She turned her head slowly and found herself face to face with the young man from before. He brought his index finger to his lips and signaled for her to remain silent. Her eyes became wide as she took in his appearance.
He was young, a year or two older than she was, though the way he stood, tall and straight, made him seem older than his actual age. He bent low towards her. “Please keep quiet,” he pleaded, his dark brown eyes boring into hers.
She resisted the urge to yell, because surely the guards would hear her if she did. Instead she opened her mouth and clamped down on his hand with her teeth. He jerked back from her and shook his hand. He gasped sharply, keeping his voice low as if to keep the guards from hearing him, which she thought as odd given the fact that he himself was a guard. “Geez, what in dragon’s name was that?” He gasped, his voice no longer honey sweet instead it was sharp like the smell of vinegar the guards put on their food to give it flavor. “Just keep quiet!” he snapped.
“Excuse me, but if you are trying to take me back to those halfwits out there, you aren’t doing a very good job!” She was angry now. She had run all the way out here only to have her plans for escape foiled by some….. boy! Her vision began to blur and shake as the tears started to flow.
“I am trying to help you! So could you keep it down, please?” he responded in another sharp whisper.
The scorn in his voice was not lost on Kaida. She was used to people looking down on her, she was only temporary after all. But she would not accept this sort of disrespect from the same boy who had been laughing it up with the guards only minutes ago.

“If you are in fact trying to help me, how about we get out of this enclosed space, because dragon knows I’ve had enough of them,” she snapped. She began to march away hoping that he wouldn’t follow, when he suddenly jerked her back.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed? I mean for someone who just went through an awful lot to get away, you really are an idiot.! Don’t you know that they’re still out there and will be for the rest of the afternoon at least? For someone who was clever enough to slip away you really are a complete-”
“Idiot! I get it! Now if they really are still out there how about shutting up because you’re practically yelling!” she spat at him. He looked stunned. Hmph, serves him right if he thought I was just going to stand there and have him insult my intelligence.
He stared for several seconds, his eyebrows jutting up toward his forehead. “Well you’ve definitely got the attitude part down pat. I guess I could handle you for a short while, drakeninimo!” he laughed.
Suddenly her hand had pulled away from her side and slapped him across the face. He gasped in surprise as she scolded him ferociously “How dare you! First you put your dirty hands on me, then you call me an idiot, and finally you call me that vile name! And we’ve known each other for less than an hour! I don’t even know your name! What in dragon’s name made you think that it was okay to call me by that name?”
“Xavier,” he replied calmly. “That’s my name, and I must sincerely apologize, I didn’t mean to insult you like that. It was a slip of the tounge.”
“Xavier, was it? What exactly do you think you are doing? Why are you standing here when it sounded to me that the soldiers out there,” she pointed toward the cave’s entrance, “followed your every whim?”
“Because I have been charged with your protection, milady,” his brown eyes glinted with mischievousness as he bowed to her.
“My protection? I don’t need your protection! I can handle things on my own, I’ve lived by myself for seventeen -”
“Yes and you had you meals handed to you on silver platters.”
“Tin actually, but I understand your point. I get it, I need help. But I don’t want help from someone who was just yakking it up with those soldiers out there just moments before!” she replied, haughtiness creeping into her voice.
“Well, I don’t want to help someone who is going against the royal crown, but my father said it was a good idea. Now I regret putting my family in danger by assisting a brat!” his veins bulged and his golden mane of hair gave him a look of angelic wrath. “You may be risking your life, but I am risking the lives of those I love.”
“If it’s so important to you, then why aren’t you turning me in? Why are you even trying to help me?” she wondered aloud.
“If you must know, my father made me promise that when I turned twenty I would free you from your prison and take you to a safe house. Once there you were to receive an important message and figure things out on your own from there.” he answered shortly.
“What important message?”
“Here,” he handed her a small paper envelope. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if you read it now.”

