Irene woke to something strangely familiar. Everything was a haze. Delicate hands ran through her hair feather light. She opened her eyes and the sun glared down in an autumn haze, she opened her eyes? She didn't remember closing them; sleep had not been possible since she took human form, yet, here she was waking up, Anna running her hands through her hair like the past four hundred years did not exist.

"I didn't think your hair could get any longer," Anna chuckled from behind her.

Irene rolled over, "It's a mess," she admitted, Irene couldn't find it in herself to care much for appearances after she began her transformation

Scales crept up Irene's face like vines taking root trying to drain her of everything she was. The rough stone floor would have dug through her skin otherwise. Never in her life would Irene have expected to find herself locked in her own dungeon, thrown in by her own people. They choose Brutus, Irene realized that she had erred creating dragon slayer magic, but she had done so for their benefit. Why couldn't they see so? If anyone could right Ancologia's wrongs it was Irene, certainly she was the only one left their witch hunt had gone on for months now and all the rest would have fallen to dragonification by now.

But here she was lying on a frigid floor, hardly dressed in tattered rags, in a room that reeked of filth and piss while painful tremors racked her body with abandon. A year with no resistance from her people. Her dignity was torn away from her burned away by humiliation. A year of pain, humiliation, betrayal and she had brought it all on herself.

Irene was ripped from her thoughts when the cell doors were thrown open. A group of guards, a whole hoard of traitors, dragged her to her feet and down the corridor into the burning glare of the sun. While she was tied to a cross Brutus, up on his perch, a vulture starving for its next meal, loomed from her throne. So, he wanted a spectacle; Irene would give him precisely what he wanted and he would curse the day they crossed paths.

The curtain parted, her audience called passionately for her demise, Brutus strutted down from his post ready and willing to play his part with a smug grin, "Today we will triumph the dragon will be slayed," he announced as if he were some sort of hero about to strike down a wicked evil that had plagued him.

"The same dragon is carrying your progeny," the truth didn't matter just what the people thought and if Brutus was going to take her life, make her a monster, she would drag him right down with her. The people followed him out of fear and if he was no better than her they would have no part of it. Brutus' compatriots would stand beside waiting in the wings to swoop in and fill the power vacuum left behind.

"Lies, that's all a wretched creature like this knows," he trumpeted to the crowd, "it has been with child for over a year and nothing has come from it!"

"It is the truth, this creature carries your child,"Irene continued to challenge the brute, she sneered at him with all the malice she could muster.

"Then let's prove the child's existence," his eyes darkened considerably shadowed by hatred, "I'll cut it right out of you!" He drew his sword and swung. Every fiber of Irene's being screamed at her, she was scorched by humiliation, her blood boiled with an inescapable feeling of betrayal. The blade slice through the tender flesh of her stomach. Rage exploded untethered from her core, bones snapped, cracked, and reformed. Fire burned at her back with fervor as she launched herself at that fucking vilifier; claws tore his flesh to ribbons and once the thing beneath ceased to look like a person and more like a mess of blood and flesh Irene took flight.

Irene looked down into the fountain by the time Anna had finished her hair actually looked semi presentable. Soon thereafter they had been on their way once more, finally they had made it to a town; well not just any town the town where they would begin following leads, a lead. Irene was not entirely happy with Anna's endeavor but some of the tension had left, the air between them was pleasant it was almost as if they had never parted. If only it were true.

As a ruler Irene had to know her people, know their struggles, know their desires at least that was what Belserion had imparted that it was her duty. So here she was wandering along the countryside. The fields of golden wheat stretched on for miles it was all very boring. Irene understood that Belserion was king regent and Irene was not yet old enough to assume the throne, but hadn't she learned enough?

Yet, here she was wandering around to soak in a common experience. There was nothing wrong with a simple life or a boring one like her own, it suited most people just fine. That sort of life wouldn't suffice for Irene.

Adventure, magic, forging her path and discovering unknowns. A life of fantastical intrigue that was what she wanted most. Irene wanted to have experiences unlike any other with people unique and intriguing in their own right; to do things that had never been done.

If she were to continue on this path and never look back would Irene find the adventure she yearned for all seventeen years of her life? Perhaps, but she couldn't Irene had a duty to her people and her own dreams paled in comparison.

Eventually, Irene came upon something stellar, in a rare verdant pasture a girl, about her age, was practicing magic like Irene had never seen before. It was spacial in nature. A mermaid created wave after wave of water and the girl, golden hair falling in waves around her shoulders, spun it like silk in her hands. Irene stood there for awhile even her enchantments wouldn't give her such a fluid command of the element.

Irene stood witness awed as this celestial being spar with a mermaid, of all things, and she knew she had found a piece of what she had been searching for her whole life.

A splash of frigid water woke her from her revere, "brat close your mouth before you catch flies," the mermaid taunted.

The blonde shot the mermaid a look, of course it wasn't taken notice of, "you don't have to be mean."

Then she turned to Irene and held out her hand, "My name's Anna, it's nice to meet you".

Irene took the hand in front of her, "Irene..it' .nice to meet you too!" Irene returned and she was greeted by a smile that outshone the sun.

An egg, a little girl, and a boy with a facial tattoo that was the story. It was nonsensical to Irene but Anna she knew exactly what these people were talking about in an instant.

"We're close Wendy was here," Anna was optimistic, hopefully she won't be disappointed.

"Your not worried about the tattooed miscreant she's hanging around with?"

"At least she's not alone."

"Sure, but this other kid might make himself a nuisance when two strange women come looking for her and you can't expect him to believe the truth."

"We'll just tell him that you are her mother," Anna decided. Why? Irene had never proven herself worthy of the title. Anna may not know that but Irene did and even as a farce it unsettled her.

"Why me? You took care of her."

"Which is why it would seem suspicious if she called me Anna instead of 'Mom'."

"The same problem would not exist with me...because...?"

"Wendy doesn't know who her mother is," Anna explained, as if that made it any better. It wasn't her fault, not knowing that Irene abandoned her own flesh and blood, but posing as an impressionable girls mother, Irene did not want that. She had no problem with lying, but she did not want this kid to get attached to her in any way.

"I know, lying to an innocent little girl about something this significant just isn't right. I know, but it's better than her living on the road, not knowing when her next meal might be, and being alone to realize her abilities. I just know how deeply she will be hurt when we tell her its not true," Anna had a heart of gold even now. Irene couldn't bear to see her let guilt eat away at her even if it should with what she had planned. It wouldn't come to that, Irene decided. These children they would not be the one's to topple Ancologia. Irene would, when the time came atone for her many sins even if it came at the cost of her own life.

"We don't have to tell her anything, if we lie, family her more than bloodlines," Irene knew that she would follow Anna anywhere from the moment they met and as much as she wanted to deny it she was going along with Anna's plan. If Anna was going to adopt a dozen children Irene would be right there with her; it was going to take years to get these kids into fighting shape. They wouldn't need it, Irene would take matters into her own hands, if Irene could not love her own daughter perhaps she could make it up now, "Belserion and I didn't share a common blood relative and we were family."

"Are you sure?"

"You are their caretaker and those dragons were their parents. That's as good as family."

"So you want to pretend to be Wendy's mother indefinitely."

"I'm saying that I'll go along and nothing more," Anna smiled at her and Irene found another piece of herself.