The Dragon Prince
Race Around Bermuda

Alyssa

It was time for the meeting to begin; I showered and put on my blue dress that I thought Vincent might like. I don’t always want to wear gold, but Vincent always likes to wear his white tuxedos. I guess it’s a white dragon thing.

“You look amazing,” Vincent smiled as he exited the bathroom, fully dressed. Vincent took the clothes that he would be wearing for dinner in the bathroom to get changed as soon as he got out of the shower.

“Thank you,” I blushed.

“Let’s not keep the others waiting. Are you ready for the meeting?” Vincent asked me.

“I don’t know the answer to that question. But, I can’t run away from what will happen, so let’s get down there and face the music,” I said.

“Don’t worry, if anything happens, I’ll protect you,” Vincent said.

“I’m pretty sure that I was the one that saved you, last time you were in a fight,” I crossed my arms.

“That was two verses one fight. I was outnumbered, but they were outmatched. Way to rub it in by the way,” Vincent grunted.

“Let’s go eat dinner big boy, we don’t want to be late,” I kissed his cheek.

I felt the tension in the large dining room when I entered with Vincent. Vincent held me close and gave death glares to anyone who looked at me the wrong way.

All of the kingdom leaders in one room was something you see only sometimes. Isabella and Jacob were with their parents in one corner; it seemed like every kingdom had its place in the room. Izzy looked far from pleased.

“The tension is so thick, you can cut it with a knife,” I told Vincent.

“Just stay close to me; who knows what will happen with everyone here,” Vincent whispered. Vincent then looked around. “I don’t see Rory or Tristan,”

“They are outside with the other guards,” Alex explained.

The groups formed a circle in the room. On my right was the European kingdom, and to my left was the Chinese one. “How do these meeting work exectly?” I asked.

“The crown dragon comes and submits the discussion topic, and then the dragon leaders discuss what must be done about it,” Alex explained.

“More like they bitch and fight about the topic until someone get’s thier way,” Vincent countered Alex’s explanation.

Over my shoulder, I could see some guy staring at me with a puzzled look. “Uh, Vince, that guy over is staring at me,” I tugged on his suit.

Vincent looked in the way I was referring to, and his demeanor changed. “Why is Jeffery staring at you?” Vincent’s tone turned to annoyance and rage.

“I’m getting the feeling that you two don’t like each other,” I said.

“That’s because very few do like him, smug bastard only cares about himself,” Alex scoffed. “A few years ago, I was Jeffery’s fated mate but I rejected him when I saw who he really was. My father was supportive, but he said I took a risk to not get a second chance at love; oh well,” Alex shrugged.

I looked at Jeffery; he seemed the same age as Alexandria. He was still looking at me, and when he caught me looking back, he gave me a slight wink. I think I’m going to be sick. I felt Vincent wanting to rip his head off, but I held his hand and kissed his cheek to calm him.

“Good, it seems that everyone is here. Let us begin; as you all know by now, Zayne has been taken from us, and the people responsible for his death call themselves the warriors of Sozin,” Gloria said.

“If we know who is the responsible, why haven’t we taken care of the bastards that did this to Zayne and Rosetta?” Nathan said. “And we also should discuss if someone else should take over the leadership of Varrfarrinn, until we figure this out,”

“LIKE HELL, YOU ALL WILL DO THAT!” Alexandria roared in a fury. “I’m more than capable of caring for Varrfarrinn and her people,”

“If you’re so sure of that, why hasn’t the man responsible for your father’s murder been found?” Nathen countered. “Vincent should be the ruler of Varrfarrinn; after all, he possesses the blood of the moon goddess, her divine essence runs through his veins, and to rule is in his blood,”

I was sure I was seeing smoke coming out of Alexandria’s ears. Still, she managed to keep calm, but to go so low as to say that Alex can’t rule Varrfarrinn is just ridiculous.

“The group behind this has proven to be very resourceful,” Alex spat.

“Alexandria has proven to have things under control on Varrfarrinn,” Gloria said in Alex’s defense.

“I’ve never even heard of this group. How do we know that they are the ones behind this?” Fiona said.

