_ - _   Amaya POV   _ - _

I was surprised that Alec wasn’t a person that felt the need to fill silence. The few times that he talked he told me that he was sorry for being rude in the past. He would say “I had no idea you thought I was trying to be mean”, or, “I am so sorry.” It was a little strange to hear him say sorry so many times, but it made me think that he might actually mean it. After 20 minutes of walking, we were at the end of the driveway.

Turning to face me, Alec asked, “Can you please tell me how your dad died? It’s fine if you don’t, but I think it might make you feel a little better.”

If I tell him I might start crying. That would be really embarrassing and dumb. 

“It’s okay to cry y’know. I would understand.” When I looked up, I could tell he wasn’t lying.

“... Okay. Let’s sit down.” Now sitting on the grass next to my driveway, I started explaining. “My dad and I were driving to my Grandma’s place for Christmas. My dad has been sick since I was really little. He was getting sicker every year but he insisted that we go to grandmas’ because we don’t know when we will be able to see her again. He started coughing blood and passed out while we were going down a bridge.” I paused to try to keep my voice from shaking. “He didn’t wake up a-and we hit the curb.” My voice started trembling as I continued. “The car went spinning in the air and… I… I held him in m-my arms as I watched him die-” I broke off in a sob. I felt warmth surrounding me and realized it was Alec hugging me.

“Shh-shh, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Alec was rocking slightly trying to comfort me. “It’s okay. I’m sorry for asking.”

“N-no, it’s o-o-okay.” What if I told him that I’ve been holding in the tears trying to forget the pain? What would he say then? That I was weak for not facing my feelings? That I shouldn’t want to cry at all?

When I finally calmed down enough to stop crying, he pulled me to arm’s length and looked at my face for just a second and then pulled me back into him. “Do you feel any better now?” His voice made him sound troubled.

“Yes,” I responded, my voice cracking. “But can we stay like this for just a little longer?”

“Of course, anything you need.”

“Thank you.” In the next ten minutes I calmed down a little. As winter drew closer, the days got shorter and it was already almost dark out.

*Sniff* “Do you want to come inside for a bit?” I asked, wiping the last of my tears from my face.

“Sure.” He got up and offered his hand to me. Taking his hand, I got up and I grabbed my bike and we started walking to the garage. Putting my bike next to the garage door, I led Alec to the front door and let him in.

“Do you want me to take my shoes off?” Alec asked politely.

“Sure, thanks.” Taking off my own shoes I led Alec to the kitchen.

“Do you want something to drink?” I asked and I opened the fridge. “We have water, sprite, lemonade, and orange juice.”

“Just water please, thank you.” Alec said, looking around.

“Sure.”

“Amaya?” Mr. Marson’s voice sounded out.

“I’m in the kitchen Mr. Marson!” I shouted slightly

“Who is Mr. Marson?” Alec asked, for some reason looking concerned.

“He is my main caretaker and my dad’s old friend.” 

“Wait, hold up. You have a personal butler?!” Alec said, probably thinking of all the books he likes to read.

“Yes and no, I was more of a secretary and assistant for Amaya’s father.” Mr. Marson informed Alec as he entered the kitchen.

“Now he is my guardian, friend, and advisor.” I said with a smile handing Alec his glass of water.

“Wow, you have your own butler. Do you have maids too?” Alec looked astonished.

“Yup! Lexi helps with the cleaning around the house. I don’t let her clean my room though.” I explained.

Alec looked perplexed. “You don’t let her clean your room? Why? Are you hiding something in there?” Alec asked, waving his eyebrows.

“I’m not hiding anything,” I said rolling my eyes, “I just don’t want to be some rich kid that has other people do everything for them.”

“That’s actually kind of cool. Umm, I have one other question, but it might be a little too soon to ask.” Alec seemed awkward as he said this.

“What is it?” Too soon? What is too soon?

Alec lowered his head when he asked, “Well… What is going to happen now that the King is dead?” 

No one spoke for the next ten seconds. Finally realizing Alec was being serious I looked at him with a perplexed expression. “What?” I asked.

“Your father, the Dragon King. Or at least that’s what he was. I’m not really sure what happened to the throne after your mother died in the battle, and with King Enzo escaping with you. … Why do you look so shocked?”

“What the heck are you talking about?!” I asked, shocked and confused.

_ - _   Third POV   _ - _

Amaya was staring at Alec as though there were a giant spider on his face. Mr. Marson sighed, putting his fingertips on his forehead while shaking his head. “I guess I’ll have to tell you now.”

“Tell me what? What do you mean? Are you saying I’m some long lost princess or something?” Amaya said, confused and slightly worried.

“Well…” Alec said with a funny look on his face while shrugging.

Mr. Marson started explaining, “Yes. I was your father’s first of four Advisors. There is a group of people known as the Firebreakers. They believe that “the strong survive”. Your father and mother believed that the strong should protect the weak. The clashing beliefs caused a war to begin. Your mother tried to escape with you from the battle, but a member of the Firebreakers killed her as she was heading to the portal.``

“One moment please. Dragons? Portals? A war? I think I might need a little more information please.” Amaya asked surprised, shocked, and confused.

