New hope
....nothing.
Startled, Draco snapped his eyes open, staring at the axe that was hovering a mere talon-length away from his chest, the weapon enveloped in an unearthly red glow. What in the world?
"Enough!"
Everyone's gazes, even Einon's, was drawn to the source of the yell, watching as a funnel of bright red and gold glowing wind appeared in the centre of the courtyard, growing until it nearly reached Draco before imploding on itself, diminishing to a swirling fog that seemingly reached outwards with questing tendrils of mist.
Bowen's breath caught in his throat as he stared at the form that stood in the apex of the fog, barely able to recognise the woman as Erica as she rose her now blood red eyes with black elliptical pupils to stare at him, and he shivered in reaction, feeling as though she was staring into his very soul.
"Peace, Knight. I will not harm you." The voice resonated loudly, as if both Erica and another, deeper voice, were speaking in perfect unison, the result sending answering shivers down everyone's spines.
It was Draco that first saw the other form that lay crumpled on the ground next to the seemingly possessed Erica, and he moaned in despair as he stared at the body of the elf, knowing that the pool blood that was forming around her was her own. "....no...."
"What trickery is this? You think you can save yourselves with some parlour tricks?" Einon sneered, returning his attention to the knight when he realised that his old mentor was unarmed. "'Only expose your back to a corpse', remember, Bowen?"
As the king lunged forward, Erica, moving as if in a daze, rose her left hand, not even showing a shred of emotion as red energy gathered around the human, lifting him off his feet and swirling around him wildly. "I would not speak of such things if I were you, Human. You time is nearer than you think." Turning away from the screaming and struggling king, she looked at the still partially chained dragon and made another gesture, the axe that was frozen in mid-air trembling for a moment before flying into her open hand. "Before you lies a choice. Life," and she gestured to the elf at her feet, "or death?" A nod in Einon's direction.
"Life?" Draco frowned in incomprehension and shifted within the unforgiving hold of the chains. "Einon must die, our lives are tied, there is no life left for me."
"That was not my question. I ask again, life or death?" There was a pause. Then. "I shall not ask again."
Life? He looked from Erica to a shocked Bowen, who was now holding a bewildered and wary Kara. The faint hope that this wasn't his end, that he'd actually be able to share in his rebel's victory, in their freedom, tugged at him, as did the knowledge of what lay hidden deep within the safety of his cave. "....life. I choose..." He trailed off as he looked back at Erica, or at least the one who was within Erica, his gaze falling on the form at her feet. The little dreamer....
"So be it."
Draco snapped his head around at the shriek that came from Einon, his eyes widening when he saw ghostly tendrils of mist piercing the king's chest, withdrawing moments later with a glowing shape that was marred with dark patches of blackness, leaving Einon's lifeless body to drop to the ground. The heart?! But how?! I didn't feel the pain... what is she... No! "You mustn't!" A growl of panic left him as he strained at his chains, thrashing as Erica took the half-heart in her hand and knelt next to the elf. "It's tainted! It's evil will pollute her!"
The answer was simple. As emotionless as the motion that pulled the broken arrow from the girl's chest. "She will purify it."
"It could kill her!"
"She will survive. Half your heart to make her whole, it's strength to purify her weakness. Or have you forgotten our secrets, youngling?"
Youngling?! "Who are you to call me--" His demand was cut off by his own hiss of sheer astonishment, his eyes going wide as the one who was controlling Erica met his gaze. "....Wise One!"
"Indeed. Your time is not yet finished. Nor is hers. There is much work for you to do, and many lives to protect. You, are not the last. This you know. The other will need guidance that these two-leggers cannot give."
Trembling in shock, Draco merely watched in silence as Erica lowered her hand, pressing the heart into Rachel's wound. He shuddered moments later, closing his eyes as he sensed his lifesource reach out to fuel the half-heart, feeling the beginning of the war that was taking place within her as her soul fought the darkness that had tainted the gift. Fight it, little dreamer. Fight.
"The Once Ways are strong in this vessel," the one possessing Erica announced as she rose to her feet again, the still swirling mist picking up speed until the wind lifted her hair from her shoulders. "As they are strong in the Knight and his Lady. But the Elf, she shows great promise. She is the last of a race once tied to our own. Kindred Spirits. You have done well by choosing her as yours."
