Cassandra Pendragon

"She put her trust in the wrong people and payed the price," the dragoness replied quietly, her voice cracking for the first time ever since we had met. "She put her trust in her family," she added, even more quietly, "and they used her like a weapon. Once she had fulfilled her task they silenced and buried her." No matter how hard I tried, my gaze couldn't pierce the wall of shadows behind the door. A single, angrily burning spark ignited on my palm, but instead of setting it free I closed my fist and extinguished the mote of light. Not yet, I thought and focused back on the smell of grief that filled the tunnel like a bouquet of chrysanthemums.

"Have I just asked you to heal someone responsible for your best friend's death," I asked instead without turning around. Sympathy or pity were the last things Yueji needed now and she'd have seen both, if I had met her eye. I heard her scales chafe over the rocky floor before she answered:

"No. He can't be older than a decade or two, but he still comes from the same lineage. Foxes… can't be trusted."

"I beg to differ," I mumbled. "Just ask your companion or your niece. I'm sure the two of them trust me well enough."

"You're different. An immortal you called yourself… you're not really a kitsune, are you? And even if you were… your people aren't related to the spirits of my home, are they?"

"No… not really. The spirits you know might have been born from my kin's dreams and their magic, though. My people have lived on this world for a very long time and they're powerful… much more so than they remember. Powerful enough for their dreams to have grown wings of their own. Does it matter?" I squared my shoulders and finally turned around. "What are you trying to say?" Her glowing gaze flickered from my eyes to my tails and back again. She was still reluctant to confide in me, but after a few moments she admitted:

"In contrast to the world you come from, each realm has been born from a single spark. From the…"

"From the blood of the elements and the tears of the past," I interrupted impatiently. "I remember. I… I have seen it before." Curiosity shimmered in her bright gaze, but she didn't ask and I didn't elaborate. I wasn't very keen on explaining how a human from Free Land had come to witness Gaya's creation.

"If you put it like that," she continued instead, "it sounds like a metaphor, but it really isn't. Deep within my home the remnants of the past are something you can touch… something you can control." Great… another supercharged toy which had apparently fallen into the wrong hands.

"The crown of a king is forged in blood… were you chased away for power?"

"In a way," she admitted. "Us spirit dragons have guarded the source of our realm for longer than even we can remember. The fox clan needed a reason to usurp our position. They used my friend to make it look like I had tried to harness the power instead of guarding it. Even her death… Xiaoyue supposedly died at my hands when I realised that she had seen through my game."

"And in the aftermath your kin's integrity was called into question. I see… Lin's told me that you've snuck into the land of dreams a few times. Do you know what we can expect down there?"

"It's been years, but with a half dead fox on the doorstep… nothing good." I felt my lips turn into a thin line while I digested her words. When the thawing rocks groaned for the last time and silence finally returned I said:

"I get why Lin hasn't told me before, but I don't quite understand why you're reluctant to wake him up, for one, and I also can't fathom what you could possibly want from me. A plea? Do you expect me to clear your name? Hunt down the ones responsible?"

"I want you to help me free my family," she immediately explained. "Have you never wondered why the only two spirits you've met are related?" I shrugged.

"Not really. It made sense to me… Lin and Mei are related, too. Magic often mirrors reality and the symmetry..."

"If only," she snorted. "Lin told you that she had felt like Baihe had been followed when she had crossed over. Neither one of us thought much of it, because my bloodline is still being chased. Maybe we should have… but that's in the past. In the end, Baihe and I are here to grow strong enough to help our family. They're being held captive deep within our realm… without you it'll take us centuries to amass enough power and allies to free them. With you, though…" her voice faded away, but a tightening knot of worry was left behind in the pit of my stomach.

I began to pace up and down while my wings phased in and out like a dream on the cusp of tomorrow and my tails slashed through the air nervously. Maybe I was once again reading a bit too much into a feud between spirits, but… a way to gain control over a realm? Right now there were a few nightmares left who were literally dying to reclaim a home for themselves. Coincidence? Or was there more to Yueji's story? Had some spirits been colluding with their enemies, even back then? A nasty idea made me snarl. They had been after Yueji and Baihe like a fox after rats. What if they hadn't needed any one spirit, but those two in particular? If their line had stood guard over the treasures of their realm for aeons, it stood to reason that they had placed one enchantment or the other on their prize. What if they had been after the dragonesses' blood to break the spells of their ancestors? Luckily there was a pretty easy way to find out.

