Editing Eldramin (section)

== Chapter 21 ==
''Isabell''

Dark.

''“Who are you?” My voice quavers as the question leaves my lips. Something in the shadows starts moving towards me. “I want to go home.” Tears start spilling down my face. I don’t know how long I’ve been here, but it feels like years. The figure comes closer and closer, but it’s still hidden in the darkness.'' 

''Eventually, a soft voice says, “Oh, you don’t need to be afraid, little girl. I will let you go as soon as I know who you are.”'' 

''“I already told you!” my voice breaks as I yell into the shadows. “I’m Isabell Harpson! Now let me go home!” The voice chuckles softly, sounding nearly soothing in its gentleness.'' 

''It starts moving toward me again. “Dear, that’s not what I want to know. I want to know if you’re who they all think you are.” It steps into the faint light the whole in the ceiling of the cave allows. The voice has been coming from a tall Shifter woman with black hair and huge dragon wings. Scarily, her eyes are also black, unnaturally so. “I want to know if you’re the Eldramin.”'' 

''I stare at the woman, entranced. She looks'' awesome'', but her question stings. The tears increase and I look away, shaking my head. “I couldn’t touch the water.” She leans and seems to be thinking about something.'' 

''Under her breath, she says, “Then why would he want you?” I don’t know who ‘he’ is, but I don’t want to know.'' 

''“Can I go home now?”'' 

''The woman looks down at me and smiles sweetly. My hopes rise. “Soon, darling, soon you can go home.”'' 

Blue. 

''Moren stares at me while I climb up the tree. I reach the top branch and climb down to a safe height before jumping out of the tree.'' 

''“What was my time?”''

''“What?”''

''I groan and roll my eyes. “How long did it take me to climb up and down, dingus?”'' 

''“Oh, I forgot to time it.” He looks sheepish and cringes sympathetically. I groan again and facepalm a little too hard. “You could go again?”'' 

''I roll my eyes again. “No,'' Moren, ''I just used a ton of energy doing that the first time. It won’t be as fast if I do it right now.”'' 

''He sighs and bites his lip. “I’m sorry, Izzy.” I glare at him. He should be sorry. That was probably an interplanetary record for seven-year-olds. If Ari was here, she would have gotten the time. But nope. Her dad had some fancy ‘diplomatic visit’ so she had to stay with her mom on Lathra I.'' 

''Deciding I’ve let Moren suffer enough, I start walking back to where our moms are. “It’s okay, just, get it next time.” He nods excitedly and joins me in walking back.'' 

''Mom and Mrs. Ana are talking together on a blanket while Faith, Jayson, and Larawrynn play together. Jay looks bored with the babies, so I wave him over. The toddler waddles over to me and I pick him up.'' 

''“You are getting heavy. I won’t be able to keep picking you up, buddy.” He frowns at me and crosses his little arms.'' 

''Mom looks over at the three of us and raises an eyebrow in a silent question.'' 

''“Can we go play hide and go seek?” Mom and Mrs. Keleth share a look. I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean. Adults have a weird silent language where they talk through weird looks and wiggling their eyebrows. Maybe one day I’ll be fluent enough to understand what they’re saying all the time.'' 

''Mrs. Ana speaks up first. “I think that’s okay, what do you think, Marcy?” My mom sighs and nods, almost reluctantly.'' 

''“Just no going into the forest.”'' 

''“But'' moooom, ''that’s where the best hiding places are.”''

''She gives a look. “Isabell Renae, you are not allowed in the forest. Am I clear?” I groan out a “fine”. Mom decides I’m not trustworthy enough and turns to Moren. “Please, just keep her out of the forest.” He nods. Luckily for me, Moren isn’t good at putting his foot down. And even if he were, he couldn’t stop me if he tried.'' 

Red. 

''I scream as the claws dig into my back. Blood pours out and seems to flood the room. I try to move but it’s no use, I’m tied down. Nothing other than screams can come out of me. There’s so much I want to say. Why are you doing this? Why me? What did I do? Make it stop. Leave me alone. Take me home. But the screams block off any attempt at communication.'' 

''The pain stops spreading, but the pain intensifies.'' 

''The woman walks up to me, tilting her head. She lifts my chin up with a finger and looks at me quizzically. “Can you not heal yourself, dear?” Sobs prevent any answer from me, but in my head, I’m screaming.'' NO. I can’t. Let me go. Please. ''She takes a step back and waves her hand.''

''Three dragon Shifters with shockingly vibrant colors enter the cave. The woman directs them with a flick of her fingers and they start attending to me, cleaning my back and untying me. As soon as I’m free, I curl away from them, pushing myself into a corner. They try to grab me but the woman stops them.''

''“No. Let her heal herself.”''

''“But-”''

''“-was I unclear?” Her usually gentle voice takes a sharper edge as she glares at the Shifter who spoke up, a woman with white hair and icy blue eyes and wings. She looks back at me like she’s worried about something, but the woman with the nice voice snaps her attention. “Xyra, is there something you don’t understand?” The white-haired woman shakes her head and leaves the cave.'' 

''At the very end of the entrance, I see her turn her head to look at me one last time.'' 

Orange.

''The forest is gorgeous at this time of day. Light filters through the fall leaves like stained glass, making the forest floor look splotchy.'' 

''“I thought mama said no forest?” Jayson looks up at me, confused.'' 

''I shake my head. “Mama thinks the forest is scary, but it’s not scary, is it?” Jay looks around at the looming trees and fiery colors of the leaves.'' 

