Zilferia

I force myself to get up before the sunrise. Groaning, I roll out of bed and wake Nora. She stretches and seems perfectly fine being awake so early in the morning. Heading over to the window, I peer out and see that the sky is getting light, although the sun hasn’t come up over the mountain yet. I quickly get dressed then go to the bathroom to splash some cold water on my face to help me wake up. I then put on my boots, noticing Nathan stirring while I do so.

“Morning,” I say.

He opens his eyes and looks at me inquisitively. “Up so soon?” He asks, swinging his legs out of bed.

“Yep. I need to check on Eric before we go train with Thaddeus.”

“Are you taking Nora with you?”

“Yeah. I figure she’ll want to stretch her wings and hunt for something for breakfast.”

“And what are you going to do for breakfast?” he asks.

“I’ll go to see the cook near the square. She’s always up early cooking anyway. She’ll get me something.”

“Alright,” he sighs. “I guess I’ll stay here and cover for you. I’ll probably say something about you getting to know your Familiar a little better or something. Maybe throw in that you had nightmares to explain why you’re doing it so early.”

“Thanks,” I say as I grab my backpack. “It really does mean a lot to me. …I’m forgetting something… oh, milk for Eric,” I remember. I head to our kitchen, pulling out a water bottle and filling it with milk, like before. I also grab a small bowl so Eric can feed himself and put everything in the backpack. I wave goodbye to Nathan as I head out the door.

It’s chillier outside than I expected, but I just pull my jacket closer and keep walking, heading toward the pillar of smoke coming from Paula’s cooking stand in the square. When I get there, I am greeted by the happy chef.

“Hey! Crystal! I see you’re up early,” she says, chuckling merrily as she dishes eggs and sausage on a plate.

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep,” I respond, accepting the plate.

“And getting to know your new Familiar, I see,” she comments while flipping pancakes. “A fine one you’ve got there, too. I know I’m jealous!” she chuckles.

“Yeah, I’m a lucky girl,” I say, then head over to a table and bolt down the food before it gets cold. After returning the dishes, I head over to the woods.

“Who is Eric?” Nora asks, standing on my shoulder.

“You’ll see,” I respond. “…Would you be so kind as to see if I’m being followed? I… want to be alone.”

“Of course,” she replies, launching into the air. After a few minutes, she returns. “No one is near. You will be able to slip into the woods completely unnoticed.”

“Thank you.”

About ten minutes later, I reach the cave where I hid Eric. Nora hops off my shoulder and follows as I crouch and enter Eric’s new home. I blink as my eyes adjust. I feel another mind touch mine and I can sense joy that I’m here. Smiling, I kneel down and scratch under Eric’s jaw. He wriggles with joy at my touch.

Reaching back, I pull the bowl out of my backpack and place it in front of him. He sniffs it curiously, then reels back in surprise as I pour in some milk. He licks some of it off his snout and gets excited, thrusting his face directly into the bowl and gulping down as much as he can hold. While he’s eating, I explain to Nora how I came to find Eric.

“…So you’re raising him?” she asks, a little disbelieving.

“Well, yes. What else would I do? Just let him die?”

“No. I just think that maybe a wiser choice would be to tell Thaddeus about him and let him help you return him to his own kind.”

“Well… I’ll do that eventually, but right now he needs me, and I can’t be sure what Thaddeus would do if I told him. I’ll just take care of him until he can take care of himself, and then I’ll try to return him,” I reply, my thoughts shadowed by fear of what the adult dragons would do to me if they saw me with a dragon baby. They would probably kill me and not take the time to question me.

“Very well. I will not argue with you, just help you to do what you believe to be right.”

“Thank you,” I respond, happy that I have a friend that won’t fight with me about all of my decisions.

Eric, having finished eating, is now nuzzling at my hand. Smiling, I tickle him under his wings. He rolls around, cooing happily. I continue to play with him for a while, but soon enough I have to go. Putting everything back in my backpack except the bowl, I try to explain to Eric that I will be back around noon. He’s not very happy with that, but he accepts it and lays back down on the rock, closes his eyes, and begins his waiting.

I feel bad, but what else can I do? I quickly jog back to the house, Nora flying above me. When I reach the house, I put the backpack away and head out with Nathan to train with Thaddeus. At lunch, I eat as fast as I can, then run back to the hut, get more food for Eric, feed him, play for a few minutes, and return in time for training with Vlad. That part of my day isn’t as unpleasant as I expected it to be, since he just instructs me on how to properly take care of my Familiar.

Then it’s training with Thaddeus and Nathan again. We do weaponry, and I do pretty well, considering my thoughts are elsewhere. After that is dinner and feeding Eric again. I get to bed pretty late- Nathan’s already asleep when I get back.

This is my life for the next week- and it’s starting to get to me. Nathan brings it up as we are heading to train with Thaddeus that morning.

“This isn’t good for you. You’re exhausted!” I start protesting, but he stops me before I can really even get going. “No, don’t argue. It’s true. If you keep this up, you’re going to drop soon.”

“It’s true,” Nora chimes in. “I’m concerned about you. You aren’t well. You need to take a break and get some sleep.”

“Gosh, thanks for the vote of support,” I grumble. I’m in a bad mood as well- too much stress, I guess. Nathan walks in front of me and stops, forcing me to stop. He puts his hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eyes.

