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Chapter Text

            Enchanted armor glistened in the sunlight.  Shoulders were rolled back and the breastplate fell ever so slightly as the knight let out a deep breath.  With determination the gauntlet covered hand reached forward and pulled the embroidered cloth to the side.  Metal clanked as she walked into the seer’s tent.  Dim lighting and cool water vapor filled the cloth enclosure.  The knight removed her helmet, displaying short, messy, strawberry blonde hair and waited by the entrance.  When no objections were given at her arrival, Pearl stepped forward, took a knee, and bowed her head in front of the thin woman sitting cross-legged on a giant pillow covered with embroidered designs and jewels.  The seer’s eyes were closed and her elbows were resting on her knees with her hands held out to the side; thumb and pointer fingers touching.

            “Oh great and all knowing-”

            “Bob.”

            The bowed head snapped up, eyebrows furrowed.

            “Bob,” the seer repeated in monotone, opening up one dark blue eye for a second to look at the knight before closing it.

            “Oh great and all knowing Bob-”

            “Only death awaits those who seek out the fire, ice, and lightning elements.”

            “What?” Pearl’s confusion was only growing.

            “What you seek in order to help with your quest,” the seer stated in the same dull tone.

            “How did-”

            The seer opened both of her eyes and raised an eyebrow at her.  The knight cleared her throat.

            “Of course you know, if you didn’t then you wouldn’t be such a great seer.”

            “If you do wish to face inevitable death then you can trek through the winding, grey, stone pathways to the smoke shrouded castle where three powerful dragons guard the elemental powers of fire, ice, and lightning.”

            “Is there any advice or help that I may seek from you?  A way to perhaps defeat these dragons and acquire the elemental powers?”

            The seer snorted.  “Can you charm a dragon?”

            Pearl’s face heated up.  “N-no.”

            “Then there’s nothing else I can say.”  With that the seer closed her eyes and returned to her meditation.

            “Thank you,” the knight quietly whispered.

            From a pouch strapped to her side she procured a palm-sized, tear shaped lapis lazuli and set it at the base of the pillow.  With one last bow she exited the tent.  The knight pulled out her map and compass and set it on the ground.  Teeth worried her bottom lip as she did the calculations for her journey.  Once she had taken into consideration the direction and speed of the wind on top of all her other measurements, Pearl unsheathed a short dagger and used the hilt to carefully carve a circle with an arrow enclosed in the grass covered ground.  The circle was about two feet in diameter and the arrow pointed in the direction she wished to travel.  Pearl double checked the length of the arrow to ensure that the distance she would be transported was correct.  The short dagger was cleaned off and put away.  In another pouch, of the many that adorned the knight’s waist and sides of her legs, a piece of sandstone about half the size of her fist was pulled out.  Pearl quickly glanced back into the pouch to count how many pieces still remained.

            “Five, good.”

             For a moment the knight stood there mentally running through her checklist.

            Armor, in great condition with enchantments against fire.  Fire resistant clothes.  Elixir to make my body more resistant to heat.  Weapons sharpened and cleaned.  Empty pouches ready to carry the items that bestow the powers of fire, ice, and lightning.  A good number of power stones.  Food and water for a couple of days.

            I can do this.

            I need to do this.  We are running out of time and need the help.

            Light blue eyes snapped open as the piece of sandstone was crushed between her gauntlets.  Quickly she sprinkled the resulting dust in the grooves carved into the ground by her dagger.  The particles of sand were already beginning to lift off the ground and swirl around.  Pearl jumped into the middle of the circle and braced herself.

            Sand continued to drift and swirl around, rapidly picking up speed until it had formed a semi-solid sphere around the knight.  An instant later it launched her into the air, its trajectory following the direction that the arrow had been pointing.  The landscape blinked past Pearl.  Green forests broke for a second as a town or city would appear.  Swamps followed by a large volcanic area came next.  Squinted eyes finally saw her destination coming up just as the momentum of her sand sphere was slowing.  Local vegetation stopped at a grey ridge of stone that had one distinct path leading up towards a clouded area.

            The smoke shrouded castle.

            Pearl used her body to adjust her trajectory ever so slightly, aiming to land in that path and not the ridges.  A smirk appeared in the corner of her lips as she lined up the sphere for a perfect landing.  She quickly grabbed a rose quartz stone out of her pouch and threw it moments before impact at the spot she was bound to hit.  The stone shattered in a cloud of dense, pink smoke.  Pearl braced herself behind her shield.  Sand dissipated, throwing the armored knight into the swirling mass of pink.  The smoke served to cushion the otherwise extremely painful impact.  It took a couple of seconds to regain her bearings and stand, but the journey had been a success.  Pearl shook off some of the sand and doubled-checked her condition.  One hand lifted up the visor of her helmet while the other swiftly pulled out the heat resistance elixir.  In two gulps the whole vial had been consumed and the visor was set back down.  With determination shining bright in covered light blue eyes, the knight began the long trek up towards the castle.

            Every ridge and boulder was cautiously approached, there was no telling when the dragons would pop out and try to burn her to a crisp.  Despite all of her experience as a knight, Pearl had never fought, much less seen a dragon in her whole life.  Sure she had heard any number of tales and descriptions, but she had no idea what the three she would be facing looked like.  No one did.  Everyone who had sought after the powers of fire, ice, and lightning, had never returned.  For all she knew they could be small enough to hide behind a mid-sized boulder, or large enough to block out the sun.

            As she got closer to the top of the path, tendrils of smoke began to float around, hanging close to the ground.  After what seemed like another mile, the ridges gave way to a large smoke-filled crater.  Pearl hid herself behind a boulder and began to examine the area.  In the middle of the crater was a plateau.  What was on top of the plateau was obscured by all of the smoke.  That had to be where the castle was.  One narrow stone arch connected the opening in the ridges to the assumed entrance of the castle.  Light blue eyes looked around for any other way to the plateau, but only found sheer drops into the crater.  Using a tiny piece of sandstone might work, but the dragons could easily pick her out of the sky and she had no idea if she would run face first into part of the castle.  The bridge was her only option.

            Be quick, you’ll be completely exposed while on the bridge.

            Pearl pulled out one of her rare, grain-sized, blue sapphires and swallowed it.  The effects could be felt instantly.  Her body felt lighter and for the first time she could envision the castle and what awaited her.  One dragon was right at the entrance, hiding in the thick smoke.  In the last moments Pearl had her ability to see into the future, she saw the path to run to avoid the first blast of fire and make it into the courtyard.  The knight crouched low, then sprinted across the stone arch with incredible speed.  As anticipated the first blast of fire came at her once she reached the middle, but she had already jumped to the side and was only caught the fringe of the hot flames.  Pearl could hear the dragon breathe in again.  Arms pumped at her sides and armored feet pushed against the ground as hard as they could.  She sailed through the air, over the next blast, and broke her fall with a roll.  Shield and sword were at the ready the instant the knight was on her feet again.  She had made it into the courtyard and finally got her first real visual on the dragon.

