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The flight back to her old home was long and strenuous, but at least Keira had the chance to talk with Fallon to help pass the time. Learning about magic distracted her from the ache in her wings. She wanted to try and discover her magic when they landed, but when familiar territory started rolling past, nervousness settled into her fluttering heart and she soon forgot about it.

As they grew closer, more and more snow littered the ground. Keira was used to the cold and didn't find it uncomfortable, but the strong winds chilled her to the bones. The scent of pine trees slowly faded away while it became increasingly harder to smell anything but the bitter air. Thankfully, the winds were coming from the southeast, guiding their flight more than hindering it.

She recognized the rolling foothills of the mountain she lived beneath. They stretched out for many, many leagues, and her village was settled just over the largest ridge, nestled in a small valley. The mountain itself towered high into the sky on their left--it was hard to miss. She could see the ridge now, and she knew it'd only be another hour before they reached it. The sun was still high above them, so they had made decent time on their journey.

Keira didn't even realize that she had flown ahead of Fallon who appeared to be lagging behind now. It seemed that keeping up with her wasn't his biggest concern at the moment; his head darted around, searching for any threats. Keira led on anyway.

Nearly forgotten memories flooded her mind. She remembered playing with her friends on the cliffs jutting out over the southern ridge. She remembered flying with her father all over the area; and she remembered the one day when he took her close to the top of the mountain. Looking at it now, she saw that the peak of it was obscured by the clouds.

Keira's tail nearly brushed the tops of evergreen trees as she skimmed over the last ridge. It felt like she had flown over it a thousand times, and it was always the same picture. She half-expected to see her village down below and waited to see the wooden houses standing out amongst all the snow. But...

It was all gone.

Bits and pieces of wood stuck out of the white snow that covered the ruined village in a thick layer. Some walls managed to stay standing, but most of them had toppled over without the rest of the building to support them.

Her stomach twisted. Everything was gone.

She hastily landed in a drift of snow where it was safe and stepped into the ruins. On either side of her were homes that were either completely flattened or burned away or what remained of a wooden frame that had somehow lasted in the vicious attacks. It looked like some houses were completely blown away by an explosion. Cracked and split wooden beams lay everywhere, and Keira stepped on some of the debris that was hiding beneath the snow.

Flashbacks branded her mind, causing her to wince. Her breathing picked up and kept pace with her racing heart. Each step was a struggle. Where she once saw a shop was now nothing. Where she once saw a friend's house was now nothing. She clenched her teeth and hung her head, holding back tears.

"Keira! Let's go find Raela," Finn said and bumped into her playfully. "She wants to come adventuring with us today."

Keira smiled brightly and shoved him. "I didn't know we were going on an adventure."

He nodded and giggled as he danced around in front of her. "Of course we are! What else are we going to do?"

"Fair point. I think I just saw her up ahead, heading towards her house," Keira said and bounded forward. "I'll find her first!"

Then she raced Finn through the village to find their friend.

Visions of fire and smoke filled her head. She could almost smell the smoldering scent of death and hear the cries of the village. Flames kindled and burned brightly in her mind, and yet she could almost feel the heat against her white scales.

Keira trembled and took in a deep breath. She brushed away a layer of snow and found a cobblestone path. She tried to visualize her village's layout and followed a familiar path, cutting down another street before taking another turn. Passing by Raela's house, she felt an ache bury itself in her head. Then she stopped and looked at where her house had been.

Keira pinched her eyes shut and whimpered softly. It was gone. Her family was gone; her friends were gone; her village was gone; and her old life was gone--everything was gone. Warm tears spilled down her cheeks and disappeared into the snow. She thought she would be ready for this... but...

With a quick glance around, she realized that Fallon wasn't with her. A brief feeling of panic coursed through her before she realized that he was flying up above. She wished he was down here with her. She needed comfort.

Her tail drooped listlessly behind her as she wandered through the rest of her village. Through the rubble and remains, she saw that there was one building that didn't look completely destroyed. In fact, it looked like a crude shelter had been made out of it.

Curious, Keira sniffled and wiped her tears away before padding up to inspect it. Only one wall remained of the original building. Otherwise, there were pieces of wood leaning against that wall to help support a makeshift hut. This had to have been made after the attack...

But there wasn't anyone around nor were there any tracks. Not a single shred of evidence pointed to the fact that there was someone still living here. Inside of it was a small cot crafted out of blankets and a small box. Wondering what was inside the box, Keira opened it up and found some gems and jewelry inside. It must have been a scavenger that came to loot the village.

Keira frowned and looked up at Fallon: he was still circling around the village. She grabbed the box and tucked it against her chest. They don't deserve any of this.