"'Choosing her as mine'?" Draco frowned and shook his head slightly. "I don't understand."
There was the sound of a deep unearthly chuckle. "You have forgotten. Best you remember in your own time then."
"What? No, wait!" His yell went unanswered as the glowing mist rose from Erica, detaching itself from her before vanishing in a flash of brilliant light. When his sight had finally recovered, he gazed over at the two unconscious girls on the courtyard stones and frowned in worry before turning to shoot an impatient look at the stunned pair of Bowen and Kara. "Would you mind getting me out of these chains?!"
~*~
The next five days went by at a crawl. The rebel group had taken over the castle as their own, quickly driving out any that remained loyal to the dead Einon, exiling them from the realm. To their surprise, Bowen and Kara found themselves being appointed as the new rulers, and while they were reluctant to accept, it was plain that the realm had to have some rulers, else chaos would befall them.
Unfortunately, while Erica had quickly recovered from the possession with no memory of what had happened, Rachel remained unconscious, gripped in the throes of a nightmare that pulled cries of terror and agony from her, a nightmare that no one could pull her out of. Even Draco was helpless, left only to watch and wait as he kept silent vigil over her, trying to sooth her when the pain became too much, and urging her onwards when he sensed that she was close to giving up.
It had been good thinking on Bowen's part to give the dragon the stables as his own and placing a temporary cot there so he could stay near the elf. There had been a few times where he imagined that if they had put Rachel in a room in the castle that Draco would have forced his way through any barriers to comfort her when the nightmares that plaguing her tore cries of pain from her. As it was, he had his hands full trying to keep Erica from blaming herself for the elf's pain, and juggling numerous duties that had to be taken care of to keep the castle's new inhabitants from bickering amongst themselves.
It was the eve of the fifth day when Rachel finally clawed her way to wakefulness, blinking dazedly as she rose a shaking hand to touch the aching scar over her heart, feeling the strange pulse there. Wincing, she gingerly propped herself up on her elbows and looked around, staring at the dragon that was resting by the side of the cot she was on, his head so close that she could reach out to touch him without any real effort. He seemed ragged to her, exhausted despite the deep sleep he seemed to be in, and she frowned at the broken horn on his carapace as she hesitantly ran her fingers over his snout.
The reaction was immediate.
Growling in warning, Draco snapped his eyes open and rose his head from where he had been resting his chin on his foreclaws, glaring at the closed stable doors in confusion for a moment before gasping and jerking his gaze over to the cot, meeting the tired blue gaze that was looking at him in surprise. "...Rachel? Rachel! You're awake!"
"Well yeah. What's....ack!" The last was due to the dragon that had just bowled her over, and she automatically threw her arms around his neck to keep him from knocking her to the floor. "What's gotten into you?"
He pulled away and looked at her curiously. "You don't remember?"
"I damn well remember getting shot, but anything after that...." she shrugged helplessly. "No clue."
How to tell her? Rumbling softly, he settled himself down again and held a claw out to her. "Come here," he smiled, looking at her worriedly as she gripped one of his talons and weakly got to her feet, walking over to him a little unsteadily. Waiting until she was sitting close to him, he rose his free claw to his chest and slowly lifted the thick scale over his heart, hearing her quick intake of breath when she saw the scar. "Shh. Place your hand there. Don't worry, you won't hurt me. Close your eyes and feel."
Curious as to what he was up to, she started to reach out, then paused, glancing at him warily for a moment. When all she got was an encouraging smile, she closed her eyes and rested her hand against the scar, feeling the strong heartbeat against her palm. Why exactly am I doing... "By the Gods!" She snatched her hand back as if she had been burned, raising it to touch the aching scar over her heart, feeling the identical heartbeat there. "H-how...."
Draco chuckled softly and removed his claw, looking down at her warmly afterwards. "Get comfortable, little dreamer. I've got quite a tale to tell you." Not waiting in case she'd object, he delved right into the details of what had happened, watching her reaction closely as he recounted his desperate attempt to goad Bowen into attacking him, and then Erica's timely arrival. He finished by telling her of what had happened the past days while she had been unconscious, about how the castle now belonged to Bowen and Kara, and their rebels.
