This story was split into 10 parts. Jump to any of the segments from here:
1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10
Note: This story was originally submitted as one long story
and it was only broken into 10 parts for faster page loading.

The next action happened so quickly. Roberto grabbed Maya's both arms firmly and held her body. To reach Anna, the dragon had to extend the claw, allowing Atrus to grab her arms. She was clearly taken by surprise as she grasped his arms in panic. Then the dragon climbed to the air sharply as it passed the cave mouth. The mist had gone and the clear view of the Swamp of the Dread appeared beneath them.

Then another explosion occurred behind them. From afar, Mount Karigor began to erupt and spit balls of fire into the air. Beneath them the wave of molten lava washed over the swamp, destroying everything in its path. Another huge explosion occurred behind them. When the sound wave reached them, the dragon's flight deviated, shaking the occupants. Roberto held Maya's arms firmly, but Anna lost one grip and was hanging on one arm.

"Atrus...!" She looked at the burning hell below. "D...don't let go..."

"Don't look down!" Atrus yelled.

She tried to close her eyes, but the fear remained. Her hands began to shiver and sweat from fear, and Atrus could feel her grip loosening.

"Anna! Don't look down! Look at me!"

Then she fixed her gaze at Atrus. Her memory traced back to the first time she met him. She could remember the loving eyes he had. She could remember the tender, comforting gaze. She realized how much she needed that loving gaze. Those eyes remained the same. And for that moment she forgot about her fear.

"On my mark, swing your arm with all your might. Ready... NOW!!!"

She swung her arm and Atrus readily caught it. Then fire aura engulfed Atrus' body without hurting her or the dragon. Slowly Atrus lifted her petite body and helped her to grab the dragon's feet. Atrus followed her shortly, and he could see that Roberto and Maya were doing the same thing. The dragon, knowing that they were safe, turned its claws around and partly closed them so that they could sit on its feet. Anna finally found herself sitting next to Atrus, holding him tightly. Her body was still shivering from the last experience.

"Atrus... you came..." She said slowly.

Atrus glanced at Roberto and Anna, who were smiling at him. "Actually, we came..."

"Don't break the mood, Master!" Maya yelled cheerfully.

Atrus held Anna's body tenderly. "Hey, I'm not going to leave you behind..."

She smiled at his response and laid her head on his chest. Together they saw the scene of the volcano behind them erupting and spitting rocks and thick smoke to the air. Beneath the mountain was the Gate, buried deeply underground by the rocks and molten lava. Mother Nature had finally done her justice.

Adriana Freesland stood silently on top of a small hill outside the forest. She took a deep breath, feeling the sweet scent in the air entering her lungs. Slowly she opened her eyes. A smile appeared in her lips as she saw the beautiful landscape before her.

A vast area of thick, brown soil replaced what had been the dreaded Swamp of Dread. Mount Karigor, which once had been the main stronghold for the Dark Elves, now was a tall mountain standing gracefully around the plains. Again she let the scent of fresh soil enriched her spirit. She knew that in a few months, the soil would be filled with grass, bushes, and finally trees, and the plains would become a brand new ecosystem for many living beings.

They had spent almost a week since their daring escape from the stronghold, living among the Elves, recuperating from the battle. And for the whole week they had been witnessing Mother Nature recuperating as well. The lava had cooled down, leaving a thick layer of fresh, fertile soil. The volcanic dust had also fallen down on the ground, adding richness to the soil. Anna had succeeded in persuading the Elves that they could actually use the land for farming without destroying the nature. The plans for the farm had been made, and with help from their new Humans allies, the first farm should be settled by next week.

They had retrieved the lost Statue of Agar, the Guardian of Earth. They had rescued many prisoners from the stronghold. They had defeated the demons and buried the Gate deep underground. They had done so many things. Yet something still bothered her.

Before her eyes, Atrus White Lion stood alone, enjoying the view as well. He seemed very satisfied with the view before her. He kept on telling her how Rangers used the nature as their ally. She smiled to herself, knowing how happy he would feel for being in the nature once again. But the feeling remained. She knew that the problem lay within her.

She loved him. She loved him more than anything else in the realm. The more she tried to resist the feeling, the more it grew. During their journey she had faced many different questions concerning her true feeling, but now she knew the truth, and she was afraid to accept it. He had had a place in her heart nobody could ever take. He had taken her fears away by just looking into her eyes. His gaze calmed her stormy mind and gave her peace. She just wished that she could possess that gaze forever.

Yet another figure appeared before her eyes. The slim girl ran toward Atrus, her pony-tailed hair swinging on her back. Then she hugged him tightly and joined him in their private session. For a while she felt pain in her heart as jealousy took over, but she brushed it away. Instead she cursed herself for not being the first one.

She let out a long sigh, yet it didn't help. She knew that Maya's love for Atrus was pure. No matter how much she loved him, her love would not match Maya's. Maya didn't just love him; she worshipped him, basing her love on ultimate loyalty and eternal gratitude. She knew that no matter how much she tried, she would only find defeat.

"You won't succeed unless you try." A voice came from behind her shoulder.

Anna looked back and smiled as the young Elf came beside her. "Princess Aurelia... I... I mean... please join me..."

"Don't try to change the subject, Anna. And please call me Aurelia. I'm a part of your party anyway."

"Aurelia... What do you mean?"

The Elf sighed. "Anna, you won't get him if you can't be honest to yourself."

Anna hung her head in defeat. She should know better than lying to her. "Sorry... I... I just don't know what to do..."

"Go to him and speak your mind!" Aurelia answered. "Let him know how much you love him! Let him know how much you care for him! Let him know that you're willing to die for him!"

