In the second age, the wars of the Gods intensified. As battles raged and the Gods ravaged the lands, survivors became few and scattered. The humans forged the order, a desperate alliance with the most powerful creatures known on earth, the Dragons. They were majestic, beautiful creatures, feared and the second gods of the realms, the only powerful, ruthless creatures who could bring balance to their lands. Many worshipped them, but most importantly, there was respect and orderliness among the realms.As the order struggled to restore civilization, then came a greedy sorcerer who wanted power in his hands. Power to be feared and ruthless like the dragons, even more powerful, with his trickery, he'd managed to lure the greedy human king, for this king and him happens to share the same agenda wanting power and authority over the realms but his goal was far different, a malicious plot he'd planned for a very long time.

On a strange night, the human king was found dead, raising a conflict between the humans and the realms. A battle began to claim rights, for justice, for their king.

There could only be one way to restore balance once again, and that was kicking the humans out of the realms, as for the sorcerer, he was banished after being caught creating a poison with newly found abilities, blood magic.

A strange magic yet unpredictable since its existence involved dark spirits.

A year passed, and the prophets were tormented by a growing darkness. An ancient evil rekindled in the dim corners of the walls, whispering to a syndicate of conspirators, only mentioned to the king privately. A prophecy that was the beginning of misfortune. With the urge to save his kingdom, he'd consulted a wise witch who was quite known around the forbidden forests.

She was the only one who could forge an obstruction to this prophecy.

Together they flew over the mountains.. And in the middle of unlocking an artifact said to have powerful abilities... Something complicated happened... The sun stopped..., the moon disappears into the cold night, and the once blue sky turns dark... From the darkness came voices

........................................

"And what happened? What about the prophecy? " I asked, clutching my teddy bear

"That was the end. "Louisa's voice fell on an eerie whisper. " No one knows what happened next; the tale ended unfinished. Leaving behind a supposed curse. Beasts move around the realms, stealing souls of the lowest rank. Building in numbers through all these years and...."

"So the king and the witch disappeared? How's that possible? What about the artifact?" I interrupted her

Louisa chucked at that ." The dragon king and the witch disappeared for good, no trace. As for the artifact, no one knows the whole story from then on. "

"That's just awful," I huff, folding my arms on top of my blanket while Teddy sits on the edge of the bed

Again, Louisa chuckled softly with a warm smile on her face. "Not all stories are meant to be finished just yet; it just has to remain that way until someone else reveals the unfolding secrets and maybe save the world."

"Do these beasts also exist in our world? " I sit up straighter, curiously

"Somehow they move around the quietest place," Louisa said thoughtfully, and my eyes peeled up at that. "When it's late at night, they roam free stealing souls of the weak humans and leaving behind nothing but skeletons..."

"Aaarh! " I scream out of my lungs in fear

"Hey, calm down. Sweetie. It's just a story, " She pulled me up for a warm embrace, whispering comforts softly into my ears

"What about mama and papa? Gabrielle would come back, right? The beast ain't gonna eat them right? " I withdraw from her arms, staring back at her with eyes filled with worries and demanding answers

Louisa looked up at me with a warm smile on her face. " Of course they would be. Your mom and dad already promised to be back home before ten. Everything would be fine". I pouted.

"You promise? " "Pinky promise," Louisa smiled.

" You haven't eaten your birthday cake yet, come on we don't want it to melt. Do we?

" I shrugged. "Am good "

"Or is it because Papa replaced yours with chocolate while Gabrielle took your strawberry shortcake? "Louisa asked, and I bit my bottom lip nervously, which she noticed.

"Hey, come on, chocolate does taste better with milk." I knew she'd say that. Louisa would always try to make it look better. Though I was young but I wasn't dumb I knew she was saying it out of pity for me, pity because our parents failed to see me, not even my existence and instead considered Gabrielle my twin.

While she had all of their attention, I was left with nothing

No goodnight kisses

No midnight snacks

Everything was all for her. The thing is, I was born a little different, maybe weirder. I was born with dark blue hair on one side, a black stripe falling across my left brow; for some reason, I just had that kind of hair. And another different part of me was my unusually emerald eyes.

Everything about me didn't seem to be influenced by our parents' genetics, unlike Gabrielle, who inherited the perfect physical appearance. At some point, I'd thought we were switched right from birth, that she stole from me.

When she decided her room wasn't comfortable any longer, Dad had asked me to switch with her because ' she's your little sister,' he'd said, just before my spacious room belonged to Gabrielle, which is why my room was in the guest room, which wasn't my favorite place It was small compared to my room.

Gabrielle's been like this since forever; she didn't like me and she doesn't hide it. She was better than I in literally everything except grades. I was the nerdy freak who would rather be stuck in a library than watch TV One time, she'd called me a witch My odd yet interesting abilities were my quick understanding.

I was a fast learner, and sometimes I don't read during exams and still come out at the top of the class She envied me so badly, but not as much as I do.

Our parents barely notice anything about me, not even my grades, class or anything. They made sure I never got anything of good quality, whereas Gabrielle got the opposite, the best clothes, while mine were mostly the ones used by Gabrielle.

Either she doesn't like them, or she just wanted to make me feel bad when she's always adored and loved.

There's even a big difference between our birthday parties Tonight, she was taken to her favorite musical theatre for me, and I was stuck at home.

"It's okay. Eat this chocolate cake for today, then tomorrow I promise to buy you strawberry shortcake and yeah, even ice cream." Louisa tried to cheer me up for tonight

I smiled. " Okay fine, but only a little.

" At least I do have someone to keep me company

Louisa smiled back. " Good, I'll make sure I keep my promise."