The envelope was made of thick expensive paper. It was beautiful. She noticed with a jolt that on the top right corner was the royal seal of Isulduron. It made her hesitant to open it and read its contents. Her hands shook slightly as she ripped the envelope open and took ahold of the letter it contained. The letter was made of the same material as the envelope, thick with a golden tint just at the edges. She unfolded the letter and began to read.

My Beautiful Unborn Child,

If you are reading this then my pleas to have you remain by my side have been denied. I have tried, my beloved, to have them take back the laws that would have you killed. I truly am sorry. My tears fall even as I write this letter. I will never see you age and grow. I will not see you mature and fall in love. How unfair a world this is!
I must tell you that I love you already, as you have grown strong inside me. My only comfort has been that you will grow up far away from the walls that surround me now. In eighteen years, I’m afraid, you will die. It has been foretold for many generations. I have tried my best as I have stated previously, but my efforts have backfired entirely. After your first month of life, you will be taken to a godforsaken tower to live and I am to be banished.
I am writing this letter so that you may know me, if only in words. My dear friend Niall Oriol, the head of the guards, has promised me that when his own son Xavier turns twenty he’ll come and get you. He’s the one, hopefully, who has brought you this letter. Trust him, please. He’ll take you somewhere safe. He’ll protect you as his father protected me. Please stay safe, please live, my sweet child.
Lovingly,
Your Mother, Daphne Rhian
Kaida’s hands began to shake, her body began to tremble. Her brain felt like it was shutting down on her. She wanted me! She thought to herself. The tears began to flow. These were nothing like the tears she had shed when she had hit her head on her wardrobe when she was younger, nor were they like the tears she had shed when the thunder rolled and the lightning flashed. These tears were ugly, full of anger, sadness, disgust, and humiliation all rolled into one uncontrollable heartbreak.
She felt as if her whole world had been turned upside down. She had been wanted! She hadn’t been casted away as easily as the guards had always told her. Her mother had fought to keep her. Her mother had written this letter in order for her to know that she had been loved. Kaida’s tears began to slow and her ragged breathing began to calm. She wiped her eyes with the edge of her worn out dress.
Kaida felt a hand rest on her shoulder. “I know you must be feeling many things at the moment, but we must move now. The coast is clear and we have the cover of night.” As he spoke she looked toward the caves entrance and realized just how dark it had become since she had first run into the small space. She looked up at him from her position on the cave’s floor. Gone was the anger and frustration from before and his brown eyes seemed to bore into her soul as her breathing finally slowed back to its normal speed.
“So your dad was the one who made you do this?” she asked him.
“And I wanted to, if I’m being totally honest with you. My father always talked about your mother. He told me about her sharp tongue and her gentle kindness. He might’ve mentioned once or twice that she saved my mother’s life by pleading with her father to allow Mama to become the princess’ personal maid instead of a slave like she was supposed to become. So I thought, ‘Maybe this girl will be like her mother. Maybe I should try to help her like my father instructed’. So far you’ve got the sharp tongue. I swear I’ve been cut by it a few times today already.” he chuckled as if suddenly uncomfortable. “But like I said before Kaida, we’ve got to get moving.” He offered his hand to her, which she gladly accepted.
She rose, a little unsteadily, to her feet. “Now, where exactly is this safe house my…” she stumbled over her words. “my mother wrote about in the letter?”
“About a fortnight from here.” he replied stepping toward the cave’s entrance. “But first we’ll need to stop for supplies and we need to pick up a friend.”
“A friend? Who is this friend of yours?” she asked raising an eyebrow quizzically.
“Someone I would trust with my life, and someone you should trust with yours,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he led her away from the cave and away from her old life.

They would walk until they reached a small shack on the edge of the Snake River where they would meet up with his friend, he had told her. There, he said, was a safe place to rest.

“So, what exactly is this friend of yours like?” she asked as they were walking side by side. She had grown quite curious as their journey was nearing its destination.

“He’s like no one you’ve ever seen,” he replied simply.

“I haven't seen very much,so that doesn’t surprise me,” she sniffed.