“Oh, right. Well, there are two realms.” Alec started explaining. “ The dragon realm; Mystic Falls, Skies of the Dragons, and Earth, Land of the Humans. There is a portal connecting the two. Ordinary dragons have to stay in Skyvalley as they can’t turn into humans. Powerful dragons, such as royalty and other powerful families, have the ability to shift into weaker, human forms. This allows them to blend into the human world without causing too much commotion. On top of that, only really powerful dragons can reach the portal because it is really high in the air.”

Mr. Marson interjected, “After the queen died, Enzo, your father, the king, escaped with you to the human realm to keep you safe. There is just one downside to dragons. We can only love one person until that person dies. Once the dragon finds a mate, they will die once their mate does. That is the reason humans and dragons never mate. Dragons can live multiple millennia, whereas humans only live decades. When two dragons mate, much like you mother and father, their lives and souls are bound together for all eternity. When your mother died, your father was ready to join her. You were the only thing that kept him alive Amaya.”

“... Umm…” Amaya was overwhelmed by the amount she had learned in the last twenty minutes. She glanced between Alec and Mr. Marson multiple times before she could finally speak. “Okay, a few questions. One, am I a dragon? Two, if I am what kept dad alive, why did he still die? Three, if I am a dragon, how could I have not known?” Amaya forced herself to stop talking and wait for answers.

“Yes, you are a dragon. The fact that you were born as a human with dragon scales confirms that you are most likely one of the most powerful dragons to ever exist. As for your second question, when a dragon's mate dies, they will go berserk and kill whatever it is that caused their mate's death. Once they succeed in this, they regain a sound mind. After this their heart will stop and they will die. If a dragon has a dead mate but a living hatchling, some will find reason to keep living for their child. The dragon will breathe and restart their heart. Your father died because he had been sick for many years. This caused his body to weaken. The car crash broke his ribs and the sharp bone punctured his lungs. This caused him to lose the ability to restart his heart. Always remember that it is not your fault that he died. No matter what anyone says.” Mr. Marson did not hide his sorrow and it caused tears to fall from his eyes.

“Ahem. As for you third question,” Mr. Marson continued, “a dragon makes their first shift between the ages of 16 and 17 years old. They need to be guided in the shift. The first shift is always the most difficult and most painful. The fact that you have no parent to guide you will make your shift a lot harder, but you will have help. As for you not knowing that you are a dragon, your avoidance of socializing has helped with that. After all, no normal human can lift a car to grab a fallen book as you did last week. This is also why you are taller than most of the humans. You got your white hair and skin from your mother, she was an Ice Dragon, also known as White Dragons. Your height and black eyes are from your father, he was the largest dragon of his time and a Shadowborn, also known as Black Dragon.” Mr. Marson finished.

“How does ‘the shift’ start? Do you have to try to make it start?” Amaya asked.

Mr. Marson took a moment to think before responding. “The first shift can take anywhere from two to nine hours to complete. Every bone in your body has to break, grow larger, and heal into a different shape. Your skin has to become flexible, tough, and grow scales. The shift tends to start because of a high level of emotions, but the shift will stop if the dragon is interrupted.” 

“What do you mean by interrupted?” Amaya asked.

“There are a few ways that a dragon’s first shift can be interrupted. The first way to simply be distracted. When your father died you often had nightmares, yes?” Mr. Marson asked. He continued once he saw her nod. “Each time you had a nightmare, your dragon side was trying to push itself out. The first step towards sifting is scales sowing on your skin.”

“Oh!” Alec interrupted, “That happened twice today! Once this morning, I said something that came off as rude. I'm still sorry about that, but I saw Amayas eyes turn gold for a moment and it looked like she was growing scales! I thought it was just my imagination.” Alex trailed off in wonder.

“Alec, you already had your first shift, you should know the signs by now.” Mr. Marson said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

“Hold up, what?!” Shocked, Amaya accidentally shouted.

“Just because I have shifted does not mean that I know all the signs immediately! She is the first dragon to show such obvious signs. Most dragons just feel a butt ton of pain, like I did!” Alec argued defensively.

Mr. Marson argued, “That is because Amaya is no ordinary dragon! She is the Crown Princess of the kingdom of Mystic Falls! She is bound to be different. The fact that she is more powerful means that she will need more time to fully transform. Just because you want-” 

“Would you please stop talking about me like I’m not here?” Amaya calmly interrupted. Both Alec and Mr. Marson glared at each other before they looked at Amaya. “Thank you. Now, is it even that important for me to transform? I mean, I’m turning seventeen in three weeks, if it was that important, would I have already shifted?” 

Mr. Marson sighed, “It is very important. The war is still happening and you are the only dragon powerful enough to stop it. You haven't even shifted yet and you can already stop two dragons from fighting. Not only that, But the fact that you are trying to hide the pain of losing both your parents will cause your shift to be explosive. Right now you are like a ticking time bomb. The longer you hold in your tears, the faster the shift will be. This is a problem because if you were to shift in the middle of a class, there would be no telling what the damages would be. But, if you try to force the shift, it will be much more painful and it will be harder to control your dragon form and you might accidentally destroy something or kill people. The first shift is not to be taken lightly.”

Mr. Marson paused thinking. After a moment he continued, “I think that it would be a good idea to use spring break as a time to try to shift. Until then, just try to not get too angry, sad, or happy. Don’t think of this as me telling you to not feel emotions, but if you feel a lot of emotion, take a deep breath to calm down.”