Silence hung over them when he was finished, and he frowned at the look of sheer shock on her face. Well, I shouldn't blame her.... not with that I just told her.
Rachel stared. "I was dead?"
"Mmhm."
"And the spirit of your Wise One possessed Erica and took your half-heart from Einon and gave it to me?" When Draco nodded, she lowered her gaze to her hands and blinked. "Okay, this is.... a little much."
"I know. At first, I hardly believed it myself. You don't realise what you've done, either." At her perplexed look, he carefully reached out and nudged the curve of a talon over her heart. "You've cleansed it. I wasn't sure when the Wise One told me that you could purify it, but you did! I was afraid it would taint you with Einon's evil, especially these last few days...." He trailed off with a sigh and carefully lowered his head to gently nudged her into the circle of his forelegs, sensing the weariness in her. "You're still recovering. Sleep now, you'll feel better in the morning. I promise."
She sighed softly and let him coax her to lie down so she was nestled against his chest, her head resting on his left foreleg. "Draco?"
"Yes?"
"....thank you."
He smiled at her as he watched her eyes flutter closed and rumbled softly as he settled himself for the night, looking forward to the first night of full sleep he'd had in almost a week as he rested his head down so that he could clearly see Rachel out of his left eye, contenting himself with watching her sleep for a few minutes before joining her.
~*~
"Sweet flamin' crap! What the hell happened?!"
Grumbling at the cry, Draco irritably cracked his right eye open and stared at Erica. "A simple 'good morning' would suffice, you know," he muttered, wondering if he could persuade her to leave so he could get a few more hours sleep. When she didn't seem to pay any attention to him, he huffed and thumped his tail on the ground, drawing her gaze. "What is it, Erica?"
Still in shock, the teen rose a shaking hand and pointed to the elf nestled against the dragon's chest, seeing him frown as he rose his head and looked down at her, his own gasp echoing the surprise that she felt. What used to be pure white locks had changed to a coppery auburn, streaked highlights of gold and bronze accenting the rich shade. Her ears, which had been slightly pointed before, were more defined, and Erica hesitantly reached out to shake her friend's shoulder, not entirely sure if she wanted to wake her. "Rach?"
"Hmm? Jus five m're minutes, Draco...." When the shaking didn't stop, Rachel growled and swatted at the hand, opening her eyes to glare up at Erica. "What already?"
"I-I think I have to sit down..." Erica whispered as she backed up a few steps and dropped onto the cot, stunned at seeing that the usual dark blue of the other teen's eyes had changed to a emerald green.
Now fully awake and rather annoyed, Rachel looked from Erica to Draco, frowning at his equally stunned expression. "What already?"
He jerked a little at the edge of panic in her voice and carefully reached out to tug at a lock of her hair, seeing her eyes widen when she saw the colour of it. "I.... er.... I truly don't know how this happened.... but, well.... we match."
"I have to sit down..."
Rachel smirked and looked over at Erica. "You are sitting down." Not getting any response to that, she looked up at Draco and shrugged. "I never liked white anyway. Help me up?" She reached out when he ducked his head and grasped two of the blunt horns that adorned his head, holding on as he rose his head again, lifting her to her feet and letting her hang onto him when she thought that her knees would give out. "Okay, this weak thing is getting on my nerves."
"It won't last much longer," Draco told her. "It's only because you used so much energy purifying the heart."
Erica looked up at that, meeting the dragon's gaze. "You mean it worked? She's alright?"
"Very much so, though I'm still baffled by the change," he admitted, chuckling when the other teen launched herself at Rachel, enveloping her in a rough hug and nearly knocking her over in the process. Amused at their antics, he helpfully shifted so that the elf could easily lean against him, turning to rumble at Erica disapprovingly when she pulled away and smacked Rachel upside the head.
"You damn near scared me to death! Don't you ever do that again!"
Rachel grimaced and ducked another hit, looking at her friend warily as she rubbed at the back of her head. "It wasn't exactly all that fun for me either, you know," she muttered sourly, blinking when she caught a glimpse of her hands and staring at the bronze tint to her nails for a moment before looking at Erica and Draco again. "I guess I owe you two, big time."
