Yuugi yawned widely, sucking in fresh air before allowing his eyes to open. He was extremely unhappy to see he was still in the same room, the boring white walls starring sterilely back at him. He wanted to go home.

He went to roll over, only to find his wings still inhibiting his movement. Damned, stupid things. He concentrated on hiding them in the in-between dimension, wanting them gone and hiding away again. A minute ticked by. Two. Three...

It wasn't working. Yuugi huffed in frustration, feeling that his energy was still far too drained to do anything. It was kind of like trying to turn on a lamp, and the electricity that powered it up simply wasn't there. Damn it. Sighing, he settled for just turning his head to the side, a little surprised to see Atemu's head and arms resting on the edge of the bed, fast asleep. By goddess...he looks dead. I've never seen gray areas under his eyes before. He didn't have the heart to wake him, even though his mind was abuzz with a thousand questions. Poor thing. He knew that if it wasn't for him, they'd all be dead, but he also knew that it was him that was causing all of the stress on the Prince. He probably shouldn't, but he felt guilty just the same.

Atemu's eyes fluttered, and even though Yuugi didn't make a sound the Prince started to wake. He shoved a hand through his hair and tugged at the ebony black tresses, attempting to bring some stimulation to his brain. His eyes flickered open, groggy and clouded.

"Morning, love."

Atemu blinked at him stupidly, obviously trying to get his mind to focus. "It's not morning. It's evening."

"You look like you've had a rough few days."

He yawned, sitting up only part way. "More like a few weeks. This nightmare feels like it's gone on forever."

"I'm sorry."

Atemu shook his head, silently refuting the comment. "No, don't be. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault."

He sighed. "I know. I still can't help but feel bad."

The Prince rested his elbows on the bed, rubbing his eyes to clean the sleep from his lashes.

"Tell me about the prophecy."

The Prince's frame seemed to deflate. "I knew you'd ask me sooner than later."

Yuugi didn't respond. He waited for an answer.

He closed his eyes, gather his wits together. "The last of its kind, back home after a tortured past, it will join the ranks of Divine Royalty, and restore a daughter to Sekesha's Hands. It will become the Throne's most precious treasure, and its greatest asset. The Wretched One's time will end in fast, the Goddess's Favored, the long awaited savior at last." Here, he paused and allowed the words to sink in. "It fits. You are the last of your kind. You came from a tortured background. You are our greatest asset. And, most importantly, you have the ability to destroy a god, and save Sekesha from her longest, oldest evil."

Yuugi thought the words through again. "What about the daughter part? What does that mean?"

Atemu picked up Yuugi's hand again and started to rub it, much like it was a worry stone, the same way he had before. "In Sekesha, it is always the first born daughter that inherits. It is always the wife of the household that has final say. Women are inherently stronger than men in magick. And in the palace, it is always the first born daughter that inherits the throne. If there is a son born before the daughter, he is still second in line to the female. The Queen always has and always will outrank the King. However, the royal family hasn't had a daughter born in nearly a hundred years. Every Queen has married into the family."

"What about your aunt?"

At this, he gave a rueful smile. " Lilian is much older than my father would have been. She was, coincidently, born out of, as you have so called it, 'wedlock.' She was not eligible for the Throne. It was secretly offered to her after my father died and I was still young, but she refused, saying it wasn't meant for her."

Yuugi fiddled with his blanket. "I'm confused. This time line. How is this time line supposed to work? A child? The death of a god? How long is it going to take for all of this to get fulfilled? And we have to live with this over our heads? And just who is this god? And Sekesha's greatest evil?"

"The country of Questchal. Their god is named Enochnral, and he is evil. He teaches cruelty against women and servants. He praises greed and deception, and he has encouraged that wretched country to destroy us since the dawn of time."

He paused a moment. "What happened to your parents, Atemu?"

"My mother died in child birth," he began. "It would have been nearly unheard of had she been royal, but she wasn't. Royal women, I believe, have never died in child birth. My father, on the other hand, was murdered when I was eight."

Yuugi's eyes grew wide with shock. "The King was murdered? By who? Did you ever catch the killer?"

Atemu shook his head. "We don't know who killed him. I found him in front of the stables next to the palace on a chilly autumn morning, the only evidence left by the murderer little red-ish gold feathers strewn about his body."

