Miranda hummed to herself as she walked down the trail, she looked around taking in the familiar surroundings “Fall is only just beginning” she thought as she observed the various colors of the trees “with everything that’s happened it seems like it’s been so much longer than that, I suppose I’ll have a lot of explaining to do.”

Before she could start thinking about what to say she caught a glimpse of her destination through the trees. It was a house that was tucked neatly between two tall oaks and just slightly bigger than hers. She walked up to the front door, remembering the time she spent there before she was old enough to live on her own. She snapped out of her day dream just in time to avoid running into the door “here we go” she thought as she knocked on the entrance.

There was a few seconds of silence before a faint clopping could be heard that grew gradually until it suddenly stopped, there was a small click fallowed by the creek of the door “Whoever you are do you have any idea how early it is!” said the brown spotted unicorn who answered while she was rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Sorry Tiff, my sleep schedule has been weird for the last few months.”

Tiffany paused for a few seconds before her head shot up from her hand “Mi….Miranda?”

“In the fur” Miranda responded as Tiffany inched towards her.

Tiffany slowly placed her hand on Miranda’s face checking to see if she was real before quickly wrapping her in a hug “I knew you were all right! I just knew it” she quickly pushed her away while still holding her shoulders “Where have you been!? We’ve been worried sick about you!”

“I’m sorry that I worried you, are your parents home? I’d like to apologize to them too.”

“No, there off selling fabrics in the capitol, but they can wait, right now you need to tell me what happened!”

“All right all right, I’ll tell you on the way.”

“The way where?”

“To my house, there’s something I have to show you”

The two began walking back to Miranda’s house while Miranda explained that she’d made it up the mountain only to fall at the top

“So how did you survive, there’s no way you could just walk a fall like that off.”

“Well that’s kinda one of the things I need to talk to you about” Miranda replied as they approached her house “There was someone else up there, he saved me after I fell and took care of me until I was better.”

“There was someone living up there? And he took care of you for four months? Was he at least good looking?”

Miranda giggled as the two entered the house “I had a feeling you’d ask something like that, and yes he’s very good looking, in fact he’s so good looking I decided to bring him back with me.”

“What?! You brought him back!? Does that mean….did you and he…are you together!?”

“Yes, yes we are.”

“Are you just together, or together together?”

Miranda chuckled a little “Whichever one means we want to spend the rest of our lives together.”

Tiffany quickly hugged her while jumping up and down “I knew you’d find someone eventually! But I have to say, falling off a mountain to meet guys, that’s pretty desperate.”

“Shut up, you’re just mad that you didn’t think of it first.”

The two laughed for a while

“But.....wait, what about Sir Roderick, and your temple?”

“Oh don’t worry about that, it’s been taken care of”

“What!? How?”

“In order to explain that I’m going to need you to meet him.”

“He’s here? What are you waiting for, bring him out already.”

“Alright, close your eyes and wait here.”

Tiffany did as she was asked and Miranda hurried into the kitchen where she told Derrick to wait, he was sitting at the table and looking out the window into the forest. Miranda smiled to herself as she walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders “Enjoying the view?”

“Yeah” he said as he looked up at her and smiled “and it’s getting better all the time”

They looked into each others eyes as Miranda slowly rubbed his neck causing him to let out a soft groan. After a moment or two Miranda tugged on his shoulder “come on, Tiffany’s waiting.”

Derrick got up and took her hand, the two turned to walk back to where Tiffany was but stopped when they saw the brown spotted unicorn standing in the doorway.

There was a moment of silence before Miranda broke it “Tiffany…I know you must have a lot of questions right now.”

“Y...Yeah.....Like whether or not you know your holding hands with a dra..a dra.”

“A dragon?” Derrick finished

Tiffany’s eyes darted over to Derrick as if she was surprised that he could talk, she slowly inched forward and held out her hand “Miranda, don’t worry, you’re going to be fine, just take my hand and be ready to run.”

“Tiffany” Miranda said with a bit of a giggle “this is Derrick; he’s the one who saved me when I fell on the mountain and yes I do know he’s a dragon.”

“If you know he’s a dragon why are you just standing there?” She asked as she pulled her hand back “Unless he has you under some sort of spell!”

Miranda sighed a little before responding, the situation quickly becoming less amusing “He doesn’t have me under any spell.”

