n

n

nThe surface glimmered in golden with the afternoon sun. The azure, crystal water rippled over it and lapped the shores washing it with its pureness. The edges were dotted with umbrella pines and oak trees, pretty erratically spaced but dense. The only sounds were that of birds chirping and cool water. Dawn took off her tank top and the shorts as she ran towards it to dive in. The cool water surrounded her pleasantly. As she dove in, she could see the stones and rocks at the bottom in hues of grey and white.

nDaryn took his boxers out and dived in to join her.

nAfter a long time, Dawn felt this good. Underneath the surface, she glided like a dolphin. She touched the stones below. A cluster of orange fish ran out when she dislodged a small rock and she smiled. The coolness of water was welcoming. Daryn swam with her and it was such a perfect moment—a moment where she forgot about the past and didn't have to analyze the future. The last thing she had in her mind was who she was or who she wanted to be. The water surrounded her, embraced her and calmed her. She could stay in this world forever. Daryn watched her. It was kind of a therapy for her and he loved that it soothed her.

nShe came back to the surface.

"This is so beautiful,

" she said with excitement in her eyes.

"Let's go back under the water again.

"

n

"Sure, but there's a better place I had discovered years back. There's an underwater cave where you will find exotic clusters of fish and plankton. Would you like to explore that?

"

n

"Yes,

" she squealed.

nDaryn laughed. They started to swim further inside the lake. They must have gone no more than a hundred feet, when they heard a loud whoosh. There was sudden disturbance in the air. They stopped swimming.

n

"What was that?

" Dawn asked.

n

"I don't know—

"

nDaryn's head snapped up at the sound of flapping of wings over the lake. He heard a low-pitched whistle as if the air had passed over those wings and could imagine the colossal spread. A hard knot formed in his stomach.

n

"Under the lake!

" he shouted and the two of them dived inside.

nThey turned their faces towards the surface of water to see what it was and to their utter shock, they saw a green dragon flying above the lake, very near to the surface. The water was battered with swirling gusts of ripples that formed beneath it. Immediately, they dove deeper.

nWas that Quetz? Dawn opened her mind-link with him and called, 'Is that you?' but there was no response. It was a different dragon. Her brain stuttered for a moment. She headed towards the surface to get a clear picture of the dragon. Daryn followed. When they were above, he said in an angry voice,

"Are you mad? Let's go under the surface. What if that creature comes back? What the hell is that? Who knows that it might dine on us thinking that we are two large fish?

" But Dawn couldn't help staring at the gigantic dragon that was still visible in the distance. It was still flying near the surface, as if finding food. Her mind became numb and she forgot to breathe. She was totally stunned as the enormity of the situation grasped her.

nAs if the creature had sensed their presence, it angled a little and then turned back.

n

"Dawn, dive,

" Daryn shouted. Dawn gasped. She continued to look at the dragon whose large wings tore the air around it. She squinted to see it clearly. It was a beautiful green, just like Quetz but at least three times larger than him. Its shiny scales glistened in the sun and the belly was white. It was so beautiful and stately that Quetz paled in front of him. Dawn could feel goose bumps on her skin. Whose dragon could that be?

nThe dragon landed far from them on the water surface and when it was airborne again, she saw that it had grabbed a fish in its talons.

nFearing for their safety, Daryn yanked Dawn back inside water and held her tight. The dragon flew above them—its powerful legs surged as the air whipped past it. In smooth strokes of its wings, the dragon was in the sky, climbing rapidly. It was gone moments later. The entire spectacle left Dawn breathless. Was this dragon related to Quetz? She thought only one dragon lived in this world and now there were two?

nWhen the two of them surfaced up, Daryn was extremely nervous.

"Let us go back,

" he said.

"I need to find out what that was.

" He started swimming back to the shore. Realizing that Dawn hadn't moved an inch, he hollered,

"Dawn, hurry up!

" Reluctantly, she started back.

n

"That was an awesome being,

" she said. She was so excited. She had to find out about it.

n

"Awesome? That was scary,

" Daryn replied and increased his pace.

nOnce they reached the shore, Daryn urged her to wear the clothes quickly.

"We must leave this place as soon as possible. I don't want to end us as food for some beast.

"

nSeeing how he behaved, how could she reveal that even she had a dragon? She bit her lip and said,

"Yeah! I am hurrying up.

" Although she really wanted to go back and look for it.

nDaryn rushed back to the huts.

"Go back to the room, Dawn and wait for me. I need to inform Gayle about it.

"

n

"Okay,

" she said.

"But honestly I think it isn't a big issue. You said that Ulfric was a different place, so maybe this is something you didn't know and lived here already.

"

n

"You think I don't know what that was? We had heard about dragons. They existed thousands of years back but seeing one right here,

" Daryn shook his head,

"It was frightening. There are so many werewolves out here. What if it starts feeding on them?

"

nDawn gaped at him. Dragons were not like that. She was screaming inside that what he thought was wrong but couldn't say a word.

nDaryn narrowed his eyes and said,

"Somehow I get the impression that you don't agree with me.

"

n

"I think you are jumping to conclusions. With what I have read about them, they all have riders—you know dragon riders,

" she reasoned very quietly, so quietly that he didn't think she was crazy.

n

"You are crazy!

" he snapped.

"Just go back and wait for me. I am extremely concerned about your safety and that of my tribe. I am going and talking about it to Father and other Chiefs.

"

nDawn pursed her lips. She turned to walk towards her room. She wanted to tell him that it would have already sensed them in water. The fact that it didn't target them as food meant that the dragon was way too intelligent. She ambled and didn't notice people who greeted her as their Luna. Her mark was visible. There was buzz around the entire community that their Luna had been marked, to which she was oblivious.

nAs she was walking, a few young girls tittered, which caught her attention. They were standing in the lobby of the cottage, looking at her and saying something in whispers. They laughed again. Dawn blushed. Were they ridiculing her? From the corner of her eye, she noticed Brantley standing past them. Their eyes locked and once again Dawn's body tensed. She looked away in order to avoid him and quickened her pace to her room. That man was becoming scary by the minute.

nHer stomach growled. Since Daryn had asked her to wait for her in the room, she picked up an apple and munched on it while thinking about the dragon. Her thoughts went to Quetz and she missed Cole dearly. Bored, she grabbed her pillow and went off to sleep.

n

"Dawn,

" a voice called her.

"Dawn?

"

nShe opened her eyes and smiled to see Daryn sitting by her side.

"How did the meeting go?

" she asked.

nDaryn took a deep breath. He placed his hand on her cheek and then rubbed it with his thumb.

"Baby, I want you to go back to Bainsburgh.

"

nShe frowned and sat.

"What do you mean?

" Her eyes became wide realizing the meaning of his sentence.

"You mean you won't be going back with me?

"

nDaryn lowered his eyes and a sullen look came across his face.

"No.

"

n

"Why?

" she asked.

"I won't leave you alone.

" She protested.

n

"Baby— I can't find father. There's something wrong. We have sent teams everywhere to search for him. I am suspecting that there is an attack on my family or on werewolves. The Chiefs have asked me to investigate this matter before leaving Ulfric.

" He cupped her cheeks again.

"You are my weak spot. If someone attacks you, I can't— I can't— survive.

" He swallowed bile back down his throat.

"You have to leave this place because I am too concerned about your safety. Knowing that you are safe, I will be able to work better.

"

n