"Yueji," I asked hesitantly, "Baihe and you… you don't happen to be descendants of some special bloodline among spirit dragons, are you?" A warm gust of air blew my hair back when her throat began to glow pink and blue. Oh boy.

"I… yes. It doesn't make much sense to slap human labels like royalty or crown guard onto us, but my bloodline has always watched over the heart of our realm. Spirits don't usually settle down… we did. My family doesn't roam freely, we've always stayed close to the source." I stopped in my tracks and raised my hands to massage my temples. After a few seconds I asked:

"Source, heart of the realm, remnant of the past… what do you actually mean?"

"It's a gem, about as big as you are tall. Our realm is constantly absorbing the excess energy Gaya can't cope with. The gem is a… valve, in a way, it regulates and distributes the influx of magic."

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"And whoever controls it, controls the power of the entire realm. I see… damn it! Lin!" The girl had been half hiding behind her dragoness, but I could still see her azure tresses dance when she jerked.

"Yes?"

"Did you know all this?"

"I did…"

"Then why, in god's name, didn't you tell me?" She sighed.

"Because it's not my story and Yueji didn't trust you." My eyes ignited and I had to turn away and clench my jaws to swallow my rising anger.

"And now? Do you trust me now," I ground out, "or did you simply panicked when you saw the wounded fox?" The dragoness' coils twitched uncomfortably.

"A bit of both? Look, in my experience power and wealth are pretty similar. The more you have, the more you want and I thought…"

"I might be tempted by a pretty jewel? Damn it, you don't know me at all, do you?"

"How could we? You've been here for less than a day and, even though I'm grateful for everything you've done, you're about as erratic as a squirrel on ephedra. If it had been up to Lin, she'd have told you everything as soon as you decided to enter the caves, but I'm not going to put my trust in another beautiful vixen when I've already been burned before. Not if I have a choice…"

"Fine," I spat, "I can hardly fault you, but I want you tell me everything right now. If you don't, I swear, I will leave the two of you right here. Now then, is there anything else you might want to add?" Again I could feel their connection hum to life as they exchanged their thoughts. Was this how everybody else felt, whenever I was talking to Ahri or Viyara? Truth be told it was decidedly unpleasant. Like walking into a room where people were whispering behind your back.

"I… no, there isn't," the dragoness finally replied. "At least not about my home… everything else can wait." Which meant there definitely was something else.

"Out with it," I snarled. "I'm done playing the bumbling, blind buffoon." This time they only looked at each other before Lin blurted out in a rush:

"Do you have any unmarried relatives?" I stilled, but I could feel my ears twitch agitatedly and when she added: "a girl, by any chance," I even stumbled.

"Are you serious right now," I hissed as I leaned against a wall to regain my balance. Lin only shrugged.

"You asked… maybe we can revisit the topic at a less… demanding time?"

"If you want me to play match maker, I'd rather not revisit the topic at all." Despite my surprise I was still curious what the two of them were actually thinking. To me it sounded like they were looking to form marital ties with my family, a tried and tested practice all over the world, but the jump from distrusting me enough to withhold information to marriage wasn't just a leap, it was a world record in long jumping. Not to mention that they were shit out of luck.

Aside from my mom, there was no woman left in my family who wasn't spoken for and the vixen in question… marrying a queen, even if my mom was willing to entertain the idea, would entail a bunch of concessions they probably wouldn't be happy with. Plus, I didn't really expect my mother to ever marry again. Once had been more than enough, especially with how my father had actually treated her… us. Damn it, as grateful as I was for Reia, I was still angry at the sleazy, lying skirt chaser. Never mind us kids, but his wife would have deserved a faithful husband. Shit… here I went again, making decisions for her without asking. At the very least I'd have to tell her.

"Don't you at least want to know why we're mentioning marriage," Lin asked timidly, unable to meet my gaze.

