Part 28

Hadrian and Pandie followed Saralaine through many corridors. On each wall they passed hung tapestries of dragons with a multitude of different colours and strange rainbow flecked eyes. Beside them in the tapestries were men and women who like the dragons had rainbow flecked eyes and hair each a different colour of the rainbow. * Who and what are these people? * Hadrian thought puzzled to himself.

"We are the arcobaleno." Saralaine answered him, surprising the young mixed bred vampire by reading his mind, "Many of us are descended from the first dragon Indeigo created by the high mage Hesperos Alvin for his humae soulmate Tamni Merryling."

"Are you descended from Indeigo?"

"Oh no," Saralaine answered Hadrian, laughing musically, "I am not descended from the King of the arcobaleno. I was created the same way he was, therefore he is my brother."

Surprised by this revelation, Hadrian hardly noticed that they had entered a grand hall. "So this is the Moon Dragon Guardian and her soulmate." a wind chimes voice spoke, grabbing Hadrian's attention, "You are both the way I dreamed you to be." Hadrian looked around for the speaker of the voice and found it belonged to one of the women standing in a circle around the large room. She had shoulder length straight glossy dark purple hair, golden olive skin and almond shaped rainbow flecked eyes. She was wearing a long sleeveless sky blue tunic dress and on her head rested a white gold circlet with an amethyst stone set in the middle.

"Zaykaia, what are you doing here?"

The purple haired woman turned to look at Pandie questioningly. "I am one of The Six Sister Dragons." she said calmly, answering Pandie's question, "It is my duty to be here, my child. However, let me ask you a question; how do you know my name?" Hadrian looked puzzled at Pandie. How did she know this woman Zaykaia? They'd only just met her. Had Pandie met her before he, Arizan and the rest of their Daybreak team came to Little Brook?

"Don't you remember?" Pandie was saying, looking wide eyed at Zaykaia, "You brought me to your taibhreamh crios." Zaykaia smiled serenely at Pandie.

"It is true that you have met me," she said calmly, looking Pandie straight in the eyes, "but it is my future self that you have met, young Dragon Guardian." Beside her a slightly shorter woman with straight glossy dark holly green hair past her shoulders, milk chocolaty brown skin and rainbow flecked eyes gave Pandie an assessing look.

"Zaykaia Luna," she spoke with a velvety sounding voice, "if this child has meet your future self then are we right in thinking that she is the one we are looking for?" Zaykaia merely nodded.

Confused by everything that was going on, Hadrian turned to speak to each of the women. "What are you talking about?" he asked, confusion clear in his voice, "What do you want with Pandie? And..." He looked around him and noticed that there were only five women in the room. Someone was missing. "...I thought there was six of you." he continued on, "Where is the missing Sister Dragon?"
Each woman gave Hadrian a calming or serene look.

"Our sister the Fire Dragon cannot be here, because it was fated that she would not meet the Moon Dragon Guardian this time around." answered a woman with white hair the colour of sun beams with sunshine yellow hair framing her face, almond shaped rainbow flecked eyes and peachy golden skin, "As for what we want with your soulmate, you will find out in due time."

**********

~ Present day: Little Brook ~

Bored with staying inside, Arizan had sneaked out to the back garden of Cornelia's house. As she walked across the grass, she noticed Liedryn throwing kicks and punches at an ancient looking oak tree. "So," Arizan asked casually, grabbing the shifter princess's attention, "are you trying to kill the tree or are you just punishing it for being tall, wooden and boring?"

"Leave me alone, Arizan."

Arizan shook her head. "Wrong answer, Liedryn." she said calmly, folding her arms and giving her friend a defiant look that meant she wasn't going anywhere, "Something is bothering you and I want to know what it is." Liedryn stopped what she was doing and turned to give Arizan an exasperated look.

"You always where a noisy little cow, weren't you?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at Arizan.

"Darn straight I am." Arizan answered her, smirking slightly, "I wouldn't be the annoying little girl you became friends with all those years ago, would I?" Liedryn laughed slightly.

"No, you're right." she said calmly, a smile appearing for a brief second on her face, "You wouldn't be. I don't know what we would do if you become dull and conservative."

"So, what's the problem?"

"Naida broke a promise."

Arizan frowned slightly at this comment. Liedryn didn't normally call Murphy by her real name unless she was seriously upset with her. "What promise did she break?" she asked, wanting to know more about what was going on between the two Drache twins.

"We made a promise when we were younger that when we turned eighteen we would choose what animal we each shifted into at the same time." Liedryn answered her calmly, explaining everything to Arizan, "Unfortunately, from what I saw last night at the cemetery, Naida has decided to break that promise."

"Maybe she had a good reason to do so."

"Maybe, but she should have told me."

"Then speak to her when you see her, instead of letting it out on a poor innocent tree."

Liedryn laughed as Arizan said this. "Thanks Riz." she said, smiling gratefully at the young mixed bred dragoness, "I'll do that." As she was speaking a beautiful golden eagle flew past her and landed on a nearby perch.

"Wow," Arizan explained in awe, "I've never seen a golden eagle this close before." To her surprise Liedryn was walking over to it. "What are you doing?" Arizan asked in a hushed whisper.

"I'm going to look at it closer." Liedryn answered her calmly as she walked up to the brown gold feathered bird, "It won't hurt me, I promise." Arizan watched as Liedryn walked up to the golden eagle and began stroking it.

"It's such a beautiful bird, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's very beautiful."

"Wouldn't it be wonderful to be a golden eagle and sore high above the clouds?"

Arizan gave Liedryn a puzzled look. "What are you talking about, Li?" she asked, looking at the shifter princess and the golden eagle. Liedryn smiled calmly at her, still stroking the golden eagle.

"I've decided."

"Decided what?"

"I'm going to take on its form."