Ailisa bit her lip as she trudged through the briars that cordoned off the mountain pass out of the enchanted forest. A gust of wind blew past her, causing her wings, as tattered and scorched as they were, to flutter with anxiety. Ailisa’s nose scrunched up in disgust. She could smell the humans’ stench on the wind. Her long, thin ears twitched, picking up a whisper of a conversation that carried over the tops of the trees and past the last of the stars in the early morning sky.

“We need to move quicker,” said one gruff voice to another, “or the Fey are going to gather up reinforcements before we can clear the trees.”

Ailisa’s stomach dropped to her feet, her already pale skin turning nearly translucent. She pushed a briar out of her way, yelping in pain when its thorns caught her palms. Silvery blood beaded along the scratch. It was another addition to her growing collection of injuries sustained on this journey. “I must move quicker too,” Ailisa thought. If she didn’t reach the top of the mountain before dawn, who knows what destruction the humans would wreak on the forest? Who knows what destruction they would unleash on the Fey who lived here? Even the thought of it made her nauseous.

Ever since she was a child, Ailisa was told stories of the dragon who lived atop the mountain overlooking the grove. She was told that it was the forest’s caretaker, and it had befriended the very first of the Fey who took residence here. She had always believed in these stories, of course, even though no one except the elders of her village had ever seen the beast. However, briars had long since taken hold of the mountain pass, stopping anyone from following it up to the fabled dragon’s lair even if they wanted to.

Well, anyone with a shred of common sense, that is. Luckily for the Feydom, Ailisa was lacking in the common sense department. When the humans had began their attack on her home, the young Faery had made up her mind instantly. She would make the trek up the mountain and to the cavern the dragon was said to live in. Then, when she got there, she would convince the dragon to help the Fey of the forest to ward off the encroaching humans.

Even if she was scared half to death by the thought of it. 

“Certainly it will agree,” Ailisa had said to the Mother just before leaving home, “as this forest is home to it, too. The humans aren’t only attacking the homes of the Fey. They’re destroying the homes of hundreds of creatures, big and small. And this one just so happens to be quite big indeed.” Ailisa had given the Mother a sly smile, picturing the reactions the humans would have at the sight of a dragon aiding the Fey. Even now, she couldn’t tell if she truly believed this, or if this was a lie skillfully crafted to stop herself from giving up hope.

Ailisa shook her head to clear her thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to reminisce. She picked up the hem of her skirt, which had already been torn to shreds by the thorny vines she was venturing through. The girl wrapped up the ends of her dress, twisting them together and tucking them into her petticoat. “I can fix it later,” Ailisa muttered, adjusting her outfit to be more suitable for the elements.

Soon, dawn would break. Ailisa felt her chest tighten. “I’ve come this far,” the girl said, “I can’t afford to fail now.” However, something felt quite strange to Ailisa as she hiked through the mountain’s misty morning. Thin rays of sun escaped past the cracks in the mountain range, and as they lit her path, she felt oddly rejuvenated. 

Suddenly, Ailisa paused. This wasn’t normal. The sun was the human’s domain. Fey like herself were supposed to draw their power from the moon. She should be losing energy as the day began to break. However, she wasn’t. Even though she didn’t understand it, Ailisa steadied her resolve, pushing onward.

☆

From up in their cave, Seraphel watched the sun begin to creep over the mountains in the distance. It was just another morning for them, the start of another day. The dragon stood, their green and white scales shimmering in the last of the moonlight. Unfortunately, they could not shake the feeling that something was not right.

Seraphel was not a foolish dragon. They had known the humans were planning to attack the enchanted forest for weeks. They had also known that they would not be doing anything to stop this endeavor. Once, they considered stopping this attack before it had begun; however, the scars around their ankles-- scales that were rubbed away by the human’s chains-- felt heavy any time they considered it. In the end, they elected to stay hidden away, watching from afar.

The creature was removed from their thoughts rather suddenly, their ear twitching at the sound of footsteps on the path nearby. Slowly, the dragon lowered to the ground, stalking over to the cavern entrance. This couldn’t be good. Hesitantly, Seraphel poked their head outside, eyes scanning the surrounding area for any signs of life.

Immediately, Seraphel spotted the source of the noise. A young girl with battered and burnt beetle wings stood awkwardly outside. She looked worse for wear, her dress torn and hiked up to her knees, knotted to keep it in place. She had messy, unkempt hair and looked a mixture of exhausted and relieved. It was then that Seraphel realized she saw them, too.

“Excuse me!” the girl called out, but Seraphel had already turned and darted back into their cave. Nope! This wasn’t an interaction they were having today. She wasn’t human, but they knew that didn’t truly matter. It wasn’t only the humans who did horrible things to those they feared.

