Telling my Life and showing my secret
I have come to see that trying to post my chapters on Saturday isn't working out, so I will be updating every Sunday if I can. But I don't know if I will be updating from this Sunday onwards as I am moving. But enjoy this chapter. Jade tells her newly reunited family members about her life and shows them her raptor form, they also meet someone new.
Jade, Riley and Shadow were sitting in the bedroom Volaris had shown them with the said King, Firo and Aydia sitting around them. Jade had finished her goblet of coffee and set it on the empty tray, taking a deep breath before she remembered the blankets and photo's in the shoulder bag she had stored in her saddlebags before she met Firo and Aydia. "Oh, I almost forgot." she got up from the bed and walked over to where Shadow was laying, kneeling down and rummaging through her saddle bags until she pulled out the shoulder bag and opened it, taking out the two baby blankets and small pile of photo's.
"I believe these belong to you two." she held out the two blankets to her older brother and sister, who took the blankets. "Our baby blankets." Aydia said, looking at her brother as she ran her fingers over the stars stitched into her purple blanket. Firo's face mirrored his twin as he too looked at his baby blanket. "Aunt Luna made these for us when we were babies." Firo said softly as Jade held out the small pile of photo's, Volaris gently took them and the trio began to look through them, smiling and shedding tears as they looked at each one.
"We found those in your nursery and that's where I made the discovery that I wasn't alone." Jade explained, causing all three pairs of eyes to look up at her before Aydia walked towards her. "Thank you, for bringing them here." she said, wrapping her arms around her younger sister in thanks as Firo wandered over to hug Jade as well. "Father would tell us as we grew up about the baby blankets Aunt Luna made us. And to have them here with us now is wonderful. Thank you, Jade." Aydia said as Firo hugged the silver-haired woman before they both retreated, still holding their baby blankets in their hands.
Jade smiled, happy that they got to have their baby blankets back and she looked over to Volaris, who was staring at one photo in particular. "Sire?" she asked, wondering what had him so fixated on that photo. He sighed and she saw as he turned it around that it was a photo of Celestia, with a warm smile on her face as she held baby Firo in her arms.
She realized that he missed her mother and wondered what happened to cause them to separate. But she had said that she would tell them her life story and that was what she would be doing. "Well, you want to hear my story?"
Instantly, all eyes were on her as she settled back onto the bed with Riley, cuddling her daughter to her body as her older siblings put their baby blankets down and Volaris set the photo's on top, all attention on Jade. "I guess I should start from the beginning. I was born an alicorn from what mum and Aunt Luna told me, I had a white coat, my silver hair and green eyes, but my elemental magic manifested instantly after I was born and mum decided to change me into a human permanently to help me control my powers." she began.
Aydia raised her hand slightly. "So you were born an alicorn?" she asked just to clarify. Jade nodded. "Since mum was in her alicorn form through her pregnancy with me, I was an alicorn foal for the first few moments of my birth before she changed me to this form permanently." she gestured to her body before she noticed how Firo and Aydia looked upset. "What is it?" she asked gently, wondering what had them so down. Was her story about her life upsetting them?
"Mother never saw our first steps, our first words and birthdays like she did with you, Jade." Firo explained and Jade's heart broke for them. "She sent me and the twins away from Canterlot when they were just a few days old due to a unicorn named King Sombra attacking the castle." Volaris explained sadly. Jade looked at them with sympathy in her green eyes. No wonder her mother looked so upset when she asked about him when she was young. "I'm so sorry."
Volaris looked at her with a sad smile before he spoke. "It's not your fault. Please, continue." he gestured for her to keep telling them her story. She cleared her throat and spoke again. "Anyway, I was five years old when I met my best friend Lara Croft. She had somehow managed to arrive in Canterlot and hid in one of the bushes where I found her. She was scared, but I helped her calm down and then mum found us. She was rather shocked to see Lara and asked her where she came from. Lara told her that she had come from Earth and that she had been playing in her garden when she fell and found herself in the bushes near the castle. We took her inside the castle and the two of us bonded quickly and became best friends."
"Lara met Aunt Luna and though she was happy I had a friend, she said that Lara needed to go back to her family and so me and mum took Lara back to her home on Earth, where we met her parents who expressed their joy and gratitude to us for keeping their daughter safe. But when mum said that we had to return to Equestria, Lara didn't want us to go, more importantly, she didn't want me leaving. So mum came up with the idea that Lara could visit me in Equestria nearly every second day, though she always went back home with her parents at the end of the day. When I was five years old, Lara asked to have a sleepover at the castle and mum of course said yes. Lara and I slept in one of the bedrooms that night and at some point, from what I was told years later, is that Lara went to the bathroom and during that time, Midnight, Shadow's mother, snuck her way inside and took me back to her nest where I met this guy." she explained as Shadow got up and walked over to her and Riley, nuzzling her hand as she stroked his head.
