Authors notes: This is just a very big thankyou to everyone who has been reviewing so kindly, you guys are my heros, keep reading! J

Loss of Breath.

Lauthal walked around the giant sleeping dragon, eyeing it up. It opened an eye and blinked at her lazily, apparently not considering the small imp a big enough threat, or a big enough meal, to be bothered with.

Well, the imp Empress thought, one of those was about to change.

She waved a hand and suddenly a large crowd of petrified soldiers roared forward, tossing a vast long chain net across the creature. It reared up angrily to bat the annoying pests away and sending a soldier or two flying into the cave wall. Another group of soldiers immediately darted towards the chain, adding their own strength to the group trying to hold the huge monster down and the oldest dragon that ever lived spurted fire in its rage, toasting the men in front of it. They ran shrieking from the chains, screaming and rolling across the floor to put out the fire.

Lauthal simply stood by calmly and watched the debacle.

"Please," she encouraged the creature in amusement as it was slowly dragged down to the floor, "do that again." The dragon snarled and snorted a puff of smoke. Lauthal uncrossed her arms and stepped towards the now subdued dragon that eyed her furiously.

"No really," she continued confidently, "go on. Open your mouth... blow fire… Give me the dragon's breath." The last line was said darkly, evilly. Lauthal leered across the creature. In her mind, it had put up a pitiful fight. She hadn't expected this to be so easy. Actually, she'd fancied sacrificing a few more men before she won. The dragon glared and Lauthal s soldiers attached the edges of the great chain net to large metal pegs that they'd been hammering into the ground around it.

The whole thing was magically imbued, of course. Now that she had the creature, Lauthal was not about to let it get away.

"Leave us!" she barked to her idiot soldiers, who had completed their task. She'd envisaged her acceptance of the powerful dragon's breath as an intimate activity. Just her, and the ancient animal she would slay to get it. The soldiers gratefully fled the cave, and likely the entire mountaintop, though Raelis hesitated before leaving, once he'd received a glare from his mistress.

Once they had gone, Lauthal ran a hand across the snout of the creature, stroking it and the dragon shook its nose violently to dislodge the offending palm. Lauthal looked temporarily offended, then leaned in eye to eye with the beast.

"I'd much rather do this the hard way anyway," she confessed to it, with a smile. Lauthal reached a hand beneath the dragon's chin to lift it, but at that moment there was a loud yell from the cave entrance. She turned to see six figures standing in the entrance, only two of which she recognised. Her sister, and the idiot bard that played at that pitiful tavern. Of the other four stood an elf with raised bow, an oversized dwarf holding his battleaxe ready, a human male with his sword out and a female human mage looking angry and defiant. Which was about all a human mage was good for.

Lauthal realised she must have been right regarding her soldiers. They had fled the mountaintop, else these fools would not have been able to get so close to her. No one moved.

"If you think you're going to save the beast, you're too late," Lauthal bluffed slightly. Then, before anyone else could react, she jerked the dragon's head up roughly and sliced a large knife across its neck violently. The dragon immediately roared in pain and reared up, accidentally making it difficult to target the evil Empress in the process. One of the metal pegs holding it to the floor popped up and the creature sprouted flame at the ceiling again.

It was enough for Lauthal who, using the powers she had acquired as Empress, began channeling the power of the dragon's breath from the dying creature, a look of exhilaration on her face.

Norda finally managed to target the imp, but her arrow simply flew right through Lauthal as she grew in strength and power. Elwood and Ridley began to dart forward towards the Empress, but were forced backwards by the desperate flailing of the huge dragon.

"Do something!" Marina shrieked, and raised her hands frantically to send a small fireball careering towards Lauthal. She was shone in light now, her hair dancing as though alive.

The fireball smashed into her, knocking her back temporarily and disconcerting the imp. Angrily, she raised her own hands and reciprocated the event. This time a large, angry, vicious fireball raged its way towards the human mage. Marina open her mouth to exclaim and at the same time Ridley shouted loudly, recognising the danger the mage was in. But the flame was too fast to react to and it smashed into Marina, sending her flying backwards, crashing violently into the wall behind her and sliding to the ground painfully.

