"Does anyone know where my helmet is?" Rádgatá addressed the whole crowd.

"I have it here, Rádgatá." The voice belonged to Vasara, who came forward out of the crowd, looking just as determined as Maara had. She handed the helmet to the taller woman before looking Dreki in the eyes, as if searching for something. The dragon didn't move, returning the inspection, and finally Vasara nodded, extending her hand, which Dreki sniffed before pushing his nose into her palm, causing her impenetrable facade to break into a wide smile. "Maybe… maybe I'll take you up on that offer, after all. Once Maara has had her fun, of course."

Haku was now completely blown away by the boldness of his sisters, remembering Rádgatá's offer for Vasara to join them for a flight yesterday. Was it only yesterday? It seemed like so long ago… He knew they were strong and independent, but he never would have guessed at their willingness to accept change. Maybe it was faith in him, maybe it was that they were level-headed and saw things as they were, not as prejudice would have them be.

The villagers were all murmuring to one another, clearly torn between old fears and what they were seeing before them. Rádgatá grinned at Haku's sisters, pleased. "We'd be happy to have you fly with us, Vasara. Like you said, after Maara gets her turn." Turning towards Maara, Rádgatá handed the girl her helmet. "Put this on. It gets pretty windy up there."

Eyes wide, Maara gave Haku one last glance before squaring her shoulders and lowering the helmet over her head. Rádgatá hopped up onto her dragon's shoulders, holding out a hand, which Maara took. Once the girl was firmly in the saddle, Dreki began to spread his wings, and Haku and Vasara stepped back, unable to contain their smiles.

"We'll be back soon," Rádgatá called out to the villagers, some of whom were actually murmuring excitedly.

Maara wrapped her arms around Rádgatá's waist, peering out through the slits in the front of the helmet. Looking out at the sea of familiar faces, she suddenly felt like a stranger in her own skin, hidden behind a mask. She had decided, and now it was time to put her resolve to the test.

"Ready?" Rádgatá was asking her quietly, and Maara could only nod. Her last thought was of how proud Haku looked, right before the dragon leapt from the earth, beating his powerful wings over and over to gain altitude. Maara clung to Rádgatá, unable to close her eyes at the sight of the world she knew disappearing from view.

Don't scream don't scream don't scream don't scream…

"Maara. Maara!" Rádgatá was calling her name, and it took her a few tries to find her voice.

"Y-yes?"

"It's okay. Look forward, not down."

So she did. Instead of staring at the dragon's black scales, she peered over Rádgatá's shoulder, and what she saw took her breath away.

The afternoon sun was making its way towards the horizon, promising a few more hours of warmth and light as it reflected off the vast blue ocean. They were level now, soaring between enormous white clouds, and pulling away from the woman in front of her, Maara glanced down again, not at the dragon, but to the island far below.

"Heimme looks so small from up here!" her voice sounded muffled to her inside the helmet. "And the ocean is so… enormous. Is it always like this?"

"Not when it's pouring rain. But day or night, that feeling you're having never goes away. It's magic, every time you leave the world below. Time means nothing up here. As my grandmother and father always say, when you're up here, you don't even feel the cold. You just feel-"

"Free." Maara finished, and an incredible, inexplicable joy surged through her. Free. From her father, from her life. This was what she wanted, this was who she wanted to be. Not stuck on Heimme, caring for her father's body until some man decided he wanted to marry her and have her care for him instead.

"Rádgatá… I want this. I want what you have with Dreki. I want to learn to fly and fight and be free, too. Can you teach me?"

Rádgatá seemed to hesitate, but her voice was firm as she responded. "I cannot promise you freedom, Maara. That is not for me to give. But I can train you to ride a dragon, and I can show you how to use a weapon as well as your brother and sister."

Maara couldn't speak. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Rádgatá again and hugged her tight, thanking her without words.

They flew in silence for another few minutes, Dreki circling lazily around clouds, descending in easy dives before riding the air currents back up. "Are you ready to go back down?"

Never, Maara wanted to say, her hands resting on Rádgatá's shoulders. The other woman seemed to understand, and looked back with a wide grin.

"Want to have a little fun?"

From the ground, Haku and the others watched in silence as Rádgatá and Maara flew through the clouds, which Haku knew from experience were somehow made of water. Several minutes passed, and he was about to wonder aloud when they were going to return when Dreki disappeared behind a cloud, then suddenly shot straight up, climbing higher until he was a small speck in the sky.

Nervous murmurs rippled through the crowd, and Haku swallowed his unease. Everything was fine, Rádgatá knew what she was doing… Then, the dragon seemed to stop. What… with horror Haku realized what Rádgatá and Dreki were doing, and he had to stop himself from shouting "NO!"

The dragon and his two passengers were falling from the sky. Picking up speed, they became increasingly visible as they approached land, when without warning the dragon's wings unfurled and caught the wind, sending the trio into a wild, tumbling free fall, spinning uncontrollably. The crowd gasped, many people shouting with terror that the dragon was going to crash, all of them fearing for Maara's life.

Haku, having experienced Rádgatá and her dragon's mischief, quickly became angry. What was she doing? This was Maara's first flight! How dare she put his sister in danger, or make her fear for her life?

Suddenly, the dragon leveled out, hurtling directly towards the ground. People screamed, seeing the black creature flying directly towards them, and began to back away, some even turning and running for shelter. Haku held his ground, angrily staring up at the fast approaching object. He knew they were all perfectly safe, he just couldn't believe that Rádgatá would be so inconsiderate as to put his sister through it.

