CHAPTER 1: THE BEGINNING
There I sat, calmly awaiting my mother and fathers return, watching to see when they'd come home.
Little did I know how wrong I was.
They'd never come home. That day, I sat there, playing in the sand. With shells, I spelled out, 'I LOVE YOU MOMMY AND DADDY' in the sand.
When they came home, I'd show them.
I was only, after all, four years old.
It was a work of art in my eye. So beautiful. I knew they'd love it. Until the tide came in and washed them away.
I stood there, and tears streamed down my face. Then I started to sob uncontrollably.
My knees buckled as I sat in the turf yelling, "Come back!! Come back!!"
But then, a strong hand came down on my shoulder. A male hand. It helped me to my feet, lifted me up, and carried me away from my house, onto a ship, never to return again.
I awoke startled, and shot up straight. Fourteen years I'd been here. And for fourteen years, every day of my life I had that same dream. The shells drifting away were the last things I saw.
My heart heavy, I stood up and wiped a mixture of sweat and tears from my face. Shaking my head, I went over to the bowl of water by my cot, took a glass of water and drank it.
"Ari, you had that same dream again, didn't you?" came a tired, sleepy murmur from across the room.
"What do you think?" I spat back, not thinking.
She sat up, and indignantly said, "Well you don't have to go shove it down my throat!"
"Sorry, Kiara," I murmured quietly, looking over at her.
Here's her description.
She's pretty and all with long flowing blond hair which people yank to get her attention. Kiara also has big beautiful slanted almond-shaped hazel eyes. They changed color with her mood.
Kiara and I look the same other than the big difference of me having long light blue hair with blond tips and highlights. And my hair is a little shorter. It's only down to my waist. Hers is past her butt.
Oh, ya, another thing we have in common, other than looks, and background traits.
Neither of us were completely human.
We were both half-dragon, half-human.
I know. Weird, huh? Well it's like this, our parents (no, we're not related, though some people swear we're twins!) were different from each other. My mom was human as was her mom. But our dads weren't. They're dragons. They switched sides, joined the humans, met our moms, fell in love and all that kiss-kiss mushy crap. Dad and Kiara's dad were really good humans. They blended in extremely well.
That's why I'm here.
They took me from my home on Earth fourteen years ago. I was four at the time that childish, ignorant faze. I was happy, and stupid. Then I had to come here. I lived in this prison/room/cage/cell. The walls were metal and cold, the floor was cement and I had an iron cot to sleep on. Big deal. At four, I was extremely lonely. Out of old cloth and buttons, I sewed together an ugly big-headed doll that was my make-believe friend. I still keep it now. After a year of me living there, another person, like me as I recall everyone saying, came to live with me. I had a friend!
We grew up together, small and rejected. Then, we were trained. Once we turned six, they did the most horrible thing possible to do to a child.
They made us fight for our lives.
Constant brutal hours of training. Month after month, year after year.
We also had our schooling to deal with.
I mean, come on. They didn't want stupid Warlords.
Yeah, you heard me. Warlords. They were training us to go in the attack against Earth.
This was great for them, but, Kiara and I aren't cold-blooded killers.
So, back to training. Kiara and I had been training partners long before I could remember.
We'd always have to fight, then it was back to here.
"I hate this place!" I cried, walking over to the wall and punching it creating a dent.
It made a loud bong and a huge crash in the next room.
"Ooh," Kiara hissed, cracking a smile, "That was Commander Carl's room!" Kiara cackled at the 'What in tarnation?!' from C. C.'s room. I snickered. "Commander Carl. It sounds like a stupid action figure on Earth." I pranced around the room, acting like Commander Carl, or a wannabe Drill Sergeant, and yelling 'tarnation' at the dirty socks on the floor. What the heck is a 'tarnation' anyway?
Kiara was laughing so hard she was holding her sides.
I tried to stifle my laughter, but I couldn't. Kiara and I were always messing with Commander Carl. We called him rather rude things, and once, we stole a pair of his Barney boxers and hung them on the flag pole. It was hysterical! He turned the color of a beet root. All of his Commanding Officers did all but pee themselves laughing.
Then there was this other time, we poisoned his morning coffee. Instead of a creamer, we put Laxative. He was on the 'John' all day!
I took the blame for most of them.
But, hey, I'm kinda stronger. So I took the punishment, instead.
It was no sweat, anyway. The worst I ever got was the tazer rod. Though, it hurt like nothing before.
But, as it was, Kiara and I were sitting in our little cell/room, laughing. How could anyone still be happy when they were stolen from their home?
"Kiara?" I asked while I stopped laughing.
"What?" she sighed, rolling onto her back and looking up at our barren ceiling.
"Do you remember what it was like on Earth?" I murmured, looking to the ground. Barely anyone on board remembered what it was like there.
"Not really. Do you?"
