The Dragon Prince
The End of Summer Party

Alyssa

“Damn, I can’t get a hold of Vincent, Jacob, or Isabella!” Annabeth panicked. “Alexandria has a strict no phone policy during training,”

“Guys, will you relax? I’m just sick.” Audrey said.

“You’re not just sick, Audrey. You’re manifesting.” I said.

“That’s impossible; I don’t turn 18 for another three months!” Audrey said, barely gasping for air. Then Audrey collapsed on the ground.

“Annabeth, find the others and get them here. I don’t care what you must do; bring them here.” I said. “Listen, is there anywhere on the island where I can take her so she can shift? There is not enough space for her to turn here.”

“I don’t know!” Annabeth cried.

“Anna, I need you to think!” I screamed.

“Uh, there’s a field not far from here; just go past that house and down the street and make a right,” Annabeth said.

“Okay, I’ll get her to the field, and you get the others,” I said.

“I can’t leave her with you; a dragon manifesting is dangerous,” Annabeth said while shaking me.

“I’ll be fine; we don’t have time to argue, now GO! Audrey needs Alexandria and Vincent with her as she manifests.”

Annabeth’s fairy wings erupted from her back, and she leaped into the air. “Goddess be with you,” Annabeth smiled.

I helped Audrey walk to the open field with her arm around my shoulder. Audrey could barely walk, and I felt like I was carrying her the entire time.

“Audrey lay on the grass,” I said as I helped her to the ground.

“How did you know that I was manifesting, Alyssa?” Audrey said.

“Because your manifestation is very similar to mine,” I said.

“I’m not ready for this; I’m not ready for my dragon,” Audrey said.

“Our friends will be here; just hold on a bit longer,” I said while holding her hand.

“Don’t worry, Alyssa; let me lessen her pain,” Dahlia said.

Wait, Dahlia, you’re awake; please talk to me. But I heard no response, only Audrey’s controlled breathing. Did Dahlia do something to help Audrey?

Audrey then got on all fours and curled up into a ball. “Make it stop; it hurts.”

“Listen, I know it hurts, but you must stop fighting it. I mistakenly fought the transformation; please don’t fight it. Embrace it. Let your dragon swallow you whole. I know how it feels; every cell in your body is being ripped apart and put back together, and it doesn’t know its role anymore. It’s like your body is shrinking and exploding at the same time. All your feeling is in a mix, and all you want to do is scream.

I soon noticed the guys, Izzy and Annabeth, running up to us and stopping and not coming closer. Alex had that face like she wanted to rip my throat out, but I had to focus on Audrey. I looked into Vincent’s eyes, and he smiled reassuringly. “Don’t fight the dragon. You don’t have to be afraid,” I smiled. “You know who you are; you know what’s going on. Allow her to take control; let Laufey take control.”

“My dragon’s name is Laufey?” Audrey asked me.

I nodded.

Audrey’s body started getting bigger, and I stepped back and allowed her room. Audrey’s fingers turned into sharp claws, and her whole body grew red scales.

“ALYSSA, LOOK OUT!” Vincent yelled.

Before I noticed what Vincent was saying, a pair of wings knocked me back.

“ALYSSA!” Vincent yelled. He scooped me in his arms and held me from harm. Audrey was a beautiful red dragon. Vincent touched my head, and I winced at the pain. I must have hit my head on something and barely felt it. I noticed Alexandra slowly approach Audrey.

“Audrey, it’s me, Alexandria,” Alexandria said softly.

“My name is Laufey!” Faufey bellowed. It seems Audrey’s Dragon is in complete control. I hope she doesn’t see us as a threat as she just woke up.

“Seems you are Audrey’s inner voice, her confidant. It’s nice to meet you. I understand you just woke up with Audrey, but we would like her to return to us.

“She’s scared, this is a new transition now that I’ve awakened, but I’ve arrived when she wasn’t ready to meet me,” Laufey said. Laufey then looked at me, her red eyes burned with the element of fire she controls. She walked closer to me, not once removing her gaze.

I stagger as I get on my feet. “Take it easy,” Vincent said.

“I’m fine,” I said as I approached Laufey. I felt blood dripping down my head, but I ignored it. I gave Alexandria a look, asking her to give me a chance. She looked far from pleased but nodded after looking at the dragon before her.

I looked into Laufey’s eyes and saw fear and confusion. “It’s alright,” I reached up and touched the dragon’s snout. Laufey growled softly. “It’s alright, relax. You don’t have to protect Audrey when she is around her friends; she’s safe.

Laufey closed her eyes, and when she opened them, I saw familiarity. “Hey, Audrey. Welcome back,” I smiled. I looked back at the guys and nodded, signaling that everything was okay. Audrey glowed softly as she began to shrink back.

Audrey shifted back into her human form. “Ugh, what happened? I feel like shit,”

“That’s normal; turning takes a lot out of you for the first time,” Jacob said.

“Oh, that’s nice. I’m tired; I want to take a nap for a while.

“Jacob, I’ll help you bring Audrey back to the castle. Vincent, keep an eye on Alyssa and get that head wound checked out,” Alexandria said as she and Jacob took Audrey with them back to the castle.

“Hey, are you okay?” Vincent asked me. He placed his hand on my cheek and gently made me face him.

“If you’re asking about the cut on my head, I’m fine,” I said.

“I’m taking you to Doctor Solus; he’ll close that up and run a Head CT for any possible head trauma,” Vincent said.

“No, I said I’m fine. I don’t want to leave Audrey,” I said.

“This is not a request,” Vincent’s voice echoed. “Shit, I shouldn’t have used my dragon king voice. I’m sorry.”

