Reunion

Reunion

She stood up quickly, kept her ground, her head held high, but her eyes lowered, staring at a pebble by her toe.

"I'm disappointed in you, Claire." Haschel finally said. "I didn't teach you to run away and hide in cowardice."

"I know." She muttered.

"What's going on?" Dart asked. "You two know each other?"

"How do you know him?" Claire asked at the same time Haschel asked, "How do you know her?"

Dart shook his head. Shana walked over to put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Claire is my mother. Haschel I met on my journey to find the Black Monster. He taught me a lot about fighting and some stuff about the sword too. How do you two know each other?"

Claire glanced at her father and took her son's hand. "Dart, that man is my father. Your grandfather."

Dart backed up and sat on a crate. All he said was, "Oh, boy."

"I ran away from my hometown twenty years ago because I…because of things I don't want to mention right now. I ran away from my father and master." Claire explained.

"And I left home to search for her." Haschel added. "I had almost given up. I thought maybe I would find her here, fighting in the tournament, but obviously, she didn't fight."

"No, Master." Claire murmured. "I did not see it fit to fight in the tournament."

"Isn't this interesting, that such a coincidence should occur after twenty years of searching and running?" Rose said, her voice as languid as her posture.

Claire glared at her, and surprisingly, Rose silenced.

"What are we going to do now?" Dart asked. "Mom? …Grandfather?"

"It is up to you, Master." Claire said quietly. So strange! She had been running from this man for twenty years, yet also wanting to meet him again, to see if he changed, to see if he approved of the changes in her.

Haschel grimaced. "Dart, where are you going? It's up to you."

The young man seemed flustered. "Well, we promised the King of Serdio that we would help to end the war. You and Mom obviously have issues to patch over, but I don't want to separate from Mom, so why don't you come with us?"

And so it was settled, the five of them walking along the streets of Lohan rather awkwardly. Shana was speaking rapidly to Dart, but he didn't seem to be listening, kept looking over his shoulder at his mother and grandfather, who walked on opposite sides of the street.

Fool! Claire cursed herself. Prove to him that you are not weak, and that you were not wrong for running away. You ran away because he pushed you too hard. It was his fault that you disappeared. Prove to him that you made something of your life! Go and talk to him, see what has happened since twenty years ago!

But she stayed on her side of the street, quiet and cautious. They had almost reached the edge of Lohan when a soldier came stumbling in. He reached out for help, but the people backed away, leaving him to fall face-flat on the middle of the street, revealing several arrows and a lance buried in his back. He must have had a strong will to keep surviving.

Lavitz ran over to him. "You are a knight of Basil!" He cried. "What happened?"

The man struggled to talk. Lavitz helped him to hold his head up. "Sir Lavitz, thank Soa someone can receive my message. King Albert has been…captured." His voice was gurgling, as if he was choking on his own blood. He was dead a few seconds later.

Dart grabbed Lavitz by the back of his tunic before the knight ran out of Lohan. "Lavitz, stop! Calm down! You can't just run off like that!"

Lavitz fought him, snarling like an enraged Dragon, kicking backward, punching. Dart grunted in pain as one punch connected with his cheek.

Claire ran forward, pulled Lavitz from Dart's grip and slapped him across the face.

It was a good slap, and she managed to swing his body around with the force, so that the side of his head collided with the street and knocked him out. Claire pulled off the rest of a broken nail and rubbed her hand on the pocket of her pants, looking down at the two limp bodies.

"I think you killed him." Shana gasped.

"I did not." Claire told her. "I just knocked him out, that's all. He's completely irrational. He won't be able to help anyone in that mood. He'll only get him and the rest of us killed. Help me get him to the clinic."

She grabbed Lavitz's arms, and Dart took the legs. Together, with Haschel and Shana trailing, they went back to the doctor's clinic.

The doctor was very surprised to see them again. "Didn't I just…oh dear, was he injured in the Tournament?"

"Um…you could say that. Can we leave him here with you for a while, just until he wakes up?"

"Of course."

As Dart paid the doctor for the inconvenience, Haschel spoke up. "If King Albert has been captured, then the war seems to be leaning toward the Sandorans. I'm going to go see what happened to Bale."

