AN: Let's keep this ball rolling.

I have noticed the discrepancies in the past. I will make sure to fix them. It should be as simple as saying 8 years passed in the first chapter. That will not only align the timelines with each other and there is plenty of time for the Dragons' relationships to blossom so I can focus more on the canine relationships.

A Prince's Tale

Chapter 4

Throne Room of Valika in the Castle

King Chief would have just finished reading the scrolls his son and friends read much earlier that day. It was night and the castle was slowly going to sleep. Not the King though. This information in the scrolls was nerve-racking as well as the latest scouting reports. The information that he has been presented shook the brave King to his core.

He was a fierce warrior and is hard to scare but the possibility of a war with three of the proclaimed seven dragon tribes of Pyrrhia being so high. The King was thinking of everything he had at the military's disposal. He has already had the healers put on standby and the Royal Guard on high alert for all shifts. They could be attacked at any time no matter the weather, time of day, or how prepared they may be.

At this point, the King needs to alert the entire military. All battle-worthy ironclad ships will need to be prepared, and all wooden ships stored. The king doesn't want to risk the destruction of flammable materials like the wood of most ships. Merchants will need to transition to a wartime economy. Blacksmiths will need to start producing more weapons of all kinds, especially the ones designed to take down dragons if that will work. If all else fails, gun powder-based weapons will be looked into more.

Queen Rose would come over to her lover's side. She would be concerned for her mate for he looked stressed and about to explode.

"Honey?" the Queen would quietly say, "Are you ok."

Chief would look up to his mate and let out a sigh, "I don't know. After the scrolls you gave me and the latest reports from the scouts have my skin itching. Those darn drakes will most likely attack any day now." Chief would start to become frustrated, "Why can't we have at least ten years of peace before we are thrown into a war against an enemy that definitely wants to kill us this time, while we are still in the rebuilding of this kingdom. We were peaceful up till the point of the civil war. From there I thought we would keep our contact with the mainland limited if none at all."

"Well, the humans on the mainland seem to know a bunch more about the dragons than we do," Rose tried to clarify.

"They don't actually. Somehow, our traders take from the dragons themselves. That is why we have such large scrolls. They are the scrolls the dragons made about themselves," Chief would only get more frustrated. "One of the mainlanders came and visited a while ago. They told us about the 'mountain dragons', 'desert dragons', etc. We know more about the kind of dragons we don't live among while they know little to basically nothing nor can they help in the slightest." Chief would be yelling at this point, "If the dragons of the mainland attack I can't say that many will survive on our side. We will be fighting for our lives at that point!"

Rose would only lower her ears in sadness and fear of her husband. Chief would notice his wife becoming scared of him. He would quiet down and nuzzle her. She would respond by hugging him with her neck. They would both relax a bit but Chief was starting to become tearful, "I'm just afraid our son might not ever get to grow up. I don't want to leave him in the dark either." Chief would pause for a moment and let the tears flow, "Rose darling, I'm going, to be honest, I'm scared. *gasp* I'm scared for the kingdom, for you, our son, his future. *gasp* What can I do? What can we do?"

Rose would just sit there in silence. Her husband was crying and didn't know what to do. He needs her to tell him it is all right but is it?

"All I can suggest is to prepare," The two would separate their hug and look into each other's eyes, "We must prepare every soul in this kingdom to fight. Have the entire island set to alert level one. Man the cannons day and night and start working on new weapons that can counter dragons. We survived one war, we can survive another," Rose would finish by giving Chief a little kiss on the cheek.

Chief would wipe his tears away and smile. He would take a deep breath and go back to sit on his throne to which Rose followed and sat on hers.

"Chamberlin!" Chief would call his servant.

A caucasian human would rush in wearing nice clothes and would hold his head, "Yes your majesty?"

"I want you to spread the news to all the Guardsmen of the kingdom as well as the military generals. I don't care if you have to wake them up. I want you to say to them that we are now at alert level one. They will know what to do from there," Chief ordered.

"Yes, your highness. I will do that right away," Chamberlin would say and immediately turn and exit the room.

Not long after Chamberlin left, more guards would instantly start to fill the throne room. They would position at all the pillars of the grand hall and would stand there like statues. All of them would be wearing lightning dragonsteel armor and armed with lightning dragonsteel weapons of many kinds.

Chief would be impressed by the guards' quick actions and exact placements from training. The guards would all get into their positions and as soon as they were set the Captain of the Royal Guard would enter along with the Generals of the Valika Military. When they got closer to the throne they would all take a knee and bow before the royals. Their helmets would be off and they would be clad in the armor of all kinds signifying what they command. They would have their helmets by their sides held up with their right arms.

"Your majesties. You have put us on alert level one. Martial law will take place and all troops of the military will be readied. Blacksmiths will be ordered to start production and testing of weapons during the coming days. We are here to confirm your orders," said the Captain of the Royal Guard who was in front of the rest. They would have said this while still on one knee bowing.

