—Jian—

I knew Talia was rich, but when we were picked up in a limousine after getting out of the airport, complete with snacks in the back seat and a light show covering the roof, I wondered just how much money her family actually had. She liked to downplay it, but this made it quite obvious that she had a lot more money than she had implied.

Talia didn't say much during the ride, just held Yuri and tried to focus her attention on her young child. She didn't even indulge herself in any of the sweets or drinks drinks that were offered and was even ignoring any attempts Kallan made at conversation. I frowned. She used to joke about how much of a hell it was whenever she went home, but it seemed that there was a lot more truth to that statement than she would care to admit.

I stared at Yuri for a bit and silently began to wonder what really was going through his mother's mind at that moment. Even though she was legally an adult,she was still a teenager. It would be hard to go to your parents and tell them that you yourself had become a parent, and if Talia's dad was even half as nasty as she had said, this was not going to be pleasant for her at all.

I leaned back into my seat and tried to relax. I knew if I got myself worked up over this situation, I would end up bugging Talia about it and she would get frustrated herself. Instead I decided to focus my attention on the assortment of drinks and snacks laid out in front of us. There was a couple bottles of various alcoholic drinks laid out in front of us, such as sangria, beer and I had even spotted a bottle of Rum Chatta, but most of it was different flavors of vodka. Things such as turkish delights, snack bags of Doritos and packages of Skittles were laid out as well.

I silently watched as Hazu leaned in and grabbed a handful of M&M's from a metal dish, picking them up one by one from her hand and snacking on them quietly. Zora poked the candies for a bit and eventually took a single piece, popping it into her mouth. Her face scrunched up in disgust as she shook her head, grabbing a bottle of beer, popping it open and using it to wash the taste out of her mouth.

"Hey, Zora, you need to be at least eighteen to drink that!" Hazu scolded her.

"But I'm sixty years old. Surely I am old enough to drink something like this." Zora pointed out, taking another sip of the beer.

"But you're body shouldn't be much older than mine!" Hazu pointed out. "You'll get drunk!"

"Even if her body is around your age, alcohol doesn't affect Shadow Creatures in the way it affects humans." I stated, butting into their conversation. "Actually, purebred Shadow Creatures actually live off of rotting fruit, and therefore live off of alcohol like humans and dragons live off of water. Since Zora is a combination of all three species, she'll probably be able to drink both liquids."

Hazu looked like she was about to say something, but refrained from doing so. She then piped up after a few seconds of seeming to get her words together. "Then why does she hate sugar? Is that a Shadow Creature thing as well?"

Zora shook her head. "My people really don't have anything against sugar, but I personally hate it." She replied simply, drinking the rest of the beer and then crushing the can between her feet when she was done.

It was interesting to see how close Zora and Hazu were now. They once were enemies, and now they were getting along like they had been best friends since they were little. Hazu laughed and had started braiding Zora's bangs out of her face, while Zora had thanked her for the act of kindness. They smiled and got along as if they had never had a fight in their life.

My attention then was caught by Kallan on the other side of them, her head down in her hands as she absentmindedly kicked the crushed beer can that Zora had drunk out of. It didn't take a psychologist to figure out that she was worried about Talia. Kallan never said much about their relationship, but it was obvious that she looked up to the Russian girl as both a role model and a big sister. Kallan always had to make sure that Talia was okay, otherwise she would go through bouts of depression like she was currently.

And through all of this, Talia still kept her attention focused on Yuri. It surprised me when I saw the gentle and caring expression that was painted across her face. I had never seen her like that. Ever. I was used to seeing the Talia that seemed to get angry over absolutely everything, always giving a scowl of disapprovement that made you wonder if an animal had taken a dump in her food or something.

I wondered if it was Yuri that had been causing this change in her. Was it always kids that changed people? What if someday I decided to settle down and have a kid? Would I go soft? Would I end up dressing normal, stop listening to rock music and getting rid of all of my piercings? They'd have to be one hell of a kid for that to happen.

