I'm so tired. Faye is carrying me. I woke up a few minutes ago. I don't think I'm going to make it. I've lost a lot of blood. Every now and then I slip back into unconsciousness. Faye sets me down on a rock. She has to help me sit upright. Kala casts a healing spell on the wound. It only eases the pain a tiny bit.

"Look, leave me. Leave me here. I will only hold you back. You two need to defeat Zarnest. If you don't the three realms will no longer exist," I tell them.

"No, it will take all of us to defeat him. You'll heal," Kala says.

I stand up.

"Let's go," I mumble.

I wobble as I walk.

"You can't even walk by yourself," Faye says.

She picks me up. They stop. I look ahead. A lake stretches out for miles.

"I guess we have to swim. Going around would take forever," Kala says.

I hope I can swim with my shoulder. Faye lets me stand by myself. I feel better now. I think Kala's healing spell is finally kicking in. I slowly enter the water. Faye and Kala are right behind me. I start swimming. The pain isn't too bad.

I feel something wrap around my ankle. I'm pulled under the water. A siren is below me. It has rows of sharp teeth and green scaly skin. It's eyes are a bright red. I swing my sword. It's much harder to wield a weapon under the water. The sword cuts the siren's face. It let's go long enough for me to get away. I rise to the surface.

"Are you-" Faye starts to speak.

"Get back on the land!" I yell interrupting her.

Faye and Kala walk backwards away from the water. I swim as fast as I can back to them.

"What happened?" Kala asks.

"Sirens are in the lake," I say.

"Great, I guess we have to go around it," Faye says.

I lead them through the forest. I stop when I see an island in the distance.

"Is that Zarnest's island?" Kala asks.

"Yeah, I can't believe we found it this fast," I say.

A storm rages on between where we stand and where the island is. It isn't a normal storm, it was created by magic to keep us away. The waves move violently.

"There is no way a boat would make it without being destroyed," Faye says.

Dragons flying through the storm gives me an idea.

"We don't need a boat. We need dragons," I say.

They stare at me like I'm insane.

"Dragons? That's your idea?" Faye asks in shock and disbelief.

"Kala can tame animals with her magic. It probably works on dragons, too," I say.

"Yes, I can tame animals, but I have no idea if I could do the same with a dragon," Kala replies.

"We have to try though because if we don't everyone is going to die,". I say.

"Let's try it then," Kala says.

We begin to climb a nearby mountain which is home to many dragons. I reach the top first. Faye and Kala join me.

Three dragons stare at us. One is covered in pearl white scales with deep blue eyes. One is orange and red with bright red eyes. The other one is green with yellow eyes.

Kala slowly approaches them while Faye and I stay back. The dragons walk backwards as Kala walks towards them. Her hands start to glow bright pink. She places her hand on the head of the white one. It calms down. The dragon then approaches Faye. Faye pets it.

"I have the perfect name for you, Winter," Faye says to it.

After Kala tames the green one it comes to me.

"What are you two going to name yours?" Faye asks.

"I'm thinking...Gaia," I reply.

"Mine is Ember," Kala says.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Shouldn't we
go?" Faye asks.

"I've been thinking about it and...there is no way we'll win against Zarnest by ourselves. We need to ask the leaders of the realms for help," I say.

"What if they don't want to help?" Kala asks.

"They have to. Their lives depend upon it," I reply.

"If we have to do this we should hurry up. Let's split up. Each of us will take our own realm," Kala says.

I climb onto the back of the dragon.

"We'll meet up at the woods just before the island," I say.

The dragon takes off. This is exhilarating! The only issue I have with flying is I'm afraid of falling.

I look at the capital of the human realm, Solius. It's a large city expanding out for miles. The castle is the tallest building in the city. I land the dragon just outside the city. I walk past the guards at the front gates.

"Where do you think you're going?" One of them asks.

I show him my necklace.

"Oh, I"m sorry, Azura," he says.

I take a horse from one of the stables. Walking through the city to the castle would take forever and time isn't exactly on our side.

I hate coming here. The king and queen treat me like a incompetent child. They always say that I am too young to be protector of the realm. The ride through the city is nice. All the houses are painted bright colors. Flowers are planted all around.

The horse reaches the castle. I jump off it. I walk to the doors. The guards stop me.

"Move! I'm the protector of the realm, remember?" I say.

They step aside. I enter the castle. A red carpet is rolled out from the front door to the king and queen's thrones. I walk on it. Halfway across I realize I left muddy footprints on it. Great, they're going to give me trouble about that.

"Azura, what brings you here?" Alwin, the king, asks.

"Zarnest as you've seen has become a major threat to all three realms. Kala, Faye, and I plan to defeat him, but we need help...so I'm asking you to send your army to Zarnest's island," I say.

"Are you joking? You expect me to put my faith in three girls who are barely out of their teens to stop a powerful wizard who has been alive for a century?" he asks.

"You don't understand-" I begin to say before he cuts me off.

"I think I understand well enough," he says.

"No, you don't. You have to trust me. Either, you help us and die trying or Zarnest destroys everything," I say.

"Alwin, listen to her," his wife, Dahlia, says.

"She came in here, dirtied my palace, and is now expecting me to send my soldiers on a mission where the outcome is certain death. Guards escort her out," Alwin says.

Two guards start to approach me.

"No! I will not leave until you help me! I was chosen to save the world and I'm going to no matter what!" I say. 

"If my husband won't help you, I will," Dahlia says standing up.

"Thank you," I say.

"Do you really want to give up? Do you really want our daughter to not have a world to grow up in?" Dahlia asks.

"Fine, I'll send my army," Alwin says.