"His wings had been ripped off," Yuugi observed. "Just like my parents."

The Prince frowned hard. "No, they hadn't been ripped. They'd been sawed off; the signs of the struggle were everywhere."

Yuugi shuddered, his mind thinking of the pain the man had gone through. "He was alive when they were removed. Dear goddesses above, that's torture."

"I vowed to find the one that killed him and gain vengeance, but I don't even know where to start looking."

Yuugi began mentally stacking up memories that seemed to go together, when before there had been nothing linking them. "You know," he spoke, "with what happened to Lilian's daughter, and my parents, and your father...is it just me, or am I seeing a trend here?"

Atemu looked him in the eyes, clearly sifting through the past events he remembered as well. "All right, so we have a killer, or possibly killers, that can rend Royalty and Assai harmless, at which point they will then remove the wings, and vanish without a trace. The question is..."

"What do they want with the wings?"

"That is the all important question. We figure that out, and we can figure out where to start looking." He sighed hard, dropping his head and rubbing his eyes again. He just looked so drained. He looked back up again, starring blankly at the wall.

Yuugi looked deeper into Atemu's eyes, the red-ish scarlet orbs moist with tears. "That's not the only reason you're upset. You've been crying all night, love. Tell me why."

He wiped at his eyes, quickly attempting to brush away the evidence.

"Atemu..."

The Prince shook his head no.

"Sweetheart... tell me. Don't keep secrets from me."

A pause. "Senke's going to die," he whispered.

It didn't register at first. "What!"

"Senke's going to die," he said a little louder, his face contorted with the attempted control to hold off the tears. "He was injured in the last battle. A slice into his belly, his hind quarters injured, a leg broken. The Healers have done everything that they can, but...they don't think he's going to make it through the night."

"Oh, sweet Goddess no." He was filled with shock. It couldn't be. That would be like him losing Astarte. His chest tightened with pain and empathy for Atemu, a strong will to help rising within him. "Atemu, take me to see him."

The Prince looked at him confused. "What? No, the Healers said you shouldn't move for a fortnight, at least. You could seriously injure yourself."

"Please, Atemu, take me to see him." He sat up and looked into his eyes. "Bring me there."

As always, his resolve faded. He could never deny a request from him. Saddened at the thought of injuring him even more, he lowered his head in resignation, but nodded, and stood. He picked Yuugi up with ease, heading off to bring him to the stables.

Yuugi was surprised that there was no one in the hallways. The place seemed extremely still.

The stable was quiet, no horses making a sound in their stalls. The only noise was that of labored breathing coming from the far corner, behind the door with the royal seal hastily affixed to it. Atemu opened up the door with magick. Yuugi was surprised as what he saw. "Astarte!" The white mare was laying down next to Senke, her muzzle resting gently against his neck to comfort him. She looked up at their entry, a soft whiney her greeting to them as Atemu set Yuugi down next to his dying Sacred, the poor thing laying pathetically on the floor.

Yuugi starred horror struck at the sight before him. Senke was in terrible shape. His legs were torn nearly to pieces. His under belly was stained with dark red, his wounds appearing to have not been able to heal all of the way. There was still blood oozing out of odd areas. "Senke, you poor thing. You've been like this for days?" The Healers couldn't fix him? Why? Was the damage too much and just beyond their repair?

Yuugi realized he must be bleeding internally. Senke was in a lot of pain at the moment. "Don't worry, Senke," he cooed, "we'll fix you up. You're going to be all right." Without his conscious realization of it, his mind began to think about the process of weaving. The strings had to be intertwined in such a delicate manner, and could accomplish all sorts of things.

The Prince watched, spell bound, as Yuugi's fingers began to dance over one of Senke's hind legs that was seriously injured. Strings of Light were emanating from his finger tips, weaving around the wound and Healing it, pulling the flesh back into place, and actually replacing what was missing. He himself was no idiot, and he could see and feel the energies around him. Thus, he was able to realize that Yuugi was actually feeding off of the energy it required to Heal Senke. Yuugi himself was in a trance, practically humming to himself as he worked, the look on his face one of relaxation, as if this were his favorite hobby.

He moved on to the stomach.

