A picture taken in Scotland!

I wake up startled, not remembering where I was and what happened for a few seconds. When I see Toryn standing above me. I groan as I sit up, realizing I had fallen asleep on the shoulder of a random shifter woman who still snores away. Toryn takes my hand and pulls me up. I look around. It is daylight now. The streets are full of piles of ashes and fire equipment as well as jewels and parts that have fallen off of costumes. There are also lots of shifters wondering around tiredly and many still asleep. They lean against buildings and each other. It is a mess and you can definitely tell there was a party here last night.

"Did you enjoy last night?" he asks tiredly.

"It was crazy," I chuckle. "But fine. I lost sight of you all though."

"Yeah, we all got separated," he says with a grin on his face.

"I don't know who or how many shifters I danced with," I tell him.

"Yeah, it was great," he chuckles. We stop when we come across Tanya, asleep and snuggled into the arms of a man. A man we quickly realise is Eric. Toryn kicks her foot but she doesn't stir. I do the same and again nothing happens. I look up at Toryn, a wicked grin on my face. I flick my hands and a wave of water lands on both of them, soaking them through. Tanya jumps up with a surprised scream and Eric just laughs.

"Looks like you both had fun last night," I chuckle, removing the veil that still covers my face. Tanya glares at me before sighing and removing her veil too.

"Where is Serenity?" She asks. I shrug. We all head off to look for her, spotting some familiar faces along the way.

"Isla!" Aspen shouts from behind us, Darcy and her husband following behind her. A smile glistens Darcy's face. It is odd, seeing her smile. She had been acting so strange over the past few weeks. All quiet and sad.

"Hi mum," Eric says and hugs his mother. Aspen still looks spectacular as does Darcy who wears an outfit very similar to her mother.

"Did you all enjoy the celebration?" She asks.

"Yeah, it was incredible," I tell her. She nods.

"It's a shame it only happens every two hundred years, but at least you get to experience it," she beams. I nod my head in agreement.

"Shall we head back to the palace and freshen up?" she asks.

"We need to find Serenity first," I tell her.

"I found my daughter asleep the arms of a strapping you man," she laughs. "So prepare yourself," she grins.

"We've already had that this morning," I say looking at Tanya and Eric. Aspen just laughs and we continue to search the streets for Serenity.

Eventually, we find her asleep in a flower bed outside one of the city halls. The flowers surround her almost like a blanket and she looks so peaceful.

"Serenity!" Tanya shouts and she wakes startled and confused for a few seconds before it all clicks back into place. She groans and lifts herself up.

"I squashed the flowers!" she shouts. She crouches back down and waves her hand over them. They start growing again, sprouting with life and colour. She grins, happy with her work before facing us.

"So, I suppose we all have some stories to share from last nights madness," she says with raised eyebrows. We laugh and head back to our palace.

We are back in normal clothes, eating breakfast in one of the dining halls. Still, I can't get used to the extravagant beauty of our home. For a while, we talk about last night.

"They dance with fire because it represents dragons," Lady Aspen says to us. "And the volcanos which keep the soils and lands rich in minerals. Plus, they can't really dance with air or water or earth in the same way they can with fire." We all nod in agreement.

"Do all lands celebrate like this?" Serenity asks.

"No, every land has their own traditions. They are kept pretty private too, each party is unique to the land and history. But Zola ones are the best," she grins. I nod my head.

"Last night was incredible," I tell her. "Just being another shifter celebrating. No need for speeches or words. Just being apart of something," I grin.

"I loved the fire displays," Toryn says.

"Yes, I thought you would," Lady Aspen grins. "And don't think I didn't see you dancing with some of the female fire dancers," she tells him. I look at my brother and roll my eyes as he just shrugs.

"So what's next?" Tanya asks.

"Well tomorrow, you all head back to the academy and continue your final lot of education before the choosing," she says. We nod our heads and finish our breakfast.

The rest of the day passes quickly. I catch up with Luca, who has been training here to become a Zola warrior. When he sees me, he runs over and gives me a big hug. I laugh as he does so.

"How is your training going?" I ask.

"Well," he tells me. "The General says I am a fast learner and my power to control metal is a great help," he tells me as we eat lunch together.

"One day, you'll be beating me," I tell him. He laughs and nods his head.

"I've got to get back to training now," he says once our lunch is finished. "I am on a tight schedule." I smile.

"And you are enjoying this?" I ask, just making sure. He nods my his head.

"It keeps me busy, so I don't have to think about..." he doesn't finish. I just smile and give the young boy another hug.

"Go on," I tell him. "You don't become a master warrior by talking to me all day," I say. He smiles and takes off down the corridors to find the general.