            It was at least three times as tall as Pearl and equally broad as tall.  Lengthwise the dragon could easily fill a whole short-range boat.  Large, blood-red, rounded scales that pointed at the tips covered the beast’s body.  Leathery wings were tucked close to its sides, as stubby, yet muscular legs made calculated steps around and towards the intruder; two-foot-long claws scrapping across the stone floor.  Footlong, serrated, white fangs lined the partially opened mouth of the dragon and black eyes with glowing red slits for irises stared her down.  Two short, curved, pointed horns protruded out of the top of the dragon’s head.

            I need to avoid all of those if I don’t want to get sliced into pieces.

            As the dragon’s body shifted, Pearl got a second look at the glimmering stones running all along the outside of the beast’s spine, starting at the top of its head in the middle of its horns and ending at the tip of its short, thick tail.  Rubies.  Giant rubies.  Rubies the size of the bowls used during feasts.  That alone made Pearl understand why dragons were hunted down despite how dangerous they were.  Just one of those could last a knight or other stone wielder several years.

            Flames rushed out of the dragon’s mouth, forcing Pearl to snap out of her thoughts and brace herself behind her shield.  The blast pushed the knight back, but the heat was barely even registered.  Black eyes narrowed and the dragon let out a displeased rumble.  Pearl smirked and charged forward, brandishing her sword.  For a few moments the two danced around, the dragon lashing out with blasts of flames and swipes with their lethal claws while the knight would avoid and deflect, and then follow-up with her own attempts to land a blow or two.  The sword sliced through the air only to ricochet off the scales on the side of the dragon’s leg.  Pearl could have sworn she heard the beast chuckle.  The knight jumped away and exhaled heavily, she needed to find a way around the dragon, there was no chance she would be able to beat it without extinguishing all of her supplies.

            And then I would have nothing to help me face off against the other two.

            Light blue eyes focused on the grinning dragon as she mapped out her plan to make a dash for the door on the other side of the courtyard.  However, everything changed when an ice-cold frost crept up the back of her neck.  Pearl whirled around just in time to see the second dragon open its mouth wide and release a barrage of liquid ice that froze the instant it touched something.  Ice covered her body, effectively freezing her where she stood.

            An ice dragon?!?!

            She had only heard stories of fire dragons, this changed everything.

            Wait, fire, ice, lightning…

            Pearl would have smacked herself in the face if she could move.  If she could place a bet the third dragon had the elemental power of lightning.  Of course the ancient artifacts that bestowed those powers would be guarded by dragons that possessed the same abilities.

            A familiar roar came from behind, followed by the freeing blast of fire that melted the ice that held Pearl captive.  The knight didn’t waste a second, the instant her feet could move she was sprinting to the spot farthest from the two dragons.  Shield and sword were held up in a defensive position, ready for whatever came next.  Pearl watched as the ice dragon practically floated around the fire dragon in a way the knight might almost consider to be affectionate.  Growls and clicks of fangs were exchanged back and forth.  The two dragons settled and faced her standing side by side.

            Pale blue scales that looked more like spines covered the ice dragon.  Its build was nearly twice as long as the first, yet one fourth of the thickness.  Sickle-like claws punctured the stone they were resting on with no additional force.  Pearl gulped at the observation.  The array of sapphires adorning the dragon ran from the tips of its wings, to up its neck, and then collected around the single, large, round, deep blue eye with a black pupil.  While the size of the stones were considerably smaller than the rubies on the fire dragon, there was a greater number of them.  Protruding out of the crown of the dragon’s head was an array of flexible, elongated spines that waved back and forth as the dragon moved.  The ice dragon pulled back its lips to reveal translucent fangs that were long and pointed like daggers; its eye zeroed in on the knight.

            For a moment the three remained in their place, but as soon as Pearl thought to make a move for opal stones in her pouch, the ice dragon zipped to the side at blinding speed and snapped Pearl with its tail.  Spines pierced her armor and bit into the chainmail underneath.  The knight winced as she felt a couple of them break the links and stab into her lower back.  As she was falling towards the ground the fire dragon came out of nowhere and struck her with its blunt tail, speeding up her meeting with the hard stone.  Metal clattered against rock and echoed throughout the courtyard.  Stars danced in front of Pearl’s eyes as she struggled to push herself up and stand.  The collective breathing in from both of the dragons filled the knight with dread.  Fire and ice bombarded her at the same time, ice on her right side and fire on her left.  It didn’t take long for the ice to trap half of her body and chill her to the bone.  On her other side her enchantments held up at first, but soon the white-hot flames began to warp and melt the armor.  Pearl couldn’t tell if she was being frozen to death or cooked alive.  The two extremes in temperatures collided in the center of her armor where small cracks began to form as the bombardment did not let up.

            If my armor goes I will be dead in an instant.

            Light blue eyes looked down as much as she could at her pouches only to find they had been incinerated or frozen.  Her stones were now either encased in the ice covered pouches or laying on the ground due to their containers having been reduced to ashes.  There was no way she would be able to reach any of them.  The only thing Pearl could do was wait for her inevitable death to come.

            “STOP!” A new voice called out.

            Just like that the fire and ice dragons closed their mouths and turned to looked down between them.  Pearl let out a huge sigh of relief.  Once the elements had settled around her, the knight was able to move her head enough to see who had spoken out.  Between the two dragons, casually petting both of them on the head, was a tall woman with midnight dreadlocks that cascaded down to her shoulder blades.  A purple, white, and gold, floor-length dress with a wide neckline, long sleeves, and poofy shoulder caps adorned the woman, complimenting her dark umber skin well.

            “What is it?”

            The two dragons growled and clicked their fangs together.  Electrifying, purple eyes turned to look at the half frozen, half melted knight.

            “Who are you?” she demanded.

Chapter Text

            Words failed to form as the knight tried to comprehend what had just transpired.  One moment the dragons were hellbent on killing her, and then the next they had stopped simply because this fearless, beautiful woman had asked them to.

            Is she a princess that is being held captive here?

            “Who are you?” came the repeated demand.

            Light blue eyes widened, Pearl’s heart hammering in her chest.  On instinct she attempted to drop to her knee or bow but was unable to.  The melted parts of her armor had welded shut upon cooling down.

            “I-I-I am Sir Pearl of the Rose Royal Guard!” she shouted out instead, her voice trembling far more than she had wanted it to.

            The tall lady strode over to her half frozen, half melted suit of armor.

            “Why are you here?”

            Several thoughts sped through Pearl’s mind.  One of which was to shout out and say that she was there to rescue the princess, but she could be completely wrong about that and risk offending the lady or the dragons that were following close behind.

            “I seek the elements of fire, ice, and lightning to aid me on my quest!”

            When the lady had reached the knight, her hand shot out and ripped the visor right off Pearl’s face.  Surprised light blue eyes stared up into suspicious purples.

            “And what quest is that?”

            The fair skinned knight had to take a couple of deep breaths before she could answer.  “To bring them back to my kingdom and use them to help us fight off the intruders that have been waging war against us for months.”