"What about the other dragons? "I suddenly asked

"That's a story for another day," Louisa said, giving me a soft peck on my forehead.

"I'll go get the cake." I groaned ."But I want to hear it now."

"Another day, okay? It's almost bedtime for you..." Louisa stated, shoving my blonde hair slightly

I nodded my head eagerly

Louisa stared at me for a second, and I saw something floating beneath the layers of her eyes, far beyond pity; it was ' worries ' and 'fear'.

I hadn't understood until the doorbell beeped

"I'll be back in a sec, "Louisa informed as she went out of the room

I stared at the open door and hugged my teddy close to my chest as a sense of unease crept through me. Something doesn't feel right, something about Louisa's looks made me nervous

For a few seconds, I waited for her Until I heard nothing but the sound of the vase shattering on the floor.

...............

"Georgia..."

"Georgia..."

"Haven't you read the rules of my class, young lady? No sleeping when classes are going on..."

"Georgia... Wake up this instant."

"Georgia!!"

I woke up seeing the blurry image of Mrs Bronte's sweat dotted my forehead, my heart pounded erratically to the point where I could almost hear it in my ears.

I took a deep breath, finally getting hold of myself It happened again

Another dream.

A part of my memory that'd been my nightmare since I was six

"Georgia.. "Mrs Bronte's called out again

"I'm so sorry." I nervously fixed my glasses as I sat upright

Laughter erupted from the other students, each passing me weird glances, some faces brimming with a sarcastic smile. It didn't last another minute before it burst into whispers around the hall

I bit down on my left cheek in embarrassment

Honestly this wasn't my first time. Growing up, I was looked down on, even if it's not funny, they'd laugh all over everything I do. After all, I was called at school a witch, the mysterious girl whose parents and twin died, and the first victim of an inhuman beast attack. No surprise that my social life seems to be terrible till now. I like it that way. I was fine being alone, and the only people I care about are my best friend and my nana, Louisa.

"Silence! "Mrs Bronte yelled down the hall Immediately, the noisy hall was replaced with silence.

"Georgia, can you give a good reason for sleeping during lectures? This's not the first time. Is it? " Mrs Bronte asked directly, her eyes fixed on me.

"I'm so sorry I didn't...."

"Then, can you give a clear explanation for what I've been teaching for the past five minutes?"

I froze.

My brain momentarily stopped at her question

Slowly, I parted my lips. " Electromagnetic waves were first predicted theoretically by the British physicist James Clerk Maxwell. He also proposed that light itself was electromagnetic radiation. The experimental evidence of the E_M wave was provided by the German physicist, Heinrich Hertz. Examples of electromagnetic waves arranged in order of increasing wavelength are: Gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet rays, visible light, infrared rays, microwaves and radio waves. The whole range of electromagnetic waves is known as the electromagnetic spectrum. The different rays that constitute the spectrum all have the same basic property that they travel at the speed of light. They also all exhibit the properties of reflection, refraction, interference and diffraction."

Mrs Bronte blinked back, astonished. " You never cease to surprise me, Georgia Jones..."

I stop myself from smiling

She sighed." You and I will meet after class. Got that? "

Now it was my turn to sigh ." Yeah, after class.. "

"I knew you had it in you." Roxie, my bestie, nudged my shoulder, grinning widely at me

"Honestly, I did try to wake you up but you didn't budge an inch, sorry," She whispered from the next seat

"Roxie Anderson! " Mrs Bronte snapped towards us

I sink into my chair, avoiding her piercing gaze

"Sorry..." Roxie murmured.

**************************

Standing before Mrs Bronte office, I hesitated before pressing the doorbell.

"Come in..." Her voice echoed from inside

I exhaled softly as I stepped in

"Take a seat, " Mrs Bronte gestured towards the empty seat

I sat opposite her while her gaze followed my movements. I bit my lips

"Georgia, I called you here since I'm a little worried about your lack of consideration for a while now. You usually fall asleep during lectures, and whenever woken up, you seem to always be in a shock state "She stated, looking at me with an intense gaze

She paused before asking, "Are you still having nightmares? "

I'd expected this question. Honestly speaking, I wasn't prepared for this. Everyone at school knows how I suffered from a trauma after the night I lost my parents and twin, I couldn't stop dreaming since then. My life'd been a mess, I'd dreamt of unreal places before, and yeah, even dragons

My current obsession with these flying creatures kept me up last night It's like whenever I close my eyes, I'm in a different world. Sometimes I'm scared of taking a nap because once I do, I have weird nightmares, and when I do, I usually draw the whole thing in my scrapbook or draft.

Weird. Right? But I can't stop myself, believe me have tried

"Georgia.. "Mrs Bronte called back my attention

I snap out of a daze. "Yes, most of the time."

" Have been told you have been slacking off from your therapist lately. Since a month..." She pointed out the fact that I badly wanted to escape from

"It just doesn't work," I blurted out before I could stop myself "None of whatever advice from any of them would work. It's been years, and nothing has changed."

Mrs Bronte heaved a sigh. "Still, you should try to move on. "

I let out a soft groan. " I know."

"And avoid staying up late. "

This wasn't my first time hearing this; Louisa had said the same thing last.

After my twin and parents died, she single-handedly raised me and taught me everything I know, even though sometimes it wasn't easy. But she made sure I never lacked anything.

"You may leave."

"Thank you".

Upon exiting the office, I released a deep sigh, feeling drained from discussing my private life. Typically, people seek therapy to address their issues, but in my case, twelve years have passed without any substantial progress. As I closed Mrs Bronte's office, I was surprised by the eerie silence of the hallway, which was usually quiet, but today seemed different, and before I realized it, the lights on the entire floor went out, and I saw a shadow cast from behind me.

Someone was watching me.