Chapter 2

Rose's beautiful manicured pink nails were chipped, while her blond tresses were unkempt, her eyes bloodshot, and her lips a pale blue hue. She had wandered the city for most of the night, letting the truth sink in, trying to figure out what the next step was. Wandering the city at night would have been dangerous for any other girl, however Rose was not even close to any other girl.

She entered her room at the Hunt's lair and she found the Huntsman sitting at her desk. She quickly tried to compose herself, brushing her hair out of her eyes and straightening her clothes.

"Another hour and I was going to send out a search party for you," he said without concern. "Where have you been?"

"I was feeling a little strange and I needed to take a walk," she said half-truthfully. She wondered at times if he could see right through her.

"So what deep thoughts and philosophies did your walk bring?" he asked.

She frown, she hated to lie to him, he raised her after all. "I was thinking about good versus evil."

"Well, little one all you need to that we are on the side of good fighting against those evil abominations," he said flatly and got up to leave.

Rose thought for a little while before asking the question that had haunted her since she first saw a baby unicorn. "Do you really think that all magical creatures are evil?"

"Yes they are," he said with conviction, while he surveyed her as if he had never seen her before. "Who has planted this doubt in your head?"

"I was just thinking during my walk that some people are evil while others are good," she said desperately trying to get him to understand her. "Its not black and white, it's a confusing gray."

"Well this part will not be confusing for you," he said harshly. He took her hand and opened up her palm. "It's your destiny, our destiny to fight and kill all magical creatures."

"Yes master," she said and bowed her head. As he left her room she realized that he never answered her question.

----

When Rose checked her voicemail in the morning she found two messages, one from a concerned Jake who wanted to talk to her as soon as possible, and one from an infuriated Courtney who wanted to talk to her as soon as possible. She decided to call Courtney back first, she could deal with an angry best friend, but not a confused dragon.

Courtney was ticked. She first gave Rose a long tirade about commitment and community service. However once the taller girl took a breath Rose blurted out that she had kissed Jake, in a flash Courtney's angry turned to interest.

"Was it that bad that you had to leave?" she asked teasing.

"No it was actually perfect," Rose said.

"Then the problem is?"

"I just had a whole bunch of emotions jumbling up inside of me," Rose told her. She wanted to tell her friend everything, that she was a hunter and she was in love with her prey.

"So are you going to see him today?"

Rose was silent. Thorn did not run away when the going on tough... well she did, but she didn't like it. She didn't know who she had to be for this situation. Was she suppose to be the hunter or a lovesick girl?

"Rose listen to me," Courtney said, "You have been crushing on this guy for months, which is a heck of a long time in middle school. And it is pretty obvious that he feels the same way, so go for it!"

Rose bit her lip, "You really think he honestly likes me?"

"Oh you are thinking of Brad and the dance," Courtney said, "Brad is a moron, so forget him. Jake has crashed into walls and fallen down stairs because he can't take his eyes off of you. Last night he gave up his Friday evening hanging out with nine year-olds because you asked him."

"You are right," Rose said.

"Of course I am. So what are you going to do?"

----

Rose paced around her room looking at her cell phone's entry of Jake. All she had to do was press the call button, but she it felt like it was the hardest thing in the world.

Finally when she did get the nerve to call him, he sounded so relieve to hear her voice, she could not believe that he was just acting. He wanted to talk about what had happened last night, she agreed, but she wanted to talk in person. He was his grandfather's shop helping out.

Rose walked slowly down the busy street, this time properly covered from the bitter chill. As she walked she wondered what went through his mind last night, if he was just a boy/dragon with a crush. The girl he liked acted completely strange, kissed him and ran into the night.

She shivered thinking of that kiss, she pulled her pink coat closer around her. The newly fallen snow might have been bearable if it was still a beautiful white, however it was a murky driven-through gray.

When she spotted the electronics shop she felt the unnerving desire to run in the other direction. She needed to confront him and get to the bottom of this situation. She took a deep breath and walked into the small shop.

Jake was in the front and when their eyes met, he walked towards her, his arms opened slightly as if he was going to hug her but at the sight of her face he lowered them. She honestly would have liked nothing better than to run into his arms and forget this, however she knew she would go crazy without answers.

Her eyes began to water, but she looked him straight in the eye and asked him: "Can I ask you a question and will you promise to answer truthfully?"

"Yes, I never want to lie to you," he said solemnly, his young face very serious.

"Well isn't that the problem?" she asked, turning away from him slightly. "You have been lying to me from the start, but of course so have I."

"Rose what are you talking about?" He was obviously confused.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked, turning towards him, her eyes a violent shade of blue.

"You are Rose."

"No, Jake, do you know who I really am?"

He looked at her quizzical. She felt some relief, maybe all this time he didn't know of her other identity, just like she had his.

"Well I know who you really are," she said. She was at first scared. She knew as a loyal member of the Huntsclan, she should have gone straight to the Huntsman with the information. However she felt dizzy when she thought of Jake slain.

"Who am I then?"

"You are a dragon," she said simply.

"Dragons aren't real," he said trying to stay composed. She felt better that at least she was no longer alone in the 'freak-out' zone.

She moved cautiously closer to him and said with the same amount of conviction, "Yes they are, American Dragon."

"How do you know that?" he asked breathless.

"Because I knew your grandfather was a dragon and I also know the abilities skip a generation."

"How-"

"I captured him once, months ago, a top this very building," she said starting to feel her breath leave her as well. She saw his face contort from confusion to actualization, coming to the same conclusion she came to the night before.

"You are Huntsgirl."