Zara walked through the woods, searching for small sticks to use as firewood. Her sword she had laid carefully on a rock and covered with her cloak, which she had recovered after that horrid man tore it off.
Gwen still wasn't being nice to her, and Zara had been nice to her since she had called her a heathen.
Zara shook her head. Why was she wondering about that horrid, rude person anyway? Harry floated into her mind and she sobered. She hadn't really known him, but he had seemed a nice man. She knew that Sir Eryk had probably killed him. That man could make her so mad.
Zara returned to the camp, arms full of firewood. She dropped the pile where Bowen had told her too, then asked him if she could help him anymore.
"Uh, no, I don't think so. . .no," he told her before he resumed gutting the fish that he, Josh, and Andy had caught earlier.
Wrinkling her nose, Zara hurried away from the disgusting smell of the fish. She looked around the camp to see that Gwen, Andy, and Josh were all heading off in one direction.
"Where are you going?" she asked, coming up to them.
They looked at her. "Swimming. Want to come?"
"I've never been swimming," Zara replied.
They gaped at her. "Never been swimming?" Josh asked.
Zara shook her head. "Never."
"Well, come on then," Andy said. They all started off and Zara trailed along with them.
Finally, they reached the river. The crystal clear water fell from the waterfall, but the water at the bottom—where they were going to swim—was filthy. Gwen, Andy, and Josh stripped down to their underclothes and climbed up to a place where they could jump in. Zara, after stripping to her underclothes, followed them. From up above, she could see that the water was practically all brown.
Gwen jumped in, followed by Josh. Andy was behind Zara, who looked down at the water with untrusting eyes.
"Jump in already!" Gwen called from below.
"That water is filthy!" Zara cried down to Gwen.
"What's the matter? Are you scared?" Gwen taunted.
Zara made a face. "No! It's just that I don't want to get in that disgusting water!" Suddenly, Zara felt herself being propelled down to the water below. She twisted her body so that she was in a diving position and then she hit the water. It split around her body as she twisted herself around to be able to come back up to the surface.
"That was unnecessary!" she called up to Andy before she made to get out of the water.
"Getting out?" Gwen asked teasingly. Andy jumped in, causing the water to splash all over the young teenagers.
Zara made a face at Gwen as she continued to the edge of the water. Suddenly, hands pushed her head into the water and she was under. She reached around and socked whoever it was in the stomach before she came back above the water. Without even looking to see who it was, she shoved them down into the water. After a few minutes of useless struggling, Zara let them up. It was Josh!
"I'm sorry," she apologized as he spit out water. He just gave her a look, then swam away.
Zara decided to stay in the water, and they had swimming races and they just goofed off for a while until Bowen called out for the boys' help. They left Zara and Gwen in the river.
"Want to have a race?" Gwen challenged.
Zara shrugged. "Why not?" They positioned themselves for the race when a voice called out from behind the waterfall.
"Who goes before me?" came the deep, masculine voice. The two girls looked at each other before they approached the waterfall.
"Um, Gwen," Gwen replied.
"And Zara," Zara piped.
"Qwen and Zara?" replied the voice with shock emanating throughout it.
"Gwen," Gwen replied.
The voice stopped for a moment, then started speaking again. "No, no. I can recognize the both of you. You're Zara and Qwen, the fulfillers of the prophecy!" the voice cried.
"What prophecy?" Zara asked, stopping Gwen from correcting the voice.
Whoever it was sighed. "You mean you haven't heard?" The girls shook their heads. "All right, I'll tell you.
'Two charms were made
And a spell was bade
A charm of the sun
For the fighting one
And a charm of the moon
For the one who casts runes

A sword and a shield
And a protector for each
And two dragons to guide their way
Their journey will be long
And their quest will be tough
But at the end comes a reward

For the return of the reign of sisters Zara and Qwen
Marks the return of the dragons to all.'"

"Sword? Shield? A charm of the sun and the moon? That sounds like us!" Zara cried. She was starting to get excited.
"'The one who casts runes?' What is that supposed to mean?" Qwen asked.
"Well, when this spell was cast, casting runes was what they called spell casting," the voice knowledgeably replied.
"Gwen, this sounds like us!" Zara cried, turning to Gwen.

