Her Fate

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from ADJL; I only own those who I make up.

Rating: PG-13

Family; A History Lesson; A Declaration

Rose smiled as she looked around the decent sized home. Pictures were every where; everyone smiling. It felt homey. Her home with her uncle never felt like this and she lived with him most her life. She couldn't even remember the life before him.

Suddenly two little girls ran up and jumped on her… Two identical little girls, both with big brown eyes, brunette hair and thick southern accents.

She had one wrapped around her leg and the other around her waist. The one on her leg had two French Braids; one on either side of her head and the one on her waist had her hair up in braided pigtails. "Hi! I'm Amelia!" said the one on her waist.

"And my name's Cassie!" said the other one. "You must be Rosie!" they said in unison. Rose laughed. It seemed everyone she met called her Rosie. She found she liked it and Cassie and Amelia were total dolls; so adorable.

"How old are you?" Cassie asked.

"I'm thirteen."

"We're six!" Amelia exclaimed.

"There ya'll are. I was wonderin' when ya'll were commin' back." Said a girl who seemed around Rose's age, only taller, with short brunette hair that came just below her ears and dark brown eyes.

She was holding a baby who had light brown hair and big brown eyes. 'They all look like their dad.' She noticed. "I'm Gracie and this little critter right here is Tyler."

Tyler smiled a toothless smile and even gurgled something at her. Rose's heart melted. She noticed, when he waved at her, he bore the same mark as she did on his hand. "I see ya met the rascals." She pointed to Cassie and Amelia. Sabrina laughed, "Alright, you two, get off your cousin. She's not going anywhere."

The two girls pouted and reluctantly let go of their new found cousin. When they let go she noticed, they too, had the same mark. Gracie walked over to her father and placed Tyler in his arms. "He belongs to you."

Damon laughed, "Thanks, Gracie. Why don't you show Rosie to your room."

She smiled, "Sure, c'mon girl, you'll be bunkin' with me." Rose nodded and followed her to her room. It was a nice room, the walls were blue and the curtains were a light yellow. Her carpet was a grassy green color. "As ya can probably see, I'm the out-doorsy type. I try to make my room as much like outside as possible. We can change some things if ya want. It's your room too, after all."

Rose shook her head, "No, I like it."

Gracie smiled again and walked to her bunk bed. "I have one of these for when my friends would sleep over. You can have the top bunk, I'm too wild a sleeper and I fall outta bed a lot so I hafta sleep on the bottom." Rose looked around; there was a TV and a DVD player on the dresser.

"I made room in the dresser and our closet so when Mama takes you shopping there'll be room for your clothes. 'Till then you can wear some of mine." Gracie continued.

"Thank you."

"I also went out and got you a present when I heard you were commin'."

Rose looked surprised, "Really?" Gracie nodded, smiling, and handed her a bottle of anti-snore spray. "If you're anything like Mama and the twins, you'll be needin' that. Or rather I'll be needin' you to need it if I'm gonna get any sleep. Those three snore worse than angry warthogs."

Rose shook her head and laughed, "Good idea, thanks."

"Flowerbud?" Sabrina walked into the room. "What's up, Auntie?"

"Nothing, come with me, would you?"

"Sure, steal away my new roomie before I even get her settled in, Mama." Gracie said in mock annoyance.

"Don't worry, Gracie, you'll get her back later." She told her daughter. She looked back to Rose. "Follow me."

Rose nodded and followed her auntie into the attic. "Why are we up here?" she asked, confused. Her auntie just opened up a window and climbed her way onto the roof. Rose followed suit.

Her eyes widened as she sat next to her auntie. It was her first time looking out onto the farm that her family owned. She saw her Uncle Damon with Tyler in his arms, while walking the horse's with a long rope as Cassie and Amelia rode barebacked. "I always come here, when I need to think. It's the best place to look on the farm."

"It's beautiful."

"Yes, it is. Flowerbud, you realize that I love you very much, don't you?" her auntie looked at her with a serious look in her eyes. "Of course, I do, Auntie."

"I don't want you to worry about your schoolwork. You'll be going to Gracie's school. Damon hacked into one of the school's in Boston. As far as they know you were a student, he created a bunch of files on you and put them there. They'll send those papers to your new school."

"Wow, thanks. Uncle Damon must be really smart."