Claire found herself saying, "I'll go with you, Master."

The look on his face told her that he was just as surprised as she was. "Of course. We leave immediately."

"Claire!" Shana cried out, at the same time Dart said, "Be careful, Mom. You too, Master Haschel."

"We will." Claire double-checked the healing supplies in the pouch she had around her neck and left the doctor's office, her father and master walking beside her.

The trip was silent until they were halfway to Bale. They jogged there, wanting to make it back to Lohan before Lavitz woke.

"I see that you still like people to call you Master." Claire finally remarked, jumping over a large boulder as she crossed a narrow valley.

Haschel did the same with the same lack of difficulty. "You should understand that by teaching you those rules, I taught you discipline."

She nodded. "And strength."

There was another silence before Haschel started a conversation. "I didn't know that I had a grandson. I met him on his journey searching for the Black Monster but I never made the connection."

"I left before he was born. I was in my third month when I left. It wasn't very noticeable. I didn't want to stay there."

"Claire." Haschel paused. His daughter did the same, turning back to face him. She was surprised to see hurt and distress on his face. "Would it have pained you terribly if you had just written home and told me that you were all right? Told me if you had married that man?"

Claire set her jaw and turned back to the road. "In case you haven't realize, we're behind schedule, Master. We'll need to hurry if we want to reach Bale within the hour." She began to run again, and her father easily caught up. She took a deep breath and spoke. "It's good to see that you are still healthy, Master." It was a sincere statement. No matter what, he was still her father.

"And that you seem to have kept up in your martial arts studies."

"I couldn't practice as much as you would have liked. The villagers already found me strange."

"Where did you go after you ran away?" Haschel asked quietly, ducking by a monster and knocking it out with a solid punch. "Were you with that man?"

"The man's name was Zieg. I ran away and he waited for me. We headed for Neet, in the Mille Sesean continent. But…the Black Monster attacked one night, when Dart was five. The damned bastard killed my husband and destroyed my hometown!" Claire leapt off the ground and delivered such a devastating kick to a Mantis monster so that its ribs shattered and spilled across the ground, staining her boots. Haschel nodded, impressed. "I ran with Dart to Deningrad for a while, but I…didn't think it was safe there either."

"You were frightened." Haschel said.

"I wasn't. I was merely being cautious." Claire snapped back, before she realized that her father was not speaking in a flat disappointed tone, but in a gentle knowing tone. She diverted her glance to him for a second, questioning. "Yes, you're right. I was frightened. I felt cornered. So I fled to Seles, in Basil. I raised Dart there, but he left at eighteen. I then spent most of my time with Shana. She's a very sweet child. But Sandorans attacked Seles. Dart returned that day and we fought together, taking back the town by not the deaths that most of Seles suffered. We rescued Shana from Hellena Prison and met Lavitz on the way. We then headed to Bale to speak with the king and took the mission to destroy the Dragon. Shana was poisoned by Dragon breath and we went to the doctor in Lohan. And you know the rest, Master."

"Dart is Zieg's son, then?"

"Yes. He's a very strong child and I'm proud of him."

Haschel paused, considering. "I suppose you taught him that song you were humming twenty years ago?"

Claire nearly tripped in her surprise; she hadn't expected him to remember that song that he had overheard her singing. She had created that melody herself during a day of sadness. "Yes. It's my gift to him. He taught it to Shana as well."

"He's taken an interest in her then?"

"I should only hope. I know that Shana's smitten with him but he looks at her like a baby sister. I'm not sure if that will ever change." Claire laughed lightly. "There's Bale."

"Walk." Haschel said, and she slowed to a casual walk, rearranging her breathing pattern. "By Soa, look at all those guards at the gates. I'll speak with them, see if I can find anything. You scout the outside walls, see what you can find."

Claire nodded, loping off. For twenty years she had obeyed her own free will, decided on her own. But as soon as Haschel returned, she was obeying orders as if she had never run away.

Five minutes she returned, meeting him. He spoke first. "They've overrun Bale. King Albert is indeed taken. They won't let anyone in, not even relatives of the families inside."

