A SUDDEN NOISE disquieted the peaceful silence, sounding like a gentle sprinkling of water and the sarcastic hiss of steam.  

Bolting upwards, Artemis let go of Falkor's warm hand and unsheathed her silver dagger, circlet glowing like a beacon. Falkor followed. "Who goes there?" She asked, her voice menacing. Her hands formed a crackling net of golden lightning ready to thrust at her command. She felt Falkor's eyes linger on her in amazement, but she ignored them- right now, they had more pressing matters to attend to. 

"Why..." A disembodied voice floated in the air in front of her, tinkling like a-thousand tiny silver bells within a tickling breeze. A touch of amusement lilted the hypnotizing voice as it spoke again. "Why, it's me..." It trailed off into oblivion, dropping to a whisper. "You know me..."

Artemis found herself staring into both halves of the lazy stream, a quick glance to her right told her that Falkor was doing the same. 

Both the water and the bubbling lava swirled together, flowing faster and faster into the shape of a whirlpool. Bubbles whirled to the surface of the mysterious concoction, thrusting themselves to burst into water droplets as soon as they touched the cool air. Mist rose and crept along the surface of both sides of the stream, silent and watchful. 

In the midst of all this, two violet eyes, shot through with streaks of gold, stared at them through the messy turbulence. They blinked. "Don't you?" 

With a sigh, the curling mist pulled back to reveal a beautiful maiden, laden with glittering, dripping jewels, and halfway submerged within the water and lava. Her flaxen hair cascaded down her smooth shoulders, shimmering like gold. Graceful limbs hung loosely as her sides as droplets of water and lava dripped down her entire body. She was wearing a sleeveless, glimmering light blue top, cut low, that gradually evened out to a dark reddish-orange. As her cherry-red lips parted, shining white teeth flashed as a pillar of liquid sunlight touched her face. Every aspect of nature around them seemed to lean towards her, basking in her obvious beauty. If she had been surrounded by a crowd of people, every pair of eyes would have been on her. 

The maiden spoke again, words flowing off her tongue like sugared honey. Her aloof expression shifted to the full description of haughtiness. "I said, don't you?" 

Artemis blinked slowly. "Um... No?" She glanced at Falkor- only to find him staring at the girl in a sense of raptured awe. "Falkor?" He shook his head and turned to face her, eyes glazed and in the distance. 

Artemis felt her chest clench with some emotion she couldn't identify. It can't be sadness, or hurt, or loneliness. Or... No. Her neck muscles tightened. No, No, No. I can't be... I can't be... Jealous? Falkor is just a friend, nothing else. Her demeanor resolved, Artemis nodded to herself in utter certainty. We are just friends, nothing else. I don't want it to be anything else. Or, do I? 

Artemis slapped her forehead in frustration. This boy... She shook the confusing thoughts off of her mind and shoved her jealousy somewhere deep within her gut. 

"Falkor? Are you there?" She waved a hand in front of his glassy eyes to capture his attention. At the corner of Artemis's eye, the gorgeous maiden tittered behind a dainty hand.

His glazed look didn't waver. "Falkor!" Worry and concern mounted up in her stomach and ran up into her chest. When he didn't answer, she punched his shoulder. "FALKOR!" 

He started, bolting out of his stupor. The girl giggled melodically again, throwing back her head and letting her golden hair fan out and flow like a glinting waterfall. "Don't worry," she snickered, "It's to be expected with every male." She winked. 

The maiden snapped her fingers and a rush of air settled over the clearing. "It's a simple charm I place over myself. I had to make sure you weren't dangerous." 

Lifted from the girl's spell, Falkor glanced at Artemis, disoriented. "W-what...? Artemis?," he asked in question. 

Ignoring him, Artemis glared at the girl, irritation and resentment welling up in her stomach. Pasting on a false smile that felt as if it were stretching at her lips, she exclaimed, "And what is your name?," in an equally sugary voice. 

