Serena walked through the trees silently, her white cloak flooding after her. She could hear the sound of sot footsteps behind her.

Ever since she had become a Rider, which was aproximately 6 days ago, she'd had to make some adjustments to what she wore and how she acted. That included wearing fingerless gloves on both hands. If anybody asked about them, she would simply tell them it made holding the reins easier and more efficient. As for how she acted.. She made sure that she only went in town if she absolutely needed it, and when she did go, she stayed away from everybody.

She lengthened her stride as she peered over her shoulder. It was a habit of doing so. She always looked behind her, because she knew that there were people looking for her. Still. She remembered when she had stayed in Carvahall for a week. Even though it was a large distance from Dras Leona, there had still been rewards hung up for any information on her.
It was only her two followers, the dragon and Menoa.

Even though she had had the white dragon for only a few days, the creature was now half the size of Menoa. Not only had it gained in height, but she had lengthened and thinned out. Serena had seen many paintings of large, powerful dragons. Her dragon hardly matched those. It was so much thinner and taller than it should be at this age. Serena had first thought that she wasn't feeding it enough, but she soon learned that the dragon was simply just a rather thin creature.

Serena had also began calling the dragon 'Alyss'. It seemed to fit the small creature. Serena had also learned that the dragon couldn't speak through voice, but through mind. The dragon knew words, but very few. So the creature instead showed images to describe things.

After much struggling, Serena also found that the dragon was indeed a female.

Serena sighed softly as a warm breeze pushed through her brunette waves. Her blue eyes looked through the treetops brightly as they emerged into a clearing. She stopped and crouched beside Alyss. Gently, she took Alyss's chin in her hand. Serena had first been intimidated by the dragon, but now, she was family. Just like Menoa.

"I promised I would let you fly, and it's time now." She said as she stood and brushed her hands off on her tights. "Stay low, near the trees." She said, motioning to the trees surrounding them. Serena hadn't allowed Alyss much freedom. It wasn't that she was ashamed of being a Rider.. But she didn't want to be plucked from her home and shipped off to Vroengard. From what she knew, Nasauda knew of every Rider that was sent to Vroengard. It wouldn't be more than a heartbeat before Nasauda was ordering her way into getting Serena to return to her.

Serena took a step back, giving Alyss room. She smiled warmly as the white dragon unfurled her wings, crouched, then sprang into the air. Her long, powerful wings beat only twice for her to rise just over the tree tops. After a second of getting used to the feel of the wind and climate above the treetops, Alyss shot away.

Serena followed Alyss at a sprint. Her long legs stretched out with every stride, sending her flying forward. She kept her eyes trained on Alyss, only looking down every now and then to avoid crashing into any trees. She watched the dragon- her dragon, in amazement. She knew dragons were fast, but Alyss seemed impossibly fast. After a few minutes of following the dragon, Serena was forced to slow to a walk. Her chest rose and fell as she continued to follow her dragon at a much slower pace.

It was truly an amazing sight, seeing a young dragon fly like that. Serena's attention was so focused on Alyss, she hardly noticed Menoa trotting at her side. Serena's boot caught in a root, causing her to tumble forward. She let out a small yelp when she landed hard on her side, but the yelp was followed by laughter. Alyss landed beside her not a heartbeat later.

Serena could feel the excitement coming like waves off of the dragon's mind. Alyss had made small soars from tree to tree, but Serena hadn't quite trusted her to know how to avoid being seen by other eyes. So, Seri hadn't really allowed Alyss much freedom.

Now Serena's life was all a secret. She ran away from riches and wealth to find her father, which never happened. She stole for the homeless people on the street. She stole Menoa from her owners. And now, she was a dragon Rider. Serena rolled onto her back and stared absently through the treetops.

Serena grunted in both pain and surprise when Menoa layed her head on Serena's stomach. Serena gently thumbed the Bengal's ear as her eyes moved to the trees at her side. The bush rustled.

Within half a second, Serena was at her feet and drawing two swords at her sides. Serena preferred these swords over the two-handed swords. They were both slightly shorter than typical swords, but also twice as deadly. Without even looking at Alyss, the dragon knew to get out of the area. The dragon took a few steps out of the view of the bush and took off. Leaving Menoa and Serena on their own.

A figure stepped out of the bush. The person was female, and had curly brown hair. Her eyes were an odd grey-blue. After her stepped out the werecat, Solembum. Serena gaped at the person.

"A-Angela..?" She murmured, keeping her hands on the helm of the sword, giving no sign in lowering the weapons. Beside her, Menoa let out a low growl.

"Lower your weapons, child." Angela said as she strode to the girl.

