CHAPTER 2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Higher and higher they soared through the clouds. The young human gripped the creature's neck for dear life, as this was higher than any mountain he had climbed. He was probably the first human to ever fly in centuries. He felt the moisture of the clouds pass him by as the ascended higher and higher. He was over ridden with fear, as he gripped the dragon's neck tighter.  

    "It's not so bad, once you get used to it...try opening your eyes, it will help once you see the night sky." The dragon said, knowing the human had his eyes closed without even looking.

    The boy opened his eyes. The dragon was right. The sky was very pretty at night. But aside from the clouds and the stars, there was other thing floating in that night sky. Dragons. And lots of them. They flew everywhere; some above, some below, others to the left and right of him. The way these "demons" flew in the sky was beautiful and awe-inspiring. But one thing did bother him.

    "What happens if they see us?" The boy asked fearfully "I mean...what happens if they see a human on your back?"

    "I don't think that will happen. We usually don't pay too much attention to each other when flying. If anyone does see you, though, they'll probably think that you are already dead and are being taken back as a trophy or as food." The dragon said, as the boy cringed a little. "I'm sorry...but that's how it is...well, how it was. I really do hope we can enlighten people about our kinds, how we were both wrong."

    "Me too...but it will be hard. Not to many humans will just change there minds, even with proper proof. It might not even be possible, you know?" The boy said, getting his hopes down.

    "I know. It's the same with my kind, actually. Maybe we're not so different after all...I wonder...how did it end up like this?" The dragon inquired.

    "What do you mean?" The boy asked back, still squeezing hard on his new friends neck/

    "I mean, how is it that we hate each other? For how similar our cultures seem...how did it come to this? Was there ever a time when all of us lived in peace?" The reptile wondered out loud.

    "I really don't know...the humans have many records throughout history...but all of them involve hating dragons. It was told that a man named Helios saw and slayed the first dragon-"

    "Named Selene...who sacrificed herself to destroy a human..." The dragon continued, giving his side of the story.

    "But Helios was supposedly told by God that dragons were Satan's minions...he was regarded as a hero for slaying the dragon. He was regarded as a king before he even saw the dragons. He taught the people how to forge sacred weapons that could slay the dragons for told, even before he saw any..." The boy continued.

    "...as with how Selene was told by the God's of the human's evilness. She was told that not all were evil, though, and that some of them could live in peace with the dragons...but when she tried, Helios came to destroy her..." The dragon contradicted.

    "...So neither of stories match up. We both were told by God that the other was evil...we can't both be right, though...it doesn't make any sense..." The boy concluded.

    "There must be an answer somewhere...I guess we just have to look for it on our own...I just...I don't understand what happened. I'm even a decedent of Selene, named after her, even! But I don't know...

    "...What is your name?" The boy asked. "Mine is Solius, named after the modernized name of my ancestor, Helios...But everyone calls me Sol...

    "Mine is Sereus, but everyone calls me Ser...your ancestor was Helios...and mine was Selene...Do you think it was coincidence that we met?" Ser asked the boy

    "I believe in destiny and fate...I think this was meant to happen...I think we're supposed to save the world." Sol said, believing every word.

    "...Or maybe destroy it..." Ser responded darkly.

    "What do you mean?" The boy asked. "How and why would we destroy the world?"

    "If we try to change the world, even if its for the better, it could cause an upset with the Gods...maybe we're just meant to be enemies...as to why, I don't know..." Ser responded.

    "Maybe to preoccupy us?" Solius responded inquisitively. "Maybe there's something God doesn't want us to know...Maybe he's afraid that if we put both our culture's stories together we would find out, and some great cataclysm would happen..."

    "That is very possible. We were told that this world was actually started by a catastrophe, and the previous died because of it. We don't know anything about the world before this one, though...all we know is that because of it dying, this world was born..."

    "The human's have the exact same story, actually..." Sol said. "So where is your castle, anyway? It feels as if we've been flying for hours" He said, slightly scared.

    "You don't like flying, do you?" The dragon asked.

    "No...not really...I just get...scared. I don't wanna fall out of the sky or anything...I guess I'm just a coward..." The boy said ashamed.

    "Don't think of it like that...everyone's afraid of something, but just being up here proves that you're not a coward. And don't worry...we're almost there. You can see it in the distance, actually" Ser responded, and he was right. Situated on a steep, unclimbable mountain way up in the sky was a black castle. It seemed so ominous from where they were. A few moments later, they arrived.

    Ser opened the giant wooden doors, and walked inside with Sol. "I think it would be a better idea if I told my mother about you, before you actually meet her..." Ser said, while letting Sol off of his back.

