The eye of the full moon hung in the sky, showering the land below in silver light. Stars were sprinkled around it, blinking and glinting in their shining brilliance, mixing together in spectacular colours that were impossible to see any other time of day. The light shone down on a pair of dragons as they walked along a small path up the side of a mountain overlooking a lush green valley. Insects thrummed their presence with chirps and twitters. A trickling stream added its own note to the evening's natural rhythm.

"You picked an amazing night Yivian," chuckled one of the dragons as she looked over the side of the cliff, down into the valley where flickering fireflies danced.

Yivian smiled, giving the dragoness a gentle nudge with his snout, "Glad I got this one right."

He looked at her with a full heart. Her creamy blue scales glowed in the light of the midnight moon, polished and near flawless. Her luminous yellow eyes shone with wonder. Her mind, a vision of perfection, pulsed and moved with marvel, touching the very essence of the many creatures of the night, sensing and enveloping their own thoughts and emotions. Then her mind touched his, and he felt her gratitude, pulsing and moving through him, like a river that only overflowed his own heart.

"You did get this one right," she snickered, nuzzling him back, "I've never experienced this before."

"Yeah. Seeing it in the other's minds... well I couldn't miss the opportunity. Not this year," replied Yivian as the two of them continued to walk up the path, which was well worn by the claws of a millennium of dragons.

"I wonder what the pond will look like," she said eagerly, looking up the trail to the top of the mountain, her wings rustling on her back.

"I have an idea," smiled Yivian, remembering the image he had seen in the midst of his parent's minds.

He could feel her mental probe trying to dig the information out of his mind, but he quickly blocked her. A simple illusion, enough to make it so that she couldn't find what she was looking for. He wanted to see her surprise, it was always a victory to bring surprise to another mind dragon.

"Oh, you are a tease Yivian," she pouted, causing him to bark a laugh.

"Adrella, you need to learn patience," he teased, pushing her softly with his wing, "It'll be worth it, trust me."

"You're just making me want to fly up there and leave you behind," she replied, though Yivian could see that her thoughts were slightly torn on the idea. It was nice to finally enjoy an evening together, without having to worry about the stresses of life in the valley. There was no one else but them. She wanted to enjoy what little time they were allowed to spend together.

"Uh, uh. If you do that you break our pact. No flying to the top of the mountain. We are only allowed to walk," he said, puffing out his chest a little.

"Aargh, I still regret making that pact," Adrella snorted.

"No, you don't," replied the drake with a slight smirk.

She rolled her eyes, leaning into him, and he put a wing over her as they continued walking, "Why don't you just let me be dramatic for once?"

"Because you, my dear Adrella, are better than that."

She nipped at the scales of his neck, causing him to jump away with a laugh, "And you, my dear Yivian, are the worst."

"And yet you still love me," he retorted, trotting a short way ahead.

"I hardly understand why myself," she grunted flicking her tail, before picking up her pace to catch up to him.

The two continued to walk up the path, laughing and enjoying the beauty of the night. It was peaceful, and despite the teasing they put each other through, it was as though all the troubles of the past couple of months were falling away. As they continued to talk Yivian couldn't help but reminisce about his time with Adrella.

They had met a year ago, or at least had started to get to know each other a year ago, each having found the mind of the other rather interesting. Adrella was always full of questions, eager to learn and explore, tired of the protected life in the valley. She had been applying for the position of diplomat, and Yivian happened to be doing so as well, though he was more doing so because he knew he would be good at it, rather than an actual passion for the outside world.

They had both got in of course, and while their relationship had started off on rocky ground, it wasn't long before they noticed an attraction for each other, not just physical, but mental as well. He was astounded by her passion and conviction, she curious of his carefree thoughts, able to freely give his thoughts on a matter despite what others thought, no matter how dangerous the topic was.

Now a year later here they were, walking to the top of the mountain, deeply in love. They weren't mates, not yet at least, but Yivian was hoping to change that. There was no other dragon he would rather spend his life with, no one else he could even consider.

"Why are you looking at me so weirdly Yivian?" Adrella asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Just amazed by how beautiful you are tonight," he responded gingerly, nuzzling the side of her head.

