—Scarlett—

The morning was busy. Everybody was scurrying around, collecting their things to pack into suitcases for tonight's journey. I mean, I really had no need to do so, since my group would be staying in New York first, but Hazu had a flight to Kumamoto, Japan. I was helping her pack her things, being the nice roommate that I am.

"Oh! And I'll need sunscreen, too!" Hazu exclaimed, rushing around the room until she found a pink bottle of SPF 50. She threw it in her lime green suitcase. When she popped up, her carnation-pink hair looked like it had just been through a twister. "I also need sunglasses, too!"

"Hazu," I started, giggling. "Shouldn't you be a little more worried about, I don't know, actually packing clothes? You're going to Japan to find an artifact from Sciana, not to frolic around the beaches of Okinawa." I placed a stack of clothes in her suitcase. "You should also be packing hiking boots. I've heard that Japan is a very mountainous area; you never know when you'll be in for a surprise mountain climb."

"Oh...right." Hazu's cheeks became a light shade of pink that almost looked like her hair. "I can't help it if I'm so excited to go back home! I love Kumamoto! Back where I lived, there were beautiful beaches near the area full of shells and beautiful flowers! It's so breathtaking, Scarlett! You wouldn't believe it!" Her face fell. "I only wish you could come with me to experience it."

I gave her a comforting smile. "I know. I wish we'd all be traveling together as Team Burning Hope, but Kallan said this is the way it has to be." I walked over to her and hugged the short girl, who only came up to about my chest. "I'm really going to miss you, Hazu." I said earnestly.

"I'll miss you, too, Ohime-sama." She returned.

I guess I better back up a little bit. To those of you who don't already know, my name is Scarlett Seraphina Rosetta Drakani Nilakanta Liora Kaida. I am the Prince of a country that nobody knows exists in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean called Sciana. My father, King Ignacius, is a dragon and my mother is a human. I am a mix of the two races known as a Scale Child.

I didn't know about my lineage until the day I was attacked by a Shadow Creature at the nightclub that I had worked at, Shadow Strike. I fell into a coma and soon after, I soon found out that I wasn't the only member of dragon  royalty. Sciana has four leaders, the Peacekeeper, The Captain, the King—my dad—and the Oracle. Their kids are all friends of mine; Cleric Kallan, Knight Talia, and Peacekeeper Luc.

In addition to being the Prince of Sciana, I am also the first being with dragon blood in over 2,000 years to have been born with the ability to use all eight magics, which is oddly enough called the power of Dragon Soul. I have been trained in the basics of Fire, Water, Sky, Earth, Darkness, Mind, Life and Body magic.

And if that isn't enough, there's a whole prophecy about me saving Sciana from my father's cousin, Kali, who wants me dead. In fact, about two months ago, she came to Eternal and threatened to kill me and my friends by the end of the week if we didn't find and defeat one of her minions that she had placed in the school by the end of the week. The traitor happened to take the form of a boy that I had befriended who went by the name of Madoc O'Brien. Once I had removed the Shadow Creature that was inhabiting his body, I found out that he had actually been a she named Madia Ochoa. Luckily, once we had helped her out, she's been doing a lot better.

Now, my seven best friends are getting split into two groups so we can all revisit our hometowns all over the world to find some legendary artifacts that will help us in our fight against Kali to take back Sciana. For me, that means a twenty-minute walk to my foster mother's apartment on Drake Street, but for my roommate Hazu, that means a twenty hour flight to her deceased parent's house in Kumamoto, Japan.

Hazuki Omori, or 'Hazu' as my friends and I call her, is my roommate and one of the seven best friends I mentioned earlier. Hazu is a master in the Element of Life magic, using the attribute of Flora. This means she has her own way with plants. She can communicate with them and use them to her bidding. Normally, Hazu is a shy girl, preferring to keep to herself. There's another side to her, outgoing, spontaneous and bubbly. This side of her is brought out by the Shadow Creature that resides within her body, Kage, who has an unhealthy obsession with another one of my friends. 

"Come on," I said, tying my hair back into a ponytail. "Let's go! We don't want to be late for our meeting at Drake Cakes! It's almost 2:00. We're cutting it pretty close, don't you think?"

"You can go ahead." Hazu said. "I just want to tend to the plants quick and then I'll catch up with you."

I gave her a curious look. "Are you sure about that?"

She nodded. "Yeah, just go ahead."

I sighed in mock defeat. "Okay, Hazu. If you're absolutely sure, then I'll leave." I walked out of the dorm and slipped on a pair of sneakers as I exited. As I started walking down the halls that were outside of the dorms, I saw a door open with a purple-haired girl stepping out and adjusting her glasses. Madia! I mentally giggled and ran over to her.

"Hey, Mad!" I greeted her.

She gave me a shy smile in reply. "Hey, Scarlett."

"You're on your way to Drake Cakes, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, you did invite me and all." She replied.

You remember that Madia that I mentioned earlier? Yeah, this is the same one, just in case you were curious. Normally, she's really energetic and upbeat, but it seems that ever since the attack, when the two of us are alone together, it seems to be really awkward. I wondered why. I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a warm smile.

"Do you mind if I walk with you?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No, go right ahead. It's a free hallway, after all."

We walked side by side in silence for a bit. I decided that I, as per usual, would have to be the one that started up the conversation. "So, you ready to see the place where I grew up?"

She shrugged. "I mean, if it's nicer than where I grew up, then I guess I don't mind."

