HEINA

Still mid air, it reached out a hand...paw? Talon? I couldn't tell which, to take a swipe at me.

In a panicked response, I fell backwards, dodging what would have been a painful ordeal. My back hit the ground.

It landed on the floor. From the growing dark, in this thick, dense forest, I could manage to make out the dull glow of its eyes.

A talon. They were talons. But what kind of animal was this? It was a dragon... maybe.

Another cry left my mouth as I dragged myself on my butt backwards, I couldn't run anymore even if I tried. My legs were too buttery with fear to save me. My glasses chose that moment to fall off my face.

Frantic with desperation, I felt around for my glasses. Oh my goodness, I couldn't see a thing. My eyesight was worse at night, I'd be eighty percent blind without my glasses. During the day, it was fifty percent.

My chest heaved, my heart racing erratically on panic.

A low cackle and I felt a kick to my stomach, beating the wind out of me. I gasped and choked on a whoosh of breath.

Using my instincts and what little percent I had left of my eyesight to try to dodge another definite blow.

Ignoring excruciating pain was a tough job but if I didn't want to get killed in a thick forest and become meal for wild animals, I had to channel my focus on listening.

So I did...and let out a shriek. Sharp talons dug into my left foot, snapping bones. Too late, I hadn't listened fast enough.

Slowly, it drew talons out from my skin, earning a painful whimper from me.

Still, I managed to follow the sound and movement, when it made another attempt to swipe at me, I raised my arm to defend, noticing movement aiming for my face, it was a weak, defenceless move but it was the only one I could think of.

A low, desperate cry rolled off my lips, readying myself for more pain. My eyes reflexively closed shut.

The next following seconds were more blur. I heard a mighty growl, followed by the sound of a body thudding.

I opened my eyes and blinked tears that worsened the condition of my poor eyesight.

More growls, then a whimper. Someone else was here. This someone has come to save me. To help me.

It was a mixture of relief and fear. What if this new person was just another animal trying to hurt me more?

"What happened to staying in your room?" A pair of hands lifted me off the dirty ground like some weightless sack, sounding very annoyed.

I recognized the voice as one of the twins'. I didn't know which, I didn't even know their names. But relief was overwhelming fear.

He carried me, possibly heading back to the house. I could barely see a thing. There was a dim blur of light that I saw and that was all.

The light grew the closer he got. I turned to look at his face, I saw blurry features staring at me.

A moan escaped me, pain clawing its way to where I'd been hit.

"You stupid girl." He hissed.

He climbed upstairs - his movement gave that away - and was soon dropping me on what I assumed was a bed. I was finding it hard to see. Plus the injury.

A blurry figure stepped through the door and walked up to me. My glasses were back on my face and I visibly let out a breath of relief - my vision was back.

But I still had my pains and wounds to deal with. I couldn't stand. My left leg was bleeding. The one with sapphire had carried me, the blood stain on his shirt was a giveaway.

I pressed my lips tight, pain shooting through me. The current dress I was wearing was soaked in my own blood. I laid there, helpless to do otherwise.

"You are enough trouble as it is, do not make things worse." The one with sapphire orbs started, his tone dripping with such flatness and detachment.

He could as well be speaking to a stranger who was a child. And it wasn't borne out of concern, just irritation and annoyance.

If I wasn't already crying from the pain these wounds were putting me through, I could have cried listening to them.

It was barely twenty four hours day and a lot of things had happened already. I was already expecting my birthday to go bad when I'd women up this morning by my parents but never in the entirety of my existence had I thought it to become this intense of a nightmare.

Azila came in with a bowl of green liquid that I wondered briefly what it was. She bowed to the boys before reaching where I was.

"I'm sorry, My Lady." She soothed, using the clean rag she'd brought with her to clean the wounds. First, she gently undressed me, leaving me in my underwear.

Then she proceeded with the towel, dipping it in the green liquid and applying it on both my stomach and affected leg. I emitted whimpers and low cries as she tended my wounds. This liquid made it stung even more.

I felt the boys' eyes on me and was quite embarrassed to be seen half naked by the opposite gender. I've never been this exposed in the presence of boys before now.

But I didn't know whether to feel insulted or relieved that they weren't drooling at my body. Not even in the least.

"You should feel better by tomorrow, My Lady." Azila announced as soon as she was done.