“I know you may think that” Tiffany quickly replied as she began to inch away “but don’t worry I’ll go get help, the Village Leader should know what to do.”

Before Miranda could respond Tiffany bolted for the exit, Miranda quickly fallowed and managed to tackle her before she reached the door making the two hit the ground with a thud “Just calm down and let me explain!”

“Explain what?!” Tiffany answered as she struggled under Miranda’s weight “that you’ve become some dragon’s unwilling puppet!

Tiffany managed to turn around under Miranda so they were facing each other as Miranda grabbed her hands “Think about it Tiff, if I was just his puppet why would he bring me back!? Why would he be so kind to me!? Why would he save the temple!?”

“What do you mean save the temple?”

“That’s how we did it, you remember how I said that I would get a request from the king if a presented him with the head of a dragon right?” She asked as she let go of Tiffany’s arms

“Yeaaaaaaah?”

“Derrick let me offer his in exchange for the temple.”

“What?”

“I showed the royal court that my head, along with the rest of me, was in Miranda’s possession and they gave her the temple”

The two looked to the side where Derrick had sat down to their immediate right without either noticing, he was pointing to the mark on the underside of his jaw.

Tiffany let out a quick yelp at the sight of Derrick and rolled away from him, taking Miranda with her in the process, when they stopped rolling Miranda was still on top but Tiffany was now holding her in a terrified hug.

“If you keep reacting like this every time you see him this is going to take a while” Tiffany reluctantly let go allowing her to stand up and offer her a hand, Tiffany took it and was hoisted to her hooves as Derrick stood up with them “Let’s try this again. Tiffany this is Derrick, the dragon that I’m in love with; Derrick this is Tiffany, she’s probably the closest thing I have to a sister.”

“It’s very nice to meet you” Derrick said happily as he held his large scaly hand out

Tiffany quickly looked back at Miranda “You’re sure you’re not hypnotized.”

“Yes I’m sure” Miranda answered with a bit of annoyance as she put a hand on Tiffany’s back and gave her a light shove “now say high.”

Tiffany stumbled forward but quickly caught herself, her head snapped up to look Derrick straight in the eyes, she slowly held out her hand without breaking eye contact and nervously said “H..Hello.”

“Hello Tiffany” Derrick answered as he took her hand making her jump a little and shook it gently.

After he let go she quickly pulled it back and inspected it like she thought he had done something to it.

“See? He’s not so bad.”

“I guess....but I’m still going to keep my eyes on you!”

“Hey” Miranda said slyly as she walked over to Derrick and put an arm around his neck “get your own.”

There was another moment of silence before Tiffany let out a snicker that quickly turned into a laugh “O.K, so you’re not hypnotized, but how are you in love with him? Even if he did save your life and the temple he’s still a dragon….no offence.”

“None Taken”

“We” Miranda began but then paused to try and organize her thoughts

“Were just comfortable around each other” Derrick began explaining as he wrapped an arm around her “I want to be strong for her but I don’t always have to be; she accepts me and I accept her completely; for all our strengths and faults.”

Miranda smiled softly as she enjoyed Derrick embrace “That sounds about right.”

Tiffany was speechless for a few seconds “Wow, I guess that explains it.”

“I’m glad you understand, is anyone else hungry?”

“I did skip breakfast”

“Perfect, Derrick will prepare everything while you and I catch up.”

Derrick nodded in agreement and walked towards the kitchen as Miranda and Tiffany left for the den.

…………………………………………………………………

Over the next hour or so Miranda and Tiffany told each other almost everything that had happened between her departure and now, after breakfast was over they still had some things to go over so Derrick took care of the dishes while Miranda and Tiffany returned to the den

“I can’t believe you’re still in one piece after all that” Tiffany said after getting comfortable on one of the large couches that occupied the den “climbing a mountain, discovering a hidden society, inventing some sort of magic that nearly killed Derrick, being the center of attention at a ball full of nobles and dragons, even slapping one who got to frisky!”

“When you say it like that it does sound rather harrowing, but it was worth it.”

“I get that you’re head over hooves for him and all, but how much do you really know about him?”

