Fan Fiction ❯ Eternal Dreams ❯ Are We Friends? ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1: Are We Friends?

"Be careful now, Drake!" A voice called from the main hall. A young boy with stunning midnight blue hair came running out of the hall, his eyes twinkling with excitement. He did not notice a silver haired adult coming out of a room, and promptly ran headlong into the latter with a yelp of surprise. Stifling his laughter, the young adult knelt down and helped Drake to his feet.

"Thanks Drias!" Drake chirped, while Drias laughed heartily, ruffling Drake's hair fondly. It had been nine long years since Maria had brought Drake into the household. Drias could never quite understand why everyone kept away from Drake. He was young, innocent and likeable, with his ever-smiling expression. Drias got to his feet, and observed his younger brother. Drake had grown much taller over the years, his blue hair short, the strands of hair seemingly all pointing towards the back of his head in various graceful curves. His eyes were large and filled with the childhood innocence present in all young children. His crimson and violet right eye and golden left eye was quite possibly the main reason why all the other immortals kept away from Drake. His eyes were the mark of a heretic, one born between a god and a mortal. Long, pointed ears stuck out of his hair, often twitching about, marking his race as that of a dragon, quite fitting, since his adopted mother was the Goddess of Dragons. His teeth were ordinary, although there were sharp fangs growing at the corners, and they often stuck out quite clearly whenever he grinned, adding more youth to his look. He was dressed casually, wearing large brown shoes paired with light colored clothing.

"Just watch where you're going next time, kid." Drias said to Drake, and sent him on his way. As soon as Drake was out the door and into the open, Maria came out of the hall and walked over to Drias.

"Is he going to be okay in the Celestial Capital? The immortals won't take too kindly to him…" She asked worriedly.

"He'll be fine, Goddess." Drias answered respectfully. Maria slapped him lightly on the arm.

"Don't call me that, I'm your mother." Drias grinned.

~~~~~

Drake stepped through the huge marble gates into the Celestial Capital, his mouth hanging open in wonder. It was more fantastic than he had ever imagined. Everywhere the ground was made of smooth, sparkling marble in various shades of blue and green, perfectly polished. A thin layer of cool, white mist hung just above the ground, keeping the people cool. The gates behind him were connected to tall walls built of white stone, shimmering in the sun, often blinding those who stared.

Luxurious green trees grew in almost everywhere he could see, adding a sense of nature to the beauty setting in the capital. The trees grew tall, their trunks large and sturdy, their canopy of leaves providing cool shelter for those seeking escape from the sun. And standing by these trees were the houses and buildings themselves, shaped wondrously in graceful arcs that seemed impossible. The arcs connected one house to another, showing the sense of unity that existed among the immortals. The interiors of the buildings were cool, the floors covered with soft, expensive carpets, with shelves upon shelves of books stacked in a corner.

By the houses and the trees was a large stream cutting through the exact center of the capital. The stream was carved out of hand, the marble carefully smoothened so well that the stream seemed natural instead of artificial. The blue water was crystal clear, and had a sparkling quality to it, its taste delicious. Children often frolicked by the stream, carefree. People walked all about the capital, the adults dressed in their robes, some dressed casually, like Drake. The children were all dressed for play, with expressions of pure contentment on their faces.

And above them all was a clear blue sky, filled with pure white clouds drifting lazily in the eternal realm, the soft, cool breeze playing with the people's clothing. Drake took a few steps forward, still looking around in wonder, but careful to hide his eyes, as his mother had warned him to. However, he was not careful enough. A person spotted his eyes, and quickly reported it to the celestial guards, who came dashing over.

"What are you doing here, boy?" One of them asked, none too kindly.

"I… I was j-just looking around…" Drake stammered.

"You're not welcome here, heretic." Another said harshly. The group of them then hoisted Drake up, and carried back out through the gates, setting him down firmly on the ground. They then hurried back to their posts, watching Drake carefully, making sure he would not step into the Celestial Capital again. Drake simply stood outside there, stunned. Then, tears began to well up in his eyes as he turned away from the wondrous sight before him, and ran.

~~~~~

Heretic.

How many times had he heard that word? He did not exactly know what it meant, but from the way others used it when referring to him, Drake quickly learnt that it probably meant something bad. He had heard it many times, whenever his mother or brother would bring him to the palace due to some important event, Drake could always hear people speaking that word in hushed tones. Maria and Drias had told him to ignore them, but he had always found it hard to do so.

What had he done wrong to deserve such cold treatments? He was friendly, open, and he had never done anything bad, so why did people hate him so much? Drake did not understand. He ran, ran away from the capital, which had suddenly turned from warm and wonderful to cold and unwelcome. Drake came to a stop at the fields at the outskirts of the Celestial Capital. Nobody ever came here, so Drake was free to do what he wanted here. It was huge, and empty, and Drake enjoyed the serenity and peacefulness the fields exuberated.