"Yeah. Just a little." I looked over at her, silently wishing she hadn't asked me.
"Really? What was it like?" She was kind of excited, as one might say.
"I only remember sleeping, eating, and playing in the sand," I whispered, cutting off the part of my rude awakening.
"What was sand like?" Kiara asked, sitting up.
"Sometimes rough, like stiff paper, sometimes wet and mushy, like clay, and sometimes, like sugar, not wet or dry. Just smooth to the feel." I nodded. Yeah, I thought, that just about sums it up.
"That's so weird. We live on cement and metal grounds, while those people on Earth take for granted what they have! They have sand, and grass, and marsh, and all these other types of grounds." Kiara pouted. "It's not fair."
"I can't stand this place. Not to mention, these people actually think I'm going to fight their war for them. Are they out of their minds? Both of them are my people. I can't kill one of them just because the other one is stronger."
"What are you going to do? Start a conspiracy against us?" came a cold voice from across the room. I hadn't even seen the door open. I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. Lieutenant Menace. No seriously. That was his name. Well, his last name. His first name was Snake. Snake Menace. Pleasant, right?
"Well, well, well," I said sarcastically to the human, rolling my eyes. Almost everybody on board was afraid of him. Human or not. He was scary. But only two people weren't afraid. The soon-to-be Warlords. Yeah, us. Kiara hated him, I loathed him. He's the one. The one that took me from my home. He stole me from Earth. "What have we here? An intruder?" I spat out, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off his feet, a newfound claw against his stomach.
See, what's cool about being half-dragon is that when I'm pissed off enough, I can kind of, morph different parts of my body, Draconian. Or, Dragon like. And every time I see him, I get pissed enough to go full form.
A glint of anger approached his eyes. "You will stand down soldier, or serious matters of death will ensure your kind."
"Was that a threat, or a challenge, for if it is, I accept!" I stated insanely, a mad glint entering my eye.
"Don't, Ari!" Kiara called, grabbing my arm and bringing me back to reality. "Save your breath. This piece of trash isn't worth it."
"You'll regret that, Santua. And you," he spat, glaring at me, "Niiran, you'll regret ever meeting me. I'll separate you two if it's the last thing I do." He straightened himself out and left our room/cell.
"I hate how he uses my last name so freely," I grunted angrily, spitting as he left.
"Just don't worry," Kiara said plainly, glaring as he left. "He can't do much."
"Yeah, it was just another hollowed out threat. Just like always."
There I sat, calmly awaiting my mother and fathers return, watching to see when they'd come home.
Little did I know how wrong I was.
They'd never come home. That day, I sat there, playing in the sand. With shells, I spelled out, 'I LOVE YOU MOMMY AND DADDY' in the sand.
When they came home, I'd show them.
I was only, after all, four years old.
It was a work of art in my eye. So beautiful. I knew they'd love it. Until the tide came in and washed them away.
I stood there, and tears streamed down my face. Then I started to sob uncontrollably.
My knees buckled as I sat in the turf yelling, "Come back!! Come back!!"
But then, a strong hand came down on my shoulder. A male hand. It helped me to my feet, lifted me up, and carried me away from my house, onto a ship, never to return again.
I awoke startled, and shot up straight. Fourteen years I'd been here. And for fourteen years, every day of my life I had that same dream. The shells drifting away were the last things I saw.
My heart heavy, I stood up and wiped a mixture of sweat and tears from my face. Shaking my head, I went over to the bowl of water by my cot, took a glass of water and drank it.
"Ari, you had that same dream again, didn't you?" came a tired, sleepy murmur from across the room.
"What do you think?" I spat back, not thinking.
She sat up, and indignantly said, "Well you don't have to go shove it down my throat!"
"Sorry, Kiara," I murmured quietly, looking over at her.
Here's her description.
She's pretty and all with long flowing blond hair which people yank to get her attention. Kiara also has big beautiful slanted almond-shaped hazel eyes. They changed color with her mood.
Kiara and I look the same other than the big difference of me having long light blue hair with blond tips and highlights. And my hair is a little shorter. It's only down to my waist. Hers is past her butt.
Oh, ya, another thing we have in common, other than looks, and background traits.
Neither of us were completely human.
We were both half-dragon, half-human.
I know. Weird, huh? Well it's like this, our parents (no, we're not related, though some people swear we're twins!) were different from each other. My mom was human as was her mom. But our dads weren't. They're dragons. They switched sides, joined the humans, met our moms, fell in love and all that kiss-kiss mushy crap. Dad and Kiara's dad were really good humans. They blended in extremely well.
That's why I'm here.
