Disclaimer: I own the first girl, the second belongs to my friend. That's all I own in this one. So you can't sue me.

Author's note: Second chapter. Plot takes a slight twist in this one.

* * * *

In Millie Seasu, in the Evergreen Forest, an oversized rat stood, ready to attack. On the other side of the clearing, a young woman stood tense and waiting. Her long dirty-blonde hair was in a loose ponytail, the last three- fourths of its length in a braid. Her bangs were short towards the middle, then were cut to a gradual length that was still too short to be a part of the loose ponytail. Her blue-green eyes stared at the rat intensely. A teal headband wrapped around her head, lifting her hair and almost giving it a poofy look. The front of the headband was designed to come down to a gradual point in the middle of her forehead. Her tight shirt, which was of a light teal color, had sleeves that ran down to a point halfway down her forearm. She wore silver colored armor over her shirt; the metal shaped to fit her female body. It had no sleeves, and only went to the bottom of her ribcage. A leather belt was fastened tightly around her waist. A piece of light teal cloth was tied around her hips, the back looking similar to a spade with the tip nearly reaching the back of her knees. The ends that were tied hung down to her knees. Her tan pants were tight, as were her leather boots that went up to mid-shin. Loosely clenched in her hands was a long double-headed spear. It was of a silver color, with light teal engravings like long wisps of flame or wind decorated both ends and the middle of the staff. She was completely focused on the animal before her, tense and waiting.

With a screech, the rat leaped at her, fangs glistening. The woman wondered for a moment why it was trying to bite her and not claw her, then stepped to one side as the rat came flying towards her. As it passed by, she jabbed one spearhead into the animal.

She missed. She meant for the tip to force its way into the rat's ribcage and pierce its heart, but she was too slow. Instead a deep long gash appeared as the spearhead ran down the right side of the beast, leaving a long trail.

The rat tumbled to the ground a few feet away. The woman immediately whirled around; her braid nearly reaching up to hit her in the face as she intensely watched the rat's every move.

The animal lay unmoving for a few moments then slowly began to get to its feet. Seeing her chance, the woman leaped over and swung her spear, using the flat side of the un-bloodied head to hit the rat sharply on the side of its head, knocking it unconscious. It fell limply back to the ground, its front paws underneath it and tail stretched out behind it.

The woman brought her spear to her side, the end that knocked the rat out sinking slightly into the soft soil. She paused for a few moments to slow her breathing and let her heart slow. She had been chasing that rat all morning.

After her heart had returned to its normal pace, she sighed and stepped closer to her prey. She was a huntress. It wasn't her favorite job, but it brought in money, so it was better than nothing. Besides, her grandfather was a hunter- he had to so he could feed her grandmother and herself- so why couldn't she? It was practically in her blood.

She rolled the rat onto its back with her foot and found out why it didn't try to claw her. Its front paws were clamped together, almost as if it was holding something. The huntress puzzled over this for a moment before going back to work. Raising her spear, she estimated where the heart would be, then quickly and forcefully brought the spear down. The rat made no move when a rush of air left its lungs, and stopped moving entirely as no air came back in.

She pulled out her spear and made a face as blood began to ooze from the hole. She wouldn't get much for this pelt. With the big gash down the side and the hole in the chest, she would most likely get less than half for it. With another sigh, she bound its back feet together and began to lift it.

As soon as it left the ground, the two front paws came apart and a stone fell to the ground. Hearing the sound it made, the woman turned to see it roll towards her a few inches. She stopped and stared, then slowly lowered her catch to the ground and walked slowly to the stone. When she was close she kneeled down to look at it closer.

She saw it was a gemstone, rather large, but small enough that she could hold it in the palm of her hand. It was a perfect sphere, faultless and clean. It was of a light teal color matching her clothes. But what surprised her the most was the odd black shape in the middle. It almost looked like an eye, like that of a wild animal. Intrigued, the woman reached out to pick it up. Once she got close, the stone began to glow with a bright, light teal light.

She recoiled, bringing her hand back as she jumped slightly. The glow diminished. Her eyes widened in surprise. With her other hand, she gently tapped the stone with the tip of a spearhead. The gem flickered, but didn't glow.

