Aurelia the Pink

Chapter 7: Ground breaking Truth

- Aurelia (Ling) POV -

Almost two years have passed since the first ‘pink freak’ incident. Since then, I was alienated from everyone except my mother. Sadly, even Kang and Jian (my best friend and sister) refrained from contacting or visiting me. My mother insisted on coming over to my home to continue with her personal lessons and to bring me food daily. I whined at her at how she f-orced me to continue my studies. To be honest, I was relieved to have this little social interaction for my sanity’s sake.

With nothing much to do, my typical day was spent either revising or training. After my lessons with mum, I diligently jotted down everything I learnt into a book. When I am done, I train around the vicinity of my shed. Basic fighting stances were ingrained to my head. With rumours of war and increasing border attacks ongoing, one can never be too sure. Especially since I am staying right at the border of the pack territory, their first line of defence.

“Aurelia!” my mum called out as she knocked on my door. I answered immediately and invited her in as usual. She seemed different today. Crease lines were etched onto her forehead and she was shifting her weight from one foot to the other. After I sat her down, she was fiddling with her fingers. “Today is your 20th birthday,” she whispered. I nodded and stared at her quizzically. I can sense something very wrong today. Was my mother about to abandon me as well? At that thought, fear gripped my heart. “There is something I need to tell you today that is not easy. Perhaps you should get Mr Nutty-pants here for some emotional support,” she continued. My brows furrowed as I went to grab Mr Nutty-pants.

Mr Nutty-pants is a squirrel which I took in two years ago. A few days after I lived in the abandoned shed, I found it injured near my home on the ground beside a tree. It was left alone to die. I nursed it back to health and kept it safe in my home. It was practically suicide for a squirrel to stay in a werewolf territory as wolves tend to hunt them. In the end, I named it Mr Nutty-pants, a play on the word smarty-pants (it was not very bright because it came into werewolf territory). Mr Nutty-pants became my emotional support. I confided in it whenever I need to. Call me crazy, but once in a while, I saw understanding and empathy coming from its eyes. It almost seems as if it understands me.

After I sat down opposite my mum with Mr Nutty-pants on my lap, she sighed: “Aurelia, what do you know about dragons?” I answered her as best I could, based on the knowledge she imparted to me.

Aurelia's Note on Dragons

Dragons were powerful magical creatures who had the power to control elements such as fire and water. They take the form of humans and shift as well, just like us werewolves. However, they were extinct decades ago due to their difficulty in conceiving and the constant hunting of them. While dragons have a lifespan of about seven hundred years, they only conceive once every century. Their numbers declined drastically after the death of their king and queen.

Satisfied with my recount of my textbook knowledge, my mother smiled and nodded. However, her smile did not reach her eyes. She reached out to squeeze my shoulders and replied, “Very good. But, you have one fact wrong.” I frowned at her. “Dragons are not extinct. You, Aurelia, are the rightful heir to the throne. The last dragon princess,” she continued.

I stared at her dumbfounded while mindlessly brushing Mr Nutty-pants’ fur for comfort. This was not possible! Words failed to escape my mouth as I stammered, “b-b-but you’re my m-mum.”

My mother shook her head and explained to me that she lost my father, the former Beta, even before they had any children. Hence, she moved back to the North Moon Pack alone so that she will not be reminded of his death back at the Ash Moon Pack. Just at that moment, the dragon queen, my biological mother, entrusted me to my mother the day I was born. It was a perilous situation as dragons, especially the queen and her newborn baby, were hunted by witches from Hesmerald Coven. For my safety, my mother paid some mercenaries to take us back to the Ash Moon Pack, far away from the coven. To protect me, she also gave me the ring enchanted to hide my eye colour because only royal dragons have that distinct pink coloured eyes. She lied to everyone, including the former Alpha, that I was a wolf pup she adopted from the North Moon Pack. She hid me so well.

Millions of thoughts swam through my mind. It was too much information to take in. Tears began brimming in my eyes and my lips quivered. “Why did you tell me this now? I was suffering for two full years thinking I was a broken wolf-less bum,” I spat out those words with rage towards my mum. Mr Nutty-pants scurried away, sensing my intense anger. My mum winced at my words and looked down ashamed. I softened at her response as I knew she did not intend to hurt me. She eventually told me that she was not permitted to tell me anything until I came of age, which was apparently 20 years old.

