Chapter 40: Gloria's Past

Alyssa

Alyssa, is that you?” Gloria said.

I was surprised to see Gloria in the same cell. I had never shared a cell with anyone before. “Crown Dragon Gloria, are you okay? What are you doing here?”

Gloria’s clothes were torn and dirty, and I could see a lot of cuts and bruises. She also had draconite around her neck. Gloria stiffly tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn’t support her. I help her get comfortable against the wall, and she sighs from exhaustion. “Thank you child,” Gloria coughs.

“Gloria, what happened to you?” I asked.

“They had me fight some guy. Whoever I fought possessed the power of this world’s elemental magic. He seemed to have Vincent’s ability to copy magic, but this was on another level, like he could use it without the need to see it,” Gloria said.

“What?! Why? ” I said.

“No idea. But this guy had powers that I’ve never seen before. I could also smell dark magic,” Gloria said.

“Don’t worry about it, Gloria. Just relax,” I looked at her wounds and saw how dirty they were. If these aren’t treated, getting an infection in this place will spell doom for Gloria. I ripped a small piece of my top and carefully cleaned her cuts as best I could. Whoever did this was very strong, and she was right; I could smell a faint whiff of a smell. I think I smelled dark magic, as she described.

“Thank you. How did you get captured?” Gloria asked. “I was sure I saw you get away. Vincent was glued to you and never left your side. It reminded me of Skyler’s father; I lost him before Skyler was born. Is Skyler safe?

“Don’t worry, Skyler is alright. As far as I know, It’s just me they wanted. We managed to get to Varrfarrinn and fought to regain the island. I heard Gabiral say that they lost control of Varrfarrinn,” I explained.

“Thank the goddess, at least there is some good news,” Gloria smiled.

“The reason why I’m is because I thought I could call someone my friend. Guess I was wrong in that department,” I said.

“I’m sorry dear. I can sense that there’s something else troubling you,” Gloria said.

I thought back to the conversation I had with my dad. “It’s nothing. I just met someone that I didn’t know exist,” For a moment, we sat in silence. My mind was racing. Could everything Elijah said be true?

“You met Elijah didn’t you?” Gloria said.

I gasped. “You know Elijah?” How on earth could she know who Elijah is? But those are the perks of being the Crown Dragon, appointed by the Moon Goddess herself.

“I didn’t make the connection when we first met, but when they captured me and brought me to Elijah, I could see the resemblance. Though you don’t want to hear it, you look like your father,” Gloria said nervously.

“I’m nothing like that lunatic!” I growled. “How did you know that he’s my father?”

“More right to say that I KNEW him. Now, he is a totally different person. I can’t believe that he is behind all of this. As for why I know he is your father, that’s a more complicated answer,” Gloria said.

A part of me was afraid to ask, but how could I not? When she could hold so many answers. “Did you know my mother?” I asked.

“I did; Eleanor was a lovely woman, one of the few humans in our history that the Goddess mated to a magical being. I’m surprised that I didn’t recognize you when we first met. You look a lot like your mother when she was your age,” Gloria said.

“Could you tell me what happened?” I said.

“Are you sure you want to know everything?” Gloria asked me.

“Yes, I want to know everything,” I nodded. “I need to understand why were always on the move, why my mother never talked about my father,”

“Then buckle in because it’s a long story,” Gloria’s eyes closed, then opened them again.

“I met your mother when we were teenagers. Back then, my father was the leader of Bermuda. Your mother was the daughter of one of his closest friends. That man was Franklin, your grandfather. We became very close and talked about everything. For some reason, your mother never went thought her manfestation. It’s a rare ocurrence when both parents are dragons, but it happens,” Gloria said.

“Wait, are you saying my mother was supposed to be a dragon?” I was shocked.

“Yep, despite Eleanor not being a dragon, she possessed dragon blood, even if she never shifted. She was still a dragon by birth. Since Eleanor did not go, Frankin decided it was best to get an education with mortals, and it broke my heart to see her leave. As time passed, my father started putting more responsibility on me, so we started seeing each other less and less. He told me that the Moon Goddess would soon choose me as the next Crown Dragon if I proved worthy of the title. A few years later, there was an enormous gala hel in Burmuda for kingdom leaders and powerful dragons,” Gloria explained.