            Pearl’s attention was drawn to the middle of the dark woman’s forehead where a detailed eye was tattooed.  It wasn’t a human eye but rather a reptilian one with scales tattooed around it and fading into the woman’s skin.  The fire dragon emitted a noise that could be best categorized as some sort of laughter.  Although if Pearl was to describe it, it sounded like a blacksmith’s bellow that had suddenly started coughing.  Both the ice dragon and the lady spared a glance at the laughing dragon.

            “Most of the travelers who come here seek the same thing.  I’ll give you this one chance to turn and leave.”

            What?!  Turn and leave?  After the weeks I’ve spent gathering information and resources in order to even just get here?  No.  I can’t.  I can’t go back empty handed, we will be wiped out without any sort of help.

            “I can’t leave, I must complete my quest and bring aid to my kingdom otherwise we will be destroyed.  I don’t want to fight your dragons, I just want to collect the elements and leave you in piece,” Pearl practically begged.

            “Collect?  Just what do you think gives one the ability to control an element?” A black eyebrow was raised up.

            In all honesty, the knight didn’t have a clear idea.  Throughout all of her searches and inquiries she had been given conflicting descriptions on what the items looked like every single time.  The only common thread between all of the information was that they radiated unmistakable power.

            “A-a rune, an amulet…” she almost added the other one she had heard, the heart of a magical creature, but she felt it best not to say that one in front of the dragons, “or a weapon.”

            The lady hummed as she exchanged a wordless conversation with the two dragons.  With a roar the fire dragon took three large steps towards the knight.  Pearl braced herself for the worst.  However, instead of getting blasted with white-hot flames, the dragon breathed out softly, effectively melting the ice trapping one half of Pearl’s body.  The knight stumbled forward and fell face first onto the ground like a tower of bottles tumbling down.  A light chuckle and more dragon laughter reached her ears.

            “I will let you stay for the night Sir Pearl so you can collect yourself and get ready for your journey home,” the lady announced as she hooked her hands under Pearl’s armpits and lifted the knight onto her feet.  “Perhaps you can tell me more about your kingdom and why you’d go to such dangerous lengths to protect it.”

            Words failed the knight for a moment.

            “Th-thank you…um, I apologize fair lady, what is your name?”

            Round lips were parted and pulled upwards into a smile.  “I am Garnet,” she said as they began to make their way across the courtyard.

            Pearl clanked about awkwardly, her welded side made it impossible for her to walk fluidly with that leg and required the assistance of the surprisingly strong lady.

            “Thank you, Lady Garnet for your kindness and generosity, I am forever in your debt.  You saved my life.”

            Purple eyes focused on a spot ahead of them.  “For now I have, these two were also feeling generous today.”

            Pearl swallowed nervously and dared to look at the two dragons that walked beside them.  “Thank you, great dragons, I was no match for either of you.  I humbly accept my defeat.”

            A snort was emitted from both dragons.  Leather wings stretched high into the sky before the beat down, towards the ground.  In seconds the two were airborn and had disappeared into the smoke hanging around them.  When they neared the door at the end of the courtyard, Lady Garnet made a motion with her hands and it flung itself open for them.  The knight stared and continued to watch as best as she could to see the door close behind them once they had entered the grey, stone, castle.

            “Lady Garnet, are you by chance a magic castor?”

            “In a way, yes, I wouldn’t consider myself a magician though.”

            “Oh, that is amazing though.  I am a proficient stone castor.”

            Upon saying that, Pearl realized that her remaining pouches were back in the courtyard, along with her loose stones.  Thin lips were pressed into a line.

            “You can get your items later, right now we are going to take care of those spines in your back, and then I’ll show you to the bath area.”

            “Oh, OK…wait the spines are still in my back?  I thought they had melted with the rest of the ice.”

            Garnet chuckled.  “No, those are more like translucent scales.”

            “I see.”

            For the rest of the journey through the castle’s hallways and stairwells, Pearl remained silent and did her best to memorize the path they took.  In the distance the familiar roar of the fire dragon could be heard.

            “In here we can get those spines out and remove your armor.” Garnet spoke up as she stopped in a small, stone room.  “Keep yourself upright with the wall,” she ordered as she braced the knight against it.

            “I don’t even feel the spines.”

            A hand grabbed Pearl’s movable one, pulled it behind her back, and rested it on one of the spines.  Pearl quickly jerked her hand away as she felt the chilling cold seeping through her gauntlet.

            “Your back is numb, these slowly freeze whatever they touch.  Once you take a dip in the bathwater, you’ll be able to feel it more.  Although you probably won’t want to.”

            Pearl just braced herself against the wall and quietly waited while the lady went to work.

            “What about your hands?  I barely touched them and they got cold!  I can’t let you hurt yourself.”

            “I live with those two, I know very well how to handle heat and cold,” came the slightly annoyed sigh.

            “Oh, right, I apologize My Lady.”  Pearl’s face burned.

            Of course the lady knew how to handle those elements.  She was about to ask how she dealt with the lightning dragon but decided to keep her mouth shut.

            “There, all done.  Shall I leave you to get out of your armor?”

            “I…I normally can remove it myself but seeing as I don’t have use of my left side, if you could undo a couple of straps, I would greatly appreciate it.”

            Before the knight could say anything more, Garnet undid the exact straps she was about to mention.

            “When you are done, come to the next door down the hall on your left, that’s where the bath is.”

            Garnet turned and left before any response could be given.  Pearl stood there, thoroughly embarrassed, as she worked to extract herself from her damaged armor.  It took longer than usual and she may or may not have fallen to the ground in the process, but finally she was free.  Hands reached back to touch were the spines had been.  Just like Lady Garnet had said, her skin was completely numb and freezing to the touch.  A frown quirked onto her lips.  Light blue eyes examined her attire.  There was no way she felt comfortable or safe enough to remove her chain mail or tunic.

            Bathing in my clothes it is.

            Pearl cautiously made her way out of the room, down the hall, and into the next room on the left.  Garnet sat on the edge of the stone tub, swirling her hand around in the lightly steaming water.  The woman’s dreadlocks were hanging to the side, thus exposing the back of her neck and shoulders.  More tattoos adorned her skin, running up her neck, across her shoulders, and down past what was visible.  Before Pearl could get a close enough look to discern what this one was of, Garnet stood up and faced her.

            “You plan to bathe in that?”

            “Yes,” Pearl wrapped her arms around herself, her body stiffening.  “I hope you understand that I don’t quite feel safe without it on.”

            “Not at all, on the contrary, I would have considered you a fool to remove it,” Garnet stated as her electrifying purple eyes stared right into light blues.

