Aurin squinted into the sun as leaves swirled from the air current generated by the wing beats of the massive creature trying to land. Tempest wove herself around his ankles and chirped excitedly. Aurin waved excitedly at the cloaked figure atop the dragon's back, wondering what had brought such an exotic oddity to the rural countryside. He had watched the magnificent blue-green creature circle overhead for hours and followed her flight path, hoping he would get to see her up close when she landed. The dragon was massive, at least fifty feet from nose to tail, with a stunning wingspan wider than her body was long. She gracefully tucked her neon orange and yellow wings in at her sides and lowered her head for her rider to dismount. The rider slid down from the dragon's back and lifted the hood from his face and looked at Aurin with scrutiny. The rider was a tall well muscled Withyr Sprite with dark blue fur and penetrating red and gold eyes, like a hero straight out of a legend.

"Hi there! We almost never see dragons in these parts. What brings you here?" Aurin asked the dragon rider.

"Family business." The rider said, and Aurin was instantly more curious than before.

"Do ya' need a place to stay? There's a well nearby where you can water your dragon. What's her name? It's a she dragon, right?" Aurin replied excitedly. The dragon opened the frills around her face a little bit wider and stretched out her neck to get a closer look at the inquisitive farm boy.

"Her name is Glaedyn. And what would your name be, kid?" The rider asked not unkindly.

Aurin looked up, beaming in delight at the thought that a dragon rider would want to know his name, and he squared his shoulders, stood up tall, and said, "I am Aurin. And this is my dragon, Tempest."

"She isn't a dragon, kid." The rider said, approaching closer to examine Tempest.

"Then what is she?" Aurin asked, somewhat nervous and somewhat excited.

"She's a basilisk, kid, and she'll grow to be quite the menace. However, maybe there's a chance..." The rider replied, deep in thought.

"A chance of what?" Aurin asked

"Every living thing has a birthright to choose. And that's why I'm here. I'm tracking my brother to fix what was broken long ago, and...I hope he'll reconsider the path he chose." The rider said.

"This village will fall very soon. We aren't strong enough to fight the coming storm. You can water and feed your dragon here, but soon there won't be anything left." Aurin said, looking down and wishing he had more to offer.

The rider knelt down and looked into Aurin's eyes and said, "Then what are you going to do?"

"I want to stand and fight." Aurin replied shakily.

"Then fight, but not here. I've caught word that the palace is preparing an effort. I don't have time to train you, but maybe you could be of use." The rider said, standing to his full height.

"But how? And what about the village and my Da? I can't let them die!" Aurin replied.

"The palace is mere minutes away by dragon. And Glaedyn could easily carry many at once. We can bring them to where they are most likely to survive. I've been gathering villagers from around these parts and it isn't much of a detour." the rider said.

"How can I ever thank you?" Aurin asked

"Don't die." The rider replied with a nod.

"When do we start?" Aurin asked.

The rider smiled kindly and said, "Ever flown a dragon?"

But before Aurin could answer, the rider motioned him to follow and soon he was seated upon the dragon's back.

"I never caught your name." Aurin said, as the dragon spread her magnificent wings.

"It's Clout. Clout Harrowveil." the rider said, as Aurin felt the dragon's muscles tense. Tempest had decided to ride on the dragon's head, and in seconds from takeoff they were in Aurin's village.

"Dragon Incoming!" Ravenna yelled, standing in front of the palace gate, Thorryn panting at her heels. Sorrelle rushed forward and squinted into the sun, wondering if it was an enemy attack. The dragon flapped her bright wings and tried to land slowly, what with all the passengers she was carrying. Her blue-green hide shimmered in the evening light as she landed, terrified villagers peeking over the sides.

"What makes you think you can land here?" Sorrelle asked loudly, marching up to the dragon and looking at the rider.

"They need shelter." The rider replied, just as a small basilisk leaped from the dragon's head.

"And what is THAT doing here?" Sorrelle asked, pointing at the basilisk.

"It was either leave her for the enemy or bring her with." The rider replied.

A young teenage boy slid down from the dragon and looked around the palace in awe. "It's big!" Aurin exclaimed in amazement.

"You're cute!" Ravenna exclaimed, twirling a hair around a finger. Aurin looked to see who had spoken, and then his eyes fell on the most lovely pair of bright yellow eyes he had ever seen. The world seemed to fade beneath his feet, until there was a sudden painful squeal coming from by his feet.

"Tempest! No!" Aurin exclaimed, pouncing on the basilisk who had her teeth around something's throat. Ravenna screamed in horror and grabbed her dragon by the tail, trying to pull him free of the basilisk's grasp. Aurin locked his fists around the basilisk's jaws and pulled her mouth open before yanking all fifty pounds of her back. Ravenna picked up Thorryn and looked him over to see if he was hurt, glaring at the basilisk.

"I'm so sorry! She's not properly socialized yet." Aurin said. Tempest flicked her tongue out, her sides going in and out rapidly from her excited breathing. Thorryn looked at the basilisk for a long moment, before proceeding to pull himself out of Ravenna's arms. Thorryn grabbed Tempest's tail in his mouth and chomped down as hard as he could, the basilisk paying no attention whatsoever as Ravenna tried to pull him off.

