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The fire steady crackling noise filled the night of the countryside with a steady sound. The rolling hills were obscured by the dark for the most part, although some moonlight shone through the clouds. Cyrvanyx and Arylaryl both lay around the campfire still in their armor. Ary was doing her best to take a rest while Cyr was taking watch. William had fallen asleep also after the few hours they had already flown. Rest was needed desperately, but they might come after them, so they had to remain watchful.

Cyr watched Ary sleep, her form curled protectively around Gareth who remained unconscious still. Hopefully the injury he sustained to the head was not too severe. He sighed as his gaze switched to William. The boy was turning in his sleep back and forth. Cyr had to be careful that he wouldn’t roll into the fire. It was clear what he was dreaming about and it made Cyrvanyx lower his ears and whimper in shame. Elise died because he did not reach her time. He should have kept a closer eye, not gotten so lost in the fight. They should have escaped before the invaders even got into the hall.

Guilt tugged at his heart while he watched the child twist in his slumber. Maybe Henry survived? Some part of him still held that vain hope. Whatever hopes he had for Henry there was absolutely none for Elise, and he was partly to blame. “Just be quiet, mind.” He murmured to himself to shut out those thoughts of self-blame. Deep down he knew that the true blame lay on the invaders, killing an unarmed woman. Nonetheless it would not stop his conscious from trying to put all the blame on himself. When for a time he stopped thinking about that the thought that came instead wasn’t much better. When will I see invaders walking around wearing the scales of my former brothers and sisters-in-arms?

He shook his head and got up from the grassy hill, feeling the hard and partially frozen earth beneath his paws. Without the fire the rest would certainly be far less restful. It was a risk, but a risk they had to take. William was not dressed for cold weather in the least, only dressed with a woolen tunic some silk pants and fancy boots. Clothes fit for a noble dinner not for camping trip beneath the stars in the middle of autumn. He took only a few steps from the campfire and took a few breaths, closing his eyes. He focused on the feeling of the cold wind across the exposed scales on his muzzle, shivering just slightly. At least the armor’s padding did have the side effect of being warming as well as protective. Great in winter, not so much in summer.

“Gods, can you hear me, I wonder.” He said to the skies quietly. Most of the stars were hidden behind clouds, but some were still there, shining brightly in the night sky. “I do not know what to do. I… I just“ It has been so long that he prayed to the gods in the sky, to Arthenax, or Arthen as the humans called him. “I just feel so lost. What do I do with William? I-I cannot raise a human child? Do I bring him back to Caer Morgraig or… or will he be safer in the highlands? I see barely any hope in sight for this kingdom, and yet I do not want to abandon it.” He gazed at the stars, but of course, as always no answer came. His tail swished back and forth anxiously “Ach, Arthenax’ balls! Go mount yourself gods!” He muttered in frustration.

“Badmouthing the gods now?” Cyr turned on his tail, almost stumbling over his own paws only to see Ary smirking at him, holding back laughter at his clumsiness. He could feel her eyes looking him up and down as he sat down on his haunches, feeling some heat flowing to his muzzle.

“How long were you awake?” He asked sheepishly, forcing himself to meet her gaze.

“I didn’t really… sleep at all. Just had my eyes closed.” Ary sighed, drawing a lazy circle in the ground with an unsheathed claw. A bit of a smirk came to her muzzle. “So when I heard you talking to the stars I opened my eyes. Tried to get a look on your stones when you were standing there. Much easier now though.”

Cyr narrowed his eyes in confused for a moment, one ear angled slightly. He was about to ask what she meant, but then he followed her gaze, right between his hindlegs where his sheath and balls sat exposed as he was simply sitting in a relaxed pose. He tensed and suddenly didn’t know what to say. Was she flirting now or just teasing him? Surely after all that has happened she wouldn’t flirt would she? No, of course not!

