Deep into the night on Draco Island...

The lone,starless night was all that appraised Wendy's vision,from where she sat by the barred window of her holding cell outlooking what she had earlier made out with her dragon eyes as the edge of the island's thick forest.She was not yet fully conscious of her actions and hadn't been since she had awoken to find herself,too tired and aching to even move,laying on a cot that was suspended to the wall by chains but still could make out the outside.As lie there,her mind was tirelessly wrestling with whether or not the events of the last several days were real or not.

Where am I really...?Did anyone get away...?Did I really betray my own kind because...

"Wendy."A familiar male voice susurrated from a short yet unseen distance outside her window.

Swallowing a hard knot in her throat,she managed to inquire a little hesistantly."C...Cole?"

He didn't say anything for a long,despairing moment but asked her in an informative voice."Are you alright?I saw how hard our mother thrashed you and though it wasn't enough to break y-"

"What're you doing here?"she interrupted fretfully,miscontrued."I thought you were caught too."

"Sis,"Cole chuckled with a small scoff."The day one of you cretins contain me for good,is the day I'm going to rejoin the Huntsman."his voice sobered."And I'm wondering why you did."

"I don't want to talk about it..."Her voice sounded foregin to her ears."I can't anyways."

"Well,I'm here and I'm saying we need to talk about it."He sighed impatiently."What happened?"

An undeserving feeling swept over her."Just go,Cole."she sighed with tristfullness hinted in her words."Just go get the skulls and leave.I don't want you to try and save me,it's too late for me."

Wendy expected him to argue,expected him to do the same as she had when he had just about reached his limit.The reversing roles of the two in nearly the same predicament was not what she thought of or focused on,it wasn't what she had even done.No.It was just the need to be alone and then as silence seemed to become her only companion again,she heard him speak slowly.

"I don't know why you're doing this and I could never repay you enough for what you've done for me in the past."He paused and then finished with finality to his voice."I won't go against your wishes though.You want to handle this on your own,then it's precisely what I'll let you do."

Cold tears stung her azure eyes."I'm sorry."she whispered faintly and her body's hurt was then replaced by an inner one."I was only trying to protect everyone we left in our past...I-I had no choice;I had to do it or Chang said that the Dark Dragon would destroy them too.Now because of me everyones going to suffer.Darnet!It's all because I couldn't do what it took to stop him."

"Why did the Dark Dragon want you to join the Huntsman?You're a dragon and he's human."

Why was he stating the obvious?Couldn't he tell she was torn up and apart as it was?

"I don't know,Cole..."Wendy told him,emotion clogging her throat."It was spur of the moment."

Suddenly,she felt a gentle squeeze on her arm but her watery eyes made it impossible to use her dragon eyes."Heed these words,Wendy."Cole told her in a firm voice."I'm going to do whatever it takes to stop that dragon.As for you,it's you're choice what you do.You've dared to cross the kind of sheltered life you've led before and once you crossed it,there's never any going back."

And with that,he was gone.Like a shadow in the night,he had slipped away into what felt like to Wendy,an unknown world other then her own that was filled with turmoil that was now gradual in settling.His words had added reassuarance but new insight,there was a divide between who she had been before and was now and she had to choose.To portray innocence or accept guilt.

The next morning...

It had felt like an eternity inside the trapped walls,though she had seen ones similiar to it before and these seemed much more attractive in comparison.Strength had returned to her body when she had awakened to find a bowl of dry cereal and a carton of milk resting just above her head on the cot and now thirty minutes later,she was sitting up with her knees brought in and her upper self raised to look out the window with her arms folded on the ledge,looking out at a grand morning with the fresh dew bespeckling the foliage reminding Wendy of shimmery,liquid dimands about.Just watching and breathing in the crisp,fragrant air,was solacing enough for her.

"Gwendolyn."A heavily accented voice spoke her name and she turned see a large red dragon in the doorframe,a flux of joy coupled with worry spelt into her when she thought it was her father but her first assumption proved wrong."You're presence in requested immediately in a private hearing session with the Dragon Council and a few others.Are you willing to accept?"

The need to get things cleared up stole over her."Yes,sir."she replied back in a resigned tone.

Reluctantly,Wendy allowed him to bound her wrists with a swath of sphinx hair behind her back and then proceeded to lead her down a bare but clean concrete corridor.On her way down,she caught glimpses of the other Huntsmembers and some other unpleasant-appearing creatures as well.But what really made her insides turn was when the Huntsman looked through the bars of his cell at her and yet once he spotted what tied her hands,his eyes flashed a glare of fury.But she found herself holding her head up high and her gaze fixed determinedly ahead of herself.

Soon,they arrived at a compact metal door that was a ways from the prisoners."Enter here."The older dragon told her but added a rough warning."No tricks.They'll be no escape until decision."

Opposed to his words,a fleeting feeling filtered her heart.She suddenly wanted to just return to the present more then anything and do anything it took to help protect her future.But without any time to think,she was herded inside nearly and found herself seated onto a wooden stool and as a couple of beats followed,a section of the wall facing her slide opened to reveal five very important looking individuals,her father and mother,then finally her great grandfather and Fu.