The woman swallowed hard. She was wary; gemstones aren't supposed to glow when you get near them. She wanted to just leave it there and hope somebody else finds it.

But something was calling her to it. She couldn't hear anything, but an unspoken voice, like the soft tone of a mother singing to her children, was beckoning her towards it, to pick it up. Even her heart, which was back up to speed again, was yearning for the gemstone.

After a few moments, the huntress gave in. She slowly reached out, the gem once again giving off a bright glow. She paused for a moment, her hand a few inches from the stone. Continuing her reach, the light become so bright she had to shield her eyes from the glow with her left arm. Her right hand, however, continued to get closer until her hand clamped around it. The light was blocked from her face, so she put her arm down as she lifted the stone off the ground and towards her. Beams of light teal light escaped though her fingers, piercing the gloom of the forest caused by a cloudy sky. The unspoken voice had silenced itself, and her heart was satisfied. She stared down at the gem, an eerie calm feeling overtaking her. She placed the still glowing stone into a pouch on her belt. Some light escaped from the flap covering her treasure, but otherwise it was unnoticeable. Picking up her spear with her right hand and laying her catch on her left shoulder, she started her way back home to Furni, the Water City.

~

Meanwhile, on the other side of Endiness, a messenger walked into Seles. The poor man didn't know his way around the small village, and didn't know anybody who lived there. He was certainly going to have a hard time finding the recipient of the letter he currently carried. It was from King Albert himself, and didn't want to disappoint His Majesty by failing to deliver the letter.

However, he was a tourist, and spent a lot of time looking around and not watching where he was going.

"Hey!"

The messenger recovered from the collision to see a young woman, most likely in her early twenties, glaring bloody murder at him with ruby colored eyes. She was wearing leather pants that were rather tight, along with a black cloth shirt that ended at the bottom of her ribcage. Her leather boots only went up to just above her ankles. Her platinum hair flowed down to her back, and her bangs covered her face slightly before joining with the rest of her hair. A leather belt was fastened tightly around her hips, a sword attached.

The messenger was armed, but with just a short sword. He certainly didn't want to provoke a fight, as he was rather intimidated by the woman.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry miss. You see, I'm a little lost. I have a letter from King Albert and it's important that I deliver it, but I can't seem to find where its recipients live. I'm looking for a..." he paused at he pulled out the letter, reading the names. "... Dart and Shana Feld."

The woman shook her head, her glare toning down. "Don't know them."

"Well, thank you anyway, ma'am." He walked quickly, scooting around her and trying to put as much distance between them as possible.

The woman watched his retreating back, her glare gradually disappearing. She then shook her head and continued to walk. "Humans..."

Her muttering was disrupted as her steps were cut short. She was once again stopped, but this time for an entirely different reason.

It was almost a calling; a voiceless beckoning that was calling her towards something. She turned to her left and saw nothing unusual; a dirt road packed down from years of use and individual buildings of wood with large windows lining the side. One building, slightly behind her, was taking hold of her attention like she would her sword. It appeared fairly new; the sign was cleaner and had less dust on it from the road. The windows were fairly clean, just a few patches of dust here and there.

She took a few steps toward it, and the calling became louder. She increased her pace until she was at the door. Reaching up to push open the door, she paused long enough to read the sign. Its freshly painted letters said, "Reg's Gift & Keepsakes". By now the unspoken voice was practically screaming in her head, telling her to come closer. After a moment's hesitation, she pushed open the door and entered.

The second the door closed behind her, the voice diminished to a whisper. The woman looked around to see multiple shelves lining the walls. The room wasn't very big; there was a counter on the opposite side of the room from the door, and the rest of the space was for the customers. Objects were neatly arranged on each of the shelves, shining in the light that flowed though the window. Behind the counter stood a slightly large man, his back facing her. He didn't seem to notice her entrance at all.

She preferred it that way. She quietly walked around, glancing at the knickknacks and assortment of objects.

She was once again abruptly stopped. A flickering of a light had caught her eye. She turned to see what had caused it.

There, sitting on the second shelf, was a gemstone. It was big enough to fit in her hand comfortably. It was a perfect sphere. There were no faults to be found in it. It was entirely black, except for what appeared to be the shape of a wild animal's pupil outlined in red in the center. Intrigued, she reached out for it.

