The Dragon Master

Hey everyone. Sorry. I said I would be on more, but then I was busy again.... Well, here's the Dragon Master. I added and changed it a bit, but I still found some things that were confusing. Sorry about any problems. Well, hope ya like it!!

~~~Chapter 1~~~

Sanji shook with fear. Her heart raced as the dragon shot out yet another burst of flames. She swung her head around, looking for a way out. She dropped to her knees realizing she was trapped, no way out. All around her was a wall of flames. Smoke coated the air in thick layers, making it almost impossible to see. The dragon saw no reason to stop though. He seemed to be determined to cover the ground with fire. Sanji screamed as a burning tree limb fell beside her, throwing sparks everywhere. She slapped her hand to her mouth, so as not to scream again and give away her hiding spot. The dragon swung around, looking in the direction the scream came from. His crimson eyes blazed with fury and hatred and for a splitting second Sanji felt a pang of sympathy. Had someone hurt him so badly to make him this way? Then remembering that he was trying to kill, her pang of sympathy dissolved like sugar in water. The night was alight with flames as the dragon continued to shoot out more and more fire. One of the flames licked at her arm and she gasped in pain. The dragon eyed the burning brush Sanji hid behind. He saw her. Sanji knew he did. It’s over! She thought helplessly as the dragon slowly moved closer to her. He shot another burst of flames out of his ashen color jaw. The fire attacked Sanji with fierce determination. It bit at her legs and arms, causing a large amount of pain to surge up her body all the way to her head. She sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to stay conscience. It was hard, but somehow she kept herself awake for a while longer.
The dragon came closer and closer, until her was so close Sanji could feel his hot breath on her forehead. She closed her eyes and waited for the dragon to blow one last ball of fire that would engulf her in flames. But it never came. It might have, if it weren’t for an odd voice with such authority
that the dragon contained itself. It was then that Sanji slipped into the strange darkness of unconsciousness.

Sanji awoke to voices hours later. One of them was the odd voice that had commanded the dragon to stop. “We can’t have her going around telling everyone what she experienced. This is really big. If anyone finds out about this…” the voice didn’t continue. Sanji opened her eyes slowly to find herself in a dim lit room. She was lying on a small bed in one corner of the room. On the other side of the room three dark figures. They were all looking at her in surprise.
“How long have you been awake?” One of the men inquired sternly.
“Not very long, maybe a minute or so,” Sanji answered tentatively. She was unsure of what she thought of the dark figures. She could see none of their faces, though only one had a hood.
“Fine,” the man said plainly.
“Not fine,” the hooded figure said. Sanji recognized the voice thick with authority instantly. She would never forget that voice, the one that obviously had saved her life. “She mustn’t know! What if she heard?” He demanded at another of the men.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Sanji assured them, though she was burning with curiosity at what they were so secretly talked about. “Honestly,” she guaranteed.
“Okay,” the hooded figure sighed, though he still sounded unconvinced.
“Where am I?” Sanji asked. She looked around the room once more. She didn’t remember ever being here before and that made her uneasy.
“That is not important,” said a female voice. Sanji looked at the third dark figure in surprise. She had just now noticed that that was the first thing she had heard her say. “How are you feeling?” The female voice inquired in concern.
“I guess so,” Sanji replied. She had been so wrapped up in what was going on around her she had hardly felt her burns. But now they stung fiercely.
“How are your burns?” The women asked.
“They sting,” Sanji mumbled simply. “Wait, how did you,” she nodded at the hooded figure. “How did you get the dragon to obey you and leave me alone?” She looked at him with almost admiration, but mostly just thankfulness. He had saved her life and she wanted to figure out how and why.
“That is not important,” the hooded figure snapped. Sanji drew back in surprise. What had she said?
“Oh, sorry,” Sanji spoke the words as if they were precious and fragile. They might be the only way to figure out what was going on. After all, she had to find out. Curiosity was boiling in the pit of her stomach. She would find out why the dragon had obeyed the hooded man’s order and why she was here, and who these two men and woman were. She would find out, wouldn’t she?