"Gwendolyn."A middle-aged man she recognised as a younger councilor Andam addressed her promptly."You've been called here today on the grounds you have..."he glanced briefly at a clip board and then up at her."You are with the Huntsclan,are a dragon and know Mr. Jake Long."

Her mouth felt like cotton when she tried to reply but cleared her throat and mustered in a meek sounding voice."I-I'm not with the Huntsclan,I am a dragon and I do know him...in a way."

"I don't ever remember meeting you."Jake counteracted disprovingly."And even if I did,Rose is the only one I know who would even begin to have ties with the Huntsman that I know about."

"Young lady,"Another male Council member interjected in a more rigorous tone,his dark eyes squaring in on her."Do you have any given idea how serious an offense you've commited?"

Wendy nodded once."But I have my reasons."she explained calmly."It would take too long to go into them...acutually,telling them all could damange the rest of history as we know it."

Unconvinced looks crossed most of their faces and finally starting to feel desperation surface into her,she turned imploring eyes over to Rose,who was dressed casually and had worn a very unexpressive appearance on her visage,now only stared back at her through hollow,unforgiving sea hued eyes that told Wendy she was on her own.Somehow,someway,her brother's words from late last night came back to memory just as he had spoken them before he had left her.

"As for you,it's you're choice what you do.You've dared to cross the kind of sheltered life you've led before and once you crossed it,there's never any going back."

"He's right."she whispered under her breath resolutely."The moment I tried to become apart of this whole thing,is the moment I put my own self on the line and everyone else's as well."

A unsettled sigh brought her out of her thoughts and she saw Councilor Andam turn to instruct someone out of her range of sight."Guard,I believe were finished here.You may escort her-"

"Wait!"Wendy blurted out impulsively,springing to her feet and throwing herself to the glass wall that seperated them from her."You have to listen to me,I..."she struggled to find the right words to say and then let it spill out."The Dark Dragon is after the skulls to kill all the human beings."

A deep,stony and atonished spell followed after her confession.Anxiousness aroused in her as she darted a look from one face to another,unable to detect anything but pure shock amongst them all but finally they turned to her and she composed herself as quickly as could so as not to appear like she was about ready to lose it.Slowly,the Council looked at one another,huddled a bit to exchange hushed conversation tidbits which Wendy was about to listened to with her dragon hearing but recieved a hard look from Laoshi and finally the five faced her as one.

"We have a proposal for you."Councilor Andam said in a careful voice,eyeing her definitely as if to get it across to her that way."Your freedom for that key you still have stashed away that you never gave back according to Hun...um,Rose."he slipped her a sideways glance."That we know has access to the vault Huntsman keeps in his home which we currently have in our possession."

This news partly took Wendy by surprise,causing her to ask curiously."Didn't you take it from the Huntsman when you caught him or soon afterwards?He made a spare one just in case."

"Do you accept or decline,Gwendolyn?"He persisted firmly,hard pressed not to get off topic.

Freedom;it sounded so sweet."It's in my left shoe."she replied with a nod down and pressing the toes of her other shoe on it,slid the one concealing the key off."It seemed logical at the time."

Twenty minutes later,she was strolling out into the warm,pine and slightly salt air mingled outside where the sun blazed golden and the mid-morning sky held a fantastic sapphire that made all the previous actions of the last few days nearly vanish.As she stood just a ways from the holding cells,Rose came up from behind her and went alongside her to take in the beautiful new day.

"It's strange."She finally said after a while,her voice so wistful it made Wendy turn to see her not even two feet away."You've been so random with who you are.It's like you have multiple egos to you or something."her voice turned solemn."You should have told us this a lot earlier."

Understanding flooded her but she merely shook her head."I couldn't.My family was at stake."

"Then be thankful you have one."A small smile moved across Rose's features and she turned to look at a chittering squirrel darting across their path."For those of us who never did have one."

"Jake,"Wendy started hesistantly to the Asian American as he walked up to them."Has a guy around our age with hair kind of like yours shown up in the last few days?Just out of curiousty."

His thick black brows raised."Yeah,"he replied automatically."He's my cousin Brandon."

At that,Rose tossed her a suspicious look and inquired slowly."Or is he?"

"It isn't important."Wendy reminded her quickly."What's going to happen now that they know?"

"Alot of dragons are coming by the island to safeguard the skulls when tall,dark and hideous shows his freakish face around here."Jake told her flippantly,stuffing his hands in his pockets.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips and caused them to part in a generous smile."That's great.I-"

Just as fast as it had come,her near tranquility was broken and shattered in an epic explosion of black and blue light going out in every direction;she vaguely remembered the time travelling device she had left with Cole.Longing to return to the present once again emerged and she looked up expectantly after it all subsided,only to feel everything in her plummet at the sight of a large,horrible-looking ebony dragon five times her size.Soon it registered,the Dark Dragon.

To Be Continued...

A/N:Several more chapters to go.Probably three or four.

LP