“Go away,” Seraphel growled, digging their knowledge of the Fey language out of the recesses of their mind. “You’re not wanted here, Faery.”

“Well, that’s just too bad,” she replied, now at the entrance of their cave. She put one leg up on the stony ledge, hauling herself up and entering Seraphel’s home.

“I didn’t invite you in,” the dragon hissed. “How did you come inside?”

“That’s only a rule for vampires,” the girl said. “I’m not a vampire. I don’t need your permission.”

Seraphel stood on their hind legs, straightening their back and becoming much taller. “You best take your leave, Faery,” they warned. “I’m not in the mood for talking.” Even in the dim light of the cave, they were fearsome. However, for some reason, she did not seem afraid.

“The Fey of the forest need your help! We cannot fight off the human invaders on our own-- we need your strength!” The Faery untied her dress, fixing her outfit and patting down her skirt. “I am Ailisa, and the elders of my village told me about you. You’re Seraphel, the Protector of the Forest. You helped my village once, and we returned the favor by opening a well of magic in the forest for you to draw power from. Now, we need your help again, so that we may protect our home, and your magic.” Ailisa looked up at the dragon, still towering over her. She bowed, pressing her hands together at her forehead. “We will both benefit from your help warding off the human invaders. So, please, Seraphel. Help protect us so we do not go extinct, and so our magic does not die with us.”

Seraphel blinked slowly. “Did you write that down and rehearse it before you got here?” they asked, bewildered. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, that was a beautiful speech. But it’s also wild to me that you hiked all the way up here to recite it to me.”

Ailisa’s pale cheeks became opalescent, tinting with a variety of colors. “The elders told me you’d be difficult to convince,” the girl admitted, “so I wanted to come prepared with my best. So what if I rehearsed? If I can get you to come and help us defend our home, it doesn’t matter.”

Seraphel inhaled, air hissing through their teeth. “Yeaahhh… so, about that. Your monologue was cute and all, but I’m not coming.” They slunk back to their regular height, almost face-to-face with the little Fey girl.

“What?” Ailisa shouted, balling up her fists. “What do you mean you’re not coming? The forest will be destroyed if you don’t help! We aren’t strong enough to fight off the humans ourselves, especially not in the day!” She shook her head aggressively, then pointed at the sky visible from the cave entrance. The sun was peaking over the hills, now. It shone into the cave, illuminating Ailisa’s wings with a beautiful orange glow. It was then that Seraphel noticed how mangled they really were. “Our magic comes from the moon,” she explained, drawing the dragon’s attention back to her words, “and theirs comes from the sun. If they attack us when the sun is at its peak, the forest will surely burn!”

Seraphel pulled back, ignoring the kinship they felt towards the young girl’s obvious strife. “Yeah, well, I’ve had enough of humanity. I’m not going to risk my scales for this.” They raised one scarred talon, poking Ailisa in the chest with their claw. “Find another dragon to help you, because I’m not doing it.”

“There are no other dragons for thousands of miles!” Ailisa cried out. “How could I possibly find another?”

Seraphel simply shrugged, turning away from the girl. “That’s not my problem.”

“It will be your problem when the humans come up here next!”

Seraphel paused. Their tongue pressed into the roof of their mouth, forcing down the nauseating energy that bubbled in their stomach. Even so, it made its way to their throat, forcing smoke out along with their words. “What do you mean?” they asked, looking back at Ailisa.

☆

Ailisa stood tall, knowing she had finally caught the dragon’s attention. It didn’t feel all good, though. She pushed forward a confident front, but in reality, it was a thin facade. Beneath her surefooted exterior, she felt sick to her stomach. Her world felt like it was spinning, but she couldn’t stop the words from spilling from her mouth. It was as if they were being sucked away into a vortex. “Well, what do you think is bound to happen?” she asked, her voice much bolder than she was. “Humans are creatures that never satisfy. They won’t be happy with just destroying our forest. No, they’ll kill every last one of us Fey in the grove. And then, when we’re all dead, they’ll come up here and they’ll find you.”

Ailisa watched as Seraphel’s eyes widened, their pupils slitting in horror. Their posture changed as well, muscles stiffening. Seraphel’s tail began to twitch all the way from the very base, which Ailisa knew was not a good sign. She tried desperately to stop her voice, but words continued to slither out of her, wrapping their venom around herself and Seraphel both. “Maybe they’ll kill you, too, Seraphel. That would certainly be the best way out. But they may recognize you. And they may want you back.”

Seraphel lurched forward at that, tackling Ailisa to the floor. Holding her down with one scarred talon, Seraphel exhaled a bit of sickly green smoke. The sudden shift in their dynamic caught Ailisa off guard. Her audacious front shattered when she hit the ground, the impact pushing the air from her lungs.

“How do you know all of that?” Seraphel growled. Their eyes were narrow and furious, and their nostrils were smoking.

