It should have been an uneventful night. Nothing should be disturbing the peaceful sleep of the living. No tremors should be felt, no explosions should be heard. So… why can I hear the destruction outside? Why can I feel danger seeping in through our walls?

A bright orange light peeked through my bedroom window, dancing endlessly, growing bit by bit. I felt a strong uneasy feeling forming in my chest as I tried to hide under my covers to hide away from the danger.

I heard my door open, but I didn't move. "Yuuka?" A smooth voice that I recognized as my mother's cut through the perilous noises.

I peeked out from under my blanket to see her looking around, aghast. "Mommy?"

When I called for her, she immediately rushed over to me and pulled me out of bed. She held me tight in her arms as she quickly moved around my room looking for something. She grabbed my shoes and a brown cloak that I typically wore when we went out. She placed me down and held out my things to me. "Put this on, okay."

I did as my mother said and watched as she looked out my window, unreactive. I tied on my cloak and walked towards my mother. I gently tugged at my mother's cloak, making her look at me. "I did it, mommy."

She didn't respond. She picked me up and held onto me tightly before exiting my room quickly. She ran down the stairs and made her way to the back door, carefully unlocking it. There was a loud crash coming from the living room that made me jump and try to hide in my mother's long hair. I heard gentle hushes from my mother as she slipped out of our house. She crept into the forest that was near our backyard and started to run.

I held onto my mother tightly as I watched trees fly by us, listening to my mother's laboured breathing as she started to go faster and faster. Where are we going? Why are we running away from home? I heard shouting come from the direction of our house and saw a big explosion in the distance. I tightened my grip on my mother and screwed my eyes shut as an attempt to hide away from the danger.

I didn't know how long my mother ran, but I knew that she was trying to quickly get far from listening to her choked back sobs from pushing herself too hard. The wind gently whistled in my ears and the chilly nips of the air pricked at my exposed skin as the temperature was oddly getting lower and lower. I felt my mother's fast pace slow down gradually until she finally stopped. She carefully placed me down onto the ground. I looked around and saw that we were on a beach. "It's a beach!" I crouched down and ran my hands through the sand, enjoying the feeling of it through my fingers.

My mother stepped in front of me and kneeled down in front of me. She gently cupped my face so I could look at her. "Are you okay, Yuuka?" I nodded and she smiled. "That's good."

I noticed my mother's bright green eyes start to water. I wiped my hands off on my pants and placed one of my hands on my mother's cheek. "Don't cry, mommy."

She shook her head and pulled her hands back. "Yuuka, I have to tell you something?" I tilted my head slightly in question. "I have to go."

"Go? Where are we going?"

"No, not we. I have to go."

I felt my lip quiver. "Why? Why do you have to go, mommy?"

She sighed and sat down on the sand with crossed legs. She gently patted her thighs and I crawled into her lap. She hugged me and I hug her back tightly. I didn't want her to leave me. "I refuse to leave you confused, Yuuka. Before I go, I'm going to tell you why I have to leave, but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this. It could put you in serious danger." I nodded and closed my eyes, listening to her heartbeat as she spoke. "Yuuka, I am a dragon."

My eyes widened and I looked up at my mother. "You're… a dragon?" I rubbed my eyes and looked at my mom again, thinking that my eyes were playing tricks on me.

My mother gave a small laugh. "I'm in my human form right now. About fifteen years ago I came from my home country to live with humans. I always thought humans were very interesting. Over the years I spent here in Fiore, I ended up falling in love with your father and we ended up having a little bundle of joy." She kissed my forehead, emphasizing that she was talking about me.

"So, I'm a half-dragon?"

She nodded. "You're a Dragonite."

"A Dragonite?"

"It's a half-breed that takes more human-features as they are raised. If you were raised with dragon features, like scales or wings, you would be a Dragonborne. Though, your eyes are quite unique and almost give away that you have dragon blood within you."

I blinked hard as if I could suddenly see my eyes myself. "But… why does that mean that you have to go?"

She shook her head sadly. "I overstayed my visit here. The people here aren't very fond of dragons. Once they had found out what I was, they tried to kill me. I'm so glad that they didn't find out about you. I would hate to see you in danger."

"They tried to kill you?" She nodded. "Is that why you have to leave?"

