The Moon hung on the violet sky hidden behind a dark cloud. The sun sank into the distant ridge once again. Another day had passed by.
Only one month was left for the Blood Moon to arrive, and Melissa and Chloe were growing more cautious each day. Chloe spent hours at night, down at her laboratory experimenting with her spells.
Melissa's eyes grew darker ever since the Fall arrived.
The others were not informed of this 'Dragon Annihilation' plan yet. However, it seemed that Melissa would announce this to everyone in the Dragon Family any day now.
As I sat in the library reading a book about the battle strategies of the past Dragon kings, Melissa came into the room through the slightly open door.
"Oh, there you are, Xar." She called out to me.
"Oh, Mom… what's the matter?" I asked, closing the book and quickly placing it on the table.
Melissa was dressed in the same kind of long black dress she always wore with the cutout leg. She looked like a model back on Earth every single day when she wore it.
She stepped closer to me and kept her hands on the chair I was seated on, gazing at the book cover.
"Battle Strategies by Aron Flamerion?"
"Um, yes, Mom. It has some interesting battles in it," I replied with a smile to cover up my deed.
I was actually reading it to get a clear idea about Dragon Battles.
"Aron is my father, kiddo," she added with a smirk.
My mouth fell agape. Aron was a genius at making battle strategies… and he was her father? No wonder she was good at sitting on the throne.
"Wow, so he is my grandfather?"
"Indeed. He'd be proud to see his 4-year-old grandson reading his ancient book of battle strategies. Even I hated that when I was a kid… he used to write that thing all the time, even when I asked him to fly with me," she said, sitting on the arm of the chair.
"I see."
Melissa rubbed my hair and pushed me against her waist, hugging me tightly. "He'd be proud to see you… Xar."
I looked up at her eyes, and they were filled with misery all of a sudden. I held her arm tight upon seeing this. It was awful to see someone so loving in despair.
'I guess she had a sad past,' I thought.
"She'd be proud to see you, Mother," I smiled.
She smiled back at me and bent down, giving me a huge kiss on the cheek. My face reddened.
"Mm~ now, come here with Mother. I was looking for you because it is tea time. And – today, we'll have a small family discussion at the table," she grabbed my hand and helped me down from the chair.
'Family discussion?' I pondered what that meant. 'Maybe… she'd reveal the Dragon Annihilation plan today?'
///
The fireplace kept the room warm. There was piping hot tea served on the table, which was prepared by Kaya today. I didn't take one sip from my tea because there was a 50:50 chance of that tea being poisoned.
The last to arrive at the room was, surprisingly, Chloe.
Even the Twins were there early today. Chloe must've been busy with her experiments. She had been giving great attention to it these days. Although I still haven't seen what she was working with.
I did not bother to ask either.
"Chloe. You're a bit late. What were you doing?" Melissa asked as she came and pulled out the chair beside me.
"Sorry sorry, Mother. I was a bit busy with the you-know-what," Chloe retorted, making everyone at the table curious about her secret.
As Chloe sat beside me, I managed to catch a glimpse of something dark red on Chloe's neck. From the way it was splashed against her neck, I could tell that it was blood.
"Sister… there's something on your neck," I said, gulping.
"Oh, is there?" She touched her neck, and her white fingers got painted with it. "Fuck ~" she mumbled, quickly grabbing the serviette beside her and wiping it off. Gladly, there wasn't much blood.
"Is it gone?" she whispered to me, showing me the side of her neck.
I nodded.
"Thank you for telling me, cutie," she grabbed my cheek and pulled it. Her hand still smelt of blood, which made me gulp again.
Whatever she was doing at the laboratory… it was best left to herself.
"Hey, you two, what are you whispering about?" Mother asked us with a sharp gaze. Both me and Chloe shook our heads giving her a fake smile.
"Hm, good. Now, everyone… who knows why I told all of you to gather around today?" Melissa asked the family.
Chloe and I were probably the only ones who knew. Aunt Crystal might've known too, but she simply kept silent and sipped her coffee.
"Hm? Well, I'll tell you then. Our Dragon Family… is threatened by the world."
I crossed my hands and listened to her intently, closing my eyes. 'Hm, and I know who is coming to annihilate us… Now is the best time I can tell them. And that's the only story they'll believe… it seems.'
"Threatened? What does that suppose to mean, Mother?" Kaya raised her voice, standing up from her chair.
Suddenly, the Twins grabbed Kaya by her shoulders and sat her down instantly, kicking her chair forward.
"At royal meetings, dear sister," Solar began.
"You don't let your emotions speak first," Selena ended.
Kaya huffed and crossed her arms, looking away. "This – this is not a simple matter!"
Melissa sighed. "Sadly, I have to agree with Kaya on this one. It is not just a simple matter, everyone. But do not worry. Your sister Chloe and I had planned something already."
Everyone looked at the Dragon Queen intently, and I waited to see what the plan was. I too was interested. I had to see what they had in mind to defend against the Divine Five.
"It's a very simple solution actually," Melissa continued. "We are going to use the last of the Dragon Stones."
PFFT~
Aunt Crystal, who kept calm throughout the declaration suddenly spat out the tea in her mouth into Mono's cup.
"WHAT???" She cried out so loud; her voice echoed down the castle a few times.
Melissa sighed. "That's the only choice we have, Crystal. I know. It's stupid. But without this – I have a feeling that we won't be able to survive the coming attack."
"It's outrageous! Blasphemy! You can't be foolish enough to do this, Melissa. I thought you were better –"
"It's the only way, Aunt Crystal. The only way," Chloe added, sipping her coffee.
"I'll sacrifice myself – and protect the family… I won't let you use the last of the Dragonstones, Melissa. It's just fucking stupid." Crystal declared, smashing the table with her silver gauntlet.
All the younger children except the Twins and Chloe were clueless about this, including myself. I could see from Mono and Kaya's faces that none of us had a clue of what this secret 'Dragonstone' was.
"No, that's not going to happen, Crystal. I'm sorry – but you'll have to go with this decision," Melissa replied. "And yes, that is my final decision… and you must accept it as I am your Queen."
Aunt Crystal stood up and stepped out of the table. "You're a fool, Melissa. When the real threat comes, you won't be able to stand against them without the stone… you're a fool."
She left the room right at that moment. Melissa let out an exasperated sigh.
"I'm sorry, guys… I apologize to you all," she announced to the children seated at the table, rubbing her forehead.
Right at that moment, I stood up in the chair. Then, I climbed onto the royal table and kicked away the cup of tea on my plate.
"Huh?" Kaya gasped, gazing at me as I kicked her cup of tea to the ground.
"What –" Chloe looked up at me, mouth agape. "Little bro?"
I walked to the middle of the table and stood where everyone could see me.
I was ready to announce what I foresaw to these ladies.