Chapter Text
It’s another normal day. I’m Alice Ashbourne, just a normal sixteen year-old girl, who is also a princess.
I woke up and I looked in the mirror, my long blonde hair was a mess, like usual. I attempted to braid my hair, but it still looked terrible. I look over at my calendar and see that The Festival Of Ashes is today, May 17th. I get to tell the story of my ancestor, Elanor Ashbourne.
I decided that I should try to look decent, instead of just wearing what my parents consider "commoner clothes”. I found a dress that looks decent on me. It's just teal and white, not too long, but not too short. It's not as fancy as my parents would like me to wear. They would probably get mad at me for wearing this dress, but I didn't care.
Next, I tried to do my hair. I undid the messy braid, and tried again, and again. Then about the seventh try, I got a decent braid done.
I heard a knock on my door, “Alice?”
I opened the door, it was my older brother, Charlie. He was wearing one of the blue suits he usually wears, and his curly golden hair was brushed as well as he could.
“Charlie!” I said excitedly.
“Hey! Are you ready for The Festival Of Ashes?” Charlie responded.
“Yes!! I’m so excited, it will be my first year telling Elanor’s story!”
“And I get to do the announcements this year!” Charlie said. “Well, mother and father are already waiting for us, we should head to the town square”
We got to the town square with our parents. There was an enormous fountain with probably over a hundred coins in the water. There were blue and purple banners with dragons on them. They were hanging between the lamp posts. There were probably over a thousand people.
Then me and my family went to the stage to prepare for Elanor’s story. On the stage there was something covered with a tan tarp. It looked about twice as tall as me. Once we got backstage, my mom looked me up and down and said, “Alice, what on earth are you wearing?”
“Uhh, a dress?”
“Why aren’t you wearing the green dress that I got that seamstress to make especially for you?” My mom looked annoyed.
I just stood there, silent. I hated that dress. I wore it once, then swore to never wear it again. I could hardly breathe while wearing it.
My brother joined the conversation, “Alice has said that she doesn't like that dress. Just let her wear a dress that she feels comfortable wearing”
My mom looked angry, “Your opinion doesn't matter. This is a matter for the women, not you, Charles Benedict Ashbour–”
“–Oh, um, look at the time, it's time for the story of Elanor!” Charlie said nervously.
“Fine, take this as a warning,” my mom stated, “and Alice, next time we have to go to an event, you will be wearing the green dress. For now, put these on,” She handed me some silver jewelry.
“Okay..” I murmured. I put the jewelry on. There was a necklace with an amber crystal on it. Then some silver bracelets.
My dad walked up to us, “Well, it seems it's time to announce that the story is starting soon. Charlie, will you do the announcement?”
Charlie nodded and walked over to the microphone to do the announcement. “Everyone head to the stage to learn the story of Elanor Ashbourne!”
People started walking over to the stage, practically everyone at the festival came to hear the story.
My dad goes on stage first, “Alright, people of Ashtonburg. It is I, your king, Alastor Ashborne!”
The crowd cheers.
“This year,” my dad continues, “my daughter, Alice Ashborne, will tell the story of Elanor Ashborne”
I walk onto the stage and wave to the crowd.
“Now,” my dad resumes, “Alice, are you ready to tell the story of Elanor?”
I nod, “Elanor, was a mighty warrior, scholar, and a princess! She lived her life in the palace, the same one that stands today, on The Amber Mountains" I point to my home, the castle.
I see a little boy, about 7-8 years old, raise his hand.
“Yes?” I ask him.
“Why are The Amber Mountains called that?” He asked.
“They are called The Amber Mountains for many reasons. From the top of the mountains in the evening, the sky is a beautiful amber color. The Amber Mountains were also a great mine where people would mine for the valuable Amber gems” I point at my amber necklace.
“Cool!!”, said the little boy.
“Anyways,” I resumed the story, "Elanor trained very hard. She was very academic as well, one of the smartest girls in the whole Ashbourne family. She lived like that for many years, training and learning. Until one day, Silas Blackheart came to Ashtonburg.”
I heard some people in the crowd boo when I said Silas Blackheart.
I continue, “Silas was a cruel king, only wanting power. Silas told Elanor Sacrifice yourself, or your kingdom dies.”
Charlie looked confused, I didn't understand why. He tried to say something, but my mom, Ann, stopped him from speaking.
