Chapter 12: Dragon Academy

Alyssa

Two days have passed since I completed the Mate Bond with Vincent. Today is my first day attending Dragon Academy, and I have yet to tell Izzy and Annabeth about my mark. I had this weird mark depicting Astarot with Vincent’s name under it on my shoulder when I woke up the next day after he had walked me home. I wore a black dress and met with Isabella, who was making breakfast.

“Morning, Izzy,” I said as I entered the kitchen.

“Hey! Excited for today?” Izzy beamed and smiled.

“I’m a bit nervous but excited,” I nodded.

“That’s understandable. Annabeth had some things to take care of before school starts today, so she will be meeting us at the school,” Izzy said.

“I’ve never bothered asking, but where does Annabeth live?” I asked. “Like, where was she born?”

“The Kingdom of Avalon, home of the fairies. It’s ruled by Queen Mab. Fairies and Dragons have been allies since the dawn of creation, and they helped fight the High Elves during the great war.” Izzy explained. “They also have a great affinity to the four elements and follow the teachings of the Moon Goddess; they are her most devoted worshippers, and their Queen is no exception. She can travel to Avalon to visit her family anytime she wishes, but as you might have guessed, she spends most of her time here,” Izzy said.

I grabbed some of the pancakes she was making and heard someone knocking on the door. “It’s always open!” Izzy yelled.

Vincent entered the kitchen and kissed me. “Morning beutiful, morning Izzy,”

“Morning, Vincent. I have some things to do before we head out to the school so I will see you later.” Izzy walked off and left me alone with Vincent.

“I’ve known that girl long enough to know she will never change.” Vincent stopped talking and kissed me again.

Goddess, I love this feeling. I don’t know why I still get butterflies whenever he kisses me. “I love doing that,” Vincent huffed. “Are you ready for today?”

“I’m a bit nervous and there is somthing I need to show you. This occurred to me a few days ago, and I hoped you would know something about it.” I show Vincent my mark.

“That’s my mark and you also marked me,” Vincent took off his shirt and showed me the back of his shoulder. A dragon depicting Dahlia with my name under her. He put his shirt back on and kissed me once more. “Nothing can break the bond we share and don’t worry about school and here is a phone. This is just in case you need to call anybody,”

“Vincent, I don’t know what to say,” I said.

“Will you two stop eyefucking each other and get going.” Izzy scolded.

We arrived at Dragon Academy and saw students talking and entering the school.

“Guys, hold up!” Audrey said, running to us.

“Take it easy, sis,” Vincent said.

“Come on, let’s go,” Audrey zoomed past us.

“Love the enthusiam she has going on,” Izzy laughed. “Ready to start classes, Alyssa?”

“Yeah, let’s do this,′ I smiled.

“Just relax; you’ll be fine,” Vincent rubbed my shoulders. “Also, my mark should keep all the males away from you so that they’ll know you belong to me,”

“Does my mark do the same? Will keep other girls away from you?” I asked.

“They won’t hit on me, but they will know that I’m fully mated and proudly so,” Vincent said.

“Hey everyone,” Annabeth smiled as she walked over and kissed Izzy.

“So how does this work? Are there classes just like in other schools?” I asked.

Some of the classes are organized by how far in the studies you are in, and then there are classes based on who you are,” Annabeth explained.

“So none of you have the same classes as me?” I said.

“Don’t worry, you and Audrey are in the same classes. Call me if you need anything,” Vincent kissed my cheek.

The school bell rang, and we all went to our respective classes. I looked at my schedule and saw that my first class is an introduction class on the sports field. After a few wrong turns, I went outside and sat next to Audrey, who hugged me when she saw me.

“Welcome new students to Dragon Academy of Varrfarrinn. I’m Principal Carol Ford, and I’ll be your instructor today. Before we begin, we should start with everyone introducing themselves and telling us what type of magical being they are.” Ms. Ford said.

“Do you think we have to do that?” I whispered to Audrey.

“Don’t worry about it; you’ll be fine,” Audrey assured me.

“Let’s go guys, we don’t have all day,” Ms. Ford crossed her arms.

“My names is Sebastian, and I’m a wizard,” Sebastian waved to everyone.

“My name is Audrey, and I’m a Fire Dragon,” Audrey giggled.

“I’m Saga, a Water Dragon,” Saga said.

“Hello, I’m Yolanda; I’m a fairy,” Yolanda smiled.

“My name is Miguel, and I’m a Lightning Dragon,” He said as he flexed his muscles. This guy is a player. I hear the other girls laughing and seeing them drool a little.

By the time I had to say my name, I couldn’t breathe. “What is your name dear?” Ms. Ford asked me.

“My name is Alyssa, and I’m a dragon.” I smiled, hoping not to press further.

“What kind of dragon dear?” Ms. Ford said.

“I’m a Gold Dragon,” I lowered my head.

I could hear everyone whispering and see the doubt and terror in their eyes. By the looks some gave me, not everyone believed me. “Everyone, quiet!” Ms. Ford shouted. “Thank you, Alyssa,”

“See, that wasn’t so bad,” Audrey said, trying to ease the tension.

I looked away from her. Yeah, sure. Vincent was right about one thing. Academy of the Gifted or not, this was still just a school. Ms. Ford showed us all the classrooms on campus and introduced us to the teachers working with us this semester. Some classes were like what everyone would take in human schools, like reading, writing, and math, and I knew I would have no problems with them. What worried me the most were the magical classes I was more nervous about—history of Magic, Self-Defense, and Dragon Training. At Least I could be with Isabella and Vincent in that class.

Lunchtime came, and we sat by the guys when we saw them. I was happy when I saw Vincent again. “So, how was it?” Vincent asked.