"Mine isn't that socialized either." Ravenna said in embarrassment.

"Kids, stop flirting. We have a bigger issue at hand." Sorrelle snapped, eyeing the villagers who had just come from the back of the newcomer's dragon.

"We may as well herd em' into the palace. It's not like there's anything else we can do." Glaedyn spoke up.

Clout leaped from the back of his dragon and said, "Miss, if there is any hesitation to let us in I fully understand. However, I cannot let these people die."

"How do I know if you're not lying?" Sorrelle asked.

"I plead the code of the emerald dagger." Clout said softly.

"And what is the password?" Sorrelle asked.

And all around it was silent. For there is no password for the code of the emerald dagger. And so Sorrelle and Ravenna quickly led them into the palace.

As Aurin looked around the palace, he was amazed at its splendor and the sheer size of it, and as he passed a particular room, he saw a lone knight in shining silver armor. And he couldn't help himself enter the room.

"Sir, may I introduce myself?" Aurin asked shyly. Under the armor, he wasn't sure what race the knight was, but he could tell that the knight had a tail of some sort. The knight turned and looked at Aurin, and all Aurin could see under the armor were the knight's brown eyes, which were angry and full of tears.

"What do ya' want?" The knight said, trying to regain his composure.

"Well, I've never seen a knight before, and well, it's an honor, sir." Aurin said.

"How can it be an honor to see me like this? I couldn't even protect her, and now everything is crumbling, and what is one lowly paraglisp boy to do?" the knight said, downcast.

"There has to be some glimmer of hope." Aurin said.

"How? I'm hardly older than you are, and I can't be the one to fight for Manx's life. It's her battle." the knight said.

"Sir, do you have a name?" Aurin asked.

"You may as well call me nothing because that's all I'm worth." the knight replied back.

"If you were something, then, what would your name be?" Aurin asked.

The knight lifted his helmet, revealing a handsome face with a slight scar across his nose and another one shaped almost like a cross on his cheek, and soft brown eyes and brown hair, and he said, "My name is Vaskin."

"Well, sir Vaskin, is your girl gone yet?" Aurin asked kindly.

"I don't know. Ever since we came through the portal, her father has kept me out and it's been exactly two hours twenty nine minutes and fifty two seconds since I last saw her." Vaskin replied.

"There has to be hope. Well, I have to go because well, I met a girl, and Tempest might be causing trouble. Good luck!" Aurin said.

Vaskin nodded and then he flung off his armor as soon as the newcomer was out of sight, still wearing his normal attire underneath. "Maybe it is never too late to get back up again." He muttered to himself with a sigh. With a heavy burdened heart, he slowly walked down the hall towards the infirmary, praying that she was still alive. He slowly pushed on the door, holding his breath at its loud creaking, and with soft steps he entered the room, his eyes instantly falling on her slight frame which was laid on a white bed. He wanted to say something to break the silence, but he didn't know what would make everything right again, like he desperately hoped it would be. And yet, the silence broke itself, with a grinding, sharp, painful scraping sound of stone on metal. Vaskin's head whipped around immediately, startled by the loud noise. He softly turned around and almost walked into the cold hard freshly sharpened steel of Kaeoryn's axe.

"Oh, hey, I didn't see ya' there, um sir!" Vaskin exclaimed in surprise.

Kaeoryn scowled menacingly  with no verbal response, and Vaskin shrank back and asked, "Uh, isn't the noise of you sharpenin' that thing gonna' wake her up?"

Kaeoryn narrowed his eyes and in that moment Vaskin realized how much talled the seasoned warrior was compared to him and he felt so intimidated by Kaeoryn's visage.

"Uhh, okay then. I'm just gonna' step over here and check on Manx, alright?" Vaskin said, stepping nervously backwards. He looked over at Sorrelle, who was sitting by Manx's bedside, and he swallowed hard.

"Um, a little help here?" Vaskin squeaked.

Sorrelle rolled her eyes at Kaeoryn down and said, "Oh for gosh sakes get that axe out of here. You're not fooling anyone."

Vaskin swallowed hard again as Kaeoryn slouched in disappointment and tossed the axe over his shoulder, causing it to embed itself in a wall with a loud "thump".

"Oh don't be such a big baby!" Sorrelle shot back in response, before looking at Vaskin and saying, "Oh, he's really just a big fluffy cinnamon roll when you get to know him."

"Mhmm. Yeah, I can really see the big and the fluffy, but uh, cinnamon roll? Um..." Vaskin replied. Kaeoryn stepped forward with a loud huff and Vaskin ducked, expecting something to happen.

"Look, uh, sir, I just wanna make sure Manx is okay. I don't mean any harm." Vaskin said timidly.

"I will be watching your every move." Kaeoryn growled. Sorrelle smiled bemusedly and stifled a giggle, however Vaskin didn't see what was so funny.