Gwen stared at Zara like she had lobsters crawling out of her nose. She seemed so anxious to accept this. . .this. . .voice! I mean, really. Charms? Dragons? That's ridiculous. And that's what she told Zara.
"Yes, but isn't it all so fantastic?" Zara cried back. Her eyes had become glazed over with happiness.
Gwen rolled her eyes. "All right, fine. Let's just say that I believe you, whoever you are. Mind you, I think you're crazy, but just for the sake of argument, let's say I believe you. What would that mean?"
"Well, I would tell you how to get your dragons, and how to access your powers," the voice replied.
"Dragons?! Are you serious?" Zara cried. She seemed to be really getting into this. "I thought all the dragons died with Draco," she said.
The voice came back, bemused. "They did all die with me."
Zara and Gwen's mouths dropped open. "You're Draco?" Zara asked, shocked.
"Of course I am," came the voice. "Who else would be sent to guard the prophecy?"
"This is amazing!" Zara cried.
Gwen still didn't believe all of this. "Prove it."
"Prove what?" Draco replied.
"Prove all of this stuff you're telling us," Gwen shot back.
"Do I have to? Haven't you already seen enough proof getting your shield?"
"And my sword!" Zara cried. "That's how I knew how to use it! It's inside of me!"
Draco laughed. "Yes, exactly. You know, Zara, you haven't changed from the way you were."
"You mean we were alive once before?" Zara asked.
"That's right. You and your sister Qwen ruled over the humans and the dragons and all lived in peace. Then the Dark Lord Frityr rose to power and cast a curse upon you. But the good work of the great wizard Arawn and the Dragons cast the spell that I recited earlier to bring you back and restore the dragons to the earth and to take rule over the land again."
"Let's not get off the subject here. Prove to us that you're telling the truth," Gwen said, still disbelieving.
"You haven't changed either, Qwen. Now, let me see. Your companions, uh. . .Joshua and Anthony? Correct?" Draco asked.
"Josh and Andy, yeah," Gwen replied. "That's just a lucky guess."
"Okay. Well then, something that she would believe. . .Do you believe that seeing is believing?" Draco asked.
"Depends on what I'm seeing," Gwen replied.
"Well, let's try this then." Suddenly the water started to glow a crystal clear color that flowed up into Gwen and Zara. It turned black and purple for Gwen and orangey-red for Zara. It covered Gwen completely and then it faded away. Gwen looked over to see Zara standing beside her. She had orange and red streaks in her hair and a crown of fire. Her body was covered in a flame-colored dress and she wore red gloves.
In the very center of her chest there was a dragon, its frame surrounded by a white line. The dragon was red with orange flame patterns. You could only see its side, so you could only see one eye, and that eye was the sun charm that had been on the necklace around Zara's neck.
Gwen looked down at herself to see that she was wearing a black dress with a purple dragon with black swirls all over it, its form surrounded by a black light. She wore black gloves and she reached up to her head. She could feel a crown and she looked down into the water—that had now become crystal clear—and could see a crown of the deepest shade of blue the sky ever got during sunset and it had twinkling lights in it to represent the stars. She looked up into the waterfall.
"Now I believe you," she said.
Draco laughed. "I think that your companions, Andy and Josh, will also believe me now."
"Andy and Josh? What do they have to do with this?" Gwen asked.
Zara gasped and her eyes sparkled even harder. "They're the protectors from the song, aren't they?" she asked with a delighted wonder in her voice.
Draco laughed. "Yes, they are." The sounds of running came from behind the two girls and they looked over their shoulders to see two boys, both wearing completely black pants and shirts, but each had something special about them.
One, with brown hair and brown eyes, had a deep blue dragon with purple coming in on the edges of the body on his chest and he carried a sword, which glinted blue light. The other, with black hair and green eyes, had an orange dragon with red tendrils of fire on its legs, with a sword glinting orange. They ran up to the two girls and stopped dead in their tracks.
The black haired one looked from Zara and back to Gwen. Finally, his eyes settled on Zara. "Zara?" he asked unsurely.
Zara narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. "Andy?"
Gwen stepped forward and peered at the still-staring brunette. "Josh?"
"Gwen?" replied the boy.
Finally all of them burst into smiles and laughed. They stepped forward and inspected the others' costumes. Finally, Draco cleared his throat.
"Um, can we get back to the serious stuff now?" he asked.
Both boys jumped and stared at the falls. "The water can talk?" Josh asked.
Draco laughed. "I'm not just water. I'm Draco, the one who was sent to tell you about your destiny."
"Our what?" Andy asked.
Draco sighed and explained everything all over again.
"So, we get dragons?" Andy asked.
"That's right," Draco replied.
"Sweet!" he cried.
"When do we get them?" Zara asked.
"As soon as I can tell you where to find them," Draco replied.
Now Gwen was excited. She believed the old dragon—yes, she also believed that the spirit of the old, dead dragon was in that waterfall—and she couldn't wait to hear about that dragon of her own. But as looked over at Andy and Josh, and then at Zara, she noticed something: she was the only one who didn't get a sword.

Zara could barely contain herself. She was so excited that she was breathing in ragged, quick breaths. Her heart was thudding like crazy, and she knew that was because everything about her was finally being put back together.
"Go to the Old Forest, the Forest of Gandor. In the heart of the forest is a giant tree, the oldest tree in the world. Each of you positions yourself at your respective points at the tree. Qwen, you are north; Zara, south; Andy, east; and Josh, west."
"Why are those our points?" Qwen asked.
"Well, you, Qwen, are north because you are the moon and the mystical powers of the stars. Zara, you are the south because you are the sun and the fires of the sun. Andy, you are east because you are the sunrise. Josh, you are the west because you are the sunset," Draco explained.
"What happens after we stand in the right place?" Zara asked.
"Then you step forward and place your right hand on the tree. Close your eyes and picture the dragons that are on your chests. The rest will come. Go now, you know what you need to know."
Zara, Andy, Josh, and Qwen turned to go back into the waiting trees of the forest.

Gwen doubled back and walked back up to the waterfall. "Why don't I have a sword?" she called into the cascading water.
Draco sounded as if he had been leaving, but suddenly came back. "Huh?" he grunted.
"You heard me," Gwen replied. "Why don't I have a sword?"
Draco took a while to reply. "Because, Qwen, you have powers beyond that of a sword. You know that the Dragon Heaven is in the stars?" Draco asked. Gwen nodded. "Then do you understand that because you are of the night sky that you have the powers of Dragon Heaven? You have much magic within you, Qwen. You don't need a sword."
Gwen scowled. "Don't talk in riddles. Tell me flat out."
Draco sighed. "You have magic powers, Qwen. A lot of them. You don't need a sword."
Gwen nodded and still felt annoyed that she hadn't gotten a sword, but there was this feeling of flattery from the ancient dragon's words. "I still want a sword," she grumped and she turned and skulked away, the sound of the dragon behind her chuckling softly.