((This is a rough edit and will be updated later))

Beveri looked up and gave a tiny smile as Aelwen walked in. She and Delku were at the back of the tent, near the large bed where Gerel had been nursed back to health. They sat at a very low table, and planted themselves on square cushions for chairs. Beveri motioned Aelwen to sit on one at the head of the small table as Delku took a sip of tea.

Aelwen noticed a light pink streak in Beveri's long black hair, and a dark orange one in Delku's. Jewels matching their respective streaks graced the rings they wore, which were similar in style. I wonder what minerals their scales are made of... she thought. Not to mention they are wearing rings instead of necklaces. Could it be because they are married? Do Shift gems act as stones for wedding rings?

Beveri poured Aelwen a cup of tea as she sat down. Aelwen took a few small sips and nodded in approval as she set her sandwich down on a small plate. Really, she didn't care for tea at all, but she didn't want to be rude.

"I hope you are feeling better," Beveri said. "You were so... distant yesterday. I was afraid that we had said too much." Her brows lowered into concerned slopes.

Aelwen hugged herself tightly. "I... do feel better. Thank you for thinking of me."

"There is much for us to discuss today, especially in regards to rekindling the rebellion and taking back your kingdom. If you do not feel comfortable talking about it now, we can do this another day," Delku said, rubbing his thin beard.

Aelwen stared into space. We're going to have to talk about mother... and father too. She sighed. It's alright, Aelwen. I can do this.

"It's fine. This is an urgent matter. I feel it must be discussed, no matter my feelings on the subject," Aelwen breathed.

Beveri nodded. A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. "I notice whenever you become serious, your words take on a grander sense of formality. Befitting of a queen."

Aelwen looked up. "Queen?"

"Yes. You are a queen now, after all." Beveri patted her shoulder. "And a great ruler you shall become."

Aelwen's eyes glazed over. "Of course." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears. "So, where do we start?"

Beveri rolled out a large map across the middle of the table. It depicted the entirety of the Farosan Kingdom. Specific cities were marked in varying colors.

"Most of the former leaders of the rebellion were the lords and ladies of various regions of the kingdom. They despised Liriel, as she had forcibly taken them over and had them rule as puppets to her own will. They were also disgusted with how their people were treated by her. Thus, we discreetly reached out to them years ago, and set up the foundations of our uprising. However, as you know, many of them were found out, and they willingly gave up their memories of the rebellion in order to protect themselves and the Koana," Delku said. "If we wish to take the country back, we need the support of them and the domains they govern. Thus, we must give them back their memories."

Delku pressed a hand to the ground, and slowly, a chest rose up from the dirt right behind the table. Beveri opened it, revealing a set of five glass balls glowing with bolts of electricity crackling within them. Each was labeled with a name.

"These... are their memories?" Aelwen said breathlessly.

Beveri nodded. She delicately touched a black one marked with the name Riche Cheval.

"Memories are simply sparks of electricity running through our brains in certain patterns," she said. "These glass balls are specifically designed to magically extract the desired memories from the brain, and store them. They can only be accessed by the creature they were taken from."

"Wow." Aelwen leaned over the table for a closer look. The name on the last orb, a purple one, caught her eye.

"Sari?" She read aloud.

"Sari?" Delku said, "Yes, she was one of the leaders. She had previously governed a tribe of gypsy humans and centaurs. However, once some of her memories were taken and she was interrogated by Liriel's Witches, she was never heard from again, unlike the others. She simply vanished."

Aelwen's hand rose to her chest. "Was she a big, muscular woman with dark skin and black hair?"

"Why, yes! How in the world did you-"

"I've seen her. She works at the Violet Hand Circus!" Aelwen said, accidentally interrupting Delku in her excitement.

Aelwen assumed his eyes widened in surprise, but since they were covered with a blindfold she wasn't able to tell.

"T-that's wonderful!" Beveri exclaimed in her soft voice. "Do you know where she is currently?"

