AN: Hey guys, so this story still has a ways to go and it's already getting up there in chapters and words, so I will make this chapter a cutoff point for this story. I will post a new story as the next installment of this series shortly, it's already written, it just needs to be typed—yeah I know. Easier said than done. Thanks a million for those of you that are reading and reviewing, and I will get the next installment out as soon as I can.

Fires abroad

Tohan rolled over lazily and groaned as morning sunlight heated his face. Opening his eyes, he was immediately aware of quite a foul breath on his face. Tohan's huge white wolf, Kamuy was perched over him and panting with his tongue, the size of Tohan's forearm, dropping gigantic specks of drool all around.

Tohan groaned sleepily and pushed his companion away from himself, cleansing his breathing air momentarily. "Off me, Kamuy! Off!" Tohan heard a small giggle from the doorway before a blonde head bobbed into his line of sight.

"Wakey, wakey Mr. Tohan!" Martel's playful voice boomed.

Tohan rubbed the dust out of his eyes and sat up. "What time is it?" he asked groggily.

Martel shrugged. "How should I know?" she replied in earnest.

Tohan yawned, and stretched his arms over his head. "Is Alex up yet?" he asked.

Martel nodded. "Yep. She was up before me and even Kamuy too!"

Tohan got to his feet and grabbed his shirt from the window sill. "Again?" he asked. Every morning since she had arrived, Alexandra had been up before the crack of dawn. Usually, from what Tohan had observed, to practice with her spear on the course he had originally made for himself near the waterfall. He could see her improvement in skill and technique day by day, but he suspected that practice and the freedom to do so were not the princess' only motives. Day by day, Tohan could also see the decline in Alexandra's happiness and the growth of guilt and shame. She rarely ever smiled anymore and often came to him for advice, however nothing the young man of Furni said to her seemed to have made any difference. He strongly suspected that his friend was fighting so fiercely to lose herself.

Martel nodded. "Yep. Again. Mr. Tohan, why is Ms. Alex so unhappy all the time? Is it because she doesn't like us anymore?" Martel asked glumly, as if it were something she'd done.

Tohan shook his head gave Martel a gentle, reassuring hug. "I'm sure it has nothing to do with us. Princess Alexandra is unhappy because she feels like she has done something wrong. She's ashamed of herself," he explained.

Martel's large eyes welled with sympathy, and her childish features seemed to give way to a look of understanding. "I accidentally broke my mommy's favorite doll one time. It was so pretty. I just wanted to touch it . . . I didn't mean to broke it," Martel admitted, recalling some event of her life of which Tohan had been unaware.

"You didn't mean to break it," Tohan corrected with a lighthearted smile.

"I got into so much trouble and mommy was very mad. . . . I was sad for a long time. Is that what you mean, Mr. Tohan?" the small girl asked.

Tohan sighed gently. "Something like that, I guess."

Martel suddenly clapped her hands together as a thought seemed to occur to her. "Then, if Ms. Alex is so sad, why don't we cheer her up? I'll go make some brambleberry tea!" Martel said determinedly.

Tohan was skeptical for a moment, he didn't believe that brambleberries were going to fix the princess' problems by any means, but perhaps the gesture from someone as naïve to her problems as Martel might help some. "Okay, I'll come help you," he offered.

Martel shook her head stubbornly. "No! I can make it by myself! Go talk to Ms. Alex. Tell her a funny story like you tell me sometimes when I'm sad," the child insisted.

"Are you sure, Martel?" he began hesitantly. While it was true that Martel had come a long ways in things she was able to do without supervision, cooking was not one of them in the slightest.

"Silly! I'll have Kamuy help me, you go on!" she piped persistently.

Tohan eyed his white wolf, who gave a short bark in reply. Tohan really didn't want her in their makeshift kitchen/pantry cooking by herself, but moments passed, and she remained rooted to the spot with her arms crossed adamantly.

Tohan nodded at last, disguising his disapproval. "You go ahead then, Kamuy will be there in a minute," Tohan assured.

Content, Martel smiled and skipped out of the room.

"Make sure she doesn't get too close to anything hot or sharp," Tohan instructed his wolf. Kamuy wagged his tail in understanding and then left the room in the direction Martel had gone.

Tohan finished dressing, cringing slightly as he looked down. That was one thing that he had been unable to make for himself, new clothing. His attire had been with him over two months now, having been the only clothes he owned after their escape from Furni. At first, he'd been able to patch some of the minor holes and cuts with various strands of thick grass, but now they were beyond repair. His once white shirt was now mostly gray, despite his washing it every day. It was beginning to resemble nothing more than a shredded rag for all the rips and missing patches from various fights with bandits, Kamuy's claws or teeth in playful accidents, or getting caught on branches or bushes out in the fields.

His pants looked equally pitiful. They had once been full-length, but he had long-since torn them into shorts. He also felt guilty in knowing Martel's dress didn't look that great either. While her small dress did look considerably better than his own clothes, it was still full of tears and holes as well. Several times he had thought about asking Alexandra to send Holly with some new clothes, but each time he had thought better of it, it would have given rise to many questions as to why a princess would be buying male clothing and a small child's dress and could have gotten her into some serious trouble. Moreover, she had no way of knowing what would fit, most clothing, according to his mother at home, usually had to be custom tailored.

He put his distaste out of his mind; there wasn't anything that could really be done about it now anyway. He walked outside to find his royal guest. It didn't take him long; she was right where she normally was, on the training course. Tohan waited patiently for a few minutes for her to finish her routine, before calling out to her at the end.

She looked up at him with a diplomatic expression as she came over, the closest thing to an actual smile she had been managing lately. Sweat dripped from her brow as she leaned against a nearby tree trunk.

"How's it looking?" she asked. "My routine, I mean?"

Tohan nodded approvingly. "It's coming along very nicely I'd say. How are you feeling this morning?" he replied softly.

Alexandra shrugged. "The same as every morning, I guess. Why do you ask? Is something wrong?"

Tohan locked eyes with her gently. "Nothing's wrong in the sense of danger or illness," he answered honestly. "It's just that Martel's noticed you've not been as cheerful lately. Martel thinks you're upset with us and wanted me to come talk to you," he explained.

Alex looked down. "Oh. I see. Well, I'm not upset with her, and I hope she knows that. And I'm not upset with you either Tohan, just so you know. It's just that I—"

"Keep blaming yourself for running away. You think what you did was pure cowardice and you're ashamed," Tohan supplied for her.

Alex sighed. "Sorry to repeat it," she apologized.

"It's fine," Tohan assured. "Everyone needs someone they can trust to confide in. That's what good friends do; they listen to each other when one or both of them are upset. You can tell me the same thing a thousand times if you want to and I won't be angry or irritated. I know this whole situation is extremely distressing for you and it is likely on your mind close to all the time. I'm all ears if you need me, even if it only helps for a second, I don't mind," he promised. Tohan knew as trivial as this reassurance was, it would help his distressed friend. Like he expected, his words seemed to have given Alexandra a flicker of softness in her emerald eyes, but it faded quickly back into depression.

He thought for a moment of ways to try and take her mind off her troubles even momentarily. He had an idea, and ran it by her. "You know, you've been working on your skills very hard lately, how about trying them on a real opponent?" he offered, suspecting that she'd love the opportunity.

She looked at him for a moment. "A real opponent?" she reiterated quietly.

Tohan nodded. "I was thinking along the lines of a sparring match between you and me. I'm sure you remember I fight with an axe, and it would definitely be a challenge for both of us I think, because an axe is not a common weapon around these parts, or at least from what I've noticed among soldiers and bandits and I'm not skilled in any way with a spear and I haven't had any practice defending against one," he informed.

The young woodsman's plan for the princess' happiness backfired as her diplomatic expression became one of pain. "I. . ." she said miserably.

"What's wrong? Do you not feel ready for a match or is it you think you'll have to take it easy on me?" Tohan asked gently.

Alex shook her head. "It's not that. I just don't feel right sparring," she answered and turned away.

Tohan gave her a quizzical look, but then nodded. "Does it bother you because your father told you not before you left?" he asked, drawing conclusions.

The young Serdian heir took a deep breath. "It's not just exclusively my father. I used to spar with my fiancée before he just out of the blue changed his mind. I don't understand completely, we've always been the best of friends, we did everything together, and then suddenly he decided that fighting was too dangerous for me. I have no idea what changed him," she admitted, talking off into space rather than to Tohan directly.

"I think the most direct reason is that he just simply didn't want you to get hurt. If he's your friend, let alone your fiancée, that's the last thing he'd want to happen to you. It sounds to me like he was trying to be protective of you and might not have known what he was doing was hurting you. Love makes you blind sometimes, my lady. And, I also think that maybe as much pressure that was on you, there must have been a lot on him too and he might have briefly cracked under it. I think that might be logical in going from a life not of royalty to one that is, though I've never been in that position myself, so I can't say that for sure in total honesty," Tohan concluded.

"That part doesn't require any guesswork, I assure you. You made the correct assessment about the stress of a royal life, or at least, of mine," she began, slightly sour. "But," she added, softening, "what you just said sounds about right to me. I didn't mean to be harsh just now. Sparring reminds me of him and that's what makes me feel worst of all. He's always been and STILL IS a dear friend to me. I didn't want to hurt him, and I know I have very deeply. He must hate me now. I don't blame him. . . .Tohan, he told me he was in love with me to my face. He said he's always loved me since we were little and then he kissed me," she suddenly blurted, a confession she had yet to share with him.

Whoever this guy was, Tohan knew that if he cared about, or especially if he loved Alexandra, he wouldn't hate her. She had been scared and felt trapped. What would her fiancée himself have done in her shoes? "If that's true, then I'm positive that he doesn't hate you. If you two have really known each other that long and that well, and he, himself, told you he loves you, he's not likely just going to toss his feelings for you aside because he got hurt. Years of friendship like yours are made to endure, Alex. And my dad always used to tell me that the bonds of friendship are strongest things in the world, second only to the bonds of love and that more often than not the two intersect. He said that both, if true, are harder to break than the strongest steel. If he is truly your friend, he will forgive you. And if he truly loves you as he claims he does, he will not give up on you. I think you're right when you said he's probably hurt, but he won't hate you. Nobody's perfect, even a princess. Surely your fiancée remembers this, and I'm sure he also knows that everyone makes mistakes, so I'm sure he'll forgive you," Tohan coaxed.

Alex hung her head. "How could he?" she whispered sadly. "You didn't see the look in his eyes when . . ." she trailed off.

Tohan put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, then he himself grimaced as he remembered something else. "I just remembered that I should warn you my lady, Martel is making tea to cheer you up. Speaking of which, it should probably be ready any time now," he informed, making Alex grin slightly.

"Oh no, not again. She's such a sweetheart," the princess said softly in response to the consideration.

As if on cue, Martel's loud voice rang throughout the air. "MR. TOHAN! MS. ALEX, TEA IS READY!"

Tohan shrugged. "Are you coming, my lady?" he asked politely.

The princess nodded. "Yes. Tell Martel I'll be along in a minute. I'm going to get a bath first," she replied.

Tohan merely nodded and gave her a pleasant smile. Walking back to the tree house, Tohan laughed to himself. When everything had settled down and Martel's necklace had enough power to get them home, he would never want to look at another brambleberry in his life.

"Where's Ms. Alex? Martel asked when she saw Tohan renter the house alone. Her happy expression seemed to fade away when she couldn't find the princess with him. The small girl was holding a reed tea-tray that was about as big as she was, loaded down with steaming wooden cups giving off a familiar candy-like smell.

Over in the corner, Tohan heard a groan. Kamuy had put his head on the floor with his forepaws over his eyes. His white fur was sporting some minor black tinges in places and he smelt vaguely like smoke, but that could have been Tohan's extremely sensitive nose.