Heretic. Heretic. Heretic.

Drake sighed and slumped down against a large rock, his favorite spot in the entire fields. The rock was large, plain, and provided reasonable shade. Also, he could sit on top of it, and get a clear view of the surroundings all around him. It was in the fields that Drake had come to learn to enjoy drawing. He found that drawing took his mind off matters, and had been doing it since he was five. He reached into his pockets and retrieved a neatly folded thin stack of papers, along with a small stick of charcoal. He couldn't afford one of those expensive feather pens, and he did not exactly want them anyway. He was far too used to drawing with charcoal.

He unfolded the papers and set them down on the rock. He lay down in front of the papers, thought for a moment, and began to draw slowly and carefully, his tongue sticking out an inch. Slowly but surely, his picture began to take shape. It was a good sketch of the fields all around him, and in the middle of his picture, standing alone in the fields, was a lonely soul, looking lost. Himself.

Drake sighed again. His mother had once commented that his pictures were a little too… mature and strange for someone of his age to draw. But such pictures were always present in his mind. He was alone. He finished the picture and tucked the piece of charcoal back into his pockets, and then held his picture up to the sun proudly.

"That's a really nice picture." Came the voice of a young girl, startling Drake so much that he fell off the rock. He glanced up from the grass and saw a girl of his age standing there. She had long hazel hair with streaks of gold that cascaded down her neck and onto her shoulders, gleaming. Her large silver eyes stared at him inquisitively, a small smile played on her lips.

"W-who are you?" Drake asked, getting to his feet.

"My name is Tiera. Tiera Silvers. You?"

"Drake. Drake Alsyein." He said somewhat reluctantly. He waited for the girl to realize who he was and run away.

"Drake Alsyein? Aren't you the one everyone calls a heretic?" Drake flinched at the word. Tiera hung her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay." Drake was wondering why she wasn't running yet. And then, to his surprise, Tiera settled herself down on the rock, next to Drake, who had since resumed sitting on his favorite spot. Tiera inhaled deeply and let out a soft sigh of contentment. She surprised Drake further by lying back on the rock, her eyes closed. Drake was growing increasingly confused. Others would run or chase him away whenever he was around, but that wasn't the case for Tiera.

"Aren't you scared of me?" Drake asked after a moment of silence. Tiera giggled.

"Scared? Why? You seem pretty okay. You're not going to turn into a big monster and eat me, are you?"

"No!" Drake said, somewhat taken aback by her casual reply. "Of course not. Aren't your parents worried about you getting close to me? I'm a heretic, after all. Whatever that means." Tiera suddenly looked downcast.

"I… don't have any parents. I'm an orphan." Drake was even more surprised at this. He had never heard of an immortal being an orphan before. Of course, he never knew that he was an orphan himself, since Maria and Drias were just his adopted family. He had always thought of Maria as his mother.

"Then… where do you live?"

"I live at the orphanage near the castle. I have a good friend there. She was going to meet me here, but I guess I'm a little early."

"Oh." Drake leaned back on the rock and stared at the sky, confused thoughts swarming his mind. Tiera wasn't afraid of him. Aside from his family, nobody else was like that. Could it be possible? Drake wondered if he had found a new friend. Next to him, Tiera was walking around on the grass, her eyes fixed on a randomly roaming butterfly, a curious expression stuck on her face. Drake sighed, the third time that day. Who was he kidding? He would never have friends.

"Hey! Tiera!" A voice called loudly from a short distance behind Drake. Jumping a few feet into the air, Drake suddenly found himself lying face first in the ground once again. Groaning to himself, Drake tilted his head sideways and examined the newcomer. She was taller than him was, and definitely older, perhaps eleven or twelve. She had short flaming red hair that stuck out clearly in the surroundings. She had a pair of sky blue eyes coupled with an infectious grin. She was dressed like a boy, with a shirt and trousers, unlike Tiera, who had a dress on. The girl was running over, waving to Tiera, calling her name. Tiera turned around, and smiled.

"Raya!" She answered the calls, waving as well. Raya sped over and slapped Tiera lightly on the shoulder.

"Kind of early, aren't you, Tiera?" She grinned.

"The earlier we're done, the earlier we can go back and enjoy Aien's cooking!" Tiera replied, equally jovial. Drake pushed himself off the grass, brushing the bits of plants off his clothing. That was when Raya spotted him for the first time. She nudged Tiera.