"May I?" Vaskin asked sheepishly, walking closer to Manx's bedside as if he was walking on thin ice. Sorrelle nodded in approval while Kaeoryn narrowed his eyes. Vaskin grabbed the back of a chair and cringed as it noisily slid across the floor. Vaskin smiled nervously and did a half hearted wave at Kaeoryn as he sat down in the chair he had pulled up beside Manx, and then he looked at her face. Manx's eyes were closed, and she looked so peaceful, and Vaskin held his breath in fear she was dead until he saw her chest gently rise and fall several times. He could hardly bear to look at her in this state, and he wondered how much longer she would last. Vaskin reached out his hand and gently placed it on hers, and he looked away from her because it pained him to see her in this condition.

"Manx, please, if you can hear me, I want you to know that after everything, after how far we have already come, please don't die now. I can't stand to see you like this after everything. Just please, stay with us a little bit more!" Vaskin said softly, a tear running down his cheek. He removed his hand from hers and crossed his arms over his chest to ward of the stillness of the moment.

"Kaeoryn, can you get her some water for when she wakes up?" Sorrelle asked. Kaeoryn gave one last ferocious glare at Vaskin before leaving the room and turning towards the hall. Vaskin lowered his eyes and cried silently, feeling the tears run down his face while he desperately wished he could keep his cool. And then, he felt something gentle and soft on his cheek just under his eye, and he looked over at Manx, to see her eyes open and her hand gently brushing his face. Vaskin gasped in exclamation and surprise, startled to see her awake. Her expression was gentle, yet so sorrowful with a hint of anger, and Vaskin leaned in and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into more of a sitting position, and he held her close in the moment for fear that he could still lose her.

"Manx!" Vaskin exclaimed happily as he embraced her even tighter.

"Vaskin..." Manx replied quietly, wrapping her good arm around him.

"I thought I was going to lose you!" Vaskin exclaimed.

"Vaskin, I've been awake for the past three hours waiting for you. And I'm not dying anytime soon, unless you don't loosen your death grip." Manx replied in annoyance with a hint of happiness.

"Then why were you sleeping when I came in?" Vaskin asked her.

"I was just catching a catnap because you were taking too long." Manx said.

"I don't think I've ever been more relieved to see you alive." Vaskin said in return.

"The feeling is mutual." Manx replied. Vaskin brushed that infamous stray hair out of her eyes and looked at her in the face, saying, "You know, I could kiss you right now!"

Manx was about to reply when all of a sudden she and Vaskin were soaking wet. Vaskin pulled back in surprise, and Manx looked down at her soaked clothes with anger and disgust, before looking up and shouting "DAD!"

"Kaeoryn! They were having a moment there!" Sorrelle snapped, and Kaeoryn replied with, "You said bring water for when she wakes up. She's awake."

"I didn't say bring a bucket and soak Vaskin!" Sorrelle shot back.

"You didn't specify, and so I thought a bucket would be the perfect thing for our thirsty injured vulnerable daughter!" Kaeoryn said sarcastically.

"She can fend for herself. She is almost seventeen, and you and I know very well she would defend herself if anything was wrong." Sorrelle snapped.

"He was going to kiss her!" Kaeoryn roared.

Vaskin sat quaking in fear in his seat, while Manx sat there fuming. Manx grabbed an empty glass that was sitting next to her bedside and she hurled it at the wall directly over her father's head to get her parent's attention.

"I can very well make my own choices." Manx snapped angrily, before giving Vaskin a look that was like the look of a hungry piranha closing in on a meal. Vaskin wasn't sure about that look, and he shrank back slightly, but then Manx grabbed the shoulders of his vest and pulled him in close, and looking him in the eye, she planted a hard kiss right on his lips. Vaskin looked at her in shock, Sorrelle covered her mouth, but the one of them who was shocked the most was Kaeoryn, who stood there gawking like a toad with its mouth held open with a stick. Kaeoryn was speechless.

"I told you before, Kaeoryn, years ago, I'm not sure if you remember, but I told you that if you put a girl in a cage, she's going to break out." Sorrelle said when some of the initial shock had worn off. Kaeoryn stared and gaped, before shaking his head, pointing at Manx, and then pointing at Sorrelle, and saying, "You...you...that's your daughter!"

"Indeed she is. And I'm sincerely proud. Now come here you!" Sorrelle replied, leaping from her chair and wrapping her arms around Kaeoryn's bulky muscular chest. Sorrelle then looked over her shoulder at Vaskin and Manx, and then at Kaeoryn, and then she said, "Now how about we let the kids have their time together. I doubt they'll want to see what comes next."

"Sorrelle!" Kaeoryn protested.

Sorrelle dragged him by the hand out of the room and said, "What? Too naughty?" before finding a secluded room and slamming the door behind them.
When Manx's parents were gone, Vaskin asked her, "What was that all about?"

"What do you mean?" Manx replied.

"You...you kissed me!" Vaskin exclaimed, still in a blurry haze of surprise and bliss over the moment.

"And I meant it." Manx replied.