As Kaida approached the gates, they opened wide, allowing her to enter into the walls that surrounded the castle grounds and the castle itself. As they walked towards the brilliantly silver palace, the centaur guards dispersed around the castle grounds, taking up positions in different locations. She gazed around the grounds that were just as dead as they were outside the gate. It was a depressing sight for someone who grew up camping, and learning to love to nature. Kaida returned her mind to her task at hand, and watched as they were led up to the front doors of the castle. The doors themselves were large and silver in color, though rimmed with what looked to be gold. She guessed that it wasn't actually gold silver, since silver was extremely heavy, but something that looked similar to silver.

Just before two satyrs opened the doors, Kaida recognized that the silver was reflecting her image. After the doors opened, Kaida was greeted with a peculiar sight. The throne room was filled with all kinds of creatures she knew to be mythical. There were a few centaurs placed here and there as sentries, some flower nymphs who were laughing and creating colorful flower crowns that disappeared into thin air as they were finished. Kaida didn't understand it, nor did she attempt to. She watched, a smile creeping its way onto her face as she focused on the nymphs.

One flower nymph caught sight of her, and a bright smile lit up her face. Instantly, she was working on another flower crown. Instead of being many different colors, the flowers were two different shades of purple. One flower type was a boysenberry color, and the other lavender. Once the nymph finished with it, she danced her way over to Kaida, and placed it on her head. Kaida was shocked, and raised her hand up to brush her fingers against the flowers. The flower petals were soft to the touch, and felt so delicate Kaida feared that they would break with the smallest amount of pressure.

"Thank you", she said to the nymph. The nymph only shot a smile at Kaida, and gracefully moved back over to her fellow nymphs. Her bare feet looked as if they didn't touch the floor at all, and Kaida was left in awe.

"The king awaits you", Centaurus said. Kaida glanced at him, and followed his gaze to a throne, where an old man waited, a satyr on either side of the throne. Kaida assumed this was King Cepheus, and moved forward to speak with him. As she got closer, she took note of his features.

His hair was gray, and his beard white, but his deep lilac eyes were filled with wisdom, though they appeared to be tired, as if he hadn't gotten any rest for days. And yet he exuded such a powerful aura that Kaida couldn't help but curtsy in front of him.

She looked up to see that the king was smiling at her. He stood up and walked over to her, grasping her shoulder with his hands.

"I am glad that you agreed to talk with me and that you got here safely", he murmured, before his gaze moved past her. "And I see you brought friends."

Kaida turned and saw the humanoid versions of Draco and Aquila. Scorpius was still on her shoulder, though she was unsure if he was awake or asleep. She smiled softly at the friends she had created. Her mind went back to Orion and the Canises, and how she missed them deeply. She hoped she would see them again.

"Aquila!" King Cepheus exclaimed. "How good it is to see you again, my feather friend!"

"Indeed, King Cepheus", Aquila smiled

Kaida watched as the king sighed. "I told you, Aquila, there is no need to call me King! We are all equal here!"

"That's not what your wife thinks," Aquila said, a teasing tone to her voice.

Cepheus scoffed. "Yeah, well she's a little screwed up in the head. That's how she got put up in the stars anyway." The king turned back towards Kaida and smiled. "You have made some great friends, especially in Aquila. She is great protector."

Kaida nodded. "She did save me from being killed by... well, that doesn't matter right now. I just hope that I will be able to fulfill this prophecy everyone keeps talking about."

Cepheus nods. "I pray you will be able to help my wife see that beauty goes far beyond her looks. That was something I could never do."

Kaida tilted her head as a way to press the old king to continue, but he was unable to speak due to the sound of yelling. There were a few shrieks that came from the nymphs as they scrambled to leave the throne room. Kaida looked around in confusion, whereas Cepheus looked around fearfully. Her attention was drawn back to the king when he tightly grasped her upper arm.

"Kaida, you must be prepared. Do not be afraid to use her vanity against her!" Cepheus hissed before returning to his throne. Kaida frowned but moved back over to her friends, and hid slightly behind Draco. She wasn't going to deny that she wasn't nervous. She felt jittery and her stomach was thrashing as she waited to behold the person behind all the yelling.

