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Yiral padded into her cave. Each foot fall announced by a ground shaking THUD followed by the sound of her sword-like talons scraping across the stone floor.

It was easy to see why the 'Ash scaled empress' was feared; she dwarfed almost anything; her shoulders even brushed against the tops of the towering pine trees that grew around her mountain home. It was a small miracle that she found a cave that could accommodate her massive size. Ivory horns crowned her head while black tipped spikes ran down her back; from her head to her tail. The grey scales that gave the dragon her title were more effective than any human forged metal, uncountable amounts of weapons had broken themselves on her natural armour. She was easily capable of tearing down stone fortifications with her claws, tail and fiery breath.

Her physical strength was not her only asset; her body was gracefully built. For a creature so vast it was easy to see that she could move extremely quickly on land or in the sky. This paired with her acute senses made her nigh impossible to escape.

Safe to say the bandits that had believed that they were welcome in her territory learnt all these things. Their absence and the burnt remains of their camp would act as a warning to the rest of their kind.

Yiral laid herself down on the floor; curling her long tail around herself and rested her head on her paws before closing her golden eyes. Her rage had long since faded and it was nearly midnight; she was, in her opinion, entitled to a well earned rest.

However before she drifted into sleep she was awoken by the sound of a small stone clattering across the cave floor followed by a sharp intake of breath . With eyes half open she lazily raised her head and sniffed the air. Her eyes snapped fully open the instant she realised what the scent belonged to.

Two humans were in her cave.

A rumbling growl rose from her throat as she climbed to her feet and began to stalk towards the source of the scent. Lips curled back to reveal her sharp fangs, each tooth was an off-white spearhead which was justifiably intimidating.

She had discovered the bandits after she encountered a group wandering around the mountains. After quickly dealing with them she found their camp; judging by the amount of cages they had they frequently practised slavery.

Slavery. She thought disgustedly. Out of all the crimes one could commit slavery was one Yiral hated the most. She had no qualms about incinerating the camp along with the slave-taking bandit vermin and melting the empty cages.

Her 'guests' were hiding in a smaller cave which branched off from hers, like hers it was a dead end. She had been meaning to collapse it for quite some time. She would do that after they had been dealt with.

She lowered her head so that one of her golden eyes could gaze into it. If the intruders turned out to be two thieves then she would probably let them go but not before frightening them within an inch of their lives. If they were bandits from the same band she had decimated then they would find no mercy.

She wasn't however expecting to find two children.

One was a girl; aged around 13 years old. Her brown hair was short, matted and dirty. She wore filthy sackcloth clothing and her skin was decorated with bruises and scars.

The boy, who was presumable the girl's brother, was about 8 years old and looked no better. He did have a few less wounds than the girl though. But for the most part was just as filthy.

She remembered the cages. All of them where empty and their cold iron doors were shut save for two; one who's door hung drunkenly open on a single hing and another which had it's bars bent wide enough for a person to fit through. It appeared that the slavers had lost two of their victims.

The instant the dragon and the children made eye contact the girl acted; she immediately pushed her brother behind her, placing herself between Yiral and the boy in a brave but futile attempt to protect him.

This wasn't the first time Yiral had witness this particular brand of reckless bravery. Memories of blood, pain, terror and loss began to surface in her mind.

She pushed the bitter recollections aside and focused on the problem at hand; they were scared and therefore would do something that might put their lives at risk unless she defused the situation. She could easily let them go but the mountains are unforgiving, they would would be hard pressed to survive the journey through them. Reaching in and plucking them out with her claws was another option however it could cause injures and it would definitely create more fear. Finally she decided on a course action.

Yiral lifted her head away from the siblings and settled herself on her belly once again. Then she spoke:

"I will not harm you little ones."

Her voice resonated throughout the cave, something that couldn't be helped due to her size, but she kept her tone gentle and soft.

"There's no need to hide from me. I swear on my honour and my pride that I will not hurt you."

For a dragon like Yiral, who valued both pride and honour highly, that oath was not to be taken lightly. She told no falsehoods; she refused to hurt them.

A few moments of silence were followed by a hushed conversation between the two. As they debated Yiral sat patiently outside like a giant stone statue. Within a dozen minutes the children reached a verdict.

"I'll go. If something happens to me; run and don't look back." The girl hissed to the boy.

"But-"

"No ifs, no buts. You. Must. Live." She said sternly.

The sound of foot steps could be heard as the sister exited her shelter and stood before the ash scaled empress. While she was nervous the child refused to back down; the sister's abundance of courage was admirable.

"What do you want from us?" She demanded.

"I am only curious. Once you have told me why you are here then I will help you." Yiral said calmly. While she was, admittedly, slightly irritated by the fact that they had trespassed, she was willing to forgive them if they gave a good reason, something she was almost certain they would give to her.

"And what if you don't like what you hear?"

"Judging by you appearance that'll be unlikely." Yiral stated, trying to allay their fears. "But one way or another I refuse to hurt any of you."

There was a brief pause before the sister began. "My name is Kitara. Me and my brother, Gean, used to live with our father and mother on a farm. That was until the bandits came. They...."

Even though Kitara never said what their parents fate was, the sorrow in her voice and the pained look in her eyes made it obvious that her mother and father no longer walked in the realm of the living.

