Horizon swam through the open ocean, her ears listening for any signs of sea drakes, or even another dragoness. A large shark swam nearby, unafraid of the presence of the draconic apex predator, but wise enough to not desire to attack her.

She thought about attacking the large fish but decided against it. She was a bit hungry, but even on an empty stomach, she could not even pretend to eat half of an animal of that size. If she was full size, perhaps, but she had hundreds of years to grow before she would potentially be large enough.

The female dragon paused, then opened her mouth and sang a magic-laced song in ancient draconic tongue into the invisible warm current of the dim blue waters. The magic wasn't a hex, but instead a simple spell that made the music travel far and wide.

When she finished her song, her ears remained upright as she listened for any returned singing, her body still. When no return song reached her ears, a large frown spread across her lips. Even after months, still nothing? I was sure I would find at least one other. But I cannot find any dragons of either of my lineages swim in the sea or fly in the sky. Have I not searched hard enough? Where have they all gone?

She had come across a few six-legged sea serpents, which had been mostly friendly but also shocked to see her as if they had not seen a dragon in a long time. Some of them had thought Horizon's kind was extinct. The news was disheartening, but the dragoness refused to give up so easily and continued her search.

Maybe my voice has not recovered enough? What if my voice repels them? Is my plea to meet another not strong enough?

She snorted a small plume of bubbles, No, that cannot be, my voice was considered one of the most beautiful in both kingdoms, even if no one wanted to pair with me because I was a hybrid. They can't tell what I am based on solely my voice, and I have poured my heart into all of my songs.

She frowned and she felt the feeling of emptiness surge within her. Even Ki was better company than this.

Loneliness surged in her enough to make her flinch. She remembered the glory days of her youth spent guarding the castle. The people there actually cared for me and wanted me there. They brushed my fur and polished my claws. Her loneliness grew as she remembered the long days and years after the evacuation of the castle. Even after centuries of being left alone, at least one person cared enough to free me.

I don't want to be alone anymore.

Her mind turned to the contract. If I remember correctly, I was rewarded with a large plot of land of my choosing once I was freed from my service.

Horizon turned and faced the island she had guarded. Though it was days worth of flying or swim away, she still knew where it was. I want to return to that life, but not as a protector, as a queen. I shall take what is due to me and begin a kingdom for dragons and trustworthy humans alike. And that island will be my capital.

With determination in her eyes, she burst out of the ocean and swam straight towards the rock she had once called home.

After a few days of traveling, she finally arrived at the rocky island that had once been her home. There were a few more pieces of debris caught in the surf than she remembered, but she felt less lonely already. She caught and ate a fish in the reef, then flew up to the castle atop the giant stone.

The dragoness paused when she noticed the familiar stunted tree, then slowly landed next to the plant. "Hello, Ki, I'm sorry I left without telling you I was leaving." She released a nervous laugh, then continued to speak, "I'm free now, both from this place and immortality! See, no band around my neck!" She imagined the tree was very happy for her as she put a paw against her bare chest. "I can even actually talk to you! Though, I'm not sure if that means I'm even crazier now or not."

After a pause of enjoying the plant's pretend company, Horizon spoke with a bit of a sigh, "the seas and skies seem empty of other dragons, I can't find anyone." The dragoness sighed a bit and gently leaned her head against the tree. "I miss my family more than ever before, and I want my own family, but even if I can't have any of that, I want to know other dragons are still out there, somewhere."

A gentle breeze rustled Ki's leaves.

She took it as a sign of forgiveness and assurance. "Thank you, old friend," she purred a bit. "I know what I want to demand as my reward. A home for both of us, and a sanctuary for dragons to live in our own civilization alongside humans. I am going to claim this island and the waters around it as my territory."

A grin spread across her face. "If he refuses, then I shall have him give me earth mages and move the island to be a part of the cliffs to the west and build my kingdom on the entire peninsula. I shall be a queen and use the treasury on the island to pay earth mages to rebuild the castle, but at a size for even the largest of dragons to use. I will pay humans to pamper me, just like in the days of old."

"I just need to grab the contract, and then head to the king and make my demands." An excited grin spread on her face. "A haven for dragons to live of our own kingdom, equal, if not even more beautiful than the kingdoms of the humans."

Ki's branches frantically rustled as a brief breeze rushed through them.

