A/N: Hey everyone! OK, this time I swear it'll stay up!

I needed to make some changes because I added something to the plot. :) Hence why I have to re-upload another version of the freaking prologue and... yeah. SO! Here you go, it's probably terrible. Again, I'm a Night Owl, I write at night. Keep that in mind, extremely tired teen writes all this around midnight to three in the morning. :) Still! I had a friend read this, she liked it, so I hope any other readers do as well.

I'll tell you what, if you don't like this version, I'll put the original prologue back up and fix the plot again. I just want people to enjoy this. :) Now go read and we'll talk again at the end.

PROLOGUE:

My heart pounded in my chest as my father's strong hand shoved me forward. I stumbled in to the village's Great Hall. Inside were the rest of the children and teens of the village, all huddled together. A few groups were trying to sleep, easily giving up to their parents orders. Other's were gripping daggers or axes, ready to spring up at any sign of a chance to fight. Some of the teens, like me, were half confused and half angry they weren't out fighting alongside their parents.

With that thought in mind I whirled around and stared at my frowning father. "Why aren't we fighting? It's just a raid, Dad!" I blurted. My younger brother, Reed, tugged at my hand, which was clutching his tightly. I released him and he wrapped his arms around my waist instead, barely able to support his sleepy body.

"Dad," I repeated after a moment without a response, "why aren't you allowing us," I gestured to occupants of the Hall, "to fight?"

"Because it's not your fight," my father said simply.

"It's no one's fight, Dad," I argued. "it's just a raid!"

My father shook his head stubbornly and he turned to look at someone when a hand was placed on his shoulder. I recognized Sterling, my father's best friend, instantly. He said something I couldn't hear, but it seemed important because my father's eyes went wide. He glanced at me once more, then ran off with Sterling. My heart lurched at this, and I was confused by the feeling of dread that washed over me. It's just a raid, why do I feel like he's not coming back?

oOo

My mother appeared in the doorway about thirty minutes later. I had taken Reed and myself over to the small fire pit where we were welcomed by my best friend, Cinder. He was telling us about what had happened on his side of the village when I heard my name called once, distantly. I looked up, along with Cinder, as it echoed out again. This time it was louder and slightly stronger, "Jade!"

I turned around frantically at the sound of my mother's voice, and when Reed did the same I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stay with, Cinder," I said without taking my eyes off my scared looking mother. Reed reluctantly did as I said, so I took off for the door, tripping over someone's shield as I did so.

I reached my mom quickly, and immediately went to finding out what was wrong, well in the best way a fourteen year old could. "Mom?" I asked dumbly, searching her pale face. Her light brown freckles, just as I had across my cheeks, stood out like blades of grass in winter snow. Something was definitely wrong. She was too pale, and no Viking should look this afraid during a raid. It's not like the fear of starvation could be bothering them, like other places we knew of. If it weren't for the fact that the dragons destroyed our homes, we could leave them alone to take our sheep. We grew most of our food here, and we'd adapted to eating that for most of the year.

"Mom," I repeated, grabbing and shaking her lower arms as they raised slightly. She had dropped her sword and shield and was looking slightly dazed. I had to take a step forward to support her as she wobbled. "Jade," she finally muttered. I looked into her perfect brown eyes as she blinked heavily. She stumbled sideways again and I followed this time. I ended up having her sit with her back pressed against the wall of the building we were just outside of. Her breathing was shaky, and mine was beginning to go the same way. Something was really, really wrong.

"Jade," she muttered again. "protect your brother."

"What?" I snapped, not bothering to look at her as I searched her for any cuts or broken bones.

"Look at me my little spring breeze," she whispered.

My eyes snapped to hers. She only called me by the base of my name when I was upset or sick. I was definitely upset, but she wasn't looking at me, her eyes had fallen shut. "Stop searching for my injuries, there will be none visible," she said quietly. My heart was back to its racing speed as she used her wise sounding way of speech, the way my grandmother, and village elder, spoke.

"Then why are you so weak?" I finally managed.

"The dragon has stolen my soul," she breathed with a tiny wisp of a smile on her lips.

"What?" I yelled, gripping her arms tightly again.

There was a legend, the one she was repeating the end to now. A legend that had lived with the Isle of Night since it had first been settled. The legend of the Soul Stealer. The dragon that had never been seen by anyone. The dragon that killed a Viking without even touching it. This dragon had no known powers like the others, but it is told that it controls your mind. It whispers words of darkness to you, driving you insane, then it killed you. It sucked away your soul, leaving you to die.

