Suna struggled to recognize the strange girl in the thick snowstorm. It seemed like she was melting into the snow.
Only now and then could Suna make out a shadowy figure rushing back and forth between the trees.

Like a silver arrow.

The girl hissed through the trees. Suna started to jump and pushed herself off the ground.

With a huge jump, she threw herself on the girl and nailed her to the ground. For a few seconds, the two stared at each other, out of breath.

The stranger had white-blonde, wavy hair, and her eyes were a stunning gray.  She was maybe two or three years older than Suna. 

She wore a top and pants made of leather.  Over it, she wore a cloak that had fur at the top of the collar and ended in a point on her right leg.

„Who are you?“, Suna gasped.
„Don't know why that should be your business!“, hissed the girl.
Her chest rose and fell frantically.

„You watched me and then ran away. I think that is my business!“, said Suna.
„Why did you run after me?“, asked the other girl.
„I was afraid you'd kill me,“ Suna said straightforwardly.

„Kill you? Why should I kill you?“, asked the other girl and Suna loosened her grip. Immediately the other girl pushed Suna off of her, got up, and ran away.

Suna stayed in the snow for a few seconds.

That went well. 

Now she had to go back to her father, even though he had forbidden her to go out and she had not even found out anything useful. 
Who was that girl?
Suna struggled to get up.

A second later there was no longer the brown-haired girl, but a young lioness who was running quickly to the east.

She barely felt the snow under her paws and before she knew it she arrived at her father's secret camp. 
She ran through the rows of tents and arrived in front of the last, largest, and most magnificent of all tents.

She slipped in and was faced with a large lion, who looked at her sternly and a little disappointed.

She sat down and bowed her head.
„I forbade you to leave the camp, Suna,“ he said in a low voice. „I know, father. But-“
„Then why did you leave it?", he interrupted her, his voice even louder than before.

„I was just playing on the edge and then there was a girl and she was watching me and then she ran away," Suna told her story. „And I followed her," she finished quietly.

Her father said nothing.
Suna didn't dare to look up. 
„That's not really everything“, she said hesitantly.
„I thought to myself, if I can prove to you that I can take care of myself by bringing the girl with me, you might let me out,“ she said quietly.

„What if she hurt you? You are nine years old Suna, far too young to even hold a sword. I know you can take care of yourself and I know you need your freedom, but wait a few more years. The kings and queens will come soon and then you will be free like never before“, her father promised.

Suna looked up. 
„When? It's always soon. But when is soon?“, she asked desperately.
„With every day that goes by, it's one day less“, said her father.

Suna stomped grumpily out of the tent, but there could be no question of a lioness stomping. She still looked graceful, though. At the next corner, she turned back into a girl.  The conversation with her father could have gone a lot worse, but she still felt lousy.

„How did the conversation go?“, asked a voice behind her. Suna turned around and looked at the general of the army, a centaur named Oreius.
„So, that I don't feel like anything anymore“, she mumbled and crawled away themselves in their tent. Should anyone send her someone to drag her to class - she wouldn't learn much today.

❥︎

A few months had passed, like landscapes when you were sitting on a train and looking out the window. 
Suna had often thought about the girl who had run so fast. Now she just called her Silverarrow in her head.
Her father had let her out of the camp and she was roaming the woods when she heard a growl behind her.

She turned around, startled, and saw a leopard. They were on her father's side, so she had nothing to fear. But this leopard looked hostile and growled at her. 

„If you just come along, it won't hurt at all“, he said.

Suna was frightened.
Did the White Witch have a leopard on her side?

She drew her sword and held it out to the leopard. Before he could react, a girl came running out of the trees behind him.

It was a Silverarrow. She looked straight into Suna's eyes. 
„What are you doing there?", she asked coldly. The leopard turned his head to her.

Suna stuttered around. The leopard had wanted to take her to the witch!

„Let the leopard go, Goldeye," said Aline. 

Suna was confused.

Goldeye? Were her eyes golden for this girl?  Suna was so confused that she lowered her sword and did not even look away from Silverarrow when the leopard turned and ran away.

„Goldeye?“, she asked.
„Yes, your eyes are golden," said Silverarrow casually. 
„Golden ...?", Suna asked slowly.
Definitely! Silverarrow could see her golden eyes! And that in turn meant that...

Suna almost gasped for air. 
Silverarrow gave her a strange look, but Suna didn't care at all.
„For you are my eyes golden?", she asked again. 
„Yeah," Silverarrow answered slowly and her nose wrinkled as she pulled it up.

„Why did you want to kill the leopard?" asked Silverarrow. 
„He's on the other side," Suna said, and unconsciously took a step or two back. 

„That means you're with this lion?“, asked Silverarrow and her face became even paler than it already was. 

„Don't you?" Suna asked, turning pale too.

Silverarrow shook her head.

For a few seconds, the two stared at each other in shock. They thought the other one couldn't be on the other side - but they were.  After a few seconds, the other turned and hissed off like an arrow.

Suna arrived at her father's camp. 
She hung her head and walked with heavy steps. 
„What happened, Your Highness?“, asked a little meerkat with a chirping voice.  It couldn't be that old. 
„Someone I know is on the witch's side," said Suna.

„Oh no!“, someone said.
Suna looked around confused. The voice had been a bit scratchy like someone had a slight cough.
„Oliver!” Scolded the meerkat. 

„...Oliver...?“, asked Suna. 
„Oh, I'm sorry," the voice murmured and to the right of Suna, a figure became certain.

It had a big belly, four paws, bat wings, a leather scale skin that was the color of sand, but there was a red tinge to it and it was probably only a few years old. 
Suna had never seen a real dragon before, so her face lit up.

Oliver belonged to the sand dragons that could make themselves invisible. Sometimes it happened unintentionally, like with Oliver, almost all the time.
Sand dragons had skin that was sandy in color but took on stitches of other colors when, for example, they were embarrassed.  Then her scaly skin turned slightly reddish.

„You are Oliver?“, asked Suna, fascinated. His skin turned even redder. 
„A stupid name for a dragon," he muttered.  

„No, not at all," said Suna. „Do you know what Oliver means?"
The dragon shook his head.
Suna sat down next to him on the floor. 
„Oliver means once the peaceful one and the one who spreads hope. Aren't those nice meanings, especially now?“

Oliver shrugged. 

„He's shy“, said the meerkat. 
Suna smiled. 
„My name is Carlos, Your Highness," he said then.
„That means free man and husband," said Suna with a smile.

„I'm not a man ..." Carlos mumbled, a little offended.  Suna giggled. 
„Yes, but a coward," grumbled Oliver. 
Suna really tried not to laugh, but it was almost impossible. 

„At least I'm not a shy idiot!“, replied Carlos.

„That's right, you're a complete idiot“, said Oliver. 

That gave Suna the rest and she laughed out loud until tears ran down her face and after a few seconds Carlos and Oliver joined in the laughter.