"Damn right you do," Erica smirked before Draco could say anything. "The emotional stress alone warrants at least ten favours."
"Ten?! Oh, I don't think so."
"I do," her friend retorted, folding her arms over her chest as she looked over at her. "You can start by helping me find a way to go home."
"Home?" Rachel frowned and glanced away, raising a hand to rub at the scar she had. "I don't--"
"Not for you, silly. For me." A sad smile spread over Erica's lips as she looked from the silent dragon to her best friend. "I knew the moment you met Draco that you wouldn't be coming back with me. Granted I never even dreamed things would get this serious...."
"You an me both." Sighing, the elf leaned back against Draco's left shoulder, gazing over at her friend. "You'll have to come back and visit."
"Of course! I can't wait to see what kind of trouble you get into now." She snickered at the look on Rachel's face and glanced at a curious Draco. "There was this time where--"
Eyes widening, Rachel gasped and cut her off with a loud, "Don't you dare!"
"You just don't want me to tell him about--"
Rachel felt her cheeks heat and levelled a nasty glare at her friend. "Shaddup, 'Rica!"
Grinning at the other teen's embarrassment, Erica chuckled and winked at her. "Alright, I'll be nice. For now. Hang tight for a bit, hmm? I'll go see about finding you some better clothes. Those are kinda...."
"...gross." Rachel finished for her as she glanced down at herself, looking up again as her friend darted out of the stables. "Don't you dare bring me a dress!" When all she got as an answer was a peal of laughter, she grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest, blushing more when she realised that Draco was chuckling softly. "You're not helping."
"I'm sorry. Truly," he said, trying to smother his mirth as he looked at her. "It's been a long time since I didn't have dark worries plaguing me."
She smiled a little at that and lowered her arms, looking over at him. "So, what do we do now?"
Draco grinned and met her gaze. "I'd say we should start with a vacation, don't you think? Besides, there's much I have to tell you about the heart, things that you'll need to know in the future. And I really need to get out of these stables. I feel like I've been in here for weeks."
Surprised, she turned to face him fully. "You stayed?"
"Of course!" He growled at her reprovingly and frowned. "Did you forget what I told you? Through the heart, we share each other's pains and power. The past five days haven't been easy on you, little dreamer. Purifying the heart.... it took more from you than you realise. I'm relieved that you don't remember the nightmares that plagued you."
The very real concern she saw in his eyes made her wonder what had happened while she had been unconscious, but she shook that thought aside as she reached out to rub her knuckles against his left eyeridge, smiling at the deep purr that rumbled forth. "Sorry, I guess I'm still a little overwhelmed," she murmured, watching him as he closed his eyes and leaned his head into the caress. "You sound like a giant cat."
A chuckle made the purr waver, and he grinned as he playfully nuzzled her side, nudging her backwards until she was forced to sit on the cot again. "You realise that this is rather unheard of, don't you?" he asked, opening his eyes as he rose a claw to playfully tug at a lock of her coppery hair. "Sharing a dragon's heart isn't supposed to have such an effect."
She shrugged slightly and shifted to sit lotus style, cocking her head as she looked at him. "Maybe it's cuz I'm an Elf," she suggested, tucking her hair behind her pointed right ear as she did so. "Or my magicks."
"What about them?" Erica asked as she walked into the middle of the conversation, bundles of clothing in her arms forcing her to kick the stable doors shut behind her.
"There's a chance that they're the reason behind her appearance," Draco explained, quickly shooting a glance at Rachel. "Not that it doesn't suit you, of course."
"Nice recovery," Erica told him as she threw the armful of clothes at the elf. "It's all I could find. And no, there's no dresses, so stop looking at me like that."
Smirking, Rachel hopped to her feet and hastily darted behind a wall of hay bales. "So what else has been going on while I was out of it?"
"Nothing much." Sighing, Erica threw herself down onto the cot and laced her fingers behind her head. "Bowen's been running around like a madman trying to keep up with every little crisis that pops up, the villagers have basically all moved into the castle - you missed the celebratory feast by the way. They got good drinks around here."