The girl blinked. Then without warning, she threw back her head once more and laughed. She clutched at her stomach, tears of mirth streaming out of her violet eyes as she chortled and guffawed, never seeming to stop. 

Finally her merriment subsided, and she stood in the water, looking directly into Artemis's eyes as she spoke, "Naiads don't have names." She tapped a finger against her chin as if in deep thought. "Or rather, no names that could be pronounced using the sounds and letters in your language." Tilting her head so that it was facing the sky above them, the naiad let loose a haunting, yet beautiful melody, trilling her tongue as she did so. 

The eerie notes wafted around Artemis's ears, coating her thoughts with butter. A spark of excitement rose within her inner being, a craving to explore and find out her true destiny. A feeling of freedom. From her curse. From the whole world. It felt as if tongues of flame were dancing about her soul- tangible, yet nonexistent. 

Then, as soon as it had begun, it ended on one high, quivering note that struck the air before them like an anvil. Despite her feelings towards the naiad, Artemis wanted to hear more. This melody had awakened a part of her that she never even noticed she had even had. 

"That," the naiad said, a hint of satisfaction lacing her words, "is my name." 

With another look at Falkor, Artemis noted that he seemed even more distant than before. She suddenly found it hard to believe that that naiad could have had a name as powerful as that. Disgruntled and scowling, she crossed her arms as if to intimidate the beautiful naiad. 

The naiad raised a perfect eyebrow in question. "But you can call me Phoenix."

Grudgingly, Artemis inwardly agreed that the name that Phoenix had chosen for herself in Artemis's tongue was fitting- though it surprisingly contrasted with the naiad's element of water. 

As if she had read her thoughts, Phoenix added, "I know that it's not what you might have expected. Naiads don't usually pertain to fire. But, fire is a part of who I am." She gestured towards the lava part of the gurgling stream. "Part water, part fire." 

"But how?" Artemis asked. 

"My father was a dragon, and my mother- a naiad." 

Falkor emitted a noise of incredulity. The haze that had dropped upon him earlier seemed to have disappeared with this new piece of information. "No, you could never have been the daughter of such a dangerous and foul beast," he snorted skeptically. 

Similar disbelief clouded Artemis's face as she tried to imagine a monstrous creature that breathed fire standing next to a delicate water naiad. 

Leaning close, Phoenix whispered. "I can sense your disbelief. It might not be what you think it might be, for dragons have an ancient secret that has been kept hidden for centuries..." Withdrawing from them, Phoenix smirked. "And that is all I'm going to tell you. The rest you'll have to figure out for yourself." 

Rolling her eyes, Artemis proceeded in an annoyed manner, waving her hand in dismissal, "I'd never want to know the secret of such a horrible creature." 

Falkor looked at her in shock at her offensive remark. 

Phoenix's gaze hardened. "Be careful of what you say, oh Cursed One, your tongue can be your very undoing." 

Artemis curled her hands into fists. "Fine." 

"Also, here's a weapon for you for your hard and perilous journey to come." The naiad extended her smooth arms in front of her and uttered a short, brisk word in her language. At her commmand, both lava and water converged into one twirling whirlpool much like the one before. From within the depths of the swirling waters, a sword appeared, rising to the surface with each twist the whirlpool made. 

Shouting over the rippling waters, the naiad exclaimed, "Open your hands!" Artemis obligued. Uttering another word in her language, this one longer and more refined, Phoenix grasped the hilt of the sword and placed it reverently in Artemis's extended hands. 

The hilt was leather-wrapped and wrought from gold. A silver crossguard etched with intricate leafy designs connected the blade to the hilt. The designs were done in melted red and orange gemstone so that the patterns were drawn with the liquid gemstone itself, resulting in a glittering finish to the patterns. The pommel was a sparkling, bright blue sapphire as big as a robin's egg. But the blade was the most wonderous part of all. Instead of being made from steel or other such metals, the blade was crafted from diamond. The clear, glimmering, cut gem glinted in the sun's soft glow, the blade translucent and emitting dozens of tiny prisms of light that bounced around on the grass-covered island. The edge seemed as sharp as a newly-sharpened knife. Ancient runes gleamed in the sunlight, causing the sword to look as if it was a weapon that had an ancient long-forgotten history to it. The entire sword shone with a shimmering sort of light. 

