Ridley decided to turn in early for the night. He simply felt exhausted from preparing the room for his new friends, and fell asleep very quickly. But about halfway through the night, he began to hear a voice. "Our time draws near. Light shall meet shadow, and purity will collide with corruption. The battle of reckoning will soon come, and the fate of the world shall be decided." The voice started to burn in Ridley's mind. His eyes tightened as he started to breathe heavily. It eventually started to make him sweat. The burning intensified, and caused him to spring up from the terrible pain. He gasped for breath until his breathing settled down. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his paw. He stood up and stretched out, still very tired from being awakened too early. He walked to the fountain near the wall at the left side of the room to get a drink of water. After his drink, he tried to lay down and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, no matter what he did or what position he took, he could not return to his slumber. After about half an hour of tossing and turning, Ridley finally decided to just quit and do something to start the day. He splashed some water on his face to help him wake up. He walked outside and looked long and hard at the moon and stars in the black, night sky. After taking in the sight for a few minutes, Ridley decided he wanted to be alone to think about something. So he spread his wings, then took off into the night sky. He was flying towards the Moonlight Forest, but off the natural path. He had wondered about for some time. The sun eventually came up, and morning quickly turned into midday. He descended down through the trees and landed near an oasis. The oasis had a weeping willow in the center, and its leaves were almost transparent. This was the only part of the forest that received any decent light. It was a special place that was supposed to be secret. Ridley comes to this spot to think, forget, relax, or just to be alone when his cave doesn't give him the privacy he feels he needs. It's basically like a mini-resort area just for him. Ridley laid under the willow tree and closed his eyes to try and relax. The sound of wildlife and wind rustling through the trees helped comfort him even more so. As he was about to fall asleep, he heard a soft voice nearby. "I wasn't expecting to find another dragon here." Ridley's eyes snapped open as he quickly took a defensive stance. "Who's there?!" he exclaimed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," the voice responded. It appeared to be feminine. As it finished speaking, a figure came out from the bushes near the east side of the oasis. When it came to light, Ridley immediately settled down and was surprised by what he saw, then he felt awestruck. It was a dragoness. Her scales were mauve in color, with an underbelly and wings blue as the sky. She wore a pendant, which had a gold chain, and a ruby colored star. Like most other dragons, she had a pair of horns, but they were much more curved than Ridleys. Her tail spade was a crescent shape, but lacked the pricks at the base. What really got his attention was her eyes. They were a rich, dark blue, and it almost seemed like he was looking at a pair of glamorous sapphires. "It's not that." he replied as he snapped his head back to reality, "I just wasn't expecting anyone to find this place." He took a quick look around to make sure she was alone. "So, what are you doing here by yourself?" he asked, trying not to stare. "I should ask the same," she responded, noticing him staring."You must be Ridley." "So you've heard of me?" he said with a hint of sorrow in his voice, "That's fine. Saves me the trouble of telling you myself." "I guess so," the dragoness answered with a smile."So what's a dragon like yourself doing out here?" "I'm just trying to clear my head," he responded, again trying to avoid staring. "May I join you?" she asked eagerly. Ridley slightly jumped in surprise by her request. "Um… sure," he stuttered. The dragoness walked up to him and laid beside him, showing no signs of fear. "I'm Raven," she stated, "It's nice to be with another dragon for a change." Ridley turned to look at her, rather confused by her words. "There are no dragons where you come from?" he asked. "None whatsoever." she answered looking up to him. Compared to Ridley, Raven was slightly smaller than him. "That's why I came out here. I just wanted to know how others of my kind live." "You do know my story, right?" he asked looking down at her, “I wasn’t born a dragon, I was turned into one.” "Yes," she said to him with a flirtatious smile, "But I think you look rather cute as a dragon." Ridley's eyes widened, and he felt blood rush to his face. He quickly turned to her, very