laneys.info Beware of Yankees, drunks, and loose women.

A cool breeze gently caressed her face as she lay in the soft embrace of the surrounding leaves and mossy ground. Birdsong and the call of many other distant animals sang within the high boughs, an almost heavenly tune that she wished would carry her away. Kailee allowed her mind to drift along that wind and soon rise to float above the green carpet whose gentle slope flowed like water for miles. Arcing upwards, a smile overpowered the stress and other emotions, washing them from her mind like a swift river.

If only it could last.

Beside her, she felt her companion awaken to the new day in the forest which brought the flight back home. Not only her, but the faerie folk around them who flitted through the enormous, gnarled branches on their daily journeys.

"Can we stay here for a while," Tess finally spoke, interrupting the tranquility of their surroundings.

"I'd love to," Kailee replied, though knowing that wouldn't be possible.

"Okay, good," she propped herself up on her right side to face Kailee more directly. "You need this vacation."

"And you don't?"

She sensed the nightblade's easing mind, "Someone has to be your rock. I'm fine".

Golden glowing eyes opened and turned to her friend. "Liar," she replied sympathetically.

Tess grinned as her smooth, grey face looked beyond the hedge wall towards the rising sun. "I hate being around other mentalists. You're ruining my reputation."

Wrapping her arms around her friend and sister, she hugged the dark elf lovingly. "Your reputation will outshine mine. I couldn't have survived this long without you. Everyone knows that," she bit back the welling emotion. The recent losses and all they had endured for so long wasn't leaving her quickly enough. Surely she should be past all this by now.

Adgertesse soon retreated and pushed herself up. "Come on." Kailee watched as her gorgeous companion unashamedly walked towards the nearby rushing river whose feeding waterfall quietly thundered in the distance, then stop and look down to her. "Get up."

Sometimes, the nightblade's avoidance of her heart kept Kailee from fully retiring her fears. She rose and followed to the river, identical in nearly every way except skin tone and hair color. They gingerly stepped into the cold water and soon immersed themselves into the flowing torrent, then allowed the current to carry them towards the immense lake beyond. Exploring the dark sleeping quarters of their hostess, Kailee soon felt the presence of Bronwynne whose smile permeated the murk as she rose. Daylight soon caught the dragon's scales, reflecting a myriad of colors from it's long, powerful body.

"Good morning, ladies," she cheerfully greeted. "I hope you slept well."

"We did, thank you again for your hospitality," Kailee replied as she straightened and hovered beside Tess, arms and legs gently undulating.

"This is a home that welcomes you with no equivocations," the mental voice returned in a motherly tone. "I love your visits. You belong here just as we do."

Kailee pondered that thought for a long moment and wished it were so.

"Enjoy your stay. Take ease and allow the magic of my home to remove all fears and doubts," Bronwynne interrupted. "You deserve this break, darling. Both of you do."

"Thank you again."

A soft chuckle was soon followed by sudden movements as the nearly crystal-scaled form lurched underneath them, and rose, forcing Kailee and Tess to grab onto the dragon's neck and hold on for dear life. The force of water was soon released in an explosion as they rose into the air. "Let's go for a ride. I've needed the exercise."

Kailee soon opened her eyes and raised her head to see the vista that graced this morning's dream as the wind rushed along her bronze frame, forcing the long flame at her head to rip and tear down her back as if from a constant firebolt. Ever ascending, she began to wonder what the dragon had in mind as the sylvan garden disappeared from view.

"Is this safe for you, milady," she asked concernedly, knowing the dangers that still lurked in the hundreds of miles along the Frontier and Midlands.

"We'll be fine," Bronwynne assured as she suddenly banked to the left and headed southward. Once the exhilaration of flight truly took hold, she felt herself relax. Soon, their mount's heartbeat quickened and caused Kailee's to follow suit in the aggressive maneuvers being displayed as the massive wings straightened, then arced backwards as the dragon descended. Screaming towards them, the ground's details soon blurred to the blue sky again, then left. Kailee soon felt all of her fears of flying slowly ebb away, daring the dragon on for more acrobatics which she soon followed suit. As if becoming symbiotic, their thoughts became as one as she soon gained Bronwynne's perspective which took in not only her two passengers, but also the distant communities of dragons in Rimnicu, Kevelaer as well as an unknown location far to the south.

