****

Don't really have much to say 'bout this chapter, just that the history of the Dragoon Judges with start to show up throughout the chapter bit by bit. Just don't forget to review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Dragoon, but I do own the characters that I created including the Dragoon Judges. If you want to use them, you have to ask me. I'd probably say no, but it also depends on how you're gonna use 'em.

****

The next morning, Phirala was walking down the long hallway of the castle. She had heard earlier from Saphira and Milro that they had had a food fight. That wasn't unusual but when Phirala heard that Hajeri had joined in, she fell out of the chair that she was sitting in.

'That was probably very embarrassing for Hajeri.' She thought as she tried to picture the way Hajeri was probably laughing. It was hard. She, or anyone else, had never seen Hajeri laugh, much less smile. The only time that he smiled was when he killed something. That's probably why the Queen chose him to be the Dragoon of the Dead. For as long as she could remember, Hajeri had never shown any compassion for anything. It was like if he even tried to love something, it would kill him. Phirala bumped into Milro.

"Hiya, shorty. Whatcha doin' out here so early?" He patted her head.

"Stop that." She pushed his hand away. "Stop callin' me shorty. I'm not THAT short. And anyway, I was bored, so I'm takin' a walk. Is that alright with you?"

Milro laughed. "Saphira wants to speak with you."

"Oh. Okay." Phirala quickly ran off.

"I'd better try to talk to Hajeri." Milro wanted to talk to him for a reason.

****

Phirala pranced in Saphira's room.

"Hiya!" Phirala spun around.

Saphira knew her behavior was quite normal. If Phirala didn't come prancing into a room, then something was wrong. "I wanted to tell you something. Something 'bout Mike."

Phirala's ear opened up. "Really?" She was dying to know what she had to say.

"Yes, really. I found a note written by him and it appears that he has my ribbon, but the problem is, my ribbon was in my room." Saphira stared at Phirala.

"Oh. Maybe while it was in your hair, the wind blew it away." Phirala suggested.

"Really?" Saphira knew the wind didn't blow that hard here.

Phirala nodded. "It's possible ya know." Phirala really didn't want to be caught.

"Well, if he came in my room just to take my ribbon then later on give it back to me, what do you think it means? Do you think he likes me?" Saphira could barely hold in her joy.

"Um…possibly." Phirala played with her hair. "I've gotta go. The Queen wanted to talk with me." She ran out of the room.

****

Milro knocked on Hajeri's bedroom door.

"You in there? I need to talk to you." He couldn't hear anything in the room. "Hajeri?"

"Leave me alone." Hajeri told him.

"I need to talk to you." Milro repeated.

"NO. I don't feel like talking. Now LEAVE." Hajeri was starting to get mad.

"I'm coming in whether you like it or not." He opened the door.

He came face to face with Hajeri's sword.

"I told you to leave." Hajeri had his sword up to Milro's neck.

"I just wanted to talk to you, that's all." Milro could now feel the sword's blade touching his bare neck.

"NO. How many times do I have to say that before you leave me ALONE?" Hajeri stared at him.

"I'm hard-headed. You'll have to tell me another couple hundred times." Milro knew if Hajeri wanted to kill him, he would.

"Leave before I change my mind about killing you." Hajeri hissed.

"Okay, okay. I'm leavin'." Milro turned around and ran.

Hajeri shut the door. 'Why does everyone continue to bother me?!'

****

Hours later………

Rose looked out of her tower window. It was getting dark. She could see Michael's hide out from where she was standing. She heard her door open. She turned around only to find Zieg.

"Hi." He walked over to her.

"Hi." She looked back out of the window. "Michael is sleeping."

"That's good." Zieg wrapped his arm around her. "You haven't slept in a while. Maybe you should get some sleep."

"No. I've got to watch Damia. She's been sleeping more comfortably ever since she moved in here." Rose looked over towards the sleeping girl.

"You just get some sleep. I'll watch her." Zieg told her.

She nodded. She was really tired. As she laid down, she quickly fell asleep. Zieg sat down in a chair, watching both of them. Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." He told them.

