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Anastasia heard the footsteps of the dragon behind her reverberate through the ground. Each scratch of talons against stone reminded her of a blade being sharpened. It was ominous and repetitive, but she refused to look back. Instead, she walked as fast as her bare feet could manage, trying to ignore the heat radiating from the burnt rock underneath her feet. Her eyes were lowered to the ground, her rag of a dress blowing slightly under the hot wind that passed by them.

"You have no need to be scared, you know," the dragon behind her spoke with as much kindness as the beasts could.

She wondered if she should reply. She still didn't understand why she had been asked to come along with the dragon in the first place. Her mind was racing with possibilities. Were her parents in trouble? Did they die in the mines? If they did what would she do with her younger siblings? She couldn't look after them all by herself, not without a job, or income. Her eighteenth birthday was still three months away, she wasn't allowed to hold a reasonable job yet. Even if she did she couldn't just leave her brother and sister home alone.

Not being able to help herself, she glanced back at the dragon guiding her. He was a fire dragon, maybe thirty years old based on his size, and he had several scars lining his chest and snout, though what could scar a dragon she didn't know. Despite his fierce demeanour, he did have kind eyes, intelligent and concerned... for a dragon anyway. He saw her looking at him and gave a small smile.

"Don't worry, Anastasia, I think you'll find that your life might be turned around after this," he told her.

She quickly looked forward again, forcing her breathing to remain calm. What did he mean that her life was being turned around? Was she being rewarded for something? She hadn't done anything really of note... not that she could remember anyway. All she really did was make sure her brother and sister were being taken care of. She wondered what they would be doing now? A close friend of hers was looking after them while she was being taken away by this dragon. Would she ever see them again? She had barely got to say goodbye.

"Here we are," the dragon said as they reached the end of their corridor, walking into what Anastasia could only call a throne room.

Dragons liked everything to be big, far bigger than they needed to be, and the room was no exception. The same scorched black stone spread out hundreds of metres in every direction, with massive pillars of the same colour holding up a roof far above them. There would easily be enough space for even one the elder dragons to fly within, comfortably. At the far side of each wall were gaps that a dragon wouldn't be able to fly through, but it allowed the fresh air from outside to breeze through the castle. If you could call the air of the fire nation fresh at all.

Up ahead of them were five other humans, all as dishevelled and confused as she was. She didn't recognise any of them, but she guessed they were all around her age. There were two boys and three girls, all with brown or black hair and torn rags of clothing. One of the boys had a pair of sandals, but the rest had bare feet, scorched by the very ground they walked upon.

Another dragon was in the room, sitting atop a raised podium with a regal appearance and powerful aura that reminded Anastasia of being too close to a fire. She felt the need to raise her hand to protect herself from invisible flames, but ignored it, not wanting to show weakness to the dragons around her. She recognised this other dragon. She was Athaer, queen of fire. Imposing and frightening. From what Anastasia's parents said, Athaer was far from the worst dragon, and she certainly treated her human subjects far better than the previous fire monarch, but there was just something about her that made Anastasia hesitate.

"Your majesty, the last of the humans you asked for," the fire dragon who had brought Anastasia in announced.

"Thank you Vitto," Athaer replied, "You may leave."

The male dragon bowed his head, before turning and walking out of the room, leaving the six humans alone with the most powerful dragon in the nation. Anastasia looked down at her feet, playing with her thumbs behind her back as she waited for the reason they were all here for. The others around her seemed just as anxious. But Athaer didn't say anything. Instead, she just looked down upon them with a glare that was impossible to read, as if she were studying the very souls of each human brought before her.

"I have brought each of you here before me today for one simple reason," the queen of fire began, "I need your help."

From all the words Anastasia expected to hear from the dragon, that was the last of them. She couldn't help but gaze at the queen with open amazement. The others had a similar reaction. Athaer snorted a laugh at their astonishment. She stood up from where she was sitting and walked down from her podium toward them.

"You see, several years ago now I had my first clutch of eggs," the queen continued, pacing around the humans, "They are going to be hatching soon. Because of my role here as ruler of this nation, I will not be able to look after them as well as I would want, and for personal reasons, I would like them to be overlooked and cared for by a human."

Anastasia frowned. Several years? From what she knew about dragons, it took three months for a gravid dragoness to lay her eggs, and then a month or two afterwards for them to hatch. Why had Athaer's eggs taken so long? And why would she want a human to look after them? Surely any dragon would be better equipped than a human to handle such grave responsibility.

