VERMILLION: The fall of Zaleon

Chapter 18

It was no coincidence that the flame had decided to pair the second Doirekh brother with the leader of their very own enemy: the Fairens. A tale as old as time it dated back to, and their contribution to the war had been planned to fulfill the reincarnated love story of another forbidden love: the story of the Fairen and the Doirekh. A story that ended with the first great war of Zaleon, and one that would have been recovered by the second. 

The story tells the tale of two individuals: Priscilla Viet (the Fairen) and Reigar Doirekh. He was but an ordinary Doirekh in love with someone he was not meant to be with. As far as knowledge had gone in the olden ages, it was evident that the Vermillion did not get mates. It was not clear why or how, though it was a fact that remained sturdy for centuries, with it’s few exceptions of course. Though the fate of Reigar Doirekh was in luck indeed, and as he crossed into the explorative lands on a bright day, training his dragon to stay in the sky at the young age of 9, he found himself flinching oddly and dropping to the ground with a thump, in the middle of nowhere. He returned to his human form within seconds, and found himself whining and complaining within seconds, upset that he couldn’t show off to his friends properly for one minute without his dragon giving up on him. He had been the only latecomer amongst his friends to get his wings and alternate form, though even with it he seemed like a failure, with no hope whatsoever in getting to his full potential. Of course, at the age of 9 when a bunch of young boys are laughing at you due to your inability to fully shift you’re bound to think that you’re born a failure. 

Though the story for this pair began when Priscilla’s Pixen, Pietra, had found the young dragon, dusting the mud off his clothes, muttering unhappy things to himself. It was in the nature of a Pixen to be kind and gentle, keeping Fairens as the happiest creatures alive, though this was a man that was special, even though he didn't think so to begin with. 

Pietra had been playing hide and seek with her best friend and Fairen companion Priscilla when she tumbled onto the lands of the odd looking boy, and despite his larger frame she smiled at him, watching him step back in fear of the small creature. He had never come across anyone that was not a Vermillion on Crest, because at the young age of 9 he had never travelled anywhere outside of Crest. Yet there he was, this young boy of 9, standing on foreign territory, looking upon a tiny creature that despite it’s form, he feared. He tried to remain still and brave, in his head thinking his friends would show up any time to save him, and that’s when he would make his great debut and show his bravado to those who doubted him. Though the Pixen noticed the boy’s discomfort and refused to move, stepping back instead.

‘Hi boy, I’m Pietra, what’s your name?’ She asked with her squeaky voice, flying up into the air to come face to face to his level. Her generosity had confused the little boy, who had yet to learn about Pixens and Fairens at school, and he stepped back just a bit more, having noticed that the little creature could fly. 

‘I-I’m Reigar, s-stay back or I’ll-’

‘Oh I’m not here to hurt you little boy. I’m a Pixen, we are all friendly creatures. We love everyone’ spoke the little Pixen. The words coming out of her mouth had been unfamiliar for the young Doirekh who at that moment knew his friends were not coming to find him, and he was on his own. This meant he had to find his back to his lands all on his own with no one else beside him. Were his friends even his true friends? He questioned it for a brief moment before pushing it away, justifying their actions for himself. He had to find a way out of this bizarre situation he found himself in before his parents would find out, for that would be bad, and at the moment he had no one around him but Pietra to help him. And so he took his chances, out of desperation. 

‘I-I need to find my home’ he stuttered, still shunned by the politeness of a small thing. 

‘Of course, I’ll help you, where is your home?’ Asked Pietra with a smile that Reigar managed to see despite how small the creature was. 

‘I’m a Doirekh, I need to get back to Crest’ he mentioned, and the Pixen flew towards, making him stumble back and trip on a fallen log, causing the boy to fall over right on his back. Groaning in pain, he got himself back up and noticed the Pixen closer to him than ever. She felt terrible that he had fallen down because of her, and that was, in turn, making her attend to him more, even though that was what was scaring the boy. 

‘I’m so sorry little one, I didn’t mean to scare you. I promise you, I’m not going to hurt you. Look at me, I’m so small anyways’ responded Pietra, helping the boy up to the best of her abilities.  As she did so, a noise came from the bushes around her, and within seconds, the scared boy was trembling at what he would see next. Though when a little girl about his age came running out of the bushes, he calmed down visibly, not knowing that she was, in fact, not a Doirekh like him. He had not been used to seeing so many outsider creatures, and the amount of flying things around him were blowing his mind. He had only thought so far that he was capable of flying around because he was a dragon, the existence of more winged creatures out there on his planet was new knowledge to him, knowledge that he would now never forget after this experience. 

‘There you are Pietra, I’ve been looking everywhere for you, I thought I lost you’ said the little girl, running towards her Pixen and embracing her little companion to herself. She had yet to look upon the face of the strange man next to her, though when she did, she could not look away. Priscilla had been taught about mates briefly in school, though had never been told exactly how to identify your mate since she was so young. Albeit she had also been told that the Vermillion never got mates, so how on Zaleon were this unusual couple supposed to know that they were mates at the young age of 9? They looked between each other for the longest of times, the pull already forming before the shy Priscilla looked away, and a tint formed up even on Reigar’s cheeks, one that didn’t go unnoticed by little Pietra, who planned on doing something about it. 