"Princess Alex is taking a quick bath; she says she'll join us in a minute. What's wrong with Kamuy?" Tohan inquired, but he had a strong suspicion that he knew already. Babysitting was a tough job for man or beast. Women, however, seemed to have it down to an art.

"Silly puppy," Martel giggled. "I don't know what's wrong with him."

The gigantic white wolf opened one golden eye towards Tohan and then it darted towards Martel, as if any second disaster could strike from nowhere. Judging by the expression on his companion's face and the slight evidence of flame on his fur, Tohan could only guess that he didn't want to see the pantry.

"You're on break, Kamuy," he said with a laugh and his canine companion instantly slumped to the floor in a disconcerted heap.

Tohan took the tray from Martel, which was wobbling dangerously, and sat it firmly on the table before helping the child into a chair. Tohan took up a chair of his own and no sooner had he reached for a cup of tea, than did a loud screech, the likes of which he had never heard before, fill the air. The noise was so loud it seemed to make the surrounding area vibrate; the liquid in the cups rippled and sloshed, splashing a decent amount onto Tohan's hand. Withdrawing his hand quickly with a mercifully unheard swear word, he quickly looked outside for any sign of Alexandra.

He didn't see her anywhere and much to his concern, a large shadow had fallen across the ground so dark, it was temporarily eclipsing the sun. Tohan's mind and heart were racing with terror. No. . . they couldn't have found him all the way in Serdio . . . how could they have gotten past the ocean's waters? No. There was no way . . .they had been so careful! His stunned mind kept clinging desperately to those trivial thoughts. There was just no way . . .

"Mr. Tohan, I'm scared! Is it one of those tree-monsters again?" Martel yelped hysterically, speaking aloud the fears of his heart.

In the midst of the terror, Tohan knew that he had to find Alexandra. "Alexandra! Martel, stay here!" he demanded as he grabbed his axe by the door and raced down the ladder to ground level. He looked around frantically, expecting the worst, but to his surprise he found that the shadow on the ground was casting an unfamiliar shape. He could clearly see the distinct outline of wings in the shadow that was overcast before the darkness was lifted just as suddenly as it had come.

Silence ensued for moments afterwards, and then minutes after that there was still no sound apart from the nervous chittering of a few prairie birds. Out of the corner of his eye, Tohan saw Alexandra running towards him calling his name. When she reached him she was out of breath and he could clearly see the shock plastered all over her face.

Tohan's turn to be surprised came very quickly indeed. Before he could say anything, a warm, powerful feeling swept through his body and manifested itself as a powerful, burnt-orange glow. Tohan immediately realized that the light was from his dragoon spirit, and that the blinding flash of light was also powered by another source. There was a shimmering green orb in front of him giving off an emerald glow. That light was familiar too somehow. Tohan knew it could only be one thing. He shook his head quickly. No, he must have been mistaken.

Then again, Kongol had said that the only reason that a dragoon spirit would glow like this was if he used the power, the dragoon carrier was being recognized, or because there was another dragoon nearby. He hadn't, to his knowledge, activated his dragoon spirit, and besides, there was another light in front of him. It could only mean that Alexandra was also a dragoon.

"Tohan?" he heard her voice ask uncertainly.

Tohan clutched at the stone he wore around his neck and pushed it more tightly into the ruins of his shirt, abruptly diming the area. When the spots in his eyes disappeared, the young man could clearly see Alex looking back at him with complete and utter surprise.

"Tohan, you're a dragoon? Why didn't you say something?" she asked, astounded.

Tohan was sure he looked just as stunned. "I didn't think it was something I should mention. Why didn't you tell me about yourself being one of the latter?" he replied quizzically.

"I just got my dragoon spirit; it used to belong to my father. I haven't had it around you until just now," she answered.

About this time, Martel came running outside. "What's going on?" she asked in confusion.

"I'm not entirely sure," Tohan admitted slowly, just as ignorant.

Alex sighed. "I think I might. Tohan, may I have a word with you, privately please?" she requested, calm returning back to her demeanor. Once Tohan had sent Martel away under great protest, he turned to his royal companion.

"Firstly, I think we should discuss our dragoon spirits," she announced and told Tohan a detailed account of how the Jade dragoon spirit had passed into her possession. Once she was finished, she eagerly started barraging Tohan with her own questions. "Why did you think not mentioning your dragoon spirit to me was important? You knew that my father, King Albert, was also a dragoon. He probably could have helped you out a great deal before now. Secondly, your dragoon spirit, the—?" she asked hesitantly.

"Dragoon spirit of the Golden Dragon," Tohan answered simply.

"The Golden dragon? That means that you had to receive your spirit from Kongol! That's right, I remember now. When I first met you three Martel said something about Kongol helping you build this house. But, why would he have been here? And most especially, why wouldn't he have come to see my father or Mr. Feld? Last I heard from either of them, he was still in Rogue. Did you ever travel there, Tohan? Or did you already have your dragoon spirit when you were stranded here? How did it pass from Kongol to you? How do you know him?" she asked, confused.

Tohan shook his head. "I didn't have it until well after I got here, though I wish I had it before. Then I might have actually been able to do something about those tree things. No, I haven't ever been to rogue either. Kongol found me here," he said gesturing around.

Tohan moved on to Alex's next question. "Kongol apparently came here on purpose, to find me, though I had never met him or even seen him before a day in my life. He told me that he had seen me in visions and that he was drawn to me because I supposedly have a strong bit of giganto blood. He says he and I are the last. He wanted to teach me everything he knew because of it. I know it sounds farfetched, but it's true. I didn't believe him myself for a while. As for why he didn't go to King Albert, I don't really know, he never said anything about it. I will tell you though that he told me that something big was about to happen in Rogue and that he needed to get back immediately. Martel wished him home, but not before he gave me this," Tohan explained, holding his dragoon spirit in his palm where it sparkled and glowed dully upon just his touch. "He gave it to me because he said that I needed it more than he did. He said he was giving it to me because it would help me become stronger and save Furni. I haven't heard from him since he left, and with everything else that's been going on, and now this, I'm extremely worried," Tohan explained.

"Forgive me for not mentioning it Alex, but I wasn't exactly sure what had happened myself," he apologized.

Alex simply nodded. "You didn't have to say anything if you didn't want to. It's your private life. I'm just surprised that you didn't. I had so many questions I might have been able to get answers for earlier. As you say, I'm still finding all of this hard to believe myself. There are millions of other people in this world and just finding one other person, one other dragoon, is a miracle. I understand that new dragoons are only chosen when history requires them and that dragoons are drawn to each other when the time comes. The more and more I think about it now, I realize that I didn't meet you by chance. We were fated to meet. This would also explain why I trusted you when I first met you. That would also mean that you're not all the way out here, in Serdio, by accident. Finding Martel was destiny, so that we could meet. Also, judging by what you've told me and by what I know myself, the reason for the calling of new dragoons was started in Furni the night of the attack. As we find out more about Furni, we'll find out more about what's actually going on. I mean, whatever it is, it's obviously passed well beyond Mille Seseau. Serdio's suffering from a bandit infestation like nothing I've ever heard of and the creatures all around are turning into monsters and terrorizing the people. By the way, that creature we just saw was the firebird I fought at Wyst, there's no denying it. My only question is what it's doing all the way out here," she announced grimly.

Tohan stood for moments in complete silence, absorbing Alexandra's conclusions in. They did make sense and would explain a lot of things; however her deductions roused more questions in him in addition to a horrible sense of knowing. She was right; Furni had merely been a piece of still some larger and extremely dangerous puzzle that was also encroaching on bits of the whole world if new dragoons were being called. Tohan suddenly felt a nervous lurch in his stomach, he felt as if something invisible had just socked him in the gut and pinned him to the floor. He felt trapped. Fate, undoubtedly fate, had chosen him to be a part of something larger than life.

Alexandra had also been silent for a few moments, apparently adjusting to her own conclusions as well. However, unlike Tohan, she seemed vaguely pleased and he knew why. Being a dragoon meant being a knight, with obligations to defend everyone and everything. Being called as a dragoon must not have only verified her personal convictions and given her access to her heartfelt desire, but it had also, at least temporarily, given her a pass out of her parental and marital troubles. To any logical person, most certainly the King, though Tohan had never met him, he was sure a crisis of the world came before the crisis of a family or a country, and a dragoon was a defender of the world. The spirit had chosen her, and Tohan had a peculiar feeling that was something that could not be taken back. He was also fairly positive that even if the King did find her and lock her away somewhere, fate would find a way to free her and get her where she needed to be. Alexandra's princess responsibilities had been validly put on hold in Tohan's mind, until whatever this crisis was, was resolved.

Tohan groaned; somehow he had managed to end up in a large, complicated mess. He needed time to adjust because he also knew that since he had already excepted his dragoon spirit, even though he had been mostly ignorant to what it implied, there was no turning back. After thinking all he had just heard over, Tohan's troubled mind returned to another subject, the large firebird he had recently viewed.

"So," he said, breaking the silence at last, "that monster was the thing you fought? The one you told me about? I'm impressed! That thing was huge and looked really nasty! I can see why your dad was upset, you're lucky you didn't get hurt!" he said with a blink.

Alex sighed, exasperated. "Please, not you too. I'm fine. I've been fine. Despite what most people think I can watch after myself," she protested harshly. She sighed again, releasing some of the anger Tohan knew was building over the issue and her growl was replaced by a comical grin. "I had a tussle with a big, flaming bird. So what? Big deal," she insisted humorously.

"Are you nuts?" Tohan snorted, both lightly and seriously at the same time. "That thing looked like it could rival one of the tree-monsters in Furni! It is a big deal, though truly that is impressive that you managed a victory over that thing when you weren't a dragoon. But, despite what worked in the past, I think this time it would be best not to anger it. This place would catch fire and burn us alive so fast lightning would look slow. If I recall what you were telling me a while back, that thing lives in the volcano over the northern mountains? Is that nearby? The thing might be patrolling territory, although I think if that were the case I probably should have seen it before now," he reasoned.

Alexandra nodded. "That's true. The Volcano Villude isn't really that close, it's over a hundred miles from here. That's not nearly close enough to be dangerous. I really can't think of a reason it would come here, so we just best be careful. That's all," she replied.

Tohan considered to himself for a moment. "I'm going to have a walk and take Kamuy with me. I'll see if I can follow it without being discovered. Why don't you stay and have tea with Martel now, she's obviously upset. I'll tell you what I find," he announced and whistled for his wolf.

Alexandra looked slightly disappointed that he had asked her to stay, but she seemed to understand and respect the promise she had made to Martel about tea. Tohan was also relieved knowing that if something were to happen, Alexandra was more than capable of protecting her.

"Alright, just be really careful. I wouldn't follow any closer than about half a mile away, firebirds have superb smell, vision, and hearing," she warned.

After giving his word to her that he would be cautious, he climbed onto Kamuy's back. As he rode away the princess called another reminder: "Remember, if you get into trouble you can use your dragoon spirit, and watch out for bandits!"

Tohan had been so busy thinking about the firebird that as he rounded the corner he remembered something he had forgotten to tell Alexandra. He remembered that when the elves attacked them when they first came to Serdio, they had tried to take Kamuy's collar under the exclamation that it was some sort of key. Tohan had often thought about it, and he was sure that the mysterious 'key' the collar had was important. After all, the dark elves had come across two continents to obtain it. He put that thought aside on the shelf with all the others he couldn't make sense of at the moment; he'd tell Alexandra about it later.

Tohan and Kamuy had walked a great deal away from the tree house and Tohan was sure it was further than he'd ever gone out into the prairie before. Nothing around him looked familiar; in fact the endless waves of grass were giving way to a thick line of trees on the horizon. Tohan wasn't lost; he knew he could easily return by retracing his steps. What did bother the youth however, was that there was no sign whatsoever of the firebird. He could only hope he didn't run into the creature by accident.

