Garnet hit the ground running. Up the hill past the castle gate to the Blue Dragon hospital. One of them stopped her outside and looked at the blood on me. He gestured for her to follow and she pushed me into his arms. "I need to go back to the transport! I will come and see you when I get back." She called while running back to the gate. 

The Blue Dragon shook his head turning and walking into the hospital. "Black Dragons.... always running into danger." I chuckled and he looked down at me and then sighed as he sat me on a chair. "I am sorry Black Dragon... I spoke before I thought. Would you forgive me?"

"For what Blue Dragon? Speaking the truth? There is nothing to forgive. If I hadn't run into danger I wouldn't need your help." He smiled looking at my leg.

Garnet had snapped the arrow so that it didn't pull at the wound making it worse but it looked hard to pull out now. "You are a Black Dragon through and through. Too stubborn to feel this pain."

I chuckled. "Oh, I feel it Blue Dragon. I've had worse that's all."

He met my eyes and then brought his blood-soaked hands up to my face. "There are many types of pain. You suffer almost as much as your sister. You are Duha head of the night wolf pack, correct?" I nodded as his hands moved from my cheeks. "You have a pain in you as deep as Eboni of the night wolf pack. But you are whole where she is fractured. Tell me how you stayed together when she did not?"

I sighed. "She lost everything. I had something to live for." He nodded focusing on my leg again.

"Katja of the nightwolf pack, she is yours." I nodded gritting my teeth as he used the tip of his claw to push the last of the arrow out the back of my leg. "She shared her hoard with Blue Dragon. He is a kind man. I talk to you about these things as I am interested in helping heal broken minds." As he said that he used two of the claws on his other hand to pull the arrow from my leg. I cried out in pain as he freed the arrow shaft from my leg. "Ahh sorry Duha of the nightwolf pack. I will clean this and cover it. Then you need to go to Reina of the Dragon Fire. She told me you would come in wounded."

"How perceptive of her... it's like the ancients are whispering in her ear."

He laughed. "Yes, it does look like that. There you go Black Dragon, you are free to report your findings. Maybe you could ask your sister to talk to me so I can understand her mind better?"

I stood and bowed to him. "Thank you Blue Dragon. Let's hope I don't need to see you again or if I do it's with my sister."

He smiled. "That would be an honour."

"I will talk to her about it then. Thank you again Blue Dragon." I said bowing.

He bowed to me and walked away. I turned heading for the keep using my quarterstaff as a walking stick. Walking through the town made me smile. Everywhere I looked were smiles and people sweeping. They cleaned it up for her. The people really love Reina. I thought looking at the freshly pached plaster and the cobbles that were so clean you could see the colour of the rocks that made it up.

I stopped at the steps of the keep where the White Dragons stopped me. "Black Dragon we must disarm you."

I frowned but handed over my staff. "I have been wounded. I was using that to help me walk."

The White Dragon looked at the hole in my trousers and then sighed. "You will be aided."

He looked to another who put her arm around me and helped me up the stairs. She helped me all the way to that small room at the back. She knocked and then left me there. I frowned at the retreating White Dragon.

The door creaked and I turned smiling at Reina's tired face. "Duha... come in." She whispered yawning and opening the door more. Reina headed back to the bed where Kyanite lay snoreing softly. I stepped in closing the door softly behind me. "Duha... I have some bad news."

I frowned at Reina. She sat on the bed looking at the two cots near to her. "Oh?" I whispered looking at the cot.

"Katja was attacked at home." I opened my mouth feeling a rock in the pit of my stomach. "She is alright." Reina said raising her hand to stop me from asking. "I sent Kyros to dig out these people who are trying to undermine our peace efforts. You should go to her and recover from your leg wound." 

I nodded. "And the attack?"

"I'm sure you will be back here before that happens. Now go before my husband or children wake up."

I bowed to her. "Thank you, Reina." I slipped out and limped towards the way out.

The last human was dragged away to be added to the group to be sent to Reina. Kyros stretched and took the chains off himself. "Thank you White Dragons for your assistance."

Two of the largest Dragons I've ever seen bowed to him. "You nearly pulled us over a few times Kyros of the mountain. You are worthy of your title. The mountain's strength is unrivalled."

He smiled and bowed to them. "How kind of you to say. Now would you mind watching those humans until I've had a sleep." All three White Dragons bowed and left the room. Kyros turned to face me. "I need a nap and a wash. Are you going to bed?"

I looked up at Topaz. "No... I want to go somewhere to help me think."

Topaz smiled looking down at me. "I will gladly take you my gem."

Kyros shook his head. "If your mum shows up, you should make sure there's a message telling her to wait for you."

I chuckled. "Of course."

Kyros yawned leaving the room. Topaz picked me up carrying me to the entrance. We stopped at a young Dragon there. "Would you ask my mother to wait in my room, please? She is Duha Black Dragon."

She bowed to me. "I will Black Dragon." She said in a voice so soft I almost didn't hear her.

Topaz bowed tothem adn walked to the center of the room. He took off flying us to a special cave near the waterline in the cliff face. He swooped low getting so close to the water that it rippled with the speed of our flight. He slowed close to the cave entrance making a fine spray of salty water splash my face. I smiled as I wiped it away.

The darkness engulfed us and the only senses I had now were touch and sound. Topaz's flapping filled the space I knew it would stop soon as we had come here a lot. Then the flapping sound stopped with the harsh scraping of Topaz's claws on the soft rock as he landed on the edge that was a shear drop to the ocean below. I closed my eyes until I heard a soft breath sound and light appeared on the other side of my eyelids to help them adjust to the dim light of the torch.