"You were taken by a dragon at five years old?" Volaris asked with wide eyes. Jade nodded. "Yeah, and I wasn't seen again for 17 years." her siblings and father's jaws dropped open in shock. "!7 years!?" they said simultaneously.
"Yeah, Midnight raised me like I was her own child and I grew to see her as my adopted mother while I saw Shadow as my brother. We lived far away from the castle, but I never forgot my mother, aunt and best friend. Then one day a rogue dragon attacked the nest, Midnight tried to protect me and Shadow, but the dragon was bigger and stronger than her and knocked her to the side, she was okay, but the dragon came after Shadow and I stepped in front of him, it was a foolish move and I got these scars as a result." she gestured to the two laceration scars on the left side of her face.
"Midnight managed to drive the dragon away and saw I was hurt, she licked the blood away from my face, and while it cleaned the blood away, they still scarred over once they were healed. Since she thought our home was in danger of being taken, she took us away and found a portal that took us to Earth where we found a new home in a cave high on a mountain away from other humans. But one day, tragedy struck!"
Midnight, a adolescent Shadow and 8 year old Jade were in the woods, hunting. The two children were knee deep in a river, catching the fish that swam past with their teeth or in Jade's case, her hands and tossing them onto the bank where Midnight kept vigilant watch over her two children. Though she felt guilty for taking Jade that fateful night 4 years ago, she was grateful that Jade had bonded and become close with her son. Now that they lived in this new world after being driven out of their old home by that dragon that had wounded her adopted daughter, Midnight flew them away from their old cave and found herself and her two children in a new world away from Equestria. So she settled in a cave high on a cliff away from the creatures of this new world and since they couldn't get back to Equestria, there was no way of Jade finding her way back to her family and that had left the female Night Fury feeling guilty that she had taken the young child and now she couldn't even give her back. Suddenly, her ears twitched as a sound was heard and she growled lowly. "Children, get behind me." dragons had the gift of speaking telepathically with those they loved and trusted, in this case, she could speak with Jade so the 8 year old could understand her.
The two children scrambled out of the river as Midnight snarled, back hunched and wings slightly unfurled as she made sure the kids were behind her at all times. "What is it, Midnight?" despite Midnight raising her alongside Shadow, Jade chose to call the Night Fury by the name she had chosen rather than call her mum, as she already had one, though she hadn't seen her real mother or aunt for about 4 years now since they came to this world, which she found out was Earth once Midnight had entered the portal and she recognized it once she saw some humans walking down below on the ground. Shadow growled softly and curled the end of his tail around his sister protectively. He was now a young adolescent and could carry her since she didn't weigh much.
Suddenly from out of the trees charged a large bear, roaring angrily. It made Midnight roar in retaliation and she launched herself at the bear, the two fighting viciously. Though Midnight's scales were difficult to get past, the bear slashed its claws at the dragon's face and a cry of worry came from the young black creature, which temporarily distracted the mother dragon and the bear saw its chance. It bit down hard on her exposed wing and Midnight screeched in pain, shooting a plasma blast at the bear, it was wounded from the blast, but still very angry.
"Mother!" Shadow roared in concern when he saw his mother's wing break from the bear. Jade gasped in shock as Midnight slashed at the bear and it released her wing, which hung limply by her side, broken badly. She growled and glanced at her son and adopted daughter. "Shadow, take Jade and fly as far away from here as you can!" she ordered her son, but Shadow refused to move. "No, I won't leave you!"
"There is no time, go now!" she urged him, roaring as the bear charged for her again. Shadow could only watch in sorrow as his mother fought the angry bear before he nudged Jade onto his back. "We can't leave her!" the eight year old protested. "We have no choice! Hold on!" Shadow said, unfurled his wings and took to the air, the two flying away as Midnight continued her fight before she finally saw that a little ways beyond the river was a cliff and she knew what she had to do. With a screech of fury, she threw herself at the bear, tackling it and throwing both herself and the bear off the cliff! Since her wing was broken, she couldn't fly and stared at the slowly receding figures of her son and adopted daughter, wishing for them to stay safe before her body slammed into the rocks below and she took her last breath!