Kamuy began to sniff around on the ground, apparently picking up an intriguing scent of some kind. Without warning, he took off running and barking excitedly. Tohan sprang to the ready with his axe poised to defend himself, startled by his companion's sudden mad dash after something he couldn't see. He looked around anxiously, but there didn't appear to be anything wrong. Tohan sighed as he found Kamuy to only be chasing a rabbit across the field. He was about to scold the hound for scaring him and making unnecessary noise, but there was no need. Halfway across the field Kamuy stumbled ungracefully onto his nose, obviously having tripped over something.

Tohan shook his head and jogged over as Kamuy returned to his feet looking sulky that his prey had escaped him. He gave a sullen whine and licked his right front paw tenderly.

"Serves you right. I told you not to make a lot of noise," Tohan reprimanded. "Say, what's this you tripped on anyway?" he asked, kneeling to the ground. Several deep ruts had been pressed into the dry dirt like small ditches. Upon further inspection the teenager noticed that the grooves formed two parallel lines that ran off in both sideways directions. Tohan had been immediately sure that the many footprints he saw scattered around belonged to bandits, but he noticed that the imprints left of the soles of the shoes were somewhat deep around the heel, meaning the wearers had on boots.

The bandits, Tohan recalled, all seemed to wear a sandal type shoe with thin, level soles. Only Ikmir, the bandit captain had worn boots, and there were too many sets of prints here with different shaped feet to have been made by just one person. Besides the boot factor, it appeared that many people had also been barefoot as they passed through here. Tohan had difficulty imagining bandits would run around through the brush without shoes. All the evidence was pointing to the fact a large group of people, in wagons by the looks of it, had passed this way recently.

Intrigued as to what many barefooted people had been doing out in the middle of nowhere, Tohan followed the trail a little further in the direction of the footprints with Kamuy beside him. There was nothing even remotely interesting for a while; the trail stayed exactly the same. However, about an hour down the path an unconformity entered upon the trail. Two sets of horse prints had come walking out of the grass as apparent by the spacing. A few feet further the horse prints stopped and there were two sets of boot prints heading toward the wagon prints. A dull indent of a sword was several inches ahead of the right set of boot prints. For a few minutes, Tohan traced the impressions all around, then back to the horse prints, which then receded back into the grass heading the opposite direction. Tohan was thoroughly confused. The riders couldn't have been bandits because it seemed they left without a struggle. Tohan shrugged to Kamuy, and turned to leave.

It was then that he caught sight of a third set of prints, identical in appearance to the two riders' intruding upon the pathway slightly upwards and off to the right. Judging by the positioning, this had been a completely different person, not one of the previous two, and it puzzled Tohan as to why the footprints were almost identical. These prints however were much fresher than the others and looked only hours old instead of days. This unidentified person appeared to also have been examining the tracks, before heading off in the direction of the riders.

Tohan glanced one more tiny detail, and this one worried him. A small piece of tan cloth was flapping around gently caught on a thorn bush beside several imprints that looked like bodies that had been lying in the dirt. The cloth belonged to bandit garb, and had been caught in the brambles when the bandits crouched there in hiding had gotten up. From the looks of it, the third arrival was being followed.

It was already about three in the afternoon by what Tohan judged given the placement of his shadow. Tohan motioned Kamuy to start back to the tree house. Although edgy for most of the return trip, Tohan couldn't find any more traces of bandits, much less a firebird. They were only about two more hours away from their makeshift home when Tohan spotted more tracks. These were unmistakably bandit tracks, and all in all, Tohan judged there to be about ten different sets. Tohan found to his relief that they were heading west still in their original direction, not north toward the treehouse. However just as they were about to move on, Tohan found something troubling. He could smell blood nearby, and he found once again, a set of boot prints.

Kamuy gave a protesting whimper as he watched his master gaze up the trail. Something wasn't right; Tohan knew that Kamuy obviously thought that particular way unsafe. Yet, dangerous as bandits undoubtedly could be, Tohan feared far more for the man they were following than himself. Interest also nagged at Tohan. If the bandits were chasing this one man, there had to be a reason. The enormous white wolf whined again in warning.

"What's the matter, Kamuy? We can take a couple of thugs without a problem and I think we should. Whoever this man is might need help. Come on, hurry," he said mobilizing himself and preparing his axe.

As he hurried along the pathway with Kamuy grudgingly beside him, he started to notice fresh droplets of blood littering the ground in front of them. Tohan also observed that there were several broken braches up above him in a cluster of scrub-trees. Something large had broken them, but it obviously wasn't a firebird because there were no signs of flame.

Looking at the ground revealed an odd sight. The dirt and grass looked as if it had recently plowed up in a wide and deep path. It suddenly occurred to Tohan why Kamuy hadn't wanted to come this way. The bandits weren't alone, they had something with them, and that something unnerved Kamuy.

Tohan heard a loud, low rumble from straight ahead. He could hear voices too. They were jeering and laughing. A loud THUD was heard, followed by another uproar of laughter. When Tohan and Kamuy came over the hill in front of them they saw a ring of widely spaced, desert-cloaked bandits were watching a man with grayish-white hair in red armor try feebly to fend off a huge, twenty-foot tall creature that looked like a giant completely made out of monstrous boulders. Tohan felt himself tense; he identified the monster as a rock golem. Kongol had told him that only very powerful mages could conjure them. To make matters worse, Kongol hadn't told him how to defeat one either.

"Oh my . .. Soa! This looks bad! Kamuy, he'll be killed if we don't do something!" Tohan cried in alarm as the large golem brought its fist with another impact that rattled the ground. The man dived sideways, barely avoiding the fatal blow and slashed at the rocky appendage with his broadsword. The blade did no good whatsoever; it glanced harmlessly off the rock, making the golem angrier than it already had been.

The bandits were laughing gleefully and taunting the man while egging the golem on. "Come on! That was pathetic! For a warrior like you this should be easy!" one shouted.

The cornered man seemed unimpressed. "WHERE IS SHANA? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER YOU LOWLY PILE OF DROPPINGS!" he shouted back, infuriated himself.

"That's not very nice," the bandit sneered.

"Yeah! Especially if you want to find out anything! Maybe if you say please!" another mocked.

"GO TO HELL! ALL OF YOU!" the man roared and turned away from the golem to after them instead.

"Hey, wha—GET HIM ROCKY!" the sneering bandit cried hysterically as the armored man came at him.

Tohan was already moving and so was Kamuy. The wolf lunged for the nearest bandit as the teenager ran straight for the man and tackled him in the nick of time, rolling them both out of the way. The bandit only inches ahead saw only the shadow of his doom before a massive boulder-fist fell accidentally upon him. Tohan didn't look at what was left in the next moment, he knew he'd probably hurl.

"JOCKO! OH MY GOD!" screeched a neighboring bandit in horror. "WHA—AHHH!" Kamuy had just jumped onto his back with a snarl and began shaking him furiously by the collar before tossing him into the air.

Tohan felt his arm jerk as he was forcefully pulled out of harm's way just as the rock giant bellowed again, striking blindly at them. The vibrations the impact made when the monster's fist crashed into the ground leaving a monstrous hole there nearly knocked Tohan off his feet, but he swiftly regained his balance and turned to face his rescuer.

The man had a striking face and piercing cerulean eyes. He looked to be in his middle years but he still had quite a bit of muscle. Tohan saw a deep cut in the man's left arm beneath his shoulder pad. It didn't look terrible, but it was not minor either. At least right now, it wasn't mortal.

"Who are you?" the man demanded at once, though more with curiosity than ferocity.

"To—LOOK OUT!" Tohan said quickly and both men swiftly evaded the two giant fists casting a shadow over them.

Kamuy had just dealt with another bandit as well, and he now soared through the air screaming.

"FLOCKO! RONOCOE! YOU!" he heard a bandit nearby bellow at him. Apparently he must have recognized them from one of the numerous raids he and Kamuy had made before.

The armored man had made his way back to Tohan again with somewhat of a grin on his face. "Piss them off on a regular basis, do you?"

Tohan laughed despite himself. "Something of that sort, yes." He replied, running quickly aside as the golem almost stepped on him.

It was unsurprising to Tohan that the bandits recognized him now; he had done many raids on their patrols and wagons. He had managed to free a few people and destroy many pieces of their equipment, but these deeds of petty vandalism were never enough to seriously cripple their criminal activities. Though as a small consolation, they did seem to minorly set back their progress. After what he had seen though so far, Tohan was willing to settle for whatever justice he could render. Whatever those bandits were bringing in large amounts of people for couldn't be good.

Seeing what happened to the bandit Jocko, and as how Kamuy was chasing them around, the other bandits had soon broken formation and were running around in all directions. One particularly tall bandit remained behind shouting at the others.

A large, gray mass hurled towards Tohan and for a lack of better ideas and movement space he yielded aside and swung his axe over the lingering rock. Tohan cringed an gave a loud curse as a large chip went flying out of the blade of his axe, but as a testament to Kongol's craftsmanship and the quality of the stone he used in the making of Tohan's axe, the weapon held. The weapon didn't break, but it did go flying out of his grasp from the recoil. Tohan hastily stumbled after it, but it was clear that the golem wasn't going to allow it. It would easily overtake him before he could get to it.

Over to his left the man whose name Tohan still didn't know was having similar problems. His eyes were quickly looking around, taking inventory of anything he could possibly use. Apparently his search was fruitless; his eyes gave a flicker of frustration.

Tohan saw the trunk of a fallen tree nearby and raced to grab it. It was a fairly large and heavy scrub oak, which might help.

The middle-aged man gave Tohan a disapproving look as he tried to lift it. "What are you doing? You can't possible lift—"He was cut off midsentence as Tohan chucked the huge piece of timber at the beast's head. The golem wasn't even remotely phased and punched at the projectile, snapping it in half.

Tohan was panting as he ran back over to the older warrior. Using his strength wasn't nearly as strenuous as it was before, but it still demanded concentration, focus, and a fair amount of energy depending on the task he was performing.

"What are you?" the man asked, rephrasing his earlier question with his mouth slightly open.

"Come on now! Both of you! Surely a dragoon and a warrior can defeat a pile of rocks?" the sole remaining bandit jeered as he swung a knife at Kamuy.

The bandit's statement pierced Tohan like an arrow to the heart. He was overcome with a sense of dread. He had only just told Alexandra his secret, how did the bandits know? How had they found out? Had one been spying on him? If so, that meant that they knew where Martel and Alexandra were. They were in danger. . . .

"However you found out about it, I assure you, you won't be telling anyone else!" Tohan shouted fiercely.

The bandit merely looked at him blankly for a moment, then so did Tohan's new comrade. "Boy, anyone who didn't know would be dumb! ROCKY HELP!" the ruffian suddenly shouted as Kamuy succeeded in snatching away his knife and prepared to lunge.

Tohan didn't think that the bandit was a mage, yet the golem obeyed his orders. Tohan didn't even have time to utter a warning before the golem rotated on its waist and swung a cannon-sized fist, catching his wolf friend in the side. The canine gave a loud yelp and flew helplessly through the air and landed hard onto the ground. He didn't get up or even move a muscle after that.

Tohan called his name repeatedly, but it had no effect. "KAMUY! OH SOA! KAMUY!"Tohan screamed in terror, and seeing as how the white wolf still didn't even flinch, he assumed the worst.

Bandit laughter and golem movement echoes in his eyes and ears. He felt his skin inflame with fury and his heart swell with pain. That bastard just attacked his dog and most loyal friend. He had killed Kamuy. And he was LAUGHING about it.

