On the seventh day of flying Fafnir slowed his pace. For the past few hours the ground had been covered in a thick fog, it blanketed the forest to where even the tips of the trees were not noticeable.
'I need everyone to descend right where I am.' His voice reverberated through their heads as they all watched his figure since into the fog. Morgianna went next with Alnwick following immediately after.
After several minutes of descending the fog began to thin until it eventually became clear. The view was not what Morgianna had expected. Instead of caves and adobe type buildings she was met with a spectacular white castle in the distance that reached far into the sky, the roads looked like they were paved with gold, and everything seemed neat, almost coldly crafted. The homes and businesses were all white and silver. No dark colors could be seen as if there were some rules outlawing them.
The roads, paths, and buildings were all massive, the smaller easily fitting several full-grown dragons inside. Everything was shiny, but the oddest thing was that they saw nobody walking around. It was like a ghost town, not even soldiers patrolled the streets.
She followed Fafnir as he guided them safely away from the Kingdom's outskirts. They were not stupid to just run straight into the enemies' den without any plans. They would hide out for several days to discover what and who they were up against.
After safely landing in a cluster of trees Myra jumped down from Fafnirs back. As soon as her feet had been planted firmly on the ground Fafnir returned to his human form followed by Alnwick who had stared at the city longer than the rest.
"Something is wrong. The Kingdom though not as large as some others was always a lively place. There should have been open markets at this time and children playing." Fafnir was frowning, running his hands through his shaggy black locks. He began pacing all the while looking in the direction of his lost home.
Morgianna could only watch as he wore a path in the forest floor. She did not know what she could say to him. He had been gone for quite a long time so there was no way for them to know when things had changed.
Out of nowhere he stopped his pacing his head whipping to look deeper into the surrounding woods. His nostrils flared as if trying to drag in a scent that only he could pick up. Without even telling them what was happening Fafnir took off at a run. Their shock only lasted a few seconds before Morgianna and the rest took off after him. He was fast, but after years of training the rest of the group was hot on his heels.
They ran for miles with Fafnir never slowing his grueling pace, all the while it seemed they were heading towards the base of a mountain in the distance. Even if Morgianna and the others wished to ask questions they could not focus on anything but putting on foot in front of the other, the slightest distraction could cause them to fall behind and lose sight of him.
The closer they were to the mountain the more Fafnir seemed to push as if he was racing against time. Within minutes they would arrive, but Morgianna felt they were not alone. She was just about to call out when a blast of air went off like a shock wave sending them all flying in different directions into the surrounding trees.
As soon as Morgianna gained her bearing she stood up and went into a battle stance. There were multiple magic signatures surrounding them and she had not noticed them until they were almost on top of their location. 'To my location.' She sent the thought out to her group but did not receive any replies. They were close but she could not just move carelessly.
She did not see who had surrounded them but the magical aura that surrounded them was strong. "Little girl, we have your two friends, do not try anything crazy or we will kill them." A voice that was so deep only Silas and Fafnir had voices that could compare pierced straight to her brain. Its timber seeming to ricochet off the trees.
Morgianna shivered as she used her darkness to blend into the shadows around her. If that man had her friends then she would need a plan, the only question was that he had said two instead of three.
"Found you." This time the voice sounded right behind her head, but before she could even turn two strong arms wrapped around her like a vice squeezing until she saw spots in her vision.
Almost as soon as he had grabbed her she felt the arms ripped away from her being replaced by a much gentler set. Her vision was still blurry but she would recognize the scent that enveloped her anywhere. "I've got you." It was Fafnir, her knight in shining armor as usual.
As her vision started to return she looked at where Fafnir was watching and saw the hunched figure that she assumed used to be the one holding her. The man was on his hands and knees facing away from them, but even with him on all fours he was a mountain. He struggled to one knee and then very slowly rose to his full height a whole head taller than Fafnir.
With Morgianna still in his arms Fafnir's body was a ball of tension a spring ready to release at a moment's notice. Whether that was the fight or flee to fight another day Morgianna did not know.
The man turned slowly, his hands in front of him as if in a sign of surrender, but his eyes held a fire of defiance. The moment his and Fafnir's eyes locked though it was replaced by confusion and disbelief. Almost as if he was seeing a ghost. "Fafnir." with that one uttered word the man's eyes filled with tears and he once again fell to his knees.