Dragon Riders

Chapter 39: Years to Come

Serafina POV:

After the moment of shock, we all realized what going on. This was a window to heaven. The Creator Dragon, at the request of Iris, had given us an opportunity to say goodbye to our friends. She must have spent all morning convincing the Council to allow this!

Eli reached for the portal, but made it waver and found a pure white paw holding back his hand. We followed the paw up the arm and to the Dragon it belonged to. Our mouths dropped in awe once more. We were all standing in the presence of the Creator Dragon.

"Hello Eli, Maya, Iris, Shade, Aspen, Serafina, Cade, and Orion," he greeted us warmly with a smile. "I have opened this portal to allow closure between you and your friends. The families have both seen this. It is your turn. I'll leave you all alone for ten minutes." After he departed, Gwen started.

"Hey guys!" She beamed.

"Hi Gwen!" Eli squeaked back in excitement.

"Gwen," Serafina began. "I would just like to aplogize for not being able to save you! You were an amazing friend..."

"You don't have to apologize or thank me for anything." Gwen interrupted. "I already saw and heard your thanks through the speeches, flowers, and preparations for the funeral. I want to thank each of you." She paused as our faces grew bright. "I'll start with Orion. I wanted to thank you for training yourself to restrain your temper so we could all see you for who you are, not the color of your scales. Thank you for showing me that prejudice and stereotypes can be broken." Orion smiled weakly and nodded in clear appreciation.

"Shade," she continued. "Your first impression on me wasn't the best, as I was present when you and Orion were fighting." Shade and Orion elbowed each other lightly and she giggled. "However, I have watched you go from proud to humble and befriend your worst enemy; that takes immense strength and courage. Thank you for showing me that." Shade was taken aback, but quickly recovered and smiled as a tear of joy slid down his face.

"Iris," she started as she turned. "First off, thank you for arranging this. It is amazing to have closure with my family and you all. You are one of the strongest people I know, and one of the smallest. You showed me that, even though you are small, that you are powerful. That size does not determine strength. Thank you for that." Iris raised her hand to her face and wiped away the tears streaming down her face.

"Cade," she continued. "Where do I begin?" Cade chuckled at her inability to start. "You showed me it was possible to change. The way you went from total scholar to amazing fighter in a day still astounds me! Also, you showed me that love has no boundaries. That you can love someone from a different world." With that, she glanced at me as Cade grasped my hand.

"Aspen... Oh, dear Lord this is hard!" We all laughed at her statement. "Thank you for being you. For showing everyone that you could do anything. Thank you for becoming who you wanted to be and not being defined by your title and blood. You showed me that I can do what I want and be what I want. Thank you for that!" Cade squeezed her hand as a tear slid down her face.

"Serafina, how do I just pick one thing?" Aspen patted my leg as I trembled with delight. "Thank you for befriending me when I knew no one. Also, thank you for trying to save me even when I was a goner. You showed me true kindness, perseverance, and a heart of solid gold twice the weight of mine." I shook her head in opposition to the last thought, but smiled at the otherwise meaningful comments.

"Maya, thank you for introducing yourself to me! You helped me see that maybe I wasn't the weird outsider; someone might genuinely want to know me. Thank you for being with me every time I needed it. Your loyalty exceeds all else. Lastly, thank you for being Eli's Teff and vowing to watch over him!" Maya smiled and placed her paw on Eli's shoulder. The little boy was shaking with joy to see Gwen.