Chapter 5

Axel

I heard Destiny scream and quickly ran to her. I only prayed that nothing happened to her. "Destiny! What's wro-"

I stopped as soon as I saw her eyes. "Oh, my…What happened to your eyes?"

"I don't know! I just woke up like this!" she panicked.

"People don't just wake up with yellow dragon eyes!"

"Well, they don't wake up magicless, either, and yet here we are."

I ran my hand through my hair, dumbfounded at how this happened. My sister woke up with yellow eyes, but not just any eyes. Yellow dragon eyes! This was not normal.

"Hold on. The tapestry," Destiny murmured.

"Tapestry?" I asked.

"Yeah, in my dream, I woke up in a hallway, and along the walls were tapestries. One of them was a picture of…."

"Who?"

She looked at me with concern. "The Dragon Tamer. You don't think that…."

I caught on to what she was thinking, "No, no, that's impossible."

Destiny and I looked at each other and decided to ask the only person with knowledge on the subject. "Grandma!" We screamed as we ran downstairs.

We found her drinking tea in her chair. She glanced at us, then turned her attention solely to Destiny. To be honest, I was expecting her to ask what was going on and start panicking like we did, but she didn't. She only smiled and gestured for us to sit on the couch. We did as we were told and sat down.

"Let me guess, you woke up like this?" she asked calmly.

"How'd you know?" asked Destiny.

"I heard you scream," she said, sipping her tea.

I gave Destiny an emotionless look, "You have got to stop screaming." She ignored me, then I turned to grandma to ask her directly, "Grandma, what do you think about the Dragon Tamer?"

"Why do you ask?"

That's when Destiny told grandma about her dreams. Destiny came clean about her horror nights. She kept calm like she already knew.

"I see. Your dreams are not just dreams, my dear. They're visions."

"Visions?" she asked.

"That's right. The first dream that you had was of the great dragon fire. It was the day countless villages were burned to the ground by the dragons. The second dream was of the battle between humans and dragons. Obviously, you would see skeletons because those humans were burned alive by the dragon's fire. Leaving nothing but their bones behind for some. Others were just turned to ash with nothing left behind," grandma explained.

This was history, but every time Destiny heard it chills went up to her spine. I held her hand, reassuring her that I would always be there for her. She seemed to calm down.

Grandma then continued on with her interpretation. "As for your final dream, I believe you were shown the life of the Dragon Tamer. From beginning to end."

"I knew that part, but why was it shown to me?" my sister asked anxiously.

Grandma took a deep breath and walked over to the couch. She sat next to Destiny and placed her hands in hers. "Destiny, my sweet grandchild, the reason you were shown these dreams. The reason why your eyes are yellow like a dragon's is that you are the Dragon Tamer."

***

Destiny

Grandma took a deep breath and walked over to the couch. She sat next to me and placed my hands in hers. "Destiny, my sweet grandchild, the reason you were shown these dreams. The reason why you have yellow dragon eyes is that you are the Dragon Tamer."

I gasped, "Wha-What?"

Grandma nodded, "You are the Dragon Tamer. It is the reason you were born mortal."

I got up and walked to the center of the room, my hands running through my face. "No, this is impossible. There's no way I'm the Dragon Tamer."

"I agree. There's no way Destiny is the Dragon Tamer! What proof is there?" Axel asked as he stood. "Those dreams could just be meaningless nightmares that people get every day."

"Very well, then how do you explain Lance's dragon going crazy?" grandma asked seriously.

I flinched, remembering that day. "How do you know that?" I asked.

"Word travels fast in this town, especially among young people."

"But it was just a fluke, a random dragon going crazy! It happens every day!"

Grandma kept her eyes on me. "You know as well as I do that when a dragon is given the seal of obedience, they do not rampage. Nor do they disobey their master. Besides, when Lance looked at the seal, he saw it was cracked."

Axel and I gasped. "The seal cracked?" Axel asked curiously.

"Yes, and had it cracked any further, the dragon would be free from its spell."

I was shaking. I could barely move my feet. Axel saw me struggling to stand and helped me to the nearest seat. He stayed by my side while at the same time talking to grandma. "But only one person could break the seal."

