Still siphoning off power, guiding it into their defensive barrier, Richie couldn't believe what he was telling the king. She'd heard Janice recounting most of the story to Peter after they'd first found safety behind the shield and hadn't really thought much of it. Was now really the moment to retell it once again? Surely they didn't have time for all this, and to boil down what had happened to just a few short sentences didn't do the events justice at all. In fact, if anything, it muddied the waters. As far as she was concerned, George should just go back to being in charge, because his experience alone made him the most qualified to do so, without the fact of him actually being the monarch. Unless... Oh no! Please don't tell me he's going to mention that... not to the king. PLEASE!
As it turned out, her fears, pretty trivial at a time like this, were well founded.
"There's another reason why I think you should ask Richie what we should do," blurted out Peter, almost unable to stop.
"And what's that?" enquired the king, starting to get a little frustrated at not being kept in the loop.
"She's the WHITE DRAGON!" he announced to all and sundry.
"WHAT?!"exclaimed Fredric, totally caught off guard.
"I think you must have suffered a blow to the head, my boy," concluded the king.
"It's true. I'm not delusional. I shared my thinking with Gee Tee and he believed me."
This stopped them all in their tracks.
"The famed master mantra maker thought she was the real deal?"
"YES!"
"Oh... and we all know just how well grounded he is," offered up Fredric, his face swimming with insincerity.
"Enough," barked the king, intrigued. "Tell me why you believe her to be the White Dragon and not the actual 'White Dragon', Tim."
In some ways, it was a good job Richie had been in charge of the shield because if she hadn't been, almost certainly she'd have got up and left, no matter the horde of vile beings outside wanting to taste her blood. So, blocking out all the sound from the voices around her, she lost herself in the job at hand, concentrating on nothing but the shield that continued to keep them all safe.
"To retell the story would take far too long," quipped Peter matter-of-factly. "What I will tell you is that by accident, I looked at the scars on her back. It was plain to see, once I did. I would advise you to do the same."
With those that were paying attention from Yoyo's band of young charges all holding their breaths, Janice and Hook failing miserably to come to terms with exactly what was going on, it was left to Fredric and the king to sum up just what they thought.
"You must be mistaken Peter," ventured Fredric softly. "What you say is just not possible."
"I'm afraid he's right my boy. It just can't be true."
"You've both just quoted Gee Tee's exact words."
"Then how is it he changed his mind?"
"He saw what I saw."
"Really?"
"Really!"
Tired, weary, wounded, with his supply of magic running low which in itself made him cranky, George had never seen his friend's grandson with as much conviction as he had now. While he didn't think it at all possible, he was totally convinced that Peter believed it to be true with every atom in his body. And that left him with no other choice. It was a good job there was nobody from HR about.
Plodding across the busted marble flooring, which only that morning had resembled an ancient Italian masterpiece, the king rocked up directly behind Richie as she continued to hold Aviva's laminium dagger outstretched in her hands, the intensely powerful magic flowing throughout her entire body. Opening his right hand, he studied the tip of his index finger, watching intently as a razor sharp nail about four centimetres long popped out from beneath the surrounding scales, looking like an elegant assassin's dagger.
Asking forgiveness from whatever deity might be listening at the time, not really believing that any such beings exist, with one swift vertical stroke of his right arm he tore her shirt in two and watched as both halves drifted off to their respective sides. As light from a dozen fireballs exploding against the barrier and a brief spattering of fizzling fiery rain drizzled all around them, it brought into being the stark contrast of the scars on the young dragon's pale, human shaped back. Instantly the king stepped back, shocked, exhaling sharply as he did so.
"Amazing!" was all that Fredric could be heard to say.
A collective intake of breath from all Yoyo's charges echoed inside the confined space they shared.
Yoyo turned to take a look.
"Well I'll be..." he uttered.
Janice and Hook stood there, mouths wide open, wondering what the significance of a dragon carved into Richie's back was.
Peter looked on, having seen it all before, convinced beyond any doubt that he was right. His friend was the White Dragon, and had been so all along. It was never Tim, always her.
Stock still, facing the nightmarish beasts that continued to blast all sorts of magic at them, Richie could do nothing but face the reality of the situation. She knew that one of them would take a look, but hadn't suspected they'd all get a peek. Not one to be easily embarrassed, after all, being the life and leader of a lacrosse team meant lots of banter and practical jokes, and given that she was more than able to hand it out, she'd been taught a long time ago by her human lacrosse mentor, if that were the case, then she'd always better be able to take what came her way in return. Here and now though, she just felt ashamed and afraid. After what had happened during the course of the last few days, it was the last thing she needed. Hands starting to shake just a little, her composure began to fracture, with all the terrible deeds that had happened coming back to haunt her. Torturing and killing Casey, killing the evil dragon Troydenn and worst of all Tim's death at the hands of Manson's devilish dad, washed through her. Tiny cracks and fissures began appearing in the energy shield that kept them safe. Everyone froze, knowing they'd be dead in about two seconds flat if the barrier came down around them now. However, they needn't have worried. A most unconventional rescue was underway right at that very moment.
