The Fate on Wrist

“Tibetan fox is now officially extinct”

At that moment, everything in Melissa’s life seemed to have stopped. Her hazel eyes were fixated on the TV. But there wasn’t a single thought in her mind. She looked pale even through her already fair skin. Everything around her seemed to have stopped. Everything was dark. The phrase that just came from the TV repeated itself in her mind. The time seemed to slow down and she sat there drowning in the ever-growing feeling of disbelief. The feeling of being lost in life. The doubts in choices she made in life. All the regretful decisions she has made in her life continuously re-playing in her mind. When were they all supposed to end if she was immortal?

Tibetan fox was the word printed across her wrist. It was the only thing that could kill her.

She eventually came to her senses. She got off the couch, went to the fridge, heated up the food, sat at the dining table but then just stared at the food. She didn’t have any appetite. But she knew she had to eat. She already skipped lunch that day. She picked up a single macaroni with a fork and forced it in her mouth. It tasted bland. The one macaroni was already too filling for her. She sighed and threw out her dinner and went to bed.

She woke up to the sound of an alarm, went through her usual morning routine, and got ready for her work. She left the house wearing a long-sleeved shirt. Although it was summer, about half of the people were wearing long sleeved clothes. Others had something that covered their wrist. Nothing was out of the ordinary. But as Melissa walked into the office, she gripped onto the sleeve of her shirt a little firmer than she usually did.

Day after day, she did her best to keep herself together. But she started losing weight, her curly light brown hair which she took good care of was now often seen bundled up in a bun. Then one day, she left her house, walked into the forest, and nobody ever saw her for a long time.

After a couple of days, the town that she left behind was scattered with missing posters of her. Her family and friends walked around the town asking people if they had seen Melissa. The search team covered a large range of the forest. Helicopters were sent out. Yet Melissa was never found and she managed to continue to travel further into the forest. During the search, the investigator asked her family the word that was printed across Melissa’s wrist. Her parents hesitated for a moment. They weren’t sure about providing such personal information to someone who they barely knew. Yet they both understood that it was for their daughter’s safety. Reluctantly, they made the difficult decision of telling the investigator the word that was on Melissa’s wrist. The investigator felt a weight lift off his shoulder as he heard the name of an extinct animal but remained indifferent in front of Melissa’s parents. After this, the authority made the decision to quieten down the case and continue the search in secret.

Melissa continued to aimlessly wander around the forest. She found food through hunting and foraging, something she had some knowledge in from being interested in living off-grid. She has now cut her hair much shorter and her fair skin started to show some freckles. At night, she slept in a hammock tent which she had brought along with her. The forest was peaceful and isolated from any judgments. Slowly, she was starting to accept and appreciate the possibility of being immortal. To just quietly spend all of her time in the forest.

One afternoon, she had finished foraging and was going to start setting up her tent. Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from the direction of the town. She looked around for the tallest tree and climbed up. The edge of the town was barely visible. But something was off. In the distance, there was a sound that sounded like a large herd of animals rushing into the area. She looked around and just at the edge of the mountain range towards the west, she saw a large amount of water rushing towards the village.

She quickly climbed down the tree, grabbed everything she could carry, and started to run away from where the water was coming from.

Where am I running?

I need to get somewhere high.

The map!

She flung her backpack from behind her and pulled out the worn-out map of the area as carefully as she could. The nearest mountain was several kilometers away. The way there would be uphill. The water must have already reached the border of the town. But as she grew up in this area. She knew that the place she was running around right now had a much higher altitude compared to other areas surrounding the town. She was still uncertain whether she could make it to the summit of the mountain in time. But there was no other choice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The people in the town were only given seconds to save their lives.

Shimmel Patrik, a middle-aged man who worked for the government, saw the incident unfold against one of the security footage. He stopped his hands which were typing up a report. He was paralysed with guilt and disbelief. He watched people disappear into the water as he sat in the safest place in the entire country. He had one job, and he has just failed at that one job.

The building, or rather the compartment which he was working in was a facility where people’s fatality prints were recorded. Fatality prints were the word that was printed across a person’s wrist when they were born. No one understands the science behind it but every human being in that country, Eblein, is born with a word printed across their wrist. And for some reason, the thing written on the fatality wrist was the only thing that could kill that person. If something other than what was written on the person’s wrist tried to kill them, they will either get away with some level of injury which they will cure from or by some miracle end up being a near miss.

