The walk there was actually quite pleasant minus the fact that it was absolutely freezing outside. I exhaled in my hands and rubbed them together, trying to keep them warm as much as I could as we walked through the silent and still city. I knew better than to lose myself in the magic of the carvings around me; we had a dragon to get rid of and an entire Kingdom of Elves to save (or try to anyways). We were both shivering when we got to the heart of the city and I tried to take my coat off, but Peasley refused to let it come off my shoulders. Actually, I couldn't take it off my shoulders; the snow was so bad that it had frozen the buttonholes and the entire coat was a frozen block on my shoulders. Peasley has his traveling cloak over his coat, and the hood was drawn up to protect his head and hair from the cruel winds. My hair, however, was a block and my earmuffs were frozen to my head. Thankfully, we weren't walking into the wind or it would have been a different story all together.

We soon got to the entrance of the volcano and once we stepped in, it was slightly warmer than it was outside; not much warmer, but better than what we just came from. Eventually I could get my earmuffs off my head and I slowly removed them as I heard the ice crack on Peasley's hood as he pushed it back. We stayed where we were until the ice had melted so we could take off our coats. As we were waiting, I took the time to examine the small designs on the walls and ceiling. They told stories of the Goddess that lived in the Mountains. Peasley walked up to the wall and gently traced his hand across the inscriptions. Torches were lined across the walls, casting the Prince in a golden flickering light as he examined each symbol and shape in deep interest.

I let my mind wander to not the symbols in front of me but strong bond Sileas and Owen shared. It seemed like we had known each other for a lifetime when in reality it was only a few minutes. Watching Sileas comfort Owen brought a smile to my face as well as a flicker of pain through me; they knew that, because of their races, they couldn't be together. The fact that both are male isn't the problem at all. Sileas had to stay to support his family as well as his people and Owen, well, he's a Prince; he has his own things to take care of. But that didn't stop them from seeing one another; that didn't stop their hearts from longing for each other's company or strong arms to hold them at the first embrace. That connection they shared was one that I had shared with someone a long ago. We shared dreams and memories while making our own; we were inseparable. If that storm never happened…

"Fiamo?" Peasley broke my train of thought. I blinked a few times and looked at him. "Is something amiss?"

"Huh? Oh, no; my mind just traveled." I answered softly.

He sat down next to me. "Care to tell me where it went; we have to wait for our coats to dry. We might as well do something while we wait."

He held my hand and I rested my head on his shoulder. "I was just thinking about Owen and Sileas."

Peasley nodded. "They have a pretty amazing relationship."

"So do we."

"...you've lost me."

"I mean, think about it. You're a Prince and I am a pirate; by those standards alone we're enemies. Yet… we passed those barriers and discovered things that we thought never existed. I never thought I would see myself in a relationship that would last over two years." I felt tears sting my eyes. "All the ones I have been in have either ended in heartbreak or I was too frightened to end it."

"…how many were you in?"

"Four counting this one; I just fear that this will just become another number like the other two. I don't count the last one I was in when I say that." I took a shaky breath. "My first one ended because he left me. I was sailing and he found another guy."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not upset; he's happy now. Has a family now."

"Good for him. Did you talk about the split?"

"When I got back he explained it to me. He felt guilty about it, but I responded that I was happy that he found someone who loved him just as much as I did and would be there for him since I was always gone. I got to meet his partner; very nice fellow."

"What about the second one? That is if you want to explain to me."

"If certain things didn't happen, we would still be together." Peasley stayed silent, unsure of how to respond. "Elijah…"

The pain returned to me and I sat up, staring at the carvings again. I closed my eyes and I could see him again; his smile and his eyes and how no matter what happened to him his hair always looked nice. I felt Peasley wrap his arms around me and rest the side of my face on his chest. I opened my eyes and the sadness that filled his face concerned me.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to say anything." I whispered. "I'll just keep silent; it is best if I move on."

"If telling me will help you I'll listen." Peasley responded pulling me into his lap again when I tried to move away. "Sometimes, all you need is someone to listen to your story."

