Understanding dawned on Gwen's face when she saw the panicked look in Xander's eyes. He stared at her imploringly. Screeches above them between beast and their riders could be heard from the ground. Looking up, the chaos was suddenly obvious to Gwen.

Four wyverns gathered around a bright red one, the captain of the guard. They seemed to be planning; the rider on the green wyvern who had attacked Xander hovered near the back of the group timidly. Gwen let her gaze fall to the tall boy in front of her. His eyes were pleading as she considered.

"Please, you don't understand," he begged, snarky attitude gone.

She raised an eyebrow at him. What was not to understand? This boy was a criminal, maybe a dangerous one.

Gwen observed his clothes. He was wearing a similar outfit to what her father wore to his job at the castle. The crimson crest on his chest was immediately recognizable to her as that of the Kingdom of Othera in which they lived.

Crime was usually fairly low throughout the Kingdom; each of the five towns surrounding the capital city were patrolled by guards on their beasts, guards who hadn't made the highest order of guards, but still brutal when it came to punishment. Gwen was surprised that Xander had managed to sneak a wyvern out of the castle, and not be hung for it.

She glanced at the wyvern. All she had ever wanted was to ride a wyvern. Here was her chance, but if she was caught...

Gwen considered her chances at making the King's Guard, she knew they were very slim, but she had been working for her entire life to have at least a shot, and giving it up for this might break her heart.

The blue beast shrieked in pain as it shifted its weight, trying to find some relief for its wing. As she looked over at the beast, the pain in the blue wyvern's eyes was obvious, her heart sank as she realized what she knew she had to do. With a pit in her stomach Gwen turned to the blonde criminal in front of her.

"We can't be caught," she whispered harshly at Xander, keeping a wary eye on the sky.

Relief and gratitude flashed in Xander's eyes as he gazed at his stolen wyvern.

"But first you have to explain all this to me," she ordered.

Xander looked at her, resigned, "I've worked at the castle since my parents died," he started, eyes guarded, already gaining Gwen's sympathy. "I helped with caring for the beasts, and Storm here," he gestured towards the whimpering wyvern, "was the runt."

Gwen glanced at the creature with a snort. A runt? She barely reached the shoulder of the beast.

"He was always picked on by the other wyverns, even as he grew, and I couldn't stand it. All the young wyverns are trained and tested until they are large enough to be ridden, and because Storm wasn't, he was going to be killed."

Gwen gasped, revolted by the treatment of the animal.

"Anyways, when they were working with the other wyverns I was able to sneak Storm out the back, with the help of a couple...friends," Xander trailed off.

Gwen nodded, swallowing through the lump in her throat. She didn't bother commenting on his hesitation over explaining his 'friends.'

Gwen considered Xander's story, it seemed believable to her. The King used the Wyverns to control the citizens, there was no way he would allow a free Wyvern in the kingdom. With the type of power they provided there was no telling what kind of rebellion the King might have on his hands.

"My brother is training to be a healer. He's only worked with humans, but I think he'll be able to help."

Xander stared at her like she was crazy. "You want to bring another person into this?" he asked incredulously. "Do you trust him? How can I trust him?"

Gwen scoffed, "Of course I trust him, he's my brother."

Not waiting for any more arguments Gwen set off, "I'll get him. You stay here, and stay out of sight. I mean it!" she exclaimed, catching the apprehensive look in Xander's eyes.

He chuckled softly, staring after her. "I'll be here," he muttered, laying a gentle hand on the injured wyvern.

Gwen trudged back to her house, back the way she came. This time, instead of sprinting through the town like a maniac, she kept her head down, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. The less people that noticed her, the better. Everyone knew each other in Gwen's small town, so as long as no one stopped her to inquire about her family she would make it home without drawing suspicion.

"Gwen!" a voice exclaimed, she muttered a curse under her breath.

She cast an anxious look back towards where Xander was waiting then turned to the speaker.

The bubbly blonde girl bouncing from toe to toe in front of her was Maya, a neighbour from a wealthy family who lived near Gwen's, who idolized her. Gwen sighed, slightly annoyed. Usually she had patience for Maya and answered her endless stream of questions, but today she was eager to get back to Xander, who could be discovered at any moment.

"Hey Maya," Gwen said, her voice not as friendly as it usually was to the younger girl.

Maya started babbling as she usually did, oblivious to Gwen's frustration.

"I have to go," Gwen cut her off mid-sentence and a hurt look flashed across the girl's face.

Gwen shook her head, turning away from her. She'd talk to Maya later and apologize.

Gwen continued towards her house and sighed with relief as it came into sight, the sun was just going down and she smiled excitedly. That would mean Kai was home. She burst through the door and found Kai lounging on the couch, a book of medicinal herbs spread out in front of him.

"Kai!" she exclaimed. "You need to come with me right now. There's this-this thing you need to see."

"Woah," Kai said warily. "Slow down."

The long scar travelling from the bottom of his eye to his jaw turned his formerly beautiful face into something people try to not stare at. He attempted a smile but the scar made his smile look more like a grimace. He stared at her from the couch, not making an effort to get up.