Shirley walked in. "I just wanted to say good-night to everyone." Shirley noticed Rose was sleeping. "It was nice of her to watch Damia and make sure Kanzas didn't hurt her, but she really did need rest. Thanks for watching Damia for her."

"No prob. Good-night." He told her as she turned to leave.

"Good-night." She slowly made her way downstairs.

****

Saphira pranced towards the garden. It was already ten o'clock at night. She could see Mike waiting.

"Hi, Mike." She stopped just a couple feet in front of him.

"Hi." His red hair looked like bright red blood in the Moon That Never Sets' light.

Saphira looked at him and noticed he didn't have her ribbon. "Where's my ribbon?"

"Uh? I don't have your ribbon and obviously you don't have my book." Mike said.

"Book? But…Phirala." Saphira just figured it out.

"Phirala? You think she's behind this?" Mike looked at her.

She nodded. "Yep. It's just like her."

Hiding in the bushes, was none other than Phirala. 'Oh man. My plan failed.' She looked at both of them. 'Wait.' She noticed Mike had moved a bit closer to Saphira.

"So……I'd better be leaving." Saphira rubbed the back of her neck.

"Wait. Stay. I've been meaning to talk to you." Mike told her.

"Really?" Saphira's heart leapt for joy.

"Yes. Um……" He thought for a moment. "Ya know, Saphira, I've liked you for quite a while."

"Really?" She was now blushing.

He nodded and moved closer.

Phirala watched with happiness when he kissed her. 'I need to start a business. I'm good at this stuff.'

****

Hajeri stared out of his window. Unfortunately, his room faced the garden. He stared in horror. He saw Saphira and Mike. Together. Hajeri slammed his fist against the wall in anger. He stared angrily at Mike. 'I'll get my revenge and my girl.'

****

Boralo stretched. The sun shined through his window. He got up and found a plate of food laying on a small table. He quickly ate it. His bedroom door opened.

"Are you ready for school?" A Wingly man asked.

"Uh? School? I get school?" Boralo had never really been to school before.

"Yes." The man watched as the boy ran out of the room and stood beside him.

"Let's go already!" Boralo jumped up and down excitedly.

"This is gonna be a long day." The man walked down the hall, the bouncing boy not to far ahead. Boralo looked back every now and then to ask the man if he was going the right way.

****

Damia opened her eyes and sat up. She could see Rose sleeping and Zieg sitting in a chair.

"Good mornin'." He greeted her.

"Good morning." Damia stood up. "I'm gonna go get me some food. You want anything?"

"I'll walk with you to the kitchen. I have to grab Rose some food anyway." Zieg told her as they both left.

****

Zieg walked back into Rose's room and sat beside her. She was still sleeping peacefully.

"Rose." He gently shook her.

"Uh?" Rose looked up at him.

"I brought you some food." He watched her sit up.

"Thanks." She grabbed a piece of bread. It was warm in her mouth.

After she finished the food, she looked at Zieg. "You're not hungry?"

"No. I just ate." Zieg brushed a piece of black hair out of Rose's eyes . "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Where's Damia?" She asked him.

"She's with Belzac and Shirley." He allowed Rose to rest her head on his shoulder.

"What if we don't win this war?" She asked him.

He was a bit shocked at first, but he had been thinking about that too. "Don't you worry. We'll win. We'll win for sure."

****

Boralo raced down the hallway towards Melbu's chambers.

"Sir! Sir! Guess what?!" He burst through the doors.

Melbu was surprised to see him so early. "What, Boralo?"

"I learned a lot of cool stuff today! I also learned some new magic, too, and I also practiced fighting!" Boralo started jumping up and down. "And…and-"

"Boralo, calm down. Calm down. You can tell me all of it during dinner, but for now, I'd like you to meet someone." Melbu looked towards the doors, which had just opened.

A small, Wingly woman stood before them.

"I would like you to meet Sophia." Melbu didn't really think this was the right person to be a body guard, but……she was supposed to be the best there is.