"Cepheus!" the queen yelled as she came into the room. She looked much younger than Cepheus, and was very beautiful. There was no denying that. But she wasn't as beautiful as the water nymphs Kaida had seen earlier, which Cassiopiea had boasted against when she was a human on Earth.

"Hmm!" Cepheus pretended to be surprised. "Yes, my queen?"

"Why did you not inform me the girl was here?!" Cassiopiea yelled. Kaida watched as Cepheus's eyes drifted about, almost as if he was crazy.

"Girl? What girl?" he asked, looking around, and continuing his act of lunacy.

"There!" Cassiopiea pointed to the small group, and Kaida almost flinched. The only reason she didn't was because of Draco's hand slipping into hers and squeezing it gently.

Kaida glanced back at Draco, who gave her a nod of encouragement. Kaida smiled at him, and stepped forward, ignoring Aquila's call for her to return.

"Your majesty," Kaida curtsied to the queen. "I apologize that my presence was not alerted to you. But your King has not been receptive to us at all. He has simply sat on top of his throne and done nothing."

Queen Cassiopiea growled and glared at the young girl. Kaida suspected that the queen knew that her husband was not actually crazy, but she was about to give away what little the king had. Kaida stood her ground and kept her eyes level with the queen's, just as she did with Centaurus. However, Queen Cassiopiea backed down much quicker than Centaurus did, causing Kaida to snort.

"Even your head guard is more confident in himself than you are," Kaida said. "That's surprising, considering how vain you are."

Cassiopiea growled. "Stupid girl," she snapped. "I am not vain."

"Oh yeah? So tell me, what caused you to sacrifice your only daughter, Andromeda? Was it for no reason? Or was it because that was the only option you felt confident in doing after claiming you were the most beautiful thing on Earth when in fact, the water nymphs are the most beautiful creatures? Well, according to Poseidon. I suspect that Aphrodite would have something more to say about that."

Cassiopeia growled again, her eyes narrowing. "I am more beautiful than Poseidon's stupid nymphs and Aphrodite put together! And nothing will change that!"

In a flash of light, a new being appeared in the room. He had a faint yellow glow about him, which Kaida deemed as unusual. But she remembered what world she was in and decided that it wasn't all that unusual.

The new man had blonde hair, and wore clothing similar to what Kaida learned the ancient Greeks wore. His feet didn't touch the floor for a few seconds, which Kaida was confused about until she saw the winged sandals he wore. From what Kaida remembered of the Greek gods, this was Hermes, messenger of the gods.

"Cassiopeia", the man spoke once his feet finally touched the floor. "As messenger of the gods, I have been sent to tell you that both Poseidon and Aphrodite are angry. You have claimed twice now that you are more beautiful that Poseidon's sea nymphs, and now you have claimed that you are more beautiful than Aphrodite. Your first punishment for your boastfulness was that you were placed in the Firmament. As that seemed to have done nothing, Aphrodite has deemed it necessary that you be stripped of your beauty."

In what seemed like slow-motion, Cassiopiea's hair turned from being a gorgeous black and purple to dead and gray. Her skin gained many wrinkles, and her eyes sunk into her skull, giving her a tired look.

Kaida stared in shock, not having expected it to be that easy. Kaida watched as Cepheus stood in shock. No one else had dared to get her say those words? What was so scary about the queen that no one else could have caused her to look old? What was so special about Kaida that made her so special in this regard?

"My Queen?" he whispered, disbelief showing in his eyes.

"What?" Cassiopiea snapped, though her voice did not come out as strong and powerful, but frail and weak.

"You're... You look your age."

Cassiopiea's eyes widened, and she instantly turned to one of the walls, which reflected her image. Shocked tears dripped down her face and Kaida backed up until she was next to Draco, who stood in front of her protectively. Cassiopiea turned to Kaida.

"You! You did this to me!" Cassiopiea shrieked. Kaida shook her head, but the Queen would not listen.

"You're the reason why I'm like this! You're the reason I'm now ugly!"