"Hmm... I know," she responded, nuzzling him back, "But you're lying. You can't hide everything in that head of yours you know."

"Aah, you got me," he laughed, "I was just thinking about the last year with you... and what it's taken to get to this point."

"It's been a long ride hasn't it," sighed the dragoness, "Feeling the thoughts of a dragon that wasn't a mind dragon was... interesting. I wasn't expecting such darkness you know."

"I've been thinking about that as well, and I have a theory."

"Oh?"

"I believe that because they haven't lived in a place that others can see what you are thinking... they think more freely than we do. We have the same dark desires... but we just hide them a lot better than they can," he replied.

He could see her hesitate a moment, a flash of thoughts echoing through her mind before she hid them, then nodded her head, "Maybe you are right. Still... it is frightening."

"Does this mean you're still second-guessing joining the ambassadors?"

"No actually. The more I think about it... well... the more curious I am. I don't think... after seeing what we've seen... I can stay here for the rest of my life."

"I'm the same," sighed Yivian, "At least... not stay here all the time. I don't think I could live in another nation."

"Oh, definitely agree. I would suffer from so many headaches!" exclaimed Adrella.

"We're in agreement then!" stated the drake, "When we become mates, our home may be here, but we will explore the world!"

She laughed, but there was a slight hesitation as she did, "Definitely."

Yivian watched her for a moment. There were many things he loved about the dragoness, but he often thought she was hiding something from him. She knew he thought that, and didn't deny she was, but it left him feeling slightly left out sometimes. But he let her keep her secret, hoping that one day she would find the courage to trust him with it. The day still hadn't come, and it made him slightly anxious as to what he was about to propose to her that night.

They walked the last short distance to the top of the mountain in comfortable silence, letting the music of the night lull away the worries and fears from the past couple of months. As they reached the plateau, Adrella came to a stop, once again filled with awe at what lay before her. The plateau held a large pool that during the day was full of crystal-clear water. It was a favourite spot for many dragons who wanted to come and relax, but it was also revered, and everyone strived to retain its serenity.

Now however it perfectly reflected the night sky, an ocean of stars lead by the full moon. Yivian felt his breath hitch as he looked upon the water. It was one thing to see it in someone else's memories, it was another to see it for himself. With careful steps he walked to the edge of the pond, gently brushing against it with his paw, watching as ripples spread through the stars.

"Wow... Yivian... this is... beautiful," whispered Adrella as she walked up beside him.

He smiled, leaning against her, "More than I could even imagine."

"How did I never see this?" she asked, "Even in other's memories."

"From the way my parents explained it... no one really wants to come up here during the full moon. Beauty of this nature... it's not meant to be disturbed," he responded.

"It's... unreal," she replied, "It almost makes me feel guilty for being here."

Bother were speaking quietly. It didn't feel right to ruin the place with a loud voice or a growl. Yivian only nodded in response, looking out over the starry water. He found if he tilted his head at the right angle, the starry expanse of the sky and the pond met up, leaving the water to seamlessly flow into the night, and endless river caught in a starry dream.

"Why did you bring me here... Yivian?" Adrella eventually asked, after minutes of sitting in silence.

The drake felt a tinge of nervousness come back at him, but he quickly fought it back down. He didn't answer her immediately, instead taking a step back to look her in the eyes. She looked back at him, and he could see the slight but excited suspicion in her gaze and feel the curious pulses of her mind.

"Adrella," he began, "I love you... more than anything I have loved before. You have made me better than I am. You have stuck to me through too many trials to count, and despite what you do know of me you have accepted me regardless. And... joking aside... I can't think of a single other dragon I would want to spend the rest of my life with. We have known each other for only a year... and it's been a hard year... but a year I wouldn't trade for anything... because I've gotten to know the most amazing dragoness in the world."

Adrella flushed, looking to the ground and pawing it lightly, "I love you to Yivian."

"Which is why... well... I want to be your soul bond... your mate... so that any trouble we come across... we face together," he smiled.

