Knives flew through her words as she mumbled unpracticed curses and fulminated syllables too thick to understand. Tear sprang from her eyes as she examined the baby dragon's wounds and her heart fluttered angrily at the thought of the monster who could harm him. She held her breath; the pain eating away at her lungs but she did not want to breathe for fear of believing what her eyes saw--it was too much.

She thought not of revenge as she tended to Ammaráth's injuries but of the love and hope she wanted for this land. His rear leg was broken and she wrapped it up tenderly, making sure to set the bone in place as she had learned so many times.  A lesson she was glad she had taken willingly and exceeded in, even though her heart ached for being able to use it.

The twilight continued to haunt her as she scrupulously picked up the scattered and damaged remains of her home. Nothing would be same again and she knew that. As she tided up the room as best she could a crumpled parchment caught her eye; she quickly fell to her knees and picked it up. Master Túrien had a love for all things written it would be unheard of for even the slightest mistake to be tossed away.

With a somber expression and trembling hands she opened the paper; the anger she had felt before bubbled over and increased by tenfold.  Her delicate lips turned a frightful placid colour as she read the few, scribbled words on the parchment:

Eärwen,

I have not enough time--I feel their approach. I beg of you, take Ammaráth and follow the trail to Nithel Caves. You will be protected there. I am sorry I can not be with you. My time grows even shorter. Do not worry, I will be safe.

The tears slid down her face in waves of sadness as she glanced back over at the baby dragon; she spoke to him softly and in hushed tones. The note dropped to the floor as she went to comfort the baby dragon--her best friend and, for now, her only friend. She recalled how she had stumbled upon him and a smile light up her tear-stained face.

"Do not worry," her voice was edged with a softness that teetered between hope and despair, "We will be safe. I promise."

As if to answer her doubts Ammaráth stood up, his tiny green wings flexing slightly and his bright eyes gazing into hers. He opened his mouth slightly and let out a melodic note of happiness that rattled and echoed fervently in her mind. His single note sent shivers through the air and a feeling of awe came over her as she heard the tiny dragon let out another silvern tune.

The dragon song had begun.

Taking the tiny creature into her arms she stood up and looked at the waning moons; her mind was clouded with a swirl of emotions but one thing remained certain. One thing remained steadfast, that she would be the one to end this chaos. A shiver ran up her spine as hollow melodies rang throughout the midnight air, the dragons were awakening.

They sought out their leader and somewhere, deep within her heart she knew that she would be the one to lead them. She knew that she would be their Dragon Queen-- the link between her people and the dragons. Pride ran rampant in her being and she felt endowed with a renewed vigour and love of her homeland--one she had not felt since her mother had revealed who she was.

With quick, silent steps she gracefully went to the window and caught the shapes of dragons dancing playfully with the clouds. With a loving smile, directed at Ammaráth, she closed her eyes and searched for the spark that separated her from every other being--the spark of a dragon.