t.i.t was a night late in the month of March, when I was on my way in from a hunt and I found Dragon sitting just outside of the city's entrance. I held great respect for this man, as he had earned it.

tI had learned much about him and about his relations.h.i.+p with my mother. I cared about him a great deal.

tHe didn't get much time to himself, so I thought about not bothering him.

tThings had been tensed between all of us recently, with mother's healing sessions.

tBut we had finally finished healing all of the nerves that had been severed, and she was finally in better spirits because her rehabilitation was about to start. It was a relief to get to see her not in agony.

tTonight, must have been a bad one, though, because Dragon sat with his knees pulled up to his chest, and his face in his hands.

t"What is the matter, Dragon?" I asked, setting down my kill and sitting beside of him. I had thought about letting him have some privacy, but something in me felt the need to try to comfort this man.

t"It's....your mother." He sighed. "I....before your mother conceived you, your father started an attack on our homeland."

t"I remember the story," I told him.

tHe nodded. "One of his warriors incapacitated me, and stabbed me. Your mother killed the man and came to me crying, trying to save me....and she fed me her blood, which has special healing properties because of her Wraith heritage. Because of that, I became her Blood Bound servant."

t"What is that, again?"

t"It is a tool that Wraiths normally use to create servants for themselves, but of course, since Kysael didn't know anything about her heritage, she was unaware of that." He met my eyes, his lavender ones sad and tired. "Since then, I have been especially.... drawn to your mother. My feelings for her have amplified. I no longer protect her just out of duty and friends.h.i.+p, and since I have discovered my feelings for her, my Blood Bond to her has made those feelings all the more potent. But....I cannot be with your mother."

t"....Because of my father's mating mark on her back, right?"

tHe nodded. "Yes. And because of that, if I even.... if she...." He huffed.

t"It's alright, Dragon. I am not a child. I understand physical needs and desires, though I have not experienced any of that for myself. But you don't have to worry about speaking too freely. You are welcome to tell me your feelings and thoughts."

tHe nodded, and looked away. "If we kiss, or do anything more than share each other's blood, if we do anything affectionate or intimate towards each other.... the mark causes your mother to suffer tremendously. It starts to burn and bleed, and its...very hard to have such strong feelings for someone, and a Blood Bond that bonds you to serve and please the caster of the bond, when they are writhing in pain just because you kiss them."

tI patted his back. "I am sorry...that must be very frustrating. Aren't you two married? And you told me, once, a while back...that there was only one person who could break that mating mark, correct?"

tHe nodded again. "Yes, that's right. Kelose is the only person capable of breaking that mating mark. My Bond to your mother is purely for service and blood. Kelose's bond with her was the start of the Soul Bond, which is stronger than Mafrien's mating mark. He is the only one who can free her from it."

t"But..."

t"But he isn't here, and even if he were.... he is married. Not to mention, I more than likely still wouldn't get to be with your mother once they have completed the Soul Bond and broken the mating mark, because she would be tied to Kelose.....and I wouldn't want for him to rip her heart out once more by pulling away from her once the Soul Bond is complete. That bond is the strongest bond of the Elven people. There are three stages of that bond.

t"The body bond, which lets you feel physical pain, the heart rate, even where you are located if you aren't too far away. The mind bond, which allows you to communicate telepathically, and read one another's thoughts if you aren't blocking them from one another. And the Spirit bond, which lets you use one another's spirit and body in dire situations, say, a battle. It also extends your lives, and if one of you should die, then.... if one of you should die, it will slowly take a toll on you and you will die of mourning. It draws you to be with that person, and to not be away from them. Being away from them drains your energy, and takes a toll on your spirit. It is a very serious bond."

tI looked away. "There has to be something that we can do."

t"I'm afraid at this point that there is nothing." He stood. "I had better get back to your mother. It's almost time for her to feed."

t"Dragon..."

t"Don't worry for me, Kirinae. Whatever happens, all will turn out for the best." He went to leave.

t"I will see you later, then."

tHe smiled. "Thank you for letting me vent to you. I know that it isn't your fault, or anyone's fault. Mafrien is to blame. I simply wish that I could have the intimacy with your mother that I desire. I am her mate, and she is mine. I haven't had her in that way in a long while, and before we consummated our marriage, I hadn't been with anyone in almost a century. Having only recently been intimate, now my body is going into withdrawal with having her so close but out of my reach. It is… completely maddening, the way that I desire her but cannot have her."

tI laughed. "I've vented to you about worse things, Dragon. I wish that I could help. But you are welcome to vent about it to me anytime you wish."

tHe chuckled, and went back into the city.

tI, however, did not. I thought for a moment.

tWhat could I do to help my mother?

tWhat could I do to help Dragon?

tAfter everything that he had done for me, everything that they had been through.... I owed it to her to help her. After all, my father had killed her baby with Dragon so that he could force me onto her.

tEven if I couldn't help Dragon, per say, I could at least help my mother.

tI had the guard at the entrance to the city take the kill from me that I had hunted down, and then I strapped my backpack tighter to me as I turned and made my way to Irasil....to Kelose.

tI felt my heart fill with determination.

tI had never been out on my own before, but I wanted to be able to do something for my mother. There had to be something that I could do to help.

tThere had to be a way.

tI would hunt down Kelose and make him come back to help us.

tMarried or not, I wasn't going to back down!

I'd had enough of this.