Keira's head shot a glance behind her. She swore she heard something sliding and crunching in the snow. There wasn't anything behind her or anywhere around her. But she jumped at the thud of wood falling next to her and realized that her tail had bumped a piece off. She sighed and turned back around, and then she froze in her tracks.

In front of her was a white dragoness growling and baring her sharp fangs as she approached Keira in an aggressive stance. Blue feathers lined her back like a mane and puffed out at her cheeks and the end of her tail that flicked back and forth menacingly. A scar marred the side of her face, cutting into one of her eyes while the other crimson sphere glared at Keira.

No... It can't be...

"M-Mother...?"

Iona's face softened and she took a step back. She looked Keira up and down with her one eye, her head tilted to the side, and carefully nodded. Keira couldn't tell what that look was. Was she surprised? Relieved? Angry? Sad? Maybe it was a little of everything?

"Where did you go?" she asked hoarsely. Keira frowned at hearing her own mother's voice. It used to be fuller and lively, but now she nearly croaked every word. "What happened to you?"

An unsettling feeling wormed its way into Keira's stomach. Terrible, unnerving memories flashed before her. So many bruises and scars...

"South..." She stole a glance upward, hoping Fallon saw that she could potentially be in danger. Keira didn't have an inkling of trust for her mother. "Two Southern dragons saved me."

A look of disgust contorted her mother's face. "You abandoned us."

Keira shook her head. "No! I didn't have much of a choice."

"You ran away while our entire village was burned to the ground," she accused, a snarl forming at her lips. "I thought you were dead. I even felt sad for you... But you were alive and well all this time."

Keira stifled a growl and tried to hold back her emotions. "And where were you? Where were you when Dad died?!" She stamped her talons, remembering how she was forced to run for her life, how her father was left to defend her escape. Maybe if her mother had been there, she would have died instead.

"I was looking for your father, but I... got caught up," she said and touched the scar on the side of her face. It was still healing and it looked grotesque.

Keira tightened her talons. "How did you survive?" Out of everyone who could have possibly survived, it had to have been her mother, the least deserving dragon out of her entire village. It couldn't have been her father or any of her friends. She would have even rathered a complete stranger than her mother.

Iona peered at Keira with her one eye and took a step closer, making Keira take a step back. "I pretended to have died. They believed it and I managed to hide beneath some rubble before they came looking."

She admitted that she didn't even try to look for her mother's corpse. She didn't remember whether or not she did see it; at the time, all she cared about was her father.

"They were looking for someone," she continued. "I don't know who or why, but they were trying to find a certain dragon. Was it you? Did you do this to us?"

Keira felt completely frozen as her mother stepped even closer to her. She remembered that sinister look of hers, and it only looked more evil now. It was a gaze like a serpent's, fixated and wrought with ill intentions. And it had Keira trapped--hypnotized.

"I-I didn't do... anything..." She flinched as a cold talon scraped across her cheek. She shut her eyes and expected to be struck any moment now. Why was she so helpless? Even after all this time, she still couldn't stand up to her mother. It was the same as before--nothing had changed.

"Then why did you leave with the Southern dragons? Why did you leave with our attackers?"

Please, Fallon... Please... Keira shook her head defiantly and accidentally dropped the box and the jewels spilled out of it. Fear gripped her as she looked up at her mother. Was this it? Was this when she would get hit?

A thud sounded behind her along with a flurry of snow. She felt relieved when she saw Fallon, but she couldn't bring herself to move toward him. Her mother backed off and growled viciously, crouching low to the ground with her tail lashing back and forth.

"Keira!" Fallon shouted as he ran up to them, but Iona quickly stepped between the two. "Are you okay?"

She hesitantly nodded.

"Who are you?" Iona hissed. "One of the Southerners that attacked our village? Give me one reason not to tear your guts out right now!"

Fallon growled and held his ground. Keira could tell that he would stop at nothing to protect her, and that made her feel safe. "No, I am Keira's guardian. Step away from her." Keira admired that he didn't look the least bit scared. He was confident in his abilities and knew he had the upper claw.

Her mother scoffed and laughed at him. "You're her guardian? Does she know that you killed and slaughtered everyone here? Did you tell her that or was that just going to be your little secret?"

Fallon bared his teeth in a snarl. "I had nothing to do with the attack. I took her under my wing and brought her home."

"So you just happened to be in the area to save her? You just happened to take her in, a _Northern_dragonet, just out of the kindness of your heart?" she sneered. "Get away from my daughter, murderer!"

Keira yelled as her mother suddenly lunged at Fallon and tried to strike him with her claws. She had thought she would hit him, but an ice wall sprang from the ground and blocked her completely from touching him. Her talons cut into the ice, but the wall held strong. She hissed and backed away.

But Fallon didn't attack. He stood his ground as he lowered the wall and approached closer to Keira. "I had nothing to do with the attack on your village! Please, give me Keira back and we will leave."