Kaida's gaze shifted from Cassiopeia to the King Cepheus. The old king gestured for her to leave as he began to comfort his wife. Without saying another word, she nodded to the king and did as he requested. Turning, she led Draco and Aquila out, glancing back only once to look at the now frail and old queen. The one who was now crying out of self-pity.

Hermes followed them out as well, and stopped Kaida from going too far into the dead wasteland. "Kaida", he called. Kaida turned, shocked that he knew her name. She silently scolded herself afterward because Hermes was a god, he should know everything. She tilted her head at the god, who smiled at her.

"I know you don't understand why no one else could do that and why there was a prophecy about you doing that. But it was not to free the land from the queen. She holds no power here. She never did. There was no reason to be afraid of her. It was Cassandra's prophecy that made everyone fear her. Before then, she was just another constellation."

Kaida frowned. "So then why was I brought here? Why was there a prophecy about me in the first place?"

Hermes' smile widened. "Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades would like me to tell you that you were brought here because you were finally someone worthy to be a constellation. But you had to prove yourself. That was supposed to be the message of the prophecy. But everyone became so focused on the fact that you would defeat the queen, that they lost the more important part. That they would gain a new friend."

Kaida's mouth dropped open. "I'm... I'm gonna be a constellation?"

Hermes nodded. "Yes. The gods are pleased that you didn't falter about the mission that was placed upon you. They are pleased that even with all your struggles with your friends, you didn't give up. So when you die, you will be placed here, in the Firmament."

Kaida smiled widely and turned to look at her friends, who were equally shocked. Aquila was the first to recover from her shock and she smiled. "Kaida, the little dragon."

Hermes nodded. "Your constellation will be placed beside Draco's when it is time for you to come here."

Kaida brought a hand up to her forehead. "I... I can't believe this." She turned to Draco. "I'm gonna be a constellation like you!"

Draco had a large smile on his face. He pulled her into a hug, which surprised her greatly. But she didn't hesitate to hug him in return. They didn't need to say anything to show that they were thinking the same thing. They both knew that they cared for the other deeply.

Kaida pulled away, and looked down to her feet, a faint blush crossing her cheeks. However, her embarrassment was taken away quickly as she noticed the bits of green poking up from the ground. She knelt down and gently touched the green.

"Look!" she quietly exclaimed. "Plants are beginning to come back to the forest!"

"It looks as if Persephone is already getting to work", Hermes said. "This is her gift to you, Kaida. She saw how sad you were when there were no plants in this area, and decided that this place deserved to be as it once was. I have no doubt that when you return, this place will be as beautiful as it was before Cassiopeia decided to claim this land as her own."

Kaida smiled softly. "Why do the gods care so much about what is happening here, or why I care about the plants?"

Hermes smiled. "That last one is mainly Persephone. The others just pay attention to this realm because it holds what was in the past, and what is in the present."

"But so does my realm", Kaida pointed out. "We have stuff from the past and then it's present there too."

Hermes nodded. "The gods pay attention to what happens there just as much as this realm." Kaida frowned, still not quite understanding, but deciding not to press. She hummed in thought, before turning to Draco and the others.

"Now that I've defeated the queen, how am I going to get home?"

Hermes smiled and whistled into the air. Something shimmered in the sky, a black dot against the bright blue. As it grew bigger, Kaida recognized it to be a horse. The only thing that seemed to throw Kaida off was that it had feathered wings. Racking her brain for her knowledge on the constellations, she recognized this winged horse to be the constellation Pegasus. She didn't know much about him, just from what she learned from the Disney movie Hercules, and even then she wasn't sure if that was entirely accurate.

When Pegasus landed in front of Hermes, the messenger gently rubbed the horses nose. Kaida took this time to study the horse. While he was mostly white, his wings were dotted with either black or purple feathers. Kaida approached him slowly, and he snorted and stamped his hoof. She paused and help up her hands, a curious fear in her eyes as she tilted her head at him. He turned his head so he could look her in the eyes. As Kaida stared into the horse's eyes, she could feel his bearing into hers, and it made her shift nervously. She had always wanted to be near a horse, she just hadn't expected that her first one would have wings nor be a constellation.