The scabbard was made of a hard wood, strong and sturdy. Engravings much like the other leafy designs on the cross-guard, swirled around its hard surface. A wreath of silver and gold adorned the collar. 

Artemis looked at the sword and its scabbard with awe. She gently grasped the sword with her right hand, and the scabbard with her left. As her hand closed around the sword's hilt, golden lightning shot up from the cross-guard and crackled around the glistening blade. "How?" The word left her mouth before she even thought of it.

"This blade is known as Fulger Noraem, which means 'golden lightning' in the ancient language of Gaelastriv. It is said that when it is in contact with its true owner, golden lightning will run up and down the blade. And that is you, Artemis. Fulger Noraem has chosen you, and there is no going back." 

Artemis shuddered. "And what perilous journey am I to go on?" She sheathed the blade. 

"Why, to break that curse of yours!" 

"So..." Artemis's throat felt dry. She swallowed. "Perilous and hard?" 

"Yup!" 

Sighing, Artemis shook her head. She would have to go on this journey alone as no one else would ever want to go on a hard and perilous journey to fix her own curse. And all before she would transform, which would be less than a month. 

Someone gently touched her on the shoulder. "Hey." Falkor's deep voice rushed through her body, filling her up and lessening that empty hole that was beginning to yawn open inside of her. 

She looked up. Falkor was gazing at her so passionately it was hard to look away. A soft smile curled at his full lips, as his bright green eyes burned with a soft intensity. His wisps of black hair ruffled in the slight breeze that roamed through their surroundings. "Hey," he said again with conviction. "I'll go with you." 

Warmth flooded her limbs. Falkor was doing this for her? He was about to risk his life to go on this journey for her? Gratefulness filled her gaze as she stared up at him, eyes brimming with tears much to her annoyance. "Thank you." She put as much thankfulness as she could within those simple words. "Thank you," she breathed again. 

A spark of understanding lit Falkor's eyes as he studied her face."It's my greatest pleasure," he smirked, his  teasing, sarcastic self back again. 

They both turned back to the naiad, who had a smirk of her own covering her face as she looked at the two of them. "I take it that the boy is going with you?" 

"Yeah," Artemis said a little breathlessly. A question darted within her mind. "I have a question," she voiced. 

"Ask away." 

"Why did you say that you knew me before I even met you?" 

Phoenix crossed her arms. "Well, it's all part of the ploy, you know?" She did a shooing motion with her hands. "Now, go on! You must be going then!" 

Artemis blinked. "Where?" 

Phoenix looked surprised that Artemis didn't know that answer. "To the thing who cast the curse on you in the first place! The thing that killed your father!"  

Artemis wasn't certain that it was the way that the naiad said 'thing' instead of 'person' or if it was the vague answer, but she was certain that the naiad wasn't telling all that she knew. Still, she and Falkor both started towards the water again, only to be interrupted by the naiad exclaiming, "I'll give you a hint in where you're to be headed." With a snap of her fingers, Phoenix created another whirlpool in the stream. "Jump in," she said, gesturing towards the whirlpool. 

"Um..." Artemis shook her head frantically from side to side. "How about- no?" 

"Or," Falkor grinned, "How about a yes?" With that, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and tucked her head against his chest, making sure her grip was still on Fulger Noraem and its scabbard. Then, he jumped into the whirlpool, ignoring Artemis's kicking and punching. 

The last thing she heard before the water covered her head was Phoenix saying, "Remember Artemis: things are not what they might seem." A silvery fish tail gleamed within the depths of the water as Artemis pondered on a single thought that had been floating in her mind for a while: The naiad had not been telling the truth when she said that it was just a ploy. Artemis had met her, but the why the naiad had not told her was for reasons that she could not identify.