He moved his tail to cover her line of sight as he tried to stammer out a response while she just kept smirking with that mischievous look in her silver eyes. She was holding back laughter as well. Then it hit him, she was just playing. He relaxed his muscles and deflated slightly, but kept his tail as cover up. “Y-you got me pretty tensed up there for a second, hehe.” He forced a little laugh, gulping down the lump in his throat. It was still there.

She shook her head softly, chuckling to herself. “You are far too easy to fluster; you know that? Most other dragons would have smirked right back at me, maybe even showed of some more.”

Once again Cyr could not tell if she was merely teasing him or was trying to lead the conversation somewhere. Did she want me to show off to her? No, you fool, she is just pulling a joke! You just realized that before, take a hint. His mind was going wild as the best answer he could come up with was. “Well I-I am not like other dragons, I suppose.”

“Never stopped you from gazing under my tail at training.” There was a bit of a purr in her voice, soft and sensual.

“I-I ehm… I” He tried to gulp the lump down again as he stared at her wide-eyed. Was she just trying to enact some sort of revenge upon him? What was she trying to do right now? Ah, ancestors, why were females so hard to read? He shifted a little on his haunches as he felt a little stir in his sheath. Oh come on, how? He yelled internally at his own body. “I am… sorry for that Ary.” He got it out at last. “I just, you know I- “

“Oh stop it Cyr, now you’re making me feel bad for flustering you this bad.” She said with a little chuckle as her smirk slowly faded into a warm smile, her head turning towards the stars. “I was merely trying to distract you and myself from recent events. Figured making you blush was the easiest way, no need to apologize, not anymore.”

“Oh… I see.” He gulped again and the lump was finally gone. He removed his tail and sighed, sagging a little. “in that case I am sorry for you having to explain that. My… social skills are… lacking.”

“Oh really, I hadn’t noticed.” She said with a small grin returning to her muzzle, only glancing at him as her eyes stayed fixed on the stars, with a flat voice adding. “That was sarcasm, by the way.”

“I noticed that.” He grumbled, brow furrowed as he noticed he just sounded like an annoyed hatchling. It made Ary giggle at least, which in turn brought a smile to Cyr. He watched her gazing at the night sky, how the campfire illuminated half of her body, the rest only covered with the soft silver light of the moon. He could practically see the very stars she was looking for reflect in her eyes. Gods, she was beautiful.

“You know, even if the gods do not respond, they still hear us. Every hardship, every joy, they know. One day they will pay you back for all your pain and grant you joy, or show you pain in the face of your overwhelming happiness. It is all a delicate balance. For without great pain how could we even measure true happiness.” Ary spoke with a strong spirit in her voice, almost cracking at the very end as her eyes remained gazing at the sky. When Cyr just stared at her and said nothing, taken aback by the beauty of her words, she went on. “My father told me that, once, when I cried so when Kori died.”

Cyr felt his frills sag and his ears lower. He remembered that well, despite how many years it had been. Korivarak was a close friend of Ary’s before Cyrvanyx came into her life when they were all still very young. Cyr didn’t know everything, but he knew that Kori died from some sort of accident. It was all he needed to know to aid in comforting her back then when he found her crying under a tree, all alone. It had just felt like the right thing to do. That was how their friendship started. “Your father was… better spoken than I recall. All I remember was him eyeing me up and down and… threatening me to keep a careful distance from his daughter. He was probably afraid I would try to…” He trailed off, as her father was more right, it would seem.

“I know, I know.” She giggled to herself, turning her head back to meet his gaze. “He was always very protective. He has a softer side to him though, a side only me and mother ever got to see. The old bastard has a good heart.” She smiled wistfully and looked eastwards. “I hope they had some sense and fled to the highlands.”

“Surely, they would, in the face of Briinaborien dragon slayers.” He remarked in what he hoped would be a reassuring tone.

He saw her ear twitch and she looked back to him, sadness hiding behind the smile she showed him that moment. “Then you don’t know my father. He could be awfully stubborn.”