Tohan felt the change begin before he saw it. He was so fixated on the one bandit that he was blinded to the brilliant flare of burnt-orange light that threatened to obscure his view. A large shadow fell across Tohan. The golem roared and the bandit was fussing loudly, though the teen couldn't hear the words. There was suddenly darkness as something actually did obstruct his view. The new environment was pleasantly cool but also felt very solid. Tohan felt something squeeze against his body from all around, it felt unbreakable and strong. As if he were having impressions made from mold-soft clay the material stopped just short of squishing him.

A tight, heavy material suddenly clamped onto his legs from both sides. There was a flash of orange light and Tohan found he could only look forward. He was completely encased in solid rock! And yet, somehow he knew he wasn't in danger. Danger. The man he had been fighting beside was still in danger. Something clasped around his chest and waist with another flash. Alexandra and Martel were in danger, right now any of those bandits could be running towards the tree house. Another flash and he felt some unknown weight add to his shoulders and forearms. Kamuy was outside. . . the least he could do was give his greatest friend a proper burial . . . he suddenly had what felt like a headband.

Tohan was overcome with the most powerful sense of urgency he had ever felt in his life. A large sum of weight connected with his back. He needed to escape this earthy prison, people outside needed him. Something sturdy and heavy was placed in his hands. He gave an inward sigh, hoping he would be strong enough to push the rock around him apart. He gave his surroundings a hard shove with all his might, and he was free in a flash of blinding light.

Sunshine flooded back into his world and so did his vision. Tohan quickly glanced around. He felt considerably light despite the fact he was now covered from head to toe in richly autumn-orange colored ornate armor. There were several spiral-shaped etchings in the armor, giving it an extremely detailed appearance.

Tohan found that he had knee-high greaves instead of his leather boots, and a waist/groin guard where his pants and belt should have been. A breastplate had replaced his white shirt and armor had also appeared over his shoulders. Below his shoulders there was no armor on his upper arm, the next piece started after his elbow and went down to his wrist. Tohan's hands donned leather gloves underneath his armored gauntlets and in his left hand he now held an axe almost the size of his body completely made of razor sharp stone.

The teenager yelped in surprise, for as he was looking down over his axe, he realized he was suspended in midair. Tohan felt the muscles in his back hum with movement and as he expected, when he looked over his shoulder his wings were flapping steadily. The young man would have taken more time to ponder the wonder and enjoy the sensation of flight, but a loud nearby bellow seemed far more important to deal with.

The rock golem was flailing around madly, apparently in pain. A huge chip of rock was missing from one of its boulder/fists where it had tried to smash the rock around Tohan's body. Without really meaning to, the living giant flailed a sausage-link arm of rocks held together by something unseen, which nearly swatted Tohan out of the air. Tohan grimaced, knowing that a first time flight couldn't have come at a worse time. Much to Tohan's surprise the man on the ground seemed to have experience; he began shouting instructions.

"A forward flap will make you go forward, a backwards flap does what it implies! If you want to turn, it's just like it's done on the ground!" he yelled up.

Tohan nodded frantically without meaning to and tried desperately to go forward, flapping his orange wings. A huge, earthy appendage came flying at him again from the opposite direction. Tohan raised an eyebrow in confusion as instead of going forward when he flapped his wings he shot backwards, narrowly avoiding the golem's strike.

"No, no, it's more of a frontwards rolling of the wings! If you flap directly forwards you'll push air in front of yourself and then go backwards!" the older warrior shouted.

Tohan understood now, it made sense. Rolling air under your wings instead of in front would move you forward. He figured it out and put it into practice in the essence of time; he quickly shot aside as the rock monster lashed out with another limb.

After a few more evasive maneuvers Tohan felt slightly more comfortable in the air. He took his newfound confidence and looked to his stone axe, made especially for him. The weapon was sharper than any metal he had ever seen, he knew it would work.

Tohan ducked under the rocky monstrosity's arm as it regained focus and swung again, targeting him. As the arm cleared over Tohan's head he concentrated hard, and saw an orange glow encase him. He swung his axe viscously, empowered by his own rage and the glow around him. Before his very eyes the earthy blade of his dragoon axe sliced cleanly through rock, sending chips scattering everywhere on their way through invisible sinews, resulting in the severing of one of the golem's appendages. The remnants of the limb crashed dangerously to the ground and broke apart, embedding the now lifeless individual boulders deep into the ground.

Strengthened further by the success of his strike and the now flaring orange light, Tohan spun around midair and quickly sliced away the giant's other appendage. Letting instinct guide him, Tohan spread his wings and soared skywards about twenty feet above the monster, then dove back on the golem in a spiral while turning his axe blade outwards and upside down.

The sharp tip of Tohan's axe collided with rock golem's head and bored its way down bringing the rest of the blade along swiftly behind it. Sparks flew from the friction as rock crashed upon rock, with Tohan's own stone weaponry obviously being far more superior. Tohan saw the ground approaching close beneath him and removed his axe from the rock monster's body, channeling the orange aura into it instead. He refolded, and with one quick swipe he cut the creature's legs out from underneath it while the upper-body dismantled. Tohan's axe discharged a rippling orange ring which traveled along the ground and knocked the lone bandit over.

Tohan saw that Kamuy's limp form was in the path of a falling rock, and with almost expert maneuvering, he dived gracefully among the rocks and grabbed the large wolf not a moment too soon. Tohan tucked Kamuy's massive form under his axe arm as best he could, which turned out to be awkward due to his friend's gargantuan size. Tohan ended up scruffing his friend's body, then diving after his mysterious helper. The teenager grabbed the older warrior by the stiff collar-plate of his red armor and dodged another falling rock before flying away towards a hill he could see in the distance. Tohan heard the bandit's far-off scream as he landed ungracefully. He knew a rock had undoubtedly fallen on him.

The second the young man's feet hit the grassy earth, he stumbled and dropped both Kamuy and the armored man. His stumble turned into an actual fall and within mere moments he was lying face down in the grass, for some reason completely drained. It took only a split second for Tohan's armor and wings to disappear in a flash of brilliant orange light, and he was out of breath as he tried desperately to roll himself over and return to his feet.

He found to his dismay, that he was too sore and too tired to even move an inch. He hadn't expected the power of a dragoon to be this taxing, but then again, he had just hacked a mass of pure and solid rock into itty-bitty parts.

With a grin, Tohan's human companion carefully rolled him over, then sat down beside him, waiting on him to catch his breath. However as moments passed, Tohan only felt increasingly more exhausted and without warning, his vision faded and he was out cold.

When Tohan woke next, the sun had already gone down and a veil of glittering stars dotted the clear, inky sky. Tohan could hear crackling, like that of a fire, somewhere nearby. He could clearly smell the scent of burning wood and as moments passed, he became increasingly more aware of a comforting, radiating heat seeping into his limbs and aching body.

Tohan sat up with a horrid headache, but he looked around anyway. He caught a glimpse of white, beaming in the firelight and found his gigantic canine companion Kamuy lying motionless to his left. Tears welled in his eyes, and he made no attempt to disguise them. His friend looked at his worst; he was bleeding from several deep gashes and had stark black and blue bruises covering most of his sides. Worst of all, it looked as if the golem had broken his ribcage inward on itself.

"Oh Soa. . . . Kamuy," Tohan croaked miserably. He had done this, he thought to himself in anguish. He was a dragoon. He should have been strong enough to save him from the start. Warm tears washed the sides of his face as he brought a rough hand up to his friend's fur and stroked gently. Tohan noted in misery that it was still puppy soft, same as when they had first been introduced. The feel of Kamuy's fur brought childhood memories flooding back to the surface. He had lost everything. His home, his family, and now his best friend . . .

"What have I done?" he mumbled in agony.

"Saved my life and Kamuy's life, that's what you've done," came a voice that Tohan knew he had heard before. It took a moment for Tohan to recall the mysterious stranger that he had been fighting alongside, but when he did, he was surprised to find the older warrior sitting by the fire gazing at him with piercing blue eyes.

"So Kamuy is?" he asked, barely able to breathe.

"Alive," the man affirmed. "Badly injured, but alive. I wouldn't worry too much about him right now. I looked him over and he isn't in grave peril at the moment. He's stable. He was awake about half an hour ago, actually. He's sleeping now."

Though he'd never met this man before, Tohan was overcome with a strong sense of gratitude towards the stranger for watching over both of them. Though, now that his immediate fears had been dealt with, Tohan's emotions turned to curiosity. He began asking his questions, starting with the one at the front of his mind.

"Kamuy let you check him over? That's really odd because he never lets strangers touch him," Tohan explained.

The man actually grinned. "Well, I'm not a stranger to him. I met him over thirty years ago when he belonged to Teo. My wife, Shana, saved him from being killed," he replied.

Tohan's eyes widened. He had heard of a woman named Shana from his father and from Kongol. Suddenly, everything made sense.

"Then, you're the dragoon those bandits were talking about! You must be Dart Feld! My dad said you and Shana were together along with five others! But if you're a dragoon, why didn't my dragoon spirit react to you?" Tohan asked.

Dart blinked, apparently surprised that Tohan could piece together who he was with just that one story. "Well I used to be a dragoon, and yes, my wife and I used to travel with five friends, whom were also dragoons. Your father told you the story? Then I'm guessing you're the son of Teo and Fa?" he concluded.

Tohan nodded. "Yes."

"Ah. Good. Then they did end up together and that explains why you have Kamuy with you," Dart affirmed.

Tohan extended a hand for Dart to shake. "I'm Tohan Flanders," he said, introducing himself.

Dart smiled. "A pleasure to met you Tohan. A friend of Kongol's is a friend of mine."

"How'd you know? Was it the dragoon spirit?" Tohan asked politely.

Dart nodded. "Partially, but mainly because you imitate his fighting style almost exactly. You knew I was a dragoon and that Shana was my wife, so I'm also assuming Kongol told you about us. I have a question for you, Tohan. Well, two actually if you don't mind," Dart began.

"I'll tell you what I can," Tohan assured.

"Good. First is, I myself haven't seen Kongol in a very long time. How'd you meet him? And secondly, I though Teo and Fa live in Furni?" Dart asked.

Tohan sighed. "It's a long story, but they coincide with each other," he replied and plunged into his lengthy account for the second time in one day. Once he was finished, Dart sat in silence for so long that Tohan was almost completely sure Dart thought he was crazy.

Dart exhaled a deep breath before speaking. "So, that's what happened in Furni. . . . the ports haven't been sealed off by Queen Theresa. . . . I see. That is strange though. Stardust? I'm amazed they could do something like this. But that does sound like Kongol and would explain how you are able to life two ton trees like they're nothing. So your friend and this little girl are also from Furni?" Dart asked, trying to recap on the key points of Tohan's tale.

Tohan nodded in reply, he had called Alexandra his friend, which was true, but lied when he said she was from Furni despite the revolt in his stomach at doing so. Tohan had promised to keep her secret, and he had a very strong feeling that he was overlooking something important. "Crazy, I know," Tohan said embarrassedly, wondering if Dart had as much of an open mind as Alexandra.

Dart shook his head. "No. I believe you. This actually answers a lot of questions, but by that same right, raises a lot more. I'll think about everything you've said. One more question," Dart said, temporarily dismissing whatever was plaguing his mind, "How'd you find me?"

"I was keeping watch out for a firebird that recently appeared in this area, and I—or Kamuy rather—stumbled onto a wagon path. I followed it for a while and found your footprints. I also found signs of bandits behind you. I didn't think much of it to tell you the truth, until I picked up your trail again on my way back to my home. There were blood, the golem imprints, and bandit tracks. I had a feeling I should follow the trail, and here we are. You said you're out here because bandits took your wife?" Tohan recalled.

Dart nodded in turn and quickly explained to Tohan about his home village of Seles. Tohan could have sworn the name sounded familiar, but at the moment he couldn't place it. All the while, something peculiar about Alexandra kept nagging at his mind.

Tohan frowned when Dart was finished with his side of the story. "Words can't express how sorry I am to hear that," the young man said in true sympathy, he knew what it was like to watch your home destroyed.