    "That seems like a good idea..." He said, not wanting to get turned to charcoal by an angry dragon.

    "For now, feel free to look around my humble abode. There's a lot of interesting stuff in here...a lot of history." Ser said.

    "I guess that can be fun..." He replied. Ser went into a separate room with the deer, as Sol went exploring. There was some truly amazing stuff in that castle. Many paintings of dragons, ancient relics, and history scrolls. Although he could not read the strange symbols on the scrolls and paintings, he was sure they told magnificent stories. He continued on marveling at all of the works or the dragons, until something caught his eye that confused him deeply. It was a stone tablet. It looked so familiar, though...it was covered in writings but...they weren't like the symbols on the other works. It was in human English...but...it didn't make any sense...

"Two immortal enemies
although their side
When one dies, the
The other one takes,
But in the space
The two are equal
Reflecting on each
They show the path
The path of the
When two halves
When the half blood
Along with Atlas
When the Titans
The path can be travled
a way the Temples
Where all the answers"

    It just seemed to cut out at the very end...It didn't make any sense. I just cut off at the left. It just seemed so familiar...like he had seen something almost exactly like it.

    Suddenly he felt a sharp coldness run down his back. The world seemed to stop for a moment, and everything went gray. He didn't know what was happening, but something told him to turn. He couldn't explain, it just felt as if he needed to move, even just an inch...just to regain feeling in his body. He turned around slowly, as the world regained color. Slowly his senses returned, and at that same instant he noticed that he was no longer alone. He looked back at icy blue eyes, with matching scales. The eyes told him that there was a big chance he would die here, and the claws strengthen that notion. He jumped back just in time, as a claw had just dug its way into the marble where he was just standing.

    "You made a big mistake coming here, human" A feminine voice said confidently.

    "It's not what it seems! I'm here because-" Sol said, before getting cut off.

    "-You're here because you heard that there was a sick dragon here, and that the males had went out to hunt. You expect a quick kill, but you let your guard down. Did you really think we were that stupid to leave our sick unguarded? Well, because of your naivete, your going to die." She said confidently, as she circled the young human.

    "It's not like that! I don't want to fight!" Sol said frantically.

    "Of course you don't...You just wanted to assassinate my mother! You didn't come prepared to fight, and now you won't be able to. But I'll be nice. Surrender, and it will be quick and painless. Just close your eyes; it'll all be over soon." She said calmly and confidently.

    There was no way out of this. She wouldn't listen, and, frankly he couldn't blame her. To her, he was just pure evil. There wasn't a way to prove it to her. Alone, at least...If he could just stall for time, there might be a possibility that Ser, her brother, could explain it to her. His mind buzzed with activity trying to think of a way to stall. Luckily, quick thinking payed of. Even if she was a dragon...she was still a female.

    "I won't surrender, but I won't fight. I wouldn't want anything to happen to those beautiful blue scales," Sol complemented.

    The dragon stopped pacing for a second. She blushed at him with surprised eyes, taken aback from a complement out of nowhere. She resumed pace, but this time slower and slightly more relaxed. "Your tricks won't work on me, human." She said.

    "This might actually work" He thought to himself. "Tricks? What tricks? Do you honestly think I could lie about something like that? You and I both know its true."

    "Quiet, human!" She snarled, although it was obvious that she was blushing. She continued to circle.

    "I'm sorry...your beauty just entices me. I just can't keep my mouth shut...I feel as if I need to talk to keep from becoming completely hypnotized." Sol said, as he continued to pour on the charm.

    "Shut up! I know your faking it!" She shouted again. Time was starting to run out. If Ser didn't get here to save him, it might be to late.

    "But I'm not! From those icy blue eyes, to those cool blue scales, up to the ivory white horns, and down to the red stripes on your tail...your amazing." He praised.

    "That's enough!" She shouted, as she tackled him to the ground. She pinned him, and held a claw over his face. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but its not going to work! Your a demon, and I'm not! We're natural enemies; kill or be killed. I don't care how many times you say I'm pretty, you still need to die!"

    "I said that you were beautiful, not just pretty..." He said. If he didn't get saved soon, he would be dead within a matter of minutes. And to top it off, he was running out of material.

    "I don't care if you think I'm beautiful...even if you really mean it...you need to die! Your evil!" She shouted again.

    "I can tell your not going to change your mind...but I meant what I said what I said before. I don't want your scales to get bloodstained. If I'm going to die, let me do the honors." Sol said, in a last ditch effort, as he maneuvered his arm to his hunting knife. He was able to get it up to his neck. He held it there, and waited.