The elf frowned and peeked around the hay to look at her friend. "Tell me you didn't get drunk."
"Fine. I didn't get drunk." A chuckle left her moments later. "I got plastered. Worst headache I've ever had, it was worth it though. Did you know Bowen could dance? He's very good."
"Is he now?" Draco arched a scaled eye ridge curiously. "I'll have to remember to ask him where he got his lessons then, or if Kara 'persuaded' him into revealing latent talents."
Erica looked at the chuckling dragon for a moment before rolling her eyes in the direction of the hay bales. "Rach, your dragon's got a wicked sense of humour."
"'My' dragon?" Rachel pulled a dark brown leather vest over the white short-sleeved tunic she wore, glancing down to make sure it matched with the brown pants and boots she had on before stepping out from behind her hiding spot, frowning as she adjusted the two belts that were around her hips as decoration. "'Rica, he isn't 'mine'."
"Might as well be, considering all the attention you give him," Erica pointed out with a slightly evil grin. "And vice versa. Especially with this link y'all have now."
The dragon frowned as the gentle teasing brought to mind what the Wise One had told him. 'You have done well by choosing her as yours', I wonder.... "She may be right."
Rachel blinked and looked at Draco in complete disbelief. "What?"
"Something the Wise One told me, concerning you, Rachel. 'You have done well by choosing her as yours.' Even now, I don't fully understand what He meant, though I suspect it has something to do with why I'm drawn to you."
"Ew."
Growling, he shot an irritated glare at Erica. "Not like that." As an afterthought, he added, "Pervert."
Deciding that she didn't want to make an already touchy situation worse, Rachel sighed and casually hooked her thumbs into her belts. "Okay then, so, if this is a huge mystery, where is there any information that can give us a clue as to what's going on?"
Draco glanced over at her. "Avalon."
"Well, okay. Avalon it is," Erica announced as she got to her feet and shook out her hair, blinking at the looks they were giving her. "What?"
"Thought you wanted to go home," Rachel murmured.
"Well, duh." She rolled her eyes, then sent an exasperated look at her friend. "But you can't send me back now, it would be the ultimate cliff-hanger. And that would be cruel and unusual punishment."
"'Cliff-hanger's?"
"It's when a story ends at the worst possible place, leaving you guessing what's going to happen next," Rachel explained to the dragon as she walked over to the stable doors and shoved them open, smiling at the sunlight that greeted her. "Well come on. Let's go tell Bowen that I'm not dead before we head for Avalon."
"I wish you'd stop saying that," Draco rumbled as he rose to his feet and stretched within the confines of the stables before following the two teens out into the courtyard, frowning down at the elf. "It's not something to joke about."
Wincing, Rachel lowered her gaze. "Right. Sorry."
"Rachel!"
The yell made her glance up again, and she yelped in surprise when she was swept up into a bear hug, her eyes widening as she looked into Bowen's grinning face. "And hello to you to! Can you put me down now?"
The knight chuckled and obligingly set her on her feet, backing away with a mock bow. "How do you feel?"
"I'm good, thanks," she smiled, still surprised at his uncharacteristic behaviour. What did I miss while I was out? "I hear you've had your work cut out for you."
"It's never ending, too," Bowen sighed, though there was no real annoyance in the gesture. "Kara will be relieved to know you're awake. Care to join us for a meal?"
"Actually, Bowen, we're off to see Erica home," Draco said, drawing the knight's gaze. "Rachel and I will be back tonight. If that's alright with you, Your Majesty."
Erica snickered at the look that passed over the man's face at the title, quickly glancing away when he turned to glare at her, barely managing to hide her grin as she did so.
Ignoring the barely muffled chuckles from from Draco, Bowen turned and looked at the elf. "You're staying, then?"
"Yep. Someone's gotta keep you in line, might as well be someone who's not afraid to smack you if you're being an idiot," Rachel grinned. "Or will I get yelled at by Kara for damaging her Lord, hmm?"
Colouring at the implications of that, he bodily turned her around and pushed her towards the dragon that wasn't even bothering to smother his laughter anymore. "Get going. Daylight's wasting."
