Yolei woke up. The morning sun was fresh, and beams of golden light filtrated through some gaps in the ceiling. Silven was nowhere to be seen. Nightmare and Fury were laying down, relaxed but awake, resting at different sides of the cave. The gold was greeting her greedily, tempting her to cross the lake and take a hold of a little coin, just being able to touch the cold smoothness. The mage knew better than to cross a lake that was situated before a treasure. Maybe it was instict, but deffinitely, it wasn't a good idea. Dragons were powerfully magical creatures.
The woman walked towards the entrance of the cave. Poking her head out, through the curtains of leaves and twigs, Yolei didn't dare to come out. Silven was standing right before it, backing her so he hadn't noticed her pressence. The man inhaled deeply, breathing the morning's fresh air, the humid coolness after last day's storms. Sounds of all kinds of birds and creatures echoed in a chorus, and the elf seemed to be enjoying this with all his soul.
"It's good to be home..." Silven said gently, taking another deep breath and exhaling the air out.
"Silven?" Yolei inquired, rustling the leaves very noisily to call his attention.
The man turned around and smiled gently, as well as brightly like the sun's golden beams. The bluish violet eyes were sparkling with such a luminity, with such a magic, that they were an intense violet colour now, like a morning sky, or an aurora of the north. Yolei gasped lightly at this breathtaking vision, for watching the elf so radiat made her blush. Yet she was fast to ignore it, and came out of the cave completely.
"Hello, Yolei!" the man said, almost exitedly.
"About last night... well, you don't have to come with me if you don't want to!" Yolei explained awkwardly.
"You'll never get there if I don't help you." Silven explained, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder.
"But where exactly are you taking me? You're saying that you will help me, but I still don't know how!" Yolei was deffinitely very tense when her voice exploded in complains.
"Relax, listen!" Silven said, waiving his hands to calm her down, "You want to be with Izzy, and you know dragons and humans can never be together." The elven boy explained calmly.
Yolei nodded shily, visibly more relaxed.
"Well then, the only way you can be together is by becoming a dragon. I know someone who can do that, that's where I was taking you!" Silven said more excited now.
"Who is this person, and where exactly is he?" Yolei question more trustlessly.
"Her name is Argenta, and she lives in Aberyn." Silven explained with a shimmer of nostalgia blazing in his violet eyes.
"Aberyn?" Yolei's voice spoke questioningly.
"It's an island hidden at the south of the Eanay ocean." Silven said, staring into the depths of the jungle that surounded them.
"Fine then. I'll go get the horses!" Yolei said, and turned around to get back into the cave.
"That's it? You aren't going to ask any more questions?" Silven inquired, staring at the retreating mage with surprise.
"No... what more should I ask?" Yolei asked him shrugging, stopping right before the entrance of the dragon's lair.
"I don't know, like how I know about the island, for example!" Silven exclaimed, staring at the woman and pondering about possible inquiries.
"Why should I? I don't know this place! If it's a legendary island, or something like that, I don't know it. So don't expect me to be shocked if you tell me we are going to Aberyn." Yolei argued, staring at the elf severely, "It's almost as if I tell you we are traveling to Atlantida."
"At... lan... ti... da?" Silven's face was priceless, his confussion as he tried to pronounce the legendary Atlantida's name.
"See?" Yolei huffed, raising her arms to the air and vanishing behind the green curtain of foliage.
Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Hours later, the two riders had finally exited the thickness of the jungle. A small hill covered in green grass was like a rug placed at the exit of a luxury hotel. Right where the slope ended, a vast extention of desert expanded before their eyes. At the very end, was the sea, glimering in the distance like a sapphire.
"It's beautiful!" Yolei exclaimed, watching the parade from her position on the heights.
"And dangerous, lets go!" Silven said seriously, he was frowning, and his eyes scanned the desert back and forth, as if searching for something.
"Dangerous? Why? What can hide in such a big surface of white sand?" Yolei asked, staring at Silven without understanding, her coment was a direct protest.
"We can't, that's for sure." Silven said, kicking Fury's sides and starting to walk, "Anyways, this used to be the home of a vicious, black dragon. It might still be around." The elf kicked Fury much more insistently, making the stallion beging to gallop.
"Wait!" The mage called, kicking her mare and receiving a snort of protest as she began to gallop.
