Surprise! Still working on this. 2022 was just a brutal year for me but hopefully by the time summer rolls around things will have settled down. Anywho Enjoy!

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They were flying relatively low, just slightly above the tops of some trees when disaster struck. Midnight had been leaning over slightly to get a better view of an oddly shaped rock formation when Shade suddenly banked off to the right in an attempt to avoid an arrow that had been shot from a little ways away, heading right for them. Midnight was unprepared and was unable to react quickly enough, causing her to lose her balance. She tumbled from the dragon's back and down into the trees below.

"AHHHH! Shade!" She let out a scream as she fell, crashing through the upper branches of the trees nearest to her. Her cry was abruptly cut off when she hit a particularly sturdy branch; it completely knocked the wind out of her, leaving her breathless as she continued her tumble. She eventually hit the ground with a loud thud and a resounding crack. Midnight began coughing and gasping in air, trying to regain her breath as pain radiated throughout her body, being most intense in her right leg.

In a distracted moment of panic trying to get to his rider, the dragon failed to notice a second arrow. The arrow found its mark and struck him in the side. Shade quickly found himself too weak to fly and came crashing to the ground nearby. The disoriented dragon unsteadily made its way over to her and gave a concerned warble.

"D-don't worry, Shade… I'll be fine." The girl assured, giving the dragon a reassuring pat on the nose. She forced herself up into a sitting position with a pained groan and looked the dragon over. Her eyes landed on a small gash on the dragons' side. It didn't look terribly deep, but it did appear to be irritated. She made a mental note to check up on it when she had a chance.

The two didn't have long to recover before the sound of footsteps could be heard from nearby. Even though he was still somewhat unsteady on his paws, Shade stood protectively in front of the girl in a way that would keep her mostly hidden from whatever was coming toward them. After what felt like hours but was likely only a couple of seconds, an all too familiar figure emerged from the thick undergrowth of the forest.

"Ah-ha! I knew my eyes hadn't deceived me!" It wasn't long before an equally familiar voice broke the silence. "You'll catch a fine price come next auction!" Midnight watched in horror as the figure knocked a green-tipped arrow. She recognized that type of arrow; it was the type of arrow dragon trappers favored because they were coated in some sort of tranquilizer that was powerful enough to knock a fully grown Timberjack from the sky. Midnight snapped out of her horror-induced stupor.

"Wait! V! Don't Shoot!" She shouted and jumped up from her spot on the ground to place herself in front of the dragon. She was shaking slightly from the stabbing pain that shot through her leg at her frantic movements. Viggo lowered the bow upon seeing her, surprise apparent on the man's face. He took a moment to take in what he was seeing, from Midnight's dirty, ripped clothes and the way she was quite obviously favoring her left leg to the way she stood protectively between him and the dragon.

"My dear, you best have a good explanation for this." The 19-year-old said, slinging the bow over his shoulder and crossing his arms loosely over his chest. Though he knew the girl in front of him wasn't stupid. She wouldn't have turned her back to the dragon if she'd thought it would harm her, and the dragon had relaxed its aggressive posture once he'd put the bow away. He'd keep an eye on it as they talked regardless, better to be safe than sorry.

Midnight fidgeted nervously under his observant gaze. The 14-year-old opened and closed her mouth without saying anything before letting out a sigh. "I guess I should start from the beginning…" She said eventually.

"I'd accept nothing less," Viggo replied with a nod. Midnight gave a slight nod of her own before sinking down into a sitting position with Shade's help, Viggo doing the same shortly after. After a few moments of hesitation, she took a deep breath and began telling him everything, from how she found and hatched the egg, to their first flight together, to how he'd come to have found them there, and everything in between.

Once she was finished, she fell silent, glancing over at the older boy nervously. She was preparing for the worst. She knew she'd committed some severe crimes at best, and at worst, what she'd done could be considered treason. She hadn't meant to commit treason; at first, she'd been too young to really understand the possible repercussions of what she was doing, and by the time she could understand, she'd already passed the point of no return.

Midnight was tense as she waited for Viggo's response. He stayed silent for a couple of minutes as he thought over what he'd just been told, "So if I understand this correctly, not only did you steal a precious dragon egg, you then proceeded to hatch the stolen egg and keep the dragon as some sort of pet?" Viggo asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Midnight wanted to correct him and tell him she thought of Shade as a friend, not a pet but instantly thought better of it. Instead, she just nodded her head a bit, "Yea… That's more or less the gist of it…." She agreed.

"You do realize you could be executed for treason if you were found out?" He asked, his tone stern. Midnight swallowed hard at this before taking a deep breath, gathering the courage to respond.

"I do." She exhaled, steeling herself, "And I don't regret my choices at all." She added firmly, lifting her gaze to meet his stern one. She wouldn't back down on this; she couldn't, not if she wanted to keep Shade safe anyways. Viggo studied her for a few moments before a slight smirk curled his lips.

"Well said. One must not regret their decisions." He started and looked at the girl, his head tilted slightly to the left. He paused, seemingly waiting for her to do something. It took her longer than she'd have liked to figure out what it was he wanted.

"Only embrace them and learn from them." Midnight finished with a nod, "You taught me that…'' She added as an afterthought.

"I did." He agreed with a nod of his head. "Now, I'm not an unreasonable man. Tell me, why should I not have you tried for treason?" Viggo asked. It quickly dawned on Midnight what Viggo was doing, he was giving her a chance to save her skin, and she would be a fool not to seize the opportunity. He was a businessman, and she knew that if she could convince him that she and Shade could be a valuable asset to the trapper business, then she'd be able to keep herself and Shade safe.

"Our island already uses trained dragons for a multitude of things, mining, and defense, to name a few. Think of all the possibilities having a dragon rider could open up. Especially with a dragon like Shade, he can quite literally turn invisible and go completely undetected in the sky, and I've been working on the way to allow me to do the same when I ride him. We could make the perfect stealth team." Midnight stated, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.