"No!" Ridley cried, racing towards the fallen Marina and leaning over her in shock. Her eyes were closed and her breathing ragged, as though she were taking her dying breaths. He shook her desperately; he couldn't lose another friend, not now, not Marina! He cared about her so much. Her should have told her more often but since they'd got here, they'd just been so busy and... he should have told her more often.

Behind him, the great dragon was falling to the ground, sounding its own dying cries and moans. It landed with a thump and Lauthal smiled as she absorbed the last of the dragon's breath. It tingled threw her blood and across her skin deliciously. Slowly she opened her eyes, seeing the world in a new light. Lauthal's pupils flashed golden, then faded back to their usual blue. She smiled, and knew she was all-powerful.

"No," Ridley echoed when Marina would not respond, this time more angrily. Raising himself, he turned to face Lauthal, an angry fire blazing in his eyes. Lifting his sword, he charged at Lauthal, bringing his sword within an inch of her face.

Lauthal looked at him in surprise, a hand raised, holding the sword away from her with her power. A bead of sweat ran down her face with the effort and she wondered in shock how a mere human was able to be so powerful against her, now that she had the dragon's breath.

With a final desperate push, she used her power to throw him away from her. Ridley landed with a thump a few metres away from Marina and the others who were gathered around the mage.

"You are different," Lauthal said strangely, speaking of Ridley, her eyes glinting wildly in the dying light. She looked thoughtful, "I must ponder this." Then, before the rising Ridley could attack her again, she blinked away, leaving the cave behind.

Ridley stalked furiously over towards the empty place where Lauthal had once been. His anger and pain were greater than words.

"Ridley..."

He would hunt down that vile creature that dared call itself an Empress .

"Ridley..."

And slaughter it in a thousand different ways, a thousand times over.

"Ridley!"

Finally he turned to face the person who'd been calling his name. It was Jereez, who was leaning over Marina from behind the mage's head.

"I think I can help her," the imp told Ridley gently, when she finally got his attention. Immediately he stepped towards her, calming, and bent down towards Marina, watching her for any signs of life. She was still breathing softly, but it would not be for long.

"I'll need your help," Jereez said, looking at him and holding out a hand for Ridley to take it. She was about to attempt something that was perhaps beyond her abilities, and would require the power of another to channel through her. But it would be worth it. For some reason she liked the mage, and she'd never really had a female friend before.

Ridley gave Jereez his hand and she placed her other palm across Marina's forehead, concentrating on the movement of healing energies from Ridley, to herself, and then to the female mage. Everyone possessed such energies, if only they had the ability to direct them correctly, as few did. She felt a hand on her shoulder but was concentrating to hard to tell who it was.

Everything she had, she poured into the dying mage, and then, by magic, colour came back to Marina's face and she drew a long breath in. Immediately Jereez let go and fell back exhaustedly. Marina opened her eyes, and couldn't figure out why everyone was standing over her, staring.

Everyone was so busy watching the mage, that they didn't notice the imp that had saved her shimmering, then flickering behind until Damon, who'd been standing behind the imp, gave a startled shout. Jereez's image was rapidly fading in and out of existance, an event that was unlikely to be healthy.

"She's overdone herself," Damon barked, dodging to catch the toppling Jereez, but as she reached the point where she would have connected with his arms, Jereez disappeared completely. On the ground where Jereez had been standing, at Damon's feet, was a small black cat the familiar that Jereez called Chase. It sat and looked startled.

"Too late," Damon said unhappily, peering down, "she's reverted back."

"Reverted back to what?" Marina asked dispassionately, sitting up, "what happened?" Something about her was missing.

"Isn't anyone going to help her?" Damon asked, picking up the cat, which struggled desperately within his grasp though he did not notice. But before anyone could reply, a soft singing voice filled the air and everyone turned towards its source.