The sun shone brilliantly through the white lace curtains, reflecting off of shining marble floors and giving the entire room an ethereal glow. A fresh breeze drifted in, bringing with it the sound of birds chirping and the faint scent of the gardens outside, reminding the Dragon Lord of everything he could be doing at that moment, but wasn't.

Rath Illuser signed yet another boring document requiring his oh-so-necessary seal of approval, then let his head sink to the desk with a soft thump. It was no wonder why Lykouleon had constantly been sneaking out of the castle. He himself wondered if anyone might notice if he were to sneak out his window. No sooner had he thought that, than there was a knock at his door.

"My Lord? Are you finished with those documents I gave to you earlier?"

Rath picked himself back up and sighed. "Yes, come in Rune."

The White Dragon Officer needed no further prompting as he strode into the room. Today his long blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and he looked as stunning and effeminate as ever. Though he would murder anyone who said it to his face. The half-elf, half-dragon smiled brightly at the sight of piles of completed documents and hefted the load up into his arms easily. An odd sight he made, a slender, feminine man with at least fifty pounds worth of documents in his arms, threatening to spill over and scatter across the floor. "I hope you remember the meeting you have with the politicians from Hermosa coming today. Thatz sent a letter ahead of him, saying they'd be here in time for lunch." Rune grinned. "I'll warn the cooks, shall I?"

"Yes, do that," Rath agreed, stretching his arms above him and yawning loudly, tossing off a silk scarf that had been draped over his shoulders but now seemed restricting. It landed on the floor next to his boots. They were made of fine leather and had a decent two-inch heel. Thatz may have thought that it was strange for a guy to wear heels, but how else was he to compete with Cesia in her towering stilettos?

Rune sighed. "Rath…er, I mean, My Lord… I hope you'll remember to behave properly this time. We just barely came to an agreement with the people from Kuulta last time, but Hermosa is a considerably larger country with greater trading capabilities. We can't lose their support just because of…uncivilized behavior."

Rath waved him off. "Yes, yes, I know… No swords at the dining table." He paused and remembered something. "By the way, could you send Gil in? I have something I need to ask him…"

"Right," Rune answered despairingly as he was dismissed, completely aware that his warning had been brushed aside. His fingers itched to close around the handle of a mallet and give Rath a good smack. But he was the Dragon Lord now and as such, Rune was no longer in a place to… discipline him, for lack of a better term. But that didn't stop him from imagining it in his mind. He would never have entertained the thought with the previous lord, but he and Rath were old friends, and the dark-haired man could truly be a pain sometimes.

He closed the door behind him and adjusted the stack of documents in his arms. He could see why Rath would be tired and he was grateful that his friend had matured at least a little bit. Though he still snuck out to hunt demons more often than was good for Rune's blood pressure, at least he had yet to set his paperwork on fire, as he had been prone to do with his homework when they were younger.

"Rune!" called out a high-pitched voice. The blond elf turned to see a girl with a petite frame and large eyes hurrying towards him.

"Lim, good timing! Could I ask you to go tell the cooks that Thatz and company will be here in time for lunch?"

"Sure thing! But before you dash off, I came to ask you about tomorrow. Like, what sort of things will I need to pack and, um, how should I dress…?" she trailed off with a tint of blush in her cheeks.

Rune blinked and looked down at her current outfit. It certainly wasn't something the typical faerie would wear, having far too many studs and decorations and lace, but it wasn't unacceptable either. But he knew she was concerned as this would be her first trip to the faerie forest and her first time meeting with faeries other than the ones here at the capital. He smiled at her and said, "Elves live and dress simply. You will need to pack only what you need for the journey to Faerie Forest. As for clothes, simply wear whatever you are most comfortable in. It can't be any worse than what Saabel wears, afterall."

She giggled at the thought of the flamboyant elf-turned-demon-turned-knight and ran off, calling over her shoulder, "Kay! I'll see you at dinnertime!"

Rune gave an exasperated but fond sigh and started off again to drop off the paperwork at his own office.