“I see...” He said, clearing his throat a little as he thought about resting his paw atop hers in a reassuring gesture. Instead of doing that he merely tried to find some words. “I… I think your parents are alright, Ary. From what I recall your father was very big for a dragon. Unless that changed in the last decade or two I am sure they’re fine.”

“I can only hope.” Her voice sounded a bit strained. He saw wet glimmers in her eyes as she was the one to look away this time. “But it is hard to find hope in my heart after what happened. A part of me just wants to hide in the highlands and stay there with Gareth, you, and the child.” Cyr threw a short glance at the sleeping William and then back to her. “I just… am afraid, you know? Not just for myself but for the loved ones in my life.”

Fear be damned, comfort her you coward! Something within him practically screamed at him to do more than just say some flimsy words. The battle within in his mind waged on for only a short time as saw Ary, how she needed someone to lean against, someone to shield her from the pain of the world, if only for a time. When he at last willed his body to get up to all fours his decision was already made. He did not just lay a paw over hers, he lay down next to her, careful not to squish Gareth, and draped a wing over her body. No words were needed in that moment. The gesture said enough, he knew. Ary’s tears were no longer held back as she leaned her head against his neck and began to cry softly. He pulled her in a little closer with a paw on her upper lower neck, stroking the scales there gently.

He could feel his muzzle flushing hot. He was so close to the most beautiful dragoness he ever saw. Under other circumstances he would get nervous, fluster or would not even dared to get so close at all. Some amount of pride swelled in his chest as he wordlessly comforted her. Soon some of his own tears joined hers as well. It felt good to let some of that pain out, especially alongside someone he cared for deeply. Surely she must feel a similar way.

They stayed that way even after both of their tears had dried in silence comfort. Cyrvanyx felt such warmth in his chest, he could not quite place it. Was this love? He pondered. Whether it was or not, at least he had more time to figure it out. Before he

Their embrace was broken up when they heard William stir. The boy was slowly sitting upright, eyes unfocused as he gazed about. He seemed confused for just a moment. That moment lasted only until his eyes found the two dragons, Ary still leaning into Cyr softly. His expression of confusion was replaced by one of deep profound sadness as the boy’s mind cleared. He just looked away from them both into the distance. No one said a word for a solid minute. Ary nudged Cyr with her nose, prompting him to get up. He gazed into her eyes and knew what she wanted to say just by the look on her face. Go to him.

Cyr’s wings frills sagged and his ears lowered as he turned to William, the daunting task of comforting a child who just lost both of his parents lay heavy on his heart. Nonetheless he took a deep breath and went to sit down next to him. He swallowed a few times and Will did not even look up at him. A quick glance at Ary yielded no further help as she just lifted her eye ridges while nodding towards William. Yes, great help, Ary, I know.

“I should have stayed.” William was the one to break the silence. His voice was meek and strained, and yet filled with anger. “You should not have taken me. I could have saved my mother… and we could have still found father, saved him too. He was still alive; I just know it! He was the best warrior to ever live and would not be struck down by the invaders!” Cyrvanyx looked down on him sadly as the child poured all his mixed feelings into those words. He did not really believe it, Cyr could tell. He just wanted to belief them.

“William we-“

“No!” He got up off the ground in one swift motion, pointing an accusing finger at Cyr. “You could have saved them! You two are dragons, stronger than any man alive! So w-why did you run?” The little stutter in his voice and the quiver in his voice told Cyr that he was at the edge of either breaking down into tears or throwing and angry fit.

