Inside, the Records House was lit by numerous torches in brackets on the wall. The group stopped inside the first chamber and took in the sights. The chamber they stood in was large and had several doors leading from it, all of which were made of dark wood and framed by a lighter wood carved in the same patterns as the front of the building.
"What do the doorframes say?" Van asked.
"They all say the same thing," Folken informed, "'This is the Records House of the Draconians. Proceed with care.'
"Proceed with care?" Allen repeated, "Was that a warning?"
"I don't think so," Folken replied, "The Atlantians treasured their records. I think it means be careful with the materials."
"How do we know where the family tree is located?" Merle asked.
"We'll have to split up," Van suggested.
"That's a good idea," Folken agreed, "We'll split up into groups of two. Each pair will take a different door."
The group split up into pairs and decided to meet back in the main chamber when they had finished their search. Folken and Adrina picked the third door from the right and entered. They found themselves in a torch lit corridor that continued on for several hundred yards. On each side of the hallway were doors identical to the one they had come through. Without hesitation they entered the first room.
The room was normal sized and lined with bookcases. The light in the room emitted from a chandelier suspended in the roof. Seeing the flickering candles, Adrina marveled that the place didn't burn down.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Adrina asked as she looked around the room.
"I'm not sure exactly what the family tree will look like," Folken told her, "but from what the book says, it is large, much larger than a book."
A quick glance around showed them there was nothing of that magnitude here so they left the room and moved onto the next. After a few more rooms, they realized that if they went together, they would never finish checking all of the rooms. They decided that Folken would check the doors on the right side of the hall and Adrina would take the ones on the left.
Even in this fashion, it took them awhile to search the rooms. An hour later, Adrina emerged from the last door on the left. The last door on the right was open and she could see Folken searching the room. Adrina started to cross the hallway to join him when she noticed another corridor that led off to the right of the hall they were in. The path was dark and several yards beyond the room Folken was in, which is why she hadn't noticed it.
Adrina debated on whether or not she should get Folken before exploring the new corridor, then decided against it. She stepped into the dark hallway and immediately two torches flared to life at the other end. Adrina jumped and turned to run but stopped when she saw the torches flanked a glittering blue door. Her curiosity overcame her and Adrina started down the short hallway.
When she reached the door, she saw that it was made of a blue stone of some sort. She put her hand against it and was surprised to find it cold despite the heat the torches were putting off. She pulled her hand back and wrapped it around the doorknob, which was cut from a crystalline substance. Adrina twisted the knob and the door swung open.
The room the door opened onto was brightly lit, a drastic change from the dark hallway. Adrina blinked rapidly against the onslaught of light and entered the room. Once her eyes had adjusted she looked around the room. It was much larger than the previous rooms she had been in and more brilliantly lit. Adrina looked at the back wall and gasped as she found what they were all looking for.
The entire back wall was covered with words and lines. Adrina slowly walked towards it until she could read the words. The top of the wall only had tow names but as her eyes traveled down, the names branches out in both directions. Towards the middle, both branches stopped in many places. Adrina assumed this was where Atlantis was destroyed. From there, the names branched out again, but nowhere near as much as they had before the destruction of Atlantis.
Adrina pulled out a pencil and a pad of paper. Each person had taken one in case they were the ones who found the family tree. Starting from the right branch, Adrina wrote down the names of the living Draconians. The top two names on the tree were the first two Draconians. Under their names were the names of their sons. The two branches of the tree stemmed from the two brothers. Folken, Van and Golan were the last living direct descendents of the younger brother, Shinji.
After finishing the right side of the tree, Adrina moved onto the left. She went across the branches, writing down the names of the living. The direct descendants of the older brother continued on after the other lines had stopped. Adrina went down the remaining line, but didn't find any living Draconians. At the third to the last name on the list, Adrina stopped. Along with birthdates and dates of death, the tree also told who the Draconians married. The third Draconian from the bottom was a woman by the name of Krilee Stell but that wasn't what caught her eye. What caught her eye was the name of the man Krilee married, a man named Kahn Celone. Adrina's eyes drifted down to their children and her heart stopped. They only had one child, a boy, named Stephan Celone. Stephan Celone was her father's name. She looked over and saw that Stephan Celone had married Inara Currah. Inara Celone was Adrina's mother.
Adrina, her mind racing, checked the date of Stephan's death. It corresponded with her father's death. Unable to wait any longer, she turned her gaze to Stephan and Inara's children. There was only one. Adrina Krilee Celone de Fanel married to Folken Laceur de Fanel. Adrina stared at her name on the Draconian family tree and tried to comprehend exactly what it meant. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear someone enter behind her.
"Adrina?"
Adrina jumped and spun around. "Folken! I didn't hear you come in!"
"When I entered, you were just staring at the wall," Folken told her, "is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine!" Adrina assured a little too quickly, "I found the tree and wrote down the names. We got what we came for so let's get out of here."
Folken gave her a puzzled look, then nodded. "Alright. The others are probably waiting. Oh, I found this book." He held up a thick book, "it's a book about the history of the Draconians. I was hoping that maybe it will help us down the road. Folken stuck the book under his arm and they left the room. They retraced their steps and eventually emerged into the main chamber. Like Folken guessed, everyone was waiting for them.
"I hope you two had better luck than we did," Van commented.
"As a matter of fact, we did," Folken informed, "Adrina has the names of all the living Draconians. Now we can go back to Asturia and begin planning."
