Dragons of Fraidel Ch. 02

Chapter II. Decisions are Made

Galeena Stellar was still screaming when she woke up. She sat up as she placed her hand on her heart. The first thought that entered her mind was that she was glad that the walls were thick enough so the neighbors on her floor of her apartment complex would not hear her. That very minute, her alarm went off. She turned it off before getting out of bed. She went into the kitchen and started fixing some coffee. While it prepared itself, Galeena went and took a shower. The warm water calmed her down. After getting out, she wrapped her hair in a towel, and put on her robe. She went back into the kitchen and had her coffee. While she was doing this, she thought about her dream. This time, it felt real, although it wasn't. Did this man even existed? If he did, where was he from? Why was she even dreaming of him? She continued to think about her mystery man as she prepared for the day. It took her another 30 minutes to dry her hair and got dressed. She was eating cereal when she heard the phone ring. Now who would be calling her at 8:00 in the morning? She got up and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Galeena answered.

"Good morning child. Did I wake you up?" replied a woman's elderly voice.

Galeena smiled. It was her maternal grandmother, Tess Sorain. She had raised her when her parents died in an automobile accident. It happened while they were on their way to pick her up from camp. It was raining that day, and a deer had jumped onto the road. They tried to avoid it, but they lost control. Their suburban tumbled down into a ditch and hit a tree. Galeena had a feeling that something was wrong, but she never thought her parents died while she'd been waiting anxiously for them. She ended up spending another night at the campsite. The following day, the head councilor called her parents' house, cell phones, and their pagers, but got no response. He contacted her grandmother, who was the only relative in the area. Her other relatives were too far away at the time. After Tess picked up Galeena, she stayed with her at Galeena's home. It had been a week before they founded her parents' bodies.

Galeena, who had been 10 at the time, was never the same. She was terribly close to her parents for she was their only child. She never talked or show any emotion for a whole year. Then one day, she had a complete turnaround, and became cheerful and fun-loving again. During that time, it was decided that Galeena lived with Tess since she had a good effect on Galeena. Originally, the people she was supposed to live with was her father's older brother and his wife. But because they moved many times, all agreed that Galeena was too fragile to be put in that kind of situation. It was the best thing that happened to her. She loved her grandma dearly.

"No Granny. You didn't wake me up." replied the 20 year-old.

"That's good. I just wanted to apologize to you, Leena. I'd love to come to your graduation, but my old bones won't let me." explained Tess.

"That's okay Gran. It's too long of a distance for you to travel anyway."

Galeena tried to hide her disappointment. Galeena was going to a major university in California while her grandmother lived in New Hampshire. Galeena was one of the youngest graduates there. When she was young, her skills excelled and she was labeled 'gifted'. During her senior year in high school she received a major scholarship from one of the best artistic universities in the nation. With the support of her family, especially Tess, she attended and majored in art.

"Well Gran, I have to let you go." said Galeena.

"All right dearie. Don't worry too much about me okay? I'll be at your graduation, just in spirit though okay? Take care and I'll see you soon."

After Galeena hanged up, she finished getting ready.

When Tess hanged up, she went back to cleaning the dishes. The elderly woman had once been a beautiful woman. Tess's hair use to be white blonde, but now it was a silvery gray. Her violet eyes were now duller. She had another reason why she couldn't attend Galeena's graduation. She was dying and traveling would only consume more of her energy. It was precious energy she needed to do what had to be done. She still had time to do the things she needed to do, but not much. She also prayed that Galeena would forgive her for not telling her everything.

