Leaning over Elaine's cradle, the seer said slowly: "If she chooses well, a great fate awaits her. But if she doesn't... she will meet with horrible death." On those words, the seer left without a glance for the poor mother already terrified of the fate awaiting her little girl. The father just shrugged and tried to comfort his lovely wife: "He already said things like that for the others, love," he whispered gently. "Nothing will happen to her, not with us loving her dearly." Her wife smiled and rocked her little girl in her arms, humming a soothing lullaby to the child whose eyes were looking at her without flickering. Elaine's childhood would have been a joy for her mother, but Elara died when her daughter was three. Her husband nearly went mad with grief and Elsbeth, the eldest daughter, who turned out to be fifteen, tried to take care of the whole family with the help of Evangeline, who was two years younger. Roman and Eloise were caring more specifically for Elaine, especially Roman, who, not very up to how raise little girls, taught her little sister what he was himself taught, like horse riding and even, later, swordsmanship. Eloise, smiling despite herself, tried to give her little sister an education a bit more ladylike, but Elaine was obviously enjoying more the time she spent with her brother. Growing up, Elaine became a skilled swordswoman and Roman had sometimes a hard time to beat her when they were training. But her skills at the sword were kept hidden by the family so what the neighbours saw was the loveliest girl they had ever seen, with a dazzling smile and doe-like eyes. Despite his children's care, their father didn't go better with time, still grieving for his beloved wife. As Elsbeth turned twenty, he realised how much she looked like her mother and, this view hurting him more than anything else, he gave her in marriage to the first man asking for her hand. The whole family was shocked by this decision and Elsbeth was weeping while packing her things. Yet, determined not to show her father how much he had hurt her, she showed a calm face when meeting his betrothed and accepted him as her husband with a clear voice. She clasped tightly her little sister against her and whispered fiercely: "I love you, darling, never forget that! Remember that I love you, always!" Elaine looked at her with her never-flickering gaze, but didn't answer. Elsbeth had a pale smile and left without turning. Life became quiet again in the house, almost as if Elsbeth was still there, except that now, it was Evangeline who was taking care of everybody, helped by Eloise who was now thirteen. Roman, having celebrated his sixteenth birthday, was less at home than before, leaving thus Elaine alone. She was trying to help all she could, caring for the animals, especially the horses she knew so well. But then, one year later, Evangeline transformed from a lean little girl having grown too fast into a dazzling beauty, reminding everybody of her mother Elara. Her father noticed it despite his absent-mindedness and, once again deeply hurt, unable to get over the loss of his beloved wife, he began immediately to look for a husband for his daughter. Warned by her sister's experience, Evangeline was expecting him to act this way. She knew there was a man in town who wanted her as his wife, a man she couldn't stand, and she knew too this man would take advantage of her father's obsession to obtain her hand. Then Elsbeth, whose marriage wasn't very happy, intervened, not wanting to see her sister be unhappy, and went in person, though without warning her husband, to see one of Roman's friends, who was too a good friend to the whole family. Shamelessly, she almost begged him to ask Evangeline in marriage. The man first looked at her in utter surprise and then understood. He liked Evangeline very much so he agreed to go to see her father. During this time, Eloise, with a sixth sense, was almost flirting with the man Evangeline couldn't stand, thus preventing him to see her father and ask for her sister's hand. Elsbeth's and Eloise's scheme worked out and Roman's friend succeeded in speaking to Evangeline's father first, thus obtaining her hand. Evangeline wept with relief, clinging shamelessly to his neck and, at the same time, burying her head in his shoulder to hide her embarrassment. But now, the household care was on Eloise's young shoulders. Elaine helped her, and Roman would too, when he was home, but he wasn't home very often. His skills as horsemanship were so great that he was required to ride here and there every week, to the coast or a faraway city, crossing mountains and valleys for that. Eloise knew she had several years before her before meeting her 'fate' and she planned it during all those years, knowing perfectly that her father's grief would not ease, since her own was still very vivid in her heart. When the time came, thus, instead of trying to mystify her father as Elsbeth and herself did for Evangeline, she simply ran away. Her father, though willing to have her married, worried at once for his daughter and sent several men on her tracks, promising her hand to the one who would bring her back to him. Eloise hadn't run away very far: in the next town, she had met a childhood friend and his eyes, bright with the joy of seeing her again, had told her he would protect her against her father himself. So the men her father had sent after her had to go back to him empty-handed. Elaine, now fifteen years old, remained thus alone at home, seeing her brother only from time to time, but each time, he promised her he would protect her from their father's whim. Elaine always answered him with a smile but he was able to read in her eyes that she didn't believe him. When he told her so, she simply shrugged and left, going back to the stables to care for the horses: her father's obsession and grief had made him forget everything else and they were running out of money. The servants they had before had already left one year ago and Elaine was taking care of absolutely everything in the house. As she didn't care much for herself, she often looked dirty, her face, hands and hair soiled. Her father only saw her like that, but some in town, who met her when she was out, knew how beautiful she could be and more than one noticed that she was not only looking like her mother, as her sisters did, she simply was the young Elara, even though her hard work began to give her a frame that wasn't as feminine as her mother's. Elaine "hid" two years like that, until the day her father became ill. When he opened his eyes after the fever dropped, Elaine was near him and the long hours she had spent near him had made her paler than usual, making her look in an uncanny way like her mother. "Elara..." whispered her father. "You're back, at least... I knew you would come back..." Elaine didn't answer, only presenting him some food. He noticed her hands, damaged by her hard work, and it was something Elara's delicate hands had never been. "What..." he began and then, the veil fell from his eyes. "You are not Elara!" he shouted. "You were trying to trick me! Who are you?" "I'm Elaine, father," she said resignedly. "Elaine? Oh, Elaine... No, Elaine is a dirty little girl," he sighed. "Go away, deceiver! I shall think to what I'll do of you later." The girl only shrugged slightly and left her father's room. Her father didn't have the time to think of a 'proper' way to punish his daughter for as soon as he was feeling well enough to go out of his bed terrible news arrived in town. "He's back!" shouted a terrified woman at the top of her lungs. "Who's he?" asked some people, but most of them only paled. "He's back," they whispered in an echo, not daring to raise the voice, as if for fear of this unknown 'he'. Almost immediately the council convened and Elaine's father was in there, as was Elsbeth's husband. The most important men in town were seating there, around a huge table. The eldest of them spoke first, explaining the situation. "The big dragon is back," he declared bluntly, continuing without caring for the exclamation shouts. "It won't be the first time he will come in this town and that won't probably be the last one." "When was he here last time?" asked Elsbeth's husband. "Something like twenty years ago," replied the eldest. "We know what he wants: he wants a victim, he wants his prey, he wants his dinner." Silence fell on the room. Then one of them hazarded: "Which victim?" "A girl. A virgin. Beautiful, more beautiful than anybody else." Incredulous eyes gazed back at him. "Nobody will ever be willing to give his daughter to a monster!" exclaimed Elsbeth's husband, who was the very proud young father of a baby girl, expressing everybody's feeling. Then a voice intervened: "I have your beautiful virgin." All the heads turned to Elaine's father and horror crept into their eyes. "No..." whispered some of them. "I have exactly what... who you need," persisted Elaine's father. "But, Nerden, she's your last daughter!" "Yes, she is. And I offer her to save the town." Nothing could make Nerden change his mind and, somehow, everybody was relieved, even if they were feeling guilty at the same time. So decision was made to take Elaine the following day to the forest near the place the dragon had established his lair. So the following morning, Elaine, still unaware of the council decision, was very surprised to see her father smiling to her and not at all mad at her. Someone knocked at the door and she ran to open; she stopped dead when seeing one of her father's oldest friends standing in front of her. "Come with me, Elaine," he said gently. "We are going for a little walk." "Let me change and I'm following you." He stopped her with his hand on her arm. "No, Elaine, don't change for me. You remind me of Elara when she was a young girl," he added softly. Elaine had a violent move of denial, pointing mutely at her father who was listening. His friend nodded and took her dirty hand in his. She blushed and tried to break free, hiding her hands behind her soiled skirt, but he didn't allow her. His grip on her hand was gentle, yet so firm she couldn't escape him. She was sensing that something was wrong and fear began to rise in her, preventing her to breathe normally. Angry with herself, she forced herself to calm down and her never flickering gaze bore the man's who didn't feel very at ease. He took Elaine to the forest, doing the dirty task of leading her to the dragon, because her father wasn't able to do it by himself. During the whole way he talked gently to her, as if trying to reassure her, but it only made her grow more nervous, and she began to regret not to have taken her sword. At least she would have felt prepared for almost anything. He stopped in a clearing and showed to Elaine a fallen tree on which she could sit. She obeyed silently and looked up at him. He cleared his throat and said carefully: "Listen, Elaine, child, I know you since you're a baby, I almost saw Elara give you birth and I consider you almost like my daughter. You know that Elara's death was something terrible for your father and he never got over it. So those last years he behaved in the strangest way, especially toward those of his daughters who look very much like Elara. You are so much like your mother, Elaine, so much that your view can only hurt him deeper and deeper. You know how he reacted for your older sisters: he married them, but even that was not enough, since he continues to see them in town. For you, he has another idea; your husband will be coming from a faraway land, and he will take you to his land." "Without ever seeing again my family? My sisters, my brother, my father?" asked Elaine. "You will ask your husband, but, Elaine, child, be careful if you come back: never let your father know you're back, it would cause him too much grief. From now on, Elaine, you must hide from the whole world. Don't even trust those you're close too. Don't even trust me," he added softly. She looked at him, not answering, as if she was trying to read the answers to his riddles on his wrinkled face. "Elaine," he said, taking gently her hands in his, "I must leave. I cannot meet your husband, only you can see him. I hope... I hope I'll see you again, little one." "Is my future husband a monster for you to speak like that?" she said jokingly. She was almost afraid when all blood withdrew from her friend's face. "Ah, Elaine," he said sadly, "do not tease your husband like that! Farewell, Elaine..." He left the clearing in a hurry and Elaine remained alone, noticing then for the first time that, in following her father's friend, she didn't even know where she was in the forest. She stood up, looking around her, and made some nervous steps. "A husband from a faraway land," she muttered under her breath. "Where could have father found such a husband? Oh, there's something I don't like in that story! Roman, Roman, I wish so much you be here!" She looked around her nervously, and then almost laughed at herself: "Oh, girl, stay under control! You're not going anywhere with those stupid thoughts!" She heard some noise and she started, swirling around herself to see where the noise was coming from. She saw nothing and her nervousness increased. She was ready to laugh again at herself, but then her laugh died in her throat: the sudden