Iona glared at him and then looked at Keira. "She is my daughter. Why would I give her to you?"

Worry twisted Fallon's face. He looked to Keira too and looked at the ground. His eyes were soft and full of apprehension. Keira wanted nothing more than to run up into his wings and cling to him. "It's... it's her choice."

"It's my choice!" her mother hissed. "She is my daughter, and I am in charge of her."

"It's my decision..." Keira thought meekly. I've never liked her, but she is my flesh and blood--my family. Wherever she goes is where I would best fit in, not in a Southern city. I don't belong there; I belong here... but...

Keira winced and felt an ache in her heart. Am I really considering staying with her?

"Stay there, Keira. I'll take care of this killer."

"He's not a killer," she stated quietly.

Her mother's head snapped back toward her. "What did you say?"

Keira shook her head. "He's not a killer! And this should be my decision to make... I'm not a whelp anymore."

Fallon stared at her and swallowed. His sapphire eyes looked worried and almost desperate. His lips moved as he tried to speak, but whatever he wanted to say was lost in his throat.

"I'm your mother, Keira," Iona growled. "You don't get to decide this, I do."

Keira had never felt so conflicted in her life. The way her mother looked at her made her feel like she was worth nothing, yet she was her mother. She'd already lived the majority of her life with her... so she knew how terrible her mother truly was. Fallon looked at her like her father would have. Fallon was closer to family than her own mother ever was.

"I do get to decide this." Now was finally her chance to get back at her mother for all of the nasty and terrible things she's done to her. She no longer had to put up with it. "And I decide to go with Fallon," she stated with the nod of her head.

Iona growled deep in her throat and stepped toward Keira threateningly. Keira stood up and crouched down. No longer would she ever have to let her mother trample over her. No longer would her mother be her guardian. No longer would she suffer the abuse. That was all over when Fallon took her in. She was free.

Iona stood intimidatingly over her. She was a foot or two taller than Keira and was much bigger. "You'd rather be with him than your own mother? Your own flesh and blood?"

Keira nodded affirmatively, staring into her mother's furious, crimson eye.

"TRAITOR!" she hissed and lashed at Keira. She tried to pull her head away, but two talons caught her snout and ripped open her scales. Pain wracked her head as her vision swirled. Hot blood poured down her snout and melted the stained snow below her.

The next thing Keira knew, her mother was sent crashing into a pile of rubble by a pillar of ice. Her body smacked and cracked against the wood. Keira struggled back to her paws, but Fallon was already by her side, wrapping a wing over her.

"I'm so sorry, Keira," he said and tried to wipe the blood away from her white muzzle. "I tried to stop her, but I was a second too late."

Keira touched the two gouges across her snout and pulled her paw away to see blood covering it. She felt dizzy and disoriented. "It's... okay." Did I make the right decision?

"Let's go, quickly," he said, but Iona was already growling and trying to attack them again.

"Get away from my daughter!" She surged toward them, but Fallon stopped her with another wall of ice. He boxed her in completely and then took off into the sky with Keira following behind him.

Is this the kind of power magic-users are capable of?

Her wings complained, wishing to have had more rest before she started straining them again, but she didn't have a choice. They quickly flew away, leaving no chance for rest.

Keira looked back, seeing her mother trapped in a cube of ice. A small, tiny part of her felt sorry for her, but the rest of her was overjoyed.

"She'll be able to escape," Fallon said. "But by that time we'll be long gone."

Keira nodded and hissed with pain, holding the wound on her snout. Tears filled her vision.

"Let's stop soon and try to patch that up," Fallon said with a worried expression.

"I'm fine," she assured, but she knew that wouldn't be enough to stop him from worrying. Her mind finally began to process what happened. Keira frowned, realizing that Iona could have been right. What if Fallon did do all of those things? How would she know? If the attackers had truly been looking for her, then it would make sense that she would be saved out of everyone else. But why would they be looking for her?

There's nothing special about me...

If Fallon was truly a heartless killer, then why didn't he kill her mother? If he was the dragon she said he was, then he would have had no problem doing it. What her mother said didn't add up.

"Why didn't you kill her?" she asked.

He looked at her solemnly and exhaled. "I had to protect you from her, but I didn't have to kill her. She is your mother, Keira. I realize that maybe I made the wrong decision, but I didn't want to do that in front of you and nor did I want to needlessly take a life."

Keira nodded and pondered. Would she really have cared if her mother had died? The thought hadn't crossed her mind before, when she thought her mother was already dead. It meant nothing to her, even though she was her flesh and blood. Was it wrong for her to think like that or was it justifiable seeing how she was treated by her?

"Thank you, Fallon," she said with a pained smile. Her cuts were deep and it made her wince.

He dipped his head curtly and angled downward. "Let's get you fixed up."

* * *