1.

"But what in the world is princess doing here?" Rao, his head still bobbing over the surface, asked Nat who just shrugged.

And then Nat's eyes went wide. "Oh, yes, now I remember. I've seen that cart before. When I was with the captain in the tent, I saw it speed up the tracks and through the trees. Maybe, she comes here occasionally to visit the lake."

"Oh," Rao said and began swimming towards the shore.

"Where are you going?" Nat asked him.

"You said you wanted to take a break."

"Yes... that's right." Nat turned and looked at the princess and blushed again. Then something happened inside his brain. It felt to him that someone had flipped a switch inside his mind. He looked at Rao and said, "Maybe, we can continue your training."

Rao was already out of the lake and had removed his jacket, exposing his slightly ripped body which he had acquired through the tree climbing training. He wrung his wet jacket and said, "What? I thought you wanted to take a break. What changed your mind?"

"Just felt like it..."

Rao stopped and stared at Nat cynically.

"Really! It's not like I want to impress the princess by looking strong just because my opponent is actually weak. Believe me Rao. I want to help you with your training and sincerely want to see you in the dragon squad." Nat said these lines so fast that he was practically panting now.

Rao grinned. "I believe you. After all, even if you managed to impress her, we both know, that you don't stand a chance."

"You little..." Nat glowered at him, clenching his fist.

2.

"What are those people doing there?" Hanabi asked her driver and her guard.

There were two boys across the lake, both looking around her age. One was in dragon guard's uniform and, with his sword drawn out, was chasing the guy with red hair. She couldn't tell if they were fighting or playing. The latter seemed more probable.

"I'll go and check," the guard said. She, pulling the bangs of her black hair in front of her ears, watched as he skirted around the lake and walked up to the pair.

The three talked for a while. The guy with reddish-brown hair  started glaring at her guard. Her guard shook his head and turned and walked back to her.

"The captain gave them a permission to train here," the guard informed her. There came a series of thumping noises, and Hanabi looked over and saw the boys were now standing on the drums floating on the lake.

"I won't be able to relax with them shouting and jumping around," Hanabi said.

"I'll go and talk to the captain," the guard said. He turned to face the driver. "Watch over her."

Her driver scratched his head. The silverhen started making Quawk-Qwak noises. "Guess, I'll go and feed them." The driver walked over to the cart and then disappeared behind it. He reappeared with a wooden bucket full of rice. He started feeding the birds.

Hanabi sighed and went down the green bank and sat near the edge of the lake, looking at the rippling reflection of the blue sky, running her hand over the grass and little flowers. A group of butterfly started fluttering around her and then out of nowhere, a huge stag, with leaves growing on his antlers, came up and sat beside her.

"Long time, no see," she said to the majestic creature.

The stag flipped both of his ears as if to say, 'You bet, babes.'

Hanabi smiled and ran her hand through his silky brown fur, feeling the throb of his heart, expansion and the contraction of his lungs as he breathed. She liked visiting the lake. Over past few years, the lake had become her sanctuary and its animals her friends.

3.

"You'll never be able to take it from me," Nat was saying.

But Rao was not looking at him. "Woah, she is sitting beside a wood-stag..."

"Huh," Nat said and cast a look behind his shoulder and saw that Rao was telling truth.

"Got you!" Nat heard Rao scream and then felt a hand shoving him off the barrel, and before he knew it, he was falling into the water.

When Nat resurfaced, he saw Rao standing on the barrel which he had been occupying before he fell into the water. Rao was holding the locket and was flashing his teeth.

4.

"Got you!" Somone screamed, and his scream was followed by a 'splash'. The wood-stag's body gave a little jerk, and the creature sprang to its four legs and bounded away.

Hanabi also shot to her feet. "No. Wait!" But the creature was already swallowed by the tall trees.

She clenched her fist and glared in the direction of the boys.

"Princess," the driver said in a placating tone.

"Stay out of this," Hanabi snapped. "Stay with the birds." And she accosted the two boys.

5.

"Shit. She is coming this way," Nat said.

"What did we do?" Rao asked.

"I guess we scared her stag away," Nat said as he climbed up the green bank.

"You two," Hanabi said, "are idiots."

"Eh..." Rao glanced at Nat and then back at Princess Hanabi. "I'm sorry for your wood-stag..."

