4

I grabbed a dress of the rack, holding it against my shoulders and twirling. "Isn't this one pretty?"

"Just gorgeous," Destiny grumbled.

Her mother laughed. "Desi, you remind me of Caitlyn. At least she learned to have fun."

"I have fun!" Destiny protested. "But dresses…"

I grabbed the nearest gown and threw it at her. The pale pink silk landed on her head as she spluttered. "You'd look good in that one," I giggled.

"Nani!"

Aunt Clare shook her head helplessly, a big smile plastered on her pretty face. She held up another dress. "Ananda, I think you'll like this one."

I gasped. It was gorgeous! The light fabric was a soft yellow, with chocolate brown crossed straps and a sash of the same color. The skirt draped from the bodice and just touched the floor. The neckline was low in the back, but still modest in the front. "I… I… Wow."

Destiny chuckled. "You look like a fish."

Aunt Clare gave me the dress and said, "Go put it on!"

I came out of the back room. "It fits perfectly!"

"That's the dress your mother wore to a ball when she was your age," Aunt Clare said.

I frowned. "But wouldn't she be on Earth?"

She gave a small smile. "When she was twelve on Aeylan. Before Xiivu."

We all got quiet. As a rule, my family didn't talk about Xiivu. For Clare, she didn't like to talk about her time on Aeylan before they got relocated.

"Alright, no more frowny faces," Desi said in a patronizing tone that made my spirit's rise. "Let's find me something to wear to this ball!"

:::::

I loved the dress room. There were so many queens and princesses that we made the large room into a wardrobe just for ball gowns. I always like to go in there and imagine what it would be like to wear the dress that Aunt Courtney was wearing when she got engaged, or the one that my mother was almost killed in, or the one that Uncle Ray spilled punch on when Aunt Clare bumped into him. I was weird like that.

Destiny went with her mom to go check on Ivy, who was sick, while I walked idly around the castle. I said hi to the kitchen staff, chatted with a maid, and was generally bored until I got to the stables.

One of my favorite stable boys, Weed, stumbled out of the huge barn, his pant leg smoking and charred.

"Did you get something new?" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah, don't ask me if I survived," Weed said angrily.

"Did you survive?"

He stared at me with bloodshot eyes. "No, I'm dead."

"That's a pity."

He smiled. "Why don't you go check it out? Watch out for the fire."

I ran into the stables, ducking around the workers and finally catching a glimpse of the beast.

"Whoa…"

It was a huge, wingless dragon. Dull green, fifteen feet tall, with a swishing tail and fire blasting from its mouth, it was pretty terrifying. I saw Uncle Cole, the only fireproof Alexandar, sitting on the thing's head, whacking it over and over with a big stick. He saw me and grinned, his teeth a flash of white in his ash-covered face. "How ya' doing, Nani?"

"Pretty good," I called back.

"You won't be if you don't step back."

I stepped back.

Cole stood up, somehow balancing on the writhing dragon's head, and gripped the swirled horns. He slid off the scales, holding onto a horn with one hand, and dropped onto the ground. The dragon's huge, red eyes blinked at his impertinence. They stared each other down until the dragon broke, blasting a fire ball directly at Uncle Cole. He caught it and hurled it back into the dragon's open mouth. Smoke poured from its tiny ears as its eyes rolled around crazily, then the dragon collapsed into a heap, unconscious.

Cole brushed his hands together. "They're not as fireproof on the inside," he explained to the gaping stable hands. They nodded, dumbfounded, as he made his way back to me. "How 'bout some water?" he asked me.

I shook my head. "I can't."

"Well, that's weird. Your gift should be coming along any time now, shouldn't it?"

"I turned thirteen almost eight months ago, but there's nothing still."

He ruffled my hair. "Don't worry. Any day now, you'll be more powerful than your old man."

I giggled. "No way. My dad's the most powerful Alexandar there is!" I felt a burst of pride.

He looked at me coyly. "Even more powerful than me?"

I looked him squarely in the eye. "Water puts out fire."

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "One of these days, I'll prove to you that Cori has nothing on me!"

"That'll be the day that dragon flies with me on its back."

We shared a laugh.

"King, Princess." Weed bowed, but Uncle Cole straightened him up. "Would you stop with all the bowing?"

Weed bravely pressed on. "Dinner is served."