"I see your confusion," Athaer said, "And I know that such a... task would require a great deal of effort from you. This is why I would like to give you all a choice, as I only need two or three of you in the end. Should you choose to accept this task, you and your family will be looked after and rewarded. However, you will live here in the castle, and your waking life will be spent looking after my children as if they were your own. If you do well, you will have earned my gratitude. However... if you fail... there will be nothing on earth that will stop me from cooking the skin from your bones."

Anastasia gulped, wondering what constituted failing.

"You have tonight to decide. If you don't want to do this, don't show up tomorrow. If you do, return here in the morning," with a flick of her wing, Athaer turned around, walking away from them.

Anastasia took that as a dismissal and promptly walked out of the room as fast as she deemed polite. Her thoughts were a whirl of information. Half of it was fear. She didn't want to look after baby dragons for the rest of her life, especially when they would be children of the most powerful being in the kingdom. Dragons were terrifying creatures. Yes, they had the same thoughts and emotions as most humans... but their power made them so much more deadly because of it. She had seen people incinerated by careless lungful's of flame by playfully sparring adolescent drakes. She had seen elder dragons accidentally land on humans because they couldn't be bothered to look down at where they were landing. Once an entire section of her village had been levelled simply so some richer dragon would be able to set up a home in a place that he had liked.

And now the leader of them all wanted a human of all things to look after her eggs. Her very children, as if she didn't know the struggles humans went through on a daily basis. Part of Anastasia felt she would smash the eggs out of spite, and then accept the consequences. But then another part of her spoke, like a whisper in her mind. If she chose to do this... then she would have a chance to be able to influence a young dragon... and not just some random hatchling either, but the son or daughter of the most powerful dragon in the nation.

As soon as she let that thought get a hold of her it wouldn't stop. She would be able to train respect and appreciation of humans into these dragons, who would then have influence over the entire kingdom in order to help them do the same. There would be no more amnesty between the races. No more disgust from dragons or hate from humans. There would be peace. Maybe it was a bit optimistic to have such thoughts, but she couldn't help but daydream about the possibilities.

It took Anastasia an hour of walking to get home. She didn't mind the walk. It gave her time to really consider the queen's proposal. If she did take this job, she would barely see her family, but they would be looked after. She would be living in the fire palace, fraught with the danger of being burned, or scorned, or even stepped on by an especially large dragon. She would be reporting directly to the queen, and possibly have a semblance of influence over the dragoness considering that Anastasia would be directly looking after Athaer's hatchlings. Besides, Athaer wasn't exactly cruel to humans under her rule. If Anastasia failed though... whatever that meant... she had no doubt that Athaer would make good on her threat.

When the girl made it home and relieved her friend of the duty of looking after her siblings, she spent the rest of the afternoon in deep thought. She didn't speak up about her opportunity to her siblings until her parents returned home from the mines. Her father was a tall dark-haired man with ash covering otherwise pale skin and deeply callused hands. Her mother was shorter, with the same coloured hair and the same scaring. Over the dinner of bread and overcooked chicken, Anastasia told her family of the events of the day.

Silence met her words. Her parents looked at each other, talking with only their eyes. Anastasia could practically see the conversation in their gaze. Her brother and sister obviously didn't want her to take the job. They would barely see her if she did. But she couldn't worry about that. Of course, she would miss them, but this was bigger than that.

"I think you should take it," her mother eventually said, with immediate protests from the younger children.

"Yes," her father replied, "This is a great opportunity for you. You won't be forced to work in the mines like we are, and as you said you'll have the opportunity to make great change."

"But... what about you?" Anastasia found the protest come from within, part of her still not wanting to accept such a huge responsibility, "And the danger?"

"Well, according to the queen we'll be 'well looked after', whatever that means," her mother said, "And its dangerous everywhere honey. That's the world we live in."

"But... I'll miss you."

Her two parents looked at each other, before smiling at her, her mother speaking again, "We'll still be around. You may miss us, but Anastasia you will be fine. You are a responsible young woman, and no matter what challenges you face, I know you will do the best you can."

Their daughter smiled slightly at that, "Thank you. I love you."

"We love you too," her father replied.

