“You cannot hide in there forever,” Maiyara chided.

Amara watched her blink and squint into the darkness to catch a glimpse of her. A beautiful if not frightening blue eye bored into her.

“Why can’t you leave me alone?” Amara questioned. 

Maiyara grunted.

The expression offered little clarity but Amara did not press the issue. She peeled herself off of the ground, there was no use in continuing to hide; Maiyara would not leave. When she emerged from the cave, the bright light stung her eyes. 

“I see you have discovered the truth about yourself. How you were created. We share a power that no other Daughter of Athena has had so far.” 

“What do you mean?” Amara’s curiosity peaked. 

Maiyara hunched down as close to the ground as she could get. “Shall we go for a ride?”

Amara stared at her in bewilderment. A ride? Was she out of her mind? 

“I am not going to hurt you. Climb on.” She shifted so that her tail was facing Amara. 

Clinging to the back of a dragon was the absolute last place she wanted to be. Against her better judgment, as usual, she climbed onto Maiyara’s tail. Her scales were warm but smoother than she had expected them to be. Amara shimmied up onto Maiyara’s neck, placing herself safely between the spikes on her back–taking hold of the one in front of her a little too tightly. She was out of her mind. Maiyara stood to full height, causing Amara’s heart to drop into her stomach. With no warning or countdown, Maiyara flapped her wings and took off effortlessly. 

The rush of the wind was so intense, Amara almost fell off. She hunkered down and held onto Maiyara’s spike even tighter. As she ascended the air grew thinner but surprisingly, Amara’s ability to breathe was not affected. Maiyara took her higher and she was much too afraid to look down. Eventually, they reached a coasting height, which helped the wind slow and allowed Amara’s eyes to stop watering. When she gained the courage to look down, it was the most magnificent thing she had ever experienced. The world below was so small, so green, and so captivating. Maiyara flew away from New Chicago, further inland, deeper into lusher lands. 

“Now we can talk,” Maiyara projected into Amara’s head. 

Amara did not know if Maiyara would be able to hear her over the wind. She leaned in as close as possible to her ear. “Talk about what?!” 

“The truth. The real truth you have been seeking.”  Maiyara was silent for a moment. “As I have told you, we were here long before and we have been here many, many times. My sisters and I come from a planet unknown to your kind with a name you could never pronounce. For simplicity's sake, we will call it Drakalia.” She dipped to avoid an incoming bird. “We came here when the planet first began fostering new life forms, because we believed that this planet you call Earth, would be worth something. It was worth much more than we had ever anticipated. In the times of ancient Egypt, Drakalia needed help–our offspring were not flourishing on our planet. It had something to do with shifts in the atmosphere, making it unable to sustain our eggs.”

“They were resistant to our presence at first, like most have been. However, our ability to help build and advance their society aided us in winning them over.” Maiyara stopped to focus on her flying for a moment. 

Amara had to digest all that she heard. Drakalia, ancient Egypt? All of it sounded like the dream of a child. “How did they help you?”

“The pyramids did not just serve as tombs for lost Pharaohs; their original purpose was storage and incubation for our eggs. The environment in Egypt was adequate enough for them to survive. Our home planet was sick and we were working tirelessly to fix it.” Maiyara’s voice sounded sad. 

No part of history had ever mentioned this, at least not that Amara had seen. Someone had so thoroughly erased these events, that they may as well have not happened at all. Amara believed she knew everything there was to know about the world, now she understood that she only knew what she was told. What her creators needed her to know, to believe in, in order for her to do their bidding. She was never as free as she presumed herself to be.

“We enlisted a very special group of women to raise our young and keep them hidden on this planet. We imbued them with some of our power, to keep the young safe.. The ‘Daughters of Athena’ are not as original as your people would have you believe. Once Drakalia was restored to full glory, we took our young back. In exchange for this, we vowed to help planet Earth in any way that we could. As time went on, our presence became less and less accepted.” Maiyara grunted.

“But you came back,” Amara stated.

Maiyara turned, so her face was not directly in the sun. “Drakalia has since fallen to ruin. We came back here because we thought we still had allies. Turns out we do not. My daughters destroyed cities in an act of anger. I tried to stop them but I can only do so much. The Sacred Scales mean well, they do–but since they cannot speak to us, they do not know our goals. We need not be worshipped, we only want to find a way to return home.”

Amara felt for her, Maiyara had lost everything and just wanted Earth’s help. Help the dragons had come to rely on throughout centuries. Maiyara flew in silence, and Amara took in the sights. New Chicago was much bigger than she thought. She supposed it was because she only saw a limited piece of it. New Chicago was less of a village and more of a town, there were so many people and moving parts. 

Once she had gotten over her initial fear of heights, she enjoyed the ride Maiyara offered her. Maiyara’s scales were so beautiful in the sunlight. The holographic shift was magnificent and the burgundy coloring was in a realm of its own. The odd part was how Amara felt as though she belonged on the dragon. Like their minds and souls were intertwined throughout the entire ride. 

As Amara was lost in her thoughts, Maiyara had landed softly back outside of the cave. She lowered her head to the ground so Amara could descend safely. Amara was reluctant to leave because it meant she had to return to the reality that was her life- her entirely messed up life.

“The choice is yours to make, my dear. You can be our voice or you can wash your hands of all of this, but the world needs its eyes opened to the truth. We can only do so through you. We need you, more than you know.”