Silver felt the two months left to her eighth hatch day slip through her paws. It passed like a fire, full of action and discovery for the young dragon. She got lost in the attraction of her new powers, growing more powerful and confident the more she trained. Gravon was always there as well, encouraging her, trying to get close her. She ignored him most of the time, but occasionally they fell into conversation, and she hated herself for it. And she hardly even saw Zepos. The electric dragon was kept busy, so much so that she suspected it was on purpose. They saw each other only once or twice, and barely exchanged a word before they were once again whisked away from each other. It annoyed her to know end.

As the fateful day came close Silver realised she still hadn't chosen a dragon, and she began to get worried. There were really only two she could consider, and while she would rather Zepos then Gravon it seemed Iraliene was pushing her strongly toward her son. The problem was she still felt as though this whole situation was wrong, and the more she despised it. Until finally a third option came to her mind that seemed much more reasonable, even if it was dangerous and a little stupid.

The night before Silver found herself falling into a frightful sleep. Nightmare's plagued her. Worry gnawed at her. For she knew the following day she would have to make a decision that would affect the rest of her life.

* * *

Silver woke reluctantly the following morning. She was eight years old today, arguably the most important birthday of a dragon's life. The only upside she could think off was the fact that she wouldn't have to stay in this damned cave any longer. With a groan she got to her feet to Gretta's call and slowly ambled toward the entrance of the cave.

As soon as she exited the cave she quickly spotted the emerald green dragoness she dreaded so much, sitting in the place that the earth dragon had perched himself before. She froze, but Iraliene saw her and smiled. Knowing she couldn't get out of it she slowly walked over to the leader of Sky Mountain, her head down.

"Silver. I hope you feel refreshed. Today is a big day for you after all," The life dragon grinned.

"Elder Iraliene," Silver nodded her head politely.

"So, who have you chosen?" she asked.

Silver hesitated, "No one yet. But I still have 'till the end of the day."

Iraliene nodded, "But only until then. Tomorrow morning I'm choosing for you. But being the kind dragon that I am, I will give you the day off from any classes or training to do what you will. I suggest you use that time wisely."

Silver nodded glumly and winced as the life dragon took to the air with a large flap of her wings, kicking up any dust over the area. She rose with the same grace she always did, and flew back up to the cave that looked over the rest of The Nest. The metallic dragon watched her go with resentment.

"Don't let her bum you out," Raize said, walking up behind her.

She jumped in surprise and snarled, "Don't do that."

He laughed, "Come on sis. Lighten up. It's our eighth hatchday. The greatest day of our entire lives. Lets rejoice."

"I wish I could Raize, I really wish I could," sighed the dragoness.

Seeing that his attitude didn't lighten her up he nudged her, "Hey. Everything will turn out alright. Trust me."

She smiled weakly at him, "I can only hope."

"Hey, how about..." he was cut off.

"Raize, I appreciate your help, but right now I just want to be alone. Get my thoughts in order, you know," she said.

He sighed, "Fine. I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah," she turned away from him and mumbled to herself, "Maybe."

Before he could ask what she meant, the dragoness took to the air, flying toward The Centre. She flew over the heads of the dragons that had chosen to walk, and toward the exit of Sky Mountain, and into the sun. She let loose a small sigh of relief as the cool Chinese wind brushed past her shell. She caught an updraft and let herself be taken upwards without even flapping her wings.

Once she was high enough she began to circle the top of Sky Mountain, looking over the place that had been her home for the past couple of months. It was a truly beautiful place. The evergreen trees that made the forest around the mountain all had the same look of lustre, and she knew that within those woods were many different creatures that had grown used to the dragon presence.

The crater that Sky Mountain was situated rose up, creating a bowl like landscape. The walls would make it extremely difficult to get anything bigger then a small army with minimal equipment through, on foot anyway. The mountain range provided the protection from planes and other aircraft. It was after all, hard to fly a machine through such dangerous terrain. One wrong move and they would end up on the side of a mountain in flames.

The dragon classes that were flight training were slowly exiting the mountain. They mostly consisted of either very young dragons, one or two years old, or older dragons who had chosen to become scouts. They practiced speed, agility and stamina in the air. The things they needed if they were going to make a quick getaway. Silver already knew most of what they were being taught.

One dragon separate from the rest caught her eye. It didn't take her long to recognise Gravon amongst them all. He was the only dragon out there that was gravity, and was flying straight toward her. Silver growled, annoyed. How did he even know where she was? For a moment she doubted whether or not she would fly away from the dragon, but decided not to. Instead she stopped and hovered in one place, letting him come to her.

"Silver! What are you doing all the way up here?" he said, coming to a stop a few metres away.

"Getting some fresh air," she replied, "I rarely am able to fly anymore. And I mean truly fly, not some stupid training exercise."

"So you like flying hah? Same," he flapped his wings and began to move, flying around her, "It's... the best thing about being a dragon."

