The Lost Shifter

Militibus Caelum

Zora Griffon

    I felt the first couple of bones break before I screamed out in pain. As the last few broke they started to realign themselves. The ground got further away from me even though my feet were still in the sand. When the pain finally subsided I walked over to the lake to look at my reflection. Instead of the short young brunette woman with ocean blue eyes looking back at me, there was a giant black tinted purple dragon with curved horns. It had massive wings that had hook like claws at the top were they bent and a long scaly tail that ended in a purple point. How was I going to hide this from Mother?

    I was just a baby when I was left at my parents doorstep. They had tried to have a child of their own for decades with no luck so they leapt at the opportunity to raise the abandoned girl. Mother has long since turned grey and Father passed away a few years ago. Since then my mother has been trying to find me a suitable husband to take care of me when she goes to meet Father in the afterlife. 

    Having decided that I wasn't going to spontaneously turn back into the girl I was before, I started beating my wings to see if I could fly. After a few failed attempts at staying upright in the air, I decided to try to figure out how to turn back into a human. Turns out it is as simple as closing your eyes and picturing your human form. Once I made sure nothing was out of place I headed back home to get ready for the party.

    "Where have you been?"

    I turned the corner to the kitchen and saw Mother scowling at me. She was wearing her usual light blue dress and white apron though instead of her grey hair being the neat bun, it was down and curled and a white daisy tucked behind her ear. Her green eyes also had a thin line of coal around them. "I went for a walk to clear my head before everyone gets here," I calmly told her giving her a hug.

    She swatted my hand as I reached for the frosting on the two-layer cake that was for my party. "Young ladies don't eat icing with their fingers."

    "Mother, it's my eighteenth birthday. No one will even notice that it's missing," I replied. 

    "Enough," she said sternly, turning me and pushing me towards my room and turning back to the kitchen. "Now, go get dressed. I set out your dress on your bed and there's a present for you on your vanity."

    I kissed her head as I grabbed a little icing on my finger and ran towards my room before she could swat me again. Once in my room I saw the most beautiful light peach gown lying on my bed. Peach was Father's favorite color. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I quickly put on the dress and grabbed the little gift box off my vanity. It held a small bracelet with my parents' initials along with mine sitting on top of a sketch book and some charcoal. 

    Coming back into the main room Mother looked up and held her hands over her mouth. She came over to me with tears in her eyes and cupped my cheeks. "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Your father would be so proud of you."

    I felt the tears slide down onto my mother's hands and said, "Thank you so much Mama! I wish he were here."

    She just smiled and wiped my tears as a knock came to our front door. Soon the small house was filled with people here to celebrate my birthday. My mother had fixed the frosting on the cake so no one could see that I stuck my finger in it. A few of the young men from the village tried to ask if they could court me but I turned them down saying that I needed to help my mother around the little farm. 

    "You look quite lovely today Zora," my childhood friend Briella chided as she walked through the door. Her curled blonde hair bouncing as she walked towards me. 

    "Thank you, did you get a new dress?" I asked gesturing to her bright red gown that showed quite a bit of cleavage.

    She giggled and spun in a circle, "Yes, Charlie gave it to me as an engagement gift!"

    "Congratulations! When did this happen?" I asked feeling glad that she is finally going to be free of her drunk of a father. 

    "Just the other day, the wedding is in a month!" she squealed gripping both of my hands before running off the show my mother her new dress. I hope this night goes by quickly. Large gatherings of people make me anxious. But as the hours went on I felt like they were never going to leave. After a few glasses of wine I was able to mingle with people a little more comfortably and I let out a sigh as people finally started to leave.

    Once everyone was finally gone I headed to my room and took of my new peach dress and gently folded it so it would not get ruined. After finding my nightgown I blew out the candles and got into bed to get some much needed sleep after the events of today.  Hopefully tomorrow I could try to fly again.