I didn't want to face my new friends when they found out I was a dragon, so I found the library.
It was heaven., my safe place where I could hide from the world.
t was a maze of old, wooden shelves that reached up to the high ceiling. The ceiling itself was amazing. Chandeliers with tiny candles hung from it, and the architecture was immaculately detailed, I could have stared at it all day. There were mermaids with blue, green and orange tails and curls of all colours, as well as Phoenixes and other animals that bounded across the landscapes.
The books were arranged alphabetically and by their genre. There was every classic in the world in both Welsh and English. There were Jane Austen novels, as well as Puffin classics such as Black Beauty and A Little Princess. They had beautiful illustrations that would have fetched hundreds, if not thousands online.
They had histories and fact files and biographies, as well as books on mathematics and geography.
They had YA fiction and adult non-fiction, fantasy and chick-lit.
Every now and then there was a small cluster of large cushions or sofas or armchairs that were comfier than any bed.
I spotted windows that reached the roof that had cushions on the padded sills, framed by heavy curtains held back by tassels. I would curl up with a few good books there after.
Finally, I reached what I assumed was the centre, as there were desks and a few people reading and studying.
There was a huge chandelier there. There were red, green, blue and and white crystals that magnified the candles light. Around it on the ceiling, were two dragons. A white one with blue eyes and a red one with green eyes. You could see every single scale and they were locked in a deadly embrace.

On the far walls, either side of the occupied windows, were tapestries. They wet win like anything I had ever seen. I saw a story sewn there, a legend. I saw the English flag, and the Welsh flag. I saw a white egg, and a red egg. I saw two women and two men, and the women were obviously pregnant. They were painted in blue paint, and I racked my brains until I came up with the name. The Celts.

Next there was two castles, one of white stone and one of red. There were slivers of gold and silver thread woven in, do slight it was difficult to pin point where it was.
I saw a boy with hair as white as snow and eyes as blue as the sea on a summer day. He was standing by a girl with hair as red as my own locks, and Hazel eyes which matched mine. Then there were the two dragons from the ceiling, and each hovered above their own castle.
Then there was a scene of a great battle, of blood and death everywhere, I saw two small children amongst the destruction. The girl held the flag of Wales, the boy the flag of England.

I saw the two dragons fighting, each dripping an alarming amount of blood.
Next there were the two children, and they were hurt badly. The next tapestry, the last one, showed a great celebration. I wondered if this was the prophecy everyone talked about. I turned to the shelves around me, unaware of the people looking at me. I saw what I wanted, a Percy Jackson book, the last one, a Accurate History of Wales and I was going to get Inheritance, the last book in the Eragon series that I loved. The Accurate History of Wales was on one of the highest shelves though, and I found a wooden ladder not too far away. I was halfway up, regretting my decision when the book wobbled and floated gracefully down to my hands. I looked down, startled.
A boy that I recognised as Branwen's dance partner stood grinning by another boy who was obviously an Air.
I located a window seat and ate my egg mayonnaise sandwich and my apple as I started to open the cover of Inheritance, impatient to devour the welcoming pages.
After 2 hours, I awoke from my trance-like state. I had missed the majority of my remaining 3 lessons. Maths I had completely missed, which I would be glad for if I wasn't so scared about getting into trouble. It was ten minuets until the end of Geography, and there was History next. I sighed, placing my books on a shelf where I could easily locate them later.
The section of the library where I had been was empty. No wonder nobody had told me to go to lessons.
I found my History classroom just as the Ring for 5th lesson sounded.
"Hey Cariad, where did you get to at lunch?" Branwen bounded up behind me smiling.
Then our History teacher beckoned us in, saving me from a response.
There was a timeline on the roof, of normal events I knew, such as Nazi History and the Cuban Missile Crisis. There were also many others I was not aware of, facts and occasions of Welsh History. The pictures that accompanied the dates and words moved. They showed snapshots of epic battles and devastating deaths.
The teacher was a tall, young woman dressed in blue, washed-out jeans and a dark blue blouse, Her brown, dead straight hair had blonde highlights and she clip-clopped over to me in white heeled ankle boots.
"Hi, you must be Cariad. I am Mistress Bushtelle, Water. Take a seat wherever there is a spare, I'll come catch you up in a minute." I nodded, smiling at her strong South Wales accent. I had noticed many people here introduced themselves along with their ability. I wondered what I would do if I was placed in that situation.
I sat behind Branwen, next to Zoe, the girl from my E.M class. She stared at me for a moment, before Mistress Bushtelle drew our attention to her by blowing a piercing whistle.
"That's better. Now, today we are going to start the module on the two dragons."
A wave of hushed murmurs rolled over the class, and I felt the weight of twenty curious stares.
Great.
"All of you know the ancient hero, Owain Glyn-Dwr. He fought against all odds to save us from the English tyrants. Now he had a special shape-shift. He turned into Y Ddraig Goch, and the Red Dragon saved us all." Now that we weren't taught in school.
"Once, long ago, when the Celtic Tribes worshipped the dragons, the English dragon, Rain-Dancer decided that the Welsh should worship her, and only her.
"She flew over two of the largest and most fearsome Welsh Tribes, and burned them all alive, so that their skin was as hard as rock and their insides boiled, they were trapped this way for many years."
The white dragon was a female? That was surprising. Normally these fairytale where set in a patriotic society and the lead roles were given to men.
''This event woke the Red Dragon. He was so furious, he had felt the pain of each and every one of his poor people. He gave out a roar that set fear into the bellies of the bravest of Englishmen, and he flew out to face Rain-Dancer in single combat." The thrill only a practised story-teller could give you was nestled into my chest, heart beating as if I had been running for miles.
"Great drops of burning blood flooded the rivers that day, and even the Old Oak weeped.
"The fearsome sky-battle lasted for half a day and half a night. It concluded upon the cliff-top of Abertraeth."
"Where is that, Mistress?" I silently cursed that annoying boy for interrupting the epic tale, but simultaneously curious to know where this battle ended.
"Aber bach and Aber mawr were once one beach. The cliffs fell and divided it." She explained. Aber mawr was one of my favourite places.
" The two dragons wrestled, and Rain-Dancer pinned Y Ddraig Goch against the edge of the steep cliff, and to avenge and save the Welsh, flew into the sea, pushing Rain-Dancer down until the flames in their bellies were extinguished and they drowned. From that day on, it always rained in grief for the Red Dragon of Wales."
I filled out the front of my workbook and wrote down the story Miss had told us. The bell went then, and our homework was to create a poster showing the events of the story.
........