Chapter 2

Sanji had to spend the night in the strange room. None of the three people had told her where she was, or why she was here. She was determined to figure it out, but how long would it take? It took her a surprisingly short period of time to get to sleep considering her position. She slept soundly, but there was one dream repeating itself. She saw the dragon prepare itself for a final burst of flames that would no doubt of killed her. Then suddenly out of no where the voice. The voice that had such authority that the dragon had stopped instantly. It made no sense, how it happened. Yet when the dream repeated in a way it sort of did make sense. She knew that somehow the man who had saved her had done that before, and she knew that whoever it was didn’t want her to know that.

Sanji awoke the next morning to darkness. At first she thought that everything that had happened was a dream, but the more she thought about it the more real it all seemed. She looked around her, but because of the darkness she could see nothing. Is it still night? She asked herself silently.
Yes.
“Whose there?” Sanji yelled out. But no one was there. How did I hear that voice? She tried to get her eyes to where they would adjust to the darkness, but it was impossible. She couldn’t even see her hand directly in front of her face, much less anyone who might also be in the room. “Where are you?” She asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper. Nothing. Where are you?” She asked again. Nothing. Where are you? She repeated the question in her mind. Outside. It was the same voice as before. Who are you? She asked in her mind. That is not important. The voice replied.
“Girl?” A young voice asked. Sanji jumped in surprise. “Are you okay?” The young voice asked. “We heard you yelling,” Sanji tried to see where the young boy’s voice, but it was still to dark.
“Oh, I’m fine,” Sanji lied. She really wasn’t fine. She was scared. She had no idea where she was, why she was here and why everyone was being so secretive. “I guess I just had a bad dream.”
“If you’re sure,” the small voice replied hesitantly. Sanji could tell the boy wanted to stay here, though she wasn’t sure why.
“I’m sure, thank you,” Sanji replied. “Is there any way to get a lamp in here? It is really dark in here.”
“Certainly, Miss,” the boy replied and then he was gone. Minutes later the boy was back, this time carrying a lamp. The fire inside it burned fiercely, and Sanji winced at the sight. Her skin burned again, as she remembered the night with the dragon. She wasn’t sure how long ago it had been, but the memory was fresh in her mind.
“Thank you,” Sanji replied so quietly that her voice was barley audible. Listen to me. Listen. The voice, she heard it again. She dug her nails into her cold, but sweaty palms. She was scared. Nothing made sense, and this voice. It was really strange. Sanji knew that a lot was possible in the world in which she lived. Dragons, unicorns, fairies, wizards and more, they all lived in the world that she lived in. Everyone knew the stories of the dragons and wizards and everything else, and most everyone believed in them. However, seeing them was rare. Occasionally a very wealthy townsperson even owned a unicorn, had a dragon head hanging over their door, kept fairies in jars for good luck and some of the wealthiest men and women had wizards as servants. Not Sanji however. She was nothing but a peasant girl. She lived with her father, and an older sister and brother, “the twins”. Her mother had died long ago, only a year after Sanji was born.
“Here you go,” the boy interrupted her thoughts, handing her the lamp.
“Thanks,” Sanji replied. Then the boy left the room.
Listen to me commanded the voice. Do not ignore me. I need you to do as I say. I need you to follow through with this quest. Then the voice was gone.
Chapter 3

The light burnt out hours later. Sanji sat alone in the warm, but dark room. She still couldn’t see anything; though she was sure it had to be morning. The voice that had spoken to her had not returned, though Sanji could not rid the sound of its voice from her mind. It stuck with her like a tick, or leach. It was a nuisance, a parasite, but she didn’t know how to escape from it. Then again, when she thought she had finally come close enough to sleep for it to reach out to her and wrap her in the world of dreams she found herself pulling the voice back to her. As if she wanted it to return.
She had finally managed to get back to sleep when a ray of light filtered into the room and one of the dark figures from the day before entered the room. “How are you?” It was the female voice.
“Okay, I suppose,” Sanji answered, yawning sleepily.
“Good,” the woman replied. Then she walked closer to the bed. Sanji strained her eyes to see the woman’s face. Only when she got within touching distance could Sanji see it. It was a beautiful face. The woman had lightly tanned skin, with brilliant green eyes. Her hair fell to her shoulders, and her bangs reached her chin, perfectly framing her face. Her hair color was indescribable. It was radiant red, unlike any other, but yet it wasn’t a real red. More like a scarlet color, but that didn’t describe it either. Sanji gave up trying to figure it out and said, “Where am I?”
“I believe you asked that yesterday and I told you it didn’t matter,” the voice was firm, but not unkind. It was smooth and flowing, but sounded as if it wasn’t used very often.