A pained expression crossed Dart's face for a brief moment. "It's happened before," he said sourly. "But I appreciate the sympathy."

"Where will you go now?" Tohan asked.

Dart turned and looked into the inky night sky to the left and gazed into the distance, apparently lost in some far away memory. "Hellena Prison. That's the only place they could have taken her," he said simply.

Tohan winced at the name. "Hellena? That's bandit HQ. How are you going to get in on your own, and while you're still injured?" Tohan asked, eyeing Dart's bloody arm.

Dart followed Tohan's gaze to his arm as well, as if just noticing the wound for himself. "I'll think of a way, I've done it before," he answered with heroism in his voice.

Tohan sighed. It wouldn't be easy to talk a former dragoon out of attempting a suicidal rescue. Speaking of the matter, Tohan was strongly wondering what had happened to Dart's dragoon spirit. Dart hadn't said anything of that, and Tohan was determined not to let Dart leave without an answer. But now was not the time or place for that.

"Well, why don't you spend the rest of the night with me and my friends in our tree house and leave in the morning if you must? I'm sure it will be much safer, and right now I want to get Kamuy out of here. It isn't very far," Tohan suggested, getting to his feet.

Much to his surprise, Dart didn't seem to have any objections. "I think that is a wise idea," he said simply, "and I thank you for the consideration."

"No problem," Tohan assured. Picking Kamuy up as best he was able, Tohan carefully positioned him in his arms and began walking. Thank Soa for giganto strength, he thought briefly.

Dart watched his display of inhuman strength in amazement, though he followed behind Tohan silently until they reached the tree house.

One thing troubled Tohan as his makeshift house loomed into view—Alex. Tohan still couldn't shake that weird feeling, but Tohan was pretty sure that as a resident of Serdio, Dart would definitely know who she was when he saw her. Tohan knew he couldn't turn the man away, he was in dire straits at the moment, but he also knew to bring him to the tree house would jeopardize Alexandra's secret. He would have to help her stay hidden for the night. However, luck was against him, because before he could figure out a way to warn her without Dart noticing, she came racing out of the shadows calling his name.

"TOHAN! My God, we were getting so worried! What—Oh my god! Kamuy! Tohan he looks terrible! Were you attacked? Did bandits-" she suddenly fell silent as she caught sight of Dart, whom was already looking at her.

Tohan didn't understand immediately why the color was draining from the princess' face until it hit him. Seles. Alex knew this person, and apparently he knew her as well. Tohan watched quietly as Alexandra tried to take a few rapid steps backwards, but she only succeeded in stumbling. She looked afraid. Another realization suddenly occurred to Tohan and he cursed himself inwardly for being so dense and not having thought of it sooner; Dart Feld was one of seven dragoons. King Albert was another. Much to his horror, events were still getting worse.

"Alexandra?" Dart asked with a shocked expression, then one of mild confusion.

Alex closed her eyes. "I can explain . . . ." she said near tears.

Dart was suddenly very bitter and anxious in his reply. "You'd better. Your father's worried sick about you, Emille is an emotional wreck, and not to mention my sons!" he said quickly, obviously unsure if he should be angry or relieved.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Feld! I . . .I was . . . afraid!" she stammered at last, almost whispering the word 'afraid'.

The timid apology didn't soften Dart's mood any. "Afraid? You were so afraid of what? Marrying Tiydus? So afraid that you ran away with no explanation, making everyone worry and breaking my son's heart? Your father always told me you had courage to go above and beyond that of any knight in his army!" Dart said like a father disciplining a child.

Alexandra whom had been about to cry suddenly looked up at him like he had sprouted another head. "My father said that about me?" she asked hesitantly.

Dart sighed. "Yes, but right now your behavior hasn't reflected well on it. You and your father can discuss this when I take you home. I'm sure right now he'll just be relieved you're alright," Dart said authoritatively.

Alexandra seemed to find herself, because her answer was full of defiance. "I'm not going back to Indels!" she said quickly.

"Yes you will and I'll escort you. I'm relieved that you're alright Alexandra, but at the same time—" he began.

"—how would you feel Mr. Feld if you were forced into something you'd have to live with for the rest of your life without ever having a say? What would you do if you were trapped by fate because you were born who you are? I've had my reasons for everything I've done! Maybe I haven't always made the smart choice or the right choice, but they were MY choices! Tiydus is my dear friend, but I'm not sure what I feel! I left so I wasn't forced to make a decision I wasn't ready for and no one was listening to me!" she countered.

"She came here to have a quiet place to think," Tohan added in earnest.

What would you do if you were trapped by fate because you were born who you are?

Alexandra's words echoed in Dart's ears. An image of Shana upset at the crystal palace filled his mind. She had suffered so much, and she had done the same thing Alexandra had. She had run. Shana had undoubtedly been trapped by fate. Alexandra, Dart understood, didn't lead an easy life as a princess, and she was right, she had been trapped by what she was born as, just as Shana had been.

Dart supposed it had been unfair of Albert and himself to arrange Alexandra's marriage for her without her knowledge, just as Shana had been forced into Hellena prison and taken captive by bandits without her knowledge. Dart could see why Alexandra wanted to make such a big decision in her life herself, and with this revelation Dart was suddenly more sympathetic toward the young woman. She was trying to escape fate, as Shana had done. However, unlike Shana, Alex had obligations that the world NEEDED from her, and she hadn't yet accepted that fact. Responsibility was accepting the right course of fate, and Shana had owned up to what it meant to be the moonchild. Alexandra wasn't a goddess of destruction, and she wasn't some peasant girl. Alexandra was a ruling heir to the crown kingdom of Serdio. People needed her to lead a stable and safe life to preserve order. Order that had come at such a high cost. Emperor Doel, Greyham, and Lavitz . . . all victims of Frahma's chaos ignited for the very same reason over thirty years ago.

Dart now understood completely why Albert was having such difficulty with his daughter and why Alexandra was a dragoon. Rose had once told him that you could either accept fate or struggle against it. Being a dragoon, Alexandra was doing all she could to struggle against her undesired fate. She had the same resilience as her Great Uncle Doel, and in Dart's mind that was saying something admirable, but at the same time, something frightening.

Dart sighed again, though far less harsh. "I know you don't like your fate, Alexandra, but you shouldn't struggle against it until you completely understand it. I don't think that right now you understand much of anything. In any case, running away solves nothing, it just makes matters worse. You can't escape fate by running," Dart lectured.

It seemed for the first time, Alexandra could meet Dart's gaze. "I am not here to stay indefinitely, I'm just here as long as it takes for me to understand what is 'completely' going on as you, yourself just said moments ago. I ask you to please forgive me, but also please believe I will not be going back to Indels until that time," she admitted.

"I'm at least going to write to your father," Dart insisted. "And let him know where you are."

The princess shook her head. "He'll come right away. And then no matter what anyone says he'll force me to go back. That, and he'll probably have Tohan arrested thinking that he had something to do with my running away. I have no objection to you telling him you found me and I'm alright, but please don't tell him where I am. If you're going to send a message I can't stop you, but please believe I will be gone by morning. I'll only ask one thing, even though I know I'm really in no position to ask you for anything. Please don't tell my father about Tohan," she asked sincerely, giving him a rueful glance.

Tohan was confused. If anything, he had expected Alexandra to be angry with him for bringing Dart to the tree house, not sorry for causing him trouble. Tohan watched Dart carefully, he was looking seriously contemplative.

"I think it's better that you stay here, where I know you are safe than you try to run away again with nowhere to go but into danger. I won't tell Albert where you are, but in return you must promise me you'll stay here where I can look after you," Dart offered, speaking at last.

Alexandra looked slightly insulted with Dart's offer, but in Tohan's opinion she would be foolish to decline. He attempted to ease the insult. "She's quite a skilled warrior herself, I don't think she needs us to protect her. She might be the one protecting us," he supplied good-naturedly with a grin.

His quick interjection did little to ease the Princess' misgivings, as was obvious by the look on her face. She sighed heavily, but then replaced her look with one of gratitude towards him.

"Deal," she said, accepting Mr. Feld's offer.

Dart nodded, but then a slight frown crossed his face as he noticed the look she and Tohan shared. "Are you two together?" he asked in disapproval.

Tohan had been completely caught off guard with that statement; he choked on his own breath while Alexandra started laughing.

"Oh heavens no! It's not like that at all," Alexandra assured swiftly.

"We're just friends, that's all," Tohan insisted.

Dart didn't seem convinced. " Well then, how about telling me how the two of you really met? She definitely isn't from Furni," Dart said slightly reproachful at the realization Tohan had lied to him.

Tohan sighed. "I'm sorry. Please don't take it personally. I made a promise to Alexandra a long time ago to keep her secret. I was trying to honor my word," he apologized sincerely.

"It's true. Tohan is a man of his word. I'll explain," Alexandra said with a nod towards him and told Dart the true story of their meeting.

At the end of the tale, Dart seemed content. All of a sudden, Kamuy began to stir, whimpering softly.

"Kamuy!" Tohan exclaimed with relief. Realizing he was indeed awake and carrying him was probably causing his canine companion some discomfort, Tohan laid him down gently on the ground. Kamuy heard his voice and managed a half-thump of his tail, though it was not entirely without enthusiasm.

"How are you feeling?" Tohan asked gently, squatting beside him.

Kamuy gave him an obvious answer in the form of a pained groan.

Tohan managed a sad smile. "I don't blame you. I'll mix some poultices first thing in the morning. I'd go now, but I can't see my nose at the end of my face," he said regretfully.

"Speaking of which, what happened tonight?" Alexandra asked gravely.

"You won't be pleased to hear this," Dart said, equally serious, and explained the night's events to Alexandra in a few sentences. Tohan could tell it was paining Dart to speak about the destruction of his home, not that he could blame him.

At the end, Alexandra was shaking with rage. So much in fact, an emerald light was beginning to peak out from underneath her shirt. Dart saw it, though Tohan noted he didn't seem surprised.

"They took Mrs. Shana! Why! Where! Why didn't you send for help!" she cried more to herself than anyone in complete shock.

Dart took a deep breath. Tohan could suddenly see the years unfold in his face, and though he was far from elderly, he did look much older than he had moments ago. "I think that Shana was the reason the bandits attacked Seles. It was the last time . . . I don't believe I've ever mentioned this to you, Alexandra and I doubt Albert has either, but Shana is a princess of Mille Seseau," he explained. This was as much an explanation as he was willing to give two clueless teenagers, even when he knew that was not the reason Shana had been abducted at all.

Alexandra's stunned silence surprised Tohan slightly. She blinked, and then tilted her head. "Mrs. Shana is a . . . but how can that be when Queen Theresa is the current ruler? Are they related?" she asked at last.

"No," Dart said simply. "Shana was a part of Princess Louvia's family," he said exclusively.

"Princess Louvia?" Alexandra asked quietly, apparently deep in thought. "History says that the infant Princess Louvia was killed by the black monster and that she was the last ruling heir of her family line. But if Mrs. Shana is a princess she has a right to the throne. Why didn't she take it? How'd she end up out here?" Alexandra asked suddenly eager for information.

There was something in Dart's cerulean eyes that flickered for the briefest of moments, and Tohan was sure that only he could have seen it in the dark with his giganto senses, but he thought he knew the answer.

"It was the black monster, wasn't it?" Tohan asked, not entirely sure how he knew.

"How should I know?" Dart said evenly, though Tohan got the clear impression he did know something that he wasn't telling. "Anyway, we don't have time for me to give you a complete background story tonight. I'll save Shana and I's story for another time," Dart replied, completely dismissing the track the conversation was going on.

Alexandra, it seemed, wasn't convinced either. "Still . . . why kidnap her? If she has never made any claim to the throne or told anyone other than her friends, what interest would bandits have in her? For ransom? Because that doesn't make sense either. Last time I checked, Sister Miranda was heir to the throne in Mille Seseau. And besides, where would bandits have taken her?" Alex asked.

