I don't remember much of my childhood, which in and of itself could be a blessing in disguise. My dreams seem to have blurred fact and fiction, but from what I do recall, a patrol found me covered in blood, barely clinging to life, drifting in and out of consciousness near the remains of what was once my parents. I was three then, and now that I'm turning eighteen, I can barely remember their faces. I often try to force myself to remember my childhood and how I wound up at an odd orphanage, but I met with an impenetrable wall. I cannot remember the details of my parents' faces, but I can, however, remember songs that my mother would sing about a fierce princess who would save us all. Growing up, I wished that I were that princess, but that was a destiny not meant for me.

As for me, now, I am turning eighteen. I was raised in what I thought was a human orphanage, like many others. I was always picked last for everything and never got adopted. At thirteen, I was an outcast among outcasts, thus providing me with many horror stories from my stint at that orphanage that I keep bottled up. Perhaps that isn't the healthiest coping mechanism, but it has kept me alive thus far. However, there is a memory from five years ago that still invades my daydreams and nightmares...I was hiding from a group of kids who teased and bullied me because I was so thin and pale. They called me a leech, a vampire, and a corpse. No matter how hard I tried to hide the hurt, every word pierced my soul. Riddled with invisible scars that I believed would never heal, I sought refuge in a fallen tree. Their constant torment was becoming too much. I wanted to curl up and die so much so that I remember praying for it that day, too. Much to my dismay, the group of tormentors found me. However, just as they were ripping my clothes off, two dragons blasted the treetops with their flames. 

Everyone ran, including me. After all, dragons are known to be one of the most powerful beings in existence, and the most menacing, too. I ran as hard as I could, but I was exhausted and tripped. I rolled down a hill, landing at the feet of a woman who was patting down a few embers that were smoldering on her dark green dress. Her eyes were kind, and her touch was warm and soft as she helped me to my feet. Her husband came over and healed my scrapes the best he could. He carried me to their modest home in the heart of the Naga Tribe. 

June and Anton, the dragon shifters who saved me, officially adopted me a few weeks later, after they obtained approval from the nobles. My new parents were farmers for the tribe and the nobles for whom the tribe served. But the lands weren't always plentiful, so I was fortunate enough to get a job in the tribe. I didn't want to be a burden to the two people who kindly raised me as their own. I was turning fourteen, and it was acceptable that I had a job, as long as it didn't impact my grades. Instead of being happy, I let fear get the better of me and tried to run away. Luckily, the king and queen took pity on me and gave me a job at the palace. At first, I started out as a maid assigned to clean the common areas, before the King and Queen were killed by a rival group of dragons, while on a diplomatic mission, I was promoted to be the Royal Concierge.

"Avery! Why isn't my shirt pressed?" Clint roared.

"Where is my phone? Avery, get in here now," Conner bellowed from his room.

Shaking my few pictures on my wall, a loud banging interrupted my solitude, "Avery, get your pathetic ass out of your room and make my fucking breakfast. You had better not make me late, either. You know how angry Asher gets," Cassius threatened.

I often regret accepting my newest position as a personal servant in the palace, but it pays better and allows me more places to hide than at my old home with my adoptive parents. Unfortunately, it means that I am in contact with the Royal Trio of Clint, Conner, and Cassius Draco, all the more. They have always made my life difficult, but now even more so, as graduation approaches and their Grand Ceremony along with it. 

From what I have learned, all young dragons fantasize about their Grand Ceremony. The ceremony is the gateway to a dragon's destiny, whether it is to ascend to the throne or find their fated mate. I have no dragon, so I have no delusions that some ceremony will determine my destiny. I am just a poor, pathetic human, counting down the days until I graduate, and then I can run away forever. I don't belong in this land of dragons. Maybe I don't belong anywhere. There have been many times that I thought about giving up and taking my own life since I came here, but something always happened to prevent me from succeeding. Maybe it is the spirits of my parents looking out for me, or I am just too inept to kill myself.

I sigh as I drag myself out of bed. I don't bother fixing my sheets. Instead, I pull the comforter over the crumpled mess. I rarely get a good night's sleep because I always seem to wake up in a cold sweat, entangled in my sheets. I never fully remember what I dream of, though, but I assume it is my past and my parents' deaths. Perhaps, it's a good thing I don't remember the details. I quickly pull on a plain white dress and my tattered flats before I try to brush my knotted, brown hair. I don't bother with makeup because nothing could change my porcelain, paper-thin skin, just as nothing could enhance my flat chest. I look like a living skeleton because I can never gain weight, despite how much I eat. My skin never tans, no matter how much sunlight I expose myself to, either. Over the years, I have given up trying to blend in. I have been accepted in this world, and perhaps I never will.

Conner Draco is the most docile of the triplets, so I decided to tackle his request first. As I suspected, his phone is on the charger and not on his bedside table. Without a word, I approached him with the phone in my hand. I keep my eyes down as I extend my hand out to him. He snatches it up before he shoves me out of the door. At least he didn't ridicule me as he has done since the day I was brought into the palace. 

