, Kai’s favorite was the rose garden. It was the least visited section because the only flowers there were roses, albeit in many exquisite colors. The simple yet elegant roses gave him a feeling of peace.

Kai sat on the single marble bench and just bathed in the feelings they gave him. He fondled the petals of the red roses, his personal favorite, and admired their beauty. Their red was a deeper and more brilliant color than any ruby he owned. Yet their thorns held a magnificence and passion that only danger had. A rose, Kai mused, was both as gorgeous as a rare gem and as passionate as a deadly risk. They were like a jump of a cliff into an ocean made up of swirling sapphires.

Kai snapped out of his reverie. The sun was considerably higher than it was when he got here, it would be lunch soon. Kai stood and headed back into the castle. He would get an earful if he didn’t visit her this morning.

The hallways to her room where long and complicated, it was easy to get lost if you didn’t know the terrain. However, they where beautifully decorated. Kai admired the walls as he ambled along. Suddenly Kai stopped and stared, he always did when he got to that painting, the painting of his mother. Even though it had been eight years since her death, he still missed her. They way her jingling laugh would ring out among the halls, she was the life of the palace, the only one who could get an emotion out of their father, who was cold even then.

Kai looked at the painting, eyes roaming over the features that where so close to his own. While his hair was his father everything else was from her. His green eyes, his slim stature, and his girlish face, all came from his mother. He had been compared to her many times, and, even though he didn’t like being mistaken for a girl, he did love that he looked like her.

Kai continued walking down the corridor until he came to a plain looking wood door. He knocked and waited until he heard a scurrying noise and a crash. Upon entering he saw a little girl splayed on top of an overturned table.

“Clumsy as ever aren’t you, sapling?” Kai laughed while he helped her. Her name was actually Fir, but Kai called her sapling because she was so little.

“It’s not my fault it was in the way.” She grumbled good naturally. Fir wasn’t actually clumsy, her grace was that of a dancers’, but her impatience was the problem.

“You could have gone around it.” Kai said, raising an eyebrow. She blushed.

“Enough about me, are you nervous?” she asked, her eyes glittering.

“About what?” he asked confused.

“Tomorrow!” she said exasperated.

“Oh, no of course not.” He lied, hoping not to worry her. She was only nine and though she acted grown up he knew she wouldn’t understand all his worries about the showing. She was still at the age of dreams.

She scrunched up her nose and stared at him until he started to fidget uncomfortably. She bound across the room narrowly avoiding the still overturned table. She rummaged through her chest at the end of her bed, searching until with a soft “Aha!” she came up for air.

“What have you got there sapling?” he asked, kneeling down next to her. She looked up at him and grinned deviously.

“Close you eyes.” She demanded. Nervously he did so, he felt a soft hand fiddling with his hair. What was she doing? He thought. “Okay open you eyes!”

He opened his to see himself in a hand held mirror held up to his face. in his hair was a single lily flower. “Sapling, what-“

“I thought it might make you feel better. A lily, like mom.” She smiled shyly. Tears stung his eyes as he scooped her up in a hug. Fir had been very young when their mother died, only a year old, so she didn’t remember her. But she knew that Kai did, and that mother had been very important to him.

“Thanks sapling.” He said quietly, he got up suddenly wiping his eyes to rid all evidence of tears. “Want to play some games?” she nodded quietly a small smile on her lips.

They played all of Firs’ favorite games until dinner, they didn’t even notice the time until there was a knock at the door informing them that dinner was ready.

“Shall we?” he asked her, holding out his elbow for her to take. They entered the dining room arm in arm; it was a rectangular room with three long tables and a crystal chandelier. They sat at the middle table, the one where the royal family sat, including the other branches. As they were in the main branch of the family, they sat near the front, were the king sat. The king, of course sat at the front, and Kai, as the crown prince, sat to his right. On the kings left sat Kai’s younger sister, Brook, who was 15. Next to Kai sat two of his brothers and Fir. Next to Brook sat their other brother and the other girls. Kai wasn’t close to any of them but Fir.

He ate his meal in relative silence, trying to ignore the noble around him. Until Brook decided his day had been far too pleasant.

“Why brother dear, what a lovely flower. It goes perfectly with your looks.” She trilled. While her words were nice and her face was pleasant, her underlying tone spoke of a different story. Brook hated him. It wasn’t something he had done per say, more that he had what she wanted. He was the closest of the family to their father, thought that wasn’t saying anything, he was the crown prince, and, Kai suspected, she was jealous of his looks. Brook looked exactly like their father, except with their mothers black hair. Brook and Kai were the only ones, who really remembered their mother, and both had been close to her, but Brook felt she didn’t have as much in common with her as Kai did and so she was jealous.

“Well sister dear, I thought that their should be something fresh in the palace today. The company does get stale so.” He replied in a pleasant voice. Her eyes hardened, making her look even more like the king. She turned her head to their brother, Nook, who was thirteen, and struck up a conversation, ignoring Kai once again.