Soon, they dipped and quickly descended back to the lake as Bronwynne tucked in her wings and dove. Kailee was sure she heard Tess scream in protest as she held on for dear life herself only to be torn from the dragon's back with the collision, their link now severed. After moments, she cleared her mind and sensed Tess swim to the surface as the dragon far below them stopped and pushed herself upwards also which prompted her to join them to the sparkling light above. Once cresting the surface, Kailee laughed.

"That was fun," she exclaimed and turned to the nightblade still gaining her wits.

"I did enjoy that," Tess agreed as the large, streamlined head breached the water to their left as smaller golds and bronze dragons played in the sky above. "We don't necessarily have to do it again anytime soon, but it was amazing."

Chuckling, Bronwynne's sapphire eyes turned to them. "I remember the day when your people and ours ruled these skies along with many others, similar in the way the elves of Kotlas and Kevelaer do now."

"I hope that day returns soon," Kailee stated.

"As do I. Many things have to be accomplished still first though. But, we've proceeded quite nicely, thanks to you and many others recently."

Smiling, Kailee wished the progress would speed up a bit. It had been too long already.

"Patience, my friend," the dragon stated. "Soon." A comment that garnered Adgertesse's attention.

"She's been doing that a lot lately. Nothing I've tried works, maybe you can get her to calm down," a comment that had somewhat of an edge to it and gained Kailee's full attention as they watched Tess swim towards shore. The morning's joy faded quickly as she watched her friend leave them alone.

"She loves you very deeply," Bronwynne informed.

Kailee nodded. "Too much, I'm afraid." Another fact that had been bothering her lately as she watched the sunlight dance upon the waves around them.

"Why do you say that?"

Golden eyes turned to the mother of all dragons. "I fear that once I've taken my supposed place, that she and I will never be able to be together anymore," a fear that clouded her vision.

"You carry such a weight, don't you," sympathetic eyes neared. "Why do you think that your destiny will remove you from all you love?"

Sniffing, golden streaks cut lines down her cheeks. "I've been there. It's an empty place that I never could call home, no matter how I dress it."

"All life gives life when it transcends to the nether, in one form or another. All that you've accomplished has given someone hope for the future, no matter how small you feel the gesture. Never lose sight of your responsibilities and that many lives hinge on your decisions. Dwelling on the past serves nothing, nor will it. Their legacies have given birth to a new world and few are left to pass on the truth of what they stood for. You are one of their spokesmen to the generations that follow after. If it's one thing that I've learned, humans forget much in their short lifespans and if there's no one like us and the elves to remind them, society is doomed which is what caused the Second Dark Age, not you." A point that brought clarity to Kailee's troubled mind as her gaze snapped to the kind face looming before her. "This was not your fault, by any stretch. You were just a tool used as were many others, to direct it in a favorable direction. Stop blaming yourself, for it only hurts those around you who hopelessly watch you disintegrate before them. There are many types of death, not all of them permanent. It's up to you to live and not be hounded by what you feel you've lost. Their memories and love for you will endure the ages as will yours for those to follow. Remember that."

Words cut like steel as Kailee moved to hug the dragon before her. "I'm so sorry."

Bronwynne chuckled sympathetically. "You've nothing to be sorry for, young lady. I admire you actually, for your heart is bigger than my own."

Soon, she swam back towards shore and quickly searched for Tess who she found quietly enjoying one of the local fruits within the forest. Orange eyes rose and met hers as Kailee approached and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry for what I've dragged you through. I didn't realize..."

"It's okay. I just hate knowing your suffering and I can't help."

Kailee backed to eye her longtime friend. "You've done more than you realize and I haven't thanked you enough. By rights, you should be queen of Wroclaw." A comment that sobered the air between them.

"Are you nuts?"

Smiling, the daylight's beams shone brightly and reflected from her polished figure as Kailee chuckled. "Yes."