            For a moment they just stared at each other, and then Garnet left without another word.  Pearl swallowed and eyed the tub.  Carefully she dipped a pinky in the water.  It was hot, but more importantly it didn’t cause her any harm, either temperature-wise or chemical-wise.  While the knight was inclined to trust the lady, part of her was still very suspicious on the reasons why she was allowed to stay the night or even saved to begin with.  Boots were kicked off and one foot was slowly dipped into the water.  Still nothing bad had happened.  The foot planted itself on the bottom of the tub followed soon by the other.  Pearl waited, then breathed out and squatted down.  Blinding, searing pain shot through her lower back that made stars dance in front of her eyes and forced her to bite her lip in order to cut off the howl that nearly got out.  Hands wrapped around her mouth as she sat in the water chest-deep waiting for the pain to subside.  Ever so slowly the searing pain tempered until she could feel the distinct, pulsing, five spots where the spines had broken through her skin.  It still hurt like hell, but that type of pain she was familiar with.  Light blue eyes darted over to her boots and the small vial that was secretly stored within her right boot.  Water sloshed over the edge and dripped all over the place as Pearl got out of the bath and walked over to her boot.  The small vial was extracted.  Pinkish liquid with two tiny pink diamonds at the bottom swirled around.  Fingers pried the cork out of the neck of the bottle, and a small amount of the liquid was poured into the palm of her hand.  Pearl set the vial off to the side and used her now open hand to pull up the shirt of her tunic and chainmail.  The palm full of pinkish water was slapped against the holes in her back and smeared around as best as she could manage from the awkward position.  It took only seconds for the wounds to heal completely and for the feeling of relief wash over her.  Pearl swiftly stopped up the vial, stowed it away in her boot, and climbed back into the tub.

            A nice soak for a few minutes will be more than enough.

            The knight allowed herself to lean back so the water came up to her neck.  Half lidded eyes stared into the distance, not focusing on the wall a few feet in front of her.

            “Enjoying the bath?”

            Pearl jolted awake, splashing about and shooting to her feet; her hand reaching for where her hidden blade was kept in her tunic.  Garnet smirked at her from where she was sitting on the edge of the tub.

            “I-uh…I,” the knight’s face heated up with embarrassment.  “Yes, thank you,” she bowed.

            “Good.” Garnet stood up.  “Dinner will be ready soon, if you wish to join us.”

            “Us?  You eat with dragons?”

            “Sometimes,” the woman with dreadlocks winked as she turned to leave the room.

            “Wait!”  Pearl scrambled out of the tub and chased after the lady.

            Garnet paused, regarding her with a raised eyebrow.

            “What can I use to dry off with?”

            “I can dry you off.”

            “You can?  Oh with a-”

            Her sentence was cut short as Garnet laid her hand on Pearl’s shoulder.  Pearl stood stock-still, blood creeping into her cheeks.  The hand then moved to gently caress up the side of her neck, causing the knight to flush even more and internally panic.  Her touch was certainly electrifying.  Pearl’s heart hammered inside of her chest as Garnet’s hand slowly traced the line of her jaw until just two fingers were under her chin, tilting her head up ever so slightly.  Round lips were pulled upwards into a smirk as purple eyes practically glowed in the dim light.  The fingers pulled away, flicking the knight’s chin as they did so.  Pearl’s whole body involuntarily shuddered, every hair on her body stood straight up for a moment.

            “There, all dry,” Garnet’s smooth voice hummed.

            Pearl quickly shook her head and examined herself.  Indeed she was.

            “That was incredible, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a heat spell like that before.”

            “It wasn’t a heat spell,” Garnet casually said as she made her way to the door again.  “Come down when you are ready.  Head down the spiral staircase at the end of the hall, make a left, and then two rights.  If you get lost, just follow your nose.  We will be waiting for you.”

            Hands fumbled about as they worked to put on her boots.  Part of her was excited to be eating dinner, while the other half was set on the idea that they were probably having her for dinner.  Pearl breathed out as she tried to steady her nerves and shake off the feeling of Garnet’s touch.

            If worst comes to worst, I can run really fast and these narrow corridors would be very hard for the dragons to navigate.

            With her ensemble relatively put back together and her composure regained as much as possible, Pearl made her way towards the dining hall.  The directions were more or less left unheeded as the delicious scents of fresh bread and grilled meat carried her into the room.

Chapter Text

            A new animated voice rang out in the large room.  Pearl paused at the entrance to the room and peered around the corner.  Two more women stood in the dining hall; both of which were fairly short, everything but from their sternum on up was covered by the long, wood, banquet table in the middle.  The more muscular of the two with light brown skin wore a red and black, leather tunic with bronze detailing swirling all over it.  Thick, short, black, curly hair that was pulled into two puff balls on the sides of the top of her head.  Standing next to the her was a woman with dark brown skin who wore a blue and white gown with rivers of silver decorating it.  Pearl assumed the gown went all the way to the floor.  Long, white hair weaved into dozens of box braids were pulled back in a manner that it draped over her eyes, obscuring them completely, and formed an even thicker braid that ran down her back.

            “Where shall we set her plate?  I don’t want her sitting right next to Garnet, I’d much rather keep a closer eye on her,” the woman in the tunic stated.

            “Then set her plate across from you, that way there is one place setting between them,” the mellow voice of the other woman replied.

            “That’s a perfect idea!  Thank you Sapphy.”

            Pearl had no idea what to make of this situation.  First two dragons and a lone lady, but now there were three people living in the castle with the three dragons?

            A third dragon I still haven’t even seen yet.

            As Garnet entered the room carrying a plate piled high with fresh baked rolls, Pearl’s stomach rumbled.  There was only one thing she could do, and that was walk in and roll with the punches.  Conversation halted the instant she took those three steps forward.  Ruby red eyes and covered ones locked onto her.  For a moment Pearl felt like she was facing off with those two dragons once again.

            “I am Sir Pearl of the Rose Royal Guard, the Lady Garnet generously invited me to join you for dinner.”

            “We know,” the muscular woman growled.

            The other nudged her with her elbow for the comment.

            “I’m glad you could make it,” Garnet smiled as she set the platter of rolls down and made her way to the head of the table.  “Sir Pearl, this is Sapphire and Ruby.”

            “I am honored to meet both of you,” Pearl bowed.

            “Likewise,” Sapphire simply stated.

            Without further prompting, the three women took their seats.  Garnet was at the head of the table with Sapphire on her right, and Ruby on Sapphire’s right.  Pearl quickly followed, taking the seat with the place setting that was right across from Ruby.  Just as Ruby had wished, there was one place setting between Garnet and Pearl.  Light blue eyes were drawn to the other two platters of food and the pitcher full of wine set on the same end of the table that they were on.  One platter was piled high with what looked like grapes that had a close encounter with the ice dragon, and the other was laden with large chunks of perfectly grilled meat.  What kind of meat was hard to determine, but Pearl knew by the color and smell that it wasn’t something she had ever eaten before.

            “Dig in,” Garnet directed to Pearl as she reached forward to break off a bunch of frozen grapes.

            Ruby grabbed a roll, tore it in half, and scrutinized its insides.  “Garnet, did you conjure this bread?  I don’t want to find any imps in my bread like last time.”

            “No, this batch was made with the slower method,” Garnet returned.

            Sapphire faced Pearl as she peeled a chunk of meat off the large piece she had on her plate.  Small, orange, wisps of smoke rose from the steak where the tear had been made.  Pearl was surprised at this, but didn’t dare to say anything at the moment.

            “The pronunciation of the incantation to summon an imp versus summoning bread are very similar, last time Garnet summoned imp bread, instead of just bread,” Sapphire explained.