Cesia hummed lightly to herself as she arranged flowers in a large vase at the entrance to the dining room. She loved to work with her hands, be it cooking or cleaning or simple tasks like the one she was currently occupied with. Though she was now the Dragon Queen, she still tried to help out around the palace. When they would let her, that is.

She stepped back to admire her handiwork and then turned to see what else needed to be done. The maids were taking care of the table settings, with Delte overseeing them. Since Cernozura had left with the former Dragon Empress to the mountains, they had not been able to properly replace her. Currently, since her fortune-telling powers were not so necessary, Delte was stepping in as the castle's administrator. Cesia noticed her gently correcting a maid on the placement of silverware at one of the seats next to the head of the table—Thatz's seat, if she wasn't mistaken.

"This seat is special," she was telling the maid, a young girl with curly hair. "Ever since Sir Thatz lost his arm, we've been taking care to make sure his utensils are all on the right side." With a gentle smile, she moved a salad fork and placed it to the right and all the while, the girl was bowing and apologizing. She must have been a new maid.

"Delte certainly seems to go out of her way for Mr. Thatz these days, don't you think?"

Cesia jumped, startled, not having realized that the girl Pyore, who was currently working as one of the castle maids, had come up beside her. "Y-yes. Well. He has saved her several times now, hasn't he? I'm sure she's grateful."

Pyore giggled. "I think it's a bit more than just that."

Cesia's eyes widened and she looked back and forth between Delte and the young girl. "You don't mean—"

Pyore just smiled and put a finger to her lips before returning to her work.

Cesia glanced in the direction of the strawberry-blond fortune teller and tilted her head as she thought about it. Once upon a time, she had assumed that Kitchel and Thatz were together, but after witnessing the thief's obsessive stalking of the Black Dragon Officer, she had changed her mind. Delte was often preoccupied with her duties as the Dragon Castle's fortune teller, and due to his responsibilities as the Blue Dragon Officer, Thatz was traveling across Dusis more often than not, so it's not like they had many opportunities to see each other… But then again… Well, she would just wait and observe them for now.

The idea of her formal rival in fortune telling being in love with the former Earth Dragon Knight was unexpected and a little awkward. Thatz was like a brother to her. She couldn't say that she and Delte were the best of friends, but they got along considerably better than they used to. At least she wasn't meddling in Rath's affairs anymore. Cesia almost pouted when she recalled the memory of discovering that the card reader had done a reading for Rath when Cesia herself was unable to see him with her own fortune-telling powers.

But no matter. She looked towards a clock in the dining hall. Thatz and the ambassadors from Hermosa would be arriving soon and she had to go change into something more formal.

Another knock sounded against the door to the Dragon Lord's study, though this one was much softer than Rune's. Rath knew already who it would be.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened and Gil entered. He bowed. "Rune told me that you wished to speak to me about something?"

"Yeah, I did. Come sit down."

Gil did so, silently. Then he stared at the Dragon Lord patiently.

"Are you busy with anything here in Draqueen?"

"Not particularly."

"Anything you'd like to report?"

"No."

Rath chuckled. "You never change, do you? Always so quiet. And you had such an attitude when I first met you. Feel free to speak your mind. You can be angry at me or whatever. I know I deserve it. I did kill you afterall." He was quite straightforward. "And honestly I deal with violence better than silence."

Gil raised an eyebrow. "I'm not angry at you."

Rath's lips formed a smile but his eyes contradicted him. "Oh? Well, that's fine then. Eitherway, it's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I'd like you to do a job for me."

"Me? But I'm not currently a real dragon knight. With the fire dragon sealed, I wouldn't be of much use."

"It's no matter. You're still the best one for the job."

"Is that so?" he asked with a hint of curiosity.

"You're aware of all these ridiculous meetings we've been having with the representatives of different parts of the world? It's a pain, but Nadil's attack devastated more than just Draqueen. And as the Dragon Lord, it's my duty to extend my help to those who need it." He rolled his eyes. "Even if they don't want it."