Serena did as she was told and lowered the weapons, but kept them at hand. She shifted her stance so her leg brushed against Menoa's flank.. "Shh.." Serena murmured softly as she eyed Angela suspiciously. "What are you doing here? I thought you had things to take care of for Nasauda in Dras Leona."

Angela stopped a few feet in front of Serena. "I do. This is my quest for right now." Serena looked at the Witch with confused eyes. Soon enough, realization came over her. Angela was searching for her. Nasauda still hadn't given up.

Serena cleared her throat. "I'm not going with you, if that's what you think."

Angela smiled. As a child, Serena had always been frightened by the Witch's smile. She had heard stories about how crazy this lady was at times. "Young Seri.." She paused to look over the young Rider. "You have grown much since you left years ago. You're stronger; more stubborn. Tell me- Have you yet found your dear father, Murtagh?"

Serena's eyes flickered at the mention of her father. As far as she knew, the older Rider had no knowledge concerning he had not one, but two children with Nasauda. Serena had gone out to find him, but he was never found. She had given up after two years of searching. She shrugged absently.

Angela this time frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. You were quite.. Poised on finding him." She said, nodding briefly. "Now, why do you have any reason of worrying your mother anymore? She's thought about you everyday, and your brother's changed a lot after you left. It's hard for her knowing that there's a chance that there's a chance you might still be alive."

Serena shifted her stance, preparing the words in her head. "It seems selfish, but I was never looked at like I would have wished. I was looked at as the petite Princess of Alagaesia. Nasauda didn't understand. She was one of them. She didn't want anything to happen to her precious daughter." She pushed her swords into their sheaths. "Yet, my brother had more freedom than anybody I've ever known. He could wander Alagaesia and everybody would hardly give him a second thought. If I took a single step out of the gates of Dras Leona, I had guards reporting to Nasauda from everywhere." She said darkly.

"It wasn't fair. And no matter how many times I told Nasauda, she would simply ignore me and tell me to get ready for supper." Serena said, breathing hard from raising her voice and talking so fast. "I was so sick and tired of the gowns worth more than a typical farmer would make in a lifetime. I was tired of being expected to be the perfect little Princess that I am not!"

Serena placed her hands on the back of her head and circled the area, calming herself. Angela said nothing, just watched her. When Serena said nothing more, Angela finally spoke.

"Serena.. I myself don't know where you are coming from, but from the sounds of it, Nasauda should know. Ajihad wouldn't allow Nasauda the freedom the young lady of the Varden longed for, and to her, it was far from fair." Angela said, and raised a finger. "Though, you must know, your mother means well. She loves you, Seri, and simply doesn't want anything to happen to you."

Serena slumped against a tree, and Menoa layed down so half her body was on Serena's legs, straddling them. Serena just stared blankly through the trees.

"Would it do harm for you to at least notify Nasauda that you're alive? She's half-dead every day because she lost her child."

Serena glared at Angela. "Fine. You tell her I am alive and well. Tell her I am having the time of my life, and that there is nobody keeping my freedom in a box anymore. Tell her.." She paused to gain her thoughts, "I don't want to be found."

At that, Angela's eyes darkened the slightest. "I will pass the message on." She said, and turned. "Good luck, young Seri. Make sure you keep that your dragon of yours away from any humans. The second they see a dragon, they'll be all over you and the hatchling." She said and walked away.

Serena watched her leave and stood, having Menoa stand at her side. A moment after Angela left, Alyss returned. The two creatures looked up at her innocently.

"What?" She asked, even though she knew they wouldn't really understand.

But Alyss did.

Why did you do that?

Serena looked at the dragon in surprise. "Because I don't wish to return to my old life."

So. Nas would want to see you.

Serena just shook her head and walked away, back to her cottage.


Celyn rose out of the saddle when Vrang landed. He landed lightly beside the silver dragon, and looked at the wide eyes and gawking mouths surrounding him and the other two Riders. Some of them even stepped forward, trying to get a closer view of the dragons. They all ran off, though, when Vrang took a step towards them.

Celyn chuckled softly. Well that wasn't nice.

Since when was I nice to humans? I love attention, but humans seem to stalk every dragon they see.

Hey, I'm still human.

Yeah, but that's different. You're my Rider. You have to follow me around.

Celyn scoffed playfully, and pushed his shoulder against his silver dragon. Linnea and Derrington strode up to him, keeping a good foot or two between them.

"We might as well look around here. We should split up, and see if we find any clues regarding the mysterious dragon and Rider." Derrington said, stretching his stiff back as he did so.

Celyn shifted next to Vrang. "Vrang and I will take the Spine." He said, and before they could disagree, he mounted the dragon.

