"What are you doing!?" The princess yelled at her guard in a stunned voice, unable to fully comprehend exactly what was happening.

"I am sorry, princess," the knight lifted his magical sword towards the dragon as he glanced to the princess, then towards the dragoness, "but the king ordered us to bring the dead body of the dragon of Roc Ruins to him if a dragon still existed."

"Us?" The princess held a trembling Phoebus behind her with a hand for protection. "What has my father done?"

The wizard silently drew his wand and stepped alongside the knight. "Sorry your majesty, but the king wants the pelt and parts of one of the last dragons left in the world, and he outranks you. We respond to him before you."

Foolish weaklings! I am immortal! The dragoness snarled, then released a warning shot of lightning at the feet of her two attackers.

The stone blackened and the two attackers jumped back, but quickly regained their composure and prepared a new attack.

"Laguepell!" The wizard pointed his wand at the dragoness and launched a death spell at the blue serpentine dragon.

"No!" Princess Amore reached out with scared tears in her eyes. She recognized the dark magic from the many books on spells she had read.

The dragoness didn't even flinch when the spell hit her, then used their moment of stunned shock to lunge with her jaws wide open.

SNAP! The spineless wizard screamed as the powerful being clamped her sharp teeth down on his wand and narrowly missed his hand.

While the dragoness was focused on the magician, the knight swung his sword at the dragon and managed to cut her shoulder with the tip of the blade. The magic blade stung, but the wound quickly healed.

The dragoness knocked the golden-haired knight into the blond wizard with a swipe of her paw, then spit the splintered wand half out of her mouth and growled, electricity visibly sparking in the edges of her mouth. She shot the electricity at the metal-armored human and the blast spread to the elf wizard as well.

Both humanoids twitched slightly as the electricity briefly pulsed through them, then recovered. She didn't want to kill them, especially in front of a child and a princess, but she believed they wanted to kill her.

"STOP THIS!" Princess Amore screamed at the top of her lungs, but neither the knight not the wizard listened to her.

I wish I could stop, but they are now enemies and I must defeat them and banish them. The magic of the contract forces me. She gathered more of her electrical breath and hoped they would take the hint that this dragoness was not to be messed with.

Since he was not wearing metal, the elf recovered first. "We're sorry Princess Amore," with a wave of his hand and a muttered word, the magician placed an energy hemisphere around Amore and Phoebus covered in strong ancient protection runes I didn't recognize, "but this is an order from the king."

The princess stomped her foot and screamed something that made young Phoebus look up to her with wide eyes, but no sounds passed through the barrier.

With that done, the magician pointed his glowing hand towards the dragoness. "Estroydell!" A bolt of black energy burst from his hand, and the dragoness swiftly dodged as she blasted a bit of her elemental breath in return. He narrowly dodged, but frustration spread across his face. "Why won't you just be hit and die?!"

I can't die! She glared, then released a high-pitched roar when she noticed the knight swing at her blue-furred hide with his bade just in time to dodge.

The blade sliced into the stone floors with a small explosion of pebbles and briefly stuck into the stonework.

"Oisonpell!" The dragon barely avoided another spell, then snarled in frustration. If you won't play well, then neither will I. She swiftly turned herself invisible and silently flew atop one of the partially crumbled pillars and watched the two men stood with their backs together. They cautiously eyed the area around them, their respective weapons held in front of them, ready to fight if needed.

That is a bit amusing. The dragoness calmly watched them from her vantage point. Maybe if I let them calm down, they will come to their senses. She didn't move and simply watched their movements.

"Do you think it fled?" The knight asked the wizard directly behind him. "I don't hear or see anything. It should have attacked by now."

"I doubt it, it can't leave the castle and we have made it very clear that we wish to kill it." The wizard paused, "let me try something, it is a hard spell without a wand, but I think it's worth a shot." He gathered a small sphere of magic in his hand. "Evealrell!" He threw the ball into the air, and it exploded in the air a few feet above their heads and sent a shockwave of orange energy through the room.

When the wave hit the invisible, she felt it partially dissolve the cloaking spell around her. What was that? She renewed the spell as quickly as possible.

"Estroydell!" A black bolt of magic flew towards the dragoness, and she flew off of the pillar just in time to dodge the attack.

She froze as a massive chunk of the wall behind her dissolved the second the attack hit it. That... that... the wall! She floated in the air, stunned and wordless, but still perfectly invisible, at least in her mind.

"Estroydell!" In her shock, the blue serpentine being couldn't dodge in time, and the spell hit her square in the chest.

A twinkling sound filled her ears as white light flooded her vision. Suddenly, her magic failed, and she felt herself plummet. She swiftly slammed against the ground, but strangely, the pain did not go away.

