Gliding downwards at a fast pace, Aelwen's stomach felt like it was a hundred feet behind her. Waves of fear mixed tumultuously with a growing feeling of excitement as she let the air carry her.

For the first time in a long time, Aelwen laughed.

Wind rushed past her face and under her wings, the invisible force keeping her buoyant. She shrieked and giggled at the same time, a wonderful sense of thrill surging through her as she zipped over buildings and streets, trying to keep her wings straight and steady.

Gerel held on for dear life. His arms were wrapped tightly around her neck, his teeth chattering. "K-keep it down! We don't want to wake the entire city!"

Aelwen shut her mouth, but a lingering grin still remained. This is amazing, she thought, that is... until the ground started to become too close for comfort. Aelwen recoiled upwards before smashing down on the hard stone pavement that made up a street.

She stayed limp for a moment, groaning. She shook her head -which hurt like mad- and stumbled to her feet.

"Well, there's a first time for everything." Gerel rubbed his neck after the small whiplash he had during the crash.

Aelwen mumbled an illegible reply before limping forward. She noticed several patches of scales were missing from her legs and chest. She looked behind her and winced as she saw them lying on the rough stone where they had landed. She looked at Gerel in concern.

"It's fine, they'll grow back," he said, gripping her neck once again.

Aelwen continued forward. The edge on the town was only a few blocks away, and a bit beyond that the edge of the dome. There was no ice on the inside surface, so Aelwen assumed with a large fire blast, they could melt through the metal vines and escape to the outside.

The streets were eerily quiet. Only the sounds of Aelwen's padded footsteps mixed with the tip-tap of her claws against the pavement were heard. Mist seethed between buildings, oozing through alleyways like blood from a slashed open artery. The air smelt of furnaces and ash.

Only two more blocks now, Aelwen thought. Then... well... She didn't really know the plan after escape. Confronting Gerel and revealing the truth was a very large priority. If he was honest with her, then his people could indeed change her back to human form. If he really was allied with the dragons, and planned to sacrifice her...then she didn't know what she would do.

A series of clanks and clinks originating from large metal cylinders lining the sidewalks caused Aelwen to jump. Hidden doors on them opened, steam fizzing out through pipes on the top. Six automatons the size of humans rolled out of the cylinders on rubber wheels, turning to face Aelwen and Gerel with blinking green eyes. They were painted blue on the main parts of their bodies, with large golden stars welded to their chests.

"It is past curfew, citizen. If you are lost, please type your destination into the keypad on this unit's arm and it will guide you to where you need to be," the frontmost automaton stated. He held out a thick arm, which had a mechanical keypad attached to it.

Aelwen looked down at it, raising an eyebrow. Gerel shrugged and motioned her to go along with it. She typed Perimeter of Ceruby City into the arm.

A series of whistles and beeps spouted from its head. Then it gripped Aelwen's outstretched paw and pulled her forward.

"Thank you for visiting Ceruby City!" It said in a metallic voice. "This unit will now guide you to the Perimeter of Ceruby City. We hope you enjoyed your stay!"

Aelwen allowed herself to be dragged along by the automaton as it rolled along the bumpy street with its rubber wheels for feet. The other five bots froze in place, then went back to their respective cylinders. Lighted windows turned to darkness as the group strode past. A knot of tension rose in Aelwen's chest.

One block left, she thought. They past a bakery, a tavern, and a blacksmith's shop. The automaton made unsettling beeping noises. Then, it stopped suddenly. It turned its head all he way around to face Aelwen. It's eyes glowed gold.

"This unit has been ordered from high command to take you directly to Ceruby Tower. We're sorry for the inconvenience. Please do not resist." It changed direction, now pulling Aelwen toward the center of the city.

Aelwen ripped her paw from the bot's grasp, taking off for the side of the dome. The automaton gave a loud BEEP! and every single metal cylinder along the sidewalk opened up with a slam. More bot's streamed out, purple power gems contained in their heads pulsing with light. They formed a protective wall to block Aelwen's path, sprawling bronze shields snapping open in front of them.

A surge of flame erupted from Aelwen's mouth, pouring over the bots. But once the fire died down, the automatons remained unharmed.

"Fire-proof shields?" Gerel mumbled to himself, readying his hands for spell-casting. A torrent of ice sprayed from his palm, which frosted the shields but didn't do much else. The bots rushed towards them in formation. Gerel took a deep breath, whispering a few harsh foreign words before giving a gasp and flinging his arms upward.

The ground beneath the attacking automatons shook. Parts of it raised upward slightly with a sudden motion, causing the bots to be flung upwards, crashing down onto their backs. Aelwen lept over them as they recovered. A few of them raised mechanical crossbows, shooting bolts laced with live electricity.

"Please stop resisting and allow yourself to be escorted by this unit, else we cannot guarantee your continued safety." The automatons got up, chasing the two down at a fast pace. Aelwen's legs were damaged and scratched in various places, causing her stride to be slower than usual. The bots gained on them quickly.

We're here! The side of the dome loomed upward, twisting bronze vines vibrating and sending out puffs of steam. As one, Aelwen and Gerel bombarded the soft inside of the shield with piercing flame. The vines burst open, releasing a blast of freezing mist and splashes of cold water. Aelwen shook drops out of her eyes and leapt out into the moist night air.