Aelwen began to nod, but then stopped and let it morph into a head shake. "No, actually. Did Gerel- I mean Kotuya tell you about what happened with Violet Hand?"

"Ooh... yes. I see. That makes things complicated," Beveri said, biting her lip. "At least we have a lead. That is much better than nothing. Thank you, Aelwen. Sari was my friend. I miss her greatly."

Aelwen tried to imagine the big, buff Sari being friends with the diminutive, gentle Beveri. The image was a strange one.

"So, I'm assuming our main quest is to travel to these regions and restore the memories of these people, recruiting them back to our cause? Then we can build up an army to fight back the dragons?" Aelwen took a bite out of her sandwich. "But I thought that much of the kingdom had been destroyed already. How is it possible there are enough soldiers fit to fight?"

"Despite what you may have heard, Ceruby City is not the only one that is still standing," Delku said, "Major cities all over the country are still standing strong, though under intense sieges. It is only the unprotected small villages and towns that are unfortunately being razed."

"That doesn't make sense. How, then, did the Capitol fall? It is one of the largest cities in the nation." Aelwen's eyebrows furrowed.

Delku curled his fingers around his cane. "We do not know. It has come to our attention that it may have been done on purpose. An inside job."

Aelwen almost choked on her sandwich.

"We suspect that Liriel, for some reason, may have allowed the attack to happen," Delku continued. "As of yet, we have no evidence or motive, but that is what we feel may be the case."

Aelwen pursed her lips. A moment of silence passed among the three Shifters.

"There is something that has been bothering me," Aelwen said. "When I talked with Cerubia, she implied that my father may still be alive. Not only this, but at one point she said 'Your mother will not be happy about this,' as if..."

Beveri gasped. Delku's mouth opened in shock.

"I-I mean, I don't know for sure if I heard her correctly. We were trying to escape, and things were very hectic-"

Delku slammed a fist on the table, sending the teacups rattling. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned away.

Aelwen shrunk back. "L-like I said, I don't know for sure..." She trailed off.

Beveri set a hand on Aelwen's knee. "It's alright. Thank you for telling us. This is just... surprising news. What can you tell us about your father? We have little to no information on him."

Aelwen thought back to her dad's soft, smiling face. Her eyes hooded as she fingered her necklace. "He was very kind and gentle. Whenever he saw me he always wanted to make me smile. He taught me the virtues of being a ruler, being a perfect Queen. H-he was my best friend. But as I got older, I realized that sometimes he smiled even when he didn't feel like it. Sometimes he would be looking out a window, as if longing for something... He looked so sad. Then he would turn his head and look at me, and put on a mask of joy. He would sing me songs sometimes. His favorite instrument was the piano. Mother didn't like it when he sang. She thought singing was a waste of time. I always thought this was strange, since I remember her singing to me when I was very young." Aelwen paused, grabbing the smooth Pyrope stone in her hand. "I loved my mother too. She taught me to read and write, and sometimes would take me out for walks in the gardens. She and father never really got along though. They had separate bedrooms, and-" Aelwen stopped. "I'm sorry. I'm rambling."

"No. It is fine. Please keep going," Beveri said.

"Well, there was this one time when I overheard father sing about a white deer-" Aelwen gasped as memories came flooding back and realization hit her. "Father... he knew about Auria! Perhaps he was never on mother's side to begin with!"

"And you say he could still be alive?" Sparks of interest lit in Delku's voice.

"Yes! In fact, I have had dreams where he is journeying through a forest, but strange wolves made of shadow tear at-"

"DAD!" Gerel burst into the tent. "There's a dragon outside the waterfall entrance! He's not one of ours!"

"It's alright, just tell Kera not to let anyone exit for a while," Delku said.

"No, it's not like that. His wings are torn up, and one of his legs seem to be broken. He can't move." Gerel glanced at Aelwen.

"What is Kera doing about it?" Beveri asked.

"She wants to... ah... put him out of his misery. That's why I came."

