Dragonia
By Dixxy
Prologue
"Lucky, my paws hurt! Where are we going?"
"Relax, Mel, I have everything under control!"
"You'd better, because these woods are creepy!"
Lucky laughed, looking behind him at his companion. "Melody, nothing in these woods are going to hurt you! We're dragons, and no wolf or bear is going to be stupid enough to try and attack us, you hear me? We're both perfectly safe!" He perched himself on a branch, smiling as his girlfriend sat beside him. The two dragons sat quietly, Lucky looking out at something expectantly.
The two dragons had been close friends ever since they were hatchlings. Neither knew who their parents were and from that they had bonded, turning to each other for everything from the happiest news to the scariest windstorm. On the coldest nights the two would cuddle up together, Lucky using his wings to shield Melody from the cold. They would hunt for nuts and berries together, storing them in a hollowed out tree trunk that they had dubbed their home.
Lucky was a rather ambitious and adventurous Night Wind dragon with wild blue fur and mischievous eyes. The small dragon loved the night and often stayed up late to look at the stars and the moon high in the Dragonian sky. He cared for Melody very deeply and was very protective of her. The idea of harm coming to his sweetheart was something he didn't like to think about.
Melody was something of Lucky's opposite. She wasn't nearly as outgoing and was a cross-breed between a Morning Wind and a Southern Song. Unlike her beau, she preferred to watch the sunrise and liked to listen to the traveling bards who stopped in the small towns and villages of the world they lived in. Sometimes she got upset with Lucky for being so overprotective, but she loved him anyways.
Still, she was a little confused. "Lucky. . . what are you looking for?"
"Shh!" he said. "Look."
Melody looked to where Lucky was looking and gasped. "Are those. . . unicorns?" Sure enough, as the two dragons watched in stunned silence, a beautiful white unicorn was leading two smaller, golden unicorns through the woods. Melody gasped in amazement as their shiny coats glistened the in the beams of sunlight that escaped through the cover of the leaves above. "Lucky, how did you know about them?"
Lucky grinned. "I saw the mother with her young a few days ago. I though you might want to see them for yourself," he said. He laughed happily. "Unicorns are so rare now a days. Remember how Colby and Dragon Lord Alexander used to tell us about them and how it's considered good luck for a human to even see a unicorn?"
"Yeah. . . do you think they hide from humans on purpose?" asked Melody.
"Oh sure!" said Lucky. "If someone caught a unicorn, they'd put the poor soul on display in some zoo and charge a fee. That's not the way unicorns should be treated- they're beautiful, graceful, and dignified creatures, even when they're young. Would you rather see these three here out in the woods or through metal bars with people staring and pointing at them?"
"Of course not! That sounds awful!" said Melody, looking from her boyfriend to the unicorns. "Why would someone be so cruel to do such a thing, though, Lucky? They must be happier out here in nature, don't you think? Look at those babies- see how happy they are playing tug-of-war with that twig?"
"Some humans are greedy," said Lucky. He sighed. "Don't worry- I don't think our Dragon Tamers will be greedy humans. I'm sure they're brave, valiant fighters who know the difference between right and wrong and do their best to protect the people and creatures of this world!"
Melody sighed. "I don't know, Lucky, shouldn't we have found them by now?"
Lucky frowned. "Well. . . I'm sure they're out there, somewhere."
"Maybe they're from another world," said Melody.
"Hmm?" said Lucky. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you know that some Dragon Tamers aren't from this world- maybe that's why we haven't found them yet," said Melody brightly. "But don't worry- they could come here some day, right? And it'll be great! The four of us can travel around Dragonia and fight monsters and Egg Eaters and maybe even take the Dragon Knight or Maiden tests!"
"Yeah, right!" said Lucky. "As fun as that sounds, the Dragon Knight test is really dangerous and you know that! Thirty men will enter a Dragon Knight test and only about five make it- the rest quit, fail, or die trying. I don't think the Dragon Maiden test is much safer, to be honest with you. The two of us and our Tamers could be killed, and I don't want that to happen, Melody. Not unless something happens that forces us to do something like that."
"I guess you're right," said Melody. She opened her mouth to say something, then picked one of her ears up, an inquisitive look on her face. She turned to her companion with a worried look on her face. "Lucky? Did, did you hear something?" Lucky shook his head. "Something's not right."
"Look! The unicorns are running away!" said Lucky. Sure enough, the mother unicorn had begun to whiny at her two young, encouraging them to drop their twigs. With a the elegant grace and dignity that all unicorns had, they began to run deeper into the woods, the muscles under their beautiful fur rippling as they moved in haste.
Melody's eyes widened in fear as they heard the sound of some rather unpleasant sounding humans in the distance. "Someone's coming, and they don't sound very nice. Come on, let's get out of here before something bad happens!" With that, the two Dragons jumped off the tree branch and started to fly out of the forest, their wings beating madly behind them as they made their journey.
Lucky flew as fast as his wings could take him, seeing an opening in the tree line up ahead. "Come on, Melody! I see an opening! We're almost out of here and home free!" he called out. He straightened his body, locking his arms and legs at his side and he shot through the opening and out into the open air.
Hovering several feet above the ground, Lucky laughed. He and Melody were out of danger. He sighed happily. "That was a close one, huh Melody? I just hope that those unicorns we saw got away, too," he said. Lucky looked up at the sky. "But I'm sure that they're all right. They are unicorns, after all, and unicorns are really good at avoiding humans that they don't like. I don't think those humans we saw are going to get them, right, Melody?"
No answer.
"Melody?" he asked, turning behind him. Melody wasn't there. "Melody!"