“I am trying to support you,” he says. His hazel eyes convey his concern for me, softening my stubborn heart. “I just want to help you. You shouldn’t have to do this all by yourself. Let me take the morning shift, at least.” I hesitate. “Please. You need to rest. I’m not saying we need to get rid of him or anything, I just think- I know- that you need help.”

I sigh, giving in. He’s sweet to want to help, but it’s hard to give up some of my time with little Eric. “Fine. I’ll let you help- but only in the mornings. Okay?”

He looks relieved and we start walking again. “Good. Another thing, though. Your head isn’t in the training anymore. I need you to pay attention- no offense- so we can win the Second Challenge. Remember your little sister. You need to return to her. What would she do without you?”

That makes me feel horrible. I’ve been so preoccupied lately that I hadn’t even had a spare moment to think about Kiki. I had completely forgotten about her. “Right. I’m sorry. I’ll get my head in the game.”

“Good. I need you, and so does Kiki.” I nod, and we continue walking.

Thaddeus is late again, so Nathan and I battle it out with the weapons once more. This time, I win easily. He seems to have lost his grace with the sword- his body must have moved on past that Gift. When Thaddeus arrives, he ushers us to the top of the building again. As we climb, he informs us that he had just been at the meeting to determine what the Second Challenge will be.

The point of this one will be to reach the ‘finish line.’ From the way Thaddeus is talking about it, it sounds to me to be some kind of maze. At certain intervals, there will be a creature that will ask us a riddle. If we answer it correctly, we will be able to continue on the correct course. If we answer wrong, then we will be sent on another path that is longer and has an extra riddle as well.

“So basically, in order to win this Challenge we will need to be able to think outside the box,” I state thoughtfully. Thaddeus nods.

“Exactly. So we will concentrate on your mind for the most part. But, don’t forget. You will still have to face the rest of the contestants. You will all be starting at different places around the arena, but there is only one finish line, and your paths may cross other’s paths multiple times. We will need to make sure you can fight them off.”

“Is there anything else?” Nathan asks sarcastically. Thaddeus doesn’t catch it, however, and he keeps on climbing.

“Well, yes. It is a race as well, so you will need to be fast. Your bodies will need to be able to endure exhaustion and keep on going strong.”

When we leave for lunch, my head is hurting from having to think about many different things in tons of different ways. After wolfing down my lunch and avoiding the other contestants, I head to the woods once again. Partway there, I am stopped by Jake. He’s holding his cat- his Familiar. He grins at me slyly while his Familiar narrows its eyes suspiciously at Nora, who’s riding on my shoulder once more.

“And where are you going?” he questions, glancing at my backpack. I swallow, thinking fast.

I nonchalantly answer, “Oh, nothing that would concern you. I’m just taking Nora out to the forest so she can catch something to eat. She prefers fresh meat, of course.”

“…Of course,” he replies, implying that he knows that I didn’t tell him the full truth. His cat glares at me and hisses. “Oh, don’t mind her. Brianna’s just not in a very good mood today. Anyway,” he continues with a wink, “I guess I’ll see you around, Crystal.” With that, he walks away. I breathe a sigh of relief, then continue towards the woods.

“I’m just glad he didn’t insist on coming with me.” Nora agrees.

When we reach the cave, I spot little Eric crouching on top of it. Before I can say or do anything, he leaps off and into the grass. I hear a tiny squeak as he lands, and when I get closer, he looks up at me, grinning a toothy draconic smile. A small mouse is dangling from his jaws by its tail, dead. I’m speechless. As he leads the way back into the cave, I realize just how much he’s grown. When I found him, he was about the size of a house cat. He is now double that, with more muscle in his legs and wings.

He takes the mouse, and drops it at my feet and looks up at me, a proud look on his face as he waits expectantly for my reaction. I kneel down and scratch under his jaw, just like he likes me to.

“Good job, Eric!” I congratulate him. “You’re such a good dragon!”

I feel in his thoughts that he is pleased that he impressed me, and suddenly, he actually forms a word in his mind and sends it to mine.

“Kysta…” I look down at him, surprised. He had almost gotten my name!

“Yes, Eric. It’s Crystal.”

“Er…ic?”

“Yes, that’s your name. Good job, Eric!”

“Eric!” He bounces around the cave, happy. He continues repeating our names. “Eric! Kysta! Eric! Kysta! Eric!” I laugh. Glancing at my watch, I see that my time with him is up. I pour some milk for him and start to leave.

“No! Kysta!” I sigh, sad to leave him. Maybe I’ll ask Thaddeus for a break tomorrow so I can come and spend more time with little Eric. Scratching him under his jaw, I promise him that I will be back tonight. He pouts.

“Kysta no go!” He insists. Sad, I tell him to stay in the cave until it’s dark so no one will see him, then I force myself to leave. His bright blue eyes follow me as I walk through the forest.

After training with Vlad and Thaddeus, I finally bring myself to ask him the question. Walking up to Thaddeus after he dismissed us, I clear my throat. He turns around, looking surprised.

“Yes?” he asks. I swallow hard.

“Um… I was wondering if I could take a break from training tomorrow?” My voice quivers from fear that he will say no or get mad at me for suggesting such a thing. Instead, he looks thoughtful.

