Dan'enda Struggle

Chapter Seven: the Encounter

I instantly pulled out the dagger from my thigh and faced Daerae. "Watch these three, will you?" Ivy gave a defiant shriek. I stood my ground, not wanting to see her get hurt because of me again. "You are not going with me. You stay here away from the trouble. You are my sunshine. You can't be put in harm's way." I kissed Ivy's head and grew my wings out. The two got off of me and I looked at Daerae once again. He looked so confused, and I almost envied him for not being involved.

As I heard another rumble, even louder, I put Ivy down and bolted off the ground, flying towards our proctor, Alicia Smith.

"Nydia, what are you doing? There is a test going on."

"My sister is here." That's all I had to say to her and she started telling the students to go to the corridors. "I want you to go inside, too. It's not safe."

"But, Princess, I can't. I must look out for the students, all of them, including you."

"Go. This is not the duty of anyone but myself and my guardians. Just make sure Ivy stays safe." I glanced back to see Ivy being held by Damien. "I will deal with this."

Alicia fiddled with her clipboard and then walked with the students towards the building. There was a roar in the air and I took off to greet my sister.

"Syrena." I looked at her.

She was on Diamond's back, glaring at me. "Nydia, my wonderful sister. What are you doing at this school? Mommy and father finally tell you to shove off, feeling inferior? I could save them, then they'll finally realize I'm the only daughter they need."

"You're wrong, Syrena. What they need is to have both of their daughters with them, for this nonsense to stop. Jade died because of you! Jade died because you broke Mom's heart!"

"No! She died because of you. If only you didn't have to be so exceptional, if only they didn't treat you as though you were so much better than me! Well, now I am better than you! I have found someone who is willing to help me flourish, become more powerful than you've ever been." With that, Diamond flew a jet of dark flame at me, a strong contrast to her white scales.

I bolted out of the way, blowing the flame away with my wings. Syrena had not yet become strong enough to have her own, so I was at an advantage. Diamond was about to rush toward me, but a little body stopped her. Ivy was at my shoulder, blowing a jet of flame back at them.

Syrena and Diamond just brushed it off, and I put my left hand on Ivy's head.

"It's not nice to attack your elder with poison," a voice said.

I turned around and saw Rose hovering next to her Spark Aerimis. Sevrin was riding atop Vonskin. "Nice to see you guys," I said, turning back to my sister.

"Sorry we're late, Princess," Sevrin said with a chuckle. "The traffic is horrible. All the students got in our way and we had to talk to the professors and Headmistress. And, poof, here we are."

"Sevrin, shut up. This is not the time to joke," Rose barked.

"You shut up, Rose. I thought it was warranted." Sevrin barked back.

"All of you, shut up!" Syrena growled. "You are such a spoiled brat, Nydia! I can't believe they got people to protect you."

"Well, you know how it goes: the princess needs protection when her sister goes on a raging tantrum," Sevrin snapped.

"I should burn you where you stand!" Syrena shrieked, and Diamond reared her head and prepared to blow fire at them.

I prepared to defend them but heard a booming voice of power behind us and Diamond's head stopped where it was. "Leave my school at once! There will be no dark magic here!" Headmistress Lyeesia Tan'nal boomed and roared at my sister again. "You are not welcome here, Syrena. Leave. Now!" She threw her hand out and pushed with a gust of her magic to send Syrena away. With a snarl, they left.

We looked at the Headmistress floating next to us, and she just smiled at us. "Headmistress," I started. "I apologize for my sister's actions. I should have-"

"No, Nydia. There is no need for that. Come. We will discuss this in my office while the other students sort themselves out in their rooms before we continue testing." With that, she turned and her shimmering rainbow wings fluttered behind her as she headed back.

I looked at Sevrin and Rose and we flew off after her.

Once in her office, we watched her carefully. I wondered what she planned to do about Syrena coming to the school, and what she planned to do with us, the reason behind Syrena's attacks. Then I wondered about what she thought of me specifically being here since I was the main reason behind my sister's attacks.

As if reading my mind, Headmistress Tan'nal spoke, "Nydia, I do not blame you for Syrena's actions. If anything, I'm glad you are here. Perhaps we could work together to fix this nonsense. However, I know very little about the exclusive magic of your people. I can only assist you with my guidance and knowledge of the general laws of magic, including the dark variety. I wouldn’t imagine you have any experience with the dark magic of your people, considering how strong your bond is with Ivy."

I gave her a small, quizzical look as Ivy nuzzled into my folded arms, looking for a place to rest as she listened. "What do you mean? My sister is using dark magic to make her bond stronger. So, if anything, my strength would appear to be from the darkness."

She stared back, almost confused at what I had just said, and responded with finality, "Dark magic, from what the old textbooks of your people have said, may seem to strengthen the bond between dan'enda and Spark, but it really diminishes the strength, filling the bond with hatred and mistrust. The initial strength grows while the inner strength fades. In time, your sister may not have a bond with her Spark at all. They must be dealt with before their power can grow that much or we will all be in more danger. I believe that Syrena and the dragon cannot be helped and that they must be dealt with."