silence surrounding her was not normal. She looked desperately around her, but there was nothing she could use as a weapon. "Alright," she whispered to herself. "Whatever is waiting for you, you better got used to the idea that you have only your courage to affront it!" She took again a good look around her and then, looking at where she was turning her back to only ten seconds ago, she stopped dead. She felt her blood leaving her face and her throat tightened so much that she couldn't breathe, nor swallow. "No," she whispered with what breath she had left. "No... Roman..." She felt she was going to faint and she fought all she could to remain conscious, her eyes still locked to the golden depths fixed on her. As she thought she was again controlling herself, a rough voice startled her: "Who are you?" Her eyes went blank and she collapsed slowly on the ground. The big dragon lowered the head to see the lean body, looking utterly perplexed. When Elaine regained consciousness, she knew immediately why she had fainted and she looked quickly around her. Her throat tightened when seeing the dragon curled up on himself, looking so regal and powerful, but once again, her eyes were locked to the golden irises. She felt calm now and could almost fancy she would be able to stand up against him. Seeing her motionless, but silent, not screaming, the dragon asked: "Who are you?" The rough voice startled her, but she was more or less expecting it. "My name is Elaine," she said. "Sir," she added after thought. She had the impression the dragon was seizing her up and she brought her chin up in a defying way. "Let me guess," the dragon replied with a wary tone. "You are the most beautiful girl of the town, are you not?" She blushed and shook the head. "I thank you for your compliment, sir, but, no, I'm not. I'm just a girl looking too much like her mother for her own sake." She was still on her guards, but now that she had registered the situation correctly, her mind was racing again, understanding everything. She had been right: never was there a foreign husband for her, only foreign death... Her father had given her to the dragon as a victim. The dragon seemed to know she had understood why she was there. "Would you accept to come with me, lady Elaine?" he asked politely. She looked at him and all her fears disappeared suddenly. "Your path will be mine, sir," she replied. "Why giving up so easily? You have been tricked, you don't have to obey to me." "What to do, sir, when one is betrayed by one's own father?" said Elaine bitterly. "Where to go, who to turn to?" "Your father is your only family, the only one who was loving you?" Then Elaine thought of Elsbeth's last words to her: "Remember that I love you, always!" "No," she said slowly. "No, but their door is closed to me forever." The dragon nodded, as if he understood perfectly what she meant, and she felt angry for no reason. She looked at him defiantly. "Are we going?" "Are you really willing to follow me, wherever I may go?" asked the dragon, quite incredulously. She shrugged in a non-ladylike way. "The worse you can do to me is letting me live," she retorted and she had the secret pleasure to see the dragon start violently as his eyes narrowed, as if he was angry. "Then follow me, my lady, follow the monster in his lair!" he said in a tone half-ironical, half-aggressive. Elaine shivered, wondering suddenly what madness was driving her to follow a dragon. Her previous fears rose again in her chest, making her hands tremble violently, and she looked down at them, furious with herself. She then saw the dirt of her hands, her poor dress soiled by her hard work, and she blushed, ashamed, bending down the head, so that she wouldn't see the reproving look in the dragon's gaze. She remembered him asking her if she was the most beautiful girl in town, but it was pure flattery, to calm down her fears, most probably. And then she looked up again at the dragon, seeing only the scales shining under the sunlight, glittering softly, the lean yet powerful silhouette, she remembered the golden eyes, so mesmerising, and she wondered what a dirty girl like her could do with a creature as magnificent and mighty as the dragon. Then a bitter smile appeared briefly on her lips and she whispered under her breath: "Bah! I guess that fire cleans dirt pretty well..." "Why did you expect the most beautiful girl of the town?" she asked aloud. The dragon turned briefly the head toward her. "Legends say that only the most beautiful girl - virgin, of course - can tame a dragon. And local superstitions say that a dragon can only appreciate a beautiful girl." "Is that true?" The dragon snorted. "Believe me, though it's nice to have a meal looking absolutely gorgeous, I care only for the taste, not the look." Elaine shivered and then, keeping herself hardly under control, managed to retort sharply: "Well, I hope you'll find me at your taste, then, sir! I would indeed be really sorry having lost my life without succeeding in giving you a good meal!" The dragon stopped dead, as thunderstruck, and turned slowly toward her. He looked at her a moment, seeming perplexed, and then showed his long, sharp fangs in what was probably a smile. "I see," he said. "Well, my lady, I'm truly sorry to tell you I don't intend to eat you. I hope you won't be too disappointed." The despair in Elaine's eyes gained in depth. "Then what are you going to do with me?" she asked with a small voice. "I'm asking you to keep me company a little," he replied. "Is it too much?" he inquired, as if he was expecting a rebuff. She shook violently the head without saying a word. "Now, my lady, you must understand something: I won't ask you anything you're not willing to give me. If you don't want to follow me, you can go back to your home." Something in the rough voice made Elaine look attentively in his eyes and she didn't see anymore the metallic gleam, but an intense loneliness instead. Then a sunbeam played on a scale near his eye and the impression vanished. "No," she said clearly. "I am willing to follow you. Let's see if the legends are true." "The legends or the superstitions?" asked the dragon. She shrugged. "Both," she replied shortly. The dragon had a half smile and resumed his walk. "May I know your name, since you know mine?" said Elaine rather aggressively. "You may call me 'beast', 'dragon' or 'monster', whichever you prefer," retorted calmly the dragon without turning back. Elaine remained speechless at first, her mind alerting her of the hint of bitterness in the dragon's voice. "I would rather not," she said softly at last. "I wouldn't call 'monster' someone I'm following willingly. Is it that you don't have a name?" "Yes, I do have one. But I doubt you would be able to pronounce it, since it's a draconic name, and then, nobody had used it for so long now I'm not even sure I remember it." Gathering all her will, Elaine came nearer him and raised the head toward him. "Then why don't you choose a name you would like?" "Tell me what would be the use. I live alone." "But now, I'm here." The golden irises stared lengthily at her. "And I will be the only one around you," he replied in a surprising soft voice considering his usual rough tone. "So no name will be needed: nobody else will answer if you call..." "You mean," she retorted wryly, "that I can scream all I want, nobody will ever hear me. "That too," agreed patiently the dragon. "But I generally don't like screams, so if you could avoid that..." "If you give me a name?" proposed Elaine. "My lady, dragons are not known for being patient when dealing with humans, although your life is so short that it's really not worth getting into trouble because of you, and it's rather not advised to upset a dragon," he said rather crossly. A light smile appeared on Elaine's pale lips. "Well, at least, I know what to do if life's burden becomes too heavy," she replied softly. He sent her a quizzical look but, to her relief, offered no comment to her last sentence. They were walking in the forest, the fair maiden - despite her shabby clothes - and the powerful dragon, side by side. From time to time, one of them looked discreetly toward the other one, as if wondering what he or she was doing there. Elaine looked quite as ease, as if she was used to walk with dragons, and it seemed to perplex the great beast. With each step she made, the girl repeated to herself that she had no reason to panic, that the dragon hadn't threatened her in any way, that he said he wouldn't ask anything she wasn't willing to give... But a little voice was treacherously whispering that dragons were not known to be trustworthy... And then she had a look at her strange companion and forgot everything when seeing such a magnificent creature. "If he was a boar, I would probably not trust him," she thought, "but dragons, though known for not being trustworthy, are such powerful and legendary creatures that you only want to believe them... But a boar... no, definitively, I wouldn't trust him! I don't like boars..." She tried to imagine her companion as a boar and ended up giggling in spite of herself. The dragon looked at her in surprise and she couldn't help but burst out laughing. Looking offended, he turned the head away and she immediately felt sorry for him, for she understood that he thought she was laughing at him. Shyly, she put her hand on his powerful shoulder, shivering when feeling the muscles under the scales, and she said softly: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I was laughing at my own silliness, not at you." He blinked in wonder and looked down at her. "Thank you for apologising, my lady. Nobody ever cared before you..." Then he turned the head away again, as if afraid to sound bitter or resentful. "Nobody?" she repeated in echo. "I... I don't know what to say..." With a surprising gentleness, he placed a sharp claw on her lips and replied in a whisper: "Then don't say anything..." Silence surrounded them as their eyes were locked and Elaine found herself lost in the golden depths, unable - and unwilling - to turn the head away. Then the soft cry of a bird startled them both and the spell was broken. Elaine looked away quickly and asked hastily, wondering what was happening to her: "May I call you 'Friend'?" "Maybe you would want to wait before, my lady," suggested the dragon. "The legends say that even the fair maidens may be trapped by the apparent gentleness of the dragons the first moments, that it takes them time to figure out their deceitfulness. I don't want you to accuse me of deceiving you in such a way..." "Oh!" she said, feeling as if she had run till she couldn't breathe anymore. "I... I wouldn't..." "Let's wait two or three days, my lady," insisted the dragon. "Haste doesn't suit encounters similar to ours..." Elaine didn't reply, wondering if there were other encounters like theirs... She thought of some legends, where the fair maiden was able to tame the wild unicorn while the proud knight was defeating the mighty dragon. She smiled within herself and whispered to herself: "Well, let it be the 'fair' maiden taming the mighty dragon... Maybe somewhere else there is a proud knight defeating a wild unicorn!" The very thought almost sent her giggling again, but she succeeded in behaving properly, just allowing a light smile to wander on her pale lips. "Maybe it is the mighty dragon taming the 'wild' maiden!" she thought suddenly, remembering that she never had been considered like a 'fair maiden' by those close to her, but rather like a little girl behaving in a very improper way. She looked furtively at the dragon and seeing how regal he was confirmed her thoughts. "Definitively him taming me!" she whispered gloomily. They walked the whole day, the dragon being very concerned about her well-being and her not getting too tired. He was pleased to see she was not a fragile town girl complaining at each step. She seemed actually to enjoy eating wild berries for her lunch and never protested it was hardly the kind of meal able to sustain her for the exercise she was getting. In fact, having a good look at her, he could see she hadn't eaten properly for probably quite a long time and the ivory of her skin was hardly of a healthy shade. But her pace was assured and she didn't seem to mind her light lunch, showing she was now used to be malnourished. Night was falling and they were still walking in the woods. Elaine was beginning to get nervous, glancing frequently at her huge companion. In the daylight the situation could have appeared quite acceptable, even though the bright sun had only underlined how powerful the dragon was, but now that the sunlight was getting dimmer and dimmer, nightshades softening the glittering of his scales, he was looking more mysterious and frightening. Yet, somehow, she knew that with him besides her, she had nothing to fear. Nobody would attack her with such a mighty protector. He seemed to understand her growing fear and suggested to halt for the night. Elaine was beginning to relax, seeing the fire burning in front of her, chasing away the frightening nightshades. Then the flames revealed a huge frame with eyes blazing as hell and Elaine chocked back a scream, jumping to shelter near her companion. The rough voice coming for the shadows made her come closer to the dragon: "Why, little