[Warning. Things get darker and messy.]

Hunger.

Hunger when you woke up. Hunger when you fell asleep. Hunger in the noon. Hunger in the night.

You weren't used to feel hunger, you always had something to eat in the cave, later your companions never let you strarve. On your way through the forest you picked up some herbs or roots, but it wasn't enough. Any fruit was long gone, either because of people or the drought.

You reached a city. You saw a rotten and burned wood, and ruins of the buildings. A smell of smoke floated in the air. You caughed, but it didn't help. The fire continued in some buildings and no one of the people cared to put it out.

You reached next city, and next, and next. And the fire and the smoke was your constant companion. Starving people on the streets, dead bodies scattered around, beggars and orphaned children were no new sight to you. At first you were terrified, but after so many towns looking just the same you went numb.

You were so hungry, you even looked through the rubbish. You threaded your fingers through the stinking mass, unable to find anything.

''Give it to me!" you heard a scream. Your horse snorted and cleared the view. There stood a man, in his thirties and an old lady, clutching somethig in her arms. She was shaking her head, as the man started to pull at her. ''You damn old hag! Give it to me!"

''It's for my grandkids!" she wailed back.

You noticed the granny had a bread in her arms, and was shielding it from the man. An anger boiled inside you. How could he steal from poor old lady. Half of you wanted to turn back, leave the city and stop caring about such things. The other half wanted to march up to the man, and tell him to stop, even in such times nobody deserved to be robbed, especially not from food.

And that other half won.

You walked to the man and glared at him.

''Let her go," you said. The man looked at you, and pushed you back.

''Mind your own business, girl!" he snarled and turned back to the frightened old lady. He punched her and reached for the bread.

''Stop it!" you shouted at him. He kicked the old lady, she cried in pain. You felt your nails digging into your hand. ''Stop!"

You created a blade from the wind and glared at the man. You didn't want to attack him. You wished he just stopped, right there and let go of the old lady. He turned to you, pulling out a blade from his pocket. His eyes were dripping in madness as he looked at you.

Kill him.

The voice said. For a split second you closed your eyes, and saw a man in a turban before the White Doors. He was looking at you with his blue eyes, that reminded you of a dead fish in the river.

You shook your head.

Kill him.

''No," you said aloud opening your eyes. But the force of his voice was overwhelming. Calm and familiar, yet rought and forgein.

K I L L H I M.

And you felt your feet taking a step forward. And another. You tightened your grip on the Blade and with your eyes wide open, you made another step. The mad man shot you a twisted grin and took a bite of the bread. The old lady wailed. A few people gathered around, whispering to each other, pointing fingers.

You were numb.

The man deserved it. He was a scum, that shouldn't be walking on the same earth as you. He was thief, he was murderer.

He stepped on the old lady's hand, making her scream in pain.

Do it.

''Let her go!" you yelled, jumping forward.

Red. Red. Red.

Blood. Blood on your now visible blade. Blood on your hands, on your feet, on your face, on your clothes. Blood on the ground, and dead eyes of a mad man.

You screamed and fell down. The eyes were looking accusingly at you. His eyes, the old lady's eyes. Peoples eyes. You saw their fingers pointed at you and faces twisted in disgust.

What have you done? Why? How could you raise your hands on the another human being?

Your fault. All of this. Murderer, screamed your mind. MURDERER. Monster.

You looked around, and in the clearing crowd you saw that man. Man in turban, that floated slightly above the ground. His blue eyes were piercing you, freezing you on the spot. He nodded. Just like this, he dissappeared.

You got up. Neausea hit you with full force, making you dizzy and stagger.

MURDERER.

Your Blade dissolved into the thin air. You looked around, finally catching the sight of your horse. You could get away. Finally leave this dirty town.

MONSTER.

You stagged towards it and mouthed it. The horse neighed and with a kick galloped through the streets. You breathed in and out, trying to clear your mind. Your stomach flipped, when you looked at your hands. Red. Red everywhere.

MURDERER.

You galloped through the track, connecting one town to another. Day and night, without an once of sleep. You wished you could, but everytime you closed your eyes, there was red and fish eyes. You couldn't find anything to eat, and your horse was weak. You could feel every of its bone, when you roamed your hands through his body. But you needed him, needed to get away. To run away.

One night, just outside the city gates the horse fell down. It short breaths and visible suffering broke your heart. You summoned the wind, and with a swift move you cut its throat. Your wail merged with its last ragged breath.

MONSTER.