She recoiled when it began to seemingly glow, a dark shroud that seemed to swallow and cloak everything around it radiating from it. The moment she brought her hand back the shroud subsided, but the gem flickered every few seconds. Her eyes widened as she shot a glance at the shopkeeper. He hadn't seemed to notice the strange going-ons in his shop. Good.

After attempting to regain her composure, she checked her appearance in the reflection of a metal pot nearby. Making sure she looked like nothing had happened; she turned to the shopkeeper, who still had no knowledge of her presence.

"Sir?"

Her voice caught his attention, and he turned to face her with a cheerful smile. "Can I help you, ma'am?"

She didn't return the smile. "What is this and how much?" she asked as she gestured slightly towards the gem. She didn't want to set it off again.

"That's one of those Miracle Stones from Lohan. I found it by the side of the road just outside of Seles. They say that if it glows when you hold it, it'll cure just about anything: from poison to dispiriting. It's 100 gold."

The woman inwardly cringed. That was about half of her remaining gold.

Then there was that voice again. This time it was pleading, begging, then almost threatening...

"I'll take it."

She put the gold on the counter, and waited for the man to turn his back to put away the money before quickly scooping up the stone and putting it in a pouch on her belt before he could see the glow. She quickly walked out of the small building, the voice in her mind silenced and pleased. She headed home, which was just across the small village of Seles.

~

A few days later in the morning hours, the huntress guided her boat up to the landing in front of Teo's house. She was prepared for her hunt today: she had her double-headed spear, some healing potions, along with mind and body purifiers, a length of rope, and a small net.

She hopped onto land and tied up her boat so it wouldn't drift away. She didn't need to go though that again. She climbed up the stairs, then the door to Teo's house burst open once she reached the top. Teo came running out, Kamuy on his heels. They both stopped in front of her, Teo all smiles and Kamuy running circles around him, as always.

The woman smiled at them. "Good morning Teo." She crouched down; the wolf pup running up to her and putting his front paws on her knees, letting her pet his white head. "Good morning Kamuy."

"Ma and Pa wanted me to ask you if you wanted to come have dinner with us; Fa's coming too!"

The woman slowly got up, letting the pup get off her lap and resume running circles around Teo. "I'll try to come, okay?"

"Okay!" The boy and his wolf both ran to the house, waving goodbye as they disappeared into the house.

Her smile grew a fraction bigger. Teo was a darling child, and she really did care for the little boy. Every day she went hunting, he stood by the window and waved to her as she passed. On her way back it was the same, sometimes he would even shout her a hello or ask if any of the catches ran away. She walked out of Furni, her travels only taking an hour and a half to reach the Evergreen Forest.

She calmly strolled along the paths, taking her time and enjoying the scenery. If she hurried, she could possibly scare away some of the more meek of the animals that lived here. She liked how the trees lined along the path towered above, almost making a canopy of foliage. This was her favorite part of the hunt.

Her moment was disturbed, however, with a sudden noise behind her. She stopped suddenly, the familiarity of the sound dawning on her as her eyes widened to a noticeable size. She slowly turned on heel, only to come face- to-face with a wounded bear. Its eyes stared at her hungrily, another low growl emitting from its throat and into her face.

She felt her heart rate reach an all-time high as she swallowed hard. Her deep internal fear of wounded bears surfaced and induced the adrenaline rush. This was the one animal she couldn't hunt; they usually ended up hunting her first.

Without a second thought, she turned and ran, bursting though the line of trees. The bear was slower than her, but followed just the same. The only reason the huntress ran was because the path was too narrow for her to use her spear. There was a clearing in the forest that almost looked like a plateau; it would be big enough if she could find it.

Leaping over fallen branches and pushing leaves out of her face, her armored chest heaved as she ran.

'What did grandpa tell you about hunting bear after his trip?' she thought to herself. The other, less reasonable part of her supplied a reply: 'He didn't tell you anything, because that's the hunt he never came back from, you fool!'

Looking ahead, she saw the break in the trees and the plateau behind them. Silently, she praised Soa. The clearing was just ahead.

Unfortunately, so was the raised tree root.

