This picture was taken in Scotland in Glen Nevis.
It doesn't take long to get used to riding on the back of Oliver in his huge polar bear form. It isn't as smooth as flying with my sisters. It is much bumpier. At first, my spear doesn't hit the target when I throw it. It frustrates me, but eventually, I get it. I let out a whoop of excitement as my spear crashes through the head of the target, destroying it. We run in to collect my weapon and start running around the circle again. I hit either the chest or the head each shot we try. As the lesson carries on, obstacles are added. Oliver has to jump or dodge items and I still manage to hit the target. After a course is set up using more than one target and each pair take it in turns running around the field throwing their weapons and dodging obstacles and turning on sharp bends. I manage to hit the target every time. I would throw my spear then Oliver would run over and I would pick it back up as we pass. It is actually really fun. Though we were originally going to swap partners, it was decided we'd have different partners tomorrow so Oliver and I worked together for the whole lesson.
We all now sit on the lunch field, reflecting on the lesson we just had.
"That was so fun," Iona says. I nod my head.
"I love joint lessons," Daniel chuckles.
"Are you alright, Isla?" Maryanne asks.
"Yes, I'm just thinking about something," I mutter.
"What?" Iona asks. Daniel elbows her.
"Don't be so nosy," he scolds.
"No, it's okay," I sigh. "It's all very well throwing our weapons at targets, but what about real people?" I ask. "I know it will probably be me or them, but to kill someone so violently is not something that is easy," I sigh. I see the others nod their heads.
"I know what you mean," Oliver sighs, lying back on the grass. We are silent for a few minutes before the topic is changed.
The rest of the week goes quickly and it is Friday already. We sit in Princess Kayleigh's classroom as she tells us why flowers are used as the symbol for each family. She explains how they mean life and growing. They also mean beauty and peace. She also talks more about mating and marriage.
"As you already know, the surname is taken of the more powerful shifter. So whoever the four of you mate too, will take your surname." We nod our heads, in understanding.
"You met Omar at the Palace and I'm sure you found out that his mother was a dragon shifter yet he was not. Mating with someone from another species is not uncommon. The child born will either be born the animal and power of the mother or the father. They won't be both animals. When it comes to the Royal families, we like to keep it to the same species because there is a chance that their child may come out a different animal to the royal," she tells us. "Pregnant shifters who are mated to a different animal to themselves, also can't shift during pregnancy. This is because their child may be a different animal to them. Animals who lay eggs also can't shift during pregnancy and must stay in human form." She looks at us girls. "When you have children, the three of you can't shift. You have to stay in human form. This is because, in your human form, your child will grow inside you like a normal human. However, that isn't the same with dragons. Their young are carried in eggs and laid. If you shift, the baby will die because the dragon doesn't have the same reproductive organs. Does that make sense?" We nod our heads.
"Only mammals whose baby develops that same way as a human can shift during pregnancy because their baby will shift with them. Again that is only if they are mated to someone who is the same shifter as them," she tells us.
"How does shifting actually work?" Serenity asks.
"All Shifters are Spirits of sorts or a consciousness. We have two bodies which our consciousness or spirit can occupy and wake the other body up. The human body and the body of their animal. We can choose to occupy either body they like at any time, though most of us like to stay human for the majority of the time as that tends to be the body we were conceived and born in."
"So where are the other bodies when we're not using them?" I ask.
"That is where the Heart of Shadow comes in. Like I said in an earlier lesson, the heart of Shadow is the source of shifter magic. It is also the doorway to another world which is where the other bodies are kept safe. So, your human body is kept safe in that world whilst in your dragon form and your dragon body is in that world whilst you're in your human form. Now, you can't just go and enter the body of any resting body in the spirit world. Your animal body in the spirit world grows and develops at the same time as you in this world. So when you were conceived, the dragon in the spirit world was too and as you grew you bonded with your human and dragon form."
"Can we go into that other world?" I ask.
"No, the conscious can't. It is more of a spirit world. The other bodies are dormant, shells almost. They are there to be protected until our consciousness fills them. The only time you could enter the spirit world is before you were born. Your spirit would leave your human body, which was being protected in the womb, and enter the spirit world in the body of the growing dragon."
"Wow," I say as I nod my head in understanding.
"Exactly. Once you are born, however, it is the body that swaps worlds instead of the spirit and you cannot enter the spirit lands ever again. You won't even remember the spirit world but apparently it is a beautiful place where all the young animals play and grow up together until the time our spirits are born into this world By then, the animals have already grown and started developing into the animals we shift into," her voice sounds almost lost as she tells us.