"Not really, but I might owe it to someone else… fine, I'll listen. Once we get out of here. Until then, let's stick to the matters at hand." I jerked my head towards the unconscious fox. "Can you wake him up now? I want to hear his story before we go any further."

"There's no need," Yueji replied with a faint growl in her voice. "His magic is strong. He woke up a few minutes ago and now he's just pretending." Her tail whipped past me and smacked his upturned, exposed rump between his limp tails. An undignified squawk filled the tunnel and I suppressed another sigh. I hadn't been paying much attention to the fox, but that was hardly an excuse. I should have realised the moment he had regained consciousness.

"I'm awake alright, but I'm still hurt," a young, whiny voice complained from underneath the flood of bloodied, pitch black fur and -by now- swishing tails with silver tips. Somehow I immediately thought of Archy, even though the comparison might have been unfair, considering that the young kitsune had recently started to grow a p… to grow up. With a theatrical wince he flopped around like a fish on dry land until he managed to sit up straight…ish. Deep blue, watering eyes stared at us from a feline face covered in pitch black fur. A nasty cut ran from his left ear to to tip of his snout, but the wound looked several days old already and was closing even further by the second. "Isn't there a rule somewhere that prisoners should be fed and not assaulted?"

He gingerly poked his stomach and added: "by pure chance I've listened to a tiny part of your conversation. Bottom line, I don't have any love left for my people. As you can see, I didn't leave on the best of terms. Get me something to chew on and I'll not only spill the beans, heck, I'll draw you a map of how to fuck my family over thoroughly." I blinked once, then twice and then I chuckled. True enough, he sounded just like Archy, but his character was much more in line with John's opportunistic worldview. The bigmouth had reacted almost the same way when we had ambushed him and his two playmates in the "Dream". Come to think of it, fox spirits weren't exactly known for their loyalty in the first place.

Luckily I had stored quite a bit of food in my stamp by now. Mainly sweets and pastries to be honest, but they'd still serve to fill him up… and possibly give him a sugar rush. While I was regretfully choosing the delicacies I could live without I frowned and asked:

"Do spirits even eat?"

"In a way," Yueji began to explain, but she didn't get far. As soon as I produced the first piece of dried fruit smothered in honey the fox interrupted her, his gaze glued to the dripping, golden morsel between my fingers.

"Our bodies survive on pure energy, but actual sustenance speeds up our regeneration. We can break it down quite efficiently and use it to heal our bodies. Can I have that?" With a shrug I tossed it over and he caught it directly between his teeth. "Thanks," he mumbled through bulging cheeks. "Do you have more?"

"If you can't eat more than your own weight, it'll be enough." I twirled my fingers and conjured an entire basket of honey dripping fruits. "Help yourself. Can you talk while you eat?"

"I can even dance and sing. What do you want to know?"

"Why you've been crawling away from your home, looking like minced meat, for starters."

A star fruit and a pineapple vanished down his gullet before her replied: "that's easy." His eyes darted to Yueji before he continued: "she's already told you that her family is being held captive, right? Your hunch was spot on. Nobody can meddle with the heart of our realm without breaking the enchantments placed upon it and they're tied to her bloodline. As you can imagine the dragons aren't very cooperative. I've been… asked to make them comply. Obviously I didn't and my lack of enthusiasm was interpreted as treason. The consequences of my bout of insanity you can still see all over my body. Among other mementos. Fucking spineless cowards, the lot of them." He reached for a banana and added: "come to think of it, I'm a bloody hero, aren't I?"

"Sure," Yueji snarled and her presence suddenly filled the corridor like a brewing storm. "And what's the reason behind your defiance? As far as I know your kin enjoys inflicting pain and breaking minds. It's in your nature." He swallowed and granted her a pinched smile.

"Guilty as charged. My aunt. She's the one behind the entire shit show and if she's successful, she'll cement her rule over us. I've never liked the bitch and I'd rather see our realm go up in flames than have her rule over it. Call me petty, if you must, but in the end I still protected your kin, didn't I?"

"Right," the dragoness hissed. "I wonder who's sharpening their knifes in your stead?"

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