She twisted in mid-fall in surprise; the result was her landing on her side instead of her face. The pouch on her belt opened from the impact, the light teal gem rolling out and coming to a stop a few inches away. The woman's head hit against a rock and knocked her unconscious for a brief moment. She regained her senses to hear the bear growl in victory as it came closer. It was close, too close for her to try to get up and make a run for it with her headache. She was done for.

Suddenly, an incredibly bright light appeared, seemingly coming from beneath her. It became so bright she had to shut her eyes and turn her head to protect her sensitive organs of sight.

She felt a slight tingling sensation run across her body, starting with her feet and going upwards. Simultaneously, she felt herself being lifted off the ground completely, against her will. Startled, she opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was the fact that she was hovering at the same height of the tops of the trees. The wounded bear was underneath her, looking up at her with a mix of surprise and curiosity. The huntress wondered idly for a moment as to how she was hovering.

There is a bright flash of light, and five semi-transparent soldiers appear in front of her. They all seemed to be facing the bear underneath her, which was jumping and swiping its claws at her, trying to reach her. The five specters suddenly swooped down at the bear, lifting it clear off the ground and tossing it clear across the forest. She lost sight of it after it fell back into the trees. After the bear landed, the five soldiers floated back to her, faced her, bowed, then disappeared.

She was shaking. She could feel it. It was a bit too much for a person to take in at once. In one moment, she was about to be eaten by a bear; and the next she was hovering thirty-odd feet above the ground as the spirits of soldiers long dead tossed the dang thing across the forest. She could actually feel the soldiers; they were a part of her. The thought in her head was 'Get the bear away from me' and they followed orders. What was going on?

And what the heck was that clanking?

She looked down to see her arms were still shaking, the armor on her arms making contact with itself and clanking together. It took a moment for her mind to register that she was only wearing armor on her chest when she went hunting.

Shock settled in as she inspected the strange armor. It was light teal in color, and decorated with intricate designs. Her hands were fitted with light teal gloves that almost felt like leather, her wrists and forearms protected with gauntlets. There was no armor on her shoulders, and the chest plate had no sleeves and bulged out slightly in the front where a large dark blue gem shone. The armor tightened around her waist, and formed a sort of skirting past her hips. A tight black cloth outfitted her legs, while knee and shin guards protected her lower leg. The armored footwear had a low heel; similar to the boots she was wearing before. Turning her head, she saw dark blue colored wings, similar in style to that of a dragon would, flapping in a casual pace behind her. Feeling a difference with her headband, she reached up to feel. It still had the gradual point on the bottom, but now had three points on top; the middle being the tallest and the other two the same. There were six small stones embedded in the headband; she guessed they were dark blue, just like the one in the front of her armor. She found her double-headed spear at her side; it had also been changed, and seemed to give off a light teal aura of power.

The woman stared at her weapon as she was unknowingly being lowered slowly to the ground by her wings. Her mind was suffering from an overflow of information. She was so preoccupied that she didn't feel the physical effects until she touched ground. Then her armor shimmered, then disappeared. She fell onto one knee with one hand on the ground to steady herself. She felt exhausted to the point she decided it was time to go home. She didn't care about the bear; if it survived the fall, it would take it a while to find her.

She forced herself to stand, using her spear to lift herself up off the ground and onto her feet. Her body felt like it weighed much more than it really did. Using her spear as a walking stick, she made her way back towards Furni. Her mind wandered back to her recent experience. 'Such strange armor,' she thought to herself. 'I wonder if that gemstone I found had anything to do with it...'

She stopped in mid-stride, freezing as it dawned on her. The gemstone! Where was it?!

She quickly turned to look behind her and see if she had dropped it. She saw the tall evergreen trees, the occasional bush, and short grass, but no gemstone. A tinge of panic settled in. She needed that gemstone if she was going to go to Denningrad and see if she couldn't find anything about it in the library.

A glowing caught her eye, and she looked down to see light teal light coming from under the flap of the pouch on her belt. She sighed in relief as she reached in and pulled out the still glowing stone. The light shined on her face, and she began to feel a little bit less exhausted. "Don't scare me like that..." she muttered to the gem as she smiled. It seemed to pulse momentarily, almost as if it was happy to see her. Then the light died down and she put it back into the pouch.

With new strength, she again walked back towards the Water City.