He held me against his chest. I couldn't close my eyes without seeing his face. I took a few minutes to calm down as much as I could and Peasley silently rocked me back and forth as he hummed to me softly. I let his voice carry me away from the pain and I closed my eyes, imagining each location as Peasley hummed quietly. Once the song ended, he kissed my forehead but kept the motion going.

"He was a member of the Teacup. He was part of the little family we made: Brian, myself, Samuel, Marcus and Eli. It was the five of us helping one another get through our hard times. As I had said earlier, we all had our own goals. Eli wanted to find his family. An accident that happened to him a few years ago caused him to be separated from them. He knew they were alive; he just didn't know where they were living. As the time we spent together increased, I grew to like him. He always told me that he would talk to me if I wasn't comfortable talking to anyone else, so I told him everything. I told him about my Dad's death, my silly dreams, why I wanted to save my Mom…everything I could think of. He was that person I could talk to and know that my secret was safe.

"One day, he said that he needed to talk to me. I remember it very well: it was a clear night and we were both up in the Crow's Nest; this was before Brian joined the crew. I had told him about my first relationship, how it ended and how I felt alone. He rested his hand on mine and told me that I was never alone; that he would be there for me when I needed it most. I caught that he was meaning more than just company, so I asked him about it. I remember what he told me…I remember it so well…"

I took a shaky breath, trying not to cry again. Peasley held me closer, silently telling me to go on. I felt hot tears burn my face, and he kissed the top of my head. It took me a few minutes before I could muster the strength to tell him what happened.

"Eli was kind to me. He looked in my eyes and said, 'If you're still injured, I'll help heal you. I won't take your heart if you aren't willing to give it. We've both been through a lot; we provide happiness to one another and hope that our dreams will come true. One day, that little house will be ours, and I will make you forget the pain of your past. We can find my family and they will love you just as much as I do. They'll see that golden heart in you and that great smile and your contagious laugh, Fiamo. You made your way into my dream, and I will wait as long as it takes to make sure you are a part of it'."

I felt Peasley smile. "He sounded like a good guy."

"He was; he truly loved me like you do, Peasley. He saw me for me and loved that. We couldn't do a lot together because of work. He became a part of my dream in his own shy, beautiful way." I stopped, and Peasley looked at me in concern. "…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to lose myself in memories."

Peasley shook his head. "I'm happy that you had a chance to find happiness; it makes me grateful that you haven't been tortured all your life. I love hearing you talk about him; there is a certain light that fills your eyes when you talk about him. I hope that that light is there when you talk about me with someone."

"I'm sure there is."

He chuckled. "I know that I can't be as amazing as Eli was, but I can be as amazing as Peasley can be."

"I didn't want to compare him to you."

"You're not and neither am I. But…you talk so fondly of him. Why did he leave you?"

I looked away. "…he died." I felt the horror fill Peasley as the pain returned to me. "It was a terrible storm; we were all working to close the sails. Eli was sent to put the cannons away with Samuel and Brian. Marcus and I were busy fighting with the sails and trying not to slip and fall off the Crow's Nest. A giant wave crashed into the side of the ship and it took Eli away. He was too concerned for Brian and Samuel that he lost his balance and fell. I didn't see it; Brian and the others told me after the storm had died down. Our dream…it was taken by the sea. I never saw him again. The…" I felt the pressure in my face as I fought the tears, "The last thing he told me was that – that I was strong and that nothing could stop him from loving me…Eli…my Elijah..."

I couldn't muster the strength to say anymore. I clenched my jaw as hard as I could to not cry out loud; all I wanted was to be with him again. Peasley stood me up and held me as tight as he could. I couldn't contain the pain anymore; I had lost one of the greatest things in my life…and I could never get it back. I finally started crying softly, and he just held me silently with a strong hold. Slowly I wrapped my arms around Peasley and rested my head on his shoulder. We stayed like that fro a few minutes before I lifted my head. When I stopped shuddering; Peasley stepped back but kept his hands on my shoulders. He gently cupped my face and dried my tears. He ran his fingers through my hair slowly and I felt a smile form on my lips. He wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed me slowly. It was short and I automatically rested my hands on his waist, pulling him closer to me in an embrace.