“It is not so simple. A dragon is strong, yes, and the armor makes is far more formidable yet, but they were too many. They would have-“

“That’s just excuses!” Will yelled at him, tears now running down his cheeks. Cyr’s heart ached all the more. “Y-you and the blue green one there could have saved them!” He then, to Cyr’s surprise, actually punched him on the nose. On any other occasion that would have stung like hell, as dragon noses are sensitive. However, while they removed some armor to be quicker on the retreat, the helmet was still there. William cried out in pain and clutched his fist. “Fuck!” He yelled out, cursing. “Damn you! Gods curse you, you fucking coward!” He screamed at the top of his lungs as he instead went for his unarmored shoulder. Unarmored at least by steel, but that did not stop William from beating him there again and again. Cyr bore the strikes with stride and just sat there, barely feeling a sting from every wail the boy lay on him. They got weaker and weaker. “Y-you just… left. We could have saved them…” When he spoke the last sentence he was already beginning to cry fully.

Cyr pulled him a little closer to his chest as he did so. Will did not return the embrace but did not fight it either, beating at his chestplates a couple more times as he cried his grief out into the world. This time Cyr held himself together for the sake of William. He held him for as long as he cried, yelled and fought. How he would ever care for this boy he did not know, but he would try. For Henry’s sake he would try. Gently he rubbed his paw over his back once the fighting had turned into sobbing. “It’ll be alright, William.” He spoke softly, holding back anymore tears of his own. “I promise.”

As soon as he said those words he regretted it. How could he promise such a thing when in truth he did not know what to do or where to go next. Simply giving him up to his granduncle at Caer Morgraig was still the easiest option, but it may not be the safest either. From their current position the highlands should be five days of flight away with enough rest during the nights. Then around two more to reach the center. Aside from the time there were no invaders there that could get to William as they did to his mother.

Cyr turned his had to Ary who had been looking at the stars again, her expression full of fear and sorrow clearly even from just a sideway angle. “Ary,” He said her name softly and she turned her head, blinking away some wetness in her eyes. “I was thinking about bringing William to Caer Morgraig, and yet the more I think about it...” He swallowed, his tail twitching nervously. “I believe he would be safer in the highlands.”

“Mhm…” She murmured in unspoken agreement and then sighed. “We need to confine with the Highclaws anyway. I see no reason why we shouldn’t take him with us. After… “She sighed again. “After what happened his home may not be safe, I agree. Same goes for Gareth. Besides when he wakes up he could help us persuade them.”

Ary looked down at the downed knight. He had still not awoken and Cyr could tell how much that worried Ary. Surely there would be healers in the highlands capable to help him. Besides, the wonders of the place might help William by distracting him from the recent tragedies. He saw how awe struck he was with all the dragons at the order so surely he will love the highlands.

The crying of Will at that point had stopped, but he did not move. That was alright for Cyr. May he stay in his embrace for as long as he needed. “You know…” Cyr started, not really knowing what to say after. He merely wanted to comfort him more. “I could tell you a story, if you want. Maybe some stories of your father too.” Where the idea came from he did not know other than him recalling that Henry once mentioned to him how much his son adored stories. He could feel William move and so he lifted his paw away, leaning his muzzle down to look at him.

The boy stood there with his head lowered, shoulders sagging. “I… I don’t want any stupid stories. I want my parents back!” His voice broke and he raised his haze to Cyr’s. The pain in those eyes, once filled with so much childlike innocence. He thought he made a blunder right away in spite of his best efforts, but thankfully he was not alone in his attempts to comfort William.

“We know, Will.” Ary interjected, her voice soft and her head lowered to his eye-level. “Stories are a good method of distraction however. When I was sad my mother would always tell me happy or funny stories of her youth to remind me how much happiness there was to find in life, even in the face of great sorrow.” Cyr could not stop his smile as he watched her speak.

William kicked at the ground and sighed. “My… mother did that as well.” He said sadly. “I… I am sorry for getting angry at you.” He admitted, looking at Cyrvanyx. “I am just. So. Angry!” He spoke through grit teeth. “I… I didn’t mean to-“

“It’s ok, really. You did not even hurt me much. My helmet and my chestplates were a poor choice to strike, young warrior.” He teased, hoping it would help. Will just glared at him as he sat down on the ground close to the fire. Could have been a worse response, he supposed.