We arrive back at the academy the next morning along with all the other students. Everyone had gone back to their homelands for the celebrations and they now talk excitedly as we arrive back. I head straight out to train with Blue.

"Queen Isla," he greets as I walk toward him. I smile. "How were the celebrations?" He asks.

"Crazy," I just smile. He nods his head.

"Yes, I have been to a Zola fiesta before, it was a rather wild night," he chuckles, lost in his memories. I grin. A little more information about this mysterious man.

"So, are you originally from Zola?" I ask. He just smiles and tells me to get ready to fight.

We move on from simple drills to actually sparing against each other. Both with hand to hand combat and weapon work. He beats me every time, but I don't give up. It continues like that over the week and I can tell my strength and skill is improving every day. So the week goes and ends quickly as I fall back into the training routine.

"I think you should try your music again," Blue says to me one night. I look at him and frown.

"I don't know. The last time I played, the city..." I don't finish. 

"You can't let someone else's actions stop you from doing what you love," he tells me. "I heard you play when you were a child and you were very good. You have the chance to get back into music again, don't let the NightShades take that from you too," he tells me.

"I just don't know if I feel the connection I used to feel to it before the attack," I tell him. He smiles softly.

"Try it, Isla. You may find that doing something that you love which isn't violent may relax you. It may help you sleep without nightmares as well." I look down and sigh.

"Maybe. I'll give it a go." He nods his head.

"Now, we're finished. Go and find your friends. Spend some time with them," he orders. I nod my head and walk away. Ever since my body hasn't been needing such deep sleep, my mind has been plagued by nightmares and restless nights. I dream that the Blackroot is crawling inside me. I feel the pain and often wake up screaming, thinking that it is all happening again. I also have other nightmares of attacks and bloodshed. All of which leaves me terrified to go to sleep.

I am quiet as I eat evening dinner with all my friends. A soft smile lingers on my face as I watch my siblings, however. Tanya and Eric chat and laugh with each other as do Serenity and Daniel. Toryn chats with Oliver and laughs loudly. I can tell the two are probably about to challenge each other to some sort of battle. I am proud of them. Of how far they have come. How far we have come. Now the memories of our time on the island are faint.

"Isla, are you okay?" Maryanne asks.

"Yeah, fine," I reply with a smile. "I was just thinking," I tell her.

"We've hardly seen you all week, how is your training going?" she asks.

"Well, I am almost back up to strength," I explain to her and we continue a conversation about random things. It feels nice, just having normal conversations with friends. Though as I had predicted, Toryn and Olivers jokes have now turned into a full out challenge and the two now fight each other, each trying to win their own little battle.

"My money's on Toryn," Iona says as she comes next to me. I laugh as I watch the two boys try and beat each other.

"I think all our money is on Toryn," I reply. Iona laughs and continues to watch the fight.

Of course, Toryn wins but he didn't get away with no injuries. Oliver got him pretty bad. It is then when Lady Indira storms into the room and makes both boys follow her. She is fuming, but my idiot brother and friend grin at each other, proud of their little game.

I decide to try and do what Blue suggested. I don't want to sleep tonight, afraid of the nightmares that will come so I head to the music room and find a cello. It is frustrating. I remember how to play, I remember all the lessons I had before the attack but I can't seem to play nicely now. I growl in frustration as I can't even play a simple tune without the notes squealing and sounding nasty. So, after a few hours, I give up and head outside. I take a deep breath of the fresh mountain air and sit beside a waterfall. I look out at the glowing moon in the dark sky, enjoying the cold air against my skin.

I hear a noise behind me and jump, relaxing when I see it is only Iona.

"What are you doing out here?" I ask.

"I saw you walking around," she tells me. "I thought I join you."

"Can you not sleep either?" I ask. She shrugs.

"Sometimes when I sleep, I accidentally find myself teleporting to places I dream about," she shrugs. I raise my eyebrows. I didn't know that.

"I haven't quite got control of my powers yet. I get scared that I'll dream about NightShade and end up teleporting there," she tells me and sits down beside me. We both stay silent.

"Every time I go to sleep, I dream about the poisoning. I can feel the BlackRoot inside me. I am so scared and I wake thinking that it is happening again. Then I see my siblings worrying and standing over me," I tell her. "I hate that they are so scared for me all the time. I'm the one meant to be looking out for them, not the other way round."

"You look after each other, it isn't all on you Isla," she tells me.

"I feel like it is."

"It isn't. We all look out for each other and for the people. It's what we were born to do," she tells me and I nod my head. We sit in silence for a few moment, just watching.

"So here we are," I sigh. "Two young shifters scared to go to sleep. What are we going to do?" I ask. She shrugs her shoulders and looks at me.

"We'll figure it out. We always do."