The next day, Nex stood trial before the elders of the elite order of the Riders. He was bound, both with ropes and with magic. If he expended enough power to escape, he would surely die. They questioned him in the ancient language, so he couldn't lie if he wanted to. His smirk had vanished, his clothes were ragged and disheveled.

"Nex Thryte, with dragon Hiruldor, you stand before us to explain your actions. You cannot escape and if you do not speak in the ancient language, anything you say will not be taken into account. Do you understand?"

Nex nodded a yes. In the language of the elves, he said, "When Jiro was Kale, he destroyed so many things, including a friendship I thought would never end. I can't believe that any spawn of something so foul as a shade would be any different. At this moment, Kale is probably out there somewhere, controlling Jiro. If his bastard daughter is allowed to live, she could do almost as much damage as her pitiful father did."

The elders talked among one another for a minute, and spoke again, "That does not justify your actions. She is a Rider, which means the dragon, unnamed as of now, cannot find any faults with her. Attempted assassination on a fellow Rider without due cause is always punished by a death sentence."

Nex stared at the ground, fuming. He could have stopped her, but she overpowered him. Now his price for his big ego and skewed sense of morals would be death. He was too ashamed of himself to even try to think someone else would scour the earth of all things he found unfit.

Leila breathed a cold sigh of relief. Even if he had to die, which was sad, he would stop trying to kill her, which was good. Her siver little cuddleball on her shoulder interrupted her mixed feelings about Nex. "Leila", it spoke. "No more death."

She agreed with it wholeheartedly. She cuddled it in her arms as best as she could, it being an awkward bundle. "Name."

"Name you? Are you a cute boy dragon or a cute girl dragon?" She got a comprehending feeling from it, before it said, "boy." She thought of all the boy dragon names she could, but none seemed to fit. With a tear in her eye, she asked him if he wanted to be named Jiro. "Jiro. Me. Leila." Now that her cute boy dragon had a name, she could teach it more words. It definitely needed a larger vocabulary.

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He watched her as the sharp blade decapitated him. With Nex's last thoughts, he suddenly regretted his actions. Before he died, the last sound he heard was his dragon's enraged cries. "Sorry, goodbye... Hiruldor..."

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Leila turned away as the bloody face dropped to the gravel. She caught Ryu's eyes as he had turned away, too. Faolin hefted the carcass, and disposed of it. Her eyes were already puffy and red, but she still cried. He held her and brushed a few loose strands of hair behind her ears. Jiro squeaked excitedly as they went into another deep, entrancing liplock. "Jade likes you," he told her. She looked at the small green dragon staring at them with lamplike eyes. "Jiro likes you, too," She replied.

He whispered in her ear, "But I love you."