“Well, I know that he enjoys apples, honey, steak and fish but is rather put off by any dish that involves fowl; his favorite color is green because it reminds him of grass and leaves, something he rarely got to see while living in his cave; he's good at seeming like he has everything together but he's actually a nervous mess in big crowds; he enjoys puzzles and figuring out how things work; he has an appreciation for theater but he would rather attend a concert.”

“Okay okay, so you know him, very well from the sounds of it, when did he tell you all of this?”

“He didn’t, those were all just things that I learned by watching him.”

“You’ve really got it bad huh? How long have you been a couple?”

“I guess that depends on your meaning of couple, we’ve only been together together for about a week but for the last two months or so we’ve been more like a couple than friends.”

“And just to be clear by together together, you mean sleeping together right?”

“Tiffany!” Miranda yelled as her face reddened

“Oh lighten up, it’s not like this is the first time we’ve talked about our conquests.”

“I know, but Derricks different, it’s so much more than that.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, I know, you’re deeply in love with him but come on you can’t just leave me in the dark your exploring uncharted territory, at least tell me what it looks like.”

Miranda’s blush deepened as she threw a pillow at Tiffany’s head “Tiff!”

“Someone’s touchy” Tiffany giggled after dogging the incoming pillow “I guess that was a bit much to ask, so how bout you just tell me how he is without any of the graphic bits.”

Miranda huffed “.......Fine, you know that stone cutter who passed through a year ago?”

“Mmmmm, Yeah, I thought about him for weeks.”

“Well imagine him but perfectly smooth, and way more flexible.”

Tiffany though for a second “Wow......really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“I might just have to find a dragon of my own, you know any good mountains to fall off?”

Miranda smirked at the comment and said “Well if things go well over the next few months you may not have to find a mountain.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well you see.....Ok so we got the king to gift us the land my temple was on right?”

“Yeaaaaaaah, and?”

“Welllllll, it seems they had need of us in return, the king wants to re-introduce the dragons to society, and he wants us to help.”

“He wants to what! He's just going to let them come down and do as they wish again?”

“No! No, nothing like that.....I think, mostly I think it's a trade thing, as I understand it the plan is to make a few neutral zones Where the dragons can come to trade with us openly without the risk of being beheaded”

“And whats to stop them from using this as an opportunity to launch a surprise attack or take as many captives as they can?”

“The dragons are strong but I don't think they could go to war with us, they secluded themselves in the first place because they feared the kingdoms armies. The king will be keeping an eye on the neutral zones so if there’s any sign of trouble from them then the beheading law will be reinstated and they'll be forced to leave or die.”

Tiffany thought for a second “It still sounds risky to me, I mean, Derrick is pretty nice but from what you've said not all of them are as personable”

“I know it sounds dangerous, but this is our chance to be together without having to hide it, and beyond that this is bigger than just me and Derrick, this is a chance for the dragons to repair their relations with the rest of the world. And besides most dragons are motivated by gold more than anything else, I don’t think they would ruin what could be their only chance to open up a huge revenue stream.”

“So the best bet we have at them not reeking havoc is that they stand to make a profit? I’m not sure how much better that makes me feel.”

“I assure you” Derrick chimed in as he entered the den “None of my kind who visit will cause any trouble” Miranda moved over so Derrick could sit behind her “any who come here run the risk of being killed or worse by some group who’ve chosen to ignore the kings ruling so they’ll want to be on good terms with the locals.”

“I guesss.....I never thought of it like that, this is just as big a risk for any dragons coming down here as it is for us isn't it? Even though your head isn’t a prize anyone stands to gain a lot of reputation by lopping it off.”

“Yeah, everyone's gonna be on guard for a while, and there's no guarantee that thing wont take a turn for the worse” Derrick wrapped his arms around Miranda’s waist “but if we can make this work, it’ll be worth it.”

……………………………………………………………………

After four days of Miranda letting others know she was still alive while at the same time keeping them away from her house and Derrick a meeting was called in the town square at the behest of an official crier from the capitol.

“Are you sure you wanna do this today?” Tiffany asked as she worked her way through the crowd that had gathered in front of the crier’s usual stage.

“There was no delaying the Kings decision” Miranda replied as she fallowed Tiffany with her arm wrapped around a disguised Derrick’s waist “and the longer we wait to tell everyone the more suspicious it will look.”

“I suppose, just be careful, and you” Tiffany said suddenly looked back at Derrick “If you let anything happen to Miranda you’ll have to answer to me.”

