Aelwen lay unmoving upon the floor of the throne room. Her huge, scaly chest pressed against the cold stone as her breath heaved in and out of her open mouth. Her pupils were contracted, staring into space as if she were dead. Her mind was jumbled with innumerable thoughts, hundreds of new sensations and feelings overwhelming her. Her own body was now so foreign to her that she couldn't even move.

She could hear her heart pounding, and the distant sounds of destruction throughout the city. The multitude of noises rang in her ears, causing her to grimace. Her mother's ragged breathing caught her attention. Her eyes flicked towards the Queen.

Lirial's head rested on a bed of blonde hair caked in dried blood. She clutched the wound on her stomach, and though her face was wracked with pain she gazed into the eyes of her daughter.

"Your eyes... are still as beautiful as they have always been..." Lirial said, a small smile on her cracked lips. "Don't be scared, my little one... You will be back to normal soon."

Aelwen tried to reply, but all that came out of her throat was a guttural wail.

"No... shhh... I'm fine... You just need to get out of here... before... their Queen comes. Hurry now! Try to move your legs. You'll find the back ones might be a little tricky to-"

A rumble shook the chamber as huge footsteps pounded into the room.

Aelwen trembled as she heard a deep, primal growling behind her. Immediately, an unseen force ripped the wand out of Queen Liriel's hand and straight into a wall, shattering it into sparkling pieces.

Lirial gazed up at a spot behind Aelwen with a strange mix of fear and fury that Aelwen had never seen before. Aelwen kept her eyes fixed on her mother, afraid to even try to turn her head.

The ebony body of the decapitated dragon -That of the Dragon's King- moved slightly, the unseen force gently closing its eyes. The growling grew even louder, drops of a kindled rage burning in the vibrations of the sound.

Queen Lirial glanced at the corpse before looking back at the spot behind Aelwen, a slow, menacing grin spreading across her face.

As soon as she did so, a feral roar boomed over Aelwen, hundreds of clicking sounds accompanying the blast. A huge paw shot out from above Aelwen, and immediately Lirial was pinned underneath it, massive claws spearing into her shoulders. A pleased hiss resounded.

Aelwen gave a sharp gasp as an enormous clawed hand wrapped itself around her torso, collapsing her wings around her. She was picked up and rotated around to face the thing that held her.

Dread filled her as she came face to face with a gargantuan turquoise dragon. The monster's head was as big as Aelwen's whole body, her glowing green eyes the size of Aelwen's face.

The beast's eyes slid closed, her brows lowering. A puff of smoke escaped her nostrils, something that sounded like an angered sigh coming from her mouth. Her eyes snapped open, and she examined Aelwen in a detached manner, fury emanating from her body.

Aelwen's heart pounded against her chest in an uneven rhythm as she bit her tongue to prevent herself from screaming. Her limbs dangled limply in the air. She forbade herself from looking down.

Her ears flicked forward as she heard what sounded like multiple voices singing a melancholy tune coming from the spine of the dragon. The spikes on her back were glowing very brightly, the eerie singing rapidly growing louder.

Once the dragon was finished looking Aelwen over, she set her down beside her, focusing her eyes back to face Queen Liriel. Her body seemed to be pulsating with the emerald glow now, rays of light escaping from the cracks between her massive turquoise scales.

The monster trod slowly toward Liriel, the deep guttural growling once more resounding from within her. The singing voices continued to wail their sad song.

Liriel was frozen, her breathing imperceptibly shallow.

The Dragon Queen's mouth opened wide, rows of razor-sharp teeth lined up like a knife-maker's wares.

"Liriel..." She said with a voice like a seething volcano. Her hand pressed down harder on Aelwen's mother, making the wounded Queen gasp for air. "You thought... you were rid of me... didn't you?" The sides of her mouth pulled back in a butchered version of a smile.

Aelwen's mother did not respond. It was as if she was a statue, every muscle locked in place as her eyes focused on the dragon.

"I've waited so long. I've gathered my strength... and now it seems my plans have finally bested Cainen's precious champion." She spat onto Lirial's face. "You know what you did. You know why I'm here. Let's end this quickly," The dragon seethed.

"Mother! Do something! Use your magic! PLEASE!" Aelwen internally cried, her mouth refusing to move. She screamed at her foreign muscles to let her walk, managing to adjust her front legs enough to prop herself up.

The dragon grasped the Queen by her hair, lifting her up like a ragdoll. She opened her mouth, singing along with the terrible song emanating from her spines. She hung the motionless Liriel over her gaping maw, her claws starting to loosen their grip.

And all at once... the last remnant of Aelwen's old life was swallowed before her very eyes.

The mind of the princess was filled with nothing but terror of the purest kind as she watched the dragon gulp down her mother. Her body pumped with adrenalin, and her vision clouded.