The next day Anastasia left her house early that morning, leaving her siblings to her friend once again. It was likely that it was the final time she would see them in a while. With every step to the looming castle in the distance, she felt her anxiety rise. Her legs wanted to stop. Her body wanted to turn around and never look at that ashen black castle again. But she forced herself onward. This was her chance to make a change, and she was going to take it.

She entered the castle, the two fire dragons guarding the gate letting her pass without a second glance. She walked down the long corridor toward the throne room. She had adorned her best dress, something made out of actual cotton instead of the usual rags. It wasn't nearly as glamourous as dragon scales, but it would at least allow her to have some semblance of appearance. She had also washed and brushed as much dirt out of her hair as possible, letting the brown locks flow halfway down her back in what she hoped was elegance.

As she walked into the throne room, there was only one other person there. It was one of the young men, the one that had had shoes. He seemed surprised to see her there. Athaer had yet to enter the room so Anastasia simply walked up to him, giving a slightly nervous smile.

"I wasn't sure anyone was coming," he said.

"Well... it seems like a hard job," Anastasia replied.

"It will be," he responded, "My name is Damian by the way. What's yours?"

"Anastasia," she replied.

"Well, assuming no one else comes, I would say we have the job," he chuckled.

She nodded with a slight smile. The two of them chattered for a short time while they waited for the fire queen. Athaer entered the room from a smaller exit towards the back. When she saw the two of them she hesitated a moment, casting narrowed eyes over the two, before giving a toothy smile.

"So only two of you huh?" she spoke.

Anastasia took a deep breath, bowing slightly in respect to the dragon, "I wish to serve you... your majesty."

"Likewise," Damian said, bowing as well.

Athaer nodded her head, "Then if you would follow me."

The dragon turned around, walking back into to corridor she had just walked from. Anastasia and Damian hurried to catch up. They walked in silence for several minutes, the only sound being Athaer's claws clicking against the stone. Anastasia sent several glances in Damian's direction, trying to figure out if he was as nervous as she was. If he was he was hiding it extremely well.

Athaer turned through an open doorway and into another room. Already Anastasia could feel the heat billowing out of it, but she wasn't quite prepared for what she saw on the other side. There was fire everywhere, like a forest of flames flickering backwards and forwards. They shrouded every wall, every piece of stone, and even the very air itself. It was like the fire was alive as it jumped and swirled in unnatural ways.

Athaer was unconcerned, the flames parting for her as she walked toward the centre of the room. Damian followed without hesitation, while Anastasia found herself panicking quietly at the number of flames she was faced with. There wasn't even any fuel that allowed it to burn. It simply was. Taking several deep breaths in order to calm her racing heart, she hurried after the human and the dragon.

In the centre of the room, with fire on all sides, was a nest. It was made from the finest pillows and blankets, with gold lining each side and beautiful silk of varying colours embraided all throughout. On the outskirts of the nest were several white stones, each glowing with an odd radiance. In the very centre of the nest were three eggs, each about as large as a child. The white, cream coloured shells reflecting the light of the flames like a mirror.

Anastasia felt entranced by the eggs. These were what she would be looking after for a very long time, or at least the creatures that would come from them. She wondered what raising a dragon would be like. Would it be like raising a human baby? How long would it take to speak? Would it be able to breathe fire straight away?

She glanced at Athaer. The queen was watching their reaction very carefully. It was the first time Anastasia was able to see a glint of emotion in the queen's eyes. She was hesitant about what she was doing, distrusting of the two humans before her. Anastasia understood. Maternal instincts were something that many creatures experienced, dragons more so than most.

"Why are you trusting something so precious to us?" Anastasia couldn't help but asked, finding the inner turmoil within the dragon far too human to face.

Athaer shook her head, before answering the question, "I've already told you. I wouldn't be able to look after them properly with my position."

"Then why entrust them to humans?" Damian followed.

The dragoness didn't answer straight away. Instead, she walked over to the nest, laying down in a loose coil around her eggs. She stared at them for a moment, as if trying best to figure out a way to explain her intentions to the two of them.

"Because I want them to be strong."

Anastasia and Damian shared a confused glance.

"But enough questions for me, I have several for you," the edge in Athaer's voice returned, "I already know each of your names. Anastasia, Damian. But what I really want to know is... can I trust you?"

Both humans were silent, wondering how they were supposed to answer such a question.

