Chapter Three: Behind the Mask

"It was nothing," Balian said. He eyed her gripping his forearm rather tightly, and she apologized.

"Sorry, I've never been this high up before," Tatyana said.

"What?" Balian asked.

"I've never flown before, I never learned how to do anything but hover a few feet off the ground," she said.

A soft breeze pushed them a few inches, and she clenched onto his forearm again with both hands.

"Really now," Balian said with a chuckle. The poor girl was staring at the ground with twice as much fear as she had when her husband was attacking her.

"You've been a Dragoon for most of your life, Balian. Long ago you forgot your fear of heights, but this girl obviously still has a fresh fear," The Dark Dragon said.

Balian nodded, and gave her a smile. "You know, if you keep staring at the ground, you'll never figure out that it's actually a beautiful night up here," he said.

After a moment, with effort, Tatyana pulled her eyes up to look into Balian's. She gave a small smile, and looked at the area above and around them. As she took in the view of the night sky, above the clouds, with all the shades of the darkest blue around and below them, and the pale moon directly above their heads, immersed in the twilight of a million stars, she sighed, and with her breath, her tension seemed to leave her.

Tatyana let go of Balian's wrists, and looked herself over. "What happened?" was all she could think of to say. Balian thought about his answer for a good long moment, considering how much to tell her.

"My name is Balian, I was keeping the Spirit of the Red Eyed Dragon, waiting for it to find a new bearer. I'm on the way to Basil to…speak with the higher ups, and-"

"Ooohh, you're a mercenary, aren't you?" She asked. "You're going to help Serdio in the war."

"…Yes," Balian said. He didn't see much point in telling a scared girl that he was looking for the only thing that could save his life, and through that, the lives of countless other people. At least not at the moment, high above the ground. "Evidently, the Red Eyed Dragon, saw itself in you, because it gave you its armor."

"Its armor?" Tatyana asked. She obviously didn't understand.

"Yes, its armor. You see, when a Dragon dies, it can chose to keep its spirit on this place in the form of a gem that strongly resembles a reptilian eye. The spirit can chose bearers that can efficiently utilize the Dragons powers, and that person becomes a Dragoon, a warrior with the power of that Dragon. You have the spirit of the Red Eyed Dragon, the master of the element of fire, as you may have guessed. There are several more, but I don't know where they are precisely, and it doesn't really matter, all I need is to reach Basil," Balian explained.

"I see," Tatyana said, with a tone that gave Balian a foreboding chill. Then she asked the question he feared. "Take me with you, please?"

Balian sighed. "Let's find a place to stay the night." They floated down to a safe clearing in the forests north of Lestrowe. They touched down lightly on the grass, and Balian quickly looked around for any potential dangers.

"Tatyana, I cant bring you with me," he said. He let the armor dissolve back into the spirit, and left her to gather fire wood.

He came back moments later to find her in her true form, sprawled out on the ground. The sudden drain of power had evidently caused her to faint. Balian let her rest, and got the fire started. He then left to hunt for food.

An hour or so later, Balian pulled the deer leg off of the fire, and heard Tatyana stir behind him. He turned as she sat up, and looked around her with a look of surprise.

"No, it wasn't a dream," Balian said with a low chuckle. He offered her a bit of the leg, but she declined.

"I've eaten a lot today, but thank you," she said.

Balian shrugged and began eating…Tatyana was silent for a moment, but soon felt she had to push harder on going with him.

"I cant go back to Lestrowe, Balian. Please, take me as far as Basil. Erroune will probably try to kill me if I go back to Lestrowe," she said.

"…How did you end up with someone like him?" Balian asked.

"I didn't have a choice. My parents and his were good friends, we were paired up ages ago. It was how things worked in the forest that we came from. He decided to leave and explore the human world, and he took me with him. For fifty years we've wandered around, and for the last decade or so, we've resided in Lestrowe," she explained.

She took off the rings from her fingers. "This is the symbol of the married Wingly, the curse of mine for nearly sixty years now."

Balian held his hand out, and she placed the four rings in his hands. "Have you ever cared for him?"

"As a lover? No, I don't even think he cared for me, he just enjoyed having someone to completely control," she said. Balian closed his fist, and then threw the rings in the fire. Tatyana smiled at him.

"Those rings symbolize a lie, and have no value," he said. He looked into the fire, and watched the metal heat up and begin to glow.

"So will you take me with you?" Tatyana asked. Balian looked to her, now resting her arms on her knees, and her cheek on her arms. Her red eyes were on his, and he felt a quickening in his heart.

"…You cant slow me down, or I'll have to leave you in the nearest town we find. I'm in great haste," he said. Tatyana smiled, and looked into the fire.

"I wont slow you down, but I don't think you're unkind enough to drop me somewhere like bad luggage," Tatyana said. "But thank you, Balian, in only one night you've done a countless number of favors for me."

"I have a feeling it will end up being no trouble at all, now get some rest," Balian said. He got up and started walking around the clearing.

"You're growing fond of her rather quickly, don't you think?" The Dark Dragon asked.

"…I don't know what you're talking about, leave me alone," Balian said. The Dragon chuckled.

"I felt what you felt, remember?" The Dark Dragon said.

"…Shut up," Balian said sheepishly. "I don't want to talk about it. I want to take care of my sickness, and as quickly as possible."

"If nothing else matters, perhaps you should tell her about your infection. She won't stick around if she knows her life is in danger, will she?" The Dark Dragon probed.