I was in a city. I had never been in real life, but you can go anywhere in a dream.
At first I was in a street full of shops and Christmas lights everywhere, much better than the few dotted around at home. The snow drifted from the cloudy sky gently, and then merged with the thousands of flakes already forming a soft carpet underneath my feet. I wasn't in my pyjamas anymore, but dressed warmly in a smart winter coat, it reached to my knees, black buttons and tomato red material. The white knitted scarf was tightly wound around my neck, and I tugged a glove off to trail my fingers through the pure snow. Surprisingly, I didn't feel the numbness of the ice, and it didn't melt against my skin either.
I wandered through the street, marvelling at the millions of bright lights.
The people that bustled around me hurried past, minds set on forgotten presents for loved ones that they didn't care for at all, not really.
I had always imagined a city as less crowded, less cold, and more magnificent than this bland landscape of grey. There were tall buildings of glass, dwarfed by the skyscrapers around them.
Then the dream-scene changed then, and so did I. It was the summer now, in was tanned and a light breeze rustled through the emerald leaves. I saw a street market, and hurried towards it. It was stuffy, very busy and extremely exotic.
Stalls of spices, vibrant clothing, colourful foods and jewellery were guarded by wizened elders with maps of wrinkled sketched on their features, grumpy, scantily dressed teenagers hoping to scrape more extra cash and other, more normal people.
The scene changed again. The people froze, then turned towards me all at once.
Their eyes glowed yellow, their skeletons showed through their skin like paper. The sun disappeared and the shadows crept in like many nightmares.
"Love and War" They chanted in unison.
"Save and Destroy.
Dark and Light
Separated
Unseperable
Gone by Choice
Gone by Sacrifice
Unaware, loyal, reflecting
Dark as Shadow
White as Innocence
To Dance,To Save
Two Hearts Born
Two Hearts Gone"
As they finished, they slid swords from hidden sheathes and stepped forward as one.
"Two Hearts Gone."
I woke up to darkness.
"Cariad? Cariad, wake up!" Jussinta was shaking me roughly and shining a torch into my eyes.
"What?" I asked irritability.
"You were having a nightmare."
"Oh. Sorry."
She nodded and went back to bed as I turned over.
Maybe Jussinta wasn't that bad after all.