"I wish it could be that easy... I mean..." Anna struggled to find the right word. "I mean it might be too soon, and he might be surprised, and..."

"Anna! You can wait, but you can't wait forever!" Aurelia insisted, then let out a sigh. "Let me tell you a story. You've met my brother Farn, right?"

"Of course."

"Don't tell him that I tell you this." She smirked. "Do you know that he's a loser in love?"

Anna shook her head.

"Yes... He once had an elf-girl of his dream, though. She was a fine elf-maid from one of our settlement east from here. He kept his feeling for himself quite well, although he would praise her before me all the time, knowing that I'm the one who can understand him.

"But he was too afraid to ask her. He was too afraid to tell her about his feeling. He was so sure that the right moment would eventually come. Until finally, the moment never came, and it was too late."

"What happened?" Anna asked.

"Some Humans rogues raided the settlement and burned a large chunk of the forest. Farn led a band of warriors to reclaim the survivors, but she was not among the slaves. Her body was never found."

Anna was silent for a while. "I'm sorry... That explains a lot on why he hates Humans..."

Aurelia nodded. "But he knew that the Humans are not responsible for that, or at least not all of them. He realized that it was his fault that he didn't let her know. If he had let her know of his feeling, she wouldn't have had to go through all that."

"Well, you can never know..."

"My point, Anna, is that our life is very fragile. We are easily affected by many things around us, and one of them was fate. You may think that the right time will eventually come, but if you wait too long, fate might do something nasty and you will be sorry for the rest of your life."

Anna looked at the couple as they walked together slowly toward her. "But I really don't know what to do..."

"Tell him how much you love him." Aurelia repeated. "You might get refused, and your heart will be broken. Yet you know that you have told him your feeling. You'll be glad you do."

"But I'm afraid of it... I'm afraid that he didn't feel the same..."

"Listen, Anna..." Aurelia whispered softly. "Having your love refused is bad, but there's nothing worse than wanting to love somebody but never telling the person about it."

Anna let the word seep in and by the time it did Atrus and Maya approached her. "You're enjoying the view?" He asked.

"Um... yeah... I mean..."

"Yes, she enjoyed it a lot!" Aurelia cut her off. "She also talked a lot about how you enjoy nature as well, you know...?"

"Oh really?" Atrus asked again.

Anna just blushed.

"Yeah..." the Elf continued, playfully playing with her long ears. "She was quite amazed how a battle-hardened personlike you can actually appreciate nature that much!"

"Why, thank you, Anna!" Atrus slightly bowed.

Anna's face was now flushed in red.

"By the way, are we ready to go?" Atrus asked.

"Yes, Master." Maya replied. "Prince Roberto and Captain Hawk volunteered to carry our backpacks. Oh, there they are!"

Roberto and Hawk appeared, carrying their luggage. "All set, partner!" Roberto said.

"Okay, Aurelia. You want to show us your newest trick?"

"Sure..."

The Elf produced the small golden statue of a dragon from her backpack and held it before her. Slowly she chanted the spell and the statue glowed slightly. The wind started to pick up around them, signaling that the spell was working.

"Agar, the Guardian of Earth! We summon your dragon horde to come for your aid!" She exclaimed.

Nothing happened for a while. Then suddenly Anna spotted three tiny dots in the sky. She pointed at the direction and everybody saw them.

"There they are!" Aurelia said. "Agar has sent us the help we asked!"

The dots slowly turned to forms of dragons. Two of them were green and one of them was dark-blue, and they were all almost the same as Agar, except for the color and the size. They were smaller dragons. They approached the party and landed before them nicely on the ground.

"We are sent by Agar to assist you in any way we can." One of the dragons spoke up in its deep, yet clear voice.

"Can you carry us on your backs?" Aurelia asked.

"We are at your command, heroes."

Then people started to carry their stuff on the dragons' backs. Anna quickly grabbed her backpack, went to the nearest dragon, and stopped suddenly when Atrus lay his hand on her shoulder. Instantly her heart beat twice as fast.

"Anna... Um... Could you... I mean... Would you want to ride with me...?" Atrus asked.

Anna looked into his eyes and blushed. "I... I thought you would never ask..."

"What?!"

"Oh, never mind..." Anna blushed even more. "Sure... I'd love to..."

They went to the blue dragon, which willingly lowered its wind so that they could climb up. Atrus climbed up first, sitting comfortably on its back. Anna was even more surprised when Atrus motioned her to sit right in front of him. Hesitantly she complied.

Once everybody was strapped in, the dragons lifted off the ground and flew in tight formation. Anna looked at Atrus over her shoulder.

"So why did you ask me to sit at the front?"

"Well... If somebody has to drive this thing, it won't be me..."

"What?!" Anna's jaws dropped. "You ask me to ride with you so that I can drive this dragon?!"

"That's one reason, yes..." Atrus smiled, then slipped his hands and wrapped them around Anna's slim waist and drew her closer. "Plus, I can always use a company..."

"Atrus, you jerk!!!"

"You call me jerk?! What do you mean by that?!"

"Hey guys!" Roberto called from the other dragon. He was riding with Maya. "What's wrong with you?"

"Why do I have to ride with this pervert in the first place?!!" Anna exclaimed.

"Because you like it!!" Aurelia answered from the other dragon, riding with Hawk.

"WHAT?!!"

"Anyway, guys, we'll drop the subject for now..." Atrus said. "We have a work to do."

"Lead the way, fearless leader!" Hawk stated.

"Alright... Dragons! We're going to the Land of the Dwarves!!"

This story was split into 10 parts. Jump to any of the segments from here:
1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10
Note: This story was originally submitted as one long story
and it was only broken into 10 parts for faster page loading.

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