shocked by what he heard. "Really?" he replied. She only nodded."You're not afraid of me?" "Not even a little," she assured. "I've always heard the stories say that your scales are as black as the midnight sky. I think the night is very beautiful." Ridley's cheeks flushed red. He turned away to hide it. Raven noticed and giggled, making him blush harder. "I also hear people talk about your eyes. They always say that they're soul piercers. But when I look at them, they look more like rubies glistening in the morning sun." Ridley turned back to her with an expression that showed disbelief and sadness. "Did I upset you?" "No, not at all." he assured, "I've just never been complimented like that before." "It doesn't bother you, does it?" she asked. "No, it's just new to me," he replied with a sheepish smile,"I'm not used to such sweet gestures, that's all." Raven gave a warm and comforting smile back at him. "So, where did you come from?" "A place known as Rainbow Peak," she answered. "That sounds familiar," Ridley thought, "Are you, by any chance, the Rainbow Dragon?" "Yes," she gladly answered. "So you’re a dragon of legend just like me. But a more positive one. But if you didn't grow up with other dragons, then who raised you?" "From the moment I hatched, I was raised by an urkrin wizard." "Do you know who your real parents are?" "He never speaks of them. I was only an egg when they died. He gave me this pendant. He told me it was my mother’s." Her last word seemed to upset Ridley. "What's the matter?" "I was just thinking about my own mother," he answered. "Do you want to talk about it?" Ridley didn't answer for a minute, then finally sighed. "Did the stories mention why I slayed the previous Hellfire Dragon in the first place?" "All I remember is that you were seeking glory and power." she answered. "Those were two small reasons. My true motive was to earn my place among my people. When we came of age, we were trained in the ways of the warrior. We were shown how to fight and how to survive. When we were ready we were sent out on our own, only returning once we have crafted a unique armor and weapon out of the skin of a slayed dragon. But the one I chose had consequences. Now I can never go back. I had to leave behind everything and everyone I held dear, especially my mother." "I'm so sorry," Raven said sadly. "Don't be. It's not like you're the one that turned me into this." During their conversation, Ridley, as well as Raven, noticed the sun slowly setting. Raven stood up, leaving Ridley alone on the ground. "I'd better get back to my people before they start to worry about me," she said as she looked down at him. He looked back at her with an expression of disappointment. "I suppose I should be going, too," he added as he stood up to meet her. He looked back toward Mt. Chronicle, readying for his departure. "Wait!" Raven shouted, making Ridley stop in his tracks, "Will you be free this weekend?" "I'm always free." he said with a chuckle, "Why?" "I just wanted to ask if we could meet here again? I really enjoy your company, and I would like to learn more about you," she said with a flirtatious smile. Her expression caused blood to rush to Ridley's face again. "Uh.. sure," he said fervently. Raven smiled at his answer, then turned around and rubbed her tail gently under his chin. Her sudden action surprised him, and made his face blush violently. It caused him to lose control of his front legs. When her tail parted from his chin, he fell over and grunted when he hit the ground. She placed her wing talon over lip and giggled at his reaction to her caressing touch. "I'll see you later, then, big boy," she said, looking at him from the corner of her eye. She spread her wings and took off, leaving Ridley to himself, still quite shocked at her action. When she was out of sight, he snapped back to reality. Ridley took a few minutes to collect himself upon what had happened. After thinking about it, he looked up in the direction the dragoness had left and smiled. He spread his wings, and took off toward Mt. Chronicle. ---------- Ridley slept quite peacefully the next few days after he returned to Mt. Chronicle. It was the first time in so long he had a full night's sleep. Usually about halfway through the night, he would have a nightmare or a haunting memory bothering him to the point where he refused to sleep. But the recent event put him at peace and happiness, and also gave him much more pleasant dreams. The sudden sound of thunder woke him from his happy place. He lifted his head to look outside. It was raining like it normally did, but much harder than usual. He sighed in disappointment and stood up. He got a drink from the nearby fountain. After satisfying his thirst, he went outside to let the cool drops