~Tabitha’s P.O.V.~

Slowly water washed from the field in front of us, pushing into the forest. Multiple trees had been torn up by the roots, leaving muddy holes filled with water across an ever growing plain. Dead bodies of drowned demons littered the field below, left over from the main body of the army that continued to scream and cry in the distance, the noise fading as the flood receded and more of them were claimed by the massive force of nature.

But I only had a fleeting glance. My attention was on the dying mage in front of me. His skin had grown pale and clammy. His breathing was practically non-existent. He looked like he had been drained of every ounce of energy his body had. In fact, that was likely exactly what had happened. Using power such as what he did took a nasty price.

I was kneeling down beside his limp body, frozen in shock, horror and disbelief. It was like I could see his life draining into the ground. I had his hand trapped in my own. It was cold, like death. People had gathered around, wizards rushing around as fast as they could, trying to figure out a way to save him before he was gone. My heart was in my throat, tears in my eyes. His rapid breathing suddenly faltered, then his body shuddered, and he went limp again, minus the small rise in his chest.

A panicked cry left my throat, “Aaron! No! Don’t leave me dammit!”

I felt arms grab me and lift me away. Almost instinctively I struggled to get away, but the arms were strong. I looked up to see a grim faced man, one of the mages, looking down at me.

“We can save him,” he said firmly, “But you need to be out of the way. We don’t have much time.”

I hesitated, looking back at the man I had become so close to the past couple of months. The man that I considered far more than a friend. The one I loved. I gulped, tears running in rivers down my cheeks. His body was shielded from my view as the mages surrounded him, chanting in soft tones. I could feel the magic leaking from them.

When the man holding me realised I wasn’t struggling any longer, he let me go. I stood still, nervously watching as they worked. I had no idea what they were doing, or what they were trying to accomplish. Until recently, magic hadn’t really been a big part of my life and I hadn’t really had the time to study it all that well either.

“What are they doing?” I asked softly.

“Giving him their energy,” replied the man, “Aaron used up all of his energy reserves with that spell, leaving his body completely empty, but if we can restore at last a fraction of what he had, than he won’t fall into the void. Either way, it will take him a long time to recover.”

I nodded my head softly, “Will it work?”

The man was silent for a moment, “It should.”

“Should? What is that supposed to mean?”

“Well… Aaron is far more powerful than the average mage… and he used an enormous amount of power to accomplish what he did… whether or not we have the power to replenish that is up for debate.”

“But there are at least ten of you!” I exclaimed, “Surely, even with ten, you would be able to match him.”

Again he was silent, “Maybe. We will just have to find out.”

My worries increased as I turned toward the chanting group. Others had come to watch as well, the soldiers surrounding us. They muttered nervously, a little frightened. As important as magic was… many people disliked the fact that those with magic were held over everyone else, though from what Aaron had told me anyone could learn how to use it if they put in the effort.

Tyron flew up toward the battlements, having finished off the few surviving demons down below, the ones that were not hit by the flood because they were too close to the wall. He flew over us, watching with worry as they continued to work toward saving the mage. He wouldn’t be able to land where we were, he was too big, so he opted to fly around, circling slowly and watching with one eye.

They continued for what felt like hours, but really it was just a couple of minutes, before stepping backwards and ending the spell. I approached hesitantly. They looked exhausted. Each were more pale than usual and were short of breath. They looked at me as I passed, but I ignored them, my eyes only for the unconscious mage still laying on the ground.

As soon as I saw him I let out a small sigh of relief. His skin had regained some colour, not a lot but some, and he was breathing evenly now. As I knelt down beside him his eyes flickered open and he frowned in confusion for a moment, before focusing his gaze on me. I smiled, tears prickling the corners of my eyes.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” he croaked, coughing slightly, “Wh… what happened?”

“You were an idiot,” I replied with a laugh, “A damned idiot.”

He frowned slightly, before smiling as a realisation hit him, “Well… it worked didn’t it.”

I rolled my eyes. Slowly I helped him stand up, keeping by his side just in case he looked as though he were about to fall. Another wizard came by his other side, taking his weight off me and I stood back.

“Thank you,” said Aaron, “I would have died if not for you.”

The mage that had held me back smiled slightly and nodded his head, “Yes, you would have. Please refrain from using such powerful magic in the future, we do not want another of the royal family bedridden.

Aaron nodded his head, “I know, but it was necessary.”

At that moment a loud cry echoed over the battlements, “Blu!”

I turned to look down and saw mother rushing toward where my brother was laying unconscious on the ground. I glanced at Aaron, and he nodded slightly. I turned and quickly ran to the ground, rushing over to where the dragon lay. Tyron followed close behind, realising that Aaron wasn’t close to dying anymore.

“Oh my poor baby!” I heard mum crying.

I walked over to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder, “He’s alright mum. It was just a little bit of a hit to the head. It’s not nearly as bad as it looks.” I nodded to the mess of blood and scales lining his forehead, “Just a bruise.”

Mother gently touched her son’s head, “Are you sure?”

I nodded, “He should wake up soon. He may have a bit of a concussion and it’ll take a couple of weeks for him to recover, but it isn’t serious.”

She nodded her head and let out a small breath, “Okay.”

She still seemed obscenely worried however, refusing to move herself from where Blu’s unconscious head lay. Tyron gently nudged her reassuringly before sitting beside his beloved, watching over him. I looked up to see Aaron making his way down the stairs with the air of one of the soldiers. They made their way over to where we were.

“Is he alright?” Aaron asked.