Shimmel was one of the Predictors. They were given the duty to go through the records of all the fatality prints and predict any major natural disaster or incident which may happen in the future. They wouldn’t be able to save the people who were born with those words written on the wrist. But every disaster and incident has survivors. By predicting any incidents, they could manage different facilities and resources to make it easier for the survivors to get their original life back. Since many people had “water” or “debris” as their fatality print, they thought it would be a flood. After all, climate change and extreme weather events are becoming more common.

But it wasn’t a flood. It was the dam. They were just fixing the infrastructure to prepare for the potential increase in rainfall.

Did we kill all those people?

For a moment he sat there, thinking about all the different ways the situation of the collapse of the dam could have been prevented. Suddenly, he snapped out of his guilt. He hastily clicked through different footages shown on his screen until he reached the ones showing the recordings from the dam. He rewound the footage, hoping to get some kind of answer to what has happened. Water filling the area drew back in, a cloud of smoke filling up the footage drew away. Finally, he reached the footage that showed the answer. One of the machines they were using for maintenance malfunctioned and blasted one of the pipes in the room. Seeing this, he got up and rushed out of his office.

Shimmel ran down the hallway and down to the chief’s office. He grabbed his ID card out of his jacket and showed it to the guard outside the office. The guards nodded and Shimmel walked into the room. There the chief was answering a call with a stern look behind her desk. Other Predictors were either coming in and out of the office, adding onto the pile of paper works on the chief’s desk, or standing in the office, waiting for an order just like Shimmel was.

The chief hung up the phone. Took a deep sigh and looked up at the predictors waiting in her office.

“Update me on the situation,”

“Yes ma’am, it seems that the cause of the flood is coming from the dam.” One of the predictors who were waiting in the room before Shimmel spoke.

Hearing this, the chief glanced over to Shimmel.

“Shimmel, you’re in charge of the footage over at the dam, correct?”

“Yes ma’am, it seems that one of the machines at the site has malfunctioned, blasting a hole in one of the pipes which made the water inside that pipe blast out.”

The chief stared at her desk for a moment, mumbled something to herself. The situation was already difficult enough for her with her daughter, Melissa missing. She took a deep sigh, looked up, and spoke.

“Can you get me a report of what has happened and a list of all the fatality prints of people involved in the incident by tomorrow?”

“Yes ma’am,”

“Alright, Shimmel, you may return to your work.”

With that, Shimmel bowed and walked out of the chief’s office.

Chief then looked over to the first predictor who spoke.

“Arkadios, you contact the people of Ostostan about the situation and if they can send in some help.”

The predictors widened their eyes. Each country had its own laws of physics and biology which usually greatly differed from one another. For this reason, asking for help from a neighbouring country was something that rarely happened.

“Arkadios?” The chief asked in a harsh tone.

“Ye… yes ma’am, right away.” The tall man with black curly hair and fair skin nodded and quickly walked out of the office. He wrote a letter explaining the situation and that they required help, added the address to the port, and had it sent out in the express delivery. Once the letter reached the port, it was shipped out where it reached the bank of Ostostan. There, a translucent robin that emitted a strange glow flew down to the boat and picked up the letter.

The robin flew off to a tribe that was getting ready to hunt. The tribe was made up of people of all ethnicities and they marched through the forest. Finding the ideal spot to set alight the forest. They have done this for generations. It was an effective way for them to gather resources. Once a small area of the forest was burnt down, they will plant new trees in a certain pattern and once the trees have grown, it would bear fruits for them to harvest. Trees take a long time to grow. But they still had areas that their ancestors had done the same thing. By the time the nutrients from the ashes are completely depleted and they start bearing less fruit, the trees they planted will be ready for harvest. Of course, the animals came to these trees and ate some of the fruits. But that didn’t bother them. The more fruit trees they planted, the more animals it attracted to the areas, the easier their hunt was. This method allowed them to hunt and gather in the same spot effectively.