“Yes, I suppose a short break is in order. I can see that you haven’t been yourself for the past few days. I suppose you need a little time alone, yes?”

“Oh, yes! Thank you!” I exclaim, relieved. He smiles.

“Just make sure to be back the next day. We have less than a week until the next Challenge.”

“Of course!” I say, catching up to Nathan on his way down the stairs. “Thanks again!” He chuckles.

When I catch up to Nathan, he looks at me and says, “That’s great and all, but remember that you aren’t going early in the morning. I am. Just make sure to warn him first, okay? I really don’t want him pouncing on me.” I laugh.

“Of course. But I’m not so sure he’ll need you to.” He looks confused, so I explain about the mouse.

“So he can catch his own food, then? That’s great! Does that mean that he can eat meat now too?”

“I don’t know,” I say thoughtfully. “I would think so, but I didn’t see him eat it. I guess I’ll check tonight.”

Sure enough, Eric ate the entire thing and drank some milk as well, although not all of it. So I refill it and watch as he dances around, showing me again how he caught the mouse. I laugh, having a great time. I soon have to leave again, which makes him sad until I say that I will be able to play with him all day tomorrow. Then he’s quite glad and I go home happy as well, looking forward to tomorrow.

When I wake up, the sun is shining brightly through the windows. I sit up, feeling better than I have for a long time. Nathan has already left to train with Thaddeus, so I have some breakfast and prepare enough food for both Eric and I that we will have enough to eat for the rest of the day. That way, I won’t have to come back to the house until tonight. I don’t grab anything for Nora since she prefers to hunt and eat fresh meat anyway.

I walk slowly to the woods, not hurrying, just enjoying the beautiful day and the wonderful weather, which is cooler than when I first got to Zilferia. Nora takes off, searching for breakfast as I walk. When I enter the woods, I’m startled by a figure moving swiftly through the trees. Before I can react, there’s an arm around my waist, pinning my arms down, and a hand over my eyes. I’m trapped in place and I can’t see or move, but I don’t panic. I simply wait calmly for the personage to identify themselves. I hear a laugh from my attacker.

“Well, I expected you to lash out at me or something. I see you have been working on controlling your emotions. A handy thing for the Games, since you have to fight other human beings as well as wild, vicious creatures.”

“Who are you?” I ask. The voice sounds a little like another I know… but it sounds like whoever it is seems to be trying to disguise his true voice. He laughs again, and I figure it out. “Lloyd?” I probe cautiously. With another laugh, he releases me. I turn and find that I was correct. He smiles at me and I realize once again just how cute he is, with his blond hair and bright blue eyes. Now that I am closer to him, I see that his eyes actually have a thin gold outline around the pupil. My heart unexpectedly does a flip and I’m lost for words for a moment. Luckily, he talks instead, switching back to his normal voice.

“So, how’s it going, Crystal? I see you got a break from training for a day. What are you planning on doing with it?” His happy voice hints at something and his eyes twinkle with eagerness.

“Well, I was going to spend the day with Eric, but you are more than welcome to come along as well. After all, we need to get Eric used to you before the next Challenge.”

His eyes shine and I can tell he’s pleased. I had correctly guessed what he wanted. “Sweet! I would love to spend the day with you.” I notice he doesn’t mention Eric. Smiling, I lead him to Eric’s cave. As we get near, a dark green blur flies from the cave and knocks Lloyd onto his back. He gasps in surprise.

“Who’s afraid now?” I laugh, teasing him a little. I gently pull the snarling Eric from his shirt. He winces a little as his claws scrape over his skin again. His claws have pierced right through his shirt and he’s bleeding. Now it’s my turn to gasp.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I should have come before you and warned him…” Lloyd cuts me off, sitting up and holding up a hand to stop me.

“No, it’s fine,” he winces, his other hand on his wounded chest, trying to stop the bleeding. “It’s alright. They’re just scratches, nothing more.” I’m not convinced, however. After setting Eric down and explaining to him that Lloyd’s a friend, I turn my attention to his wounds.

I gently pull his hand off so I can examine it, but it’s now covered in blood. I go to my backpack and grab a small washcloth, getting it wet with water from my water bottle and gently dab at the scratches, washing away the blood so I can see how bad it is. Lloyd grits his teeth from the pain, but he doesn’t make a sound.

“They’re pretty deep, but they should be fine,” I decide. “The only thing I’m worried about is infection…”

He stands up, smiles at me, and takes off his shirt. Getting what he’s doing, I wrap it around the wounds and tie it so it won’t come undone. I try to ignore his lean, strong body, but I can still feel my face getting red. Turning away from him, I return my attention to Eric. I sense from his thoughts that he’s sorry he hurt Lloyd. I smile and suggest that he go over and apologize.

He walks toward Lloyd, trying to look as non-threatening as possible, but I can see that Lloyd is still nervous, although he doesn’t move away from the dragon. Eric stops and looks up at him, cocking his head as if he’s contemplating Lloyd. He then walks slowly forward and nudges at his hand with his head. A small smile starts creeping over Lloyd’s face as he rubs Eric’s head. Eric starts rumbling- his version of a purr, and leans into his hand.