"…Perhaps, but I don't want to scare her tonight. I'll tell her in the morning," Balian said.

But Balian never told Tatyana about his infection, three days passed by as his condition remained a secret shared between him and the Dragon. He never told her because, in truth, the Dragon had struck the nail right on the head. Balian was quite fond of the pretty girl with the majestic voice. He didn't wait any longer than the next night to request a song from her. She joyously obliged.

"Do you know any songs in this language?" Balian asked. Tatyana shook her head and apologized. "Oh, no, that's all right, just play whatever you want."

She smiled and began plucking away at the strings, playing the same song she'd played the night they'd met. Balian sat back and relaxed, watching the crescent moon slink slowly around the sky. Then he glanced nervously at the Blood Moon, gliding at the edge of the skyline. He knew that the revolution was less than that of the true moon, and it gave him some worry. Luckily enough, Tatyana's sweet song pulled him from worry and back into a euphoric state.

When she finished, Balian sat up. "Why did Erroune become so angry when you played that song in the tavern?"

"He knew that as much as he controlled me, he would never rid me of my will to be free of him, and it angered him. The song is a Wingly song about learning to grasp freedom, and flying away with it. He's always hated my singing it," Tatyana answered.

"Well, that's foolish. It's such a beautiful song," Balian said.

"Yes, I know, it's my favorite," Tatyana said.

Suddenly, a pack of wolves burst from the forest, having been hunting them for some time. They growled, and drooled at the two unwary explorers in their woods. Balian was up in an instant, but Tatyana stopped him.

"I have this, Balian," she said. She quickly dawned her Dragoon armor, and watched the wolves give a jump. Yet they continued closing in on the pair, licking their lips.

Tatyana looked to her harp, and plucked the highest string on it. Then, her eyes burst into flame, as she shrieked out a note to match it perfectly. Balian felt it reverberating throughout the clearing they were in. The wolves howled in bitter pain, and shrunk to the ground to try to cover their ears from the musical onslaught. Then, as Tatyana's voice continued the note, the fire behind her voice spoke a single word.

"Explosion." The wolves were all thrown away by a fiery explosion underneath them. Several of them died on the spot. The others, horribly burned, limped off into the wilderness to treat themselves. They wouldn't be back.

She let her armor return to her spirit, and Balian gave her a few claps. "Well done," he said. "Impressive."

She smiled. "Thank you." They sat back down by the fire, and finished eating the meal they'd prepared prior to the attack.

"It took me quite a while to get used to the magical attacks of the Dark Dragon Spirit. You're learning really fast," Balian said. Tatyana smiled. There was a moment of silence, Balian saw she was building up to ask a question, but first she gave a smile.

"Thank you again…I've been playing with the notions of what I can do with a Dragon's power, and as if it knows me, I've been getting pictures in my head of me doing incredible things with my armor," Tatyana said.

"Well it does know you, Tatyana. The bond between a Dragon Spirit and it's bearer are strong and thick. You feel most of the same emotions simultaneously, it's quite amazing really," Balian said.

Tatyana looked to the Spirit, that had created itself a necklace to wrap around her neck, and drape down in the center of her chest. "…How do you know that? I can't converse with my Dragon."

"I can," Balian said, then his eyes shot wide open.

"Remarkable." The Dark Dragon said. Balian didn't even try to defend himself from the Dragon's implied insult. As soon as he'd said the words, he knew he'd made a mistake.

"…How?" Tatyana asked.

Balian's mind raced faster than his heart, as he tried desperately to find a way out of this situation.

"There is no escape now, Balian," The Dragon said.

"It has something to do with your mask, doesn't it? I don't mean to probe, but the curiosity has been eating away at my insides since we met. When you're in your armor, your spirit is in your eye, and the mask acts as if it's truly a part of your face," she slid closer to Balian, who was too panicked to move. "And you never take the mask off…"

She reached for his mask, slowly. Balian watched in horror, but momentarily felt there was nothing he could do. She grazed the metal with her fingers, and her shortest finger touched his face. This seemed to break the trance, and he grabbed her wrist. "Please," he said.

"Tell her the truth, Balian," The Dragon said.

"Well it would seem I've learned a fear of yours now, with you grabbing my wrist, instead of the other way around," Tatyana said.

"I…I just don't…" Balian said. After a moment that could not have been longer than ten seconds, yet seemed eternity twofold, he let go of her wrists.

Tatyana seemed frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do, but Balian had placed the moment's power in her hands. She un-strapped the belt behind the mask slowly, and slid it off his face.

She gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Every place the mask had covered was scarred, as if it had been torn down by a white hot pitchfork. In the center of all the scarring, where a human eye would reside, was the Darkness Dragoon spirit, gazing where Balian was: The ground.

"I tried to warn you," Balian said.

"…What happened to you?" Tatyana asked, horrified.

"…I was attacked," Balian said.

"Tell her everything, Balian. There's no point in keeping secrets now," the Dark Dragon said.

Balian sighed. "I'm going to tell you the whole truth, now Tatyana. Please, don't be frightened, I'd never hurt you…" Balian finished the sentence and put the mask back on. When he looked at the Wingly woman, who was smiling warmly at him…Had he just put a portion of his affection toward her out in the open firelight?

Author's Note: Hey all, sorry for the wait. I've been trying to decide how to get this story started off with a bang. I've got some brand new tricks up my sleeve for you. But I need reviews! Big things are about to happen, and our protagonists will find out Endiness isn't such a good place to live anymore. Review generously, and I'll try to get the next chapter up quick.