"Damian, wait outside the room until you are called in. I want to talk to Anastasia alone, and then it will be your turn," Athaer ordered.

The man bowed slightly, before turning and walking back through the tunnel of fire, leaving Anastasia alone with the fire queen. Anastasia felt her heart jump into her throat as Athaer's gaze turned toward her, studying her, observing her. Anastasia fiddled with her fingers as she kept her eyes glued to Athaer's claws.

The queen of fire certainly wasn't the biggest dragon Anastasia had come across. She guessed the dragon was maybe eight metres in length and about three metres tall at the shoulder, with wings that spread out to equal that eight metres. Age-wise, Anastasia reasoned that the dragon was between sixty and seventy years old, likely getting closer to seventy. According to Anastasia's mother, it was strange to see a dragon ruling a nation who had yet to see their first century.

However, the aura that radiated from the queen was unlike anything the human had experienced before. Despite the fire swirling around the two of them, Anastasia felt more heat radiating from the dragon. Athaer was certainly a dragon of equilibrium, but there was something about her that was different about all the others who had a similar power.

"Why did you come back here this morning, Anastasia?" The queen eventually asked, seeming to have finished her physical evaluation.

"I... uh," for a moment the girl hesitated, the lie that she felt the need to serve the queen on the tip of her tongue, but something told her that she should go for the truth, "I... think that a human influence on your hatchlings would be good for both our races. I... I... think that by teaching them that humans and dragons aren't that different than they will use this knowledge for the betterment of both of our races."

"So, you hope to be an influence on my children?" Athaer questioned, her tone not giving anything away.

"Y... yes."

"But there is nothing wrong with the way humans and dragons live now," there was something about the way Athaer spoke that line, seeming almost like a challenge.

Anastasia gulped, wondering if she should stop speaking right now, and just agree with whatever her queen was saying. But she would be lying if she did. She knew it, and so did the queen.

"Well... I'm... I'm... just saying... umm..." Anastasia stuttered under Athaer's heavy gaze, "That... many humans feel that... aah... we aren't really thought of highly by many dragons. We are like slaves. And I'm not saying you do this... but many dragons do look down on humans... and don't treat us well."

Athaer didn't respond immediately, her gaze burning through Anastasia as though she were breathing fire at the human. Anastasia couldn't meet her eyes, looking down at the ground and picking at her nails anxiously.

"I thought you were a nervous wreck when you first walked into my castle," Athaer said, "But to say something like that to your queen makes me think you are far braver then you look."

Anastasia didn't know if that was a compliment or an insult.

"You will need that strength when raising my hatchlings," the dragoness said, a slight smile on her mouth.

Anastasia looked up at her in surprise, "You... trust me to do so?"

"I trust you to be honest, with both me and them. They will need that in this life," Athaer rumbled, "And while your ideals may be... extreme, they are noble. Just don't get your hopes up that much will change."

Anastasia nodded her head, "I will still believe in it regardless."

"Good. Now before I send you out, have you any questions for me?" the queen seemed a lot more willing to be open with her now.

"Well... they aren't really relevant to actually raising the hatchlings," Anastasia said.

"Go ahead and ask anyway."

"Okay, I have two questions then. Why do you want humans to raise them? I know you said that you want them to be strong... but that doesn't make much sense. And... why are they taking so long to hatch?"

Athaer smiled slightly, "You have been honest with me. I suppose I should be honest with you as well. You see these stones scattered around the nest?"

Anastasia nodded her head.

"They are called element stones. They have the ability to absorb a dragon's power and make it their own. When an egg is placed near several of these element stones while they are charged, it puts the egg into a stasis, preventing it from hatchling while it is near them. During this period, if used correctly, an element stone will have an effect on the hatchlings, and after some time the fire within them will become their own... similar to what happens when a dragon reaches equilibrium. The reason I have done this... well... it's the only way to be sure none of my hatchlings are starved from their element," Athaer explained.

Anastasia listened with interest. She knew of fire starved dragons, poor creatures that were born without a flame. They were often treated worse than humans, except by Athaer, who had several of them working within the castle.

"And this brings me to why I want a human to raise them, rather than a dragon. My hatchlings will be hatched into power, hatched into rank, with my position hanging over them and driving them their entire lives. But if I have learnt one thing in my life it is this," the dragoness said, "And that is to gain true strength, one must first understand true weakness. I want my hatchlings to have the opportunity to be as strong as this world allows them to be. To not simply have power, but to understand what it is to be weak so that they can truly use that power."