“Oh, that makes me think of a perfect story to tell!” Ary spoke up, a big grin forming on her muzzle. “It has to do with lack of armor and a severe lack of dexterity.” Her eyes were on Cyr as she spoke, but he had no idea what she meant. Will meanwhile shifted a little to get comfortable and then watched Ary, intrigue building on his face. “So this was several decades ago. Me and Cyr were definitely in the early stages of maturity and so I suppose the competitive nature of males got to him too.” Her grin grew a little wider as she looked at him. Then it dawned on him and his eyes grew wide. Oh no, not that story.

“Cyr here, me and two of my other friends were spending the day together, chatting and in general just having fun. It was already rarer those days to get Cyr involved in anything not related to history and books so it was a treat to have him there as well.” Her tail swished back and forth in excitement, all her frills raised high. “think it was… Rori who came up with the idea to test our mettle. You see, In the area we all grew up in there was a river, flowing down from the mountains. There was one section, close to a waterfall, where a huge tree had fallen right across, partly submerged in the water.” She had to stop as a fit of giggles hit her. No doubt the mental image of the memory was still as fresh in her mind as it was in Cyr’s.

“And? What happened?” William asked, beaming at her, a smile actually beginning to form on his lips. Cyrvanyx just groaned and let his frills sag as Ary went on.

“Ok, ok. Sorry. So, we all went there to the edge of the river. The water was fast, mind you, so falling in would not be pleasant. We judged the tree to be able to bear our weight though, as we were not as large as we are now. It was not very wide though and parts of it had already rotten away from the constant water flow and so we still saw it as a test of bravery and balance.” She threw her smirk at Cyr again. “And a certain black scaled dragon insisted on going first.”

William furrowed his brow but then followed her gaze to Cyr and then made an “Ooh” sound. “Let me guess, he did not make it?” He said, a little chuckle in his speech.

“Now, don’t get ahead of the story, young man.” She scolded him with a chuckle, her smirk soon returning as she looked at William but kept part of her attention clearly on Cyr. “He walked up there, all high and mighty. So sure of himself he was. To his credit, he did make it quite a good way across the tree before he slipped.” She giggled again and Cyr groaned. “Do you remember what happened next?”

“Hard to forget.” He grumbled.

“So what happened?” She asked, acting all oblivious. “I must have forgotten how you slipped. William here seems keen on the details however.” As if on que the boy turned around where he sat to look at Cyr instead, curiosity clear in his golden eyes. So much like Henry’s own strange eyes.

Cyr sighed, defeated. “Fine.” Grumbling, he finished the tale. “In my attempt to impress the others with my balancing skills I slipped around after the halfway point. It was a long way to go though, so even that was a feat!” He insisted and Ary simply giggled while Will leaned in a little closer to hear the conclusion. He sighed. For William, he thought. “It was my hindleg that slipped, unluckily for me. Had it been my foreleg I may have at least landed on my chest. This way however I landed right…” His entire body sagged as he looked away. “On my balls.”

Ary’s giggle that had been building up throughout his entire story turned into full on laughter as he finally got to the end. She was holding her chest while leaning her weight onto the other paw, her body shaking. William seemed to find the laughter infectious, as he was soon joining in. Cyr looked away in embarrassment, feeling his frills and ears heating up. When he gazed at the two of them he saw William on the ground, holding his stomach and Ary slapping the ground with her tail as he saw tears forming in her eyes from sheer laughter. Despite the cause for their laughter Cyr soon found himself smiling. He was glad that it seemed to have worked. Not only was William laughing, but Ary too, harder than him even. Surprising even himself, he felt laughter come up as well. It felt good to laugh, relieving and refreshing. The sound of his laughter joined theirs, keeping on for a good while as the light heartedness of the story was a nice change of pace, one that was dearly needed.