After a couple minutes, Eric decides that he’s had enough and stalks back to my side. Lloyd grins at me and stands. I do as well, little Eric perched on my head. It doesn’t hurt, though, because he retracted his claws. Hmm… A sudden thought strikes me. Eric is really more like a house cat than a person would normally think. He has retractable claws, he ‘purrs,’ he eats like a cat, and is friendly and curious like most cats. This is interesting, but I decide to think about it later.

“Okay, I guess he’s not so bad,” Lloyd admits. “…when he isn’t attacking me, that is,” he adds, scratching under his jaw, just where he likes it. He coos and wriggles so much he falls off my head. He’s quick enough, however, that he doesn’t hit the ground, but opens his wings and glides gently to the ground.

He then runs around in circles and says to me, “Come on, Kysta! Come!” His language expands more and more every day. Laughing, I follow him, Lloyd right beside me. I let him lead us, so we don’t go anywhere fast since he keeps running off and chasing birds and butterflies, among other things. I suddenly think about Nora.

Sure enough, I soon hear an indignant squawk as a red-tailed hawk lifts from a nearby tree and wings its way toward me. I hear Nora’s voice in my head, protesting.

“…Stupid dragon! Hunting birds for fun! I was just about to catch a nice, fat mouse, too! Ugh! You need to train that thing better, Crystal!” I laugh as she settles on my shoulder, her feathers all ruffled.

“Yes, I know. Sorry about that, Nora. But he’s only about two weeks old and has hardly been out of his cave. He’s just a bit excited.” She mutters a bit more, then settles down. She starts preening herself, getting her feathers to settle back down, as Lloyd and I continue after Eric.

We follow him for about two hours when he finally gets tired. Lloyd and I sit down on a large boulder and Eric climbs into my lap and falls asleep. Nora takes advantage of this and takes off, looking for another mouse. Lloyd and I are then left basically alone. We snack on some of the food I brought along, the awkward silence between us growing.

“Um… how are your scratches?” I ask him.

“I don’t know. Let’s check,” he says. I carefully untie the shirt and slowly peel it away from his skin. It’s stopped bleeding.

“Ah, good,” he says. “I get to put my shirt back on! It’s a little chilly walking around shirtless,” he laughs, pulling it back over his head.

After a while, Lloyd points out a peculiar bird sitting in a tree nearby. I notice that its feathers are the same color as the feather I got on the First Challenge. It then suddenly turns and cocks its head at us. It locks eyes with me, and seems to decide to take an interest in me. Taking wing, it soars over to me and perches on my knee, inspecting every inch of my face. I freeze, and so does Lloyd. It glances at the sleeping Eric and cocks its head like it’s puzzled about something. Flapping up to my shoulder, it reaches back with its beak and plucks my feather from my hair. It flees before I can do anything. Lloyd looks at me, curiosity in his eyes.

“What was that about?”

“I have no idea,” I respond, watching as the bird disappears into the distance. I hope he doesn’t ask me about that feather… I think, worried that I wouldn’t know how to respond to the question. Luckily, he doesn’t, just continues looking in the direction the bird went, a thoughtful look on his face.

Without saying anything to each other, we both stand and begin walking after the bird. It’s intrigued us and we want to find out more about it. I carry Eric for a while, but he soon wakes up and is ready to go again. I laugh and put him down so he can run around some more. Lloyd and I sit down under a tree with blue-green moss on it to get some shade as we wait for Eric to tire himself out again, which I figure won’t take too long.

Lloyd watches him, a slightly puzzled look on his face. He turns to me. “How old is Eric now? Is he older than two weeks?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure,” I respond. “Why?”

“Well… it’s just that baby dragons begin learning to fly at about his age. I’m just wondering… why he hasn’t even tried to fly yet. Normally he should be launching himself off of everything he can find, trying to fly,” he comments as we watch Eric crouch and stealthily crawl along the ground toward a rabbit. “I mean, it usually still takes a few days to figure it out, but still. He should be at least trying by now.”

“Hmm… yeah, you’re right,” I observe. “I wonder why that is… do you think we should try to teach him? I mean, we can’t show him how it’s done, but if we get him in the air, his instincts should just take over, right? That is, if he doesn’t panic and fall… maybe we should start low- not too high or anything.”

Lloyd agrees, so I go over to the unhappy Eric, who is returning without his prey. I kneel in front of him, scratching him in his favorite spot, which cheers him up. “Hey, Eric. I have a surprise for you!” I sense interest from him.

“What? What is it, Kysta?” I smile at his excitement.

“Lloyd and I are going to teach you how to fly!” I sense his excitement fade and anxiety set in. He hasn’t ever seen anyone or anything flying except birds, I realize. So he’s afraid… but the ground is no place for a small dragon. Or even a big one either… dragons rule the sky- it’s where they belong. The only problem is… Eric doesn’t want to learn. He’s satisfied with the ground. He doesn’t know about his true potential. …I need to figure out how to teach him about the joy of flying… but how?

Sighing, I pick him up and walk back to Lloyd, sitting down next to him again. When I tell him about the problem, he frowns.

“I might be able to show him how to fly if I turned into a dragon myself… but there’s a problem with that.”

“What?” I ask, surprised. “What problem? Is that not your actual Gift?”

