Another picture from my Spanish Holiday! Beautiful!

We are taken back to Aspen's palace and are quickly changed out of our clothing and into new dresses. My new dress is the same shade of red as my lips and is two piece. The top is off the shoulder with long lace sleeves. It stops above my belly button. The skirt also sits above my belly button, showing only a narrow strip of skin. It flows around loosely with slits on either side so I can move easily. I am then given a masquerade mask. The mask looks like dragon wings around my eyes and running down my nose is the dragon's body. Long ribbons and strings of black beads hang down in front and around my ears. Aspen walks into my room.

"Come on Isla, the city are celebrating!" she beams, taking hold of my hand. I laugh and let her pull me from the room. All the shifters are wearing loose-fitting dresses and masks that are the same as their animals. It is early evening and already the city is loud with music from violins, accordions and other instruments. The streets are decorated with colourful flags that have our flower on and ribbons and cloths are hung from the houses. Fire flickers from torches.

"That was a beautiful speech," Aspen says, wrapping her arm around me. "I'm so proud of you," she kisses my cheek.

"Thank you," I smile looking up at her and she hugs me tighter.

"Come on, we've got lots of dancing to do." We enter a large square where lots of shifters already dance to the music being played. I smile, hearing all the laughing and happiness. I let out a squeak as a random shifter grabs my arm and pulls me into a dance. I skip around the square with all the other shifters. The other royals join us all wearing masks of their animals.

"Isla!" Oliver shouts. I let out a shriek as he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.

"Oliver put me down!" I shout as he spins me around.

"Come on Oliver, put the poor girl down!" Maryanne shouts.

"and you kind of have to, she's a queen. You have to do what she says," Andrea adds.

"Oh your majesty," he jokes, not caring about what Andrea just said. "I can not have your royal feet touching the ground of mere commoners," he speaks overdramatically. With a laugh, I press my hands against he back and begin to freeze his skin. He drops me as he does this weird shimmy, dance, shudder movement. 

"That's it, you may be queen but I can still..."

"I think that's quite enough you two," the High Queen sweeps in as she walks toward us. Oliver has a sheepish smile on his face and I chuckle again.

"I know you two are competitive, but I really don't think now is very appropriate, do you?"

"Yeah, Isla's first act as queen is destroying the city," Tanya jokes as she walks past. I poke my tongue out at her as the others all join us.

"Oh, mum. I'm sure they'll all enjoy seeing their queen defeat the great polar bear!" Daniel jokes.

"Go on, all of you. Dance," she instructs with a warm smile.  We all take off back into the crowd and dance together.

"Queen Isla," a young voice says as I skip past. I stop and look at where the voice came from. A young girl stands in front of me. She must only be about nine or ten. Her skin is pale and her hair is a dark, almost metallic blue like that of a feather. Her eyes are dark also. Like all the children, she doesn't wear a mask.

"Yes," I reply crouching down. She looks at me shyly, her arms behind her back and her eyes low. "Don't be shy," I chuckle. She looks up softly.

"I made you a present," she whispers. My eyes widen as she pulls out a ring from behind her back. "It's for you," she says.

"It's beautiful," I whisper. The metal ring is small and will only fit on my smallest finger. On it are two outstretched wings. One is the wing of a dragon and the other one of a bird.

"It's a magpie feather because that's what I shift into," she smiles proudly.

"Thank you," I say with a wide smile on my face. My heart warms looking at the young girl and the trust that she has in me.

"You made this?" I ask.

"Yes, my family can bend and shape metal with our minds!" she shouts with excitement jumping up and down.

"Really, why don't you show me. I would love to see a such an amazing gift," I tell her. She laughs.

"Only if you show me your water." I laugh and hold out my hand.

"Deal." She shakes my hand delicately. She takes a little metal ball from her pocket and holds it in the palm of her hand. As she looks at it, it slowly begins to rise. My eyes widen in awe as the metal begins to change into different shapes. A cube then a pyramid shape followed by swirling silver before it forms another ring like mine. She pulls it onto her finger.