The dragoness looked at him, and he could see the struggle in her eyes, the fear in her mind, a worry buried so deep that it was struggling to come out. He could see her looking into his own thoughts, seeing genuine thoughts of his words. What he felt for her, how he saw her, her faults, her strengths, her beauty, and her weakness. He knew her better than any other dragon ever had, she knew that, and yet she still struggled.

"How can you ask me this when you know... when you know there are still parts of me I've hidden from you?" she stammered, looking to the ground.

"Because I know that no matter what, I will still love you."

"You don't know what I've done."

He could see the pain in her, flashes of intense regret that ate away at her very soul. A weight above her that had been there from the moment he met her, and for years beforehand. Something too heinous she couldn't bear thinking about it. Yivian had never pried into the darkness, but he knew about it, and he knew that for them to truly become one, he would have to face that darkness. That was the point of a soul bond.

"I don't Adrella... but what I do know is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to share everything with you. My thoughts. My desires. And I want to be apart of yours as well. Everything Adrella, because I want to be your mate."

She shook her head, closing her eyes as tears began to trickle down the side of her face, "If we do this... I'll lose you."

"Hey, hey, hey," he rumbled, gently nuzzling the side of her head, "Look at me. Do you trust me Adrella?"

"With my whole heart," she responded as she looked into his eyes.

"Then trust me with this."

Her entire body shuddered with a breath, "I guess... one way or another... you'll find out."

"I mean... if that thought is what convinces you, sure," he teased lightly.

She swiped at him, "This is serious Yivian."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he chuckled, before taking a deep breath and looking into her eyes once again, "I want our souls to be bound together for all eternity."

"I want the same," she whispered.

"Then are you ready?"

"No... but let's do it anyway."

With a deep breath, the mind drake collected a soft mental tendril in his mind and gently pushed it into her. She did the same, and he forced himself to relax, letting go of every thought and memory he tried to hide, showing the true nature of himself. He wanted her to see everything, as every dragon tried to hide something away from everyone else, even if subconsciously. He had his own darkness, and he wanted her to see it, for there was no way he could purposely show it to her, not in a way that would show her him truly.

He could see her mind relaxed as well. It was like he was entering an abyss full of corridors, each leading to a separate part of the subconscious, each paving a way into the depths of her very soul. So, he began to spread himself down those corridors, seeing flashing images from every direction. Every thought, memory, and emotion. He could see them all, even if he couldn't quite comprehend them all at once. He could see her earliest memory, comforted by the warmth of a mother's smile and the comfort of a father's wing. He could see her pain, as in she tried to fly in strong wind and was thrown against a cliff, breaking her wing. He could see her happiness and determination as she grew, trying to become the best she could be. He could see her slowly learning her powers, developing her illusions, increasing her ability to mind control. He could see the thrill of the hunt, the peace of an evening of flying.

He saw her first memory of him as they both walked into the cave with a hundred or so other mind dragons all waiting for their first introduction into the world of the ambassador. She had thought he was a pompous arse, wanting to show everyone that he was the best, which had been quite true. But still, after that day, she found herself thinking about him a lot, just as he had. The memories made him smile, watching as they got closer and closer together, sharing classes, learning to understand the other and what made them who they were. Eventually, the attraction between them had developed to a point where it couldn't be ignored. So they had decided to embrace it and grow it, seeing where it led. For the first month or so it was great, they began to grow even closer. But then came their first big argument.

They had been out on an assignment in the earth kingdom, learning how to watch minds in a crowd, seeing who was who, and learning the secrets that many dragons seemed to carry around. Many of them were similar, whether that be cheating on a significant other, lying to loved ones, participating in illegal activities, and more. The two of them had got together afterward to talk about what they had learned, when Yivian had mentioned what he considered to be the worst of what he saw. He remembered the moment nearly as well as Yivian did.

"I think the craziest thing I saw," said Yivian as they talked inside their rented cave, 'Was a dragoness that had smashed her most recent clutch of eggs."

"What?" Adrella had replied from where she was laying in a nest made of cotton and silk.

"Yeah, it was crazy. She just thought that she couldn't take care of them... so she picked them up and smashed them," the drake then shivered, "It was horrible. How could someone do that to their own hatchlings?"