I noticed Gloria looking at me, and I started to get nervous. “Alyssa knows who they are,” People noticed Gloria looking at me, and now their eyes were on me. “Alyssa, do you mind sharing your story?”

“This is your source, a random girl?” Nathen scoffed.

“You’d better watch your mouth, Nathen!” Vincent’s eyes glowed white. “Talk about my mate like that again, and I’ll show no mercy,”

“Oh, I see, she’s your girl,” Jeffery laughed.

“Alyssa has proven herself to be a trustworthy ally. You can believe her story. To add to the fact that my brother is her mate, Vincent’s fated mate by the Moon Goddess, you best watch how you treat my future sister-in-law,” Alex said.

“Then by all mean, why don’t you share your story,” Crystal crossed her arms.

I tried to form words, but they stuck in my throat.

“This is a waste of my pressous time,” Amanda groaned.

“Oh, shut up, Amanda! All eyes are on her, and she’s nervous about speaking. It’s okay my dear, just take your time,” May nodded.

I took a deep breath and held my hand with Vincent’s. I get my words out and speak about what these people have done to me. I was captured and experimented on for more than two years. When I escaped, I found Varrfarrinn and discovered I was fated with Vincent, The White Dragon. I also explained how I knew the tattoo we found on the attacking dragons.

“You’re the Golden Dragon? Can you show us?” Crystal asked.

“Don’t push her. I flew with her to this place, and I can confirm with all of you that Alyssa is, indeed, the Golden Dragon,” Akhenaten said.

“Also she says she’s mated to Vincent, for all we know that’s a lie,” Jeffery said.

“Screw you, Jeff! Fine, if it’s proof you want, then it’s proof you shall get.” Vincent took off his tuxedo shirt and turned around to show everyone his back, my mark on his skin for everyone to see. “Is everyone convinced now?” Vincent growled as he put his shirt back on.

“Now, back to the topic of this Sozin guy, everything we have on him comes from this girl?” Nathen said.

“If it’s true, he poses a real threat,” Kashekim said.

Emphasis on if it’s true,” Crystal looked at me.

“If you have other explanations about how Varrfarrinn was attacked, then be my guest,” Alex said.

“It’s hard to talk abut a possible war, when the only informaton we have comes from a girl nobody knows about,” Nathen said.

“Or if she can be trusted,” Amanda added to her husband’s statement. “Alyssa said so herself that she had been with them for almost two years. Who’s to say that she’s not a part of this?”

“She’s not a part of this, you stupid American bitch!” Isabella screamed.

“Isabella, stand down and watch your mouth!” Pricilla scolded her daughter.

“Aktenaten, you’ve been in Varrarrinn for the last few days, what is your opinion?” Fiona asked.

“Alyssa is telling you all the truth. I swear to the Moon Goddess,” Akhenaten said, standing with his words.

“I believe the girl too,” Haoyu said.

“I do as well,” Kashekim nodded.

“So that’s four kingdoms that agree to this threat. Antarctica, Europe and America. What say you?” Gloria said.

“I’m not sure if these warriors of Sozin exist, but if it is true, then they are a threat to Earth. I’d rather be wrong than say that I didn’t do anything to help protect our home,” Crystal said.

“Agreed, I think we should plan like they are a threat. What if they want to attack humanity next? Of course we should do this until we know for sure,” Fiona said.

“What about you, Nathan?” Gloria turned to him.

I could see the annoyed look on Nathen’s face. What the hell is his problem? “I guess it’s better to be safe then sorry,” Nathen said reluctantly.

“Excellent,” Gloria smiled. “Now, time to talk about our next step,”

Everyone talked about how we would deal with Sozin and his warriors for the next hour. It didn’t help that no one knew where he was hiding. I was bombarded with questions about where they were holding me, but other than it was just a castle deep in the forest, I couldn’t say. The plan was to discover more about the missing people and how many humans were missing because of Sozin. However, the magical world will risk exposure if humans start asking questions. According to Gloria and the European leader, the magical world would suffer persecution at an unprecedented level. Across human history, humans feared magic.