Suddenly, the light from the open doorway disappeared. Everyone turned and saw two figures silhouetted in the doorway. Adrina recognized them immediately and drew her sword, silently thanking herself for bringing it with her.
"Well sister," Naria stated, "it looks like she recognized us this time."
"What do you want?" Adrina demanded.
"We've come for the Draconians," Eriya announced.
"You can have them over my dead body," Adrina growled.
'That could be arranged," Naria chuckled and brandished her claws. She began to advance towards Adrina but stopped when Folken stepped in front of his wife, his own sword drawn.
"This is foolish," Folken reasoned, "there are two of you and twenty of us, sixteen of which are armed. You are severely outnumbered."
"I think you counted wrong, Folken." The twins stepped aside, allowing a clear view of the area beyond the doorway. Standing there was at least one hundred Zaibach soldiers.
Adrina glanced up at Folken, who didn't seem the least bit worried. She looked behind her and saw Van, Allen and the crew of the airship had all drawn their swords as well. Hitomi, Merle, Zane and Millerna stood behind everyone, their eyes wide and their faces pale.
"We've got to break through to the Crusade," Allen ordered, "protect Queen Millerna and Princess Hitomi at all costs."
Adrina glanced at the blonde knight-turned-King, a little irritated that he neglected to think of the well-being of their other unarmed companions.
"Merle, Zane," Adrina called, "Stay close to me." The two cats hurried to Adrina's side. "If you get the chance, run as fast as you can back to the Crusade. Don't stop for anything, understood?" They nodded.
Everyone fell silent as the two opposing forced waited for the opportune time to strike. Suddenly, Allen yelled "charge!" and the battle began. Adrina rushed forward, hoping to lead Merle and Zane out the door before she could be stopped. She wasn't so lucky. Naria pounced on her, knocking her to the ground. Adrina shoved her off and got to her feet quickly. The two combatants began to circle each other, waiting for the other one to give a chance to strike.
"Adrina, look out!"
Merle's frantic cry had Adrina spinning around. She jumped back quickly as Eriya charged and swung at her with her mechanical claws. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough and Eriya's claws raked down her left arm. Adrina felt no pain. She was in "warrior mode" and wouldn't return to normal until the threat had passed or she was killed.
Adrina swung her sword at Eriya. It caught her in the stomach, slicing through the tender flesh. The cat woman shrieked and fell to the ground. She didn't know how deep the cut was, but Adrina assumed it wasn't life threatening, just enough to incapacitate her for awhile. She didn't have much time to contemplate it because Naria was on the attack again, running full speed at Adrina. Adrina swung her sword high. The blade connected with the prosthetic side of Naria's head. A loud clang was heard and Naria dropped to her knees, clutching her head and screaming in pain.
"Merle! Zane! Let's go!" Adrina led the cat teens out of the Records House and into the fray outside. There were soldiers everywhere, some alive, others not so fortunate. Adrina was attacked by one of the more fortunate ones and she dispatched him easily. They continued on through the battle, growing closer and closer to the Crusade. As she ran, Adrina tried to survey the field and see how they were doing, but she was always interrupted by a soldier impatient to die.
One such soldier attacked Adrina about one hundred yards from the Crusade. She swung her sword but the soldier blocked and the two stood with their swords crossed between them, trying to overpower one another. A howl of pain to her right drew her attention. Merle had kicked one of the soldiers hard between the legs. As a result, the man's eyes rolled up in his head and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Behind him was a clear path to the airship.
"Merle, Zane, go!" she ordered. The cats hesitated for a second, then scrambled towards the ship as quickly as possible. Seeing her momentary distraction, the soldier she was fighting knocked her sword away from her. She dove for it, but was tackled to the ground. Before she could fight back, the soldier was standing in between her and her sword. Adrina started to get to her feet but the soldier kicked her, sending her sprawling back to the ground. She looked up at him, amethyst fire burning in her eyes, and saw he had raised his sword for the deathblow.
"Goodbye," the soldier sneered and brought the sword down with full force. A loud clang rang out as his sword clashed with another. Folken stepped in between Adrina and the soldier, their swords locked in combat stance. Folken quickly overpowered the other man and drove his sword straight through the soldier. Adrina grabbed her sword and jumped to her feet.
"Are you all right love?" Folken asked.
"I'm fine," Adrina assured.
"Folken, Adrina! Come on!"
They both looked towards the Crusade and saw Van, Allen and most of the crew were killing any soldiers who dared get close to the ship. Adrina and Folken joined them, slaying soldiers as they went. They all jumped onto the cargo ramp as the Crusade II began to lift off the ground. A few soldiers who tried to jump in as well were dealt with harshly. Once the ship was too high for the soldiers to reach, they entered the cargo bay and the ramp closed behind them. The group quickly made their way to the command chamber where everyone else was.
"Adrina!" Merle rushed to her sister and hugged her.
"Are you okay?" Adrina asked, "Did you or Zane get hurt?"
"No," Merle answered, "we're fine."
"Hey boss," one of the crew members called, "you better come see this."
"What is it?" Gadis demanded and walked over to the crewman, who was looking out the window.
"Their floating fortress," the crewman explained, "it's moving."
"Are they coming after us?" Millerna asked fearfully.
"No," Allen answered as he joined the other two men at the window, "it looks like they are landing."
"Landing?"
Everyone crowded around the window and looked down. Sure enough, the floating fortress landed and a moment later they saw why. Ten sorcerers emerged from the black ship and entered the Records House.
"So that was their plan all along!" Van concluded.
"They must have been following us the entire time," Folken mused.
