No one moved as the dragon loomed over them, and the creature's dangerous green eyes glinted as they flickered over every person in the crowd. Raina, who still was at Lucan's feet, spotted Reggie out of the corner of her eye, trapped by three men who held his arms as his sword lay on the ground out of his reach. Their grip has considerably slackened, and a mischievous look appeared on his face as he glanced from the men, the dragon, and then to Raina.

He ripped himself from the men's grip and grabbed his sword in one swift motion. The men, still in shock from the escape of the dragon, just glanced between Reggie escaping and the dragon. Raina rolled away from Lucan and grabbed her sword, running with Reggie back to the woods. Only then did Lucan seem to wake from his shock.

"You three!" He ordered. "Don't just stand there!"

The dragon roared again, and the three men exchanged glances before running in the opposite direction.

"No you idiots! Not that way, towards-"

Lucan dodged out of the way as the dragon raised its claw mightily and swiped at him. The creature roared, and the entire forest seemed to shake. With one powerful burst, the creature shot into the air, nothing but its shadow apparent in the darkness until there was a faint, orange glow.

"Get down!" Reggie screamed.

Raina only had a chance to glance over her shoulder before she was tackled to the ground. She opened her mouth to curse him, but he clamped his hand over her mouth. That's when she felt the heat and the blood curdling screams. Her eyes wandered past the shadows covering Reggie's face and spotted the flickering orange glow.

Mal grimaced as she observed the shouting, but then she straightened her shoulders. "Shoot it down!"

Her men nodded their heads as they prepared their arrows, aiming for the creature's soft underbelly. The creature shrieked as it was hit, its eyes alighting with anger. Mal's men ran for cover as the creature destroyed its attackers with its fire.

"We have to go now!" Reggie said as he pulled Raina to her feet and dragged her the remaining distance to the forest. Raina would have pointed out that she knew that five minutes ago, but she figured she would save her breath on running from the fire-breathing dragon.

She followed Reggie out of the clearing past several trees marked with a slash, and then they came to a halt in an empty circle of trees. Raina didn't have to read Reggie's expression to know what he was thinking.

"Where's Lance and Ari?"

Reggie stared at the clearing. "I was pondering the same question."

    Raina groaned and raced back into the direction she came from, Reggie on her heels. Of course they wouldn't stay put!

    Raina and Reggie emerged from the clearing, their eyes scanning until-

    "There!" Reggie pointed at the little girl, her wild and dark hair dangling down her back, and her emerald eyes gazing up at the dragon. Lance stood next her, trying to pull her away.

    "Oh no," Raina muttered to herself as she spotted the dragon drifting back towards the ground before landing in front of Ari. The anger dissipated from its eyes, and it dropped its head to Ari's level. She patted Kaida on the head.

    "It's alright," she whispered to it. "Everything is ok now."

    "She is talking to the dragon," Reggie remained expressionless, "and it is listening to her."

    The entire clearing had frozen once again, the only movement coming from the fire that was quickly spreading from tree to tree. Bodies lay still on the ground, and Raina did her best not to look at them as she raced forward and wrapped Ari in her arms, not even caring about the beast that stood before her.

    "You were supposed to stay put!"

    Ari snorted. "I was also supposed to stay put in the coliseum. I don't listen to you."

    "You know," Lance coughed, his voice raspy, "this is nice and all, but I think I really need a healer." Then he fell to his knees, and his sweat dripped down his face to the ground.

    Raina fell to her knees beside him. "Don't worry. We're going to get you the best one around. Hang in there."

    The dragon whimpered, and Raina smiled. "We'll find one for you too Kaida."

    Ari went to pat the creature again, but it released another shriek. The anger returned to its eyes, deadlier than before as they looked down at Ari. It roared, and the ground rumbled around them. Its teeth glinted as it turned to face a man with a bloody sword and scar running across his face.

    "No!" Ari screamed, but the damage had been done. The creature glared at Ari, hurt and betrayal in its cat-like eyes.

Raina pushed Ari behind her. "We need to go."

"No!" Ari screamed back, her voice breaking. "She is just scared. We have to help her!"

"It's a dragon," Reggie growled, "Not a housepet!"

Kaida roared, spreading her wings wide, as she unleashed fire on her surroundings once more. Ari's eyes flashed violet before she brought up a sparkling orange forcefield, the flames bouncing off the barrier and dissolving into the air.

"Magic," Reggie uttered in disbelief. "That is impossible!"

Raina twisted around to where Lucan had been standing, but he was gone. In fact, his soldiers were retreating into woods, leaving only Mal's men and themselves to face the wrath of the dragon. Cowards.

Ari rushed forward before Raina could stop her, clutching to the tough hide of the creature. Her eyes glowed a deep violet.

    "We're here to help! We promise!"

    Reggie's eyes widened and he gripped Raina's arm. "You can't let her use her magic!"

    "Why not?"

    "That dragon in enraged," he motioned to Kaida. "If she tries to control it, she will be destroyed!"