Shadow roared in anguish as Jade burst into tears as the two flew away from the scene, knowing they would never see Midnight again and that they were alone with just each other!
"Jade?" she snapped out of the memory and saw her siblings and father, as well as Riley, were looking at her. "Mum, are you alright?" Riley asked her mother, laying a hand on Jade's arm. "Yeah, sorry. Just going down memory lane."
Aydia watched her with worry in her magenta eyes. "If you want to stop, you can. We don't expect you to tell us everything." she offered for Jade to stop telling them her story, what they had already heard so far was enough. But Jade shook her head. "No, you all need to hear it."
She continued with her story, telling them how Midnight sacrificed herself to protect her and Shadow, how they survived together for 17 years, teaching herself how to use her bow and arrow, making her sword which she showed them and they were impressed by the detail that had gone into making the weapon, reuniting with Lara and meeting her Light Fury dragon Opal, getting back into civilization, going on the trip to Yamatai, getting ship wreaked on the island, teaching Lara how to survive and killing the men that hunted them, figuring out what was making the storms and saying goodbye to three men who sacrificed themselves to protect Jade and Lara, them stopping the storms and saving Sam, sailing home and readjusting to the normal world again. Safe to say, Volaris, Firo and Aydia were shocked at how much she had gone through in her life compared to their simple life in a palace and learning royal duties.
"Wow, you sure have had a hard life." Firo said. "Yeah, it was tough for me, but I had Shadow with me and later, Lara and then this little one." she said, smiling down at Riley, who smiled back. Then Jade looked at her father and siblings, she had kept out when she met Riley and how she became a raptor while trying to save Riley from the humans who wanted her back.
"Is Riley your biological daughter?" Volaris asked and Jade realized that she hadn't clarified that Riley was her adopted daughter, not her bio. "She my adopted daughter. Her story is a bit sad and I'm hesitant to tell you." she said, subconsciously holding Riley tighter to her body. "May we ask why?" Firo asked gently, looking at his younger sister and niece. Jade inhaled sharply before looking down at Riley, who knew the look on her mother's face.
"Before I tell you, there is something Riley and I need to show you. But you have to promise you won't freak out." Jade said, causing her family members to frown. "Why would we freak out?" Aydia asked in confusion. Jade sighed, it was now or never.
Riley slipped off the bed and Jade followed her, the mother and daughter standing in the middle of the room. "Promise you won't freak out?" Jade asked again. "We promise, Jade." Volaris stated firmly, the twins nodding their heads in agreement. She took a deep breath and looked at Riley, giving the 11 year old a small nod. Riley nodded back and then she shifted into her raptor form chirping and squealing. Firo, Aydia and Volaris gasped when they saw the scaly creature, they had no idea what she was or how she came to be like that. Jade morphed into her raptor form, growling and chittering as Riley nuzzled her neck and the pale raptor cooed, purring.
Jade's reptillian green eyes rested on her father and older siblings, head tilting to the side slightly as she watched their expressions. Aydia was the first to slip off the bed. "Aydia, what are you doing?" Firo and Volaris asked together as they watched the young woman. The purple haired princess stared into the green eyes of the creature that replaced her younger sister. "What happened to you?" she murmured softly, slowly reaching out a hand towards the pale coloured animal.
Jade snarled softly, despite the fact that she knew it was her sister, her raptor side was more cautious than her human side and she growled lowly, keeping Riley behind her at all times as her long tail swayed behind her, talons curling and stretching. Aydia didn't let that stop her and she slowly extended her hand towards the creature that was her sister. "I know your still in there, Jade." the raptor stretched her neck and sniffed Aydia's hand, snorting before she let her hand come into contact with her snout. Aydia exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding as her hand made contact with Jade's scaly snout. "What are you?" she questioned, since she had never seen this type of creature before and judging by those sharp claws and teeth she could see, this animal was fiercely dangerous!
Shadow, who had been watching the interaction, gently nosed Aydia away from Jade and Riley as they reverted back to their human selves. She looked at her three family members. "Riley and I came become velociraptors."
"What kind of creatures are they?" Firo asked, blinking as his sister came back over to him and his father, who had looked like he wanted to reach out and snatch Aydia back when she moved towards Jade before. "Velociraptors are dinosaurs that lived 65 million years ago on Earth and velociraptors were among the many different dinosaurs that roamed the earth." to illustrate her point, Jade called her magic forth and ice began to form in the room to create statues of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Velociraptor, Spinosaurus and Pterodactyl. Firo, Aydia and Volaris were shocked upon seeing the statues.