He chuckled at her irritation, “What I meant to say is that he is an interesting individual with views and ideals that far exceed those of most men in the royal guard program. He will sit by the fire at home and recount to all of us the old legends of the country. He becomes so animated that even the full fledged knights will stop and listen, enraptured by his voice and talent. He’s tall and broad, dark skinned with the brightest heart. I swear to you, that you will come to no harm in his presence!” he swore, excitement lighting up his face as he spoke.
“He sounds like a very good friend of yours indeed!” she laughed.
“Sorry, I haven’t seen him in the last week and I’ve begun to miss the big fellow.” he admitted sheepishly. “He’s the same age as me and our fathers are good friends, so we grew up together. He’s like a brother to me.” He smiled, his eyes seemed to sparkle with a million different memories of times spent with a dear friend. “What about you?” he asked suddenly.
“What about me?” she turned to look at him questioningly.
“Don’t you have any friends?” he asked. “With a personality like yours you must have made a few with the guards or the servant or something.” he chuckled.
“No, I didn’t make any friends. You can’t make friends with your captors, it’s the principle of the thing, you know.” She explained with a shrug of her shoulders. “A tower was never a good place to look for friends anyway.” She sighed.
“Oh,”
They continued their journey toward the Snake River and toward their destinies in silence. Kaida began to breathe heavily causing the pair to stop frequently. Kaida had never left the tower and the tower itself, was too small for any sort of physical activity. While she was not heavy in any sense, she was not exactly physically fit. Xavier, on the other hand, was well toned from years of hard training that had been both mental and physical. He was easily tackling this journey as if it was one of the routine morning marches he had mentioned to her. She stared in amazement at his physique and endurance for what seemed to be the hundredth time. How he could keep this up she didn’t know.
“We’re getting close, Kaida!” he said excitedly. He pointed to the river that pounded a few feet away from them. “Where the river forks is where we’ll meet my friend.”
“You never told me his name.” Kaida said suddenly.
“I didn’t?” he shook his head. “His name is Brom, fitting for a poet such as he, huh!” he laughed as if it was an old inside joke.
“Brom and Xavier, partners in crime!” she giggled. Xavier’s face flushed red as she laughed.
If there was anything to be said about Kaida’s laugh,he thought, it was like the golden chime of morning bells. At this thought, he flushed even redder.
After another hour of walking they finally reached their desired destination, the shack that stood at the place where the river forks. The shack was, in fact, just that, a shack. It looked small and steady as it stood by the river’s shore. It had the appearance of having been there for centuries, and yet it stood in sound position.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” he said suddenly as he grabbed her hand and began to drag her swiftly towards the shack. As they sprinted toward the shack, the door swung open and someone stepped out to meet them.
~

Brom was an extremely tall man, his skin glistened like polished mahogany and his eyes were as green as the brush by the river side. His face split into a wide grin.

Hullo, Brother!” he called to Xavier. His voice was unexpected, it was sweet and melodious for a man’s voice, but deep and soothing like a rushing stream. Xavier sprinted ahead and wrapped his old friend in a hug that would have made a bear proud.

“Brom, how are you my good man?” Xavier asked excitedly.

“Well, while you were off saving pretty girls,” he winked at Kaida. “I have been stuck in this ramshackle of a shack eating nothing but dried jerky. So, I’m doing extremely well. I take it you’ve found our girl!” he added gesturing to where Kaida was standing awkwardly. He smiled at her, a big smile, and for what seemed like the first time in her life, she smiled back.

Dinner was served on the wooden plates that the two men had each brought with them, they had packed an extra set of diningware just for her. The food consisted of dried meat the two had packed and the berries that had been found by the river’s shore. Over the fire hung a kettle that burned a bright coppery red. Kaida fiddled nervously with her food, unsure of how to talk to the two men before her. Xavier was staring off into the distance deep in thought.

“How long have you two known each other?” she asked suddenly, trying to break the silence.

Xavier started from a daydream and blushed, “Um, I believe we met fifteen years ago if I’m not mistaken?” he turned to Brom, inquiringly.