Yivian had never realised how much guilt flooded over Adrella as he said those words, "Well... maybe they were illegitimate... or she genuinely couldn't care for them."

"Still, that doesn't give her any reason to just kill them," Yivian had muttered, "That is just... evil."

Anger and guilt had both flooded through Adrella, though she kept it hidden from him, "I don't think evil is the right word. She may have had a genuine reason."

Yivian remembered feeling incredibly surprised at her reaction, a bit shocked, "What? You don't think she was right for smashing her eggs do you?"

"Of course not," Adrella had snorted, "That is wrong no matter the situation... but we can't judge her and call her evil for doing so. You don't know the situation around it. She might not have had a choice... or... I don't... maybe some other reason."

"A reason doesn't justify the action."

"You're right, but everyone does bad things. Doesn't mean we can condemn someone for it."

"I'm sorry but if someone is going to kill their own hatchlings I think we should get angry over that."

"Or maybe sometimes we just need to give someone a chance to explain. Or maybe they don't know that it's wrong and need a chance to learn otherwise."

"It sounds to me like you would accept someone breaking their own eggs."

"I could if they were genuinely sorry for doing so!"

The argument continued for several minutes, ending in Yivian storming out of the cave to clear his head. What he didn't realise was that Adrella had begun crying when he left, shaking with guilt and sorrow, believing that their short relationship had come to an end. But Yivian returned later that day and apologised. He had remembered thinking about what she had said, and while he was out going through many a dragon's heads, finding their darkness, and looking into the reasoning for it. Many felt rather guilty for what they had done, or they knew what they were still doing was wrong, but they couldn't help it. It was a rather humbling experience, because he knew he had done some wrong things, and knew that at the moment he couldn't help himself.

Their conversation had resumed when he got back, but it was much more mellow. He had apologised for getting angry and not understanding where she was coming from, and she had apologised for escalating the situation. Afterward, they felt much closer, even in Adrella's memory, though she still hid the guilt from him. Throughout the memory, though a name kept on coming into Adrella's conscious, a name Yivian had never seen before.

E'kival.

Surrounding the name was so much hurt and sorrow that he knew it must be the source of her pain. So he followed the name, going further and further into her conscious until he hit upon a sudden resistance. Adrella was so used to hiding the pain away, she had placed a shield around it preventing even herself from entering. Taking a deep mental breath, Yivian began to push at the barrier, softly at first, but going harder and harder.

He was so deep into her conscious now that he basically was her. He felt everything she was feeling, saw everything she saw, knew everything she knew. Everything except this one hidden part. He knew that at that point she would be doing the same to his body, slowly drawing up his true self to the surface so she could see who he was behind the face he out on. But for him to do the same he needed to break through the barrier. With a short mental cry, he pulled himself back, before slamming the mental spear into the barrier with as much force as he could muster, shattering it. Suddenly everything was revealed.

It started two years before they met. She had been wandering along the outskirts of the village when she had met another mind dragon. A dragon named E'kival. He was a strange dragon, however, as he was one of the few mind dragons that were element starved, unable to stretch out his conscious to view and manipulate the minds of others. Despite this, he was a rather charming drake, and Adrella had quickly found herself beginning to like him. He had never been allowed within the village, for reasons he had been scared to allow her to see, despite her many attempts at getting him to reveal it, so instead, she snuck out of her home most nights to go and see him.

This continued for several months as she tried to hide his very existence from everyone around them. Then one day, E'kival admitted his love for her and wished to be her mate. She had been surprised, but elated, and readily agreed, not caring what anyone else would have thought. Because he didn't have elemental powers, they hadn't been able to do the soul bond that was so integral to many mind dragon mateships, bonding physically with each other first.

Adrella quickly became gravid and was convinced by E'kival to remain away from her home so she wouldn't be asked to give away her hatchlings. She had been elated of course, and after a couple of months had lain her eggs in their nest. It was at this moment that everything within the memory seemed to grow dark. The day afterward... E'kival revealed his true nature. Not a mind dragon at all, but a spirit dragon, who simply wanted to have some fun. Somehow he convinced Adrella that his lust for her was genuine love and hidden much of his other thoughts from her in a way that hid his very nature from her. A skill that required incredible mental discipline.