Dart scowled at the thought of the place as he answered, "Hellena Prison. It's the only place they could have. And as far as help went, how were we to know that they even had the slightest interest in Seles? But, besides that, the closest knighthood was on the coast. They'd never have made it in time anyway."

Alexandra had been calming down some, until she heard Dart's last statement. She bristled with outrage so strong, the emerald light from her dragoon spirit flashed through the area and it was enough to evoke a reaction from Tohan's as well. As if they were suddenly connected through their dragoon spirits, he felt her rage as his own for a brief moment.

"Hellena Prison! Only the worst criminals in history were ever sent there! We have to help her! Tohan, we're dragoons! And so is Mr. Feld!" she exclaimed, holding the resonating jade orb in her hands.

The orangey orb around Tohan's neck produced an equally bright glare in response and he could feel the call to action, even in his skin. Tohan was suddenly aware that he could sense a distant, yet somewhat close pull. It was odd, because Dart claimed to have no dragoon spirit, but somehow this energy felt too familiar. Tohan was sure it had to be another dragoon, and it also had nothing to do with Alexandra, whom was right here in front of him. He could clearly feel her, the light powerful feeling of the jade dragon. No, this was something far stronger and was more powerful than himself and Alexandra combined. He knew they were not alone. The glow suddenly died as Alexandra and Tohan replaced their dragoons spirits in their proper locations and exchanged a knowing glance between them. She had felt it too.

"What's wrong?" Dart asked immediately, however both teenagers merely shrugged.

"We're not in danger right now," Alexandra assured, relaxing Dart some.

A small, high voice called out as the miniature form of Martel came through the shadows from the tree house. "Ms. Alex I got lonely waiting in the house by-Oh! Hello Mr. Tohan, I'm glad you're okay!" she said and obliviously hugged him around the waist. Tohan gave her hair an affectionate ruffle before she noticed Dart.

"Hello Mr. Stranger," she said cheerfully, which surprised Tohan completely that she didn't seem to be afraid in the slightest. "Mr. Tohan," she began, turning to him, "Who is he? We do like him, right?" she asked hesitantly.

Tohan nodded. "Yes. Martel this is Dart Feld, he's going to stay with us a while too. He's a friend of Alex's," he explained. "Dart, this is my friend Martel Lynn, she's also from Furni," Tohan introduced.

Dart smiled warmly and extended his hand, but Martel ignored it and gave him a hug instead. Tohan guessed she liked that method of introduction best. Dart looked a little confused, but didn't object.

"Where's Kamuy, Mr. Tohan?" Martel asked, after greeting Dart. Dart and Alexandra stepped in front of the white wolf, barely managing to obscure him from her view. Tohan was grateful, he knew how much Kamuy's current state upset him. He didn't want to imagine what it would do to innocent little Martel.

Tohan knelt down to her, to emphasize his words. "Martel, Kamuy got hurt really bad today. He's going to be okay, but he's not going to be able to play for a while. You'll need to let him have his rest, okay?" he requested sincerely.

"Okay," she said, quietly.

"You promise?" he repeated, stressing the point while looking into her big blue eyes.

"I promise," she assured and Tohan nodded.

"Good. I know you want to, but you can't visit him right now. But I promise you that you can see him in the morning after I give him some medicine. Speaking of medicine," Tohan said, turning to Dart, "Would you like me to patch your arm as well, Dart?" he asked in consideration.

Dart looked down his arm, as did Alexandra, whom was noticing the wound for the first time. She grimaced, but Dart shrugged.

"I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea, if it's not too much trouble," he answered simply.

"Good. Alex, you take Martel inside please. Dart you can follow her in. I'll get Kamuy situated and be right behind you," Tohan assured as they did what he asked of them and turned in for the night.

The next morning, Tohan was up at the same time as Alexandra, and passed her on the way outside to gather herbs.

"My lady," Tohan began, having the first opportunity to speak to her privately since Dart's arrival last night, "I'm truly sorry about Mr. Feld. I must have been so tired or so relieved to be alive that I just wasn't thinking clearly," he apologized.

Alexandra waved her hand dismissively. "I don't blame you, and besides, this was a little too important for me not to know about. In a way, I'm glad he's here. You did a good thing by saving him yesterday and I actually wanted to thank you," she said gently with the slightest traces if a smile.

Tohan still couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. "Even so, I promised to keep your whereabouts a secret."

"And they still are. I would have been destroyed if you didn't save him. He's like my uncle. He's a friend of my fathers, perhaps his best friend, and a friend to me, even if he is angry with me. He has every right reason to be," she said, the quick smile on her face fading.

Tohan sighed. "Well . . . thanks I guess. On the brighter side of things, I think Mr. Feld has forgiven you. He seemed more relieved than angry last night," he replied.

Alexandra gave a small nod. "I think maybe you might be right. But still . . ." she said, letting her statement hang. Tohan could tell that although Dart's forgiveness had comforted her slightly, she still had a long ways to go in recovering to the fiery young lady she was before.

Tohan took some of his own small comfort in the assurance that Alexandra wasn't angry with him as he left for the large field at the edge of the tree cluster. On the way, he found a Commari vine; a plant which's roots had astringent properties as well as being edible. He dug up a few roots and continued on his way. Next he came across a patchflower weed, a tall, bluish grass that had anti-inflammatory abilities. Herb after herb, Tohan recited the list for the poultice Kongol had taught him to make as he spent the morning picking medicinal plants. He returned the tree house in the late morning, probably he guessed around ten-thirty, and he hastily set to making a fire so he could boil water for his remedies.

As the water boiled, Tohan began grinding patchflower on a flat stone. Once finished with that he started powdering tufted Ash tree bark. The water reached a boil, and Tohan poured it into a wooden bowl, mixing it with the powdered herbs. Next he poured some into another bowl on his right, and made a Commari vine paste. He boiled the bark and squeezed the gel out of the plant leaves for the better part of an hour before he was ready.

Alexandra had come outside and was helping him carrying everything inside to where he had moved Kamuy. Thankful for everything that Kongol had taught him, he entered the small room where he had placed Kamuy, which was, of course, his room. He had slept that night in the small pantry/kitchen on the floor. As he entered the room, he almost tripped over a sleeping Martel, whom to his surprise, was curled up on the hard, wooden floor beside Kamuy. Kamuy was still sleeping too, so he guessed Martel's presence hadn't been bothersome.

Being very careful not to step on either one of them in the small space there was, Tohan made his way to Kamuy. His friend opened one golden eye as he approached, then laid his head back upon the floor, silently awake. Tohan administered the various medicines to his friend; some he put on the cuts and bruises and others he had the white wolf drink or eat. When he was finished, Tohan gave Kamuy a reassuring scratch behind the ears, kissed Martel on the forehead, and then left to tend Dart.

The older warrior was up and about, sitting at the wooden table. He was looking around in admiration as Tohan walked in. "Did you make all of this?" he asked in amazement.

Tohan nodded. "WelI, most of it. I made all the furniture and parts of the actual structure itself. Kongol built the rest," Tohan replied proudly.

"Impressive, Dr. Flanders," Dart said lightly, eyeing the medicine tray the teenage boy was carrying. Alexandra brought in a bowl of fresh water, before heading back outside.

Tohan cleaned Dart's wounds and was finished dressing them half an hour later. It was noon by the time he finished. After tending to everyone's medical needs, Tohan made his way back into the kitchen, which looked as if it had been tidied recently, probably thanks to Alexandra. Tohan removed the last of the bread Alexandra had sent and some walnuts he had found by chance out on one of his excursions. He added bramble berries to the mix and set to making a fruit cake for lunch, he felt it would be rude to ask one of his guests to cook and Tohan didn't feel up to the task of keeping an eye on Martel, as she usually demanded both.

After lunch, Tohan spent the rest of the afternoon watching over Kamuy and Martel. He made dinner, ate, and returned to tending Kamuy, whom was now wide awake and in a good deal of pain. It was around dusk and Tohan knew Kamuy's medicine would be wearing off soon. He cursed himself as he checked his herb basket. He had enough of everything to make more, except patchflower. He couldn't bear to see his friend in pain and he knew if the wolf was going to sleep peacefully through the night, he would need more sedatives. Dark was already falling, so Tohan left for the field, though he did tell the others where he was going.

The going was quiet and calm, but as he entered out onto the field a sense of unease drifted over the young man. Tohan knew that there was a possibility for more bandits to be around, and moreover, there was a possibility of seeing the firebird again, yet for some reason he felt like he was being watched and it had nothing to do with either of them. He scanned the growing darkness carefully, though he saw nothing. He shrugged after a moment; he was most likely being paranoid, though in his current situation, who could blame him?

Ignoring the nagging instinct, he finished his way out into the field and began hurriedly picking the patchflower that he needed before night fell completely. He was almost finished and had almost relaxed when a rustle in the weeds behind him set him on full alert. He looked around himself sharply, even taking in a scent of the air. Nothing had seemingly changed. He thought it must have been the breeze, but then again, he hadn't felt any wind.

He growled silently to himself as he snagged a final patch of herbs and hurried back to the edge of the wood. He was hastily making his way back to the tree house, but the movements in the grass had only seemed to become even louder. He could have sworn several times that he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. More startling still, he suddenly felt a tingle from his dragoon spirit. He pressed a hand to it from over his shirt, pushing it into his chest. Maybe it was trying to warn him. And this time, he'd be prepared if a fight was going to happen. He stopped moving; if he was being followed, he could potentially lead danger back to his friends. He also realized that there was a very real possibility that this could be a bandit ambush. No games this time. And he still hadn't gotten revenge for Kamuy. If bandits wanted to fight, they'd deal with a dragoon. And that was a weapon that even the ancient winglies had feared. Tohan sighed inwardly. So much history and yet still so much life was contained in one little stone, and so was an unbelievable amount of power. And, he thought grimly, even if he did end up losing out here to some unknown monstrosity, better him than his friends.

Tohan casually changed direction, doing his best to look natural as he walked east of the path home. With every second his body expected something to spring out of the underbrush and attack him, until a final sound ate his last nerve. He turned sharply and parted the knee-high grass. He almost laughed when he realized all that noise had been coming from an insignificant little gray field mouse. It scampered away at top speed and everything was silent for moments afterward. He breathed an immense sigh of relief, but stopped himself midway. There, in the dry dirt beneath where the mouse had been was the imprint of a boot he'd seen before.

"What the-?" he exclaimed in confusion and made to turn around. To his dismay, he found himself pinned at the throat with a sword as he tried. From the sounds of it, there was more than one person behind him as his pursuers finally revealed themselves. Tohan cursed under his breath. How could bandits have gotten the better of him like this?

Then a voice, least like a bandit, said in a low growl, "Stay where you are, we don't want any trouble."

Tohan made to move slightly to get a better look at these newcomers, but the sword at his jugular didn't move at all. He rolled his eyes. Then why were they following him? "If you don't want trouble, why are you threatening me?" he asked with a growl of his own.

The sword didn't move, so Tohan didn't wait for an answer. He roughly grabbed the man's arm, moving the sword away from himself and threw his captor over his shoulder. The man landed hard with a loud curse as Tohan straightened back onto his feet, narrowly avoiding what he could vaguely make out to be two double sabers that the second man attacked with.

For a brief moment, Tohan feared it might have been the bandit captain, but through the shadow of recently fallen night, Tohan could make out a completely different body shape. The twin-sworded man lashed out at him again, but Tohan was already prepared. He ducked expertly under one sword then maneuvered around the second, before delivering a punch of his own into the man's chest. Tohan was easily the physically strongest; the man fell over backwards with just light pressure; although Tohan was fairly sure he had used a fraction of his giganto strength on accident.

