"...OCEANIA?"
I jolted awake, startled. Squinting my eyes in my half-asleep state, I realized that Aella had been shaking me hard in an attempt to wake me up.
"Thank goodness you're awake," she exclaimed exasperatedly as she helped me up into a sitting position, "we were starting to think that you were dead or something!"
I groggily rubbed my eyes, blearily looked up, and buried my face in my hands. "What time is it, Aella?" I sighed.
"It's nearly midday," Aella explained. "Now get up, we need to hurry or else we won't reach Azuris before nightfall."
We passed through the forest in complete silence, hoping not to bump into anyone on the way. Crossing the forest was nowhere near as scary as the first time, but it still felt like monsters were going to pop out of the ominous shadows in between the foliage.
Just as if she could read my mind, Aella said, "The forest is usually safe in the morning, so we should be fine." That seemed to ease me and the others, and we continued on our journey.
We came out on the other side of the forest, just in time to watch the sunset. What laid in front of us was just an endless ocean, deep and blue. I and the others stood there, waiting for the occasional royal guard to pop out of the water so that we could have him bring us to the queen.
"Queen Icicle, the Queen of Azuris, the water dynasty. She's… a bit ignorant and well, not the sharpest tool in the shed. She can fight, though. That's how she kept the throne for so long." Aella said to me, "Plus good news, the water elementals don't hate the prophecy nor us, save for a few."
As if on cue, a small hydro dragon popped out of the water with eight males surrounding her. Probably a royal with his-
"Guys, let's go over and ask her for directions!" Willow's whispering pulled me away from my thoughts. "Her? Plus he- she's royalty, are we even allowed to approach her?" I furrowed my brows as I asked, confused.
"Yeah, it's Princess Cordelia! She's known to look like she's been spoilt, but she is very nice once you meet her. Come on!"
As soon as we left the bushes, a guard spotted us. "State your names and purpose to be here!" He shouted at us, but Aella wasted no time hesitating.
"Aella, Ashley, Oceania, Willow, Elena, and Valerie." she said as she pointed, "We are the Elementals of Fate, and we are in urgency to talk to the queen." The guard looked at Princess Cordelia, who nodded once and smiled at us. "I know my sister when I see her."
Huh?!
I was shocked, but no one else seemed to be the same, so I kept a neutral expression on my face.
"Mother would also be pleased to be able to meet Oceania. She was snatched away from the hatchery as soon as she was named, and she was heartbroken over her."
Now I couldn't conceal the gasp that just came out of my mouth. Aella glared at me and motioned for me to shush.
"Now come with me, just jump into the water, a spell will protect you." The princess said with her soft, melodic voice, matching the elegance that radiated from her. Then she jumped back into the ocean, and the guards followed, signaling for us to follow them.
As soon as we jumped into the water, a spell hit each one of my friends, and bubbles formed around each one of them. "Why are some of the bubbles black, and some are transparent?" I curiously asked, but all I got in reply was, "Later."
We swam behind the guards, but not for long. Soon, a stunning underwater castle came into sight. "We're here now," Princess Cordelia turned around and said, "Follow me."
We were thrown curious glances, but we didn't mind. At first glance, the people seemed to be friendly, and the castle looked like it was made out of crystal or-
"We're here!" the princess's sweet voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "Mother and father, we have guests and a fellow water elemental, which I suspect is my own sister." The dragons immediately turned their gaze and attention to us, and then to me.
Suddenly, a tear slipped out of the queen's right eye. "Mother, are you okay?" Princess Cordelia asked a worried expression etched onto her face. "M-my daughter..."
I watched as the tears rolled down her face, and as the king slowly rose from his throne, his cape moving in gracious swirls behind him. He suddenly stopped right in front of us and the surrounding water swirled around him and when it went away, a man was standing right in front of us, and a trident in his hand.
"Have you ever tried out your dragon form?" the man - undoubtedly the king - asked. His booming voice slightly ricocheted off the walls, but the guards seemed to be unfazed by it.
"N-no." I quickly stuttered out a reply, and he immediately signaled for the old man standing at the side of the hall. The king swiftly gave an order to him, and the old man said, "Follow me, Oceania. We will see if you are the lost princess." The king's gaze landed on me, and it was clear that I was to follow the old man.
He led me through many hallways, finally reaching a crystal chamber. Wasting no time, he started introducing himself. "The name's Sir Caspian. I'm the Queen's personal advisor. Crystals are the easiest to help royals discover their dragon form to determine their royal blood, as we cannot make assumptions just yet."
I slowly nodded, as Sir Caspian gave me a warm smile. "It's okay, just relax. You don't seem like you've used your powers before, let alone transform. I will be teaching you how to use your powers and transform. In fact, this test is finished quickly when you are at ease."