Gil shifted in his seat, reminded of what an immature brat Rath could be, but deciding not to say anything.

Rath pulled out a map and his finger landed on various points. "We've received complaints from all over Dusis, made contact with Kuulta and Hermosa, and received a letter from Memphis…" his finger ran north. "But we have yet to make contact with Glaciosa." Rath glanced up to judge Gil's reaction. He wasn't a great reader of people the way Lykouleon was, but he did try. "You were born in Glaciosa, had family there. You would know the area best out of anyone in the Dragon Clan. Could I ask you to go and bring back a report of the situation?"

Gil was silent for a moment.

"You could check on Barl too. I'm sure he would be overjoyed to know that you are doing well."

Gil started. "But after what I did—"

"Even so." Rath sighed. "Believe me. I know better than anyone the value of family who loves you for who you are. Demon or not. It was something I denied for years and it was really pointless in the end." He smiled. "Cesia showed me that. I also know what it's like to not have proper closure. I think you need to go back as much as I need you to. What do you say?"

Gil's hands clenched into fists on his lap. "I…" He took a deep breath and looked up. "I'll—"

A fist pounding insistently on the study door interrupted him. "They're here!" Rune called. "My Lord, you must come out to greet the ambassadors now!"

"Ughh," Rath fell back in his chair with a groan. "I hate this part of the job." He pushed himself up with little enthusiasm, Gil standing as well. As the two former Knights of Fire walked to the door together, Rath turned to Gil. "If you'd like to think about it, you can give me your answer later. No rush! Well, not a huge rush, anyway." He grinned.

Gil had the impression that what Rath didn't want to rush was another meeting with foreign politicians. "No. I will go. I can leave tomorrow, if that's alright with you."

Rath nodded, serious again. They pushed open the door to where Rune was waiting and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Finally!" He grabbed Rath away and pulled the dark-haired lord down the hallway. "Come on, hurry up! Stand up straight! Oh, I can't believe you haven't changed into something more proper! But there's no time to change and—"

"I'll leave it to you Gil!" Rath called over his shoulder as he was dragged away.

The purple-haired man stared at the retreating forms of his superiors. It had been several months and he still was not accustomed to their antics.

"What is he leaving to you?"

Gil turned around. "Bierrez," he greeted.

The orange-haired Red Dragon Officer stepped out from behind a pillar.

"Were you eavesdropping?" Gil asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No. I simply happened to arrive just as he left. So what is it he wants you to do?"

"I am to travel to Glaciosa to inspect the damages from the demon attack and report back the country's status. Rath is worried since they are the only country we haven't heard from."

"Oh, so that brat can be responsible sometimes."

"Aren't you supposed to be greeting the ambassadors with the others?"

"No, my services aren't needed for such diplomatic relations." His tone was slightly sarcastic and Gil wasn't sure what he was implying by that statement. "Anyway, why isn't he sending Thatz? As officer of foreign affairs, wouldn't that be his job?"

"I was born in Glaciosa."

"Oh?" Bierrez blinked in realization. "Oh. You mean you… Is this okay with you? I mean, it's…" He trailed off, not sure what to say. Social skills had never been important before he became a part of the Dragon Clan. "Don't you have an older brother or something there?"

"Younger, actually. But it's fine. I had to face my demons someday." He smiled at the ironic wording. "How are you faring? Leader of the Dragon Officers."

Bierrez made a face. "Let's not talk about that. It's too ridiculously awkward."

"What? Why?"

"Oh, you know… I used to be their enemy. Now I'm their leader? Not to mention the fact that two of them are still much older and more experienced than I am. Ruwalk isn't so bad, but Tetheus is… so stern… It's like talking to a wall. Then add in the fact that Shydeman and Shyrendora were his siblings…" Bierrez shivered. "Let's just say I'm glad I'm not his enemy anymore. Then there's the other two. Rune is stubborn, but he does his job. Thatz is the troublemaker. That guy gives me such grief."