“Oh, no,” he laughs. “That’s not it. That actually is one of my Gifts. The problem is that in the form of a dragon, I would almost definitely lose myself to the power and strong emotions that all dragons feel. It is the single most dangerous form for a shape-shifter to take,” he says, his face and voice telling me just how serious he is. “Very few have ever mastered it and returned- but they were all eventually driven mad by the need to have that power and freedom again. …So I don’t think that changing into a dragon is such a good idea.”

“Oh,” I frown. Eric squirms out of my arms, impatient and wanting to run around some more. I watch as he begins stalking a squirrel. But… that doesn’t make sense. I did it. I turned into a dragon and was fine… and I’m nothing special. Confused, I search my feelings to see if I can locate any obsession to return to that form. All I find is an exhilarating memory of the power and freedom. I want to be a dragon again, but not… not because I want it so bad I can’t resist it. However… that experience seems to have changed me… not drastically, but I am still a different person now. In fact, I haven’t even really noticed it before now. But now that I look back… mastering the dragon’s emotions helped me to master- for the most part- my own. I also seem to look at nature and… everything… differently. Everything just looks a little more… beautiful, precious, and unique. Hmm… interesting. But how am I so different from all those other people? This is a question I don’t have an answer to, so I shake off the questions and return to myself. Lloyd is looking at me, a confused and slightly concerned look on his face.

“What?” I ask, confused now myself. Could I have been too deep in thought for too long? And he’s now wondering what just happened and what I’m hiding?

He clears his throat uncertainly. “Um… it’s nothing. It’s just… you completely zoned out for a few minutes there. What were you…” he stops, looking down at the ground. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t pry. It’s just… you reacted kind of strange when I told you about shape shifting into a dragon. Have you… actually done it before? And you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I understand,” he quickly adds, looking back up at me. I smile and decide to tell him. Maybe he can help me figure it out.

He listens attentively the whole time, not interrupting or really even reacting at all. He just patiently waits for me to finish. When I do, he frowns, looking into the distance, pondering. He does this for a few minutes before I interrupt him.

“Um… so what do you think? Am I a freak or something?” I ask, unwanted desperation creeping into my voice. He turns and looks at me, surprised.

“Of course not!” He grabs my shoulders, looking into my eyes. “Listen to me,” he says, his voice so intense and full of emotion that I can’t not obey. “You are not a freak. You are special- that much I could tell the first time I saw you.”

“Really?” I whisper disbelievingly.

“Really,” he continues, holding my shoulders more gently. “Everyone noticed, actually. There were envious whispers about you from the girls the instant you showed up. All the guys, well, let’s just say they were all really hoping that you would be on their team… myself included. It seems the only one who didn’t realize it was you.”

He waits for me to absorb this information. “But… I’m not. I’m not special. I haven’t done anything extraordinary… I can’t do extraordinary things… I’m just a normal girl that couldn’t ever get any guy to notice me except to make fun of me!” I break off, chocking on tears. I struggle to hold them back. The only guy who even got close was Brandon, I think as the tears start to flow and I can’t hold them back anymore. And I only saw him for a few minutes… I missed our date… Sudden sorrow overwhelms me and I start sobbing uncontrollably- something that has never happened to me in front of another person before, especially since I was able to better control my emotions.

Lloyd seems to be at a loss for what to do. He eventually puts an arm about my shoulders and guides me into his embrace. I put my head on his shoulder and just let it out. Lloyd keeps his arm around me as he leans back against the tree. He lays his other hand on the back of my head, doing everything he can to try and comfort me.

“I… I’m sorry,” he whispers softly to me. “Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up… but it’s true. All the girls want to be you, and all the guys want to be with you. Which makes me a pretty lucky guy,” he adds thoughtfully. “To be here, spending the day with you. But mostly I’m lucky to be your friend. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.” I pull back a little so I can see his face. My eyes are still watery, but I don’t care. I smile at him.

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s just… a little overwhelming to know that someone… actually… likes me. In fact, I don’t think my family even likes me very much,” I confide, gazing into his sad, deep, blue-gold eyes. “So I’m lucky to have you as my friend.”

He smiles at me and I smile back. My emotions finally let out, I feel extremely tired all of a sudden. I can tell Lloyd feels the same. We lean back against the tree and close our eyes. I completely relax all of my muscles. Both Lloyd’s presence and the soft, sweet smell coming from the tree comforts me. As I drift to sleep, I hear a distant voice. It sounds worried, but I am beyond caring, so I just ignore it as my mind slowly shuts down. Then, I am no longer aware of anything around me.

‡‡‡

Nora arrives just in time to watch them both fall asleep. She’s instantly panicked. Oh no! she thinks as she nears them. My mistress… she didn’t realize what that tree was?! How could she not know about the Hausdorff tree? She’s disbelieving as she realizes that the boy, Lloyd, didn’t recognize it either. Thaddeus told her about this tree less than a week ago! Well, it’s obvious that she was kind of out of it then, but still! Just look at what trouble she’s gotten into now because of it!

She flutters around them, not daring to get too close. She calls to Crystal again. “Princess! Princess Crystal! Please, wake up! You are under a Hausdorff tree! It has sedative properties so as to put anyone who comes near to sleep! You should know this! Please, get up soon or else you might not get up at all!” Crystal doesn’t respond, but continues sleeping, her head resting on Lloyd’s shoulder.