~

Seles was rather busy. The streets weren't packed, but it was the busiest Dart and Shana Feld had ever seen it. The town had grown a little after the damages from the Serdian War had been repaired, people and shops alike had moved in.

As it was, however, that information stood irrelevant to Dart and Shana. At the moment, their minds were more focused on their task at hand, which happened to be preparing for their trip to Bale. It had been quite a while since they had received the message from Albert, and were now about to leave; all they needed now was an appropriate supply of healing potions, mind and body purifiers, and -just in case- angel's prayers. In fact, they had just finished purchasing said items before the incredibly high-pitched scream echoed though the town.

No word passed between the married couple; just a glance into each other's eyes passed all the information they needed. Dart was the only one armed, and thus was the one to go check it out.

Once he arrived at the scene, the swordsman surpressed a groan. In the middle of the street, nearly hyperventilating, sat a woman. She was well known for her squeamishness as well as fear of insects and reptiles, and thus explained her screaming. Nearby wiggled a small green snake, completely harmless and pinned to the ground by an upturned basket.

Dart resisted the urge to hit himself upside the head. What was he thinking, actually believing that there was a need for his sword in Seles? The town was so out of the way that most people didn't even know it existed.

He was distracted from his musing as a woman walked up to the snake. Seeing her long platinum hair and ruby eyes, he bet himself she was a Wingly. She picked up the snake; the woman who had screamed, by this time had been helped up to her feet, backed away. The Wingly, with the snake in her hands, began to walk calmly to exit the town, which was behind Dart.

He watched her approach. He noted the sword attached to her belt and could tell by the way she walked she knew how to use it. She had an almost arrogant air about her, and he could see it in her eyes. She seemed to ignore him completely, as her eyes were looking past him. A choker necklace held a gemstone just above her collarbones.

She was within a few feet of him when the stone glowed with a black shroud. At the same moment, Dart felt the little heat the Divine Dragoon Spirit gave off when it glowed, which was in his pocket. The Wingly woman quickly clamped her free hand over the stone, effectively piercing the shroud and surpressing it back into the stone. It was the only time she looked Dart in the eyes. The look was a mix between a glare and embarrassment.

The eye contact broke and she walked right past him, not even moving around him to avoid their shoulders coming into contact. The impact almost pushed him to one side. She didn't stop to apologize; she just kept on walking, one hand still over the stone.

He turned to watch her retreating back, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the Divine Spirit. It pulsed in his hand for a moment, then stopped glowing. Dart glanced at it, then looked back at the woman. Her hand fell away from the gem on her necklace.

She had a Dragoon Spirit, he was sure of it. But as to what element it was, he didn't know. At first glance it looked like the Darkness Spirit; but the Darkness Dragoon Spirit was dark blue, and the one the Wingly had was completely black.

It was at this time Shana ran up to him, her brown eyes meeting his blue as they reflected worry. She knew something was bothering him; she could see it. "Dart?"

Dart looked at her for a moment, then down at the Divine Spirit, then finally at the Wingly woman's back. "Shana... That woman's a dragoon..."

~

The snake squirmed slightly in her hands as she walked, but she didn't mind. She had taken a roundabout route to the top of a rather steep hill that overlooked the town, and she continued down a path to a heavily forested area. She stopped near a large rock. Unbeknownst to her, it was the same rock that two warriors had hidden behind while a dragon was chasing them over a year ago, almost two. And little did she know about the figure crouched behind it, who was watching her very carefully.

"Humans can be such cowards," she said to the snake. "That woman was afraid of you."

The snake just wriggled in her hands, wanting to be let go.

The Wingly woman sighed. "Oh well. I guess I can't help it if some people are just incredibly weak." She crouched down and let the snake slither out of her hands. It darted away into a nearby bush.

The woman stood for a moment, watching where the snake had disappeared for a moment, then turned to go back home to Seles. She had only gotten a few steps away before the ground lurched beneath her, nearly lifting her off her feet. A loud noise that sounded somewhere between a roar and a growl came from behind her. She managed to stay on her feet as she pulled her sword from its scabbard, but got on one knee in case of further movement from the ground. She had turned towards the sound, sword in her hands, but she still wasn't ready for what was about to emerge from the trees.