The translucent robin flew over to one of the men in the tribe. The man reached out his arm for the robin to rest and gently took the letter out from its beak. He opened the letter and read through the content. As he was reading the letter, a black cockatoo flew over and rested on one of the branches reaching out from a nearby tree.

“It might rain soon.”

One person in the tribe who noticed the cockatoo mentioned.

“We should hurry along.”

The chief frowned down at the letter. He summoned his familiar and said the following.

“Dear People of Eblein,

We are sorry to hear about the tragedy which has befallen your country. However, the belief of people in Ostostan is that the destructive force of nature is a manifested will of nature. To interfere with the force of nature is to oppress the will of nature. The flood in your country will be of nature and there is a lesson to be learnt from learning to live with the flood. For that reason, we shall not provide any help to the people of Eblein.

Sincerely yours,

Chief Xochipilli ”

The chief’s familiar wrote out all of the words onto a parchment.

“Could you send this to the port to Eblein?”

The familiar nodded and floated off.

Once the chief of predictors received the letter, she left her office. She stood under the window that once opened up to the view of a lush forest. But now, it was underwater, the view narrowed with the debris of fallen trees. She stood there looking up, hoping the shimmering light through the murky water and the crisscrossing shadow of the debris would hide the expression of defeat that was on her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what felt like a whole day of running, Melissa finally managed to reach the summit of the closest mountain. Her legs gave in and she fell forward. Her lungs felt like it was about to split apart. She could feel the sweat and the ground against her clothes and her face. She rolled over and saw the clear afternoon sky that looked as if different colours were forcefully twisted together. The distant screams that she could hear faintly in the background were long gone. And for the first time in a while, a thought about her family flashed past her mind. When she first left the village, it happened frequently. But the more days she spent away from her old life, the less she thought about them. Yet, that village is likely gone now. She wondered if her family managed to escape the flood. If her mum was away on a business trip again. And if her parents have made up before the flood. For a while, her O’pa1 was suspicious of Melissa’s mum for being so secretive about her work.

There were very few places people could escape to safety. Everyone did their best to find an elevated area to hide. But the moment they thought it was safe for them to come out, a wave would sneak up on them and swallow them whole. A group of people who managed to escape those backlashes were starting to climb up to the place where Melissa was laying down. She glanced over to the group that was climbing up. Wondering if her parents were among the group. But they were all unfamiliar faces.

“We should be safe up here.” One of the men who was leading a small group of people sighed as they walked up their final few steps up the steep hill.

“Simon, there’s someone else already up here.” One of the group members pointed out.

Simon, a man with short black hair, almond-shaped eyes, slightly tan skin, and the one who was leading the group, turned around to see Melissa laying on the ground. He got up and slowly walked up to her. As he stood over her, their eyes met.

“She’s alive!” Simon turned around and let others know.

Melissa sat up and looked away with a frown. It has been a long time since she interacted with another person.

“My name is Simon, and they’re some people I met on the way up here. Except Cruz. We’ve known each other for a while now.” He introduced himself, pointing back towards a slender, medium height person with messy brown hair tied back with a piece of cloth. They smiled back to the two of them, their black eyes looking straight at them.

“Thanks for the introduction but I’m fine on my own.” Melissa gave a cold glance and got up. She picked up her bag and tried to walk away from the group and almost lost her balance.

“Come on, you’re clearly not in any shape to be moving around. At least take a break with us. We have plenty of food and water. Why don’t you decide on if you want to stay with us or not after that?”

Melissa looked over the horizon where the sun was setting and looked back at Simon.

“Sure,” she gave another short response and walked over to the group along with Simon.

As she joined the group, Simon introduced her and they started to sort out the food and water they had. Then, they split up into smaller groups and gathered firewood before the sun completely set. By the time the gentle orange glow of the moon flickered on the night sky, they were able to start a fire, make a simple shelter, and cook up some food.

“So, why were you out here alone?” Simon asked as they sat around the fire.

“I was living off-grid for a while now.”

“How come?”

“Just got tired of being around people.”

“I don’t blame you. Dealing with people can be difficult.”

Melissa turned to Simon with a confused look

“But you seem to get along with people. Especially with Cruz.” Melissa commented.

“Well, Cruz is like a brother to me. Never thought that would be the case when I first found him secretly living underneath my room. When I talked to him, I found out he had no place to go and figured I’ll let him stay since he was already living there anyway.” Simon explained very casually.