I subconsciously rubbed my right shoulder. I knew that right near my spine, there were two Chinese characters tattooed there in black ink, 玫灵. Méi, meaning rose, and Líng, meaning spirit. This was the name of my mother, the only piece of my past that I bothered to hang on to. Only when I was in rehab had I actually dug up any information on her.

My mother was well known for playing the Erhu, a Chinese violin. She had come from the province of Palu in Sciana, but was much more interested in the culture of China, and had lived there in her human form for nearly a hundred and fifty years before she met my dad. When she was pregnant with me, my father had found out that she was a dragon and had gone insane. He had murdered her and left me on the street to survive once I was born. According to my relatives from Sciana, I looked a lot like she did.

Perhaps I inherited more than just my looks from her. Ever since I can remember, it was quite easy for me to learn any kind of instrument I picked up. Music was just something that came instinctively. That's where I had gotten the inspiration to start a band. I had been practicing guitar when my present band members had joined in for therapeutic music playing. They sounded good, and I invited them to practice with me. We started making music together after that, and all was good.

On my eighteenth birthday, I got my mother's name tattooed on my shoulder so I could remember who I had to thank for my amazing life and my love of music.I owed a lot to this woman, even though I had never met her or even seen her face.I silently made a prayer to her, that we would meet someday, in whatever afterlife awaited us.

When I opened my eyes, I could have sworn for a split second that I saw a beautiful woman with flowing orange hair staring at me lovingly. It made me wonder if I was hallucinating, but even if I was, it wasn't something that I necessarily wanted to stop.

It wasn't long before we finally arrived at Talia's house. It looked like something straight out of a fairytale. It looked like a castle made out of stone with metal filigree decorating almost every inch of the walls. As we walked inside, various workers walked from out of the house and carried our luggage inside the house. I was left in awe. Had Talia really lived such a lavish lifestyle? If she had been this spoiled, what exactly was so bad about her life? Maybe she was so privileged that she didn't realize exactly what she had.

And walking in, the interior looked exactly how you would expect it to be. There were suits of armor lining the halls with what appeared to be priceless works of art. We walked down the hall until we came to a huge room that I would have thought was a ballroom if I didn't know any better.

I looked at the face of the brunette Russian walking next to me. Her face was full of anxiety, cradling her child into her chest, as if she didn't want him to know how scared she really was. In fact, her eyes were trained on the floor, refusing to look up at all. What had gotten her so worked up? If Talia, who feared almost nothing, was scared of coming back home, there was no telling how terrifying this man actually was.

I looked over again at Kallan, who wore the same expression of worry as her friend. In the opposite direction, Hazu and Zora were chatting amongst one another, their carefree attitude opposing everybody else's somber mood. I took notice to how they opposed each other, the yin and yang.

I understood Zora's lack of understanding, but Hazu should have been a bit more concerned, as she knew the stories that Talia had told. Maybe her time with Zora had helped her to stay more positive among situations like this one.

I was about to try to start a conversation with someone until I heard a loud shout coming from up the staircase. Our heads all turned up towards the source of the sound from up the stairs. At the top, there was a small woman, hunched over a cane and drinking from a metal flask. Her hair was peppery gray and hidden behind a brightly colored headscarf. She turned her head towards us and smiled happily.

"Tam moya prekrasnaya Metalia!" She exclaimed, hobbling down the stairs.

Talia's jaw looked like it fell down to the floor. "Babushka?! You're still alive?!"

"Babushka Stalin never die!" The woman replied in broken English, her accent so thick that you could slice off a piece of it with a knife. "So good to see how much Taliya get big." She then pointed her cane at Yuri. "Vat vith baby?"

"This is Yuri." She replied calmly, still in shock that this woman was even here.

"Who is parent?" Her Babushka asked. She then gestured to me. "Is it Asian man?"

"No." Talia said, shaking her head. "His father is not here currently, but I-"

"Oh, you sit on the baby." Babushka said, nodding her head, as if it made perfect sense to her.

Talia again shook her head. "No, Babushka."