“ Give or take a few months,” Brom agreed. “ And he’s still the same pretty boy that he was fifteen years ago!” he laughed heartily.

“And Brom here,” Xavier retorted. “Is still the same numbskull he was fifteen years ago.”

Kaida had to laugh, seeing these two strapping young men arguing like brothers despite their wildly different appearances. Xavier reminded her of a lion. Golden and tawny with a mane of wild hair. His brown eyes showed an amazing amount of intelligence and courage. Brom, on the other hand, reminded her of a panther. He was dark and sleek with eyes that made you think he was looking straight through to your soul. They were two boys bound together by similar souls, two boys bound together by brotherhood. She wished she’d had someone like that when she’d been growing up.

“What were you thinking about before I asked you that question, Xavier?” Kaida looked toward him. “You looked deep in thought.”

“Nothing really,” he replied avoiding eye contact with her, his blush from earlier returned with a fever. Brom burst into raucous laughter at his friend’s expression of discomfort.
“So...” Kaida added awkwardly.
“Kaida, do you remember when I told you about how good a storyteller Brom is?” Xavier piped up suddenly.
“Yes, I think I remember you mentioning it once or twice,” she teased. Xavier blushed in response.
“So, how ‘bout it, Brom? Will you bless us with one of your many tales?” Xavier begged.
Brom laughed. “I think I have one that may interest our new friend.”
“Really? Then that’s the one you should tell for us!” Xavier clapped.
“It begins five hundred years ago. A war between the humans and the dreaded beasts of fire and air, dragons. While we fought only with our swords and spears, they battled with fire and fangs, talons and claws. We were out armed, but they were out numbered. The great King Tobias rode quickly upon his trusted steed. His troops had already assembled at the Shore of Serpents and he was the last general of his army to arrive. They were there to fight the Dragon King, Luconus, the great blue dragon of the frozen tundras.
“The battle had raged for days and there were casualties on both sides. The King’s horse had already been eaten by Luconus, so he now fought on foot like the common soldiers. His men rallied around him as they all tried to push back the oncoming onslaught. They had all but failed with the wounded and dying lying all around them, when from the sea of soldiers rode a knight on a black steed. The knight jumped down from their steed and faced Luconus.
“Come little human, you think you can beat me, but you can’t. Wield your sword and fight me if you can.” Luconussneered. “I shall burn you to a crisp.”
“I don’t believe that I can beat you with physical strength,” Called out a female voice, much to the dismay of both the dragons and the surrounding Isuldorians. The knight took off her helmet revealing herself to be none other than Princess Natara, she would become the first sacrifice. She was a young woman of eighteen, with eyes that flashed stormy hazel and carmel hair that flew out with the breeze. She was the epitome of beauty in those ancient times. “If I give myself to you, will you leave my people alone?” she inquired, stepping forward.
“And why are you worth that? These humans have killed enough of my brethren, I want revenge!” Luconus roared.
“I will sing to you.” she replied simply.
“How is that worth anything to me?” he questioned.
It was then that she began to sing. The song was a lilting tune, an old lullaby that mothers had sung to their children for generations. Her voice was like a nightingale, soft and sweet.
“I see,” Luconus spoke softly after a time. “You shall be our siren, our consolation for all of the times that your kind has cause my kind to suffer.”
She nodded. “I shall be your siren, but you must promise to let my people be.”
“I give you the word of the Dragon King.” he dipped his head.
“No! I forbid you to go with that… that beast!” King Tobias roared.
“Father, you don’t understand. I must go or our country will fall and I won’t be the only one who dies!” she pleaded before turning back to Luconus. “Shall we go?” she asked

“Yes.” He replied. He placed his fore paw down so that she could climb on top of his back.
Natara looked down to her people and called out to them, “ My people, do not despair for I am going to save you from a fate you don’t deserve. Every time a first born child of the royal family is conceived they must be taken away and given to the dragons on their eighteenth birthday. They will be a sacrifice, they will be your lifeline.” With that she turned around.
Luconus gave a command and each of the remaining dragons began to follow him toward the sky. They flew up and disappeared behind a cloud of smoke, never to be seen again. The King and his soldiers stood pondering the instructions they had just been given and realizing that her words would ring true for years to come.