brother, how nice of you to have brought me dinner!" The frame moved behind the fire, revealing the body of a dragon. Elaine felt her heart stop and she found it was impossible for her to simply turn the head to look at her companion. "She is no dinner," replied her dragon and the cold hand closed on Elaine's heart slowly released its grip. "Not willing to share, hmm?" "No dinner, I said. Neither mine, nor yours," repeated Elaine's protector firmly. "Then what, little brother? You want to fight me? For a mere girl? When you know I'm stronger than you? Think of it, little brother: what use will you be for her if you're dead?" Her dragon stretched his wings, almost wrapping the left one around Elaine's shoulders, never stopping to look at his older brother. "She is mine to protect," he said softly. Inexplicably, Elaine felt her heart soar when hearing those words. "You cannot be serious!" "Are you afraid, brother? Afraid of me, of knowing who's the best?" The older dragon gritted his teeth, making a very disagreeable noise. "So be it!" he said in the same voice Fate could have had. Both dragons stood up straight and Elaine stepped back in awe, almost frightened when seeing how huge they really were; it seemed to her that the firelight dancing on their scales was showing her the play of the strong muscles under the skin. The dragons seized each other up, the two golden gazes locked up, with no gentleness in them. They had been brothers, they had played together, hunted together and now they were foes to each other. The brotherhood time was over. They stared at each other another moment, standing up on their hind legs, and then, suddenly, jumped at each other's throat. Elaine couldn't help but watch, enraptured by their deadly dance, impressed by the power emanating from them. They were only using their claws and fangs, knowing only too well what could happen if they were to breath fire in a forest. The older dragon quickly understood that his little brother had grown up and that he was indeed very determined to protect this shabby-looking human girl as he growled in frustration and pain when feeling the sharp fangs of his brother in his neck. He jerked free and took flight, shouting a last warning: "You won't be rid of me like that!" He pronounced then a strange-sounding word that Elaine guessed to be the name of her companion. He turned to her as his brother disappeared from sight and was about to say something when she cut him off by calling carefully the name she had just heard, on an interrogative tone. He looked at her in awe. "You can speak draconic!" he exclaimed. Elaine seemed confounded. "What? Can't everybody speak it?" she asked. "No! Very few humans are able to pronounce the words. You are gifted!" Seeing Elaine's face darkening, he added: "That's a very rare gift, my lady, and treasured by the mighty ones. Some would pay a king's ransom to have near them someone able to speak draconic. The king himself would probably empty all his gold chests to have you at his court." "Well, let's have him ignoring my existence," retorted Elaine rather crossly, as if she was unhappy of her newly found gift. "You are wounded, let me help you." The dragon put his head on his forepaws and half-closed his eyes. "I'm so tired," he said with a dreamy voice. "If I sleep, my lady, will you watch over me?" "I'm no warrior," declared Elaine, "but I'll watch over you, the whole night if I must." "Thank you, my lady..." He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately. Elaine, calmly, as if she had done it all her life, treated the wounds of her companion and then sat by him, watching the fire, her back turned to the dragon. The dancing flames were enticing her to sleep and her stomach was reminding her that she hadn't eaten very much at noon. She knew only too well that he or she who sleeps doesn't feel hungry and this was encouraging her eyelids to slowly close. She jumped on her feet, not really trusting her companion enough to be able to fall asleep next to him and not really willing to sleep either when she had promised she would watch over him. She paced around the fire and, trying to calm her restless stomach, she took an old piece of leather from her pocket and put it in her mouth, chewing it slowly, but it only increased her hunger instead of decreasing it as it usually did. The silence around her was uncanny, but she thought that the presence of a dragon in the surroundings was probably not very encouraging for the birds to sing or for the forest to show it was alive. She breathed slowly, accustoming herself to the silence and the peace around her, letting them surround her as a warm cloak. She half-closed her eyes, feeling drowsy, trying to fancy that this imaginary embrace was the one of her mother holding her in her arms. She didn't remember anything of her mother, except her eyes looking at her in her cradle, but her sisters, especially Elsbeth, had told her about Elara and she wished she had known her, to be able to understand better her father's grief, to be able to understand how he could have offered her as a sacrifice to a dragon. She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. She had stopped chewing her piece of leather and the taste in her mouth was beginning to be nauseating. Her eyes were completely closed by now and she had the impression the forest was whispering to her, that the soft wind was stroking her hair the way Elara's hand could have done. Strange noises coming from behind her startled her violently and she looked around her. The noises were coming from her dragon and she quickly understood what was going on. "How do one wake up a dragon having a nightmare?" she thought desperately. "Especially when this dragon just came out from a fight and is obviously fighting in his nightmare..." she added thoughtfully, seeing his left paw tightening convulsively, the sharp claws shining in the firelight. When she saw his mouth twist in what was most probably pain, she couldn't stand it anymore and came carefully near him, calling his name. But the battle sounds he was hearing in his nightmare were far louder in his ears than the soft whisper she was producing and he didn't react. Gathering her courage, she came closer and gently shook - or tried to - the heavy shoulder. This time he reacted: opening his golden eyes, he raised his head, ready to breath fire, and she could see in the depths of his gaze that he hadn't realised yet where he was, that he was lost still in the heat of his nightmarish fight. Her feet refused to move and she remained in front of him, trembling, looking up at him and at the terrifying inferno of his throat, feeling his burning breath on her face, knowing that she wouldn't survive if he were to release the fireball spinning in the depth of his throat. "The forest..." she said in a soft plea, unable to articulate more than those two words. The gentle voice seemed to stir him up and he closed carefully his jaws, swallowing his burning breath. He looked around him with relief in his eyes and turned again to Elaine. "Thank you, my lady, to have awaken me of that nightmare," he said with gratitude. "My pleasure," she retorted, pronouncing his name once again. A smile twisted his mouth and he suggested: "Since you seem to be willing to use a name for me, though you don't want people to know you speak draconic, maybe you should use the human equivalent of my name." "I would be honoured," she replied. "So you can call me Firebrand," he concluded. He saw then her trembling hands and suddenly understood the fear she had just experienced. "Where did you find the courage to wake me up, knowing what could happen to you?" he asked softly. "You were in pain, Firebrand," she said matter-of-factly. "So?" "So I couldn't let you in pain when I could help you to end it, could I? You protected me from your own brother, I would have been indeed very ungrateful to abandon you like that!" He looked lengthily at her. "My lady, I have had many nightmares and never had someone cared to wake me so the nightmare would end. Twice today you surprised me by caring for me when nobody else did before. Why?" She shrugged. "I don't know. I have always had one of my sisters or my brother caring for me. Maybe it's normal for me to give back what I received." "Ah," said the dragon, offering no more comment. "What are your nightmares about?" asked Elaine. "They have only one thing in common: I dream I'm human." "And being human for you would be a nightmare?" "Yes, of course! If I wanted to be human, I would just transform into one, thanks to my pearl," he said a bit uneasily. Elaine frowned. "Which pearl?" "The pearl of the dragon, the pearl of wisdom. The most valuable treasure for a dragon." Elaine nodded, not offering any comment to that. She didn't say how much she would have liked him to transform into a human, so that she would have felt better, she would have been able to imagine him as a human instead as a dragon. She wondered a moment why he couldn't think of it himself, as a way to reassure her. "But maybe he doesn't want me to be reassured," she thought, remembering the hatred in his brother's tone. "He was so surprised when I accepted to follow him, as if he didn't expect me to trust him enough for that." So she bent down the head and sat on the ground, looking at the fire. The dragon put again his head on his paws, looking at her between his half-closed eyelids. He was wondering what was so special about this girl. Never till this day had he ever defied his brother, but then never had his brother threatened one of his protégés this way. Finally tiredness took the better of Elaine and she fell asleep, curled up on herself. She was looking very young and very vulnerable like that and the dragon again wondered about her. During the whole night, he kept his golden gaze on her, as if by looking at her he could get the answer to his questions. the sun rose the following morning, Elaine awoke slowly; she kept her eyes closed for a moment, the same way she did every morning, and she was surprised by the surrounding sounds: they weren't the same as usual. Fire crackling next to her, a somewhat heavy breath and the disturbing impression that a very intense gaze was fixed on her, all this contributed to remind her of the previous day and her eyes snapped open. No, she hadn't dreamed: there really was a dragon watching her with his dazzling golden eyes. She shivered slightly and straightened up, remembering suddenly that she didn't want to sleep near the dragon. When he spoke, though, the rough voice didn't startle her and she thought wryly that if she was able to get used to such a voice in less than one day, nothing could prevent her to get used to be in the company of a dragon. "How are you feeling this morning, my lady?" he asked politely. "Very well, thank you, Sir," she replied as politely. His reptilian face took a sad expression. "'Sir'!" he repeated. "You made me the honour of calling me Firebrand yesterday... Was it only because you were shocked and you couldn't think clearly enough or did you finally decide that using my name was too good for the monster I am?" She looked at him silently for what seemed to him an eternity and then she softly called his name, his draconic name. Though he had given her the human equivalent, she somehow felt that he much preferred to hear the draconic sounds. She had the impression to see his eyes glowing with pleasure, but maybe was it only a play of light... "If I am to use your name, why don't you use mine?" she asked. "That wouldn't be proper at all," he objected. She laughed lightly and it was like a silvery sound of a waterfall. "Proper! Did thus somebody define the proper way to behave when a dragon and a girl meet? If so, I would very much like to hold this precious work in my very hands, so that I wouldn't make too many mistakes!" Firebrand had the grace to seem a bit embarrassed. "I mean... you're a lady and one should always be respectful toward a lady." "I'm hardly a lady," retorted Elaine. "I'm a spoiled brat. Encounters like ours are quite rare, I trust, and so, I think we are allowed to decide of the rules to observe then. And I would very much like you to use my name rather than the distant term 'my lady'. If you don't mind, naturally." The dragon was once again taken aback; her capacity to consider him fully as another normal person, instead as a dragon, was rather astonishing. "I would be very honoured," he said softly and he was rewarded by a pale smile wandering on Elaine's lips. He observed her as she was gathering some berries for her breakfast; he was feeling very sorry for not having anything else to offer her, for she was so thin that she should have eaten something more consistent than simple berries. Then he noticed for the first time how easy she was to satisfy: she had nothing but berries to eat and yet, she was almost delighted; calling her by her name would make her happy. It was the first time he met a girl who wasn't complaining at all and who didn't fear him. True, there was this glint of fear in her eyes, but he somehow knew that what was frightening her was not really the fact he was a dragon, it was something else. But he didn't know what was that something else and he realised that he wanted to know. He couldn't take his eyes from her, even as she was eating her