"Then who baby belong to?"

"Well you see-"

"I no care." Her Babushka said quickly. "If not yours, no matter." The grandmother then took a swig from her metal flash. "If your baby, Papa better meet Babushka. I give him blessing." She then turned to me and handed me her flask. "Drink."

I sniffed the contents of the bottle. A burning sensation filled my nostrils, followed by the scent of alcohol. "Oh, dear god, what in the name of...What's in this?"

"Vodka. Pure." The small old lady replied to me.

"You expect me to drink straight vodka?" I asked her, worried about this old lady's sanity.

"Vodka is good for health." She assured me, patting my back. "You need some vodka."

I looked to Talia for help, but she just laughed at me and shrugged. Not really knowing what else to do, I gestured to Zora and waved the flask at her. She noticed and took the flask from me, sniffing it and then chugging the thing down as if it were pop or something. Talia's babushka didn't seem to take notice and just moved over to Kallan.

"Baby Kallan get so big! You look so strong, like young babushka!" She pat Kallan's shoulder and the smiled warmly. "You also pretty like Karina."

Talia flinched, looking a bit irritated at that statement. I had no idea who this Karina was, but it was obvious that Talia did. It seemed that she was important somehow, since I noticed Kallan looking really proud of herself as she received the compliment. Obviously this Karina was quite important in the Stalin family.

"So why sudden come see Babushka?" Their grandmother asked.

"We're here on business for Eternal Academy." Talia said calmly. "We're here to-"

"Is it something do with prophecy?"

Now it was my turn for my jaw to drop, everybody in that room staring at her in awe. How could she possibly have hit that close to the reason of why we were actually in Russia? Who was this woman?

"What prophecy are you talking about, Babushka?" Talia asked, just as confused as any of us.

"Don't playing dumb, Metalia." Her grandmother scolded, waving her cane in the air. "You know who your real father is. You know that blood has dragon power. You came here to find the Earth Treasure."

"Yes, the Artifact, but how did you-'

"Angel dragon told me you might need one day." She said calmly. "Crown of Glass vill not be easy to obtain."

"Babushka, how do you know about the Glass Crown? You're not making any sense right now!" Talia complained, looking more than just a bit irritated at the vague way her grandmother spoke.

I heard the clicking of heels coming down the staircase. I looked up to see a beautiful woman with hair the color of Rose Gold, clothed in a silver dress with a white fur coat keeping herself warm. Her eyes were such a light shade of grey that they could almost be mistaken for white.

"Taliya, Kallan, it's so good to see my little girls! I missed you two very much!" The new woman stated joyfully

Talia's face filled with disbelief. "Mother?"

"Lady Karina?" Came Kallan next.

I was shocked. This woman was not only the enigmatic Lady Karina, but also the woman that had raised both Talia and Kallan. I could see the features of her daughter reflected in her face, like the slim nose, the high cheekbones and the grey eyes. What exactly was going on here anyways?

The woman, Lady Karina, walked down the staircase and folded her hands neatly in front of her body as she smiled ad stood in front of us. "It's been years since I've seen you two...I hardly even recognize you. You both look just as beautiful as ever, but you've both grown up so much. It makes me so proud to look at you from the eyes of a mother."

Talia growled under her breath. "Mother, you know something, don't you? Both you and Babushka do. Explain how she knows who Haizea is, the real purpose of Eternal Academy and about the location of the Glass Crown. You had better make it snappy, too, because I'm not in the mood for games at the moment."

Karina looked around. "But Metalia, you haven't introduced me to your friends, yet. How about we-"

"That's Jian, Hazu, Zora and the kid in my arms is Yuri. Yes, he's mine. Now would you please stop stalling and tell me what's going on?!" Talia snapped, handing Yuri over to Hazu to help keep him calm.

Karina and Talia's Babushka were shocked. They both gave a guilty look of knowing to one another and then looked back at Talia.

"Perhaps it's time for her to know the truth about our family." Karina said quietly.

"Truth? What do you mean by the truth?" Talia questioned her.

