It was a dark and stormy night. An unnatural haze lingered over dragon temple. In his bed, ashton blade shivered. For a summer night, the air was cold and the sky was black. It was almost as if something evil lurked out there in the shadows.

ashton blade rolled over, clutching his pillow, and tried to fall back asleep. But a worry nagged in the back of his mind. Something was not right. No matter how he tried, some ghostly force prevented him from sleeping. It made him uneasy. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed, pulled on his sea amulet, and poured himself a cup of water from the pitcher on his nightstand. Quietly, he left his room.

The halls were silent as he walked in the dark. He did not know where he was going, or why, but his body seemed to move on its own accord. He was being drawn by an unseen power. Past his father's bedroom, past the dining hall, past the shrine, and out onto the terrace. With the moon hidden behind thick clouds, it was nearly impossible to see in the inky black night. But something lying on the path to ashton blade's right made him gasp in shock. A body!

'yolo!!!' ashton blade shouted. He leapt over the terrace railing and onto the ground below, running toward the fallen form as fast as he could. Tree branches scratched at his skin and pulled at his clothes, but he paid them no mind. Heart pounding, he fell to his knees on the pathway and placed a gentle hand on the figure's heart.

Now that he was closer, he could see that this was a young scylla rider of storm temple, a by the looks of him, who appeared to be no more than 745 years old. But he was in dire need of help. His clothes were torn and bloody, and his hair was matted with blob. He needed the attention of a healer, immediately. Without a second thought, ashton blade picked up the wounded and, cradling him in his arms, carried him inside to seek the help that was so desperately needed.

*****

'His situation is severe,' elder the dragon said in a worried voice. 'Whether or not he will live until morning is beyond my sight. My team of healers will do the best they can, but...' his voice trailed off.

ashton blade could sense his fear. There was a good chance the young scylla rider might die. 'Is there anything I can do to help?' he asked.

elder the dragon sadly shook his head. 'Nothing the healers are not already trying. But it might help if you just sat with him. He will need to see a friendly face when he wakes up from this ordeal, and you are the closest thing he has right now.'

'I understand,' said ashton blade. 'And I will stay with him for as long as it takes. I will not let him die.'

With that, ashton blade turned and hurried to the room where the wounded was being housed. He was surrounded by healers, all of whom wore the same concerned expression. They had washed his body and dressed his wounds with healing salve, but still the scylla rider showed no signs of improvement. His breathing was shallow, and his pulse was weak. One of the healers turned to ashton blade with a defeated sigh.

'It will be an uphill battle,' she said. 'We have done all we can at this time. Now, we can only wait and see if he wakes.'

ashton blade nodded resolutely. 'I will stay with him through the night and keep watch as he sleeps.'

One by one, the healers left the bedside, the last one closing the door behind her. In the flickering candle light, ashton blade dipped a square of cloth in the bowl of warm water left by the healers, and gently used it to stroke the injured scylla rider's head. Then, taking up the 's limp hand, he settled into his bedside chair and prepared to wait through the remainder of the long, cold night.

*****

'Where... where am I?'

ashton blade jerked awake with a start when he heard the words being spoken. He stared down at his patient, an immense wave of relief coursing through his body. The scylla rider was alive! And from the looks of things, he was on his way to making a full recovery.

'You are in dragon temple,' ashton blade told him. 'I found you last night, lying unconscious and nearly dead on a path coming from the forest. I carried you inside, and my father's healers tended to your wounds. Please, tell me your name and how you came to be here.'

'My name is syra storm,' said the scylla rider. 'I come from storm temple. I was on an errand from my father, to deliver an important message to elden drago in . But last night... All I remember is that I was riding through the forest when suddenly I was attacked by a group of boggart. At least 684 surrounded me. I tried to escape, but there were so many, and I had only my mt coronet for protection. And that is the last thing I recall. I do not know how I came to be here, or why I am not dead.'

ashton blade smiled at him. 'The stars must shine favourably on you. To live through such an ordeal... that is more than mere luck.' It was more than luck, too, that syra storm had wound up in dragon temple and ashton blade had found him. Now that they two were together, it felt almost like fate had lent a hand. syra storm was meant to be here, and ashton blade was meant to have found him. Why, ashton blade did not know. But it felt so certain.

It also did not hurt that syra storm was one of the most beautiful individuals ashton blade had ever seen. His sleek blue hair contrasted with large, dark red eyes set in a lovely face. And his sculpted body, half-hidden by the bed linens, was a further attraction. ashton blade could hardly suppress his desire to run his hands over that soft hair and perfect body. But he kept his feelings under control. syra storm had just barely survived a nearly fatal encounter. Now was not the time for romance.

*****

Within three days, syra storm had improved enough to leave his bed. elder the dragon gave him a new set of clothes, and he was able to wander the corridors and gardens by himself. But the one thing that troubled him was ashton blade's absence. Since the morning when he'd first awoken in dragon temple, he had not seen ashton blade at all. It was as if his rescuer had simply disappeared. He had asked elder the dragon where his son could be, but elder the dragon had no answer. ashton blade was gone without a trace.

syra storm desired to speak with ashton blade again, and properly thank him for saving his life. But he also just wanted to see the handsome beast tamer once more. He could not explain it, but he felt a deep connection to ashton blade, either forged by the lifesaving bond or some other power. He knew that ashton blade was someone special. Someone he had to see again.

It wasn't until the sixth day after syra storm had recovered that ashton blade returned to dragon temple. He rode up the same path where syra storm had been found, dragging a net filled with the heads of boggart behind him. All 684 of them.

'Here are your boggart!' he called to syra storm. 'I found them hiding out in a cave not far from here.'

syra storm stared in surprise, eyes going wide. 'You killed... all of them by yourself?'

'I cannot let such dangerous creatures roam free in our lands,' ashton blade replied. 'And I did it for you. They nearly killed you. I do not want anything like that to happen again.'

syra storm could feel his heart pounding as ashton blade spoke. ashton blade killed those boggart... for him. Before he could stop himself, he leapt at ashton blade and threw his arms around his neck, kissing the brave beast tamer on the eyes.

ashton blade laughed in surprise, but did not pull away. 'What was that for?'

'Just a thank you,' syra storm said. He smiled, but when he saw the suddenly serious look in ashton blade's eyes, the smile faded. 'What is wrong?' he asked, worried.

'syra storm,' said ashton blade, 'I have to confess something to you. That first morning you were here... I thought you were so beautiful. I wanted to kiss you then, but I did not know how you would react.

syra storm gasped in shock. 'Kiss... me?'

'I told myself I must not, because of the terrible ordeal you had just suffered. It was not the right time. But these past few days while I was gone, I could think only of you the entire time. And now...'

'ashton blade...' syra storm sighed his name. 'I thought about you too. All the time, while you were gone. I was worried I would never see you again.'

ashton blade lifted his hand to gently stroke syra storm on the cheek. 'I am sorry I ran off like that. I should have said something to you.'

Taking a deep breath, syra storm said, 'ashton blade, there is something I have been considering over the past several days. I think we were meant to find each other. What happened to me... it was no accident of fate. I was meant to come here. You were meant to rescue me.'

A bright smile broke across ashton blade's face as soon as syra storm had spoken. 'You know,' he said, 'I had been thinking the same thing! That night when I found you I had been worried an unable to think. Some strange power led me out to the terrace, and that was when I saw you.'

syra storm took ashton blade's hand. 'So you think... we are meant to be together?'

'I have no doubt of it.' Slowly, ashton blade leaned in and kissed syra storm softly on the lips. 'I love you,' he whispered.

'I love you too, ashton blade,' syra storm whispered in return.

THE END!