Chapter 6

As the morning sun awoke over the horizon, Axel and Destiny continued to Otamd's castle. Destiny felt uneasy about leaving her family. Even though she was poorly treated, she still saw the village as her home. Axel, however, thought differently. He was glad Destiny finally left that horrible place. All she ever did was suffer day by day, especially from their parents. Nonetheless, Axel promised he'd always be there for Destiny, even if he lost his life in the process.

***

Axel

"Hey, Destiny," I said, waking her up.

"Huh? What?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"If you want to sleep, come sit in the front so you can lean on me. It's better than sleeping on my back and falling off."

She nodded. I stopped the horse, hopped off, and moved Destiny to the front. She struggled to stay awake; her body swayed back and forth as she tried to sit up. Holding Destiny up with one hand, I climbed back on the horse with the other. I made sure Destiny was secure before I rode on. Before I knew it, she had passed out on my chest. I guess she was drained. I couldn't blame her.

Destiny was born 7 years after me, so I understood the difference between love and neglect. In the beginning, mom and dad loved Destiny; meanwhile, I hated her. She was hogging my parents. I felt alone until grandma told me that I should love Destiny. She said to me that Destiny wasn't here to replace me but rather be there for me. I didn't understand it at first, but I started to see clearly what she meant as the years went by.

As Destiny got older, mom and dad started ignoring her. When she was 5, dad stopped talking to her, and mom punished her for nothing or the littlest things. That's when grandma stepped in to raise Destiny. I remember asking grandma why she was raising Destiny. At the time, I was still a child who understood very little in this big world.

Her answer made me the man I am today.

"Because I love her. The 'love' your parents show is not true love. One day, I'll be gone, and she'll still need someone to give her that love. Not the love your parents show, but the kind I offer."

Treated her like a maid instead of a daughter. Grandma was the one who raised Destiny, and I stood by her side despite their objections. Grandma and I started to be Destiny's escape from the harshness of our parents. Whenever Destiny needed help, I would always be there for her. But now…things are different. My little sister is the Dragon Tamer? I've heard many stories about him and how he single-handedly ended the war between humans and dragons. He was able to tame them quickly, but Destiny…Her very life could be at stake. Destiny's never encountered a dragon before. How's she supposed to tame one?

And to make matters worse, the dragon she has to tame is Otamd! He's ruthless! He'll kill Destiny with just one strike!

The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was no turning back. Even if we didn't go on this little adventure, Destiny would be plagued with nightmares. Which, naturally, would make me worry more.

I sighed and looked down at my sleeping little sister. "Destiny, I promise I'll protect you. I don't want to lose you. When you go face that beast, I'll be right behind you. Wherever you go, I will always be by your side. You have my word, and if I dare lie, then I will die."

***

Destiny

"Where am I?" A line of torches enlightened my view. "I'm back in tapestry hall? Why? Where are the tapestries?" They were gone. I looked around but saw no sign of them; only a mirror stood in their place. The torches went out again, leaving only two torches glowing—one on each side of the mirror. The stone walls held the embroidered mirror as it looked at me, or so I thought. The reflection in the mirror was not mine, but instead, another's. His hair was fiery red, and his eyes were yellow like mine.

"Dragon Tamer," I said. He gave me a warm smile and disappeared. His reflection was gone leaving the only mine. I approached the mirror with caution before touching it. The mirror felt cold but friendly at the same time. I stared at my reflection only to realize my eyes had changed color. My eyes were back to normal. However, the moment I found peace was the exact moment I felt someone watching me. My back was to them, but the mirror reflected what I had no nerve to turn to.

Large claws stepped out of the darkness and into the light of the torches. A face using its long, red scaly neck stretched into the mirror's clear gaze. The front showed only anger; I knew better than to look in the eyes of the owner. The face saw my fear through the mirror and grew angrier. My voice, my body, everything froze. My anxiety had completely taken over; I felt the beating of my heart grow louder and louder until it stopped. I let out a single breath.

ROOOOOAAAAR!

My eyes shot open, and my breathing was heavy. Same as the other dreams.

"Destiny, are you okay?" Axel asked with worry.

"Ye-yes, I'm fine," I said, checking for my heartbeat. I breathed a sigh of relief as I found it. I also found myself in Axel's arms. The last thing I remember was falling asleep on his chest while we were still on the horse. Looking around, I could tell we were taking a break. Spirit was enjoying a drink at the nearby river while a campfire was burning.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, something wrong?"