She got to her feet when she heard the heavy footsteps approaching. She held her sword at ready in front of her. Her face was set with her jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed, looking for the threat. Once she saw it, though, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

It was huge. Rearing up to its full height, its head broke though the tree line. It was completely black. It had four legs, a long tail, a long neck, and two large wings. The wings were tucked in at its sides. Even then, it was still a frightening figure.

The woman took a step back, still looking terrified. The dragon towered over her, eyeing her hungrily with red eyes.

It happened quite suddenly. The stone on her necklace began to glow the black shroud again, this time surprising her by how fast the shroud grew. Within a second, it had seemingly swallowed her whole, surrounding her with a blackness that made her wonder if she was even alive. A slight tingling sensation washed over her, then the darkness was seemingly absorbed back into the stone, leaving her dazed and confused as to what just happened.

The dragon had stopped moving entirely. It was no longer looking at her with hungry eyes. Now it just stared at her with a look that she could only identify as shock or surprise.

What it did next took her completely off guard. Like an obedient dog, it lay down, legs tucked underneath it and head on the ground just a few feet away. The ground visibly trembled as the tail rested upon the ground with a loud noise.

She didn't feel it, however, because she was hovering about ten feet off the ground.

She looked down to see that she really was ten feet off the ground. She didn't think her eyes could get any wider. She was proved wrong as she noticed the strange armor.

Her new footwear was high-heeled and armored. Shin guards ran up to above her knees. Her legs were fitted with a tight black cloth. Armored skirting of some sort surrounded her hips. Her midsection was left bare, but the armor around her chest bulged out slightly over her heart, a large dark blue gem being held in the middle. The armor seemingly stretched up to her shoulders, where they fit comfortably yet tightly. Gloves protected her hands, while gauntlets protected her forearms and wrists. Turning her head, she saw two wings were attached to her shoulders; the wings themselves were a dark blue, just like the stone in the front of her armor. The rest of the armor was completely and utterly black; it seemed to absorb all light that touched it. Only when she saw it at an angle did she see the intricate designs that covered all of her new armor. She could feel a headband resting on her brow, but she ignored it. Instead, she raised her sword, which was also transformed and seemed to give out an aura of power.

A noise brought her attention back to the dragon in front of her, which was still laying and waiting. It raised its head off the ground when she looked at it. The woman slowly reached out with her empty hand, which trembled slightly as it reached for the muzzle of the dragon just a few feet away. A few moments later, her fingertips came to a rest on the tip of its nose; a flash of understanding came upon her face. Her wings slowly lowered her to the ground; the dragon's head following as the woman's entire hand rested on its muzzle. Once she touched ground, her armor shimmered, then disappeared. She was back in her normal clothes.

She felt a sudden weakness race though every fiber of her being; the aftereffects of her transformation was finally taking its toll. Her knees gave out underneath her, and she fell forward. She never hit the ground, however, because the dragon nudged its head forward enough to catch her. She landed with her body draped across the bridge of the dragon's nose like a tablecloth.

She raised her head to look the dragon in its eyes, then slowly forced herself to stand. She could trust the dragon. She didn't know how she knew; she just did. She trusted the dragon and the dragon trusted her.

Once she had gotten to her feet, the dragon's head whipped around to face the big rock. It began to growl, its huge claws digging into the ground and its wings shifting in preparation of flight or fight. This startled the woman for a moment, then she pulled out her sword- which had somehow found it's way back into its scabbard- and held it at ready as she faced the rock.

"Who's there?!" She said it in a way that it almost sounded like a threat.

Her heat beat three times before someone actually did move out from behind the rock. He appeared to be a little younger than her. He had long blonde hair that was more-or-less spiked and held up with a red headband. His icy blue eyes watched her carefully. He was wearing red armor that looked like it had been in many battles. Underneath the armor he wore a black body suit with red knee guards. Two leather belts circled his hips; a sword and scabbard attached to one. The sword didn't help his attempt to look unthreatening, as he had both hands raised in a sign of peace. He took a few steps towards them, then stopped.

"Were you watching us?" The Wingly woman asked, still sounding threatening.

The man hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

The woman raised her sword an inch. "Then give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you where you stand."