"There are soldiers everyone." She hissed. It was like stepping back into the past, with the little missions and reports that were part of her training. For a long while, she had thought her father was training her to be an assassin or some other professional job like that. But he had hardly ever let her have a real chance out in the world so what was the point? "But there's a small alleyway that they seem to have neglected. It's on the northeast side of town. The guards are stationed at compass points, but to get into the alleyway, all we have to do is get past a short wall and a few crates. Most of the guards are lagging off. There are none at the opening and only two at the street beyond that, back facing us."

"Did you check the rooftops?"

Claire's face changed. "No. I forgot to." Stupid, stupid, stupid! She cursed herself. You were trapped once because you didn't check the rooftops! Why did you forget again?

Haschel frowned. "Don't forget next time." He started off to the northeast.

What? That's it? No lecture? No yelling, saying that I'm useless? Bewildered, Claire followed.

"You first." He said.

She nodded, running up the wall and latching her fingers on the top, swinging herself over. She balanced herself with a leg on either side, and extended a hand down to her father. He raised a bushy black eyebrow at her, and in the next second he was sitting on the wall next to her.

"Of course. I forgot." She muttered, jumping down nimbly, avoiding the crates.

"I think it would be better if we kept sneaking. I don't see any civilians around, so we can't act casual. I guess the guards forbade anyone from going outside. Do you know anyone here that we can talk to?"

Claire thought for a moment. "Yes. Lavitz's mother. I know where she lives. Will you follow me?"

Haschel crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't like how you phrased that last sentence."

She thought that her grammar was wrong, but it was acceptable. "What do you mean, Master?"

"Claire, I was your master twenty years ago. You can take control now. Be confident. Every time you start to say something, it ends up being a question. That's what I don't like."

She grinned. "Then follow me." She corrected herself. And in that moment she knew that her father had forgiven her for running away.

The guards had locked everyone into their houses so it was rather difficult sneaking around without being caught. In order to get into the Slambert house, Claire was forced to perch on an awning outside the kitchen, leaning over to rap at the window with her knuckles.

Lavitz's mother appeared, looked around. She gasped when she saw the shapes outside and opened the window. Claire slid in, followed by Haschel.

"Mrs. Slambert." Claire bowed slightly. "Hello. Nice to see you again."

"Oh. Um. Hello, Claire, was it? It's a pleasure to see you again. May I ask why you came in through my kitchen window? How did you get into Bale?"

"We sneaked in." Claire explained. "This is my…father, Haschel. Lavitz heard that King Albert had been captured and nearly went insane. He's waiting in Lohan for the news we have to bring him." She decided to leave out the part about how she was the one that knocked him out. "What's going on, Mrs. Slambert?"

The older woman tilted her head toward the outside. "The Sandorans invaded Bale unexpectedly. King Albert gave himself up so that Bale wouldn't be hurt. So instead we're just locked inside our houses. King Albert is being held in Hellena Prison."

"Oh, dear." Claire touched the tips of her fingers to her mouth. "Lavitz isn't going to like this."

"No, he won't. Please tell him to be careful. You should get going now. I'll cause a distraction."

"No!" Claire grabbed the other woman's hands. "You'll get yourself killed."

"I will not. I'll go outside. They'll just put me back inside and tell me to stay here. I won't be hurt." Mrs. Slambert smiled. "Go on."

The two Rouge fighters slid back out the window, retracing their path more easily now that the two guards outside were distracted.

"It's good to know that you haven't forgotten your infiltration skills." Haschel said once they were running back to Lohan.

"It's hard to forget anything you've taught me, Master." Claire replied. "We have to hurry."

Lavitz woke one half-hour after Claire and Haschel returned. Immediately he leapt up again, and nearly made it out the clinic before Shana stuck out a foot and caused him to trip, giving Dart the time to drag him back inside.

"You fool!" Haschel yelled. "You can't help anyone while you're like this! When knights lose control, their lord is all but lost. You must calm down before you can help anyone."

Claire settled her hands on either side of Lavitz's neck, gently dabbing the pressure points to make him slightly lightheaded. "We went to check out Bale while you were unconscious. The citizens are fine. King Albert surrendered himself to keep them safe. The Sandorans are everywhere so the remaining knights can't do anything. We spoke to your mother, she told you to be careful. His Majesty the King is being held in Hellena Prison."