As the pair continued to stare into each other's eyes, everything else went quiet. Kaida didn't move, and neither did the horse. For several moments, everything was still.

Pegasus' head dipped down in a nod, and Kaida smiled. She moved forward, and gently stroked his neck. He let out a quiet nicker, and she smiled softly. As she pet the majestic beast, she spoke quietly to Hermes.

"Will I have the chance to say goodbye to the friends I have made that are not here?" she asked softly.

Hermes smiled. "Pegasus will take you home when you are done saying goodbye, Little Dragon."

Kaida smiled, and turned away from Pegasus, towards Draco, who nodded. His humanoid form disappeared and his draconic form appeared. He crouched down, allowing Kaida to board without too much trouble.

Before they could leave, Hermes spoke. "Pegasus will remain here until you are ready to leave."

Kaida nodded once, and Draco flapped his powerful wings, lifting them into the air. Aquila followed, and Scorpius held onto Kaida's shoulder tightly so he wouldn't blow off in the wind.

Draco soon landed in a small clearing. "I believe Orion is around here. The Canises should be with him."

Kaida slipped off Draco's back, and started looking around for any sign of the constellations she had befriended. After a few minutes of searching, she came across a trail that led into the forest. She called to Draco, not bothering to turn around.

"Hey, Draco! Where do you think this trail leads?" she asked.

Draco moved up to Kaida's side, and sniffed the air. "There is a very strong scent of Orion here. He used the path recently."

Kaida nodded, not questioning how Draco knew that the strong smell of Orion meant he used the path recently, and instead followed the path. She heard someone following her and glanced behind her to see Draco in his humanoid form. The trees were much too dense for his draconic form. Behind Draco, she could see Aquila in her majestic humanoid form as well. She glanced at her shoulder to see Scorpius was chittering softly and she smiled.

'I'll be able to understand him in that form one day', Kaida thought to herself, a small smile on her face as she continued forward. Soon, they came across a large lake with a small hut by it. Outside the hut stood a familiar hunter, who was currently skinning a deer. Kaida frowned, but knew it was necessary for Orion to survive. He may be a constellation, but he still had human needs. A bark alerted Kaida to the Canises presence in the lake. She smiled when she saw the two dogs playing in the water.

"Hey guys!" Kaida called. Orion jumped at the sudden noise, the knife in his hand slipping and nearly cutting one of his fingers in the opposite hand. Orion quickly put the knife down, and turned to glare at whoever made a sudden appearance, but his face quickly brightened when he saw it was Kaida.

"Kaida!" he exclaimed. "How'd you find me?"

Kaida shrugged. "Draco somehow knew you'd be near here."

Orion nodded. "Must have been that trail I use way too often. Oh well. How can I help you guys?"

Kaida smiled sadly. "I just came to say goodbye."

Orion's expression shifted from one of happiness to one of sad understanding. "Fulfilled the prophecy, I assume? And you figured out how you're going home?"

Kaida nodded. "Pegasus will take me home once I finish saying my goodbyes."

Orion smiled softly, and opened his arms to give Kaida a hug. Kaida didn't hesitate to accept his hug. She wrapped her arms tight around him, and didn't let go. A small whine by her legs was the only reason why she let go, so she could look down at the Canises. She smiled and knelt down beside them.

"I'll miss you guys. But I'll be back", she promised. "But I'll be like you guys. I'll be a constellation."

Orion let out a sharp gasp, and Kaida looked up at him with a smile. "I'll be back, Orion. I promise."

Orion only found himself nodding shock. This girl... the one that had only been here for a few days... would be a constellation with them? He smiled softly, and knelt beside her.

"What will you be known as?" he asked softly.

"Kaida, the Little Dragon", Draco answered for her. Canis Major barked in excitement, and Orion smiled.

"She says that she can't wait for you to come back", Orion explains. Canis Minor barked twice and Orion smiled. "Minor says that he'll miss you."

Kaida smiled. "I'll miss you, all three of you."

She stood up, and brought her hand up to her shoulder, where the small scorpion scurried off. A short moment later, Scorpius was in his humanoid form.