I laughed. "You'll like Tracy. She's my foster mother. She's really fun and sweet. She's one of those people who always makes you feel at home."

Madia chuckled lightly. "My mom was the daughter of Miyana, a city in Skazari. She was supposed to marry a chieftain's son from Texanu, but she fell for my dad instead. He was always making jokes and making my mom laughed, and she loved that. They were each other's world. My mother was going to give up her dragon heritage to raise me with my dad in her human form, giving up her longer life as well, but her father caught her and trapped her on Sciana, forcing her to marry her husband. My dad always told me that I look a lot like her and have her protective nature."

I nodded. "Your mom sounds nice."

Madia smiled wistfully. "I can still remember the way she would play lullabies on her violin to help me fall asleep." Her eyes began to tear up.

I smiled and placed my hand back on her shoulder. "You don't need to keep talking about her if you don't want to."

Madia gave me a grateful smile. "Thanks, Scarlett." Her face fell. "After all of the things I did, I don't deserve your friendship."

I laughed. "Hey, you didn't do anything. It was all Skarn's fault, remember?" I pointed out. "You don't need to be apologizing for something that you didn't do to me. I won't accept it."

Madia nodded. "Yeah, I know, but I can't help but feel regret for what happened during those times."

"And I would only imagine it to be natural." I said, continuing to walk down the hall. "But you need to let that go. That chapter of your life is behind you. Don't worry about it."

Madia nervously adjusted her glasses. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Scarlett."

I nodded. "Sure thing. Any time."

I heard a scream of frustration down the hallway. I looked to see a girl with bobbed blue hair down the hall. She seemed to be shorter than most high schoolers, with a lost look on her face.

Madia laughed. "New student, huh?"

I nodded. "That's what it seems like." I laughed. "Why don't I go talk to her quick? You can go meet up with everybody at Drake Cakes. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Madia cocked her head and placed her hands on her hips. "Are you sure about that, boss?"

I nodded. "Absolutely."

She chuckled and crossed her arms. "Helping out lost little freshies...you're definitely going to make a great King someday, girl." She lightly punched my shoulder before walking off. "Take care, okay?"

"Thanks, Mad." I walked down the hall and looked at the girl. She was staring angrily at a tablet in her hands and yelling at the piece of technology.

"Yes! I know that I've arrived at Eternal Academy! I'm asking you where my dorm is!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know where you put your Midol." The voice assistant apologized in a droning voice.

The girl growled. "First off, it was a rhetorical question! Secondly, you're a worthless piece of crap!"

"Don't talk about yourself like that." The automated voice said.

The girl screamed and threw her tablet across the hall. Luckily, I was able to catch it with a pool of shadow before it hit the ground.

"Don't take out your frustration out on the technology." I warned her, laughing. "That must have been worth a bit. You don't want all that money to go down the drain, do you?"

The girl looked at me curiously. "Did you just use Darkness magic?"

I nodded. "That I sure did."

She narrowed her eyes. "But you look more like a Fire-type user. Could you be a hybrid? Do you use the King's magic?"

I shook my head. "Well, no and partially yes. My name is Scarlett Kaida. I'm King Ignacius' daughter."

Her eyes widened. "You mean the Prince of Sciana? The one that uses Dragon Soul magic? That Scarlett Kaida?"

I spread my hands for emphasis. "The one and only." I affirmed.

She smiled. "Wow! I can't believe it! I heard all about how you totally defeated that traitor minion of Kali's! What was his name...oh, yeah! Madoc O'Brien!"

I silently thanked myself that I had sent Madia away. If she had hurt this, she still might have felt guilty about that whole scenario.

I nervously chuckled. "Well, then. Exactly how many people know about that?"
"It went viral in the Scale Child communities online!" She exclaimed, practically jumping up and down. "You're a legend!"

I looked her in the eyes, my curiosity reeling. "Hey, I don't think I caught your name."

"Oh! It's Twyla Winters." She answered, saluting and tipping the newsboy cap she was wearing.

"Twyla?" I asked. "That's a unique name."
She laughed. "My mom was going to name me Tyler until she found out I was a girl. She decided to call me Twyla instead."

"That's cool." I said. "So, what brings you to this corner of the establishment?"

"Oh!" Twyla exclaimed. "I'm looking for my dorm. You see, I'm going to be starting the seventh grade in the fall. My mom sent me here for the summer because she had a whole bunch of business trips and wouldn't be able to take care of me."

"Well, if you're looking for the middle school campus, you're a bit off track." I informed her. "Did you see that football field on the way over here?"

She nodded. "It was kind of hard to miss it."

"Okay, what you want to do is continue going in that direction until you find a diamond-covered path with floating lights and friendly animals. There will be a white doe there. Don't worry, she's really friendly. Tell her that you want to find the middle school dorms and she'll take you there."

Twyla's eyes widened. "Wow! Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Her name's Shika." I said. "She gets fed sugar cubes and gets pet a lot for the students so she decides to give back."

Twyla nodded. "Thanks for the advice!"

And with that, she ran off and was gone. What a sweet girl. Something felt a bit off about her, though. I had been restless ever since Kali's attack about a month and a half ago. I was probably just on edge or something. With that, I decided my best decision was to start heading back to Drake Cakes.

Finally I updated because finally I have all the OC's in. Thanks guys. You will not be disappointed. Also, I'll be leaving for camp next week so there may be about a two week delay on any updates. Sorry in advance!

Signing Off, Kiera Savage