Before she could even process what she was doing, she got up on her feet and bolted out of the room, stumbling as fast as she could out of there. Instinct took over, taking her out of the castle, past the busted open and splintered front doors. She forced herself to tear her gaze away from the burning city surrounding her, away from the hundreds of bodies of peasants and merchants and knights alike, away from the roaring army of dragons and griffons and monsters tearing people apart, away from the horror. Her eyes burned with smoke, her nostrils filled with embers.

Her wings dragged haphazardly across the smoldering ground and her wobbling legs tripped over one another, yet Aelwen finally made it to the outer gate of the city. Just like the doors to the castle, the gates had been ripped apart like paper. As she crossed the threshold of the city, a large sapphire dragon, almost as big as the turquoise one, landed beside her. He only glanced at her before nodding and then taking off again.

Aelwen continued across the sprawling grassy field that separated the city from the forest. Grass and clumps of dirt were ripped up by her long talons as she shambled towards the treeline. The sounds of screaming, roars, and crackling flames echoed across the field.

Aelwen made it to the forest. She limped as far as she could into the dense woods, collapsing into a thicket of bushes as soon as her legs gave out. Her heart continued its loud protests, her breathing heavy. Her eyes glazed over, vision fading.

She had never been outside the city walls before. She didn't know where to go, or what to do.

Everything was gone.

Everything was destroyed.

Her castle, her city, her father, her mother.... her own body.

All were gone.

Aelwen passed out as tears slipped down her scaly cheeks.

"Hey. Hey you. Dragon. Wake up."

Aelwen cracked an eye open, looking for the source of the noise in a dazed confusion. Leaves crunched underneath her large body as she shifted slightly. The sweet chirps of morning birds drifted into her ears. The trickle of a stream sounded from not far away. Beams of speckled sunlight illuminated the grass-covered ground.

She froze as she saw that, perched on a boulder a few feet away from her, was a boy.

He had tousled jet black hair and strange, foreign looking clothes. He was rather lithe, and sat upon the boulder with only his toes to hold him up. His arms were propped up on his bent knees, one hand holding a thick piece of bloody meat, the other a crossbow. He carried a huge backpack filled to the brim with stuff. By his looks alone, he appeared around 16. Perhaps his strangest features, though, were his eyes. They were almond shaped, and much more slanted than most all of the people Aelwen had ever seen. Who was he?

"Hi there. I'm Gerel. Nice to meet you," he said, a sly smile appearing on his lips. "Don't panic, and don't hurt me, ok? I'm here to help."

Aelwen shifted her head towards him, fixing both eyes on his. He wasn't afraid of her? What was he doing here?

"Listen, I know you were recently transformed into a dragon. You're normally a human girl, right?"

Aelwen raised her brows, her eyes widening in astonishment. She gave a small, slow nod.

"Good! I was right then. I can tell these kinds of things. Your body language easily gave you away-- to trained people like me, anyway. You're really taking a while to get used to your body, huh?" He set the crossbow beside him on the boulder and tugged at the meat.

Aelwen once again gave a small nod.

"What's your name?"

Aelwen blinked.

Gerel cocked his head, smiling smugly. "You DO know dragons can talk, right? Well, so can you! Just try it."

Aelwen forced air through her mouth, attempting to get her lips to comply with her will.

"A-Aaaa-eeel-wheeee-ne," she clumsily replied, blushing.

The boy laughed, his black bangs bouncing up and down over his forehead. "I know it's hard, but you'll get used to your body eventually. Your mind just needs a lot of time and training to properly set into the new nervous system. If you're really struggling though, why don't you just change back to your human form?"

Aelwen narrowed her eyes. Change back? How in the world would she-

The words of her mother came streaming back into her head. "Once you escape... you must find Cerubia the witch... she is a friend of mine... she will help you."

"Aii k-can't" Aelwen said, her tongue fumbling around her mouth.

Gerel's eyes widened. "Oh, I see. A forced transformation..." He looked very disappointed. "So you aren't a shifter..."

The forest was silent for a moment, save for excited spring birds tending to their young.

Aelwen shifted her legs, trying to get up. She managed to get herself standing before collapsing again.

Gerel blinked. "You know, I could help you out if you want. Ya see, I need a means of transportation across these harsh lands, and you need help figuring out how to adjust to your transformation. We can do a trade of sorts. Oh! Plus I'm a grade A huntsman. Here, try some of the venison I just took down."

He threw the bloody pile of meat toward Aelwen, who immediately shrank back from it.

"Eeeck!" she said, her nose wrinkling. She was hungry, but not enough to eat that.

"Oh come on now, that stuff is delicious to dragons. Here, let me show you." Gerel hopped off his rock, striding toward the meat. He picked it up, ripping off a piece and holding it in front of Aelwen's mouth. He raised an eyebrow, once again donning his wry smile. "You know you want to!" He jiggled the meat around a little, drops of blood scattering about.

Aelwen sniffed it tentatively. Her head recoiled, and she snorted in disgust.

Gerel shrugged, and sat down beside her. He stuffed the meat into a huge burlap bag, which he slung across his back. "Suit yourself, Princess."