“You befriended your unofficial tenant? Well, former unofficial tenant.” Melissa questioned in disbelief.

Simon giggled. “Yeah, it sounds crazy. I know. But at the time I didn’t really think it through and I just really wanted to know how he got in and why he ended up in such a situation.” Simon continued with a smile.

For the rest of the night, they exchanged very few words and went back to their own tent. But after that conversation, Melissa felt a sense of relief that disgusted her.

The next morning, they got up, had breakfast, and gathered around Melissa’s worn-out map to figure out their next destination.

“We could set up a little camp here. There are plenty of water and food sources down the hill. There’s a clearing nearby so we can get help when we need one or even look around the area to see what is happening nearby” Simon suggested, running his fingers along the map as he mentioned all the different places close by. The others agreed.

“What about you Melissa, have you decided on whether you're staying with us or not?” Simon asked, looking up from the map to Melissa.

“I was going to head towards Obland,”

Everyone was quiet. Obland was the country next to the one they were currently in. No one has thought about leaving the country due to the difference in the laws of physics and biology. People rarely thought about going to another country for vacation. Let alone migrating to a different country.

“Are you sure this is the right decision?” Simon asked with concern in his eyes.

“I’m going alone. Why should this decision concern you?”

“We helped each other survive through the night. I’m not just going to listen to you say something like “I’m going to kill myself” and just let you go ahead with that plan.”

Melissa thought about Simon’s response for a moment and sighed.

“How much resources do you think this country has left?”

“What?”

“Accommodation, food, the economy, how much longer do you think it will last before it’s scarce to a point people start fighting over it?” Melissa questioned in a calm yet harsh tone.

The group fell silent again. She had a point. The flood caused a lot of damage. They weren’t sure how much resources the country has access to. It was risky to import any food from different countries. They weren’t even sure if any country was willing to help them.

“Well, can’t you just wait a bit longer to see if things will work out?”

“If the tension between people starts to rise, more people will try to migrate. It might be too late then. So I decided it’s better to leave now. So, can I please pack up and go? I’m happy for you guys to copy down this map somewhere if you need to. But I need it to get to Obland.”

Again, the area was quiet. There wasn’t a single sound apart from the wind blowing between the trees.

“How about we come with you?” Simon questioned. “You made a really good point, and none of us here want to die. There’s a higher chance of survival if we operate in a larger group. Right guys?” To this suggestion, some gasped. Their eyes glistened with fear. But Melissa made a good point about taking action now. No one could disagree with the points which both Simon and Melissa were making.

To this, Melissa shook her head.

“No. You’re not coming. How are you planning to migrate into a different country with a large group of people like this?”

Simon turned around and saw all the people who had found their escape to this mountain summit. It was a large group.

“Who actually wants to come along with us?” Simon asked.

“Hey, what do you mean us?” Melissa confronted.

For a moment, nobody said anything. Melissa was glaring straight at Simon but she looked away seeing that he wasn’t going to answer her question. The first person who put their hand up was Cruz. Then, three other people who initially came up the mountain with Simon put their hands up as well.

“Anyone else?” Simon asked after waiting for another minute. Nobody said anything. “Alright, the four of us will go to Obland with Melissa and the rest can stay. Does that sound like a plan?” Simon spoke out and everyone seemed to agree with the arrangement.

“I said I’m going alone,” except for Melissa.

“Oh, we’re coming,” Simon answered with a confident smile. “Wherever you go, we go. I decided that you’re just stuck with us from now on.” The small group behind him nodded their agreement.

She glared at them for a moment. But then sighed and turned around.

“Fine, do whatever you want. But I won’t wait for any of you if you fall behind.” Melissa said in a sharp tone as she started to pack her things up. Simon smiled and his group started to pack up their belongings. As much as Melissa hated to admit it, no matter how capable and talented she was, she knew the chance of survival was higher in a small group than on her own. The risk of trying to enter a new country in a group was better than the risk of travelling to the border alone.

Once they had finished packing up, they hiked through the untamed forest, occasionally checking their map. Before they knew it, the sun was already tilting towards the west and Melissa suggested setting up a camp in the area.