Despite the coolness of the room, I was sweating and panting, my body feeling abused and weak.

"Why did you fucking have to be born?" One of the boys uttered in a low voice.

I froze, blood rushing to my ears despite the pain I was going through. Tears rolled down my face but I couldn't make a sound, not even the weakest one. It felt as though my throat was suddenly clogged.

Those words of his caused a painful pang in my heart. Things had never gone my way before. I'd always wonder why it seemed that my life was different - and not in a good way.

I'd always wondered but I'd never heard anyone ask me such question. But maybe he was right. I wasn't a great catch, physically speaking.

Everything about me was an imperfect two at best while girls like Jocelyn ranked a perfect ten. I didn't even rank average.

A lot of things I never thought were possible turned out to be and I was going through the hell of encountering them.

Since I could remember as a child, I'd always been useless. I excelled at nothing, just in academics.

So he was possibly right. Why exactly did I have to be born?

HEINA

I watched silently as Sirra, the twins' sister, and princess of the dragon tribe went into a verbal war with her brothers, the Kings in this language of theirs I couldn't understand.

It's been one week past that incident, and I was healed. I suspected it had a lot to do with the boys using some sort of magic - it still sounded crazy to me because before now, I'd never believe in magic, except in movies - to help my healing faster.

Though there were still scars from the injury, it didn't hurt anymore.

"You will ride with her to school." One hollered.

I'd known their names - Ryno and Ryso - but was yet to tell who was Ryno and who was Ryso. They had told me I'd be starting school today.

It was a Monday. We were standing outside the house, the back yard.

While we were surrounded by thick forest and dangerous cliffs, there was a smooth road that was accessible. It was my first time noticing it. The driver was waiting for us at the foot of the cobblestone stairs.

"What if she kills me?! She's evil! An abomination." She yelled bitterly.

"She will not kill you, Sirra. Now stop being a whiny little dragon and go to school." They ordered her.

Left with no choice, she gave me a death glare, bumped into me hard, climbing down the stairs.

"And do not reveal anything about her, you hear me?" The one with topaz blue reminded.

"Fine." She gritted her teeth, entered the backseat and closed it with a bang that startled me a bit.

I stood, my gaze trained on the car that waiting for me. I gulped, gripping the strap of the new bag they had bought for me.

School. Memories flooded into my head, causing sheer terror. I pushed my glasses back up so they sat well on my face.

"What are you waiting for?" The impatient tone propelled me forward, my stomach knotted in nerves.

Slowly, I made my unsteady way down the stairs and into the back seat of the vehicle, making sure to put space between us.

"What are you doing?! Fucking get down!" She yelled, her eyes - deep aqua marine - blazed.

"W-where...I don't..." I stuttered, at loss for words, my hands fumbling with the car door.

"Go sit in the front." She gestured to the passenger seat. "Abominations do not get to sit with royalty."

Apprehension had me leaping out of the vehicle, the twins were no longer standing outside. I jumped to the front seat and straddled myself. I risked a glance the driver's way, but he wasn't looking right back.

He should be in his late twenties or early thirties. With a significantly long raven hair, his side profile was hard and well defined.

I didn't need to see the color of his eyes to know they were dark and mysterious. His aura was intimidating... sinister, if I could add.

My eyes shifted downwards to take note of the long, black nails that resembled monster claws more than they resembled human nails.

Finding myself lightheaded with fear, I averted my gaze the moment he turned his unsmiling expression my direction, a sharply defined brow quirked.

Obsidian. I swallowed, keeping my head down. His eyes were obsidian. I bit my lips, toying absent mindedly with the colorful beads attached to the lock of my bag.

The drive was intense and uncomfortably silent for me. I couldn't wait to get down from this car and be away from this man and Sirra.

It was a long drive, I resigned myself to being in the car more than I'd like to and focused my thoughts on this new, mysterious world breezing past by.

The houses - some modern and nice, some quirky and interesting - canopy of lush trees, moving or parked cars, cry and call of animals deep in woods. This community gave off magical, historical and modern-kitsch feeling.

A big gate came into view. It had the inscribed artwork of a gigantic dragon on it. The gate parted as our car drove near, the steel dragon cut into two perfectly equal halves to let us through.

Once inside, students were seen roaming around. He stopped the car and turned off the engine, eyes rallied on us, I hated attention. I'd do anything to avoid it, like sitting in this car all day but this sinister-looking driver wouldn't like it.