"We have to go there now. To help King Albert." Lavitz stood up, shaking the lightheadedness away from his mind. "To Hellena Prison. Dart?"

"I remember the way. There's a shortcut that goes through the mountains. Follow me."

With Lavitz in the lead with a strong pace, Dart was explaining to Haschel about the Dragoons and magic, and Claire spoke with Shana.

"Shana?" She asked carefully, watching the girl make her way up the small mountain.

"Yes, Claire? Is something wrong?"

"What is it like being a Dragoon? You seem stronger."

Shana paused. "Well, I think it did make me stronger. With the Dragoon, I think my physical attacks are stronger and my vitality and the rest of my statistics."

"There's a strangeness in your eyes. An oldness, almost, like unknown wisdom. I don't know if I'm explaining correctly."

"I understand, Claire. You've always been able to sense things normal people couldn't, it seems. I guess that strangeness would be the Dragon power. I think I can hear the Dragon. Or at least what remains of her thoughts and feelings. I think she's dead. But I can still feel her. Her power, her knowledge, her wisdom. It shows me that being a Dragoon isn't all fun. It's also obligations. As a Dragoon I have to protect their power, to preserve their legend and keep their blood alive. Do you understand?"

"Yes." She watched in amazement as Shana ignored her hand and leapt the boulder by herself. "Good girl. You are stronger."

Shana smiled sadly. "Yes, but only because of the Dragoon Spirit. Without it, I'd just be weak again. And even with the Dragoon Spirit I'll never be as strong as Rose. She's just…"

"Been training for many more years than you have." Rose's voice came from up ahead. The woman was standing on a wobbling rock. "You don't need to feel ashamed because you can't match up to me. Not many people can, not even Dart. I've been training ever since I was a child and that's a long time."

That's not right. Claire thought. Rose doesn't look like she can be more than twenty-something. She looks about Dart's age. And I've been training for longer than she has but she'd kill me in a real fight and not just because she's younger.

Rose noticed Claire's confused look. "I'm older than I look." She explained smoothly and mysteriously. The rock began to fall and Rose jumped off, landing on solid ground. "Shana, you want to be strong and that proves you own inner strength. Don't compare yourself to me. Almost no one is my equal. Don't fret about it. Just think about the mission, and being a Dragoon. You have responsibilities you have to take care of." With that, she turned and scaled the peak to meet the rest of them.

"What a strange woman!" Shana exclaimed. "She gives me the chills."

"Don't worry about it. Come on, we're trailing behind the others."

Haschel watched as his daughter helped Shana, murmured words of comfort and reassurance.

I always knew that you'd be a better mother than a fighter. He thought. You look like you're much happier this way.

She looked up and met his eyes and smiled, as if she knew what he was thinking and agreed.

Hellena Prison was doubly guarded now, and Shana and Dart checked the ocean sides of the prison to see the guards' formation. There were almost ten guards at the lowered drawbridge but with the four of them it was easy to take out the perimeter guards and slip inside, dressed in their uniforms, waiting to give Dart and Shana their uniforms.

"This uniform itches and smells like a dead body!" Shana hissed, perpetually scratching her arms.

"That's not impossible." Rose called, shoving the helm further up her head, where it kept slipping. "Considering the fact that there was a dead body in it."

Shana gave a little shriek and muffled it in time not to attract any attention.

The uniform hung loosely on Claire; she was too petite to fit comfortably into the stinky uniform. She continued being uncomfortable until they found King Albert, kneeling beneath a morning sun, with Fruegal sitting beside him, along with a couple of monsters that seemed more silly than dangerous. Fruegal was the warden, and probably spent most of his salary buying junk food, judging by his more-than-ample belly.

"I guess we didn't hit Fruegal hard enough last time." Dart said. "If he can walk now."

The fat warden was speaking to King Albert, something about being kind and letting him see the sun before he died.

"They're going to execute him!" Lavitz growled, beginning to rise before Haschel pulled him back down.

"He's not to be hurt!" One of the guards behind him said. "The messenger is coming soon! Just wait until then, sir!"

"Shut up! Why the hell should I wait for that stupid man in black? He thinks that I'll jump at his slightest command!"

