A warrior’s heart

For centuries, the world has been tormented with wars and conflict. Countless lives had been lost due to the greed and desire of their leaders for the supposed benefit of the nation. But few leaders went with their citizens to the battlefield. Instead choosing to stay in the comfort of the fortresses and dragged on war for profit. On and on the conflict would spread and grow and fester like a gapping wound.

Among the chaos the world continuously faced, there lived a society, the Cowasian, that lived together but separate from the rest of the world. This nation had technology more advanced then any other nations. They feared the world would tear itself apart if it ever got its hands on even a small piece of their tech, so they behaved like the rest of the world when they interacted with others. This society was the only ones who lived harmoniously with mythical creatures such as dragons and magical beings like wizards and alchemist. The Cowasian nation once had their own borders, but a natural catastrophe sunk their home and they became like dust on the wind. Traveling and adapting with all other nations while remaining in the shadows.

But our story starts in the twenty-first century and follows a young girl and her best friend as they work to protect the world from a new super weapon. We find them off the coast of Northern Ireland in a fishing boat. The girl, Ariella Scarlett, and her friend, Ambrose Telamon. Ariella was a warrior standing at 5’3 with fiery reddish brown hair and hazel eyes. She had tan skin from working outside that hid the speckling of freckles across her nose and her muscle were well toned from working on missions. She was bringing in the fishing net and dropping cod, coalfish, and haddock into the holding container.

“We seem to be having luck today, Ambrose,” Ariella says in the peculiar Cowasian language.

The guy who was putting the cover over the container, “It seems we are,” he says in a baritone voice, “Should we break for lunch?”

Ambrose stood tall for his age at 6’6 with hair a light shade of brown and dark hazel eyes. He also has tan skin but a few shades darker and nearly flawless except for the small mole under his right eye. From just a glance you could tell he was handsome with features that seemed to be chiseled from marble and he knew how good-looking he was and bragged about it. Ariella only ignored him when he went on his tangents.

“Do you think of anything beyond your stomach?” She scoffs as she locked the cover.

“Of course I think outside my stomach,” he gets defensive, he locks the other side of the cover, “I just don’t voice those thoughts very often.” Unknown to Ariella, Ambrose thought about her, when he wasn’t thinking about food. They had been friends since they were children and learning how to be warriors like their parents. But a few years ago he started to see her as more then just a friend.

“Oh! sUre You Do!” She says sarcastically, “Just like I don’t always play with knives,” she swirls around a small blade in her hand.

From bellow deck there was aggressive thumping, interrupting their conversation. Ariella and Ambrose rush down carefully as the ships rocked slightly from the commotion. Once they made it below deck, they found their companion dragons wrestling. Each dragon has the ability to transform into different known and unknown animals. One dragon kept shifting between ostrich to rabbit while the other was in cat form, trying to pin them down. “Kia,” Ariella shouts, “come.”

Kia shifts back into her dragon form. Sandy brown scales ripple along its body as it perks up its head and makes its way to its human companion. It’s long claws scraping the floor boards and its tail wagging behind it. They were a lean dragon with large wings and claws good for digging. However, these dragons wasn’t fully grown as they were still young. Kia is Ariella's life partner, born from her parent’s dragons. The dragon will incubate inside its egg for nine months until their life partner is born.

“Azar,” Ambrose sternly speaks, “What were you doing to Kia?”

Azar shifts into its dragon form where they lower their head and growl softly. This dragon was a different type and color to Kia. It was almost the color of dried blood and had sharper wings. It had more pronounced horns on its head and barbs on the tips of its wings.

“What do you mean you were fighting over who would give a message?” Ambrose says. Each dragon could communicate with their human with telepathy and they could only speak to them.

From the console against the wall there was a blinking light. Ariella rushes over, presses a few buttons, and a holographic projection appears. “Agent Scarlet and Agent Telamon,” An older woman says, “We have a mission for you that is of the utmost importance.” A second image shows a weapon that looked like a small cannon, “You must get your hands on this device before one of the warring countries gets a hold of it. Our experts believe that this weapon is a mixture of science and alchemy that can turn any type of meterial into dangerous bombs and wipeout entire continents. For the protection of the worlds’ citizens, anything pertaining to this device must be completely destroyed. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” they both say.

