~Blu's P.O.V~

The cave took a surprising amount of time to walk through. The dimming lights of the torches didn't do much to help. I was glad I was a dragon, as walking through this place without my enhanced eyesight would have been a slight struggle. The sound of our claws clicking against stone echoed with every step, and with every passing minute the roof of the cave got lower and lower, until finally, a light was revealed at the end.

"What's this dragon like?" I asked curiously.

"He's... old," Tyron replied with a small frown, "But I think he's honorable. Honorable in the way that he will serve the will of his king no matter what he is asked to do. But he has been alone for too long, so he might be a little... unused to the comotion we are about to bring his way."

I nodded, still feeling very uneasy, "But if I say he should accept them... he will?

"I think so," Tyron nodded his head.

I let out a small breath, not liking this plan at all. This other dragon seemed terrifying. More terrifying than Gabriel, that's for sure. Either way though, if it was the only way to get into the kingdom, then I would just have to face this head on.

"Oh... and one more thing," the red dragon continued, "The city... it still has lots of evidence of the battle that was fought all those years ago. There are... there are dragon skeletons everywhere."

I blinked in slight shock. I hadn't expected that. Dragon skeletons... the thought gave me shivers down my spine.

Suddenly a large shadow passed over the entrance of the cave. The wind blew past us, and dust kicked up. Both Tyron and me froze in place, watching as the mass moved. The sound of scales rasping against stone and rock echoed around us. I saw a tail as thick as a river, wings the size of the tallest trees, and teeth at least as big as me, all appearing until the largest eye I had ever seen settled at the entrance.

The black draconic pupil was like a cat's, staring down at us with overwhelming suspicion. I gulped, taking a small step back, my tail flicking nervously behind me. Tyron gripped the ground with his talons and let out a small breath, trying to calm himself down. But neither of us fled, though I would have certainly liked to. The pupil seemed to watch Tyron for a moment, before turning to me, and stopping. There was a massive click as the eye blinked once in surprise.

"P-Princess?" the dragon's voice boomed through the cavern, causing the stones around us to shake.

"Oh my Goddess! That's Kingston!" I heard Hannah say happily.

"Kingston?" I said out loud, startled.

The large eye backed away from the entrance, allowing light to once again enter the cave. Then he began to shrink. The large dragon's body receded toward the ground, his wings, horns and tail shrinking with him. His body became more upright and his front legs quickly became more like arms. He continued to shrink until finally his form was more or less human like, still with green scales, wings and horns. His transformation had landed him on one knee, head bowed.

"You came back," he said softly, "You are alive. After all these years... I had given up hope."

Tyron and I glanced at each other, before walking out of the cave to meet the now transformed dragon. I was just staring. I had no idea what to say. I had never met him before, and now he was bowing down before me like I was royalty or something. I mean... I guess technically I was. At least... Hannah was and she is now a part of me.

'Blu, let me talk to him,' Hannah's saddened voice reverberated through my head.

'How?' I asked.

'If you allow me to, I can take temporary control of your body... well at least I think I can. That's how the amulets were supposed to work anyway.'

'Alright... how do I temporarily allow you control?'

'I guess just... don't resist?'

Before I asked her what she meant her conscious suddenly seemed to expand through my mind, and my own conscious seemed to almost shrink. At first I panicked, quickly pulling back for control, but then I relaxed, allowing her to continue until it was me that was the background and her at the forefront. It felt a little weird, having my body move when I wasn't in control of it.

"Kingston, I will always come home," my voice was lighter than usual, and had a slight ring that wasn't usually there. In the corner of my eye I saw Tyron tilt his head slightly confused.

The green dragon raised his head, and I was surprised to find tears in his eyes. He really had lost hope, and had been dwelling in a graveyard, never dying, probably thinking that it was until the end of days. The amount of relief he must of felt was on a grand scale.

"I've befriended the owner of this body and we share it together"," Hannah continued, "And while it isn't always me that is the one you will be looking at, I will always be listening. And Blu... he is just as competent as I am."

Kingston seemed to regain his composure, "As you wish... my queen."

I felt a strange emotion that I didn't recognise straight away rise within Hannah at that comment. Fear? Pride? Nervousness? I wasn't really sure. Though she settled on one that was closer to resolve. She bowed my head lightly toward the dragon, before retreating from my head and into the background once more, leaving me in full control again.

I blinked at the sudden shift. Kingston seemed to notice the change and took a deep breath.

"It is an honor to meet you... Blu. Welcome to your kingdom."

"My kingdom?"

"Yes. You are the last of the royal bloodline, even if you weren't born into it. You still have her blood in you. Therefore, you are the rightful heir to the Helvarian empire."

I glanced at Tyron wide eyed. He chuckled slightly at my look.

"King Blu? Or is it Queen... considering you have taken upon Hannah's body," he laughed and gave a teasing bow of his head, "I do like the ring of it though."

"But... but... " I hesitated, looking between Kingston and Tyron as they watched me expectantly, "I... have no idea how to be a king."

"You don't have to worry about that your highness. I was one of the king's advisors. I can help," Kingston said, "And the correct term, really, is Emperor."

"Hmm... Emperor Blu. That makes you sound intimidating," Tyron nodded his head.

"But... how... I.... you... I just got here. I know nothing about this place, or its people."

"That is not needed right now," Kingston said somewhat sadly, "Everyone who once lived here is gone. It sounds like you have your own people outside the mountain though."

"But they are from Teleran," I said, "And their king is still alive. I don't rule them."