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

Torrence flew on his dragon, Cerulos, back to his home. Next to him was Tidus on his dragon, Skyro. All water dragons were either blue, sea green, teal, or turquoise. Cerulos was blue and Skyro was sea green. They were flying with a legion of dragoons and dragons. When Torrence heard of his father and brother's death, he wasted no time in getting ready to leave. Right now they were crossing the border between the Wind Dragon Clan and the Water Dragon Clan. Dawn was on the horizon. Tidus told Torrence that a messenger arrived to deliver the tragic message. Torrence grilled the messenger with questions. Apparently, King Tristian and his eldest son, Niron, went flying with their dragon partners, but never returned. After several hours, a search party went out to look for them. They found both men and dragons dead. It was obvious they were slain, but by whom? Few started wondering if it was someone from the Fire Dragon Clan because the corpses were founded near their border. Now wasn't the time to figure that out. As soon as Torrence arrived home, they would hold the burial ceremony for his father and brother and the dragons, and then he would be appointed the new ruler. Torrence's partner, Cerulos, had really taken it hard for it was his father and brother who were killed. He was quiet right now as well as Torrence. Both Tidus and Skyro admired the two for their control on their emotions. Even though they were quiet, both could tell that the two were furious. It was their eyes. Even with the little sunlight, they saw emotions role over their eyes. Tidus knew that there would had been hell to pay for whomever did this atrocity.

"We'll be there soon Torrence." Tidus informed him.

Torrence nodded. His mind and heart was in a quandary at the moment. All he wanted to do was holler in anguish. He was also wishing that someone was there to hold him. His mother used to, but she wasn't here anymore. Queen Coreen died giving birth to his youngest sister, Meridian. He'd been 8 at the time. Ever since then, he shown a gruff and tough exterior. Now he felt so alone. He needed someone. He needed . . .her. He wished she was here to comfort him, but he didn't know if she was real or not. He needed to escape before he took his father's place as the ruler of the Water Dragon Clan. Where was the question.

A couple hours later, Torrence arrived in the capital, Cerulean. He and his group landed in the great castle courtyard, which was large enough large enough to hold two castles side-by-side.

"It seems that the entire clan is here." replied Tidus.

For the first time in hours, Torrence grinned. Indeed, the courtyard as well as the rest of the area was filled dragons and people. When Torrence dismounted, the rest of his legion dismounted as well. The first to greet the group was Torrence's family. Leading the group was Torrence's sister, Lagina, and her husband, Searon. Brother and sister embraced. When Torrence drew back, he could see that his sister was doing all she could not to cry.

After shaking Searon's hand, Torrence asked, "Where are your kids?"

"They're home asleep still." replied Lagina.

Lagina, who was 23, was the mother of 5 children, three of which were triplets. Lagina was the female image of Torrence, only her eyes were a lighter shade of green. Next to greet him was his brother's widow, Daphene. Ever since Niron and Daphene got married, they tried to have children. They just celebrated their 5th Anniversary a month ago when Daphene discovered she'd been with child. The entire clan rejoiced that day. Daphene was radiant that day, but now as she approached Torrence; her beautiful sea blue eyes were swollen and her skin was so pale that it alarmed him.

"Daphene, you should be resting. Niron wouldn't have liked it if you got ill." commented Torrence as gently as he could as he embraced her and smoothes out her light brown hair.

Daphene was known to be an emotional person, but she managed to show some courage. It was that spirit that drawn Niron to her. The two were childhood friends and grown up loving each other. Torrence was very proud of her at that moment for trying not to show how devastated she was. Daphene wiped her eyes as she withdrew.

"Yes, I know. I just wanted to see you first." Daphene answered.

Anyone one up close could see how drained she was. And being pregnant, it was especially critical that she not strain herself.

"Lagina? Can you escort her back to the palace?" asked Torrence.

Lagina nodded before taking Daphene back to the castle. Last to greet Torrence was 18 year-old Meridian. Normally, she'd threw herself into his embrace, but this time she walked up to him and hugged him. Even though she was quiet, Torrence saw she was affected the most. Meridian looked just like their late mother. Her sapphire blue eyes now looked black with sorrow and despair. She hadn't bothered to mess with her curly turquoise hair which was in a riot around her face. Torrence also noticed that she was trembling, and she was trying to hide it. Since she was the youngest, Tristian had doted on her. Meridian was the exact opposite of Lagina. Where Lagina was docile, Meridian was wild. Meridian was ill-tempered, where Lagina was patient. Meridian preferred fighting and outdoor activities whereas Lagina enjoyed the arts and music, and more soothing indoor activities. Meridian was the closest to their father than Niron, Torrence, or Lagina. This was why Torrence saw that Meridian was the most devastated. My goodness, she wasn't even smiling, and she was always smiling! Even when times got tough, she was always the one who tried to cheer everyone up. Right now she looked crushed, even though she was trying not to show it.

