All heads in the room swiveled around to stare at her. Her parents sat on their thrones, the seven members of her father's council sitting at a table facing them. Skylar swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling like a small child again, but regained her composure. She lifted her chin and continued into the room, keeping her eye on her parents. They looked tired, simply exhausted, especially her father. The lines in his face were deeper than she remembered and guilt washed over her. She knew that his current state was her fault.

Everyone in the room remained silent until her mother rose from her seat. Her purple gown fell around her elegantly, her golden crown shining in her dark auburn hair. Her mother's hazel eyes were wide in awe and glistened with tears.

"Skylar?" she whispered. Skylar paused, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. She'd been worried her parents wouldn't be happy to see her, that they hadn't missed her, but seeing the relief in her mother's gaze eased all of that fear.

"Mother," she answered, walking forward with a slight skip in her step. Then she broke into a run and launched into her mother's waiting arms.

Violet hugged Skylar tightly, kissing her temple and laughing in relief. "Oh, darling, you're home."

Skylar nodded, looking over her mother's shoulder at the king. He was still staring in shock, his blue eyes wide and his mouth slightly open. Her mother leaned away and turned toward her father. The king cleared his throat before opening his arms.

"Come here," he demanded and Skylar stepped into his embrace, feeling the comfort she'd always found with him, her father. He'd always been there for her, even if he'd hated her dragon, he'd been there for her, whenever she needed him. He pushed her back to an arm's length away to look her up and down. "What are you wearing?"

Skylar looked down at her brown leather pants and red shirt. The hunting boots didn't help her situation. In comparison to the fine clothes her present company wore, she felt incredibly under dressed. She turned to look at Orion who was dressed much the same and regretted it immediately because she drew her father's attention to him.

"Who the hell are you?" Hal demanded. "Are you the one who took her? Guards-"

Orion clenched his fists and opened his mouth to respond, but Skylar came to his defense. "Father, he's the one who saved me. I-- I owe him my life."

Hal narrowed his eyes as Orion spoke. "Orion Nogard, at your service, Your Grace." He inclined his head slightly, but did not bow fully. This surprised everyone in the room; the only people who did not bow to a king were other kings. Of course, in Orion's mind, he saw himself as a future king. Skylar agreed, but no one else in the room knew that about the future Alpha.

Hal kept his hand on Skylar's shoulder as he turned to fully face her companion. His eyes did not leave Orion's as he spoke to his council.

"You are all dismissed. Let me know if any news arrives from Jonathan."

At the sound of his name, Skylar's stomach flipped. Jonathan, her first kiss and the man she'd once thought she could fall in love with. She didn't want him to meet Orion, didn't want them anywhere near one another. Her dragon certainly didn't want Skylar anywhere near the other male, as much as she'd once tolerated him. They had Orion now, what did they need from another male?

"Hal, I insist we remain here to ask the princess about her whereabouts these past weeks," her Uncle Henry said, standing. He glanced from Skylar to Orion, suspicion for the latter heavy in his gaze.

"Henry," Hal snapped at his brother. "I said you are dismissed. Leave us."

Henry set his jaw in irritation at his king, but led the other men from the room. They left quietly, but as soon as they were gone, Hal advanced on Orion. They stood toe to toe, but Orion was a few inches taller than the king.

"You're one of them," Hal accused.

Orion's eyes flashed in response to her father's words. Violet moved to stand next to Skylar, putting her hand on her daughter's arm, watching the two men square off. Skylar wanted to get between them, to defend Orion, but she knew they needed to do this for themselves.

"Skylar and I are the same, yes."

Hal stepped back as he realized what he'd said. He glanced back at Skylar sheepishly before looking back at the other dragon. "She was with you then? You were the dragon that was sighted the night she disappeared?"

"I can only assume so."

"But you're not the one that took her?"

"No."

Hal looked back at Skylar, his eyes full of confusion. "Then who?"

"Father, that's why I'm here," she stepped toward him pleadingly. "It was Draco."

"What?" her father shook his head in disbelief while her mother inhaled sharply.

"Draco found out what I was, he threatened you and Mother if I didn't go with him. I would be locked in his dungeon if it weren't for Orion."

"You've been with him since the night you disappeared?" Why was he not more worried about Draco being the one who kidnapped her? And threatening not only his life but also that of his beloved wife's?

"Well," she hesitated slightly, unsure of what his reaction would be. "Yes. I've been with him and his clan."

"His clan," the king pursed his lips. "Other dragons, like yourself."

She nodded. "Yes. And they were very good to me. Wonderful even."

"You were happy with them, were you? Happy with those beasts."

"Father," she frowned. "They're not beasts. I'm not a beast."

"No, you're not, because you were raised to be a princess, which is what you are. Not some animal."

