Prologue

A blade clanged against the medal of a second blade, as words of prayer and hope ran through the mind of the 25-year old woman that held her sword in a desperate attempt to keep her life. She wouldn't die tonight, she knew; she was getting very strong, too strong to let herself and her entire kingdom down. However, if this kept up, she would never hold out in the long run. And, all she wanted to know was how her enemy had gotten so strong, so suddenly?

It was insane to think how easily he seemed to be able to take her down now, and this was after she had spent seven years on this world honing her skills and figuring out her own powers. Even a week ago, she would have been able to keep her own against the power-hungry Gredansou, but now it was back to two against one with him against her and her guardian. So, if he was so strong, why hadn't he killed her yet? Probably, he wanted to make her suffer. It was entirely possible, but his sadism would cost him the only chance he'd had this entire war. She would utilize this time to the best of her advantage.

These thoughts, though hope-filled and gave her reassurance, were not exactly helping her in her fight, and Cawelfe could hold out so long for her. She lunged forward, slashing as if life itself depended on striking, only to be blocked and pushed back roughly. She held her ground, but it unnerved her that Gredansou was winning this sword fight. This was primarily because his main weapon was a Sniper rifle, and the last time he even held a sword was long before she or Cawelfe were even alive. She could see the minor errors in his form and strikes, but it still wasn't enough.

Before she knew it, she was on the ground and screaming out in pain as he pierced a section of her torso that wouldn't eventually kill her, only bring severe pain. Gredansou was quick to remove his sword, resulting in another grimace and yelp from Dragea, in order to parry off Cawelfe's strike and knock him back as well. But, he was quickly growing bored and surprisingly tired. Even with his newfound power, they were holding out pretty well, but they needn't have to know he was barely toying with them. Point was, he still could have taken them out at any time.

"I suggest you both take whatever time off you can to enjoy your lives while you still have one. I will soon grow tired of this petty 'Cat-and-mouse' game, and when that time comes, you will cease to exist and become merely an annoying memory." He muttered, in disgust at his future victims. It was about time their lives came to an abrupt end, and he would personally see to it that he ended hers slowly and painfully. Her and Cawelfe were always constant obstacles and generally pains to his plans of overruling his former king's kingdom. As long as they were around, that day would never come, but he also wanted to make Dragea suffer for her interferences and being part of his supposed downfall.

Dragea shuddered, knowing he meant every word and that whatever had planned for her would be more painful than anything she'd ever felt in her life. That she wouldn't want to think about, considering she'd felt quite a lot of pain in the last seven years. She didn't really want to think about this right then; she just knew that she'd have to find help within the next few days, even if it meant looking on Earth to find it. She attempted to get carefully get to her feet, though failed. Luckily, Cawelfe had finally made his way over and outstretched his hand in offering to help her. Taking it, she stood up and leaned against him to support her.

"Are you alright, m'lad-" He started, before getting a sharp look of disapproval sent in his direction. He sighed, though smiled, as he soon spoke to correct himself. Still, he found it quite hard to break his habit of formalities, especially when talking to her or the King. "Sorry. Are you alright, Lady Dragea?" He asked, receiving an exasperated sigh in response. He knew how she felt about it, but it felt wrong to him to leave out the title, considering her importance and blood heritage.

"Yeah, I'm fine for now, but we should get back and see a healer. Getting shish kabobed doesn't exactly tickle." She grumbled, sighing as she got atop a now wolf dragon Cawelfe carefully. At least she was alive, though. Well, for a little while, she way, anyway. She had a feeling that her best friend, Sigeron, would want to kill her for being so reckless. She smiled softly at this, as Cawelfe took to the air and followed the familiar route back to their King's aerial castle, their home. It wouldn't take very long to get there, and as soon as they landed, Dragea carefully jumped off. Almost immediately after her feet touched the platform, she felt herself get tackled backward.

"Whoa, jeez Si, calm down!" Dragea chuckled, though bit her lip from the sharp and sudden pains. Falling backwards, she was forced to use Cawelfe's wolf body as a balance. "Mind warning me before you decide to crush my ribs?" She chuckled, before her best friend finally let go of her sudden embrace and got a good look at her, then frowned. Dragea took a quick breath before putting up her hands in a show of peace/surrender. "Don't worry. I was just heading over to see Corinthia now."

"Dragea, I really wish you would be a little more careful!" Sigeron reprimanded, sighing as she knew it would fall on deaf ears, even though she knew Dragea heard her. Cawelfe and King Monarva also felt this way, Dragea knew, but it was like some part of her had a constant need to go 100 percent even if it meant to be reckless. She shook the thoughts off as she entered the healer's quarters.

"Another fight, Dragea?" asked Amorsinth, the leader of the healers. Dragea felt a blush of embarrassment creep onto her cheeks as she nodded solemnly. Amorsinth left, and a few minutes leader, Corinthia came back in her place. It didn't take too long before Dragea was making her way back over to the throne room to report to the king, now fully healed and newly clothed, but also extremely tired from the stressful battle. Dragea knocked softly, knowing everyone could hear a knock, no matter how soft it is. The king confirmed this, calling out an "Enter!"

"My liege, Gredansou seemed to need to rest and thus shouldn't give us any trouble for a while." Dragea reported, after entering the room and proceeded to kneel down on one knee. She ignored his obvious disdain for the title, hesitating to continue to her request and report. "He appears to be getting much stronger than any of us could imagine, and I really must insist we go scouting. I believe there may even be a few people on Earth who cou-"

"No!" King Monarva interrupted sternly, causing Dragea to flinch slightly, though she had sort of been expecting the outburst. Although she and a few others had come from the slowly dying, corrupted planet, dragons didn't much like humans for having been regarded as monsters. Not to mention that when confronted, most tended to run and scream or faint. But, still, they needed to find someone to help fight off Gredansou.

"Please, your majesty. We need to look for help and people from Earth see-" She started, but quickly stopped herself at sensing the irritation radiating from her leader. Not to mention, he had shot her a sharp glare in her direction. She frowned, clenching her teeth and looked down. "I understand, my liege. I just wish you would reconsider. It just might be our only option." She murmured, before leaving without another word between the two of them.

Immediately after leaving, she trudged back to her room, slightly annoyed. She really did understand why he was so against the idea, it just frustrated her because she knew she had been right. It was very likely that going to find help on Earth was their only chance. She sighed, as she fell back onto her bed and positioned herself comfortably on her side on her mattress. She had to have been quite tired to fall asleep so quickly, as it wasn't exactly easy for a light sleeper with highly sensitive ears to fall asleep. She managed, though, and especially well that night.