“Well, yes, but…” she wasn’t sure what to say. “I think I deserve to know at least why I am here, don’t you think?” She added a tiny bit vulnerability to her voice. She would try anything to figure out what was going on.
“I suppose you do, but this is far more important that you know,” this sentence struck Sanji as odd. She wasn’t ready to find out that this was really that important. She had wanted to believe that these people had just been nice and wanted to help her get over her burns, but it would appear it was more serious than that. “Well, it started years ago when Dragon Master’s were as common as regular people. One of them in particular was named…” she was cut off mid-sentence.
“What do you think you are doing?” It was the hooded figure who had saved her life. He was steaming with anger. “How much have you told her?” He screamed.
“Nothing, not yet,” the woman’s voice faltered. She almost seemed afraid of the man. Sanji didn’t
Blame her. His voice was still dripping with authority, and he was very intimidated. “I thought she should know.”
“Know, know? You think she should know? Do you know what could happen? She could tell, she could try and fight for it, she could communicate with them! Do you want all that to happen?”
“Well, it really doesn’t matter does it? If she has the gift…”
“We don’t know that she does!!!” He screamed. Though Sanji could not see his face she could tell by the sound of his voice how angry he was.
“I do!” The woman yelled back, and then bit her lip as if she had said something she shouldn’t have.
“What?” The hooded figure asked in a flat tone.
“Never mind,” the woman’s eyes darted to the floor. They did not leave her feet until the hooded man commanded her to look at him.
“Look at me Kilioc! Don’t ever say, “never mind” in that tone to me again, okay?”
“Yes,” Kilioc sighed heavily. “I understand.”
“Good, now what did you mean when you said she does have the gift?”
“I…” she looked hesitantly at the man. “I heard her yelling at someone last night. I sent in Jasot last night to check on her. He said that she heard a voice in her head.”
“No!” The hooded figure fumed. Turning on his heels and leaving the room he muttered something under his breath that Sanji could not understand.
Once again she was alone in the room with Kilioc. “What was that all about?” Sanji asked hesitantly.
“Nothing,” Kilioc spat. “Nothing at all.”
“Sorry,” Sanji felt herself coming close to tears. With that Kilioc left the room.

Chapter 4

Sanji couldn’t believe what had happened. None of it made sense. Why would Kilioc act like that? She seemed so nice, but then she acted so horrible. She had the right to know what was going on, didn’t she? It seemed like this whole thing revolved around her, so why would no one explain it to her?
“This is probably more complicated than I think,” Sanji though aloud.
You are right; it was the voice from the night. The same voice that had spoke to her. The one that commanded her to follow through with a quest.
WHAT??? She thought it this time. How was it that without being anywhere near her, the strange voice could hear her?
You are right, this is a lot larger than you think. So be ready.

An hour or so later Sanji was still puzzling over what the voice had said. She hadn’t had a chance to ask anything else; the voice was gone before she had the chance.
A while later the door to the dim room Sanji was in swung open. Standing in the door frame was Kilioc.
“C’mon, let’s go,” Kilioc ordered forcefully. Sanji looked at her in confusion. “I said, let’s go!” Kilioc shouted. Sanji realized that the argument with the man who had saved her had really made a dent in Kilioc’s good mood. Sanji had begun to think that Kilioc might be the key to figuring out what was going on here, but the way her mood had turned so sour Sanji wasn’t sure she wanted to be around the lady any longer.
“Why?” Sanji dared to ask. She flinched back, ready for a scolding of some sort. The kind she would have gotten where she lived if she had asked such a question. She was questioning authority, and she had been taught not to.
“Look, I know you want to get out of here… and to tell you the truth so do I. I have always followed orders from Laetin…” she paused, realizing that she had told Sanji the name of the hooded figure. “Anyway, I have always wished I could have his gift, his title. So I have followed him around like a dog. Well, I realize now that I don’t have to. You have his gift. So you need to learn how to manage it. I have watched Laetin enough to know how to train you. Now come on, we need to get out of here before Laetin or Kyle finds me missing and comes down here looking for me.”
“Okay-“ Sanji replied hesitantly. Once again Kilioc’s mood had changed dramatically and Sanji was wondering how much time she wanted to spend with her. “I’ll go,” she said, more to herself than to Kilioc, but Kilioc seemed pleased with her answer.
