I'm so sorry for not updating in forever! I've had the worst everything block for ages... and life has been getting in the way... and I've become addicted to YuGiOh 5d's (the Japanese version, mind you)... and Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (and Kai)... and Code Geass... and Axis Powers Hetalia...

(-Cough-)

Anyway...

As this is the only fiction that I still like, I'll be making a serious effort to finish it (even though right now it looks like this will have anywhere between 30 to 40(!) chapters...). I have a quick question for my readers though: my original plan (and yes, I have sketched out this story from start to finish) was to give Presea, Regal, and Alicia their own side story, since I was having trouble integrating them into the larger plot. Unless I magically find a way to stick them into the larger plot, I was thinking of just getting rid of them entirely to make this story easier to finish. Is there anyone out there who is bothered by that, or do you not care if I cut them in order to make it more likely that I'll actually reach the end of this story?

Also, this chapter will be the first of a few 'interludes' which exist to provide back story I wouldn't otherwise be able to fit in, provide foreshadowing, and, mostly, to let me mess with my reader's heads~

Mwahahaha!

One last thing before the chapter (at this rate no one will actually comment on the chapter itself...) how many people have played Dawn of the New World, and is it fun/have a good story/worth buying? (And please address all of those points... and without spoilers...)

Anyway, read this chapter, enjoy, and review. Please note that if you don't review, Prussia will invade your vital regions!

(-Shot-)

Interlude I

The King said:

"The servants of gods come as beasts,

Though they are stronger, smarter, and more beautiful

Then any natural creature.

Revere them, as you would revere us."

-The Word of the Spirits

The little girl knew she wasn't supposed to leave the town, much less enter the forest. However, her best friend in the whole world told here that there was a place in the forest where millions of flowers grew, and the little girl wanted to see it for herself.

Only now, that she had gone deep in the forest, did she wonder if she should have asked for directions first.

She had never been into the forest by herself before, and had only gone to the very edge, never this deep. She tugged on the edge of her little dress, and glanced around nervously at the trees, which didn't seem so friendly anymore. She bit her lip as she tried to remember which way she had come. Biting back a whimper, and still unsure of where to go, she randomly picked a direction and began to wander, looking around her for any sign that any other human being had been around here recently.

All thoughts of finding the place with the million flowers had left the girl's mind completely. All she wanted now was to find her way home, and get out of the big scary forest. She wandered until her feet were sore, and the sky started to turn dark. This stretch of forest she found herself in seemed no different from the rest of the woods. She could have been going in circles the whole time for all she knew. She sat down at the base of a tree near a clearing when her legs could no longer carry her. She curled up and sobbed into her knees. Where were her mommy and daddy? Would they find her?

She looked up when she heard loud thuds and cracks. She jumped to her feet, terrified. The little girl knew there were monsters in this forest, were they going to eat her? She turned her head to the side of the clearing in time to see two shapes burst through the tree line and landed in the middle of the clearing in a whirl of movement and anger.

An Eggbear and another creature the girl had never seen before were fighting. The Eggbear roared, wounds already on its torso and left arm, and swiped at the other creature.

The girl stared at this strange new monster. It looked a little like one of the dragons in her picture books, the ones with large leathery wings, except this monster's body was covered in thick fur rather than scales.

Both creatures were wounded, the Eggbear could not move its left arm, and there was blood on the dragon's muzzle. The dragon roared and tried to bite at the Eggbear's throat, but it clawed at the dragon's face, making it recoil with a frustrated snarl. The two continued to exchange blows, either with fangs or claws, resulting in only more blood from both monsters.

The girl wrung her hands, terrified and unsure of what to do. The monsters were big and scary, and she wanted to run! But on the other hand, the Eggbear was losing to that weird dragon thing! She didn't want the poor thing to die!

The little girl tried to think of something to do when she spotted a rock sitting by her right foot. Without thinking she picked it up and hurled it with all her might at the dragon, striking it above is right eye. It jerked and snarled, and quickly spotted the source of the attack, turning its head to glare at the child. The little girl whimpered, taking a step back, was it going to try to eat her?

The Eggbear took advantage of the dragon's distraction, raising a large clawed paw and swiped at the dragon's face. The dragon snarled in pain and backed away from the Eggbear, its wings beating as if in frustration.

The Eggbear turned its attention to the girl, who thought that it would run away after being saved. It turned to stare at its savior, apparently forgetting all about its attacker for a moment. Then the Eggbear began to lumber toward her, lips pulled back in a snarl. It was only then that the girl realized the Eggbear wasn't about to congratulate her. She staggered back, but tripped and fell hard. She stared up terrified at the creature as it lumbered toward her, long teeth exposed.

But the dragon reached her first.

The girl screamed as it lunged at her and clamped its jaws around her small body. She screamed and kicked as the dragon turned to face the oncoming Eggbear. Then the dragon unfolded its wings and jumped into the air.

If the girl could have screamed louder as she sped into the air, she would have. Her stomach twisted in terror as she saw the world shrink beneath her as the dragon flew into the sky. In her fear she did not notice that the dragon had flown over the Eggbear, leaving the dumb creature confused. The dragon landed with a mighty thud, shaking the girl. She was quickly dropped from the dragon's mouth, as it turned to face the Eggbear again, which had finally figured out that its opponent had appeared behind it. The Eggbear charged blindly, and the dragon shot forward. It roared and a paw suddenly rose up and struck the Eggbear's head.

There was a sickening crack and a thud as the Eggbear fell to the ground, its spine snapped.

The little girl had paid this fight no attention, as she remained curled on the ground in a fetal position, her eyes tight shut, whimpering into her knees. She felt the ground vibrate as the dragon approached her again, and curled up more when she felt its heavy breath against her skin, sure that now it would eat her. She felt it nudge her with its shout, and her whimpering grew in volume.

There was a pause, and the silence hung suspended in the girl's head, anticipating the moment she would feel sharp fangs bury themselves in her body.

Instead, she heard a voice. Not a human one, as it was just as much of a growl as it was a voice, but in it she could hear sincere regret:

"...I am sorry."

The little girl's eyes snapped open. Just as she sat up she heard wing beats, and looked up just in time to see the shape of the dragon as it flew away, now a white shape that could have been nothing more than a large bird. She stared at it until it vanished, her mind still trying to process what had happened. Bewildered, she rubbed her eyes and looked around the clearing again. There were gouges in the ground and in the trees from the fight between the two monsters, so that had been real, and the Eggbear's corpse was resting not far from where she was still sitting.

Only when she started to stare at it, and her numb mind began to recall exactly what had happened, did she realized that the dragon had saved her life.

If the Eggbear had attacked her, she would have died for sure, but the dragon had taken her out of harm's way, even if it wasn't a particularly pleasant route to safety. All the same, a monster had saved her life. But weren't monsters supposed to be just stupid beasts that would eat anyone they came across? Monsters weren't supposed to speak either, and she thought she had heard the dragon talk, or had that been only her imagination? She wasn't sure now if she had really heard the dragon speak...

She sat there, dumbstruck, until nightfall. She stayed there until a search party from the town finally found here there, sitting still as if stunned. When she was returned home, she tried to tell her parents what had happened, but they were too angry with her for leaving the town to listen.

A/N: Because I'm sure someone is going to complain about this, yes, I know I didn't give a lot of description for the dragon. Since this particular critter is going to be important, and a part of the greater mystery in this story, I'm withholding information about it, including its appearance. I have thought this through.