"You worry too much. My siren's magic is back and stronger than ever in case I need to use it to ensure safe passage. I've been practicing for the months I've been gone." When the tree remained silent, the dragoness frowned. "I can protect myself."

A leaf fell onto Horizon's nose, then flew off and drifted over the cliff when she exhaled. "I don't know if you're wishing me good luck or telling me I'm going to die because I'm foolish. Either way, I've made up my mind, I'm going to the Lukahaven to demand my prize from the king." She rolled off her side and stood to her feet.

She looked out towards the open ocean. "For I am the dragoness Horizon, queen of the seas and sky!" She grinned and posed triumphantly then looked to her woody friend. "Don't worry about me too much, I'll be back."

Another sudden strong breeze whooshed through the tree as the blue dragon calmly entered the building through the now-doorless entrance that once served as the main aboveground entrance to the castle. The dragoness took it as a worried wish of good luck, though she didn't think she needed it.

To the female dragon, it felt strange, yet familiar, to once again walk the stone halls once again. Not much had changed, as the halls were mostly empty when she had lived there. She had moved a lot of things from the hallways to the treasury when they started to show signs of increased wear from the elements.

Suddenly, voices reached her ears, they were faint, but Horizon quickened her pace and continued towards the sounds. As she continued, she determined the noises were unfamiliar voices, and they were coming from the library. The dragoness slowly approached the library's doorway and looked inside.

People? She froze, her eyes wide in surprise as she watched them move among the wood and stone shelves and rifling through the books and scrolls. New tables had even been added to the room, and people sat at them, each copying the words from the old, degraded parchments onto fresh paper.

I can deal with them later, she decided and refocused on the task at hand as she calmly entered the room. Though she tried to appear calm and unthreatening, she could not change what she was: a large, by elven and human standards, dragon.

The first man that noticed me jumped and noisily dropped his armload of scrolls and books as he froze. "D—D...DRAGON!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, then ran in the opposite direction.

I don't have time for this. Horizon snorted, then walked further into the room and to the shelf I remembered as the place where she saw the contract. To try and avoid causing even more of a panic, she completely ignored the scribes as they scrambled out of my path and remained focused on the task at paw.

There. The dragoness spotted the old leather scroll case on the top shelf in the driest sector of the room. The design pressed into the end of the case bore my image, and she knew none of the other scrolls had the same stamp. It's probably only still there because these scholars can't reach it well, and they are probably focused on the more heavily damaged scrolls.

As she on her hind limbs to reach the scroll with my front paw, she heard a chorus of metal clangs approach her location. "Halt beast!" A knight rounded the corner and immediately drew his sword.

The dragoness disregarded the command as she grabbed the scroll in her front paw and looked to the armored human, grateful it wasn't the golden-haired knight that had tried to kill me months ago. "Excuse my intrusion," she attempted to act as civilized possible, "but I must borrow this one item."

The human blinked in surprise and lowered his blade slightly, then raised it back up. "Put it back, thief." He threatened with a slight glare.

The dragoness frowned, "so I guard a place alone for a thousand years or more, and I'm not allowed to borrow the copy of my contract that bound me here? I shall bring it back, but I need it to claim my proper reward for my service." She tilted her head to one side, "would you like it if you were not paid for your service as a guard and brave knight? Would you accept such injustice and refuse to attempt to claim your dues?"

The armored man hesitated but did not relax. "Cease your serpent's tongue, foul monster." He glared slightly and pointed his nonmagical steel blade. "I shall not be fooled by your lies."

"If not my serpent's tongue, then perhaps my Siren's song?" Horizon slowly dropped onto her standard quadruped stance, though her right front paw remained off the ground to hold the scroll case.

The man panicked and moved to charge at the blue wingless dragon with his sword poised to drill straight into the dragoness's chest.

"Stop!"

The musical tone reverberated through the room and the human stopped in his tracks, and the dragoness had a feeling the scribes in the room had also paused in their tracks. "Now, if you excuse me," she passed the human and walked towards the exit of the room as her simple musical spell wore off.

Not wasting any time, Horizon jogged out of the ruins. As she left, she glanced at Ki the tree with a slight smirk on her face. "And you were worried." With that, she leaped off the ground and flew towards the port city of Lukahaven.

My dream awaits.