The snow flurried about the near frozen lake as the last of the year's traders unloaded their goods. Lakecastle was normally the last big town before the water froze, but this year, the temperatures had plummeted. Reyna looked through the markets, hawkers with fish and bread trying to convince her of their low prices, but Reyna had no interest in their items. She had finally saved enough for her daughter Lyn's birthday present, and Reyna knew exactly what to get. She had seen one stall with the rare southern fruit, but the owner, a superstitious human, had inflated his prices far beyond what Reyna could afford to spend.

"It's an extra bit for a Fey Sister, madam. Can't risk you'll put your spell on me."

Reyna spotted a young dragon vendor standing behind his stall.

"Lilyfruit! Neranas, jorjans, renda berries! All from the south! No one's interested? Oh come on!" he shouted as people turned away from his dark skin, violet eyes and the glimmers of purple in his dark hair. Reyna hurried up to him

"You have lilyfruit?" she asked.

"Yeah, got a whole basket, though no one's willing to buy." Reyna didn't have the heart to tell the young Dragonling that the human-dragon relationship was at the edge of a knife right now. Reyna bought the lilyfruit, paying a fraction of the first stall's price for the fruit, and hurried back down the market to her home.

Upstairs, safe in their little home, Lyn bit into the lilyfruit, and the little elf broke into a huge grin. Neither of them knew that the first shots of a war had just been fired.

***

Reyna smiled at the memory of Lyn's birthday yesterday as she watched the sun rise over the lake, casting a golden glow over the sky. Coming from the south, a lone pegasus was flying fast towards the town, a messenger on its back. Reyna watched as its wings beat up and down, and then got out of her bed to get dressed. As she unlocked the door to the shop downstairs, Reyna noticed a crowd gathering in the square.

"Lyn, I'm going out," she called up the stairs, pulling on her wool cloak and stepping into the cold. The crowd was thick, but Reyna could just make out a man marked as a king's messenger speaking to the mayor of Lakecastle. He turned to the assembled crowd, and suddenly all the chatting that had filled the air quieted.

"People of Lakecastle," he announced in his booming voice, "last night King Sharptooth of the dragons attacked the king's castle! The Kin have turned against us. It is now proclaimed that the following races be rounded up, lest they help the enemy," The mayor cleared his throat, "Dragons and Taragon will be captured immediately and killed."

"No surprises there," a young dwarf said next to Reyna.

"Dwarves and Sylphes will be asked to leave the city before the next sunrise." There were murmurs of surprise among the crowd. The Sylphes had always remained neutral.

"Selkies and Elves will be captured and sent back to the capital to a detention center. Please be aware in this wartime hour and report anything suspicious to a city guard."

"Wait! Elves and Selkies?" shouted a selkie from the crowd. "We are not taking a side!"

More murmurs of unfairness came from the crowd. When the first shouts and blows began, Reyna stepped back inside her shop.

"Lyn!" she called up the rickety stairs, "Lyn, get your warm clothes on!" She hurried around the store, gathering up a few of her precious herbs and food. As she packed them all in a satchel, she noticed the thick cloak her sister had sent her for her last birthday. On a whim, she tied it to the end of the bag. An extra warm thing couldn't hurt. Lyn came down the stairs dressed in her good green sweater and her thick wool cloak.

"Mama, what's going on?" the little elf asked.

"Lyn, can you trust me?" Reyna said.

"Of course, Mama."

"Then put up the hood of your cloak and stay close to me please, Lyn. There are things going on we don't want to get involved in," Lyn obediently hid her face in the shadow of her cloak, and Reyna did the same. They might just pass for humans if they were careful.

Reyna held on to Lyn's hand closely as they traveled through the rioting streets. Idea after idea flitted through Reyna's head on how to escape, but each one was dismissed. "If we found a Dwarf Captain leaving, maybe we could sneak on... But no, the dwarves hate elves. A sylph, maybe? They would all be leaving by air. That could be problematic." Every single possibility was blocked one way or another.

As Reyna peered out another street corridor, she saw a group of dragons, flying above the rooftops, escaping away. They were shot at by arrows, but no gold weapons were kept in this city, and so the dragons escaped over the lake. "Of course," she whispered. Lyn squeezed Reyna's hand.