Preparing myself mentally for the next step; deeply inhaling and exhaling to free nerves, I yelped when my hair was unmercifully tugged from behind.

Her mouth was close to my ear. "If you tell anyone we live in the same house, fatty, I'll end you before your stupid abominable self can blink. Am I understood?"

My eyes began to water from the pain, my scalp was on fire. "Y-yes."

"Good. Do not talk to me, you hear me?" Her grip tighter.

Oh my goodness, she was going to pull my hair from its root. "Y-yes. I-I promise, I-I won't talk to you."

"And you must not talk to anyone either. We don't want you contaminating the school with your evil presence, you hear me?!"

A nod, because I found it hard to talk from the pain I was currently experiencing.

"You hear me?!" She pulled harder, if that was even possible.

"Yes." A tear escaped now.

She released my hair, shoving my face forward that I almost hit on nose on the dashboard.

"Thank you for the drive, Falin." She smiled sweetly at the guy before stepping.

And to my surprise, he smiled back. His smile disappeared when his gaze landed on me, impatience lurked.

Quickly I opened the car door and stumbled out. He didn't even wait for me to be completely out before he started the car and zoomed off.

This time I couldn't stop the fall. I landed on my butt...hard. The pain was brutal, but I immediately got up so no one laughed at me.

Too late.

I heard the chuckles. Loud laughter. Audible snickers.

"How are you in the same car with such a clumsy bloated pig in glasses?" One girl asked Sirra as the latter walked up to her.

She flicked me a gaze. "Don't lose sleep over her. She's unimportant." She linked hands with the girl and they were gone.

Just like Royal Ridge. And Sirra was Jocelyn. It was going to be hell just as it used to be, I realized with tears brimming.

I lowered my head, walking slowly and cautiously through the door of the school's very majestic building, pushing back tears.

I was just going to mind my business. Avoid talking to anyone, not that anyone would want to talk to me.

As though my fate didn't want any better for me, I accidentally bumped into someone...and froze. I was dead meat.

HEINA

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going. I apologize."

Huh? Did someone just apologize to me? I'd have not believed them if the voice wasn't sincere.

I raised my head up...and blinked. A guy. An attractive one at that.

He had a pair of deeply wonderful winter grey eyes that housed kindness and open curiosity. No male had ever talked to me kindly, except for my dad.

I didn't know how to deal with this.

"Are you hurt? Did I step on you too hard?" He further inquired, genuinely apologetic. He frowned. "Are you crying? Your eyes...they are filled."

I was too stupefied to make a comment. Any comment. I was thinking this was a dream I'd wake up from. A handsome boy who wouldn't look more than nineteen...twenty...was talking to me. Not at me. Around me. Over me.

But to me. And he wasn't being a mean asshole about it.

"Are you ever going to say something?" His gaze was narrowed curiously this time.

"T-thank you." My voice was low and emotions ran high.

I never thought I'd see the day where I wouldn't be treated like a trash for something that wasn't my fault. Or be understood, even if it was, that it was unintentional.

"For what exactly?" He seemed amused now.

I wanted to say 'for being kind' but that sounded... I don't know...too pathetic.

"I-I have to go." I walked past him, ignoring stares from fellow students.

The place was too big. I was trying to find the principal's office or even the admin's office. I didn't have a guide.

I stopped halfway and turned to see the guy already talking to someone... possibly a friend. I swallowed. No one here would talk to me, I could bet that, seeing the stares they were casting my way.

Inhaling deeply, I meekly walked up to him and his friend. The latter looked at me strange. Not unkind, but strange.

Well, strange was better than unkind, in my book of experience.

"Do you want something?" He asked kindly.

"Y-yes." I cleared my throat as if to banish nerves lodged in there. What if he declined helping me? What if he finally realized he wasn't supposed to be talking to someone like me?

No one had ever gone out of their way to help me before. So why should he? Maybe I'd imagined the whole good guy scenario. Maybe I should just do it by myself so avoid insults.

"I-I'm s-sorry to bother you." I apologized, my tone low and pitiful.

I turned to leave, a hand clamped around my wrist. I was surprised by that. There was nothing abusive about his hold on my wrist. Rather, it was simply to stop me.

"You're not a bother. Also, I can see you're a new student. You need help navigating the place?" His eyes smiled.

