The floating ball of fire.

Allerick stormed into Marcella’s house, Mart trying to keep up with him but failing at it, “Marcella?”, he called out repeatedly for a while. When he realized no one was inside, he waved his hand inviting the guards in.

“You know what to look for right?”

“Yes sire”, they chorused.

“Get to work then”, he waved them off. He stood with hands akimbo supervising the activity.

After a short while the door was pushed open and Marcella’s head popped in, a shocked expression on her face.

Allerick was sitting on a chair and going through Ryker's diary.

“What in heaven’s name is going on here?”

Allerick stood up and slowly walked up to her, “I have the king’s authorization”, he showed her a document with a seal.

“The king would never do this to Ryker’s family, he would never breach our rights to privacy”, she retorted through clenched teeth and snatched the document from Allerick.

He chuckled.

She quickly scanned through the document, her eyes widened in realization, “This does not have King Aldrich's seal on it, this is not the royal…”

“It is not the royal seal but it is the King’s seal”, Allerick retorted, “I sealed it myself”

“With all due respect your highness, You are no king! What is our crime?”, Marcella questioned, “Why are we treated like common criminals?”

He moved closer to her and leaned slightly and whispered in her ears, “It’s about the heart of magic”

“How does that concern us?”, Marcella asked, no iota of emotion on her face to betray her true thoughts even though she was scared for her daughter.

“You and I are well aware that Raisel has gone in search of it”, he said patiently. Two could play this game, he mused.

“You cannot prove it!" she yelled.

He walked away from her, “Enough of all this pretence Raisel would be in a lot of trouble if word reaches the king that she has gone in search of a trinket that has nothing to do with her”

Marcella stilled.

“She won’t only be in danger from the king my father or from the other kings that would feel threatened by her actions”, he paused and spun around quickly, his blue robe billowing around him.

He gingerly fixed his crown on his head, “She will be in danger from Votigern, his cohorts and all other measly humans that are greedy for power, the power that the heart of magic possesses and offers…” he paused for effect, “Of course, how can we forget the dragons? Large mystical creatures, many times the size of an average human, they’ll tear her in pieces beyond recognition, you’ll lose…”

“You would not say a word about my daughter again”, she said through clenched teeth, her heart heaving in her chest, “No one would know a word about where my daughter is, you’ll leave…”

“If you have forgotten I am royalty and I still give the orders around here” his tone of voice was grave. "You can not threaten your King"

“What is it you want?”

He smiled. “I’ll be going on an expedition, in search of the heart of magic. I’ll bring your daughter to you safe and sound, trust me o…”

“What’s in it for you?”

“I want Raisel” his smile widened.

***

“Welcome to Aramoor”, he said out loud.

They both got down from Fury and scanned the area.

Raisel turned to him, “This is where legendary dragons live?”

Most of the buildings were derelict and the streets deserted, they walked further on foot, Fury walking behind them, “I mean I am disappointed. I expected something of much grandeur and class, something so exquisite…”

“Raisel, this is not the kingdom of dragons. This is where they hide because of yo…of humans”, Dragomir interrupted her, “Dragons live in the kingdom of Islandia, it is believed its beauty is unmatched and second to none. Men could never describe it because its beauty left the beholder tongue-tied and in awe”

She looked at him quizzically, “You know a lot about these creatures”

“Pfft”, he shrugged it off nonchalantly, “Most of us just pay attention in history lessons”

She hit him on the arm.

“Oww!, You don’t have to be so violent every time”

She ignored him, “We’ve been walking for a while now and we have not seen any human or any form of life for that matter”, she observed, "Where is everyone"

“Hiding Raisel, hiding”

They began to hear little shouts here and there, when they got closer they discovered the source of the noise was a small gathering of little frail-looking kids. Boys and girls, their bodies dirty but smile plastered on their faces. They kept on running around, Raisel and Dragomir just watched silently.

Raisel looked up to see Dragomir, just like her, he was silently watching the children. However, his face held more emotions than hers did.

