During a snow storm a noble looking boy along with his mother and entourage had to pause their journey to wait the storm out so they could continue their journey.
With dissatisfaction they decided to rest in an inn nearby. Their journey wasn't supposed to take this much time. If they had known there would be a snow storm today they would've gone another day. Alas their Prince had insisted on taking a trip to the mountains as soon as possible and his mother had no reason to refuse him at the time.
The noble boy went up to the chamber prepared for him after leaving his mother's leisurely with gentle regal steps fitting of a prince and shut the door of his chambers behind him once he had gotten in.
His demeanor instantly did a 360 once he was sure the door had shut behind him. He rushed to the window and looked over to the snowy mountain which was their initial destination.
His mother had already told him that they wouldn't be able to get there today as the mountains would be covered in snow taller than they could walk through easily. When the storm calmed a little the group would be heading back to the castle and would resume their journey another day.
Atlas couldn't accept this, they had already been travelling for a long time and the mountain top was almost in sight. The previous day he had been staring out through his bedroom window which faces the mountains and his eyes caught something on top of one of them, the special mountain, mount Ryu, he had read about it during his history lessons. It was rumored that mount Ryu was the mountain the ancient dragon species use to reside. The dragons had disappeared years before his birth, many suspect that they had gone extinct but some assume that they were just hibernating somewhere hidden on the mountain. This was a tight-lipped secret but because of his position he was privy to some details that only the elite were away about.
He thought had seen a white dragon for a split second. No, he was sure he has seen one. He had to confirm this discovery.
And that how him and his entourage got stuck in this situation.
He looked out straining his eyes as much as he could hoping to see something from where he was and as though fate shined on him a massive pair of white wings spread out and curled back over the mountain for a second. The snow was heavy and the entire mountain was covered in white, if he had not been consciously looking at the mountain in anticipation he would've missed it.
He clenched his fists and looked down out of the windows
Before he even had time to think twice, he jumped out the window. He held on to a tree positioned conveniently beside his window and climbed down it as quietly as he could because he didn't want to alert the guards.
Then he ran, sped, climbed as fast as his legs could carry him. This was not the first time he was going up this mountain so he knew the paths to take and the shortest distance to the top.
Eventually he reached the point where going up further would be detrimental to his health. It was already freezing cold and he knew that although he had a physique stronger than his peers, he was still a human child after all. His body couldn't take exposure to extreme temperatures for extended periods.
Thankfully the view of the top of the mountain was already in sight and he was in awe of the sight before him. His jaw dropped
The massive wing he has seen briefly from the inn window was truly connected to a colossal dragon, white as the snow and with its majestic large eyes fixed on him
"Magnificent…" is the only word that could come out of Atlas' mouth
He had never seen a real dragon in all his life, he had only read and seen pictures of them in books.
And the dragon in front of his was much grander than any he had read of or seen in the books
There was only one odd thing he noticed, the dragon's image was faint and flashy, as though it would vanish any moment. As he was taking the image all in he spotted something else that caught his eye.
Which is a wonder as he stood in front of a real life dragon
His brows furrowed in bewilderment and he stared at it in order to confirm that he what he was seeing. The dragon followed his line of sight and knew instantly what he what looking at. It carefully monitored his face for any change of expression.
After he had confirmed his suspicions, he looked back up to the dragon as though asking for answers. The dragon was surprised at his reaction but just gave him a piercing stare.
At the dragons feet there was a young girl, he couldn't a certain her age but she didn't look bigger than him. She was wriggling in pain and her face contorting as though she was having a terrible nightmare. She was barely breathing lying alone in the snow and although the dragons figure seemed to keep snow from covering her and her being buried in it, some snow had still gotten on her. She wasn't wearing warm clothes and it was only a matter of time. Thinking reasonably, Atlas couldn't even believe she was alive after seemingly being there for a while. The mountain top was a valley so high up that it would take less than a minute for an adult man to freeze to death there during this weather and yet this little was somehow still breathing, suffering all alone, well technically not totally all alone. He looked up at the white dragon sheltering her or trying to.
The dragons eyes were still fixed on the boy, neither saying or asking anything nor trying to pass any message. He had stopped trying to see through the boy and was now just looking at him and observing his actions curiously.