"Hello, Sophia." Boralo bowed.

"Hello." Sophia was wearing tight black leather pants, black knee-high boots, and a small, long sleeved black shirt. She had her silver hair in in two pony-tails.

"This is your body guard, Boralo." Melbu told him. He hoped that the Wingly guard had chosen her for her skills, not her looks.

"Oh. Why do I need a body guard, sir?" Boralo asked with curiosity.

"You need one because many people here want to hurt kids." He answered.

"Oh. You wanna see my room?" Boralo looked up at the woman.

"Uh…" She looked at Melbu. He nodded. "Sure." Boralo grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room.

When he opened the door to his room, he started showing her some of his stuff. His weapons that he was training with, his books, and even some of his school work.

"Have you ever seen a Virage?" Boralo asked the woman.

"Um…yes. Yes I have. Have you?" Sophia sat down on a chair and watched Boralo sort through some papers.

"No, but I once saw a picture in a book." He handed her a piece of paper. "I drew this."

Sophia looked at the drawing. She could tell that it was a Virage. "This is lovely."

"Thank you. I worked really hard on it." Boralo sat down on the floor. "You wanna get somethin' to eat?"

"Uh……sure." Sophia followed Boralo out of the room and towards the kitchen.

****

Shirley watched as Damia played with Loshianna. They had went to Loshianna's secret hide out which was hidden underground.

"Hey, Shirley, you wanna come pet her?" Damia asked.

"No thank you. Sessira might get jealous." Shirley remembered the time when she had gotten a pet dog. Sessira, her Dragon, had gotten jealous and wouldn't eat until Shirley got rid of the dog. She laughed. "That Dragon gets jealous easily."

"Oh. Okay." Damia let Loshianna to pick her up by her shirt with her teeth and put her on the Dragon's back. "You wanna fly, don't you girl? Sorry, but you can't until night. If the Winglies see you, they could suspect something and that won't help us at all."

The Dragon nodded.

"You're the smartest Dragon ever." Damia petted the Dragon on her back.

Shirley smiled. Belzac walked in.

"Are you two hungry?" He asked.

"Yep." Damia hopped off of Loshianna. "I'm gonna bring her back some food first. Now you'd better stay here, girl." The Dragon nodded.

"I guess it is time for dinner." Shirley stood and brushed off her dress. She followed Belzac and Damia outside.

****

Everyone sat at the dinner table. They were quiet as they ate. Especially Kanzas.

Damia was the first to speak. "Is it alright if Loshianna flies around for a bit tonight?"

"Yes. Just be careful." Diaz answered.

"Okay." She continued to eat. "This food is really good. Loshianna really enjoyed it."

"I'll be sure to tell the cook that you enjoyed her food." Diaz stirred his soup.

After a while of silence, Rose stood up.

"May I please be excused?" She asked Diaz.

"Yes." Diaz watched her as she left.

"May I be excused too, please?" Damia looked over at Diaz.

"Yes, go on." He took a bite of his piece of bread.

She hopped up, grabbed a piece of bread, and ran out of the room.

"Everyone else may leave too." Diaz told them.

Shirley and Belzac were the next to leave. Zieg followed shortly after that. As Kanzas stood, Diaz stopped him.

"Have you fed your Dragon?" Diaz asked him.

"Why do you want to know?" He stared at him.

"It's my duty to make sure all the Dragons are well fed." Diaz stared back at him.

"I fed him. Okay?" Kanzas left the room.

****

Kanzas walked outside. His Dragon was waiting for him. He hopped on the back and they flew off.

****

The Dragon flew around in the night sky. Kanzas patted the Dragon on the neck.

"You wanna fly a bit faster, don't ya?" He asked him. The Dragon looked back at him. "Let's see how fast you can fly, Quetinno."

The Dragon started to pick up speed. The wind blew in Kanzas' face. They flew above mountains and then forests. Quetinno turned slightly to the right, bringing the ocean into view.