Frustrated, Nora flies high into the air and cries out, magically sending the distress signal echoing through the forest. Since she is a Familiar, any animal that heard her call will have an impulse to help her. And through magic, the one that is most likely to be able to help will arrive first. Nora settles down on a rock close to Crystal and continues trying to wake her as she waits for help, but there is no response.

“Greetings, Familiar. I can see that you are in need of some assistance.” Nora looks around for the source of the voice, but is unable to detect where it came from at first. She then zones in on an exotic looking blue bird. She notices that when it moves, its feathers actually look green. She wonders about this strange bird, but decides she has no choice but to ask for his help.

“Yes. My companion is stuck in the Hausdorff tree’s trap. Could you please help me?” The bird flies down beside her. She’s surprised at how little noise he makes, but doesn’t show it. He’s bigger than her, but she isn’t too intimidated. He cocks his head as if thinking about it.

“…I could…” he replies, a teasing note in his voice. “But why would I want to?” Sighing, Nora decides to use the only reason she can think of to convince this cocky bird to help.

“Because she is Crystal Dragon, daughter of Pearl and Alexander Dragon, King and Queen of Zilferia; and she needs your help. Please. I will repay you if I can, as I am sure Crystal will as well.”

Now the bird really is quizzical. Finally, he responds. “That does not matter to me, nor to my companions. We have nothing to do with the King and Queen. We have our own leaders. So, if that is your only reason, I’ll be on my way.”

This panics Nora. She quickly flies up in front of the bird as he begins to leave. “Yes?” he asks, surprised.

“Wait,” Nora insists, hovering in front of him. “I don’t know what will convince you. But I still need your help. So, if it pleases you, I will show you everything that I know about Crystal. I know more about her than she knows herself. Maybe something about her will convince you?” She pleads desperately. Every minute wasted is a minute closer to Crystal’s death. She has no time to waste, so she tries her best to get this strange bird to stop and assist her. She just hopes it will be enough to save her.

This offer seems to intrigue the bird, so he agrees. The two land again and look deep into each other’s eyes. Nora transfers all the information, not holding anything back that might help Crystal. The whole process takes less than a minute. Nora gets fidgety, but forces herself to stay still and wait for the bird’s decision. Finally, he responds.

“Very well. My people and I will help. I have already contacted them. They are on their way.” Nora is shocked, but grateful and relieved.

“Thank you! I… why did you decide to help us, though? If you won’t have anything to do with the King and Queen?” she asks, curious. The bird smiles at her.

“Because she is the chosen one. A Dragon-human with immense power and yet is kind… it is foretold that she will save the Sohos from a… problem we have. You will find out later. For now, don’t ask. Zeke will want to tell you at a later time.” Confused, Nora nods her understanding and acceptance.

“So,” he says, turning away from Nora and looking into the forest. “What’s your name? I haven’t met many Familiars. The few that I have were devious and evil. You do not seem to be evil, which makes me curious. My name is Ty, by the way.”

“I’m Nora,” she responds, following his gaze. As she does, her trained eyes see flickers of movement through the trees, but for some reason, she’s unable to clearly see what’s moving. A human-like shape flickers in and out of focus as it runs swiftly toward them, nine others behind it. She spots two more blue-green birds flying alongside them. “I assume those are the Sohos?” she asks Ty.

He looks at her, surprised. “You… can see them?”

“Well, yes. I mean, kind of. They flicker so sometimes I can’t, but I can tell that they are there, if that’s what you mean,” she responds. He looks even more surprised.

“Really? Hmm. Usually only us ‘river birds’ –as we are called in this language- can see the Sohos when they camouflage themselves. You are special indeed. Yes, very special…” he contemplates, watching her with renewed interest. Uncomfortable under his gaze, she lifts off the rock and flies over to the leading Soho. He looks up at her, surprise on his handsome face. Then he smiles.

“Ah, a Familiar. I should have guessed as much,” he says. She’s surprised that his breathing is normal despite his rapid pace. “Please, lead us to your companion,” he says as he rushes forward. Grateful, she does so. When Nora lands in front of Crystal and turns back to the man, she sees that the whole group stayed with her. Wow, she thinks, amazed. These humans are extraordinary, that’s for sure.

The leader finally stops flickering, the rest of the group following his lead. Nora’s relieved- they were beginning to hurt her eyes. The leader, who Nora assumes is Zeke, walks up to Crystal. Without saying anything, he bends down and picks her up, lifting her with ease. When he turns and begins walking back the way he came, Nora is confused.

“Wait. What about the other one?”

“What about him? He doesn’t have anything to do with us. Only this girl can help us. Nothing is said of the boy in our legend. Why should we waste time on him?”

Deciding to take a chance, she boldly says, “Because if you don’t, I seriously doubt that Crystal will help you later if you don’t help him now. She is very caring of others, and will be distraught if you let this boy die.”

Zeke raises an eyebrow. “Oh? You can’t vouch for what she will or will not do.”

“You want to make a bet? I know her well enough to know that she will not be happy that you let her friend die. On the other hand, if you rescue him as well, she will be much more impressed and more likely to help you,” she bites back. She knows that she’s taking a risk; that she might make him mad, but she doubts it. Somehow, she knows that these people are in desperate need of help and will do next to anything for it.