When she drew back, she asked, "How was the meeting?"

Torrence smiled at her. Leave it to Meridian to talk about something else.

"It went well, Meridian. Thank you. I need to meet with the council now, okay?" replied Torrence.

Meridian nodded before letting him pass. The crowd went back to their normal activities. Torrence walked through the castle doors. The council was waiting for him inside. Normally Torrence would had met with them in the Council chamber, but this wasn't a normal situation so the council stood in the main parlor of the palace. The head council was a teal colored dragon named Tealor. With him were 7 more council members. Two of them were also dragons. When Torrence and his family reached them, they bowed to show respect.

"You-all may rise." said Tealor.

They all did.

"I came as soon as I heard the news." Torrence replied.

"Let me be the first to tell you and your family that the council's sorry for your loses. Your father and brother were good men as well as their partners. Now we must get ready for the funerals and coronation." suggested Tealor.

"May I have a word with young Torrence first Sir Tealor?" ask someone.

Everyone turned to see Ankor appear from another room. Ankor looked like he was in his 50's when in fact he was over 5,000 years old. The sorcerer was bald on the top of his head, but had silver hair clinging to the sides and back. Whenever he was in the different clans, he wore their colors so he was wearing blue robes. Everyone in the parlor bowed when they saw him. The elderly man walked right up to Torrence before giving his permission for them to rise.

After they all did, Ankor said to Torrence, "Well my boy, I can see that you've finally grown up."

The last time Ankor came to his home, Torrence was 20. Now he was 26.

"It seems I have." grinned Torrence.

"You'll make a splendid ruler, husband, and father . . .when the time comes of course." laughed Ankor.

He turned to the council.

"If you would be so kind councilmen, I'd like to borrow Torrence for awhile."

"You can speak to him anytime you want, Lord Ankor." commented an elderly councilwoman called Ravine.

"Thank-you. Shall we my boy?"

Torrence followed Ankor up the stairs in the parlor as the others in the room go back to make preparations.

Like all palaces in the clans, there was always a room reserved for only Ankor whenever he visited. So Ankor headed toward his quarters with Torrence following him. When they entered Ankor's room, Ankor walked over to the hearth in the fireplace and magically lit it with his staff before sitting down.

"Come and sit down. I am sure you have a lot on your mind right now." insisted Ankor as he gestured to the chair next to his own.

Torrence obeyed.

"I do have a lot on my mind. Ankor, I've been having this recurring dream now for over a year. I keep dreaming of this strange world . . ." started Torrence as he told Ankor about the world, the lady, and then the ending of his last dream.

As Ankor listened, he thought about what Torrence told him. So the lad was dreaming of Earth. Ankor had the ability to travel there. He'd been going there off and on throughout the centuries. And the woman Torrence described sounded like someone else he knew from Earth: Galeena Stellar. Now there was a woman for Torrence. The last time he saw her would had been several years ago, Earth time. The two different worlds had different timelines. A day in Fraidel equaled four weeks on Earth. And at that time when Ankor saw Galeena she was still attending a university. He saw her artworks. They were masterpieces. She had in fact had already sold several pieces. Galeena also had a brilliant and strong mind. And from the way Torrence described her, Ankor could tell that the man was infatuated with her. Well, who would not be? Galeena was one of the loveliest ladies he'd known. Ankor didn't show it, but he was thrilled with the possibility that Torrence had found his mate. He just hoped that Galeena would want to give up her life on Earth and come live with Torrence on Fraidel. When Torrence described the end of his last dream, Ankor became worried. Usually dreams were messages of the future. His gut was telling him that Torrence and Galeena would have their troubles, and he was never wrong with his instincts.

When Torrence finished his explanation, Ankor rose and replied, "I can help you out on several accounts, Torrence. For one thing, both the world and the lady are real."

"They are?!" demanded Torrence as he jumped out his chair so sudden, that it crashed onto the floor.

Torrence picked the chair up and apologized. Ankor chuckled.

"Indeed. The world you just described is called Earth." explained Ankor before shooting a ball of light from his staff to a transparent glass ball. The ball lit up and shown images of Earth from it.