My dad signals for me to continue.
I resume, “Elanor sacrificed herself, at only 20 years old. Silas never bothered Ashtonburg again.”
The crowd cheers.
“You might be wondering, what does Elanor and her story have to do with The Festival Of Ashes? Well, this is where the legend part comes in. The legends say that when Elanor sacrificed herself, she burned into flames. Then disappeared, only the ashes remained. Therefore, The Festival Of Ashes!”
“Great job, Alice!”, my mom said a bit sarcastically, “Now, people of Ashtonburg, for the 350th anniversary of Elanor’s Sacrifice, We have..” She walks over to the tall thing that was covered with a tarp “A statue of Elanor Ashbourne!” She pulls off the tarp, revealing a golden statue of Elanor. She has long hair, and was wearing armor.
About everyone in the crowd cheered.
Soon, the festival was over. Me, Charlie, and our parents headed back to the palace. Our parents went to bed when we got home – they had to leave early for a meeting. I decided to hang out with Charlie.
“Charlie?” I ask him.
“What do you need?” He responded.
“When I was telling the story of Elanor, you looked confused when I said ‘Silas told Elanor Sacrifice yourself, or your kingdom dies’, what were you trying to say before mom stopped you?”
“Oh, you noticed that.. I’ll tell you what I was going to say, if you promise to never tell anyone that I told you.”
“Okay, I promise” I wondered why he didn't want me to tell anyone.
“Okay, so Elanor’s sacrifice. It is somewhat lying."
“What? How-”
“Well… Elanor didn’t just sacrifice herself. Our family, the Ashbourne’s, are half dragon”
“WHAT?? You’re lying, this is real life, not a fairytale”
“I’m not lying, Alice, it’s real. We are part dragon.”
“Fine, I’ll pretend you’re telling the truth. If it is somehow true, how come our parents didn't tell us? And how on earth would you know?” I stated.
“Well, you know Silas only wanted power. Elanor sacrificed her life, and her dragon half. Not just her dragon part, generations of the dragon half, all gone. Until us, me and you.”
“What do you mean ‘Until us, me and you’ if generations of the ‘dragon half’ is gone, then what do we have to do with it?” I asked. Charlie was starting to really confuse me. I knew Charlie my whole life, why would he lie? But how would he be telling the truth?
“I did some research a while back, I found some journals from our ancestors. I found 2 really interesting and important ones, one of those was Elanor’s.”
“Okay, wha- how- where were the journals?” I asked in confusion, but I was also intrigued. It started to feel more real than a fairytale.
“They were in father’s study.”
“What- But we aren’t allowed in dad’s study? How did you even get in? He keeps it locked”
Charlie grabs the necklace he was wearing, “This has the key to father’s study, i found it on the ground by his study” on the necklace there was a little silver key.
I sat there in shock, “Wha- Start from the beginning”
“A few weeks ago, I noticed that father was acting strange, particularly around me. I also noticed that I was just different. So I decided to investigate. One night I was looking around the palace for any ideas of what was going on. I passed father’s study and saw a small silver key. I checked if it was possibly the key to his study, and it was. When I went into the study, I saw this drawer labeled journals. I opened it and saw a lot of journals, but 2 of them caught my eye. One with the name Elanor Ashbourne, and one with the name Soren Ashbourne”
“Soren Ashbourne? Like the Soren who killed that Edwin Blackheart person?” I asked
“Yes, that’s him,” Charlie replied. “In Elanor’s journal, I found the day of the sacrifice. On that page, she wrote-”
Suddenly, we hear a knock on the door, “Children, your parents said if you aren’t in bed then I get to kill you,” It was probably one of the guards, "I'm coming in once I get this stupid door unlocked” The guard sounded angry
“Alice, take this,” Charlie gave the key to dad’s study. “I won’t be around much longer, mother and father know that I know something.”
“Wha-”
“-Now, we should get in bed so we don't die sooner than we should.”
We quickly got into our beds, and pretended to be asleep.
The guard walked in, and made sure we were asleep. Then he left and closed the door.
Charlie fell asleep first, I couldn't sleep. Would Charlie die soon? My thoughts were racing, This has to be a dream? Right..? Before I knew it, I was crying. “I-I can’t lose Charlie..” I mumbled. Then I fell asleep.