Dragon Princess, Forest Ostrander [best book club books TXT] 📗

a month ago so I was obviously the odd one out. Plus, in all the Southern Kingdome, not once did I see another white dragon, so that would surely make me stick out like a sore thumb. Lowering my eyes I started to turn around to head back when I felt a vine wrap around my stomach and lifted me up. Squealing in terror and shock I was dragged out into the open meadow where the other dragons watched me with curious eyes. I knew the green hatchling was behind this, he was the only one I noticed who had control over the plants.

"What do you want?" The pink hatchling hissed at me.

"Hush Rose, let the little one speak. Emerald, put her down gently," the yellow adult said in a gentle tone to the other hatchlings. Emerald lowered me to the ground before removing the vine from around me and for once in my life, I wished Prince Derek was here to get me out of this.

"What's your name?" The yellow adult asked me.

"Am...Amelia," I mumbled out.

"Ah, nice to meet you young Amelia. My name is Gem, tell me, what are you doing way out here?"

"I was exploring. I didn't mean to intrude on you guys," I said apologetically.

"Too late for that," Rose mumbled and I had to refrain myself from glaring at her.

"Hush Rose. Can't you see the poor thing is frightened?" This time it was the cobalt blue hatchling leaping to my defense.

"My name is Storm, nice to meet you Amelia. The pink one is my sister Rose and the green one is my brother Emerald." I nodded to him slightly but didn't speak.

"Where do you live?" Gem asked me and I wondered if I should answer her.

"I...I guess you could say I live in the castle but I'm from the North," I finally decided to say. All three dragons now stared at me.

"You live in the castle?!" Rose said leaping down and eyeing me up and down. "How could a scrawny thing like you live with Prince Derek and his family?"

"Rose!" Gem bellowed at her daughter which made Rose cower a bit. Emerald and Storm chuckled in the background as their sister was disciplined.

"I...I don't know. My egg was brought there, I don't remember much of what happened," I replied. I didn't know why it would matter on me living in the castle but from the way the pink hatchling acted I assume that it was a huge deal...that or she had the most biggest crush on Prince Derek.

"Well little one, what is your name?" Gem asked in a gentle tone and I instantly liked her.

"Amelia, I don't know my last name, Derek said it was Whitescales but I don't know if that was my mother's last name or not." Why was I reveling this much to strangers I did not know but there was something about Gem that reminded me of home which was odd for me as I have no idea what the North even looks like.

"Well Amelia Whitescales, it's nice to meet you. Who did you say your mother was?" Gem asked.

"I don't know my mom’s name but from what Derek says, she was the Queen of the North," I caught the two boys give me a long, shocked stare and I could almost feel the hatred and jealously flowing off of Rose; Gem too seemed taken aback.

"You're a Princess?" Emerald finally squeaked out.

"I don't want to be. Derek said that when I was only an egg my mother passed me off to be his bride but I don't want to marry anyone, I just want to go home. Derek said my mother was away on vacation and I want to see if she was home by now," but in all honesty, there was something deep down inside me that told me my mother was not home waiting for me, in fact, I had the feeling that there would be no one in the North waiting for me.

I heard a loud huff come from Rose as she stormed away.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"Oh don't mind her, she gets like this when she thinks a threat is intruding on her chances of getting Derek," Storm said with a wink at me.

"She thinks I'm a threat?" I asked. I couldn't fully grasp why she would think that, I didn't even want to be a bride to a Prince of a different land let alone be married at all, plus passing me off as some possession did not sit well in the pit of my stomach without me having a say about it.

"Ya, but don't worry. She is just over reacting, do not worry about anything she says," Storm said once more and padded up to his mother.

"AMELIA!" I heard a familiar roar call my name and my mood plummeted and darkened. Great.

"Sounds like you should be heading home now," Gem said, she too had looked up at Prince Derek's roar.

"I don't want to," I said still stubborn about being treated like a baby, I may have just hatched today but that is no excuses to treat me like I can't take care of myself.

"Oh, it can't be that bad, look here he comes now," Gem said pointing behind me with her muzzle. I turn around to see a very angry Prince Derek stalking up to me and I braced myself for the remarks I would need to make.

"Don't you ever run away on me like that again!" Derek bellowed looking down at me.

"Stop treating me likes an egg and I won't!" I yelled back up at him, I had totally forgotten about our audience until Derek said.

"Thank you Gem for finding her, I've been looking all over for her."

"Not a problem your highness, she was no trouble at all," Gem said bowing her head, I scowled at Derek and was taken off guard when he picked me up by the scruff.

"HEY! PUT ME DOWN!" I screeched, I hated being picked up and the way he did it made my blood boil even more.

"And have you run away? Not going to happen," Derek said through clenched teeth as he turned away from Gem and her family and headed back to the castle with me struggling in his grasp.

"You're no fun! I was doing just fine on my own! I wish I was with my mom and not you!" I screamed at him and tried to shake my head around to give him a hard bite on the tip of his muzzle but he held me in just the right position that I couldn't reach him.

"If you had, you would be dead," Derek finally said and I stopped struggling and looked at him in shock and what I saw in his eyes told me that he did not mean to blurt the truth out.

"What did you just say?" I said, I knew deep down inside me there was something everyone was hiding from me but I couldn't put a claw on it, now I knew. When Derek sat me down in the hallway of the castle he sighed.

"An elder from your Kingdome brought you here as an egg to protect you from a black dragon who was attacking your castle. She left you in my care so that dragon did not kill off every line of the royal blood line in the North. Your mother did not make it in the battle between the black dragon." I stepped away from him, my eyes never leaving his face.

"You're lying! You have to be!" I shouted at him and bolted to my room. Slamming the door behind me I threw myself onto my make shift bed which was made out of bits of cloth and fabrics that I found and liked and buried my head under one of the fabrics and cried. Deep down inside I knew he wasn't lying but I didn't want to admit that, my whole being wanted to believe that he was, that my mother was still alive and still out there waiting for me to come home to her. I heard a light tap on my door and grumbled.

"Go away, I don't want to talk to anyone."

"It's me," I heard a voice say from the other side and I knew word must have gotten to Derek's mother. Sighing I mumbled.

"Come in," I pulled my head out from underneath the fabric and watched as the Queen entered in my room and by the look on her face I knew she had found out.

"Why didn't you guys tell me?" I spat through clenched teeth, the pain and betrayal that I felt was much stronger than I had imagined it was. Closing the door behind her, the Queen sat down in front of me.

"Please understand, we only wanted to protect you."

"By lying to me? By making me think my mother was still alive? How is that protecting me!" I yelled at her. I was greeting with sad eyes, the same eyes that Derek had given me when he finally told me the truth but I was in no mood to feel any guilt at yelling at the both of them either.

"Well, whenever you wish to talk, you know where to find me," the Queen said before leaving my room. I waited for a good while to make sure they were not listening in before I climbed myself up to the window and out of it. I may not be able to fly well yet but glidding sure is another good way to get around from point A to point B. 

Imprint

Publication Date: 04-20-2014

All Rights Reserved