"Somewhat. I have to go because I can't stay in this form any longer. I have to return to my home country to regain some of my magic. I can't take you with me just yet, Yuuka, so you have to stay here. Sadly, since your father passed away, there is no one to take care of you now. You are going to have to take care of yourself. Do not try to go back to our house. You could put yourself in serious danger and-"

"But I don't want to stay here by myself," I complained, interrupting her. I held onto her tightly, hoping that it would keep her here, but deep down, I knew it wouldn't.

"I know, sweetie, I know, but you won't stay here for too long. Does that make you a little happier?"

"No," I exclaimed, now getting more upset. "I don't want you to go! I don't want you to leave me!"

"Yuuka," She paused and sighed. I looked up at her and I couldn't hold back my sobs. "It pains me to see you cry." She kissed my forehead and gently worked off my grip from her cloak. I started to cry harder as she gingerly took me off of her lap to place me on the sand. She stood and gave me a sad smile. "I'm so sorry, Yuuka. I hope you can forgive me for this."

I watched, teary-eyed, as my mother's skin started to glow faintly. A magic circle appeared under her and she closed her eyes as her body started to glow brighter and brighter. I shut my eyes and covered them with my hands to try to avoid the painful glare of the bright light. After a few beats, I uncovered my eyes and I was shocked. There was a dragon standing before me. I cried out in shock and tried to back away from it.

"Don't be afraid, Yuuka. It's only me."

I looked at the dragon in confusion. "Mommy?" The dragon chirped in response. She lowered her head down and gently nuzzled my head. "You…" I looked at her deep purple scales and carefully touched the smooth scales on her head. "You look very pretty."

"Why, thank you." She pulled away and looked towards the sky. "I have something for you, Yuuka." She looked down as she brought her long tail to be in front of her. She looked across her body before carefully nipping off one of her scales. She let it go and it lightly floated in the air. With a flick of her tail, a gust of sand flew into the air towards her scale and covered it completely. She huffed slightly before blowing out fire from her mouth, which was a strange green color, towards her scale. After a beat, she stopped and her scale dropped onto the sand of the beach. I looked closer in awe and saw that it was no longer a scale of hers, but a small orb, which was the same color as her scales. I looked up at my mother I heard a soft chirp come from her. "Go on," She told me.

I looked back at the orb and carefully picked it up. It was warm to the touch. I held it close to my chest and smiled up at my mother. "I love it." I really did. It was beautiful and, though it was simply her scale that was broken down to the size of a marble, it made me feel safer to be alone. I moved to hug one of her front legs. "Thank you."

"It's meant to keep us connected, no matter how far apart we are. It also gives me a way to contact you to let you know that it is safe to bring you with me." She carefully tried to pull away from me, but I tightly held on. "Yuuka, I told you, I have to go."

"I don't want you to go." I heard her sigh and I felt more tears threaten to escape my eyes. She moved slightly and I felt a tug at the back of my clothes before I was slowly lifted into the air. I struggled in my mother's grip, thrashing so she could let me go, but it was to no avail. She placed me down, away from her. "No! I don't want you to go!" I fell to my knees, trying to beg for my mother to stay.

She shook her head. "No," she said firmly. "You must stay here. You are put in less risk if you stay here, Yuuka. You will understand when you are older."

I started to bawl. I tried to wipe away my tears to see my mother one last time, but they kept on coming. I gave up and let my arms fall to my side. "Please," I whimpered. "Please, don't leave me."

My mother exhaled a shaky breath from her nose. She shook her head once more before spreading out her wings. "I love you so much, Yuuka." With a grand beat of her wings, she pushed herself up into the air, making the sand around her be thrown into the air.

"No," I shouted. I pushed myself up and ran towards the water trying to reach her with my outstretched hand. "You can't leave me! Please, no!" I slowed down to a stop near the water and watched as she flew towards the opposite direction of where I was standing. I tried to choke back a sob to try to keep watching my mother. It was probably the last time I was going to see her. I watched her form get smaller and smaller until she completely disappeared. I felt my knees become weak and I dropped down to the ground. I started to weep loudly, calling out to my mother weakly. I held the gift my mother gave me close to my heart. It was the last piece of her that I had.