She held her burnt arm as three guards surrounded her, one behind, one to her left and one to her right. She bowed to the king, a large beefy man with giant rows of fabric straining, a large cloak running behind him as he sat, taking up the whole throne, a throne made for two people, the king and his queen.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked as his servant handed him a glass of wine. She chugged it down before throwing it onto the tray. "Clean up the mess" he ordered as he stood, staring at Athelisa, looking her dead in the eyes.

"My lord, this peasant has been spreading lies and rumours" a knight explained as he gripped her arm tightly.

"Let me go, I have told no such lies" she snapped. The knight swung his hand to hit her but Erneis grabbed it, looking the knight in the eye as he pushed his hand away.

"I know this woman and I can tell you now sire, she would not tell a lie" Erneis replied as the knights tightened their grip.

"I need to hear what she has said before I am able to make my decision. What has this girl said?" he replied as he looked at her, not looking her in the eye.

"She was talking about ancient beings, a power that has not been used nor seen in centuries... dragon flames" the knight replied as he bowed.

The king shook his head; his short hair lay like curtains, his smile all twisted, evil and sickening. He was exactly like she remembered he was, a short, large man with little pride in his appearance.

"My lord?" a knight questioned.

"I do not believe such tall tales and by our laws, rumours must be... silenced. I hereby sentence this young individual to death. May she find peace from her venomous tongue... in death and may the gods take pity on her"

"You cannot just execute her, she is... grieving, for her father!" Erneis protested as guards took her to the prison. He climbed down the steps, a small medical solution in one hand and a key in his pocket. "I have come to look at that burn" he commented as she sat there, her food untouched, her hand clenching her burn.

"I will be fine" she lied as he opened the door.

He touched her hand, moving it. "That is for me to decide" he replied, his words soft, smooth.

"Why am I not believed?" she asked him as he rubbed the solution onto his hands.

"Because a fireball made from a dragon should have killed you, it has merely burnt you" he replied as he moved her hand. Without paying too much attention, he rubbed his hands onto her wound but she did not flinch, did not even move.

"You stood up for me... thank you" she whispered as she turned her head away.

"I failed to, now you and your father will both be gone" he replied.

"My mother too... I shall join her again" she whispered as she looked up at the ceiling.

He poured more out the bottle before looking at her wound. He gasped in shock, horror as he asked "when did you get the tattoo done?"

"What tattoo?" she asked as she tried to move her arm so she could see. He helped her as he traced it with his fingers; she glanced at it before he picked up a small bowl of water, helping her see it better. Her face turned white as snow, all the colour drained from it as she whispered "that... that was... on the bottle"

"Then the legends... the prophecy must be true but... they died out" he whispered cryptically.

"What are you talking about?" she asked as he looked around. He grabbed her, hurryingly collecting her belongings, her trusted sword and her small blades before walking out of the prison with her, hiding her as he ran to the house she once called a home.

"I need to get you away from here before the king figures it out, he will not show you any mercy" Erneis warned as he searched through the drawers.

"Tell me what is going on!" she ordered as she unsheathed her sword.

"Put it away, Athelisa, you have known me all your life, you can trust me... you should have told me" he replied calmly.

"Told you what? That you are making no sense? I just did. What are you talking about?"

"Fire from a dragon will not hurt one of its own, a dragon kin... a dragon spirit" he explained.

Her jaw almost dropped to the floor, meeting the floor for the first time as she shook her head tearfully. He grabbed a small bag, filling it with essentials, food, weapons. He opened her mother's old wardrobe, her cloak sat within it, tied together with a dragon pin. It almost made sense, all of it, she hid her own identity before death... probably never even told her husband. He packed it but Athelisa grabbed it, shaking her head as she put it on, the hood covering her face, her entire face.

She grabbed her horse, a large white mare and climbed onto her back, softly stroking her mane as she waited for Erneis. He climbed onto the horse, racing ahead as they followed the path the bandits once took. She had to get out the city before the king tried to kill her or worse, a dragon spirit... whatever it was, it sounded powerful, dangerous or at least dangerous enough to force her mother into hiding for the rest of her life.

"We need to get to the city of Evithas, where the legend began and ended. It is a four day ride through The Silver Valley. I will ride with you"

"If you ride with me, you will be a fugitive and they shall execute you... torture you and execute you" she whispered tearfully as she looked over at him, his soft features.

"Do not worry about me, I will be riding alongside you... if you will have a disgraced knight Enanor ride with you?" he replied as he raced on.

"Do I have much choice?" she asked as she galloped on.

"Not really but I wanted to make you feel like you have one"

"So what are the legends surrounding... the tattoo?" she asked as the horses slowed into a walk.

"Later, once we make camp, I will tell you" he promised as he took her down a path she had never been down. She thought she knew every path but the path through the forest was a new one for her. She had never seen Erneis act all protective before; it was strangely adorable but also just strange to her. As the daughter of a blacksmith, she was often last to be offered any form of protection but she had her own personal bodyguard.

They stopped as the sun set, they tied the horses to a tree as he offered her an apple. She took it from him slowly but could not bear to eat it, could not take even a single bite out of it.

"I... I want to know... the legend" she whispered softly, unsure and afraid.

"I only know a small section of the legend, my mother was from Evithas, I only know what she passed down to me" he warned before he cooked up some rabbit he had hunted. "Thousands of years ago, there were men and women gifted with arts beyond our understanding. They were extremely strong, talented men and women who could speak to dragons, tame them. After a few decades past, their connection to the dragons grew stronger, their spirit bound to the dragon. They became a dragon, as strong as one at least, with the powers of a dragon... although some claim, a handful with enough power, strength and will could take it a step further"

"What do you mean?" she asked slowly as he turned the speared rabbit, roasting it over the fire.

"Some of them could apparently become a dragon... they could turn themselves into dragons. Many kingdoms, including Enanor, did not like this, they feared it. With such power, dragons could rule the kingdoms, rule entire kingdoms if they were allowed to harness their gifts"

"So how was it stopped?" she asked, tears filling her eyes.

"By the war... by capturing and beheading all those who were named Dragon Spirits, the test was a simple yet cruel one. A captured dragon's fire would be harnessed and weakened by the warlocks and witches before being thrown at a test subject. If where they were hit blistered, they were human, however if their tattoo glowed... they were arrested and put to death"

"All because of fear... fear kills everyone" she whispered tearfully.

"My theory is that your ancestors escaped... that your mother escaped persecution by hiding. She had you and I think she thought you would be safer if you did not know the truth". He gave her a large chunk of the rabbit, eating a smaller portion himself as he said "eat and get some rest, tomorrow we shall ride. I will keep watch"

She ate slowly, not even tasting it before she lay in the leaves, sleeping. She shivered through half the night before he covered her up in her cloak. The fire burnt brightly, keeping him awake until the sun rose. He slept for three, maybe for hours before they rode again, climbing onto their horses.

"You cannot tell people what you are yet, Athelisa, they will not understand" Erneis warned as his horse walked on.