I decided to accomplish Clint's and Cassius's requests simultaneously. I might be weak and pathetic without a dragon, but I have learned to multitask and be resourceful. When you are a lamb among wolves, you quickly learn to survive. I just need to hold out until the end of my senior year and my eighteenth birthday. Then I can leave Momma June and Papa Anton with a nice nest egg, and I can retreat far from here and never see a dragon again. I just have to endure one hundred and eighty more days of school, which means twenty-five more Mondays of hell. I roll my eyes as I let out a sigh. I hate Mondays.

As I am awaiting Cassius's toast to pop up out of the toaster, to accompany his huge breakfast of five poached eggs, three sausages, and a pile of bacon, I iron an identical shirt to the one Clint had complained about. I know I ironed his other shirt, but I will not go into his room until I have to. The triplet's respective dragons have also become more irritable as of late. It still freaks me out to see a human and his dragon standing side by side; as a dragon, itself, wasn't scary enough, now you must contend with his human, as well. That is why I keep my head down and pray to any god who listens, that I can become invisible long enough to escape this hell.

I remember when I wanted to believe that only humans existed. I was around six years old, living at the orphanage. My teacher would read us stories on all sorts of fantastical things, from witches to vampires and dragons, and she would tell us about the brave souls who would slay them. This one boy, named Tim, and I would often exclude ourselves from the group and fantasize that we were the valiant slayers. On one such day, I was hiding in the woods waiting for Tim to come slay me. I tripped over my shoelace, but when I tried to stand, I felt claws tearing at my shirt, as a huge paw pressed down on my back, leaving thin, bloody lines. I screamed and threw dirt at the creature. As I stood, I saw glowing silver eyes staring at me from a dark green dragon with dark purple, almost black, horns. It was the size of a small horse, but to the child in me, it was the size of a house. That was the day I learned that dragons exist, and my fear of them began. I never told anyone that a dragon attacked me, only that I fell into a patch of bayberry bushes. Now I work on the things I fear the most.

Just my luck, the stupid toast sticks to the side of the toaster and begins to burn. I turn off the iron and hang up Clint's shirt before I remake Cassius's toast. Once I get everything ready, I go back up the five flights of stairs. This palace is a massive labyrinth and far too extravagant for just the few that dwell here. This is yet another dragon trait that I will never understand. They attribute success to opulence and quantity of possessions, nd, yes, servants like myself are considered one of those many possessions. I hate feeling like a thing. The servants are kind to me, and they respect my devotion to duty. At least I am wanted. Just no by the Trio; that's what I call them. 

After using my foot to knock, Clint opens his door. I hold up his freshly ironed shirt. Inspecting every inch, he looks it over. "This will do, but do it right the first time," he grumbles. I bow and quickly leave as he slams the door closed. I know that I did it right the first time, but I also know not to talk back to the Trio. 

I tried once a few years ago...

***Flashback***

I had just left my adoptive parents' home as I was headed to the palace. It was a nice day until I literally ran into the Trio. "Look who we have here, guys. It's a field mouse," Clint mocked. He spoke in a combination of his voice and Carter's, his dragon. I knew that my day had just gone to shit because I feared that their verbal tirades would turn violent. 

"Looks more like a bug to me," Cassius sneered.

I tried to get around the m, but it was no use. They shoved me around them like they were playing Hot Potato. I am not sure what came over me, but I raised my hand and slapped Cassius. He threw me to the ground as he commanded his brothers, "Hold her, this bitch needs to be reminded of her place." After he said that, he opened the fly of his pants and proceeded to urinate on me. I screamed for help that never arrived. Cassius had each of his brothers urinate on me as well. However, he was far from satisfied. 

Cassius ordered Clint to grab me. I was carried into the barn where I was coated in excrement and pigs' blood. Then Cassius had Conner and his dragon, Caleb, fly me into the woods a few miles from the palace. Conner's eyes had a glimpse of remorse before he abandoned me. I had no choice but to try to hurry back to Naga before I became dinner to one of the beasts that inhabit these woods. 

****End Flashback***

Out of all of the brothers, Cassius has always treated me the worst. I might never figure out why, because I try to avoid him, just as I do the rest of The Trio. I know that he hates that his parents chose me, but I had no control over their decision. The brothers view me as their nanny, not as their assistant. I am mature for my age, but that can't be why I was chosen. I am thankful for the pay, but not the duties. I wish that the King and Queen had chosen someone else. 

I bite my lip before I knock on Cassius's door. As I lower my chin to my chest, I raise the loaded breakfast tray. I hear his dragon, Asher, growl, and I immediately know that something must not be to his liking. A Aclawede, deep red hand knocks the tray and its contents to the floor. "Clean it up," he commanded, as he moved quickly so that he could lift his right foot and kick me into his room. This is the last place that I wanted to be today, alone with Cassius and his pissy dragon. Fuck my luck! Will I ever catch a break?