"Who's that?" She asked in a hushed whisper as Drake continued to try to brush the grass off his trousers rather unsuccessfully.

"Him? That's Drake Alsyein." Tiera answered back. Raya looked faintly surprised.

"That's him? He doesn't look as scary as people say." Raya mused. Then she looked thoughtful for a brief moment, as Drake succeeded in clearing the last remnants of the grass, and turned around to face the two girls.

"Say, he's not going to turn into some monster and eat us, is he?" Raya asked, unwittingly repeating Tiera's question earlier. Drake looked horrified and miffed at the same time, while Tiera giggled into her hands and poked Raya in the ribs.

"Hey!" Raya threw up her hands in protest. "I was only kidding!"

"What are you doing here anyway?" Drake asked.

"We're picking flowers to brighten up the orphanage, aren't we good?" Raya laughed. Drake sighed once again. So they were not here to play with him. What was he thinking anyway? Nobody would want to be friends with him. Everyone said so. Drake lay down on the rock with a forlorn expression stuck to his face. As Raya stared at him, she came to wonder why people thought he was a bad person. From what she could see here, the supposed heretic was nothing more than a lonely little boy. She went a little closer, as did Tiera, curious as ever.

"Why the long face?" Raya asked, still in the same cheerful tone. An incoherent mumble rose from Drake, who was lying on his stomach on the rock.

"What?"

"I have no friends. It's not fair." Drake repeated, a little louder this time.

"There's the two of us, right?" Raya pointed to herself and Tiera. Tiera simply stared at her, confused. Drake himself raised his head a little, perplexed.

"What are you talking about? We just met."

"We're talking, aren't we? Doesn't that mean the start of being friends?" Drake's face brightened at the mention of the word `friends'. A tiny smile came onto his face as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. Was it true? Did he finally have some friends?

"Want to help us find some flowers?" Tiera asked. Drake nodded enthusiastically.

"I know a place where a lot of pretty flowers grow!" Drake got to his feet, practically bouncing with energy. "Come on, I'll show you!" The three went running, and although Raya and Tiera had just met Drake, the three of them had already warmed up to each other.

And as the day progressed, their bonds of friendship gradually grew stronger, and they termed the little clearing where the flowers grew a `special spot', for only the three of them knew where it was. However, night came too quickly, and the two girls had to return to the orphanage. They stopped at the gates of the Celestial Capital, where Drake refused to go any further.

"Come on! You'll love Aien's cooking. She's the best cook around!" Tiera urged, tugging on Drake's sleeve.

"Why don't you want to go into the capital?" Raya asked. Drake looked uncomfortable.

"They'll just throw me out again." He muttered, refusing to look at the two.

"What are you talking about?"

"The people, the guards… they just throw me out whenever I go into the capital. I don't know why. They say it's because I'm a heretic, and I'm not welcome…" Drake kicked at a rock. "I hate it." The two girls looked sympathetic.

"That's sad… I don't know what to do." Tiera said quietly. Drake laughed.

"It's alright. I'm used to it." Drake lied. What could he do? He didn't to make his new friends sad. Drake started to head for his home, a slightly large mansion built on the edge of the capital, right outside the wall. He waved goodbye to his friends, and watched silently as they both stepped back into the capital, and out of sight. Drake continued on his way, kicking rocks out of his way. He hated it. He hated how the others treated him.

Why couldn't be normal, like other children? Why couldn't he lead a carefree life, without having to worry about hiding his face when around others? Drake reached the main gate of the Goddess of Dragon's abode. He stepped through it, and into the now silent hall of the mansion. Clearly, Maria and Drias had already gone to sleep. Drake stood alone in the darkened hall, looking around. It was quiet and empty, a place where most children dreaded. But Drake felt strangely at home in such surroundings. Because here he could do as he pleased, with no need to hide his face. He was alone, all alone. Drake placed a hand on the cool marble walls of the hall, feeling the coldness. He sighed.

Friends.

Heretic.

The two words just did not fit together.

Whatever it was, Drake hoped that he would be able to stay friends with Raya and Tiera. If he couldn't…

"I hate my life."

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That's it for Chapter 1. Chapter 2 will be longer, since I'll introduce more characters.

Chapter 2 Preview: Rivals

It has been 3 months since Drake met Tiera and Raya for the first time. They've built a strong relationship with one another, and have a steady friendship Drake never imagined he would ever have. However, one day, while sneaking around in the Celestial Capital, they stumble across a strange, older boy, who immediately takes a liking to Tiera. And upon seeing Drake, the two don't exactly hit off to a great start…

Acknowledgements: Comrade Terror - For Beta-Reading.

Rayamon - For Beta-Reading.

Disclaimer: All characters in this story belong to me.

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