"Think of it this way, Fi." He whispered. "He's happy now that you are not with Phillip and that you are with a man who loves you for the very same reasons he did. Was it your eyes that got his attention?"

"He said it was my laugh."

"I can see why." He kissed my nose. "Feel better?"

"I mean, I guess."

He backed up a little bit so he could look at me. "You sure? If you need a moment, I can go on ahead."

"That's a bad idea. Once I get moving and thinking about something else I'll be okay." I smiled. "Promise."

"Sileas reminded you of Eli, didn't he?" After a moment of hesitation, I nodded. "Well, we have to do this then; if we don't rid of the dragon and restore the volcano, Sileas will freeze and Owen will be alone. You know that pain…and I know it now because I just watched you recall the memory of the one you lost. I don't want to ever see that pain again; not from you or from anyone else. If there is no other reason to go through with this daring task, do it for them."

I nodded again, determination replacing the loneliness that was in my heart. "Let's do this."

We held each other for a few seconds before we parted and gathered our coats (that were now dry). We slowly made our way through the entrance tunnel and found ourselves staring face-to-face at a cavern that used to be filled with molten rock. It was no longer there, but the heat still lingered. I took his hand and we walked through the cave in silence, trying not to give away our location. Many traps were scattered through just this one hallway, and I pulled out Angelica and aimed an arrow towards the ceiling. Peasley stopped and waited as I let the arrow fly. It sliced though a thin rope and the floor a few feet away from us propelled to the ceiling, smashing itself against it. I didn't move and Peasley flinched. I withdrew another arrow and told him to duck. He did, and I released the arrow and it cut another rope. The ceiling above us fell, but the floor trap prevented it from hitting us. I knelt down and waited as both pieces of stone returned to their original state. One silent look between us and Peasley knew to run. We both sprinted through the floor/ceiling traps and the floor got set off again. I dove off the edge, rolling on the ground as I landed and turned in time to catch the Prince. He thanked me silently as he helped me stand.

"Good reason a treasure hunter came with you." I said as I dusted myself off. "Not only is he beautiful but he knows the ins and outs of most any trap."

"It seems his old sassy self is returning as well." Peasley answered mimicking my tone.

"Damn straight."

He laughed as we continued. After he had calmed down, he stayed silent and did what I told him; he knew that his life was on the line and didn't want to put himself (or me) at risk. He didn't try to help me solve the puzzles and traps unless I asked him and he would stay put when told. In a way, he became my pet. But he only did it because he didn't want anyone to get hurt. I'm sure if I had abused this power I had suddenly gotten he would retaliate. Once in a while he would ask me why I wanted him to stay behind me or duck. I always had an answer and he would nod, thanking me for the explanation. He never did react negatively to my demands unless it was a scowl or a simple 'no'. He kept his voice calm and controlled when he gave reasons of his own; they were genuine reasons as well. He would point out other traps that might react if I let a certain one off or ask if there was another way to go about doing it.

For the most part, we worked very well as a team. I never used my good arrows to set off traps; the good ones were for battle. No use wasting them to cut a single rope or break a vase. At one point, he pulled me back and pointed at a pressure point on the floor that I had missed. If there were any jumps we needed to cover, I always went first. Most of my strength is in my arms, but I have done a lot of jumping and bounding in my time that some of the longer jumps I could handle. Usually, Peasley would clear the jumps as well, but there was one where he fell a bit short and he latched onto the ledge. I pulled him up and he thanked me silently again as he dusted himself off and hissed in pain. I looked at him in worry, but he reassured me that he was fine; that it would just be a bruise.