One of the man's swords was falling through the air and Tohan caught it, turning around just as the other man recovered and locked swords with him. Tohan knew absolutely nothing about sword use and before he could react, the man swiped the sword out of his hand with his own leaving Tohan open. The man pinned his sword against Tohan's heart so tightly that he could feel the tip pressing superficially into his flesh and drawing blood. The man behind him panted heavily, but then pressed a sword to the back of his neck with it also drawing an ooze of blood.

"Now this time I mean stay where you are unless you'd like to die, and believe me I'm already angry enough to run you through in an instant," the man in front hissed gravely.

Tohan found himself to be oddly defiant, given his current predicament. "What do you want with me?" he asked bitterly.

"We'll get to that in a minute. Are you alright, bro?" the man in front asked the man in back.

The man at Tohan's back sighed. "Yeah. I'm fine. Though that was one devildom of a punch!"

From what Tohan could see, the man in front of him was scowling and his eyes flashed dangerously. Tohan was about to justify himself by saying that you don't just simply attack someone for no reason, or follow random strangers, but he was silenced as a burnt-orange glow flared out from his dragoon spirit, like it had in reaction to Alexandra's.

He knew immediately that there was another dragoon present. The connection to this dragoon was full of powerful, hot energy and a red light caught his eye from behind. He was surprised however, when there were suddenly three dragoons present instead of two. Only a brief second after Tohan had gotten a feel for the first, a gold light added to the meld from in front of him and he felt an all too peculiar feeling. It was the power that could surpass any dragoon alone and most of them combined. The blinding light lasted about thirty seconds in a mix of warm colors before dying away.

"Whoa! That was weird!" remarked the man behind Tohan.

Tohan's eyes were still supporting many bright, multicolored spots, though through the light he had managed a glimpse of the man's face in front of him. He looked like Dart in every way, except thirty years younger. His hair had no grey in it and his skin was completely smooth and unscarred. In all honesty, the man didn't look much older than Tohan himself, though from what he had seen, he did look just as surprised. He had been slightly more muscular than Tohan and in the dying light, he had seen that this newcomer was wearing silver armor and wielding a detailed broadsword. The man's spiky blonde hair fell in his eyes, piercing cerulean, just the same as Dart's.

"Dart?" Tohan asked uncertainly, although he knew Dart's armor was red.

The man in front of him didn't answer to the name, but responded to it. "You know Dart? Dart Feld?" he asked quickly with surprise.

"Yes," Tohan answered simply. Being pinned at the throat he was unable to nod.

The blonde man in front of him lowered his sword ever-so-slightly. "Who are you? Where'd you get that dragoon spirit and what do you know about Dart Feld!" he demanded.

"Tell me who YOU are, why you attacked me, and why you're following me and I might tell you!" Tohan insisted, equally harsh. The blonde man didn't look inclined to agree.

"Give us a name. It'll tell us if you're the guy we're looking for, plus the name of another dragoon," said the man behind Tohan. It was strange, their voices sounded identical.

Tohan opened his mouth to reply, but was silenced by a warning squawk from above. Tohan immediately recognized the bird. It was Holly, but what was she doing here?

Holly's cry was suddenly drown out by a louder, angrier, and fare more menacing one. A shadow, the shape of a bird's head, fell over them.

"Firebird!" the blonde hissed and immediately withdrew his sword so he could drop into the brush for cover.

Tohan didn't know why he acted, but he turned and grabbed the second man's arm, pulling the two of them down into the thick underbrush as well. In the fiery shadow of the monster, Tohan noted with interest that the second man looked identical to the first, save his red armor, double sabers, and flame-orange hair. That would explain the identical boot prints he had found. They both were wearing the same type of shoe and they were twins.

The firebird, in all its flaming glory, appeared above them lighting the sky like an enormous candle. It looked down over the area with its burning pupils scanning every bare inch of earth. Tohan didn't think it had seen them; he had a feeling if it had, they'd know, but this still didn't ease his fears in the slightest. Tohan could feel the intense heat from the ground and in his mind it was a wonder the sheer temperature didn't start a fire. After a few minutes the firebird flew onwards and the blonde twin made to get up, but Tohan warned against it.

"Stay down, it will be back in a minute," he said urgently, not sure exactly how he knew. Sure enough, moments later the firebird flew back into sight passing over them from the opposite direction. The blazing bird made several more passes, but flew away at last with a shrill screech.

Holly gave a reassuring chirp from overhead as she resurfaced from somewhere nearby and Tohan and the twins found their feet.

"Now, where were we?" the blonde asked, reaching for his sword.

The redheaded twin moved beside him and shook his head. He made no attempt to use either of his weapons. "I don't think that's necessary, bro. He doesn't mean us any harm. If he did, he wouldn't have warned you about the firebird coming back or made sure I hid in the first place," he reasoned, sheathing his swords.

The twin in silver armor nodded in agreement, and replaced his own weapon in the sheath as well. "Right. Well then, you were going to give us your name," he added, slightly more at ease.

Tohan nodded. "It's Tohan Flanders," he said simply, not knowing if that would mean anything to either of them.

The blonde seemed to be considering to himself a moment as the redhead eyed the herbs in the basket Tohan had dropped.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are those for?" he said, gesturing to the basket.

Unsure of what to say, Tohan settled for the truth. "They're for my pet wolf, Kamuy. He was injured during a recent fight with bandits."

The twins looked to each other and shared an odd look of knowing between them. They nodded to each other. "You're definitely the guy we've been looking for then," the blonde assured.

Wait a second, Tohan thought, had they been purposely tracking him? "You were looking for me? Why?" he asked suddenly suspicious.

"Yeah, we should probably take a second to explain ourselves to you, Mr. Flanders," the redhead said politely. "You see we were out here trying to find you because our home, Seles, was attacked about a week ago, and someone—well two people actually- that are very dear to us went missing. We know one of them was captured by the bandits, but we don't know what happened to the other. We went to Hellena Prison to rescue our mother, and being dragoons we were able to help the seventh knighthood bring down the prison successfully. However, when we questioned a bandit authority about our mother, we found out that she's been moved to another fortress. The other person missing, our father, hasn't been seen by the bandits. They told us that a young man, namely you, had been raiding their 'shipments' and might know where he was. The bandit said you lived somewhere on the prairie, so that's why we were out here looking for you. We need to find our father, we're going to need his help to rescue our mother. You said you knew him. His name is Dart Feld."

Tohan looked at him indecisively for a moment. "The bandits know where I am? Still . . . why did you attack me just now?" he asked seriously.

The blonde answered this time. "The bandits only know your general area and we attacked you because we weren't sure if you were a bandit or not. Personally, I wasn't expecting you to be who we were looking for, much less a dragoon. So, how did you get that dragoon spirit, then?" he asked.

"I'm a friend of Kongol's. It was a gift," he replied.

The redhead extended a hand to him. "By the way, I'm Remus Feld. I've got the red-eye dragoon spirit. An awkward introduction after what just happened, I know," he said sheepishly as Tohan eyed his hand for a moment.

Tohan shook his head. "Trust me, I've been through much more unusual circumstances," he assured and shook his hand, then the blonde's afterward.

"And I'm Tiydus, the divine dragoon," he supplied.

Tohan knew he had heard Tiydus' name before and placed it immediately. Tiydus was the son of Dart's that Alexandra was supposed to marry. He cringed for a second. He had no idea how he should go about this, he didn't think Alexandra would ever forgive him if Tiydus found her too.

Tiydus noticed Tohan's unease. "Something wrong? Would you like to be called by your first or last name?" he asked courteously.

"Um—just my first name, thanks," he answered quickly. Remus and Tiydus nodded at the same time.

"Right then, Tohan. Would you please tell us what you know about our father?" Remus asked. "As you can tell, it's urgent."

Tohan knew if their mother, also Dart's wife, was in trouble he'd want to know and they'd need to speak with him. Devildom, they'd need to FIND Dart. Lying was not an option here, because someone's life was in danger. Maybe he could stall them at the entrance, or send Dart out to them, while making sure Alexandra stayed hidden.

"I know where your father is. He's with me in the tree house. I met him fighting bandits a few days ago," Tohan announced.

"Oh thank Soa! Can you take us to him immediately, please?" Remus asked.

Tohan nodded feebly and prayed Alexandra wasn't outside. "Of course, follow me," he instructed as he grabbed his herbs and started back to the tree house.

Luckily, there was no one outside when they arrived. Tohan turned to the twins. "Please stay here for a minute, I'll be back soon," he requested.

Tohan's heart skipped a beat when he noticed Alexandra was sitting right beside the window when he walked in playing dolls with Martel which they had made earlier that day. Dart was sitting in a nearby chair, sharpening his sword. Tohan quickly stepped in front of Alexandra with his back to the window.

She looked up at him in surprise. "Tohan, are you alright? You look really pale. What took you so long?" she asked in concern.

"Alex, do me a favor please. Martel, you too come to think of it," he said hurriedly.

The princess wasn't encouraged with the hurriedness in his tone, and he knew he didn't have time to explain. Tiydus was going to hear her talking or see her.

"I want to talk with Dart alone for a while. If you two would please take these herbs to the kitchen and grind them for me, I'd be grateful. I'll come get you when we're done," he requested.

Alexandra raised an eyebrow, at the same time Dart did. "Why can't you say it in front of me?" she asked, seeming to understand that he wanted her to leave, but not acting upon it.

"It's man stuff, you wouldn't understand. Please? Besides, the sooner we can prepare those herbs the sooner Kamuy can get his medicine," he begged.

Alexandra nodded slowly, still giving him a calculating gaze, but the slight traces of an amused smile were playing at her lips. She took the herbs from him and beckoned Martel to follow her out of the room.

Once they were gone, Dart looked up at him, mildly surprised. "Man stuff, huh?" he asked bluntly.

Tohan told him the situation in one breath. "Dart, Tiydus and Remus are here. They've been tracking me. They need you. It's about Shana and it's urgent so I had to bring them. I didn't want Tiydus to see Alexandra!"

Dart nodded. "Good thinking. Where are they?" he asked, springing from his chair.

"I'll bring them in," Tohan answered, and before long Tiydus and Remus were greeting their father.

"Dad!" they exclaimed together.

Though the news he had to give them was harsh and the situation dire, Dart couldn't help but smile when he saw them safe. "Boys, I'm glad you found me. I need to tell you something, it's about your mother, and about Seles—" Dart began slowly.

"We already know. Seles was attacked and mom was taken away. We ran into Daniel Tasman and a bunch of others from the village while we were searching for Alex. We decided that mom needed us more and that we'd search for Alex once mom was safe. Dad, we found the 7th knighthood at Hellena when we went there to look for mom. We managed to use our dragoon spirits to fly to the top of Hellena and break in. To make a long story short, I fought Captain Ikmir, the head bandit, and when I defeated him he told me that it was the King of dark elves that ordered the attack on Seles to take mom away. He's taken her to the Black Castle Kazas! We knew we'd need help to breach the walls and get inside the castle, so we had to find you. Ikmir sort of told us about Tohan and said he might have helped you escape Seles since he's always making raids on them. He said he lived on the prairie so we came to find him to find you. At first we had no idea where to go, but it seems like our dragoon spirits led us here. We were drawn to Tohan's dragoon spirit," Tiydus explained.

Dart took all the news in surprisingly fast. "The black castle? Are you sure?" he asked seriously, double-checking his facts.

Remus and Tiydus both nodded. "Yes," they said together.

Dart frowned. "And this king is going to Kazas to get your mother?"

They nodded again simultaneously.

"We knew we'd need help, so we came to find you. So, Tohan did help you in Seles then?" Remus affirmed.