Grandma nodded, "The Dragon Tamer and you, my dear, Destiny are the Tamer. I've known since the day you were born."

Axel and I looked at her with surprise, "What?"

"That's right, I suspected as much when you were born as a mortal. All children born with magic give off magical energy. You, however, didn't give off any energy at all. And as you grew, my suspicions were confirmed. Only the Dragon Tamer was born mortal," she explained.

I was speechless. Am I the Dragon Tamer? The more I thought about it, the more I realized grandma was right. Of course, I was still in denial since it was a lot to take in. With a deep breath, I stood up and looked at my grandmother in the eye.

"So, I'm the Dragon Tamer; what do I do?"

"You must go and face Otamd."

"Say what?!" asked Axel.

"Destiny must go to Otamd's castle and tame him. Just as the Dragon Tamer did before."

From the corner of my eye, I could see Axel burning with rage. "No! She's not going! That beast will kill her!"

Grandma remained calm, understanding Axel's worry, "I understand your concern, Axel, but she—"

"No, there's no 'but'! You expect Destiny, my sister, your granddaughter, to face the very same monster that set billions of towns aflame?! What kind of nonsense is that?"

Axel's anger was at its limit; he clearly didn't want me to go because he feared for my life. I understood his worry, but I have to do it if I have to do this. I put my hand on Axel's fist; I felt his muscles beginning to relax when I did. He looked at me with curiosity.

"Axel, I'm going."

His eyes widened. "No! I forbid it!" he screamed.

"You can't forbid me from doing anything!"

"Yes, I can! I can forbid you from dying on this mission by ordering you not to go!"

"Axel."

He held me in his arms as he cried. "I can't let you die. You're my sister with or without powers. Why can't you see that I'm trying to save you?"

"But Axel, if I stay, what is there for me? Mother and father hate me; I'm an outcast. You and grandma are the only reasons I didn't run away a long time ago. And now, I have a chance to do something meaningful. How can I, in good conscience, not go? The longer Otamd remains the way he is, the more harm will come to others."

I hugged him back, and in return, he stopped crying. "I'm sorry, Axel, but I have to go."

***

I woke up early the following day. I took a bath and packed all the things I would need for the journey. I walked as quietly as I could, but a sure brother was sitting in the kitchen watching me when I reached downstairs. I jumped when I saw him.

He sat in the chair with his legs and arms crossed. He looked like he was waiting for me, probably to stop me.

"You're not going to stop me, Axel," I whispered.

"Who said anything about stopping you?" he whispered.

My widened as I looked at him, "What?" That's when I noticed a bag near Axel along with his sword.

"If you're going to die, then the least I could do is be by your side. We'll go down together or not at all."

I starred at Axel; he was serious. Clearly, he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. So I smiled and agreed. As he got up, he grabbed his bag and sword. Just as we were about to leave, another certain someone stopped us.

"You're not going to say 'goodbye' to your own grandma?"

We turned and saw grandma in the living room doorway. It looked like she was standing there waiting for the right moment to see us off. She had a smile on her face, a bag in her hand as well.

Axel and I walked over to her. "We'll see you soon, grandma," I said as I hugged her. She hugged me back and gave me a kiss. "I know you will."

Axel went to hug grandma but instead got a blow to the head. "Ow!" he whispery shouted.

"Take care of your sister," grandma said with a smile. Axel smiled back as he rubbed his head.

Grandma held up the bag in her hand and gave it to me. I looked at her with confusion, then she told me. "You two have a long journey ahead of you, so I wanted to give you these."

"What is it?" I said as I looked through the bag. Axel looked too, trying to decipher grandma's intention.

"Although dragons are immune to magic, you can use their magic against them. These charms will help you; I also put in a few spells as well. They'll work even without magical energy," she said as she winked at me.

I smiled and hugged her with my free arm. "Thank you," I whispered in her ear.

Axel went up and hugged her as well, "Bye, grandma." She smiled and hugged back.

We grabbed our stuff and walked outside, where Axel had his horse, Spirit, ready and waiting. Grandma stood in the doorway and watched us as we mounted the horse. We waved, giving her one last goodbye, before riding off and starting our adventure.