The boy looked straight into his eyes returning his stare. 'hmm… a brave one' thought the dragon
A second later just as he had done when he jumped out the window he stepped forward without any fear in his eyes
'hmm…'
He walked forward with determined and strong steps towards the unlikely pair
The dragon just watched him motionlessly
After struggling to move against the wind for a while he was near the girl but he could feel his head becoming lighter and his consciousness starting to slip away
He took out the small dagger hidden in his boot and held it in his hand before gripping tightly on it.
It stung and his blood stained the white snow. He grit his teeth and continued forward through the snow covered path still gripping tightly on the dagger and further staining the snow with blood
The dragon continued to watch him. Soon he reached was very near the girl and got to the place where the dragons towering figure stopped the snow from falling down to the ground
He realized that he was now within the dragon's proximity but didn't stop or give it a second thought as he move towards the person he was now sure was a little girl.
The girl had white hair a simar shade to the dragon. He knelt by her side, dropped his dagger and grabbed her hand and started trying to warm it with his warm cloak and hands
Both their hands were icy cold but he bet on his being a little less cold than her who had been here longer. He couldn't even remember the fresh wound he had on his hand anymore. His hands had already become numb because of the cold, and the wound no longer bleeding as the blood had frozen over.
His bet pulled through and the girl suddenly opened her eyes. She was relieved to finally wake up from that nightmare
Atlas was surprised, she sat up and looked at him
A smile donned on Atlas' face "Such Pretty white eyes and hair" he thought out loud
The girl saw the dire state the boy who woke her up was in "why did you save me?" she asked tears running down her eyes
The boy was shocked to see her crying and wasn't sure whether she was crying because of the nightmare she had or for him.
"Please don't cry, it was just a nightmare, i'm here with you now. Nobody should have to grow through this alone, mother says that company makes everything feel better. So please stop crying before your tears freeze as well
She stopped crying
He smiled warmly again
Kahlila couldn't believe the boy was making jokes in this situation
"It's a pity though…" Atlas said before he fell backward
'I assumed I had a little more time to spend with her… I hope she doesn't cry anymore…'
Kahlila panicked, she grabbed him and shook him " wake up!!!"
He was ice cold and his heart would stop any moment
'Mother… Father…Alwyn will be very mad at me this time….I wish I could've at least seen her smile, that would've been a sight ….to see
….
He stopped breathing
Kahlila's eyes widened, she put her ear to his chest and felt no heartbeat
"no! no!! no!!!!""
Her eyes closed and for a second it was as though time had paused
The dragons image was very faint by now, almost invisible, he was doing his best to stay there
''Kahlila…''
Snow had started to pour down on them as his image flickered
The next second, she opened her eyes and they glowed brightly
All the snow melted almost instantly and there was no trace of the snow storm that had threatened to bury them on the mountain. The sun came out and all the trees and grasses came alive, flowers bloomed everywhere and birds sung. It was as though time had passed and seasons changed in all less than a minute.
The bright sun shun on them and she looked eagerly at the boy who had saved her. Only a vestige of the dragon remained and it too looked at the boy eagerly. The girl seemed to be aware of it's presence but was too focused on the boy to care.
The boy suddenly inhaled. His heart had resumed beating. Kahlila finally let out the breath she didn't even know she had been holding. The dragon sighed in relief and closed his eyes. This was the first time since the boy found them that he had taken his eyes of him
He sat up after catching his breath a little
'I'm alive?'
He turned to look at the girl and then around them. He remembers the scenery from this place he had been before. 'I'm alive!'
He turns back to the girl and gives her a bright warm smile "I knew you were a magical princess!"
She stifles a giggle 'What a sweet and honest smile' she thought to herself as she smiled back warmly at someone for the first time since she can remember.
The boy blushes, for a second he was stunned by her smile, he had seen tons of smiles but not one half as pretty as hers… he suddenly felt even more grateful for this second shot at life. His heart was thumping loudly and he was the happiest he had ever been.
He stretched out his hand "Nice to meet you, I'm Atlas Koa but you can call me Koa we almost died together so were best buddies now" he smiled wider
she stared at him dazedly, thinking of what he had just said
She snapped out of it and reciprocated his wide smile with one of her own '' Sure Koa! Nice to meet you too I'm Kahlila"
He bent closer to her "I'll call you Lila then" and gave her a cheeky grin
"Sure."
The vestige of the dragon smiled and disappeared.
"She. won't .. be … alone anymore"