“But can’t we travel a bit further and make more progress towards reaching the neighbouring country?” Simon questioned seeing that they still had some time before sunset.

“We’re not familiar with the area. We don’t know where we can find food or water next. It’s better to stop travelling early on the first day and just focus on gathering resources. It’s probably best to set up our shelter in the trees as well since we don’t know what kind of animals are around here.” She explained dryly.

Simon nodded seeing Melissa’s suggestion now.

“There are five of us. We all have our own ration of food so we should focus on finding water rather than food right now. How about we send off 2 people to find food and 3 people to find water?” Simmon suggested.

“That should be fine just for tonight. It would be dangerous for only one person to wander off and search for food anyway.” Melissa agreed yet again in a cold tone.

“So you do care about the group,” Simon commented in a playful tone and a smirk.

“I’m only trying to avoid unnecessary injuries,” she responded, glancing back at Simmon with an indifferent expression.

“Oh really?” Simon raised his eyebrows and started to take off the cloth that was covering the word printed over his wrist.

Melissa’s eyes widened and before she could think, she held down the piece of cloth which Simon was trying to remove.

Simmon didn’t say anything. He just looked down at her hand and looked back at her with a knowing smile.

“I said I don’t want any unnecessary injuries!” She repeated herself with a frown and walked off to tell the plans to others.

The group continued with their journey through the forest for another several week. Eventually, they came out to the shore that divided Eblein from Obland. The colourful mountain range of Obland stood tall on the edge of the horizon. Melissa looked at the map then looked to her left. She saw the ferry that is used to travel to Obland. She sighed in relief seeing that the sea level wasn’t affected by the flood. It was most likely due to the conflicting law of physics between the two countries. The group headed towards the ferry, paid the fee, and got on. As the ferry started, the five of them watched their home country drift further and further away from them.

Once they reached Obland, they were met by the security who were informed of the group’s arrival by the person operating the ferry. They checked the ID of each member. Melissa was nervous as it has been a while since she needed to worry about having an ID. She thought she might have lost it but it seems that she kept it in one of the small pockets in her backpack. An old habit she had from forgetting to bring her ID to the university exam. Cruz didn’t have one but everyone was asked to follow the security to a military facility while background checks on each member were being conducted.

At the military facility, they were questioned on reasons for migration and what they have been doing back in their own country. The soldier who was questioning them took the notes, showed each person to the room, and was told that they will get back to them after several weeks. While they waited for the news about their migration process, they decided to learn more about the law of physics and the biology of Obland. How this country had other humanoid species such as elves, tabaxi, tiefling, and dwarves. That people here don't have their cause of death printed across their wrist. They also mentioned how a fair amount of the population can use magic so certain laws and organisations exist to ensure things are kept in order.

As they were focusing on learning about this new country, several weeks flew by. The five of them were summoned into one of the meeting rooms by the same soldier who was questioning them on the first day.

“Have you been able to understand a bit about Obland by now?” The soldier asked as they entered the room.

“Yes, everything is very different from Eblein,” Simon responded with a polite smile.

“I would believe so,” The soldier smiled back. “Well, to get to the point, all five of you have been approved for migrating into Obland under one condition.”

To the soldier’s statement, the group focused and patiently waited for the next word.

“Melissa Griffith and Cruz, you two have sufficient potential for practicing sorcery. As we have seen a decrease in the number of apprentices in the sorcery field, we will allow you to stay in this country as long as you promise to dedicate yourself to the practice of sorcery.”

The group was relieved but responded with a confused expression.

“How can I have a potential for magic if I wasn’t born in Obland?” Melissa questioned in a calm tone, slowly getting used to interacting with people again.

“Yeah, I’m a little confused about that as well.” Cruz agreed.

“No one has found definite reasoning behind this phenomena at the moment. However, people born in different countries can possess the ability to use powers that can only be used under the laws of physics of another country. Although it is rare, we have recordings of people who migrated from different countries who were able to become sorcerers here in Obland. We believe this is due to certain overlap between the laws of biology that Obland has with some of the other countries.” The soldier explained. “However, with Cruz, due to his questionable background, we will be sending your group to a sorcery school that is high in security. If we don’t see any problems throughout your training then it is possible for us to loosen the security and monitoring of your group over time. Are there any other questions at this point?”

