Ciara froze in the saddle. What? What was going on?

A flame suddenly whizzed right past her head, making the stallion rear up. She lost her balance and felt herself falling. Unable to do anything about it, she closed her eyes and braced for impact.

"Ciara!" she faintly heard Kaisog shout. Only a moment later, she heard the galloping hooves disappearing down the street and found herself fallen on top of something which most certainly wasn't cobble-stone.

A dry cough underneath her made her crack an eye open, only to make her jump to her feet.

"My God! Kaisog, are you all right?"

He quickly got to his feet as well. "I am fine, Princess. More importantly, are you hurt?" he asked, the question a hurried demand.

She shook her head. "I am fine. Thanks to you."

"Good." He pushed her behind him, up against a wall. "Now, please stay behind me." He quickly drew the swords strapped to his back.

Only now did she realize her guards had formed a circle all around the two. Beyond their wall were a myriad of faces she didn't recognize the slightest. Not that they were all that visible behind their dark hoods.

Notably though, each one of them held some kind of weapon in their hands.

Shivers ran down her back. They were being attacked. This was an assassination-attempt. On her.

"Protect the princess at all costs!" Kaisog called out to the men. "Do not let anyone through."

They were outnumbered and everyone here knew it. They had no chance of beating these guys. Even if each and every one of them was as skilled as Kaisog. Every clang of swords drove that point in even further.

"Was this your plan all along?! Inviting us here just so you could finally be rid of us forever?" Kaisog yelled, his gaze fastened on the knight who'd guided them here. He was currently the only one inside the circle, but he also looked like the most bloodthirsty of them all. "I knew we should have never trusted your bastard king's words!"

The man smirked and almost leisurely drew his sword as he approached them. "Well, in all fairness, his majesty has nothing to do with all this." He gestured nonchalantly to her guards as one of them had a dagger plunged into his throat.

Ciara had to turn around and rest her forehead against the cold wall as she fought the bile rising in her throat. This wasn't happening. This was just not happening.

She still had her back turned when the clash of swords erupted right behind her.

"We do not need power-hungry beast-lovers like you taking over again. This is our damn kingdom now!" the man shouted, the purest of fury in his voice.

"Hells," Kaisog grunted, strained against the other man's sword. "You will pay for this!"

The knight only laughed in response. "Oh, really?"

A familiar scream was heard a little away. Alen.

She bit her lip, not even trying to fight her tears any longer. She clasped her hands over her ears, not wanting to hear any more of this. But even she knew it wouldn't help any at all. She could still hear everything just fine.

With a push of effort and the singing of blades, Kaisog seemed to have pushed the other man back.

"Yes, really."

The knight snorted in laughter as Ciara suddenly understood what made her friend so confident. It was faint, but she could hear something quite like thunder in the distance. Only, it wasn't.

She turned her gaze to the sky as Kaisog put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. A cry for help.

The knight laughed even louder at that.

"Your precious beasts will not come to your aid here. All of them were chased away long ago!" Clearly, he thought that sound was simply thunder.

However, he too understood just how wrong he was when a loud roar thundered above the beating of wings. He turned as pale as a sheet when the shadow of a dragon racing towards them came into sight, only visible by strikes of sudden lightning in an incoming downpour.

"Dragon incoming! Fall back!" one of the hooded men called out, making every single one of them take several steps back in fear and shouts.

The thundering sound only grew louder at its approach, all eyes turned to the black shadow in the sky, only fully visible to them due to its bright, blue belly.

What remained of her guards – only a meager three of the eight they had been – had backed closer to Kaisog and her, watching the enemies with sharp eyes.

The knight had joined the hooded figures, his sword scrapped and instead replaced by a long spear he must have hidden underneath his cape.

The dragon was quickly upon them, a deafening roar announcing its arrival.

"This was not the deal, Dragon Slayer. I hope you are ready to pay double for this," the hooded man, who'd called the rest back, hissed at the knight. "And kill that damned creature!"

"Just do your job and make sure no one escapes," the knight snarled back.

The dragon was still young, so it could just barely manage to land above and around them on the narrow street. It had its piercing, yellow gaze turned on the hooded men and the knight in front of it, its teeth bared in a snarl in the face of their hostility. Though young, it was still a strong drake and its presence here was enough to make her relieved.

She was pushed out of her reverie when Kaisog pushed her closer to it.

"You have to get up on him, Princess." He intended on taking advantage of this pause in the fighting for all it was worth.

She nodded and let him help her on the back of the young drake, who kept his back low to help them.

The enemies ahead of them saw what they were doing and sprang into action.

"Do not let her escape!"

The hooded men rush at them again, though still daunted by the drake's presence.

Ciara quickly extended a hand down to Kaisog, fear making her head spin.

"Come on, Kaisog. We have to go!"

He looked towards the charging enemies, who were soon going to be breaking through the three guards. Then, he shook his head.

"No, you have to go now, Princess."

She stared at him with wide eyes, not sure she understood. "What?"

"We will not make it if the both of us attempt to flee." He looked back ahead as another one of her guards and his lifelong friends fell. They would break through even the drake soon. He turned his eyes back to her and quickly drew her forehead down to touch his. They were so close their noses almost touched. "Take care of yourself, Ciara. For me."

"No." Her breath hitched in her throat and a painful ache started in her heart as his warmth left her, replaced by the sudden rain.

He stepped back and gave the drake's neck a light smack. "Take her to the castle."

It looked at him, confused that he was still standing there.

"Go! Now!" Kaisog loudly yelled as he held both swords out, easily slashing the first hooded man down.

The drake knocked an enemy aside before jostling into movement. It stood up and spread its two mighty wings with a roar, ready to take off.

"No! Kaisog, please come with me!" Cold dread settled in her when another one of her guards was pierced through the stomach with a gurgling grunt.

"Do not let her get away! Aim for the wings!" the knight called out, earning a rallying shout from the hooded figures.

"Hurry!" was all Kaisog yelled to the drake, who immediately beat its wings, taking to the air. The waves of wind made a few of the men fall over and pushed the rain of arrows back. With another beat, it was outside their reach.

"No!" But there was nothing she could do. She could only watch through tears and rain as her best friend grew smaller, knocking the great spear out of the knight's hands right as he was about to throw it at her. All while he fought one after the other of the hooded figures, amassing innumerable injuries in his battle to keep her and the drake alive.

A hand found its way to her mouth, a strangled sob escaping her as he was the last one of her guards standing. Hooded bodies lay all around him, leaving only the knight and the hooded men's leader.

She could only barely see them now, but she knew Kaisog would be too weak to fight back. A huge gash at his side had him clutching it in an attempt to stop the blood from gushing forth. He could barely hold his sword up.

She gasped when she saw the knight hit it out of Kaisog's hand and lifted his own to her friend's neck. She whirled around and buried her face in the drake's black scales, faintly hearing the scream over the rushing air.

She struggled to breathe though her sobs and tears, feeling cold to the bone. And it wasn't because of the cold rain.

He was... Kaisog, her best friend and closest brother.

It felt like her heart had been torn out of her chest, never to be repaired again. Like she'd lost something of herself.

How could she just have left him like that? How could he force her to do something like that? Why hadn't he just joined her on the drake?

She knew already, it was to make sure she could escape. But still... How would she survive without him now? It almost felt like her life had ended, that there was no way for her to go on from here. No paths for her to take.

She was all alone.