He had such a look of exasperation on his face that Gil couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Alright, we can change the subject."

"Fine with me, what shall we talk about?"

"How are you and Cesia getting along these days? Are you on better terms now?"

Bierrez's face took on a reddish hue and he looked away hurriedly. "Of all the questions! You just had to rub it in!"

This time Gil laughed openly.

Thatz held his tongue as he rode in the carriage and the group he was with belittled Draqueen in what was supposed to be disguised as small talk. At first they would compliment the city on this or that charming market or lovely architecture, but then there would always be a snide remark tossed in about how the dragon lord was too flashy or did the city have more than just nice appearances? Or was it true that beyond the main streets there would be nought but peasants and street kids living in poverty?

It normally wasn't easy to bother Thatz, but Draqueen was his city. It was where he grew up and he had been one of those "street kids," dammit! Sure, he'd never lived anywhere fancy when he was growing up and life had been hard at times, but he'd never considered himself poor and he most certainly never felt anything other than pride for Draqueen. He breathed a sigh as they finally entered the gates of the Dragon Palace.

Now he knew how Kaistern racked up those bills drinking liquor while away on his travels.

As they entered the Dragon Palace, the foul-speaking politicians had nothing more to say, rendered completely speechless. Thatz smirked. The Dragon Palace had that effect on people. It was the first thing to be restored by the Dragon Lord's magic once Rath returned from Kainaldia as the new Lord. And with a change of Lords, the castle also underwent a change of styles. If possible, it was even grander and more exquisite than before. Leave it to Rath and his flair for dramatics to subconsciously create the most elaborate palace possible.

They passed through sprawling gates and archways to go through the front gardens, which were meticulously kept by Cesia and the castle staff, along with the help of any visiting faeries, Rune included. A large set of stairs led up to the main entrance, a huge set of double doors made of oak. The outside of the palace showed a seeming labyrinth of balconies, walkways, and turrets leading to buildings and structures that were inevitably labyrinths within themselves. Rath always was more complex in his tastes than Lykouleon. Really, quite a snob, actually. Thatz had long memorized the layout of the castle, but he knew that some of the staff still got lost within the many halls.

Thatz stepped out and with a wave of his arm, motioned to the splendor before him. "Welcome to the Dragon Castle!" he exclaimed. More flowers had been placed at the entrance and Dragon Fighters lined the walkway, standing straight and tall in their uniforms. At the top of the stairs, Ruwalk and Rune stood on either side of the royal couple, Rath and Cesia, as they waited to greet the ambassadors.

The first, the tallest of the three, stepped out of the carriage and straightened his clothes nervously. The second was a stern-looking man with a mustache and comically thick eyebrows, and the last was the shortest and oldest of the three and had a long beard. The last man was the one that Thatz had picked out as the wisest and most logical of the three. He sensibly had not offered his opinions during the entire trip, whereas his companions had chattered incessantly.

Thatz bounded up the steps to where his friends were standing. At Rune's glare, he bowed for formality's sake and then turned to introduce the men from Hermosa. The three were polite and eyed Rath and Cesia with expressions that were difficult to interpret. None of the men had before met the new sovereigns. Lykouleon had ruled for some time, afterall the lifespan of a Dragon Clan member was considerably longer than that of a human's.

"So, you are the new Dragon Lord? Tell me boy, just how old are you?" asked the man with the mustache.

Rath's eye twitched and he forced a smile. "Yes, indeed I am. I am the late Dragon Lord's… son. My name is Rath." He smirked, "And despite my looks, I am in my thirties. How about you?"

Rune subtly elbowed Rath as the man sputtered.

"Thirties? You hardly look a day over twenty!"

His companion with a beard interrupted him. "Now, remember. The Dragon Clan ages differently from us. You can't judge a book by its cover, especially not here."