Silver agreed, but didn't say anything, "What do you want Gravon?"

"Straight to the point hah?" he grinned, "Well I know what my mother has been telling you lately, and I thought we should get together. I think we would make a great couple."

"That's a matter of opinion," Silver was surprised he was being so open about it.

"And why shouldn't we? We're both strong, independent dragons. Powerful. The hatchlings of two great leaders. Rare. Disregard the rules and dislike authority. We're very similar you and I. It only makes sense," he said, "Plus, I'm experienced in... many areas. I could make it wonderful."

Silver snorted. She guessed she wasn't surprised to hear that he had mated before. Iraliene had probably made him do something similar to what she had told Silver to, but he had been much more eager. Male dragons usually were.

"Your missing one thing from that list Gravon. One very important thing. We don't love each other, or at least, I don't love you," Silver said.

"Does that matter?"

"To me? Yes. Yes it does."

"Well... I'm sure we can learn to. As I said before, we have similar interests. Love would come soon after."

"Maybe."

"Come on Silver. It'll be fun, for the both of us."

He flew up to her and brushed his wing against hers. The metallic shell could be surprisingly sensitive at times, and she growled, backing away from the dragon. The gravity dragon came back to a hover in front of her, waiting for her decision.

"I'll tell you tonight what I have decided," said Silver, "Wait until then."

A worried look went through Gravon's eyes, but he nodded and tucked in his wings, diving from the sky. Silver watched him go and let loose a breath of relief. No, definitely not him. That only left two options, and the dangerous one was becoming more and more attractive.

* * *

She ended up down near the same pond where she had first met the Gravity dragon. It was still looked the same, except for the thin layer of clear ice that had accumulated along the surface. It broke easily when Silver pressed a claw against it, sending cracks running through the lake. It looked quite strange. The cracks running across the clear ice made it look as if the water had been broken. It made her smile.

With a sigh she lay on her side, looking up at the sky. It would be surprising how easy it would be to just leave, fly over the mountains and never return. No one would know until later the night and by then Silver could have made it halfway across the world. She could be anywhere, and she was quite certain there were other dragon havens out there besides Sky Mountain. Why they had to come this one in particular she couldn't figure it out. But she doubted she would get far without either D.E.D or A.O.D.H finding her. Still, that option loomed in front of her, waiting for her to take it.

She stay where she was for hour after hour, just letting her thoughts take her wherever they wanted. She thought back through her time away from the nest. The year and a half that had passed since Dragon Valley. Her time on the farm, escaping from D.E.D, all of it. She had grown a lot, not only in size but also in confidence, and power. She had lead a group of dragons and done something never been done before. It reminded her a little of what her father had done.

He had been trapped in A.O.D.H since he first hatched, where they drilled the mind-controlling device through his skull. For ten years he followed every order they gave him, killing, destroying, things he wasn't proud of. But when it came to the point where they were going to force him to take a mate, he had refused. Even with the mind-controlling device making him do whatever they wanted him to do, he had resisted. The first dragon to ever do so. And soon after that he ripped the device off his head, only to have it placed back in, stronger then ever. Still, he hadn't given in, and soon after he had found a human who gave him the device's weakness, and he managed to get it off once again. After that, he gathered an army of freed dragons and laid waste to the A.O.D.H base. That was eight years ago now, and her father was now back in the same cooperation that had taken away his life. And yet he still resisted. Silver knew he did. So why couldn't she?

"Silver?" the familiar voice of a certain electric dragon drifted over her.

She looked up at him, and couldn't help but smile, "Hey Zepos. What are you doing out here?"

She got up from her feet and faced the dragon.

"Raize broke me out of class. He said you needed help with something," he replied.

She nearly laughed. That sounded so like her brother. She wouldn't be surprised if he was now making sure no one disturbed them, though it was a little pointless. No one could find this place unless they were looking for it.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

"I asked around. A dragon said they had seen you fly in this direction, so I came here and saw you sitting by the pond," he said, "So, what do you need help with?"

"Oh nothing much. Raize was over reacting," she said, "But now that you're here, why don't you stay? We haven't seen each other much."

"I know," huffed Zepos, walking over to her and sitting down, "It's been frustrating me."

"Yeah," Silver sat down next to him, "Sometimes I wish we hadn't come here."

"The only thing that keeps me here is I know A.O.D.H and D.E.D are worse," replied the drake, "At least this place they aren't really forcing you to do anything."

"Well, not exactly," Silver looked at the floor.

"What do you mean?"

She looked at him and decided to tell him what had transpired in the past few months. She told him of her time in the under-eight cave. Of her training with Frezron, and then with Gravon. She told him of her longing to be free once again, like she had been at the valley, and her wish to fly again. To truly fly. And lastly she told him of Iraliene's rule, and what she was being forced to do.

Zepos was silent afterwards, thinking through what she had said, "So... what are you going to do?"