“Haha… that was… phew.” Ary managed to compose herself at last, wiping away tears from her eyes and then checked to see if she hadn’t squished Gareth in her fit of laughter. Luckily he seemed to be just fine. “I really needed that, Cyr. Thanks.” She said. Meanwhile William had stopped laughing as well, still laying on the ground, catching his breath.

“Thank me for what?” He asked, smiling at her sheepishly. His frills still felt hot. At least his blushing was not recognizable in the minimal firelight. “You told the story, not me.”

“You finished it though!” Ary giggled. “And also provided it.”

Cyr sighed, shaking his head, but smiling all the same. He knew that this silly little story would do little to mend the wounds caused by recent events, but at the very least it was a balm that helped ignore the pain for a bit. “You doing okay, Will?” He asked with a chuckle as he saw the wide grin on the boy’s face.

“Yes… I am.” He chuckled a little more and then sat up, letting out a deep breath. “I didn’t think this would happen to dragons like that. I mean I didn’t even know you had... you know, those, before seeing you with my own eyes.”

“How would we make new dragons without them?” Asked Ary.

“I mean, of course I know male dragons would have them just that… you know…” He was waving his hands around, expecting any of the two dragons to come in and help him. None did however as he just sat there, frustration building on his face. “You know! Inside the body, not outside!” He said at last.

“Many humans think that way, I believe. Like we are cold blooded lizards, but we are not.” Cyr explained, as he had to a lot of people in the past. “A hole in our armor it may be, but it is just the way thing are. I admit I am not an expert on my own biology, but should you ever be interested in it truly there are several books I could recommend-“

“Cyr, horses!” Ary interrupted his little lecture that William seemed intent on listening to suddenly. “I hear horses.” She sat there with her ears perked, eyes wide. Then Cyrvanyx heard them too and all the lighthearted feelings were once again replaced by the reality of their current situation. They would send out men, of course they would, but catching up to them so fast he would almost dare call impressive.

“I hear them too.” Cyr growled with a low voice, taking a defensive stance while Ary was already clutching Gareth to her chest with a paw. “William, come here. We have to go!”

“What? B-but we already ran we can’t just-“

“William!” He almost roared and the boy took a step back. “This is not the time. You have no weapon either way even if you stayed. Live to fight another day, now come!”

The boy balled his fists and approached him with haste. He heard him grumbling something about how he hated this, but Cyr paid it no mind. This was more serious than Will’s mood, this was now life or death. If those men that followed them bore the Dragonsbane poison on arrow tips and hit them they would be done for. Most of their armor they had removed for faster flight and there was no way near enough time to put the pieces back on now. They had to fly, right now.

Cyr clutched Will to his chest despite his protests and looked east. Seeing them in the dark was a hard task, but the moonlight illuminated them enough to see shadowy figures ride towards them. How many of them there were was still hard to tell. A few dozen perhaps. They should not have rested for so long and moved on faster, Cyr thought. Ary had already spread her wings and was taking flight when Cyr clutched William tight to his chest. “Hold on now, Will!” He commanded urgently as he too spread his wings. An arrow suddenly whizzed past him and fear began to set in. Surely they could not see them well, even worse than Cyr could see them. And yet, if Those arrows bore the Dragonsbane poison all they needed was one lucky shot after all. With a great roar filled with anger and frustration he lifted himself off his paws and into the skies.

He prayed to whichever gods would listen that no arrow would pierce his scales, or even touch him whatsoever. “Please, Arthenax, hear me just this once.” He begged to the stars high above as he flew higher and higher, keeping his eyes on Ary. Another arrow flew past him, close to his ear. Curse them! Couldn’t his black scales be of more use to hide him! If it were not for the moonlight they may as well be invisible, but of course the cursed thing would not stop giving of its subtle hue over the world. “Let their aim not strike true, please.”

Yet another arrow flew past, and then another. Soon he would be high enough to be out of range. Above him, Ary already had reached that height and was dipping her wing westwards. The journey to the highlands would be an unnerving one if these people would try and hunt them this relentlessly. One full day of flying should put enough distance between them however that there was no way they could catch up.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a sharp sting on his right haunch.

