The Tail of the Twin Dragons

9

It had been a week.

Rogue and Sting had left their old home behind them. They had avoided everything at first; towns, travelers, and especially soldiers. They trained every day as they attempted to master their new found strength. They had gotten used to Frosch's and Lector's new found ability of speech. It still startled them sometimes, but the two of them enjoyed the company.

They walked through a game trail as the midday sun shone threw the green summer leaves of the forest.

"Do... do you think Acnologia arrived at the cave?" Sting asked looking up the sky. Lector ran threw bushes trying to claw a butterfly out of the sky.

"Maybe," Rogue answered carefully, Frosch was asleep in his leather backpack.

"God, I just can't get it out of my head," Sting gritted covering his eyes with his hands as they walked.

"What?" Rogue asked keeping his eyes ahead.

"Every time I close my eyes I just see them laying there... I then I see Acnologia and - GOD what did we do!?" Sting breathed.

"What we had to... what we were ordered to do," Rogue answered, "If we ever want to beat Acnologia we have to be willing to make sacrifices."

"No," Sting said firmly he dropped his hands and stopped.

"What's wrong?" Rogue asked turning.

Sting's face was shadowed, "No more sacrifices."

"Sting - "

"I mean it Rogue!" Sting yelled looking up tears threatening to spill out of his eyes, "I'm not giving up anything else... I'm not losing anyone!"

Rogue looked at him his eyes dark, "That was not what I meant and you know that."

"Then what did you mean?!" Sting challenged.

"I meant that we only did what we had to. You should stop feeling guilty over it, its not going to bring them back."

"How do you handle this so well?" Sting cried.

Rogue turned, now hid face was shadowed. He began to walk forward, "Come on, we can get in at least five more miles before sundown."

"Where are we going anyway!?" Sting asked.

"Hargeon... a port town," Rogue answered.

"Why?" Sting asked.

"A few weeks ago Skiadrum told me that he had an old friend there. Someone who may be able to get us out of the country."

"Out of the country!" Sting cried, "No, I'm not running."

"We're not running," Rogue growled, "We need time, we're not ready to defeat Acnologia yet. You heard Skiadrum and Weisslogia, we need time."

"No."

"Why not!?"

"The lands over the seas are wild! We'd be fighting dragons and dragon hunters every day!"

"And what are we doing now!?" Rogue challenged, "hiding our abilities from the people! Avoiding guards and dragon hunters! Hiding!"

"Weisslogia also said that we needed allies, people to help us."

"Oh, and do you happen to know anyone who will happily stand up to the Dragon King!!!"

"I don't know maybe there's an alliance list, you know everyone who was loyal to Igneel and my father... or maybe my mother's family... nah scrap that last one..." Sting muttered.

"Wait," Rogue interrupted his mind working, "what did you say?"

"My mother's family... but they kinda sound like jerks so - " Sting muttered.

"No, before that," Rogue said.

"Huh?" Sting asked.

"An alliance list," Rogue pondered, then it dawned on him. "We need a library."