of rain water bring him to life. He noticed the neighboring tree and a rose bush after his morning shower and started gathering blue, white, and yellow flowers, wrapping them around his tail like a bouquet, and picked a single rose that carried the perfect shade of red with his maw. He was completely unaware that he was being watched from below. At the base of the mountain, a pair of Urkrai soldiers stood looking up toward the Hellfire Dragon. One was the same one that tried to kill Alicia. The other was a much larger, pale blue Urkrai with hazel eyes. "You say Ridley's been acting strange lately?" the large Urkrai asked. "Yes, sir," the subordinate answered. "He's been rather cheerful since his return, and he appears to be gathering flowers, but for what, I don't know." They watched as Ridley picked one last flower and took off toward the forest. "Send some scouts after him. I want to know what he's up to." "Yes, Kaiser Zel." Nephiline replied. "And Commander Nephiline," the superior added, "be sure to inform them not to make themselves known. We don't want our 'lord' to know we're on to him." "Yes, sir." the subordinate replied. Ridley had flown for quite some time. The sun was at its peak by the time he got to the forest. He continued to hold the rose in his maw and the bouquet around his tail. He was hoping to please the dragoness he had met the other day. When he reached the oasis, he was surprised, but happy, to find Raven waiting under the weeping willow. Ridley had an idea. He decided to sneak around the tree and try to surprise her. He went around through the bushes and came up behind her. He tapped her gently on the hind leg. She jumped and yelped in surprise. He chuckled at her reaction. "Ridley!" she gave him a stern look,"That wasn't funny!" Her expression changed when she saw the rose and bouquet he was carrying. "Is that for me?" she asked with a soft tone. He nodded and presented the bouquet to her."That's very sweet, but I'm not much of a flower person." Ridley's wings drooped down in sadness as he released his grip on the bouquet."But," she added, grabbing his attention,"I do like roses." This made him feel better. His wings perked up again as he gently laid the rose at her feet. "So," Ridley said as he looked back to her, "what do you want to do?" "Why don't we take a walk?" Raven answered, "I found a nice path we could take." "Sounds good to me," he agreed. Just as they were about to start their walk, Ridley heard a bush rustle behind them. He responded eagerly to the sound and scanned the scenery. He saw a speck of light, but only for a split second before it vanished into the bushes. "What's wrong?" the dragoness asked when she noticed he wasn't following. "Nothing," he answered as he looked back at her, "I just thought I heard something." When he was certain no one was behind them, he unfolded his wing to point down the path, "Shall we?" Raven nodded in agreement as they started their walk. They had walked for quite some time without a single word to each other. They admired the beauty of the forest, and would glance at each other every so often, only to quickly turn away. Raven finally broke the silence when she spoke. "Ridley," she started, "I know you don;t like thinking about it, but do you ever wish that you could be human again?" Ridley didn't answer, leaving Raven to believe she may have upset him. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "It's fine." he assured, "I don't mind talking about it. I’m not sure why, but I feel more comfortable with you." They stopped walking as Ridley started thinking about it. "I've never given it much thought. I've been this way for so long, I've grown quite fond of it." "So you never wonder what it would be like to be human again?" she kindly asked. Ridley thought about it more. "Well, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have thumbs again." They both laughed at his little joke. It was then Ridley finally noticed where she had led them. It was a place even he didn't know about. A lake in the forest, with a clear open sky. The bright sun caused the water to sparkle. He looked back to Raven who started walking into the water. When her paws were under, she turned to him and smiled. "Well?" she said, "Aren't you coming?" "I can't." he said, turning away, "I don't swim." "Come on," she pleaded, "Don't tell me the Hellfire Dragon is afraid of a little water." She playfully splashed some water toward Ridley, hitting him in the face. He shook his head and threw off little drops. "You're gonna have to pay for that, sweetheart," he said in a playful tone. He jumped in after her as she started swimming as fast as she could. She would look back every few seconds to make sure he was still chasing her. Upon her fifth glance, she noticed