For a moment, she laid on the ground with her back to the men, stunned, her mind swirling. Something feels like it's missing. What happened to me? Her limbs felt unresponsive and fatigued.

The world was silent for a few minutes as no one moved.

"I think we did it." The knight's voice reached her ears and finally shattered the all-consuming silence.

"I doubt it survived that spell, but could be tricking us," the magician cautioned, "dragons are notoriously crafty, and this monster has incredible healing magic. I suggest we cut off its head just to be safe."

Footsteps approached the dragoness's form.

I have to get up! Finally, her mind stilled, and her muscles and magic once again responded to her will. She burst off of the ground and flew towards one of the remaining pillars and curled around it. Most of her long body remained behind the pillar as she watched the two men from her vantage point.

She breathed deeply as her mind tried to figure out what was wrong with her. She didn't snarl or glare at the men, only watched, her eyes wide with shock. I need to get out of here, my invisibility doesn't work well against that magical burst spell.

"It's not dead, but it looks scared," The knight kept his sword drawn as he calmly looked up to her blue magical creature above them.

The magician picked a small and blue object off of the ground and studied it with a hum, then scowled and looked rather angry. "I hit the jewel on its amulet, that's how it survived. I stunned it, but its jewelry protected it."

The... the jewel? The dragoness lifted a paw off of the pillar and reached for the band of gold around her lower neck while her other three paws gripped the stone with her claws. Instead of the familiar faceted face of a large stone, she felt smooth metal.

Her eyes widened, it's gone? It's gone! I'm free from the immortality curse! She opened her mouth and sang a note. I'm alive! She breathed deep breaths that slowly transitioned to a joyous laugh.

"What... what is it doing?" The knight nervously glanced at his comrade.

The magician had no answer.

Ah, right, them. The dragoness ceased her laughter and stared at the two men with newfound confidence. I hope I'm not too rusty. It's been over a thousand years since I used the true magic of the oceans. She opened her mouth and filled the throne room and the rest of the castle with her silk-like voice.

"You who have fought are now weary,

Dismiss your magic if you hear me,

Drop your weapons the floor,

And fight with me no more.

If it's your lives you wish to keep,

Then fall into a deep sleep."

She ended the song quickly, as her throat hurt from lack of use, but not even the elf filled with magic could resist her siren song. Both of them collapsed to the floor, their eyes closed and the knight snoring slightly.

Princess Amore remained in shock as the magical barrier surrounded her and Phoebus faded and released her the second the hybrid dragoness ended her song. After a moment, she slowly looked up to the dragoness still in her perch. "Beautiful and powerful Horizon," her voice wavered slightly, "I had no part in their plans and no knowledge of my father's decree. Please, gracious and wonderful dragoness, please forgive them enough that you allow them to live. They were only following orders."

"You CAN talk?" Phoebus waited his turn to speak. "Why didn't you speak to me earlier! All you made were animal noises!"

The dragoness paused, then silently flew down and calmly landed a few feet away. "As you wish, I will not kill them." Her strained voice sounded foreign to her ears. "Though I hope they are properly punished."

"I'm going to give both them and my father a piece of my mind." The princess clenched her fists but managed to keep them to her sides. "If I had known, I would have refused my father's insistence I bring men to protect me."

As she listened, the dragoness sat down and wrapped her long tail around herself and covered her paws. She looked to the elven boy as he stood next to the princess. "And I could not speak to you then, I unwisely traded my voice and my strongest form of magic away for what I believed was a blessing, immortality. Now, I realize it was a curse, as it has kept me alone here. Not even death could free me." I swallowed as my throat burned from talking and my voice became a bit horse. "But now, the immortal jewel is destroyed, and I am free to grow and be alive as I finish my long life."

"Beautiful dragon of the sea and sky, I came here to solve an injustice against you and fulfill the last wish of my ancestor, not kill you! You're a beautiful, wonderful creature that has served this country far longer than I can fathom." She glared slightly at the two unconscious men, then composed herself.

I blinked and watched the princess, silent in shock and unsure whether to believe what she implied.

"Horizon, thank you for your service above and beyond what you were originally contracted. I, Princess Rona, a descendant of the royal family that once lived in these ancient halls, dismiss you and release you from your contract."

The world seemed to freeze, and the dragoness felt as if a massive weight lifted off of her. The constant magical pull that chained her to the castle dissolved. The two figures in front of her watched as the dragoness breathed deep breaths, her body limp and she struggled to figure out what do do with her life now. I am... free? Truly truly free?

"Thank you," the dragoness managed to tell the two humans, then burst into the air and flew out of the castle, not even bothering to disguise her blue hide. She hovered there, staring out to the world as it laid out before her.

After a moment of pause, she turned her back to the port and raced towards the place where the sea met the sky; the horizon.

I am Horizon, queen of the sea and the sky.