Things still did not add up. Dragons can control their element, albeit weakly, at a tender age of 5. It comes naturally like instinct. In addition, dragons are born in their human form and can shift into a dragon once they reach 13. I could do neither. As if reading my mind, my mum addressed my confusion. When I was 5, she carried out the test done by dragon parents to find out their youngling’s element. They set 5 different objects spaced equidistant in front of their child; a lit candle, a bowl of water, a plotted plant, a kite and a strip of metal. Based on their child’s destined magic, one of the object will react. For a fire dragon, the candle flame would dance and deflect towards the child. For a water dragon, water would splash out of the bowl. For an earth dragon, the plant would grow and sprout out inches in height immediately. For a wind dragon, a mini wind vortex will lift the kite off the ground. Lastly, for an electrical dragon, electricity will crackle about the metal strip. However, none of the objects reacted to me. She reasoned that it could be because I was royalty, things worked differently. The dragons were extremely secretive when it came to their king and queen. Little was known about them as none of the scrolls were accessible to other kinds of supernatural creatures.

Before I could bombard her with more questions, she held out a necklace and a world map. The shimmering purple pendant on the necklace was beckoning to me. “This is one of your mother’s dragon scales. She instructed me to pass it to you when you reach 20. It is enchanted to guide you to the ritual for claiming your birth right.” My mother handed the necklace to me. I held the necklace tightly to my chest before securing it around my neck. “The ritual must be held at Mount Dragonia in the North. Here is a map of the world, I have planned a route for you.”

My mother took the rest of the time to explain her plans. She knew that I needed to do this. To discover myself and for closure. She already paid the same group of mercenaries to transport me safely to the North Moon Packs tomorrow. The journey consists of a carriage that takes me to the harbour port, a sail ship to the other continent and finally, another carriage towards the pack territory. From there, I have to make my own way towards the mountains. Throughout the journey, I promised to wear the enchanted ring so that no dragon hunters will suspect me. She prepared a backpack of cured meat and steamed buns to sustain me through the journey until I reached the North Moon Pack. In addition, she handed me a black cloak that she made, along with a pouch full of gold nuggets for any purchases along the road. She saved a lot of money just for this day. She also took the liberty to lie to Kang and Jian that I was going to follow in her footsteps to further my studies in nursing at the North Moon Pack.

I held my mother in a warm embrace, almost afraid to let go of her. She is a supportive mum who nurtured me. Now, I am supposed to leave her alone. It is daunting. I sobbed uncontrollably at the thought of being apart from her, let alone being out of the pack lands on my own. My mum patted my back and cooed at me to calm me down. We stayed in this position for a long time. I am going to miss this.

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- Kang POV -

“Aurelia decided that she will be going to the North Moon Pack to further her studies in nursing, just like me. I support this.” Gene, my future mother-in-law, reported.

A growl escaped my lips, shocking Jian and Gene. I disapprove of this arrangement. Although Aurelia and I were estranged, I cared for her safety deeply. Now is not the right time for her to travel because of the current volatility. Our neighbouring pack, the Lunar Moon Pack, and the vampires in the Blood Manor has been increasing aggressive towards us. Sometimes, my pack border guards report cases where these blood thirsty enemies broke into our territory. I instructed them to end their lives before they can reach Aurelia’s shed.

We quarrelled two years back when she slapped me. I was taken aback by her actions. Though now it make sense. Somehow word got out that she has pink eyes. Apparently, she thought it was me. I would never do that to her. She is my close friend, first love, and the sister of my beloved mate. I cannot bear to see my mate be apart from her dear sister as well. I wondered who spread the word. I employed some pack members to investigate but I never got an answer. Being a prideful stubborn Alpha, I cannot bring myself to apologise to her. In fact, why should I apologise when I have done nothing wrong? I also figured that she probably do not wish to see my face. Hence, I can only care for her from a distance.

“Mum, what made her arrive to this decision?” Jian asked in her sweet melodious voice.

Gene mentioned that Aurelia just wanted some change in her life after such a traumatising two years of alienation in the pack. Jian recoiled at those words. Ahh, my lovely Luna is always so caring for others. She felt so troubled with all that is happening to Aurelia. I hope our situation with Aurelia can improve so that my Luna will feel better again. I rubbed my Luna’s back soothingly and pulled her head onto my shoulders to comfort her.

I massaged my temples while explaining my worries for Aurelia’s travel. Gene reassured me that Aurelia will be safe as she hired human mercenaries to transport Aurelia directly to the pack by carriage and ship. Humans are usually untargeted as they are not seen as a threat by any supernaturals. Now that I can rest easy, I approved of Aurelia’s travel. This time apart would also enable her to recover from these circumstances.

“When would she leave the pack?” I questioned. “Tomorrow,” replied Gene.

My face fell. Tomorrow is in 12 hours’ time. I wanted to speak with Aurelia before she left. I wanted for her to leave on a good note. I mentally made a note to visit her first thing tomorrow morning before she took off.