The tops of the trees in Central Park looked as though they blanketed the surface in a sea of dark green,as Wendy and Haley started to descend down into a rather large clearing.Although the afternoon was calm and ostensibly uneventful enough,the white dragon was starting to grow wary of what she was doing,which was quite contrasted to her normally daring guise.Somehow,that flash of light she had seen and what had appeared to her as a figure looking very discreetly at her had percolated into her a sort of timidness she had never felt before.A foreboding that this one single person had,in a matter of only seconds,had caused to come to her and had given her the notion he was seeking her to inevitably challenge for whatever reason...the worst part was,she didn't know how good of a fighter he wasand although she herself had alot of talk to her,she had hardly ever thrown a punch.But either way,she wouldn't back down.
As the two got were drawing nearer,Haley picked up on her niece's new-found fear."Alright there,Wen?"she asked with a tone of curiosity."You seem a little tense,I thought had you already admitted to feeling guilty."
Wendy crinkled her muzzle at her as soon their feet had reached the ground in an almost unison fashion."It's not that,it's just..."her blue eyes darted around the tree-lined enclosure and she went on more explicitly."When we were back there a ways,I thought I saw someone in this big erupting light or something and then it all just vanished.Crazy sounding,right?Were really suppose to be concentrating on the mission already at hand and I'm worried about random lights going on and off."
"Not so.But did you get a good look at the person?"Haley continued to question her,attention fully directed onto what she was being told.
"No,"Wendy shook her head,a hint of disappointment in her voice."I wish I would have acted sooner and then I possibly would have gotten a better look then just a small glimpse."she groaned in frustration."Ugh...why do I even bother.So,what big bad behemoth are we taking down today?"
"Well,firstly,were here to just see if all the rumors are true and secondly,if we do happen to come about trouble..."she hadn't even had a chance to pause from telling her niece the entire situation,before the dragon had already started without her and was starting to poke around a few rows of nearby bushes."...if we do get in trouble.You know what to do?"
"Turn tails and run?"Wendy inquired with some sarcasm her aunt came up to either side and joined her in the search."Right.I don't see that-"
The air around them suddenly grew thick and silent.Sounds of different people calling out,childern playing and the occasional dog darking all of a sudden became distant,as everything around her for some reason felt like it was dangerous to ever move...to even breath.That very recent feeling she had experienced,came rushing back to her memory and frightening chills surged down her spine,as she could sense only her aunt turning to face someone behind them.After she could sense them,the next thing that happened took her by surprise,as in a matter of moments she felt a foot step down onto one of her deep brown scales and before she could react to the perpetrator,she found arms bound tightly and a point brought up to the center of her snowy back,with a green beam starting to be emitted.
"Not to worry,dragon."came a low,unethical voice."This will be painless."
"Make another move,"a familiar,intolerent tone spoke."It'll be you're last."
Something in that moment clicked and everything became apparent to her right then and there.Her aunt Haley and her had been ambushed and her father had turned up,as she had prayed he wouldn't and was precisely on time before things went out of hand.With her determination not to be so humiliatingly shown up,she flashed around and her left claw going down for a strike,when she realized the person who had nearly done away with her had somehow gotten her father in the way and had implausibly taken residency beside her,as he blocked her unintended target with one very quick jab upwards with a mechanised staff-like weapon within his hands.
"Now,now."The young teen boy in complete ebony ninja attire with interesting red symbols embroidered on in different places said."One at a time,please.But don't threat..."he held the point of the strange sceptre up to Wendy's long neck and turned to gaze at Jake coldly."You'll get you're turn in due time but if you want either of you to live until then...you might just want to back yourself up and stay out of this for the time being."
"Back this!"Wendy whipped her tail halfway around and swept it directly under the huntsboy's feet,which was just swift enough to knock him onto his back and before she could react,her father intercepted."But Dad..."
Before Jake could turn to argue with her,Haley's distress over just barely being able to keep the Huntsman at bay and away from the two became obvious when she just nearly missed a shot aimed at one of her thighs,in which she let out a yelp.But she focused back on her opponet in a snap as he was back on his feet and had one of his arms coming around her neck to restrain her long enough to destroy her.Grinning,she poofed some fire onto his sleeve and ducked just in time but was taken back when he expertly doused them by scooping up a handful of dirt and patting it well down onto his barely burnt patch.His coal eyes were extremely calm and icy,now that she had a chance to look into them clearly,as he flipped his staff up and into a firm grasp.Just watching him move towards her,made her realize he was unlike any other villian she'd ever witnessed...he was taking great pride and care to conceal his intentions.He didn't appear to need to fake what was so pure to her,as though she was seeing it as a natural occurrence and that was the ability for total apathy for her kind.
"You've never seen another like me,have you?"he asked her knowingly,as he stopped and got into a fighting stance."No?Good.Because you'll never meet another like me.As soon as I get everything I need from giving you the pleasure of even being in my presence,I'll be set for a fight that's really going to matter...and I bet you can't guess who with,can you dragon?"
"You're in the Huntsclan."Wendy replied heedfully,his evasiveness to do what she knew he was wanting to do getting on her nerves but also very rapidly making her realize how foolish she had been for thinking she could take on someone like this with such ease when he,himself,was doing the very thing she was not."I can tell just by you're style and cloths who you are and I've got to tell you..."she smirked slightly."You're not in style."
"Let's leave the fashion freaks out there to deal with things like style."He told her,still coming off as centered and introverted."Right now,I'd like to cut to the chase and that would just happen to be that you are nothing more then a tool to me,for my own purposes.In case it isn't clear to you."
"Crystal clear,actually.But why haven't you done away with me yet?"