Kai was fine with that; he wasn’t in the mood for her today. He left dinner early and lay down on his bed. The next day was the showing and Kai was growing more nervous by the minute. He wanted to stay and please his father, but he also wanted to get away from his oppressiveness. He didn’t really want to be king, so that wasn’t an issue on his mind. There was however Fir, she was the youngest of his siblings and the only he really liked. He worried about what would happen if he left her, she also wasn’t close to any of them and father ignored her existence, since she was the youngest she wasn’t worth much except maybe her marriage. Kai fretted until he fell into a fitful slumber.

“Such worries in one so young.” A soothing female voice surrounded him in the darkness.

“Hello? Is someone there? I can’t see!” he said frightened. Blackness surrounded him, and he felt as if he were floating in a sea of nothingness.

“No, you can’t. Not yet anyway. But soon little one, soon all will be come clear. I’ll be there to help, and so will she.”

“So will who? What are you saying? I don’t understand!”

“So impatient. You are not yet ready, but maybe soon.” The voice faded away.

“Ready for what? What’s going on?” he yelled, feeling his body fade away. He was slipping, but he wasn’t sure to where.

Kai awoke to someone shaking him.

“Kai!!! Wake up, up, up!!!” yelled Basil, still shaking him.

“B-b-b-basil, stop tha-a-a-a-t.” moaned Kai. Basil stopped and blinked his big brown eyes at him.

“You’re awake? Oh, good. I was wondering when you would get out of bed lazy bones!” Basil chittered happily.

Kai rolled his eyes. Basil was way to perky in the morning. “What do you want?”

“It’s the day.” Basil said trying to sound ominous, it failed utterly considering it came out of someone who looked more like an innocent child than the prankster he was.

“What day?” Kai asked confused. He wasn’t really a morning person and his faculties weren’t firing right till after breakfast.

“THE day!” Basil said emphatically.

“Basil I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Kai groaned, still half asleep.

“It’s the day! The showing? The most important day of our liv- no. Of our right now-ness.”

“Now-ness isn’t a word Basil.” Kai said, still trying to process what he was told. Suddenly he jerked up staring wide eyed at Basil. The showing.

“Ah! It enters the head!” Basil exclaimed.

“What time is it?” Kai asked breathlessly.

“About 10 o’clock.”

“Dammit Basil!” Kai exclaimed jumping up and pushing Basil of the bed in the process. “The showing starts in two hours!” he rushed around getting dressed. He put on plain brown pants with a forest green tunic and leather boots. It was plain but functional; Kai didn’t own many dressy clothes, finding all the buttons and flaps far to complicated to deal with. He did however put gold hoops in his ears, and a gold necklace that was inlaid with rubies, and on his fingers he wore a single silver ruby ring. The ring didn’t match his other jewelry but it was the one he always wore. The last thing he had ever received from his mother.

An assassin that had snuck into the palace had killed his mother when he was eight years old. It had been his birthday that day and he had gone straight to her rooms after the party. She had departed shortly after giving him the ring, her health having been poor ever since she gave birth to his youngest sister the year before. He had been excited about the ring, the first piece of jewelry he had ever owned. To him it had meant that she thought he was grown up enough to be able take care of it and not lose or break it. he had wanted to see her to thank her and tell her all about the party, hoping to make her feel better. She always seemed to look better after he visited.

All he remembered was entering her rooms and seeing her lying on the floor. He had called out to her intending to scold her for sleeping on the floor, she would get sick like that, when he saw a figure leaning over her. He was dressed all in black from head to toe. All Kai could make out was a pair of cold red eyes and gleaming white fangs. Vampire was the only thing he could process as he screamed for help, watching the figure flee out the window.

His father would had been cold even then, had become even more distant and had focused only on finding the killer for two years before giving up. But he had made sure everyone knew what had happened. And relations with vampires, that had always been tense, became even worse.

“I know. That’s why I’m here to wake you up. And now you are up, so let us go and eat, and then head out on our way.” Basil said startling Kai out of his thoughts.

They headed down the hall to the dining room. As it was late morning there was no one in the room, everyone already finished and going about the days business. The kitchen staff must have remembered what day it was because there were two plates on the table filled to the brim with delicious fruits and pastries.

“Ah, it looks like they expected us!” Basil said, running over and proceeding to wolf down his meal. Kai only picked at his food, eating a little but not a lot. His stomach was too twisted to be able to hold much. “Hey, what’s wrong? You’ve hardly touched your food.”

“Just a little nervous.” Kai said with a small smile. In truth he was still a bit upset over the previous night, the worries he had managed to beat down now coming back full force.

“Why? You’re like a perfect elf. Only ever doing elf stuff thinking elf things, you’re an elf to the core. I mean unless you’re hiding something from me. Are you?”