“Then it’s been decided. Now I ask to speak with the leaders only please,” Gloria said.

All the children, alongside everyone who wasn’t a leader, left the meeting room. I talked with Izzy and Vincent until Bao and his sister Daiyu approached us.

“Vincent, long time no see,” Bao smiled.

“Bao! It’s nice to see you after all these years.” Vincent shook Bao’s hand. “Bao, I want to properly introduce you to my mate, Alyssa, “′

“The pleasure is all mine,” Bao smiled.

“Same here,” I nodded.

“Where is Audrey? Is she not with you?” Daiyu asked.

“The past events have been hard on her so we gave her a pass on coming,” Vincent said.

We are sorry to hear about your father. The seven kingdoms are mourning the loss of a great leader,” Bao said.

“Thank you, I swear on his grave that I will find the bastard that killed him, and I will personlly send his soul to hell,” Vincent vowed.

“Say the word, and I will help you hunt him down. There will be nowhere on Earth where he can hide,” Bao pledged.

“I will hold you to your offer, Bao,” Vincent said in gratitude.

“I have to say hi to the others, we’ll talk later,” Bao said and walked off with his sister.

“Bao seems nice,” I said.

“Yeah, we go way back, but Jacob will remain my only best friend. Whenever our parents had to meet when we were younger, we hung out. I learned so much about ancient Chinese culture.

“Well, well, well,” Jeffery clapped as he approached us. “Alyssa, you really expect all of us to believe you are the golden dragon?”

“Back off, Jeffery!” Vincent growled.

“I mean, how can you expect us to trust you?” Jeffery questioned.

“And what do you expect me to do?” I sneered at him.

“Honey, don’t encourage this dickhead, he’s looking for an excuse to start a fight,” Vincent said.

I saw a slight grin appear on Jeffery’s lips. “You could face morph, it’s not that hard to do. But I hear you are too weak to do that, so I guess we have to find somthing else,”

My blood started to boil, and I could hear Dahlia growling.

“Don’t make me hurt you!” Izzy threatened.

“So what do you say or let your bodyguard talk for you?” Jeffery smiled.

“That’s it!” Dahlia roared. “Tear his head off!”

“Trust me, I’m capable of sticking up for myself,” I said calmly.

“So you want to want to prove it,” Jeffery raised an eyebrow.

Vincent looked at me and shook his head gently, warning me not to play his game. But when have I listened to anyone’s warning? “If it will shut you up, then bring it!”

“I like your guts. If you reject this sorry excuse for a white dragon, call me, and I’ll happily accept you as my mate,” Jeffery blew me a kiss.

I noticed Vincent’s fists whiten and his jaw clenched. “Trust me, you wouldn’t be my second choice, or any choice for that matter,” I countered. “So are you going to talk the talk, or are you afraid that I will take you down?”

We all went to the landing yard in front of the Citadel. All the children of the leaders came to watch us. I pretended not to notice them.

“Here’s the thing, there are six towers on the mountains that hold the magical barrier in place. Let’s see how fast you can go. Let’s race,” Jeffery laughed. “First one to fly around the island wins, we will start and end on this platform,”

“Alyssa, I sopport whatever you choose, but you don’t have to do this,” Vincent said. “He’s baiting you.”

“Yes, I do,” I growled. “And I’m going to make him regret underestimating me,” I turned to face Jeffery. “Bring it!”

“Wonderful. Remember, we all have to be at a ball in three hours, so don’t take all night please,” Jeffery said.

“Take him down, Alyssa!” Izzy cheered,

“Oh, I intend to,” I said.

“Remember, Jeffery is a lightning dragon, they are fast and can use the wind to thier advantage but not as much as normal wind dragons can,”

“That’s why he’s using racing to challenge you instead of fighting. I won’t lie; he’s good,′ Jacob said.

“Don’t forget that he’s also cocky,” Bao added. “That’s one of his flaws. Jeff thinks he’s already won before it’s begun; use that, and don’t be surprised if he plays dirty,”

“Thanks for the tips, I’ll be extra carful with these in mind,” I smiled.

