Ashley awoke to the sound of Icestorm's snoring . She crept past the dragon, trying to get a better look at her surroundings. She had just figured out she was in a cave when Kaitlynn's voice rang out from a corner. "Oh, you're up!", she exclaimed before jumping to her feet. "Good grief, you scared me!", Ashley said, placing a shaking hand over her heart, "If you were waiting for me, why didn't you just wake me up?" "I needed time to think things over before I told you the next part of my plan.", Kaitlynn replied. "And what is that?", Ashley asked. "I need to let Stephen capture me.", Kaitlynn replied quietly. "What? No! Are you crazy? How could you even think of doing that?", Ashley babbled. "I have to see if the Future Beings are on our side, Ashley.", Kaitlynn said quietly. "But who knows what he could do to you! He could kill you! Then where will we be?", Ashley asked. "The dragons will help you train for the battle while I'm gone....if I'm not back in three days, then you will know what has happened. You must be strong and lead the dragons and dwarves into the battle that lies ahead. Oh...I think you’ll find help in an unlikely person....now, goodbye, Ashley.", Kaitlynn said. Before she could stop her, Kaitlynn had vanished in a puff of mist. "Now what am I supposed to do?", Ashley asked herself. "We wait, milady.", Icestorm replied, a puff of smoke trailing from her nostrils, "In the meantime, myself and others will train you to be the best warrior you can possibly be, if you will allow us, milady." "So be it, Icestorm....I have to win this battle, whether Kaitlynn's here or not.", Ashley said in determination. She peered over the edge of the cave, then said, "How do I get down?" Icestorm flew down to the cavern, Ashley on her back. When she landed, the other dragons looked up, sadness evident in their facial expressions. "She is gone, then?", a beautiful turquoise blue dragon asked. “Yeah, she left a few minutes ago.”, Icestorm said softly. “What did she say, Ashley?”, the black dragon, NightHawk, asked. “She said that you guys were supposed to train me? For the big battle...and that if she wasn’t back in three days, then we’d know that she was dead.”, Ashley replied sadly. “Well, you heard the lady!”, Icestorm roared, “We’re supposed to train her to the best of our abilities!”, “Oh, I doubt that you can help her, Icestorm....she’s only a human, not a dragon.”, a voice said from behind them. “Goddess Kaitlynn asked us to look after the Lady Ashley, not you, Hilda.”, Icestorm replied. “Well, you could kill her just as easily as teach her! We’ll share responsibility of her, agreed?”, the female dwarf, Hilda asked. “Fine....take her.”, Icestorm grudgingly said, nudging Ashley over to Hilda. “Come on, you need to start practicing.”, Hilda said, pulling Ashley towards a corridor. “Ummm...practice what, exactly?”, Ashley asked, a confused expression on her face. With a sigh, Hilda replied, “You need to practice swordfighting....now, backsword or broadsword?”


Kaitlynn trudged across the muddy ground, silently hoping that she wouldn’t get caught before she reached the town. Luck wasn’t on her side, though. As she emerged from a clump of shadows, she surprised a guard who was pacing back and forth. “Well, well, who do we have here?”, he asked, leering down at her. With a shocked gasp, she exclaimed in a bored tone, “You don’t know who I am?” When he shook his head, she gasped again, then said, “I’m only the greatest Goddess in the World, come to see the Future Ruler of the World, Stephen!” Dumbfounded, the guard stepped out of her path and let her pass without any further questions. As soon as she was out of sight, she doubled over in silent laughter. “People can be so gullible!”, she thought as she straightened up and continued on her journey. True, she was a Goddess, but she wasn’t here to see the Future Ruler of the World. Suddenly, something pulled her behind a tree. Before she could cry out, a tail flew across her mouth. “Wait, a tail?”, she thought. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see Earthfire was the one who has “attacked” her. “Milady, what are you doing here? That road leads to Karliville!”, he hissed as he removed his tail from her mouth. “I know where this road leads Earthfire....this is the road I must take. I must let myself be captured by Stephen so I can see if the Future Beings are on our side.”, she replied. Earthfire’s tail whipped across the ground anxiously. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, milady.”, he said, “Stephen has been on the edge of having a breakdown for the past few days..he might kill you.” “I’ll be fine, Earthfire....go back and help train Ashley. Farewell.”, Kaitlynn replied before stepping out into the road and continuing on her journey towards the town. She reached the camp by midafternoon and hid in the shadows behind one of the buildings. When she decided it was safe to proceed to Stephen’s building, she stepped out of the shadows and was promptly hit over the head. Try as she might, she couldn’t fight as the darkness closed in on her.


“....So, backsword or broadsword?”, Hilda asked. “What? I don’t understand.”, Ashley asked, wrinkling her brow in confusion. “Swordfighting? As in using swords? You do know what a sword is, right?”, Hilda said. “Yes, I know what a sword is....it’s just, I don’t know how to use one....why do I have to fight with one?”, Ashley asked softly. “Because you have to be the one to defeat Stephen! Now, I’d say you’d do better with a broadsword. Here.”, Hilda replied as she handed Ashley a sword. She unsheathed it and held it in awe. “Wow!”, she breathed, “It’s beautiful!”. “Indeed, the sword was beautiful. Its blade was a royal violet, its hilt a light lavender with a amethyst gem set in the middle. “Do you like it?”, Hilda asked. As Ashley nodded, Hilda clapped her hands in delight and said, “Great! Now you must learn how to use it! Come, I’ll take you to the training grounds.” In a daze, she followed Hilda through a maze of corridors until they stopped in another large cavern. Looking around, she saw dwarves and dragons alike fighting each other. “Don’t just stand there with your mouth open like that, you have to get suited up!”, Hilda admonished. “Wait, suited up? Why?”, Ashley asked. With a sigh, Hilda patiently explained why she needed to suit up. Ashley’s face went through a range of emotions before settling on embarrassment. “You do know I’ve never done this before, right?”, she asked as a faint blush rose up onto her cheeks. “That’s why I’m here....to help you learn.”, Hilda replied, “Now let’s go!” After she was “suited up”, Ashley followed her onto the training field. “Draw your sword, Ashley!”, Hilda yelled as she drew her own.



Two days later, Ashley collapsed against Icestorm. “Hard day with Hilda?”, she asked, gently nudging Ashley with her snout. Looking up at her, Ashley answered, "You don't know the half of it! I still don't understand half of what she says, and she's really.....fast!" "Well, did you expect anything less?", Icestorm asked. "No, it's just that.....I'm not ready for this. I imagined me doing everything with Amy.", Ashley replied, "It's hard with her not here." "You know, I wouldn't be so sure she isn't here.....in spirit.", the snow white dragon said quietly. "Or she could be here in body!", a voice rang out. Looking around the cavern wildly, Ashley called out in a shaky voice, "Wh.....who's there?" "Who do you think, silly?", Amy said as she walked out of the shadows. Ashley stared at her for a minute, then fell to the ground, out like a light.