“Well, come on then!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Once they were out of the building that they had been in Sanji let out a breath of relief. That had been scary. Both Laetin and Kyle had almost seen them, and according to Kilioc, they didn’t want to find out what would happen if they did.
Sanji looked back at the small place they had come from. It was just ramshackle cabin, which looked like it could cave in at any given moment. But on the inside it was surprisingly clean and well kept. They room Sanji had been kept in was not much lighter than the rest of the “house”. There had been lots of closed doors in the hallway that seemed to go on forever. When they had finally come to the one they had wanted and had opened it to go through, Laetin and Kyle came out from another door. Luckily, they had managed to slip out unnoticed.
“So, where are we going?” Sanji asked, once they were a safe distance from the cabin.
“Don’t know just yet, probably the Dragon Caves.”
“The Dragon Caves?!?” Sanji had heard about the place. Only few people had been there, and even fewer came back alive.

Chapter 5

“Yes, the Dragon Caves,” Kilioc said flatly. Her tone was not harsh, but clearly annoyed.
“We can’t go there! We’ll be eaten, or attacked or something! Lots of dragons are supposed to live there!” Sanji’s breath grew shallow, as she began to anticipate with great fear the journey that lay ahead of them.
“No, we won’t,” Kilioc spat. Sanji drew back in surprise, noticing the bad mood return that had been there before.
“Sorry.”
“Let’s just try and be quiet. That will make it easier,” Kilioc turned and started off.

After some time bluish-purple mountains began to appear in the distance. Just looking at them made Sanji shiver. She had heard many times that the Elikanno Mountains; the same ones that rose out of the earth before her; was the home to the Dragon Caves. She opened her mouth to ask Kilioc something, but closed it again remembering her orders to keep quiet.
They walked on and on, and not once did Kilioc stop to apologize or to explain what was going on. Sanji felt that she needed to ask her about the conversation they had had the other day, about the Dragon Masters. But remember Laetin’s rage when Kilioc had first tried to tell her about it she decided against it. Then suddenly, the voice in her mind returned. “Ask her!” It commanded. Sanji looked over at Kilioc, who was walking tirelessly, deep in thought. “Ask her!” It repeated. “OK!” She thought, annoyed that she was being bossed around by someone she didn’t even know.
“Kilioc?” She asked hesitantly.
“Yes?” Kilioc replied, her tone sweet once again.
“The other day when you were telling me about the Dragon Masters…” She paused; glancing at Kilioc to be sure she wasn’t going to get upset again. She seemed fine, and nodded for her to go on. “You never finished telling me how this related to what was going on to us.”
“You didn’t figure it out?” Kilioc looked Sanji up and down in surprise.
“No… should I have?” Sanji thought back to everything she had heard and had learned, but nothing came to her.
“Yeah, isn’t it obvious?” Kilioc sighed deeply when Sanji shook her head. “Ohhhh, well, I guess I had better start at the beginning.”

Chapter 6

“As I said earlier, long ago Dragon Masters were as common as people like you and I. In case you don’t know this for sure, Dragon Masters are people, who have the ability to speak to dragons. As soon as they discover their ‘talent’, you could call it; they are taken to the Riaherkias, or the Dragon Hall. There they are given a tiny egg, no larger than a pea. Soon, the egg will begin to grow if the young Dragon Master cares for it properly. Then, about six months later the egg will hatch into a tiny dragon. Then, for as long as he will live the Dragon Master’s job is to care, nurture, raise, and then become equals with the dragon.”
“Oh,” Sanji thought for a moment. It would be wonderful to be a Dragon Master!
“There is a catch however,” Kilioc muttered. “Not all people who have the power of being a Dragon Master actually get to do it. They have to be able to perform magic.”
“Why?” Sanji asked, unable to understand what that meant. “I mean, I thought magic was against the Order.”
“Well, it is now, but it used to not me so. The reason you must be able to do magic is because the dragons are magic. In order to have a connection with a dragon you must be able to, well, to put it largely, you must be able to do magic.”
“Okay, but what about the Order? If magic is against it, then you wouldn’t be able to be a Dragon Master!” Sanji felt herself becoming uncomfortable. All this talk about Dragon Masters, and magic was against the Order, the law of Nayrin, their kingdom.