“I never knew how bad it had been before the sacrificing began.” she gasped. “All those people and dragons, just dead.”
“Well it has been half a century since the first sacrifice, so obviously it’s an outdated practice. I bet nothing would happen if you didn’t go to the Draconus Caves.” Xavier said lazily, his eyes beginning to droop from a full stomach and the warmth of the fire.
“You’re an idiot! You know that right?” she stood up quickly. “What if I don’t go and the dragons come back? What if they set fire to the cities? I didn’t realize just how important this whole sacrifice thing was! I feel horrible. I need to go to the Draconus Caves! Please take me there, you know where it is, don’t you? You could take me there!” Kaida’s words came out quick and jumbled as she spoke.
“Woah, woah, woah. Didn’t we just risk our lives, not to mention the lives of our families, to save your sorry butt? You can’t just turn around and waste all of that! Are you stupid?” Xavier yelled, his face turning a brilliant scarlet.
“I am not an idiot!” she yelled. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Look Xavier, I appreciate what you’ve done for me. I don’t think I would have ever gotten away or made it this far without your help, but I need to do this. If I don’t do this than not only am I in danger, but you and your families are also in danger.”
Xavier paled, realization dawning on his face. “Holy dragon eggs!” Brom yelled, his realization surfacing louder than Xavier’s had. “So we just messed with history here.”
“Well, we’ve messed with the future not the past,” she corrected. “So, will you help me?”
Xavier was staring off into the distance, his lips pursed in concentration. “I suppose, if that is what you want to do. It is your life after all, I can’t stop you. I just can’t understand why you would want to throw your life away like that. After all of the struggle you went through, we went through, you’re just going to give up your life?” he asked.
“Yes... No… I don’t know. Xavier, if your family was on the line wouldn’t you do everything you could to save them, to spare their lives?” she turned to him.
He thought a moment, he turned to her, “I guess, I guess that I would. But the people here aren’t your family. Your family is waiting out there!” he pointed toward the outside world. “Your mother is waiting out there!” he finished exasperatedly.
‘You think I don’t know that! You don’t understand, Xavier. You will never understand, what it’s like to be born to a destiny that was never in your favor, you don’t know what it’s like to know that what stands between the death and lives of millions is your own life.” she turned to look at him. He stood dumbfounded, staring at her.
“You’re right, we can’t understand. But I do believe we could help you, Kaida.” Brom interceded. He stood erect, a soldier’s stance. His usual relaxed demeanor had evaporated. “We can take you there, it that’s what you truly desire. Isn’t that right Xavier?” he turned to his companion. Xavier pursed his lips and nodded.
“I guess we could,” Xavier consented. “I’m going to bed.” He stalked away.
“Why is he so upset?” Kaida turned to Brom as she heard the shack’s door slam closed. “Why can’t he see that this isn’t just a choice that affects my life but his life, your life, and the lives of everyone in this country?”
“I guess for him it just seems like you went from riding on a dragon’s back to being roasted by dragon on a spit,” Brom tried to explain.
“What in dragon’s name does that mean?” she asked.
“It means that you just went from a dire situation to a really dire situation. If we are going to bring you to the Draconus caves then you need to be aware that the royal guard will be looking for you. We cannot fight against them, we are brothers bound by sacrifice and honor.” Brom informed her.
“I understand, I wouldn’t ask you to do that for me.” Kaida bowed her head and turned away. “Goodnight, I shall see you in the morning.”
“Yes, milady.” Brom dipped his head in farewell. “We’ll begin our travels in the morning.” And with that he walked away, leaving Kaida only with her heartache and her questions.