Dart shook his head. "No. Tohan and I met yesterday. I was outnumbered by bandits and a rock golem; he and his wolf, Kamuy saved me. And not by chance I see. . . . dragoons are drawn to each other when the time comes. Tohan, by rescuing me, insured that you two would find him. Nothing happens by chance with dragoons, Rose taught me that. If you were drawn together, which you seem to be, then the only thing I can see is that Shana is part of a much bigger picture than ransom. You are being called together because something is already in motion. You were meant to come here boys and met Tohan. The trip to Kazas is a trip for dragoons; I have a feeling we're going to find out a lot about what's been going on there. The reason for your calling might be there. Because Tohan is now involved this matter has become much bigger than just saving Shana. You wouldn't have met another dragoon if it weren't."

Tohan understood what Dart was saying. It made sense perfectly with what Alexandra had told him. Dragoons were only called together when it was required. Four dragoons in one place, under one roof was enough to convince him of that. If they hadn't been dragoons this would have been too much of a coincidence. Dart was right also about the fact that this must have been much bigger than saving Shana for them to be meeting like this. Because he had met Dart, and especially Alexandra, whom had both intended on saving Shana in the first place, whom was kidnapped by the reason of their calling, he had been unwittingly implicated into the greater course of events, and just by meeting them.

Tiydus, Dart, and Remus turned to Tohan.

"Dad's got a point, maybe we didn't meet you by accident. All of us meeting like this is too much of a coincidence for it to be natural. I hate to ask you this, seeing as we've just met, but will you come with us to Kazas?" Remus asked sincerely.

Now that he thought about everything since the attack on Furni, Tohan couldn't have been less surprised that this was happening to him. Fate was a powerful thing. The attack on his home hadn't been random, meeting and saving Martel hadn't been merely coincidence either, coming to Serdio and meeting Alexandra, becoming friends with her, her knowing Dart and Shana, her being friends with Tiydus and Remus, her running away, Tiydus and Remus coming after her and meeting the Seles refugees, going to Hellena, meeting Ikmir whom knew Tohan, and all of them ending up here together was too much to even fit on the name of chance!

Tohan nodded after his moment of reflection. "I will. However I hope you don't mind me bringing Martel or Kamuy, I can't just leave them here alone," he informed. He was dead-set on not mentioning Alexandra until either she announced herself or Dart did it for her.

"Who's Martel?" Tiydus and Remus asked together.

Tohan took ten minutes to tell them his story minus Alexandra at all. Both brothers were extremely sympathetic after he had finished, he knew they'd been through something similar.

Remus laughed softly. "After today, the word coincidence doesn't exist in my vocabulary anymore. Still don't believe in fate, bro?" Remus asked Tiydus.

"Nope," he said simply. "So, back to what you were saying, dad. If what you're saying is true, then we should eventually find or meet up with more dragoons, right?" Tiydus asked.

Dart nodded in reply.

"And Alex is a dragoon too from my understanding. We should probably run into her sometime then, right?" Tiydus continued with what Tohan perceived as an odd mixture of hurt and hope.

Dart sighed gently. "You know Tiydus, I think we need to have a talk. About Alexandra," he began softly.

Tohan knew Dart needed to tell Tiydus that she was there, but in a soft, slow way. Tohan could easily tell just how much in love with Alexandra Tiydus really was just from the flash of emotion in his eyes when Dart said her name. Tohan cringed without noticing it. This was going to make things difficult because she couldn't stay hidden forever. She was a dragoon too and would have to openly travel with them to Kazas. Everything was going to have to come out into the open, and soon. Tohan wasn't encouraged with the touchiness in Tiydus' tone.

"Dad, I thought we'd already been through this? What's there to talk about?" he asked snappishly.

The sequence of events that followed next made Tohan wish that fate was slightly less cruel sometimes. Holly had just landed on the sill of the window in the nearest back hallway and announced her arrival loudly with a chirp. Tohan heard a door open.

A confused voice filled the hall, silencing all others. "Holly? Holly what are you doing here!" the princess of Serdio asked, rushing out into the den.

Tohan noticed Tiydus and Remus turned instantly the second they heard her voice. Tiydus seemed like he'd been struck by lightning for a moment, with the shock being true in the very literalist sense. He tried to say something at first, but nothing came out, he could only stand there and stare at her with wide eyes and his mouth half-open. Remus was experiencing a similar state of shock, though his expression seemed to be much milder. He blinked and, then shook his head in disbelief.

Tiydus closed his eyes, and then reopened them. When she was still there, he managed to actually call her name. "Alex?" he asked uncertainly, as if she were a hallucination.

The young princess had been obliviously greeting her cooing Roc until that point. She whipped around to face him instantly at the sound of his voice. Her emerald eyes were wide with horror. Tohan had thought she looked pale when she saw Dart. She had absolutely no color in her face upon the sight of Tiydus. She dropped the clay bowl of ground patchflower she had been holding; it fell to the floor and shattered into a dozen or more pieces, much like the current silent atmosphere.

Tiydus of the both of them regained himself first. "Alex?" he repeated, more strongly this time and took a step in her direction.

Alexandra shot Tohan a betrayed glance before she ran back down the hall in fear, obviously not sure of what else to do.

"SORRY!" Tohan yelled after her, knowing that she felt betrayed. "Oh Soa, I give up!" he sighed in exasperation; Somehow his trying to help her and only made things worse.

Tiydus immediately turned to him and shot him an accusatory glare that very well could have scared a fully grown troll away. "What's going on? YOU," he shouted, rounding on Tohan, "knew about her? You were the one she'd been sending letters to with Holly? What is she to you!" he spat venomously.

Tohan was very uncomfortable with the fact that Tiydus was now reaching for his sword and Tohan didn't have a weapon. Tohan desperately tried to fight his tension with the knowledge that he could potentially fight Tiydus as a dragoon, but he also noted grimly that Tiydus was stronger than himself, Remus, and Alex's dragoon powers combined. He was the divine dragoon and his power dwarfed Tohan's. He emanated that power as he stormed towards Tohan, making the young man the most afraid for his life he'd been in a long time. The very floor seemed to shake with Tiydus' rage and Tohan knew Tiydus had every intention of tearing him to pieces.

Tohan's stunned silence only seemed to anger Tiydus more. "WELL, ANSWER ME DAMN IT!" he bellowed.

Tohan closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Alexandra and I are just friends! I met her when I rescued her from drowning after bandits attacked the royal carriages a few months ago. We've been writing back and forth since then just to keep in touch! We're just friends, there's nothing like that between us!" Tohan insisted powerfully as he backed away.

Tiydus wasn't amused. "WHAT IF I SAID I DON'T BELIEVE YOU? WHY IS SHE HERE, WITH YOU!"

Tohan knew Tiydus had gotten the wrong idea, but who could blame him. To an outsider, it probably did look like they were romantically involved. "She said she wanted time and a quiet place to think, and asked me if she could come here! Being her friend, I agreed! That's why she's here!" Tohan argued.

By this time, Dart stepped between them. "Tiydus, that's enough! You're making a fool of yourself in front of a man that's saved my life, your life and your brother's life within the last two days! I know this is a surprise son, but calm down and listen to reason before you fly off the handle," Dart said disapprovingly.

Tohan sighed. "I don't blame you for being angry, I really don't. I know it doesn't look right, but believe me, it's not what it seems. Just give me, and better yet, give HER a chance to explain," Tohan pleaded.

Tiydus turned from him immediately and punched the wall closest to him. The wood splintered and a good-sized hole remained as it took the punishing force of his rage. Tiydus growled, then turned back to face them. Tohan opened his mouth to explain, but Alexandra resurfaced in the doorway.

"Tohan is telling you the truth, Tiydus," she said with a slight tremble in her voice.

All of Tiydus' fury seemed to give way to pain when he looked at her. "Is he?" he asked with hurt, though he was considerably softer with her. Before she could answer Tiydus waved his hands through the air dismissively. "There are four dragoons here instead of three. We've increased our number by one. She missed the briefing, somebody explain to her what's going on, I'm going for a walk," he said quickly, refusing to look at Tohan at all or directly at Alexandra. He didn't wait for a response, he left without another word.

Dart pulled her aside. "Alexandra, a word please?" he requested and she followed him outside. Only Tohan and Remus were left in the room. Moments passed and neither said anything. Tohan didn't want to say anything for fear of making the redheaded twin angry with him too, however it was rapidly becoming apparent that Remus didn't share his brother's temper.

"You'll have to excuse him, Tohan. He's been through quite a lot lately," Remus said casually after a few minutes.

Tohan looked at him in surprise. "You're speaking to me?" he asked.

Remus shrugged. "I don't have reason not to be, don't I? That issue is between you, my brother, and Alex," he said simply.

Tohan sighed deeply. "And what do you think Remus? Do you think Alexandra came here because of me? Do you think we're more than friends?" Tohan asked hesistantly.

Remus shrugged again. He was unbelievably calmer than his brother. "I don't know. Are you?" he asked earnestly.

Tohan wanted Remus to believe him. Tohan wanted to start off on the right foot with Remus. He knew Tiydus had chosen to be his enemy already and he didn't need another. "No," Tohan said and looked directly into Remus' piercing eyes.

Remus nodded. "Then, I believe you. From what I know about your character already from being around you this long, you're an honest person. If you looked me in the eyes, you're serious," Remus replied.

Tohan breathed a sigh of relief. "But he—"

Remus sighed too. "He just needs time to blow off steam. Once he talks to Alex he'll figure it out, I'm sure. I'd like to talk to her myself first though, I want to hear her explain everything for herself. See what she's got to say before I come to too many conclusions about all of this," Remus assured.

Tohan nodded. "That's reasonable," he agreed. Remus seemed to be a fair person and the golden dragoon was thankful for it.

By this time, Tiydus came back inside. By the looks of things, he was still angry, though not furious.

"Make yourself at home," Tohan offered kindly, almost as an apology. Tiydus just glared at him and slammed down in a nearby chair.

Moments later Alexandra and Dart came in also. Alex, Tohan noted, looked grave but expectant. "So, we're going to Kazas?" she asked aloud.

Remus nodded. "Yes. But dad, are you sure we shouldn't take her back to Indels?" he asked uncertainly.

"No. She's a dragoon too, Rem. She goes with us," Tiydus insisted as he and the princess gazed steadily at each other, obviously unsure of what to think.

"Oh," Remus said simply.

Alex looked at them for a moment, before speaking. "You're dragoons now? Both of you? How?" she asked.

Dart answered her. "In addition to my dragoon spirit, Shana had one that she'd hidden. Apparently both my sons reacted to one of them. Dragoons are only chosen at a certain time," Dart explained.

Remus held out his dragoon spirit, which suddenly burst into a crimson glow.

"And they're drawn to each other," Tiydus answered and removed his golden- glowing spirit.

Alex pulled hers out and green was added to the mix of colors. Tohan held out his spirit lastly, with the blinding addition of burnt-orange light.

"For a greater purpose," Tohan heard Dart say from somewhere through the light.

"Mr. Tohan! Ms. Alex! Mr. Dart, I can't see!" Martel yelled out from somewhere to the right. "Oh—who are they?" she asked, pointing at Tiydus and Remus when the light died down.

"I'm Remus," said the redhead, "and this is my brother, Tiydus." The blonde gave the child a small smile, much to Tohan's relief. "We're Dart's sons. You must be Martel," Remus added.

The girl's pigtails bobbed as she nodded. "Are you going to stay too? We're running out of room, Mr. Tohan!"Martel remarked simply with the logic of a child.

"I don't think that will be a problem anymore, Martel," Tohan said gently and took the opportunity to tell her about the trip in the best child-friendly version he could manage.

Once finished, Martel told him that Kamuy was actually up and moving around, making Tohan even more relieved. He would carry Kamuy if he had to, but he wouldn't leave him here.

"Well," Dart said as they all looked to each other, "the journey can't wait, so we'll have to leave tomorrow morning. We'd best be packing."

To be continued . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .