Importance does not lie within our castes. What good is a leader without soldiers to fight? What good is a soldier to fight without a smith to make weapons? What good is a smith without a miner to collect ore? We all have our role in society and we must remember that no one role is more important than the next.

This is Our Law.

~ From the Dragonling Grimoire

I grunted as Dmitri swung his staff, knocking mine to the floor and nearly taking me with it. Swearing, I straightened up, panting heavily. "Did you really have to hit so hard?"

Dmitri used his foot to lift the staff and toss it at me. "Yes. You haven't been training lately, have you?"

Catching the polished wood, I couldn't help but scowl. "I've been busy." It was true. Ray had become my mate a week ago and I'd had no free time since then. Between trying to talk with Cedric and Mako about the Coup they're planning - with no one to spearhead it, mind you - and dealing with all three of my mates, training had slipped my mind.

"A Ryn always makes time for their training." Dmitri said, striking out like a snake and jabbing me in the ribs with the end of his staff. I growled and tried to hit his arm before it retreated, but no luck. He twisted away before my weapon had even gotten close to him.

"I thought we already agreed I'm pretty bad at being a Ryn." I replied, rolling my eyes. Dmitri took the opportunity to crack his staff against my leg, making it crumple beneath me. I hit the ground hard, huffing as the air left my lungs.

Dmitri bent down with a frown, helping me to my feet. "Ani, you were better than this before we left Lord Edgar's city."

I bit my lip, feeling my ears burn in embarrassment. It was something I didn't particularly want to admit to. Dmitri took my shame as an opportunity to jab my stomach with the end of his staff. "Can you not?" I hissed, swinging my staff several times in an attempt to hit him back. He dodged with ease.

"Not until you're able to avoid it." Dmitri replied. "You've already taken your Trial. You should know to train every day, even if it's on your own."

"Yeah, I know." I muttered, going on the offensive as I struck out one, two, three times. The last hit barely managed to clip Dmitri's shoulder, but it rebounded so hard that my weapon fell out of my hands. "Damn it!"

"Keep your grip secure." Dmitri said as I bent down to retrieve the staff. "Staffs don't have hilts to hold like your sword does. You need to learn to adjust."

"Says the fyn with a fan." I muttered. After a moment, I glanced at Dmitri and chunked my staff at him. He cursed and jumped out of the way, but I tackled his side.

Thinking I'd finally scored a hit, I tightened my arms around Dmitri's body and moved my leg to trip him.

A few heartbeats later, the world shifted around me as Dmitri literally flipped me over his shoulder like a sack of vegetables and slammed me to the ground. For a few moments I laid still, the breath knocked out of me and my vision blurry.

When my eyes cleared, Dmitri was leaning over me, a small smile on his face. "Ani, that would have been very effective if I wasn't almost twice your size."

"At least I tried." I groaned as I sat up. "I think you bruised something."

"Only your ego."

I pointed at Dmitri, who was grinning now. "Okay. Rude."

"It would be more effective if..." Dmitri began quietly. I barely had a second to glance at him before tackled me to the ground. I thought hitting it earlier had been hard, but when two hundred pounds of muscle is suddenly pinning you, you gain a new respect for just being thrown around.

I wheezed dramatically, trying to crawl my way out from under Dmitri. "I'm dying!" I could feel his body shaking in silent laughter above me and I couldn't help but begin to laugh too. "Devil man!"

"Oh, you love me." Dmitri rolled off of me and sat against the wall. He gave me a suggestive look. "And I love having you on the ground beneath me."

"Dmitri Ralov, you cheeky bastard." I muttered as I rolled to my feet. He laughed and stood up, offering me my staff again. Internally groaning, I took it from him and paused, trying to figure out the best way to hit. Obviously brute force wasn't working. I'd need to sneak up on him... hm. My mind suddenly drifted to something pricking at the back of my mind. But what was it...?

My staff was knocked from my hands with so much force that it wrenched a couple of my fingers back. Gasping, I looked up to see Dmitri raising an eyebrow. I scowled and looked down. "Cheap shot."

Dmitri sighed and picked up my staff again. "Anita." He said, setting both weapons against the wall of our room. "You're not focusing."

"I have a lot on my-"

"Do you really think paying attention to that is worth your life?" Dmitri interrupted sharply. I flinched as he continued. "We are Ryns, Anita. We will go to war again someday. We will fight for the rest of our lives. This," he motioned to the staffs, "will save your life."

"We... we don't fight like this in war." I said, feeling suddenly very small.

"It trains our minds and our reflexes. Why do you think I had everyone fight hand-to-hand when I was in charge at Lord Edgar's?"

I stayed silent and watched the fire. Mishal wasn't there, gone with Alek on who-knows-what errands, and it felt... empty without her.

Dmitri sighed and walked over, slipping his arms around my waist. They were strong and steady, warm even through my tunic. "Ani." He murmured softly as he kissed the top of my head.

"Dammit." I muttered, squirming out of his grasp and sinking down on one of the sofas. "I just don't understand why I need to do this right now. We'll be going home soon enough, right? I can continue my training then. Why don't you just enjoy the vacation?"