berries, head bent down under his intense gaze. She was dirty, shabby, but proud, so very proud she would refuse to avow her being hungry or tired. Shabby-genteel. That was what she was. Suddenly, she raised the head toward him and looked at him with her jaws almost tightly clenched, as if she was defying him to criticise her for being what she was. But in the golden gaze she found no despise, no mockery, only wonder and curiosity. Her eyes softened a bit and, then, as if ashamed, she bent down her head again to her dirty hands holding the last berries. She ate them quickly and stood up. "I'm ready to follow you, Firebrand," she said. He silently nodded and took the lead. He could have carried her on his back, to spare her the tiredness, but he somehow knew that she would refuse and he didn't want to meet with a refusal. d so they went their way, Elaine following the big dragon without knowing where she was going. They were most of the time walking in silence. Every evening, Firebrand would build a fire and strangely, as if a spell was cast on him, sleep would call him and he would fall asleep soundly, but haunted by his nightmares. Every evening, without missing, Elaine faithfully woke him from his nightmare and retreated near the fire without saying a word. And every evening, without missing, she was looking at him with a little girl's eyes as he was on the point to breath fire and to reduce her to ashes, but each time, he managed to get himself under control in time. And as she was back near the fire, he was looking at her almost in awe, wondering why she was still waking him up, daring to come so close to him, when she knew he could kill her without even noticing, when she knew he was only a wild beast when awakening from his nightmare. Not that he was better when really awake, he thought bitterly. Then for the thousandth time, he wondered why she was following him, why in the melt of the emotions in her eyes, he never saw hope. As for Elaine, she was thinking that Firebrand's behaviour was rather strange for a dragon. Not that she knew much about dragons anyway - and Firebrand already seemed to be quite different from his siblings, especially considering his brother - but she never heard about a dragon falling asleep each night against his own will, nor a dragon having nightmares. She wanted to ask him but didn't dare. But there was always a questioning look in her eyes when she was looking at him and he ended up asking her the reason why. She started slightly and looked up at him. "Lady Elaine?" he called again softly. "What is bothering you? Of course I don't expect anybody to be very talkative in my company, but you have been more than quiet lately... Is my company disturbing you too much?" "Not at all, Lord Firebrand!" exclaimed Elaine, her good education putting instantly the words in her mouth. "It's just that..." She found out she simply couldn't say she was wondering about him; she didn't know anything about draconic customs and for all she knew, a human wondering about a dragon could be very offensive. "Would you make me the honour of telling me? Maybe... maybe I could help?" said Firebrand in a so soft voice that it was almost like the whisper of the wind. Elaine wondered briefly if dragons were used to offer their help to human beings. Probably not. "I was... thinking... well, wondering... if dragons usually fall asleep like you do every evening..." she said very shyly, pretty sure that Firebrand would burn her to ashes for her boldness. He sighed and put his head on his paws. "Do you think I can trust you, Lady Elaine?" he asked thoughtfully. "No, Lord Firebrand," she retorted immediately, understanding fully that he was meaning no offence by asking this question. "No? You would prevent me against yourself?" "Yes, I would." "May I know why?" "Because I don't know anything of honour such as a dragon understands it, Lord Firebrand." The dragon uttered a noise that could be taken as a laugh - or a sneer. "A dragon has no sense of honour, Lady Elaine. I mean, some have, but they are dead now. My brother - the one you have already met - used to say that an honourable dragon is a dead dragon." "You are not your brother, Lord Firebrand," retorted Elaine in a tight voice. "Forgive me for saying this, but you are more trustworthy than he is." He sighed again. "I'm not a normal dragon, Lady Elaine," he finally said. She looked at him in surprise. "You seem quite normal to me," she answered softly. He shook the head. "Believe me, I'm not. As you could see, my own brother despises me and I truly don't know where I found the strength to defy him like I did. He was surprised himself. My family used to say I was too soft for a dragon - never willing to take a life if I can avoid it, that kind of things." "Those are great qualities," interrupted gently Elaine. "And your brother - without willing to be mean to him or disrespectful - doesn't seem to me to be the kind of... person I would ask for advice." Firebrand laughed a bit. "My brother doesn't care for respect or not. He would rather have you as his dinner than let you live. I personally don't see why I should have you as dinner; first I'm not hungry and secondly I prefer to have some company from time to time." "Luckily for me, I guess." "Well, I don't know for that. You didn't sound very happy when you discovered I wasn't going to eat you." Elaine looked embarrassed and bent down the head. "I'm sorry, Lady Elaine," apologised Firebrand immediately. "I think I don't realise fully what it is for you to have been betrayed by your father. I've never expected anything but betrayal from my own family..." "That must have been terrible," murmured Elaine sympathetically. He looked at her during a long time, his golden eyes never leaving her tired face. "You care so much for me," he whispered at last. "As if I was your dear friend... It is so new for me, I'm afraid I'm not receiving it properly..." "There's no proper way, Lord Firebrand. There's only the way your heart feels about it." "My heart? My heart, Lady Elaine, would lead me to transform into a human to try to make you the happiest on the world, to bring back a smile on your lips too pale, those lips which knew how to smile but forgot how to..." They both started when hearing his words and Elaine would have sworn that he would have furiously blushed if his scales had allowed it. She looked down quickly, the time for him to recompose himself, and then said very lowly: "But you can transform into a human, with your pearl..." At the same time, he was apologising very fast: "I'm sorry, Lady Elaine, saying this was... is unforgivable from me; I should never ever have said such a rude thing! I know you must be very afraid of me and... and you surely have more than one suitors in your town, waiting for your return and..." "Lord Firebrand. Lord Firebrand!" He looked at her, shame appearing clearly in his golden eyes. "I have no suitors, Lord Firebrand, and even if I had, I cannot return to my town. And I'm... I'm not afraid of you." "You are. I see it in your eyes when you wake me up every evening." "You are not yourself by that time," she reminded him gently. He nodded vaguely and then inquired: "You said something about my pearl earlier?" Elaine blushed slightly and, looking at the ground between his forepaws, said quickly: "You said you could transform into a human with your pearl..." He sighed, not able to meet her gaze. "Lady Elaine, don't you think I'd have done so if I could? Oh, Elaine, I would do anything to drive away the fear I see in your eyes, I would fight the whole way back to your town if you said you wanted to go back there... Anything you would want me to do, I would do it for you, just for seeing a smile blossom on your lips..." She was unable to answer, the fact he had called her 'Elaine' being only a slight part of the effect his words had on her. She forbade herself to think of what his tone evoked in her, of the thoughts it raised in her. "But... but I thought... you said that being a human would be for you a nightmare... and you still have those nightmares..." "I have, but the human in my nightmares has nothing to do with you. If you were there, my nightmares would become very enjoyable dreams. That's why I dread this transformation." "Why... why can you not? The pearl doesn't have the power to?" Firebrand sighed again. "I'm cursed, Lady Elaine. Cursed like no living dragon can claim he has been cursed. And if people knew my curse, my days to live would be very short..." "Then don't tell me, Lord Firebrand. I won't be able to say what I don't know." "Nobody knows your relation with me." "Except your brother," Elaine reminded him. "My brother won't care, Lady Elaine," said Firebrand bitterly. "He's the one who cursed me. And he wouldn't lose his time questioning you..." "Your brother cursed you?" "I told you I never expected anything but betrayal from my kin, Lady Elaine. And you will see how much my brother cares for me: the curse he cast on me is the worse you can cast on a dragon." "The pearl?" whispered Elaine. "The pearl," confirmed Firebrand. "The curse of my dear brother deprived me of my pearl. The only left in me of a dragon is my appearance." "You can still breath fire. And talk." "Oh, yes, but even the most stupid dragon can do that, even one not able to use his pearl. And now I'm even less than those dragons!" "No, you're not! Oh no!" denied Elaine fiercely. "You're worth twenty of them! And even if they had all the powers their pearl can give them you would still overcome them." "Why is it so?" inquired Firebrand, surprised by her outburst. "Because you have heart. You have convictions and they make you stronger than the other dragons, because they fight only by habit." "Thank you, Lady Elaine, thank you so much for saying this to me. It means... it means a great deal to me." Elaine came near to him and rose up the head to look at him in the eyes. "Where is your pearl, Lord Firebrand?" she asked softly. "It's hidden among my brother's treasure," he answered, intrigued. "What are you thinking about?" "What about going to get it from your brother's treasure? I don't really like thieves." "Lady Elaine, this would be incredibly dangerous!" exclaimed Firebrand. "My brother would never forgive any intruder!" "Well, we will have to be careful not to get caught," she replied matter-of-factly. "We?" repeated Firebrand. He had the impression of losing his mind. Was she saying what he thought she was? Was she really implying she would help him in this crazy adventure? "Well, I'm not going to let you down in this," she said firmly, half rising her eyebrows in surprise. "You thought I would?" Firebrand didn't know what to reply. This girl was incredible, amazing! He knew she was frightened, no matter what she was saying, even probably terrified of his brother, and yet, she was here, looking at him with no fear in her eyes, actually proposing a dangerous expedition. He knew she was no warrior - and even a warrior would be frightened - but she was almost smiling. His last thought faded away in his mind; fascinated, he was watching her smile slowly blossoming on her pale lips, as if she was enjoying the idea of going to defeat his mighty brother. "Lady Elaine, I can't... I can't let you do that..." "Why so, Lord Firebrand? My father gave me to a dragon to be his victim. What difference would that make if I die from you or from your brother? His aim would be achieved anyway." "And what about my pain if you're hurt?" asked softly Firebrand and the worried look in his eyes was not due to a play of light. "Elaine, I would never forgive myself if something happened to you." Once again numbness struck Elaine's mind, leaving her unable to answer at first. "Firebrand," she then said very firmly. "I am not going to let you alone when facing your brother." "Lady Elaine, I am not going to get my pearl from my brother," retorted Firebrand. "Oh. Then you would let me alone?" "No! Of course not! I would never." "Because I am going there." "May I ask why you are so determined?" "You faced your brother for me, when you knew he could overpower you whenever he wanted. And yet, your determination made him step back and flee away. Had you not been this determined, I would be dead by now." "So you are just trying to find a way to repay me?" asked Firebrand with a note of sadness in his deep voice. "Repaying you?" Elaine laughed bitterly. "As if I could! Even if I wanted it, I couldn't. No, Lord Firebrand, I'm not trying to repay you of my life. You are my friend and I'm not used to let down my friends. I want to help you; it is thus this wrong from me for wanting this?" "No, it's not and I thank you for your... friendship. But it will be dangerous, Lady Elaine." "Then we will have to be careful," repeated Elaine. "We will think seriously about a plan, a plan that your brother will never be able to think of by himself." "You are very decided, are you not?" "Yes, I am." "Then I cannot do less than accompany you," concluded Firebrand. She had a light smile, one of the kind that would make him give her everything she wanted. Without a word, trying to shake himself of her sudden fascination on him, he led the way to a place he only knew where it was. Elaine followed the way in silence, not willing to have him change his mind. When they arrived at last, Elaine looked