Left of Adrina at the window, Merle grimaced and looked at her sister. "Ew, Adrina. What's on your arm?"
Both females looked down to see that Adrina's left dress sleeve was torn and soaked with blood.
"Oh no, Adrina. You're hurt!" Merle exclaimed. Everyone turned to the young Queen, who stood staring at her wound. She remembered that Eriya had clawed her. She looked up as Millerna stood in front of her. She took Adrina's arm into her hands and gently peeled away the blood-soaked cloth.
"How bad is it?" Folken asked. He stood next to Adrina with her right hand clasped tightly between the two of his.
"It's not too bad," Millerna announced after a second, "but it needs stitches." She looked up at Adrina. "Why didn't you tell us you were hurt?"
"I didn't know," Adrina admitted, "Eriya scratched me but it didn't hurt so I didn't think it was important."
"Come on," Millerna urged, "let's go to the infirmary. I'll stitch it up and you'll be fine."
Adrina followed Millerna out of the control chamber with Folken still clutching her hand, and followed her to the infirmary. Inside, Millerna instructed her to sit on the table, which she did. Millerna quickly put a white apron over her dress and picked up a pair of scissors.
"I'm going to have to cut off the sleeve of your dress," Millerna told her.
"Okay," Adrina agreed. Millerna cut through the stained cloth and carefully peeled it off of her skin. Folken's hands tightened on her as the wound was fully uncovered for the first time.
"It's worse than I first thought," Millerna frowned.
"She's going to be all right, isn't she?" Folken questioned with concern.
Millerna looked up at Folken and smiled. "Of course. It's just going to take more stitches than I had originally planned." Millerna went to a nearby cupboard and began pulling out medical equipment.
Adrina looked up at Folken and was amused to see he looked pale. "Are you all right Folken?"
"Yes," Folken assured quickly, "I'm fine, why?"
"You look like you're going to pass out," Adrina teased, "if you react like this over a little scratch, I'll hate to see how you react when our children are born."
"I am not going to pass out," Folken insisted, "I'm just worried about you, that's all. And I don't plan on being in the room when the children are born."
Adrina laughed as Millerna returned to the table with a bowlful of hot water and some cloths. She dipped one cloth into the water and began to clean the blood from Adrina's arm.
"Really Adrina," Millerna scoffed as she worked, "I honestly don't know how you couldn't feel this. It should've hurt bad."
"Trust me," Adrina winced, "it does now."
Millerna dabbed at her arm a few more times, then sat the cloth aside. "There, now I can see exactly what I'm dealing with."
All three of them looked down at Adrina's arm. Crossing her lower bicep were three long slices. They had stopped bleeding but looked to be quite deep.
"They're not bad at all," Millerna commented, "nice clean cuts. Are you sure she scratched you? They look more like slices from something sharp to me."
"She has a mechanical arm," Adrina informed, "her claws are six inch metal daggers."
"That makes more sense," Millerna nodded, "Well! Let's get started." Millerna laid out her instruments and stitched up the wounds efficiently and without much pain. During the process, Adrina glanced up at Folken several times to find him staring in another direction. Once the wounds had been closed, Millerna wrapped her arm in clean, white cloth.
"All done," Millerna announced after securing the cloth, "but you should get some rest. You lost quite a bit of blood."
"Now that you mention it," Adrina admitted, "I do feel a little tired."
"Exactly," Millerna said, "Folken, take her to your room and don't let her leave until she's rested."
Folken agreed and led Adrina to their room. Once inside, he made her lie down immediately.
"I'm going to go discuss our strategy with Allen and Van," Folken informed as he pulled on a shirt to replace the one that had been destroyed by his wings, "I'm trusting you to stay in bed and rest. Don't disappoint me, love."
"Don't worry," Adrina assured, "I'm not going anywhere."
Folken walked over to the bed and kissed her. "I'll come and check on you in an hour or so."
"Okay," Adrina smiled, "you better fill me in on everything that is discussed at your meeting."
"I will," Folken promised. He kissed her again and left the room.
Now that things had calmed down and she was alone again, Adrina had time to ponder the Draconian family tree and her name on it. IF it was accurate, then she was a Draconian as was her father, but he had never mentioned it to her. Surely if he was a Draconian, he would've told King Goau and Queen Varie. He might've feared oppression, but not from them. Her mother had never mentioned it either. Was it possible that her mother didn't know? Perhaps her father himself didn't know. Or maybe it was all a mistake.
A knock at the door scattered her thoughts. "Come in!" Adrina called. The door opened and Hitomi entered carrying the book Folken had taken from the Records House.
"I hope it's okay," Hitomi started, "Folken asked me to hold this book for him while we escaped and I thought he might want it after the meeting."
"That's fine," Adrina smiled at her sister-in-law.
Hitomi smiled back and put the book on the table where the other one sat. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," Adrina answered, "the wounds hurt a little but Millerna did an excellent job."
"I'm glad you're okay," Hitomi told her, "do you need anything?"
"No," Adrina replied, "I'm fine. Thank you Hitomi."
Hitomi nodded. "I'll let you rest then. She waved and then left Adrina alone in the room.
How can I be a Draconian and not know it? Adrina pondered, her mind shifting back to her previous thoughts. Wouldn't I know if I had wings? No, she told herself, not necessarily. She remembered how Folken had told her that a Draconian's wings weren't a physical part of their being. The wings were born of sheer will and manifested themselves as solid entities when a Draconian called for them.
