Chapter 26: Emergency Council Meeting

Alyssa

Vincent was waiting for me by the grand staircase with a puzzled look. “Where is Audrey?” He asked me. “We’re going to be late and then I’ll never hear the end of it,”

Soon, Audrey came running with a cupcake in her hands. “Sorry, I got hungry and went for a quick snack. Shall we see what fresh hell awaits us when the people hear the news?”

“Let’s get this over with,” Vincent groaned.

“Jacob called; he’ll meet us there with Isabella and Annabeth,” Audrey said.

We soon arrived at the Varrfarrinn City Hall; almost everyone was there. “There are so many people here,” I said.

“It’s not common for an emergency council meeting to be held. People are starting to suspect something has happened,” Vincent started shaking; I had never seen him this stressed.

“Guys!” Izzy yelled out to us with Annabeth and Jacob. We walked up to them. “What took you guys so long?” Izzy then asked.

Vincent and I looked at each other and nervously smiled. “I KNOW THAT LOOK! You guys were fucking, Vincent was busy planting his seed,” Annabeth winked. “OW!” Izzy punched Annabeth on her shoulder.

“Honey, I love you, but please shut up,” Izzy scoffed. “Stop thinking about sex!” Annabeth then placed her finger on her chin. “If you have to think of an anwser for that, that is not a good sign,”

Vincent and Jacob laughed. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Annabeth grunted.

“Let’s head to the back,” Vincent suggested.

I soon saw Timothy; I hadn’t seen him since the attack. I wondered if he was okay. “You guys go ahead; I’m going to talk to Timothy for a minute,” I said.

“Okay, we’ll go head,” Vincent kissed my cheek and left with the others. I then approached Timothy; he was talking to two other girls.

“Hey stranger,” Tim smiled.

“Yeah sorry about that Tim, it’s been a rough couple weeks,” I said.

“Do you know what this meeting is about?” Tim asked me.

Shit, I can’t tell Timothy anything; what am I supposed to say to him? “No, I have no idea,” I shook my head.

“Alyssa, you are a terrible liar; you don’t have to lie to me. I understand if you are under oath,” Timothy smiled. “I was also wondering if you were interested in doing something next weekend. We hardly have spent any time together,”

Great, now I feel bad. “Sure, we can take the time to catch up,” I nodded. “I have to go now; I will see you later.” I went to a room behind the auditorium where everyone awaited the announcement; I stood next to Vincent.

“I don’t know how long I can stand this long wait. I just want to get it over with,” Vincent said.

“It’s almost time,” Izzy said.

“How was talking to Tim?” Vincent turned to me,

“It’s been a while since I last talked to him. I’m glad he’s doing okay,” I nodded.

“I still can’t believe my father and Meg have to be here,” Izzy complained.

“Enough, Isabella. Now is not the time to start drama,” I said. “You and Megan should sit down and talk about your issues with each other; you’d be surprised how much she will open up to you.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry guys,” Izzy apologized. “What do you mean by opening up to me?”

“It’s just a friendly obvervation,” I smiled.

“Alright, I promise I will talk to Megan and discuss our issues,” Izzy promised us.

The lights in the auditorium dimmed as the stage light grew brighter. Three women walked on stage. “That’s Elders Rosie, Grace and Becca,” Vincent whispered.

“Welcome, everyone, and thank you for coming on such short notice. We know you are anxious about what has happened these past few days. We invited Alexandria to join us on stage to explain past events,” Elder Rosie said.

I hear people whispering as Alex walks on stage. Why was Alexandria with them? What’s going on?

“Welcome, everyone. As all of you know, Varrfarrinn was attacked, and fires were set all over the Island and used as a distraction to destroy our Elemental Watchtowers. Thankfully, we took down the invaders before they reached the second tower. We are looking at this as an act of war, and the people responsible for this act of terrorism call themselves the Warriors of Sozin. If anyone has information about them or the recent attack, report it to the council immediately,” Alexandria gripped the microphone stand and took a silent deep breath.

“Now, as I can see on your faces as to why I’m the one addressing you tonight. The night of the attack, the attack on the towers was yet another distraction. While we were defending the elemental towers, someone breached the castle and killed King Zayne, my father. My mother, Queen Rosetta, is in a coma.

The crowd gasped at the news. The shock, the fright, was apparent in everyone’s eyes. A dragon kingdom leader had been killed. A possible war was coming.

“Everyone quiet down!” Elder Grace yelled,

“Thank you, Grace. Now, a protocol has to be followed in a situation like this. That is why I called an Elder Council meeting with a consult from the leader of the African Kingdom, and it will be held soon. I would also like to inform everyone that my father’s funeral will be held in three days. Thank you for listening.” Alexandria stepped off the podium and returned the microphone to the ladies. She walked through the door and met up with everyone.

“Dad’s funeral is in three days!? What about mom, Alex?!” Audrey yelled. “Mom and Dad were fated mates; she has every right to be there. Mom is still in a fucking coma. She won’t be able to attend!”

“Don’t you think I know that! It’s already killing me as it is to rush the funeral, but the meeting with the Elders has to take place,” Alex said.

“Mom will understand when she wakes up,” Vincent said.

“You mean if she wakes up?” Audrey growled and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

“Audrey!” Vincent called out to his sister.

“I’ll talk to her,” Jacob said, running after Audrey,

“So what is this Dragon Elder Council?” I asked. “This is getting more and more complicated,”

“As you know, there are councils in every kingdom, and the Elders make sure every domain follows the rules. But the Elders consist of the leaders in each kingdom and make the rules for everyone to follow,” Alex explained.

“Where will this meeting be held?” I asked.