I cast a nervy look at his friend before nodding. "Yes, please. I-I need to locate the admin office or block."

"Alright, I know the place. Give me a minute." He said, then turned to his friend. "Would you like to go with us? I want to take her to the admin office so she'll be fully registered."

"No, I'll catch up with you later. I have someone I want to meet." His friend declined.

"Alright, see you later." This nice, handsome guy bumped fists with his friend and focused his attention on me. "This way."

We walked through the long, gleaming hallway.

"What's your name?"

He was taller than me so I had to look up to meet his gaze.

Silence.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me." He stated, not angry or impatient one bit.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, it's just..well, no one has ever paid this much attention to me before."

He smiled, not fazed. "It happens. Sadly, there are shitty people everywhere."

I totally agree with him. "I'm Heina."

He frowned, stopping a little to study my expression. "Your parents named you that?"

I shrugged. This name must be a bad thing here in the dragon tribe. "I'm not from around here." I didn't want to ruin this nice conversation.

"Hm. Could be it has a different meaning where you're from. Where are you from, if I may ask?"

"Uhm...Jertrix. You might not know there."

"The human world?" He sounded surprised. "You're human?"

Truly, two weeks ago, I'd have found that question ludicrous and looked at the person like they were crazy. I mean, everyone was human...or so I thought.

But now, I didn't know. Maybe I was and all of this was some mistake...or a really, really, horrible nightmare I was yet to wake up from. Or it wasn't and I'd be stuck trying to understand who I was and how I fit in here.

I mean, I saw my parents transmute and display powers I didn't think was scientifically possible. I was studying to be a doctor back in Royal Ridge.

I loved science and excelled at it.

But this defied every principle of science.

"I like to think I am." Was my decided response.

"Not sure what that means but okay." He adjusted the strap of his backpack. "How did you find your way here? I mean, how did you end up here?"

I shrugged. "Long story. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I'm ready to tell it." I sounded apologetic.

"It's okay. No rush. I believe I'll see more of you, right?"

We climbed stairs, stopped at the second floor.

The way he was so free and how he smiled at me, it made me blush. I had to avert my gaze so I didn't look smitten. "I'm... certain you will."

"Good. We're here." He stopped before a wide office and knocked.

"Come in." A gruff voice answered.

I was thankful he was with me, else, I'd be too scared to go in. I went in after him.

It was a man with long, wild beards and an equally long golden brown hair. He really looked like someone who'd be found in such paranormal environment.

"Oh, it's you Aslan." His small, beaded eyes rounded on me and narrowed. "Who's she?"

"She's a new student. She's here to fully register." He said.

"What's your name?" The man asked, inviting us to have a seat.

"Heina. Heina Duxwell, sir."

The man snapped his head of wild hair up, his gaze narrowing. "What kind of parents give their child such... abominably vile name?"

"She's not from around here, Professor Usto. So the name has a different meaning from her land of birth."

"Where's she from?" I heard the curiosity in his tone.

"From a city named Jertrix in the human world. And don't bother, Professor Usto, she's not ready to talk about that part of her life yet."

I was so grateful for Aslan, as the man called him. I didn't mind he was answering for me. Now I knew I'd not be able to come here on my own.

"Is that so?" The man cleared his throat, staring intently at me before he began the process of registering me into the school's system log.

After what seemed like hours, I had my lecture schedule and student ID card.

"Thank you so much, Aslan. I couldn't have done this without you. I'm sorry I took up your time, I'm sure you have classes, right?" We were coming down the stairs.

"Not really. It's more of a practical day for us third years. So we'll basically be out on the field."

"Oh. Sports?"

He looked at me, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "Something like that. You should come watch."

"What about my class? I wouldn't want to miss more than I already have."

"Check your schedule." He gestured to the folded paper in my possession.

I carefully unfolded and scanned through. What the hell?! What sort of courses were these? Draki For Beginners - DB 111? Potions And Power - PP 101? Red Moon History - RMH 121?

My confusion was palpable because he was asking. "Not what you're used to, huh?"

"What the hell is Draki?" I just had to ask. I'd thought I'd continue studying medicine here.

"It's the ancient language of dragons." He explained.

"What?!" I flailed my arm helplessly, an exasperated sigh leaving my lips.

I wanted to be a doctor, not a dragon.