            “More like imp infested bread.  Each piece was filled with those little buggers.  Not only did they run around everywhere, but they stole and ate all of the remaining bread!” Ruby threw her hands up into the air.

            “If I remember correctly you didn’t mind having to catch them,” Garnet huffed.

            “Or eating them, they do make a tasty little snack.”

            “You can eat imps?” Pearl blurted out.

            The other three women paused for a moment, sharing a glance.

            “We can, although Ruby prefers them more than I do” Sapphire stated.

            “But aren’t those poisonous?”

            “To humans they are,” Garnet said.

            “Wait, are none of you human?”

            “Is that a problem?” Ruby narrowed her eyes at Pearl.

            The pale woman paused and blinked.  “No, it’s not, I mean it actually makes more sense, Garnet’s skills with spell casting, as well as you three living alongside the three dragons here,” she finished her sentence by waving her hand about.

            A collective sigh of relief was let out by the other women at the table when Pearl paused to take a drink from her goblet.

            “Well I’m glad, otherwise I would have had serious issues with you!” Ruby stated in a slightly joking manner.

            The knight nervously chuckled.  For the next several minutes Pearl ate a couple of rolls and tried some of the frozen grapes.  She had never had grapes like them and it was kind of fun to crunch down into a perfectly good burst of sweet flavor.  Thanks were given for the two delicious items she had tried.  Light blue eyes watched as her hosts each ate hearty serving sizes of the meat.  While Sapphire liked to pull small chunks off what she had on her plate and eat them, Ruby tore right in, devouring the whole beast steak in seconds and Garnet would take measured bites of hers.  Each time a bite or tear occurred, orange smoke rose up from the meat, causing the knight to worry ever so slightly about trying it.

            “What type of meat is this?” Pearl asked as she stabbed a smaller piece from the platter with her fork.  She eyed the tiny wisps of orange smoke that escaped the punctures in the steak.

            “Firepit lizard, orange flame,” Ruby supplied between bites.  “I really wanted a red flame one, those have much more flavor.”

            The knight recalled the volcanic area she had seen while traveling to the castle.  Firepit lizards were typically as tall, wide, and long as a supply wagon and very temperamental; prone to burn anything they see on sight.  Pearl did have some experience in dealing with those.

            That must have been a really long journey for Ruby, especially to transport the whole thing.

            Light blue eyes glanced down at the meat on her plate.  Carefully she grabbed her knife and cut into it.   More orange smoke.

            “While I would love to try this, I believe it might be dangerous for me to eat,” Pearl stated.

            “What?!” Ruby turned to Sapphire, “Is firepit lizard toxic-?”

            “Yes.  If she eats that her insides will blister and melt.  That’s assuming it even makes it down her esophagus.”

            Pearl stared wide-eyed at the woman, then carefully moved the steak as far away as it could be on her plate.

            “Humans are so fragile,” Ruby huffed.

            Red blossomed all over Pearl’s cheeks.  “We are compared to some, but compared to others we are quite durable.  May I ask what you classify yourselves as?”

            “No,” Ruby growled.

            “We are magically inclined individuals,” Garnet cryptically answered.  “The ability flows through our veins.”

            “How did you find this place?” Sapphire spoke up, changing the topic.  “And why did you come here?”

            Pearl cleared her throat and placed her hands in her lap under the table.  Honesty was the best policy, lying would probably get her thrown to the dragons.  “I searched for many weeks for the location of the fire, ice, and lightning elements.  Eventually I was given this location and a warning of what would be guarding them.”

            “Why do you want these elements?” Ruby jumped in.

            “To bring them back to my kingdom so we can use them to help us win the war we were forced into.”

            Ruby outright laughed for several seconds.  Pearl straightened her back, her face getting redder with every passing second.

            “You can’t honestly think you can wield all three of them let alone try to even control one?!”

            “I won’t be wielding all of them, maybe one, but most likely they will be given to the three who can handle them the best.”

            “Even if they were experienced magic wielders, we’re talking about raw, basically infinite, elemental power.  It will take years to get the basics down and not get shredded, let alone master it and use it in a war!”

            This was new, not once had anyone mentioned how difficult using the runes, or stones, or whatever they were, would be.  Pearl had expected some time needed for getting accustomed to the new powers, but not years, they didn’t have that kind of time.  A candle lit in the knight’s head.

            “You seem to know quite a bit about these elements, it makes sense, after all, you live here, you must have seen them or had some experience with them, right?” Pearl gently probed.

            Ruby shut her mouth with a snap and folded her arms across her chest, eyes narrowing.

            “We don’t dare to get too close to them, otherwise the dragons get upset.  While I can take down a firepit lizard, a dragon is a whole other level,” Ruby grunted.

            So they are here!  Maybe I can still find them.  It may take some time to find someone who can handle them, but we can do it!  We can still save our kingdom!

            Pearl decided a different angle might get her some additional information.

            “Are the elements why you three chose to live here?  Or did you just wind up here on accident?”

            “We weren’t welcomed in our previous homes, others, especially humans, aren’t too keen on having magic wielders like us around,” Garnet softly spoke as she weaved her fingers together in front of her face, elbows resting on the table.  “This place was far away from most establishments and the dragons didn’t seem to mind us once we showed that we meant them no harm and had no intentions of taking the elements.”

            “Oh…”  The knight didn’t know what to say after that, she had honestly thought this whole arrangement was less than desirable for the three, but instead it was the exact opposite.  “I’m sorry to hear that.”  Pearl contemplated her next words.  “One would think that if they took the time to get to know you better they wouldn’t have chased you out.  So far all three of you have shown me incredible kindness and generosity and we’ve just met.”

            “Yeah well that’s what we thought,” Ruby mumbled.

            “It’s in the past, now we have a lovely home that only has occasional disturbances,” Sapphire softly smiled.

            Pearl grimaced, those occasional disturbances were probably knights, mages, or adventurers getting burned, frozen, or zapped to death.  Light blue eyes glanced down at her platter, then her stomach.

            “Thank you for inviting me to dinner, I really enjoyed the grapes and bread.  And thank you once again Garnet for saving my life.  I hope you don’t mind me excusing myself, I think it’s time I went and gathered my belongings that are hopefully still in the courtyard.”

            “We’re glad you enjoyed it,” Sapphire said.

            “Don’t forget to check all six ways for the dragons,” Ruby almost sang.

            “Six?”

            Ruby pointed up, down, front, back, left, and right.

            Basically everywhere.

            “Thanks…” the knight pushed back her chair and stood up.

            The scraping of a second wooden chair against the stone floor made the pale woman look to the side.  Garnet had stood with Pearl.

            “I will accompany you out there, if one of them does show they will recognize me and probably won’t attack you.”

            Pearl didn’t miss the “probably”.

            “I would appreciate that.  I’m afraid I wouldn’t last long at all in just my chainmail and tunic.”

            “No, you wouldn’t,” Sapphire stated.