She placed her both hands on her waist and squinted at him. "You ought to be! Now get lost and let me enjoy this afternoon."

"Hey. Hey." A vein began throbbing in Rao's forehead. "You can't tell us to get lost. We came here before you and I have the permission of the captain. He allowed me to train here."

"Well, I'm a princess," Hanabi said. "And I'm above him. So, get lost."

"Not here," Rao said, frowning, "We are outside the city. You are not a princess here."

Nat, blushing a little, scurried up to him and whispered in his ears. "Actually, Rao, her father is not just the king of the city but of the whole kingdom which is way bigger than you can possibly imagine, and his kingdom also includes this forest."

Rao frowned. "I bet she doesn't know this," he said, also pitching his voice low.

Hanabi took a deep breath and said, "You know, I can hear you two. And now I know that this forest belongs to me."

Rao pointed his index finger at her and laughed. "That means you didn't know it before."

"THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT." Hanabi was literally steaming now. "Now, get off my lake."

"No," Rao said, "I'm training."

"For what?" Her eyes were like horizontal slits.

"Dragon Squad entrance exam," Rao said.

"Pfft." Hanabi shook her head. "You call this a training? I didn't even see you fight once."

"I know," Nat said, "Rao is apparently too weak to fight so he is just trying to take a locket from me."

Rao, shooting daggers from his eyes, jerked his head toward Nat. "Whose side are you in any way?"

"Relax." Nat held his hands before him. "I'm just explaining her."

"That's it," Hanabi said.

"Huh," Rao and Nat said in unison.

She gazed back at them. Her face held an expression of a scientist who stumbled upon a discovery that would make him really rich. "Let's make a bet."

"What bet?" Rao asked.

"If I managed to take that locket from you then you'll stop your training for today. But If I fail to do so then I'll get back in my cart and roll back to the palace."

That sounded like a good idea to Rao. But. "I'm sorry, but I don't fight with girls, especially with snobby princesses like you."

"Rao, you idiot," Nat murmured.

"Take. That. Back." Hanabi clenched her fists.

"I won't," Rao said teasingly.

"You--"

A shrill scream of a man filled the afternoon air.

Rao, Hanabi and Nat looked across the lake. The driver was not alone. There were two more people with him. And the taller of the two had now twisted driver's hands behind his back while the shorter man was waving his hand in the driver's face. Apple-green gas issued from the shorter man's hands and covered the driver's face. The driver started snoring.

"Oh, no," Nat said, bringing Rao's attention to another cart that was standing beside an apparently sleeping wood-stag. "They are the smugglers!" And saying that he began running.

"Hey, wait!" Rao called and took off behind him. Hanabi, who had no idea what was going on, followed the boys.

The smugglers saw the approaching kids and ran back toward their own cart and started loading the wood-stag into the back carriage. Then, the two guys went around the cart and sat on the driver's bench. The taller guy grabbed the reins of a silverhen which let out a cawk and started hauling the carriage at unbelievable speed.

Nat skidded to a stop and looked around.

"Hey, why are you stopping?" Rao bellowed.

"There is no way you can outrun a silverhen," Nat said, saw the carriage on which Hanabi had come, ran toward it and climbed up the driver's bench.

"Hey, you can't take that!" Hanabi said as Rao sat beside Nat.

But Nat was already grabbing the cords tied to the silverhen necks.

"Fools," Hanabi hissed and without thinking, climbed up and managed to seat herself on Nat's right. Nat pulled the cords. The two silverhen gave a loud cawk and--there was a jolt--Rao had to grab Nat's shoulder to keep himself from sliding off the bench.

Jangling bells and thumping of talons on the gravelled path filled Rao's ears. The carriage was rocking dangerously, and the trees on the side of the path were moving out of his vision at an alarming pace; they were just a blur of green and brown.

"You are going too fast," Hanabi said over jangling bells and roar of thumping silverhen's feet, wind whipping her long black hair behind her head.

"I can't let them get away," Nat said, "The captain will kill me!"

"I know but..." An outcropping rock came under the wheels of the cart, making them bounce over the seat.

"I can see them!" Rao said.

"Great!" Nat said, pulling the cords. The birds increased their speed. "Let's catch these thugs."

Next time on Dragonsage: The Flower Finally Blooms