Dmitri's face turned reserved and he looked away. It set my senses on edge. "Dmitri...?" He gave me small, almost regretful, look and he sighed again.

"Anita, we didn't want to tell you yet."

"Tell me what?" I asked slowly, standing up anxiously.

Dmitri began pacing slowly. "We got reports back while we were still visiting the Kestreldive colony." He started out, his voice low. "There's been a few..." he paused as if he couldn't think of the word, then sighed for the third damn time, "a few, well, outbreaks of violence."

"Riots?" I asked, feeling my blood run cold. "Dmitri-"

"Mako's accomplices have already begun to spread the word about Queen Dominique's actions." Dmitri interrupted. He sounded irritated about that fact and I couldn't blame him. I was stunned. "Not only that, but they targeted all the volatile people they could find."

"They wanted to incite violence so Queen Dominique looks bad." I said, realization dawning on me. "Once they find their new queen or king, they'll be able to pull more support if everyone is trying to escape it."

Dmitri nodded. "I wanted you to be prepared."

I closed my eyes, a headache beginning to form behind my eyes. "You didn't think you needed to tell me?"

"It would have complicated things."

"Like what?" I snapped as I opened my eyes.

Dmitri looked caught between shame and indignation. "Anita, you would have either gotten upset at Mako or done something you would have regretted."

"You bet your ass I'm angry at Mako!" I raged as I got to my feet. "He could have at least told me! Innocent people are getting hurt, Dmitri! Isn't it our job to protect them?"

"And more would be hurt if we let the Court have their way." Dmitri replied stonily. "You would have to return to being a slave."

My reply died on my tongue. Of course that's why they did it. "Oh." I said softly.

"Yeah, 'oh' is right." Dmitri crossed his arms. After a second his face softened. "Your heart is in the right place, Ani. It's our duty to protect our people, yes, but that includes threats from the inside too."

I sighed and sat down on the sofa again. "I'm sorry."

There was a knock at the door and Dmitri hesitated, like he wanted to say more, but went to open it instead. A tall Ina woman handed him a leather-wrapped bundle before promptly disappearing into the crowd behind. I frowned at the sight of the bustling cavern. I hadn't minded the business before, but lately I had missed the wide open spaces back home.

Dmitri tossed the bundle towards me. "It's Clara again."

I couldn't help but smile as I caught the package and gently began opening it. Despite my absolutely terrible attitude towards her before we left, Clara had been delighted to read my letter and insisted on sending presents with hers. The first one was a heavy black cloak lined in mink fur - it had to of been expensive, but Clara had told me she'd made it herself. She was a seamstress, wouldn't you know?

"I wonder if she thinks it's freezing up here." Dmitri said as he sat beside me, watching as I pulled a pair of black leather gloves out of the package. The inside had the same mink fur as my coat.

"It is freezing up here." I replied as I slipped the gloves on. The fur was wonderfully soft against my newly-bruised hands.

Dmitri chuckled quietly and slipped an arm around my waist. "Weren't you the one who was so excited to come here in the first place? Now you're ready to go home." He teased gently.

"Draggies always happy to eat sweets, but then they get bellyaches." I said dryly.

"I'm sure you were one of those draggies."

"And you were always the best, most obedient one?"

"Yes."

"Liar."

Dmitri snorted and pullled me to my feet. "Come on. Maybe those gloves will help you hold your staff better."

I stared at him in dismay. "You're not really going to make me fight more, are you?"

"We can run laps and do exercises instead."

"Fighting it is." I sighed. "But it's still unfair. I'm fighting a behemoth."

"You realize I'm shorter than both Alek and Ray, right?"

"Well they're Liras and-" Something clicked in my mind. "Liras!"

Dmitri stared at me as if I'd lost my mind. "Yeah... Liras."

I hurried to the desk, brushing aside the scattered papers until I'd unearthed a clean scroll and my quill. "No, I mean- well, I was thinking earlier how much easier it would be to attack if I could sneak up on you."

Dmitri came to my side and peered over my shoulder. "Okay. And?"

"Mako and I used to talk about it." I explained, scribbling some notes down on the scroll before glancing over my shoulder at him. "Liras have those weird scales, like chameleons."

"What's a chameleon?"

"A lizard. It can change its skin like a Lira can change their scales."

Dmitri frowned. "So what's the point of this?"

I sighed impatiently. "Chameleons change their scales for camouflage to hide from predators or hunt down prey. Obviously Liras can use their scales to hunt, but since most of them don't fight, they don't need to hide from enemies."

"A very exciting biology lesson." Dmitri replied. "But I'm still not sure why you're telling me this."

"Well, back when we were training there were always groups of Liras who wanted to fight rather than learn." I said as I turned back to my scroll and scribbled more notes, the paper becoming a mess of ink. "Other colonies let their draggies train in anything they'd want..."

"But Queen Dominique never let them." Dmitri finished for me.

"Yeah." I nodded. "But what if some Liras still wanted to learn to fight? They could be... very useful. Remember back when I broke my leg? Those dragonlings ambushed us in the clouds."