She sighed, "I'm still deciding. But I'm not ready Zepos. I'm not ready to find a mate. To settle down. You know me. I'm wild. I hate being trapped. And here, here I feel like I'm trapped."

"But surely here is better then D.E.D or A.O.D.H?" he said.

"I know. Don't think I'm that daft. I would rather be here then any of those places," sighed Silver, "At least here I have a chance to fight back."

"So, you're going to refuse?"

"No, well, maybe. I don't know. You've only met Iraliene once, so you don't know how truly small she makes you feel. She may as well be a mind dragon, because whenever she tells you something, you are obliged to do it. And my brother, he said that she would do whatever it takes to get what she wants. So if she wants a metallic hatchling to be hatched, she'll do whatever it takes to make that happen."

"That's... horrible."

"I know," Silver sighed and lay her head down on the ground, watching the water filter through the cracks she had created in the ice.

They sat in silence for a while, Silver in her thoughts and Zepos watching over the dragon that he had come to love. The thought of her being with another dragon was hard for him to bear, but he knew all to well he couldn't force her into anything.

"What's this Gravon like?" asked Zepos.

Silver looked at him, surprised at the question, "Why?"

He shrugged, "I'm just curious."

"Well, he's the son of Iraliene, so that tells you quite a bit about him. He's headstrong, and not in a good way. He thinks he's the centre of the world and seems to be able to draw dragons to him. Other then that he's alright. I mean, he's rather good looking, confident and powerful. Someone most dragonesses would fall head over heals for. But he's prideful, thinks he can get away with what he wants whenever he wants. Much like you were back in Dragon Valley."

"Hey! I wasn't that bad."

She tilted her head at him; a dragon's equivalent of raising an eyebrow.

He looked down at the floor, "Okay, maybe a little."

Silver smiled and bumped his shoulder with her muzzle, "Don't worry. You've changed quite a bit now. In a good sense. Maybe that year you spent in A.O.D.H did you good."

He snorted, "I would rather have not gone there."

"I know, but I guess bad experiences like that help make you realise just how fragile the world is. It helps you grow, to become wiser in your decisions, and learn some things," she said.

"Your father told you that didn't he?" Zepos grinned.

"Yep," Silver laughed, "You really think I could have come up with something like that by myself?"

"You can have your wise moments," he said.

"Humph, rarely," Silver replied.

They laughed again, glad to be able to talk with each other once more. They continued to chat the rest of the day away, exchanging stories, boasting to each other, listening to each other's troubles, and staying well away from the problem at hand.

To Silver it was the best day since her flight from Dragon Valley. She could forget everything that had happened and just focus on the dragon in front of her. Sometimes it was better to forget, but as the sun began to dip into the horizon the two dragons knew that soon they would have to leave each other again.

"It's been fun Zepos," Silver said as the sun finally slid below the horizon.

"Yeah," he sighed.

They stayed with each other for a moment, before Silver shuffled and got to her feet. She stumbled slightly, her legs having cramped a little from sitting in the same place for such a long time. With a grunt she stretched, groaning as the sore muscles unwound.

Zepos stood as well and shook himself off, not quite as sore as Silver. He watched her, the last evening lights dancing off her shell in fanciful patterns and sending orange and yellow light through the clearing. She was beautiful at this time of day, well, more beautiful the usual.

"I'll see you tomorrow Zepos," she said.

"Wait Silver," he said before she could take off.

She turned back to him, and grunted in surprise as he walked forward and kissed her. A dragon's kiss was different from a human's. It followed the same basic rules but dragon's usually used more action, rubbing their muzzles against each other and pressing their lips together, and it only worked if both dragon's did it together.

So Silver kissed back. Her first kiss, and it was one she would remember for as long as she lived. She purred, a deep rumbled coming from her throat as she moved closer to the dragon. And when Zepos pulled back she found she wanted more, much more. But she couldn't.

"Silver, I love you," Zepos finally said, "and I couldn't bare to see you with another dragon. So, please, before you go back to Sky Mountain, know that I do, and no dragon will ever love you as much as I do. I know you aren't ready, but consider me your mate. You're the only dragon I could ever consider."

Silver gulped, surprised at his sudden confession. It only made it all the more harder to choose. Oh, how she wished the situation hadn't come to pass. If only they flew in the other direction.

"Zepos... I can't deny that I have strong feelings for you," she spoke slowly, "I just don't know if it is, in fact, love. I just don't know. But I do know that I will not be choosing a mate anytime soon, no matter what Iraliene says."

The electric dragon nodded, looking at the ground. He took a deep breath, seeming to gather himself, "So... what are you going to do?"

Silver looked to the sky, her resolve hardening, "Let's just say, don't expect me to be here tomorrow morning."

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Hey guys! New chapter! I hope you enjoyed. Vote if you did and comment what you thought. I think this is one of my favourite chapters so far :) Not long to go to the finish of this book now, so be ready for some crazy stuff. Next chapter will be out soon. See Ya!

Pennator^^