Rebellion

A Lone Tear

My eyes watered and I brushed the tears away before they were released. Crying shows weakness, and the last thing I wanted was to show weakness. I looked up, and I could have sworn the Orofile's gaze softened. I swallowed before replying:

"The story I told you, the story of my life since I pulled out Electra's egg centres around one thing. My Anchemi. Because of me, they have left the academy and become rogue, before fighting in a rebellion and now they live in a palace, pretending they don't know where Quaem and I have gone. My dream of becoming the perfect dragon rider may have gone with the wind, but I have loyal friends who have fought for and with me, threw away their future for me and trust me enough to go on some hare brained quest to get a mythical Diadem. If not for me, I owe them the future in the palace they have fought for. So yes, there is a reason I came here. And that reason still stands,".

The Orofile nodded slowly and as I watched, a lone tear tricked down her face. My circlet rose up off of my head, and, to my surprise, floated towards the Orofile. As the tear splashed down, it hit the Diadem and a mist surrounded it. The Orofile spoke.

"Amy, Rider of Electra, you have empowered me with your ideals of the world, and the trust you hold in your comrades. In the short time I have been speaking to you, I have gathered that, although you are uncomfortable with the idea of being both human and dragon, you will bear it because you trust your Anchemi to help you, and they trust you to help them. With this said, I am going to, as I am supposed to, give you a power. You have various options, from invisibility, the power to gift people other powers, and wisdom. Which one would you like?". I paused.

"I don't want any other powers, but thank you for the offer. If I get another power like wisdom or the gift to give powers, how can I say that I ruled the country myself. It would be the powers which would be fair and just, not me. And with the power of invisibility, you can't hide from your problems, so what is the point?". The Orofile threw back her head and laughed, just as the mist began to fade from around my circlet. I gasped. My circlet, with the twisted diamond shape in the middle, now had elegant scrolls of gold surrounding it, with multicoloured jewels embedded in the gold. It looked elegant, without looking over the top and it settled back on my head. The Orofile looked at me:

"I have given you a power, but not one you have to use,".

"Ok,". I said puzzled. That sounded interesting. I glanced up at the Orofile to see her eyes twinkling. Smoke coiled from her nostrils, reflected in the pea green scales around her snout. The smoke curved around us, it's mother of pearl colour bouncing the light off of it and filling my surroundings with iridescent swirls. The Orofile roared, the ground trembled and the cavern quaked. I shut my eyes and the next thing I knew, as the smoke cleared, was that we were at the palace. I could see Quaem, looking as surprised at the surroundings as I felt, in the courtyard. The Orofile roared again and I knew that every being up to and beyond the academy could hear what she said.

"I, the Orofile, of the esteemed Imperium race, gift Amy, Rider of Electra, the Diadem of Tears. Amy has been given the gift of Dragonkind. She will be able to gift the power to turn into a dragon, to any human she wishes. I present to you, Amy, the Queen of Dragons and Rider of Electra!". The crowd roared their delight as the Orofile muttered to me;

"If you will excuse me, I need to make up with my parents. After all, what is life without regrets?". I laughed and waved as she shimmered and disappeared. The council bowed to me as my Anchemi waved, not bowing. I walked over to them as Striker rubbed me with his nose.

"We have some ... news to catch you up on,".

"Oh? What kind of news?". I asked, scanning their faces for any sign.