You walked throught another town. The horse meat was long gone and once again you felt hunger. It was relatevely clean city. The slight smell of smoke, that you vere accustomed to, wasn't as overwhelming as usual.

With nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony
Till slowly I forget and my heart starts vanishing
And suddenly I see that I can't break free,

I'm slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity
With nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony
To tell me who I am, who I was
Uncertainty enveloping my mind
Till I can't break free...

The songs were your only comfort, as you travelled through the towns. Your feet hurt, your legs trembled with every step, but you moved forward. To get away. To run away. You wanted to survive so badly, that you refused to stay in one place.

You watched as a division of the army marched through the town. Iron reflected dancing flames from their torches, in the night full of smoke and dirt. The horse hooves echoed on the track, the dust floated in the air as they passed by. They stopped by a tavern, talking obnoxiously, laughing out loud.

You looked away, uninterested. You were hungry, they weren't going to provide you anything to eat. The alley corners were filled with beggars, one of which you also became. Some looked at you, with no emotion evident in their faces, but pain visible in their eyes.

MURDERER.

You grated your teeth and turned away. Your face met something cool. You looked up to see a man in an armor, glaring at you. He pushed you.

''What do yer think yer doin', wench?" he snarled. You stayed on your knees, looking down on dirty ground. ''Hey! I'm talkin' to ya!"

He thumped with his ironed boot.

''I'm sorry," you whispered.

''Can't hear ya, wench," he moved closer to you.

You felt your nails biting into your palms unintentionally. You didn't dare to look up to see his face. Let him go away. What if the man in the turban would come be back? What if he'd tell you to kill that man? MONSTER. You trembled.

''I'm so sorry," you said through tightened throat. ''Please... let me go."

He kicked you, your face fell into the dirt. Make him go, you prayed to yourself. You met gaze of an old lady in the corner. Nobody made a move. Nobody cared. Why would anyone care about a murderer such as you?

He will kick you and scream at you, but you won't move. No. You won't look at him, you won't say anything else. You didn't want for the man in the turban to come, you didn't want to hear his voice. Never. Never. Never.

''Is this how a Westenran knight behaves?!" a shout pierced the air. Some voices joined too, yet you couldn't distinguish any. You saw a group of people, and a woman in the front. You guessed she was the first to shout. ''Kicking a poor girl in the streets? How disgusting!"

Part of you was thankful. But the other screamed to her to just go away. She shouldn't be protecting somebody like you, you didn't deserve anybody's compassion.

The knight let go, seeing that he was surrounded by much bigger group. The woman walked up to your rising form. She put a hand on your shoulder, and squeezed. Human contact, it was so long since you felt it.

''Are you alright?" she asked, worry in her blue eyes. ''Is anything broken?"

You looked up to her in confusion. Why was she worring about you? She should just leave you, you were a MONSTER, not deserving to be worried about.

''Is everything alright, miss?"

You slowly nodded, and she smiled to you. You just stared at her outstretched hand, and back to her fece. Her smile went bigger, as she patiently waited for you to take her her hand. Your trembling fingers reached forward, finally grasping her hand.

''Come with me," she still held onto your dirty hand. Why was she nice to you?

You hadn't noticed this earlier, but the group that was was with her gave the beggars a fer pieces of bread. You blinked. You felt tug at your hand and looked at brown haired woman.

''I'm Mazaki Anzu, and you are?"

***

''Dear dragon immortals, this hurts!"

''Well, sunshine, if you didn't move so much, perhaps, but only perhaps, it wouldn't."

Laegil glared at the man, who worked by her arm. He was fastening a bandage over the wound. She hissed at the harder tug. The wound would heal, but since it gashed at the bones and teared a lot of flesh, it would take longer. She didn't want to walk around with blood pouring out of ther arm and her shoulder, so bandaging it was the only choice.

She looked away, and focused her gaze on the Mt. Tap Turpu. The siege still continued, but it seemed that the humans were losing. The dragon sihlouettes appeared here and there, breathing fire.

''All right, done," Alaisdair said, clapping his hands. He had satisfied look on his face.

She noodded, covering the wound with her shirt.

''So, what now?" he asked, and started to take off his armor. Part by part, the black steel piled on the grass.

She pursed her lips and breathed in. What now? Indeed a good question. She knew only a part of her answer.

''I'm going to look for _____."

He raised his brow, but didn't stop his task.

''Who's that?" he glanced at her, and with a clank threw a body plate on the pile.

''The Vayis," she replied a moments later. He stopped and stared at her.

''Why?"