His eyes were alit, and he had a wide smile on his face similar to that of the children, however, he seemed to be lost in his head. She studied his facial features she couldn’t help it, his eyes crinkled when he smiled. She observed his smile soften his face. His lips were just the right amount full for a man…

He turned to notice her staring at him and his smile widened even more, “Raisel why…

“Does it bring back memories”, she cut him off quickly, not ready to hear any of his snarky comments, not trusting herself to react properly, “You seemed lost there”

He nodded, “Yes, Yes it does”

He had that dreamy look on his face again, that made him even more…She mentally smacked herself in the head.

“It’s one of the good memories I have of home…”

Suddenly there was an uproar, if the tiny high-pitched screams of the children could be likened to an uproar, they turned immediately to see the children scattered about running in different directions.

A little boy was in the centre of it all unfazed, however on closer look his eyes held fear but more pronounced was his loneliness, his sadness. Dragomir felt it immediately, he understood him.

“The little boy is on fire”, Raisel shrieked loudly, “We need to get to him”

Dragomir pulled her to him slowly, “Take a deep breath Raisel and calm down. He is not on fire, he is just fine”

“What do you mean?”, she asked puzzled.

“He is fine”, he stated simply.

They ran towards the boy, trying to dodge the kids, Dragomir helped pull them up, the children almost falling.

When they got to the boy he was in tears, the fireball still floating in his hand, however, it was slightly dimmed.

Raisel walked behind Dragomir, terrified of what she was seeing, of course, the boy was in tears but he didn't look like he was in any kind of physical pain. Just as Dragomir had said, the fire didn’t touch his hands, the fireball was levitating above his palm.

Dragomir squatted just in front of him, “Do not cry”, he said simply, “It is okay, you’re okay”

The boy stared at Dragomir and she could have sworn she saw a glint of hope in his eyes. The curly red-haired boy stared at his hand briefly and brought it down, the fire quenched completely.

She rushed towards him and took him in her hands, she examined his palm where the fireball emanated from, there was no burnt or scarred skin, and his hands didn’t even feel hot. She looked closely at him, he stared back at her through long wet lashes, his green eyes were piercing, none like she had seen before.

They stayed that way for a while, then he broke his gaze, “I d…did…didn’t mean to do…to do it”, he bowed his head, “I promise”

Raisel was puzzled.

Dragomir patted her lightly on the shoulder, “He thinks you are angry with him”

“I would never”, she said, surprised by the mere thought of it, “ I’m just wondering how this happened, I mean he is only a child. How is this even possible?”

“He is a dragon Raisel, he has dragon powers, and he can control the fire element,” he answered.

“How…”

“Give me some time alone with him Raisel”, Dragomir asked.

She nodded vigorously and stepped back, Dragomir squatted and held his hands, they stayed quiet for a while. Raisel strained her ears to listen to their conversations but she couldn’t hear a thing. It was like no word was said between them, however, she could hear them chuckle and smile from time to time.

They stayed that way for a while before Dragomir stood from the ground, “His name is Ivar, he is a dragon. He will take us to his mother”

“How?”, her eyes widened in surprise, “I didn’t hear a thing, why couldn’t I hear a thing?”

“Maybe you weren’t listening well enough?? Or I was whispering much more quietly”, he answered.

“That doesn't make any sense..."

He shrugged.

***

They approached a little cottage, it was small and almost falling apart, it was in a deserted part of the city. A small lady was hanging clothes on a line, she turned towards them when she saw them approaching, “Ivar”

She slowly walked towards them, her eyes darted towards the large horse behind her, she was terrified of him, “I hope he is not in any kind of trouble, I apologize on his behalf, you know how child…”

“No he hasn’t caused any kind of trouble”, Dragomir answered, gently ruffling his curls, “We just want to have a word with you”

She visibly stilled, “You say everything is alright?”, she wiped her hand across her sky-blue dress.

Raisel nodded, “We just need to ask a few questions here and there, nothing really serious”, she stared at Ivar briefly and flashed him a wide heartfelt smile, “What a really special child you got here”

She called Ivar to her, he hesitated for a while but then he turned to Dragomir and they seemed to have an unspoken understanding. He ran towards his mother.