“You and her” Derrick said as he gently squeezed Miranda’s shoulder “you both worry way too much, everything will be fine, at worst I imagine one or two will faint.”

Before Tiffany could respond a high pitched voice pierced the murmur of the crowd “Attention, your attention please!” said the elderly goat who had walked forward on the stage with two armed bulls at his side and a row of other heavily armed kinds in front of the stage “Greetings residents of Hyperious Valley, I am Clarion Fleethoof, a crier from the capitol.”

The crowd’s murmurs grew.

“Today I bare a message that will most likely have a large impact on all of your lives.” He continued as the crowd fell silent “As many of you know you all live at the base of a mountain that once housed a clan of dragons. These dragons, nor any others, have not dared to descend from their caves for fear of their heads being exchanged for favors from the king. This practice has been in effect for more than a hundred years and both they and us have grown past the petty squabbles that separated us in the days of yore, it is for this reason and the opportunity of steady trade that the king has decreed that in the area of Hyperious valley the practice of dragon hunting will be banned and a group of dragons will be permitted to visit here for purposes of trade.”

There was a moment of silence fallowed by an uproar from the crowd, Miranda’s and Derrick’s grips on each other tightened.

“SILENCE!” the goat shouted with a kind of authority that takes one years of practice to achieve, the crowd quieted down instantly “I understand that this comes as a great shock but please rest assured, this is not an invitation for the dragons to come and do as they please, if there are any confirmed reports of the dragons acting in an unbecoming manor the practice of hunting their heads will be reinstated immediately and they will be forced out. That is the conclusion of my announcement, as instructed by the king himself I must now ask that a Miranda Lummi please come to the stage and that you all give her and her guest your attention.”

“He actually called us.” Miranda said to Derrick as they began making their way through the crowd “How did he know we were going to be here?”

“The kings a clever old tiger, I wouldn't be surprised if he's been keeping tabs on us since we left the capitol”

They reached the stage and moved to the front as the old goat stepping aside.

The crowd began to murmur again, Miranda could only guess what about as her thoughts swirled in her head, she looked over to Derrick and was surprised to see that his hands were visibly shaking, she took them in hers and the shaking stopped almost immediately “Good Evening” She said loudly “I’m sure many of you are wondering what a temple keeper like myself could possibly have to add after such an monumental announcement; as many of you now know I recently ascended Mt. Hyperious. After scaling the summit I had a bit of a fall that would have ended me were it not for the intervention of a selfless individual who saved my life and introduced me an entirely new world, that individual is the man who now accompanies me, Derrick SkyBlaze!”

She looked over at Derrick who nodded at her and lowered his hood, revealing his true form.

There was another moment of silence before screams of terror erupted from the audience

“Everyone please!” Miranda shouted “Just listen for a second!”

“Why should we listen to anything that monster has to say!?” An angry voice shouted from the crowd

“Because he’s not a monster! And neither are the rest of the dragons their intelligent being’s just like any of us who only wants the chance to make peace!”

The crowd calmed a little after the initial shock wore off “And why should we give them that chance?”

“Yeah, they’ve burned our crops, destroyed our villages and slaughtered our ancestors. How do we know they won’t do it again!?” Several murmurs from the crowd agreed

Before Miranda could respond Derrick stepped forward “Residents of Hyperious Valley. Would you be so kind as to allow me to ask you something?”

The crowd paused for a second as they looked at each other in confusion and shock, much like Tiffany they seemed surprised that Derrick could speak at all let alone with some sense of eloquence.

“I am only a guest in your village, so I thought it appropriate to request your permission before asking anything.”

There was a few seconds of awkward silence before the crowd started to part, letting an elderly tan unicorn in relativley simple garbs with a long beard hanging from his chin and the tip of his horn borken off come to the front.

“Miranda leaned over to derrick and whispered “That's the village's leader, Grant”

“Say what you wish dragon” He boomed from his position at the front of the crowd “I must warn you though, this village, being at the base of the mountain, has it's fair share of history with your kind so don't expect many of the residents here to believe you without good reason, kings decree or no if you can't give us adequate reason to trust you and your kind we'll fight to keep you out. And Miranda”

Miranda froze, recognizing his tone from the numerous scoldings her and Tiffany had received from him over the years

“I don't appreciate being surprised by this news, you and I will have a talk about this later, if the kinds of the village likes your answer enough to not run you out that is.”

