The white tiger that stood guard to Dangel�s personal quarters started when the tattered Lunar dragon stumbled forward. Dangel shook her head at it, walking past and dropping a white rose as she made her way to a spot to rest.
She did not know if she was going to die. Her body ached all over and she certainly did want the pain to go away. Unfortunately she remembered exactly what had happened� it was a dragon� and he was forceful. At first he seemed quite nice, questioning Dangel about her locket and taking pity on her when she did not remember a thing beyond a couple months ago. And then it happened. The dragon�s talon was over her mouth and she could hardly breathe.
This time she was not going to let this happen� this time, she was going to fight. With all her strength she pushed against him, kicking and flailing, and with a fist she slammed against his sensitive underbelly, causing him to release her. She fled, but the beast grabbed her by the wings and pulled backwards with such force that it caused her neck to snap painfully forward. He pushed her on the ground and held her wings in either talon, setting a foot on her back and ripping the wings from her shoulders. Dangel cried out in pain, unable to move at all from the searing agony that tore through her body.
When Dangel caught up to speed with things, she was on her back and the sand beneath her was burning her wounds. She cried out, more of a whimper, and the dragon slapped her with claws extended, cutting deep into the left side of her face, over her eye and cheek. Dangel remained silent and closed her eyes, tears burning the new cuts, and she realized that her clothes were shredded, her body torn and scratched� and she only wished that Abarrach were there to save her.
Dangel collapsed in the soft grass in her personal grove, falling into tears and sobs of pain, blood staining the grass around her. She lied there for hours until the sun finally set, the moon rising and glaring coldly over the grove, and Dangel fell asleep from pure exhaustion.
When she woke, it was a whole new world of pain. She could not open her left eye at all and she could feel that it was swollen. Her body ached to breathe and her back was in such agony that there were no words to describe it. She did not move for a long while, waiting to die so that the pain would end, when she heard a familiar voice.
�There you are� I knew you�d be here.� Dangel�s eyes shut, new tears beginning to form at the sound of Abarrach�s voice. �What happened?!�
Dangel opened her eyes and stared forward, away from the white tiger. She knew that no words of hers could make him feel any better, and after all, she was done for. Wasn�t she?
Abarrach was kneeling behind her, his eyes taking in all the damage. Dangel heard him say something, but she couldn�t make out what it was, the pain deafening her hearing. She felt his paws on her back and she jumped slightly, her right eye opening, and she crawled away, collapsing only a few feet from her prior space.
�What happened?� she heard him say again. Abarrach moved before her and dropped a white rose before sitting near her head. �Dangel� why won�t you talk to me? Why won�t you let me heal you?�
She stared forward blankly for a moment, his soft-spoken words sinking in. She lifted her head and looked at him through her open eye, tears sinking into her fur. She used all her power to crawl towards him and bring herself into his lap, laying with her legs in the grass, and she embraced him lightly around his waist. �Don�t let that happen again,� she wanted to say. �Never leave me alone again. I�m so afraid.�
Only tears and a silent sob escaped her.
�I love you, too,� Abarrach said softly. �Can you tell me what happened?�
Dangel buried her face in his lap, nuzzling into the inside of his thigh, not wanting to remember anything at all.
�Will you at least let me heal you?