Claire frowned, pulling off her itchy helmet and placing it on the ground. Man in black…command…messenger… Something seemed wrong. Something was definitely wrong. Man in black…

The man at Albert's castle?

The same man at the tournament. Lloyd. Lloyd was coming here? Why?

"King Albert!" Lavitz yelled, pulling away from the others and running toward the bound king. "Fruegal, release him!"

Dart sighed. "Well there goes our element of surprise. Mom, you take the dog thing on Fruegal's left. Rose, get the other monster on his right. Shana and Haschel, come with me. We attack Fruegal head on."

Claire nodded, running out from her cover and jumping onto the back of the dog creature, which was actually a wolf-hound crossbreed. It howled, bucked. She tightened her legs around it and delivered powerful blows to its head. It screamed now, frisking around and trying to throw her off.

Claire grabbed hold of its neck and twisted. The monster collapsed. Her breathing elevated by the excitement of fighting, she jumped off, only to be struck on the head by the bird-monster, which had been evading Rose's sword attacks. The attack was enough to send her flying, sprawling against one of the sandstone pillars.

Shaking off a daze, she caught a glimpse of a slender figure in black. In one hand he held fire.

No, a fire sword.

Claire frowned. Something tickled the edge of her mind and she ran back to the others, kicking Fruegal off balance as she went.

"Rose!" She said urgently. When the other woman ignored her, Claire gripped part of her sleeve and tugged.

Rose turned to look at her, annoyance sketched onto her features. "What is it, Claire? There's a battle going on!"

"I know that. Rose, you know more than I do. What important sword is made of fire?"

The other woman deflected a thrust by Fruegal, cursing. "What did you say? Look, now isn't the time for questions. Ask me later."

Claire gave up and joined the battle, running forward with her father, each delivering a roundhouse kick to Fruegal's side. She backed up, letting Dart take his turn.

When Fruegal fell, the man in black attacked Albert.

Fifty meters away, the man was drawing something out of Albert, his fingers splayed in magical configuration. It must be Lloyd; Claire recognized the hand that had helped her up twice. But what was he doing? It looked like…

It looked like it was drawing magic out of the King, who was obviously in pain, crying out and thrashing. When Lloyd finally stopped, Albert slumped to the ground, groaning.

"Moon Gem!" Lloyd hissed. Yes, that was his voice too. But what was he holding? A marble? A small sphere, glowing pale green. He tucked it into the folds of his long black cloak.

"King Albert!" A flash of green light blinded her as Lavitz transformed.

The flash of green light also got Claire's thinking kick-started.

Man in black…a messenger, obviously important…that's Lloyd. But why would Fruegal supposedly listen to him? Lloyd must be a traitor to Basil then. But what about the fire sword? Why does it seem so familiar?

Fire sword…King Albert, ruler of Basil and rightful king of all of Serdio… Lloyd…a Wingly… Fire… A sword that seems to be made of fire… A Wingly carrying an important sword made of fire against the king… drawing something magical out… Wingly carrying a fire sword…

Dragon Buster!

"NO!" Claire screamed, running forward and jumping, using Rose's shoulder as a boost as she jumped.

She wasn't a Dragoon, but her extensive training wasn't all for nothing.

"Mom!" Dart yelled. "What are you doing?"

She managed to catch Lavitz when they were only a couple of meters away from the king and Lloyd. She grabbed one of his wings, pulled as hard as she could.

"Don't!" She yelled, and with a fierce tug, managed to stop his path, reversing it. She spun him so that he was behind her, obviously struggling against her. He started to slip, but by then it was too late.

It was too late for her as well. The Dragon Buster had already unsheathed, swung upward.

Pain in her left arm caused her to scream in pain, landing on her back in front of the king. Lavitz cried out as well, rolling off her to lay limp a few feet away.

Claire writhed, trying to sit up. She could hear Rose yelling, "That sword!" Haschel was yelling too, and Dart and Shana were screaming. King Albert, only a foot away, somewhere near her head, was asking if she was okay.

She opened her eyes and saw blood-colored eyes looking down at her.

Lloyd.

The funny thing was that he looked surprised, and even a bit remorseful, shocked. "I'm sorry, Claire." He said, kneeling to touch two fingers to her neck, checking her pulse. He dropped something into her right hand, the one that she could feel, and stood.