Only another few seconds was taken to figure out whom was taking which town. Linnea was taking Therinsford, and Derrington was taking Carvahall. They were all going to meet up in Therinsford before night.

With that, Vrang took off. With a sharp turn, they entered the Spine. Vrang flew low so they could see down into the trees, but he couldn't go any lower than the tree tops, in fear of clipping his wings on one of the trees.

Vrang landed in a clearing. You search on the ground. I'll keep to the sky.

Celyn gave a small wave in farewell and began walking quickly through the trees. He kept his eyes peeled for any signs of the dragon, or any recent footsteps. Even though the war was over, people still hardly went into the Spine. Urgals still raided this area.

An hour of searching went by. Celyn hadn't found anything regarding a dragon or human lived in the area. Suddenly, and unusual print caught his eye. He had seen multiple deer and rabbit tracks, but this was much larger than that.

He crouched beside the print. He ran his finger along the dip in which the creature had made. It obviously wasn't a smaller animal, based off the size of the print and how deep it was. It was massive, bigger than Celyn's hand, even when his fingers were spread out. It resembled a house cat print. But much, much larger.

Celyn looked around the surrounding area for more tracks. There. Two pairs of boots had walked over this area over the last few days. Celyn looked around some more. His eyes widened at the sight. There were a few dents in the ground, just a few meters away from where he had found the other prints. These were what dragons made when they took off. A small smile gripped his face. There was definitely a dragon and Rider in the area.

Suddenly, Celyn spun around at the sound of heavy footsteps. He drew his sword, but it was to late. The figure had crashed into him. A fowl smell clogged his senses, and it took all he had not to gag. Urgals.

With a single hand, the Urgal pinned his hands down at his sides. The Rider struggled greatly, fighting to get free. But the Urgal's weight was heavy. The urgal used his free hand to pull out his dagger.

Celyn screamed at Vrang with his mind and writhed under the weight of the Urgal. But Vrang wasn't fast enough, and Celyn wasn't big enough. There were few Riders his age that could be of any match to a Urgal.

Celyn met the cruel eyes of the Urgal as he lowered the dagger close to his throat.

Suddenly, the weight of the Urgal was relieved off of him. He scrambled away, bringing himself to his feet, snatching his sword. But.. There was already a person dueling the Urgal.

It was a young girl with long, wavy brunette hair. She was slightly taller than the average female, and with a thin, petite build. He gawked at her in surprise.

She placed her hands on the Urgals horns and wrapped her legs around the stomach of the Urgal as the fowl creature stood. The Urgal lashed out blindly, but the girl obviously knew that she was safe from his blows. He could see the muscles in her legs tighten, showing that she was squeezing the air out of the Urgal. The Urgal's lashes became sharper and more desperate.

The girl unwrapped her legs from the Urgal's stomach and kicked off. In midair, she flipped easily to land on her feet. She landed out in a crouch and drew out two swords. She smiled devilishly at the Urgal as he lunged forward. Not bothering to stand, the girl sidestepped and used the flat of her sword to whack at the Urgal's knees. The legs of the creature buckled from beneath him, sending him crashing to the ground.

The girl stood and pushed her boot onto the chest of the urgal and pointed the tip of her right sword at the Urgal's exposed throat. The Urgal's eyes widened, and he made no movements.

"Should I kill you, like you almost killed him?" The girl made a motion in Celyn's direction. Celyn froze. Her voice was angelic and smooth, confident and hypnotizing. The Urgal shook his head fiercly. With that, she stepped off him and allowed him to get up. As soon as he was up, the Urgal ran off.

The girl slowly turned, and Celyn's breath caught at the sight of her eyes. They were mesmerizing. They were an electric blue with darker blue flecks. He had never seen anything more beautiful.

She was all dressed in white, with a white cloak draped across her shoulders and white, fingerless leather gloves. A thin, white band was across her forehead and ending at the back of her head.

"You know, it isn't smart to walk around the Spine without a companion." She said, placing a hand on her hip as she slid her swords into her sheath.

Celyn's mouth opened to say something. He took a deep breath and shrugged. "I'm looking for a Rider and a dragon.. Have you seen anything suspicious?" He asked, pushing past the subject of how he had failed at defeating an Urgal. And a simple girl had done it for him.

The girl didn't say anything, just smiled and tilted her head. "I'm afraid I havn't." She said, and shifted her stance. "Though, I do suggest you go check out the Varden's old place. I've heard something's over there." She said with a small shrug. "That's probably your best guess." She took a step toward him. "What do you know of this Rider and Dragon?"

"Very little. Our carriers lost the egg while trying to get to Du Welvarden, and were unable to find it." He shrugged. "Which most likely means it hatched."