I never would have thought I made it this far. A lonely outcast like myself should never gain the title that I live by. I am writing about my experiences to share with people who may not understand what it feels like to become a hybrid of both human, and dragon. These secrets about me... It's difficult to imagine for some. I refused to return to my village when the word was spread about me not being the little redhead that I appeared to grow up as. They wouldn't waste the time with my pleads to be accepted, for I am not a winged reptile. Same goes for being mortal. I was given the ability to morph. Now I am a villager. Not in my old village of Hotaru, but the village of Doragon Veil.
I wasn't born into the family I had. My mum, and father adopted me while voyaging out to Scotland. They never did explain where I was found until I was older. That day I found out was one that I would never be able to erase from my memories. I recall seeing my father tremble. That was a sight I never would see outside of that moment.
While making the trip, another boat of tourists was pulling into the docks. It was right next to the boat they were both on. Suddenly, there was a loud "BANG!" Followed by muffled screams, and shrieks. There was non-stop gunfire from what mum told me. As groups of innocent people stumbled out from the ship, I was being carried by a woman who was my real mother. Father chimed in, explaining about the bullets that were shot at her legs. The thought of my own mother getting wounded like that sent chills down my spine. The gunman was behind her, knowing that she might not get away fast enough, my mother escaped to the neighboring ship. Her main priority was to make sure I was safe. And when a young, married couple darted out of that boat. Mother did what she needed to do.
She never did get to see me again...
Scarlet Hayashi. That was my name. Since mother didn't have the time to explain who I was, that left mum, and father to start from scratch. Scarlet was always mum's favorite color, now matching her favorite little girl. And it quite literally matched me. Every day it seemed that I was wearing some fancy dress either in a red, or orange-like tint. Father always complained, saying: "You buy all these fancy clothes when all she does is play out in the dirt. Those things are bound to get torn." Mum would reply with a giggle, and a head tilt each time he would carry on about my clothes getting dirty. It wasn't like I cared about the clothes. I was a kid. I wanted to do kid stuff. The tom-boy attitude stuck with me as I grew older, and grew far away from the other girls in my village. I was born with long, curly red hair. They bugged me day after day to get braids put in it. I refused. I hated when anybody touched my hair. It wasn't easy being the only red-head in the village. The boys often picked on me. I could take a few insults. Words don't hurt you physically. My mental state was strong as stone. However, that all changed one afternoon.
I was taking a stroll through the village. The sun was finally setting for the day. Since our village was small, I would always make time to say goodnight to everybody. It was polite to treat your neighbors like family. The final house I stopped by was the house of the Yamauchi family. They had three sons, all of whom poked fun at me. All three of the boys were sitting on the porch of their little home. The youngest one smirked under his breath: "Sorry. Our parents drank all the whiskey. Maybe some other time." I stepped back a little. I knew about the Scottish stereotypes very well. They hurt way more than the curly, red-head jokes. "You know Scarlet…" The elder brother murmured. "I've heard tales about dragons being in Scotland. Have you seen any dragons before?" Cackling broke out between the boys. I shook my head in response. "Well. Everybody hates them here. Dragons bring bad luck y'know? Always burning down villages…" He counted each of his fingers, giving examples as he went. "Oh. And they destroy crops!" I tilted my head, confused about this topic. Why would dragons have anything to do with… Well… Anything? I continued to listen to what the Yamauchi brothers had to say. "Maybe she's linked to them. She could be a walking chaotic disaster!" I backed up slowly. I tripped on a rock, sending myself to fall backwards. "See! I told you she's one of them!" I began to shake. I wasn't one of them. I was a good girl. I could hear my parents shouting. "Scarlet! You've been outside longer than you are allowed to be! Get back here!" I turned around again to hear the boys. "Yeah Scarlet. Go back home. Burn your own house down." I stood up, tears rolling down my face. I would show them that I really was a human. They would understand one day.