"That is why our clothes don't rip off when we shift because our bodies are replaced."
"Yes, exactly," she smiles. "You can also bring other parts of the animal world out without fully shifting. Like claws or teeth which also can happen during times of extreme emotion where the animal side wants to come out. This is because our animals tend to be more powerful and more capable of protecting us."
"How come mine and Toryn's shifts are more painful?" I ask. "If all we're doing is changing our bodies and if the dragon form is to protect us?"
"Because the bigger the shifter, the harder it is for the bodies to transition between the worlds. Though the more you shift, the easier it becomes and the quicker the transformation happens. It also gets less painful as the bodies get used to the transition."
"What happens if the Heart is destroyed?" Tanya asks. We silence for a few seconds.
"Then Shifters will no longer be shift. They will remain in one body, depending on what form they are in if it is destroyed. They won't be able to get their other body from the other world. That is how King Moore is able to block our powers by the way. Not by destroying the stone, but blocking our connection to it. Now, that is enough for today, time for your next lesson." We all jump out of our chairs quickly and head off, saying our goodbyes as we do so.
It is another joint lesson today, as it has been all week. Everyone gets into pairs and starts working strait away.
"Isla, Andrea? Can you two come here please?" Lord Black asks. Andrea and I look at each other with confusion then run over.
"We've been thinking. Isla, can you breath under water?" Lady Olivia asks. I nod my head. They smile.
"We want the two of you to work together today. Andrea, you are to shift into your shark form and Isla you are to ride along with her."
"I wont be able to use my weapons under water," I say with a frown.
"We know, but we are trying a new form of fighting. This will be a good form of stealth and silent surprise attacks from the water. Just go to the lake and shift Andrea. We'll help you from the sides," we are instructed. Andrea dives into the giant lake and I take off my weapons and some of the hard parts of my uniform. This leaves me just in the black body suit.
I jump in the water to see the Andrea has already shifted into a huge, great white shark. With black eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth, she swims almost elegantly toward me. It is strange, see her move so elegantly when she is such a giant and scary looking animal.
"Isla, we would like the two of you to just swim together first. Find something that makes you comfortable." I nod my head and dive under the perfectly clear water. The lake is very big and very deep, plenty of room for a shark the size of Andrea. She is fairly deep in the water now, swimming around slowly. As I swim toward her, I allow water to fill into my lungs and soon I am breathing water instead of air. I grab onto her dorsal fin and stop moving my body. I glide with her. For a while we practice this, moving and working together. We find away for me to actually lie on her back as she swims. After we've got used to working with each other, we move onto attacking. I am give small silver throwing knives and targets are set up along side of the lake and on the surface of the water to simulate our enemies swimming. We swim deep into the lake before Andrea spins toward the surface. She builds up speed and jumps out of the water high in the air with me on her back. With her powerful mouth open, she pretty much engulfs two of the targets, her sharp teeth biting into them. As she is in the air, I have to throw my blades as tome of the targets on the lake edge. I only have a few seconds to do it and it is extra hard as she falls back toward the water. It takes a while for me to get it because I also haven't used the small blades before, but after a while I do. A scenario is set up for us. Where our enemies are trying to swim toward our coasts and we have to stop them and take them all out before they can alert anyone waiting in boats far from our coastlines. So, Andrea jumps from the water and I throw my blades. At one point, Andrea gets three at once in her huge mouth, attacking from directly beneath and swooping them up as she jumps. It is scary and magnificent all at the same time.
"Nice work today!" Lord Bear shouts as the double lesson ends. Andrea and I smile at each other and clap our hands together.
"That was great!" she says.
"Yes, the two of you make a very good team," Lady Olivia chuckles.
"You certainly can take any attackers from sea by surprise."
As I lie in bed, I reflect on all the complicated things we've learned this week. I feel that we are mostly up to date now and I understand most of it. Some things still need to come back to us but the four of us are settled and it's like we never left. We only have one more week of lessons with Princess Kayleigh because at the end of next week, I'm being crowned Queen Zola. Nerves flutter through me at the thought of having to lead a country, especially as I still don't know everything. But it feels right. Even though there is still stuff to learn, I'm glad that the weekend is here and I can spend it in the city with my friends. Though, I can't help but have a funny feeling in my stomach, instinct telling me that something isn't right. Perhaps that is because I saw him again tonight. Watching me from the building on the mountain opposite as I looked over the city in the sunset. He shook his head like he had last time. As if to say it is not time yet. Not time for me to die.