Before the incident with the guard, Kai was the happiest child in the whole world. But after having his face scarred by a beast, he started to shut everyone out. People stared at him on the street and kids at school made fun of him. Kai had stopped talking for over a year, only answering questions and not starting conversations with anyone. His silence broke their mother's heart. She hated having her children go through something she couldn't protect them from.

Gwen knew Kai was still the protective older brother who took the blow of a gryphon for her, and, although he now held a high regard for the law, she knew she could trust him to keep her secret.

"Gwen we are not going now," Kai said gruffly. "You have your trials in two days and it's getting late."

"No," Gwen said desperately. "You don't understand."

She broke off,shooting him a pleading look she knew he couldn't resist. Kai lifted himself off the couch with a grunt and followed her towards the door.

"Bring your kit," Gwen said, turning to look at the bag of medical supplies Kai always kept close in case of emergency. He was one of the only healers in a village that was a day's journey away from the castle. He always had supplies on hand.

As they trudged towards the field where Gwen had left Xander and the wyvern, Gwen shot nervous glances at her brother. He was always wary around strangers, and combine that with her blatantly breaking the law. Gwen didn't know how he would react. She knew he would help though. Kai wouldn't hurt a fly, and after his accident he couldn't resist helping someone who was hurt.

They reached the clearing and Gwen led her brother to where she could just make out Xander's figure. She came to a halt and looked over, trying to gage Kai's reaction. He had his face turned at a slightly awkward angle-the way he turned it when he was trying to hide his scar. His efforts didn't make much of a difference. Xander's jaw dropped, although he had the decency to snap his mouth closed and look away, humiliated.

Kai huffed before he spotted the stolen wyvern, and then he was the one standing slack jawed. His eyes popping out of his head, Kai turned his head to glare at Gwen.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Kai exclaimed, almost shouting. Gwen winced at the anger in his voice, and tried to ignore the accusing look he was shooting her.

"You could get us both thrown in jail! Or hung!" he exclaimed, outraged.

"Please," she begged, "he's hurt, and they..." She nodded towards the castle, "They were going to kill him."

Kai's face, hard with angry lines softened a bit, as he noticed the crooked wing of the wyvern in front of him. Kai had never attempted the trials; he had never felt the same urge to serve their kingdom as Gwen did. He looked at Xander skeptically.

"I've never worked with a wyvern before, but I'll do my best."

Xander looked grateful. Gwen could see how much he cared about the wyvern; it was clear on his handsome face how worried he was. Kai knelt down, getting closer to the wyvern then Gwen would have dared. He examined the claw marks on the wyvern's flank, and the deformed lump on the wing. He gingerly reached out to feel the wing.

"The scratches I can fix easily, but the wing is sprained I think. I'll need to go get some other supplies from the apothecary. The best I can do tonight is bandaging the cuts," Kai said, his eyes flickering from Gwen to Xander.

They nodded together, exchanging a worried look. Kai set to work, Xander kneeling close by, laying a reassuring hand on the head of his wyvern, muttering soft words to it. Gwen's legs were just starting to wear out, when Kai stood up.

"That's as good as it's going to get," he said. "Let's head back to the house Gwen," he frowned.

"He can't come," Kai said, casting Xander a disapproving look.

Gwen shifted her gaze between her brother and the boy she barely knew, before preparing herself.

"I'm staying here," she said determinedly, expecting a big fight from Kai. Gwen couldn't bring herself to part with the wyvern yet, her dream of flying was coming true. At least part of her dream was, she was in the presence of a wyvern, and that was half the battle. She was afraid that if she left, Xander and Storm would disappear like they never existed.

"I know," he said, as if he was expecting it.

He turned away with a small sigh, giving up much easier than Gwen thought he would. She watched her brother's figure disappear before turning to Xander, who had a small smile on his face.

Gwen really looked at Xander for the first time. He had long blonde curls, reaching just below his ears, and covering most of his forehead. It was lighter at the top, presumably from time spent in the sun. He was quite tall, taller than her, his arms corded with muscle from his work with wyverns.

"You're staring" Xander commented, voice was filled with laughter, matching the lopsided smile on his face.

She looked away quickly, face heated, she couldn't quite meet his eyes as she mumbled, "I'm going to sleep." It was getting late and Gwen knew there was nothing left for them to do until Kai returned.

Luckily, Othera was quite a warm place. It was located near a vast ocean, keeping it humid. It never snowed, although there was a lot of rain in certain seasons. Gwen curled up on the soft grass, back facing Xander as she drifted off to sleep.

The sun was just rising as Gwen woke up, and she glanced around. She noticed Xander, closer to her than she could have expected. His sleeping face was much more peaceful than how she had grown used to seeing him anxious and worried. She squinted into the distance towards the village and saw a figure coming towards them. She smiled, assuming it was Kai, returning with the supplies he had promised. As the person drew closer she realized it was not one person, but two.

Gwen gaped at the two men in disbelief, her mind frantically working to come up with a reason as to why there were two soldiers marching towards them at the crack of dawn. The only explanation Gwen could come up with caused her heart to drop to her stomach.

Kai had betrayed her.  

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Thank you to anyone who continued to read this, I've been working so hard on this and hadn't planned to post again for a few days but I was too excited about the story to wait. So once again any votes and comments would be greatly appreciated. <3

xoxo Emma