Kaida groaned softly as she opened her eyes. She could only see black and purple around her, except for when she looked up, and then all she could see was the light gray of the cave ceiling, shadows dancing on it. She stood up, and rubbed the back of her head, finally noticing that it was extremely tender. When she looked at what was used for a pillow, she giggled softly at the fur covered rock.

Draco had tried his best, and Kaida was grateful, but it was not the best thing for a pillow, seeing as her head was now hurting, and rather stiff. She rubbed the back of her neck, as well as her head, and walked over to the front legs of the dragon that was curled around her. She slipped between them, and found herself next to Draco's head. He was snoring lightly and she couldn't fight back a smile. Kaida looked around, and noticed the fire dying down. She frowned, and walked over to it. There was no extra firewood there, and she guessed that she would just have to wait until Draco woke up to get the fire started again. She smiled softly, and turned around, only to be startled when Draco's large purple eyes were staring at her kindly. Draco stood and stretched, a low growl escaping his mouth as he yawned.

"Good morning, Draco," Kaida smiled.

"Indeed, Kaida," Draco responded. "Now... how are you feeling after the events of yesterday?"

In all reality, Kaida couldn't remember much from the day before, and she said as much. She could remember vague bits and pieces, such as Draco flying her somewhere, but other than that, her mind was all hazy when she tried to remember what had happened. However, she felt fine today, besides being ravenous. And her stomach did not hesitate to let Draco know that.

A loud grumble escaped from Kaida's stomach, causing Draco to laugh.

"Sounds like someone is hungry,'' he said, an amused smile on his face. "Why don't you come with me to go looking for food so we don't repeat the mistakes from yesterday?"

Kaida nodded, though she still couldn't remember much of what happened, and Draco refused to tell her. She was a little confused, and slightly nervous, but she wasn't going to press him for answers. He definitely seemed a lot more protective of her now, which she didn't mind, but it also made her much more curious about knowing what happened yesterday.

Kaida climbed onto Draco's back and held onto the large spine in front of her as Draco took off. He landed not far from the mountain, and she climbed off. Draco quickly used his magic to change into his humanoid form.

Draco spoke quietly. "After we get you some food, we must continue on our way to the Queen's palace, so you may defeat her as the prophecy foretold."

Kaida stopped immediately. "You still haven't told me what the prophecy says, or why my name was spoken in it."

Draco sighed. "As I said before, the prophecy was given a long long time ago. And no one believed Cassandra so no one had any reason to remember it. I can only remember what it spoke of, not what was actually spoken."

"Okay, so what does it speak of?" Kaida asked, her annoyance rising by the second. She wanted to know why it was her who had been chosen.

"I've already told you,'' Draco growled, becoming more and more dragon-like, and less human-like. "You were chosen to defeat Queen Cassiopeia!"

"But why? Why me? Why some insignificant human being who has no idea how or why she is here? All I did was read the back cover of a book, and then I was surrounded by brilliant white light that nearly blinded me! And then I found myself here! So why?! Why am I here?!" Kaida stopped walking and glared at Draco. He glared right back as he responded.

"I don't know!" Draco roared, his humanoid form completely gone, and his dragon form reappeared, though it seemed like he was sucking all the light out of the forest. Kaida's eyes widened in fear as Draco's eyes were no longer a friendly light byzantium but instead were a raging eggplant color that was nearly black. She took a step back, as smoke came from Draco's mouth. A wild look appeared in Draco's eyes, and Kaida's fear grew, nearly swallowing her whole.

"Draco?" she asked quietly. Draco didn't say anything. He only emitted a low growl from his mouth. Kaida took another step back as Draco opened his mouth, a dark purple glow coming from within. Kaida instantly started running, avoiding the blast of purple fire coming from the dragon that was once her friend.

She ran, and ran, and ran, tripping and stumbling over hidden tree roots. She scratched her legs on brambles and hid behind bushes and trees from the rampaging dragon. Tears were starting to streak down her face, and she couldn't stop them. Every inch of her body trembled and she took short, gasping breaths as she tried to calm her heart. But nothing worked to relax her because she was terribly afraid. She heard a loud roar come from her left, and she turned and saw the large black dragon charging at her. She shrieked, and started running again, only to trip over a root and land in the dirt. She cried loudly, tears blinding her vision as she rolled over, and saw the large dragon standing over her. There were no hints of purple in his eyes or on his scales. Not even in his fire as it rose in his throat.

Kaida closed her eyes, knowing this was how she was going to die. She would never see her family again. She would never hear her father sing off key again when they played Lego RockBand nor would she be able to bake goodies with her mom. She wouldn't be able to laugh in the face of her older twin brother when she won playing MarioKart. She started crying more as she thought of everything she wouldn't be able to do again with her family.