"Mama, why are they fighting?" she inquired.

"I'll explain later, Lyn." Reyna responded, hoping she could make good on that promise. The two of them continued their slow journey through the town, dodging groups of king's guards now trying to settle the rioting. Now that Reyna had a plan, it seemed more bearable, even if the winter's sun was quickly setting behind the mountains. As the last bits of day faded away, she spotted a dragon in an alleyway, crouched behind barrels. No guard would have been able to see him, and Reyna suddenly was grateful for the elvish night vision she'd always taken for granted.

"You were at my stall yesterday," the young dragon said as he looked at Reyna, now crouched behind the barrels with him. He was slightly shaken up, with more tears in his clothing than yesterday, but otherwise looked fine.

"My name is Reyna," Reyna started. "This is my daughter Lyn. You've probably heard that the elves are being rounded up, and we need to leave the city."

"Why should I help you?" the dragon said, obviously trying to act like a skilled negotiator.

"Because if you get caught, you'll die. Perhaps the guards will let me off if I tell them where you are hiding." Reyna hated doing this. It was against every part of her being, but Lyn was worth it. She had to get her out of here. The dragon looked scared.

"Okay, okay, fine. I'll help. My name's Alex. But the streets here are too small for me as a dragon, so we'll need to get somewhere where I can transform." Alex said, violet eyes looking at Reyna. She handed him the cloak tied to her bag.

"Wear that. It should keep you from being recognized, if you're clever about it." He put on the slightly short cloak, and with his Draconic features obscured, the three of them set off again.

They were only a few streets away from the docks and freedom when Alex's hood slipped just as they were passing a group of King's Guards, who had know quelled the rioters and were searching for Kin.

"Fire Brother!" one of them shouted, pointing at Alex. Reyna lifted up Lyn and they began to run down the streets, the guards chasing them.

"This way, I think!" Reyna said, and turned down a side street. It was a dead end. The guards closed in on them.

"A Fey Sister and Fire Brother together. This is perfect proof of why we cannot leave any survivors in this war." Reyna tried desperately to think of any magic she knew that could help them, but the little spells she knew would be no help for them here. "Oh, Goddess, please help us..."

An arrow landed square in the guard's armor, knocking him down. A woman jumped from the housetop, landing in the street in between the guards and Reyna. A hawk circled her, landing on her outstretched arm.

"North?" Reyna thought as the woman outstretched her arm and a wave of ice stabbed through the guards. No human was a match for the raw, icy power that coursed through North's veins. The hawk on her arm flew and landed in the street, transforming into a snow leopard and wrestling one of the men to the ground. When all of the Guards had fallen, North turned to Reyna.

"Run! I'll keep them away from you," The ancient immortal said, and Reyna took her advice, running towards the docks as fast as she could.

Reyna stopped on the docks a few feet behind Alex, moving back as the Dragon's form shifted and transformed, becoming a huge, purple, scaly lizard. Reyna climbed on his back, hoisting Lyn up in front of her, and then Alex took off, his huge wings propelling them upward. They circled the town a few times, and then Alex flew southward, following the light of the Arrow's Star.

Lyn fell asleep as they flew steadily through the sky, But Reyna stayed awake, watching the stars turn overhead. Occasionally she would tell Alex to move a little to the east or west, keeping them on course. When the dawn finally lit up the eastern sky, Alex began to descend. They followed the river down through the woods, getting lower and lower until Reyna finally spotted their destination.

After a smooth landing, Reyna stood in front of the small cottage, tired but happy. They had made it. Just as Alex shifted back into his humanoid form the door to the house opened, and an elf came running out.

"Reyna! What happened?! I've missed you so much!" Aenwyn said as Reyna hugged her sister.

"It's complicated, Aenwyn."

"Well, come inside and tell me all about it!" she smiled.

"You have to invite Alex in too though, Reyna said and stepped inside the house, followed by Alex.

Later that day, out in Aenwyn's orchards, Reyna watched as Lyn reached up into a tree and bit into a big juicy lilyfruit, her smile bigger then any Reyna had ever seen.