"I suppose it would be good to officially introduce all of us present," Ruwalk started. "My name is Ruwalk and I am the Secretary of State. I don't know if you'll remember me, but we have met before. I served under the previous Lord as well." He motioned to his right. "This is Rune, the Chief Secretary." Rune nodded in greeting. Then Ruwalk waved towards Thatz who had taken up a position on Rath's other side. "You already know our Officer of Foreign Affairs, Thatz. And of course here is our Dragon Lord Rath and Lady Cesia." Rath gave a deep nod and Cesia a small curtsy. The three ambassadors bowed and stated their names.

They entered. The sun had reached its noontime peak and already the table was set so that they could all enjoy a meal before getting to the serious negotiations. And that was perfectly fine with Thatz. His stomach rumbled, voicing its displeasure at not having been fed yet.

A feast was waiting for them. As the former Knight of Earth shoveled down plate after plate of food, the rest of the table got down to business in the form of… more small talk. He didn't bother to take part, but he did take notice.

Rune answered most of the difficult questions, deflecting a few of them to Ruwalk, and Rath and Cesia answered the simple questions in regards to courtesy. In return, the men answered questions regarding the state of their own country. It would seem that much was in order, not all of the country having been affected by the demons. It was apparently pulling itself together well enough and would not need support from Dragoon.

Lunch ended with little trouble and the dignitaries were taken to their accommodations and agreed to commence their meeting later that afternoon.

"Well, so far so good," Rune sighed.

"It doesn't look like the Dragon Clan will need to send any assistance to Hermosa. I'm relieved, that probably means that the other countries such as Hyuray and Memphis may also have suffered less," remarked Cesia.

"Don't be so sure." The group turned to look at Thatz. He was sipping a cup of tea and put it down on its saucer. "I took a look around while I was there. The main city of Fiori was being rebuilt, and all the wealthy people seem to be looking after their own, but I can't say the same for the lower classes. By the look of things, Fiori Forest was pretty damaged as well, and a lot of their resources come from there."

"I agree with Thatz," said Ruwalk. "This wouldn't be the first time that Hermosa hid the state of its internal affairs from the rest of the world. They don't like foreign assistance, no matter how badly they may need it."

"That's awful!" cried Cesia. "The whole point of ruling a country is to take care of its people!"

"What do you recommend, Thatz?" asked Rath.

"Winter is coming soon… The faeries will probably take care of the forest," he looked to Rune for confirmation, who nodded, then he continued, "But that will still take some time. Probably the most immediate problem would be provisions for the winter."

The young lord sighed. He thought for a moment. "They won't be short on wood, right? From all the damaged parts of the forest they'll have ample supply to burn. Tell Tetheus to gather a group of Dragon Fighters together, preferably ones able to use some fire magic, and we'll send them back to Hermosa with the diplomats."

Rune smiled. "Yes sir." As an afterthought, he turned to Thatz. "And don't forget to turn in your formal report from your trip! I'll be expecting it some time tonight!" He bowed and left, Ruwalk following behind.

That left Rath, Thatz, and Cesia reclining at the table. Thatz put his feet up and groaned. "God, I hate politics. And reports. Yeesh."

"You're telling me," Rath slumped down in his seat.

"So. Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Unfortunately, no. It has been peaceful but uneventful," said Cesia.

"It's been boooring. I want to go demon hunting!" Rath whined.

"Rath! You've got a responsibility as the dragon lord now! There aren't even that many demons around anymore."

"I know, it's so annoying," he muttered.

Thatz laughed. "Well, once they've been exterminated on Dusis, we could always start on Arinas."

"Arinas?" The couple glanced at each other after speaking at the same time, then looked at him questioningly.

"You mean you haven't heard of it either? It's a dead continent across the sea. No one lives there anymore. No one human anyway. It's completely overrun with demons."

Rath's immediately perked up, eyes glistening with excitement, and Cesia was quick to whack him in the head.

"The man who works at the bar in downtown Draqueen told me about it. He always has his ear to everything, you know?" Thatz laughed. "Anyway, it showed up on the map to the three treasures and Kitchel and I took a boat over there to find the entrance to the cave. It's pretty intense."