Opening my eyes I saw that Topaz was already walking through the cave system a torch in hand. The walls showed the marks he'd made a long time ago. Deep gouges his claws had made to allow his dragon to form through the more narrow parts of this cave looked weathered and smoothed compared to some of the others in the walls where he had dug something out.

We moved in silence through the cave until it opened into a large cavern. The touch light reflected off the damp rock. Topaz sighed making me stroke his chest. His eye moved to look down at me and then back at the cavern.

He breathed fire into the large space heating the rock until it hissed and steamed, filling the room with the smell of salt. The sound that came with that fire held anger and deep sadness. I have to do something to take his mind from what happened or maybe help him see that this is just how things have played out and it will be alright. "Topaz.. I think I saw something up there." I said softly pointing up into the roof of the cavern.

He nodded looking up to where I'd pointed. "It is a thing that has little value."

"Would you get it for me?"

Topaz hesitated a moment before setting me on a dry rock that was still warm with his anger. He flew up and came back down a moment later. He offered me a small rough stone that glittered with a gold-like substance. "This is pyrite. It is not gold."

I smiled looking at it. "It's still pretty."

He sat down cupping my hands with his. "There is no value in this Katja."

I smiled stroking his cheek. "There is value in it. Dragons don't just want things of value." I pulled out the gem he had accepted as my offering to the hoard. "This has very little value other than its meaning. Are you saying this means nothing?"

He sighed. "It means everything to me."

"So does this." I lifted the small cluster of pyrite. "This is something you have given me. Everything you give me means so much because you mean everything to me. Do you remember when you said if this was all we had you would be alright with this?" He nodded. "It sounds harsh but... what happens, happens. I was scared of this for many reasons, one of which is what's happening now. The war around us, the attack and the possibility of losing them. It doesn't mean I don't want this, it doesn't make this less precious. It's just like this." I held up the pyrite in my hand. "If it was real gold it wouldn't make it any more precious."

He stared at me as I talked then smiled. "My gem you believe this?" I nodded. "I agree but still... I am sad about this."

I stroked his cheek. "Me too."

He morphed and pulled me into his arms. "You are my most precious gem. I just want to protect you."

"And I want to protect you."

Topaz growled happily and let me go. "Maybe we can find something better for the hoard than that." He pointed at the small amount of pyrite in my hand.

I nodded as he picked me up again. "I'm keeping it though."

He laughed as he carried me further into the cave. The wet smell was left far behind by the time he stopped again. He sat me down and started scratching at the wall. "Topaz."

He pulled something from the rock as he looked at me. "Yes, Katja."

"I know you have work to do but... do you think you could stay at home."

He set the rock in his hand down next to me and sighed. "I am not high up in the Blue Dragons and can not choose my position. If the Elder asks me to go I must fly. I will only have a say if I find my speciality."

He made to stand but I grabbed his hand. "Then I'm pulling rank. As a Black Dragon I command you Blue Dragon to accompany me on my most terrifying mission. There will be pain and blood, but I know with you there I will make it through."

He smiled stroking my face. "You will need to put that to Blue Elder. Who knows if he will say yes."

"Then I will get Mum and Garnet to insist too."

His laugh filled the space with pure joy as he stood. "Then he will have to say yes. I am sure you could get Reina to order it too if you only asked. You could strike fear into an Elder if you wished."

I smiled picking up the very heavy rock next to me. Topaz growled happily as he continued his scratching. I used a tool from Topaz's bag to open the rock. He gave me a pile of rocks to split and I started to work on expanding the hoard whilst thinking about our situation. We both got lost in the comfortable silence of our work and minutes turned to hours as the pile of gems and metals grew.

All too soon Topaz bent taking the hammer from my hand. "We need to leave or this cave will flood."

I nodded and helped him pack up the rocks and gems we had gathered into his bag. Soon he picked me up and walked back out to the large cavern. The route we had taken was partly flooded now and came up to Topaz's waist but it didn't stop him. He moved through it unfazed by the rising water level.

I got to see the cave better now that we were coming out with a torch and the anger in Topaz was gone. The walls were tinged green with something that was able to grow in this cave as the water flowed down the rock. The rock had been worn smooth by the water that was so clear you could see the recess it had cut into the lower part of the wall with its gental lapping when the tide was in.

I felt content as Topaz flew into the cool evening air. He flew hard to get me back home quickly when my gut remined me that we had made this trip with no provisions. It didn't take long for us to be flying around home to reatch it's peak with the speed Topaz has chosen.

As soon as he landed Mum turned from the young Dragon she was talking to and rushed to us. "Katja! I heard you were attacked..." Mum reached for me and Topaz let her take me from his arms.

She hugged me as she carried me into the corridor of Topaz's room. "I'm alright mum but we will need to talk." She sighed as Topaz opened the door to his room.

"I've not been here and I'm really sorry Katja. If I had been..." She started as she walked into the room.

"Mum stop." She did both her mouth and her feet.

She let me stand and I walked slowly to my chair. "Even if you had been here you couldn't have stopped them targeting me. They attacked and I was alone. You being here wouldn't have changed that. I'm fine our child is fine but I need to be very careful."

Mum sat in the other chair sighing. "So what can I do?"

I smiled looking at Topaz who was organising the new gems around the edge of the nest. I knew he was planning where he wanted them so that they would be in just the right place for the child to see. "I'm scared to be alone." Topaz's head came up and he stared at me. "I want Topaz with me but we need Blue Elder to agree. You can't stay here the whole time and Eboni can be overbearing sometimes."

"Alright, we can call on Black Dragon privilege. I'm sure Garnet will sign off on it."

Sighing I sat back. "That's a relief." I said sitting back in my chair. No elder can argue with Black Dragon privilege. All Black Dragons are elders until we pick one to lead us. It's what keeps the others on their toes around us. I'm sure I will get to keep him close now.