The dragon lowered her long neck until her snout gently bushed against the girl in an attempt to comfort her. "It's alright little one, it's not your fault." She allowed the child to lean against her nose; warm air flowed around Kitara as Yiral exhaled. She could feel a few of the sister's tears run down her scales.

Eventually Yiral felt Kitara push softly against her snout. She once again lifted her head. Hesitate footsteps could be heard from behind the girl. Yiral turned her attention to Gean.

The boy had been emboldened by the exchange between his sister and the dragon. However he still hung back at tunnel's entrance. She could see the glow of magic fading from his blue eyes. His sister also noticed this with alarm on her face.

"Gean! You know that-"

"You don't need to tell him off." Yiral cut-in calmly. "It's fine."

Kitara promptly gave her brother an annoyed look which said I wish he would actually give me a warning for once.

"You hate the strong preying on the weak for their own reasons." He said timidly; as though he was afraid he was going to say something that would offend. "You hate it because you were victim once."

"I was. But a brave man helped me and eventually was able to set me free." It was Yiral's turn to speak with sadness in her voice. "But my freedom came at the cost of his life. Yet he paid it willingly."

She shook her head and once again expelled the memories from her mind.

"I hurt you didn't I?" Gean looked apologetically at the dragon.

"No. You don't need to be sorry. I shouldn't blame myself for what I could never change."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nostrils before releasing the air from her titanic lungs. After which she opened her eyes and spoke: "Now. I believe I offered to help you. I can easily take you to another settlement where an orphanage can look after you." The dragon spread her wings to emphasise her point. The idea of flying to safety on the back of a legendary dragon did seem appealing to Gean, as evidenced by the smile on his face, however Kitara merely looked at her feet and tried to think of how to break the bad news to her brother.

"You remember that Man? The one who you felt all the greed and suff before he left the camp."

Her brother looked puzzled by Kitara's inquest but he still answered "Yes. Why?"

"He came to the house a day before the bandits attacked. He tried to bribe dad into handing you over which didn't work of course. But he said that he would have your power even if he had go to the ends of the earth and drain it from your body."

Yiral's anger began to rise once again. She knew that the boy had great potential as a spell caster. Yet now this wretched man, this piece of filth wanted power and would happily kill him for it.

Her claws began to dig into the ground; creating deep gouges in the rock floor. "How dare he. I swear if I find him I'll will tear that honour-less, piece of rat filth to pieces!" Yiral roared thunderously which caused Gean to yelp and withdraw into the cave in fear.

Yiral snapped out of her brief rage induced tangent and realised that she was frightening Gean and stopped herself from going into a rage. But she noted with some bemusement that Kitara had more or less stood her ground.

"I apologise." Yiral bowed her head. "The stories you were undoubtably told by your parents did not exaggerate about my kind's lack of restraint when we are enraged."

"Well maybe a little." Yiral looked and saw that Kitara had taken two steps forward and had a smile on her face.

"Why?" The giant dragon asked; clearly puzzled by the girl's response.

The smile on Kitara's face widened to a broad grin. "Cause I can think of worse things to call him." She answered to the dragon.

There was a a few moments of silence in the cave. Then it was broken by a string of throaty growls. This human has some steel in her bones Yiral thought to herself as she chuckled. It was bluntly obvious right now.

It took Kitara a few moments to work out what Yiral was doing before she joined and chuckled alongside the dragon. However it soon ended with a sigh of frustration and despair from Kitara.

"So there is no where for us to go." The girl said in defeat. It was a sorry sight; she had so much love for her family yet now she had come to the painful conclusion that her brother's days where numbered.

Yiral hated that feeling. Yet there was one alternative but their was one question that hung in her head.

Can I handle the responsibility?
She pushed that question from her mind once she realised that it was, in fact, a stupid question. Of course she was! She was one thousand years old for ancestors' sake!

"There is one place you can stay." Yiral said with a soft smile.

This time it was Gean who spoke. "Where?" He asked the dragon timidly.

"You've already found it."

There was a short silence as the siblings tried to comprehend the answer. Finally Gean's sister found her voice.

"You mean that you-" she stopped half way still in disbelieving what the dragon was suggesting.

"I will happily allow to stay here and I will protect you and care for you as my adoptive son and daughter." The dragon vowed to them.

A second silence followed as the siblings tried to find some falsehood in her promise. Yet no matter how much they tried there was none. Gean had seen everything that drove the dragon via her aura, yet he found nothing that could fault her words. Kitara just had a hunch, but her instincts were surprisingly accurate and had never failed her.

A tear fell from Gean's eye before he charged towards the dragon. She lowered her head once again, allowing the boy to hug her snout. She hummed comfortingly as Gean cried with joy and sobbed his thanks as he was overwhelmed by his emotions.

Yiral looked to Kitara who watched the scene with a smile of relief and happiness for her brother. Her reaction was much more restrained but Yiral knew that her joy was multiplied by her brother's.

Yiral knew that she would have to face new challenges. Challenges that could be overcome not by her physical strength but the strength of her heart. Yet she would gladly meet them, not for her sake, but for her adoptive son and daughter.

All three of them would remember that encounter well and rightfully so because it changed their fates forever.