“No. Nothing.” Kai answered with a small feeling of guilt for wanting to leave his friend. Basil was actually his cousin on his mothers’ side only living at the castle because his mother had refused to live in it unless she could bring her sister and her husband, the only family his mother had left. Basil and Kai had been born relatively close and had been friends ever since they could remember, but still, Kai couldn’t help wanting a different life.

“Well, if you’re done we should head out.” Kai nodded and they left the palace. As elves didn’t own cars they had to get there by carriage, so it was an hour drive to the showing. The building was outside the city because of the members of others species that showed. There was only one building for their region because it saved on travel for those who had to take transfers back with them. Otherwise there would be a lot of running around for those who had to pick up all the transfers.

When they arrived at the center, the place where it was all held, Kai stared up at in wonder. It was huge, pristine, and white. Well, Kai supposed it had to be large, too fit all the races in it, Especially dragons, who where particularly large.

“Ready?” Basil asked.

Kai nodded, leaving the carriage and walking inside. There where many other sixteen year olds of all races inside. Kai looked around noticing a group of vampires, and elves glaring at each other. Elves and vampires where almost enemies, mostly due to cultural differences, The biggest problem being that elves respected the earth and all life while vampire had to kill to live. He ducked as a fairy flew over his head, calling sorry as he went. The fairy had been shorter than Kai as all fairies tended to be, but his sparkling pink wings lifted him higher then everyone making his height a moot point. Kai continued to look around, never having seen so many people of different races together before. Most races got along except for the few like elves and vampires, however all tried to get along during the showing. Suddenly the bells rang and everyone stopped whatever they where doing and looked toward the front of the large room.

“Alright everyone I’ll make this quick. Here’s what’s going to happen. You are all going to line up in lines, one at each of those doors.” Said a man pointing to a row of door all along the side of the rectangular room. “One race for one door. The doors will open and one of each line will enter. The rest waiting until the door opens and one will enter again. On the other side of the door you will enter a room. Something may or may not happen, and it may or may not hurt. Then you will exit the room and you will go forward to the representative of the race you are or become. Then they will tell you anything else you need to do next. That’s all, get into your lines.”

Well, that was straight and to the point, Kai thought as he got into his line. Kai watched as person after person entered the door, nervously waiting his turn. The doors opened again, this time to admit Basil who was just ahead of him.

“Wish me luck?” Basil asked finally showing nervousness.

“You don’t need it but good luck anyway.” Kai smiled, giving him a friendly shove. As the doors closed behind him Kai realized he was next. The nervousness he had somehow managed to suppress came back full force. Kai couldn’t help it, he was uncertain of what would happen. He wanted to come out an elf but deep down he didn’t know if that’s what he truly was. He didn’t want to disappoint his father but he wanted to get away from him as well. The door opened before he could continue to fret. Kai took a deep breath, and walked through the threshold.

On the other side of the door was a plain white room. The only thing in it was a red circle on painted on the ground and a large mirror on the opposite wall next to a plain white door. Kai was tentative, unsure of what he was supposed to do but stepped into the circle. Almost immediately a cylinder of energy surrounded him. Kai waited for something to happen, releasing his breath when nothing happened, a strange feeling of disappointment rushing through him. Kai waited for the energy to dissipate so he could leave and go back to his life, a life he didn’t want but still nothing happened. He was about to try and walk out of the circle when pain, surged through him.

Kai cried out and fell to his knees, pain lacing through his entire body. a strange itching sensation crawled over his skin, as if all of his skin suddenly dried out. He let out a scream as something the pain in his lower back grew his spine started to elongate and shift causing his to curl into himself. He was in utter agony, his bones where rearranging, his skin was changing, new appendages where growing, and his clothes where ripping. Kai had to stop himself from ripping the jewelry off, the only thing making him able to just take them off was the horrify thought of them laying broken on the floor. Kai stayed in his whirlwind of pain unsure of how much time was passing as all he could do was feel the pain and hear a dreadful snapping and cracking that managed to penetrate the fog in his brain.

Kai slowly shook his head as the pain ebbed, clearing the fog that remained. He tried to stand only to fall on his side as he found his leg structure different. Kai looked up at the mirror on the wall freezing at what he saw. In the mirror crouched a dragon, albeit a tiny dragon. It was small; smaller than the few dragons he had seen in room from before, it was about five feet in height on all fours and seven feet from nose to tail. On the back of its head were two horns, and there were two horns at the end of its tail as well, and there were bat like wings on is back. Its scales where black with dozens of other colors glittering in them. It looked like the sky on a clear night, the stars glittering among the blackness of space. The eyes though, the eyes where cause for awe, they where shining silver that glowed among its scales like the moon.

Kai stared at the mirror coming out of it with a shake of his head as he slowly realized he was the dragon.