"Lloyd! You bastard!" That was Dart's voice, no doubt, and getting louder as he ran closer. Claire could hear his sword whooshing through the air. "Get away from my mother!"

The Wingly blocked it with the Dragon Buster—that sword!—and ran. He leapt off the balcony and down to the cliffs below.

Claire stuffed whatever the hell it was Lloyd gave her into the pocket of her pants before the others reached her. Dart was helping her lift her head, and into a sitting position. "Mom!" he kept yelling. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Stop yelling. I can hear you just fine. My pain isn't so bad. Is Lavitz okay? That sword would have killed him!"

Rose was the one to help her to her feet. "You knew that sword?"

"The Dragon Buster. I read about it. I knew that it would kill him, but not me. Well, I don't think it will." She looked at her left arm and began to swoon.

"Oh no, you don't." Haschel yelled from where he was cutting Albert's bonds and lifting Lavitz. "Don't you dare pass out, Claire. Don't show your weakness."

She steadied herself by placing her right hand on Shana's shoulder. "Yes, Master."

"We have to take them to Seles." She heard Shana saying from somewhere far away. "Lavitz is unconscious and your mother looks like she's going to faint. I have some medicinal herbs at Seles and we can take refuge there for a while. It's the nearest town."

Claire made it to Seles in a daze, everything hazy and dark, blurry. Rose let her lean her weight on her as they made their way to Seles, catching her as she fell. Haschel kept yelling about being strong while helping Albert to carry Lavitz. Shana and Dart cleared the way of monsters.

Vaguely she remembered being carried into Seles, down into Shana's basement, and laid on a small flimsy cot.

"Claire, don't you dare pass out." Haschel growled. "I didn't raise a weak daughter."

That remark snapped her fully conscious. "Yes, Master." She looked at Lavitz, focusing her eyes. "Oh dear…"

Even though she had taken the brunt of the attack, the Dragon Buster must have gotten through to Lavitz. His Dragoon armor was cracked on the left side and he was bleeding. His breathing was rough and laborious.

"Master, please go get Mrs. Slambert. Sneak into Bale and bring her here."

"Claire—"

"If anything happens to Lavitz, she has to be here." Claire said. "Please, Master, go."

"Claire, worry about yourself. It'll take me a while to bring his mother here and—"

"Father, please!" She screamed.

Haschel blinked. "Of course." She heard him racing up the stairs.

Shana approached her with a pouch but Claire waved her away. "Check up on Lavitz first. He's wounded more direly. I've just got my arm scraped, that's all."

"Mom, that's not a scrape." Dart said, holding her good hand.

Claire looked at her injury for the first time. "Oh…"

The Dragon Buster had ripped down her left arm, making a long, long gash from shoulder to forearm. The red tissues were severed and she was bleeding all over the floor.

"Well, that would explain why I can't feel my arm." She chuckled weakly. "Still, Lavitz took it into the side, closer to his organs."

"I can't do anything with that armor in the way." Shana said.

Albert reached forward and tried to pry the armor off before realizing that Dragoon armor could not be removed that way.

Rose was frowning at him. "Albert, touch the pendant on his neck. That should remove the armor."

The King did so, and with a flare of green energy the armor was gone.

"I thought so." Rose smirked. "You're the new master of the Jade Dragon."

Even as she said this, the necklace was tugging itself off of Lavitz's neck and fastening itself around Albert's.

"Dragoon Spirits choose new masters when the old one is dead, unworthy, or…temporarily displaced." Rose said smoothly. "You're the new Wind Dragoon, Albert."

"Whatever. Will it make Lavitz better?" Claire wasn't surprised to see tears in the king's eyes. From when she had seen them in the castle, she knew they were the best of friends, nothing short of sworn brothers.

"I think so." Shana said. "Now I can reach the wound."

"Mom, hold on." Dart gripped her hand. "Shana, what can I do for Mom?"

"Try to stop the bleeding!" She called.

Rose ripped apart one of the satchels they were carrying and handed it to Dart, who wrapped the length tightly around Claire's arm.

Claire counted the stones on the ground until Shana finally came over to her. " I managed to clean and bandage the wound. As long as it doesn't get infected, Lavitz should recover, given a long period a time."