I don't know how long we were dodging traps and pitfalls. I could have gone to the back of the cavern and returned to the entrance with ease, but I saw Peasley's tired eyes and decided to stop. I looked around to make sure that there were no traps around us and I told him that we could stop for a meal and rest. He started to rebel, but he saw my soft concerning gaze and nodded instead. I pulled out some of our food supplies and a sleeping bag. He soon joined me and he stretched out on the sleeping mat. I removed his cape and undid the clasp that kept his sword on his side. I set them next to him and told him to rest; that I would keep watch as he slept. He thanked me but he never fell asleep. He tried, but he explained his nerves were in knots. He rested on his back and stared at the ceiling while talking to me about the alliance that we had a chance at getting. He was thinking of different things Beanbean could offer the Elven Kingdom, but couldn't seem to think of "that one thing" that he knew the Elves would want. Their history and culture is rich and they have amazing artistic talents that Peasley knew would do very well in Beanbean. We relaxed for a few hours until I got too restless and started exploring the area around us. I examined the wall again, and I noticed that the carvings weren't just carvings… there was something smeared on them. It was a darker color than the stone and it wasn't even at all.

"We need to move." I spoke.

Peasley heard my tone, and he stood up and did as he was told without asking my motive. We quickly gathered our things and continued on. I was pulling him by his wrist, and the only thing he did was ask me to loosen my grip because I was hurting him. Other than that he was silent. He picked up the pace and was walking next to me. I let him go but told him to keep up. He nodded and I pulled out Angelica and an arrow again. I was watching the shadows, looking for something that could give away what was within the darkness. It took some time, but I saw the faint sparkle of yellow and without a second thought, I fired off.

The arrow hit the target, and the entire room erupted into a bloody scream of pain as both Peasley and I used our full stride. The dragon's cry filled the cavern and his footsteps caused parts of the ceiling to crumble. We got out of the hall and came upon a fairly large room. There was a small pool of lava there, but nothing worth writing home about. Peasley went on the left side and I went on the right as the giant grey beast exploded through the entrance, exhaling a blast of blue flames in both of our directions. The heat was horrible as I dodged the wave of blue fire and shot off another arrow. It hit the target, but it feebly bounced off of its tough scales. He looked at me with his yellow eye and swung his head in my direction, letting out a deafening screech in my general area. The sound almost shattered my eardrums and I almost lost my balance. He slowly pulled his head back and Peasley made a decent cut into its tail, preventing the fire to not hit me and bathe the wall next to me in blue molten temperature flames. He spun around quickly and Peasley dodged his claws as he made another slash into his scales. I fired off another set of arrows and pulled out my dagger as the dragon snapped his teeth at Peasley. He whipped his head around and came after me. I quickly dodged a swipe and made another small cut in his foot. His teeth snapped at me and it caught my shoe.

I was sent flying into the air as he tossed me up and opened his mouth wide, intending to swallow me whole. Peasley dragged his blade down the dragon's tail and he turned to him and screeched at the Prince. I landed on the back of the dragon and he launched me into the wall with one of his massive wings. I hit the ground, but stood back up. I cringed in pain as I got my balance. Just as I did, the dragon caught Peasley with his tail, and the Prince was sent flying into me, both of us crashing into the wall in the process. He propelled himself off of me, but I grabbed his wrist before he went to attack.

"The dragon's too strong!" I screamed over a bloodthirsty roar. "We need to retreat!"

"We can't!" he responded as we dodged another wave of flames. "The Elves need us!"

"We can fight later; we're too weak! We don't have a snowballs chance in hell surviving this! We need to go now!"

Knowing that I was unfortunately right, he nodded and put his sword away. We continued to dodge the oncoming attacks until we got to the exit of the room. Before I said anything, Peasley turned on his heal and ran. I deflected an attack before turning and following him. I put my weapons away and soon caught up with him. The dragon screamed and it started pursuing us in rage. The ground vibrated at every footstep and Peasley grabbed my wrist, pulling me to the right. We took a sharp turn and dodged rocks and lava pits as we tried anything we could to avoid getting eaten. We made another turn just in time to avoid getting roasted alive. I felt the heat on the back of my neck and feared that my shirt had caught on fire. Not feeling a burn of any sort, I continued being dragged by Peasley. I managed to stay up with him but he was the one maneuvering the maze as fast as he could.