he wasn't there. The dragoness stopped where she was and began to look around. "Ridley?" she said as she started to worry. She suddenly felt something grab her tail. She yelped as she was pulled under. Ridley came out from under the water where Raven went down. When the dragoness came up, he started laughing."Ridley!" she said catching her breath, "You're gonna pay for that!" "What are you gonna do about it?" he said playfully. She gave a whimsical smile and started charging at him. Ridley immediately turned tail and swam as fast as he could. After swimming for a period of time, he turned around and noticed the dragoness wasn't following him. In fact, she wasn't there at all."Raven?" This time, he felt something grab him by the tail and pull him under. Raven came up where he went down. She gave a satisfied smile. Ridley came up shortly after and gave her a stern look."Hey!" he said, trying to catch his breath. "You started it," she said with a chuckle. Ridley splashed some water at her as last minute payback. They continued swimming together until the sun began to set. They decided they had enough, and swam to shore. Ridley shook the water off of him, much like a dog, and sprinkled droplets all over Raven."Hey!" she yelped, "That's cold!" "Oh, sorry," he atoned. He moved closer to her and draped a wing around her, pulling her closer to him. "Is that better?" "Much." she answered. She turned away and blushed, hoping he wouldn't see. "I had no idea you'd be so warm." "Well, most people never come this close." he smirked. ---------- The sun slowly began to set. Though they were disappointed, the two dragons knew they had to return home before it got too late. Before Raven departed, she draped her wings around Ridley and rested her head beside his. Ridley was surprised by the hug, but also felt a warm sensation surrounding him, then a smile. Before long, he found himself hugging her back. Raven broke the hug and looked Ridley in the eye. "Thank you for coming out here with me," she said softly. "It was my pleasure," he replied, "I hope we can see each other again." "I'm sure we will." she added, "But maybe next time, we can visit each other at home instead of meeting up." "Perhaps some other time," he said sadly, "I'm not ready to leave the Trinity yet." "I understand." She felt disappointed, "Maybe I'll visit you instead. I already know where you live." Ridley thought about it for a moment, then finally answered. "I'd like that." He started to cheer up. With their last words, Raven took flight into the air. Ridley watched as she slowly drifted out of sight. When she was gone, he took to the skies himself and returned to Mt. Chronicle. The moon was overhead when he finally made it back to his cave. He grabbed a flower from the neighboring tree and went inside. When he got to his bed, he rolled over on his back, holding the flower with one paw, and his tail gently swaying back and forth off the edge of the bed. He started purring from his comfort and happiness as he began to pick the petals off the flower and drop them to the floor, one at a time, in a love me-love me not manner. When he was down to the last petal, a familiar voice spoke right next to him. "Looks like someone's in a good mood." Ridley looked in the direction of the speaker and jumped in surprise when he saw his uninvited guest. "Alicia!" he yelled as he rolled onto all fours, "Don't you know it's rude to come in unannounced?!" "I never learned manners," she answered jokingly. "Well, you oughta learn some," he said furiously, "And what makes you think I'm in a good mood?" "You were smiling, you’re purring pretty loud, and you're playing with a flower," she pointed out. "What flower?" he asked, trying to pretend he had no idea what she was talking about, until he realized he was still holding the flower. In a last attempt to cover himself, he exhaled a miniature corrosive beam and reduced the flower into nothing. "I don't have a flower." "Yeah right," she said unconvinced, "You're much more relaxed and cheerful than normal. Most people would be asleep by now.” "So why aren't you?" he replied, trying to change topics. "Oh," she said nervously, "I've been out. I just got back myself." Ridley thought about her answer for a moment, then remembered what he saw earlier. "You're that speck of light that fled into the bushes," he said in startled realization. Alicia grew wide eyed when he figured out where she had been, and quickly came up with an excuse to leave. "You know what?" she gave a fake yawn, "It's really late. I'll see you in the morning." "Wait just a minute!" he yelled as he grabbed her by the wings with his talons. "Hey, that hurts!" she shouted in pain. She squirmed to try and free herself. "Did you follow me?" he asked as he brought her to eye