The two horses galloped across the soft sand. Nightshade's thick hooves were sinking on the gentle softness, and Yolei was having serious troubles keeping her balanced enough to continue the gallop. Red Fury was galloping with some ease, yet the smaller hooves kept penetrating the sand. A cloud of dust was being lifted as the horses torn the sand and broke the soil. A cloud of dust that was visible from a long distance.
The thundering sound, mixed with a screal, of a guttural, animalistic sound, startled the two travelers, and their horses. Nightmare seemed to lean lightly to the left side, as she attempted to maintain her nerves calm. Yolei looked left and gasped. There was something terribly familiar about the enormous shadow looming over them threateningly. It was the same dragon she and Nightmare had been escaping from, a couple of nights after she reached Becenykan with Matt and Kari.
"Silven! It's a dragon!" the woman yelled, urging the mare forward with a move of her hands, and leaning her body forward.
"I know!" Silven answered, not shaking a single muscle, "Keep riding!" the elf yelled back, urging Fury faster.
Yolei obeyed, and tried to ignore the growing shadow that was already over them. The black dragon roared again, and the mage noticed him inhaling a gulp of air, getting ready to spit the lethal, fire attack. The woman closed her eyes, and got ready for the torching blow they were to receive. It was because of her fear that Yolei never got to see the small, valiant shadow, flying straight to the black reptile. The mage did hear the hight pitched call, and the dragon's surprised roar, and did feel the retreating combatants.
Interested in the events, Yolei opened her eyes and turned her head to the point where the dragon was fighting a flying creature, like a large bird, much smaller than him. It was a griffin, the tan body of a lion's, the claws of an eagle's, the dark brown head, beak and wings, those of a prey bird, and the chocolate eyes... the chocolate eyes were human. The small, winged beast was fighting the black dragon, alone, evading the flames, the slashed, and the bites, and attempting to blind him with his small claws.
"Silven!" Yolei called rapidly, pulling at the mare's reins and making her stop abruptly.
"You could just tell me to stop, you know?" the mare protested, displeased.
"Sorry... SILVEN!" Yolei called again, staring at the retreating figure.
Finally, the elf looked at the woman. Seeing how she had stopped, Silven also pulled Fury's reins and made him turn around, galloping to reach the black mare and the mage.
"Everything ok?" Silven asked breathlessly, once he had reached Yolei's side.
"That griffin has saved us!" Yolei pointed at the animal, still manoeuvring to stay alive.
"Probably we entered his territory. Griffins are natural from here, lets go!" Silven turned around to leave, and got ready to kick Fury.
"That griffin has saved our life, Silven." Yolei said much more seriously, much harsher, "Do you think it's got a chance against that dragon?"
"Yolei, we will get killed! The four of us!" Silven snapped angrily, "That dragon there is called Shadow, and he is Rakesh's first mate. That dragon defeated Quicksilver, who is Argenta's son, a white dragon! The Prince of Dragons! Do you think we've got a chance?"
"How can you be such a coward, Silven?" Yolei snapped angrily, glaring at the elf.
The mage tugged at Nightmare's left reign and both galloped into the distance, towards the dragon. Silven, frozen in the place, saw Yolei face Shadow valiantly, while Nightmare reared and snorted at the monstruous reptile. A ball of fire flashed here, followed by a column of fire. A brown blurr, that was the griffin, distracted the dragon's attention, and Yolei took that chance to cause some serious damage with ice darts. The dragon roared and crimson blood oozed from various gashes on his chest.
"Aren't you going to do anything?" the chestnut stallion protested, stomping on the sand with his hoof.
"I... I can't... I..." Silven began saying, watching how a mage and a griffin were risking their lives to defeat a dragon.
"Oh, shut up! Of course you can!" Fury snorted, and glared at the elf through his amber eyes.
At that precise moment, the dragon threw a blow at the griffin with his claw, and sent the poor winged beast rolling on the sand. Nightmare recoiled fearfully, staring at the monster as he leaned threateningly over her and her rider. The mage kept facing the dragon bravely, glaring at the monster, letting him know she was no longer afraid. Silven knew that Yolei would never survive against that precise dragon. Silven knew something for sure, and that was that he would give his life for the girl, because he loved her.
"GO, GO, GO!" the man whipped the stallion with the remaints of the reins.
The chestnut horse leapt at a wild gallop, and began heading towards the dragon. Silven let go of the stirrups and kneeled on the saddle. When he was sure that he was balanced, the elf stood on the saddle, one foot front, the other back, and the reins being held by his long, slim fingers.