around at the ruins surrounding them and asked: "What is this place?" "It was, very long ago, a strong castle, impossible to take. No human ever managed to set foot inside if the lord of the place didn't want him to. But then came an evil wizard who summoned the most powerful dragons the world knew by then. Day after day, night after day, they breathed fire, ravaged the country and killed everybody they could, rejoicing in murder and blood, giving their evil master more souls he had ever dreamt of. The castle finally fell and with it fell the landlord and his family. The wizard put them all to death. The legends say that at night you can hear the screams of the landlord as the wizard was killing his family under his very eyes. Yes, the story of this castle is a story of pain and destruction." "Charming place," murmured Elaine. "Incidentally, this place is near my brother's lair," added Firebrand. "And finally, nobody dares to come here anymore. They are too afraid of the curses." "Oh! Because this place is cursed too?" asked Elaine a bit weakly. "Are you sure you are feeling well, Lady Elaine?" inquired Firebrand immediately concerned. "Yes, yes, feeling perfectly well, thank you," she protested hastily. "Why staying so near of your brother's? Won't he suspect something?" "Oh no! He believes me far too stupid for having any idea on my own. And he doesn't know I know about this place; I discovered it a bit by chance, I have to say. Staying here will allow us to be able to act very quickly, as fast as lightning. We must be ready at anytime." "What do you have in mind exactly?" asked Elaine. "Well, we have no chance in a face-to-face confrontation; he would overpower us in no time. We need to be more clever than he is and trick him." Elaine nodded. "If you are still willing to help..." he said hesitantly, "here is what I thought: I'll try to trick him out of his lair and while he will be fighting me - or whatever will be in his mind by that time - you will sneak in his lair and find my pearl. Your part will probably be more dangerous than mine and I would understand if you refuse." "I won't, Lord Firebrand!" said Elaine solemnly. "You can count on me. Now tell me what this pearl looks like." "It's more or less of the size of your first, of a milky white. It looks like quite normal, may I say. Nothing particular." "Will it be hard for me to find it in your brother's treasure?" "Well, it may be, but maybe my pearl will recognise my mark upon you and call you to itself. But never forget this: don't try to take anything else in my brother's treasure. He will probably forgive me for taking my pearl back but not for stealing something else. Actually he might even be proud of me for succeeding in taking my pearl back." "If he isn't, I will be," said Elaine softly, before bending down to examine the hem of her dress, as if there was something wrong with it. Firebrand tried to find something to keep him busy at the same time, but Elaine could still feel his gaze on her quite regularly. She wondered what had passed through her mind when she had said those words. A kind of unease settled between the both of them as they were setting up camp. It was very difficult for Elaine to feign to ignore his presence when he was so huge and so impressive, but it was rather easy for her to slip away unnoticed of him, so sometimes she was running outside the ruins, just sitting on the foot of a wall, thinking of nothing, but trying to relax and clear up her thoughts. The rest of the time, Firebrand was always keeping an eye on her, especially when she had to go outside to get her meals. He was managing to keep an eye on his brother at the same time and Elaine never dared ask how he was doing that. They were there for maybe four weeks now when Firebrand signalled an intruder coming toward their ruins. He tried to hide as much as possible, enjoining Elaine to stay always in his sight, so that he could intervene if needed. The intruder was a young man on his horse, looking a bit like Roman, and Elaine's heart sank at this thought. She had tried very hard to stop thinking of her family and thanks to Firebrand's presence she had almost managed it. Now this intruder was reminding her painfully of her beloved brother. "Good day, my lady," he greeted in a grand way, as if he was greeting a queen in her court. "I'm delighted to find you here! Loneliness was getting the best of me." "It's quite a desolate land for a courtier such as you are, my lord," replied Elaine, who desired nothing more than seeing him away. "Not a courtier, my lady!" exclaimed the intruder sounding offended. "I'm a minstrel, the best of all!" "And very modest too, it seems to me," replied acidly Elaine, determined not to be very kind to this man. "Beautiful lady, it's of no use to feign modesty. I know what I am worth." He noticed how she started at his calling of 'beautiful lady' and his smile grew a bit larger. "Not really used to compliments, are you, beautiful lady?" he said softly. "I'm getting used to them," retorted stiffly Elaine. "Not that I care very much for them, especially when said as lightly as you do." "So you think I'm not sincere?" "I don't think so, lord minstrel, I know." "May I know the name of so a perceptive lady or is it very rude of me?" "I am Lady Elaine," replied Elaine and never, despite her shabby clothes, had she looked more regal. "And I am Jonathon of Silver Song, minstrel of His Majesty the King!" he said with grand flourish. "You can call me John if you wish." Elaine's gaze was cold. "May I ask what such an acclaimed minstrel is doing in such a desolated land?" He smiled, a very nice smile that made her think of a crocodile. "Well, to be honest, I was looking for you." "For me? Nobody knows I'm here." "There's a rumour about a beautiful maiden living in the ruins, captive of a monster, but the most reliable rumour says the monster's not too terrible. So I thought I could rescue you and maybe find inspiration for one or two new songs." "I'm terribly sorry, lord minstrel, but I don't need to be rescued. I'm here on my own free will and no monster's guarding me. I hope you still got your inspiration." "Your sight is enough to inspire even a stone, beautiful Elaine," said the minstrel gallantly. Elaine could almost hear Firebrand growling of contained rage behind her and she retorted quickly: "That's what I'm trying to see, lord minstrel, and for this I chose a place of ruins. Surrounded by the quiet admiration of those old stones I feel myself home and do not wish to be disturbed." She could see too that the minstrel was getting impatient. He understood she had seen clearly in his game and he exclaimed: "Stop lying to me! You are here on a precise reason and a monster is guarding you! I know it, you can't deceive me." "Fine. Then show me the monster. Maybe this poor salamander engraved on this abandoned stone is your monster?" He walked toward Elaine, his look frightening, but she didn't move, as if she disdained to take his threats seriously. He stopped in front of her, his face only inches from hers. "Where is your monster?" he articulated very slowly, his eyes narrowed almost to the point of being closed. She blinked, feigning to be frightened. "What are you going to do to him?" she asked with a little girl's voice. His hand reached up to close around her throat. "I'm going to kill him and then you. Or maybe I will keep you for myself. You would certainly do for one month or two." "Hmm, very poor opinion of me, you have, lord minstrel. Or should I say, lord assassin? First I would ask you to kindly remove your hand from my throat, for it is not welcome, and secondly, I would be very grateful if you were to leave this place which happens to be mine." "And do you really think I'm going to obey?" "Well, if you don't when I politely ask, I will have to make you by force," she replied calmly and he could see her feinted fear was entirely gone. "By force?" sneered Jonathon. "Which force would you have against me?" "For example, I could take this from you," said Elaine, as the shining blade of Jonathon's sword appeared between their faces. "And maybe use it, who knows?" Leaning the blade against his neck, she forced him to step back. "Then, resourceful lady, I would be forced to use this against you," replied softly Jonathon, producing a throwing knife. "Then, miserable assassin, I would be forced to use my breath against you," rumbled Firebrand's voice from behind Elaine. All happened very quickly: a bad smile appeared on Jonathon's face as he raised his hand holding the throwing knife; the knife left his hand, flying right toward Elaine. Firebrand's gigantic paw came in front of Elaine like a shield as he opened his jaws setting free the burning inferno twisting in his throat. And Elaine, Elaine who hadn't screamed once since she had met Firebrand, Elaine screamed when the flame curled up around Jonathon. She wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn't, she wanted to put her hands on her ears, but she couldn't move, and Jonathon's scream joined hers. It was only when the gentle wind took away the remaining ashes that her scream died in her throat. Trembling like a leaf, she passed her hands on her face, closed an instant the eyes and when she opened them again, there was nothing around her to remind her of the terrible scene she had just witnessed. She took a deep breath and turned toward Firebrand. A silver glint between two of his fingers caught her eyes and she came closer. A knife was buried deep in the vulnerable skin deprived of scales between his claws and it seemed very painful to Firebrand; he was trying to take it away with his fangs, but the knife was too small and his fangs too long for that. "It will hurt," she said, holding out her hand toward the knife. "Not worse that it already does," retorted Firebrand, nodding imperceptibly. She took the knife in her hand and pulled it out firmly. Firebrand did as if he hadn't noticed the pain and moved carefully his two fingers. When he raised his eyes from his hurt paw, he saw Elaine who was still looking down to the knife she was holding in her hands. Blood was running from the blade to the front of her dress. She looked up at him. "It happened... It was not a bad dream, it really happened... You... you killed him, burnt him." "He was threatening you," pleaded Firebrand. Her eyes full of horror told him she wasn't listening. "You killed him, you killed him," she repeated endlessly. Jonathon's horse chose this moment to come out from behind the wall where it was hiding. Elaine looked at it, then at Firebrand and, in a desperate run she ran to the horse, gripped the pommel and hauled herself up on the saddle. She left at a gallop and Firebrand did nothing to prevent her of doing so. When his keen ear could hear anymore the rumble of the horse roofs on the ground, he let escape a shout of utter despair and his head fell on the ground. In his lair, curled up around his treasure, his brother had a mean smile when hearing the shout. "His girl is dead," he said softly with contentment, closing his eyes again. Elaine was pushing her horse straight ahead, not looking where she was going, not caring. Her mind was blank; she was trusting Firebrand and he had killed in front of her. How could she have trusted a dragon? She had known since the very beginning that dragons were not trustworthy, why had she been willing to prove the contrary? She was so deeply engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the masculine voice calling her. "Elaine! Elaine!" he shouted in her ear, taking hold of her horse reins. She turned the head to him and he was afraid by her blank gaze. He shook her none-too-gently, till some life came back in her eyes. "Elaine! Are you alright?" "Roman... he killed him..." "Who killed who?" asked her brother, confused. "He killed him... for me..." "You asked him to kill someone else?" "No, no," she protested, distressed. "He was threatening me and he killed him to protect me." Roman was lost between the different characters in the story but it was clear to him his sister was in no state to answer him coherently. He wasn't sure she had really recognised him; meaning she had probably recognised him, but her mind hadn't registered the fact. He took her in his arms, on his horse, and continued his way holding her close to him. It took her some time to register who was sitting next to her as the night was falling. Her eyes were unconsciously looking way above Roman's head and she was turning quickly toward each flickering spot around her. "Roman... What are you doing here?" she asked wonderingly. "I came back to town something like three months ago. Nobody was home but father. And everybody was avoiding my gaze in the street. Elsbeth told me what happened. I told father off for what he did, but I don't think he really understood why I was so angry; he was repeating that you were a fraud and as such you deserved the punishment he gave you. Nobody in the family talks to him anymore. Eloise even yelled at him all her anger, but he didn't care." "Oh Roman... you shouldn't have done that..." said Elaine with a sorrowful voice. "He didn't do worse to me than to the others." "Elaine, he sent you to certain death!" exclaimed Roman, outraged. "Roman, I'm still alive," said Elaine very softly. "Yes, I've noticed. Tell me what