''Because I'm taking care of her, that's why," she clicked her tounge. ''What about you?"

He looked at her, without saying anything for a while. He would look like this at her, when he tried to figure something out. When they played when they were childred, this look would make her unnerved.

''The beast thinks it's not a good choice," he finally replied. ''And I agree."

''I don't care what the beast says."

She stood up. From the blood loss her mind went dizzy, but after a few breaths it calmed down. Be damned the humans, and their toys.

Alaisdair stayed down, continuing his task, as if nothing happened. Why did the beast think it was a bad idea? She made a promise, that she would keep the girl safe, and here she was. She would find her, and keep her safe, let the beast think whatever it wanted. But Alaisdair beast usually was right.

To be honest at first she didn't understand it, the concept of the beast - another thing that distinguished north dragons from south. They had a beast within them. At first she thought it was like having another being within you, and it creeped her out. But Alaisdair laughed at her, and explained that to the ice dragons the beast is integral part of them. He described it as a pure instinct, a wilder side to them,a free form, that made their presence more visible. The beast was a dragon, and a dragon was the beast. The same, yet different.

This made her curious in her youth. And then she noticed the difference, when she spent time with Alaisdair as a human and as the dragon. The different side of the same coin, she decided back then.

''When are we going?"

''Huh?" she blinked, stopping the train of ther thoughts.

''To look for your Vayis girl, when? Oh and where?" Alaisdair asked and stood up. He stretched out his arms, taking a few deep breaths.

''Your coming with me?" she asked, glancing at him suspiciously.

''But of course," he leaned to the side. ''You kind of made me unemployed, and I'm sure as heck I'm not going back there again. Too much fire for my liking."

''Huuuh?"

''Chop, chop, sunshine," he claped his hands. ''Lead the way."

She felt her jaw falling down. She could only blink, and his smiling face. Why would he come with her? When he said it's not a good idea? What was he even thinking? She searched his face for an answer, but she couldn't see anything behind the mask of a smile.

''Uh," she coughed and gathered her toughts. ''Well... I sent her away, down the stairs. But we were to meet at Khaidu Lake, so I'd check there first."

He nodded his head.

''Ah, what a shame, my horse is gone, because of a certain someone," he sighed.

''Why would we need a horse, Alaisdair?" she threw her arms in the air.

''Well, I'm not changing into a dragon, when so many humans are around here."

''This makes so little sense, that I'm speachless."

He threw her a look.

''Good luck with the giant arrows then," he shrugged his arms.

She gritted her teeth, threw him a glare, and marched forward in a direction of the Khaidu Lake. Thank dragon immortals, that she went into the right direction.

''Why thank you, I'll be careful," she snarled under her breath. Few steps later she felt presence beside her. ''Wipe off that smug smile of your face, Alaisdair."

His smirk only widened, when he glanced at her.

''I missed so much your threaths, Laegil," he laughed. She rolled her eyes and went quiet.

It'll be a few days of a long march till they'd reach the lake. She really, really hoper the girl will be there, waiting for her. And then they will meet up with Yugi and his group. She also hoped that Atem will be somehow all right, he was good at surviving. He lived for so long as a half-dragon, a shell of his past mightyness, and never gave up looking for a way to restore it. Not for the strenght itself, but for everything that came with it.

Yugi didn't ming to be a half, he was used to be in the shadows, not loved, but not hated either. He would keep things to the knit group of his friends. Now it was just the same, he was a face in the crowd, not caring what they thought of him. But he supported his brother with all his heart and would travel the world back and forth if he wished to.

She envied them somehow, that loyality and bond. She didn't have it with anyone. She wasn't good at making friends, she would be to violent, too rude. She knew. She was always afriad of going out of her little shell, the walls around, so nobody would come too close. Her mother did once, and what good it brought to her? Ah, right. Death. She didn't want to make that mistake, like she did. So she would just dance on the edge, and push away others. Kisara, Atem and Yugi. They all were kind, kind enough to be her collgues.

And well, then Alaisdair appeared. A lost soul, that she was too curious about to leave him alone. But he lauged off her insults and played her game of sass. And he stuck to her, so she stuck to him. And it was good. Up untill one dragon claimed to be her mate. Surprising, and unwelcome, but true. She didn't need a mate, she was fine on her own, she didn't want unwelcome feelings. And she came with flaring tears to her only friend and something more. And he didn't have a reply for her. Just a gaze of dissapointment.

A clank of steel shook her out of her thoughts. A division of Moratu Kingdom Knights made their appearance. She glared at men, and looked at Alaisdair. He was still smiling, a mask of calmness on his face.