His eyes widened and a soft roar of pain escaped his throat. One single arrow, he thought at first, that was all. If it was Dragonsbane however it could be enough. There was no way of knowing how powerful that accursed poison truly was. Their only experience with it was at Dimbarrow and at Dragonstone Castle. His heart was beating fast and he could feel his breath became erratic. No more arrows came their way after that. He must have been high enough. It was merely a grazing shot and yet he felt such fear he almost felt like a coward. Then he remembered Dimbarrow and his fears only doubled. “A-Ary! They hit me!” He roared towards her, hearing his own voice waver.

He barely saw her turn her head in the dark, the silver in her eyes taking a subtle glow in the dark. He could tell that her eyes were wide with shock. No more pain came to him as they kept flying. He expected to feel some great amount of pain radiate from the wound all throughout his body, and yet nothing came. Just the sting from where the arrow had hit him.

“Keep flying!” Ary called back to him. “It cannot be Dragonsbane or you would already be feeling it!” Despite her reassuring words he could hear the fear in her voice. How could she know such a thing, after all? She couldn’t.

Nonetheless he kept beating his wings as strongly as his sore muscles could muster, keeping up with Ary as best he could. She always was the faster flier. He kept it up for a good while, less than a minute though, until he began to feel something. His wings suddenly were feeling heavier and heavier by the second. A groan escaped his throat as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Some relieve came to him as he thought that this could not be Dragonsbane, as he felt no pain and was not bleeding. Instead he felt nauseas and tired. “Ary! I… can’t keep going… like this!” He struggled to get the words out, his tongue too feeling tired. His biggest worry was that he would drop William. His mind was very aware of the hands tightly grasping onto his foreleg. “I feel… tired! Wings… heavy!”

“You have to keep going Cyr! You have to, please!” She called back, voice shaken. Part of him was touched she seemed to be so afraid for him, but the rest of him felt bad that she was scared at all. He didn’t want her to be scared. He yanked his eyes open when he felt himself losing altitude and speed. A low growl came from his chest up to throat. No! He would not fall! He beat his wings harder than he ever had. For all he cared the pain he felt within his strained muscles was not real. All that mattered was keeping up with the beautiful dragoness in front of him and holding a grasp on Henry’s son.

His will would be stronger than whatever foul concoction they put onto their arrow tips to put them down. It was merely a grazing shot so whatever it was surely did not show its full effect. He could win this fight. He had to.

Images flashed before his eyes as his vision was fading in and out. He saw Henry laughing and jesting with his fellow knights and then saw him fall in battle. His father’s face. His mother’s smile, Ary’s eyes of silver, shining ever so beautiful like the moon would shine upon a lake’s surface. Was this what people mean by seeing your life flash before your eyes? Cyr thought, but refused. His life was not yet over. He would not fall from the sky and let William die with him.

He would not die without Ary ever knowing how he felt.

His eyes lost track of her somewhere, he did not really know. Keeping track of time was hard when all he could do was do his utmost not to keep flying and hold onto William. Then he felt something strange. Some weight was taken off his wings as some unexplainable force seemed to take some of his weight.

“If your wings fail you I will carry your burden!” He heard the strained voice of Arylaryl. It barely registered what she thought in his dazed mind, but he still understood well enough. She was taking of some of his burden so he may stay aloft, taking it upon her own wings instead. His heart soared somewhat knowing that someone cared for him this deeply, enough to risk her own safety to ensure he would stay with her.

He could not tell how long they flew on like that other than that the darkness faded at some point as the sun rose. Some distant voice told him to land. Memories and thoughts were getting foggier by the minute. Wherever it was they landed, he could not tell. Everything was a haze and every sound nothing but a murmur. When at last his body gave in to the desire to sleep one single thought came to mind as his eyes closed.

He truly did love Ary with all his heart.