"Now we have matching rings!" she shouts with a loud giggle. I hold up my pinkie finger and she holds up hers.

"We're like twins," she tells me. I laugh. "Now, your turn," she instructs, crossing her arms. Holding out my palm, I let the water appear. She giggles with delight as I make the water dance around her head a few times before it disappears.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Lola," she replies.

"That's a beautiful name Lola, would you like to dance with me?" I ask. Her eyes light up and she nods her head quickly.

"Can my brother join in too?" she asks, looking at a boy. He looks very similar to Lola but only older. "His name is Luka." She beacons him over.

"Queen Isla," he bows.

"No need for that," I smile, "would you like to dance with your sister and me?" I ask, stretching out my hands. He takes one and Lulu takes the other.

"I'm not good at dancing," Luka mutters. I chuckle.

"Don't worry, neither am I." I begin to dance with the two children, spinning them around and skipping around the square. It isn't long before more children start joining in and we are all spinning around in a circle. The sound of laughter fills the air as everyone is happy and relaxed. The children tell me all sorts of stories as we dance. Some of them are funny and some don't even make sense but it is all wonderful to hear. After a while, their parents come over and take them away. I can sense they are still a little wary of me, but their smiles are genuine.

"I'm sure, Isla would like to dance with her friends again," Lola's mother tells the two of them. They sigh disappointedly.

"But mummy," Lola sighs.

"No buts," she chuckles as she leads them away, sending a quick smile back my way. When she disappears, I begin to dance again.

I dance with many shifters in the square, many I don't know. It doesn't bother me. Not until I fall into the arms of a particular person. My smile fades and my blood turns to ice. I look up at the man who hunts me. He isn't wearing his usual clothing and mask. A full face mask made of silver, covered in golden snakes sits on his face instead of his usual black skeletal mask. Still, his eyes cannot be seen. He wears a smart grey jacket, embroidered with a golden outline of the flour that symbolises the Dragoheir house. The trousers he wears are grey also and big boots sit on his feet. He looks like many other shifters, which is why no one spares a second glance at him as he takes hold of my hands and begins to dance with me. I know. I can sense it. His chuckle is deep underneath the mask.

"Now now little dragon girl, you don't want to go making a scene do you?" he asks. "I bet you haven't told the other royals about me have you." I glare up at him. I have actually told the High Queen and Lady Indira everything about him, all of what happened the other day. They had been against my plan at first, but I had convinced them that I could handle it.

"Why are you here?" I ask, my voice a dark whisper.

"I couldn't resist joining in with this wonderful party," he tells me. I take a deep breath as he continues to hold my hands tightly as we weave around the other shifters.

"Leave," I order, "or I'll make you," I glare up at him.

"I bet you would, but I can guarantee that I will take a few of your precious people out with me. Do you really want your first act as queen to be the cause of a few deaths of your precious people?" he asks. "Let me dance, and I'll leave peacefully." I glare up at him.

"Why?" I ask again.

"To remind you," he whispers. "That I'm still here and I'm always watching."

"Is this part of your game?" I ask. running my tongue along my sharpened teeth.

"Of course," he chuckles. My hands almost itch as I summon the ice. He squeezes my hands tighter as the ice begins to burn his skin and I hear him hiss.

"I could kill you right here," I tell him with a smile on my face.

"But you won't," he tells me as I feel my hands tingling and a blue glow coming from his. My eyes widen as I look up to him. What magic does this warlock have?

"Because you're enjoying this game as much as I am." He lets go of my hand spinning me around another shifter before pulling me closer to him. I let out a gasp as I collide into his chest.

"Let's call this little dance, the calm before the storm," he whispers into my ear. I spin myself to look up at the mask.

"I control the storms," I tell him as the clouds cover the moon.

"So, little dragon girl, can I."

Then, he's gone.