Just in time, Dreki spread his wings, and with an audible whoosh he swooped over the rooftops, arcing back up into the sky. Haku could hear audible yells from the dragon's back and his anger deepened.

Finally, the dragon gently spiraled back down, coming to land exactly in the spot he had taken off from. The crowd was returning, mostly in disbelief, but some with Haku's anger, wondering just what Missti Einn was about, here.

Maara quickly jumped down from behind Rádgatá and ran to Haku, wrapping her arms around him and shaking amidst concerned shouts from the other villagers.

"What were you thinking?" he hissed at the woman sliding off the dragon, holding his sister tightly, and Dreki shot him a warning look. "How could you-"

Maara pushed away from him and pulled off her helmet, but instead of tears, her expression was one of complete joy. She was laughing, and all of Haku's outrage evaporated.

"Oh, Haku! It was amazing, I can't even… I can't even believe it! I could live up there!" Maara was practically raving as she ran back over to Rádgatá, hugging the smiling woman tightly before turning to fully wrap her arms around Dreki's neck, still laughing with joy.

Haku's jaw had dropped, along with practically every other jaw in the village.

"I bet you thought I was being irresponsible. Didn't you?" He numbly turned to look at Rádgatá, who had come up beside him and was watching Maara talk to the equally animated dragon, her high-pitched shouts of excitement mixing with his deep warbles.

"I was so close to killing you and your dragon," he said after a moment, but Rádgatá only laughed, holding her stomach.

"I'm not quite as evil as some of you want me to be," she replied, her green eyes twinkling.

"That's the last thing I want," Haku said softly, and her smile faded as she seemed to see something change in his eyes. Quickly he looked away and walked up to where Maara and the dragon appeared to be conversing, his sister rubbing the dragon's neck, who groaned with delight.

"You had me worried," he started firmly, causing her to look up at his serious face. But she laughed at him too, and so did the dragon, exposing his toothless gums.

"Oh, Haku," she sighed, one hand still on Dreki as she gestured to Rádgatá, who was now surrounded by curious villagers. "I so envy her."

Haku realized that his sister felt exactly how he had, and for the first time wondered if she wasn't as happy as she always seemed. Then, a few children ran up, shyly asking if they could touch the dragon, and they were both distracted, making introductions between Dreki and the more daring villagers.

The next morning, Haku awoke to the sound of knocking. Blearily he got out of bed, reaching for a tunic and some pants, when he heard the door open and the sound of female voices reached him. Maybe it was Rádgatá. Suddenly energized, he threw on some boots and strode out into the hallway, stopping at the top of the stairs.

It was her, and she sat casually in a chair at the end of the table, apparently waiting for something. She wasn't in her usual armor, though. Instead, she wore a sleeveless tunic, belted at the waist, and tight leggings.

"Rádgatá," he called out softly, not wanting to wake Vasara, and the woman looked up at him with a smile.

"Hello, Haku," and warmth filled him at the sound of his name on her lips.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, making his way down the stairs.

"Actually, she's here for me." At his sister's voice, Haku turned and blinked in surprise.

It was Maara, but rather than her usual dress, she was clad in a long-sleeved tunic, pants, and boots. Currently, she was hastily tying a wide belt around her hips to keep the tunic in place, walking towards them.

"For you?" Haku couldn't keep the slight skepticism out of his voice, and behind him, Rádgatá laughed.

"Yes, for her. We are going to do some training today," she said rather mysteriously.

"Training? What kind of training? Are you going flying again?" Haku realized he sounded jealous, and barely stopped himself from asking, "What about me?"

"We'll probably fly later," Rádgatá said, not answering his first questions as she walked out the door, trailed by Maara, who gave Haku a cheerful wave before closing the door behind her.

"Okay, now you come at me," Aeri said encouragingly, as Maara lifted her wooden sword with both hands and swung at her. Easily blocking it, Aeri spun around and knocked the 'blade' completely out of the younger girl's hands.

They had only been in the clearing for half an hour, but Maara was already panting from the exertion of lifting the heavy piece of wood and trying to fight with it. When she had commented on its heaviness, Rádgatá had responded simply with, "Just wait until you get a real sword."

Maara wanted to simultaneously complain, cry, and fall on the ground, but she gritted her teeth. She was determined to learn how to fight. She just couldn't believe how effortlessly Rádgatá moved, lifting and slashing her heavy wooden sword with one arm, because of the stitches on her other bicep. Maara suspected that even if her other arm were completely healed, Rádgatá would probably just carry another sword and dual-wield like a deadly hurricane.

Once again, Rádgatá twirled about and sent Maara's blade skittering away, and the younger girl couldn't help her scowl.

Aeri jogged over to where the sword had stopped, making eye contact with Shade, before turning back to where Maara had dropped to the ground. The girl had never lifted a weapon in her life, but Aeri knew that Haku's sister had the persistence to learn.

"I'm hopeless," Maara moaned, but Rádgatá only smiled at her.

"How about this? We can go flying for a while, then we can go over to the forge and look at all the different weapons Vasara has, and you can tell me if you still want to use swords."

"That… sounds okay."

"Don't worry, you're not hopeless. This is only your first day! Your muscles will become accustomed to the weight of your weapon in no time. Remember, I've been training since I was a small child. That's not saying you're learning too late, it just means that I've had a lot more practice than you have. So don't give up! I believe in you."

Maara lifted her head, determined once again. She wouldn't let Rádgatá down. "Thank you."