Should she transform? No, it was bad idea, she wouldn't be able to fly, anyway. She forgot totally about her wing. They had to take them on... or flee.

The Knights were getting ready to attack, it was clear that they knew who they were. They knew who Alaisdair were, and the sight of him out of an armor and a hand over his sword didn't make him any more trustworthy. He was a deserter.

They were outnumbered, and she was able to use only one arm. Tactical diversion, she told herself, even though she hated to flee from the humans.

''Let's get away from here," she tugged at his arm. He looked at her with a raised brow. They took off, before the humans could surround them.

''I almost forgot how good you are at escaping," he said in ligh-hearted tone, that pierced through her like an arrow.

Because all the years ago she fleed, she escaped. She turned her back to all her problems.

''I didn't mean to," she said quietly, but sure that he would hear her anyway. She could hear a voices of humans chasing after them. They were lucky that they were in the forest, not in the open space where they would shot down by a rain of arrows.

''But of course," he breathed out, jumping over a fallen tree trunk. ''You just decided your life goal is to sit under a rock in a cave."

She didn't want to look at him, but she did anyway. A smile dissapeared and a frown graced his face. He was facing forwards. Her heart throbbed painfully.

''I didn't know what to do," she said, clutching at her pedant. The pedant he gave her.

''So you went to Pegasus. Brilliant choice," he spat, throwing a look at her. ''You could at least say goodbye. But no, you had to dissapear and made Kisara to go around telling everyone."

She didn't say anything.

''You're such a coward, Laegil," he said. After this, they run in silence, only a sound of their thumps on the ground and short breaths echoed in the forest. The chasing group was long way from them, as they didn't know these forests as Laegil and Alaisdair knew.

She didn't speak anything more till they stopped. She was looking at her feet, guilt overwhelming her, making it unable to look at his face. He was right, in everything. She was coward and she run away from her problems with tail between her legs. She made a deal with Pegasus, that in exchange for becaming a Guarding Dragon and being freed from her problems, she won't tell humans about the planned attack at their temple, hundred years later.

So she agreed, what price was it? Back then, almost none. She would would be in a cave with some girl for a bit, listen to her sing to entertain her, and a stupid temple will be destoryed. And most importantly, she wouldn't have to worry about the turmoil in her heart.

And then she learned all the awful things about it. The Vaiys that weren't even humans, that they killed themselves by singing. That their lives were wasted, and the cruel fate couldn't be stopped. And she learned what did it mean to be lonely. The girls either feared her, or were angry at her deep inside. Some accepted their fate and turned to emotionless singing machines. Only a few were kind enough, but what were a few years against another hundreds. Nothing.

And then appeared a girl that didn't want to die, and tried to make friends with her. And Laegil, after years of being ignored and despised, turned to the girl, and let her be her friend. Laegil didn't know why, but she liked that girl, who loved to dance more than to sing. Who wished to be a dancer, and dance at king's balls. Silly, but different.

Laegil didn't want the girl to die either. She let her escape. Just a few magical songs before the Light was entirely gone, she helped her escape. She promised her to find her again, and if by any chance there is a next Vayis, she will help her too. Ans she would go back to the Mt. Tap Turpu. She took her bracelet, and pushed it out the doors, the indication that the Vayis is dead.

She was sure the whole farce of the temple would be over. That the girl would do something. But then the doors opened again, and the new Vayis appeared. _____.

Laegil wished so much that it could be over. That she could come back home, and make a peace with everyone she left. But she couldn't. She couldn't see Alaisdair.

''I'm sorry," she whispered.

~~***~~
SONG: Bad Apple English Cover by Lizz Robinett
(oh how I missed the songs!)
I was supposed to update with all four pov's, but then again my exams are very near, and I won't have time to write. So I decided to share with you what I've got, aka the readers pov and Laegils.

And finally, a whole YGO gang is there, hello to Anzu (Tea). Ha, you though I hated her, so no Anzu? Wrong! Joking, but she was going to appear, and her introduction was decided in a very begging.

Well, our group is still split, but don't worry, they will reunion. Stay tuned, I guess? Yes I do like making them suffer. So angst hell yeah!

Also! A shameless promotion!
I started a new fic, Within the Gray Mist, happening a hundred years later it the same universe, featuring Marufuji Ryo (Zane Truesdale) and characters from YGO GX, but not only. I hope you can take a look at this, because I'm pretty excited about this new story!

I hope you enjoyed!