****

After Boralo and Sophia had eaten a small snack, they walked around Kadessa for a bit. Boralo bounced ahead of her.

"You're a energetic little fella' , aren't you?" Sophia smiled as she watched him hop around.

"Yep." He turned around to face her, walking backwards too.

"You're gonna bump into someone, kid." She warned him.

"No I'm not. I've got eyes in the back of my head." Just then, Boralo bumped into another Wingly.

"HEY!! WATCH IT, BRAT!!" The Wingly just happened to be a lot older than him and he was a lot stronger too.

"Leave the kid alone." Sophia told him.

"Aw…the girlfriend. This kid bumped into me and he deserves to be punished." The man grabbed Boralo.

"Hey! Put me down!" Boralo started kicked but didn't have any luck. He put all his energy in one kick and he hit the man right between the legs.

"YOU BRAT!!" The man fell to the ground.

Boralo then kicked the guy in the head, and ran behind Sophia. He stuck his tongue out at the man.

"Why you little-" The man stood up and charged at them.

Sophia then kicked him between the legs again and then punched him in the face.

"I told you to leave the kid alone, so leave him alone." Sophia watched the man get up and run away as fast as he could. "Come on, Boralo."

They made their way back to Boralo's room.

****

Boralo burst through his bedroom door.

"That was awesome! Did you see how well I kicked him?!" He started punching the air. "I'm good!"

"Yes. That was a pretty good kick. I'll just be waiting outside if you need me." Sophia left the room.

Boralo continued punching his pillow, when the door opened. It scared him a bit so when he punched the pillow, he punched it too hard and feathers flew all over the place.

"Uh-oh." He looked at the person standing in the doorway.

"I was…uh…just gonna tell you that Melbu wanted to see me, and I can't leave you alone so you needed to come too, but obviously you wanted to kill that pillow first." Sophia looked at the floor. It was covered with feathers.

"Oh…I'm comin'." Boralo ran out of the room. Sophia quickly followed him.

****

Melbu was waiting for them.

"Boralo, wait over there, please." Melbu pointed over to a table.

Boralo slowly made his way over there then sat down in a chair.

"You are doing your job perfectly." He told Sophia.

"Thank you, sir." Sophia bowed.

"But have you been calling him 'master'?" He asked.

"Uh…I…um…no, sir." Sophia knew that any body guard had to call the people that they're guarding master.

"Then start." With that said, Melbu turned to Boralo. "Boralo, come here."

Boralo bounced over to him. "Yep? I mean, yes, sir?"

"Sophia will take you back to your room. Run along now." Just as they started to walk away, Melbu grabbed Sophia's arm. "Remember, call him master and obey what he tells you, or you'll have me on your tail."

Sophia nodded and ran after Boralo.

'He's harsh.' Sophia thought to herself as she followed the boy.

****

Damia ran up to Rose's room.

"ROSE!!" She banged on the door.

The door opened and Rose stared at her. "What's wrong?"

Damia saw Zieg in there. "Sorry to bother ya, but where's Kanzas?"

"I don't know. Maybe you should go ask Emperor Diaz. He might know." Zieg suggested.

"Yeah. Maybe Kanzas is just in his room. Have you looked there?" Rose asked her.

She nodded. "I flew up to the window, and I didn't see anything. What if he left?"

"I don't think he'd leave, Damia." Zieg walked up beside them.

"But what if he did?" Damia had worry in her eyes. "We could be in trouble. He could be in trouble. He's still got his Dragoon spirit and more than likely he will attack any Wingly that he sees."

"Let's go talk to Diaz." Zieg said. Everyone ran out of the room.

****

Diaz paced back and forth. The doors swung open.

"Emperor Diaz!! Sorry to bother you, but we've got a problem." Damia was the first to speak.

"What?" He asked with curiosity.

"Kanzas is missing." Zieg answered.

"What?!" Diaz couldn't believe his ears.

I'll try to get the next chapter out in a couple days, no promises though. I'm still tryin' to get the next chapter out for my 'Partying with Dragoons', but it's getting hard. Just don't forget to review.