"But how do I know for sure?" she asked out loud. The answer hit her suddenly. The book. Maybe the book could help her. Adrina climbed off the bed and retrieved the book from where Hitomi had placed it. It was heavy and Adrina had trouble lifting it without hurting her arm. She managed to haul it over to the bed and opened it quickly. She was surprised to find a table of contents in the front of the book. She scanned the chapter titles eagerly and stopped on a chapter titled "The Legacy of the Draconian Stones." The Draconian Stones. Folken's necklace and Van's pendant. Both given to them by the women who loved them. Hitomi's grandmother had given her the pendant, who received it from Allen's father on her own journey to Gaea, who had taken it from the Mystic Valley. What about her necklace? Adrina had been given the necklace at birth by her father, who had received it at birth from his mother. His mother, Krilee Stell-Celone, the Draconian.
Adrina flipped through the pages of the book until she reached the appropriate chapter. She began reading the words to herself.
"'The first Draconians, Gosim and Shehar, had two sons, Kuji, the oldest and Shinji, the youngest. Given to each son was a special stone that would become the heirlooms of their families. To Kuji was given the stone 'Murasaki Tatsu' or 'Purple Dragon'. The Murasaki Tatsu was to be passed down through the eldest child of the family. To Shinji was given the stone 'Sekichiku Namida' or 'Pink Teardrop'. The Sekichiku Namida was to be passed down through the youngest child of the family. When the Atlantis was destroyed, Kuji's descendent escaped with the Murasaki Tatsu. While Shinji's descendant escaped also, the Sekichiku Namida was left behind.'"
Adrina stopped reading. That explained why Allen's father had found the pink pendant in the Mystic Valley. It also explained why she had the purple dragon necklace. She was the direct descendant of the oldest son Kuji, the last living member of the line. She shook her head. No! She couldn't be! She would know she was a Draconian. Her father would've told her! Adrina flipped back to the table of contents, determined to find proof either way.
Forty-five minutes later, the book had yielded no answers and Adrina had come to the conclusion that the only way to be sure was to try and make her wings appear. She closed the book and walked over to the full-length mirror against the wall. Not wanting to ruin her dress any further than it had been already, she unbuttoned it down the back, which was no easy task with her injured arm. She finally managed to release the last button and caught the front of the dress before it fell. She stood before the mirror with her right hand pressed against her collarbone to hold her dress on and her eyes wide.
"Here goes," she whispered. She closed her eyes and concentrated, willing the wings to appear. Even before she opened her eyes she knew they were there. She could feel their weight spread out behind her, as slight as it was. She opened her eyes and looked into the mirror.
"Oh my God," she gasped. Even though she had known the wings would be there, she still wasn't prepared for the sight of the snowy vision behind her. The wings were beautiful, magnificent and Adrina could barely breath. She had always marveled over Folken's wings and had wished she had some herself and now here they were. Her own wings.
Adrina flexed her wings and a cascade of white feathers floated noiselessly to the ground. She turned her head and stared first at the right wing, then at the left. She moved them again, sending another bunch of feathers to the floor. Adrina turned back to the mirror, a huge smile on her face.
I'm a Draconian, she thought. She concentrated and her wings shrunk, then disappeared. She called for them again and this time watched as they appeared and grew to their full length. She guessed that each wing was about seven feet long and the two of them stretched out reached halfway across the room. Adrina concealed her wings once again and buttoned up her dress.
I am a Draconian, se thought again with glee. She hurried over to the bed and sat down when another thought struck her. How am I going to tell Folken? She couldn't just walk up to him and say "Hey, guess what! I'm a Draconian!" She would have to explain everything to him, but how would he take it? Would he be angry? Happy? Upset?
Unable to sit still, Adrina jumped off the bed and began to pace the room. Folken had told her he would be back to check on her in an hour or so and she guessed it had been about an hour since he had left. She tried to think of exactly what she was going to say to Folken as she made her way back and forth across the room.
She didn't have much time to think because on her fifth trip around the room the door opened and Folken entered. He stopped and frowned when he saw her standing in the middle of the room.
"Adrina, what are you doing?" Folken asked and crossed the room to her, "Millerna told you to rest. Why are you out of bed?"
"Folken, I need to tell you something," Adrina began. Instantly his eyes filled with fear and uncertainty.
"What's wrong Adrina?" Folken demanded, "is something wrong with your wound? Are you sick?"
"No, no," Adrina assured, "it's nothing like that it's..." She paused, searching for the words. "When I was writing down the names from the family tree, I discovered something, something surprising. My name was on the tree."
"Of course it was," Folken smiled, "along with dates of birth and death, the tree also lists the names of those married to Draconians."
"I know," Adrina insisted, "but that's not...Folken, my name was..." Struggling for words but not finding them, Adrina decided to show him. She reached back and began fumbling with the buttons on her dress and winced every time her stitches pulled.
"Adrina, what are you doing?" Folken asked, confused.
"I can't find the words to tell you so I'm going to show you." Adrina sucked in a breath through clenched teeth as her fingers slipped from a button, causing a sharp pain in her left arm.
"Rina love, you're going to hurt yourself." Folken walked behind her and began unbuttoning the dress for her. Adrina held the front of the dress up as Folken unfastened the last button, and turned to face him. She looked to each side to gauge the distance and decided she had enough room. She took a deep breath and summoned her wings.
She watched Folken's face change from confusion to shock as the beautiful white wings emerged behind her. He stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed as they stretched to their full length. Feathers fell softly all around her and Adrina finally found the right words. She looked up at her husband and their eyes locked.
"Folken, I am a Draconian."