            Pearl couldn’t help but feel a small chill run up her spine at those words.  The two backtracked through the castle so Pearl could acquire her sword and the pieces of the right side of her armor that could still be worn.  Every other step clanked against the stone floor as one foot was protected by armor, and the other was just her boot.  Once she reached the door that opened into the courtyard, Pearl carefully swung it open and peered around.  Some lighting still remained from the setting sun, casting long shadows all over the courtyard, and was just enough for her to determine that no dragons were in the area.  A sigh of relief was let out.  The knight strode towards the surprisingly undisturbed, charred pile in the distance.

            “Don’t forget to check behind you,” Garnet’s voice came from right behind Pearl.

            The pale woman whirled around, her hand automatically going for her sword.  Garnet simply stood there in the shadow cast by the surrounding walls with an ever so slight grin on her lips, unfazed by the knight almost drawing her sword.

            “The lightning dragon likes to sneak up on their prey.”

            Those words sent shivers up Pearl’s spine.  There was something odd about how Garnet said that and how her eyes looked.  Pearl could have sworn that the dark woman’s purple irises were glowing with waves of electricity.  And not just Garnet’s two eyes, but even the third tattooed one for an instant looked like it was glowing, standing out more than usual in the dim lighting.

            “I won’t,” Pearl swallowed.

            Swift steps carried her to the pile.  The quicker she gathered the remains of her belongings the better.  A long sigh was let out as she poked through the charred half.  Most of her sandstone and pearls were useless, they crumbled once her finger even touched them.  A few rose quartzes and amethysts were still good.  Nothing else was, her map burnt to a crisp, as well as her food rations.  The second half fared much better, it was more or less slightly damp.  Items were moved around to accommodate the remains of the left side.  Light blue eyes caught the dull shine from a piece of metal cast to the side.  Curious, the knight walked over to see what it was.  A frown formed on the pale woman’s lips as she picked up her visor and examined the five, finger-sized dents in it.  Originally, she figured Garnet had been able to remove it due to the melted/frozen state it was in, but now that she got a better look, her visor had been ripped off and dented by the woman’s strength alone.

            Just what kind of magic wielders are these women?

            Time was running out, so far they hadn’t encountered any of the dragons, but Pearl didn’t want to push her luck.  The visor was gripped by one hand while the other slung what remained of her pouch belt over her shoulder.  Garnet silently walked alongside Pearl through the courtyard.  Once the door had closed behind them and they were safe inside of the castle, Pearl turned to the enchanting woman.

            “Thank you for escorting me out there.”

            Garnet tipped her head forward in acknowledgement.  “You probably need to rest.  Follow the hallway to the left and up the staircase.  There are some rooms near to where you bathed, one of them should have a bed or cot for you to sleep on.”

            “Oh, right, thank you so much,” Pearl bowed.

            “Sleep well,” Garnet smirked before she turned and headed down the hallway that led towards the dining room.

            For a few seconds Pearl just stared after the woman, watching her walk away.  Pearl shook her head, breaking the trance she had fallen into and turned to the left.  It didn’t take long to locate a room with a bed or to find and move her armor so everything of hers was in the same place.  She really wanted to find out more and examine her visor again, but sleep was calling to her tired and aching body.  Armor was removed, but Pearl kept her sword and one pouch strapped to her out of habit, sleeping unarmed in a strange and dangerous place was never a good idea.  The bed had a solid wood frame, a comfortable mattress, and heavy wool sheets.  Pearl wanted nothing more than to lie down on it and fall asleep.   However just as she was about to, nature called a little louder and Pearl was sent running down the halls for the closest bathroom.  Thankfully she found one just in time.  A sigh of relief was let out as Pearl walked back towards her room; or at least in the general direction.  The castle seemed to go on forever.  Up ahead part of the stone hallway was illuminated by orange firelight coming from one of the rooms.

            “You don’t think the knight was talking about those old runes up in the west tower?”

            Exhaustion was shoved to the side as Pearl’s ears picked up the sound of Ruby’s voice and the mention of runes.  The pale woman held her breath, the door was open and sounds carried easily.

            “You mean the northwest tower,” Sapphire stated.

            “Yes, the northwest tower that only can be accessed by the long, thin, stone bridge from the west side of the main castle.”

            “Those runes?”

            “Could those be the elements the knight was seeking?”

            Pearl quietly crept closer to the opening.  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

            “The dragons are quite fond of that tower, they are very possessive and don’t like us going near it,” Sapphire continued.

            “But those cracked looking old chunks of dirt can’t really be the elements.  Sure they glow and stuff, but they’re very underwhelming.”

            “Looks can be deceiving.”

            “That’s true…but not with you!  You’re just as wonderful as you look!”

            Light giggles drifted from the room followed by Ruby talking in a lower tone.  Pearl did not want to hang around to hear much more than that.  She now knew where the elements were and what they looked like.  Eyes darted around.  Continuing onward was not an option as she would pass the open door where Ruby and Sapphire were just talking about her.  Fortunately for the knight, she was on the west half of the castle.  With some poking around she was certain she could find the bridge and reach the tower.  Her throat bobbed as she swallowed.  The only things she had on her was her specialty, gemstone pouch, a couple of daggers she always had on her, her chain mail, tunic, boots, and her sword.  As she explored the castle, she checked to see what stones she could use.  Her plans were put to a halt as she spotted the beginning of a narrow stone bridge leading up and out into the dark night.  The dense smoke swirling around made it even harder to see anything beyond a few yards in front of her.

            That has to be the tower on the other side, it’s in the right location.  I have to make it into the tower safely, at least one of the dragons will be watching.  Once I make it inside I’ll have the runes to help me defend myself.

            Fingers pinched a stone and brought it up her face.  A tiny sapphire.

            Just enough for me to run the bridge and hopefully get to the location of the runes. 

            Light blue eyes checked to the right, to the left, up, down, and in front of her.  No one was in the hallway behind her, she knew that.  Pearl swallowed it and began to run for the bridge.  Just as she made it to the bridge, the powers from the sapphire flowed through her body, sped up her legs, and gave her a vision of the entire bridge, the tower, and the route to the room where the runes were.  Eyebrows were furrowed, not a single dragon was shown in this blip of a vision.  While it was odd, she couldn’t waste her time on it and just pushed forward as fast as she could.

            A sturdy, black, leather boot soundlessly stepped into the spot Sir Pearl had been only seconds before.  Garnet watched as the thin figure disappeared into the smoke, all three of her purple eyes glowing and sparking with electricity.  The wind picked up as more electricity began to dance around Garnet’s body.

            It took three seconds to cross the bridge and another three to reach the door to the rune room.  Upon opening the door, the knight fell onto her butt as she was knocked back with a wave of power.  Sitting on a small pedestal made of the same grey stone as the rest of the castle were three trapezoidal runes placed in a triangular formation.  Pearl carefully stood up and closed the door behind her.  The one on the left had multiple cracks in it, all of which were constantly shooting out tiny flames and glowing all sorts of reds, oranges, and yellows.  The rune on the right was covered in ice that had created beautiful, intricate snowflake patterns all over it.  Pearl almost wanted to reach out and touch that one, but decided against it.  Finally sitting in the middle and farther back than the two was the lightning rune.  One single, wide crack ran down the middle nearly splitting it into two.  Purple electricity constantly arched from one spot on the crack to another.  For several moments all Pearl could do was just admire them.  She could feel power radiating from them, much like how if felt to stand near a basket full of gemstones.  The knight took a couple steps closer to the pedestal.  Eyes scanned the room as she did so, looking for traps that could be triggered if the runes were moved.  Nothing.