Almost as if by instinct, the spines on Aelwen's back rose, and a small growl sounded deep within her.

"H-houw did yoou knowe?!" she cried, sliding herself away from the boy.

His eyebrows raised. "What are you talking abou-" He froze. "You can't be serious. You're actually a princess? I was just joking about how spoiled you are!" He laughed, causing Aelwen to pout.

"That's nauut funnay!" she said, willing herself to get up. "I need to go. You're no healp at alll." She managed to walk a few paces, her legs wobbling.

"Woah woah woah! Hey! You can't just leave. Let me help you. I know you came from that city not far from here. The one that was attacked, right? So are you saying you were the princess there?"

Aelwen continued to stumble forward, Gerel easily striding beside her. She envied his two legs.

"Yes..." she whispered, forcing herself to not think about her parents.

Gerel suddenly stopped. "So that means you're the daughter of... Queen Liriel...?"

Aelwen closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. She nodded. A lump formed in her throat.

She continued on, but did not hear Gerel's footsteps behind her. She stopped and looked back.

Gerel stood a few paces behind her, his face twisted into a look of terror. Aelwen looked around in a hurry, trying to find what he was looking at. It was then she realized he was gazing at her.

"What is wrong?" she asked.

He gulped, his eyes darting from side to side, as if looking for people watching him from the depths of the forest.

"What happened at the castle?" He asked, fear lacing his voice.

Aelwen's lip trembled. "I don't want to talk about it." She continued walking. Gerel followed.

There was a strained silence between them for some time All Aelwen wanted to do was focus on the grass underneath her paws, to let her mind clear. She took a deep breath, her nostrils filling with the calming scents of lavender and rotting leaves.

Aelwen slowly reconstructed her composure with each lumbering step. She was a princess. She could not let her own fears and weaknesses be revealed to her subjects. Yes, she was terrified. Yes, she was grief-stricken. Yes, she was entirely out of sorts and wanted to just cry, but she couldn't. She had to buck up, bottle her emotions, and find the woman her mother had ordered her to locate. Aelwen was a very expressive girl, and she knew that. But for the sake of her mother, she calmed herself down, and attempted to think.

They came upon a small stream babbling softly. It cut through the woods like a lazy snake slithering between the blades of grass.

"Where are we going?" Gerel's voice resounded around the forest.

Aelwen's jaw hardened. "Do you know where the witch Cerubia lives? I need to find her."

"Why?"

"My mom told me to. My home has been destroyed and going to her is the only option I have!"

"You want... to find... a witch? On purpose?" Gerel looked at her incredulously.

"Yes! Why wouldn't I!? That was the last piece of advice my own mom gave me before she died and you're questioning it!? What the harei are you thinking!?" Aelwen whipped her head around to face him, her face twisting into a sneer.

"I've had to deal with a lot of horrible, horrible things today, a-and you ask me why I'm doing what I'm doing!?" Aelwen stepped towards the boy, her ears flat against her head.

Gerel shrunk back, his eyebrows rising and his hand reaching for the crossbow strapped to his backpack.

Aelwen froze. She watched as tufts of smoke escaped from her nostrils, and felt her chest heating up dangerously. She lowered her front paw, which she realized she had lifted to strike him.

"I-I..."

She paused, gulping and swiping the smoke away from her face.

"I don't... I don't know... I just..."

She shuddered as she slowly set herself on the ground, letting her body grow limp. Her bones ached, and her muscles were cramped and sore.

"I don't know what to do. I don't know where I am, I don't know what the state of my kingdom is, I don't know if my own father is alive, and I don't know how to get out of this horrid body!" She looked up at Gerel, his hand still dangerously close to the crossbow. "I need your help. Can you please assist me?" Her eyes bore into his, trying to convey how desperate she was.

"I shouldn't..." Gerel finally spoke. "You're the daughter of Liriel..."

Aelwen's brows furrowed. "Why does that matter? Should you not want to assist the daughter of the good Queen?"

Some sort of realization seemed to dawn on Gerel's face. He put a hand to his forehead and gave a long stare into space, the cogs of his mind whirring. He turned to look at Aelwen, his whole demeanor changed.

"Yea... I guess I can help. But... I really don't think you should go to a witch for help..." Gerel said.

"Why? Are they not the priestesses of the High God? Surely Cerubia is trustworthy," Aelwen said.

Gerel plopped down on the grass, sitting cross-legged. He propped his elbow on a knee and then lay his chin on his open palm. He stared at Aelwen very strangely, as if regarding a weird new animal.

"I will take you to my tribe," he said simply. "They are very good people, and will be sure to help you... especially with changing you back to your normal body."

Aelwen took a sharp intake of breath. "They can change me back?" She asked in wonder.

"Yea. But to be honest you'll be a lot more helpful in dragon form." He shrugged.

"How can I know that you are trustworthy?" Aelwen questioned.

Gerel shook his head, giving that same cocky grin as before.

"Do you really have much of a choice?"

. . .