"Well,now,"The huntsboy feigned shock,still keeping his perilous edge to her in tact."No need to rush things...how about introductions at least?"
"Wendy."she replied slowly,locking herself down and ready to fight."How about you,then?Are you going to tell me so we can fight or what?"
"They call me Black Regin."His eyes grew more intense as he leaped up into the air unexpectedly and was just about on top of her when she shot out her claws,catching the front of the staff that he stuck in her face and just enough off to the side,even though he hadn't even turned it on."Oh and one more thing..."he moved his face around so that they were looking into one another's eyes again,his tone lowering and becoming rather lethal again."You can all me Black for now.Reign is only for those who know me well.Which,quite unforunately,I'm not going to give you much time of."
The easy flow of word exchange between them surprised Wendy,she had expected to be a bundle of nerves upon his arriving and although she was at first,now he seemed to just be roistering with her.But just as it seemed he was about to win their struggling match over where the staff was to be pointed,she felt a few gusts of air on her back and someone's large claws reaching out to grab her by the arms,steering her backwards and out of the huntsboys way.Casting away her eyes so they wouldn't meet her rescuer,she stopped for a moment to think and deciding she still didn't want to appear weak to anyone,was about to start back when she saw what had happened.Her aunt was rushing back over to her father,who was standing slightly hunched over examining his left arm,huge flames shooting up from the ground directly in front of him and from what she could tell...the Huntsman and Huntsboy were gone,but not for good.As she was awaiting the judgement of her father,she noticed a silver chain with the inital 'C' attached to it lying on the ground by her feet,with slight bit of intrigue she snatched it up just as she was beckoned by the two older dragons to follow them back home.Where she partly wanted to be.
Back home...
Wendy sat in human form on her bed,her legs drawn up to her chest almost with a pillow tucked in between.The sounds of aunt Haley and father still going at it loudly in the living room,her now completely forbidden whereabout in high discussion.Though she had silently nodded her head all the way home as her father had lectured her austerely all the way home,she still didn't agree.Her powers and her life should be hers to do what she wished and she dreamed of battling ever since she was very young,despite her father's protesting and constant reminder of what had happened to her mother.A twinge of longing welled up inside of her,it wasn't fair she had never gotten to meet the woman whom had saved her life and in the process gave away hers.Still...that didn't halt Wendy from dreaming of providing justice among the magical world.The normal perks of being a teen didn't interest her that much besides getting more freedom and aside from spending time with her friends when she played the guitar in her band,her life was devoted to getting involved with her hertiage.
It doesn't matter how much he cares about me or punishs me to no witts end for not listening to him,She thought to herself,as she changed positions on the bed to reach down under her bed and retrieveing an old jewelery box,sat it down on her bed and extracted framed photograph of her parents in their late teens,holding an infant off to each side in their arms and smiling.My mom...her focused admiringly on the beautiful young blond woman in a light green spring dress,all her life she had been told of her resembleance to her except for Wendy's mid-back length chestnut hair of courseand how hard she had foughten to relinquish her past in which had put to rest the night she had tried all she could to save her own family's lifes.Maybe that's why I look to her for inspiration...
Sighing with deepness,she was about to put everything away and call up her friends to remind them of band rehearsal Saturday,when the necklace she had thoughtlessly thrown onto her bed caught her attention,so reached down to pick it up.It was well polished and maintained,the 'C' was very neatly italicized and somehow seemed familiar.Suddenly,her breath caught in her throat and without another moment to spare,she quickly picked up the picture of her family and squaring her eyes onto the picture of her brother whom her father had also told her had perished that night,saw the very identical silver chain and inital of 'C' hanging from the image of her infant twin brother's neck and then recalling that her father had also told her Cole had been marked with the classic dragon on his right hand at birth binding him to a rigid fate to the Huntsclan,she quickly put two and two together but instead of first focusing on the fact that her father had been dishonest with her...she focused on what was of key importance to her now,which left her completely susceptible to shock.
"My brother..."she breathed with an air of astonishment,the dilemma and the complexity of the discovery pushed aside by pure accident as her mind took in the miraculousness of it instead."Oh my...my good lord...he's alive and that must mean he's...he's in the..."
She brought her wrist up and examined the thick silver bangle thathad a 'W' also elaborately intilicized in the center she had gotten at birth,for about five minutes she didn't even so much as hardly blink.Letting everything gather and settle in her mind,letting the voices of ceaseless aruging from the front of the house comethrough more clearly to her.They hadn't been this way for a long time...over such things as what was best for her or that although her aunt Haley and Wendy were close,that Haley wasn't to try and take the place of her mothers,even though she had no childern of her own.Closing her eyes to discard those thoughts,she held the silver items close together and then glanced back down at the picture as if to get one more confirmation before acting.A few more seconds passed and then the more difficult side surfaced...her own brother was her enemy and that meant he would come after her and since he was destined to be a dragonslayer...they were destined to destory each other.But then...that meant they were suppose to hate one another.
"No."Wendy told herself firmly,trying to get into the mind set of what she wanted to be."No...we won't be."her words died on her lips,as she began formulating a plot in her mind.She wouldn't tell her father she knew,even though she felt sympathy towards the postiton he had been left in all those years ago,lying to her was something she hadn't expected.But what was most heavy and burdening,was how she would go about informing her own brother,who had declared to her he thought her lower then dirt,that they were biologically linked.Would he believe her?At least now the connection she had felt with him made sense but with a nearly unthinkable task looming ahead of her,Wendy knew she had to always be on her guard and be ready...because she was going to stop him from making the mistake of a lifetime.She was going to try and save her brother's fate.
To Be Continued...