Another image appears and shows a man just a few years older then them, “This man is Nell Carter: age twenty-four, graduated Oxford at twenty and developed his tech company the next year. He is the brains behind the weapon. He will be holding a celebration at his home to display the various devices his company has created. The weapon will not be on display but will be hidden away in one of the lower levels of the manor, away from the public. Intel suggests that there will be a private auction in the black market to the highest bidder. Your mission is to infiltrate the party, obtain the device and get out quick. His manor is located on the edge of a cliff overlooking Ullswater lake in northern England. For peace!”

“For peace!” They respond, standing at attention and crossing an arm over their chest in salute.

The hologram blinks off and they both get to work. Arielle goes to the deck to make sure the fishing equipment was secure and put away then she heads to the wheel to steer. Ambrose stayed below to go over the message for the location of the mission. The boat was driven quickly away from the other fishing boats on the coast. Once back at the docks they unload the fish they caught and rush over to the nearest base of operations. The dragons had shifted into normal sea birds to hide in plain sight and follow the teenagers.

The base was disguised as an old, rundown warehouse. The inside however was the complete opposite. There were rooms hovering that used for battle simulation and training. Teleportation portals were along the walls of the base that took you to different rooms. Ariella lead the way to a platform that transported them to the weapons room. Once there, rows of different kinds of weapons come down from the ceiling. She grabs a saber that folds up to look like a stick of lipstick, a compact mirror that magnifies images behind the user by fifty times, a powder holder with small bombs, a powerful laser pen, and a compact hover bike. She places all of her equipment into a small clutch and grabs a pair of smart glasses and earwig. Ambrose grabs similar items that can fit into the card slots of wallets. They both move to another room and start to get dressed for the party.

They also pick out a pair of watches that matches their outfits. The watches could pull up preprogramed skematics of layouts and locations of other agents.

The pair were driven for two hours until they reached the edge of lake Ullswater on the opposite bank of the manor. They were in their wetsuits and diving gear. The manor could be seen on the other side and the sun was begining to set from behind it.

They silently dive into the water while their companions transform into fish and they all make their way to the building. A pair of jets built into the wetsuits speed them through the water. After a few minutes, they silently resurface beneath the cliff that hangs over the lake. They pull out grappling hooks and slowly make their way up the cliffside. Ambrose peaks over the edge to see if the coast is clear. He gives the signal and they creep across the lawn to an unguarded door. Ariella takes out a small device and places it over the handle. The sound of the lock could be heard before the door opened. Their companions shift into beetles and follow them into the building. Ariella scanned inside the door before motioning to move forward. They make their way to an empty room before sliping out of the wetsuits.

Ariella is wearing a red full length, off the shoulder dress with a lace A-line bodice and slit going up one side. Her hair was put up into an elegant bun and floral hair clip. A ruby, dew drop necklace and earrings set to tie the outfit together that served as tracking devices.

Ambrose wore a dark grey, three piece suit. His bowtie hid a small camera, grey cufflinks that, with a press of a button could turn him invisible for two to five as minutes. His weapons were hidden in his wallet and looked like credit cards to the untrained eye. He was fixing his hair when Arielle walked out from her room and his heart jumped in his chest.

“You seem to clean up well, Ambrose.” She said as she looked down to organize her clutch once more, “are you ready to go?”

Ambrose stood there stunned as he took in how beautiful she was. He didn’t even hear what she was saying. He just looked at the way the dress hugged her curves. How her hair pulled back showed off her slender neck. He didn’t shift his gaze until she snapped her fingers in his face to get him out of his trance.

“Are you listening?” She says snapping her fingers again.

“O-oh yeah,” he stammers, “What were you saying?”

She pinches the bridge of her nose, “Do you ever listen to what I say?” She says exasperated, “this is not the time to be distraced."

"Oh yes," he says, putting his wallet of tools away, "now let's get going."