*****************************************************
Sorry, I know that was a long chapter but I didn't want to break it up into two because it all went together. Next chapter coming soon!
"What do the doorframes say?" Van asked.
"They all say the same thing," Folken informed, "'This is the Records House of the Draconians. Proceed with care.'
"Proceed with care?" Allen repeated, "Was that a warning?"
"I don't think so," Folken replied, "The Atlantians treasured their records. I think it means be careful with the materials."
"How do we know where the family tree is located?" Merle asked.
"We'll have to split up," Van suggested.
"That's a good idea," Folken agreed, "We'll split up into groups of two. Each pair will take a different door."
The group split up into pairs and decided to meet back in the main chamber when they had finished their search. Folken and Adrina picked the third door from the right and entered. They found themselves in a torch lit corridor that continued on for several hundred yards. On each side of the hallway were doors identical to the one they had come through. Without hesitation they entered the first room.
The room was normal sized and lined with bookcases. The light in the room emitted from a chandelier suspended in the roof. Seeing the flickering candles, Adrina marveled that the place didn't burn down.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Adrina asked as she looked around the room.
"I'm not sure exactly what the family tree will look like," Folken told her, "but from what the book says, it is large, much larger than a book."
A quick glance around showed them there was nothing of that magnitude here so they left the room and moved onto the next. After a few more rooms, they realized that if they went together, they would never finish checking all of the rooms. They decided that Folken would check the doors on the right side of the hall and Adrina would take the ones on the left.
Even in this fashion, it took them awhile to search the rooms. An hour later, Adrina emerged from the last door on the left. The last door on the right was open and she could see Folken searching the room. Adrina started to cross the hallway to join him when she noticed another corridor that led off to the right of the hall they were in. The path was dark and several yards beyond the room Folken was in, which is why she hadn't noticed it.
Adrina debated on whether or not she should get Folken before exploring the new corridor, then decided against it. She stepped into the dark hallway and immediately two torches flared to life at the other end. Adrina jumped and turned to run but stopped when she saw the torches flanked a glittering blue door. Her curiosity overcame her and Adrina started down the short hallway.
When she reached the door, she saw that it was made of a blue stone of some sort. She put her hand against it and was surprised to find it cold despite the heat the torches were putting off. She pulled her hand back and wrapped it around the doorknob, which was cut from a crystalline substance. Adrina twisted the knob and the door swung open.
The room the door opened onto was brightly lit, a drastic change from the dark hallway. Adrina blinked rapidly against the onslaught of light and entered the room. Once her eyes had adjusted she looked around the room. It was much larger than the previous rooms she had been in and more brilliantly lit. Adrina looked at the back wall and gasped as she found what they were all looking for.
The entire back wall was covered with words and lines. Adrina slowly walked towards it until she could read the words. The top of the wall only had tow names but as her eyes traveled down, the names branches out in both directions. Towards the middle, both branches stopped in many places. Adrina assumed this was where Atlantis was destroyed. From there, the names branched out again, but nowhere near as much as they had before the destruction of Atlantis.
Adrina pulled out a pencil and a pad of paper. Each person had taken one in case they were the ones who found the family tree. Starting from the right branch, Adrina wrote down the names of the living Draconians. The top two names on the tree were the first two Draconians. Under their names were the names of their sons. The two branches of the tree stemmed from the two brothers. Folken, Van and Golan were the last living direct descendents of the younger brother, Shinji.
After finishing the right side of the tree, Adrina moved onto the left. She went across the branches, writing down the names of the living. The direct descendants of the older brother continued on after the other lines had stopped. Adrina went down the remaining line, but didn't find any living Draconians. At the third to the last name on the list, Adrina stopped. Along with birthdates and dates of death, the tree also told who the Draconians married. The third Draconian from the bottom was a woman by the name of Krilee Stell but that wasn't what caught her eye. What caught her eye was the name of the man Krilee married, a man named Kahn Celone. Adrina's eyes drifted down to their children and her heart stopped. They only had one child, a boy, named Stephan Celone. Stephan Celone was her father's name. She looked over and saw that Stephan Celone had married Inara Currah. Inara Celone was Adrina's mother.
Adrina, her mind racing, checked the date of Stephan's death. It corresponded with her father's death. Unable to wait any longer, she turned her gaze to Stephan and Inara's children. There was only one. Adrina Krilee Celone de Fanel married to Folken Laceur de Fanel. Adrina stared at her name on the Draconian family tree and tried to comprehend exactly what it meant. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear someone enter behind her.
"Adrina?"
Adrina jumped and spun around. "Folken! I didn't hear you come in!"
"When I entered, you were just staring at the wall," Folken told her, "is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine!" Adrina assured a little too quickly, "I found the tree and wrote down the names. We got what we came for so let's get out of here."
Folken gave her a puzzled look, then nodded. "Alright. The others are probably waiting. Oh, I found this book." He held up a thick book, "it's a book about the history of the Draconians. I was hoping that maybe it will help us down the road. Folken stuck the book under his arm and they left the room. They retraced their steps and eventually emerged into the main chamber. Like Folken guessed, everyone was waiting for them.
"I hope you two had better luck than we did," Van commented.
"As a matter of fact, we did," Folken informed, "Adrina has the names of all the living Draconians. Now we can go back to Asturia and begin planning."
Suddenly, the light from the open doorway disappeared. Everyone turned and saw two figures silhouetted in the doorway. Adrina recognized them immediately and drew her sword, silently thanking herself for bringing it with her.