''“No. It’s not scary.” I squeeze his hand and pick him up, balancing the toddler on my hip as I walk deeper into the trees.'' 

''The sound of Moren counting can barely be heard now. This is a good place to hide. I glance around to evaluate my options. My first thought is a tree, but with Jay, that’s not possible.'' 

''I find a nice clump of bushes and sit on the ground behind them. Giddiness bubbles up inside of me and I have to cover my mouth to keep from giggling. Jayson starts fidgeting in my arms and I pull him tighter.'' 

''“Shh. Jay, we don’t want Moren to find us. It’s a game.” He ignores me and starts kicking me. I can’t keep a hold on him and he breaks free of my hold, sprinting into the forest.'' 

''I groan for probably the hundredth time today and get off the ground to chase him. Moren has finished counting and the only sound is the wing blowing the leaves. And the crunching of footsteps.'' 

''I follow the sound, trying to understand how someone with such little legs could move so fast. I’m going deeper into the forest than I have been before. Maybe Mom was right, maybe this was a bad idea.'' 

''The footsteps stop, so I speed up, hoping to catch my gremlin of a brother before he escapes again.'' 

''“Jaaayson,” I call. As much as I would love to win hide and go seek, finding Jay is more important.'' 

''I enter a clearing full of mainly dry leaves. Jayson is nowhere in sight. Sighing, I kick at the leaves. Mom is going to kill me.'' 

''A sudden noise makes me turn my head.'' 

''“Jayson?” I jog over to the bush I heard a noise from, and, to my relief, there he is. “Jayson, you can’t run off like that.”'' 

''He slaps a little hand over my mouth. “Shush, Izz.” I pull away from him, wrinkling my lips at his gross fingers. “Look.” He points across the clearing, his eyes locked on something in the trees. Something big and dark is crouched up in the tree. I turn my head and discover that it’s not just in one tree, but nearly every tree in surrounding the clearing had something in it.'' 

''I grab his hands and made him look at me. “Jay, I need you to run back to Mama and Mrs. Ana now, okay? I need you to go back.” He clearly didn’t understand, but I think I do. Something unfriendly is in the trees. He needs to get somewhere safe. I can buy him time.''

''“Go back to Mama,” I repeat. I ruffle his hair and stand up, brushing off my knees. I hear a little rustle as he starts moving back.'' 

''Taking a deep breath, I run into the clearing and shout up at the figures in the trees.'' 

''“HEY! HEY YOU! COME GET ME YOU FREAKS!” I sprint further into the forest, away from where my family should be.''

''Leaves fall down on me as the trees tremble.''

Boom.

''The woman with the nice voice has continued to visit me regularly, trying to get me to heal myself. When I realized that's what she wants, I decided to never use my magic around her. I heal myself privately, but never when someone is in the room. Never unless it's Xyra.'' 

''She's one of the only people here who actually worries about me, I can see it in her eyes and how much more gentle she is.'' 

''Loud noises suddenly erupt from outside the cave. The guard standing at the entrance readjusts his position into the pose I've learned means the woman is coming.'' 

''I push myself into a corner, wishing I could disappear. But it's no use.'' 

''The woman strides into the room, her expression set into a firm glare. She's never looked this mad before and it scares me.'' 

''She walks over to where I'm huddled and grabs my arm, yanking me to my feet. "You're people have come to collect you, little Eldramin. Shall we greet them?" Her threatening tone of voice makes it clear she has no kind intentions. But a little bit of me rises in hope, someone has come for me.'' 

''I'm dragged out of the cave and into blinding light. I dig my heels into the ground, slightly slowing the woman down before my eyes adjust.'' 

''When they do, I see that I couldn't have escaped if I had tried. The cave I was held in is carved into the side of a steep cliff with a single, narrow staircase leading down to a stone courtyard, with columns covered in vines. Behind the courtyard is another cliff with a single opening.'' 

''I can't see where the noises are coming from, but they get louder as we near the opposite cliff. We speed through the entrance and begin ascending a spiraling staircase.'' 

''When we arrive at the second landing, the woman pushes a big door open, leading into a huge room that I realize, with shock, that I recognize.'' 

''Huge veins of multicolored crystallized fire snake across the ceiling, which is supported by enormous carved pillars. The room itself is huge, but almost devoid of any furniture. Intricate benches are carved into the walls on either side of the room, with large tapestries hanging behind them. At the back of the room sits a massive throne, with two sets of staircases on either side of it, curving into each other above the throne and then disappearing into some other room. This is the Deraal's throne room.'' 

''I glance up at the woman and realize I recognize her too. No wonder I didn't realize who she was before, she used to have red hair and blue eyes.'' 

''"Jana," I whisper to myself. She doesn't make any sign of if she heard me.'' 

''Deraal Jana continues pulling me through the room to the large double doors on the opposite side of the room from the throne. Ancient carvings decorate the doors with images of ancient Shifter rulers and prophecies.'' 

''She pushes the right door open with one hand and leads me into a large hallway. I don't have time to take in what it looks like before one of the many doors slams open and two squadrons of Eldran soldiers rush through. They pause when they see me.'' 

''One of them tentatively touches his earpiece and says, "We found her."''

''I try to break free of the Deraal and run to them, but she tightens her grip and her nails dig into my arm. I scream and start thrashing against her. Freedom is so close. Tears start pouring out.''

''Jana stiffens and I hear the soldiers gasp. I raise up a hand to my face to wipe the tears away, they feel sticky. My hand comes away covered in blood.'' 

''Everything goes black.''