章 14: The Girl Who Lost Everything

The Girl Who Lost Everything

"Fervis! Don't fly too far away from us!"

As I flapped my wings for the first time, I experienced the world from a different perspective. The puffy white clouds were all so much closer to me now. The birds that I used to have had to admire from the ground were now within reach.

My mother shouted at me with a playful tone. She had been flying at her top speed, trying to catch up to me, but she was unable. My mother was known as the strongest Dragon in the tribe, and since I was her daughter, I would be expected to follow suit.

'Because I am her daughter, I have to become strong for my family.'

But I failed.

"Fervis, take your sister and run!"

The night was cold and murky, and the sky was pitch black. The moon had been hidden under the thick and dark clouds that filled up the sky. As we returned from a successful hunt, the tribe was under an attack on our cove. The thought of humans trying to initiate an attack on a superior species would have never crossed my mind, but now the unfiltered truth was unfolding in front of my eyes.

A screeching sound could be heard throughout the cove and all that we able to hear were unable to move at their usual speed. My mother, who should have been one of the fastest in the tribe, was caught under a chain net and was unable to move.

"Mother!" I screamed her name as I saw an old blonde-haired man creep up behind her with a gigantic axe in his hand. My mother, who noticed his presence, somehow mustered the power to use magic, something that none of us were able to do so far. The ground beneath me and my sister Fervene was illuminated by a faintly blue magic circle that seemed to have just enough power to be cast.

The last image that was burned into my brain was the blonde-haired man raising the gigantic axe into the air. I closed my eyes for the impact, but nothing came. When I opened them, I realized that my sister and I were no longer in the cove we called home.

We were in a foreign land, a deserted forest with many magic beasts running amok. The wind blew my hair around wildly as I took in the landscape. The dark and murky night was no more, and the sun shined with a nearly blinding brightness.

"Elder Sister, where are we?" Fervene cluelessly asked as she tugged at my sleeve.

"I… have no idea…" Tears welled at the corner of my eyes, and I quickly wiped them with my hands.

"Elder sister… when is mama coming to get us?" Fervene's question left me speechless. She was still unaware of the fact that we would never see her again. 'How am I supposed to protect her without you?'

The days were painful. The usual time I spent hunting with my mother was now spent scouting a safe area for Fervene and I to sleep. The rest of the time was finding something for us to eat and we didn't have time to consider anything more than those necessities.

My mother had sometimes taken me to a human city called the Royal Capital, and they were different from other humans. Many other Demi-Humans like myself lived amongst the humans in unity. I wondered if I could ever find that city again… if I could, I'm sure they would help us.

As the days became weeks, I was still unable to find the city. Every day my sister became weaker, and I started to lose hope. We were also still unaware of our location and every morning I flew high into the sky to look for the Royal Capital, but instead what I found was Dragon Hunters on the ground who looked like they were tailing us.

"Elder sister, I can't go on anymore." Fervene suddenly gave up and stopped running alongside me. The usual check I had done had gone poorly and Dragon Hunters on the ground spotted me and they began chasing us.

The two of us had been running for so long that our legs were becoming numb. My sister, who was already a lot weaker than I was, gave up on running and collapsed beside me, which halted my sprint.

"Fervene, hurry up, they are right behind us!" I tried to drag my sister to my feet but as I reached down, an arrow struck me on my thigh and my leg buckled and collapsed.

"One down, one to go!" The cheerful voice of a young girl could be heard clearly as I turned my head around to see a fair skinned blonde-haired girl with violet eyes holding a metal bow. Her face was adorned with a sinister-looking smile as she looked upon the fallen Fervene and I.

"Elder sister!" Fervene's scream almost came to me as background noise as I watched the approaching girl creep closer and closer. 'Mom, I failed you again… I'm sorry!' I reached out and grasped Fervene's hand together with mine.

"Oh? Is this supposed to be a touching moment? How much more pitiful could the two of you be?" the girl taunted as she dragged the large metal bow across the field.

But just as I thought it was over, a slender blue-haired woman, approached the girl from the opposite direction. Her eyes were blue and her skin was fair. Her hair was long and was tied up in twintails, and her short and small structure was beautiful. "You Altervian Dragon Hunters dare to enter the territory of the Royal Capital?" The blue-haired woman created a small droplet of water and twirled it in her palm.

"Surely the Royal Capital won't interfere with us exterminating an invasive species even if it is so close to the border." The blonde-haired girl answered with a troubled look on her face. It was made obvious that she didn't want to engage with the woman and tried to reason with her.

"Nope, the border is the border. If you cross it and try to kill someone in our territory, you have to be prepared to face the consequences." The blue-haired girl responded, and the water droplet in her hand swirled around her thumb in a whirlpool like motion and she flicked it forward.

"Water Magic: Water Bullet"

In an instant, the droplet sped up faster than the eye could track and flew in the direction of the blonde-haired girl; she tried to move her head to the side in that split second to dodge, but to no avail. She was unable to dodge it and the droplet pierced through the center of her forehead and she fell over instantly, with blood creating a pool around her body.

'She killed her so easily?! That girl is so powerful!'

After she cast a lazy gaze to the corpse of the girl, she turned her attention now to Fervene and me. "Are you two alright?"