She’s right. Zeke decides to take Lloyd along as well, telling another member of the group to take him with them. And then, without further delay, they take off, practically flying across the ground as they speed back to where they came from. Flying up by Ty, Nora asks him a few more questions.

“Where are we going? Why can’t they help them now?”

“We are going to the Sohos’ Village. The medical attention those two will need they can get only at our Village or the King and Queen’s Village. And before you ask, we will be there in just a few minutes.” Nora can tell from his tone that he doesn’t want to talk, so she doesn’t ask anything else and just flies above Zeke and Crystal, watching over her. Suddenly, she hears a sad, confused voice in her head.

“Kysta? Where Kysta? And boy? Birdie?” Concerned, Nora thinks, Oh no! I forgot about Eric! Poor little dragon. I guess I’ll go get him. Crystal wouldn’t be too happy with me if I lost him, she decides, winging her way toward Eric and away from the Sohos. They don’t even notice, continuing to run at their breakneck pace. She hurries so as not to lose track of the Sohos and be lost in the forest without her companion.

When she reaches the lost dragon, he jumps up, relieved. “Yay! Birdie! …Where Kysta?”

“Follow me, little one,” Nora responds- although he isn’t so little anymore- heading back toward the Sohos. “I will explain on the way.” He’s confused, but follows anyway, as fast as he can. Luckily, his fastest is enough to keep them from losing sight of the Sohos. It’s a good thing Eric is good at listening and understanding things, because he would have no idea what she’s saying otherwise. He actually grasps the situation extremely well. Nora’s impressed, but doesn’t express it. They have finally caught up with the group- and they are just stopping. In the middle of nowhere.

What? I thought they were going to their Village, not to some random spot in the forest! This place is no different than the rest of the forest- there’s nothing special about it! So why would they stop here… Nora’s wondering is ended by Zeke.

With Crystal now slung over his shoulder, he steps forward and away from the rest of the group. The one holding Lloyd steps up and stands next to him. With a nod to the other one, Zeke then shouts some strange word- probably a magic spell- and jumps straight up into the air, the one with Lloyd following closely. Before Nora can even squawk, he lands on the back of a huge, silvery-white dragon. Nora’s beak falls open. The thing is not only big, but is obviously also very powerful. So that’s what a full grown dragon is like, she thinks, glancing down at the oblivious Eric. To think that something so small as this little dragon could turn into something as deadly beautiful as that creature… I don’t think Crystal knows what she’s gotten herself into.

The dragon flies almost straight up, zooming into the treetops high above. After waiting for a couple of minutes, Nora begins getting nervous. Just when she’s about to follow the dragon, it returns, landing in front of the rest of the Sohos. The group begins climbing onto the beast, so Nora follows them, Eric following her lead. The little dragon’s eyes grow huge as he finally sees the dragon ahead. His eyes then get unfocused, and Nora can tell he’s talking with the big silver dragon. Smiling, she perches on one of the dragon’s horns beside the blue-green birds as one of the Sohos grabs Eric so as to keep him from falling off once they get started. Two of the ‘river birds,’ however, stay behind, seemingly to guard the spot from any intruders.

The dragon’s muscles ripple as he crouches, preparing to take off. Realizing that it will be a rocky ride, Nora tightens her talons around the horn- and just in time, too. The initial leap off the ground is so fast that she is almost ripped off the dragon. After that, though, it’s not so bad. The dragon doesn’t shoot straight up as it had with Zeke and the other guy. This time, it spirals upward, making sure that no one falls off. The light ahead seems endlessly far away.

How long can we keep going up? Nora wonders, her eyes wide as she gazes at the forest below. Surely these trees can’t be that tall. …Can they? Finally, they pierce the canopy and zoom into the open air. Looking around, her eyes wide with wonder, Nora is amazed. This green… it seems to go on forever in every direction. But… how can that be? No forest on Zilferia is this gigantic. Which poses the question… where are we now? Something is different about this place, but she just can’t place what it is. There’s just something… different in the air. The only thing Nora is sure of is that they aren’t in the same place anymore. The silver dragon begins flying Northeast.

Looking back at Eric, she can see that he is enjoying being in the air. He was afraid at first, but now he has a taste of true freedom- and he’s loving it. All of a sudden, he starts flapping his wings. Then, without warning, he leaps off the back of the dragon. Bewildered, the Soho that had grabbed him is too slow to do so again before the little dragon begins plummeting toward the ground far below. Frantic, Nora flies off the dragon, looking for Eric to see if she can try to save him. But it seems the silver dragon already has that covered.

Following a happy squealing sound, Nora looks at the great claws of the dragon. One of them is curled around a small green dragon. Sighing with relief, Nora flies down and perches on the claws. “Eric!” she scolds the happy youngling. “Don’t do that! You can’t fly yet! You’re just lucky this dragon was here to save you!” Looking up at her, the baby dragon coos and smiles. Her heart softens, but only a little. “I mean it! Warn me next time, okay? I’m just worried about you, that’s all.” Eric nods, indicating his acceptance of this rule.

Noticing the dragon start to descend, Nora looks around. It still looks like there are just a bunch of trees. But as they get closer and closer to the treetops, Nora realizes that they have arrived at the strange village. Heading toward a huge clearing that is just big enough for the dragon, the silver beast lands, the wind he creates sending ripples through the grass and causing the trees to lean away from it. The Sohos climb off as the huge dragon gently sets Eric on the ground.