happened? You were supposed to be given to a dragon as his victim." "And I have been. Except that the dragon in question had absolutely no use of me as a dinner, so he asked for my company instead. We have been travelling companions ever since." "Whom were you escaping from?" asked Roman. "And who killed who to protect you?" Elaine shook the head. "No, tell me rather what you are doing here." "I was looking for you naturally!" "Roman, don't lie to me. Everybody probably thought I'm dead for three months now, why would you care to look for me? You don't defy a dragon for the remaining bone of your dead sister." "I wanted to avenge you," said Roman very lowly. "I heard there was a dragon living near here and I thought that maybe it was the one you were given to." "And you were going straight to his lair to kill him?" asked Elaine, her eyes lost in the fire. "Yes; Elaine, speak to me! You seem so strange, you're almost frightening me!" "Would you help me, Roman?" "You know I would do anything for you!" She cringed at those words, as if hearing them was reviving a bad memory. "I need to take something in this dragon's treasure. But I don't want you to face him, because I know how he is - he's vicious and mean and dangerous, he would kill you without a second thought. Promise me you won't defy him." "What do you want from his treasure? How can you know all this, how can you know you will find what you are looking for in his treasure?" asked Roman, puzzled. She shook the head again. "Don't ask me anything, please. I just need to recover this and that will repay all I owe him still." Roman shook his sister. "Elaine!" he growled. "I don't like this new attitude of yours! You seem bewitched! What did this dragon do to you? Did he frighten you, threaten you?" "No," answered Elaine dreamily. "He protected me, at his own life's risk sometimes; he isn't frightening. He... he is kind and caring. He was always considerate and careful not to hurt me." "Are we speaking of a dragon or of a man?" said Roman ironically. Elaine didn't answer; she was looking in the fire and the flames were drawing for her the silhouette of a mighty dragon whose dazzling golden eyes were beseeching her to forgive him. "Did you bewitch me?" she asked the fire very softly. Only the crackling of the flames answered her but it seemed to Roman that it somehow held a signification for his sister. She was seriously worrying him; he knew, by his father's friend, that she left home with only her dress and no weapon, but she had a knife hanging at her belt. She was supposed to be dead and she was alive, as thin as he remembered, as if she had only left home the day before - excepted perhaps for the dirtiness of her dress. "Elaine..." he began hesitantly. She turned the head toward him and said softly, but with a commanding voice: "No questions, Roman! Just trust me there, please." "Alright, Elaine, I'll trust you. But you will have to explain everything to me afterwards." "I will... if I can." Roman didn't dare ask another question. He had to cope with Elaine's new strange behaviour during the whole trip. She was riding next to him, rather quiet, if not entirely silent, her stare oddly fixed, looking unhappy each time Roman was suggesting a halt, as if she was in a hurry to accomplish the mission she had given herself or in a hurry to go back somewhere - or to someone. He was afraid there was something terrifying in what she refused to tell him, for she looked haunted - no, possessed. The girl riding by his side was no more the sister he had known and loved so much, but a perfect stranger. From time to time he tried to speak to her but she always avoided his hints for a conversation, keeping staring blankly at the fire as if the dancing flames could answer questions he couldn't. At the end, tired by this attitude, he fell himself into a deep silence and rode as if his life was depending on it. This change didn't affect Elaine except that maybe she was following him more gladly. They were soon near the dragon's lair and Roman became more cautious. The air around was heavy with the scent of burning and Elaine was able to smell too the odour of a dragon, but Roman had never come near one, so he couldn't recognise the scent. "Elaine!" he called softly. "Be careful, please. This dragon could chop your head off in a yawn!" Elaine answered with a strange twisted smile but stayed obediently behind him as he commanded it. He drew his sword and carefully stepped forward, cautiously, one step at a time. Elaine could see immediately that, despite all his previous errands and trips, her brother had never faced a dragon. She followed him close, her hand near her knife, her eyes suddenly very alive looking everywhere around. Suddenly, much to Roman's dismay, they were facing the dragon. Curled up around his treasure, his head turned to the gallery they were coming from and with his eyes wide open. In spite of himself Roman stepped back, bumping into Elaine. She could see the shining blade in his hand was trembling slightly. "Welcome into my lair, humans," said the dragon in a honeyed voice. "My name is Firedamp." The voice was still as rough as in Elaine's memory and the light in the golden eyes had nothing to do with the one in Firebrand's. "It can talk," mumbled Roman confounded. "Of course he can talk," riposted Elaine acidly. "He's not a stupid lizard." "Thank you for your good opinion of me, my lady," purred Firedamp. She looked at him none-too-kindly. "I don't think my opinion of you is anything near of good," she retorted sharply. While she was speaking her eyes were looking around, quickly spotting the pearl - or rather, the pearls, for there were perhaps five of them on the ground, near Firedamp's tail. "And which kind of silly girl are you for daring say such a thing to a dragon?" he asked, sounded amused. "Maybe not as silly as you seem to believe," she said. "And maybe not as much a girl you seem to think," she added mentally, surprising herself with this thought. "Then show me I'm wrong, human!" "As you wish, Firedamp." "Elaine!" protested Roman in a strangled voice. She commanded him to be quiet with a single movement of the hand and opened her mouth to pronounce strange sounds. Quite shaking at first her voice gained in assurance and soon soared above, lifted in an odd song curiously harsh as for the sounds, but soothing though quite commanding for the effect. Roman fell under the spell immediately, relaxing against the wall, his hand with the sword lowering to his side; Firedamp fought it at first but when Elaine sang with all her heart, leaving no place for coherent thought, he had to surrender too. His yielding was not as quiet as Roman's; if his eyes half closed at the beginning they soon snapped wide open and then his powerful jaws parted on a roar. Elaine started at the pain expressed in this roar but she shielded herself against pity and went on with her song. It didn't take long for Firedamp to be not only roaring but also howling with pain. "Stop!" he begged when he could manage to speak between two shouts of pain. "Please stop this torture!" Even hearing the mighty dragon begging her didn't break Elaine's resolution; draconic words kept flowing endlessly from her mouth as she poured her heart into them. "Who taught you that?" roared Firedamp unable to control himself. "Who taught you this song?" Calmly, without ever stopping singing, Elaine went to the pearls and picked all of them, slipping them into the bag banging against her hip. She went back to Roman, pushed him back in the gallery, her eyes commanding him to leave running, and then she turned back to Firedamp. His head was moving at ground level and he was almost hitting his jaw at each move; his eyes were half closed in pain. "Nobody taught me," Elaine said in a clear voice, stopping to sing and easing a bit the torture she was inflicting him. Firedamp took a deep breath and opened slowly his golden eyes reminding her painfully of Firebrand's. She came closer to him, humming softly, as if she was really at ease in his lair, and asked: "Don't you recognise me?" "No... I don't know any human..." moaned Firedamp trying to control the pain torturing him as she was humming. "You know one! Think!" commanded Elaine in an imperious tone, which could only force Firedamp to answer her. "No, you cannot be... You are dead, he killed you..." Elaine drew a sharp breath: had Firedamp just confessed what she thought he had? Had Jonathon been sent by him to kill her? "I heard my dear brother mourn for you!" Even the deep pain he was in couldn't conceal the hatred in his words. Elaine felt a surge of anger sweeping through her body. "You don't care for my life! You were just trying to hurt him again and again!" she exclaimed furious. "Oh, believe me, I'll make you pay for this!" Her right hand still on her bag, she lifted her left hand to point at him accusingly. He looked at her through the red veil of agony dancing in front of his eyes and almost managed to grin at her: "You cannot do that... and he can't help you. I'm still more powerful than you will ever be!" She had the impression to feel the pearls move in her bag under her hand and a new flow of powerful anger seized her. "Oh, I can!" she almost roared, her voice suddenly very hoarse. "I know the spells!" Very, very softly she sang one or two words under her breath; immediately Firedamp's face twisted in unbearable pain. "Don't tempt me, Firedamp! I have more powers than you think I have!" On those words she left his lair. Roman was waiting for her outside, still half under her spell, almost dying with worry. "Elaine!" he exclaimed as soon as he saw her. He took her face in his hands, staring intensely at her. Her eyes still had some of the life left from her 'fight' with Firedamp. "Please, Elaine, tell me... What is it all about? Where is this fever coming from? What happened to you?" His tone, pleading at first, became urging at the end. She shook the head wearily. "Not yet... It's still too soon," she whispered as if she was suddenly drained of her energy. Roman understood he wouldn't get anything from her now and it half-angered half-relieved him. "Fine," he said, his anger overtaking his relief. "So what do you want to do now?" She took a pearl from her bag and looked at it lengthily. "Bring this to its real owner," she said dreamily. Stunned Roman didn't even wonder how they could find the owner of such an item. "You took this from the dragon's treasure! Are you mad? It will kill you for this robbery!" "No, he won't," disagreed Elaine. "I think he understood I'm too powerful for him." The look Roman gave to his sister was quite clear: he was thinking her mad. "I know what I am doing, Roman," she said frowning. "I'm no more a baby, thank you. The betrayal I've been through suddenly made me very mature." Her brother winced. "That was not my fault, Elaine!" "No, you were not there. As usual," she added, quite on purpose. "Elaine..." protested Roman. "No, I don't want to hear your excuses, Roman. I don't care. You were no there because it was your duty. Now you didn't live through what I lived. You didn't see Evangeline and Eloise being married in haste, you hadn't to be near father all the time, as he thought that I was mother. So now I may seem strange to you but then you were not given to a dragon to be his dinner by your own father!" Roman stepped forward and took her in his arms. "I'm sorry, little sister, I'm sorry for what you had to go through. But... but you told me your dragon was kind and caring." "Yes, he is. Should that have prevented me of being afraid at the beginning?" He shook the head, trying to understand what was her point. But she denied him this right. "We have to go now, Roman. We have a mission. Or maybe you have something else to do, another errant maybe?" "Elaine, I don't know what got into you, but I'm not the monster you think I am! I'm not leaving you now that I have found you! I'll bring you home with me." "No, you'll have to leave me before. You won't be able to follow me to the end." She was already on her horse, waiting for her brother, while her fingers were playing with one of the pearls in her bag. She took the pearl in her hand, letting the personality of its real owner invading her. Her vision blurred and she had the impression to see a powerful dragon with scales glittering like silver. "Help me," she whispered. "Tell me where you are, tell me where you live..." Slowly the image of the dragon grew in size, letting her see the landscape around. She closed her eyes, memorising each detail of the relief, and then the name of the place became clear to her, as if she knew exactly where she was supposed to go, as if she had already been there. She made her horse turn around and the beast pawed the ground as Roman was still standing near his mount. "Are you coming or are you staying?" asked Elaine, flames in her eyes. Without answering Roman jumped on his saddle, thus showing he was ready. They rode incessantly, crossing mountains and valleys, and never Elaine seemed to be satisfied. They had already given back three of the pearls and Roman had thought he would die of fright more than once. They were riding to find the fourth and last dragon, for Roman didn't know there were five pearls. He didn't know about Firebrand. The last dragon was living in a rock