"Orders confirmed, Captain Rex. Prepare for war," Chief would confirm the orders, "All people who are able to fight must be trained in self-defense. If things go south, start conscripting. Prepare the creatures as well."

"Yes… your majesty," the Captain would say. They would all rise from their bow and put their helmets on. They would turn around and exit the throne room.

Chief would then look to his wife. A genuine smile would form on her face. This gesture would be contagious and the king would end up having a smile too. They would look at each other until Rose would look away and stare at what seemed to be at nothing, her smile fading.

Chief would grow concerned, "What's wrong?"

Rose would then have a look of horror as she looked back to her husband, "Our son!?"

Chief would drop and sit there processing what she just said. Then, like a battle-ax, it would hit him. Chief would bolt out of the throne room to his dragon. Six guards would join him as the rest remained at the throne room with Rose.

As Chief runs through the halls of the castle he would start giving orders to the guards to lock down the main city. They would only reply either with a nod or "Yes my Lord."

Klondike would be ready to leave as soon as his master arrived. The other Lightning dragons of the Royal Guards would have also awakened from Klondike's roar when he heard his master shouted his name not far off.

Soon enough the King would arrive in the dragon stables and immediately arm himself and rush off to Norwich on the back of his loyal dragon.

Earlier that Day in Norwich

Everest would be looking at the prince in fear, confusion, and outright shock. She was a hybrid living in a not-so-hybrid-friendly town even though it was a historic town from the civil war. A town that was minorly damaged, unlike the others.

She has never seen the prince in person. She has seen the King and Queen but that was because her parents were the town masters of Norwich. She has heard of the prince from so many other girls that have seen him. They have said that he was so handsome, royal, kind, and polite. So far the handsome and royal parts were very true.

"Are you ok?" the hybrid prince would say kindly as the guards around him looked down at the husky-wolf mix.

Everest would think to herself as she looked at the price. After a second she would respond to his question with a nod, "Y-yes. I'm fine. Thank you, your highness."

"How long have they been chasing you young lady?" one of the guards asked.

She would have a look of fear and nervousness on her face "Ab-bout every chance they get. They will try to beat me, chase me, and if they catch up they've said they would rape and then kill me."

The prince would immediately snap his fingers as two guards turn and run back to what Everest assumes where they left the freaks. As they left the prince would come closer to Everest. She would hang her head low and ears back as she slowly backed up in fear.

In one of the most calming voices, Everest has ever heard the prince would speak again, "Hey, it's ok. We're not going to hurt you," the prince said as he stopped getting closer. Everest would stop backing up and listen to the prince, "You can call me Chase. Can I lend a paw and help you? I want to check and make sure you are not hurt."

Everest would think for a second, "E-Everest. What can you do to help me?"

"That is a fair question Everest," Chase said as he started to list, "I can get you back to town with an escort, keep the criminals away from you, and check you for injuries."

Everest would have backed up to a rock wall; she trapped herself. The prince would see that she was becoming uneasy, "It's ok. It's ok. I want to help you, please, let me help you."

Everest would only just look at him in fear at this point. Chase would slowly and surely get closer. The two guards would get uneasy but Chase would hold them back with a wave of his paw. As he got closer to Everest, she started to shiver in fear. Seeing this, Chase would act quickly and get close enough to put a gentle paw on her shoulder.

Taking slow movements to get his body closer to hers he would get close enough to comfort her. The future leader of the Kingdom was trying to comfort a commoner, in the perspective of most. At this moment, Everest forgot who he was. All she sees is him right now as a friendly hybrid like her comforting her. Chase would hug Everest with his forelegs wrapping around her. In Valika, this is a sign of friendship between wolves. Dogs and humans have their other ways but wolves hug when they don't know each other and in the form of comradery or friendship when it is to a stranger. To Everest, the Prince of Valika was no stranger but to Chase, Everest is just another hybrid like himself. One who has struggled to live with the constant threat of being beaten and potentially murdered just for being different and a hybrid. Something neither of them could control.

Chase let go of a now relaxed Everest and looked to her with caring eyes, "I want all my citizens to live without fear from their fellow citizens. The ones who were chasing you will be punished in due time with trials. Now, can you allow me to look you over for injuries?"

Everest looked back at the prince only to nod slowly. Her mind was confused by how she was getting attention from the prince, "Oh my moons, the other females of the kingdom are going to want to kill me if anyone hears about this."

The prince would look her over, being polite and asking to touch every single area. Some he rightfully stayed away from. He would check her legs, her neck, head, tail, back, and stomach. He would have found scars and bruises under her fur from past beatings from the anti-hybrids.

After he was finished he would say, "Well, I can tell there are no recent wounds but I've seen some past scars and old bruises that look to have healed nicely," Chase would conclude. He would then change his look and look back into her eyes, "Have you reported this abuse before? To the guards? Your parents? Anyone?

Everest would look down in shame. She knew the answer and she wouldn't want to lie to the future king, "No," she whispered so quietly that Chase couldn't hear it that well.