Skylar felt her eyes flash and she snarled at her father. His eyes widened in surprise and he stepped away from her as she advanced on him. She was in complete and total control, but he didn't know that. He only knew the timid Skylar who was afraid of the dragon inside of her, not this new Skylar who had embraced it, who was now one with it.

"I am a dragon," she told him, speaking the words slowly and clearly. "I am a dragon, and I'm proud of that. I won't let you shame me for what I am. It's not my fault I ended up here twenty-one years ago. It's Draco's. I know what he did, I know that his men stole me from the people who were supposed to be my family. And then he stole me again, from the family who took me in, and I was alone. Then Orion found me and I met a new group of people who I now love dearly. But now they're in danger, and I need your help. Draco will kill them all if we don't do something."

Hal's brows pulled together. "You came back here to ask me help save your new family? The people you're just going to go back to when this is all over?"

"Father, it's not like you think--"

"So you're going to stay here and become Queen? Like you were raised? Like we, your parents, raised you?"

Skylar hesitated but she knew she couldn't lie and that Hal would never believe her if she did. "No-- no, I don't think I can do that."

Hal barked out a laugh and ran his hands over his face. "Skylar, you can't expect me turn on an ally to help dragons, to risk my men's lives over something they all despise."

This was not going at all like she wanted. "Does Draco kidnapping me and trying to keep me as his prisoner mean nothing to you? Not long ago it seemed as though you were trying very hard to find me, when I know you thought it a real possibility that I left of my own accord. Why has that changed?"

"Of course it means something, but I won't reveal what you are to my men. There is no other logical explanation as to why Draco would do such a thing, so I'm stuck."

Skylar shook her head, pleading now. "Let us sit down and truly talk this over, please. Would it really be so bad if people knew about dragons? And it's not even our kind that attack people, it's the Wildlings, the full-blooded dragons, that attack people."

"That won't exactly make a difference to the people whose families have died because of them."

Father and daughter glared at one another for a moment, both knowing they were at a standstill.

"Hal," Violet said softly. "Perhaps we all need a moment to absorb what has happened today."

She turned to Skylar and Orion, who had remained oddly quiet throughout the whole thing. "I'm sure you're both exhausted. Let's all get a good night's sleep and we'll discuss this tomorrow, in further depth."

Skylar nodded her head and looked over at her companion, who stared at her worriedly. She didn't want to be separated from him either, but it was inevitable. They likely wouldn't even be in the same wing of the castle. That bothered her the most, since she'd been sleeping just down the hall from him for a while now.

Hal hesitated before nodding his agreement. He sighed heavily, looking a decade older than he really was and moved toward the doors. He turned to summon them, but paused when he saw Violet approaching Orion. Skylar was shocked as well when her mother grabbed his roughened hand and squeezed. Orion stared at her with curious eyes, but didn't pull his hand away.

"Thank you," she told him sincerely, "for saving my daughter and protecting her. If you hadn't been there..." Violet bit her lip and shook her head. "But you were, and for that I owe you everything."

Orion bowed his head and lifted the queen's hands to his lips to kiss her knuckles lightly. "It's been my pleasure, Your Grace. You raised a wonderful woman." At that his gaze drifted to Skylar, who blushed.

Violet's eyes flashed in understanding and she turned to look at her daughter as well. Skylar blushed even deeper when she read her mother's gaze. We'll talk later, it promised. Well, Skylar had wanted to discuss Orion with someone. Unfortunately, that someone wasn't really the mother who wanted to marry her off to a noble, human, man.

Hal cleared his throat intrusively, scowling at Violet. He'd completely missed the look that passed between Skylar and Orion. He was too worked up about the dragon situation to notice anything beyond that, and Skylar was glad. Her father certainly wouldn't approve of her relationship with the Alpha, but there wasn't anything he could do to stop it.

He marched the rest of the way to the doors and threw them opening, startling Ian and his companion.

"Lord Nogard will be needing a room. Find him one in the East Wing."

"Lord Nogard, Your Grace?" Ian asked, eyeing Orion over his king's shoulder. Orion seemed just as confused as the guard, but Skylar knew what her father was doing. There would be no fooling anyone that Orion wasn't important in some sense, his arrogance was far too apparent, so they couldn't exactly call him a commoner.

"Yes, Lord Nogard, the man who found the princess and harbored her until she could return him," Hal explained. He wasn't exactly lying, simply bending the truth slightly.

Ian's nodded in understanding and compliance. "Of course, Your Grace. My lord," he addressed Orion, "if you'll follow us, we'll see you to your quarters."

Orion hesitated, looking down at Skylar. They were both hesitant to separate, but she knew she would see him tomorrow. One night in separate wings of the castle wouldn't be awful, right? She nodded up at him with a reassuring smile.