‘I see sparks!’ She squealed, pulling the, both out of their trance. They had barely heard what the Pixen had said, though they moved away from each other instantly, pretending to be disgusted. 

‘Who are you? And what are you doing here?’ Questioned Priscilla, taking Pietra and moving back defensively. 

‘I’m Reigar Doirekh, who are you?’ He asked equally as rudely, and the little girl had not appreciated it. 

‘I’m Priscilla Viet, and this is my Pixen, Pietra’ she responded, as if angry at him for no reason. Her voice alone had been enough for the young boy, but he remained in his place, and thought of what to do next to seem like the manliest man in the world. 

‘Yeah well you shouldn’t disrespect a Doirekh by speaking to him in that tone, now should you? After all, I’m superior’ was his genius response, one that the little Fairen didn’t seem to appreciate at all. Keeping Pietra to the side, who only watched in amusement, she flapped her wings out and flew into the air to intimidate the man. 

‘I’m sorry, what did you say?’ She yelled in anger. The man had decided that this was his moment, and switched into his dragon form. Although not large, his form was significantly larger than the little Fairen, though the strong girl did not back away as he rose into the air himself. She remained nonchalant as he did so, knowing somewhere deep down in her 9 year old heart that the boy would not hurt her. ‘You’re just a show off’ she responded, and he switched back, partially because he couldn’t hold his form any longer but also because he wished to speak in words. 

‘I’m not going to waste my time arguing with you. It is evident whose better’ he began, making nothing better at all. ‘I just want help getting home. I seem to have lost my way and I need to get back to Crest’ was all he said, and the little girl began chuckling as she returned to the ground. 

‘You Doirekh’s are so dumb’ she commented, only angering him more, though this time Pietra decided to step in. 

‘Ok you two, now I think it’s time you put your differences aside and help each other. Priscilla, he just wants to get back, let’s help him’ she squeaked in her tiny voice, and this time Reigar was comfortable with it. 

‘Oh come on Pietra, the show off wants help, when his lands are right there and he can’t even see them! It’s funny’ she replied to her companion, and the Doirekh had caught the words. What did she mean by right there? He turned around, though all he could see was bushes for miles, so what did she mean?

‘What do you mean it’s right there?’ He asked before Pietra could respond to the Fairen. 

‘Well you have wings, if you fly high enough, you’ll see that it’s right there, and you can fly right back! How did you even get here?’ She asked, thinking of all the scenarios that could have brought the Vermillion onto Amethyst lands. Nervously, Reigar thought of an excuse to not look dumb, though was coming up blank. 

‘I-I was flying, and I got lost’ he settled with, and Priscilla knew he was lying. 

‘Of course you did’ she responded with a giggle. She had suddenly begun liking this boy that wanted to big himself up all the time. She had thought that he had been hilarious, and that despite trying to be this manly man he was only a boy, and she was only a girl. ‘Come on, I’ll take you’ she responded, knowing somehow that he wouldn’t be able to fly that far. Though the embarrassed boy felt humiliated at the fact that she was aware of this, and dug himself an even bigger whole for absolutely no reason. 

‘No, I don’t need your help. I can find my own way back’ he said, and Priscilla held back, now feeling a certain embarrassment of her own. Why did boys have to be so stubborn to begin with? 

‘Fine then, go on your own’ she responded, and with an angry huff, stalked away with Pietra flying behind her and complaining about not helping out the poor boy. He had been stunned at the tenacity of the woman, and cursed himself for not agreeing to get her help as he groaned and began walking in the direction she had started walking off into. He had been super uncomfortable on lands that were not his own, and he could not shift into his dragon form, for he would not be able to hold it for long anyways. 

Day had begun turning into night, and he had no idea where to turn to or where to go. He had shifted into his dragon form several times, and had even spotted his lands, though he kew it was further away than it looked, and his parents were definitely going to murder him for returning so late. They would lecture him about his audacity to shift so many times when they had specifically told him not to until his dragon developed, and yet that is exactly what he did. 

To distract himself he put his mind elsewhere, thinking of the young girl that he had encountered earlier, a Fairen. He had heard of her kind, though knew nothing of them until he witnessed it for himself. Thinking back to the interaction, he recalled her laugh and giggles at his words, and even her huffing and puffing of anger at his stubbornness, or cruelty, rather. He wished he would have just been nice to her, and couldn’t seem to understand why he wasn’t in the first place, His actions had just seemed stupid now, and he regretted not taking her help when she offered it to him, even after he called himself superior right to her face. 

She, of course, had seen right through the act, though his constant rudeness had shunned away the girl who would have been happy to help the boy she had secretly liked. The attraction was inevitable, they were mates, after all. Though they had yet to place the pieces of the puzzle together. 

Upon her return home, all she had gotten was a large, polite lecture from her dear companion Pietra, who insisted she should have helped the little boy get home instead of abandoning him on strange territory. 