“If only Melissa and Cruz have the potential for practicing magic, why are the rest of us also being enrolled in this sorcery school?” Simon questioned in a calm tone.

“In Obland, it is normal for sorcerers and sorcery students to have assistants to gather materials and prepare some of those materials before spell casting. You three will be given that role. It is easier for us to monitor the group’s behaviour if all five of you stay in one place.”

With this, their journey as sorcerers started.

~~~~~~~~ 10 years later ~~~~~~~~

“So there’s no gold?”

“Of course there’s no gold. I’m a dragon! What am I going to do with gold? Buy stuff? Why do you mortals always think we have gold?” The dragon sighed, creating a small puff of ashes as it curled back into its original position.

“But… didn’t some kind of knight or adventurer make a deal with you to protect their wealth?” The convicted elf asked in confusion and fear.

“I’m a dragon of wisdom and knowledge. I have had some people leave offerings to have their questions answered but not gold. You know what, here’s a little wisdom to you, foolish mortal. If a dragon was to protect someone’s wealth, especially gold, they would melt away from our body temperature.”

The convict stood there in disbelief. The only way for them to get their normal life back and prove their innocence was if they brought back the gold from a dragon in the cave.

As the elf knelt onto the ground in defeat, the elf’s mentor, Melissa grabbed her bag and turned around to see the cabin which she has been living in for the past several years.

To be a sorcerer is to be a healer, teacher, seeker, giver, and protector of all things. If this is your path, may you walk with honour, light, and integrity.

That was the first thing Melissa learnt when she started her life as a sorcerer in Obland. It was a phrase she held close to her heart. She once ran away from her home. Thinking that all of her problems will vanish if she threw away her old life. But over time, she healed and matured. She was much stronger now. She finally had enough courage and knowledge to go back and help the people in Eblein. To reunite with her parents. Taking in a deep breath, she turned to others.

“You guys ready?”

“Remember? Wherever you go, we go.” The group behind Simmon, Melissa’s now queerplatonic partner, nodded their agreement.

She chuckled at their never-changing response.

“Alright, let’s go and get our apprentice,” Melissa said as she tied one end of red ribbon to clear quartz and the other to a branch of fern. She snapped off the branch, gently held it in her palm, and thought of her apprentice. Then, the branch floated up, the quartz sparkling against the sun that was just starting to rise over the horizon.

“Well, we’ll head off to the shore and get the boat ready,” Cruz said as he saw the spell activate.

Melissa nodded. The group split up and prepared themselves to return to Eblein. As Melissa’s group followed the quartz, they walked through markets filled with people, through the countryside, and then through a forest. After almost a full day of walking, the branch came to an entrance of a cave.

Before it floated into the cave, Melissa grabbed the quartz. She cast the group and herself with protection spells and summoned a glowing orb. With that, she released the quartz from her grip and the group steadily walked into the cave.

The cave was full of monsters and traps. They found out that even if they were in a different country, the only thing that could kill them was the word written on their wrist. However, any serious injury would delay their journey. They needed to get to their apprentice before they could go back to Eblein.

Eventually, they came to an opening and the branch dropped. The quartz shattered from the impact. The dragon that was curled up and the elf that was staring down at the ground both jolted up at the sound of crystal shattering.

“If you’re here for a gold, I was just telling this elf we don’t have any.” The dragon sighed.

“Oh no, I’m here for…”

“Teacher!” Before Melissa could finish her sentence, the elf sprung up and rushed over to her. They looked down at the broken quartz and red ribbon tied up to the fern and looked back at Melissa.

“You came looking for me?” Holone, the elf asked in confusion.

“We finally have everything to help Eblein. We will find a way to prove your innocence to the council after we come back. The dragon said there’s no gold here anyway. Come on, we need to hurry.” Melissa said everything almost in one breath.

Holone hesitated for a moment. Not knowing what they were supposed to do.

“O… okay,” they agreed hesitantly, seeing that staying in this cave wouldn’t change their situation for the better.

With that, they cast the teleportation spell and headed to the border of the continent.

“Eblein, the flooded country huh… Good luck, mortals.” The dragon sighed again and went back to sleep.