"That's why the Dragoon Spirit selected Albert as its new master. It knew that Lavitz wouldn't be able to help for a while." Rose said, also coming over. For some reason, she seemed worried. Maybe she only expressed concern in the most terrible situations. "What can you do for Claire now?"

Shana knelt on the cot, carefully removed the makeshift bandage with gentle hands. "Ooh…that looks bad. Wait, can you feel this?" She grabbed hold of Claire's left hand, which was not cut, and squeezed.

Claire shook her head. "My entire left arm feels numb."

Shana swore, to everyone's surprise. "I think he might have cut your nerve endings. Hold still, this will hurt."

Dart pulled off the glove on Claire's right hand and shoved it into her mouth.

For a long while, Claire endured the pain, biting down on the glove as Shana probed the wound and cleaned it. She couldn't feel the wound itself, but the skin around it hurt like hell.

It took a while for her to bandage the wound. "Claire, you caught the sword as it was swinging up but it went through your arm and into Lavitz. Luckily, the sword didn't go through your bone, but it did go through the tissues in your arm and the muscles. I can stop the bleeding, but…I don't think you'll be able to use your left arm anymore."

Oh…

"Oh." Claire said.

"Gods!" Dart yelled. "There has to be something else you can do, Shana! Mom's a fighter! How can she not be able to use her left arm?"

"I'm sorry, Dart… Wait a minute." Shana sat back suddenly and Claire spit out the glove with a gasp. "The White Silver Dragon, my Dragon, is the Dragon of Healing."

"That's right!" Rose stood up straight from where she had been slouching against the wall. "In the Dragon Campaign the White Silver Dragon healed the injuries of the Dragoons and other Dragons."

"Claire's not a Dragoon, but…it's worth a shot." Shana placed one tiny hand on the long cut and the other hand on her Dragoon Spirit. "White Silver Dragon!" She beseeched, murmuring a prayer.

And suddenly pain shot through Claire's arm.

"Aah! Shana, what are you doing?" She screamed, jumping up off the cot, dragging Dart to his feet.

Shana jumped and clapped her hands. "It worked! Oh, I didn't think it was going to work! Claire, if you can feel that pain, then that means that your nerves are healing!"

"Oh. Wow. Amazing."

Claire stared at her arm in amazement as the pain grew more powerful, and then less. It seemed to stop at a sharp pain and some blood, but she wasn't in any life-threatening situation anymore. "Oh gods, Shana, you did heal me. It's amazing. I didn't know the power of the White Silver Dragon was so powerful."

"Can you help Lavitz the same way?" Albert asked.

"I can try." Shana said, placing one hand on Lavitz's wound, making him hiss and gasp in his sleep.

A few moments later he stopped writhing, and the breathing seemed to return to normal.

"It worked. I think." Albert said, seizing Shana's hand and kissing it. "Thank you."

She flopped like a rag doll when he shook her hand. "You're welcome. But he's still not fully healed, not by far. It's going to be a long and painful recovery, but he'll definitely make it. And Claire, with a few more healings, I think you'll be fine in a couple of weeks."

Claire embraced the younger girl with her right arm. "Thank you, Shana."

The cellar door clattered and Haschel ran in, followed by Lavitz's mother, hysterically crying. Albert caught her before she could fling herself onto her son's injured body and spoke to her calmly, trying to placate her.

Claire looked at her father and said, "I'm sorry, Master, but…"

She fainted.

"Claire? Claire?"

The voice was soothing, gently lulling her out of unconsciousness. "Shana?" She asked, struggling to open her eyes.

"No." A gentle hand touched her eyelids, helping her to open them. "My name is Rose. Remember me?"

"Of course." Claire sat up. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Some people get amnesia from a hit to the head. You fainted, and hit your head on the corner of the cot. How are you feeling?"

"My arm hurts and my head hurts but that's it. Otherwise I'm fine." She adjusted her eyes. "Where are everyone else?"