“Franklin came and brought Eleanor with him. By then, we had barely seen each other for quite some time. Franklin was training her to be an advisor to mortals to help councils and kingdoms worldwide, and I was getting ready for the Moon Goddess to crown me my father’s title. On that same night, we met Elijah for the first time. His father owned a company that studied hidden dragon abilities, ancient magical history, and magical beings in general. I’ll admit that Elijah was very handsome, and we talked to him the rest of the night. Eleanor seemed utterly smitten, and it looked like they instantly clicked, and that’s when I knew the Moon Goddess paired them together as fated mates,” Gloria said.

“After the Gala, I tried to stay more in contact with her, and a few months later, she called me to tell me that she and Elijah were dating. My father had fallen ill, and I had just started taking over Burmuda at twenty-five years old. We hardly spoke over the next year, and I blame myself for that. I had become so busy after my father died and met Jessie, Skyler’s father, my fated mate. But one year and a half later, there was a knock on my door. Standing in the rain was your mother, her clothes torn and dirty, and she was about six months pregnant. Eleanor told me everything was beautiful over the first few months of their relationship and their newly fated mate bond. Then Elijah’s father mysteriously disappeared, so Elijah had to take over the company, and after that, he changed. Elijah became distant, and they hardly spent time together. Things got so bad that Eleanor was on the verge of rejecting and leaving Elijah. That’s when Eleanor found out she was pregnant with you, and after she told him the news, Elijah became happier, and things returned to normal; he was around more, and they spent more time together,” Gloria said.

“I’m guessing this is where things went wrong after my mom discovered she was pregnant with me?” I said.

“Yeah, soon Eleanor started noticing alarming signs. Elijah began to cook dinner every night, and she started noticing that she became exhausted each night and was usually asleep half an hour later. She didn’t think much of it until she saw marks on her belly. One night when Elijah was too busy to come home, she was making something to eat whens he found a bottle of sleeping pills and needles. He had been dosing her meal each night so could inject her while she slept,” Gloria said.

“Oh my god!” I gasped.

“Terrified and searching for answers, Eleanor broke into Elijah’s office. She was horrified when she discovered mountains of chemical formulas. What scared her more was the folder with what looked like doctor’s notes about many different women; almost every picture showed they didn’t survive. Eleanor read them briefly and could see that Elijah had been experimenting with something. She knew she couldn’t stay, but before she got away, Elijah showed up. They argued, resulting in him locking Eleanor in a room where she stayed for over two months. Every night, Elijah came in with some of his men who held Eleanor down while he injected her, and it didn’t matter how many times Eleanor fought back; she always lost. But one day, she received aid from an unexpected source. A young warlock that she befriended before she was locked up. He helped her escape the house and sent her through a portal that sent her to Bermuda, to me. She had told me everything that had happened and how she was sure Elijah would come after her. Eleanor didn’t want your grandfather to know about this since she was afraid of what he would do because she was determined to have you, so I helped her. I gave her fake identities and cash and a ride out of Burmuda, and she had to disappear on her own. After she left, we never saw each other again so she would be safe. Could you tell me what happened to Eleanor, is she still alive?” Gloria said, finishing her story.

“It was just me and my mother for as long as I can remember. We were always on the move and never stayed in one place for too long. But when I turned nineteen and went through my manifestation, Elijah and his men came into our house the same night we were getting ready to leave. Elijah killed my mother and took me captive,” I cried. “She never said where we were going, but I think she was trying to take me to you,”

“Oh, Eleanor, I’m so sorry. I hope you are resting in the Moon Goddesses’s embrace. I should have done more, but I didn’t know what more I could do,” Gloria said.

“Sounds like you did everything you could, and my mother and I had a good life. Guess now I know why we were always moving around. It was better than whatever Elijah was planning. Wait, you said my father studied dragons?” I said.

“Yes, Elijah is the head of a giant research company studying dragon abilities. I never thought much about it when Elijah took over, but everything shut down after he did take over. But that was all a ploy to fool everyone,” Gloria’s face showed realization. “Elijah, you crafty bastard,”

“Elijah must shut the front down to do inhumane experiments with no one watching,” I said.

“How could I not see that? Goddess only know how many lives have had thier lives ruined because of him,” Gloria pounded the stone wall.

“Is my grandfather still alive?” I asked.