"Well sister," Naria stated, "it looks like she recognized us this time."
"What do you want?" Adrina demanded.
"We've come for the Draconians," Eriya announced.
"You can have them over my dead body," Adrina growled.
'That could be arranged," Naria chuckled and brandished her claws. She began to advance towards Adrina but stopped when Folken stepped in front of his wife, his own sword drawn.
"This is foolish," Folken reasoned, "there are two of you and twenty of us, sixteen of which are armed. You are severely outnumbered."
"I think you counted wrong, Folken." The twins stepped aside, allowing a clear view of the area beyond the doorway. Standing there was at least one hundred Zaibach soldiers.
Adrina glanced up at Folken, who didn't seem the least bit worried. She looked behind her and saw Van, Allen and the crew of the airship had all drawn their swords as well. Hitomi, Merle, Zane and Millerna stood behind everyone, their eyes wide and their faces pale.
"We've got to break through to the Crusade," Allen ordered, "protect Queen Millerna and Princess Hitomi at all costs."
Adrina glanced at the blonde knight-turned-King, a little irritated that he neglected to think of the well-being of their other unarmed companions.
"Merle, Zane," Adrina called, "Stay close to me." The two cats hurried to Adrina's side. "If you get the chance, run as fast as you can back to the Crusade. Don't stop for anything, understood?" They nodded.
Everyone fell silent as the two opposing forced waited for the opportune time to strike. Suddenly, Allen yelled "charge!" and the battle began. Adrina rushed forward, hoping to lead Merle and Zane out the door before she could be stopped. She wasn't so lucky. Naria pounced on her, knocking her to the ground. Adrina shoved her off and got to her feet quickly. The two combatants began to circle each other, waiting for the other one to give a chance to strike.
"Adrina, look out!"
Merle's frantic cry had Adrina spinning around. She jumped back quickly as Eriya charged and swung at her with her mechanical claws. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough and Eriya's claws raked down her left arm. Adrina felt no pain. She was in "warrior mode" and wouldn't return to normal until the threat had passed or she was killed.
Adrina swung her sword at Eriya. It caught her in the stomach, slicing through the tender flesh. The cat woman shrieked and fell to the ground. She didn't know how deep the cut was, but Adrina assumed it wasn't life threatening, just enough to incapacitate her for awhile. She didn't have much time to contemplate it because Naria was on the attack again, running full speed at Adrina. Adrina swung her sword high. The blade connected with the prosthetic side of Naria's head. A loud clang was heard and Naria dropped to her knees, clutching her head and screaming in pain.
"Merle! Zane! Let's go!" Adrina led the cat teens out of the Records House and into the fray outside. There were soldiers everywhere, some alive, others not so fortunate. Adrina was attacked by one of the more fortunate ones and she dispatched him easily. They continued on through the battle, growing closer and closer to the Crusade. As she ran, Adrina tried to survey the field and see how they were doing, but she was always interrupted by a soldier impatient to die.
One such soldier attacked Adrina about one hundred yards from the Crusade. She swung her sword but the soldier blocked and the two stood with their swords crossed between them, trying to overpower one another. A howl of pain to her right drew her attention. Merle had kicked one of the soldiers hard between the legs. As a result, the man's eyes rolled up in his head and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Behind him was a clear path to the airship.
"Merle, Zane, go!" she ordered. The cats hesitated for a second, then scrambled towards the ship as quickly as possible. Seeing her momentary distraction, the soldier she was fighting knocked her sword away from her. She dove for it, but was tackled to the ground. Before she could fight back, the soldier was standing in between her and her sword. Adrina started to get to her feet but the soldier kicked her, sending her sprawling back to the ground. She looked up at him, amethyst fire burning in her eyes, and saw he had raised his sword for the deathblow.
"Goodbye," the soldier sneered and brought the sword down with full force. A loud clang rang out as his sword clashed with another. Folken stepped in between Adrina and the soldier, their swords locked in combat stance. Folken quickly overpowered the other man and drove his sword straight through the soldier. Adrina grabbed her sword and jumped to her feet.
"Are you all right love?" Folken asked.
"I'm fine," Adrina assured.
"Folken, Adrina! Come on!"
They both looked towards the Crusade and saw Van, Allen and most of the crew were killing any soldiers who dared get close to the ship. Adrina and Folken joined them, slaying soldiers as they went. They all jumped onto the cargo ramp as the Crusade II began to lift off the ground. A few soldiers who tried to jump in as well were dealt with harshly. Once the ship was too high for the soldiers to reach, they entered the cargo bay and the ramp closed behind them. The group quickly made their way to the command chamber where everyone else was.
"Adrina!" Merle rushed to her sister and hugged her.
"Are you okay?" Adrina asked, "Did you or Zane get hurt?"
"No," Merle answered, "we're fine."
"Hey boss," one of the crew members called, "you better come see this."
"What is it?" Gadis demanded and walked over to the crewman, who was looking out the window.
"Their floating fortress," the crewman explained, "it's moving."
"Are they coming after us?" Millerna asked fearfully.
"No," Allen answered as he joined the other two men at the window, "it looks like they are landing."
"Landing?"
Everyone crowded around the window and looked down. Sure enough, the floating fortress landed and a moment later they saw why. Ten sorcerers emerged from the black ship and entered the Records House.
"So that was their plan all along!" Van concluded.
"They must have been following us the entire time," Folken mused.
Left of Adrina at the window, Merle grimaced and looked at her sister. "Ew, Adrina. What's on your arm?"