“It’s just what I expected,” I said.

“See, I told you guys that she’d be fine. She has Audrey with her after all,” Izzy said.

Vincent handed me a cupcake. “I bought you a cupcake,” He smiled. “Having a future king as your mate has perks,” Vincent laughed, and Izzy smacked his head.

“Alyssa may be your mate Vince, but she’s not like that,” Annabeth gave him a look.

When I bit into the cupcake, I stopped caring about how everybody thought I was a freak. Not that it mattered, as I have amazing friends who accepted me for who I am and my new relationship with Vincent.

“Next class is Dragon Training, so we’ll all be together.” Vincent took my hand. “I want to show everyone that you are mine,”

“You sure that’s a good idea, Vincent? This is her first day and if you announce that you found your mate, she will make an enemy of every female in this school before Alyssa finishes her first day here,” Annabeth said.

“Yeah, maybe your right. Okay, I’ll wait.” Vincent nodded. “Also, I forgot that Annabeth isn’t a dragon so she won’t be joining us,”

“Thanks for acknowledgeing me, asshole,” Annabeth grumbled. “Well, there goes the bell. Later baby,” Annabeth kissed Izzy on the cheek and left.

“We should get going if we don’t want to be late,” Jacob said.

“Where is the class being held?” I asked.

“Depends on what kind of training you have, dragon shifting is in the stadium,” But he stopped reading his paper when he saw my face. “Guys, you can go, we’ll catch up,” The guys left for their classes in dragon training while Vincent stayed with me. “Hey, tell me what’s wrong,”

“You should have seen their faces when I told them I was a Gold Dragon. I only saw terror and doubt,” I cried.

“They will come around; they just need time to understand and accept it. You are not a freak, you are my mate, and when the time comes that they find out, or I tell them, they won’t fear you; they’ll respect you. Now please show me that smile I love seeing,” Vincent said.

I creaked a small smile. “That’s my girl. I’ll be with you all the way,”

Vincent and I walked to the stadium, where we met up with Audrey, Izzy, and Jacob. We assured them everything was fine when they asked why we stayed in the cafeteria for a bit.

“Hello to you all. My name is Henry Reid, and I’m one of your dragon training teachers. I hope you had a good summer vacation, and congratulations to the new dragons here today. You might think that you’re shifting under control and this class should only be for new students, but that is where you are wrong.” Mr. Reid placed his hands behind his back and began to walk.

“Even the most talented dragons have trouble shifting for various reasons. The most common among them are emotions. Being stressed, your anger will cause a forced shift if you are not careful. We will start slow since this is your first day back. Now, I would like the new students to form a line. I want each of you to shift into your dragons on my command. This way, I’ll know how much help you’ll need in this area of dragon training. For the older students, don’t think this means you don’t have to do anything.” Mr. Reid said.

I looked at Vincent, who was snickering at the other older students who groaned.

“Seems we have four new dragons with us this year. When I call your name, come to me and show me what you got,” Mr. Reid smiled. “Miquel, your up first,”

Miquel walked towards Mr. Reid and winked at the girls, including me. I felt Vincent grumble. I can tell he wants to punch him for even looking at me. “This will be easy,”

Miquel’s eye glowed as he got on all fours, his skin turned gray, and large wings sprouted from his back. When he was done, a large Lightning Dragon stood before us.

“Amazing work, Miquel.” Mr. Reid nodded. I saw the confident grin on Miquel’s face as he started to shift back.

“Like I said teach, easy!” Miquel laughed.

“Next up, Audrey,” Mr. Reid pointed to Audrey.

Audrey stood before everyone as she closed her eyes; I could feel she was communicating with Leufay. When her eyes opened, her skin turned red; after some time, an elegant red dragon stood where Audrey had stood. “Well done, Audrey,” Mr. Ried smiled. Audrey swiftly shifted back; I couldn’t help but admire how much Luefay and Audrey have become in tune. They are indeed one.

“Saga, you’re up,” Mr. Ried blew his whistle.

Saga ran up to stand before us as she started to shift into a Water Dragon. My palms are sweaty, and I’m having trouble breathing; I’m following and showing everyone that I’m the Gold Dragon. I wanted to run away, and I was just about to do it, but Vincent held me close to him. “You got this, baby girl,” Vincent whispered.

Before I knew it, Saga returned to her human form, and Mr. Reid called out my name. “I’m not sure I can do this; everyone’s staring,” I said.

“Take a deep breath, you can do this,” Vincent said. “When you walk up there, focus on me. Forget about the rest of them,”

I walked towards Mr. Reid and gave a nervous smile.

“Whenever you are ready,” Mr. Reid said.

I looked over the people; I could still see doubt in some of their eyes. I know they were waiting for me to fail or to prove that I wasn’t who I claimed to be.

“Take a deep breath, Alyssa. We got this,” Dahlia said with confidence. “Remember, this is teamwork, and WE can do this. Close your eyes and let’s show them what a true dragon looks like,”

I closed my eyes and started to turn; I thought I couldn’t shift with all the tension in the air. I got on all fours as my body grew golden scales, and two enormous wings grew from my back. At last, I stood before everyone as The Golden Dragon. I could hear every gasp when they saw my eyes flash Gold.

“Very impressive, you may shift back,” Mr. Ried said.

I shifted back and ran towards Vincent. “I’m so glad that’s out of the way,” I laughed.

“Now that I know where all of you stand, I want-” But soon, another kid ran towards Mr. Reid.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” said the young man. Why does he look so familiar?

“It’s the first day, Tim, that’s not a good way to start the year!” Mr. Reid growled.

“Timothy!!?” I gasped in realization.

“Alyssa???!” Tim gasped.