“My thanks, you spoke of the atrocities my kind have wrote upon you but let me ask you, when was the last time any of your, not your ancestors but your crops were burned down or houses ransacked by a my kind?”

There was a long silence

“I will not pretend that these things did not happen, or that they had no affect on your lives today but I also will not be blamed for something I did not do, what my ancestors did was terrible and needs to be answered for but I implore you not to judge me by their actions and to give us a chance to make amends.”

The crowd remained silent until another voice shouted “Do you really think were that stupid? No matter what you or your wench says you’re still a dragon!”

Derrick began to growl slightly before Miranda put her hand on his arm calming him down almost instantly “While it is true dragons were monsters and we did start hostilities between our kinds you cannot pretend to your ancestors were completely defenseless. Do you know how many of my kinds heads decorate your walls? Dragons attack may have stopped but we still live in fear of the day an army of you will march up to our homes and slaughter our families for a favor from the king and a set of trophies!”

The crowd fell silent again, even the vocal few that had previously spoken not saying anything.

“But I do not hold the murder of my kind against any of you, many of them may have deserved it and holding onto that grudge would only lead to more death. I ask for only a chance to show you that my kind can by civil.”

“And what guarantee do we have that you won’t start doing as you wish the minute you get here?” Grant asked

“What guarantee do we have that you won’t ignore the king’s decree and kill us as soon as we arrive? Both parties run many risks from this arrangement but I believe what we stand to gain is well worth it. There is much wealth flowing through my kinds claws, an open trading relationship would without a doubt benefit all involved. Beyond that this is about far more than just one group of dragons and one valley, if we succeed at creating peace here other villages, towns, cities will adopt the same laws; we have a chance set an example the entire kingdom may fallow.”

The crowd murmured amongst itself for a while as Grant looked back at them, reading the general sentiment of the crowd like any other text. He turned back around and spoke out again “You make a good case dragon, the villagers gathered here may be willing to allow your people to come here without contest, however there are some matters that I and many others need addressed first.”

“And what issue would that be?”

“I would like to know your connection to Ms. Lummi, she says that you saved her after she fell on the mountain and spent the last four months helping her recover, are we expected to assume you did this from the kindness of your heart? And while I do imagine that much time together would create a certain sense of trust between the two of you, you seemed rather quick to defend her when she was insulted and you were calmed even quicker but just her touch, this would suggest more than just a friendship”

The crowd was silent for a few seconds as they slowly came to the realization of what their leader had implied, there were looks of shock and disgust forming in the crowd before one spoke up “I bet you’ve got her under some sort of spell” an angry voice yelled “to help you trick us!”

Before anyone else could speak Miranda placed her hand on his shoulder and walked in front of him “I am under no spell nor am I a pawn in some game.” She yelled “Derrick is a kind soul who would not stand for someone dying when he could prevent it, I was the first to make it all the way to Derrick's home on the mountain before I fell as such he did all he could to save me for indeed no other reason than his own generosity.

She looked back at him and smiled before continuing “And our relationship is as you suggest leader Grant, we are” She took his hand in hers “together, but not because of any magic or trick, we are together because of our love for each other.”

Grant considered this for a moment as the crowd grew restless again, and from the murmuring it seem like they either didn't believed her or thought the whole thing was disgusting.

“If I may” Derrick said as he walked forward “Recently we paid a visit to the capitol to secure the land Miranda's temple is on, we did this not with gold but with a request. As the law is still in effect my head was shown to the king to be in her possession, allotting her one request” Derrick lifted his chin, showing the brand on his jaw “Because of this, in a manner of speaking, I technically belong to Miranda”

The crowd fell silent, most confused by what had just been said until Grant chuckled softly and spoke up again “Between that and the fact that the first part of this address came from a messenger from the capitol I think it's safe to say Miranda is under no spell and their claims of wanting peace are legitimate. Many of us may not be comfortable with this idea but we will not stand in the way of the king's decree for now, but know that this could change at any time if we feel that we are in danger.” He looked back at the crowd for any dissenters before nodding and looking back at the pair “With that out of the way that leaves me with only one question, when can we expect you?”