“The Bermuda Triangle, all the meetings the Elder hold are held there,” Vincent said.

“The Bermuda Triangle! But the legends and myths surrounding that place are infamous,” I said.

“The mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle aren’t really a mystery, Alyssa,” Alex smiled.

“Are you telling me that everything that happens in the Bermuda Triangle is because of magic?!” I said.

“It’s an excellent way to keep humans away,” Alex laughed.

“When will you guys be leaving for the triangle?” I asked Alex.

“Right after my father’s funeral, you’ll join us on the journey,” Alex said.

“ME!?” I was stunned.

“Both you and Vincent will be joining us. It is tradition for the children of the dragon kingdom leaders to attend. It was also tradition for white dragons to participate in these meetings and offer their wise counsel; that was before the elves wiped them out,” Alex said.

“I’m not a child of one of the leaders,” I said.

“You are mated to one, so you’re going. Not to mention that you know most about the enemy we face. You need to come,” Alex said.

“What about Audrey?” Vincent said.

“The Elders don’t see Audrey as a royal as she was adopted. Besides, I doubt she would want to leave Mom. She has been through enough,”

“Very well, all that’s left is to arrange dad’s funeral,” Vincent nodded.

(2 Days Later)

Zayn’s funeral is tomorrow, and we will leave soon after. I haven’t been training or at school these past two days as I helped Vincent prepare everything for the funeral. I heard a knock on my door and yelled at whoever was knocking to come in.

“Everything is almost ready,” Vincent said.

“Good to hear,” I smiled as I finished packing. “I’ll be back in a moment,”

“Don’t worry about it. We are going somewhere,” Vincent smiled.

“Where are we going?” I said.

“Shopping,” Vincent said as he whipped out his card.

We arrived at the super mall with my hand clasped with his. “Vince, what are we shopping for?” I said.

“Clothes for you. You will need a dress for tomorrow, a few dresses for the Elder Council Meeting, and regular clothes. You don’t have any good treveling cholthes and whatever you’re packing will not cut it,”

“Are you saying I have bad fastion sense?” my mouth dropped.

“No honey, just let me do this for you,” Vincent kissed my cheek.

Vincent left me at the dress shop while he had to take care of a few errands elsewhere in the store. He handed me his card and aid to buy whatever I wanted. He quickly said not to worry about money; he could tell that was the first question when he said to get whatever I wanted.

I only got what was needed for the funeral and the trip to the Bermuda Triangle.

The next day arrived, and I was sitting inside the church. It was packed as I expected. I sat with Vincent, holding his hands, and saw how much he was trying to keep it together. Audrey sat with Jacob and cried on his shoulder. I had noticed Alex looking at them, and I figured she knew they were mates, but she never said anything about it. After the beautiful ceremony, the coffin was taken to the part of the cemetery where the dragon kings and queens were buried. The stone on his grave was exquisitely engraved, and on top of it was an elegant black dragon.

Vincent and Alex were in their dragon forms, and with pain and sorrow, they roared and wailed their pain for the Island to hear. After the burial, people started to head home; Vincent and Alex were back in human form, hugging each other by their father’s grave. Jacob took Audrey home; her eyes were swollen from crying.

“Do you think we should talk to them, Rory?” I said.

“They’ll talk when they’re ready. Rory said.

“Okay,” I nodded. “They’ve been standing there for over an hour,”

“They just lost their father, Alyssa. You have no idea what they’re going through,” Rory growled.

“For your information, I know what losing a parent is like,” I huffed.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Rory scoffed.

“Let it go; she’s not worth it,” Dahlia said. “Now is not the time. Mate needs us,”

“For once, I agree with you,” I said.

I walked up to Vincent and wrapped my arms around his waist. He was taller then, so I had to raise my chin to lay it on his shoulder. I didn’t know what to say to him, but I just wanted him to see that I was here and not leaving his side. After some time, he turned around and hugged me.

“Thank you,” He sniffled.

“I’m never leaving your side,” I said.

“Let’s go, we have a long journey ahead of us,” Vincent said.

I looked at Alexandria. Her stare was blank, emotionless. I touched her arm gently, and she looked at me. “You’re father was a strong leader and I have no doubt you will fill his shoes well,”

Alex smiled at me. “Thank you, Alyssa,”

A few hours later, I packed everything and waited for everyone in the foyer. Izzy was hugging a crying Annabeth.

“You and Jacob are coming too, Izzy?” I asked her.

“As the children of Akhenaten, we have no choice,” Izzy said.

“Not now, Isabella,” Jacob warned.

“This sucks, why are dragons the only magical beings allowed to set foot on Bermuda?” Annabeth said.

“Because it’s one of the Moon Goddess’s Absolute Laws,” Isabella said. “You’d be wise to not anger her grace, Annabeth,”

“But that’s unfair!” I said.

It is what it is,” Annabeth said.

“Alright, everyone, listen up. It’s almost a two-day flight to Bermuda since we only fly at night. The plan is to fly to Peru tonight, which should take roughly six to eight hours, depending on the wind direction,” Alex said.

I have to fly for eight hours straight!

“Then we take a break in the forest during the day. Then we fly the rest of the way the next night, which should take us the same time as the first part,” Alex explained.

“Why are we only flying at night?” I asked.

Although we have magic so humans can’t see us, air traffic has become a problem when flying over land. Especially when traveling in large groups such as this. Now, everyone to the garden; we take ten minutes,” Alex said.

We all gathered in the gardens. It was decided that mind linking would only be used if needed. I was thankful for that since I didn’t think anyone wanted to have me in their head for eight hours since I was still learning it. I put on the travel belt that I bought and secured my bag to it. One after another, we shifted and took off into the night.