"My God," Erica snickered as she pointed at the knight. "Are you ever blushing!"
"Go!"
~*~
"I can't believe he threw us out of the castle," Rachel chuckled almost half an hour later after Draco had carefully landed amidst the circle of columns that sat at Avalon's heart, the dragon crouching low to let Erica and herself dismount.
The elf's amusement was infectious, and the dragon let out a chuckle of his own as he looked at her. "I've never seen a human turn that shade of red before!"
"See? Told ya, wicked sense of humour," Erica said, looking at her best friend pointedly. "He's almost as bad as you are!"
"I resent that."
"Oh, there's a big surprise." Rolling her eyes, Erica turned and surveyed their surroundings, eyeing the still majestic looking ruins and the numerous Celtic crosses around them. "So where's that information that's supposed to make sense of all this?"
"This way," Draco rumbled, stepping past them and leading the way towards the main portion of the ruined castle, glancing back at them from time to time to make sure they were following as he walked up a beaten path to what was once the library, turning to look over at Rachel as she and the other girl joined him. "Both of you, brace yourselves. There is power here that even you will be able to sense, Erica."
Shooting a nervous glance at her friend, Rachel took a breath to steel herself and returned her gaze to the dragon as he reached out with a claw to push open the huge double doors, letting dust and stale air flood out to greet them before he ducked his head and stepped inside. Still wary, she hesitantly followed him in, staying just steps behind his swaying tail as she rose a hand to cover her mouth, coughing at the thick dust in the air. What is this place?
Low mutters caught her attention then, and both she and Erica looked over to watch Draco as he walked around the perimeter of the room, shoving windows open as he went, the light that filled the room illuminating the walls... and the numerous shelves of books that lined them. "Holy...."
"The city bookstore's got nothin' on this," Erica whispered as she moved away from Rachel and looked around, turning in a full circle to stare at the hundreds, no, thousands of books. "This is amazing...."
Her apprehension of being back in Avalon forgotten, Rachel followed Erica deeper into the room, her gaze trying to take in everything at once. But it was when the hair on the nape of her neck bristled that she spun to stare at the space behind her, eyes wide as she struggled with the startled fear that was rising in her.
"Shh. Shh, calm down," Draco told her as he returned to her side, wings partially unfurling in a protective gesture. "It's alright, Rachel."
She shot a disbelieving look at him. "You call sensing things that aren't there 'alright'?"
"Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist. You know that," he chided her gently, raising his gaze from her to look over at Erica as she browsed the shelves along the lower level of the library. "I'm surprised, she cannot sense it."
"Either that or she's too distracted," Rachel said, frowning for a moment before glancing around them. "What's in here?"
"Spirits. The knowledge and power of the ancients. If you mean the books, they contain the records of Avalon. Knowledge gained from the travels of it's knights, and of King Arthur. There are also many volumes written by Merlin, on the higher levels, and even some by dragons." Smiling, he crouched a little and head butted her in the back, sending her staggering forward a bit before she caught her balance and glared back at him in annoyance. "We won't learn anything if you stand there all day."
Wisecracking dragon.... Stifling the urge to repeat her thoughts out loud, she frowned and let Draco lead her over to the far wall, glancing over at Erica when her friend ran over to them.
"I can't believe this," she breathed. "This place is older than dirt, but nothing's rotted or anything! Well, there's enough dust to turn Draco grey, but other than that, everything's perfectly preserved! It's amazing! Though I don't even want to know about the talon marks in the floor, or the walls."
Draco snorted and looked back at them over his shoulder as he sat back on his haunches, tail curling around himself. "Does it look like I'm capable of using those stairs, hmm?" When Erica winced and glanced away, he shook his head slightly in exasperation and turned his gaze to the shelves, reaching out to delicately close his talons on a worn book, tugging it free of the others. "I should know what the Wise One meant by that comment. I know I should...."
The two girls exchanged baffled glances at the soft mutter and crept closer to the dragon as he dropped the book onto the floor and used the curve of a talon to leave through the yellowed pages, moving with surprising care for a creature of his size. They had just started to peek past his left foreleg when he hissed and jerked his head back, eyes widening.