"What?" Chase heard the 'n' sound but not the whole word. He hoped it was different.

"No," the husky said with more volume, "I've never reported it."

The prince and guards didn't want to get that answer, "Why?" the prince would ask.

"Because…" Everest would still have her head down in shame and tears would start to form, "Because they said if I did they would kill me. I *sniffle* was sacred, alone. I didn't know what to do. *sniffle* My parents would always ask when I came home scuffed up. I *sniffle* I would lie to protect them and myself."

Chase couldn't say a word after what the young female husky-wolf hybrid said to him. The canines and humans who have done such egregious things to her. It not only made him sad but also extremely angry. The anti-hybrid movement needs to be halted before incents start dying just for who they are. Forget their rights if they do such horrible things to hybrids who are then too afraid to come out and say their side.

XXX

It was getting dark and the guards would thank themselves for bringing a torch and flint in steel to light them. The warm heat and light of the torches would melt some of the snow just a bit but the temperature was dropping and dropping quickly.

"Your majesty, we must get going. It is getting extremely cold," the lead guard would inform the prince.

Chase would nod to the guard and look back to Everest who broke down crying in his chest just moments before. He would have comforted her and she would have leaned into him several times not caring who he was. Now, she has calmed down a bit but still quietly sobbing while Chase would rub her back with his paw. She would then start to shiver from the cold and in an act of selflessness and kindness, Chase would take off his royal coat and drape her in his coat that was made from only the finest leather and wool.

"Let's go back to town," he would calmly say to her. She nodded in agreement, "Would you like for one of my guards carried you?" Chase would ask, doing anything he can to help her. Again she would nod and Chase would nod to the lead guard. They would then give their torch to the other guard and proceed to pick up Everest who was still in Chase's royal coat.

"Who are your parents?" Chase would ask.

"They are the town masters. We live in a big house in the middle of town. Avalanche is my father," Everest would say in a shivering tone. Chase would nod and try to adjust his coat on her. The guard would have to bend down every time.

They would slowly make their way back to town with Chase checking on Everest every few feet and adjusting his coat on her to keep her warm in this quickly dropping temperature.

When they got back to town, guards would be running everywhere. Bolsitas, cannons, catapults, ammunition, and several other weapons designed to take down dragons, would be taken out of storage buildings and set along the famous Norwich cliff that dropped 247 feet down to the frigid ocean. Chase would notice not only the Norwich guards but would also notice the Valika military soldiers as well. He would look for the highest ranking. While doing so he would look to the guards behind him, "You are still under me. Come with me."

"Yes sir," they would respond.

Chase would look for the highest-ranking Valika soldier he could find. The lower-ranking stopped and got out of the way of the prince and his escort.

After looking for at least an officer, Chase would finally find a captain and go up to him. They would be wearing ice dragonsteel armor meaning they were part of the Ice Dragon Division.

"You there, halt!" Chase would order.

The captain would look at the prince and immediately bow, "Your majesty, what seems to be the problem?"

"I want to know what is going on," Chase demanded.

They would nod and say, "Your father has ordered alert level one. He anticipates an attack from the mainland any day now. He wants us to be prepared. He has ordered all coastal towns to be armed and ready as well as the capital on full lockdown and producing war materials. We are ordered to fire the new star shells for the cannons during the night to light up the sky and possibly get a heads up of where the dragons could be."

After the captain explained everything he would notice Everest in the arms of the Prince's guards. He designated not to ask because it wasn't his business, "One more thing Prince Chase. I believe your father is on his way to pick you up and get you back to the castle."

"Thank you, captain. Get back to what you were doing," Chase thanked while the captain nodded and got back to work. The prince would turn to his guards and right before he was about to say something, he heard the roar of a lightning dragon. He knew that roar and knew which dragon it was. It was Klondike.

In this chaotic place, the King would land his dragon and everyone would stop what they were doing. The king would look on at all his subjects and soldiers preparing for the worst. He finally looked down to see his son and the two guards with him. He dismounted Klondike and went over to his son.

"Father!" Chase would shout.

"Chase!" Chief would hug his son as he got to him, "We need to go. Now!"

"But father, I need to find Avalanche!" Chase protested as he broke the hug.

"He will come later to the castle. Right now I need you to come home right now. It is not safe," Chief insisted.

Chase would point a paw to Everest, "This is his daughter, Everest. She was chased out of town earlier by anti-hybrids. She needs a safe place too."

Hearing that Everest was the town master's daughter made Chief start to think. Being the critical thinker he is, he would make his split decision right then and there, "Bring her," he would say to his son. He then pointed to one of the lieutenants that Chase didn't see earlier, "You. Go tell the town master and his wife that I am taking their daughter to the capital upon my son's request. Have them leave as soon as possible."

"Yes your majesty," they would say and run off to Avalanche's home.

While that was being said Chase had the guards load Everest onto Klondike's back along with him. The king would soon join them and without a word, would have Klondike take off and head straight to the castle.