“If you want me to see the doctor, I will see him with Annabeth and Isabella. I’ll see you later, Vincent,” I walked past Vincent and walked toward Annabeth and Isabella, who were still there. They guided me to the hospital, and the nurse had us wait in the room for Doctor Solus to come in.

“By the Goddess, what happened to you, Alyssa?” Doctor Solus said.

“Oh my god, would everyone relax? It’s just a cut.” I scoffed.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Doctor Solus grinned. I sat down as he examined my head. “Well, you won’t require a head CT, but I need to stitch this wound up, so mind if I asked how you got this cut on your head.”

“Audrey manifested,” I said.

“I see. Is Audrey okay?” Doctor Solus said.

“Yeah, she should be sleeping in the palace. I was too close to her when she turned, and I was flung back. I hit a rock.” I explained.

“Well, I came to that conclusion as well.” Dolor Solus finished his stitching and whispered a word I couldn’t understand. “When you get these removed when the healing is complete, there shouldn’t be any scarring,”

“Thank you so much,” I said.

“If you get any painful headaches or dizzy spells, you come straight to me; otherwise, take some common drugstore medications available to everyone to control your pain.” Doctor Solus ordered.

“Will do; thank you again.” I smiled.

(The Next Day)

When I woke up, I went to the bathroom to remove the bandage from my head. The wound was barely noticeable after the spell the doctor had cast but was still red and sore. I placed new applications on my head, and I noticed I had a small black eye. I’ll have Izzy cover it with makeup before the party tonight. After what happened yesterday, I was in no mood to party, and having a pounding headache was not helping me. Annabeth bought me three dresses to pick from for the party, so I have no excuse not to go tonight.

I soon heard Izzy knock on the door. “Alyssa, may I come in?” Izzy asked.

“Yeah, sure,” I said.

Izzy smiled as she saw me. “How’s your head?”

“I’ll manage; it’s not as bad as I thought.” I then thought about Audrey, and I hope she is doing okay, considering the situation with her dragon. “How is Audrey?” I said.

“That is what I came here to talk to you about. Vincent just called me, and she woke up. The goddess didn’t bless me with an inner voice like with Vincent. she remembers everything that happened and is currently learning to communicate with her dragon now that we know her dragon has a voice.” Izzy said.

“Vincent’s Dragon is like Audrey?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“Yep, Vincent’s Dragon is named Astarot, and like Vincent, he has a temper,” Isabella said.

“Wow, you learn something new every day. I’m like Vincent and Audrey, my dragon’s name is Dahlia. It’s good to hear that Audrey is okay and awake. Will she be coming to the party tonight?” I said.

“I doubt it; new dragons usually must learn to control their shifting before going out and about. Audrey needs to control her emotions, or she will risk being about a forced shift. There is always the possibility that Audrey could shift without wanting to, and most need help maintaining it for the first few days and some longer than others.” Izzy explained.

“So where will Audrey be trained to control her new powers,” I asked while brushing my hair.

“We have a special place where new dragons go after they have manifested for the first time. King Zayne ordered the creation of a safe space so they could learn and not harm others while learning control. Audrey will likely attend the academy after learning to control her powers.” Izzy said.

“Well, I’m glad Audrey’s awake and doing well.” I smiled.

“Yeah, I heard Audrey’s manifest was very painful,” Izzy said; she was about to cry.

“Aren’t they all painful?” I said.

“By the goddess, no! A dragon manifesting is not supposed to be painful at all.” Izzy gave me a sad look as she soon realized it. “When you manifested for the first time, it was painful, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” I nodded slowly. “I want to be there for Audrey as much as I can. I know the pain she felt. But, if you don’t mind me asking, how was your manifestation?”

“I went to bed one night, and when I woke up, I was a dragon. I freaked out and nearly destroyed half the island.” Izzy laughed. “King Zayne and Queen Rosetta were PISSED.”

“Who’s King Zayne?” I asked.

“The most powerful black dragon to ever walk the earth. King Zayne is the youngest dragon in history to take the throne of Varrfarrinn after his father passed. He is also the father of Crown Prince Vincent and Princess Alexandria.” Izzy said.

“Yeah, I remember Vincent telling me that his father travels often. Wait, how long until the party starts?” I said, looking at the clock on the wall. “SHIT! How long have we been talking?”

“A few hours, relax. We have plenty of time to get dressed. I’d leave you to whatever you were currently doing while I get dressed and help Annabeth pick a dress for her because she can’t pick a dress even if her life depended on it. Goddess, it’s a miracle that she survived outside her mother’s womb,” Izzy said while leaving my bedroom.

I left the bathroom and wore the white dress I picked out yesterday. Now, the hard part is not getting dirty.

“Hey, Lissy, you ready yet?” Annabeth said while walking into my room with Isabella. I stared off into space when she called me that. No one had called me Lissy for a long time. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. My mother used to call me Lissy,”

“Oh my goddess, I’m so sorry,” Annabeth gasped.

“It’s fine; it’s just that I haven’t heard it in a long time, and you can call me that if you’d like.” I smiled.

“Thank you, Lissy. I will do your makeup so we look our best.” Annabeth gave a scary look while she held the eyeliner pencil. Oh boy, I hope she doesn’t screw this up.

After Annabeth did a surprisingly good job with the makeup, the party is at the beach. I was excited to go, but I asked if she could get me some painkillers before we left as my head was pounding again. I took the pills and hoped that I would feel better. But my vision got cloudy when Isabella and Annabeth exited the door. I grabbed the side of the couch to keep myself standing. What the hell? I felt a slight pressure in my head; I hoped these painkillers would work soon, or I might pass out before I ever reached the beach.

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