"What?" Rachel blurted, staring at him as Erica darted past her and snatched the book away from him, reading through the page that he had stopped on. "Someone tell me what the heck is going on!"
"I'll be damned." The chuckle drew the elf's gaze, and Erica rose her eyes to smirk at her friend. "I was right. He is your dragon."
"What? Erica, what are you talking about?"
Grinning, she looked over at her. "He brought you flying, right? Willingly?"
"Duh. As if I'm capable of forcing him?"
"That's what He meant!" The outburst drew the two girls attentions to him, and Draco looked at them a little sheepishly. "Er, sorry. But I really should have known this." Turning his gaze to Rachel, he lowered himself so that he was close to her eye level and smiled. "When I let you fly with me, I chose you as mine. My Rider. It's rare enough, that a dragon ever lets someone perch on their back, even rarer for one to bring them flying. I can't believe that I didn't realise that sooner."
"So, that's it? That's the big mystery? She's a Dragonrider? Yeesh." Erica closed the book and shoved it into Rachel's arms, making a vague dismissive gesture in the air as she headed for the doors. "Hell, I could have told you that."
Rachel blinked and glanced at Draco. "You can singe her if you want. I really wouldn't mind."
Chuckling, he rolled his eyes and took the book from her, replacing it onto the shelf before turning to usher her out of the room, smiling at her protests. "I'll bring you here again, don't worry about that. For now, let's just make sure Erica doesn't get lost in the ruins."
"Good point," she smirked, catching his toothy grin as she sprinted ahead. Her memory prodded at her then, and she frowned as she paused to look back at him. "The windows...." Her voice caught in her throat as she looked past him in time to see the shutters close on their own, the doors to the library slowly shutting behind the smiling dragon as he walked over to her.
"Breathe," Draco chuckled, nudging her in the side with his tail as he passed her, fighting to keep from laughing as she jerked a little in surprise and ran to catch up with him. Still smiling, he rose his gaze to the ruins ahead, easily spotting Erica as she headed back for the circle of columns, her red hair a stark contrast to the worn stone and earth around her. "I think she's anxious to go back. You know.... I wouldn't think less of you if you went back to your home."
"I am home, Draco."
The answer was so simple, yet it brought a rush of emotion that he hadn't felt in years, and he looked down at her in surprise, unable to keep himself from grinning, even when she refused to meet his gaze.
"Yo Rach! C'mere!"
Glad for the distraction, the elf quickly broke into a full run, recklessly skidding down an unstable slope before going over to her friend. "What is it?"
"Can you feel that?" Erica asked as she held a hand out, surprised at the tingling sensation she felt. "That's magick, but I can't tell what it is."
Frowning, Rachel moved to stand by her side and closed her eyes, hesitantly reaching out with her own senses to warily examine the threads of power around them, looking at Erica in shock moments later. "You just found your way home."
"Huh?"
"Simply put - I can tap into this and use it to send you back," she told her softly, suddenly realising that she was mere minutes away from saying a goodbye that she'd never dreamed she'd do. Sighing, she hugged her best friend and closed her eyes again, feeling her return the embrace with equal strength. "Thanks. For everything."
"No prob," Erica whispered, pulling away to look at the elf through misty eyes. "Someone had to keep you out of trouble. Besides, it was certainly an adventure of a lifetime, wasn't it? Dragons and knights and maggot kings."
She chuckled at the other teen's description of Einon and reached out to lie her hands on her shoulders. "I'm holding you to that visiting thing."
"I know. But we'll need something to link us together, so we can easily get from one time to the other," Erica reminded her, seeing Rachel frown for a moment before her right hand went to the ring she wore on the middle finger of her left hand, the silver circlet that was engraved with Celtic symbols catching the sunlight as she tugged it off. "Rach, no! That was your mothers!"
"It's only a loan. I'll want it back," Rachel told her with a smile as she dropped the ring to her best friend's right hand. "Take care of it."
"You know I will. Aw, hell, I suck at goodbyes." A low rumble drew their attentions to the dragon that had silently rejoined them, and Erica smiled slightly as he lowered his head to her. "Keep her safe for me, kay?"