"Because they were all gray or white." Dmitri added, understanding dawning on his face. "I couldn't even see them."

"And if we had soldiers who could change their scales to adapt to any environment..."

"We'd have an ambush squadron that could deal heavy damage and escape unhurt." Dmitri finished for me, his eyes sparkling. They dimmed after a moment. "But most Liras have grown up thinking they're too good to fight. That's what Queen Dominique has been telling them all their lives."

Hesitating, I tried to find a reply to that. Nothing. "I don't know," I admitted, "but maybe those who'll follow the future queen or king will want to fight too."

Dmitri nodded slowly. "I suppose." Then he snorted and shook his head. "If we ever manage to find someone to be the next leader. Mako has been out of his mind trying to convince Alek to be the next king."

"You're kidding." It was the first time I'd heard about that.

"No. But it's not like we know many other Liras." Dmitri sighed and sat down on the edge of the sofa. "I've written letters to May. She knew about this, wouldn't you know? Apparently- what's his name? Harvey?"

"Harley." I corrected, remembering the big, quiet fyn.

"Right. Harley. He worked with Cedric for a long time before this war. May says they'd hoped it wouldn't come to this so soon. They wanted to try and raise a draggy that would prepare for the position."

"Sounds kind of... creepy." I remarked.

Dmitri nodded. "That's what I said. Now they're trying to find someone who's ready to take the throne."

Before I could reply, there was frantic knocking on the door. The sudden noise startled me half to death and made me fall off the chair, which caused Dmitri to laugh his ass off. "It's just the door." He teased before walking over and opening it. "Can I help- oh. Hey."

I scrambled to my feet and hurried to Dmitri's side so I could peer over his shoulder. "Who- Liza!"

Of all the dragonlings I'd expected to see, Liza was definitely not one of them. That didn't stop me from pushing Dmitri aside and pulling her into a hug. "Elizabeth! What are you doing here?"

"Anita." Liza said cheerfully, an impish grin on her freckled face. "Mom wanted to come for the solstice and I wanted to see you, so I tagged along."

"You hate political things." I said as I pulled away, Liza's contagious grin tugging at my lips. "And I can't imagine the snow is too comfortable for you."

Liza's eyes widened. "The snow! I've never seen so much of it!" She said excitedly, practically jumping up and down. "I mean, when I traveled with Mom sometimes there was frost and some powder, but not this much ice!"

"You'll get sick of it soon enough." I snorted. "But it's fine for a while."

Dmitri cleared his throat and I glanced at him, realizing Liza had interrupted our conversation. But his face was amused, not upset, and he just patted my shoulder. "I'm going to find Alek and Mako. You two have fun." As he left, Liza tugged me over to the desk.

"Are these star maps?"

"Yeah." I picked up the rabbit-skin maps. "Ray found me some-"

"Ray?" Liza blinked at me with her big, blue eyes full of confusion. "I thought his name was Alek."

I cleared my throat. "Oh. I guess I haven't told you." Wow. It hadn't even been that long since I'd left the Kestreldive colony and already so much had happened... "You... might want to sit down. This is going to take a while."

I couldn't help but tell Liza everything; not just about Ray and Cedric, but Mako's - our? - plan for overthrowing Queen Dominique. It felt cathartic. I couldn't tell Mako my worries about his plot, he was too determined about it, but Liza was smart. She'd understand.

Liza was sitting at the desk, tapping her fingers on the wood, her face thoughtful. We had been silent for almost ten candle marks now and I was getting antsy. What did she think? Would she say we were crazy? She wouldn't be the first - Jordan's letters made it clear he hadn't believed a word of the so-called rumors. Could Liza think the same?

"I..." Liza finally began before trailing off again and I bit my tongue in frustration. I loved Liza, but I also forgot how indecisive she was. After a moment, she looked up at me again, her eyes shining. "I think it's a great idea, Anita."

Whoa. That was... surprising, to say the least.

I stared at Liza. "Are you sure? It... well, it'll be dangerous. I'm not sure if whoever we pick will have enough support, or if there's even someone willing to go against Queen Dominique."

Liza gently took my hand, her eyes locked with mine. "Anita." She said firmly. I'd never seen her look so serious before. "It's not just you that Queen Dominique's lawbreaking has affected. My people lost their lives fighting against Queen Dominique for a war she knew didn't have to happen. Who knows how many others have suffered because of her? Kings and queens are sworn to protect their people from harm, and it seems to me your queen hasn't been taking that oath seriously."

I was speechless, but then Liza's gaze softened. "And Anita, you're my friend. I have to help you, don't I? Look, even if your plan fails, we have definitive proof that your mother was taken unlawfully. I'll have my mother confront Queen Dominique and we can take you in ourselves."

Now I was speechless and choked up. "Thank you." I managed to whisper after a moment. Tears stung my eyes. I didn't know what I'd done to garner such faithfulness, but suddenly I was very, very happy Liza was my friend.

"Good." Liza's eyes turned determined as she stood up. "That means we only have one thing to do now."

I was still trying to get over just how much Liza's words meant to me and I blankly looked at her. She tapped my head and motined to the door. "Come on. We need to tell my mother."