    "...What are you doing!?" She asked very surprised.

    "Right now, it seems I'm going to die either way. So this way, you won't have to wash off the blood." He said, as he touched the blade to his throat.

    "You had a weapon the whole time...you drew it against yourself...you could have killed me right here." She said surprised.

    "Kill you!? Why would I wan't to do that!? You're the most beautiful I've ever seen!" He said, flattering her even more. It was working!

    "There you go again...I don't understand. You're the ultimate evil...there has to be a trick. I demand to know! And after all you've put me through, if anyone's gonna kill you, it's gonna be me!" She said, as she slapped away the knife and leaned in closer to his face.

    He could tell she was about to snap. No matter what he said, he would die. It was over...or was it? There was one last hope. If he did what he was thinking of doing, it could lead to two things. Instant death, or complete shock...and then death. But he needed the time. It seemed so long since Ser had been gone, he had to be coming soon! He need the time, so he had to take the risk. He took sometime to mentally prepare for what he was about to do.

    "Answer m-!!!" She started to say, before he put his plan into action. He leaned forward and planted his lips on hers. He could almost hear her mind screaming out in complete shock. She stopped breathing while they were united. He realized he wasn't breathing either, though. He held the kiss as long as he could, until he had to unlock for air. He looked at her face, which was frozen in shock, as he expected. She just kept the same bug-eyed expression for what seemed like hours. She just stared blankly at him. He knew any second that she would wake up from her trance, and completely carve him up. Now he just had to pray.

    His praying seemed to pay off, though. A few seconds later, he heard footsteps in the hall. Right now he just really hoped that Ser didn't have a brother...he doubted the same tactics would work in that situation. But luckily, he saw the familiar dark blue scales. His friends head poked through the corridor.

    "Lunaria!" (suckish?) Ser screamed. She turned her head, as he rushed forward. Ser nudged her off Sol. "It's not what you think! They're not evil!" He shouted.

    "But..." She said, still wided-eyed and dilusional.

    "There is no 'but'...I know it goes against everything we were taught as children, but they really aren't evil. They're people, just like us!" The adolecent dragon said.

    Lunaria stared at Sereus blankly, then shifted her gaze to Solius, who had now gotten up off the ground. Sol smiled slightly, and even blushed a little. She redirected her gaze back to her brother to respond. "I know..." She said transfixed, as she walked away and out of sight.

    "That was...easier than expected," Ser said puzzled. He expected it to be much harder to get her to understand. "What did you do to get her to agree so quickly?"

    "You don't wanna know..." He responded.

    Later that night, when everything quieted down, Sol finally was able to relax. He sat on top of the bed provided for him and stared through the window. He felt like something was wrong...like something was missing. He had gotten over the death of his father, he had a new friend and new intelligence. But yet he still felt...incomplete. He laid there a while contemplating what was wrong. He heard footsteps approaching the guest room he was occupying. He lazily turned his head to see. He saw familiar sky-blue scales. He smiled slightly without even thinking about it as she passed. She took a half-second glance in the room at him, and quickly turned her head, blushing. Sol turned his head back to the window, still smiling.

    That's when it hit him. He no longer felt that emptiness. When he saw her...that feeling went away. Was it possible that he meant all the things he said? Did he really think she was beautiful? When he said all that, it was just for survival...or was it? Those words had to come from somewhere. He assumed it was his mind thinking fast...but was it really from his heart? He felt happy when he saw her pass, he had no problem telling her all those things...and even when he kissed her, he thought it to be normal. Did he really...love her? Was that even possible? There was only one way to find out...

    "Lunaria?" He said as he entered her room.

    She jumped up from her bed, where she was lounging and blushed as their eyes met. She seemed to blush around him a lot lately. "What do you want?" She asked, trying to hide her emotions.

    "I just need to check something..." He said, as he moved closer. He could almost feel her pulse rising with every step.

    "Wha...what are you doing?" She asked when he was inches away from her. He up looked into her eyes. The pale blue eyes reflected his own. He was enticed by their magical charm. He found himself smiling again, and he found it hard to pull away. Even her scales seemed to reflect the moonlight, creating a heavenly glow around her body.

    "I was right..." He said, still smiling.

    "Right about what?" She asked.

    "You. You really are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He said, as he stroked her neck.

    "You...you really mean that?" She asked shyly.

    "Yes, I really do...Luna...I think I love you." He said, as he wrapped his arms around her neck.

    "I...I think I love you too..." She said, as she used her claw to hug him back.