The bots froze as they came into contact with the mist. "Reaching Perimeter of Ceruby City. This unit will travel back to its charging cylinder now or else face violation code 334127-MOBA. Marking new destination," their metallic voices chanted in unison. They turned and rolled slowly back to the street.

Aelwen let out a haggard breath. Gerel did too.

The campfire lit and sparked with dancing white flames. Aelwen curled her body around it, soaking in its restful warmth. Gerel leaned against her, one of Aelwen's wings tucked over his body like a blanket. His leg was propped up against a rock on the cave floor.

"Gerel..." Aelwen started. "Tell me the truth. Are you a dragon?"

Crickets chirped peacefully from outside the entrance to the small cave. Nightingales sung sweet tunes as they gripped branches with taloned feet. Gerel cocked his head toward the sounds.

"You almost let me die," he said finally.

"...But I didn't let it go through."

"That's not the point."

"...I thought you were one of them. I thought I could trust Cerubia," Aelwen said.

"Even if I was, you can't just... let me die like that. I..." He paused. "I really thought I was done for. I couldn't believe you had done that. You just... turned your back on me."

"I-I didn't mean it like tha-"

"Yea, you did. You wanted to have your precious human body back in exchange for my life."

Aelwen's claws dug into the ground. "But I didn't. I didn't! I knew it was wrong, so I destroyed my chance to become human, my chance to lead an army at my mother's friend's side, and my one true chance to take my kingdom back before any more people die! I gave all of that up for your life! Can't you understand why I'd hesitate!? I'm so sorry, Gerel, but... she told me your mother had killed mine. I'm still not even sure if you're a dragon or not!"

"I'm not. My mom isn't the Dragon Empress either. And I'm definitely not planning on sacrificing you to Auria," he spat.

"How in the world do you know so much about dragons, then? And transformation?"

"My tribe specializes in transformation magic." Gerel traced a circle on Aelwen's wing. "I'm not really an expert myself, I just know what I've picked up from my dad and mom..."

"Why haven't I ever seen you transform? Surely the form of some kind of other creature would have been helpful during our travels," Aelwen picked at a freshly wrapped bandage on her leg.

"I... I've..." Gerel's head fell. "I've never actually transformed before."

"Why?"

"It's really...painful to go through a first transformation.'

"So you're afraid."

"Well, yea. I guess I am."

"And it's also why you ran away from home."

Gerel jolted upward, whipping his head around to face Aelwen. "How did you-"

"You're traveling alone and you're too young to be doing that on your own. You're greatly ashamed of something. You still have parents. It's kind of obvious."

A beet ride color spread across Gerel's face. He crossed his arms and slid downward. "Yea, I guess."

"Will your people accept me and help me?" Aelwen questioned. "I mean, I'm a follower of Cainen."

"Not to mention the daughter of Liriel," Gerel mumbled.

"Why does that matter?"

"Aelwen... your mom really didn't like us. She..." Gerel sounded like he was choking up. "She did a lot of things...that were not kind."

"... What kinds of things?" A knot of tension formed in Aelwen's chest.

"She's killed people I know."

Aelwen froze. "Why?!"

"Because we don't agree with her. Because we follow Auria,"

He paused.

"Because we can transform into dragons."

Aelwen's mouth was dry. A million thoughts rushed like a cascading waterfall into her mind, a river of shock and doubt churning in a rushing wave.

"Are your people really the dragons who attacked my city!? The ones who broke into my home and ruined my life!? The ones who killed countless citizens of my kingdom!? Was it for revenge?"

"NO!" Gerel yelled, silencing the frenzied princess. "I told you, we are enemies with the dragons as much as you. However, they don't know we're still around. They think we all died out or became part of Liriel's kingdom long ago."

"Gerel, who are your people?"

"We keep ourselves hidden to the rest of the world, so it makes sense you've never heard of us. We call ourselves the Koana. Koa means Auria, and the -ana means follower. Like I said before, my real name is Kotuya, meaning 'blessed by Auria.' We're nomadic, traveling whenever we feel a current spot is not safe. I know where our current encampment is, though. I can use the map to get us there within about two days."

"And your people's history?"

"I think my dad would be a better person to explain all that," Gerel sunk deeper under the wing. "He's the village historian."

"Are you sure he'd want to, considering my heritage?"

"Yea... I'll convince them."

Aelwen's stomach growled, causing Gerel to jump slightly.

"Oh, right. Food." He smirked. "That's kinda necessary." He pulled out a few travel bars from his bag. "I'm sorry, this is all I have right now, since I haven't been able to hunt."

They ate in silence. Alewen mulled over what her mother may have done to Gerel's people. She'd never really known how her mother had ruled the country. A sinking feeling of doubt crept up her spine. Was her mother really the shining ideal she'd always thought of her as? Cerubia had proven to be as nasty as Gerel said she was, yet her mother had said she was trustworthy.

"Both of our legs are not going to last us the journey in this state. That means the only other way is-"

"To fly?" Aelwen interrupted.

Gerel smiled. "Yea. I'm gonna teach you how to fly."

"Thank you... Kotuya.

He nodded.

"And... I'm sorry. I really am." Aelwen closed her eyes.

"Me too."

~~~

That night, Aelwen dreamed of her father, lost in the woods and crying for help as demonic wolves tore at his flesh. Her mother stood on a mountain while gazing at the forest below, watching her husband suffer.