The Light energies that had just been placed on the legs faded to the shiny black of the stallion's coat. The Sacred sighed in bliss, hay flying up around his nostrils. My heavens...he's actually gaining strength from Healing another. He doesn't even realize that it is the complete opposite for Healers. Healing is a Gift, and they have to use their own energy in order to Heal. Yuugi...he's gaining energy off of the positive life force that his ownministrations are creating!

If he hadn't been it before, now Yuugi truly had become Sekesha's greatest asset. A Healer that never tired. If one could imagine...

He hadn't even noticed, in his daze, that there were other around him now, watching just as transfixed and confused.

Yuugi dropped his hands, his work done. His trance was broken, and he was finally able to look up at the wide eyes gazing at him. He suddenly looked lost to Atemu, those endless purple eyes looking hurt and betrayed up at those that had once protected him, now nearly afraid of him in their disbelief. "Atemu? Did I do something wrong?"

Senke stood up with a gleeful snort and a neigh, pushing his muzzle into Yuugi's hair.

"No, love. Just performed another miracle, that's all."

He rubbed behind the stallion's ears. "I don't understand. I just Healed him is all."

"Just Healed him?" One of the Healer's choked, disbelief written all over her thin face. "Senke was wounded with a magickal blade! We couldn't Heal him because of the poison it passed on to his flesh! You...you've broken every rule of Healing we've ever been taught!"

Yuugi's wings closed tighter, attempting to hide himself from view. Wonderful. Another reason to be feared and revered. I just want to go home. I swear, I'll never come out of the safe quarter of the palace again.

Atemu intervened, walking in and picking Yuugi back up. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, I think."

"Good. We're going home in the morning."

xxx

Yuugi fought for balance. He would sway every now and again, but Astarte, in all of her regal smoothness, always seemed to swerve enough to make sure his body balanced again, even if he was sure he had no control anyway. He felt well enough to sit up right, and he certainly didn't feel like laying down in a sleigh for his arrival back to the Divine City.

The palace had never looked so beautiful, nor so inviting. He absolutely couldn't wait to get back inside and sink into the soft mattress and covers of his and Atemu's bed. Warm, glorious rays of sunshine spilled over the pristine silver and blue marble of the palace walls, the many towers and balconies and windows weighed down with glittering snow and whistling white birds.

Lilian had created a portal for the entire army to ride back through. Everyone was behind them, the pomp and circumstance music of victory echoing through the air.

Astarte and Senke walked proudly up the palace steps, slow and regal. The Sacred stallion had never looked better, his demeanor so much brighter now that his natural color had been restored to his coat. "Welcome home," he whispered to Astarte. She tossed her pretty little head, her silver-white mane throwing flakes of snow around her.

Finally, they reached the platform, the Grand Entrance doors opened wide and inviting them in.

Lilian and Isis were standing and waiting for them, ready to decorate them for their victory and return home.

Atemu pulled Senke to a stop, turning him abruptly around. Yuugi vaguely noticed that he was giving a congratulatory speech to the troops behind them, bidding them all to go home and celebrate. Oh, the stories that are going to come out of this little fiasco... He didn't really pay attention to what was said. He just wanted to get inside and sleep.

Cheering, clapping, crying, it all melded together. A pretty woman smiled, the faint, invisible shimmer of her hidden wings noticed only by his eyes. A great big hug, and his love carrying him off to their room. Sweet, soft bed! I come!

xxx

The early touches of Spring had just started to grace Sekesha's capital. The snow had melted, leaving mud and rain in its wake. Yuugi had never felt better in his entire life. His energy was double of what it had been before. His lessons were increasing in intensity, and every now and again he would get the upper hand with his teachers. As it turned out, Ayana was not surprised at his Healing capabilities. There were a few select Gifted born among the Elves that held such powers. Although Ayana herself could do no such thing, she at least knew the concept behind it, and could coach him as he honed in on his skills. Soon, he'd start joint training, and use his Shadow Gift side by side with his Light Gift.

Yuugi was currently eating his lunch, indulging in a burp that tasted suspiciously like the fruit dragon's blood. He must have eaten more than he thought he had last night...

The door to the lounge he was in opened, a very wet Atemu coming in. The Prince shook his head as he ran his hands through his hair, water spraying everywhere.

Yuugi laughed. "You appear to be a little wet."

"Oh, yes, only a little."

"You're late for lunch. Where have you been?"

Atemu stripped himself of his sopping wet cloak, dropping it on a velvet couch without notice. "Outside, partly. Did you know it's raining?"