“I’m afraid I don’t know that, Alyssa. After your mother vanished, your grandfather tried everything he could to find her and even communed with the Moon Goddess for her help, but she refused him. It broke my heart to see him so devastated, but I made an unbreakable vow with your mother to never tell anyone,” Gloria explained.

“So I am nothing but I freak made from some experiment because of a crazy father,” I huffed.

“Don’t you dare say that! You are not a freak. The part about a crazy father might be right, but that’s up to you let it define you. You decide what and who you are,” Gloria said.

“Aw, how cute,” Gabrial laughed. “You’re trying to make her believe she’s something other than a freak?”

“Who asked for your input?” I stood up and looked him in the eye.

“I hope you have something other than a smart mouth,” Gabrial rolled his eyes in annoyance. “You’re going to need it in a moment,” Gabrial grabbed my arm and threw me outside.

Vincent

We have been walking with Annabeth, taking the lead. We have been walking for a few hours in this dense jungle. “We should rest here for a bit,” I said, turning to everyone.

“Good idea,” Jacob nodded.

Annabeth sprouted her wings and flew in the air. “I’ll scan the area ahead while we wait,”

“Be careful not to overdo yourself,” I said to Annabeth, concern in my voice. “We need you to be sharp,”

“Don’t worry about me,” Annabeth said coldly.

“Annabeth seems tense,” Bao said.

“Annabeth lost her mate, and she wants revenge, Bao. Isabella was Annabeth’s mate. What would you do if you found out who killed your loved one?” Jacob crossed his arms.

“Relax, Jacob. I get it, and I don’t blame her, but a wise human once said that when on the path of revenge, dig two graves,” Bao said.

“I’ll see if I can talk to her,” Caitlin said. “Talk to her, girl to girl,”

“Thank you, Caitlin,” I smiled, then turned to Bao. “You seriously quoted Confucius?” I snickered.

“What? The magical world has learned a lot from great philosophers like him. After all, he is my only human ancestor,” Bao smiled.

After talking, Caitlin returned with Annabeth, who seemed to be in a better mood. “Everything alright?” I asked.

“Of course, Annabeth and I had a heart to heart,” Caitlin smiled.

“I used my magic, and we are on the right track, but there are a couple guards east of here, about two kilometers away,” Annabeth said.

“We’ll take care of them; excellent work, Annabeth. We will continue to rest here for another hour or two before continuing. Everyone, get some rest and that’s an order,” I said.

Alexandria

“We’re ready,” Ethan said.

Ethan and Finn stood opposite each other and opened a portal between them. “When you’re ready, step through the gate,” Ethan said.

“Everyone follows me,” I said to everyone. We each went through the portal and arrived in a narrow alley, and the first thing that greeted us was the bitter cold,”

“Where the hell are we?” Renna shivered.

“I don’t know, but it’s freezing,” Megan sneezed.

“I welcome you to Lukla, Nepal,” Ethan said.

“Nepal?” Ashley said.

“That’s right,” Ethan smiled.

Over the building across the street, we could see a large mountain.

“By the Goddess, that’s Mount Everest, the hightest mountain in the world!” Megan gasped.

“Yep, that’s Mount Everest; Lukla is one of the towns climbers go through on their way to the first base camp,” Ethan explained. Ethan then led us to a run-down building that had seen better days. By its appearance, it was on the verge of crumbling down, and when Ethan opened the door, it gave a loud creak. A brightly lit corridor greeted us as we entered through the door.

“Didn’t see this coming,” Haley said.

“Never judge a book by it’s cover when it comes to witches and wizards,” Rosetta laughed.

“Merlin is in here,” Ethan said.

We entered the room that would be filled with books. No matter where we looked, there were books in every corner. “What are you doing here, Ethan?” Merlin said. “I’m busy,”

“Forgive me my lord, but this important,” Ethan said.

“More critical than lying to the magical world about my imprisonment? The Moon Goddess was clear about this, Ethan. The Goddess tasked me with an essential duty, and this lie helps me with that duty and my research,” Merlin grunted.

“I understand that but-” Merlin turned around, looking nothing like some pictures and stories depicted him. Merlin is a young Welsh man.

“WRONG! Nothing is more important than the, Oh.” Merlin paused. “What do we have here?” Merlin smiled devilishly.

“Merlin, we need your help,” Mom said.