"You have my Word, young Wiccan," Draco vowed, smiling when she impulsively stepped forward and hugged his neck, a blush staining her cheeks as she pulled away moments later.
Erica smirked and looked over at Rachel, winking at her as she took a few steps back, giving he elf some room. "Alright, let's get this over with before I chicken out."
Nodding, the elf closed her eyes and rose her hands, reaching out to snare the magick around them with her own, gently coaxing it to meld with her as she pulled on it's power, forming it into what she needed. The crackle of energy made her open her eyes to stare at the sparkling wind that had picked up around them, curling around Erica for a moment before it flashed green and vanished, taking her friend with it. Bye....
Draco sighed softly as her shoulders sagged a little and moved over to brush his cheek against her arm. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine," she smiled, looking at him warmly. "Y'know, I was thinking. I should have a new name to go along with all this, don't you think?"
"Oh?" He followed her with his gaze for a moment as she turned to walk over to a small patch of grass amongst the stone Celtic crosses that littered the land around the castle, a smile spreading over his lips as he followed her. "What did you have in mind?"
"Dunno. I was hoping you'd have a few ideas."
The response made him jerk his head back in surprise, staring at her. "Me?"
"Why not?"
"Why not, indeed. But I'm not the one to ask for human names."
She snorted. "If I wanted a human name, I'd damn well stick with the one I have."
"Good point." Rumbling softly in thought, he settled himself onto the grass and rose a claw to tap a talon against his chin. "It'd have to be something you could pronounce of course... hmm... Elandra? No, that doesn't suit you.... Rhyveth?"
"Has to be something other people can pronounce too," she chuckled as she sat next to him and leaned back against his shoulder.
"Right. Isádien?"
"Too many vowels."
"Horfidia?"
Rachel frowned and looked at him. "Horf? Hell no, you are not naming me, 'horf'!"
"Hmpft. It's a perfectly fine name."
"Horf?!"
"Alright, alright. Though if you keep this up I may name you 'Drezael'"
"What's that mean?"
He smirked. "Annoying."
She glared at him. "You keep that up and I'll call you something that you won't overly enjoy either."
Laughing, he playfully bowled her over with a wing and grinned down at her where she lay next to him. "That attitude isn't very becoming for a Rider, Kaelianna."
"Kaelianna?"
"Mmhm. It's the feminine meaning of 'heart of a dragon', from one of the many ancient tongues of the Celts. Rather fitting, no?"
"It's perfect! Kaelianna...." She smiled and sat up, shaking grass out of her hair as she looked at him. "You never told me your real name, you know."
"I'm afraid that you truly wouldn't be able to pronounce it properly." When she quirked an eyebrow at him, he chuckled. "Alright. It's..."
Rachel's eyes widened at the melodious rumble that came forth, the rough growling syllables accented by the low purr that accompanied it. It sounded absolutely beautiful, though she knew he had been right about pronouncing it. "I think I'll stick with calling you, 'Draco'."
He chuckled again and lowered his head to her, closing his eyes with a contented purr when she automatically obeyed the silent plea and reached out to scratch his left eyeridge. "So, my young Rider, tell me, what shall we do now?"
"Hey, don't ask me. You're the one who mentioned a vacation, remember? You decide."
"Then tomorrow, Kaelianna, I'll begin showing you the lands of your new home. Though, if you don't mind, I think we may avoid the swamplands." When she snickered, he let out a mock growl of annoyance, then leaned against her hand. "A little harder....there.... Hmm, and at the end of our little journey, I think I may just let you see something that will change the future for us all, little dreamer, though I shall have to ask for your Oath that you will tell no one of it. It's a secret that I've kept hidden and safe for many years....one that must remain so for many more."
Kaelianna frowned at the proud tone of his voice and looked at him.
At the moment, she thought he looked like a contented cat, sunning himself,
but there was something about what he had just said. An excited, pridefilled
warmth that was tinted with impatience and longing.... "Oh my Gods! You've
got a kid!?!"
(Not) The end. ^_~
AN: Pshaw to you who thought I'd kill off Draco. Hmpft. Anyway, there will be a sequel. The only reason I rewrote most of the movie was to give my characters background with the characters (and save Draco). Keep an eye out. Ja ne! --Lashana