The dragon finally had some time for themselves. They did what they needed to do to fulfill the role of the dragon of knowledge and wisdom. But they still desired to stay away from humans. The dragon understood that every human was on their own journey to better understand themselves and the world around them. But they still found people’s self-centered minds draining to deal with. They understand that their self-centered mindset is unintentional. Yet to the dragon, it was very boring and uninspiring.

Suddenly, the dragon could hear a set of footsteps approaching them. They let out a sigh. The dragon gave a lazy glance over to the opening to the clearing as it considered putting up a private property sign at the entrance. The dragon did not think every person would see the sign and stay away from the cave. However, they hoped that the interspecies law had been updated after 3 centuries and that they had some chance of suing anyone who tried to disrupt them without permission.

“What do you want?” the dragon muttered at the sight of the petite, well-dressed girl standing at the entrance of its nest.

“I want you to kidnap me.” She stated confidently.

“What? No! That would cause too much commotion between the mortals and the dragons!” The dragon yelled as the girl’s statement caught them off guard.

“Please! My parents are forcing me into a political marriage. If you kidnap me and my fiance fails to save me, and I highly doubt that flimsy walking societal norms with a royal flash of privilege would be able to defeat a dragon of knowledge and wisdom, my parents would see that I deserve someone better,” The girl pleaded desperately.

The dragon gave a blank stare, wishing for at least one century of peace and quiet. However...

“Fine, I will help you but only because I like how you described this prince. You possess some potential in humouring me.” The dragon agreed, amused by the princess’s insult.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Melissa and her group were reunited at the border and got on the boat. Melissa felt nostalgic as she saw the horizon which she left behind a long time ago drift closer to her. Remembering how desperate she was to get away from anything that caused her pain and anything that could cause her more pain. She continued to reflect as they sailed through the quiet ocean. There were no animals between the borders due to the conflicting laws of biology and physics. The reason why they couldn’t use teleportation spells to cross over to Eblien was for that same reason. Either way, Melissa couldn’t wait to get to the other end of this ocean and finally be able to see her parents again.

Three days later, they finally reached Eblein. It was faster than when they left. However, they had no time to take a stroll down memory lane. As they reached the shore, they immediately docked the boat and started to trek through the forest, wasting no time.

The forest was more cleared than they last remembered. Patches of ash covered the forest. Melissa quickened her pace, worried that she might have taken too long to come back.

Then, she stopped.

Everyone else stopped as well. They could hear some movement in the bushes just ahead of them. They hid behind the trees, not knowing what or who was ahead of them.

Nothing happened.

As all six of them focused on their surroundings, they felt as if they were frozen on the spot for hours. They were all so focused that they could sense the slightest movement around them. The quiet rustle of the leaves, the squeaking of the branches, their own heartbeats, getting quicker and quicker with each minute.

Then suddenly, a figure peeked out from a bush ahead of them. The person was wearing the patrol uniform. It was one of the guards. Melissa lowered her weapon and stepped out to the opening with her arms up in the air.

“Hello, my name is Melissa Griffith. I want to offer help to this country,” she said as calmly as she could.

“Help? To this country? Where are you from?” The guard asked in a harsh tone, pointing a gun at Melissa.

“I’m from Obland.”

Suddenly, Melissa felt a sharp pain pierce through her body. She looked down and saw blood seeping through her brown cloak and what looked like a spear made of bone. She was confused. She didn’t know what just happened to her. But then, she remembered the word written on her wrist.

Tibetan fox.

A spear made with bone pierced through her without trouble. Not a single hint of a near miss. Not giving the slightest chance for her or for her teammates to react. And it all happened in a place where she couldn’t use a protection spell. This had to be it.

Her teammates rushed over to her. Their eyes filled with tears. As the guard pulled out his spear, Melissa collapsed on the ground. The pain from the wound only got worse. She felt the warm tears run down her face. She felt Simmon’s arms catch her. She felt pain. She felt herself struggle for air. She thought about her parents. That last time she ever saw them was when she was at her worst. But she couldn’t hide her smile as she looked back at Simmon.

She was just relieved to know that she wasn’t immortal.

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Notes

O’pa1 - abbreviation for “other parents”. Can be used as a gender-neutral title for children to refer to their non-binary parent/s