"The Tyrannosaurus Rex was the apex predator there was, the king or queen of dinosaurs, a meat eater that preyed on the Triceratops and Stegosaurs. Those two were herbivores and only ate plants. The rest were meat eaters like the T-Rex. The velociraptor was a swift killer, hench its real name, swift thief. They hunted in packs that had an alpha, beta and omega." she explained to her awestruck family.
"Wow, are they alive now?" Aydia asked and Jade shook her head. "No, they are now extinct, but Riley's story involves velociraptors, or just raptors as they are commonly named."
Jade flicked her hands and the statues dispersed to reform the four raptors. "There are four more raptors, but they are in Canterlot. I'm their alpha and the beta is named Tyra, her sisters are Raven, Fern and Lapis." Jade said her pack's names with a smile. She cleared her throat. "So, you guys looked a bit shocked and wary of me before, but I assure you, I wouldn't hurt you. But my raptor side is different to my human side and if I get angry enough or scared enough, my raptor side can take over completely and I'll just be a mindless killer, out to get whoever is in my way, so you guys need to be careful around me." she warned them gravely.
"It doesn't matter what you look like, Jade. You are our sister and we love you, no matter what." Aydia said with a smile, walking over to hug Jade as Firo followed her, the twins hugging the young woman tightly as Volaris smiled, he accepted Jade and Riley as they were, he would never turn them away, ever!
Jade, Firo and Aydia broke the hug and the Snow Queen spoke again. "Alright, well Riley's story is a bit sad, so strap in." she sat back down on the bed and Riley settled back against her again.
So she told them Riley's story, starting from where she and Lara found her and the raptors to when she was rescued from the island after the explosion. Her siblings and father were saddened to hear such a horrible beginning for Riley, but were very happy that she now has a happy life with Jade. "We are so sorry you had such a horrible start to life, Riley." Firo said gently.
The child shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay, uncle Firo. I'm happy with mum, aunt Lara, aunt Sam, uncle Shadow, aunt Opal, grandma, nana and now you three." the adults laughed at her gently before Aydia looked at Jade's sword. "Hey Jade, can I have a closer look at your sword? I know you showed it to us when you were telling us your story, but I just want to have a closer look." she requested and Jade reached for the hilt of her sword, unsheathing it, careful not to hit Riley and held it out for her sister handle first. Aydia took the sword and held it in her hands, feeling the weight of it.
"You said that you made it with Shadow's fire and small drops of your blood and knew how to use it and how you taught yourself to survive, right?" at Jade's nod, she continued. "Come with me, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine." the princess got up and handed her sister her sword back and Jade sheathed it, confused as to where Aydia was going. Gripping Riley's hand tightly, Jade followed Aydia out of the bedroom with Volaris and Firo behind her and Riley. "Where are we going?" Jade questioned.
"To the courtyard." Firo answered her question. Jade frowned, why were they going to the courtyard, she soon got her answer as they stepped outside the castle and Jade saw two people fighting with swords, both wore helmets and armor. "Ashryn?" Aydia called out and the two ceased their fighting, both turning to face her. One of them stepped forward, removing their helmet to reveal long black hair and blue eyes of a female demon, she had blue coloured wings and tanned skin. She bowed to Aydia. "Yes, princess Aydia?"
Aydia simply smiled. "I'd like you to meet mine and Firo's younger sister, Jade and her daughter Riley."
Ashryn looked over at Jade and Riley, bowing her head to them. "Your highnesses."
"Oh, please don't refer to us as royalty. I gave that title up years ago. If you want to call me or Riley anything, just call us by our names or if you wish to remain polite, just call us Lady Jade and Lady Riley." Jade explained.
"Very well, lady Jade and lady Riley. It is an honor to meet you both." Ashryn said with a gentle smile.
"Jade, Riley, this is Ashryn, second in command to the captain of the guard, Galv, who you saw earlier when we first met you."
"Ash, we wanted to ask you about your opinion with Jade's sword." Aydia said, holding out Jade's sword to the black haired female. Ashryn, or just Ash gently took hold of the sword and held it in her hands. "She isn't just the second in command, she is also Shadow-Halls own blacksmith as well." Aydia said, causing Jade's eyes to widen in shock.
"Wait, your a blacksmith as well?"
Ash gave Jade a small grin. "Only in my spare time, yes."
She began to inspect the sword, noting its detail and weight. "How did you make this, my lady?" she asked Jade.