Babushka Stalin nervously looked at Karina. "We always know Talia has dragon blood. We also know that Eternal Academy is school for dragon kid. We also know she go there after she run from home."

"We always knew." Karina followed. "Ever since you were a baby, we knew that you were not only a dragon's child, but the child of Argentum of Sciana."

"Well, I mean, I figure that you must have." Talia affirmed. "I mean, after all, you are my mother."

I saw the look of discomfort and disappointment on Karina's face. She looked down at her feet and then back into her daughter's eyes. "Yes, Taliya, I am your mother, but I am close to the worst failure of a mother as they come. You are allowed to hate me, but please first listen to my story." She took a deep breath, then began to speak again.

"You see, the Stalin family has carried dragon blood within it for centuries. Every generation, a spouse must be taken in that has existing dragon blood to keep the lineage pure. I was betrothed to Nikolai, as I had a pure lineage directing from a Metal dragon on my father's side. About two weeks before we were to be wed, I was expected to give birth to an heir. Unfortunately, Nikolai was infertile and could not help me to produce an heir. I was distressed and he disowned me as his wife. I fell into a deep depression with no idea what to do.

"That was when I met Argentum. I can see him still in the back of my mind, clear as day. His eyes shined like the purest gold, and his hair was like fresh copper. He was strong and kind, and most importantly, he treated me like a lady, not as if I was some object. He told me I choose my own fate, that I could be with him and not need to suffer anymore with Nikolai.

"For the first time in my life, I didn't care about affluence or riches, or trying to keep up public appearances. The only thing I cared about was the man I loved. I knew when we held hands for the first time that it was just meant to be between us.

"When he told me that I could move to Sciana wit him, marry him and be free, he also revealed that he was actually the Captain. I accepted, not because of his decision, but because he was the man of my dreams, and I knew he would make me happy. I was in love with who he was, not what he was.

"I ended up living with him in Sciana for about a year, giving birth to my newborn Metlaliya, before Nikolai ended up tracking me down and forced me to come back with him, since we had a binding agreement that I was his property, as was Stalin tradition. Of course, I didn't want to and ended up running to Argentum and telling hi about the situation. He fought with Nikolai until Lady Haizea had to break it up. She asked Nikolai what he wanted, and he said it was the rights to our child as well, since I was still technically his property. Argentum, of course, refuse and threw him out of Sciana.

"However, after Kali took over Sciana, and Haizea and I fled with the children, Nikolai appeared to take me back, as if he knew exactly when I wouldn't have my lover with me. He forced me to give you over to him and began to hurt you from a young age. Since he was so disgusted that you weren't his child. He tried to combine your existing DNA with his to create a new heir, one with the power of Argentum's blood, but all attempts had failed. Out of desperation, he found the location of Hydronia's heir, Kallan, through a comrade. He waited for a perfect accident to happen, and then adopted the child to raise her as his own, and completely disregarded my baby girl.

"I know I am a terrible mother, Taliya, but please forgive me, dearest. I purposely tried to do everything I could to help you discover your powers, because I knew that would be your ticket out of this hell hole. Your father knows everything, but the one place even he can't corrupt is the institution at Eternal Academy. But no matter how far you ran, I could never escape myself.

"You see, he knows everything through her, the Black Empress Kali. She was the one who told Nikolai when I would be at my weakest. She is the one that caused the accident that killed Kallan's father and stepmother. She is the reason that I still cannot leave this disgusting household..." Karina's eyes were full of tears now.

"Father made a deal with Kali?" Talia muttered, looking infuriated but sullen at the same time, as if it was something she didn't want to hear.

"You see, that's not all." Karina continued. "As a prize for his loyalty, Kali entrusted him with the Artifact that Argentum had guarded his entire life, the Glass Crown in exchange for partial control over Stalin Industries, specifically the genetics research and labs."

Talia's jaw dropped. Her eyes trailed over to Yuri, who was now sleeping soundly in Hazu's arms. Her expression turned to pure, primal anger. "That bastard...he's the reason that I was kidnapped? The reason that Yuri would have been killed? The reason so many innocent children and people had to die?" She growled an grit her teeth.