And then everything seemed to pause. She opened her eyes when she heard a loud screech, only to see Draco rear back in surprise. She spotted purple and black feathers flying about, not quite registering that it was an eagle attacking Draco. But she did manage to recognize it as a means of escape and scrambled to get up. In an instant she was running again and she managed to not trip on anymore roots. She came across a small pond with several blue people sitting on rocks in the middle of the water. She stared at them in shock before they all shrieked and dove into the water, hiding from her.

She knew instantly that they were water nymphs, able to breathe underwater, as well as out of it. She frowned and hid behind a tree, unsure if it was tree nymph or not. She could care less as she hid from the dragon that sought to kill her.

That thought caused her to burst into tears again. She slid down to sit as she cried, her hands covering her face. She had thought the dragon was her friend. But apparently he wasn't, and was instead hiding something much darker. Maybe he was just using her. But for what?

She had no idea. She had no clue. She wanted to know. But she was too afraid to go near him. Especially after this. She was completely comfortable with him before. So why is he angry with her now? What had happened that caused this?

A loud screech sounded from above her, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked up into the sky and saw a purple and black eagle. She instantly knew it was a constellation, though she wasn't quite sure which one. The eagle landed in front of her as she stood, and she was surprised to see that it was almost as tall as her.

"Kaida Khuzami," the eagle said. "I am glad to have found you, though I wish it was under better circumstances. My name is Aquila. I am a messenger from Orion the Hunter."

Kaida frowned softly, but allowed the eagle to continue as she tried to wipe away the tears, though they wouldn't stop streaming from her eyes. She did manage to stifle her cries so she could actually hear the magnificent bird.

"The queen wishes to kill you, Kaida," Aquila said, her voice soft. "She sent for Orion, and asked him to kill you and bring back your head for proof of your death. Orion almost refused, but common sense took over, and he knew that if he refused, he would be put to death, which is a scary concept for us constellations. If we die here, our constellations are wiped from the sky. People forget about us. It's like we never existed. So Orion accepted, but unbeknownst to the Queen, he made a promise to himself that he would never run into you. He is currently helping Draco get rid of the madness that overtook him. That is why Draco tried to attack you. He grew angry, and his inner dragon came out, which is what you saw."

Kaida shuddered. "I never want to see that side of him again."

"And you won't," Aquila said, her voice taking on a motherly tone, though it was rather comforting. "You won't see him ever again if I have anything to do with it."

Kaida's eyes widened. "What?" she asked, her voice surprised.

"He nearly killed you, Kaida. He nearly killed the only chance the stars have against the queen who has ruined this world. Sure, we may seem like we live in peace, but this world is dangerous. Everyone fears one another because you never know who might be working for the queen."

Kaida frowned softly. "Draco never meant to hurt me. It was my fault because I made him mad. Though I don't know exactly how..."

Aquila smiled as best as an eagle can. "The anger had slowly been taking over him long before you arrived here. He has been angry with the queen for a long time, and so it is through no fault of your own that the anger finally overtook him."

Kaida frowned. "But I pushed him over the edge,'' she argued. Aquila shook her head.

"You are stubborn, so I won't argue with you anymore. Just know that it is not your fault that Draco was pushed over the edge," Aquila said. Kaida opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it a few moments later, knowing that arguing would do no good.

"Okay," Kaida spoke after a few moments of staring at the black and purple eagle. "Will Draco be okay?"

Aquila nodded. "Once he calms down, yes." Kaida smiled in relief as she glanced over in that direction.

"Can... can I go help Orion?" Kaida asked. Aquila shook her head.

"No. We need to get going. The king wishes to speak with you," Aquila said, and started flying north. Kaida followed, though it was much slower than usual as she kept glancing behind her to where she knew Draco was. She wanted to go back to him so badly, but she also knew that the best way to help him would be to get rid of the Queen. Or at least, she hoped it would.

Eventually, Kaida forced herself to stop looking back, and followed Aquila. As it grew dark, Kaida grew more tired. Her stomach was also complaining, seeing as Kaida hadn't gotten any food in her stomach recently. Aquila landed in front of her, and Kaida stopped.

"We will rest here for the night,'' the eagle said, looking around. Kaida also glanced at her surroundings and noticed that they were in a clearing. She yawned, and in the fading light, went looking for some berries to eat, though she stayed away from the pokeweed berries, not wanting to go back to Ophiuchus. She studied each berry carefully, looking for something she would recognize. She soon came across what she knew to be golden raspberries. She picked a handful of them, and very carefully ate them, savoring each juicy bite until she was satisfied. While it wouldn't last her very long, it would last her long enough to be able to sleep. And with that, Kaida laid down to rest. Aquila climbed on top of her, and spread out her wings to protect the small girl from the cold winds that would eventually pick up during the night. It startled Kaida, but the events of the day finally caught up to her, and she fell asleep.