Haliya let out a soft sigh, slipping her clean apron on over her brown dress. Tying her long, dark hair back in a lose pony tail she set to work, kneading the bread which was to be a loaf for the family to eat. She looked up out of the window as she pushed the bread onto the counter, out at the docks and the wide open sea. She watched the seagulls fly over the fishing boats that were near the coastline, she flew some plain white flour onto the dough and pushed down hard on it putting all her strength into the kneading. There was a sound at the door as her mother stepped into the house, her arms full with bags of meat and vegetables. Haliya turned around, caught sight of her mother and walked over to help her, taking two of the bags her mother was holding. "Thank you Haliya..." said her mother, setting the bags onto the kitchen table, looking out of the window as Haliya had just before. The sun had began to set, the curfew would begin in at least an hour, there were people rushing around the docks, getting their boats into dock as quickly as possible so they would not go past curfew. Haliya put the shopping away before dealing with her bread, putting it into the oven once kneaded and shaped to perfection. Washing her hands and equipment used for her bread making.

Haliya sighed, watching the bright colours of the sky reflect off the shimmering, calm sea. She daydreamed of the days of dragons, she had always heard the old stories of her grandfather being a dragon rider. Or Shur'tugal as it was named in the Ancient Language. Her father had taught her very few words of the language so she taught herself, she was still very slow in the pronunciation. She could not wait for her sparring session in the morning, at early sunrise, when the sky was still a light blue, pink and purple colour. She knew that women's positions, in men's eyes, were in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning. So Haliya would put her hair up, steal some of her brother's clothes and pretend to be a boy. She wanted to learn to fight, she had not wielded a sword, but she aimed to in the future. She was not afraid of a fight and had as much strength and agility as a warrior would, if not better. She was not afraid of a fight. Haliya turned the second she heard her mother call her name. She turned and walked inside, shutting the door and the blinds. The soldiers would be there any second…

There were bangs and shouts outside as Haliya sat, sowing next to the fire. She was as always very tempted to look outside but again as always she resisted the temptation. Her mother, father and brother were out, they had gained permission to go out to their friends for dinner, leaving Haliya at home alone. There was a sudden bang on the door, and shouts of "Open up!" Haliya looked confused, getting up she set her sowing down on the chair and opened the wooden door to see 5 soldiers stood in the doorway. "There has been tips off that this family is harbouring a fugitive. We have received orders to search this place of residence."

Haliya looked shocked, but knew she should not disobey soldiers of the Empire, "Of course sir…" She stepped back slowly as the men barged into the house, turning the table over, rummaging through the boxes all around the house. Thundering up the stairs to the 3 rooms up there, banging and crashing around. Haliya stood in the hall, looking up at the ceiling, her hands held in front of her in silence. It was several minutes of rumbling of boots on the wooden floor before the soldiers walked down the stairs with an 'all clear' verdict. Haliya nodded slightly as the men stomped out of the house. Quietly she shut the door and walked back into the kitchen to her sowing. Unexpectedly there was a soft 'phump' noise that came from behind her. Haliya span around to see a 16/17 year old looking boy stood with a bulge under his arm. The boy pulled his hood down, revealing a thick head of wavy blonde hair and piercing light blue eyes, his skin was pale, his eyes slightly slanted, but the most obvious feature were his ears they were pointed. "He's an elf…" Haliya thought to herself as the boy pressed his two first fingers to his lips and spoke in the Ancient Language, "Atra esterní ono thelduin" Haliya rummaged through her knowledge in her mind for her reply. Immediately she remembered it and replied "Mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr" the elf smiled and gave the final reply, "Un du evarínya ono varda"

"Isn't it I who should start that? You are much more important than I." Haliya sad the boy, "May I inquire your name?" she asked. "My name is Izemic, I am an elf, and I found this dragon egg on my travels."

"Dragon… egg?"

"Yes…" The elf opened his cloak and took out the bulge which was under his arm. The bulge was a massive purple object.

The object had strange swirl patterns engraved all over it and Haliya knew in an instant it was a dragon egg. "Why are you here..?" Haliya asked the elf, her head shifted to look up into the sapphire eyes of Izemic. She didn't realise how beautiful and handsome he was until that very moment. His deep eyes were mesmerising, she lost herself for a brief moment in the beauty of his eyes. His striking voice broke her thoughts in two. "I am here to seek refuge, I apologise for my intrusion, I only request a bed for the night and a meal, tomorrow I shall not pry on your hospitality no longer, I promise you." The elf alleged. Haliya looked to the ground, her brother's room was free, but how could she explain to her parents why a strange elf was in their home. "I really would love to help…" Haliya walked up to him, setting her hand on the dragon egg, tracing her finger over the engraved marks, "Alright, You may stay here for the night … are you able to disguise yourself as human? My mother and father would be dumbfounded if they found an elf in their house." A smile broke across Izemic's face, "Of course I can" he replied. Haliya took Izemic up to her brother's room, showing him where the bathroom was before she stepped downstairs to get chop up some vegetables for stew. She knew that elves were vegetarians so she left the meat out. It was several minutes before Haliya heard footsteps padding down the steps and Izemic emerged, wearing a clean tunic and trousers. He looked human, his ears rounded, his eyes no longer slanted but Haliya could still see his physical beauty. It was hard for her to concentrate on the stew as he sat down and read a book. Serving out a bowl for each of them she set them on the table and sat down, Izemic sat next to her, picking up a spoon and eating slowly, taking in the taste. Haliya watched him occasionally, a miniature smile on her face thinking joyfully "I have a Vinr Älfakyn!"