"He's going to get what he deserves. I'm going to make him pay for what he did. Not only is he ruining my life, but the lives of so many others as well." She spat, balling her hands into fists, punching one of them into a nearby wall, which caused a spire of metal to burst forth.

"I am taking back the Glass Crown for Sciana, for my true father and for the future of this entire world!" She yelled, her voice echoing throughout the room.

I was shocked. I'd seen Talia irritated about things before, but I had never seen her truly this irritated about anything before, much less for anything more than the sake of bettering herself. She was ready for a battle, and she was ready to come out victorious no matter what the cost.

Karina looked at her child with a worried expression. She then sighed and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Metalia, you know I love you very much. If I was a normal mother, I would try to convince you not to go, but I know that this fight is bigger than any of us. Nikolai has a secret room where he keeps the Glass Crown. I do not know specifically where it is, but I do know that it is somewhere in this house."

Talia shook her head. "That's good enough mother. I have enough evidence to know where it will be." She then looked towards me. "Jian, what did the prophecy say again?"

"From a legacy of blood-" I started, but was quickly cut off by Talia.

"No, the second verse." She snapped at me.

"Recite the rhyme in a room where time was a game, Father time holds the answer in lucky number four?" I tried again.

Talia nodded. "Thank you. I know what I'm doing now. Before anyone tries to convince me otherwise, I'll be doing this on my own."

"But Metalia-"

"No, mother, this is something I need to by myself." Talia said calmly. She began to walk up the staircase without another word being uttered from her mouth.

Something felt wrong in my gut. I was about to run after her to help, but it looked like Kallan had the same idea and was just a bit quicker about it. She literally dashed towards her sister and grabbed her shoulder, a determined look painted on her face.

"Kallan," Talia said sternly. "You need to let me go."

"I'm not letting you!" Kallan said, equally as stern as the brunette Russian.

"Now is not the time to play games. I'm doing this on my own and that's final." Talia said, trying not to lose her temper.

"How can you even say that..."Kallan's voice trailed off. "Especially after what happened to you not that long ago? You can't keep doing this on your own! Don't you have any idea how much it hurts to see you keep rejecting our help like this?"

Everyone was silent after that. If someone did anything at all, it would echo throughout the room, uninterrupted by anyone. Talia even seemed at a loss for words. She then shook her head and placed a hand on Kallan's shoulder.

"Look, I know you want to come, but I can't let anything happen to you, either. You're not only my best friend, but my sister as well. If anything happened to you..."

"I can handle myself." Kallan said adamantly. "I'm coming with you, whether you like it or-"

The next thing that was heard was a loud slap, the noise of which echoed around the entirety of the room. Kallan's eyes were full of shock as she cradled her cheek. I saw Hazu next to me, a protective anger ingrained in her face, looking ready to murder Talia for hurting Kallan. I gave her a stern look, gesturing not to upset Yuri.

Talia looked at Kallan with pained eyes. "You know how much I care for you, but for the last time this is something that I have to do on my own. Please, just leave me alone for this one."

Kallan looked like she was about to protest, but she finally gave up. "Alright, Tals. You had better come back, though. I can't lose my sister again."

Talia smiled and gave Kallan a hug. "You should know by now that absolutely nothing can kill me."

She let go of Kallan and disappeared up the stairs.


I am so sorry I haven't been active in a while I swear I'll try to be on here more often. But here's a new chapter. Dang, these things are coming out so much slower than they used to. It's probably because I've gotten into reading more books lately, otherwise known as my favorite way to teach myself how to write better. But anywho, you all know what's next! That's right, Talia's trial! (Also forgive me but it takes forever to get around to correcting things but the Earth artifact is now known as the Glass Crown, just so we're clear). Also, Luc's trial will be coming up shortly after. What do you expect to see? What do you think will happen? I'd love to hear you guys out!

Signing off, Kiera Savage