I did not want to even think about what she was saying, but I immediately spoke up against it. "Diamond. My sister’s companion’s name is Diamond. Also, I will respectfully advise you to discontinue speaking about my family in such a way. I will help them in any way I can. I will not allow my sister to ruin her life in such a way. I still believe there is hope for them!"

My voice rose as I tried to keep my calm against the headmistress, but I couldn’t help it. I felt as if my family was being insulted. Ivy sat in my arms, getting up from her resting position in my arms to stare at me and try to calm me down even though she felt much the same. I took a deep breath as she touched her nose to my hand, calming me. Her ivy-shaped scales shining so slightly where only I could see. She was using our magic to calm me. It was working.

Headmistress Tan’nal turned around to go look out of her window. "I am sorry, Nydia. I didn't mean any disrespect by it."

I took a breath. "Okay. In the meantime, I will take my classes. I will leave as much of the fighting as I can out of school business. However, I must warn you again that there will come a time, undoubtedly, where she, or whoever she is with, will come for me. You knew that when you accepted me into your school. I do not suggest acting against us in the future for that reason."

Headmistress Tan'nal nodded. "I will not count her actions against you as one of my students. Since you are a student, I will tell you to go to your room. Testing will continue in an hour while the others calm down. Even though you have already tested, I expect to see you at your arena then. You must have a presence as a student or the other students will question who you are. I also recommend toning down your abilities during public demonstrations." She then glanced at Sevrin and Rose. "I also expect your guards to not interfere with your school experience."

"Yes, ma'am. Have a good afternoon," I said as I turned around and walked towards her office door. Sevrin and Rose followed me out. I still held Ivy in my arms during the silent walk down the steps to the main floor. We passed many students who seemed to be lost on their way to their rooms. We exited the hallway and headed down the great hall before someone spoke.

Sevrin sighed, "That could have gone better, Nydia."

"I am aware of that. It could also have gone worse."

Rose cut in, "What I am sure my brother was trying to say was that it is a good thing we have diplomatic skills here, even though we're not supposed to be too involved in your education during the class hours."

"I understand, Rose," I sighed. "Either way, we must figure out how this will work. We will talk more in my room."

"Yes," they both said behind me.

I turned down a hallway and I opened the door to the staircase and their rooms. As soon as they were both through the door, and it was shut, I extended my wings and flew up to my room, not taking notice of the sitting room we were to share. I entered my room and I sat on the bed, glancing out the window with Ivy in my lap.

"Princess?" Sevrin said, leaving the door open to my room.

That made me smile a little bit. "It's 'Nydia' to you, remember?"

"Yes, I do. Very well, in fact." He pulled the small, clothed box from waist. "Would you like a berry, Nydia?"

"No, thanks. I have a small vine I brought from home, and I am not very hungry. Plus, those are yours. I gave them to you for you to enjoy."

"I like sharing with you. Oh well, I guess I'll have to share with Von."

"Speaking of Von, where are he and Aerimis?"

"They left while we were in the office. They were waiting in the room downstairs," Rose said, entering the doorway.

"Really? I feel bad that I didn't notice."

Just then they both came in through the door, smiling at me. They went to Rose's and Sevrin's shoulders. Sevrin gave Vonskin some berries as they sat down at my table.

Rose spoke for them as Sevrin was eating. "They understand your distress. Do you know why everyone is willing to fight with you?" She paused at my stare. "You have this way of communicating with all dragons. I'm sure for someone like Sevrin who has struggled to deeply connect with their Spark, you may seem like someone who can bond with them more easily."

I instantly looked at Sevrin with the realization of what Rose meant. "I don't mean to overpower your bond-"

He waved his hand at me, "Oh no. You are fine! You've actually been helping us bond much better than before. There are some things the teachers couldn't teach me but you have shown me what is possible. You understand Von a great deal, possibly better than I do, yes, but that doesn't mean he thinks more of you than me. You have helped us harness our magic together. Before, we couldn't fly together. I still can't, but we are better than we were a couple of years ago. It'll still take a lot of training for us but we are making more progress than we did when in class. We owe that to you. The point my sister was trying to make is that you have the ability to join all of us together. Dragons and dan'enda alike respect you. Our father told us of the day you hatched Ivy. Everyone was amazed by how strong your fire grew. Apparently, your soul lit much brighter than most, and the nurses told the king and queen that your souls had been waiting an eternity to rejoin."

The weight of his words and the memory of that day came down upon me. I put my head down as I watched Ivy. Why us? I couldn't understand what made us so special. Sure, somehow we were the soul descendants of the first pair, and somehow the most connected pair to Dhana, but why us? We were strong enough before our souls were awakened. Someone else could benefit from our abilities.

Ivy spoke to me softly in Draghan, "We can help many people with our abilities. We are stronger to protect our people. No one can harm them if we lend our strength."

I nodded in agreement before responding back quietly in Draghan. "How did I get so lucky to have you with me?"

"She's lucky to have you, too." Rose watched us and continued, "We all are. I think the dragons at home can sense something shifting in the realms. If it's true, we'll need you."

Sevin scoffed, "Geez, no pressure or anything, Rose."

"It's okay." I sighed, "I think I've sensed it, too. I worry about Syrena. I worry about the future. Especially now knowing," I paused then beamed a smile to the siblings, eager to change the mood, "that you two are going to have a baby sibling to meet when we go home."