She smoothed his hair almost frantically, “Ivar my child”, she placed a soft kiss on his head, “Yes, he is”, she said in a whisper.

Dragomir moved closer to her, “I know you are terrified to death, but trust me we mean no harm to you or your child, we just have a few questions to ask”

She smiled sadly, "They always say that you know? that they mean no harm, right before they cause harm"

"Who are they?", Raisel asked.

“I know nothing about anything, I moved here with my child a short while ago. I don’t know much about this town or about anything that...”

“We do not have questions about this town, what we are concerned with is your origins”, Dragomir interjected.

For a split second, her eyes widened in fear, it was like a doe caught in headlights, “My…my origin, there’s nothing to it at all. Gr...grew up in a small town, you know…very small town, not everyone knows”, she frantically wiped her hands on her dress in a desperate attempt to act unbothered, she was failing at it.

“It is fine Mother”, her son whispered, he took her hand in his, “They are nice people, I know…”

She nodded vigorously, “Yes, of course, Ivar”, she bent towards him and whispered in his ears, “Just go inside and wait for mummy. Mummy will be right back, in just a short while”, she ruffled his curls, “Mummy won’t be long, she just needs to talk briefly with these…nice people”

He nodded and ran along but not before waving at Dragomir.

“I told you all I know…”

“Lady, we are not here to hurt you”, Raisel said soothingly.

She smiled a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, “Yes they all say that at some point too"

Raisel tried to imagine what her life looked like. The constant running and living in fear. She wasn’t only looking out for herself but also her child. She couldn’t blame her.

“I came from one war-ridden town, we fled for…”

“Islandia??, War ridden?”, Dragomir asked in surprise.

Her eyes widened but this time she didn’t bother with a cover-up, “Islandia?”

“Yes, where you are from, where you lived as a dragon before the war…”

She shook her head in fear, “Do not hurt me or my child, we have nothing to do with any of this that happened. He is only a child…”

Dragomir’s heart shattered at her pain and fear, “I will never hurt you, how long have you lived as a dragon?, Do you have any idea where the heart of magic is, who took it?” he regretted it the moment the words left his mouth. He shouldn't have startled her like this but a part of him was impatient.

“No!”, she screamed before running off in the opposite direction. They ran after her almost immediately.

Raisel observed she was a very fast runner, It must have been from constantly running away all her life, Raisel thought. They got to a sharp bend and she suddenly disappeared.

They began searching for her everywhere, this went on for a short while before Raisel heard a sound from a corner that was stacked with all kinds of junk. She signalled Dragomir and they tiptoed towards the noise.

Almost immediately a large rock was thrown towards them, in a swift movement Dragomir pushed Raisel behind and the rock hit him square on the chest.

“Dragomir!”, Raisel screamed in a loud voice.

She continued throwing stones at them, and Raisel cowered behind him in fear.

However he stood still, “Listen to me, madam!, I want to help you I promise, I would never want to hurt you. I genuinely want to help you…”

“Dragomir, get down!”, Raisel continue screaming, “You’ll get hurt”

She tried to pull him along with her but he didn’t budge, “Go over there, he pointed to behind the well in the yard.

“I want to help your people, I want to help your kind…”

These were the last words Raisel could hear in a while when she hid behind the well. She brought up her head to look at him, only to find out that the lady was out of her hiding place.

Although she still looked terrified, she approached him slowly.

She could only hear hushed whispers at first but soon they became slightly higher and she could make out some words, “…left!”

“…painful…”

They continued to exchange words, they were raising voices and Raisel wondered what they were arguing about. It was getting heated, after a while Dragomir moved behind the well and picked her up. She looked at his pain-stricken eyes, she couldn’t figure out if it was a result of the injuries he had sustained or the conversation he had just had with the woman.

The lady touched his chest through his cloth delicately so as not to hurt him, “You’re hurt”

He looked at her from underneath his lashes.

You’re hurt because of me, she said in her head.