Kaida awoke the next morning to find that the shack that the trio had slept in had been cleaned up in the wee hours of the morning. Everything had been neatly packed away and a bowl of what appeared to be porridge had been laid out for her. Kaida began to greedily gobble up the portion that had been set aside for her.
When she had finally finished her portion of breakfast she stood up and dusted off the skirt of her dress. I wonder where on Earth they could have gone, she thought to herself as she picked up her dishes and went to the stream to clean them out. She might have grown up in a tower but she wasn’t lazy. She lifted her head as she heard the ringing of clashing steel. It was then that she saw her two companions.
Xavier’s golden locks blazed with heavenly light in the morning sun as his sword was swung high above his head. His stance was loose yet alert as he pushed his sword against the sword of his companion. His brows were furrowed together in determination as he held his ground against his much larger friend. He looks like an avenging angel, Kaida thought to herself as she viewed the two friends.
Brom laughed a good hearty chuckle at his friend’s frustration in not moving the giant before him. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough, my friend? You are starting to tire and I still have the upperhand!” Brom chuckled once again.
“I beg to differ,” Xavier exclaimed as he swiped his leather clad foot beneath Brom, thus causing the larger of the two to fall face forward. Xavier took this chance to raise his sword to his friend’s throat. “Do you concede?” He asked triumphantly.
“I’ll concede when you do,” Brom chuckled as he pointed to the smaller man’s chest. Xavier looked down and gave a small gasp of surprise as he came to view the sword pressed against his own chest.

“How do you do that?”Xavier asked seemingly exasperated. He threw his hands above his head. “Everytime we spar we end in a dead tie!”

“I seem to remember I beat you once last year.” Brom quirked an eyebrow. “That’s one more time than you, seeing as we almost always tie.” A loud guffaw soon followed.

“And I seem to recall beating you twice last year,my good man. And besides, I was referring to your ability to always sneak in a move like that.” Xavier retorted.

Kaida chuckled at their childish bickering, causing both men to turn in her direction. Xavier blushed madly, his face a nice shade of crimson, and Brom guffawed loudly at his friend’s embarrassment.

“Good morning m’lady,” Xavier quickly recovered. He inclined his head in her direction but avoided eye contact.

“What are our plans for the next course of action?”

The two boys exchanged looks with each other. Xavier huffed as his friend sent him a knowing look. Xavier sighed and walked away.

“We have decided to help you in your quest, though it does go against our original orders. Xavier is willing to help you. It’s just that he only wants to please his father and by going against the Captain’s original orders, he feels as though he’s failing him,” Brom admitted, scratching his head. “But Xavier was never one to leave someone in a bind, so he’ll help you. And I can’t bear to leave him alone with a defenceless lady like yourself.”

Kaida laughed. “I wouldn’t worry about something like that, but your company would be appreciated. You tell the most amazing stories!”

So, despite all the qualms Xavier held, he would help her with her quest. She was grateful to both Xavier and Brom for they were putting their lives on the line in order to help her.

“I thank both of you for helping me. I realize it definitely goes against orders. By the way if you two are palace guards how in dragon’s name are you here right now?”

“Well, when your father is the head of the palace guards you can get excuses to leave quite easily ,especially if you are on a mission for said father,” Xavier’s silken voice quipped behind her causing her to jump in surprise.

“You scared me,” Kaida said hand held to her still fluttering heart.

“I thought nothing scared you, after all you are sacrificing yourself to the dragons.” was the clipped and bitter reply. “We begin our journey in a few seconds milady. I hope you know how to ride.” Xavier gestured to three waiting steeds, two for riding and one for their provisions.

Kaida began to laugh as the situation occurred to her. He was asking her, the girl who had lived in a tall tower all her life, if she could ride a horse. “Yes Xavier, I do, because you always use a horse to get around in a tower.” she said laughing.

Xavier turned red and turned away while Brom just guffawed. “I quite like this girl. She’s got a mouth, she does.

Hey guys, this is Clue132. Sorry Its taking me so long to get in a new chapter. I'm having a bit of writer's block. If any one has any ideas or characters they want to see in this please let me know. Thanks so much,
Clue 132