Both females looked down to see that Adrina's left dress sleeve was torn and soaked with blood.
"Oh no, Adrina. You're hurt!" Merle exclaimed. Everyone turned to the young Queen, who stood staring at her wound. She remembered that Eriya had clawed her. She looked up as Millerna stood in front of her. She took Adrina's arm into her hands and gently peeled away the blood-soaked cloth.
"How bad is it?" Folken asked. He stood next to Adrina with her right hand clasped tightly between the two of his.
"It's not too bad," Millerna announced after a second, "but it needs stitches." She looked up at Adrina. "Why didn't you tell us you were hurt?"
"I didn't know," Adrina admitted, "Eriya scratched me but it didn't hurt so I didn't think it was important."
"Come on," Millerna urged, "let's go to the infirmary. I'll stitch it up and you'll be fine."
Adrina followed Millerna out of the control chamber with Folken still clutching her hand, and followed her to the infirmary. Inside, Millerna instructed her to sit on the table, which she did. Millerna quickly put a white apron over her dress and picked up a pair of scissors.
"I'm going to have to cut off the sleeve of your dress," Millerna told her.
"Okay," Adrina agreed. Millerna cut through the stained cloth and carefully peeled it off of her skin. Folken's hands tightened on her as the wound was fully uncovered for the first time.
"It's worse than I first thought," Millerna frowned.
"She's going to be all right, isn't she?" Folken questioned with concern.
Millerna looked up at Folken and smiled. "Of course. It's just going to take more stitches than I had originally planned." Millerna went to a nearby cupboard and began pulling out medical equipment.
Adrina looked up at Folken and was amused to see he looked pale. "Are you all right Folken?"
"Yes," Folken assured quickly, "I'm fine, why?"
"You look like you're going to pass out," Adrina teased, "if you react like this over a little scratch, I'll hate to see how you react when our children are born."
"I am not going to pass out," Folken insisted, "I'm just worried about you, that's all. And I don't plan on being in the room when the children are born."
Adrina laughed as Millerna returned to the table with a bowlful of hot water and some cloths. She dipped one cloth into the water and began to clean the blood from Adrina's arm.
"Really Adrina," Millerna scoffed as she worked, "I honestly don't know how you couldn't feel this. It should've hurt bad."
"Trust me," Adrina winced, "it does now."
Millerna dabbed at her arm a few more times, then sat the cloth aside. "There, now I can see exactly what I'm dealing with."
All three of them looked down at Adrina's arm. Crossing her lower bicep were three long slices. They had stopped bleeding but looked to be quite deep.
"They're not bad at all," Millerna commented, "nice clean cuts. Are you sure she scratched you? They look more like slices from something sharp to me."
"She has a mechanical arm," Adrina informed, "her claws are six inch metal daggers."
"That makes more sense," Millerna nodded, "Well! Let's get started." Millerna laid out her instruments and stitched up the wounds efficiently and without much pain. During the process, Adrina glanced up at Folken several times to find him staring in another direction. Once the wounds had been closed, Millerna wrapped her arm in clean, white cloth.
"All done," Millerna announced after securing the cloth, "but you should get some rest. You lost quite a bit of blood."
"Now that you mention it," Adrina admitted, "I do feel a little tired."
"Exactly," Millerna said, "Folken, take her to your room and don't let her leave until she's rested."
Folken agreed and led Adrina to their room. Once inside, he made her lie down immediately.
"I'm going to go discuss our strategy with Allen and Van," Folken informed as he pulled on a shirt to replace the one that had been destroyed by his wings, "I'm trusting you to stay in bed and rest. Don't disappoint me, love."
"Don't worry," Adrina assured, "I'm not going anywhere."
Folken walked over to the bed and kissed her. "I'll come and check on you in an hour or so."
"Okay," Adrina smiled, "you better fill me in on everything that is discussed at your meeting."
"I will," Folken promised. He kissed her again and left the room.
Now that things had calmed down and she was alone again, Adrina had time to ponder the Draconian family tree and her name on it. IF it was accurate, then she was a Draconian as was her father, but he had never mentioned it to her. Surely if he was a Draconian, he would've told King Goau and Queen Varie. He might've feared oppression, but not from them. Her mother had never mentioned it either. Was it possible that her mother didn't know? Perhaps her father himself didn't know. Or maybe it was all a mistake.
A knock at the door scattered her thoughts. "Come in!" Adrina called. The door opened and Hitomi entered carrying the book Folken had taken from the Records House.
"I hope it's okay," Hitomi started, "Folken asked me to hold this book for him while we escaped and I thought he might want it after the meeting."
"That's fine," Adrina smiled at her sister-in-law.
Hitomi smiled back and put the book on the table where the other one sat. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," Adrina answered, "the wounds hurt a little but Millerna did an excellent job."
"I'm glad you're okay," Hitomi told her, "do you need anything?"
"No," Adrina replied, "I'm fine. Thank you Hitomi."
Hitomi nodded. "I'll let you rest then. She waved and then left Adrina alone in the room.
How can I be a Draconian and not know it? Adrina pondered, her mind shifting back to her previous thoughts. Wouldn't I know if I had wings? No, she told herself, not necessarily. She remembered how Folken had told her that a Draconian's wings weren't a physical part of their being. The wings were born of sheer will and manifested themselves as solid entities when a Draconian called for them.