"Still? I'd have never guessed..."

The Prince chuckled. "Ha, ha, funny. Anyway, I hope you're done."

"Just about, yes. Why?" He dropped his fork in curiosity.

Those ruby eyes were gleaming, he noticed. "Come, I want to show you something. The time had finally come once again."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow in question, but did not comment on his curiosity. He simply got up, ready to follow. "Show me the way."

The Prince grabbed his hand, leading him out of the room. "Where are we going?" Yuugi asked.

"You'll see."

Down the hall they traveled, past the Throne room, past the conference lounge, past the court halls, past the kitchens, past the main entrance and right up to a side entry. This door was mainly used by stable hands, coming back and forth with supplies for the horses.

Thank goodness there was an underground passageway, so they needn't go outside.

"Will you tell me now?"

"Nope."

Yuugi grunted, but otherwise didn't protest. A door cam into view. Finally, they climbed the seemingly endless stairs, and emerged into the hay covered stables.

"What's going on out here?" Yuugi asked.

"No, not here. We're still moving on." Atemu led him to another door.

"Oh. Okay." Oh, great. It was the entrance doors. Which meant that they were going outside. "I have to get wet," he whined.

Atemu gave him a cheeky grin. "Why? Are you going to melt?"

He snorted. "Well, no..."

"Good! Let's go." He opened the doors, the rain pummeling through and blasting them.

"Oh, lovely..." Whatever it was that was making the Prince so happy, it was apparently worth getting wet. This better be good....

Across the palace grounds they ran, coming to another building. Yuugi noted that it was at least three stories tall, but there were no windows to hint at multiple levels. Why have ceilings so high?

They both pulled the doors opened quickly and ran in, shutting the doors quickly behind them. Yuugi huffed with the cold and the wet, glaring at the Prince. "This better be good," he warned.

Still that silly grin. "You'll see."

"Ah, Sire! You're back!"

Yuugi looked at the one to have spoken. "Jono!" he exclaimed. "What is this place? Atemu won't tell me anything!"

The Captain laughed. "Hatching season is a special treat. I don't blame him."

Yuugi was suddenly confused. "Hatching season?" Atemu's hands on his back urgently guided him down the hall and into a rather large, plain room, the floor covered with sand and straw. There was a lump in the middle of the room, and young boy kneeling vigilantly over it, his face feverish. "What the..." he whispered to himself.

"There!" the young man exclaimed, a strand of his dark blue hair falling over his face. "It moved again! Did you see?"

"Okay, Allehn," Jono spoke. "You can take the straw off the top. It doesn't need the heat anymore."

Eager hands brushed again at the mound of straw in the center of the room, revealing a blue egg speckled with gold.

Dragons... It was dragon hatching season. No wonder everyone was excited. Yuugi wasn't sure how the choosing worked for dragon Guardians, as the Guardian had to be with the dragon at hatching. The horses chose after birth. The dragons did not.

Scraaatch! Ssssshick shick shick! Scratching noises echoed in the empty room.

Yuugi wrinkled his nose. There was a strange odor in the air...Meat. Bloody, raw meat. There was a barrel of it just out of reach of the young man named Allehn. Baby dragons are ravenous beasts.Crack!

The egg trembled and wobbled, a flake from the top moving ever so softly. Allehn carefully pulled it off, helping to chip away at the sides as the dragonet inside kept scratching away at the shell.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the eggs exploded in half, and a panting, sopping wet dragon of midnight blue lay on the groung. It was only the size of a small dog. It made a chirping noise, attempting to lift its too large head off the ground.

Atemu pulled Yuugi back. "We're done here," he whispered in his ear. "Now's the time for the two of them to bond."

Yuugi, Jono, and Atemu convened outside in the hall. "I'm glad to see everything is going well," Atemu stated. "How many newborns this year, Jono?"

"About three hundred in the Divine City. Reports from El-Ekehrah are high this year, about six hundred. Everywhere else is right normal numbers. A hundred for larger cities, ten to fifty for smaller villages."

"El-Ekehrah?" Yuugi asked. "I haven't heard of that place yet."

"Our desert region capital," Atemu stated. "Traders come in from the ocean, and everything comes in to that city. It's quite prosperous." He turned back to Jono. "Good, the numbers are fine. You're keeping everything nicely on track. Any unmatched eggs this year?"