I nodded my head, repeating what I had said to mum, “Could you heal him?”

He sighed and shook his head, “I barely have the energy to move, let alone heal a wound like that. In fact, for the next couple of days while I recover, I’ll barely be using any magic at all.”

I nodded my head, “Well I guess we’ll have to wait then.”

~Blu’s P.O.V.~

A groan escaped my muzzle as I slowly drifted from my waking dreams. The first thing I noticed was a pounding headache, throbbing along one side of my skull. It was like someone was smashing my head like a drum. When I moved to place a paw on the saw spot it became apparent that my head wasn’t the only thing that was aching. I groaned again as numerous pains coiled down my back and wings.

A loud voice shouted out, but I couldn’t make out what it said. All I felt was another throb through my head. I tried to tense in an effort to brace myself, but all that did was cause another groan to escape my muzzle. It felt like that time a couple of years ago when I had been swung into a mountainside by a storm.

Knowing I wouldn’t go back to sleep, I slowly cracked open one eyelid, trying to get a better understanding of where I was. I was laying on my back, laying on something that felt rather soft against my scales. The sky was covered by a brown canvas that filtered in sunlight. My left wing had something woven around it that was firm, but not uncomfortable, and there was something covering my other eye, around the area that was the most painful.

“Blu?” this time the voice was clearer.

My uncovered eye immediately focused on the source, and I felt myself relax. Tabitha was standing by my head, watching me with concern and excitement. I smiled slightly at her, before I looked past her toward the others in the room. Aaron was standing there with a slight smile, as was mother, but the one that caught my attention was the mass of red scales who was sitting just inside the rather massive entrance of what I assumed to be a tent.

“Blu! You’re awake! I was so worried about you,” Tyron sat up and took a slightly excited step forward.

He was a mess. His wings were drooped tiredly by his side, his usually gleaming scales were slightly dulled and dirty. HIs underbelly was covered by enough sand that it seemed he had been laying down for over a week without cleaning. His eyes were tired and unfocused, though they seemed to lighten up when he saw me awake.

“What… what happened,” I grunted, taking a couple of try’s to find my voice.

“You were knocked unconscious during your battle with the black dragon,” explained Aaron.

My eye widened in panic.

“But Tyron managed to drive him off,” Tabitha hurriedly reassured.

I looked back at the red dragon and he smiled slightly, though at the mention of the black dragon he looked to the floor… as if he were thinking of something. My doubts were quickly washed away as Tyron nodded his head.

“How… long was I… out?” I asked, finding it a little painful to speak.

“About a week,” Tyron spoke softly.

I rumbled in surprise and tried to roll onto my stomach in an attempt to look at them, to make sure they were serious, but I was stopped by a spike of pain that stabbed through my back. I let out a small whimper before relaxing on the ground, breathing heavily.

“Hey, hey, hey, relax,” Tabitha placed a hand on my jaw, which I found oddly comforting.

Once I had calmed down a little more I spoke again. “A week?”

They nodded their heads together. I blinked, shocked. An entire week? That was impossible.

“How… badly… am I injured?” I asked quietly, needing to know.

It was Aaron that replied, “The initial hit that knocked you unconscious wasn’t too bad. You have a small crack in your skull, which is why it hurts so badly, but that shouldn’t bother you too much in the future. It was when you hit the ground that the real damage was done. You landed on your wing, breaking the joint in three separate pieces, and badly bruised your back, which is why we couldn’t really turn you over.”

“S...so I may never fly again?” the thought scared me more than I thought it would.

He shook his head, “No… it isn’t quite that bad. But you will be grounded for a couple of weeks while it heals.”

“Great, now you're acting like mum Aaron,” I grumbled which got me a smack on the snout, my mum standing in front of me with a frying pan in her hand.

I looked at her a little sheepishly with a grin, before turning back to Aaron once more, another thought entering my head, “Can’t you heal me?”

He sighed softly, shaking his head, “Usually, I would… but I used so much magic in that battle it nearly killed me. I was only able to start casting spells again yesterday… and those were weak and pitiful. Much like you, it will take weeks to get back to my full strength.”

It was than I noticed that the mage was indeed looking a shadow of his former self. He seemed pale, and the grip on his white staff was weak. It was rather obvious he was struggling to even stand upright for so long. The aura of power that was usually slightly present around him was gone as well.

“We all took a great hit in the battle,” Tyron said, “But we won… at least for now.”

I attempted to nod my head, but when that failed simply made do with a small smile, “Well at least I won't be alone in this tent. I prefer the company.”

Tabitha barked a laugh, “You won’t have to worry about that. Tyron hasn’t left this tent once while you were asleep.”

I smiled at him as the red dragon looked to his claws, fidgeting slightly. His red scales were hiding the blush I knew was underneath. He nodded his head back at me in acknowledgement. If I could, I would get up and nuzzle him, but at the moment I barely had the energy to move. Instead I slowly moved my tail around to where his was and softly curled it around his. He seemed a little surprised at the gesture, before smiling brightly.

A moment later my stomach grumbled rather loudly, causing everyone to jump in surprise. I snorted, startled. It was then I noticed another pain inside me, but this one was more of a familiar one. I was starving, and this was no normal hunger either. I felt like I could eat an entire herd of deer. Tyron chuckled slightly.

“I’ll go hunting, I’ll be back soon,” he said.

I nodded my head, a little embarrassed. With a quick nod from the red dragon he turned and quickly flew into the air after stepping out of the tent. I watched him go, before turning my attention to the others.

“Could you fill me in on what happened?” I asked.