Ch 3
Ariaelle woke up and went downstairs. Fiona and the others were in the dining room having breakfast. "Good morning." Fiona said to her. "Yeah I guess. Good morning to you too." She replied. Fiona noticed that she was avoiding eye contact with them. She understood why. "She must've heard the argument we had with Snow last night." She thought as she watched Ariaelle grab an apple and leave the room. But as she went upstairs, she heard Izz yell for help and ran up fast and rushed through her bedroom door to see an Anger Beast stomp off with Izz in his giant hand. "Ariaelle help! This brute won't let go!" he yelled as Terrius walked into the Domin Forest. She was upset but feeling angry. "I've got to calm down before Fiona and the others discover my secret but maybe being angry is the only way to save Izz! That dumb beast must be taking him to the guy who cast darkness over Aria!" she thought.
She allowed the rage to flow. Magic then surrounded her revealing her dragon parts. Her parents had put a concealment spell on her so that her dragon parts could be hidden from the public eye. She felt pumped up to do this as she took off into the sky from her balcony. "I'm coming!" she roared. Fiona and the other girls heard the roar and ran outside at once. They saw Ariaelle fly off. "Where did that dragon come from?" Doris asked. "I don't know but we'd better warn Ariaelle in case it tries to hurt her." Fiona told her. "Why should you care about her? For all we know she could be helping the dragon." Snow retorted angrily. Terrius then bent down so he could fit into the Caves of Misery. The evil wizard cackled as he put Izz on a cold table with shackles. "What do you plan to do to me?" he asked angrily. "I won't hurt you. You're just the bait for Princess Ariaelle." He told him as he shot a spell at him and vreatures began hurting him. Ariaelle then landed at the Caves of Misery and heard Izz whimper in pain. She entered them and followed his voice to a deep cave in the middle. She saw her friend being attacked by shadow monsters. She breathed fire over them and they died out. "Izz talk to me! What've they done to you?" she said to her friend who was out cold. His furry body held many cuts and wounds especially a nasty one on his face. It hurt her to see him like this. "Hello." She heard somebody say and turned around. A young man in his twenties in a black cloak came towards her. "Who're you? What've you done to my friend?" she asked him angrily. He laughed at her. "My name is Romas. Your friend was the bait to lure you to me. He's weak like your parents. I can't believe he likes you. Poor Ariaelle you want to be normal but why should you when you can be powerful like me? Your parents are on Earth helping pathetic humans with Nature and other things." He told her. She then melted the shackles around Izz with her fire breath and left. He smiled at that. "We'll meet again and next time I won't be as nice!" he thought.
Ariaelle then flew back into her room without anybody noticing her. She then calmed down and her non human parts disappeared as usual. Izz began to come around. He was in agony and in bandages. "You risked yourself to save me didn't you? You also risked them finding out." He said softly. "I know but it was worth it to get my friend back." She answered. "Maybe once I've healed, it'll be time for me to leave. I can't be around forever. It'll be okay. I promise." He replied. Ariaelle wasn't happy. He watched as she left the room. She was sitting in the garden near the pond. "I can't believe he's going to leave once he's healed. Is he fed up with being here or… is it me? I thought we were best friends but I guess that'll stop once he leaves. I'll be alone again and I don't want that to happen. Nobody in Aria likes me except for Izz." She thought sadly as tears hit the ground. "Are you okay?" she heard somebody ask and looked up. It was Fiona. "What do you want? To hate me too because I'm a hybrid freak like everybody else?" she said. Fiona saw the glowing red light in her eyes. "It's okay. I know. I know your secret. That you're half dragon and half human. I know what it's like." She said gently. "How did you find out?" Ariaelle asked quietly. "That night when Doris asked about your parents, you ran off with Izz. I was worried so I followed you to make sure you were okay. That's when I discovered it but don't worry. I haven't told the others and I don't want to unless you want to tell them." Fiona answered. Ariaelle nodded sadly. "What's wrong that you're this upset? Is it because of your secret? You can trust me. You know it." Fiona asked quietly.