"Well... technically their king is in a coma," Tyron stated, "And either way... this is your kingdom."

"You seem oddly happy about this," I glanced at the red dragon with a tilted head.

"Why should I not be?" he grinned, "I've been thinking about it a lot actually... and well... I think that Halvarian needs a ruler to rebuild it... and you just so happen to the right one for the role."

"But..." I hesitated, my mind awhirl, "The other's wouldn't exactly just accept me as their 'emperor'. They love their king. He was good at his job! And if I try to take over it will just feel like a grab for power. Both to me and the people.

"I'll tell you what," Kingston said, "I will let your people into the city and let them stay until the threat of whatever you guys are running from disappears. After that, those who wish to stay may do so as long as they accept you as your king. The rest can head back to their old homes. Does that sound fair? At least for now?"

I hesitated, looking around at the massive white castle, thinking. Was this to be my home for the rest of my life then? It seemed a little too extravagant for someone who had once been a farm boy. But I wasn't a farm boy any longer, and as I looked at the castle I couldn't help but feel a little more at ease with what Kingston was proposing.

"Fine. I think that will work," I told him, uneasy excitement building in my chest, "Now... can the people come in?"

~Aaron's P.O.V~

Me and everyone else waited impatiently, wanting to head into the cave and to the safety of whatever was there. I was sitting by the large opening on a stone outcrop that was slightly above the grassy ground. Almost everyone else had retired to their tents for the night as we waited for word from the two dragons that had entered the cave. I had laid my staff on the ground beside me, the white wood glowing softly in the light of the fires. My eyes continued to look over to where the medical tent was, where my brother was still fast asleep in his unbreakable coma.

"Hey," I looked up to see Tabitha standing behind me with slight smile on her face.

"Hey," I moved over slightly and allowed her to sit down on the stone beside me.

"You seem... flat," she said with a sigh, leaning back on the palms of her hands and looking out over the camp.

"I'm tired," I replied.

"Tired? Then why are you still up. I thought you would be asleep," she remarked with a slight smirk.

"Not that kind of tired," I glanced at her with a smile of my own, "The type of tired when you reach the end of a long trip, and you kinda just wanna sit down and relax and let your mind take you away from all the troubles you have previously faced."

"With the look on your face before I don't think you were thinking about untroublesome things."

"And how would you know?"

"The look on your face was more the 'tired of being looked at and making decisions' kind of look."

"Ha! I bet that's a look I have had a lot recently hmm?"

"Yeah, pretty much. You're not as carefree as when I first met you."

I looked at her, slightly surprised by that comment. She was looking out over the campsite again, the firelight making her brown hair shimmer and her face glow. But there was a slight hardness about her that hadn't been there when I first met her. There was a slight wariness to her shoulders, and she seemed skinnier, with the dust of the mountain road clinging to her clothes and arms. But her eyes seemed harder then before, and more alert. Not that they hadn't been like that before, but that part of her had definitely grown.

"I haven't been able to be," I responded to her, "All these people are looking at me to lead since my brother fell and its kinda just wearing me down, you know?"

"Yeah... though this trip seems to have worn everyone down," Tabitha said, "But now it's nearly over."

I nodded my head with a smile, "That it is."

We sat in silence for a while, simply watching as the last remaining late nighters chatted around their fires. It was a wonder we hadn't been attacked more often. A wonder that we had managed to cross the entirety of Teleran and these mountains to get where we were now, all while looking after over five thousand people. Sure, we had lost some on the road, but if we had stayed in Teleran we would have lost far more.

"Say, Aaron?" Tabitha began slowly, "What do you plan on doing once we settle in the city?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well... it's just... yeah... we found a place to stay safe for a while. But Garagain is still out there, and eventually he will come here. We can't just lay low until he finds us," she said.

I sighed softly, looking to the sky, "I don't know. I've thought about this for a long time... and I just don't know. Even when he does find us this place seems reasonably defensible, and we could hold out for a good while, especially with three dragons blocking the way... but his hordes of demons are infinite almost. Even all of us together wouldn't be able to hold off forever."

She nodded her head, seeming a little saddened at my words.

I lightly placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "Don't worry. That is a way off yet. If we all put our heads together... I'm sure we can think of something."

She laughed softly, "Yeah."

"Now, go get some rest. I'm anxious for news from your brother," I grinned.

Tabitha groaned, stretching her arms above her head with a loud yawn, "I think you may be right. The long road has really been getting to me lately. But don't you be too far behind me. You look like a zombie, which is not a great look for the master wizard prince of Teleran."

I grunted, "Alright, alright, I won't be long behind you."

She leapt to the ground nimbly with a snark laugh, "You better obey me prince."

I grinned as she ran off toward her tent. She was beautiful, and I could feel myself growing closer to her every day. Maybe once all this was over I could really start pushing my luck a little with our relationship. For now though, that was one thing I couldn't afford to focus on. Once my head cleared up a little. I let out a long sigh and waited.

About an hour later the soft scuffing of claws against stone gained my attention. I turned around and got up with a smile as I saw the red and blue dragons returning from their trip into the cave. Tyron seemed oddly pleased and Blu seemed a little... shaken almost, as if he had a great revelation in the cave.

"Blu! Tyron! You returned!" I exclaimed happily.

"Yep," Blu replied, raising his head a little higher, "And we are allowed in."

I let out a breath of relief. I had harboured a slight amount of doubt that the green dragon wouldn't grant us entry, but that had been proven unneeded. Tomorrow, we would enter the ancient dragon city, and then our journey would be over.