Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

~Romans 12:2

(~)

The search party scouted the entire outer region of the kingdom of Katolis. The aggressive rain was coming down hard, thunder roared overhead and flashes of light nearly blinded them. Their leader, General Amaya and her second-in-command, Commander Gren, regrouped with the rest of their search party.

"No sign of anything, General," Gren said while signing with his hands.

Reports of a winged beast had been sighted earlier that day, so naturally, Amaya rallied her best men to scout the area for any evidence of the creature. Details were minimal, all they had to go on was that it was of unusual size and had large bat-like wings. This was enough to get Amaya to investigate. Things had been relatively peaceful these past ten years, and Amaya was determined to keep it that way.

The guards searched for hours, leaving no stone unturned. Yet, they found nothing out of the ordinary. That is until a sound came from inside the forest. Amaya felt her horse's alarm and turned to Gren who signed, 'There was a noise. That way.' He pointed.

Amaya signaled to her troops to follow the source of the sound. The group entered the forest stopping near a small hill where trails of mud trickled downwards to the ground, forming a brown colored pool filled with broken twigs and crumpled leaves.

In the center of the mud puddle laid a black figure. Amaya dismounted her horse and cautiously approached the unknown form, one hand hovered over the hilt of her sword. In the darkness she could make out two legs, two arms and a head covered in a black hood. When the lightning flashed again Amaya caught a clear image of the shape. It was that of a young woman, no older than fifteen from the looks of it. Amaya relaxed her tense muscles and kneeled beside the girl, noticing the way her back rose and lowered with every breath.

"She's alive," Amaya signed, 'Fall out. We have to get this girl to the castle.' Gren translated her message to the rest of the guards. They obeyed her order and Amaya lifted the girl up from the soaking wet ground. She felt the child shiver in her grasp and her eyes softened with sympathy as she gently mounted her onto her steed.

(~)

"Die, marshmallow monster!" Prince Callum said in a high pitch voice, watching his volume to make sure he wouldn't wake up his younger brother. Ezran was sound asleep in his bed, clenching tightly to his glow toad friend Bait, who's body was emanating a gentle glow as the little prince slept. Normally Ezran didn't need a nightlight but tonight it seemed as though the creatures of the sky were either having a party or were feeling particularly moody tonight. Stormy nights often made Ezran uneasy, so Bait made sure to keep his human companion as relaxed as possible.

The two brothers, technically, shared a bedroom but it was divided by a single door on the wall. On one side was Ezran's space and the other was Callum's. Callum was occupying himself by drawing a silly dream he had one night. A ferocious dragon defeating an evil monster made out of marshmallow. It was random, to say the least, but it was fun and he was sure Ezran would think so.

Thunder roared into the night causing Ezran to jump up in alarm. "Callum, did you hear that?" the young prince hugged Bait a little too tight that it made the glow toad turn green as a result.

"It was just thunder, Ezran. Don't be scared."

"I wasn't scared. Bait was scared." Ezran exclaimed as he curled back into bed with Bait now returning to his normal yellow color. Callum looked down at his detailed drawing, placed his pencil down and got up from his chair to try and ease his little brother's worries. They heard another sound coming from Callum's window, only this time it wasn't thunder. but this time it wasn't thunder.

Both brothers hurried to investigate. They spotted their aunt Amaya and the rest of the castle guard approaching the castle. Amaya was carrying an unknown girl in her arms. The girl was wrapped in Amaya's cape for warmth. Her hood had fallen off, revealing a full head of platinum blond hair that stood out in the darkness.

"What's going on?" Ezran asked. "Who is that?"

"I don't know," Callum replied as they watch the guards take the girl into the palace. Ezran had already sprung towards the door, eager to investigate. "Ezran!" Callum groaned and ran after him.

(~)

King Harrow was in his study looking over some documents when his royal advisor, Lord Viren, entered the room. "Your Majesty, General Amaya, and the troops have returned."

"Empty-handed, I hope," Harrow said, his brows furrowed with worry. He was aware of the reports and was the one who sent Amaya to investigate if whether or not the rumors were true or misconceptions. He had been praying all day for the latter to come true.

"Not... exactly," Viren replied with unease.

(~)

Harrow was relieved to hear that they did not find a beast after all, but what his sister-in-law did find was just as unexpected. Ezran was the first to run into the throne room right after Amaya and the others did. Callum, out of breath, finally caught up to him.

"Ezran, slow down!"

"Dad, what happened?" Ezran asked, trying to get a closer look at the girl in Amaya's arms. Callum gently pulled Ezran back.

The girl's head was nestled against Amaya's armored chest plate, one arm limply on her side while the other rested on her stomach. Her face was stained with dried up mud and her hair, though still very luminescent in the right light, was flat and wet.

"We found this girl unconscious out in the woods," Gren explained.

"Was she alone?" Harrow asked, eyeing the girl with genuine concern.

"I'm afraid so, Your Majesty. She appears to have hit her head."

Harrow carefully inspected the girl, not wanting to startle her. He gently felt the back of her head, his fingers brushing against the nasty bump. "Take her to the healing quarters. Bring her cloths and hot stew."

"Yes, King Harrow." Gren bowed and Amaya nodded. Callum and Ezran watched on as Amaya took the mysterious girl away.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ezran asked innocently.

"Don't worry, she'll be alright." King Harrow assured him, "She just needs some rest."

"Who was she?" Callum asked, more so to himself than to anyone else. Why would some random girl be out in the woods in this weather? What could have happened to her?

"I don't know." Harrow said, "We'll find out in the morning. Right now, you boys try and get some sleep, alright."

Callum took Ezran out of the throne room, leaving Harrow with Lord Viren. The mage narrowed his eyes in worry. "Your Majesty, perhaps we should send another search party, just to be safe."

"At ease, Viren."

"But what if what happened to that poor girl wasn't a mere accident?"

"We don't know the full story."

"Which is why we can't be too careful."

"General Amaya and her troops have been scouting the area all day. I think we are safe for the time being. But, if it will ease your stress, I shall send another search party early in the morning just to be safe."

Viren sighed. "Very well, King Harrow." He bowed and exited the throne room, his thoughts still on the mysterious girl. Why was she out in weather like this? Was she lost and or running away from someone? Or... running from something? Viren retreated to his own study and started rummaging through his ancient spell books from his mahogany shelf. He flipped through the pages all through the night, illuminated by the light of the lantern above his head.

(~)

I know I said I would post this after Rewrite the Stars was concluded, but with everything that's going on I really wanted to do something to cheer you guys up. I don't know if this will do the job but here you go.

Now, in case you couldn't tell by the tittle, this is an AU loosely adapting elements from both the series and the DragonHeart film franchise. In case you haven't seen any of the films I highly recommend you watch the 1996 film, not only because it's the first but because it's the best out of the whole bunch! And where most of this story will be inspired by.

I hope you like it. Stay safe, God bless, *kiss, kiss*