"Good night, my lord," she dismissed him. A corner of his mouth turned up and he bowed his head once again. His eyes were filled with worry, but she tried to convey reassurance. She would be alright without him constantly at her side, even though she had grown rather fond of it.

"Sleep well, Princess."

He was ushered out of the throne room by the guards. He managed a glance over his shoulder at her, obviously not taking her reassurance to heart. She stared after him, only to turn back to her parents to find her mother watching her knowingly.

"You need some sleep as well, darling," Violet told her. "Let's go."

Skylar nodded in agreement with one last glance down the hallway even though Orion and the guards were out of sight by then. Violet linked her arm through Skylar's and began to lead her down the hallway. Hal wouldn't look at her as they walked by, and Skylar couldn't let the night end like that.

She pulled her mother to a stop. "Father--"

"Skylar," he sighed in exhaustion. He ran a heavy hand over his face, "we'll talk about it tomorrow, alright?"

"Father, I think we could talk about it now," she suggested quietly.

Hal approached her and cupped her cheeks. "Darling, I'm tired. You're tired. And you're asking quite a lot of me when you just got back from living with the dragons when we thought there was a possibility you were dead. But I promise to listen to you and Nogard fully tomorrow. For now, change out of those ridiculous clothes and get some rest."

Skylar sighed and looked down at their feet. She knew they needed every minute and she didn't want to waste any of them, but he was the king. No one told the king what to do.

And she was suddenly so very tired.

The last weeks had suddenly caught up to her. All of the stress surrounding Leo's demands of her, connecting with her dragon, travelling, Draco-- especially Draco-- and she slumped in defeat.

Hal rubbed her cheekbone with his thumb and then leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "I missed you, darling."

She squeezed her eyes tightly and wrapped her arms around Hal. "I missed you, too."

"Be honest with me," he rubbed her back. "Did they treat you well?"

She nodded, picturing Orion, Victoria, Percy, Laura, Olly, and especially Nana. "Yes, they did."

Hal sighed and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Good." He leaned back and rubbed her arms. "Now, Skylar, Princess, go to sleep."

Skylar nodded again, letting Violet pull her away. Skylar heard her mother whisper something to her father in passing, but she was too exhausted to absorb whatever it was. Violet walked her out of the throne room and in the opposite direction Orion and the guards had gone.

They walked in silence through the familiar halls of the castle, but Skylar wasn't paying attention. The enormity of her situation had finally dawned on her. Even if they convinced Hal to help them, they still needed to get the men to work with the dragons. And even then they still needed to somehow beat Draco. What if they couldn't convince Hal? Then what? She needed to talk to Orion, but he was across the castle. Even when they were apart for a week she didn't think there was ever that much distance between them.

Violet stopped in front of her door. "Here we are, love."

"Here we are," she stared up at her door. "Feels like a lifetime ago last time I was here."

"You've changed a lot, haven't you?" her mother asked softly.

"Yes, I have. But I'm still me."

Violet kissed her cheek. "Yes, you are." She pushed the door open and there a squeal erupted.

"Skylar, my love!" Greta ran toward her and Skylar was engulfed in her enthusiastic embrace.

Skylar laughed as tears leaked from her eyes. "Greta!"

"You're home," Greta cried. "You're safe. I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too. How did you get here so fast?" Skylar lifted her head and saw that Greta had lit a fire and her bed was freshly made and turned back.

"I ran into Ian in the hallway and came straight here to get everything ready. He was escorting a young man who obviously didn't belong in the castle..." she let the sentence fade off as she pulled Skylar into the room with Violet on her heel.

"That's Orion Nogard," Skylar answered hesitantly. "He, um, he accompanied here."

"Did he now? How thoughtful of him, making sure you returned safely."

"Greta," Violet interjected. "He's a dragon."

Greta waved her hand as if that was of little consequence. "Of course he is. I saw his eyes. No one has golden eyes like that."

Skylar lowered her brows in question as she was sat down in front of the familiar vanity. She stared at Greta's reflection over her shoulder. "How did you know that made him a dragon?"

"Well I assumed that his eyes are the color of his dragon, just like yours are."

She pulled Skylar's hair out of the bun and began to comb it out as she had thousands of other times, ever since Skylar was a child.

"And that doesn't bother you?"

Greta paused and met Skylar's eyes in the mirror. She put a hand on her shoulder and smiled softly. "He brought you home safe, love. He could be an ogre and I would still approve."

Blood rushed to Skylar's cheeks and she couldn't stop herself from grinning. Greta's approval had always meant everything to her.

"Are you close with him?" Violet asked.

Skylar found it difficult to look at her mother, but she knew there would be no lying. "Yes, yes I am."

"How close?" she asked.

"Close enough for him to bring me to the last place he would ever want to go," she answered. "He doesn't trust humans."

Violet frowned. "Well that hardly seems fair. He doesn't know us."