Rath stared at Cesia with what can only be described as puppy dog eyes.

"No, Rath. No way!" She crossed her arms over her chest to emphasize her refusal.

"Come on Cesia, it'll be like a second honeymoon…"

"What part of that is like a honeymoon?!"

"You and me, teaming up against a horde of demons in a foreign land… It'll be just like the good old days when we were traveling together!"

"Are you referring to the time when I kept getting cursed and you kept nearly killing me with your carelessness (and cooking)?"

Thatz laughed. He stood up. "I want to go out later, so I guess I'll leave you two alone and get started on that report for Rune." He stuck his tongue out. "Duty calls. I'll see you guys at the continuation of the meeting later today." With a wave of his hand, he was strolling off down the halls.

"Gosh," Cesia sighed and slumped over onto Rath's shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and she leaned in even more. "I can't wait until the world returns to normal and we aren't so busy."

"You don't have to attend all these meetings with me, it's not a part of your duties. Raseleane almost never took part in them."

"And leave you by yourself?" she scoffed. "I won't be that sort of queen, always sitting idle while there are matters to attend to. If anything, my duty is to be there for you and be there for our people. How am I supposed to do that if all I do is sit on my ass and sip tea or embroider or… or… other frivolous and pointless things like that." She pouted. "Besides, if I'm not there, who knows what sort of trouble you'd get yourself into."

Rath leaned down and kissed her. "Thank you."

She smiled and kissed him back. "For what?"

"For being here." He pulled her closer so he had better access to her mouth as he deepened the kiss. Her hands went up to run through his deep red locks of hair, making the unruly strands into even more of a mess. Moaning slightly as he moved down from her lips to the line of her jaw and towards her ear.

"R-Rath…" she whispered breathily. A dark blush had spread across her cheeks as one of his hands founds its way up her waist and over her chest. "Not… Not here…" She pushed him away and he backed off guiltily.

Displays of affection were still slightly awkward for the couple. Though they were married, they were more often than not seen teasing each other or bickering over small matters. It was only in private that they shared any intimate moments and it was because they were only ever physically affectionate in private that the moments were that much more special and they could still become so embarrassed.

Nonetheless, they cherished each other. Even after they pulled away, Cesia's hand sought Rath's, their fingers becoming entwined around each other. She smiled again, her blush still staining her cheeks, as they sat together in a comfortable silence.

More seriously, she glanced up at him. "Do you really want to go? To Arinas?" While both had acted as though they were hearing of it for the first time when Thatz spoke of it, neither could forget what was revealed by Nadil in Kainaldia. It was an unspoken yet unresolved issue.

Rath frowned. "Arinas is… I don't know. I have no memories of it. I know almost nothing about it aside from the usual rumors and what Thatz already told us. And that Arinas is where I came from and where Kharl still resides."

"Kharl? You mean the alchemist Kharl? The one who caused Crewger's death?"

"Yes, the same. The Renkin Wizard, the One-Winged Angel, he apparently goes by many names. He is a demon who was not allied with Nadil, and he has been after me for years. I don't know why. I'm not even sure I want to know why, but there's no doubt that it's connected to my past." His eyes were distant as he thought about his past. "He once tried to revive my demonic side. It was when I was very young. I had escaped from the Dragon Castle to go hunt demons and I met him in the mountains. If not for Kaistern then, I… I don't know what would have happened." He shuddered.

Cesia laid a reassuring hand over their already entwined hands. "Kaistern told me about that. He said that was when he met the Heaven's Star Princess."

"The Heaven's Star Princess?" He shot her a puzzled glance.

"That's right, I never really told you about her, did I? She's the one that gave me the wind staff. Her mother created the original wind staff, but that was destroyed by Nadil and so she had the replica created. I've tried to learn more about her, but I have no idea who she really is or where she came from. All I know is that if it weren't for her, you would be dead, and I would have broken my promise."

