Riding a Dragon is no Picnic

At a speed that was unbelievably fast Fenrir started soaring through the air. Immediately the dragon began to weave skillfully past the many staircases and rocks jutting out of the cavern wall. Alara felt as if she was free falling even on the dragon's back. She could feel the blood draining from her face as she suddenly became extremely sleepy.  

Alara thought to herself “I guess I'll have no problem honoring Thalia's wishes like this.” Moments later Alara, who was white as a sheet, passed out. Her grip loosened and she limply slumped forward.

Yotaro spoke to Thalia, “Looks like we already lost the princess.”

Thalia leaned Alara back and rested her head against her shoulder. Then she fastened one arm around the sleeping princess's waist while the other hand had a death grip on Fenrir's scale. “Poor thing must have really been scared,” thought Thalia.

It was going to be a short ride of about an hour, but with the loudness of the air passing by them conversation would be impossible. Without the distraction, Thalia's mind went back to that battle between Heda and herself. It was at least 100 years ago but it still felt like yesterday. 

Thalia remembered what it was like when Heda was newly created.  She was always a misanthropic girl, but she did manage to smile every now and then. Like all the younger siblings, Heda spent the first few decades with Thalia. During that time, the two grew very close and Heda revealed the true reason why she didn't smile often. As a necromancer, Heda has such a strong connection to the dead that she heard the cries and wails of the dead on a constant basis. 

That constant influx of sadness would make anyone have difficulty being happy. Thalia helped Heda to learn to control her ability the best she could, but it was far from silent in her head. Heda, who had begun life with dark black hair, had silver hair by her 3rd decade. All assumed it was caused by extreme stress. 

Thalia and Heda had a closeness that was far beyond that of normal siblings. Most left Thalia after their first few decades, but Heda insisted on accompanying Thalia for longer. She was extremely clingy and was often spotted cuddling up against Thalia whenever the opportunity presented itself. Thalia was clueless as to why this was happening, but Elis was aware of Heda's love for Thalia. They were not true siblings after all. Only Thalia saw subsequent creations as such. In fact, most of them wound up paired off in some way after their time with Thalia.

Being that Heda was the last of the immortals created, it wasn't long before Elis decided to create man. And of course, Thalia was to be the caretaker of this new creation. Heda and the others were aware that these new creatures would be fostered by their sister. It was as good a time as any for Heda to confess her feelings.

A few days before the creation of humans, under the light of a full moon, Heda kissed Thalia. Things didn't go as she had hoped though with Thalia rejecting her completely. After this, Thalia went on to raise humans and to teach them how to use magic, while hatred and jealousy festered inside Heda who was entirely alone but for the voices of the dead. Elis tried to remedy the situation by presenting Heda with various mates, but none could fill the void created by her first love, Thalia. Thus, Heda rejected all candidates for true mates. 

Thalia still felt guilty about this but feelings do not often change and her true mate was a human. She knew that now. The attack and battle that followed was Heda's way of seeking revenge for the rejection of her feelings. She was not looking forward to meeting with Heda again. She knew it was going to be awful and that her sister would lose her mind when she saw the mark of true mates. She did not want to kill her sister, but if Heda hurt Alara, Thalia knew that she would have no choice but to do just that. One thing was certain. She needed to explain things to her lover so she could be prepared for what may await them. 

A few minutes later, Fenrir slowed his pace and prepared to land on the platform. With a hard thud, they had arrived at the 50th floor. Alara was still passed out cold so Thalia picked her up and carried her to the ground. 

“I shall leave you here now, but I will be listening for your call. Good luck my friend.” With that Fenrir took off and dived deeper into the dungeon. 

Night was approaching yet again so it was time for them to set up camp. They would need all the strength they could muster if the battle was truly going to be against Heda. First things first though, the sleeping princess needed to be awoken. What better way to do that than with a kiss?

She brushed Alara's hair from out of her face and gently pressed her lips against the princess's. In her unconscious state, Alara felt the warm and gentle push against her lips and immediately recognized the feeling. “Thalia.”

Alara's eyes fluttered open. She was immediately met by the purple eyes that she had come to love in the past days. 

“Hello beautiful. You fainted right after the ride started. Are you feeling ok now?” 

Alara rubbed her eyes. “Yeah I think I'm ok. Are we there?”

“Yes we are on the 5oth level. Its starting to get late. I was thinking of setting up camp for the night.”

Alara looked down. She just realized that she was being carried effortlessly by Thalia. The thought of it was awkward since she was much bigger than Thalia. “Put me down please. What can I do to help?” 

Thalia set her lover down gently. “You can gather some kindling and wood for the fire. I'll build us a place to sleep. Yotaro will be in charge of getting us something to eat this time. Right, Yotaro?”

Yotaro dramatically rolled his eyes and scurried off into the tunnel. Thalia quickly erected a stone shelter that was just large enough to sit under while Alara gathered some sticks and tumble weed for kindling. Thalia was burning with the desire to talk to Alara but was having difficulty getting the conversation started. She hurried to Alara's side and helped gather more material. 

When they were done collecting things Thalia grabbed Alara's hand and gave it a squeeze. When Alara looked up at her, Thalia couldn't resist planting a kiss on her lips. The kiss started out as innocent but soon both their lips parted and their tongues were rubbing forcefully against each other. Thalia pushed Alara away before she lost all of her resolve. 

“Alara, I have to talk to you about something. The real reason why I think Heda hates me is because she is in love with me. I didn't want to think about it but it's the truth. I took care of her like an older sister when she was first created. After nearly four decades together, she kissed me. I rejected her rather coldly, heartlessly at that. I only ever saw her as my sister, but after that she became brutal and took her revenge out on humankind. When she meets you I am afraid she will attack you without holding back, and if she does that, I may have to actually kill her this time.” Thalia trembled as she spoke of this. 

Alara's heart ached as she heard her love express such strong feelings about another woman. Even if they weren't romantic, the thought was still difficult to process without getting jealous. Seeing Thalia conflicted was far worse. She pulled on Thalia's shoulders and embraced her affectionately. “Maybe you should try apologizing and see if it makes a difference? Also I don't want you to kill your sister either. There has to be another way.”

“Yeah. I'm not sure. But I do know this, protecting you will be my priority. I love you, Alara.” with that, Thalia leaned back and stroked Alara's cheek. Her green eyes met the purple of Thalia's and the two shared a passionate kiss before returning to their tasks.

They worked together to start the fire and when Yotaro arrived with a dungeon rabbit the two were sitting and chatting next to each other. They prepared and ate their meal of roasted rabbit before settling in for the night. Alara and Thalia cuddled up together with Yotaro at their feet. The night wasn’t sleepless but all were thinking about the fight that tomorrow would probably bring.