"Yes, that's it." answered Torrence in awe.

Ankor grinned before changing the images to show Galeena.

"I presume that this is the one from your dreams."

For the first time in Torrence's life, he's rendered speechless. Even his mouth gaped open. Ankor wanted to laugh. Torrence couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was real! Truly real! Torrence eventually came to his senses.

"Who is she?"

"Her name is Galeena Stellar. She lives on Earth. I've known her for awhile now. If my memory served me right, she should be 20 years-old. Would you like to meet her?"

"Yes, of course." Torrence replied without thinking.

He wanted to do more than meet her though. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, and claim her. That's when a thought entered his mind.

"She's not claimed is she?"

On Fraidel, claimed meant that someone was betrothed to someone. What Torrence said made Ankor think. That's when he remembered asking Galeena a similar question. She told him no, and that she didn't want to get involved with anyone until she graduated. If he remembered right, he graduation should happened any day now.

"No I don't think she is."

Torrence sighed in relief.

"But there are some complications, Torrence. For one thing, you have to get permission from the council to go to this world. Don't worry about how to get there for I'll take you. But you will have to worry about adapting to Earth. People's lifestyles, trends, and customs are so much different from Fraidel's. Also, the way you go about claiming Galeena is different as well. I will help you on both matters, but ultimately, it'll be up to you to reach your goal. Now, are you still willing to do this?"

Torrence looked at Galeena's image and answered seriously, "Yes, I am."

"Good. Now let's talk to the council after breakfast."

Inside, he was both excited and worried. Excited that Torrence was going to meet Galeena. Worried if Torrence was not only going to be able to adapt to Earth, but be able to claim Galeena. He would be patient and confident though. Torrence could be very stubborn at times. But this wouldn't be easy that was a sure thing.

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

Little did both Ankor or Torrence knew, Galeena was thinking about Torrence. Right now, she was in her painting class. She had week 'til graduation and she was finishing the last of her series of artwork. Her theme was The Elements. She was painting her water theme. Anyone from the Water Dragon Clan would had been shock to see that she was painting Torrence and Cerulos. She felt compelled to do her dream man and she had dreamt of him riding a magnificent blue dragon, which happened to be Cerulos. She was already halfway done. When she was painting she got lost into her work and would even skip a meal if she wasn't careful. She called this painting Water Guardian. All her works in The Elements series consisted of a dragon and a person. Her water one was her last. She already did paintings of fire, earth, wind, ice, gold, light, and dark. And all of them were a good 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide. She'd done bigger though. Galeena was so into working on Torrence's face that she didn't see her instructor come up or several other students in her Advanced Painting IV class.

"Wow Galeena! That's one hunk of a man! Who is he?" demanded a girl with spiky green-dyed hair.

Her name was Bianca, but she hated that name so everyone, including their instructor, Mrs. Kenya Clemens, called her Luna cause she was a Wiccan. Galeena apparently didn't hear her cause she continued working.

"Ahem! Earth to Galeena!!"

Galeena turned, "I am sorry. What did you say?"

"Gees, Leena, you really need to come back to Earth sometimes. I asked who that guy was." groaned Luna.

Galeena couldn't hide her blush. "Uh, I am afraid he's not real. He's the guy I've been dreaming about for awhile now."

Several of the students laughed.

"I bet those dreams were good too." teased a tall stylish dark brown haired guy named Connor.

Anyone could tell that Connor was gay by the way he dressed and talked, but his friends never had a dull time around him. Connor also liked to tease his friends too. Galeena and Connor actually grew up together and it was by accident that they went to the same university.

"Yes, they were good."

"Don't listen to them Leena. They're just envious cause you're the best artist here." commented a foreign exchange student from Chile, named Rosalita.

"Hey!" exclaimed both Luna and Connor.

"Hehe, it's true."

"All right you three get back to work. You're embarrassing Galeena." pointed out Mrs. Clemens.

"It's okay Mrs. Clemens." replied Galeena, although she was still blushing.

"Galeena, you've been my student for how long and you still call me Mrs. Clemens. Please call me Kenya like everyone else here." sighed Mrs. Clemens.

"Sorry . . Kenya . . I guess I'll never get use to it."