level. She gave a defeated sigh. “Yes.” "Why?" he asked angrily. "You left with flowers. I was curious as to what they were for." "I don't like being stalked, Alicia." he exclaimed, "I oughta roast you and make a midnight snack out of you.” "Let me go!" she shrieked. As she did, her body emitted a bright light that blinded Ridley and forced him to loosen his grip. Ridley shook his head and rubbed his eyes with the back of his paw trying to clear his vision. When he could see clearly again, he was surprised to see Alicia in a completely different form. She had grown into the size of a young human, but had lost her wings. "You're human?" he asked in a low tone. "Half human, actually," she answered with a hard stare. "How long?" Ridley added. He rubbed his eyes more, believing he was still dazed. "For as long as I can remember." "Why didn't you tell me about this?" he asked with anger returning in his voice. "If I thought it was important, I would have," she said without breaking her stare. Another light appeared and blinded the dragon once more. He got over it faster this time. Once he could see clearly, he saw Alicia in her fairy form again. He laid down on his bed and looked away from her. "How much did you see?" he asked as he started to calm down. "Not much," she answered, "Just the two of you walking together. I lost track of you when I hid in the bushes. When I finally caught up to you, you were holding her close." Ridley's face beamed red from embarrassment from realizing that someone had seen how soft he was around Raven. He put his paws over his face and draped his wings around himself in an attempt to hide. "You won't tell anyone, will you?" he asked when he built up the courage. "I'm a fairy. I don't like gossip." she assured. Ridley unfolded his wings and sighed in relief. He laid his head down and began to fall asleep. Alicia realized he was tired and decided to leave him be. "I guess I'll be going now." She left him alone in silence. Ridley eventually fell into a deep sleep. Alicia decided to call it a night and returned to her shared dorm. Zephar was already settled in his nest and ready to pass out. Just before he closed his eyes, he noticed Alicia flutter into the room. "Where have you been?" the phoenix said in a drowsy manner. "Nowhere. I've been sightseeing," she lied. "You seem awfully cheerful." he said, noticing her hard smile. "It was a good sight," she lied again. "Really? It didn't look like sightseeing when you followed Ridley into the forest." the avian stated. Alicia jumped in astonishment. "Well, uh..." she stuttered, trying to think of a cover, "Ah, who asked you?" "Tell me," he said ignoring her rude comeback, "why did you follow him?" "He left with flowers." she answered,"I wanted to know what they were for." "Flowers?” He was puzzled. "Did you find out?" "Yeah, I did." she answered. She didn't say anything after. "Well?" he said awaiting an answer, "What were they for?" "Don't tell Ridley I mentioned it to you." she pleaded. Zephar ran his feathers across his beak, saying his lips were sealed. "They were for a dragoness." Zephar chuckled at her answer. "That's a good one," he chuckled more, then stopped when he noticed her staring hard at him with a serious look on her face. "Oh, you're serious." She nodded."What were they doing? Could you tell?" "Just taking a walk," she answered as she remembered. "Surely there’s more to it than that," the phoenix added. "Well," she replied, "he had his wing draped around her." "Did she push him away? Or did she slap him?" "No, nothing like that." the fairy answered, "She hugged back." Zephar thought long and hard about it. While he and Ridley don't exactly see eye to eye, he does enjoy their bickering, and would hate for something to happen. "Do you know her name?" he asked. "No," she claimed. "I wasn't exactly close enough to hear anything." "What about where she might have come from?" "No. Again, I wasn't close enough." She began to wonder about his questions,"Why?" "Well," he started,"I understand that he likes the girl, but how do we know she feels the same?" "You think she's faking?" she said astonishingly. "I've seen it before," he said in disgust,"Some people pretend to like someone just to get something out of them." "What could Ridley possibly have that she'd want?" Alicia stated. "Power, an army, maybe even something we don't know about." "You want to confront her with this, don't you," she answered, reading his mind. "I just don't want to see our friend get hurt," he said honestly, “If this dragon lady ends up breaking his heart, there’s a chance he may never recover from it, and he might become even more reclusive than before. We should find out what she’s up to, but unless we know where she resides, we can’t really do that." "We