Beveri and Aelwen both lept to their feet.

"For heaven's sakes, Kera!" Beveri cried, walking up to her son. "Take me to her."

Gerel led Beveri and a curious Aelwen into the waterfall. Beveri sang a small tune in her soft voice, the same one Gerel had played on his violin. Kera materialized before them, peeking around the edge of the waterfall. She looked behind her to see the group.

"Hey. Looks like Kotuya brought the whole gang," She scoffed. "Anyway, take a look." She motioned for the group to peek outside.

The heavily wooded area was almost the same as before, when dragon form Aelwen had first landed there and entered the waterfall. However, now the broken form of a bright green dragon lay at the edge of the stream, warm blood mixing with the cool water. Aelwen inwardly gasped.

"He's so... small," she said, noting the short horns and tiny frame.

"Kotuya said you planned to kill him! He is a child!" Beveri huffed, her tone evolving from that of a delicate woman to a stern mother.

"Woah, hey, it was a joke. The kid doesn't get sarcasm," Kera sneered.

"Wow, yea, I totally don't get sarcasm. And that definitely isn't due to the fact that everything you say is in the same not-caring tone," Gerel said with his voice definitely not dripping in sarcasm.

"Shut up, you little smart a-"

Beveri shushed them both.

Aelwen would have laughed at this, but instead, her eyes and ears were attuned to the sight of the dragon. His heavy breathing and glazed-over eyes brought forth the image of her first transformation. Her brows lowered as she saw arrows sticking out of the membranes of his wings. Parts of the wings were torn to bits, while others were crushed. His mouth was moving, like he was trying to cry out, but the pounding of the waterfall drowned it out. His eyes stared into the forest, unfocused.

"I'll use a spell to quickly send him into unconsciousness. Then we can bring him into the village, heal him, and convince him to join our side. He could be a great asset to our cause. Besides, we can't leave the poor child to die!" Beveri said.

As the family members continued to make whispered plans, Aelwen stepped out from behind the water. They whipped their heads to look at her, Kera telling her to stop and get back in.

Aelwen ignored her. Instead, she closed her eyes, and willed herself to transform.

Her hands and feet turned into paws, nose and mouth elongated into a snout, and a set of wings and a tail branched out from her back. Her clothes dissipated and shot into the gem at her neck. She dropped down to all fours, and slowly padded towards the emerald dragon.

His eyes whipped took look at her as she gently touched his shoulder. He opened his mouth to speak, tears welling in his eyes.

"P-please help," he said, gulping down air. "The h-humans shot at me, I-I crashed to the ground."

His voice was indeed that of a young boy. Aelwen blinked back tears.

"Don't worry. I'll help you," she said, looking over his injuries. "Can you stand at all? You could lean on me, I'll help you get to our encampment."

He shook his head. "My leg... it b-broke when I fell." He closed his eyes. "It hurts so much." He broke into a mixture of tears and whimpers.

It was then that Aelwen noticed the blood caked around his jaw and claws. From the corner of her eye, she saw Beveri stepping out from behind the waterfall, picking up her skirts as she quietly stepped so as approach the dragon from behind.

"What were you doing before you were shot down?" Aelwen asked. A dark feeling rose in the pit of her stomach.

"I killed them," the young dragon seethed, his voice broiling into anger. "The h-humans in the village. I tore them to pieces. Please, I can help you! I can fight too! I've proved I can kill them! Don't let me die!" He wailed.

Aelwen froze. Her heartbeat quickened. He's a murderer. He's so young, yet he's already killed people. What do I- How could this- her thoughts jumbled over one another.

Beveri was almost to him. Her hand was raised over his head, a magic spell brewing over her palm.

Before she could touch his head and send him into unconsciousness, a surge of both sorrow and anger surged through Aelwen's body.

"Do not worry. I will help you, even though you do not deserve it."

Before the young dragon's eyes, she turned back into a human.

His eyes widened in sheer terror before Beveri's hand was brought down onto his head.