            Were the dragons the only security measures?

            Fortune was smiling down on her.  She would finally acquire the runes and then would be able to return and save her kingdom.  Pearl dug around her tunic for the pouch she had saved just for these; thankfully it was under all of her protection so it survived the fire and ice dragons’ attacks.  The magic pouch was opened up and the knight reached out for the fire rune.  Pearl’s hand hovered there as a frown formed on her thin lips.  Were these really the elements that could grant someone nearly limitless power?  When she had opened the door and was knocked back she was certain they had to be it, but now that she had been standing next to them, they didn’t seem so special.

            A stone that has similar powers should react to it.

            The knight dug through her pouch, two tiny sapphires were set next to the ice rune, and her only garnet was cautiously held near the lightning one.  Pearl didn’t have any rubies.  The stones faintly glowed and shimmered, but nothing more.

            Perhaps they need to be in use to make the stone react?

            Pearl reached towards the lightning one only to stop yet again.  A heavy sigh was pushed past her lips.

            “You can’t honestly think you can wield all three of them let alone try to even control one?!”

            Ruby’s words from dinner came back at full force.  If these truly had limitless power and were extremely hard to control, then there was little hope that any of her fellow warriors would be able to make use of them without dying.

            I would be killing them.

            What she needed was not just the elements, but people who could handle them.  A candle jumped to life in her mind.  Ruby, Sapphire, and Garnet were all experienced magic wielders, who not only that had been living with these runes and the dragons, but had managed to thrive here.  If anyone was going to be able to control the elements it would have to be them.

            Rose would welcome them into her kingdom, we have all sorts of creatures, beings, and individuals living together harmoniously.  Well there are fights occasionally, but they get sorted out.  I would help them get to know people and protect them from anyone who would want to harm them.  I could let them stay in my home until they have one of their own.  And if they helped us drive off the invaders then they would be heroes!

            Pearl collected her stones, put away her magic pouch, gave the runes a short bow, turned, and left the room.  Booted feet dully thudded against the steps as she made her way down the spiral staircase.  The knight’s mind was abuzz with how she would breach the topic with the three women and how she might convince them to join in the fight.  Her mind was distracted as she made a note of how long it was taking to get to the bottom of the tower.  Running up it had happened in a blink of an eye.

            I will rest tonight and then talk to them tomorrow.

            Finally, the knight reached the tower’s exit.  One hand rested on the hilt of her sword as the other opened the door.  Eyes glanced to the right, to the left, down, up, and forward.  There was little point to doing so, she could barely see anything.  However, the lack of dense smoke enabled her to see at least half of the bridge.  She couldn’t use up another sapphire, she needed to save them for the war back home.  Pearl readied herself, hoped that there were no dragons waiting for her and sprinted forward.

            I can make it!

            As she was a third of the way there, a piece of advice made her stop in her tracks and her gut sink to the bottom of her boots.

            “Don’t forget to check behind you, the lightning dragon likes to sneak up on their prey.”

              It was odd how little smoke was around the tower when only minutes ago it was engulfed in it.  Something had to have disturbed it.  Her hairs were standing up on their ends and for a second she almost wanted to not look back, but to keep running.  However, even as her logical mind screamed at her to continue running, the knight slowly pivoted to look behind her.

            Purple arcs of lightening jumped from one spot of a black shadow on the tower to another.  The giant reptilian body that was wrapped around the northwest tower was illuminated and pieced together by the purple glow created by all of the arcs of electricity dancing on its scales.

            The lightning dragon.

            A long tail with short spines sticking out of the top half of it was coiled around the cylindrical tower one whole rotation.  Four clawed hands attached to sturdy appendages lightly dug into the stone as the dragon held itself there.  Each claw was about three feet long, was slightly curved, and could deliver instant death.  The body was mostly hidden by the tower, but Pearl could see the massive wings tucked against the part of its back she could see sticking out from the left side of the tower.  An array of glistening, garnet gemstones of all sorts of sizes ran up its spine, down its four legs, and decorated the crown of its head.  A multitude of narrow, rigid, tall horns stood out from the crown and back of the dragon’s head like the spikes on a mace.  The lightning dragon’s mouth was slightly open, displaying long, serrated teeth that came to a fine point.  Despite the overwhelming appearance, size, and deadliness of this dragon, what made Pearl stumble back and quiver were its three electrifying, purple eyes staring right into hers.

            Battle reflexes kicked in and Pearl began to unsheathe her sword.  The lightning dragon leapt off the tower with minimal damage, and swooped down at the knight, its wings spreading out to nearly three times the length of the fire dragon.  Pearl’s sword was only an inch out of its sheath when she felt the claws cut across her torso, slicing through chainmail, leather, skin, and muscle as if it were air.  A strangled gasp jumped past thin lips.  Wings beat down towards the Earth once, lifting the dragon several yards into the sky with Pearl dangling from the three claws that had pierced the front of her tunic and lifted her up with it.  The next beat of the wings lifted them even higher.  Light blue eyes widened as what she could see of the castle in the purple lighting swiftly shrank below her.  Pearl pulled in a lungful of air to try and steady her panicking body, however, the limited amount of oxygen she got only made her body panic more.  The air was thin and with each beat of the dragon’s wings, less and less oxygen was available for her to try and breathe in.

            Steady your breathing, no unnecessary movements, don’t fall to your death.

            The lightning dragon finished its ascent and just moved its wings enough so they hovered in the thick, black clouds.  White electricity crackled through the air and jumped to the dragon’s body, adding to the purple arcs already there.

            This is where I die…not even Garnet can save me here.

            One hand reached up to grip the claw that had sliced across the right side of her chest.  She could already feel the wetness of the blood pouring from her gaping wounds and the subsequent rivers that were decorating her skin and clothes.  The pain alone almost made her black out, but Pearl fought it.  Ears picked up the sound of the dragon breathing in.

            Here it comes.

            The lightning dragon roared, causing all of the clouds around them to tremble and spark and for Pearl’s ears to ring.  Eyes were squeezed shut for a moment only to open back up and to be looking right into the three, glowing, purple eyes.  She knew why the dragon was probably mad and wanted to try and explain herself, but she couldn’t form the words as her oxygen starved brain was shutting down.

            I didn’t take them.

            Massive wings tucked against the dragon’s side and it threw its head forward to dive towards the ground.  The sharp change in altitude thrust the knight into darkness as she blacked out.

            Blood pounded in her ears.  Her back registered cold, hard stone while her front was assaulted with her aching and burning wounds.  Eyes opened a fraction before closing.  Arms tried to push herself up onto her elbows, but Pearl barely found the strength to move them.  Eyes opened up a little more, taking in the darkness around her and the purple glow hanging in the bottom of her vision.  Pearl flexed her neck to try and look down at the state of her body.  Chainmail and leather glistened in the low light with the wet, crimson substance coating them.  Her head softly fell back against the stone, she only had maybe a few minutes to live before she bled out.  Eyes widened as she realized something.