Skylar swiveled on her seat to raise an eyebrow in her mother's direction. "Just like you and father don't know dragons?"

Violet sighed and rose to her feet. "Now, Skylar--"

"Would you please talk to him. At least make sure he listens to me before he makes a decision, that he goes into this with an open mind. And remind him that Draco threatened not only me, but you and father as well."

"You're asking a lot of him, Skylar."

"I'm asking him to help us against someone evil. That doesn't seem like a lot."

"What about him men? Many of their families have been affected by dragons."

"Wildlings, Mother, not dragons. Not my kind."

Violet pursed her lips at the last part. She looked away from Skylar and nodded slowly. "I'll talk to him, but I can't make any promises, darling."

"I'm not asking you too. I'm just asking you to try."

Her eyes softened and she stepped forward to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Mother," she replied as Violet slipped out of the room.

Greta loosely braided Skylar's hair and stood her up to hand her a nightgown. She eyed the shirt and trousers in distaste.

"That's an interesting choice."

"It's what the dragons wear."

"You found your place among them then, did you?"

Orion immediately popped into her head, not that he had ever left. "Yes, I believe I did."

Greta touched her cheek and smiled. "Well, I'm happy for you, as sad as it makes me to think of you leaving."

"I'm not going anywhere for now, I promise."

"Good," Greta shooed her behind the changing screen and Skylar heard her blowing out candles and fluffing pillows as she changed. "Now tell me about Orion."

"Orion?" Skylar blushed once again. "There's not a lot to tell."

"You've never been able to lie to me, child," her nurse chuckled. "I saw the way your eyes lit up when you said his name. He means quite a lot to you, doesn't he?"

She left the cover of the screen, clad in a silk nightgown, and face Greta, who wasn't about to let this go.

"He does. I need Father to help me save him and his family."

"And you think he won't?"

"I think I'll have to do a lot of convincing."

"You can do it, and you can get Orion to help you. If he came to the heart of human civilization for you if he dislikes it as much as you say he does, well then I say that you mean a lot to him as well."

Skylar smiled and hugged Greta. The nurse returned the gesture enthusiastically.

"Everything will be alright," Greta promised. "You're safe and with people who love you more than anything. We won't let anything happen to you."

"Thank you," she whispered in return.

Greta pulled back with a smile. "Tomorrow, I want to hear all of your adventures, and all about Orion, but for now I'll let you go to sleep."

"I promise to tell you everything," Skylar chuckled as she climbed into the large, familiar bed. "Greta, could you do me a favor?"

"Anything, love."

"Will you take care of Orion tomorrow morning? Find him suitable clothes and make sure he gets to the dining room for breakfast? I don't really trust anyone else to assist him."

"I'd be honored," Greta smiled. "I'll send someone else up to attend you. Now go to sleep."

"Fine," Skylar agreed as she blew out the last candle and Greta slipped from the room. She was out before her head even hit the pillow.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

Draco watched in pleasure as blood dripped from his new prisoner's face. The man groaned and spat weakly. His arms were shackled above his head, pulling in opposite direction, while he just hung there pathetically.

His companion was tied down to the table in front of Draco, awaiting a much different fate.

"Tell me where they are," he demanded the shackled man. He shook his head and Draco flicked his wrist so that one of his knights delivered another crushing blow to his face. A weak moan escaped his as more blood gushed from his shattered nose.

"What about you?" he asked of the man tied down to the table. "Would you know anything?"

The second man whimpered, his eyes wide in fear, but he couldn't form any words because of the leather strap covering his mouth.

"Leave him alone," the first prisoner said weakly, but with as much venom as he could muster. "He knows nothing. I'm the one you want."

"Well if he knows nothing, then he's of no use to me."

Draco flicked his wrist again and before the other prisoner could protest, a knight clad in a green uniform swung his sword. It whistled through the musty air of the dungeon as it completed its arc toward the wooden table, thoroughly separating the man's head from his body.

"No!" the first prisoner screamed, suddenly finding his energy. He rose to his feet and pulled at his restraints, his mangled face contorted with fury and disbelief. His hazel gaze shifted to Draco, who felt nothing but satisfaction at watching his resolution slowly break. Draco smirked and wiped a drop of blood from his cheek.

"I suppose this will have to do," he turned and looked down at the lifeless eyes of the corpse on the table. The man's eyes were frozen with fear, as they now would be forever. A plan formed in his mind, the perfect one to accomplish what he wanted. Two birds with one stone. He looked back at his still-living prisoner and smirked.

"Perhaps we'll leave you here to think about the consequences of your actions, as I have more important matters to deal with," he stated then motioned to the body-less head. "Grab that."

His knight did as he was commanded. His other men grabbed the torches and they left his prisoner in the pitch black cell with the headless body of his companion. Draco would have left him with the whole body, but he had plans for the head.