“Well, that’s pretty much the reason why the Dragon Masters disappeared. All of them were afraid of the Order, and so they just, disappeared. Most people think that they fled with their dragons to the northern part of Alentai, which would explain why the dragons disappeared as well.”
“What about the dragon that attacked me?” Sanji asked, rubbing lightly where her burns were.
“Well, that was a dragon that we are unsure about. We don’t know where it came from or why it was here,” Kilioc frowned, as if trying to figure it out.
“Oh,” Sanji frowned as well. Then she asked, “What does this have to do with us?”
“You still haven’t figured it out?” Kilioc smiled when Sanji shook her head. “Well, Laetin is a Dragon Master.” Sanji almost choked. She stared in astonishment at Kilioc.
“You mean, if that is the way… then I am…” Her jaw dropped open. Kilioc had said earlier that she had the same gift as Laetin. They were headed towards the Dragon Caves… It all pieced together. If Laetin was a Dragon Master, then so was she.

Chapter 7

“Yes,” Kilioc replied. “You are the next Dragon Master.”
“So, is that why we are going to the Dragon Caves?” Sanji asked, fear rising up in her throat at the thought of going there.
“Yes, that is where your training will begin,” Kilioc then fell silent, and Sanji knew it would be wise to do the same. As they walked on Sanji begin to grow tired.
“Kilioc?” She asked. “How much longer will this take?”
“Oh, are you tired already? We have two or three days ahead of us,” Sanji groaned when Kilioc kindly said these words. Her feet were beginning to hurt, her legs ached harshly, and she was terribly hungry. “But, we are nearing the town of Elic; there we will stop for a quick dinner, and maybe a ‘short’ nap.”
“Okay,” Sanji was not at all pleased that they would not be able to stay the night in a town, but knowing that for someone like Kilioc the offer was very generous so she said no more.

For an hour or two Sanji expected to see the town of Elic to come into view, but when it didn’t she wondered what Kilioc’s version or ‘nearing’ really was. She apologized to her feet, which were burning in pain, and continued walking.
“Sanji.” Sanji looked around in surprise, but then realized that it was the voice inside of her head.
“Who are you?” She spoke aloud. Kilioc jerked her head into her direction, staring at her intently. “Who are you?” Sanji repeated, only this time she asked the question in her head.
“I am a friend." The voice stated, as if that answered everything. "Look up." It commanded. Sanji did so, and up in the sky she saw a beautiful bird, unlike any other flying above them. It was a Terinix. It was a light deep royal blue color, all except for its head, which was a stunning crimson.
“Is that you?” She asked in her mind.
“Yes.”
“What do you want with me?” Sanji felt herself slowing down, unable to speak and walk at the same time. “Kilioc?” She called to her ‘companion.’ “I need to stop.”
“Why?” Kilioc asked, somewhat aggravated.
“Because,” Sanji looked up. Kilioc followed her gaze, and then gasped in surprise. She dropped onto her knees and bowed. Sanji stared in confusion at the Terinix, and Kilioc. She was unsure of what to do, so she just stood there, waiting for someone to say something. No one did.
Finally after a few long minutes the Terinix flew lower, until he was hovering a foot above Sanji. This time the giant bird spoke aloud.
“Sanji,” it murmured. “You do no know who I am,” it was almost a question, but not quite. Sanji was surprised at the bird’s voice. She had heard it in her mind, but aloud it was very strange.
“No,” Sanji began bravely. “I do not.”
“That is fine, soon you will know.” With that the great Terinix flew higher and disappeared into the evening sky.
“You do not know who that was?” Kilioc almost screamed. But then she contained herself, and the started walking again. Finally they came to the small town, and they ate dinner. Kilioc took a couple hour nap, but Sanji was unable to so much as close her eyes. She was too busy worrying, about everything.