Axel had a look of worry, and I mean extreme concern, on his face. "Axel, what's wrong?'

"I should be asking you that," he replied.

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't know, do you?"

"Well, stop the suspense and just tell me!"

"You slept for a whole day."

My eyes widened as I gave a nervous chuckle. "You're joking, right?"

Axel shook his head, "I made that fire yesterday, and I just put fresh wood on it to make breakfast."

"But I was only sleeping for…How did I?"

Axel wrapped his arms around me. He did his best to comfort me, but the shock was overwhelming. We left at dawn, I closed my eyes to rest, and now I wake up to find that today was not yesterday, but tomorrow! What is happening to me? Why is this happening to me?

"Everything's gonna okay, Destiny. I promise," Axel whispered softly.

After I calmed down, Axel left to catch fish down the stream. He told Spirit to watch over me until he got back. My worries made me oblivious to Spirit, who casually rubbed his nose against my cheek.

"Oh, Spirit, I'm sorry. Are you hungry?" I asked, taking a carrot out of the food bag. "Here you go, boy."

Spirit ignored the carrot and instead laid his head on my shoulder. Confused at first by his strange behavior since he always eats the carrots. I smiled, realizing his intention. Wrapping my arm around his neck, I hugged him.

"You're worried about me as well. Aren't you, Spirit?" I asked softly.

He neighed in reply.

"Hmph, you are just like your owner. Stubborn, blunt, unpredictable, and overprotective, but with the biggest hearts I know."

***

Grandma

It's only been a day since Destiny and Axel left, and I'm already worried sick. My beloved grandchildren. How could I send them on such a dangerous quest?! I know I had to, but I hoped that I wouldn't. At least, some good will come out of this. Mainly watching my daughter and son-in-law doing their own chores instead of making Destiny them.

"Mother, dinner's ready!" I heard my daughter yell.

"I may be old, but I'm not deaf!" I replied.

We sat in silence at the table, which I didn't mind. However, glancing over, I could see the tension starting to grow between my daughter and son-in-law. Suddenly, my daughter slammed her hands on the table.

"This is all your fault!" she shouted.

"My fault?" my son-in-law replied.

"Yes, yours! If you'd only kept an eye on that brat, then we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"Oh, please! Don't act so high and mighty, Winter! You gave birth to that thing; she's your responsibility?"

"Why don't you be a man, Mani, because that brat's your child too!"

I calmly sipped my tea and tried not to pop a vessel. My anger grew more and more as the two argued.

"I should've just killed that child the day she was born!"

SLAP!

I snapped. Winter stared at me with her jaw dropped while Mani was in a daze. His cheek was swollen with a hand mark imprinted on it. Mani slowly turned to face me. My eyes and face only showed anger. Mani took a step back, fear being shown all over his face.

"Mother," Winter said softly.

I turned to her with the same look. She jumped a little, much to my pleasure.

"Now, both of you listen and listen well. Destiny did not ask to be born mortal, nor did she ask to be born at all. You have no right to talk that way about a child you know nothing about. All these years, you've criticized and treated her like a maid! I'm amazed she didn't leave earlier."

"Then why didn't she? Clearly, she was well aware that we didn't want her," Mani said, holding his cheek.

"Do you want another slap?"

He shook vigorously.

"Good. Now shut up and listen! She didn't leave because you are her family. She was and is loyal to you. That's why she didn't leave. If she left, then she would've felt guilty for the rest of her life for leaving you two. Her only parents despise her, but she still loves them. If anyone should be ashamed of themselves, it's definitely you two!"

I walked to the stairs to make my exit. Burning with rage, I stopped halfway to face them one last time. "You disgust me."

The looks on their faces were the same Destiny's when she was faced with the same hate. Except for this time, the monsters got what they deserved. I continued up the stairs to my room, where I looked out the window, thinking about my grandchildren. I regretted sending them to Otamd's castle, but it had to be done. I felt tears starting to form in my eyes; my heart ached just thinking about them.

"Destiny. Axel. Please. Please, please, please, return home. I want to see your smiling faces. I want to see Axel's head, so I can smack it. I want to eat breakfast with you again. I want to eat dinner with you again. I raised you both to be strong, and yet I'm not strong."