When you're a child, you see the world through innocent eyes. You are able to see the goodness of the world without a single ounce of doubt. If only we could stay children forever, we would never have to learn that truth. That the world isn't as wonderful as we saw it as. The world is cruel and constantly fighting to put us down.
A young black haired girl, no older than the age of three, ran through a patch of trees towards the lake that she called home. Her brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight and her smile grew in size as the water came into view. "Mama! Mama!" She exclaimed as a large blue dragon came into view. It was a scene that would make any other human scream in terror, but for the child, she felt nothing but joy. "Look what I can do!"
The child took in a deep breath. "Water Dragon…" She cupped her hands around her mouth and let out her breath. "Roar!" A tornado of water erupted from her mouth, directed towards the dragon. When the attack closed in, all the creature did was hold a hand up to stop the attack. Seeing this, the little girl let out a huff in frustration. "What? I thought I was doing so well…"
The dragon smiled softly. "You did excellent, but did you expect the attack to do any damage after you only just learned it?"
"Well…" The little girl pouted, looking down towards the ground. "Maybe…"
Scooping the girl up in her hand, the dragon chuckled. "Come now, Felicity. I love the enthusiasm, but please be realistic. You're still learning."
The young girl, Felicity, frowned and flipped down in the dragon's hand in frustration. However, she didn't say anything against the dragon's statement. This was the dynamic the two had, the same as any other mother and daughter. The only difference between these two, was that the mother was a dragon, and the daughter, a human. The dragon, Aquafina, was teaching Felicity the art of Water Dragon Slayer Magic. Sometimes Aquafina believed Felicity pushed herself too hard to learn the ancient magic, however, she knew nothing would make her stop. Felicity didn't just want to impress her mother, but her brother, Rogue, as well. Rogue, being two years older than her, was much better at his own magic than Felicity was. He was being trained by the Shadow Dragon, Skiadrum and learning the same kind of magic as Felicity, only instead of water, he was learning Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic.
Felicity had been training for months to do the Water Dragon Slayer Roar, but today was the first day she managed to complete it properly. Needless to say, she was disappointed that she hadn't grown stronger, or at least grown to be an equal to Rogue. This fact was obvious to Aquafina, but she never wanted to mention it to the young girl, fearful that it would hurt whatever confidence she had left.
"Mama?" Felicity began, looking up at Aquafina with a frown. This was an expression the dragon knew well. "When is big brother coming back? I miss him…"
Aquafina leaned forward and lovingly nudged the girl. "Do not worry, you'll see Rogue tomorrow. Just be patient."
Crossing her arms, Felicity grumbled. "I want big brother…"
"I know, child." Aquafina chuckled, setting the girl back down onto the ground. "I'm sure he misses you greatly. Now, let's get back to work, shall we?"
Felicity's eyes lit up at the thought and nodded. "Okay!" She turned to focus her attention on practicing her new skills and her mother simply watched on with a small smile.
The child would grow strong with or without her help, she just had to keep believing that. She was still young, there was plenty of room to grow. All she had to do was trust in the plan that they had so carefully put together. No matter how much it broke her heart to say goodbye, she had to have faith in her daughter.
When the next morning rolled in, Felicity's brown eyes fluttered open and she slowly sat up, stretching her arms into the air. As she brought her arms back down to rub the sleep out of her eyes, she glanced around. "Mama?" Slowly, she got to her feet and looked around the area. "Where are you?" She quickly became frantic as she started to run through the trees. Her gaze darted around in fear as she cried out. "This isn't funny!"
Hour after hour passed before the girl finally gave up on her search, falling down to sit beside a tree. Her lip quivered as she pulled her knees to her chest and tears began to fall from her eyes. "M-Mama… Big brother…" She muttered, hiding her face in her knees.
From between the trees, Felicity heard the sound of stammering footsteps and she snapped her head to see what was coming. "M-Mama?" She called out and a moment later, the figure of her older brother appeared. Her eyes went wide as she stumbled to her feet and threw herself into Rogue's arms. "Rogue! Where's mama? I want mama!" She cried out, burying her face in his chest.
The boy hesitantly wrapped his arms around her shaking figure, holding her close. "I don't know… Skiadrum…" He trailed, his own body shaking as if he could cry any moment, but he knew he couldn't. He had to stay strong for his little sister. He couldn't show the agony he felt. "He's gone too."
Felicity didn't pull away from the hug as she clutched onto this shirt. "We're alone? Where are we supposed to go…?"
Rogue reached up and ran his fingers through her hair to attempt to calm her down. "We'll be okay, I promise. I'll keep you safe." He would do everything in his power to protect her. No matter what, they were going to be okay.
The two of them were left on their own to take care of themselves, but as long as they had each other by their sides, they both could have the courage to move forward. There was no certainty if that courage would last forever, but they would do everything in their power to keep it as long as possible. Only time would tell. The one thing they both knew was certain, was that they wanted to walk through the journey together.