mountain and they had to avoid numerous traps. Sometimes, more than often, Elaine was amazing Roman: she was heading as if she was fearing nothing, as if the pearls were protecting her from any harm. As they were coming close to the dragon's lair, Roman began - as usual - to feel uneasy. The dragon suddenly stood up before them, jaws open, ready to attack. Elaine shouted some words in this odd language she had said to be draconic - after commanding Roman to keep that secret - and the dragon actually seemed to relax. Roman could have said he was getting used to this scene, since it was the fourth of the kind he had witnessed, but he never was sure that the dragons would react positively to whatever Elaine was telling them. The dragon curled up in front of her and began to talk with Elaine as if they knew each other for a long time. While answering the questions Elaine came to the dragon, offering the pearl in the cup of her hands. Roman always dreaded this moment: what if the dragon was to become suddenly very aggressive after getting the pearl? But the dragon accepted the pearl with gratitude and its attitude didn't change. It invited Elaine in its lair and Roman, knowing his sister had powers to defend herself more powerful than he could ever provide, didn't protest when she told him to remain behind with the horses. Elaine thus followed the dragon who, as soon as they were out of Roman's sight, transformed into a beautiful woman; she was white from head to toe, but her clothes had the slight purple shimmer that was on her scales before. Her long white hair cascaded on her shoulders as she turned toward Elaine the gaze of her silvery eyes. "I'm really glad to see you at last, child," she said and her voice was very soft contrary to the one she had under her dragon shape - though her dragon voice was already softer than Firebrand's. "At last?" repeated Elaine, feeling suddenly very shabby and insignificant in front of her. "Yes, at last. Though I had lost my pearl, your existence was not unknown from me. Oh, by the way, I've been very rude for not introducing myself: my name is Silver-Gilt. I am... well, was, till I lost my pearl, quite a mighty dragon. But I've never been very interested in fighting for I prefer much more to turn to what the future is done of. I saw you when I still had my pearl." "But... but..." "There's no 'but', child. Future doesn't hold that many secrets to me." "I'm just a human. Why would dragons see me in their future?" objected Elaine. "Well, you just brought back my pearl to me. It's the most precious gift you can do to a dragon: give him back the pearl of wisdom, the powers of his kin he lost. And I know I'm not the only one to have beneficiated of your kindness and good heart." Elaine blushed till her ears became of a suspicious pink and Silver-Gilt added: "You could have taken only Firebrand's pearl, but you chose instead to take all of them. And even when you had the five of them, you could have chosen to give back only Firebrand's. But no, your nature couldn't allow such unfairness; you had to call upon the hidden power of the pearl to find back the owner." "You... you know about Firebrand?" said Elaine willing to change the subject. "Of course I know about him, child. And you have to go back to him," said Silver-Gilt firmly. Elaine nodded, her fingers brushing against the last pearl left in her bag. "Not only for the pearl, child. You know what drove you away; you know why he did what he did. But now that you've met Firedamp, now that you know what really happened, now that you had time to calm down, won't you go back to him? He might do something foolish if you put off anymore going back to him." "But... he..." "Child... Think a bit..." In spite of herself, Elaine saw again that hateful moment, the last minutes of Jonathon's life. The nasty smile twisted again Jonathon's lips and then her eyes went to the knife in his hand. The knife flied in the air and it was the only thing Elaine could now see. She remembered to have taken the knife from Firebrand's paw so she more or less expected it to be aimed at her dragon and her surprise was boundless when she finally noticed something her mind hadn't registered before - or refused to: the knife was aimed at herself and it was Firebrand who shielded her with his paw. Then Firedamp's words rang again in her head: "You are dead, he killed you..." She shook away the spell Silver-Gilt had cast on her and looked again at the beautiful woman in front of her. Her unfathomable eyes seemed to hold an old wisdom but the smile on her face was the one of a young girl sharing a secret with her best friend. "So?" she said in a gently coaxing tone. "He meant to kill me," whispered Elaine. "Never Firebrand. Me. And all Firebrand did the whole time was to protect me." "Yes, he was. And you know why..." This time it was Firebrand's words that rang in her head: "Anything you would want me to do, I would do it for you, just for seeing a smile blossom on your lips..." "For one smile from me," repeated Elaine. "And the only reward he got was me running away from him..." She had a bitter laugh while suddenly looking at her hands as if they were covered with blood. Silver-Gift came to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Go back to him," she said softly. "And please try to offer him your most beautiful and sincere smile." "I will," replied Elaine choking back the sobs threatening to invade her voice. She left almost running and Silver-Gilt wondered if her sobs were due to her shame of having run from Firebrand or to her sadness because of her good heart or maybe... Silver-Gilt shook the head and transformed back into a dragon, savouring the fact of having again the powers of her pearl. Elaine was calm again when facing Roman and, without a word, they left the rock mountain and went down in the valley. There, Elaine turned to his brother. "Our common road ends up here, Roman. I'm sorry, I have one last errand, but I have to be alone for this. If... if you go back home, tell Elsbeth, Evangeline and Eloise that I'm well. Don't say anything to father, he wouldn't care anyway." "Elaine, I can't let you go like that... I know I have been of little use to you during our trip, but please, I can protect you of some dangers. You don't have any dragon pearl anymore." "Roman, you gave me the courage to go through all this, but this one, trust me, I have to accomplish it alone. There's too much at stake..." She saw Roman was feeling dejected. "Roman, something happened in my life that made me step in a reality nobody in the family could possibly understand. With the dragons, you were afraid, but you knew I wouldn't have you hurt if I could avoid it, so you came. For me it was almost exhilarating. It was... as if I was back where I belong. And now I can't come back where you think I belong, because I cannot fit there anymore..." He was ready to protest but she slightly turned the head away and he understood; he had to go. A bitter smile twisted his lips and he turned away quickly to hide it from her sister, but she had already seen it. Her own lips twisted too. "I know what you think, Roman, and I'm sorry. But that's how it is. Maybe... maybe someday I'll be able to come back to the same life as yours. But it's not likely," she added so softly he didn't hear it. She was going to climb on her horse when suddenly her brother flung himself down his saddle and seized her in his arms. "Little sister," he said in a choked voice, his face buried in her hair, "please be careful and take good care of yourself. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you." "Nothing will happen to me," she declared solemnly against his chest. "I swear it." He held her tight against him one more moment, then released her and lifted her up onto her saddle. He raised up to her his sad eyes and tried to smile. Her heart twisted when seeing how much he cared for her. "Don't worry," she whispered softly. "I'll be just fine." She kissed him on the brow, the same way Elsbeth had always done with him, and left without turning back. She went back all the way she had covered with Roman, the lonesome rider nobody dared to disturb. She sometimes had the impression to be surrounded by a protective aura that drove any threat away from her. But she had become so used to this phenomenon when in company of Firebrand that she hardly noticed unless she was really paying attention. The way was becoming familiar and she thought she recognised the forest that was hosting the cursed ruins where Firebrand was supposed to be. She marvelled at her new inner good sense of direction while remembering how lost she had felt in the forest before meeting Firebrand. Without really knowing how she managed to get there, she found herself in front of the desolated walls half collapsed of the ruins. Her heartbeat quickened in anticipation as she turned around the wall... and faced emptiness. Firebrand wasn't there anymore. On the ground she could still see the place where he had remained curled up on himself during so long, a scale shimmering softly as if to remind her. She squatted down slowly and picked up the scale, her fingers brushing it slightly. She looked down again at the large mark on the ground and then her eyes followed the track leaving the ruins. She jumped on her feet, noticing a drop of blood, her heart twisting at this simple sight, and she ran along the track, her eyes never leaving it. Sometimes, near a claw's mark, there was another drop of blood and she remembered his wound due to the knife hanging now to her belt. How was it that it was still not healed? She ran faster, not caring for the branches ripping the fabric of her dress when she was passing too near of them. Her heart sank deep in her chest as she realised that the path she was following was leading to Firedamp's lair. What folly was Firebrand trying to do? Her hand clutched at her bag containing the pearl, wondering if she might get there in time to save him. As she was getting near and hoping against hope, the earth shook under her feet, sending her to the ground. She half yelped in pain and tried to get up, but the earth shook again and she fell again. On her knees she stubbornly tried to keep on going, clinging to a near tree when the ground was trembling under her knees. The scene offered to her eyes when she at least managed to get to Firedamp's lair was a nightmare become true for her. The trees around were lying on the ground, having been knocked down without care, and two powerful dragons were affronting each other without pity. The violence of their confrontation was such that the ground was shaking under their feet, but they didn't seem to realise it. Tears invaded Elaine's eyes as she saw Firedamp drive his teeth deeply in Firebrand's neck; her dragon was weakening with each minute, bleeding badly from several serious wounds, and he didn't seem to be fighting with Firedamp's rage, but rather with despair. She savagely wiped off her eyes with the back of her hand, refusing to cry when Firebrand was needing her so badly. She took a deep breath, stood up suddenly and ran straight to the two dragons; surprised by her appearance between them, they stopped fighting for a very short instant. She took advantage of this occasion, plunged her hand in her bag, seized the pearl and pressed it firmly against Firebrand's chest. She felt the pearl melt against the scales, disappearing in her dragon's flesh, giving him back his power, beginning to heal his wounds, and then a sharp pain shot her through her back. She looked up at Firebrand, tried to smile and slowly collapsed on the ground. Unable to believe what his eyes saw Firebrand raised the head toward his brother, who was carefully licking his paw where blood was still dripping from. He shook his head and looked down again, at Elaine's now still body. His mind at last registering what had just happened he uttered a long anguished shout and suddenly fell upon his brother, hatred and despair shining in his eyes. His full strength back thanks to Elaine's sacrifice he sank deeply his sharp fangs in his brother's neck, closing his jaws savagely, his mind suddenly blind with rage. Firedamp fought back, clawing the shining flank, covering it with blood. But it seemed that Firebrand's jaws has turned into steel because no matter the pain his brother was inflicting him, his teeth only sank deeper instead of releasing his hold on his neck. Firedamp jerked back, trying to break free, beginning to panic as Firebrand, ruthless, pinned him down with his forepaws and claws. "Little brother..." he gasped. Firebrand only growled in anger and, in his fury, his right paw lashed his brother's vulnerable belly, making him scream loudly in deep pain. Firebrand knocked him down, looking down at him with eyes blazing so much with rage that they were shining like hellfire. "Go away," he hissed between clenched teeth. "Go away and never ever come back near me!" Weakened by his loss of blood, limping painfully because of his serious wound on the belly, Firedamp didn't ask it twice and left as fast as he could. Without caring a bit for him, Firebrand turned to Elaine and, transforming into a human, he knelt down to take her in his arms, holding her limp body against him with force. He buried his face in her thick hair, crying shamelessly, rocking her