One of those lonely days, I was sitting by the lake. I dipped my feet into the cool water and sighed.
"I wish life could be any better." i told myself and sighed. The sky was blue, like the tip of my hair. i twirled it round my finger and stared at my reflection in the water. i tried to create a wave with my powers, but with no proper training i could only manage a few ripples. I sighed again. no one wanted me to develop my skills, so why do i even try? A splash pulled me out of my thoughts. i pulled my feet out of the water and stood in battle formation or at least, what i thought was battle formation.
"Who are you, show yourself" I shouted and walked cautiously towards the lake. A feminine form emerged from the water and waved at me. i fell down in fear.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here to help you" the woman said and drew closer but could not go beyond the bank of the lake.
I stood up, dusted my dress and slowly walked over to her, stopping just before the bank. She smiled, her watery figure gleaming in the sunlight. "As i was saying, i came to help you with training your powers" the woman said and stretched her hand out to me. I looked at her like, do you know who I am? and slapped the hand away.
"What do you want from me?" I asked and backed away
"I want you to just trust me and take my hand. That is all i need." the woman said and stretched the hand again.
"Who are you?" i asked
"For now and your safety, don't ask me that okay?" she said and i took the hand.
From that day on my life was brighter. i'd leave the castle at sunrise and only return when the moon was up. My family never cared, no one bothered to ask and for some reason it only made it better. My abilities improved and i got stronger, happier. the neglect no longer bothered me, the insults seemed ordinary and i had a reason to smile. of course, i kept my secret from everyone. not that they cared to know.
One day during training, I asked my trainer (Her name or what I call her is Dara), why the water dragons betrayed the kingdom. she paused for a moment before saying to me in a meaner than usual voice.
"Did you come here today to learn or did you come here to study history?"
"Sorry, ma'am"
"Better be. Now resume defense position under water and hold it till i say so" she said and i obeyed.
As we were training, a strange sound coming caught my attention. i walked towards the source and noticed a group of serpents gathering explosives into a heap. i hurried back to the lake, but Dara was gone. So i ran all the way back to the castle to inform father.
When i go there, no one believed me and i was accused of trying to trick us into breaking our barriers. I told them that the serpents had already broken it, but that only made them angrier, because they thought i had helped the enemy. i was locked away in a cage and placed in the city square for all to see the face of a traitor. Father sent soldiers to check the barrier but they found nothing. I was devastated and sat in the cage with my head resting on my knees.
A few hours later, a shrill whistling sound was heard. I looked up and saw a flaming spark, flying through the sky towards the barrier. a loud bang followed and the barrier came crashing down. and everything was chaos. Heads flew, fire breath, poisoned bodies turning black as they fell. I was locked in a cage. No hope for me i was trapped in a cage i didn't know how to open.
In the midst of the chaos, something hit the cage door and it flew open. a hand suddenly grabbed me and i found myself running after them without knowing where they were going. we got to the river and the person pulled their mask off. it was mom. I stared shocked while she sat on the floor and gasped for breath.
"You have to leave... follow the river, it'll lead to the next realm. Stay there till your powers are strong enough for a fight" she said and pulled the necklace from her neck, "Remember all i have taught you my dear.."
"You are Dara?" i asked stunned as we heard the sound of running coming towards us.
"No time to explain, just promise me you will live, grow and come back. then i'll tell you everything, " she said. I nodded as our pursuers came into view.
Mom pushed me into the water as the soldiers pounced on her. I swam away quickly, but those serpents, they were still on my tail. I came to the point where two realms meet, but as i was about to cross, i was caught in a net. it stunned for a minute before i felt completely numb. I tried to scream, use my powers to move or just anything, but nothing would work.
i had lost all hope when, a serpent scout jumped into the water. he had a handkerchief tied round his face. he cut the net and carried me close enough to the portal. i looked at him again and noticed a bright green glow in his eyes. The soldiers were coming behind us and he jumped through the portal, which quickly closed behind us.
i don't know what happened next but, everything went blank.