"Lavitz is currently resting in Shana's room. Shana's parents, and Mrs. Slambert will be here to take care of them. Shana's helping the town restore itself and to heal some other people. She's been weak from all this magic but she keeps going." Rose's lips twitched for a moment. "She's not quite as weak as she keeps thinking she is. At least she tries." She shook her head as if embarrassed. "Dart's pacing the town from one end to the next, with his mother and his best friend both injured. Haschel's sparring him to keep him from going insane. Albert is taking a break from his Dragoon training, which I was supervising."

"Yes, well, I feel bad for him." Claire said jokingly, pulling the bandage off. She did so gingerly, because her arm did hurt. She was glad it hurt. "Oh."

Her arm had just about healed itself. It throbbed like a deep cut, but there was no more blood or severed tissues or anything except a long scar running from shoulder to forearm. "Wow."

"The power of Dragons is indeed marvelous." Rose agreed. "Claire, may I ask you a question?"

"I ought to be flattered that you're talking to me at all. You never initiate conversation. Go on, what's your question?"

"How do you know so much about the Dragon Campaign?"

"My husband was a fanatic about it. He studied it and he persuaded me to study it. It's an interesting subject for the fifty percent of the population those who believe it actually existed."

"Yes, it's very sad to know that 50% of the people don't think it happened, considering that the Dragon Campaign is what set them free. Otherwise they would still be slaves to Melbu Frahma." Rose hit her fist against the cot and it shook even more. She stared at her hand for a while, then uncurled her fist, nodding apologetically to Claire. "What was your husband's name?"

Claire found this a strange question, but Rose seemed truly interested, so she replied, "Zieg."

There was a change in Rose's face. A drastic change, as if she had just been splashed with a lake of cold water.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." The warrior woman replied. "Later on I'll tell you."

"Okay." Claire knew better than to try and draw an answer out of Rose "How do you know so much about the Dragon Campaign? And don't say you've been studying it all your life. You know things no person does."

Rose smirked. "I will tell you, but you must give me your word you don't tell the others."

"I give you my word that I will not tell the others. I will keep it a secret."

"Very well. You're partly wrong and partly right. I did study it for all my life, but my life has been longer than you can imagine." She leaned forward, tilted her head so that the dark strands of hair slid across her shoulders. "I was part of the Dragon Campaign."

Claire blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I was the original darkness Dragoon!" Rose's teeth showed as she grinned. "I fought alongside the others in the Dragon Campaign. I have been studying it all my life. All eleven thousand years of it!"

She's gotta be crazy.

"I'm not crazy, Claire. I know that's what you think. How else can I know so much about it?"

"Good point."

"Mom? Are you awake yet?" Dart's voice came from the cellar opening.

Rose helped Claire to her feet. "We'll speak of this later. Keep your promise."

"Mom, how do you feel?" Dart asked.

"I feel…okay, I think. My arm hurts, but I've never been so happy to feel pain before. I could have lost my arm…I can't get over that. I was this close to never being able to punch with my left arm again. I was so scared for a moment, Dart."

"Thanks to all the gods that Shana knew how to use the Dragoon Spirit. I don't think there was any mortal way to save your arm."

"Yes. You're right." His words caused Claire to remember something. "Excuse me, Dart. I have to do something." She slipped away from him, into the forest around Seles. She paused, making sure that he wasn't following her or spying on her.

"I wonder what this is…" She murmured to herself, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the object that Lloyd had pushed into her hand. It was a small leather drawstring pouch, the kind that potions came in.

It was a potion bottle that was inside, but it wasn't a Healing Potion inside the bottle, that she could be sure of once she sniffed it. It smelled like eucalyptus and half-dissolved sugar, not at all like the bitterness of a Healing Potion.

What was she supposed to do with this, swallow it?

In a flash of inspiration she tore the bandaged off her arm and poured the potion onto her wound.

She screamed as the liquid-like substance washed through her wound.

But when the pain of the potion went away, so did the pain in her arm.

Claire stared at her arm in mild disbelief. The dull pain that had been bothering her had subsided, leaving only a pleasant numbness that she could feel through. The scar had completely closed up as well.

Wow. Thanks.

She wrapped the bandage around her arm again. Lloyd attacked King Albert, which should make him an enemy, since I fight for the side of Basil. But then why would he give me this potion? I don't understand. Is he on our side or theirs? Is he friend or enemy?

Shaking her head, she ran back to the others.