Chapter 8

When Kilioc finally awoke Sanji was ready to go. Earlier that day all she had wanted was to be under a roof sleeping, but the small inn that they had stayed in for the few hours was cramped and musty, the air was thick with dampness, and Sanji found sleeping impossible. Not only because of the atmosphere, but also because when you have nothing better to do your mind wanders. And Sanji’s mind wandered around everything. First of all she thought of what lay ahead for her, her future as a Dragon Master. Second of all she thought about the Terinix, wondering what could possibly be so amazing about it. Though these thoughts consumed much of her mind there was one that overpowered the rest. She thought about her family. It was a small one, that was broken and hurt, but it was still her family. She lived in a small house in the poor village Kummor, near the forest where she had been attacked by the dragon. In her house she lived with her father, her older brother Sujin, an older sister, Siji, who were twins at the age of 17. She also lived with her younger sister, Ilian, who was not truly her sister, but a young child that her father had adopted. That was her family. She had no mother. She didn’t know who her mother was. She had left the day after she was born, leaving her father to care for Sujin, Siji, Sanji and Ilian. Sujin and Siji were both serious, for they remembered their mother well. Ilian, who was only five, was sad for she was abandoned by her family. Sanji didn’t know where the little girl had come from, but she was very important to her family.
“Sanji?” Kilioc interrupted her thoughts. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. I was just thinking about home.”
“You miss it don’t you,” Kilioc didn’t ask this as a question.
“Well, yeah. I mean…” Sanji struggled to explain, for it was much more complicated than it seemed. “You see, when I was attacked by the dragon… I was running away from home. I was stupid to do such a thing, for my family has suffered enough already. I was mad at Sujin. He told me that I would never amount to anything. There was a job opening in the village shop, and I had refused. So, Sujin was mad at me for that, Father was mad because I asked him about Mother…” Sanji stared at her feet. “I wanted an adventure, away from my family. Now I have one, but I feel guilty.”
“I know how you feel,” Kilioc murmured. “I left my family to follow Laetin around. Sometimes I regret it. But not always. You actually have a better reason! You ARE a Dragon Master, I just wanted to be one. So don’t feel guilty. This is important, and you should be proud.”
With that Kilioc walked out of the inn and together the two began to walk, heading towards the mountains and the Dragon Caves.

Chapter 9

The days that they traveled went by slowly, but at least they were getting somewhere. They slept each night, which kept Sanji able to travel on. She felt as if she could cry. She had been pulled away from her family and was here, on this adventure, which she barley understood.
‘So,’ she thought, beginning to recall what had happened so far. ‘I am a Dragon Master, attacked by a dragon no one could control, EXCEPT for a Dragon Master himself. I am traveling with a moody woman named Kilioc, to the forbidden place called the Dragon Caves. And I am trying to figure out what was so special about a Terinix. Obviously it is special, sense it can talk! But why did Kilioc bow before it? And why was she upset to find out that I didn’t know who it was?’ She thought about things like this for almost their whole journey, seeing that Kilioc was in no mood to talk at that particular time.
“Sanji?” Kilioc asked, as they made camp for the night.
“Yes,” Sanji replied looking over at Kilioc, unsure what her companion wanted to say. Her tone was uneasy, and Sanji breathed in sharply, ready to hear what was coming.
“I just wanted to apologize. I haven’t been very nice to you lately, and I haven’t given you the credit you deserve. I was just ready for you to become a Dragon Master so that I would no longer be able to try,” Kilioc glanced down at her feet. “I don’t sleep well a lot wishing that I could be the Dragon Master, and that I could be the one to save all of our land. But if you become the Dragon Master, then I don’t have to feel that way, and I could just be content in helping you become the best Dragon Master you can be…”
“Wait, what do you mean saving all of our land?” Sanji demanded. She knew not of any danger in her home land of Carrn.
Kilioc paused. Her eyes hinted that she hadn’t meant to say all that she had said. “Never mind. There IS danger near, but it is not for you to worry about. All you need to worry about now is becoming the Dragon Master. Do not worry about the future, focus on what you must do now.”
“Okay,” Sanji agreed, though she couldn’t help wondering what danger was coming.
After their short discussion they made a ‘bed’ by their campfire and went to sleep. As Sanji drifted into the world of dreams she thought of her future, though she knew Kilioc had asked her not to. She wondered what was to come, but she wasn’t worried. ‘Maybe I’ll be a hero…’

When the two companions awoke the next morning a sly smile formed on Kilioc’s light colored face. “What?” Sanji asked. Kilioc just shook her head, gathering her belongings and motioning for Sanji to follow.
As they walked on in the early morning light Sanji noticed just how close the mountains were now. She suddenly knew what Kilioc had been grinning about.

They would reach the mountains that very day.

