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Arising from their post-coital slumber, the three quickly parted and sat up in fear, all exchanging worried glances. A deep rumbling that seemed to come from outside had suddenly shaken them awake. Muffled, angry shouting was carried through the air rushing in from the mouth of the cave. The shouts sounded like many voices pounding on the rocks at the foot of the cliff in a collective rage.
“How...?” Arielle’s voice waivered in panic. Zefelli scratched his head, racking his brain.
“The hawk that saw us?” Aadall offered, with panic rising in his own voice.
Zefelli shook his head. “No, they don’t have speaking capabilities. The only ones who would tell on us in this forbidden territory, are the fairies.”
“The FAIRIES?!” Arielle cried out. Aadall and Zefelli both looked at her, puzzled. “The fairies - no - they’re my friends. They’re the only ones I could talk to about how I wanted our world to change. They’re the ones that I talked to when I visited my place on the cliff! They know all about my secret yearnings to one day fall in love with a Dragonruu. They....they...”, Arielle couldn’t even finish her sentence, and hid her face in shame between her drawn up legs, trying to cover her nakedness, and began to weep at her stupidity.
Zefelli and Aadall each surrounded her, hugging her to console her, ignoring the still threatening shouts from outside below. They were safe in this cave for now, especially since they knew it was humans after them. Humans could not reach this high up, nor would they be brazen enough to face off two male dragons.
Zefelli began to speak calmly, as he rubbed Arielle’s shoulder softly, and Aadall stroked her hair.
“Arielle...these fairies live in this part of the territory because they’ve been banished. You see, they are trapped Dragonruu souls, who disrespected Dragonruu law or committed heinous crimes in their lifetime, and are now banished to a weakened fairy form forever. Dragonruu officials use them as messengers and spies. They live in the Outlands, but travel back and forth. In exchange for information they collect, they get to spend a day in Ansuul and Denbyshire each, as a reward for each piece of information they gather.”
Arielle still did not seem consoled. Her head continued to hang down in shame.
Aadall then spoke. “Humans are charmed by their sparkly colors and tiny size, and they know just how to trick humans – just like they did you. You might not be to blame. Maybe they witnessed my crash landing in dragon form, which drew them near, or saw us all together in the clearing, or—”
“Or maybe this is ALL my fault, because I was here and singing like a dumb, naive, human girl, and now we are going to be killed! You will be dwindled down and forced to exist among these fake, sparkly mongrels, and I’ll be...I’ll be burned at the stake or hanged, and - and be DEAD.”
“NO, Arielle, damn it! We are going to protect you!” said Zefelli. She looked up, and saw his eyes aglow in all seriousness. He kissed her sweetly. The cave rumbled again.
“I have a plan, you two,” said Aadall, firmly. He knew he needed to be strong in the protection of his new beautiful human.
Zefelli looked up curiously and unsure, and said, “You do...?”
Aadall’s eyes were ablaze with an energy, and Zefelli was quickly informed of the plan via telepathy.
“Arielle, go and show yourself,” said Aadall. “Let them see you are unharmed. They must know you are with dragons, but survey the area, and let us know what we are truly facing, please.”
Arielle sniffled back her tears, trying to be brave. She fetched a large fur blanket from Aadall’s backpack in the grotto to hide her nakedness, then took a deep breath and peered outside the mouth of the cave, looking far below.
Her father’s face was at the front of the crowd. “Arielle, you come down here, RIGHT NOW!” he boomed up at her.
Other men had joined the frontline of the brigade with guns, bows and arrows and torches, ready to try and fend off the dragons. The crowd was rowdy and had their weapons already drawn, ready for a fight.
“I’m okay, Daddy, just leave me alone!” she cried out desperately.
“No, the fairies found us, right in the middle of one of your sister’s most important auditions yet – letting us know you had ventured out here again, and this time, had been KIDNAPPED BY DRAGONS!”
Again, Arielle felt like such a fool for trusting the vicious little fairies, who only tattled to stir trouble and be compensated for their message. Aadall and Zefelli could hear the interaction taking place, and then Zefelli stood, ready to take action.
Arielle ran back into the cave, ignoring her father and dropping to her knees to hug the dragons, crying again.
“So this is the plan, Arielle,” said Aadall. “We are taking you back to Ansuul with us. Let the humans think we kidnapped you. We will present you to the king, Zefelli’s father, tomorrow in the palace theatre. He will say he was lured to your voice from a walk in the woods during Twilight, and decided to bring you back on his own. He is the King’s son after all; so I think he can bypass a few rules. Everyone else will hear how powerful your voice is at provoking more emotion than any other human thus far has been able to bring us. Your gift is so strong, you will change hearts. We can then work on a harmonious relationship with humans, once and for all!”
Arielle felt empowered. Zefelli did too, though he still felt a bit woozy from all the alcohol he had ingested earlier. He felt he needed to offer reassurance to Arielle about the seemingly haphazard plan.
“Arielle, I know you are brave,” said Zefelli. “And you have to be your bravest right now, and you have to trust us.”
“I do, with my whole heart,” she responded, fighting back tears. The three hugged before they blindfolded her and strapped her onto Zefelli’s transformed dragon back, preparing for flight from the cave. Aadall soon followed, and they roared their warning in vicious tandem, knocking the hapless humans backwards with the sheer force of their roars. In just the knick of time, the two dragons swooped sideways through a narrow crevice as arrows sailed passed them and shots rang out.
Soon, all was quiet as they entered the bi-atmosphere between Denbyshire and Ansuul. It was silent and peaceful there, and calmed Arielle’s fears temporarily. She thought about how she was finally entering the city of Ansuul, and expected to give a performance of her lifetime.
Once safely back in to Zefelli’s castle, which they had to sneak into, Zefelli arranged for Arielle to stay in his guesthouse, letting her know that he and Aadall would take turns watching her sleep.
She woke up early the next morning, greeted by Zefelli. He climbed into the bed next to her, kissing her forehead sweetly.
“I’m scared to sing, Zefelli. I’m scared that the humans will become hostile due to my absence. And, I’m scared that I won’t ever really be with you and Aadall.”
Zefelli set her down gently in his lap and kissed her reassuringly. “Everything will work out fine in the end. It always does,” he said with a wink.
Aadall brought them breakfast. After that, they showed Arielle a closet full of one of Zefelli’s sister’s designer gowns that she stored in the guesthouse. Arielle put on one of her very own designs from her seamstress job. She’d never imagined that one day she would wearing one of the beautiful dresses she’d made. She herself looked in the mirror at herself. Do I really have the power to change the world? She took a deep breath, as she glanced one last time into the mirror, awaiting her escort to the theatre. Zefelli had gone to his father earlier this morning, feeding him their white lie, but the skeptical king did agree for the human to present herself at a special palace performance later in the day.