All dragons are moody, even the ones that adopted me. My adoptive parents, unlike many others in the tribe, rarely let their dragons out or even shift, because they know that it terrifies me. The Trio simply don't care, and I am certain that they do it on purpose to frighten me. They want me to run and abandon my duties, but even if I did, I would be dragged back here. I have to stay until I graduate, and then I can give my adoptive parents a portion of my earnings and flee this place forever and go back to live among humans. Now I need to focus and avoid Cassius's and Asher's wrath.

Cassius

If my parents were still alive, I would question them as to why they felt that my brothers and I needed a nanny. Most of all, this pathetic lump of flesh that's sprawled out on my bedroom floor. Avery won't just disappear, no matter how hard I push. My brothers and I don't need her as our personal servant. We don't need a personal servant at all; we need our mates. But we won't be able to scent our mates until our Grand Ceremony. So until I can find my mate, I will enjoy making Avery's life a living hell.

She is on her hands and knees cleaning up the remnants of my breakfast. I push her face down on my carpet, "Lick it up like the pathetic lapdog you are. Lick every fucking drop!"

Avery

I need to just do as he says so I can get out of here as soon as possible. The longer that I am here, the more I must endure. As I am licking up the spilled liquid, I imagine it is jasmine tea. I love jasmine tea, as it is the only thing that brings me comfort and peace. Cassius isn't even watching me now; he's too busy texting one of his many girlfriends. 

The Trio is immensely popular, especially with the mean girls, who all just happen to be cheerleaders. I can't wait to be old enough to leave this hellhole and never look back. I quickly soak up the remaining liquid with my dress and pile food over it. I also stack everything back onto the tray. I gather up my skirt and then the tray. I stand and bow, "All done, Your Highness. May I go now?" I kept my eyes down, not daring to look at his handsome face that hid the monster that he was.

Cassius put his finger under my chin. He was in his human form, but I still trembled at the thought that he could shift or release his dragon at any moment. "Open your eyes. Look at me!" he ordered. My eyes crept open. "Wider!" he yelled. I allowed my eyes to snap open. I saw one human blue eye and one red dragon eye staring back at me. His voice was gruff and laced with malice, the voice of his dragon, "We are to come first. If you ever put my brothers before us again, we will make you bleed."

I nodded in understanding, and he shoved me out the door. Using the servant stairs, I rushed to the kitchen and dumped the tray in the sink. The kitchen staff can clean it up later, because now, I need to change clothes before I am late for school. I put on a plain blue dress and rushed to school. 

Salvation Academy is a school for all supernatural beings and the humans that serve them. The human world isn't aware that we exist, but some humans have been brought into the world of dragons. Those who have been tend to be servants and will never rise above that station. Unfortunately, even the humans want nothing to do with me, so I keep my head down and focus on my courses, biding my time until I can enact my plan to disappear after I graduate. If I could leave sooner, I would, but any who tried in the past was hunted down; the rest of their time here was made worse than the hell they tried to escape from. I was fortunate to have the Crown take pity on me and make me a servant in the palace, because had they not, I would have been beaten, imprisoned, and tortured until I was given a worse job.

My day was going by fast until it came time for Physical Education class. I have always hated PE, because I feel as if my bones would break or I get out of breath at the slightest exertion. I hate being weak, almost as much as I hate dragons. Momma J and Papa A are the only bright spots in that monstrous species. I go into the bathroom stall to put on my uniform. I can barely look at the scars the kids at the orphanage put there, so I don't want others to see them either. I don't need more problems, and I don't need to give others a reason to torment me even more. 

Mrs. Kyer starts the introduction of what we will be doing for the next month. To my horror, it is cheerleading. As I was trying to push down the rising bile in my throat, Jessica, the cheer captain, and her two best friends, Heidi and Lenore, waltzed in. They were all peppy smiles, but their eyes boiled with hatred once they saw me. The three mean girl bitches think they don't own just Salvation, but the Trio, too. They despised me from the moment I became the Trio's personal assistant, and even more so since. 

I died a bit inside when Mrs. Kyer turned the class over to the Hoity Hags. Jessica's grating voice echoed throughout the gymnasium, "Alright, before we even try to teach you all the basics, we need to know if you have the stamina to perform at the level I demand." My day has just gone from bad to worse.

Heidi pranced over to me like a prized gazelle. Her eyes bore into me, making me extremely nervous. While we are on campus, any shifting or use of magic is expressly forbidden unless it is part of a course requirement. Most students, especially the dragons, bend and even break those rules. Smacking me hard on the back of my head, Heidi cackled like the witchy bitch she is, "Start running."

I stumbled forward but luckily caught myself before I face-planted on the shiny hardwood floor. After being lapped a few times by a group of students, I slowed down even more. My lungs are burned, nd I felt like I am being stabbed with every breath that I took.  The cheerleaders flanked me on all sides, "So worthless, can't even do a few laps," Lenore taunted. Heidi poked at me, "How is she not dead yet? Just roll over and die already." Jessica tripped me, and I fell hard to the floor, busting my lip. She laughs, "When I am queen, I will exterminate all vermin, starting with you." 

I wanted to tell her off. I wanted to kick her legs out from under her, but I had no fight left in me. Each day was a struggle just to exist. When will enough be enough?