They took me from my home on Earth fourteen years ago. I was four at the time that childish, ignorant faze. I was happy, and stupid. Then I had to come here. I lived in this prison/room/cage/cell. The walls were metal and cold, the floor was cement and I had an iron cot to sleep on. Big deal. At four, I was extremely lonely. Out of old cloth and buttons, I sewed together an ugly big-headed doll that was my make-believe friend. I still keep it now. After a year of me living there, another person, like me as I recall everyone saying, came to live with me. I had a friend!
We grew up together, small and rejected. Then, we were trained. Once we turned six, they did the most horrible thing possible to do to a child.
They made us fight for our lives.
Constant brutal hours of training. Month after month, year after year.
We also had our schooling to deal with.
I mean, come on. They didn't want stupid Warlords.
Yeah, you heard me. Warlords. They were training us to go in the attack against Earth.
This was great for them, but, Kiara and I aren't cold-blooded killers.
So, back to training. Kiara and I had been training partners long before I could remember.
We'd always have to fight, then it was back to here.
"I hate this place!" I cried, walking over to the wall and punching it creating a dent.
It made a loud bong and a huge crash in the next room.
"Ooh," Kiara hissed, cracking a smile, "That was Commander Carl's room!" Kiara cackled at the 'What in tarnation?!' from C. C.'s room. I snickered. "Commander Carl. It sounds like a stupid action figure on Earth." I pranced around the room, acting like Commander Carl, or a wannabe Drill Sergeant, and yelling 'tarnation' at the dirty socks on the floor. What the heck is a 'tarnation' anyway?
Kiara was laughing so hard she was holding her sides.
I tried to stifle my laughter, but I couldn't. Kiara and I were always messing with Commander Carl. We called him rather rude things, and once, we stole a pair of his Barney boxers and hung them on the flag pole. It was hysterical! He turned the color of a beet root. All of his Commanding Officers did all but pee themselves laughing.
Then there was this other time, we poisoned his morning coffee. Instead of a creamer, we put Laxative. He was on the 'John' all day!
I took the blame for most of them.
But, hey, I'm kinda stronger. So I took the punishment, instead.
It was no sweat, anyway. The worst I ever got was the tazer rod. Though, it hurt like nothing before.
But, as it was, Kiara and I were sitting in our little cell/room, laughing. How could anyone still be happy when they were stolen from their home?
"Kiara?" I asked while I stopped laughing.
"What?" she sighed, rolling onto her back and looking up at our barren ceiling.
"Do you remember what it was like on Earth?" I murmured, looking to the ground. Barely anyone on board remembered what it was like there.
"Not really. Do you?"
"Yeah. Just a little." I looked over at her, silently wishing she hadn't asked me.
"Really? What was it like?" She was kind of excited, as one might say.
"I only remember sleeping, eating, and playing in the sand," I whispered, cutting off the part of my rude awakening.
"What was sand like?" Kiara asked, sitting up.
"Sometimes rough, like stiff paper, sometimes wet and mushy, like clay, and sometimes, like sugar, not wet or dry. Just smooth to the feel." I nodded. Yeah, I thought, that just about sums it up.
"That's so weird. We live on cement and metal grounds, while those people on Earth take for granted what they have! They have sand, and grass, and marsh, and all these other types of grounds." Kiara pouted. "It's not fair."
"I can't stand this place. Not to mention, these people actually think I'm going to fight their war for them. Are they out of their minds? Both of them are my people. I can't kill one of them just because the other one is stronger."
"What are you going to do? Start a conspiracy against us?" came a cold voice from across the room. I hadn't even seen the door open. I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. Lieutenant Menace. No seriously. That was his name. Well, his last name. His first name was Snake. Snake Menace. Pleasant, right?
"Well, well, well," I said sarcastically to the human, rolling my eyes. Almost everybody on board was afraid of him. Human or not. He was scary. But only two people weren't afraid. The soon-to-be Warlords. Yeah, us. Kiara hated him, I loathed him. He's the one. The one that took me from my home. He stole me from Earth. "What have we here? An intruder?" I spat out, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off his feet, a newfound claw against his stomach.
See, what's cool about being half-dragon is that when I'm pissed off enough, I can kind of, morph different parts of my body, Draconian. Or, Dragon like. And every time I see him, I get pissed enough to go full form.
A glint of anger approached his eyes. "You will stand down soldier, or serious matters of death will ensure your kind."
"Was that a threat, or a challenge, for if it is, I accept!" I stated insanely, a mad glint entering my eye.
"Don't, Ari!" Kiara called, grabbing my arm and bringing me back to reality. "Save your breath. This piece of trash isn't worth it."
"You'll regret that, Santua. And you," he spat, glaring at me, "Niiran, you'll regret ever meeting me. I'll separate you two if it's the last thing I do." He straightened himself out and left our room/cell.
"I hate how he uses my last name so freely," I grunted angrily, spitting as he left.
"Just don't worry," Kiara said plainly, glaring as he left. "He can't do much."
"Yeah, it was just another hollowed out threat. Just like always."