"He is. He could do so much more than be a part time accountant and farmer. But he likes this life better."

Sabrina smiled and looked back out onto the farm. The sun was beginning to set. "What made you leave?" Rose asked.

"Flowerbud, do you understand the clan? Do you know what our marks mean?" she asked as she looked at her hand, the mark identical to her niece's.

"They hunt and slay magical creatures. Our marks mean it's our destiny become one with the clan."

"That's only partially true." Rose raised her eyebrows, "Originally, the clan was something else. As long as there were magical creatures, there were dragons. Dragons, who protected them. And as long as there were dragons there were the Protectors."

"Protectors?"

"Yes, the ones who bore the mark of the dragon; our ancestors. They would protect the dragons from those who would bring them harm. Our ancestors' main enemies were the Dragon Slayers. The Slayers believed dragon's to be evil, disgusting creatures who didn't deserve to live. They believed the protectors to be bewitched by the dragons so they fought them as fiercely as their dragon prey. It had been that way for centuries."

"What happened to make the Protectors turn into the Huntsclan?"

"That happened about two hundred years ago. You see, the Dragon Council had always believed it to be demeaning for dragons to be protected by humans. They believed dragon's to be the greatest creatures on Earth. The Council had stressed this fact but it never changed the Protectors' minds. They were born to protect the dragons and the dragons' identities from the mortals. The Council couldn't comprehend this, still believing nothing could harm them." She paused and sighed. "It was then that the Council did something no one expected from them. They murdered the leader of the Protectors."

At this, Rose gasped. Sabrina nodded her head. "It was then that the leader's, Cedric Callaway, daughter became filled with uncontrollable rage. Makynze Callaway went to the Slayers and joined forces. They became the Huntsclan; filling each generation with hatred and disgust for dragons and all magical creatures. The Council never expected the Protectors to become one of the biggest threats to the very dragons they once protected.

Sandra, your mother, your Uncle Jonah (I don't know his or Rose's mother's names so I'm making them up.), and I were all raised to believe that dragons and magical creatures in general were nothing more than disgusting creatures who didn't deserve their lives; the only thing they were good for was killing for profits."

"But, why did you change?"

"Well, when you were five years old I met Damon and Gracie."

"Gracie?"

"Yes, Gracie is my step-daughter. She was six at the time. Anyway, Damon would take me out and sooner than I knew what happened I was in love with him and his daughter. And then… He asked me to marry him."

"That explains why she doesn't have the mark…" She trailed off, then her brows furrowed, "So you left because you were getting married?"

"No, Flowerbud, it was so much more complicated than that. You see, I fell in love with him before I knew what he was."

"What he was…"

"He's a magical creature; he's a changeling; as are Gracie, Tyler, Amelia and Cassie. How could I hate something I love? I love a magical creature. When I realized this, I realized that not all magical creatures are horrible and the same stands for dragons. Yes, the Dragon Council betrayed our ancestors, but the Dragon Community did not. That wasn't right. We weren't right and I realized this. I was going to take you with me, but I knew you had to find your own path. You would be raised as I was and you would choose to stay with the clan or go on your own. I had hoped you would do what you did. I didn't expect you to leave so young… I am happy that you realized your fate wasn't with the clan earlier than I had."

With that Sabrina pulled her stunned niece in for a hug. "Auntie?"

"What is it, Flowerbud?"

"I want to go back to New York."

Sabrina's eyes widened, "What? Aren't you happy?"

"I'm very happy. I don't want to leave yet, but when I'm an adult I will go back. Until then I want you to train me." Sabrina looked at her with confused eyes. Rose sighed and stood up and looked down at her auntie with determination shining in her eyes, "You said that our ancestors fought to protect the dragons. But now, innocent creatures are being hunted out of a hatred born of anger and revenge. You say I can choose my own fate. You say that my mark originally meant that I would protect dragons rather than slay them. I choose to fight the Huntsclan when I'm old enough. I choose to bring them to an end. I'm going to protect the dragons I tried to kill. I choose my original fate, Auntie."

Well there it is. I have to thank Worker72, whose review gave me the idea to have the Dragon Council kind of responsible for the clan. At first I didn't know how I would fit it in but I found a way, as you can see. I hope you liked it. Please review.