“Father?” Pyrite breathed, standing up.

Jasper smiled at her and held his arms open. Pyrite squeezed him into a hug.

“I’m here. I’m here, Pyrite.” Jasper ran his hand through her hair. “You’ve grown so much. So much.”

“H-how?” Pyrite choked out. Tears came, running down her cheeks and soaking into her father’s coat. She buried her face into his shoulder, letting his familiar smell wash over her, along with the scent of leaves and dirt.

“I was abducted by dragons,” Jasper started, stroking her back. “CaveDragons. I managed to escape them and convince them to fight one another. There were only two, and they were supposed to bring me back to their palace. Something about needing a human to surprise the enemy.”

Pyrite’s eyes widened in surprise. “But who are these people?”

“We never introduced ourselves,” the brown-eyed girl said. Pyrite broke out of her father’s hug to shake her warm hand. “I’m Alissa. The guy over there is Drake, and the girl over there is my best friend, Zephyr.”

Zephyr rolled her eyes. “We are not best friends. We are merely mutual acquaintances.”

“She doesn’t like to admit that she likes being around me,” Alissa whispered to Pyrite, winking.

“I HEARD THAT,” Zephyr said.

“Wait, Alyssa?” Pyrite asked, blinking. “Like, the Alyssa?”

Alissa laughed. “No, Alissa. A-L-I-S-S-A. I was named after her, but it’s spelled differently.”

“I found them tromping the forest, arguing with one another. They were small, about six years old.” Jasper gazed at the trio. “But they knew much more about the Surface than I did, so I joined them. We’ve been in this forest ever since, slaying dragons and defending villages from those tyrants.”

Pyrite winced at his last words. “Wait, you convinced the CaveDragons to fight?”

“I can talk to dragons,” Jasper answered.

“So can I!”

Jasper’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Do you know where it comes from?” Pyrite asked. “It’s like they’re talking in perfect human when I hear them, and I can talk in dragon when I speak to them, but it sounds like human to me.”

“Sit down,” Jasper instructed.

“Wait,” Turquoise raised her hands. “Pyrite can talk to dragons? Like Jade?”

Pyrite nodded. “Sorry I kept it hidden.” She turned to Jasper. “You know where it originated?”

Jasper smiled. “I do. Long ago, our ancestors could all talk to dragons. It wasn’t an ability back then—just a normal thing for humans and dragons to do. There were no separate languages. Human and dragon spoke together as one.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What happened?” Pyrite asked. The others were all listening intently as well.

“They split up,” Jasper answered. “Legend has it that a dragon names Zaerux took over the continent, and the humans were forced into hiding. No one knows what really happened, though. Some think the humans hated the dragons and wanted to be as far away as possible, which made them move to the caves. Others think that they were always in the caves. But there are humans on the Surface to prove those theories wrong.”

“Zaerux,” Turquoise whispered. “It all comes back to her.”

Jasper tilted his head. “What?”

“We’ve had quite an adventure, too,” Pyrite said. She rubbed her forehead. “It seems like we never get any breaks.”

Jasper smiled softly. “Tell me.”

And Pyrite did. She began with her abduction, narrating all of their twisted adventures up until now, and how Zaerux played a part in them. Zephyr, Drake, and Alissa all listened closely, but Pyrite’s eyes were on Jasper. It seemed unreal that he was alive, sitting next to her, looking her in the eyes. They were still the same—sad and warm at the same time.

He shook his head when she finished. “My, you’ve gotten yourself into a lot more than I ever thought you would. When I last saw you, you were so little. A tiny ball of spitfire.”

He chuckled. “And now...” His expression turned sad for a moment. “I wish I could have been there to watch you grow.”

There was silence for a moment,

“Why didn’t you some back?” Pyrite asked. “Why didn’t you try to find us? A cave entrance?” Her voice was raising in volume as she voiced all her anger and frustration; the sad looks her mother had, the loneliness of their household. “Why did you leave us alone? Do you have any idea what state Mother is in? Why,” she asked, tears rolling down her cheeks, her voice degraded to a whisper, “why are you still here?”

Jasper reached towards her with his hand, but Pyrite moved back, glaring. “You could’ve looked for us at ANY point in your time here! There are cave entrances everywhere! Sure, it would’ve taken a while, but you could have at least tried.”

“Pyrite, I—” Jasper pleaded.

Pyrite interrupted him. “You have no excuse.” She turned towards the forest. “I’m leaving.”

She whistled loudly, and Shadowstar thumped down from above. Pyrite smiled forcefully at her. The others gasped.

“Trouble?” Shadowstar asked, raising a brow. “Do you want me to take them down?”

“No.” Pyrite shook her head. “Let’s get out of here.”

Shadowstar obliged, dipping her head down so Pyrite could climb on her back.

“You’re a dragon rider!” Drake cried. He drew his bow, aiming it at Shadowstar. Pyrite felt a burst of anger in her gut.

“No!” Turquoise cried, drawing her sword and cutting his bow in half. He looked in shock at his split bow, the advanced on her, drawing his own sword. Turquoise rolled away and climbed a tree with dexterity, hopping onto the highest branch. Her helmet glinted mysteriously, its blue feather seeming to glow. It did well to hide her expression as she gazed down at Drake, sword in hand.

Shadowstar turned to Pyrite. “Watch this,” she whispered. Then she dove into the nearest tree with confidence.

Pyrite clung onto her neck, fearing that they would crash, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes and discovered blackness, with a small light in the distance—like a tunnel of shadows. Somehow that made her want to cling tighter to her dragon.

They emerged into the light, and Pyrite saw Jade and the others, gathered around a campfire. When they saw her, their expressions were relieved. Turquoise and Erinite landed in the midst of them a moment later.

“Those toad-sniffing seal brains!” Turquoise cursed, hopping off of Erinite and kicking the nearest rock into a tree. “Worse than a combination of pickles and raspberries! Glacier smashing hair pullers!”

“Um...” Alex said, stroking Alastor. “Can somebody explain to me why Turquoise is cursing so much?”

Pyrite glared at the ground. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said through gritted teeth. She slid off of Shadowstar, and stalked away, not saying another word.

She needed some time to think.