Jeffery and I took our place in the yard. He gave the go-ahead to shift, wanting to see my dragon. I close my eyes, feeling everyone staring at me. I felt my wings grow from my back, and everyone gasped in awe as they saw me in my dragon form, golden scales and all.

Jeffery shifted into his dragon and stood beside me; his scales were a soft gray, with a dark underbelly and dark colors on his neck and face. His eyes glow a bright blue that crackles with lightning. He was at least one meter taller than me, but I was determined not to be intimidated by him.

Ashley, the oldest daughter of Queen Cyrstal, was our referee. She stood in front of us, holding her hand up. I looked at her, waiting for the signal. I looked over at Jeffery, and he again gave me a smirk. Suddenly, Ashley’s hand went down, and Jeffery and I rose quickly into the sky. He was fast and was half a kilometer in front of me. Damn, it! “What are you doing? Napping?” Dahlia said.

“Let’s do this, together,” I said as I tapped into our power.

We quickly passed the first two towers, but Jeffery had a good lead on me. I could feel my wings burning, and we were barely halfway through. Crap, I thought I recovered enough to get through this without issues. “Give me some control, I can help,” Dahlia said.

I was stupid to think I could win this race alone. Dahlia and I are stronger together. I could feel Dahlia taking control of my wings, and the angle shifted slightly, making me fly a little faster. By the time we passed the third tower, I was behind Jeffery’s tail. He looked ahead, obviously thinking that I was still way behind him.

As we turned to pass the fourth tower, I spun upwards, flying over him and coming down in front of him. I glanced back at him, smiling at him as I saw the shocked expression on his face. When we passed the fifth tower, I was still in the lead, and Jeffery was still trying to get ahead. I made sure to block his path as much as I could. Then I felt a gust of wind around me,

“What is happening?” I said. Before I realized what happened, a strong current knocked me off my path. I caused myself to fly the wrong way around the sixth tower. I quickly got back on course and knew Jeffery used his abilities to get ahead of me. That filthy cheater! I was pissed; he was halfway to the finish line, and I was way behind him. I soon felt everything stopping around me. I saw a bird flying in the distance, but it was stationary; it wasn’t moving. I quickly passed it and caught up to Jeffery, who started moving again. He was shocked that I caught up to him so quickly.

Did I briefly freeze time?

We were both dangerously close to the finish line and in a panic, Jeffery spread his wings to slow down. As soon as I was at least a few meters in front of him, I also spread my wings. I was coming in too fast and crashed hard into the ground. The ground shook, and dust covered the platform.

“ALYSSA!” Vincent screamed as he started to run to me as the dust settled. “Are you okay?”

The ground around me was cracked and broken.

“Can you please shift back so I can kiss and yell at you for scaring me?” Vincent said.

I shifted back into human form, and before I could apologize for scaring my mate, Vincent crashed his lips onto mine. “Don’t ever do that again! Are you okay?”

I patted down my body, letting Vincent know that I was okay and no bone was broken. “I’m great!” I laughed.

“That was amazing!” Bao said with amazment.

“You kick his ass,” Izzy high-fived me.

“Yeah, I guess she did,” Jeffery said behind me. None of us have noticed him shift back. He had that look of annoyance on his face.

“Good race,” I said, holding my hand out for him. Jeffery was surprised to find out about this. I stood there with my hand reached out, waiting for him to respond. Even though he cheated to get ahead, I technically cheated by using a power I didn’t even know I had. How could I have the ability to freeze time, but only momentarily? Besides, it feels good to show good sportsmanship.

Jeffery took my hand and shook it. “Fair and square,” Jeffery smiled and walked off.

I spent the next hour getting to know the future leaders of the seven kingdoms, all the girls were pissed that I was the fated mate to Vincent, but they later explained that the Moon Goddess paired me with Vincent for a reason and that if they did anything to sabotage our relationship, the Moon Goddess would punish them. Soon, it was time to prepare for the ball Gloria had planned for everyone.

I can’t wait for this romantic night with Vincent and a chance for our bond to grow ever stronger.

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