could ask Jax." Alicia suggested. "The personal guard?" the phoenix replied. "Doesn't he have a private study?" The fairy nodded and signaled him to follow. They left their cavern and made their way to the mid section, and entered the cave. Inside were three doors. They tried the far left. They were surprised by its massive size. Sconces lit up the room, and bookshelves that reached the ceiling, maybe at least fifteen feet tall, braced the walls. However, large as it was, the owner was nowhere to be seen. They decided to have a look around and wait for him to return. While they were browsing about, they heard a voice come from nowhere. "Well now, what are you two doing down here so late?" They both jumped in surprise and saw Yori come out from a door near one of the shelves. "Is there something you need?" "Well," Alicia started, "can you help us?" “Well, unless you tell me what exactly it is that you need, I cannot really do anything." "Can you look something up for us?" "What exactly are you looking for?" asked Jax. "Do you have anything on dragons?" Zephar added. "Why?" the guard raised a brow, "Is there something you want to know about Ridley? Because I doubt I can tell you anything you don't already know." "No, not a Hellfire Dragon." Alicia answered. "We want to know about a dragon with mauve scales." "Mauve? That's an unusual color, but it does sound familiar." Jax rubbed his chin as he thought about it for a moment. When something came to mind, he climbed a nearby ladder all the way to the top. He scanned the books carefully and finally pulled out the one he was looking for. He slid down the ladder and walked to a table. He sat the book down. Alicia and Zephar read the cover. It was a black book with a golden text and trims that was titled 'Dracopedia'. Jax scanned through the book carefully, and finally stopped to show Alicia a picture of a dragon that looked just like the dragoness she had seen. "Is this it?" "That's the one." she assured. "So what is it?" Zephar asked. "It's called a Rainbow Dragon." explained Jax, "Considered one of, if not the most, beautiful of dragon kind. It’s a legendary dragon, like the Hellfire. They possess the ability to change their scale color when exposed to direct sunlight. The color depends on the time of year. Emerald during the spring, ruby in the summer, amber in the fall, and sapphire in the winter. This ability makes them very difficult to find. What's even more amazing about this creature is that it can sense evil within the heart and mind. They will try to purify the darkness. If they are unable to, they destroy it instead." The word 'destroy' brought a hint of worry to Alicia and Zephar. “It’s also believed that those fortunate enough to encounter one are blessed and are more likely to live a longer life. Some say that only one can exist in the world at a time.” "Does it mention where they live?" "This particular breed of dragon usually makes its home at a mountain known as the Rainbow Peak. It’s a place brimming with life, and a rainbow that never fades as long as the sun shines bright upon its peak, hence the name. You might even say it's the exact opposite of the Trinity." The elderly lizard suddenly became curious. "Why did you want to know about all of this?” "We can't really say," Alicia answered, "We promised Ridley we wouldn't." "What does Ridley have to do with this?" "Let's just say we're doing him a favor he has been waiting centuries for," Zephar replied. Jax quickly picked up on what he was trying to say. "I see," he said rubbing his chin again, "Were you planning on meeting one?" "Yes," Alicia answered, "Do you know how to get to Rainbow Peak?" "You'll need to head northeast from here,” he pointed out. "Just outside the Trinity is the Glorious Plains. When you get there, just keep heading east. You will eventually see the mountain range to the south. They formed after a certain incident. Rainbow Peak is the only mountain for miles in the east, so you shouldn't have any problem finding it." The two thanked him for his help and left. Before they officially departed, Alicia asked Jax one last question. "What are the locals like?" "Well, the Rainbow Dragon is the only dragon species to occupy the place. It is otherwise occupied by the Urkrin, a close relative to us Urkrai. We used to be one entire race, until a fallout that happened nearly a thousand years ago. My people, the Urkrai, are a warrior race that used to look for war on a regular basis, until my great grandfather had us settle down here to serve and protect Ridley. The Urkrin, on the other hand, are a much more gentle people who act as protectors rather than conquerors. Unless they feel you’re there to bring harm, you shouldn’t really have any trouble out of them.” “Got it. Thanks again, Jax.”