"The same reason I followed you." He was sure to keep his voice at a calm tone; the last thing he wanted to do was anger both her and the dragon. He slowly began to reach for his pocket.

The dragon tensed, it's growling intensifying as it prepared to attack. The man froze, not looking scared but watching the dragon very closely.

The woman risked turning her head to look at the dragon. "Easy... Easy," she murmured in a soothing tone, hoping to calm the dragon down. It worked. The dragon relaxed. About an inch. The woman turned her attention back to the man, who waited a moment before continuing his reach.

He pulled out a multi-colored stone, about the same size as hers. He held it out at arm's length away from him, and it began to glow. Almost like a reaction, the stone on the woman's necklace began to glow as well. It startled her, causing her to involuntarily take a step back. The two stones glowed for a few moments, and then their glows diminished and pulsed at the same rhythm.

"Do you still want to kill me?" he asked.

The woman paused for a moment. "No," she said finally, putting a hand over the pulsing stone around her neck.

The man put his stone away and both the stones stopped pulsing. He walked over to the woman, yet keeping one eye on the dragon, which was watching him very closely as it moved it's head next to the woman. She immediately began to pet the dragon, almost as if she had been with it for years.

"I'm Dart. Dart Feld."

"Elizabeth," said the woman. "So, you have one of those too?"

Dart nodded. "Where'd you get yours?"

"A shop in Seles. Cost me 100 gold." Elizabeth put her sword back in its scabbard. She could trust Dart. She just knew.

Dart seemed to be thinking. His arms had folded across his armored chest and his eyes narrowed just the slightest bit. "Maybe she should come with us..." he mumbled to himself.

Elizabeth's red eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you talking about me?"

Dart unfolded his arms. "My wife and I are going to Bale soon. You should come along."

"Why?" she asked venomously.

He simply reached up and tapped just above his collarbones with two fingers.

She reached up and felt above her own collarbones and felt the gem.

"It'll be worth it. Trust me."

Her eyes un-narrowed and she looked at the dragon. It was easy to tell she was debating against herself. "I'll come," she said finally. "I don't see what good it'll do me, but I'll come."

Dart smiled with a hint of accomplishment. "You won't regret it. So, what are you going to do with your dragon?"

Elizabeth's head snapped to glare at Dart. She didn't really know what to do. She all of a sudden was the unwilling "owner" of a dragon. It's not that she didn't like it; she had already developed a soft spot for it; but a dragon wasn't exactly a house pet. Her glare dissolved. "I don't know," she admitted.

"Well, how about a name?"

She resisted the urge to glare at him again. That wasn't much easier. She had no idea what a good name for a dragon would be. What in Endiness possessed him to think a name would just pop into her head-

She suddenly smiled. "Jamie."

"Jamie?" he repeated.

She nodded. "Jamie. I think it suits her."

"Wait a minute. Your dragon's a girl? How can you tell?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "I just know."

Dart folded his arms across his chest. "Jamie the Black Dragon it is then." He would have finished the title, but he had no idea what element Elizabeth was. But he knew for sure that she wasn't darkness. The transformation was different. Rose was enveloped in a ball; Elizabeth transformed in a large black beam that shot down from the sky. The armor, the dragoon spirit, the transformation, the color- it was a completely different element.

Elizabeth suddenly whispered something into Jamie's ear. Once she finished she gave the dragon a pat on the head before Jamie spread her giant wings and took off, disappearing in the clouds above.

He watched until she disappeared, then looked at Elizabeth with one eyebrow raised.

She glared at him. "None of your business," she said sharply. She then eased off the glare and spoke in a more conversational tone. "So, are we going back to Seles?"

Dart nodded and unfolded his arms. "It's best if we leave as soon as possible."

They both walked towards Seles, Dart waiting for her to catch up to him before walking himself.

"What's the story behind these stones we have?" Elizabeth asked as she walked alongside Dart.

Dart chuckled. "It's a long, *long* story."

* * * *

Author's note: Wow! 14 pages long! That's the longest chapter I've ever written! Let me know what you guys think, and thanks to those who helped me with Guaraha's name. Next chapter will be coming... well, sometime. I'll try to hurry. And before I forget; I'm not entirely sure I got the name of the Water City right. If someone could check that for me, I'd be thankful.