"But how do I know for sure?" she asked out loud. The answer hit her suddenly. The book. Maybe the book could help her. Adrina climbed off the bed and retrieved the book from where Hitomi had placed it. It was heavy and Adrina had trouble lifting it without hurting her arm. She managed to haul it over to the bed and opened it quickly. She was surprised to find a table of contents in the front of the book. She scanned the chapter titles eagerly and stopped on a chapter titled "The Legacy of the Draconian Stones." The Draconian Stones. Folken's necklace and Van's pendant. Both given to them by the women who loved them. Hitomi's grandmother had given her the pendant, who received it from Allen's father on her own journey to Gaea, who had taken it from the Mystic Valley. What about her necklace? Adrina had been given the necklace at birth by her father, who had received it at birth from his mother. His mother, Krilee Stell-Celone, the Draconian.
Adrina flipped through the pages of the book until she reached the appropriate chapter. She began reading the words to herself.
"'The first Draconians, Gosim and Shehar, had two sons, Kuji, the oldest and Shinji, the youngest. Given to each son was a special stone that would become the heirlooms of their families. To Kuji was given the stone 'Murasaki Tatsu' or 'Purple Dragon'. The Murasaki Tatsu was to be passed down through the eldest child of the family. To Shinji was given the stone 'Sekichiku Namida' or 'Pink Teardrop'. The Sekichiku Namida was to be passed down through the youngest child of the family. When the Atlantis was destroyed, Kuji's descendent escaped with the Murasaki Tatsu. While Shinji's descendant escaped also, the Sekichiku Namida was left behind.'"
Adrina stopped reading. That explained why Allen's father had found the pink pendant in the Mystic Valley. It also explained why she had the purple dragon necklace. She was the direct descendant of the oldest son Kuji, the last living member of the line. She shook her head. No! She couldn't be! She would know she was a Draconian. Her father would've told her! Adrina flipped back to the table of contents, determined to find proof either way.
Forty-five minutes later, the book had yielded no answers and Adrina had come to the conclusion that the only way to be sure was to try and make her wings appear. She closed the book and walked over to the full-length mirror against the wall. Not wanting to ruin her dress any further than it had been already, she unbuttoned it down the back, which was no easy task with her injured arm. She finally managed to release the last button and caught the front of the dress before it fell. She stood before the mirror with her right hand pressed against her collarbone to hold her dress on and her eyes wide.
"Here goes," she whispered. She closed her eyes and concentrated, willing the wings to appear. Even before she opened her eyes she knew they were there. She could feel their weight spread out behind her, as slight as it was. She opened her eyes and looked into the mirror.
"Oh my God," she gasped. Even though she had known the wings would be there, she still wasn't prepared for the sight of the snowy vision behind her. The wings were beautiful, magnificent and Adrina could barely breath. She had always marveled over Folken's wings and had wished she had some herself and now here they were. Her own wings.
Adrina flexed her wings and a cascade of white feathers floated noiselessly to the ground. She turned her head and stared first at the right wing, then at the left. She moved them again, sending another bunch of feathers to the floor. Adrina turned back to the mirror, a huge smile on her face.
I'm a Draconian, she thought. She concentrated and her wings shrunk, then disappeared. She called for them again and this time watched as they appeared and grew to their full length. She guessed that each wing was about seven feet long and the two of them stretched out reached halfway across the room. Adrina concealed her wings once again and buttoned up her dress.
I am a Draconian, se thought again with glee. She hurried over to the bed and sat down when another thought struck her. How am I going to tell Folken? She couldn't just walk up to him and say "Hey, guess what! I'm a Draconian!" She would have to explain everything to him, but how would he take it? Would he be angry? Happy? Upset?
Unable to sit still, Adrina jumped off the bed and began to pace the room. Folken had told her he would be back to check on her in an hour or so and she guessed it had been about an hour since he had left. She tried to think of exactly what she was going to say to Folken as she made her way back and forth across the room.
She didn't have much time to think because on her fifth trip around the room the door opened and Folken entered. He stopped and frowned when he saw her standing in the middle of the room.
"Adrina, what are you doing?" Folken asked and crossed the room to her, "Millerna told you to rest. Why are you out of bed?"
"Folken, I need to tell you something," Adrina began. Instantly his eyes filled with fear and uncertainty.
"What's wrong Adrina?" Folken demanded, "is something wrong with your wound? Are you sick?"
"No, no," Adrina assured, "it's nothing like that it's..." She paused, searching for the words. "When I was writing down the names from the family tree, I discovered something, something surprising. My name was on the tree."
"Of course it was," Folken smiled, "along with dates of birth and death, the tree also lists the names of those married to Draconians."
"I know," Adrina insisted, "but that's not...Folken, my name was..." Struggling for words but not finding them, Adrina decided to show him. She reached back and began fumbling with the buttons on her dress and winced every time her stitches pulled.
"Adrina, what are you doing?" Folken asked, confused.
"I can't find the words to tell you so I'm going to show you." Adrina sucked in a breath through clenched teeth as her fingers slipped from a button, causing a sharp pain in her left arm.
"Rina love, you're going to hurt yourself." Folken walked behind her and began unbuttoning the dress for her. Adrina held the front of the dress up as Folken unfastened the last button, and turned to face him. She looked to each side to gauge the distance and decided she had enough room. She took a deep breath and summoned her wings.
She watched Folken's face change from confusion to shock as the beautiful white wings emerged behind her. He stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed as they stretched to their full length. Feathers fell softly all around her and Adrina finally found the right words. She looked up at her husband and their eyes locked.
"Folken, I am a Draconian."
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Sorry, I know that was a long chapter but I didn't want to break it up into two because it all went together. Next chapter coming soon!