His brow furrowed. "Hmm…" A mysterious woman powerful enough to create the wind staff… and her daughter? He had never heard of anyone like that. Come to think of it, they had never looked into anything regarding the creation of the wind staff, only its current location. "Did you look in the Dragon Clan's library? Perhaps in some of the older records? We could ask Rune, he's sure to know. Studious as he is."

Cesia shook her head. "I already tried. Most of our records were lost or damaged when the castle was attacked."

"Dammit." He sighed.

Cesia smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it so much. We can leave it for later. Right now there are other matters to attend to." She kissed his cheek and stood up, gathering her dress so it would not trip her.

"I'll see you at dinner tonight."

He stood as well and stretched his arms over his head. Lately all he'd been doing was sitting at his desk or sitting through meetings. He decided to take his wife's advice and leave the heavier matters for later. Right now, it seemed to him a perfect opportunity to sneak out to the gardens before Rune could come drag him back to his office.

Meanwhile, a young woman was sneaking over the castle wall and landed quietly on a nearby tree branch. She re-adjusted the strap of the bag slung over her shoulder and giggled quietly to herself. She leaped down to duck behind some well-trimmed shrubbery and looked around at her surrounding area. Even though the landscape had changed a bit, it was still ridiculously easy to sneak into the Dragon Castle. As she approached the walls of the nearest building, she spied a balcony that was close enough to the ground that she could pull herself up onto it. She took another glance around to make sure there were no guards nearby, then she took a running leap…

A trio of Dragon Fighters were sitting on the ground outside on a balcony, playing a game of cards and keeping out of sight. They were off-duty at the moment, but that didn't mean their commander would go easy on them if he found them gambling. They were fairly new to the castle guard, recruits chosen to take the place of some of the honorable Fighters who had died during the siege on the palace.

But none of them were thinking of that at the moment. They were all in, with a pile of money and trinkets of value sitting in the middle of the three. It was a tense moment, since none of them wanted to lose. But suddenly, the tension was broken as a young woman came hurtling over the balcony ledge. Not expecting anyone to be on the other side, she tumbled head-first into the middle of their game.

The three stared in shock as she sat up and laughed nervously. "Eh heh… Hi! Mind if I join you?"

They soon were dragging her down the hallway as she kicked and screamed, putting up a huge fuss. "Lemme go! I told you guys already! I'm friends with the Dragon Lord and officers! I was just gonna surprise them, honest! I wasn't breaking in!" She paused. "Well, technically I was…" She shook her head and took up her screaming again. "But they don't mind, they're used to it! I swear, you guys are gonna regret treating me like this!"

"Yeah, yeah. Tell that to the commander." They pulled her into an office and pushed her down in a chair. One of them stepped forward. "Commander, we caught this intruder trying to sneak into the castle!"

The dark haired man was facing the window, back turned. He rubbed the bridge of his nose as his peace was interrupted. Turning around to deal with whatever it is, he caught sight of the intruder they had dragged in. Suddenly, he wished he had been required to attend that meeting with the diplomats.

"Tetheus!" the young woman shrieked as she launched herself at him and grabbed him in a hug. He closed his eyes and tried to maintain his composure.

However, the Dragon Fighters had become rather unnerved. For one, they were terrified that they really had just apprehended a guest rather than an intruder, and two, they had never seen anyone approach the Black Dragon Officer so boldly or in such a familiar manner.

"What brings you here… Kitchel?"

Author's Notes:

I started writing this as a continuation of Dragon Knights since the series kind of left us hanging on a lot of points. The stories I'm writing are entirely based off of my own ideas of what happened with certain characters. I try to be as accurate as possible, and if you ever want to know how I came up with my ideas, just ask and I'll try to reference stuff in the manga and explain my thoughts. I also hate OCs, so almost all the characters used will be characters created by Mineko Ohkami, the exceptions being characters like the diplomats in this chapter, who are fairly unimportant.

I am horrible at updating as anyone who's read my stories should already know, but ideally I would like to update once a month or so.

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, and I would be most pleased if you would leave a review!