Nora leads him after the Sohos as they begin climbing some steps built into a nearby tree. Looking up, she can see buildings, built right into the trees themselves. Bridges stretch between each of the houses, connecting them. The houses are in every tree as far as she can see. The Village is as big- or bigger- than the King and Queen’s Village. Shaking off her feeling of awe, Nora flies up to one of the Sohos. He’s a big fellow with long legs as well as long hair.

“Where are we going?” she questions, flapping around in front of his face. He looks at her, a bit surprised.

“We are going to our hospital- that’s where Zeke went with your companion,” he points at a building with a tint of blue built a little higher than the rest. “It’s right up there.”

“Thank you,” she says, flapping up to the building with Eric racing up the steps behind her. He keeps up surprisingly well on his little legs, and they are soon at the entrance to the building, the Sohos far behind. Nora can’t open the door, but luckily, Zeke comes and opens it. He looks a little surprised to see her already there, but he quickly ushers them in and leads them to Crystal. Eric climbs onto her stomach and whines, concerned. Nora lands on the pillow next to her head. There is a doctor working on Lloyd and another working to help Crystal.

Looking at the nearest doctor, Nora can see her mixing a variety of things. The finished product is a blue powder, which the doctor holds under Crystal’s nose until she inhales. She immediately starts coughing. The doctor assures them that she will be alright. Just after this, Lloyd begins coughing as well. After the coughing fit subsides, Crystal just sighs and falls asleep again, as does Lloyd. Nora is concerned that that means the powder didn’t work, but the female doctor at Crystal’s side assures her that it is just a necessary part of what will heal her, because the initial reaction of coughing only started the healing process. She needs a bit more because she was under the tree for so long, and, surprisingly, the thing she needs is more sleep. So Nora flies up to the bedside table and perches there, standing guard for her sleeping companion, waiting anxiously for Crystal to wake up.

‡‡‡

I wake slowly, drawn out of the comforting blanket of sleep by soft voices near me. I try willing them to go away so I can go back to sleep, but the voices don’t leave. So I slowly open my eyes and wait for them to adjust to the bright light. Blinking, I look around without moving my head. I’m in a spacious room with wood walls and bright lantern lights hung on the walls and ceiling. On the other side of the room, I see Lloyd’s slumbering body. I’m confused about where I am and what happened, but then it all comes rushing back to me at once. I groan and hold my head.

“Crystal!” an excited and relieved voice exclaims in my head. I cry out as the pain in my brain increases. My hands over my ears, I can barely hear someone else talking.

“I’m sorry, Nora, but Crystal is not yet ready to speak with her mind yet. It’s… a side-effect of the Hausdorff tree. In fact, she may not be able to speak at all for quite a while, since she was under that tree for so long. I just hope the Sohos got to her fast enough to avoid brain damage,” a soft, feminine voice says, worry edging her words.

I remain curled up in a ball with my hands over my ears and my face buried in my legs, trying to escape the pain, escape the strange voice, just escape everything! Soon, I feel gentle hands on my arms. They slowly pull them off my head and a hand under my chin gently lifts my face toward the person. I can’t help my curiosity, so I slowly open my eyes and look at the person in front of me.

From what I can tell, the brunette haired woman in front of me is a doctor. Her clothes give that away. But what startles me is the kind and caring look in her bright hazel eyes. As if she… knows me, and wants to help me. I shake off the feeling that I should know this woman and I open my mouth to speak, but she stops me.

Smiling compassionately, she tells me, “I’m sorry, Crystal, but you… may not be able to speak for a while. Now, I know you want to question me, but please, don’t try to talk. If you try again too soon, then your voice box may never work the same again.”

I feel my eyes get big and I clamp my mouth shut. I guess she’ll just have to be able to guess what I want to ask. I look at her, raise my eyebrow, then look around the room with a lost look. Luckily, she catches on.

“Oh, I see. You’re wondering where you are and why you are here.” I nod. “Well, after you fell asleep under the Hausdorff tree, your Familiar here called for help. Luckily, a river-bird decided to help, so he got Zeke, the leader of the Sohos, and he carried you here. I did the best I could to help you, but… well, you may still encounter… problems. Such as your voice.”

Looking past her, I see a tall, handsome man. I instantly blush. The doctor glances back, smiles, then turns back to me. “Ah, that’s Zeke. He’s the one who saved you. And you can call me Kate.”

Zeke walks over to the other side of the bed. “I was happy to do it. I always try to help those in need. And… let’s just say I have a feeling you will help us in the near future. Now, I know you have questions, but you will just have to wait until tomorrow. We don’t want to risk you losing your voice entirely. So come see me sometime tomorrow, and I will explain everything I can to you.” With that, he walks out the door.

As he does, I hear a groan from Lloyd. Kate hurries over to him, leaving me alone. Until, of course, two things jump onto my lap. I smile at the sad little dragon and rub his head, which cheers him up. To Nora, though, there is nothing I can do to tell her that I’m alright, and no way to thank her for all that she had done for me.

A little later, Kate comes back with a wonderful chowder for me to eat. Once I finish it, I lie down to sleep, looking out the window beside the bed. I notice that the sun has gone down, but I don’t realize just what my absence will do to Nathan when I don’t come home that night.