"Wow!" stated one.
"How cool is that?" ventured another.
"That is the most brilliant thing I've ever seen," cited one of the young females. "I wish that was on my back."
And so it continued, with all the young charges in Richie's head chipping in on the conversation, each utterly clueless about the effect they were having on the superstar lacrosse playing dragon.
Listening to the awe with which they described the injuries she'd sustained to her back, broke the spiral of despair she threatened to get sucked into. Hearing the youngsters express genuine wonder, surprise and admiration transported Richie out of the dark and back into the light, ridding her of any embarrassment she might temporarily have felt, at the same time shoring the shield right back up, much to everyone's relief. In true Richie fashion, and while still having her back to everyone else, she quipped,
"If somebody could do me up, that would be just great. It's starting to get a little chilly."
It was enough to break the awkward silence, and without further ado, George released a little of his magic from the top of the razor sharp finger, which immediately knitted the young female's garment back together. Everything was back as it should be, except for now each and every one of them considered her to be the White Dragon from the famed prophecy. Would that fact be enough to spare their lives, and could she save them from the surrounding doom?
Pumped full of adrenaline, Flash let out the mother of all rallying cries, whirled through the air above Vasuki and sliced yet another attacker in two, his long, razor sharp talons all but taking off a dark dragon's head, only a few exposed strands of sinew holding it in place as it hurtled towards the ground. Instinctively he doubled back on himself in a confined aerial somersault, something that took absolute precision and guidance, so much so that most highly trained dragons couldn't perform it. But because of his specialised training... he could. Confusing the next two opponents to close in on his position, without breaking sweat he zapped one with brilliant zigzagging bolts of luminescent pink energy, the pure, ethereal power instantly rendering the monster incapacitated, another hulking beast sent spiralling to the deck, as he turned to face the other head on. With an almighty 'CRUNCH' their jaws met and their prodigious prehistoric bodies tangled up with each other as they rolled through the air. Despite the dark dragon's smaller body, she was feisty and agile enough to cause Flash more than a few problems. As their jaws locked together, each tried frenziedly to bite the other, their huge curved teeth clashing, rattling their massive mouths, stretching the almighty muscles in their necks almost to breaking point. Withdrawing his head sharply, the ex-Crimson Guard swiped her across the eyes with the tip of his wing, hoping to distract her briefly in an effort to gain the upper hand. It didn't work. Closing her dark, prehistoric eyelids, she let out a piping hot burst of flame which immediately had the effect of blinding and temporarily distracting Flash. Following the supernatural sixth sense that had almost always kept him safe in battle, Flash smashed his mighty head against his spirited foe, catching her with a glancing jab to the jaw. It was enough for her to release her grip and tumble just out of reach. Ignoring the pounding in his head, he used the power in his gigantic wings to bring his thick, spiked tail around, hoping to catch her with another blow. Pulling an extremely tight turn, the murderous female just about managed to avoid what would have been an absolutely devastating stroke by the ex-Crimson Guard. With his exposed back to her, for a split second he proved to be vulnerable. Using a dark spell from an array that she'd only been taught quite recently, the aggressive female conjured a curled up, barbed line of spiky, shadowy energy, and released it towards Flash's exposed rear, mimicking the way a human whip would work. Slapping against the scales across his back above the point at which his tail joined, the deadly, sparkling energy flayed scale and skin in a long line, causing our hero to cry out in agony. Sadistically satisfied, Flash's opponent took her eye off the ball, at least momentarily, and with his training telling him now was the time to strike back, he did so in spectacular fashion. Rolling around to face her head on, the words in his head, backed up by unshakeable willpower, imbued his dragon form with not only strength, but a transitory burst of speed, in effect turning his whole body into a battering ram. One moment he was there, the next he was gone, his prehistoric form moving so fast that none of the magically enhanced beings on the battlefield could see it. Most importantly, neither could his enemy. Colliding into her midriff, it was Flash's turn to feel momentarily satisfied at the sensation of bones and organs shattering into a million pieces. With a howl like that of a dog with its favourite lickable body part trapped in the garden gate, the female dark dragon drifted off towards the marble surface, her face a contorted visage of torture.