Chapter Ten

They walked on through the rest of the day, and by sunset the mountains were a few yards away. Kilioc continued walking, at the same pace that they had walked the whole day. But Sanji stopped dead in her tracks. The mountains stretched out largely before her, and she could see the small whole that was the beginning of the endless Dragon Caves. “I can’t go on,” she announced suddenly. Kilioc turned around to face her, her face locked in a calm expression, though her eyes burned with anger.
“Sanji,” she began, containing her temper. “You have to. I mean, you are really important! If you don’t become Dragon Master, then Laetin will have to face the… monster alone!”
“What monster?” Sanji gulped, her blood running cold.
“Nothing,” Kilioc said quickly. “I was… just trying to find something to motivate you… I um, I guess I thought of the wrong… motive,” Kilioc mumbled, her eyes up at the puffy white clouds.
“You are lying!” Sanji accused. “There is something you aren’t telling me! I know it, there is something dangerous going on and you don’t want me to know yet!” Tears pricked at her eyelids, as she grew more and more scared.
“Yes, you are right, there is something dangerous going on in the land of Naiyn. But it is NOT time for you to know what is going on. It is not something I should trouble you with. Please, don’t ask any more about it, and before your Dragon Master training is done I will tell you what it going on, I promise.”
“Okay,” Sanji reluctantly agreed. “I guess what you are saying makes sense, but I really want to know!”
“I understand. Laetin kept the same thing from me for five years. You will only have to wait a few more weeks. I have a feeling your trainer will tell you before I will get the chance.”
“Do you want that to happen?” Sanji asked, sensing that Kilioc wanted to be the one to tell her.
“Yes, I want you to know, but you will have to understand a lot of things before you are ready for what you will learn. But don’t worry. Things will work out perfectly before you know it.”
Sanji desperately wanted to believe that everything would be okay, but she had a feeling that it would be many, many years before things worked out perfectly.

Chapter Eleven

“It’s okay, I promise,” Kilioc said reassuringly, leading them into the Dragon Caves. Sanji hesitated, and then followed. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to see another dragon. After her first encounter with a dragon, she was scared. She winced as she thought about her burns. They were still terribly painful, although they were much better. Kilioc said she was fortunate not to have been burned on her face, but she didn’t feel fortunate. She could hardly move with out the harsh sting of the burns. “Sanji, come ON!” Kilioc snapped. “That wasn’t a normal dragon. It was crazy. Okay? Crazy. It’s Master betrayed it. It would not act in such away if it had a proper Master. Understand? Not all the dragons will be the same. You will not be attacked again, okay? These dragons are dangerous, but friendly enough. Plus, there are tons of Masters here that ARE in charge of their dragons.”
“If that dragon’s Master betrayed it, why did it obey Laetin?” She wanted to know, though she was really just stalling.
“Because Laetin was no ordinary Dragon Master. He was the most powerful one Nayin has had in centuries. He is one of the few Masters that has control over all dragons. Now, please, COME ON!” She grabbed onto Sanji’s arm, and dragged her farther into caves.
“Kilioc?” A whispery voice came to them, echoing through the vast tunnels and caverns. “Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me,” she replied, and smiled. “Come on out, this is Sanji, she’s fine.”
A small, agile figure dropped from the ceiling of the cave. “Kilioc!” The tiny person threw its arms around her neck in a huge hug. “It’s been forever. They fell back down, and then turned to Sanji. “And who might you be?”
“I’m Sanji,” she said, and looked closely at the figure. They were wearing brown pants and shirt that were the same color as the walls of the cave. They had black hair that was as straight as could be. They were pretty small, only about four foot eight, and were built with tiny limbs and body.
“Nice to meet you,” they said. “I am Yim. I must report your coming, Kilioc, to the King. Is this good?”
“Yes. We must speak with him, as soon as possible.”
Sanji looked at her companion sharply. Speak to the king? She was only a peasant, not someone who talked to kings!
Calm down. It was the Terinix. It is fine. You are no peasant. You must speak with the king. They will respect you.
Okay… She replied in her mind.
Yim smiled, bowed to them both, and then back flipped away.
“Whoa!” She gasped. “Did you see that?”
“Oh, yes. He’s talented that way. He can flip, jump, climb, hang, just about whatever.”
“He’s nice.”
“Yes, he is. He was Laetin’s friend, and when we came here, we spent a lot of time with him.”
“Oh. I didn’t know Laetin came here. I don’t understand him at all.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll understand soon enough. His past is something you must know to become a Dragon Master. Now, follow me, we must go speak to the king.