"I made it with Shadow's fire and drops of my own blood, why?"
The black haired woman gave Jade a shocked look before she swung the sword through the air, humming in thought before she spoke. "May I spar with you, my lady?"
Jade frowned at that. But she grabbed hold of her sword that Ash held out for her and the two stood a few feet away from each other, swords at the ready as Volaris, Firo, Aydia and Riley watched from a distance. Jade took a deep breath before she eyed Ash, nodding to the woman, who charged at her, Jade took a step back and raised her sword to block the attack. She then pushed Ash's sword out of the way with her sword and then she counter-cut as Ash moved in for another attack, their blades clashing together, creating sparks in the air.
Ash was impressed by Jade's moves and she pushed the other woman's sword away before swiping at her, Jade saw the move and jumped back, quickly regaining her footing and brought her sword up to block the blow. Ash growled softly and as Jade swung her sword towards her, the other woman used the advantage and knocked the swords from Jade's hands, it clattered to the ground and Ash stood holding her sword at Jade's throat. The two women were breathing a little heavy from the short spar and Jade held her hands up in surrender.
Ash lowered her sword. "You fought well, my lady. But your sword, while it is a fine piece of craftmanship, it doesn't seem to fit you well. Have you used it before?"
Jade nodded as she picked up her sword, sheathing it. "Yes, I have used it in the past, but I don't use it as often as I do with my bow. I know how to use it, but I don't use it often."
"Ah, that explains it. Due to you not using it very often, it is unbalanced for you. When a sword is unbalanced, it can cause trouble for the person who wields it and leave them vulnerable to attacks from opponents." Jade stared at her sword, astounded that she never realized that it was unbalanced to her since she made it during her youth. "Well, what do you suggest?"
"I suggest melting it down and reforging it. Don't worry, the metal will be used again. But I can craft you a new weapon, one of your liking." Ash suggested and Jade stared at her in shock, could she really do that? Give it over to Ash so she could melt the sword she had made with Shadow down to nothing and have a whole new weapon reforged. She may not use the sword as often as she did with her bow and arrows and her gun, but still, it was part of her childhood. She looked at it, then to Shadow, who walked over to her, nosing her hand. "What do you think, buddy? Should I let her melt it down and make a new weapon for me?"
The Night Fury crooned softly at her. "Your sword is unbalanced Jade and if you try to use it during a battle, you will be hurt. I think its best to have it reforged." he told her, nuzzling her arm. She patted his snout. "Thanks buddy." she looked at Ash and withdrew her sword. "Alright, I'll let you melt it down and reforge it."
Ash smiled at her. "Wonderful. May I ask what type of weapon you are looking for, my lady?"
Jade thought on that, while she didn't use her sword often, she felt very well balanced with her bow, her gun and two climbing axes that were back in Equestria in her bedroom. "Can you do twin swords?" she wanted to see if twin swords, or blades would work for her. Ash grinned at her. "I can do just about any weapon when I'm not training new recruits. I will come to see you tomorrow and we can discuss the design of your blades, my lade."
The Snow Queen smiled. "That sounds lovely. Thank you, Ash." she unclipped her sword scabbard from around her waist and held it out to Ash, who took it and sheathed the sword. "If you like, my lady, you can come see me in the forge and watch as I make your new weapons?" she offered. Despite only just meeting this woman, Jade's instincts told her that she could be trusted. "I have to keep away from the flames due to easily overheating, but I would like that. Riley, are you okay with that, Snowflake?" Jade asked her daughters opinion.
"I like that idea, mum." Riley said as she hurried over to Jade's side and hugged her tightly. Jade hugged back and watched as Ash bowed to them before she took her leave with her sword and realized she had forgotten to tell them the name of her sword, but it was too late as it would be melted down in the next few days, so there was no point in telling them.
"Mum?" Riley asked and Jade looked at her. "Will you be okay without your sword?"
The Snow Queen smiled softly. "I'll be fine until Ash remakes my new weapons and this time they will be twin blades or swords. So I hope they suit me when they are finished." Shadow walked up to Jade's other side and the trio watched Ash disappear into the village. Jade hoped everything went well.
Phew, finally done! A longer chapter this one, but I hope you all like it. Jade shares her life story and reveals her raptor form to her father and older siblings, they accept her and Riley and they met Ashryn, or Ash, the second in command and local blacksmith who reveals that Jade's sword is unbalanced and that it will need to be melted down and reforged. Will these two become friends in the future? Please don't hate me for this chapter.