So he left her there, with his eggs, flying back to the place he had come from. Yivian could feel the anguish within the memory, a pain so great it felt very real, very physical, as though his very heart was being torn apart from the inside. His body began to cry, his wings falling loosely by his side, but he couldn't tear himself away from the memory watching as everything else began to unfold.

Adrella was heartbroken. Her sorrow causing tears upon tears to fall from her eyes as she wailed to the sky, eventually collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. Her entire body refused to move, forlorn in her existence. And as she looked upon her eggs, the life the two of them had created together, a sudden rage filled her. Before she could stop herself she rose to her feet, picked up one of the eggs, and smashed it against the cave floor. Then she did the same to the second... and then the third. She then collapsed into the nest, weeping once again as her entire body shuddered.

Yivian felt sick. But he forced himself to continue watching the memory. She stayed in the nest for her day, before her gaze came across the broken eggshells, and almost instantly found herself full of regret. She scrambled out of the nest, unable to think clearly, crying out 'no, no, no, what have I done!' over and over again to herself as she gingerly scraped together the eggshells, trying her best to put them back together with her clumsy forepaws. Eventually, she gave up, falling into the nest exhausted, and crying herself to sleep.

She stayed where she was for a week, not sleeping, not eating, hoping to starve herself to death. That was all she deserved after what she did. But her wish wasn't granted as she was found by another dragon. A mind dragon. They had looked at the situation within the cave, likely seeing what was in her mind, and had carefully gathered her up to take her back to the mind dragon's city. Afterward, she had pushed the agony to the back of her mind, locking it away so that no one would ever see it again. That is, until now.

As Yivian slowly withdrew from her mind, he was surprised to find Adrella crying against his chest with great shuddering sobs. He was surprised to find tears leaking from his own eyes as he gently covered her with his wings, running through the memories he had just seen. The horror which she had hidden from him.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, "I'm sorry. I don't deserve this... I don't deserve you... I don't deserve anything good. I should have died in that cave. After what I did it's all I deserve."

Yivian found his stuck in his throat. Instead, he held the dragoness as tightly as he could with his wings. She continued to cry, unable to control the emotions running through her mind. They were like flares, sparkling and flashing, impossible to ignore. He didn't know how long they stayed like that, he only knew what he had seen, and what she was going through.

Eventually she pulled away from him, looking to the ground, "I... I better go."

He could see the finality in her mind. She truly believed he wouldn't accept her anymore. Not after what he had seen. She refused to look into his mind to find out. In truth, Yivian could have never imagined what he had seen. But it made a lot of sense. If the situations had been reversed, Yivian didn't know if he would have done anything differently. That's what helped him make his decision. She began to walk away, looking to fly down the mountain.

"Wait... Adrella," he said, finally finding his voice.

She stopped, looking back at him with running eyes. His heart fell in his chest, and he trotted over to her. She sat on her haunches, looking to the ground, unable to bring herself to look into his eyes. He gently put a claw against her chin, raising her head to look at him, and he kissed her. A dragon's kiss. She let out a small whine of surprise, and he pulled back.

"I love you," he whispered, "I told you... I don't care what you've done. I love you."

"How... how could you?"

"Because... because the mistakes you've made in the past... they aren't who you are now. What you've done... doesn't define you. You define you. I love you... regardless of anything you've done," he said, kissing her again.

This time she melted into the kiss, though he could still feel her pain.

"I want you to be my mate. Now... now and always," he said.

"I want to be your mate too," she replied with a gasping chuckle.

"Good," he smiled.

The two kissed one more time. 

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Hey guys! New chronicle here for you! It's my first time focusing mainly on a romantic relationship, so I hope I did it justice, and I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you think of Adrella and Yivian and their relationship. The next chronicle is going to be 'Clashing Powers', which will be very different from the more sappy stuff that happened within this chapter. It'll be out next week. See Ya!

Pennator^^