in her arms, one of his hands on her deep wound as if by concealing it, it would be as if it wasn't there. His gaze fell on his pearl on the ground next to him; he looked at it so long that his sight blurred and his eyes burnt as if he had been looking at the sun for too long. He blinked and suddenly realised that his pearl couldn't be next to him - it was impossible! How could he be under human shape if his pearl wasn't melted within his flesh anymore? Then, suddenly not caring anymore for this strangeness, seized by a mad hope, he grabbed the pearl and pressed it against Elaine's back, remembering how the pearl had healed him. The milky white aura spread over Elaine as if it already knew her well, surrounding her tightly like a cloak. Firebrand tightened his grip on her, hoping desperately for a miracle. A miracle did actually happen, but it wasn't the one Firebrand was waiting for: the wound healed nicely, but Elaine's body was still limp. He let the pearl fall on the ground and enfolded Elaine in his arms, holding her against his heart, his face nuzzling the soft skin of her neck. "Elaine... Elaine..." he moaned through thick tears. His lips brushed against her skin without him willing to at first and then, slowly, he began to kiss her throat while still moaning her name in despair. He didn't think she might not like it, he was so in love with her and now that he could have told her so, she was dead. His tears had wetted all her skin and he was feeling it on his lips, but no matter how ashamed he was of being crying without restraint, his heart was so broken he couldn't stop. He looked at her still face for an instant, then bent down the head and kissed her on the lips, a longing kiss to tell her of all his love for her. Elaine was surrounded by a deep black night when a milky white aura came to wrap around her; it reminded her of the colour of Firebrand's pearl. She wondered briefly how he was doing now that his powers and strength were back. Then as the aura was retreating, Elaine felt her skin getting wet in her neck. She tried to wipe it off with her fingers, but to her surprise, found out her neck was perfectly dry. She frowned slightly at this mystery but then something else required her attention, for she was still getting this impression her skin was wet, but she felt too like she was being kissed in the neck while a voice was softly crying her name. The voice was unknown to her but somehow it had a familiar note in it, as if she should have known whom this voice belonged to. As she was trying to remember where and when she had already heard this voice, she was started by the strong feeling of masculine lips against hers. Longing for such feeling to be real, she closed her eyes under the caress and then snapped them open to find herself looking in dazzling golden eyes. "Elaine!" exclaimed the voice haunting her. "I thought... you... dead... I'm sorry, I would never have if... I mean..." The eyes were enough to answer Elaine's question. "Firebrand?" she said incredulously. "So it worked! I'm so glad!" But he wasn't hearing her; he was still mumbling excuses, begging for forgiveness without even noticing he was holding her convulsively against him. She called him several times without having him stopping so she straightened a bit in his arms and kissed him softly on the lips. He remained open-mouthed in disbelief, his eyes wide opened in shock. "Firebrand," she said gently, "don't apologise, please. You kissed me out of love, I... I guess, and..." "Yes," murmured Firebrand embarrassed, averting his gaze. She gently forced him to look back at her, her hand on his cheek and he had the impression it was burning on his skin. "That's what brought me back to life, Firebrand," she added softly. He looked at her as if he hadn't understood. "My... my kiss?" he stumbled. "Not only your kiss, Firebrand, your love. Your love brought me back to life." "But... but how? You were dead! I thought you were..." Elaine had a slight movement toward the dejected pearl on the ground near him. "Your pearl healed me. I was there, at the frontier between life and death, wondering which side I was going to choose, when your kiss told me, by all the love it was carrying, how much you cared for me and how much... I care for you. And then I knew I couldn't leave this world." "Why? Why would you care for... for the love a dragon - a monster! - may feel for you?" asked Firebrand bitterly. "Because I love you back," answered Elaine simply. Firebrand got numb. "You can't," he said flatly. "You simply can't, it's impossible! I'm a monster and you are... you are a lady, a gentle girl, you can't..." "Oh no, I can't, huh?" retorted Elaine, a fiery light in her eyes. Before Firebrand could predict her action she had taken his face between her hands and she was pressing firmly her lips against his. Shocked at first, Firebrand couldn't then fight his own love for her and answered passionately, taking her breath away as his arms were closing around her even tighter. She closed her eyes under his kiss and when his lips left hers, she softly pronounced his draconic name. It seemed to bring him to his senses. "No, I... I can't, it's wrong of me, Lady Elaine..." he said. "You called me 'Elaine' earlier," she reminded him, hurt by his half rejection. "I know but I shouldn't have. It's not proper." Elaine half closed her eyes, freed herself from his arms, stood up and walked away a few steps. "I'm sorry," she said when she thought she was able to control herself. "I wouldn't have told you of my love if I had known it was unrequited." She wrapped her arms around herself and felt an unbearable void deep inside, as if she was no more than an empty shell. Firebrand hadn't moved, observing her with what looked like despair in his golden eyes. She bent down the head, tightened her lips and then looked up again, her face totally impassive. "I'm... I'm happy for you, for the new life you can begin, Lord Firebrand," she said, her voice very steady. "I trust you don't need me anymore, so I'll take my leave. Goodbye, Lord Firebrand, and may the gods smile upon you." She curtsied briefly and walked till the first line of trees, each step under control so she wouldn't simply run away like she so wanted to do. As soon as the forest hid her from Firebrand's gaze, she broke into a wild run and fled the one she had wanted so much to find, tears blurring her sight. But she should have known she couldn't escape him like that now that he had all his powers back. As she was crossing a clearing, he suddenly materialised in front of her. She uttered a slight cry of dismay and changed the direction of her steps, but Firebrand caught her by the arm and such was her speed that she collided quite hard in him. Instantly his arms closed around her, holding her close. She tried to break free, but he was so much stronger than she would ever be and she couldn't escape. "Don't fight me, Elaine," he said softly, his eyes suddenly very sad. She remained still; he had called her 'Elaine'. What could that mean? He freed one of his hands and caressed her cheek gently. A great sigh eased his chest and he put a soft kiss of her temple. "I love you, Elaine," he whispered. "Don't lie to me," she retorted, suddenly very stiff in his arms. "I'm grateful for you bringing me back to life but you don't have to tell me you love me to make me feel better." "I'm not lying to you, Elaine, I'm really in love with you. You know that, you knew it before I brought you back to life." Elaine shook the head, tears threatening to invade her eyes. "Elaine," whispered Firebrand, "I am not refusing your love..." "Yes, you are," she interrupted, trying again to break free. His hold tightened on her a bit more. "No, I'm not, trust me. You loving me, accepting it, telling me so, it's... it's unbelievable!" "But you refuse it," repeated Elaine stubbornly. "Let me go, you have tortured me enough like that! Let me go!" But Firebrand didn't want to let her go; he kissed her savagely, only to hear her say afterwards: "Let me go..." Tears were rolling down her cheeks and Firebrand, ashamed, let his arms fall by his sides. "I'm sorry, Lady Elaine, I thought that since you defied twice my brother for me, since you accepted to respond to my first kiss, I thought that I was... somehow... dear to you." "You said it was impossible, that you couldn't..." said Elaine miserably. "Yes, that's true. But is it a reason to part so soon? Won't you say long enough for me to... thank you at least?" She shook the head again. "What for? To make the separation even more heartbreaking? Too much is too much, Lord Firebrand, and it is certainly more than I can bear." Firebrand sighed. "Very well, Lady Elaine. Thank you for saving my life and for making me the happiest in the world for a short instant. Farewell, Lady Elaine." "Farewell, Lord Firebrand," answered Elaine with a strangled voice. She watched him leave, walking amongst the trees and suddenly collapsed on the ground, sobbing desperately. Firebrand went back to his brother's lair, thinking suddenly that his rage had driven away his older brother from his own lair! He bent down to pick up his pearl that was lying abandoned on the ground and pushed it against his chest without thinking. He didn't even wince at the familiar burning; Elaine's hand on his cheek had been more torturing. He transformed back into a dragon, enjoying those sensations he hadn't felt for so long. Immediately his keen ear picked up a sound he identified without hesitation: heartbroken sobs. Elaine. He cursed himself; had he remained a dragon all the time she would never have been hurt. But he had changed shape for being able to hold her in his arms at least once and from that moment on things had gotten out of control. He had had the chance to have her smile and he had made her cry instead. The sounds became muffled, as if she was trying to choke them back - or as if she was walking away. He forced himself to turn his back to her and entered his brother's lair, to see if there were some other pearls left. He didn't find any but instead he found Silver-Gilt. "Firebrand," she greeted him, playing negligently with some jewels. "Silver-Gilt," answered Firebrand. "Did you come for your pearl?" "No, of course! Your little human brought it back to me already." "Elaine?" exclaimed Firebrand incredulously. "She didn't tell you? Where is she by the way?" She looked around them and then noticed Firebrand's sad look. "Did... did Firedamp... kill her?" she whispered. Firebrand shook the head. "Good. It wasn't supposed to be so. Then where is she?" He was still silent. "Firebrand! What did you do of her?" "She went back to her previous life," he said lowly. "Which life? She's supposed to be dead, her own father betrayed her, where do you want her to go? Where can a draconic maiden live?" "What did you say she was?" "A draconic maiden. You certainly know it: she can speak draconic, she was able to read our pearls' aura, she could have used them, I'm sure!" "She did. My pearl healed her," said Firebrand thoughtfully. "So you see!" "But why... why didn't she tell me?" "Because she doesn't know it herself! But you see now she can't go back to her town. We dragons will feel her aura and go to her - how long before her townsmen realise the danger she is to them?" But Firebrand wasn't listening to her anymore. He was already running outside, spreading his wings and flying away. Elaine was back to the ruins, her face soiled with tears and mud. In the ruins she found back her horse she had totally forgotten. Jonathon's horse. And, at her belt, Jonathon's knife. Seized by a sudden anger, she fell on her knees and began to dig a hole where she would bury the knife. She would have freed the horse too but she knew she would condemn it to death by doing so. Two hands came suddenly digging with her; she didn't have to look up to know who it was: she had heard the flaps of the wings and the hiss during the shape change. They thus buried the knife and Elaine was pushing hard the earth on the hole as if she wanted to make sure the knife wouldn't get out by itself. A hand came on hers. "I'm sorry, Elaine," said his sad voice. "I forgive you," she answered without looking up. "Then look at me, Elaine," he asked gently. She obeyed, tired of fighting, and he saw immediately the clearer marks left by the tears and some blood where she had hurt herself without caring. He reached out for her, wiping away the blood. She remained as still as stone. He slid his hand behind her neck and drew her to him to kiss her. She half-closed the eyes, as if the pain was unbearable, but didn't fight him. "Elaine," he whispered between kisses, "forgive me, Elaine, please come back with me, I love you. I was a fool, please come back." A single tear rolled down Elaine's cheek. He wiped it away with his fingers. "Is it a 'yes'?" he asked softly. She nodded silently. "Then smile for me, Elaine, for I told you I would transform into a human to make you happy and see you smile." Through her tears Elaine offered him a pale smile but then seeing the love that had invaded his eyes, her smile grew slowly brighter till it became so beautiful that Firebrand felt his heart burst out of love for her.

All texts © Azrael 2001 - 2002.
Parure Deva Lake, by Moyra/Mystic PC. Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.