"Mother," I cried, "that is just a legend! The Soul Stealer is not real!"

My mother's eyes fluttered open and she looked at me softly, "Do not say such things, this dragon is real my Little Breeze. She is amazing, and I have seen her."

That was the crazy talking, it had to be.

"She tells me you are hers now, she will watch over you," my mother smiled gently.

"What about Dad?" I blurted.

"She has taken him too."

"WHAT?" I screamed.

I was going to loose both of my parents in one night? Over a raid that had just gone wrong? Because of a stupid dragon that didn't even exist?

"She did him a favor, saving his struggling soul from the misfortune her dragon brethren had dealt your father," my mother said with a wince that made her scowl.

"Mother, you know that the Soul Stealer doesn't exist!" I cried, scarcely aware of the stinging tears that rolled down my freezing cheeks.

"She lives among us, Little Breeze," my mother said quietly.

"If she does then why can we not see her?" I argued, trying to prove to her it was the craziness speaking if anything.

"She shall show herself to you eventually," my mother's eyes fell shut again.

"Mother, what can I do? Don't die!" I wailed.

"It is my time, Jade. Take care of your brother, and never forget that I am watching. She and I will help you discover everything, you have no idea how special you are," she smiled again.

"No, Mom! Wait! What do you mean! Momma!" I wailed, clutching her hand as it loosened in mine.

But she was gone. The scarce rise and fall of her chest had stopped, and her arm dropped like a stone as I released it at her side. I threw myself over her in a half-hug, but mostly just broke down. My family was my world, and according to my mother, I'd just lost half of them.

I stayed over her, sobbing for what felt like years, until finally I was pulled back. Something got me to release her, and when I looked up I saw Cinder. I must have been in a pretty bad state if he could pull me back with one arm, the kid wasn't as heavily built as the others. I was at least twice as strong as him, even though I was six months younger than him. "Jade," he said softly. I pushed off his hand and got up onto unsteady legs. I felt as if I were going to fall back down, but I couldn't show any weakness. I was a Viking after all, and we're not allowed to have weaknesses.

I pushed past Cinder and tried to walk confidently away, but I couldn't. I couldn't walk more than three steps before something else had to happen, right? I just wasn't going to get a break.

The "something else", just happened to be a dragon swooping down over me and the two of us skidding back. My attacker was a Monstrous Nightmare, one of the dragons you only saw the toughest Vikings going after. I screamed as it locked me under it's claws like a cage, his angry head baring it's teeth. I kicked and wriggled, unable to really move my arms. I yelled for help, I yelled for Cinder, I even yelled for my father. None of those cries were responded to, not successfully anyway.

Just out of the corner of my eye I could see Cinder charging the devil. He screamed to distract the beast, but the dragon gave no attention to this beyond flinging Cinder back with a powerful tail. I followed his flying form and heard a sickening crack as he hit the door of the Great Hall. The noise of the rest of the Isle came rushing back and I felt like part of my head had just exploded. Millions of yells and screeches pounded their way into my head. Unfamiliar voices amongst the ones I knew. Deep voices, dry voices, calls of young sounding people. I screamed again as the dragon turned his full attention back to me. He reared back with what sounded like a dry laugh, about to cover me in flame. I tensed, squeezing my eyes shut and uselessly turning my head to one side.

The last thing I remember was hearing my mother's voice. Over all of the noise in my head, her soft tone rested above it. She whispered six, sweet, love filled words to me before I blacked out: Do not fear, my Little Breeze.

A/N: Well then, that was insane. I think it got really repetitive at one point, but I'm exhausted... I may have missed it. Ah well, it's just for fun right? There's mistakes in everything. :) OK, so I hope you all liked it! I have a feeling readers of the previous version can take a pretty good guess at who those "unfamiliar voices" belong to, huh? I also want to point out that I'm half way coming up with our plot as we go along, it's how I do my writing. Sometimes I'll write something awesome, or write something so incredibly dumb it's unreal. Like a whole different person was writing. :)

Now, here's my rating system. It's different, and makes a little more sense- I think. This is to help you start of reviews, and I'm thinking of putting it at the end of each of my chapters.

RATING:

A) That. Was. AWESOME. I need more!
I'm SO adding this to my Alerts. LOVE! 5*s!

B) That was pretty cool. Good job.
I liked, and I'll definitely come back for more. 4*s.

C) Meh, not a TOTAL waste of my time.
I may come back. 3*s

D) Wow, that was bad.
I probably wont look back. Nah. 2*s

E) WTF did I just read? Did your cat jump on
your keyboard and puke? Really? This... jeez!
1*