"I know I wasn't much help", he squeaked out. "But I'm glad I got to be part of you adventure."

Kaida smiled. "I'm glad you got to be part of my adventure, too." She placed the scorpion down on a rock, and turned to Aquila, who smiled at the young girl.

"You've certainly grown since you I first saw you", the eagle said. Kaida smiled, and drew the humanoid eagle into a hug.

"I'm glad I met you", Kaida murmured. "You certainly helped me gain a bit more common sense, even if I still don't listen to it a whole not."

Aquila smiled, and gently squeezed Kaida's upper arm. "Stay strong, Kaida. You will face many more trials when you return."

Kaida tilted her head, confused, but Draco interjected before she could question what Aquila said. "Kaida, we must be going. I will take you back to Pegasus, so you may return home to your family."

Kaida nodded, and gave one last big, sad smile towards the group of constellations she had befriended. She would miss all of them, and would hold them dearly in her mind. She knew that she would forever be in their minds too.

"Come, Kaida", Draco murmured as he shifted to his draconic form. Kaida climbed on top of Draco, and waved as Draco spread his large wings out, taking off into the sky. The flight seemed so much longer than it had before, and Kaida knew it was because she was excited to go home. But she was also apprehensive, and that took form in her shifting her eyes around the sky, as if something else was there, even though there was nothing, except for clouds. As they passed by one cloud, Kaida reached her hand out, and let the cloud waft through her hand. When she pulled her hand back, she realized that there were small water droplets on her hand. She smiled and wiped them on her dusty pants. It turned the dirt to mud, and the mud smeared all over her hand.

"Maybe that wasn't the smartest idea", she muttered to herself. Soon, she and Draco began their descent, and they soon touched ground. Kaida slid off Draco's back, and true to Hermes' word, Pegasus was waiting for them. The greenery was still growing back as slowly as ever, and Kaida knew that Persephone was still hard at work bringing this land back to its former glory. Kaida knew that it would be many days before the forest was back to how it was before.

"Kaida", Draco said quietly. Kaida turned to face him, only to find herself surrounded by a pair of strong arms. Her heart fluttered in shock, and she gently wrapped her arms around him. Her actions only caused Draco to hold her tighter. They didn't let go of each other for several moments that seemed to pass by way too quickly for both of them.

"I'm going to miss you", Kaida said quietly. Draco smiled, though it was half-hearted, and he gently took one of her hands. She noticed that while they were rough and calloused, there was still a tenderness to them, and she didn't want to let go.

"I will miss you too, Little Dragon", he murmured. "But it won't be long until you return here."

Kaida nodded once, and hugged Draco again, startling him. Kaida could feel her want to go back to her family increasing, but she could also feel part of her wanting to stay here with Draco.

Draco pulled away and smiled down at the human girl. "Kaida, you must go home", he murmured. It was almost as if he had her thoughts. "I will be with you always, even if you don't see me."

Kaida nodded, and moved towards Pegasus. Her hand slipped from Draco's and she was about to mount the winged horse when something stopped her. Something had grabbed her hand, and when she looked up, she saw that it was Draco.

'Of course it's Draco', she hissed to herself. 'There's no one else here who could grab your hand.'

"Kaida", Draco whispered. "Remember: you are gifted."

He kissed her forehead, before turning and flying away. Kaida remarked to herself and Pegasus that if it weren't for the fact that she knew Draco was a dragon, she would have mistaken him to be a demon. She chuckled in amusement.

"I suppose people would think a dragon is a demon, wouldn't they?" she said to the only constellation left in her vicinity. "Oh well. Let's get me home, yeah, Pegasus?"

After multiple failed attempts at trying to mount the winged horse, Kaida finally managed to get onto Pegasus' back, and stay on. She gripped the horses mane, and held on tight as the horse started galloping forward, gaining enough momentum to take off into the sky. Kaida grew worried when they began to rise steadily up, higher than Draco had ever taken her.

The horse whinnied, barely giving Kaida enough warning as they slammed into something that felt like a brick wall to Kaida. It was strong enough to knock Kaida off of Pegasus' back, and as she fell, darkness overtook her.