White moonlight shone over my hands making them appear white as marble. I looked at them with a kind of disjointed wonder, and then shuddered at the angry streaks of red that broke apart that marble complexion. If the Gods truly favoured me, then why did I feel like the angels had abandoned me? The wound in my abdomen was leaking blood. I had no accelerating healing. I had no medical attention. All I had that moment in time was Edvard, who stood in front of me sobbing like a child. He held the knife he stabbed me with, firmly in his right hand.  That hand shook violently as he stared down at me.

 “I swear, I won’t let you die.” He cried repeatedly.

Really? Sometimes I wish you would. I didn’t mind that forest of death I had seen in my dream. I would be with the dragon then and perhaps I could be with the old Gods. Death didn’t seem so bad now I had lost everything- now that I had lost my baby.

Edvard dropped to the floor and crawled to me. He pressed his hand over my wound, swearing to keep me from dying. He wrapped his arm around me and pushed his cheek against mine in a half embrace. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Edvard pulled away when the pain got too much.

“I’m sorry Ebony, I had to do this. I had to kill the seed he planted in you.” He explained.

The subtle mention of my baby brought overwhelming anger and grief to the surface. Edvard tried to reach out for me again, his pawed at my face, making my flesh crawl. Raising my hand I pushed hard against his chest. Sparks flew from my palms. Joy swept over me for a second- could I heal myself? Could I heal my baby? Silently I willed the sparks to help me and my baby.

Edvard stood up confused, then sat down, he moved forward, then back, he embraced me and then pulled away. His movements were odd and I didn’t understand what he was doing until I saw the knife he had dropped levitate up from the ground back into his right arms. I stood up and Edvard thrust the knife in me again then pulled it out. The wound disappeared, as did the blood. The sparks had turned back time. Edvard was now stood in front of me once again, getting ready to stab me. As time returned to normal, Edvard lunged forward and I sidestepped. Edvard stumbled clutching the knife and tripped over himself. He let out a cry of pain as he fell onto his own knife. Stepping backwards I watched Edvard pull the knife from his gut. Blood began to permeate through his clothes.

“Look what you’ve done.” He sighed irritably.

 Run.

That word flashed in my head like an angry neon sign. My legs felt frozen but I forced myself to bolt towards the door. Yanking the door open I found the corridor unguarded. Running hard and fast I heard Edvard calling out after me.

‘Run to the forest.’ A voice inside me whispered.

Edvard’s fortress was simple and crude and finding the exit was no problem. I ran out the door into the snow heading towards the forest. I could hear Edvard running after me, screaming my name. What the hell was I going to do once I got into the forest?

The Dragon King Erik Draca POV

“Nothing burns brighter or harder than the dragon fire.”

That is what my father once told me.

There was no greater flame than that of the dragons… but…

In the land of legends, we have our own legends and my Grandfather once told me that there was only one flame that bested a dragon’s flame- a fox’s flame. While the dragon possessed a flame made of wicked fire, the fox possessed a flame made out of pure spirit. Its flame was deadly bending to its master’s will. It could burn one enemy and yet tickle warmly over an ally.

Foxes were descended from the old Gods like the Ravens. I used to believe that they were myths until that vampire Prince brought that girl back from the mountains- a girl with beautiful black wings. I remember going to the vampire palace with my father and accidentally bumping into her. I was only child but I remember walking out in the snow near the vampire castle and finding her amongst the dead trees. She was beautiful and incredibly sad. She spoke to me using kind and gentle words and I asked her what made her so special from the other ravens?

She turned and replied, “One day, when you are all grown up I will tell you.”

Soon after she left the vampire Prince Dante, and we watched his quick descent into the realms of madness.  In a state of paranoia, Dante waged war on the dragon nation and we were forced to engage in a war that has lasted centuries and has claimed the lives of so many people, including my father.

The Raven girl was never far from my thoughts. I always wondered how I would meet her again. Secretly I hoped that she would tell me where I could find the fox which possessed a flame of pure spirit.

Up on the mountain top, my claws dug into the rocky crag. My wings folded behind me as I looked down at the world below. I was starving, waiting for an easy meal to pass me by. The Raven prince’s palace was not far from my hunting ground. Prince Edvard, built the monstrity recently. Ravens rejected the idea of living in houses and castles- so did dragons, we lived in mountains and caves but I digress. The castle was surrounded by a small patch of dead forest which was a haven for deer. Patiently I watched the borders of the forest waiting for a doe or stag to come bounding out. My sensitive ears picked up the noise of a twig breaking and heavy breathing. I leaned forward, positioning my wings correctly. A black dot burst out of the forest and I swooped down.

Ebony POV

The snow had begun to fall again as I ran through a forest of dead trees. Edvard was biting at my heels, screaming at me to stop. Edvard’s soldiers were a little way behind him. I had no idea how I was going to escape. The forest suddenly ended and I run out on to meadow of ice. No matter where I turned there was nowhere to hide for miles. Throwing my hands in the air, I left out a small sob of helplessness.

“There is no point running.” Edvard panted.

I turned and saw him clutching his side as blood seeped between his fingers and dripped onto the snow. Once again the snow was tainted with blood. What did it mean?

Edvard caught me looking at the snow and smiled, “I use to be able to read signs like that too. What does my blood on the snow mean to you? Do you just see the sign or can you make out its meaning? Once upon a time I was very good at reading signs. I knew about your son long before you ran away to the mortal world.”

“Why do you want to kill him?” I cried.

“Because when I foresaw his birth and I also foresaw my death. The two are intangible linked. If I kill your son, then I might live.” Edvard said holding the knife out.

The soliders appeared out the forest and walked towards Edvard. I stepped away as the Ravens, my own family, began to circle me.

“Close your eyes Ebony. This will only hurt for a moment.” Edvard pointing the knife at my stomach.

Cold air blasted down on me from nowhere and I staggered back, shielding my eyes from the sudden violent flurry of snow. Something was thumping the air with heavy wings. There was a collective gasp in front of me and I heard the sound of Edvard whimpering. Opening my eyes I saw the red and golden scales of a dragon. Flames seeped from its nostrils as it landed on the ground in front of me. Nervously I moved back.  The dragon was fearsome and savage looking. It mouth was full of menacing teeth.

“Oh Gods protect me.” Edvard whispered.

The dragon growled and opened its colossal jaws. I knew what was going to happen next. I closed my eyes as the jaws shut over my brother. Bones crunched and Edvard moaned. There was another crunching sound, then silence. The dragon had devoured Edvard.

Feeling sick, I clutched my stomach and sank to the floor. Edvard’s soldier’s fled into the forest away from the dragon. Maybe I should have followed them? I stared down at the white snow and felt my world start to spin.

“Raven, are you alright?” A cool voice asked.

I looked up and saw a pale man with blonde her and artic blue eyes staring down at me. The dragon was nowhere in sight. Disorientated I struggled to reply.

“Miss?” The man asked.

“Were you a lizard?” I finally replied.

The man blinked and an ice cool smile fell over his face, “Lizards tend to be smaller than dragons, Miss. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Erik.”

“Erik the dragon,” I repeated to myself, “Well, Erik the dragon, I’m Ebony the Raven.”

“I know, I met you once before as a child.” He said.

My stomach lurched again. “Erik,” I said frankly, “I don’t feel well.”

“You look pale. I’ll take you to my castle to recover.” He said and before I could protest he had transformed into a dragon and picked me up gently with his claws and launched into the sky.

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Edvard's dead *pops champagne* ^.^