"I'll tell you. It's Izz. Romas an evil wizard had him captured but when I rescued Izz, he was badly hurt. He told me that after he heals, he's gonna leave and I wondered if it was because of me. When thar does happen, I'm gonna be alone again. I may be a princess like you guys but none of the other magical creatures in Aria like me because of what I am and your friends don't seem to either." she explained sadly. "Maybe Izz has a family and he really wants to be with them. Just because he's leaving the castle doesn't mean you're not friends anymore. The strong bond you two share will always remain in your hearts no matter where he goes. The others just don't know you yet to make friends. Show them the real you and they'll want to. I know." Fiona told her gently. Ariaelle then perked up at that. "Thanks Fiona. You're an awesome friend!" she said as she ran into the castle. She had an idea on how to solve her friend dilemma. She saw Snow and the other princesses talking and smiled. Snow was curious about her secret so if she wanted to know, she'd show them. She then got angry and her dragon parts revealed themselves. She then walked into the room. "Hey guys!" she growled. Snow and the others were in shock but calmed down when they realised who it was. "Ariaelle what happened to you?" Aurora asked her curiously. "I won't hurt you guys. This is the secret I was hiding from you. I'm half dragon and mortal. It wasn't magic that did this. My father is human but my mother is a dragon, a very hot one. Rhey didn't know that both their DNA merged and made me a hybrid. Ever since then, they've been trying to hide it. That's why Izz is my only friend. He's not scared of my real self. But I'm gonna need more friends so I was hoping you guys would." she explained to them calmly. Snow ran away but Cinderella, Aurora and Doris didn't. "We'll be your froends along with Fiona. She won't mind. We'll talk to Snow later, okay? Where's Fiona any way?" Doris told her.
"She's in the gardens. Come on." Ariaelle told them as she lead the way. Fiona smiled as she saw them come up to them. "I see you showed them your secret. I'm proud of you. I t wasn't easy telling them about who you really are. Where's Snow?" she asked them. "She ran away in fear from Ariaelle in her true form." Aurora said softly. She watched as Ariaelle calmed down and her dragon parts concealed themselves once more. "Why do they do that when you calm down and appear when you're angry?" Cinderella asked her curiously. "It's a spell my parents put on me to hide who I truly am so that others don't see and get freaked out but I hate it." Ariaelle explained. They watched as she went into the castle and upstairs to her room. Izz opened his snail like eyes as she closed the door. "How're you feeling?" she asked him. "Better. You know that I'm still gonna be your friend no matter where I go. The bond of friendship is strong in our hearts and can never be broken, not even by Romas. The heart is the strongest weapon. Many things like swords can take out enemies but they don't give you the inner strength to defeat the darkness. Only love and a pure heart can." he told her.
She smiled at his words. "Yes I understand. Fiona was telling me something like that. "I see somebody revealed her secret and tried to make friends. I'm glad that some of that child I befriended thirteen years ago is slowly returning." he told her smiling. He would miss her company when he left. He did have a family but he hadn't seen them in thirteen years time afyer he got lost that fateful day in the forest. He wondered if he would find somebody to love. He wanted to be with Ariaelle but he knew it wouldn't work out. Maybe one day Ariaelle would find her prince and live happily. He was the prince of the realm Psammeadis which was filled with Psammeads. He'd fled away when his parents were looking for someone to marry him when he was older. A small sandy tear welled up in his eye. "Are you okay? You look like you're crying," Ariaelle asked him. "I'm okay. I was just remembering, that's all." he replied.
Many days went by until the day when Izz had finally healed and he would be leaving at sun set. Ariaelle knew she had to let him do this. It was what friends do, right? He then put something around her neck. It was the royal amulet of Psammeadis that his mother had given him when he was younger. "I'll be back one day. I promise. Just remember what I told you. Besides your new friends will be there for you until I come back." he said as he hugged her. Ariaelle then watched as he walked out of the castle into the unknown of Aria. Fiona had been watching. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked her. "Yes. I had to let him go. That's what friemds do, right? They let their friends go on their own even if it means they might never come back." Ariaelle answered. Fiona then walked with her back into the castle. She hoped Izz would come back...