"No sir. Not with the normal eggs, at least..."

Atemu narrowed his eyes. "Jono..." he pressed. "What do you mean, normal eggs?"

The Captain scratched behind his head nervously. "Well, you see, one of the scouts in El-Ekehrah thought it best to have it shipped up here. Somehow, it made it safely. Um..."

Yuugi could see Atemu was getting annoyed. "Well?"

"We've got a sun dragon, my Lord."

There was an eerie silence. Yuugi was not sure what a sun dragon was, but apparently it was quite important. "You've got a sun dragon and you didn't tell me?"

Jono put his hands up in defense. "It just came in today! I didn't know until now! Honestly!"

The Prince crossed his arms. "You were hoping to keep it for yourself, weren't you?"

That tanned face paled just a little. Jono gave a goofy grin, and Yuugi was strongly reminded of Jou. "Really, I'd never hide it from you."

Atemu snorted. "You couldn't for long. You know how large those dragons get. Huge! Half the size of the palace, maybe!"

"Oh, I don't know if they get that big, Sire..."

The Prince snarled.

"Uh..." those blue eyes shifted around nervously. "Why don't I take you to see the egg?"

"Yes, that would be nice. Why don't you?"

Yuugi looked up at Atemu as they started walking again. "What's a sun dragon?" he asked.

"Sacred to the Sun Goddess," Atemu stated. "They're huge dragons that are nearly invincible. Any war lord would give his left nut to have one, and any woman who cared would give up her gender to own one."

"They sound really popular."

"Popular and rare. I thought they went extinct."

Yuugi 'ah'-ed, realizing why Atemu was so annoyed at not being told right away.

Jono turned a corner, bringing into view another large, sparse room with sand and straw on the floor. The mound in the middle was three times the size of the one they'd seen earlier. Gold seemed to shimmer under the dull yellow of the straw.

"Sweet Ealian," Atemu breathed. "How did they get it here?"

Jono shrugged. "Way points, I assume. Though how they carried it there is beyond me. Hehkatet already had it in the room by the time I arrived."

"Well, I'll be damned."

Everyone stood stock still when a few strands of straw fell off the egg. It moved.

"Uh oh," Jono said. "It's hatching..."

Atemu paled. "We need someone to bond with it. It'll go wild otherwise, and then we're all doomed!"

Scrrtchchchch... It wobbled again, this time more forcefully.

Yuugi ran forward, eager to see what it would look like. Just as he made it to the side of the egg, it burst in two, hatching much more quickly than the other one had. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the dazzling gold creature sprawl out on the sand, its little muscles quivering with overuse. It chirped, ocean blue eyes speckled with red looking up imploringly at Yuugi. It squeaked again. "He's hungry," Yuugi observed. "We need to get food for it!"

The dragonet shakily stood, toddling its way over and dropping its head in Yuugi's lap. "Yeeaach!" His heart melted.

"Yuugi!" Atemu bellowed. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

He looked up at the Prince, feeling sheepish, but not sure why he should. "Um...no?" He stood, walking up to the Prince. "Should I?"

Atemu smacked his face. "You've just bonded to the dragonet, Yuugi. It thinks you are its protector."

"Uh..."

"Chyeeeap!" Yuugi looked back, seeing the little gold dragon baby crawling his way. "Grrrllyeeeap!"

"Oh." He kneeled, collecting the dragon in his arms. It was the size of a medium dog, and quite heavy. "Now what?"

"Yuugi, there's a reason Guardians don't have both a horse and a dragon. Dragons are full time jobs. You won't have much time for anything else. How do you expect to be able to keep-?"

Yuugi stood with the dragon in his arms, pouting in Atemu's direction.

The Prince's eye twitched once...twice... then his shoulders drooped. "Ack! I give up!"

Yuugi smiled. "Yeah! I get to keep it!"

The dragonet chirped.

"It's male," Jono observed. "He's got the horns just beginning to sprout from the top of his head. You might as well name him now."

Yuugi thought for a moment, thinking of the perfect name. "Helios," he spoke at last. "After the sun god of the Greeks."

Blank looks at the mention of 'Greeks.' Oh well, he liked the name, and that was all that mattered.

"Uh, Atemu,"

"Yes, love?"

"Where's he going to sleep?"