‘Pietra, it’s not my fault that he was so rude and stubborn. You heard what he said, that he didn’t need my help and could find his way back on his own, so be it’ she stated blatantly, clearly still holding a grudge against her own mate. 

‘He was scared, Prisci, naturally he needed help, the boy was shitting himself. I bet he just didn’t know how to control his dragon and fell on our territory by accident. We should have helped him find his way at least. Boys are just like that but you must not mind their words’ responded Pietra, though Priscilla was in no place to listen to her companions' words. She had been far too tired from the long day of playing and skipping about merrily, and despite wanting to learn more about the boy, found herself drifting into sleep, while Reigar on the other hand, continued walking towards his territory. 

It was late night by the time he returned to his mansion, where his parents had been waiting for him by the entrance, pacing around and worried sick, no doubt talking to everyone around them to enquire about their son and get him back. 

As he came into sight, the boy’s mother came running forward to embrace her son into a tight hug. 

‘Reigar Doirekh! Where have you been? How many times have we told you not to use your wings until you’re not fully developed? You gave us such a scare today! You have no idea-’

‘I’m sorry mother, I’m just tired, can I please go to sleep? We can talk about this tomorrow and you can yell at me then’ he interrupted, attempting to get away with it. Though his efforts remained a fail as his father decided to join in. 

‘Absolutely not. You disappeared for hours! You were gone! Why is it that when we tell you not to do something, you must go against out orders and do exactly that?’ He questioned, and the little boy started to get annoyed that his parents would never understand the need to fit in with the rest of his friends who had developed their alternate form time ago.

‘To fit in! Don’t you get it? All of my friends can shift and do so much more than I can! What can I do? I can’t even shift properly for more than 5 minutes! It’s embarrassing! If I don’t shift, I can’t train. Why won’t you train me?’ He asked, and that seemed to have done the trick as his parents visibly calmed down, taking a deep breath and leading their child inside their home into the living room before carrying on the conversation. They sat him down before they bent down in front of him to proceed to give him an explanation. 

‘Listen Reigar, I understand that it feels horrible to look uncool in front of your friends, but in the long term that is the least of your problems. If you push your dragon now, it will only take you longer to develop. You need to let it sit inside you and grow stronger. If the others got their dragons early then good for them, it doesn’t mean everyone has to get it all done at the same time. This process takes time, but once it’s done it’s there forever and you can enjoy it whenever you want. It may be challenging for you to face your friends at a time like this, but you mustn’t feel forced or obliged to do this because of their opinion. Their opinion doesn’t matter. If they don’t like you because you shifted late then they’re not your real friends at all, don’t listen to them. Your real friends will stick by you no matter what, and it’s about time you got yourself some friends who deserve you. Remember son, you should never do things for popularity, you are an incredible boy, and there is no reason why you should not have friends who value you for your personality’ spoke Reigar’s father, a wise man with a soft spot for their only child. Reigar nodded, finding it hard to swallow the words of his father, but knowing just how true they were. His mother placed a kiss on his forehead, and off he went to his chambers to sleep. 

In his sleep he found himself drifting into another world, one where the only face he could see was that of the 9 year old Fairen he had seen not long ago. The image was of him and her, talking and holding hands, nothing else. It was so magnetising, yet so simple. He had no idea what it meant nor knew what he was supposed to do about it, for she was a Fairen, and he a Doirekh. They came from different regions and represented different things. An Amethyst and a Vermillion were unheard of for the mere fact that Vermillion did not have mates, so why did Reigar? Why was Priscilla mated to the unique Doirekh? 

They had a long journey of discover, togetherness and pain to get through, though in the meantime they enjoyed the few moments of wonder they had left, and took advantage of their youth to fantasize, for all too soon it would all be taken away from them. 

When Reigar awoke, a new day was at large, and the plans he normally had for his day: meeting his friends and doing little with his life, had suddenly became all too mundane for the little man who wanted more, or rather, wanted to see a specific someone he had been dreaming of all night. He knew there was no way he could now get that image away from his head, though he also knew that he had no idea how to get to her in the first place. What would he say to her? How would he get there? How would he get back? So much had to be discussed, and yet the journey had not even begun. 

He had not been the only one wanting to take initiative, however, as Pietra had worked tirelessly to get Priscilla to agree that she too, should go and find the mysterious man she should have helped to ensure that he had made it back safely after all. It was with great reluctance that she set off into the woods, heading in the direction she had seen the borders of Crest in, and rehearsed her lines for when she would see the man, intending to clarify that she had only been present to ensure he got home ok, though she debated it time to time with the excuse that she got lost and tumbled onto his territory by accident. Pietra, of course, had convinced her to take the first option, though in her mind Priscilla wanted to avoid the embarrassment of having to confess that she did care about the boy.

Both the 9 year olds head off into the forest, sneaking away from their parents and their lives, excuses in their minds and feet moving ahead, all ready to face the awkward interaction that was to come. They were mates and they didn’t even know it, and they were about to contribute to their history in a way that they would have never even imagined. Life was certainly about to take an interesting turn for this unique pair.