She snorted. "You won't catch me that way. Numair warned me what happens when humans take on the shapes of immortals- we can't change back."

-From Emperor Mage

Immortal Forever:

Prologue:

Before the change happened, I had never wondered what it would be like to be immortal. I don not know if many people do, but it was not something that I thought of in my childhood, even with the recent 'Immortals War,' and the creatures that I and everyone else called immortals without really thinking what the name meant. You who listen to me now: even if it seems impossible that such a change as happened to me could happen to you, think about the possibility. Then you will know some of what I felt, some of what I have been through, and am still going through to this day.

I am called Leaf. It was not the name I was given at birth: that name I do not even remember. But it was the name I used throughout my childhood, even before the name happened. A 'nickname,' you might call it now, a short-name. My name is the one thing that kept through the change, through all the long years of my immortal life, that I still have today. It is perhaps the most important thing that I own. Yes, I would count my name as more important to me than my own life. Perhaps you think it strange, but you have not wandered the earth forever, not wishing to live, but unable to put an end to your own life, as I have. And though I cannot bring myself to take my own life, I do value less than I do my name. And no, Leaf is not my full name. There is another part as well. My name is Leaf Salmalin, for my father. Salmalin. It is the name of a human, not an immortal. My father was no immortal, nor was my mother. That was my choice, although it could hardly be called a choice at the time of my making it. Ten years old I was then and I lost everything. My form, my power to speak, my home, my people, and much else…

I have regained speech, and a home, perhaps, and even a people, though not the same ones as before, as the years have passed. My form, the form of a human… That I lost forever, long ago. I will tell you my story, if you like. It will be long, but I will tell it. All that you must do is wait, and listen, and I will tell.

Summary- This is the story of Leaf, the young daughter of Daine and Numair, who turned herself into a dragon, and was unable to return to human form. Outcast by everyone she knew, she was forced to wander the earth and Immortal Realms, searching for a way to return to what she was before.

Disclaimer- I own nothing that belongs to Tamora Pierce. Things that I create belong to myself and to no one else. Credit for the title goes to ladyknight, who thought it up in response to a contest. Thank you so much!

Author's Note- Please review and tell me what you think. There's not much now, but enough (I hope) to get you curious. Thank you very much to anyone reading, and a special thanks to ladyknight who thought up the title and the three people who told me to post this story in the first place: Forget-me-not, Spice, and – wait a second, that's only two! I'm sure there was three… If you were the third person and I forgot to put you up, please tell me. If not, my mistake, I guess there is no third person.