"And humans are... weak?"

"Humans have no elemental power, and their bodies are not nearly as strong as a dragon. Despite this weakness, your species has managed to thrive in this world, learning how to stand on your own two feet despite the odds against you. I want my hatchlings to be able to understand that, and what better way to teach them then to be under the protection of such a creature."

"Aah. Well... I promise you I will do my best to look after them."

"I know you will. Now if that is all will you call forth your friend. I am going to ask him the same questions."

* * *

Athaer didn't end up allowing Damian to stay, suggesting to Anastasia that he was simply wanting to get into such a position for selfish reasons. The man was saying exactly what he thought Athaer wanted to hear, and the dragon didn't like that. It left only Anastasia to look after the hatchlings, but after her conversation with the fire queen, she felt far better about her choice to stay.

She spent the next couple of days in the palace. Athaer had reduced the amount of fire within the egg chamber, making it easier for Anastasia to spend more time in there, simply watching the eggs. The more time she spent with them, the more she realised that she did really want to do this. It was going to be difficult. It was going to be hard work, but she felt she would be able to handle it.

Athaer had removed the element stones from the nest and spent a lot of time with them as well, in which the two females of both species spent a lot of time simply chatting. It was rather surreal for the human. She had never expected to have such long intricate chats with the fire queen and found herself beginning to enjoy spending time talking with the dragon.

True to Athaer's estimate, the eggs began hatching two days after the element stones had been removed. For the first time in her life, Anastasia was able to witness the process of dragon's hatching. It made her full of nervousness and joy, wondering what they would look like straight out of the shell. Athaer allowed only Anastasia in the room as it happened.

"What about the father?" the human asked as they waited for the rattling eggs to form cracks.

"He... is of no consequence," Athaer snorted, "I have no intention of choosing a mate."

"Surely it would have made looking after them easier," Anastasia had learnt to speak a lot more openly with the fire queen.

"Maybe, but to be tied to someone else makes it difficult to be queen," Athaer said, "And with my goals... I need to be able to remain as unattached as possible."

"That sounds lonely."

"To be the best ruler someone can... one needs to be lonely," the dragon replied stoically.

Anastasia was about to voice her disagreement but was cut off when the first crack ran through one of the eggs. Everything else was instantly forgotten about as the first snout broke through the shell, claws tearing at it with rabid intensity as the hatchling struggled to get out of the prison it had been locked in for so long. The egg broke apart quickly, leaving the baby fire hatchling yowling against the cloth as its breaths came in ragged gasps from the effort it had taken to break the egg. It was around the size of a house cat.

Athaer lowered her head, cleaning the remains of the egg from the baby dragon, "His name is going to be Yova."

The second egg quickly followed its brother, the next dragon actually throwing a flame through the cracks of its egg as it broke open in a small explosion. Anastasia took a step back in order to avoid some of the shards.

Athaer chuckled, cleaning it up as well, "His name is Zymre."

"He's a feisty one," the human exclaimed as she looked warily at the flames still flickering along Zymre's scales.

The last egg cracked as well, and the last hatchling broke through its confines in a slightly more regal fashion. It fell forward from the egg with a rumble, growling softly as the effort it had taken. Athaer began to clean it as well, a satisfied hum rumbling through the dragoness.

"I think I'll name her... actually, Anastasia, you name her."

"Me?" the human watched wide-eyed.

"Yes. I believe you have earned the privilege."

"Oh... aah," Anastasia hesitated a moment, her mind racing, "How about... Ember? No, that is way too generic."

Athaer chuckled, looking down at the baby dragoness, "No, I like it. Ember."

Anastasia smiled slightly, looking down at the three hatchlings she was going to be looking after, "Ember it is then."

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Hey guys! So what did you think of that story? Gave a bit more insight into Athaer's character, as well as introducing Anastasia. What did you think of Anastasia's character? And what did you think of this chronicle in general? Vote if you enjoyed it, and comment what you thought. The next story can be voted for below.

Living Mountains: Aerial, Wind dragoness - 39Yrs BTA

Blinding Light: Kibre, Light Drake - 21Yrs BTA

Tell me which one you want next. It will be out next week! See Ya!

Pennator^^