Ailisa swallowed thickly. She hesitated before pointing out what led her to the conclusion she had made. “You have no scales around your ankles or neck,” she said, “and you’re scarred from head to toe. You flinch when the dust touches you. It’s obvious that you were a gladiator.” Ailisa’s face fell. “I’m sorry, Seraphel. You didn’t deserve that.”

Seraphel glared at Ailisa, snarling. “You better watch yourself,” they said, lifting their talon off of her after a long moment of silence. The dragon nudged her, and she got up, dusting herself off. “You shouldn’t go around talking to people like that if you don’t know them. Say that kind of stuff to the wrong person… it won’t end well for you.”

Ailisa bowed once again. “I’m very sorry,” she said. “I just needed to make you aware of what may happen. I didn’t want to leave empty-handed without at least warning you of the consequences of our failure. Of my failure.”

Ailisa stood back up, looking desperately at Seraphel. She tried to see if anything she said changed the dragon’s mind, but their back was turned. Slowly, Ailisa turned as well, taking her leave.

☆

Seraphel growled lowly, pawing at the cavern floor. The beast paced back and forth, deliberating on the young girl’s words. “And then, when we’re all dead, they’ll come up here and find you.” Despite what they wanted to believe-- despite what they chose to believe-- Seraphel knew she was right. Even if they came down and fought, what if they couldn’t defeat the humans? What if they were stronger than Seraphel remembered? What if Seraphel had grown weaker over time? Was it really worth it to risk everything like this?

Then Seraphel recalled the state of Ailisa’s wings. Clearly she had seen suffering at the hands of the humans too. And yet, she made a journey all the way to the peak of this mountain, just for the chance that she would be able to recruit Seraphel to help. “How can such a young girl have so much spirit?” Seraphel wondered, looking out at the morning sky. “How can she be so courageous?” Then, they understood. Ailisa wasn’t just being courageous. 

Seraphel was being a coward.

☆

Ailisa sighed quietly, looking up at the morning sky. The sun was over the mountains now. Sunbeams filtered through the early morning mist, dappling the tops of the trees with sunlight. Down below, she could see the humans’ encampment, and how they moved in the valley. They all moved with such purpose. It was a shame that purpose was to destroy the only home these people had ever known.

The sun beamed down on Ailisa’s face, and she knew that the fight was over. There was no way the Fey of the forest would be able to kill, let alone fight off, the human sorcerers and soldiers. The forest was theirs now. It was only a matter of time before the battle reflected the victory the humans had already achieved.

At this revelation, Ailisa wilted. A weak “Oh,” escaped her, and she wrapped her arms around her torso. Her ears and wings both drooped. What now?

“I might as well just return to my village,” Ailisa thought, “that way I can at least be with my family when the humans come for us.”

Slowly, Ailisa clambered down off the cliff’s ledge, walking along the dirt path that wound down the mountainside and back into the soon-to-be unenchanted forest. The girl dragged her feet along the mountain road, kicking rocks off the ledge every so often. The silence that followed her was only broken by the chirping of birds and buzzing of insects. 

It only took a few minutes of walking for something in the air to change. Dust kicked up around Ailisa, blowing down the path and causing her to stumble. The Fey girl turned around. The sight before her froze her in her path.

Seraphel landed on a wider part of the road, their wings outstretched and scales glistening in the sun. The dragon snorted, a grayish-green smoke leaving their nostrils. Ailisa looked up at them, eyes wide with shock.

“You- but I thought-?” Ailisa stuttered.

“I thought about what you said, Faery. It makes no sense for us to both lie down and die when together we are more than capable.” Seraphel lowered their head, allowing Ailisa to climb onto their back. She hesitated though, and Seraphel huffed, baring their teeth in a wide grin.

“Come on. Let’s go defend your forest, Ailisa.”

☆

When a dragon descended on the human’s encampment that morning, the humans were not afraid. In fact, they were ecstatic. The soldiers recognized the dragon from the famed Beast Tournament, a gladiator-style championship wherein all magnitudes of monster are pitted against each other. A fight to the death, where death is nothing new, and winning only means more bloodshed. This was the dragon who brought the tournament to ruin, the one who killed the Game Master and tore down the colosseum. The soldiers readied their weapons, ready to take down the beast. After all, it was one dragon against thirty or forty human soldiers. They could easily overpower and kill it. 

However, the humans felt slightly less confident about this endeavor when the little Fey girl on its back stood up. Her wings stretched out behind her, clearly burnt and mangled by the human’s hands. The sun beamed down on her, light refracting across the battlefield. Still, the humans weren’t worried. What’s one little Faery going to do, let alone in broad daylight? It was when her eyes began to glow, illuminating viciously with the power of the sun-- their sun-- that they turned and ran for the hills.