    "She's done it perfectly fine before."

    "You don't understand!" Reggie growled. "This isn't just any creature. This is a dragon! She might have succeeded when it was weak and desperate, but now the creature is raving mad. When Ari tries to take control of her, the dragon will override her magic and corrupt her!"

    Raina felt her entire body tense. "Ari! Get away!"

    The dragon roared, and Raina's eyes widened as she spotted the flash of violet in its gaze. Ari screamed, falling to her knees as she clutched her head.

    "Ari!" Raina fell to her knees beside the little girl. "Listen to me! You have to fight it!"

    Ari staggered back, still clutching her head, and then her emerald eyes went blank. "Pathetic human," she mumbled. "You deserve to perish!"

    Lance, who had been surprisingly silent, laughed. "Wow you should talk to my father sometime."

    Raina glared at him, but her look quickly dissolved upon seeing the state he was in. He looked delirious. His skin had paled. Sweat beaded all across his forehead, and his head was slowly drooping.

    Reggie gritted his teeth and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small stone with black markings. It was impossible to read the look on his face as he stared at the stone sitting in the palm of his hand. He hesitated before curling his fingers around it.

       "I'll take care of this."

       He held the stone towards Ari, the black engravings starting to emanate a harsh white light. Raina and Lance covered their eyes, only able to hear the dragon shriek. Ari screamed and fell to her knees, her eyes flickering between violet and emerald. Then, they stopped, flashing green before Ari collapsed. The dragon roared, staggering backwards before bursting into the air and fading into the night sky. Reggie slowly lowered the stone, and the light it emanated dimmed until it rested by his side again.

"Ari!" Raina screamed, but her legs were still frozen to the ground as she stared at the still body in front of her. The little girl didn't move, and the flames crackled around them.

Raina glanced at the fiery waste around her, and her breath caught in her throat. It was like her surroundings were closing in on her, trapping her in. The smoke was invading her lungs. Reggie's lips were moving. Was he speaking? Raina wasn't sure, but she couldn't hear him. She tried to focus, to listen to what he had to say, but the rest of the world was too loud. She could only hear the feet hitting the ground and the roar of the fire and the screams. There was so much screaming.

Then she saw him, and her breath caught in her throat.

Raina would recognize the back of that head anywhere. His chestnut brown hair bounced up and down, the long strands nearly reaching his shoulders. He really could use a haircut. And why hadn't he brushed his hair? His hair was always neat.

Then he turned around, his usually kind eyes now shiny and wild.

"Raina!" His grip tightened on her hand. "We have to go!"

"Alex?" Raina breathed. "I thought you were you were..."

Her brother blinked. He was in a suit, the dark blue matching his eyes. "We have to go!" He repeated, more urgent this time.

"Where?" Why was he in such a hurry?

Hurried footsteps approached from behind, and screams erupted from around her. Wooden houses were burning to the ground, and people hurried past them.

"Alex what's going on?" Raina's voice wavered, but he never answered. He tensed beside her, and Raina only understood the reason why when she turned and saw the flames hit the castle.

"RAINA!"

The scream caused Raina to jump, her eyes widening at the face staring into hers, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips curled into a frown. It was only when she looked past the strands of jet black hair and into a pair of calm, green eyes that her heart started to slow its rapid pace. Her entire body felt clammy and shaky.

    "Lance," Raina breathed, "What are you doing?"

Lance stood there stunned. He glanced from his hands gripping Raina's shoulders to Raina before stepping back. He didn't meet her eyes.

"You blanked out there for a second," he finally said in a hushed tone.

Raina stiffened and glanced at Reggie who also looked away. His eyes must have found something very interesting in the woods.

Raina took a deep breath. She wasn't in the center of Aragona anymore. She wasn't running. She was going to be alright.

And your brother isn't alive.

Raina shook the thought from her head. There was no time for this now. She had to help Ari. If she was hurt...

"Lance!"

Raina's train of thought broke as Lance fell to his knees. His chest heaved up and down, but his breathing was ragged and strained, like he was fighting for every breath. His face had paled, and even through the dark fabric of his shirt, Raina could see the vast amount of blood that had seeped through the fabric.

Mal sprinted forward, grabbing her nephew's soldiers before he could slump to the ground. She didn't even try to conceal the fear and pain on her face as her eyes found his wound.

"We need a healer!" She shouted hysterically.

"Aunt Mal?" Lance's face brightened as he met the woman's eyes.

"Oh thank goodness!" She threw her arms around Lance, and his face contorted in pain. "After what I heard, I thought I'd never see you again!"

Lance remained silent, and Mal released him from her grip. "Lance?"

"I can't breathe," Lance choked out.

Then he passed out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Happy Sunday everyone!

I know I said I wasn't going to update at my regular times if at all, but this story just reached 1K reads. I figured if you guys could make time to get this story that far, then I certainly could find time to write a chapter for this week! Thanks for all of your support :)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Any thoughts on Reggie's stone and Raina's flashback?

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next week!