He turned left and we hit a dead end. Fear shot through him and I plastered us against a small nook. The dragon thundered to us, screaming in rage at the tunnel we had escaped in. It reached its bloody claws towards us, and the only thing we could do is pray that it wasn't able to grab us. I pulled Peasley behind me and pinned him between me and the wall as the dragon reached for us again. It felt like we were a pair of mice and the dragon was a giant, scaly cat. I pulled my dagger out slowly and rammed it into one of its fingers. A sound of pain and rage filled the terror filled area as he pulled his hand back, taking the dagger with it.

It was silent for a few seconds, and Peasley took my wrist and dragged me deeper into the tunnel. As soon as we darted, we could hear the sound of a wave of flames coming at us. We both used our full strides and Peasley pulled us into a smaller hall as the flames cascaded over the area we just came from. Only small licks of the blue fire came to where we were, but we were far enough back that it couldn't touch us; we could feel the heat, though. I watched as the flames slowly died and finally relaxed, feeling the pain burn in me. I was exhausted and gasping for air; but it was all hot and it felt like I was suffocating. I turned slightly and Peasley was trying to relax as well; he looked miserable and scared. I held his hands, telling him that we were safe. The dragon's cry echoed off the walls a few feet away from us, and it told us that he had given up trying to get to us and went back to the chamber with the small pool of lava in it.

"What do we do now?" Peasley asked defeated. "We can't get back because the only way out is blocked by the dragon. You lost your dagger and only have a few good arrows left; we can't disarm any more traps or you won't be able to fight."

"One thing at a time," I cut him off. "In order to get out, we need to rid of the dragon. There has to be something we can use; this is a sacred Temple after all."

He nodded. "Is there any way that we can rest first; I feel like I am going to drop."

I knew that the only thing that was keeping the Prince awake was the fear of getting eaten or burning to death. I held him for a few seconds, and he held me back before we parted. Slowly I took Angelica and an arrow out and checked to see if the path was safe. We fell into the same routine as we did last time; Peasley followed me silently as I disarmed any traps that we almost ran into. Once in a while he would let out a soft yawn and at one point he asked me to stop. He never asked me to carry him; he knew that I was under a lot of physical and mental stress just trying to keep my head clear and my eyes open for traps.

We came into a grand hall that was covered in carvings. There were torches that lined the walls and some that were on pillars and stands. The tunnel we came from was smaller compared to the ones we had been traveling and the area was relatively quiet, so that told me that this was a safe place to rest. In the middle of the room was an elevated platform with a great statue of a woman holding flames…well, she was; the flames were gone now. I guessed it was the Goddess, Mirda, and looked at it in interest. I didn't dare touch it for fear of setting off something. Peasley was leaning against one of the pillars, taking advantage of the small break. He opened his eyes and saw me coming towards him, so he pushed himself off the wall and fought to keep them open. He started nodding off and I laughed lightly.

"Would you like to rest for the night?" I asked softly. He nodded. "Well, stay standing for a bit longer; I can set up a small camp."

He nodded again and leaned against the pillar and yawned softly as I pulled out the sleeping equipment as well as some food supplies. I handed him the flask of water and some bread, and he thanked me. Once I had gotten everything set up, I took his cape off and removed the sword. He stretched out on the sleeping mat I had made and asked me to sleep as well and that the dragon couldn't get us here. I knew he was right, so I stretched out beside him on my own mat and the wave of pain and drowsiness hit me at once. Peasley gently rested his hand on mine, and I smiled softly as I closed my eyes, falling asleep.

"Fiamo?" Peasley asked before I could.

"Mm…?" I sighed softly.

"…you were very brave."

"So were you. Get some sleep; we both need it."

"I love you."

"Love you, too."