            The lightning dragon didn’t kill me?  It just laid me in this courtyard and left?

            The purple glow in her vision told her the dragon had not left, but was right there.  The desire to get to her feet and face the dragon enabled Pearl to push herself up onto her elbows.  Her movements stopped as soon as she saw Garnet standing a few yards in front of her.  The purple glow was originating from her.  It all made sense now.  Pearl felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

            Three elements.

            Three dragons.

            Three magically inclined women.

            They are all the same thing.

            The runes were a ruse.  They didn’t radiate the unmistakable power that the dragons did.  They were just stones that were given a fraction of the dragon’s power and laid out as bait.  There was no doubt that the “private” conversation between Ruby and Sapphire she “overheard” was done so Pearl would hear it.  She played right into their hands and Garnet was to finish her off when she took the runes.  Except she hadn’t taken them, and that was probably why Garnet didn’t kill her right away.

            Pearl pushed herself forward and folded her legs underneath her, wincing at every protest her body made to do so.  Garnet simply stood there watching her with those intense purple eyes.  The knight stood up on her shaky feet.  Blood soaked hands seized the hilt of her sword and yanked it out of the sheath.  A black eyebrow was raised in response, amusement curling in the corner of Garnet’s lips.  Pearl lifted her sword high only to turn in around and stab it into the ground as she dropped to one knee.  Her blood began to drip off her clothing and paint red splatters on the grey stone.

            Ruby, Sapphire, and Garnet had been chased from their homes because they were dragons, despite using their human forms to try and make friends and keep the secret.  In the end each time they had been found out and the locals sought after their lives.  Time and time again they fled until they gave up and just lived in an abandoned castle.

            “I’m deeply sorry for not realizing everything sooner and for understanding,” Pearl’s weak voice spoke up.  “I don’t want to take the elements from you.”

            “Do you know now what exactly can grant someone true power of an element?” Garnet evenly replied.

            “A dragon’s heart.  You-”

            “You eat it.  A human only needs to eat a small part of it to acquire more power than they can most likely handle.”

            Pearl felt sick to her stomach.  For a few moments she just watched drops of blood fall into the small puddle underneath her.

            “You don’t deserve to be hunted for what value has been assigned to your physical body by others.  I completely understand you and your family’s dislike for humans and all others who have sought to end your life simply for their own gain.”

            “A lot of those who come here seeking us say many things in their dying moments.  You’re the first to say something like that.  Why aren’t you begging for your life?”

            Pearl breathed out heavily.  Her arms were shaking badly and her head was beginning to swim.  “Earlier today I should have died, but you saved me.  Just moments or minutes ago, I don’t really know, you spared me once again and gave me one last chance to talk.  Begging for my life is pointless because you’ve had it in your hands since the beginning.”

            “Do you have any last words?  You only have so long left to live.”

            The knight couldn’t help but look at her wounds again, her hold on her sword being what kept her from collapsing completely.  “My last words…” Pearl struggled to breath back in.  “I want to ask of you…Ruby…and Sapphire…if you would help save my kingdom…. In return… my queen…Rose…would grant you lands in her kingdom…and a chance to have that life you were denied…so many times.  I would be there to…fight off anyone who would dare to come after you and… would help others get to know you better.”

            Garnet scoffed.  “No matriarch would do such a thing.  Dragons are not welcome anywhere, except in bits and pieces to be bartered with.”

            “Rose’s kingdom is different… We have shapeshifters…giants…orcs…humans… elves…demons… and many other creatures and individuals…who all live together…and are fighting to continue to do so.”  Pearl struggled to lift her head up and meet Garnet’s gaze.  “If they can all live together…why would adding a dragon or three be so hard?”

            The trembling, faint knight lost her grip on the sword and fell to her knees; all sounds were muffled aside from her pulse in her ears and her vision began to darken.  Her body swayed for a second before falling back.  The harsh collision with the unforgiving stone never came as hands were braced between her shoulder blades and the back of her head.  Pearl watched Garnet lower her down through her barely open eyes.  The beautiful woman reached down for something.  Light blue eyes closed as she no longer had the strength to keep them open.  Each heartbeat was slower than the previous.

            So this is what it feels like to die.

            The familiar soothing sensation of her body stitching itself back together washed all over her front.  Pearl wanted to open her eyes to see what was happening but fell into the darkness instead.

            Moonlight drifted in through the window next to her bed.  Pearl rotated her eyes, taking in her surroundings.  She was alive and all traces of her blood had been removed from her clothing.  Just out of her reach sat a plate with frozen grapes and bread on it and a cup that was hopefully filled with something.  A creak of metal hinges drew her attention to the door.  Garnet silently walked into the room.  Purple eyes met light blues.

            “You pulled through.  There was a possibility you weren’t going to make it,” Garnet simply stated as she sat down in the chair next to the bed.  “But your determination to live is impressive.”  Garnet grabbed the plate of food and brought it closer.

            Pearl’s stomach painfully rumbled.  She wanted to ask for it, but it was hard to speak due to how parched her throat was.  Garnet set the plate back and grabbed the cup.  Pearl stiffened as Garnet’s right hand slid between the mattress and her body and propped her up in a sitting position.  The dark woman’s left hand brought the cup to the pale woman’s lips.  Water.  Pearl drank as much and as quickly as she could.  The cool liquid freed her tongue and brought instant relief.  Garnet pulled the cup away and lowered Pearl back down.

            “How?” the knight gasped out.

            Garnet held up Pearl’s vial of healing water.  It was empty except for the tiny pink diamonds at the bottom.  “One doesn’t heal from Sapphire’s spines without a little help.”

            Pearl could feel her face heat up at being found out.  “Why spare me again?”

            A smirk formed on round lips.  “There is potential in you.”

            “For what?”

            Garnet reached out and brushed a few strands of hair out of Pearl’s face.  “Initiating a change.”

            Pearl waited for the woman to continue.

            “We would like to talk more about this war and this matriarch, Rose, but for now you need to rest and regain your strength.”

            Garnet grabbed the plate, plucked one grape off the bunch and brought it to Pearl’s mouth.  The knight’s face heated up as she opened her mouth to accept the piece of food.

            “That is what made you decide to save my life?”

            “That and something else.”

            “What?”

            Garnet smiled and chuckled.  “We shall see what that something else might be, only time and our actions will tell.”

            Pearl accepted the next grape.  As she chewed her mind tried to decipher Garnet’s cryptic words, but it only took a few seconds for her to realize she was too tired to do so.  The rest of the food was silently handfed to the weak knight.  Once it was all gone Garnet helped her drink the last of the water.  Garnet’s touch made Pearl warm and sent shivers down her spine.  With the food and water consumed, Garnet wished Pearl a good rest and left the room.  The knight tried to process what had just happened, but instead sleep claimed her exhausted body.